[The Great Bazaar]New beginings to a new life [Open]

[Guido Faragas]

“Yes, archaelogy can be fascinating,” replied Guido to the redhead. “And dangerous at times as well. I have come across ghosts in graveyards, magicians in the guise of old men and thieves who seek to take the valuables the honest man digs up.” There was a merry tone to his voice as if he was exaggerating for effect. However, there was also an undercurrent of seriousness that perhaps betrayed more than a thread of truth in what he was saying. “If you have a sense of adventure, then it can rewarding – you should try it sometime.”

The archaeologist turned to Celina. “Well you certainly know your own mind. Still, if you ever decide to enter the orphanage, let me know and I will introduce you to its master. Of course, if you do not enter the orphanage, you will need to find some way of earning a living yourself. Do you have any talents, beyond precociousness? Of course, if you could find me some way of earning something from this bag of useless pottery, I might give you a commission!” He waved the bag of pottery that he held in front of Celina.

[Celina]

Watching Guido talk to the woman he could tell that he was telling the full truth, with a slight hint of exaggeration but still there was something there tha gave her the hint that he wasn't actually exaggerating, this intrested her. She cocked her head at Guido giving him a questioning lookk, what kind of things did he do?

Stepping back a bit as Guido waved a bag of pottery infront of her it nearly hit her in the face "Woah! careful!" she laughed cheerfully. Then thinking about what he was saying, Guido was right, eventually she would run out of money and would have to probably go to the orphanage. Thinking for a moment she went over her skills "Well, I'm good at buying, trading and selling. Let me think..." she remembered immitating her mother singing when she was young "...Well I can also kinda sing, but I'm not sure I could get proffesion out of that" she mused. Then looking at him with a raised eyebrow "of course you could always teach me archeaology, I train as your apprentice and sell the items your collect getting the best price possible. After all it sounds fun and I get bored easily, I wouldn't mind listening to your stories and going out on an adventure!" Celina was anxious at the thought and her eyes brightened at the idea she had never been so excited about such an idea since her parents died.

Putting her hands under the bag of pots Celina measured the heavy weight of pot filled bag "Hmmm...with that kind of weight I would expect you to get about three to five, depending on how much damage has been done to the items. I can't negotiate a good price for an item if it's damaged unless I'm lucky and manage to find an idiot who's willing to pay because I'm a cute little kid" she knew it sounded vain but it was true none the less people always came up to her and said she was adorable, it bugged her but it was useful in the market.

[Naledi]

The redhead saw through the fake smile as easily as she could see through windows. Celina's body language betrayed her. The redhead felt the beginnings of emotion: annoyance. She could tolerate insults from Skylar because she could believe that Skylar really loved her, but she could not tolerate direct rudeness, not even from a small child that might not know better.

Unsure what to do with this newfound emotion, she stood silently for a while, listening to Guido and watching him carefully. He wasn't making up stories. Such exciting things really did happen to him.

"Ghosts?" she asked, her face still a mask. "I didn't know they were real." She thought of Skylar, who was dead, but not dead. Was that what ghosts were like? The walking dead? The thought made her quail inwardly.

"I didn't think my name was important," the Kelvic said quietly to Celina, . It wasn't important to her - why should it be important to others?

[Guido Faragas]

Guido mused over Celina’s offer for a few chimes. An apprentice? A small girl? But she might be right about selling. I can dispose of the good items to the collectors but I’ve never been able to get much for the ordinary, rough items. Perhaps Celina might help: she might sweet talk a few people into buying. Of course, she might run off with the proceeds – however, I wouldn’t have got much for them anyway.

“Very well,” he said handing the bag of pottery to Celina. “Let’s see what you can do with this bag of old pottery. We’ll split anything you can get fifty- fifty this time, although I wouldn’t normally be as generous. I’d advise you to avoid the main merchants here – they are a pretty shrewd bunch – still, I guess you know how to identify potential...purchasers. As for archaeology and singing – well let me see how you do buying and selling first. I’ll observe you from a few paces away.”

He folded his arms and grinned at the small girl before turning to Naledi. “Perhaps ghosts are real, perhaps not. I had an interesting encounter at a graveyard recently and it set me wondering.” Guido paused for a brief moment before continuing. “Do you have any coins with which to acquire the clothing you need? There are many stalls here which sell basic stuff for a few silvers or even coppers.”

