This Little Piggie Went To Market (Any)

Genesis
Seam Resident

11 POSTS
last seen May 22, 2012 7:33:20 GMT -5

And May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favour

This Little Piggie Went To Market (Any) Apr 7, 2012 2:52:23 GMT -5

Post by Genesis on Apr 7, 2012 2:52:23 GMT -5

Almost immediately after waking I felt the dogs' warmth against my tired body. The three of them piled up against me. Tanner, the alpha, had positioned himself on top of my chest and didn't seem to want to move any time soon. The other two dogs, Millie and Ari, lay next to my legs. Part of me wanted to stay there with those dogs and go back to sleep. After all I still had another hour until the rest of my family got up. The other, stronger part, however urged me to get up for my run.

I pressed my tongue up against the roof of my mouth and made the sound that the dogs recognised as their calling card. All three of their heads perked up and looked at me, "Come on, pups, up you get."

The dogs jumped off of the bed almost instantly. I quickly got dressed, nothing to amazing. A fleece jumper and a pair of white cotton clothes my mother had sewn together last month. They were my favourite pair since then. Once dressed, I realised that both Millie and Ari had left. Probably to sleep in my sister's room. Tanner didn't though, I loved that rust coloured dog. He was a gift from my sister when she moved out five years ago and he'd quickly settled in.

"You comin' with me, boy?" I asked him.

He gave a happy bark before following me out the door and threw the house. Together we stepped out into the chilled air that was my family's farm. The land was huge, and only the distant sound of mooing could be heard. We set off. The dog stayed on my heels as I jogged.

After about two kilometres of running I started to feel the burn, this merely pushed me further though. Normally I was tired earlier, this was great. Another two kilometres and I felt dead. I kept running though, I'm an idiot I know. It took another painful ten minutes until I walked. Tanner came into heel beside me and together we walked back home.

The sun rose when we finally got there. I instantly knew I was late; Dad stood outside of the house with his arms folded. A stern expression crossed his face.

"You're fifteen minutes late," He spoke out.

"Sorry, Dad!" I shouted back as I broke into a jog to meet up with him.

"I agreed to let you run as long as you were back by 5:15. It's 5:30, son."

"I know, I'm sorry. I can go out and feed the cattle right now if you need me to."

"No matter, we don't have enough hay anyway. I need you to go into the market."

"Hmm... Oh yeah sure I can do that," I replied.

"The donkey's all saddled up with some steaks that you can take into town. Come back with feed... and preferably before dinner."

"Yes, sir."

XXX

When I did finally arrive at the market it was around 7 in the morning and most of the stalls were open. It'd been weeks since I'd been here and I'd forgotten where I'd supposed to go. Who was I supposed to be trading the meat to again? Dammit, I'm useless.

I led the donkey over to a random person and tapped them on the shoulder. Surely they'd know who sold the feed around here.

Last Edit: Apr 7, 2012 2:54:24 GMT -5 by Genesis

Bascull
Seam Resident

7 POSTS
last seen Apr 8, 2012 19:42:46 GMT -5

This Little Piggie Went To Market (Any) Apr 7, 2012 22:23:10 GMT -5

Post by Bascull on Apr 7, 2012 22:23:10 GMT -5

I stepped out onto the porch in the cool morning air, slowly reading over the list my father had written of things that we needed for the week 'Two loaves of bread, A pound of nails and three bags of cattle feed.' It had been a long while since I had needed to visit the marketplace. My family has had very little to trade since the peacekeepers had come to collect our cattle for the capitol, and as per usual they had taken more than they needed. The sun started to stain the sky, I was already running late and I had a long journey ahead of me.

I jogged briskly across the the yard and into the barn; my father was just finishing saddling up the horse.

"You better hurry, or you'll miss out, Bascull. Supplies are limited with all that business going on in District 1" he said gruffly.

"Yes, paps" I replied.

"And you'll need to take these for trading." he said, as he handed me two burlap sacks. One small, filled with a dozen eggs and a larger one, with various cuts of beef.

I took the sacks, and tied them to either side of the saddle. I pulled myself up onto the horse and turned to my father and gave him a quick nod.

"Be back by Ten, I need your help putting up those fences!" he said sternly.

I gave the horse a solid kick in it's thigh, it immediately burst into life and we took off down the road towards the District market.

---

It was still cold when I reached the market, my warm breath misted in front of my face. I dismounted my horse and tied it up outside one of the buildings that surrounded the market. I pulled my fathers list out of my pocket to remind me what I needed 'Two loaves of bread…'. I walked into the market passing various stalls, selling all sorts of items from fabrics to hardware.

I finally spotted the baker's stall. I approached it quickly and stopped in front of it. I motioned towards the a rack of the cheapest looking loaves, "I'll give you a steak and three eggs for two of those"

The baker considered the deal momentarily then gave me a friendly nod, he reached down picked up two of the loaves and wrapped them in paper and passed them to me. I reached into the sacks that my father had given me and pulled out the eggs and one of the neatly wrapped steaks and passed them to the baker.

"Have a good'n" the baker said merrily.

I shot him a quick smile as I began packing away the loaves. Just as I was doing so I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see a boy standing behind me he seemed somewhat familiar maybe I had seen him around the district school, I wasn't sure.

