A Trade
{6.11.22} Raveki trades... something for a bracelet. Part of the deal is Raveki finding out exactly what Hal wants to buy from her.
Market, Ista Weyr
Clustered around the path leading between the beach and the jungle stands a diamond of eight wooden stalls, two to a side. Staffed by a kaleidoscope of Istans from around the island, the market features a changing array of local products from ubiquitous shell jewelry to season-conscious umbrellas and surfboards. It's Buyer Beware, though: the quality of the products varies, but then again so does the quality of salesmanship, and it's just as likely to find a overvalued rip-off as an underpriced treasure.
Open to the air when the weather is good, the market has several tools at its disposal to deal with less genial conditions. The round pit in the center of the stalls, which visitors may choose to skirt or gather around, can be used for a small bonfire on the rare cold days. A big, heavy stretch of oilcloth and a thinner gauze material have been bundled up and nailed to the trees just behind the market, ready to be stretched out for shelter or shade on days that are too rainy or too hot.
Heavy dark clouds cloak the plateau in shadow, and the last faint rumblings of thunder still grumble off in the distance, but the rain itself as passed inland. With the oppressive humidty washed from the air and the storm-cooled breeze winding through the Weyr, the Istans are out in force. Raveki is among them, a light shawl looped over her elbows as she picks through bracelets at one booth. The seller is a woman and sigularly unmoved by the tall brunette's charms, but she's doing her best at haggling just the same.
Not too far away is Halsten, hard at work unloading--ah, that is, selling his wares to a small assortment of customers who all seem to have vastly different needs. A book, a set of braided shoelaces in a bright pattern of colors, a carved wooden something that looks only vaguely like a wherry sitting on a stump. He's all smiles for each of them, but once they're gone his face settles into a more pensive expression, and he ends up glancing around to see who's lingering in the general vicinity. His gaze does pick out Raveki, but he leans there against his front counter and watches her haggle without saying anything at first.
Some girls really like to shop, but Raveki is more used to bartering from the selling end, and frustration begins to show in the tight line of her mouth. She lets a few selections fall back into a basket of offerings, ending up with a single strand of carved wooden beads draped over her long fingers. "I really think I could get a better deal elsewhere." Her free hand takes in the other 7 stalls and with the gesture her eyes land on Hal. Dark brows arch and the strain in her mouth slides to a smile. "You know what, nevermind." With that the final bracelet joins the other and she sidles over to lean a hip into Halsten's booth. "Robbery." The single word is offered dryly and with the barest quirk of a grin.
"Robbery," Halsten agrees without a moment's pause, shifting back to give a glance over the contents of his back tables, such as they are. While he's one of the few fixtures to be here literally all the time--several of the market's occupants cycle between whoever is in the Weyr at any given point in time--what he has is rarely so constant, so maybe even he has to brush up on whatever he has on offer. "So, what can I do you for?" he asks when he turns back. Smiling.
A tilt of the chin and a drawing together of the brows tossed toward the other woman says 'See? He agrees,' but unfortunately the other trader is busy with a new customer. Raveki sniffs, then leans back toward Halsten again. "I really just shouldn't bother with women. I swear they are arbitrarily biased against me." Dark eyes slide slowly over the trader, then his wares, and a small, suggestive curve dances across her mouth. Some mischief touches her eyes but she seems to squelch it, shaking her head at unspoken words and starting with, "Bracelets," instead. "I am looking for something in autumn tones and everyone sells tropical instead."
Bracelets. At that word, Halsten turns, starts sorting through a box under a table, then comes up empty-handed from there, and then moves to look through another instead. "I'm not sure I have anything in the way of bracelets." The one piece of readily-apparent jewelry is a huge, gaudy, pretty much unattractive necklace sitting on a stand on the front counter, but that would very much be out of the range of what she seems to be looking for. "Jewelry is something I get only sporadically. Enough others who sell it that the competition is too much to bother with, often."
It's hard to miss the enormous hunk of jewelry at the front counter, and Raveki's nose wrinkles ever so slightly at the sight. She flicks her fingers at it, "If that's the style you prefer I'm probably not interested anyway. Who buys something like that?" Still, she watches his rummaging with interest and lets out a little sigh he comes up empty handed. "For someone who is rumored to have just about everything, this is a real let down you know" A tsk, disappointment too obvious to be genuine.
