Market Day (Open)

[Jasiri]

It was a relatively mild day, as far as Neighroby days went. At least, Jasiri thought it was a mild day; the ponies she passed seemed to think otherwise, going out of their way to tuck themselves into shade or slip indoors. It made Jasiri want to tilt her head at them; if they did not like the weather, then what business did they have in Neighroby?

She had not spent a great deal of time in the city, to be fair; Jasiri had arrived only this morning, after several days’ travel from the tribelands of the Kickuyu, and she was already beginning to feel disoriented. She had been to Neighroby before, of course––several times, in fact––but the city was just so big. It was easy to get lost, and so she stuck to the paths she knew.

The marketplace was perhaps the location she knew best. There was rarely any other reason to travel to Neighroby besides trade; the ponies that came to the area had different resources that the Kickuyu did, and some that were even superior. Metalwork in particular was much easier to come by here, and that was Jasiri’s purpose.

Her mother didn’t often sent her on errands, but this was a special case. With yet another foal on the way, her parents had decided that their current cookware was not up to the task of feeding everyone; Jasiri was to find a cauldron to bring home, and if she found something else along the way then that was just a bonus.

The weight of her burden was beginning to ache by the time she reached the marketplace; clay jars full of fermented bananas and sugarcane were heavy, and she had six of them strapped to her back alongside her spear and bedroll. They were her bargaining chips, alongside the strange “bit” coins her parents had sent her with; it wouldn’t do any good of she collapsed and broke the jars and lost her only trade good of value.

And so Jasiri found herself an open spot on the edge of the marketplace and sat, unshouldering her jars and curling up to rest. Just a moment was all she needed.

[Ciniki]

    Ciniki had made use of this market as well, after her recent encounters she had decided that the best place for her for the time being was back in Zebra lands. During her travels to the outside world however she had gathered quite a few materials that were valuable for trade in Neighbory. Particularly the gems she had traded ore for in the Dragon lands. These gleaming bobbles were fetching quite the pretty penny from other zebras who had traveled the savanna to come to Neighbory. 

    She had set up a temporary stand fashioned from her cart she took with her everywhere. Inside of her cart also contained furs form her hunting, roots, berries, herbs and teas from her gathering and feathers of griffons from her trip to the griffon lands. She swiped a few off of one stubborn, loud and egg headed griffon that she encountered.  Of the trinkets and wares she had in her cart, none were more valuable than the stories she told at night to those she gathered around a fire with. However, nothing was more valuable to her than the bow strung across her back. That bow had gotten her through much, and it was always faithful to her. 
 
    On this busy market day, Ciniki had temporarily closed her shop of a chance to get a bite to eat, something from her cart to satisfy the growling in her belly. On the ground beside her cart flickered a fire, a kettle brewing tea dangling over it. While she sat and ate her porridge in peace Ciniki looked up and noticed the wary zebra with the heavy burden on her back. Silly girl didn't have a cart, so she must be new to this scene. Clearing her mouth and her throat, casting out a quick glance and noticing solid colored ponies from Equestria, she smirked and called out to the wary Zebra. "Say here my friend with the jars on your back, why don't you come over here for a mid day snack!" 

[Jasiri]

When she had caught her breath, Jasiri turned to rifle through her bags and count the bits her parents had given her. She didn’t know much about cauldrons, or about bits, but ponies seemed to place value on them, despite the fact that bits didn’t really seem useful for any other task. Trade and barter made much more sense, which was why she had brought her concoction along; drinks were desirable because they could be drunk. Skins and knives were desirable because they were useful. But little lumps of metal? Jasiri didn’t see a point.

But ponies liked bits, and ponies had cauldrons. Jasiri needed a cauldron, so she had to humor their strangeness. That didn’t mean she had to like it, though.

Jasiri was yanked from her irritation by the voice of a stranger. It took a moment for her to look around and find the source: another zebra mare across the street was lingering beside a cart, waving at her. The stranger’s accent was undoubtedly native, and that was the end of Jasiri’s contemplation.

