`` before the days end (OPEN)

The long walk from her home to the marketplace always made Selbi tired. It took nearly a four hours of walking to get to the city, and that didn't include her stops on the side of the dirt path for rest and to nibble on a vegetable or two. Usually she'd have the wagon to ride, not that the poor donkey got her there any faster, but it was a relief on her feet. But Selbi was used to that kind of treatment, having worked with her father for so many years. The day was cooller then previous ones. Not cold enough for her to require a shawl or her father's jacket, but nice enough for her to walk without sweating what little nourishment she had in her out.

Over her back she carried a wicker basket full of vegetables, some leaves, a few pieces of fruit, and what little money they had for trading. She continually went over the list in her head, oil, grain, honey, wax, oil, grain, honey, wax. She wanted to add so much to that list, fresh bread, or sweets, she couldn't remember the last time she had something with sugar in or on it. It must have been her brother's nineth birthday, nearly three years ago. A soft sigh escaped her lips as the boundaries of the city came into view and her thoughts went from her rumbling stomach to the men and women dressed in white that guarded every inch of this place.

She was always nervous when it came to the Peacekeepers. They didn't look like a cheerful bunch, but then, she couldn't really see their faces. All she knew were the laws they were sent here to enforce, and the way they wouldn't hesitate to shoot someone if they broke those laws. Selbi had never seen it happen herself, but she had heard rumors. Not from anyone in particular, but from the gossiping girls who whispered behind the bakery, thinking they were being stealthy. Or the young boys who waited outside the butcher's shop for some extra bones and fat to be thrown into the trash, they talked constantly of things they shouldn't.

But Selbi could care less about all that right now. She was here for a reason, and if she wanted to get home at a decent hour, she needed to hurry. She moved gracefully through the rather crowded square, paying no mind the second and third looks she got (no doubt from her fire-colored hair). She had heard stories of the way that the men and women color their hair in the Capitol, it seemed she would fit in quite well there. But she wasn't eager to truly see if the stories were correct. Maybe when she was older, and not heading there as a Tribute, Selbi would visit the wealthier districts. Maybe.

The usually stand she traded with wasn't around today. It made her heart sink a bit, she had to trade with someone, she couldn't go home with the goods she came with. The older woman she traded with always gave her a good deal, and would add in extra thread of scraps of cloth she had lying around for free. Today it seemed Selbi would be lucky if she could get the four things she actually needed. She browsed each stand, feigning disinterest, though her head kept telling her to grab everything. Shinies were her weak spot, anything that twinkled or reflected the sun gave her great pleasure. It was never anything fine, like crystals. But glass and metals had the same effect. She eyed a particular piece of metal fashioned into a bracelet at one stand, but forced herself to turn away.

With a heavy heart she dropped the bag from her back and carried it before her to another stand, it had a few goods, grain, some rice, flour perhaps in another bin, she glanced at the seller, young or old she couldn't tell, their face was shadowed. She offered them a smile though, before removing some of the vegetables from her wicker basket. "They're fresh, I can assure you. And tasty. I'm looking for grain and oil, how much can I get for these?"

[[OOC: Anyone is welcome to join, as a seller, or competitive trader!]]