14011/A Marketplace Visit

A Marketplace Visit
Date of Scene:	08 December 2021
Location:	Marketplace, Garnet (Knowhere)
Synopsis:	14011
Cast of Characters:	Bai Wuyun, Shen Wei

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Bai Wuyun has posed:
It's mid to late afternoon, and the market of Knowhere is already in the midst of a day of business. Honest or otherwise, for such is the way of these things. It is a strange place, a place of many wonders and a place of many unfamiliar things. The stores and stalls offer a multitude of things for sale whether acquired by honest or nefarious means. There are vendors who call out in a variety of languages, and the cacophony of the space is punctuated with the odd animal sounds from assorted caged beasts. It is a much different sort of marketplace than what Haixing has.

Given the differences -- and precious few similarities -- Bai Wuyun has come once again to the marketplace. Though he hasn't come near to having wandered the full of the marketplace, he has wandered a fair section of it. Though his money was found to be strange in nature, given the isolation of Haixing, he had made a couple of purchases along the way. Some nuts that were salted and roasted and still in their split shells. Some small bite sized fruits that were sweet and tart in the same bite. A couple of hand-sized wax-covered cheeses as well as as a couple of short lengths of dry-cured salami type meat.

With the purchases tucked safely away in his pocket of air rather than being carried upon his person, Bai Wuyun has ventured a bit further into the market. He sits upon the top railing of a fence, one of his feet dangling and the other resting on one of the lower rails. His hands rest lightly in his lap, his right hand holding a blown glass bottle filled with a pale red liquid. It's a mildly alcoholic liquid, smelling and tasting of berries. He's paying little in the way of attention, his gaze held across the way, on a vendor who has what seems to be a variety of candy-type foodstuffs out on display.

Shen Wei has posed:
Shen Wei had left the ship at an hour that could be considered early. Early by anyone's measure. If he'd left a message with Xie Yun to say where he'd gone, the pilot isn't saying. Which, given his generally open nature, probably means that Shen hadn't said where he was going, or when he'd be back. Either way, both of their 'guests' had been given a communication device from the Illumination, that they could contact Xie Yun if there was an issue.

Having finished whatever it was he was doing, Shen Wei wanders into the general area. His eyes alight immediately on Bai Guang. Afterall, a man with hair like that stands out in a crowd. Especially when sitting up on something as he is. Shen Wei turns to walk toward the Haixingren. He turns his head to look to where the other is, and shakes his head ever so slightly.

Coming up to the fence, he holds out his right hand, palm up. Upon it, something that looks like a lollipop, save for the stick being thicker than on average for the type of thing it is. It looks like it's made of pale blue crystal that's tranaslucent. Shen Wei's hand can be seen through it, though blurrily for the refractions of the crystal.

"Don't even think of going to that place," he says. "Their wares are.. addictive." At the very least. "Try this. If you like it, Ill take you to the vendor they come from." There's very little emotion to his voice, but there's no smile at all.

Bai Wuyun has posed:
Much like many other things that the Haixingren is given, the communication device that he'd been given had been tucked away into that safe space of the pocket of air. It's a very handy way of carrying things and it makes being pick-pocketed extremely difficult. It may well make folks question just where things are coming from, but Bai Wuyun isn't particularly of a mind to care if people wonder that very thing. He's been using the pocket of air for years and he's not about to stop using it just because he's not on Haixing. Ming Qiu had tucked the device on his person and then gone off to do his own things.

Save for the sides being pulled back as remained his habit, the length of his hair has been left to fall loose over his back. Shen Wei is able to escape his notice simply from the borderline fixation of his attention upon that candy vendor. He has a sweet tooth, and even though he has plenty of lollipops tucked into that storage space of his, he's also suffering a yen for something different than what he possesses. It is a potentially dangerous combination, especially on a place like Knowhere.

The bit of movement that is Shen Wei's hand offering that lollipop out to him happens to be caught in his peripheral vision, and there's a mild startle that flickers through him. Yet it's followed by his dark gaze turning to Shen Wei, and a smile that turns at the corners of his lips. "Shen Wei," he says softly, inclining his head a touch in greeting. The lollipop in Shen Wei's hand earns his attention a moment later, and there's a flicker of curiosity that chases through his eyes before his gaze lifts to Shen Wei's features once more.

As the offer is made, he lifts his free hand to accept the lollipop, his fingers lightly brushing Shen Wei's hand in the process of taking it. "Thank you, for the warning," he begins, casting a brief glance towards the questionable vendor he'd been considering purchasing from, then bringing his gaze back to Shen Wei, "And for the treat." He turns the lollipop once, then slips the candy into his mouth to try it.

Shen Wei has posed:
Through the years he's been away from Haixing, Shen Wei still hasn't really developed much of what one would consider a sweet tooth. However, he still tends to eat some really, really odd things. This is something that may or may not have been noticed over the past few days by the pair of Haixingren passengers guesting aboard the Illumination.

Shen Wei nods to the thank you, but doesn't verbalize a response. Instead, he glances toward that vendor, though his dark eyes are yet hidden behind those dark goggles that he wears when off the ship. "Drugs are added to the candy there."