“Hello, friend!” Jasiri replied, standing. The jars on her back clanked together as she regained her feet, announcing her movements for the world to hear as she ambled over to the strange mare.

“Far be it for me to refuse a midday snack,” Jasiri said. “Don’t mind if I do.” She settled down next to the mare and slipped out from the jars. “I wish I’d thought to bring a cart. I don’t spend a lot of time in Neighroby, but I imagine that’s pretty obvious.”

Jasiri wrapped a foreleg around one of the jars and pried off the lid, releasing the scent of bananas and sugarcane. The lid wasn’t exactly a cup, but it had enough of a rim to be used as one; Jasiri turned it over and filled the lid to the brim with the beverage before offering it to her new friend.

“Here; something to wash it down with. I’m Jasiri,” she introduced herself.

[Ciniki]

    Ciniki smiled warmly to the new pony, who had decided to join her. Now that she was closer, Ciniki also dropped her ruse of the rhyming speech. Much easier that way. Taking a careful look at the girl she decided she was inexperienced in the market world those jar also looked incredibly heavy, the sloshing inside indicated there was liquid inside which would be even heavier than if it was filled with grain. Replying to the girls cheerful greeting, Ciniki nodded her head gently. "Hello, friend. A meal shared with company is always much more enjoyed."

    Chuckling softly Ciniki stood and walked to her cart, taking out a bowl from her cart and filling it to the brim with porridge for her guest. She sat back down beside her fire and extended the bowl of food to her. "It is a little obvious you don't spend much time here, and that could get you into a lot of trouble. Don't put it past some of these ponies and zebras to swindle you out of your bits and wares." She watched the mare use the lid of her jar much like a cup and grinned softly.

    "Hold on a moment" Ciniki stood once mare and retrieved two cups for the both of them. She took the lid and poured the contents into her cup before returning the lid to the mare. She sniffed curiously at the drink catching the aroma of sweet bananas. She took a small drink before looking back to the mare as she introduced herself. "Pleasure to meet you Jasiri, I'm Ciniki." 

[Jasiri]

Jasiri chuckled in agreement to the mare’s---to Ciniki’s statement.

“You’ll hear no disagreement from me,” Jasiri responded. “It’s always a good day when I meet another friendly face. Thank you.” She dipped her head in respectful gratitude as she accepted the bowl of porridge.

This Ciniki was clearly older than her, and so Jasiri was automatically inclined to respect her as an elder, despite having only just met her. She also appeared to know her way around Neighroby much better than Jasiri did, and possessed the mind to help her out.

“Help yourself to the drink as much as you want,” Jasiri said, accepting the offered cup. “I’ve plenty, and I can always make more.” Of course, she wasn’t one to skip out on her own work; Jasiri poured herself a helping of the swill and tossed it back in a single gulp. “And I’m always open for criticism. I’m not ashamed of this batch, but it feels like it might be missing something. Does it taste a little flat to you? I wonder if there’s something I could add to give it more kick.”

Realizing that she was rambling, Jasiri paused and took a mouthful of porridge. Tired, hungry and having lived off of traveling food for days, it was the best thing she could have possibly tasted at that moment. She couldn’t decide on something to say, so she settled for an appreciative “Mmm…” to let Ciniki know how much she was enjoying it.

[Ofuna]

Ofuna wandered around the Neighroby market. It was odd being in a city again after traveling through the Savannah  for so long. After he had left the village he and Ciniki had gone to, he went back to where the zebra was attacked to see if he had missed anything, an ultimately fruitless venture. Not only did he not find anything, but the boss had left before he returned. Taking that as a sign that he was fired, he had traveled to the Kickuyu tribe to see his friends and family again.

However, his need to travel soon had him on the road again. Hoping to find somepony that could take him to Equestria, he traveled to Neighroby. He's been in town for four days and hasn't had any luck. Today he figured, he'd try the market. It shouldn't be too difficult to  find someone that'll be willing to offer him a ride.