[Celina]

Suprised by naledi's statement Celina pondered why a name was important she looked at the red haired woman with a gentle look, thinking about her comment earlier, it was a little mean. It was clear to her now this woman had no idea of customs, she didn't know how to react to emotions and she certainly wasn't from here. Celina thought it sad but to her the woman seemed alone, her tone was calm. "I'm sorry if my comment earlier was irrational..." she paused for a second thinking carefully how to word her sentence "A name is something personal to you, it's something people shouldn't be able to take away from you. For your name represents yo and everything you have done in your life good or evil. It's also something a loved one can whisper in your ear to let you know they are thinking about you and only you, it's something people can call out cheerily and you know they are talking to you and not somebody else...But for me personally it's something precious that from my parents, thier gift of love to me" tears began to enter Celina's eyes she looked down and whipped them away from her face then smiling at Gudio, it was a sad smile but a smile none the less.

Much to her suprise Guido sort of accepted her offer she smiled when he said they would go fifty-fifty. The idea sounded like great fun, atleast she would be able to prove herself a little. Despite the fact Celina needed a job she wasn't mercenary and shook her head "No. You have found this item on your own without my help, if I manage to sell it I'll give you the whole lot. It's not fair for me to just come along and take dips on your money" she gently took the bag of pottery with a smile, it was a little heavy but not so heavy Celina couldn't manage.

[Naledi]

The Kelvic shook her head toward Guido, the mess of reddish hair shaking gently. "It's a catch 22 situation," she said quietly. "I need money to buy clothes and I need clothes to acquire money." She'd think of something. Perhaps she could try stealing some clothes? Or asking someone else to steal clothes for her? Stealing something couldn't be all that difficult, she reasoned. All it took was timing.

She was surprised at Celina's apology. She wasn't used to receiving any kind of kindness. She used to all the time, even to the point of being spoiled, but now she didn't know how to react to this apology, no matter how insignificant the slight had been in the first place. She decided to accept it, because she dimly remembered that accepting an apology is the graceful thing to do.
The redhead was equally surprised by Celina's quiet speech about names. It disquieted her thoughts, as though somebody was throwing stones into a peaceful pond, causing ripples to disturb the surface and making bubbles rise to the top.

She might have had a name, once. Dimly she could remember a voice calling out to her, using a word, a beautiful word that was all hers. It was on the tip of her tongue, ready to fall easily from her lips and warm that place she had forgotten, to flow into her ears and make her remember what she used to be.

She couldn't recall it.

She might have felt disappointment if she wasn't so numb.

"I don't remember my name," she said, her voice and face expressionless. She said it quietly, almost as though she was talking to herself.

[[Sorry about the lame post, I hit a writer's block earlier and can't seem to work through it. Please bear with me until then.]]

[Guido Faragas]

The archaeologist was surprised at Celina’s offer. He thought that the young girl would jump at the chance of a fifty-fifty split – but perhaps she was more astute than he had thought - realising that the long term gains of a trading partner might outweigh a few coins in the short term.

“Very well,” he said slowly, allowing Celina to take the bag. “Choose your mark and I’ll see how you get on.” He looked around, his eyes alighting on an old woman with a kindly face who was browsing a nearby stall. Her garb indicated that she was likely to be moderately wealthy. He wondered if Celina would see her as an obvious target or would go for someone else?

It was clear that the nameless woman had no coins to buy clothes. Fortunately, Guido was in a generous mood. “If Celina manages to acquire a few coppers, perhaps we might earn enough to get you a few things.” He frowned a little: “But tell me – how is it that you cannot recall your name?”

[Celina]

With a sweet friendly smile Celina left Guido and the Outlandish red head to their own devices while she tried to find somebody to sell to "Excuse me" she said as she slipped away. Looking around Celina found a little space where she could stand; she put the heavy bag down and let herself relax a little. She noticed Guido's attention to a woman who was standing at a nearby stall with a grab that suggested she was wealthy, she was gentle faced and kind looking with long beautiful brown hair and brown eyes, her robe a beautiful red color which suited her eyes, she looked in her late twenties to early thirties, maybe with a lover but without child. Never the less, it was clear to Celina that this woman would never pay for more than the price with a normal merchant. But then Celina wasn't normal, she was a child.

With effort Celina picked up the bag again and made her way toward the lady, the woman was looking at vegetables. Suddenly Celina realized she was a little hungry when looking at the vegetables and looked at them with a worn out look. She opened mouth twice to make it look as is if she were starving.