Those goggles are pointed at Bai Wuyun's face when the candy is tasted. Shen Wei doesn't comment, for now, awaiting with some anticipation how it will be received. The taste is... somewhat odd. A bit like a cross between bubblegum and cotton candy, but with a spicy hint to it reminiscent of cinnamon, but hotter. Beneath that, a hint of tart. The combination is somewhat like sweet and sour on earth. The mildly spicy sort.

Bai Wuyun has posed:
Perhaps it's because of being born and raised above ground in Haixing that Bai Wuyun has a sweet tooth. Food has always been quite available there, with such treats being more widespread. He enjoyed sweets even before he'd used lollipops to break himself of his habit with cigarettes, which still comes along every now and again to prod him into indulging. Whether or not Bai Wuyun and Ming Qiu have noticed the oddities where Shen Wei's eating habits are concerned, neither of them have asked after it.

Bai Wuyun glances towards the vendor, and he tilts his head a touch to one side before his attention returns to Shen Wei. Then he gives a small nod. "That is a very useful thing to know. I will have to remember that, for that particular vendor. And be more careful, in the future," he says softly, his brow wrinkling slightly. "I'm both grateful and lucky that you happened by before I had bought and eaten anything," he adds, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

With the lollipop in his mouth, his tongue lightly curls around the candy, tasting it, savouring the different flavours it reminds him of, the stick beyond his mouth moving a little bit as he does so. He slips the candy from his mouth to look to it for a moment, then pops it back into his mouth. "It is sweet and sour and spicy all at once," he says softly, a thoughtful note to his voice. It's odd and unusual and intriguing, but... perhaps unexpectedly, Bai Wuyun gives a small nod to Shen Wei before he lightly steps down from where he'd been sitting on the fence. "I like it," he adds, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Shen Wei has posed:
Shen Wei watches and once the verdict has been given, he nods once. His lips curve up, ever so slightly. He seems to be pleased with the result of the treat he'd procured. "That's one of the tamer ones. There are several I actually like, but they aren't sweet." And they may well be in flavors Bai Wuyun would be appalled at.

He nods once as Bai Wuyun steps off the fence, and turns to go back the way he'd come. As it happens, he'd been on his way back to the Illumination when he spied Bai Wuyun. Now, he leads him further into the market away from the ship.

Deeper and deeper into Knowhere he leads. One might begin to wonder if Shen Wei has a nefarious plot afoot or something, with now deep they're going. Finally, after nearly an hour of walking, Shen Wei turns into an opening. It has an almost cavern-like appearance, that opening. Within, it's dark for a few seconds, before opening up into a lighted area.

Within the lighted area are crystals and stones of all kinds, as well as candy and delicacies from all over the galaxy.

The guy behind the counter looks up. He is very obviously not human. Black skin with white speckles upon it, makes him look almost like a view of stars against a night sky. He has long ears that are perked up and end in a point. A muzzle with a row of very sharp teeth. Eyes that are large, slightly slanted, and a pale pale blue. And he stands on all fours and has an extra pair of limbs as arms besides. A crest of mane that begins at his forehead and goes back much like a wide mohawk is the same color as his eyes. He, or she?, grunts. Shen Wei grunts back, similar but a slightly different cadence to the grunt.

Bai Wuyun has posed:
It might be only a wee little bit of a smile that he earns from the Dixingren, but it still counts as a smile. And Bai Wuyun will consider that to be a win, considering where things had started between them. One of his eyebrows quirks up a little bit as there are other flavours that are mentioned, and then he gives a small nod. "I am curious to try some of the others, given this one's flavour," Bai Wuyun says, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He sounds genuinely curious about the other flavours, for if they aren't sweet then that leads him to believe that they're of the savoury variety.

As Shen Wei starts to head deeper into the market of Knowhere, Bai Wuyun walks with him. He adopts a position that is no doubt familiar, a bit to one side and half a step behind. A protective sort of positioning. Whilst he walks along with Shen Wei, he continues to suck on and savour the lollipop that had been gifted to him.

Even though they venture quite far into Knowhere, Bai Wuyun doesn't seem to be concerned or worried. If Shen Wei had wanted to cause him some manner of harm, then it would likely have already been attempted, for there have been opportuities to do so in which he has been more vulnerable than walking makes him. And though he's curious, he doesn't ask any questions of where it is that they're bound for -- he will find out when they arrive, after all. He follows as Shen Wei leads into the opening, blinking a little bit in the darkness before they've come back out into the light.

A smile tugs up at the corners of his lips as he takes in what's on display. His attention belated turns to the vendor himself, and he slightly inclines his head in the manner of a greeting. He looks from the vendor to Shen Wei, having noticed the grunts that had passed between the pair of them. "I'm willing to try whatever you would recommend," he says softly. Daring, and potentially risky, given the broad range of Shen Wei's tastes!