"Nobody buys it. That would be why it's still there. It catches the eye. Even if it happens to be hideous." Halsten grins--at least he recognizes it. "I don't have preferences about what I carry. It's a matter of what I can sell, or what makes itself useful, at any rate." One more crate and finally he's found a small wooden box which he extracts and brings over. Opens it up, and there are a few assorted items of jewelry, anyway. "Check through there. Bought that all together, haven't had the chance to go through it yet, but I'm sure we could figure out something fair as prices go."
"Right." There is a flash of sheepishness in Raveki's agreement, and she shifts over to eye the necklace. Fingering it thoughtfully, turning it to catch the light she muses, "It's not so bad. Maybe if you paired it with..." teeth graze her bottom lip as she considers, then drops it back against the stand with a light chuckle, "No I guess it really is hideous. And I have a hard time believing you didn't pick it up for some reason-" a hand waves toward him, "like catching the eye. Your taste must come into play when you're acquiring goods." She starts to pick through the box, sifting delicately through the contents. "I'm always a big fan of the barter system," she murmurs, eyes flicking up at him, then back to his wares.
A lift of shoulders. "Inheritance. The only thing I got from the estate of my beloved grandmother, whose taste was dubious, shall we say the least. But when life gives you lemons..." Halsten leans over, watches as she starts to sift through it all. "I am not opposed to the notion of barter, but I do tend to find that there's surprisingly little of which I am in need." He glances up and down her as he says this, however, and is it really possible that he's missed what goes on down there at the Seven? All those card games.
With a little grimace of distaste Raveki is in the middle of tossing a ring aside when Halsten reveals the source of the goods and she hastily turns it into a gentler inching aside motion. "Your grandmother," she repeats flatly. "Should I be flattered that you're offering them to me, or appalled that you are selling it off? No sense of sentiment, eh?" That once over has her shifting her weight a bit, inhaling carefully and pushing more curve into the line of her hip. "It's not so much a matter of need as want, sweetheart. You think I /need/ another bracelet?" She does have a fair collection of slim silver circlets at one wrist already. "You're the card shark, so it's not like you haven't been down to ths Seven." Dark brows arch - suggestive first, then faintly incredulous. Is he playing dumb or is he... not playing?
"No. The *necklace* is from my grandmother. This is from--I forget her name, actually. Young woman. She may have inherited it, for all I know, but they weren't to her taste." There is, for a moment, an almost-cross little look that flickers on his face, but after that's cleared up Halsten is suddenly doing a lot more looking. An appraising sort of looking, more than appreciative. "No," slowly. "It's not like I haven't been here." Fainter smile, then, but a bit more genuine than the salesman's look. "But I can have a woman for a smile and a few gorgeous words. Jewelry rarely enters into it."
The necklace versus boxed jewelry confusion all cleared up, Raveki goes back to being quick and decisive in her rummaging. "Ah, well maybe it's a matter of generation, styles changing, that sort of thing." It's an attempt at generosity that is likely lost on Halsten, and as such it's lacking the necessary feeling behind the words. "Hmm, this one's not too bad." Like the necklace never entered the conversation, Raveki switches back to business at hand. She holds up a delicate piece with small glass beads in rust and olive shades. It dangles from her fingertips, amusement coloring her expression and tone. "You have it all wrong, darlin. It's less about what you get and more about what you don't have to deal with. No strings, no romance, no begging you to father children-" she trails off, then leans forward with an almost predatory smile slowly claiming her mouth. "No games." These last words are spoken slowly, pointedly, and a lift of brows awaits his response.
"Taking the romance out of it rather seems to take part of the fun away." Halsten smiles the sort of smile that has probably made girls melt in the past, only now it's so patently false as to be a joke. He moves back, settles into the chair he keeps back there for slow moments, leaves her to keep looking if she cares to. Watches from that slightly greater distance, thoughtful. "We aren't all pigs, you know. Men. I realize that's often the general impression, but it's entirely unfair."
