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RESPITE MARKETPLACE - LATE AFTERNOON
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Phoebe walks through the Market as the day goes by, trying to consider all the angles in town. Aelia had started making something of a plan, some part of Phoebe felt maybe she should help follow through? It seemed to work with Cavro, at least. As a result... the marketplace, where she knows that tailor Aelia met hangs out. She moves towards the booth with a bit of an uncertain purpose, looking over the clothing as if it might bite her.
Rhask is hard at work knitting clothing for the steady stream of orders she's been getting from the various folks around town. Though she's still learning how to make lighter weight clothes, the designs are apparently quite eye-catching and unusual. She hums a quiet song to herself as she works, only to look up with a kind smile as she sees Phoebe on the other end of the counter. "Oh, hello there! Can I help you with anything?"
Phoebe pauses, eyeing her carefully. "You're... Rhask, right? I'm just... looking. Sorta. I don't really do fashion?"
Rhask nods cheerfully. "Yup, I'm Rhask! Feel free to browse, miss! If you're not really looking for clothing, maybe you'd be interested in some of the trinkets Jennica makes, on this side?" She gestures towards the odds and ends on the other side of the shared stall.
Phoebe nods, but actually does find her attention drawn towards the the other stall, "Trinkets, eh? I mean... I'm admittedly just browsing but... can't hurt to look." She glances at the objects, though admittedly their purpose kinda escapes her. "I'm actually sorta here for a friend. Just measuring some interest in a project."
Rhask tilts her head curiously. "Oh? What sort of project, if you don't mind me asking?"
Phoebe picks up on of the trinkets, a little pyramid-shaped thing with a rough pattern on one side. "She says she met you... Aelia? Don't know if she talked to you about it or not, but she's thinking of doing some kind of play. Probably needs costumes for it. I don't know what the plans are yet, just that... she'd probably want some help."
Rhask perks up and shakes her head. "Miss Aelia's a performer? Interesting! She was just looking for some replacement clothes because her dress was starting to get a bit... worn out, when we first met. She didn't mention anything about a play, though."
Phoebe shrugs, poking at the pyramid, lifting a hand up to twist a part of it that seems like it should twist? "I don't know if she had the idea yet? Or at least, wasn't ready to talk about it. She's just a dancer, but... err, you know? Plays. Dances. They're all kinda the same, right?"
Rhask hums thoughtfully, then nods in agreement. "I mean... telling a story through something other than just words. So... miss Aelia has an idea for some plays, then? I've never been a costume designer, but I'm willing to try!"
Phoebe shakes the trinket gently, but maybe still a little more forcefully than she should when she doesn't know what it does. "Well, I'll just tell her you're interested then. She's uh, stepped away for a bit, so I just... guess I'm trying to help her, you know? She doesn't tell me her plans, not directly at least, but I at least know she's got some idea."
Rhask giggles a bit as she watches Phoebe experimenting with the trinket. "Think of those more like charms than a gadget. They work their magic by being kept on oneself." She nods, smiling, "You're a good friend to her, then, going out of your way to help like that. If she thinks my skills are good enough for what she wants, I'm happy to help!"
Phoebe stops flailing at the trinket and holds it away from her face and hmphs. "Oh. I figured it'd do something, like... I dunno. So they're just good luck charms, then? That's a good racket, if folks buy them." She frowns slightly, "Don't know if I can say I'm a good friend. But yeah, sure, we'll go with that. Just uh, thanks. For humoring her at least."
Rhask smiles. "They're charms that help with all kinds of things day to day. Nudging one's life towards better things little by little." She giggles again, "And yes, I'm happy to give her any help I can for that sort of thing. I'm sure you've noticed, but Respite doesn't have a lot in the way of entertainment yet."
Phoebe glances around the marketplace, "Eh. Guess I've not had much time to look for 'entertainment', no. I've never really had much time for that kind of thing even back in Policaster. Don't know if things will be much different for me, here." She shrugs as she puts the pyramid down. "Unless there's one of these trinkets can perform a miracle, anyways."
Rhask raises an eyebrow. "A miracle? Well... almost anything could be possible with magic, and these are magic, so...?" She trails off, her curiosity evident, "What sort of miracle?"