"Can I help you?" I said sternly to the boy.

(OOC: thehungergamesrpg.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=lowchar&action=display&thread=34953 Link to character, just if it helps.)

Last Edit: Apr 7, 2012 23:21:48 GMT -5 by Bascull

Genesis
Seam Resident

11 POSTS
last seen May 22, 2012 7:33:20 GMT -5

And May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favour

This Little Piggie Went To Market (Any) Apr 8, 2012 0:04:31 GMT -5

Post by Genesis on Apr 8, 2012 0:04:31 GMT -5

I run for me; And me alone.

[/font][/center][/size]
The person I had tapped turned around and looked at me. He seemed a little bit familiar and maybe a couple of years older than me. His skin was relatively browned and his hair was short cropped. He was certainly stocky... and powerful looking. In fact his appearance caused me a small bit of discomfort, he was almost scary looking. I quickly shook the thought from my head, I couldn't base an opinion of someone off of their appearance. I was raised better than that.

"Can I help you?" He asked me. His tone was stern and I was a slightly put off.

It was the first time that I noticed that he was about half a foot taller than me. Nothing all to new, I'd never been tall. This would be simple. Ask him about the feed, maybe throw in some pleasantries. Nothing I couldn't handle... Dammit I wish that I had one of the dogs here with me. I always felt more comfortable when they were around. the nervousness would have to wait though.

"Yeah... I was looking for a place where I could get some cow feed. You know how winters are and they can't graze normally," I spoke to him, my voice was obviously on edge, "Do you know where I can find that here? It's been a while since I came in to the marketplace." I stopped myself abruptly, I couldn't keep rambling he'd think I was an idiot. God, I'm awkward.

I patted the donkey's rump as I awaited his answer. He was starting to become antsy, all these people were certainly making this donkey nervous. He'd been to town even less than I had.

[/color]

Bascull
Seam Resident

7 POSTS
last seen Apr 8, 2012 19:42:46 GMT -5

This Little Piggie Went To Market (Any) Apr 8, 2012 1:09:53 GMT -5

Post by Bascull on Apr 8, 2012 1:09:53 GMT -5

The boy looked up at me, with a somewhat nervous expression on his face. "Yeah… I was looking for a place where I could get some cow feed. You know how winters are and they can't graze normally, do you know where I can find that here? It's been a while since I came in to the marketplace." He said. 'A fellow cattle farmer?' I thought to myself. I then realized by the tone of his voice that I may have been a little too aggressive off the bat.

The boy was quite obviously a little younger than I am, he was little shorter than I was. And had dark hair and eyes. I recognized him from the school yard. I began to feel bad about how I had snapped at him at him initially because of his age. I loosened my face up to a light smile. I recall my fathers list that he had laid out for me '.. and three bags of cattle feed'. "I'm here for the same thing," I said, making sure to be more polite this time. I looked around the marketplace but at first glance I couldn't spot the Animal Feed stall. "Maybe we can look for it together?" I said, chuckling slightly.

I looked back down at the younger boy "Wait… where are my manners?" I put down my burlap sacks either side of me and extend my hand out for a handshake "The names, Bascull Hammin. I work at the Hammin cattle ranch on the outskirts of the District."

I give him a friendly smile as I await his reply.

Genesis
Seam Resident

11 POSTS
last seen May 22, 2012 7:33:20 GMT -5

And May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favour

This Little Piggie Went To Market (Any) Apr 8, 2012 3:01:17 GMT -5

Post by Genesis on Apr 8, 2012 3:01:17 GMT -5

I run for me; And me alone.

[/font][/center][/size]

So this boy actually wanted to search with me for cattle feed, maybe he wasn't so scary. I visibly relaxed at the prospect and his new tone of voice. In fact, I was embarrassed that even for a moment this guy scared me. When Bane went into the games he didn't let anyone scare him and one of the boys in there had been a seven foot giant. But then again... Bane never stood a chance when that giant lopped off his head.

Thankfully I was snapped out of it when the older boy introduced himself. "Wait… where are my manners? The name's, Bascull Hammin. I work at the Hammin cattle ranch on the outskirts of the District." Bascull outstretched his hand to shake mine, an offer I gladly took up. My large hands showing more strength than would be expected. I guess that I inherited that from my father as well, the skill to give a good handshake.

"I'm Westin Mitchells. I work out on the Mitchell's cattle farm just outside of town with my family. Y'know hence the name," I added the last bit with a cheeky chuckle.

After ending the handshake, I looked around the marketplace. It was crowded and filled with livestock. The strong scent of grass hung in there and pretty much overpowered my senses. I suppose that spring was coming to District 10 after all. On the other hand, the marketplace was huge and there was no way I'd be able to guess where something was.

The donkey was also getting nervous and making sounds that made it sound like it was fearful of something. Every now and again it would rock on it's feet or push it's head into my arm.

"Easy, boy, easy,"I soothed it as I slowly pet it's head, "So then... What direction do you think we should go in?" The last part, was of course said to Bascull.[/color]

Last Edit: Apr 8, 2012 3:01:48 GMT -5 by Genesis