Stare at space from the ocean floor

[Anonymous]

Take a vacation, they said.

As if he had time for vacations, leisure, relaxation. Evangelus Feyal didn't know the meaning of the word. In theory, it sounded almost fun, to be able to not have any responsibilities for a week or so. The very fact that his family had noticed how much hard work he had been doing around Atlas Verde was something to be proud of, though, and perhaps that was the only reason why he allowed his family to rent him a room at a high class inn in Jadenshine. He left his home thinking a little trip away from the province he policed so passionately would be fine.

He was dead wrong, of course. It was different here — too different, and he wasn't used to change. Back in Atlas Verde, he realized, he counted a lot on the fact that people knew who he was more than he ever realized. Back home, people knew him and the story behind his limp, and did not stare — that was old news, old gossip, talk that people had already worn out. But here, everyone could only look at his attire and know he was important — but his limp, well, that was something the people on the streets of Jadenshine could stare and whisper at.

Was it possible to hit eject, demand out of this mad ride?

He thought not — he'd be here for two weeks, tops, and it took all of Ev's willpower not to take the nearest steed and make a dash for Atlas Verde. Still, he couldn't waste the opportunity his family had given him, even if he wanted nothing to do with it. The streets of Jadenshine were bright enough, its people kind enough — but he could do without their stares, that was for damn sure. The merchants were cheerful, though — energetic and lively, shouting sales pitches through the air as he made his way through the streets. If he closed his eyes, maybe he could pretend he was home.

Children ran through and around the stalls, all of them jovial and enegetic, playing a game of tag, it seemed. One of the children, however, in an attempt to get away from whoever was 'it' ran smack dab into a fruit cart, threatening to topple over its contents. The child stared with wide eyes as the fruit seemed ready to spill out onto the street.

Ev stepped up to the cart, pushing it back on its feet with one hand, giving the child a warm smile. "Don't worry, no harm done. But you should be more careful, next time," he advised, and the child nodded, scurrying off, glad he hadn't been in too much trouble. Ev turned to face the owner of the vendor, biting. "Are you alright, miss? Your stall took a bit of a beating, but it looks like it should be fine."

[Haze]

It was another humdrum, boring day in the market. Business was slow today, and aside from the odd sale of individual fruit pieces, Miryim was far from meeting her target for the day. Not that she minded terribly. She'd be gossiping with her next door neighbor most of the morning, an older woman by the name of Geeani, whole sold flowers. Geeani knew all there was to know about the market vendors, and never hesitated in sharing. Miryim willingly engaged, especially once the woman alerted her to the arrival of a stranger. Not that strangers were uncommon, but this one was seeming to draw his fair share of interested looks.

As she turned to look, the first thing Miryim noticed was how neat he looked, in contrast to the other rabble in the marketplace. Immediately, Miryim set about smoothing out her hair. She'd braided it differently today, into a five-stranded braid that hung over her left shoulder. Little fly-away pieces of hair framed her face, while a thick side fringe swept to the left, in keeping continuity. This done, she peered down into the dusty little mirror she always had with her, and bit her lips a few times in the hopes of bringing a little more colour to them.

It was in doing this that she failed to see the children zooming past - normally, she would have barked at them to keep clear, but today she was rather preoccupied. That was until a little person bowled into the cart. With a startled squeak, she went flying forward in an attempt to rescue her wares. But the stranger was there, scolding the child gently, and the fruit was staying put - a small miracle in itself.

"I - I'm fine," Miryim returned, more than slightly frustrated that she had not met this man the way she might have liked. She was pretty sure she looked quite ridiculous, arms spread wide over the baskets, and she scowled after the retreating figure of the child. Pushing herself back and straightening up, she moved around to the front of the stall to consider what damage had been done. It was with a sigh that she crouched down, and tested the legs of the cart, prodding them gently.

It was all the movement they needed, and the cart promptly collapsed on itself. "Oh great!" Miryim exclaimed, jumping back to avoid being crushed herself, and pouting as apples and oranges and various other fruits went rolling around the ground. Miryim stamped her foot, and put her hands to her hips. "This is just what I needed. Ugh!"

[Anonymous]

Crisis averted, Ev all too easily assumed. The young woman seemed to be fine, albeit flustered, and the cart, for the most part, appeared to be fine... which was something to be thankful for, since he would've felt horrible if the cart should suddenly...

...should suddenly... collapse and give out...

Ev's eyes opened wide as her fruits went rolling out into the streets. It would've been almost artful to look at if it weren't happening so close to him, and if he didn't feel partly responsible for the woman's cart failure. Without missing a beat, he took one of her fruit baskets in his hand, crouching down (in an awkward, slanted way, so that it did not put a lot of pressure on his bad leg) and scooped up the fruits with his hands, trying to collect them all before they rolled out of sight.

"Don't worry," he tried to reassure, shaking his head. "It shouldn't be too much to collect. See, they're nearly..." He looked up at the mess, only to find some of the children from before scooping up some of the fruits with their hands, running off with their newly collected treats. He couldn't fault them, perhaps they were hungry and in need of a little extra food, but to steal it so unabashedly...!

He got to his feet, handing her the basket filled with the fruit he had spilled. "My apologies, miss — I don't think I managed to get them all," he noted, a little somber that so many had rolled away from him. He was still as courteous and polite as ever, despite being far from home, despite the fact that his family wasn't looking over her shoulder.

Ahh, and her cart, what a disaster! It didn't look like it would be selling things any time soon...

[Haze]

It was the most miserable thing that had ever happened to her she decided. It was miserable, and terrible, and embarrassing and just so ... horrible! No point in crying over a little spilled fruit, but she was going to anyway. She let her lower lip wobble, and big crocodile tears welled up in her eyes. "Well damn it if I wasn't selling anything anyway," she complained, taking her own basket from the demolished cart and kneeling down to gather up what she could.

"You don't have to do that," she declared, curious to the way he moved. He looked uncomfortable, and stiff. Looking over her shoulder to see children scampering away with her wares, she gave a pitiful little wail, and then in a decisive move, threw the apple in her hand as hard as she could after one of the little tykes. She was a poor shot, and the apple bounced after him, before being scooped up by another ruffian.

Defeated, she stood and took the basket the stranger handed to her, balancing it on top of the other in her arms. "It isn't your fault," she started with a sad little sigh, brushing her fringe across her face with her free hand. "Can I offer you some of this, maybe? Half price?" She came up with a stupidly exorbitant price to ask for druit that had rolling about in the dirt. "How does six shils sound?"