Phoebe laughs, a little hint of bitterness behind it, but she hides it well, "One that could give me more time to do what I want to do, that's all."
Rhask blinks, then nods. "Ah... yeah, I could see that being a bit hard to make happen, even on the best of days. If I was more magically-inclined, I'd offer to help out somehow, but..." She shrugs a bit, "All I can do is knit clothes, I'm afraid."
Phoebe shrugs again, "Eh. It's more than I can do. Wait... you're not magic? So then where did the trinkets come from, eh?"
Rhask shakes her head. "As far as I'm aware, I don't have magic." She nods at the trinkets, "Those were made by one of the folks I share this stall with, miss Jennica. She's usually a little shy, but you can find her here sometimes. She might be a bit more likely to be here when miss Emmeline, her business partner, comes back."
Phoebe thinks for a moment, looking over the trinkets, "Well if you're not magically inclined, and she is, maybe I'll talk to her, yeah. Not that I think there's all that much to be done, but eh. Why not, right?"
Rhask nods again. "There's no harm in trying at least, right? I wish I could say when Jennica will be here, but she doesn't really have a set schedule for when she's helping out around the stall or not."
Phoebe: "Well, I guess I'll just keep an eye out for her? What's she look like?"
Rhask tilts her head to think, then lifts a hand to show the rough height of Jennica. "She's... well, she's normally a brown cow just a little shorter than I am. Right now, though... uh... she... had a small mishap with something that was supposed to help her health out, so she's a kobold that's... uhm..." She lowers her hand down to about three or four feet, "This tall... give or take a few inches?"
Phoebe blinks, then steps away from the magic trinkets a bit, "Err... well... maybe I don't need magical help that badly? I don't know, kinda like being a wolf... I think."
Rhask shakes her head and waves her hand. "Oh! No, no, it wasn't because of the magic she works with. It was... uh... honestly, you might have a better chance getting the explanation from her than hearing it from me. I don't know the full details, myself."
Phoebe glances back at the trinkets warily, but ends up just giving Rhask a sigh, "Eh... fair enough. If I can find her. Kobold. About this high? I'll sniff around for her, see what I can learn."
Rhask dips her head with a kind smile. "I hope you're able to find her! Like I said, if you can't find her around town, you can maybe find her here if you're lucky. Else... if she comes by one day soon, I could point her to wherever you're staying, if you like."
Phoebe steps back up to the counter, still warily side-eying the trinket display. "Eh. Just staying at the little end down that way. The Minnow. But no worries. I can't guarantee when I'd even be there to meet her, so if I cross her path, so be it." She scratches her head, "Eh... I've wasted enough of your time without buying something. You got anything that would fit me? Nothing too fancy."
Rhask chuckles and waves her hand a bit. "Don't worry about it, miss. Things are still a bit slow around town while the guards are still out west. But, if you're looking for something for yourself... I think we can find something that fits well." She tilts her head, "Any preferences for colors?"
Phoebe shrugs, "I'm no expert on colors. I just want to wear something that works, nothing fancy, so whatever you think works best for this weather."
Rhask hums thoughtfully as she sets her knitting aside and stands up to examine some of the clothes she has. "Hmm... Miss Aelia was one for dresses more than shirts and pants... I'm guessing you're more of a shirt and pants person, miss?"
Phoebe nods, "Dresses and I don't get along... not after uh, you know what, nevermind. But yeah. Shirt, pants, anything that I can move around in easily."
Rhask grins. "Shirt and pants it is, then! Let's see... Oh! How about... this?" She reaches into a small, neatly folded pile of shirts and unfolds a rather nice, cream-colored shirt with a colorful, if rather unobtrusive horizontal diamond pattern circling around the abdominal area.
Phoebe studies it for a moment, uncertain. "Does that mean anything? The pattern there? Is that like, some kind of... words or... something?"
Rhask shakes her head. "Nope! They're just design styles from my hometown. Up in Vamas, especially in the northern areas, the colors and regular patterns help folks see each other, especially if someone gets lost."