He had asked a couple of merchants, but unfortunately, they weren't planning on going to Equestria anytime soon. Undeterred, Ofuna wandered the market, looking for somepony that looked like they might travel soon.

His ears perked up when he heard a voice he recognized. With a smirk, Ofuna scanned the crowd looking for the mare that spoke. It didn't take him too long to spot her, and she appeared to be accompanied by another zebra that looked oddly familiar.

Pushing his way through the crowd, Ofuna made his way up to the boss's stand. "So, on a scale of one to yes, how fired am I?" He jokes when finally in front of the stall. While he joked, he was preparing himself for any verbal lashing that she might throw at him.

[Spring Tide]

    Spring Tide walked the streets of Neighroby, another day in the market. He had taken up residence in the dorms at the university, and was currently employed by an ecologist named Wind Ward. Wind Ward had Spring Tide run errands for him in the city and thankfully the unicorn had started to adjust to the local environment. On this particular day, he had to stop by the jewelry store to pick up a watch that had been repaired. After that he had to go to the different wells in the eastern part of town and gather samples for an experiment. The final thing on the list was to head to the bakery and pick up some doughnuts for the office for that evening.

    Spring had already delivered the watch, and was making his way to the market to collect a sample from the well there. The market was bustling as always, rife with ponies and zebras alike. A heavily laden zebra passed him by while he leaned against a stone wall. He took a sip from his canteen, and pulled out the map that his boss had handed him so that he would know which wells to draw water from. There was definitely one in this quarter, he just had to find it. It likely had a cover on it when not in use. Spring had not been privy to what plans Wind had for these samples, but he surmised it might have something to do with improving the quality of water in the city. A noble goal, he decided. The water up in the university was filtered and safe for pony consumption. Equestrians had a high standard when it came to public health and safety, but in a town that big, the government could not keep tabs on everything at once.

    Spring stashed his map and continued down the road. He glanced at the different stalls as he passed, most of them run by zebra with various mundane goods. He noticed several zebra gathered around a fire, a cooking pot between them nestled behind one of the stands. One of them had set aside some jugs from which they were extracting a beverage of some kind. Some zebras settling down for lunch. The sight of them reminded him of the fact that he had not eaten anything since some toast that morning, and he was quite peckish. He doubted they would share their meal with him, but he did not immediately move on. Something caught his eye, a batch of feathers wrapped up in a bundle had been on display, as were several furs. Spring recognized at least half a dozen species that were not native to the savannah. The bow resting next to the elder mare led him to infer that she was the hunter, and if that was the case, she was well traveled.

    Curiosity took hold and Spring Tide approached the stand. Another zebra stood there speaking to the merchant, so Spring stood next to him. “Pardon me, but are you selling anything right now?” He addressed the elder mare, hoping she would not be too upset at his interruption.

[Ciniki]

    Pausing for a moment at Jasiris question, she felt the concoction was missing something as well. It was a bit fruity. She took another sip and staring into her mug. "AHH!" she exclaimed before quickly standing and making her way to her cart. She returned to the fire with a jar full of a yellowish spice. She opened the lid and the very distinct scent of ginger escaped into the air around them. Taking a small pinch and sprinkling it into her mug, stirred lightly and sipped again. She smiled and handed the beverage to Jasiri to sample "perhaps this is what you are missing from your blend. I have some amazing ginger plants near my house on the savanna." She waited for the young zebras response when a familiar voice filled her ears.

    She looked to Ofuna with a cocked eyebrow, wondering how in the the name of the savanna could he be alive. He had abandoned her on her trade route so his inquiry as to his employment left her pondering. She stared at him for a moment more and rubbed her hoof against her chin, keeping her eyebrow cocked. "What would bring you to this market on this fine day old friend. As to your employment status..." Just then she was interrupted by the odd man out. A pony inquiring her as to her wares.

In response to the pony asking if she was currently selling she put on her act once more. "I am always willing to sell or trade, have a closer look as a few of the things I've made." She stood and held a hoof up to Ofuna, telling him to pause for a moment. "Don't feel as though you have interrupted me, the customer always comes first you see."