Spring 22nd, 519av, 9 Bells
Gemma looked at herself in the mirror, breathing deeply.
"You can do this," she said. "It's not a big deal. You're not a mage, not yet. Even if there is some kind of danger, it's not toward you." She looked herself in the eye as she bit a hair pin in her teeth and tried to get her hair the way she wanted it today. She could have been out of the house a half hour ago, but she kept fussing with her hair, unable to get it to look like she wanted. She never cared about how her hair looked past a quick pony tail or easy braid. Why was she doing this? She knew she was procrastinating. And the longer she stood here in front of the mirror messing with her dang hair, the less time she would have to do all the things she had planned for her free day without work or studies. She would not have another one of these for maybe the rest of the season, but here she was whittling away her time on her hair.
"Forget this." She said, dropping her hands with a slap against her thighs. "I'm going as-is." She declared. She stared at her half-done hair. She had braided one side and had been trying to pin it to the back of her head in an asymmetrical style, but the pins weren't right and the braid was falling apart. She put the last pin back on the table, pulling out all her work and wrapping her hair in a quick pony tail like usual. She took one more calming breath before nodding and heading out. She was going shopping.
Gemma bit her lip as she perused the stalls in the Azure Market. She occasionally entertained the possibility of going to The Silk Palace for her clothing, but every time she looked at the place she reminded herself that that was not who she was. It would be better for her to save some money while she didn't have much. She could always buy more clothes later.
Walking through the market with no special desire in mind was a recipe for financial ruin. And Gemma knew all about recipes. She brushed her fingers through the displayed clothing and sighed. Either it was too big, too small, not her style, or not her color. There were a few pieces that were almost what she wanted, but there was something wrong, either the design or a little detail that made her fall out of love with the garment.
She did have a decent chink of change in her purse, but each time she saw something she was reminded of what had happened last season. By the end of the season, she had been all but broke. And she had several times more expenses this season.
Gemma was not a big fan of haggling. She always heard a price and just grimaced. If it wasn't close to what she wanted to pay, she just moved on. But there was one pair of boots that caught her eye. It was a rare moment when the sky was only overcast, with just a light mist moistening the air. But this was the exception. So far her current pair of boots were holding up, but there had been some flash floods and just general flooding in some places, and a few times Gemma had had to wade through higher water than her boots allowed for. Plus, she just liked this pair of boots.
The price was noted at six tk, which was actually not that bad from what she'd seen. Still, while she had seen other high boots in other shops, she had not seen a pair like this that she really liked. So she did her best to haggle.
"That's odd." She said. "I could have sworn I saw a similar pair for five a few shops back." She said, twisting her lip as she looked at the boots. "What about that poncho?" She asked, gesturing to a hanging garment. She originally intended to just make it look like she wasn't interested in the boots. In the end, the shop keeper offered her the "generous compromise" of selling her both the poncho and the boots for what Gemma was pretty sure was the regular market price for each. But oh well. She'd gotten the boots!
"You can do this," she said. "It's not a big deal. You're not a mage, not yet. Even if there is some kind of danger, it's not toward you." She looked herself in the eye as she bit a hair pin in her teeth and tried to get her hair the way she wanted it today. She could have been out of the house a half hour ago, but she kept fussing with her hair, unable to get it to look like she wanted. She never cared about how her hair looked past a quick pony tail or easy braid. Why was she doing this? She knew she was procrastinating. And the longer she stood here in front of the mirror messing with her dang hair, the less time she would have to do all the things she had planned for her free day without work or studies. She would not have another one of these for maybe the rest of the season, but here she was whittling away her time on her hair.
"Forget this." She said, dropping her hands with a slap against her thighs. "I'm going as-is." She declared. She stared at her half-done hair. She had braided one side and had been trying to pin it to the back of her head in an asymmetrical style, but the pins weren't right and the braid was falling apart. She put the last pin back on the table, pulling out all her work and wrapping her hair in a quick pony tail like usual. She took one more calming breath before nodding and heading out. She was going shopping.
Gemma bit her lip as she perused the stalls in the Azure Market. She occasionally entertained the possibility of going to The Silk Palace for her clothing, but every time she looked at the place she reminded herself that that was not who she was. It would be better for her to save some money while she didn't have much. She could always buy more clothes later.
Walking through the market with no special desire in mind was a recipe for financial ruin. And Gemma knew all about recipes. She brushed her fingers through the displayed clothing and sighed. Either it was too big, too small, not her style, or not her color. There were a few pieces that were almost what she wanted, but there was something wrong, either the design or a little detail that made her fall out of love with the garment.
She did have a decent chink of change in her purse, but each time she saw something she was reminded of what had happened last season. By the end of the season, she had been all but broke. And she had several times more expenses this season.
Gemma was not a big fan of haggling. She always heard a price and just grimaced. If it wasn't close to what she wanted to pay, she just moved on. But there was one pair of boots that caught her eye. It was a rare moment when the sky was only overcast, with just a light mist moistening the air. But this was the exception. So far her current pair of boots were holding up, but there had been some flash floods and just general flooding in some places, and a few times Gemma had had to wade through higher water than her boots allowed for. Plus, she just liked this pair of boots.
The price was noted at six tk, which was actually not that bad from what she'd seen. Still, while she had seen other high boots in other shops, she had not seen a pair like this that she really liked. So she did her best to haggle.
"That's odd." She said. "I could have sworn I saw a similar pair for five a few shops back." She said, twisting her lip as she looked at the boots. "What about that poncho?" She asked, gesturing to a hanging garment. She originally intended to just make it look like she wasn't interested in the boots. In the end, the shop keeper offered her the "generous compromise" of selling her both the poncho and the boots for what Gemma was pretty sure was the regular market price for each. But oh well. She'd gotten the boots!
Ledger: :