Phoebe eyes the pattern a little closer, trying not to be suspicious as she finally nods, "Well, alright then, it'll do. I don't know much about Vamas or patterns or whatnot, but it looks nice at least."
Rhask grins cheerfully at the compliment. "Thank you! I've a few different pieces of clothing around this size, if you want to look around a bit while I find some comfy pants for you."
Phoebe hums, something suddenly coming to mind, "Actually, anything with room for a tail? I've mostly had to modify pants for myself, and that's just me carving with a knife. Probably looks awful... but if there's actual clothes tailored for a tail, might be more comfortable?"
Rhask giggles and turns to wiggle her long, lizard tail in view for a moment. "Of course! I imagine a wolf tail won't need quite so large an opening to fit through, though. I've some pants fit for most tails, so... let me just take a quick peek at what I've got."
Phoebe gives her first real smile since the conversation started, grinning at Rhask, "That would actually be really nice."
Rhask nods and stoops over a bit to start digging through the stacks of folded pants. She's been a bit busy, and she's got a fair few display pieces, as well as some stowed behind the counter that she brings in from her room at the Minnow every morning. "Let's see..." She perks up and emerges a few seconds later with a pair of rather comfy-looking, and matching, pants, "Ah, here we are! How does this look?"
Phoebe looks over the pants, taking a moment to flip them over to examine where the cloth parts to allow a tail easy access out the back. "Seems too good to be true. How much?"
Rhask gestures at the sign fixed to the front of her side of the counter. "Twelve gold for each piece of clothing, since they're a matching set. Custom pieces are more expensive, but they usually sit better."
Phoebe shakes her head, "Not worried about anything custom. But I'll take the set. And another pair of pants if you've got something similar."
Rhask grins and dives back into the pile, resurfacing moments later with a similarly designed set of pants. "Yup, right here! These should last you for a long while, too. Don't worry about water, either, since these clothes are pretty good at keeping moisture away." She smiles cheekily, "A little secret technique combined from Vamas and Orela."
Phoebe perks up at that, "Secret technique, eh? Well... far be it from me to question such trade secrets, eh?" She's very clearly curious, but a bit too clever to just outright ask. Still, she digs out the coin for the clothing and passes it to Rhask.
Rhask giggles and accepts the coin. She sets it into the shared lockbox for the stall, and takes a few seconds to fold up the clothes into a nice little pile for Phoebe. "Nothing all too complicated, but just a bit of knowledge from Orela I combined with what I know from Vamas."
Phoebe 's eyes watch the coin very carefully, observing the lockbox before pulling her attention back to Rhask, taking the clothing pile up. "Secrets are valuable... be they big secrets, or small ones like little bits of knowledge from anywhere. I just try to keep tabs on anything I learn, no matter the source." She examines the clothes in her arms and nods, "Err... thank you."
Rhask smiles warmly. "You're quite welcome, miss. Hopefully you get some good use out of those clothes!" She chuckles a bit, "And yeah... secrets aren't secrets once the whole world knows about it. A small business advantage, I guess, but clothing isn't too competitive."
Phoebe shrugs, "Right on all counts, I suppose. Just things I think about. You'll have to excuse me." She clutches the clothes closer to her chest, looking down at it with a rather strange sense in her. These clothes are the first things she's ever really bought 'for herself' to keep. "I uh... thanks again, Ms Rhask..."
Rhask dips into a pleasant bow. "Glad to help, miss, uh... I don't think I caught your name...?" She smiles, inviting a response.
Phoebe: "Phoebe." She takes a moment to awkwardly bow her head in return, though she keeps her eyes forward. "Just Phoebe."
Rhask smiles a bit more brightly. "A pleasure to meet you then, miss Phoebe! I hope you have a wonderful afternoon!"
Phoebe smiles back, still holding the clothing close, "Oh! Yeah, of course. You too. Good afternoon and all that. And uh, I'll leave Aelia a note about your interest." She turns to head off, back towards the Minnow.
Rhask waves at Phoebe as the wolf departs, then settles back down onto her seat as she resumes her knitting, happy to have made a sale, and to have given someone else a reason to smile. Her mood is a bit more buoyant, and her song a bit more melodic for the rest of the afternoon.