Peri didn't particularly enjoy coming into Cerenis, but she'd grown accustomed to it. She was the weaver for her tribe and if duty deemed it necessary to trade in the port town, then that was what she had to do. And, it wasn't all bad. It was really her biggest exposure to life outside the Kulshedra, and she'd find herself at times standing at the corner of a building just to watch the goings-on. There was so much chatter, so much bustling around, sometimes with purpose, sometimes it was just a young couple wandering the seaside streets.
Peri walked down the street outside the shops. The smell of brine in the air filled her lungs. Even when her tribe moved around, sometimes further in from the ocean, the smell of it always made her feel at ease. Her pale blue scales shone mutedly in the sun and she let the loose blue fabric she usually wrapped over her shoulders hang loose, and it dropped down to droop over her elbows and looped behind her back. Her clawed feet ticked on the ground.
As a Kulshedra, people did look. They weren't really a common sight inside the port city, but if you wandered out a little bit you would be likely to spot one eventually, so they weren't an unknown entity.
The windows and their displays always caught her eye. She could've gone straight for the tailor's to gather the thread and buttons she wanted, but, she just couldn't help herself. That's when she saw it. The tacky little gift shop. Well, no one was expecting her back just yet. She had time to duck in.
The sun glinted brightly off the doorway window as she entered, blinding her momentarily. When her eyes cleared she was greeted by the joyous sight of dozens of kitschy sea shell ornaments and figurines and... A very perturbed looking merchant. What? Peri's screwed up her face in confusion for a moment, her ears dropping back slightly. And, then she saw the other woman standing in the shop, hand on the hilt of a sword.
Oh Fire, what've I just walked into?
"Uh... Everything all right here?"
Peri started to try and reach inconspicuously for the doorknob.