Though her brows stay raised, the angle conveys surprise now rather than the expectant air of a moment ago. Raveki lets out a tiny little huh sound and deftly clasps the bracelet on her bare wrist, stretching it out to see how it looks. "And here I just accused you of a lack of sentiment," she drawls. "I never said all men were pigs, or that wanting a fun night without strings makes you one. I personally tend to appreciate people who know what they want and say it." Her lashes drop to narrow her eyes as they slide from bauble to trader. "The girl who was giving you trouble stop playing cat and mouse?"
Lips press together in thought. "Not precisely," Halsten answers that last question, eyes tracking her hand as she holds it out, the bracelet on that wrist. "But there are others. There are always others." He at least has not looked away, which she might take as a good sign, although he's still comfortable in his chair. Confident that she's not going to go running off with what she's wearing, perhaps. "So, what does a bracelet buy me, then, from a woman of your particular talents?"
Raveki chuckles, a light airy sound for his first words. "Well you seem less frustrated anyway, which is good for you, though perhaps not so good for me." Eyeing the bracelet, she dips a little nod, then drops that hand to the countertop, fingers splayed to bear the weight she leans into it. Not running off, no, she's settled in now. "It depends. I think you might be a bit shortsighted about what I can offer for one. To a man of *your* particular talents, an extra shot in someone else's drink or a well timed moment of... distraction might be worth more than a really fun evening with me." She can admit it, even if the words are awfully dry on her tongue.
"Possibly. Or it could be better. I'm probably considerably more entertaining when I'm less frustrated." Halsten finally gets back out of his chair, ambles slowly the couple steps back up to her. "Those things, I imagine, would be worth a lot more in monetary terms. But if I were the sort who simply saw everything in monetary terms, I would be a bore, wouldn't I? Of the many things I am, a bore is not one of them." This time, the smile is less amusingly false.
Raveki nibbles at her lower lip as her eyes slide down him, then back up through a veil of dark lashes. "I'd never call you a bore, even if I wasn't being paid to be nice. Still, I'm getting the bracelet, remember? It's not about me being entertained." And yet it seems she is entertained or at least amused, if the smile is any indicator. "I tell you what." Fingers tap the countertop in time to her thoughts, a little staccato beat of short nails to wood, then she nods. "This bracelet for a few hours of my time. As long as it happens at the Seven, you can pick how I spend the time - with you, or for you." Now that the offer is made her eyes snag his, watching for his response.
The rest of the box is taken back, closed carefully, before Halsten looks at her again. "It's always about that. I may occasionally be willing to pay for convenience, but I am never going to pay for fakery." He puts the box away under the table it came from, then leans back against the table. "A few is--three? And you agree not to pretend to have fun. Do we have a deal?" He comes out and around the counter, holding out a hand. The traditional seal of a bargain.
The deal should be done, it should be as simple as that. He just agreed to her terms and everything, but Raveki eyes him with thought bordering on suspicion for a beat. Her hand stays right where it is, secure on the coutnertop as she locks gazes with him as if she might read something important in his gray eyes. "No pretending to have fun," she finally repeats with a little nod, then her hand joins his. "And three is certainly reasonable." Her hand is smooth in his, but her grip is firm, fingers lingering as a slow smile finally slides over her lips. "I hope I can fill my end of the bargain sooner rather than later." And it even sounds like she means it.
Never has a man in a transaction like this looked so inordinately pleased with the deal. "It's a deal, then," says Hal as his fingers squeeze around hers. He doesn't let go of her hand right away, though. No, that would be too simple. Instead, taking extreme liberties here, he keeps hold of it, uses it for a little tug to pull her closer, leans in for an extremely brief kiss--to her cheek. Nothing more than that. "I won't keep you waiting too long," like it's a promise. "Enjoy your bracelet. It could not have found a better home."
It is her business to be willing, but Raveki doesn't just allow him to tug her closer, she moves more swiftly than his insistence. If she tilts her head away from his mouth, offering the cheek that he aims for regardless of his plans, it's a tiny motion and easily missed since the outcome is as he intended. As he pulls away she brings her mouth in line with his but only murmurs words, her breath warm against his lips, "I intend to. And I will see you soon." A flutter of a squeeze to his fingertips and she turns to pick her graceful way back across the damp plateau.