Shen Wei has posed:
It does. Count as a smile. And it's the first that's been given since the pair of Haixingren had been found. So, it might really be a win. Shen Wei glances to Bai Wuyun, but what he might be thinking behind those goggles... He doesn't say anything, just looks back to where he's going. During the walk, Shen Wei didn't look at the other Haixing native, but his attention was most assuredly upon him, for never did he continue too far forward if anything caught Bai Wuyun's attention.

Shen Wei turns his head toward the other, and nods once. He grunts again, and adds several clicks to it for good measure. Even a whistle, soft and low. The shop keeper nods and turns to bustle about, switching to speaking in Common. "Are you sure you want the exotic variety? There's some really strange things in there."

To this observation, Shen nods. "I'm sure. The exotic variety is a good variety and there's nothing putrid or rotting." He glances at Bai Wuyun again. "And there are some really interesting things in there." Not that he's giving any hint what there might be, save that nothing putrid or rotting. The shop keeper shrugs and moves to gather the requested assortment of treats and snacks.

Bai Wuyun has posed:
The Haixingren isn't sure just what it is about having earned that little smile from Shen Wei, but there is something about having done so. It isn't lost on him the fact that it was the first smile to be seen since he and Ming Qiu had come on board the Illumination. Whether or not this is a normal thing, Bai Wuyun doesn't know. He does, however, hope for the opportunity to learn. His attention, along the way, had held true to Shen Wei, not straying from him other than simply a cursory glance given to their surroundings now and again, and that's done more out of his protective nature than for sake of curiosity.

As Shen Wei converses with the shop keeper, Bai Wuyun is quiet. He listens to the assorted sounds, the grunts and the clicks, though he doesn't understand the language in order to know what it is that might be getting said. One of his eyebrows nudges upwards just a touch when Common is switched to, and there's a flicker of curiosity that chases through his dark eyes. The exotic variety? Is that one of what he's sampling now, he wonders? His tongue lightly plays over the candy in his mouth, turning it about and toying with it some.

That already slightly raised eyebrow arches at the mention of putrid or rotting things, though. That's a thing? Someone would put such things into candy? He doesn't shudder at the thought, even though it isn't particular pleasant to his tastes. He watches the shop keeper start to gather up the assortment of treats and snacks, and then his attention turns to Shen Wei, watching him. "I have this feeling that you come here often for such unique delights. How did you come upon finding it?" he asks softly. He doesn't ask about any of the flavours that will be in the assortment, seeming perhaps content to find out as he tries them. He'll try anything at least once. So long as it's not wiggling things.

Shen Wei has posed:
It might be the first smile Shen Wei had really offered up much since the day he watched Bai Guang die. It probably isn't, though. If the protective stance had been noticed, Shen didn't comment upon it. He never really had been able to impress upon the Haixingren the fact that he doesn't /need/ protecting.

The shop keeper might have switched to Common because Shen Wei asked him to. Out of curtesy to Bai Wuyun, who doesn't speak whatever language the shop keeper speaks. Whether the candy Bai Wuyun is trying now is of the exotic variety or not... Shen Wei doesn't enlighten him. Shen Wei walks over to a certain display and lifts his right hand to tap the box closest to him. "You won't like this." He, however, picks up the box and sets it utop the shelf. It is black with some odd alien writing across it. The writing looks like the language. Dots and lines. Perhaps representing the clicks and whistles used?

Shen Wei glances out of the corner of his eye at Bai Wuyun, and edges the box a bit further from the Haixingren. Will this create more mystery about what's in the box? Perhaps Shen Wei thinks the other might be tempted to pilfer it quietly and try some of what's within.

Bai Wuyun has posed:
The Haixingren doesn't have a solid understanding of why he adopts that protective stance with Shen Wei. It's not as though he adopts the stance with others, particularly. And so, why does he do it with Shen Wei? This is something that he doesn't have an answer for. The memories are gone, and quite simply -- he doesn't know what he doesn't know. He's spent a lot of time hoping that something, that some part of those memories would return to him and yet, not a whiff of them has come to him in all the years since.

Lightly, his tongue flicks over the candy within his mouth, turning it and toying with it. Lifting his left hand, he claims the stick of it before drawing it from his mouth, and he tilts his head a touch to one side. His steps folow after Shen Wei, and there's a flicker of curiosity that chases through his dark eyes. "What does it mean, the writing on the lid of it?" he asks softly. The fact that Shen Wei says he won't like it leads him to believe that it's something he's likely tried before -- perhaps when he had known Shen Wei before, that time he can't remember. He can't help but to be curious, it's something that he's always had a fair measure of and dying didn't change that. He's quiet for a moment, studying the markings on the box. "I think if I am to be away from Haixing, then it would serve me well to learn other languages," he adds, a hint of a smile touching at the corners of his lips.

The candy is tucked back into his mouth, then nudged with his tongue to that space between his teeth and his cheek. The box that Shen Wei has chosen is assuredly mysterious, but he makes no motions towards either pilfering it or trying to peek at what's within it. Or even towards touching any part of it. He does cast a glance towards where the box had been, looking at things around as though perhaps looking for an inkling of what the box might hold, though his attention turns back to Shen Wei afterwards.