The woman seemed to notice Celina and smiled at her warmly, it was a lovely smile and it made Celinah feel happy but she was in far to much pain to show it "Is everything okay little one, where are your parents?" looking up at the woman with tired hungry eyes Celina spoke quietly "My parents have gone away. They left me with my uncle who's really mean and told me to go and get my own food. But I have no money" it was the half truth; Celina didn't have any on her. The woman looked at her with a sad smile "Would you like me to buy you some?" Celina quickly shook her head. "No, It would be rude to take something from a refined lady like yourself madam" she was formal; it was always a way to sucker people up to her. The woman smiled at her gently looking a little shocked, kids weren't usually that polite or literate at Celina's age. Celina had luckily picked this up from her parents and observing hagglers "aren’t you a polite little girl? What’s your name?" Celina smiled innocently, still in pain from the heavy bag. "My name is Celina, Ce for short." She put it down gently so none of the pottery inside would crack and with a sigh of relief she put her hands on her knees to catch her breath. The woman looked down at her curiously, she obviously liked the fact Celina was polite "Stay like that and you'll grow to be a fine lady, Celinah. What have you got there? " she seemed to have a genuine interest. Excellent, just what Celina needed, still panting she looked at the bag with a tired look "My uncle told me if I wanted anything to eat I'd have to work for it so he gave me this pottery to sell. He expects me to be able to sell them all for at least nine gold mizah. But it's impossible; I haven’t been able to sell one!"

The woman now looked as if she felt sorry for Celina, okay this was working. Don't show it Ce, don't show it. She thought to herself as she could hear the rushing of the Bazaar behind her and the crowds, it made her a little nervous but she couldn't give herself away especially when Guido was watching! Although the story was sort of true, it was almost impossible to sell this junk for so much but she'd give it a shot anyway, Guido wasn't her uncle and neither were her parents alive. "Let me take a look" opening the rough bag Celina took out the pieces of pottery they were rough and cheap looking but the woman just seemed to nod. There was an interest there but Celina could not read the woman's expression, it looked worried yet guilty at the same time.

After a minute or two the woman came to her senses the woman smiled at her "Alright then, how about instead I buy one of your pots for the equivalent of a bag of apples?" she insisted. Looking up at her Celina looked with admiration. This woman seriously was going to give her a golden Mizah for this thing? Celina gave her a nervous face "I would feel a little less guilty if you did Ma'am." she looked up and gave the woman her puppy eyes which nobody could usually resist unless they were really cold. The woman looked down at her with a shy smile "Alright then little one, here's a some coins for you" the woman held out some coins, Celina couldn't believe it... she'd convinced the woman to buy the piece of junk? With an expression of great gratitude Celina aquired the money and hugged the woman "Thank you so much!" the woman laughed as Celina hugged her. "That's okay little one" Celina handed the woman the pot the woman's beautiful smile still across her face. "Stay well little one" the woman said to her as she turned to leave. Celina waved in reply "To you too my lady!" with a large happy smile on her small innocent face.

[Guido Faragas]

Guido watched in admiration as Celina charmed the woman. Admittedly, the woman was a soft target but the young girl certainly showed an aptitude for using her talents and age effectively. Even a couple of coppers would have been more than a fair return for the useless junk that the bag had concealed.

“Well done,” he said to Celina as he watched the old woman depart. He held his hand out to take the coins form the girl. “You have a talent for this. It’s just a matter of choosing the right people to trade with and that was a good choice. I’m sure we can come to an arrangement here. Whenever I have a dig, I’ll sort out the lower quality items and give you some to sell. Obviously, I take a lot of the risk in mounting an expedition and leaving the city for a few days. You can take a quarter of the earning and I’ll take the rest. In addition, if you want, I can train you in some of the basic techniques of archaeology. Indeed, I might be going on a dig soon, so you can tag along if you want. It’s close to the city so we can walk there. Do we have a deal?” He extended his hand to Celina.

He turned to Naledi. “My offer is still open to buy you some basic clothes if you wish?”

[Celina]

"Well done" Guido came up to Celina as the woman left holding out his rough hand to take the coins from her, he complimented on her talent. Although mentioning she was an easy target which made Celina feel a little guilty because it was true. But none the less she was being recognised by an adult.

The man turned to the red haired woman for a moment asking her whether she would take up his offer on him buying her some clothing. It made Celina curious, they don't seem like acquaintances. She gave Gudio a suspicious look for a moment and couldn't help but laugh a little.

Putting that aside she nodded in agreement with what had been said a sweet smile swept across Celina's cute face. Gently, she placed the sum of the cool coins into his hand. As it touched hers she looked down at it curiously, compared to hers it felt a rough like the earth underneath her feet. This man had obviously done alot of work, he offered to teach her archaeology and to take her on a dig. Pulling her hand away, Celina looked up at Guido with a smile of understanding "I would love to go on a dig with you and learn as much as I can. But there is one other thing I would like if it's not too much to ask" Celina's expression was an innocent small frown as she looked up at the dirt face man, hoping he would let her have this small request.