Market, Ista Weyr
Clustered around the path leading between the beach and the jungle stands a diamond of eight wooden stalls, two to a side. Staffed by a kaleidoscope of Istans from around the island, the market features a changing array of local products from ubiquitous shell jewelry to season-conscious umbrellas and surfboards. It's Buyer Beware, though: the quality of the products varies, but then again so does the quality of salesmanship, and it's just as likely to find a overvalued rip-off as an underpriced treasure.
Open to the air when the weather is good, the market has several tools at its disposal to deal with less genial conditions. The round pit in the center of the stalls, which visitors may choose to skirt or gather around, can be used for a small bonfire on the rare cold days. A big, heavy stretch of oilcloth and a thinner gauze material have been bundled up and nailed to the trees just behind the market, ready to be stretched out for shelter or shade on days that are too rainy or too hot.
Heavy dark clouds cloak the plateau in shadow, and the last faint rumblings of thunder still grumble off in the distance, but the rain itself as passed inland. With the oppressive humidty washed from the air and the storm-cooled breeze winding through the Weyr, the Istans are out in force. Raveki is among them, a light shawl looped over her elbows as she picks through bracelets at one booth. The seller is a woman and sigularly unmoved by the tall brunette's charms, but she's doing her best at haggling just the same.
Not too far away is Halsten, hard at work unloading--ah, that is, selling his wares to a small assortment of customers who all seem to have vastly different needs. A book, a set of braided shoelaces in a bright pattern of colors, a carved wooden something that looks only vaguely like a wherry sitting on a stump. He's all smiles for each of them, but once they're gone his face settles into a more pensive expression, and he ends up glancing around to see who's lingering in the general vicinity. His gaze does pick out Raveki, but he leans there against his front counter and watches her haggle without saying anything at first.
Some girls really like to shop, but Raveki is more used to bartering from the selling end, and frustration begins to show in the tight line of her mouth. She lets a few selections fall back into a basket of offerings, ending up with a single strand of carved wooden beads draped over her long fingers. "I really think I could get a better deal elsewhere." Her free hand takes in the other 7 stalls and with the gesture her eyes land on Hal. Dark brows arch and the strain in her mouth slides to a smile. "You know what, nevermind." With that the final bracelet joins the other and she sidles over to lean a hip into Halsten's booth. "Robbery." The single word is offered dryly and with the barest quirk of a grin.
"Robbery," Halsten agrees without a moment's pause, shifting back to give a glance over the contents of his back tables, such as they are. While he's one of the few fixtures to be here literally all the time--several of the market's occupants cycle between whoever is in the Weyr at any given point in time--what he has is rarely so constant, so maybe even he has to brush up on whatever he has on offer. "So, what can I do you for?" he asks when he turns back. Smiling.
A tilt of the chin and a drawing together of the brows tossed toward the other woman says 'See? He agrees,' but unfortunately the other trader is busy with a new customer. Raveki sniffs, then leans back toward Halsten again. "I really just shouldn't bother with women. I swear they are arbitrarily biased against me." Dark eyes slide slowly over the trader, then his wares, and a small, suggestive curve dances across her mouth. Some mischief touches her eyes but she seems to squelch it, shaking her head at unspoken words and starting with, "Bracelets," instead. "I am looking for something in autumn tones and everyone sells tropical instead."
Bracelets. At that word, Halsten turns, starts sorting through a box under a table, then comes up empty-handed from there, and then moves to look through another instead. "I'm not sure I have anything in the way of bracelets." The one piece of readily-apparent jewelry is a huge, gaudy, pretty much unattractive necklace sitting on a stand on the front counter, but that would very much be out of the range of what she seems to be looking for. "Jewelry is something I get only sporadically. Enough others who sell it that the competition is too much to bother with, often."
It's hard to miss the enormous hunk of jewelry at the front counter, and Raveki's nose wrinkles ever so slightly at the sight. She flicks her fingers at it, "If that's the style you prefer I'm probably not interested anyway. Who buys something like that?" Still, she watches his rummaging with interest and lets out a little sigh he comes up empty handed. "For someone who is rumored to have just about everything, this is a real let down you know" A tsk, disappointment too obvious to be genuine.
