Claustrophobic in the Crowd

[Streetrat]

While Meg frequented the Bazaar frequently enough, there seemed to be more people than ever before. She actually had money for once, rather her usual having to rely on stealing an apple from a fat vendor. She wouldn't take from the ones who seemed nice, or actually needed the money - but there were more than enough round and greedy merchants that she never had to resort to that. Today the money was not to be used for food, she reminded herself, but for equipment. Maybe a new shirt. Glancing ruefully at the remains of her old cotton one, she decided that yes, she was going to need a shirt. Well, eventually at least, depending on how expensive they were. At least she didn't have much to cover, unlike most girls her age. Tugging her hat down over her face, the street urchin made her way into a sector that carried more goods than food, hoping to see something relatively cheap but interesting.

Gods, why are there so many of them? Is there some festival going on I didn't hear about?

Somehow, there managed to be even more people crammed into this section, with much less possibility to move freely, and almost not way to run if she ended up needing to. As she pushed through the crowds of people, Meg began to feel claustrophobic. Everyone was taller and heavier than her, although some of the tall ones were wispy, ethereal even, and definitely light. Still, she couldn't even see most of the shops anymore; the points of tent poles being all that was left of the transient ones, and a few of the more permanent stalls could only be seen by the peaks on their roofs.

By this time Meg was becoming panicked, hating large crowds with a passion, but knowing that if she put off the trip until the next day she very well might not have the money. The people started to thin out a little, offering more of an avenue to move within. Luck seemed to be with her then - good or bad she couldn't tell - as the man materializing directly in front of her hadn't noticed who was but a couple of feet away. With more than a little anxiety, Meg realized that she had seen him before in a less-than-pleasant situation. She had been distracted by a lump of shiny green glass hanging from his belt once, and before she had realized what she was doing, had grabbed it. Apparently there was some form of anti-theft spell on it, as his instantaneous action was to reach back and pick her up by the scruff of her neck - which hurt quite a bit. Luckily she had managed to bite his other hand when he was starting to cast a spell in her face and ran as he dropped her, cursing. The experience had been memorable enough that there was no way she would forget him, from the front or back.

Trying to not turn and flee, her hands clammy on the shaft of her staff, the small girl backed up until hitting the wall of a shop with a thud, where she leaned to try and regain her composure.

[AdventWings]

If Lady Luck had been a real person with flesh and bone, she certainly had a thing for the small and needy. And on an especially crowded day such as today, Luck seemed to be especially playful and generous.

Miri frowned at the sight of the bustling crowd moving through the small avenue, slipping the large leather satchel full of sewing equipments over her head. Getting back to her leather workshop was going to be a pain, especially with the large pack of instruments she just bought from the blacksmith. Looking around the area hoping to find a break in the flood of midday shoppers, her eyes fell on those of a small girl fearfully leaning against the blacksmith's shop.

"Oh, hello there." The leatherworker smiled as she greeted the girl. "Are you alright, miss?"

((OOC Note: Hi, Streetrat! I'll be your Bazaar Merchant for this thread. If you have any questions you need to know, feel free to throw me a PM.))

[Streetrat]

Completely unprepared for someone noticing - let alone talking to - her, Meg jumped at the greeting, looking around to see if there was anyone else the woman could be talking to. Seeing no one paying attention, she looked up, startled that the woman even realized she wasn't a boy. Come to think of it, almost everyone who wasn't confused by her gender was female themselves.

"I'm just... I'm fine. Really," she glanced worriedly at the crowd again, making sure the man was out of sight. "Just a little overwhelmed. I don't like it when there's this many people here. Start to feel like I can't breathe, y'know? And I can't even see the stalls when I'm in that," She knew she was babbling, but couldn't seem to stop - running into the man had rattled her more than she'd realized.

"I guess I've just kinda ended up lost today." She sighed and fiddled with a couple of the teeth on her necklace, "I'm not even sure what I'm here for at this point."

[AdventWings]

Seeing the young kid visibly shaken out of her wits as she stared out at the crowd, Miri put two and two together and realized the cause of the fright. The leather worker could not help but let out a sigh of grief as she, too, glanced out at the especially crowded roads running up and down the rows of stores, stalls and vendor tents. She could even barely see her own shop across the street through the thicket of heads rushing past her eyes.

"Well, would you like to stop at my shop and rest for a while?" The golden-hair lady lend the street urchin a warm smile, taking a step forward off into the dusty cobblestone path. "It's only across the street. And if you'd like, you can do take a look at the stores from my second storey window."

The Leatherworks Shop stood just opposite of the street, although everything but the swinging signpost high above the door was all but hidden from her sight. Lucky for her, the second storey balcony gave a clear view of the entire street from Kisha's jewelry shop to the exotic weapons merchant Weapons of the Outlanders close to the heart of the Bazaar Intersection. The leatherworker only hoped that the teen would allow her kind intervention.

[Streetrat]

"I..." Meg cast one last anxious glance into the crowd before following Miri, "That would be really nice," she grinned slightly, "I don't think I've had anyone actually invite me into their shop for a long time. Not since I ended up here, actually." She gestured at the city around them. "Sometimes I miss the country- there's just a lot less people, and -" Meg cut off, hoping that she hadn't said too much. No matter how nice someone seemed, there was always the chance that they only appeared to take an interest in her and would use anything she said against her.

