[Santo - Marketplace]

[walk_ins]

[ master post]Portions of the marketplace are covered. The vast majority of it isn't

Comments

[swinging_cod]

Since Jayne's got stuck playing tour guide - and ain't that way down on the list of things he'd like to be doing with his day - he's at least gonna be tour guiding places he gives a crap about.

Therefore: "You get yourself lost lookin' at hairthings or shawls or any a that girly crap, you're findin' your own gorram way home, you got it?"

[cutting_edgex23]

X considers this, expression blank.

Then she nods, just once.

"Okay."

Beat.

"I do not like shawls."

Beat.

"They get in the way."

[swinging_cod]

Jayne grunts grudging acknowledgment of the sense of this.

He is not really in favor of women's clothing in general. Obstructs the view!

"Well."

Beat.

. . . he knows what's out; he ain't really sure what's in. Whores, which would be his first choice, are probably a no-go.

"You got, uh, things you're needin' to get?"

[cutting_edgex23]

X is silent for a few moments.

Then--

"There are places to buy weapons?"

She can afford to replenish her stock now.

Bouncing is a good way to make money.

[swinging_cod]

Shockingly, this is a topic Jayne knows a fair bit about.

"You wantin' the sharp-edged kind, the shootin' kind, or the explosive kind?"

He doesn't bother asking if she'll be wanting over-the-table or under. If you're visiting Serenity, 'under' is kind of assumed.

[cutting_edgex23]

"Explosives."

Her reply is prompt.

"Guns are also useful."

She doesn't need sharp things. Those are part of the package.

[swinging_cod]

"I got a delivery set up for a couple hours from now," Jayne says, considering. "Shouldn't be too much trouble to add to the package - assumin' you got the cash on you," he adds, giving X a sudden beady look.

He ain't paying for her weaponry.

[cutting_edgex23]

X looks up at him.

Way up.

"Bar exchanged some for me."

Beat.

"It is okay."

[swinging_cod]

Jayne nods - good enough - and abruptly starts heading through the crowd.

For the record, when it comes to getting through crowded spaces, Jayne goes in straight lines, not wriggles; in his worldview, people should be avoiding him, not vice-versa. This does mean that he leaves a fairly clear path behind him.

[cutting_edgex23]

X takes advantage of that clear path.

And it has only a little to do with protecting Jayne's back.

Just in case.

[swinging_cod]

He does get a few muttered curses in his wake, but it's not like that's going to bother Jayne.

A few minutes, and then Jayne draws to a halt, in front of a brightly-colored candy stall - pink-and-white-striped awning, display case filled with eye-burningly bright gummies, dyed chocolates, and lollipops.

[cutting_edgex23]

X pauses, tilting her head a little as she studies the stall.

Then, very carefully, she scents the air.

Maybe it is a front?

Or maybe Jayne just has a sweet tooth?

She is not sure.

[swinging_cod]

The correct answer would be: all of the above!

However, right now he's only here for Option A.

"Hey, xin gan," he says to the girl sitting placidly in the front. "Run back and get me Shona real quick, dong ma? Got a girl needs some gobstoppers."

[cutting_edgex23]

X looks up at Jayne.

There is no curiosity in her expression.

"That is what they are called here?"

[swinging_cod]

The counter girl's already swung into the back, to be replaced by a boy a little younger, who's staring at them both with frank interest.

"Here, you mean this here stall? Sure. Other places you can go in the market, but Shona and me - well, we got an understanding."

Insert leer.

[cutting_edgex23]

X blinks, head tilting a little more.

"It does not smell like sex."