"Nobody buys it. That would be why it's still there. It catches the eye. Even if it happens to be hideous." Halsten grins--at least he recognizes it. "I don't have preferences about what I carry. It's a matter of what I can sell, or what makes itself useful, at any rate." One more crate and finally he's found a small wooden box which he extracts and brings over. Opens it up, and there are a few assorted items of jewelry, anyway. "Check through there. Bought that all together, haven't had the chance to go through it yet, but I'm sure we could figure out something fair as prices go."
"Right." There is a flash of sheepishness in Raveki's agreement, and she shifts over to eye the necklace. Fingering it thoughtfully, turning it to catch the light she muses, "It's not so bad. Maybe if you paired it with..." teeth graze her bottom lip as she considers, then drops it back against the stand with a light chuckle, "No I guess it really is hideous. And I have a hard time believing you didn't pick it up for some reason-" a hand waves toward him, "like catching the eye. Your taste must come into play when you're acquiring goods." She starts to pick through the box, sifting delicately through the contents. "I'm always a big fan of the barter system," she murmurs, eyes flicking up at him, then back to his wares.
A lift of shoulders. "Inheritance. The only thing I got from the estate of my beloved grandmother, whose taste was dubious, shall we say the least. But when life gives you lemons..." Halsten leans over, watches as she starts to sift through it all. "I am not opposed to the notion of barter, but I do tend to find that there's surprisingly little of which I am in need." He glances up and down her as he says this, however, and is it really possible that he's missed what goes on down there at the Seven? All those card games.
With a little grimace of distaste Raveki is in the middle of tossing a ring aside when Halsten reveals the source of the goods and she hastily turns it into a gentler inching aside motion. "Your grandmother," she repeats flatly. "Should I be flattered that you're offering them to me, or appalled that you are selling it off? No sense of sentiment, eh?" That once over has her shifting her weight a bit, inhaling carefully and pushing more curve into the line of her hip. "It's not so much a matter of need as want, sweetheart. You think I /need/ another bracelet?" She does have a fair collection of slim silver circlets at one wrist already. "You're the card shark, so it's not like you haven't been down to ths Seven." Dark brows arch - suggestive first, then faintly incredulous. Is he playing dumb or is he... not playing?
"No. The *necklace* is from my grandmother. This is from--I forget her name, actually. Young woman. She may have inherited it, for all I know, but they weren't to her taste." There is, for a moment, an almost-cross little look that flickers on his face, but after that's cleared up Halsten is suddenly doing a lot more looking. An appraising sort of looking, more than appreciative. "No," slowly. "It's not like I haven't been here." Fainter smile, then, but a bit more genuine than the salesman's look. "But I can have a woman for a smile and a few gorgeous words. Jewelry rarely enters into it."
The necklace versus boxed jewelry confusion all cleared up, Raveki goes back to being quick and decisive in her rummaging. "Ah, well maybe it's a matter of generation, styles changing, that sort of thing." It's an attempt at generosity that is likely lost on Halsten, and as such it's lacking the necessary feeling behind the words. "Hmm, this one's not too bad." Like the necklace never entered the conversation, Raveki switches back to business at hand. She holds up a delicate piece with small glass beads in rust and olive shades. It dangles from her fingertips, amusement coloring her expression and tone. "You have it all wrong, darlin. It's less about what you get and more about what you don't have to deal with. No strings, no romance, no begging you to father children-" she trails off, then leans forward with an almost predatory smile slowly claiming her mouth. "No games." These last words are spoken slowly, pointedly, and a lift of brows awaits his response.
"Taking the romance out of it rather seems to take part of the fun away." Halsten smiles the sort of smile that has probably made girls melt in the past, only now it's so patently false as to be a joke. He moves back, settles into the chair he keeps back there for slow moments, leaves her to keep looking if she cares to. Watches from that slightly greater distance, thoughtful. "We aren't all pigs, you know. Men. I realize that's often the general impression, but it's entirely unfair."
