Posted June 2, 2023, 7:20 p.m. by Civilian Lai Kitrian (Independent Operator) (Lindsay B)
Posted by Civilian Ragna Idun McKenzie (Future Citizen) in Deku’s Grocer- Isn’t Life Peachy?
Posted by Civilian Lai Kitrian (Independent Operator) in Deku’s Grocer- Isn’t Life Peachy?
Posted by Civilian Ragna Idun McKenzie (Future Citizen) in Deku’s Grocer- Isn’t Life Peachy?
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻
On a colony this large, food was a growing concern. Replicators required energy and usually only the more well off had access to one, though it really depended. Much of Oed either cooked or ate out, depending on their needs, and those that cooked required things to make a meal with. Aside from the farmer’s market and like any large city, food shops dotted Oed.A typical person might shop for a enough food to get them though a week, or maybe longer, but Lai couldn’t bring herself to. It was just as risky to go often, but somehow that seemed to be the lesser evil compared with pretending they could truly settle here. For now, she went out every other day to get a few basics, holding onto their precious credits that social service provided until they had a way to support themselves.
Ragna missed cooking. She missed digging in the garden for their food, and dressing the game that Seamus brought ho.e for their dinner. She missed living. The hotel was nice, luxurious even, but it was too much. Despite being able to hold 6 of their houses inside, Ragna felt closterphobic in there. Seamus was off doing what he was hired to do. He enjoyed it, and she enjoyed hearing him discuss it when he came home every night. But Ragna was bored. She didn’t like having so much idle time and it was making her cranky, which meant her temper was prone to flaring. She had been in the process of ordering room service again. The idea made her head hurt. It was too easy. So she might not be able to cook or harvest the food herself, but she could get something fresh from a market. So she headed out to do just that.
Dressed in black cargo pants, a plain grey t-shirt, heavy boots and a black leather jacket, she entered the shop, grabbed a basket and shifted the bag on her shoulder towards her bucket. She wandered over to the produce and picked up a round citrus fruit she now knew as an orange. This realm had all sorts of interesting things that were forbidden where she came from, but she was secretly taking pleasure in seeking out Terran things. Because she could. Here, it wasn’t a crime. She looked over her shoulder and looked around warily before she placed the fruit in her basket. Moving around, she repeated this action, feeling a strange sensation sweep over her skin. It was hard to relax when she was out. She was trying, she really was, but she trusted nothing and no one around here. Except for Akem, of course.
After a little while, a security guard came over. “Is there a problem, Miss?”
She swept over over the tall and muscular Human male with her gold-ringed hazel eyes. “Not last I checked.”
“Then I don’t suppose you’ll mind showing me what’s in your bag?”
Her brows arched and she folded her arms across her chest, the basket settling into the crook of her arm. “Absolutely not. I’ve done nothing wrong here.” Her outward expression was angry, and her chest heaved as she tried to steady herself. The desire to flee right now was immense.”
Ragna heard the accusation and rolled her eyes hard. The man was being a bully. Of course having worked for so many years with The House, Ragna recognized someone who was used to being hunted, to running, to never being able to settle. She didn’t know the feeling for herself, but she recognized it all the same.
“You’ve bene acting rather suspicious. You can either prove you’re not shoplifting, or you can simply leave.”
Defiance touched her eyes and oh the words she wanted to say! Lai took a step backwards and spun, intending to walk farther into the store but she collided with someone and she tripped to the floor, her produce spilling out of her basket.
~Lai Kitrian
A pair of hands steadied her before she fell to the floor and quickly released her as she got her balance. Ragna didn’t want her to feel threatened. “Easy, are you alright?” The woman was tall, with long white blonde hair, wearing heavy linen pants and what looked like a homespun shirt of high quality and a knee length vest.
Lai barely had time to process she was falling before she was suddenly upright again. “Alright?” she said, dazed, her mind still two steps ahead and already wanting to be running out of this place. She ran a hand over her large mass of dark brown corkscrew curls, and her gold-ringed eyes held confusion and fear. Breath! she told herself.
She stood in a fluid movement and stared at the guard, “Obviously she wasn’t stealing. Her bag was folded flat with all the produce on top. Everything is now scattered on the floor and you can see none of it came from a flat folded bag.” If there was one thing Ragna couldn’t stand was people who had authority misuse it out of boredom. She needed to hold her tongue though or Seamus would kill her if she got arrested. “And now her potential purchases will have to be wasted because they are bruised.” She knelt back down, her look telling the guard she had royally dismissed him from her presence, and helped to gather the scattered items and place them back in the bag. “Would you like to shop elsewhere? I saw another store on my way here.”
Ragna McKenzie, Klanvart
Kitrian’s gaze flicked between the two strangers and the defiant look returned. “No, actually,” she said as she set the orange she had picked off the floor with the rest of her items. “I’d like to finish my shop,” she said, gazing directly at the guard as if to dare him to stop her.
Ragna nodded, good for her. Don’t let him make her faulted. She turned to look at the guard, her brow and chin raising, as if asking why he was still there.
The guard gave a grunt and turned, moving off elsewhere.
Lai cast a glare in his direction before she expelled a breath and looked at her helper. “Thank you,” she said softly, breathing more easily now.
~Lai Kitrian
“No thanks needed. There are plenty of people he should be looking at. He is just lazy.” Ragna bent down and picked up her own basket and then thought about offering her hand. She wasn’t sure that was the appropriate gesture though. So many new people. She was supposed to know this. It was her job. “I’m glad I could help. I’m Ragna McKenzie.”
Ragna
She hesitated. It was her name, and that wasn’t a problem, but she was not used to offering it so freely. “I’m Lai Kitrian,” she said, searching Ragna for signs she should be on her guard, but the flicker within said no, it was fine. This woman could be trusted. She also watched to see if she was recognized or not. It was few and far between and Lai suspected outside of her unusual arrival it might even come up.
She eyed her basket of vegetables. “I was just grabbing a few things, trying to see what I might like. Much of it is unusual to me, but I don’t mind trying new things.” her anxiety had seemingly passed and Lai could feel that the tension was less but she still looked over her shoulder out of habit.
~Lai Kitrian
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