When they were most of the way through the crowd, Meg spoke up again. "Excuse me for asking, but..." she chewed on her lip, thinking for a moment. "Why are you being so nice?" her voice sped up, "I mean, it's not that I don't want you to or anything but I'm not used to it and-" she stopped, coughing a bit, "I'm sorry for bothering you."

[AdventWings]

Miri gently smiled at Meg as the two of them pushed through the stream of shoppers that seemed to be always trying to push them along with the current.

"No, that's alright." The leather worker replied as she stepped up to the Leatherworks Shop after the trek against the crowd. Opening the shop's door, she turned back to Meg with a sincere smile.

"I suppose that in this day and age, we just really can't trust many people anymore. But I believe I can at least help make this life more bearable for others..."

Her fairy-like eyes flickered momentarily as a past memory flashed into her mind. Shaking the bad memories away with a sigh, she turned her attention back to the youngster again and invited her in.

"Besides, aren't I a nice lady?" She winked at Meg. "Oh, yes. The stairs to the second floor is right over there. You can use it as you like, I'll be down here in the store. Good luck!"

[Streetrat]

"Leather?" Meg blinked at the sign, "You wouldn't happen to have anything in my size, would you?" She looked at her vest - tattered and worn to the point of feeling like fabric, not leather - and followed Miri rather than go upstairs.

Fiddling with the necklace again, she glanced around the shop and breathed deeply. The scent of fresh leather brought a smile to her face, prompting her to bury her face in a rack of thick jackets.

Voice slightly muffled, she spoke up again, "I love this smell. Just something about it, you know?" She surfaced, grin even broader.

[AdventWings]

Miri smiled and set down the leather glove she was working on, turning to address her customer she literally ushered in on her own.

"Well, I do believe we have some items of your size. Give me a few moments, alright?"

The leather worker almost appeared to glide across the shop as she browsed the different racks and hand-written catalogues, making occasional glances back at Meg who was enjoying herself. After several minutes, Miri returned to the young street urchin with a short leather vest in one hand and a full-length leather jacket in another.

"Well, I think you might want to look at these two." The blonde leather worker held them out for Meg to see, both of them having about the same shoulder size as Meg's - if only a slight bit larger.

"I would offer to tailor you a new vest, but it might be a bit expensive. I don't think it will be more than two hundred Crowns, though. I made all of these jackets myself."

Miri mused, although feeling a bit guilty for gloating to a customer.

[Streetrat]

"Two hundred?" Meg's eyes glazed slightly, but reached out for the clothing that Miri held out to her. Taking the jacket, she ran her fingers over the tanned leather, admiring the craftsmanship before trying it on. It fit well, and while it was slightly large, the size added to her appearance as a child.
As she tried the vest on, she frowned, wriggling experimentally. It didn't sit well enough on her , and she took it off regretfully, smoothing the folds reverently.

After a few moments thought, she looked up. "I have some money, but I really need to get rid of most of it; I can't hide enough for it to still be there tomorrow," she grimaced, "How much would the jacket and a tailored vest cost?"


((I've almost hit my month since registration, so that extra 300 is going away soon. Need to spend it! :/ ))

[AdventWings]

"The jacket's only one hundred and seventy-five Coronian Crowns." Miri smiled as she took the vest back and folded it over her arm, all the while gauging the small girl with her aquamarine eyes. After a moment of thoughtful silence, the tailor announced the price to her customer.

"I... believe a hand-tailored leather vest will only be around a hundred and fifty. Is the price well for you?"

Vests were generally easier to make for Miri as well as using less material. After all, her specialty was working with the seams and binding designs. Her history as a seamstress apprentice really helped the leather worker.

[Streetrat]

Chewing on her lip for a minute, Meg felt her coins. "It kinda is a lot, but I do need something warmer that'll protect me," she looked up at Miri, sheepish, "maybe I could pay you most and work off the rest? Clean up and stuff, maybe?"

She looked down again, "If that doesn't work I guess I could scrape together all of it." And have to steal my meals for the next month, she added mentally.

[AdventWings]

((You still have your 300 GP credit, not to worry. I'll make note to deduct that out once this thread is complete.))

"Oh? Well..."

Miri looked about the shop as she thought on the issue. She certainly could use an errand girl to help carry the various materials between the Leatherworks and the Akashiman across the street. It would certainly meant the leather worker would have more time to add in more details to her leatherwares.

She was going to miss stealing a few minutes of chatting with the cute, gruff blacksmith, though...

"How about this, then?" She beamed. "I'll let you work off whatever you owe after we take a look at the prices. I'm sure I can use a hard-worker like you at my store."

Oh, well. A few weeks without her daily trip to the Akashiman would have to do. She would love to see how Jirou would react without seeing her for a week.

[Taskmienster]

This thread has been inactive for over a month and will be temporarily closed. If you wish to continue the thread feel free to PM me at any time and I will reopen it. If it was left inactive due to the loss of the moderator then you can PM me about that as well and when I reopen it I will make sure that it is claimed and completed promptly.

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The Mod Staff.