Though her brows stay raised, the angle conveys surprise now rather than the expectant air of a moment ago. Raveki lets out a tiny little huh sound and deftly clasps the bracelet on her bare wrist, stretching it out to see how it looks. "And here I just accused you of a lack of sentiment," she drawls. "I never said all men were pigs, or that wanting a fun night without strings makes you one. I personally tend to appreciate people who know what they want and say it." Her lashes drop to narrow her eyes as they slide from bauble to trader. "The girl who was giving you trouble stop playing cat and mouse?"
Lips press together in thought. "Not precisely," Halsten answers that last question, eyes tracking her hand as she holds it out, the bracelet on that wrist. "But there are others. There are always others." He at least has not looked away, which she might take as a good sign, although he's still comfortable in his chair. Confident that she's not going to go running off with what she's wearing, perhaps. "So, what does a bracelet buy me, then, from a woman of your particular talents?"
Raveki chuckles, a light airy sound for his first words. "Well you seem less frustrated anyway, which is good for you, though perhaps not so good for me." Eyeing the bracelet, she dips a little nod, then drops that hand to the countertop, fingers splayed to bear the weight she leans into it. Not running off, no, she's settled in now. "It depends. I think you might be a bit shortsighted about what I can offer for one. To a man of *your* particular talents, an extra shot in someone else's drink or a well timed moment of... distraction might be worth more than a really fun evening with me." She can admit it, even if the words are awfully dry on her tongue.
"Possibly. Or it could be better. I'm probably considerably more entertaining when I'm less frustrated." Halsten finally gets back out of his chair, ambles slowly the couple steps back up to her. "Those things, I imagine, would be worth a lot more in monetary terms. But if I were the sort who simply saw everything in monetary terms, I would be a bore, wouldn't I? Of the many things I am, a bore is not one of them." This time, the smile is less amusingly false.
Raveki nibbles at her lower lip as her eyes slide down him, then back up through a veil of dark lashes. "I'd never call you a bore, even if I wasn't being paid to be nice. Still, I'm getting the bracelet, remember? It's not about me being entertained." And yet it seems she is entertained or at least amused, if the smile is any indicator. "I tell you what." Fingers tap the countertop in time to her thoughts, a little staccato beat of short nails to wood, then she nods. "This bracelet for a few hours of my time. As long as it happens at the Seven, you can pick how I spend the time - with you, or for you." Now that the offer is made her eyes snag his, watching for his response.
The rest of the box is taken back, closed carefully, before Halsten looks at her again. "It's always about that. I may occasionally be willing to pay for convenience, but I am never going to pay for fakery." He puts the box away under the table it came from, then leans back against the table. "A few is--three? And you agree not to pretend to have fun. Do we have a deal?" He comes out and around the counter, holding out a hand. The traditional seal of a bargain.
The deal should be done, it should be as simple as that. He just agreed to her terms and everything, but Raveki eyes him with thought bordering on suspicion for a beat. Her hand stays right where it is, secure on the coutnertop as she locks gazes with him as if she might read something important in his gray eyes. "No pretending to have fun," she finally repeats with a little nod, then her hand joins his. "And three is certainly reasonable." Her hand is smooth in his, but her grip is firm, fingers lingering as a slow smile finally slides over her lips. "I hope I can fill my end of the bargain sooner rather than later." And it even sounds like she means it.
Never has a man in a transaction like this looked so inordinately pleased with the deal. "It's a deal, then," says Hal as his fingers squeeze around hers. He doesn't let go of her hand right away, though. No, that would be too simple. Instead, taking extreme liberties here, he keeps hold of it, uses it for a little tug to pull her closer, leans in for an extremely brief kiss--to her cheek. Nothing more than that. "I won't keep you waiting too long," like it's a promise. "Enjoy your bracelet. It could not have found a better home."
It is her business to be willing, but Raveki doesn't just allow him to tug her closer, she moves more swiftly than his insistence. If she tilts her head away from his mouth, offering the cheek that he aims for regardless of his plans, it's a tiny motion and easily missed since the outcome is as he intended. As he pulls away she brings her mouth in line with his but only murmurs words, her breath warm against his lips, "I intend to. And I will see you soon." A flutter of a squeeze to his fingertips and she turns to pick her graceful way back across the damp plateau.