Market Day ((Atawhai))

[Roderich Edelstein]

^{[Hope this works okay for you for a set-up.]}

It was Saturday, the biggest Market day, in the Lowlands when anything that didn't sell Friday in the Highlands was brought down and all the little hobbyist farmers along with the mainstream farmers also brought their goods, fresh, bottled, and baked to market. This week it was Roderich's turn to pick up fresh groceries for the household. It usually was most weeks since his Nana had passed away, but honestly he didn't mind. He actually enjoyed the buzz and activity of the Marketplace with all the little stalls that suddenly bloomed in the square for a few hours on Saturday morning.

The med student who lost the draw of lots and had to accompany him this week, didn't share his enthusiasm.

"Ugh, why didn't we go yesterday? When all the good stuff was in the Highlands?"

"Because, you and I were both working and the goods are priced higher. If you go to the Saturday market it is cheaper and some of the Lowland merchants have high-quality goods but don't like to sell in the Highlands, so they come only to this one."

The other young man sighed, "Fine, whatever. Let's get this done then. I hate being down here."

Roderich shook his head, annoyed with the other man's attitude. He handed several totes to the young man, along with half the list, it was the non-fresh goods, and some money to cover the costs. (Roderich figured the other man couldn't mess those up and wouldn't be around at the stalls long enough to annoy the merchant folks too much whereas he would if he had to haggle.)

"Here everything on your list should be over at the grocer's market building that way and the two stalls in front of it. Don't haggle just pay the price and go. I'll meet you back here in an hour, ok?"

The other man sighed, looking bored, but took the items and trotted off in the direction Roderich pointed.

Roderich shook his head in annoyance. He then turned ahead to survey the market stalls, planning his attack. He grinned happily (he loved this part) as he dived into the swirl of sound, smells, colors, and buzz of activity among the forest of little stands that was the signature of the Lowland Marketplace on a Saturday.

[Atawhai Kirkland]

Saturdays were always Atawhai's favorite market day. It wasn't the selling that Atawhai looked forward to, what she looked forward to was parents bringing their children, her music students to keep her company while their parents looked around the stalls. They would sing and dance, and sometimes they let William join if there weren't too many customers that day.
"All right today, I have a special song my Hoa sang to me when I was an anklebiter like you." Atawhai smiled at her eager and fidgety students.
"When I was young I was valiant and bold
I fought off dragons and wrestled with trolls
I was stupid
But I was brave
I’m still as stupid as I was before
And although I’m not that young anymore
I’m still valiant
In my own little way
Limping off into the sunset
With our tails between our legs
Remembering how it all started
And wondering if this is the way that
My fairytale ends" she sang with a happy steady voice, keeping an eye on her students who were dancing and laughing. There was a few more verses to the song, but she wanted the kids to have something to look foward to next time she visited the school. It was that, and because she could see their parents were already done shopping.
"And that," Atawhai said, getting up and walking to the back of her stall. "is all I'm singing from that song, until I see you anklebiters at school on Monday."

[Roderich Edelstein]

Roderich was checking off his list satisfied with the progress made. 'Mmh, looks like I just need these vegetables and last will be to pick up the eggs.' He turned and headed over to one of the stands that had some lovely yellow and green summer squash and green beans. As the older man, a man around 60 years who ran the booth, was adding up the cost of Roderich's purchase, he heard the sound of several children chattering and laughing. Soon it quieted as a guitar started playing.

"What's going on over there?"Roderich asked the man.

The other man paused in his addition "Ah that would be Atawhai over there. Teaches some of the farmers' young'uns. Bright one our Atawhai is. But not any surprise coming from a child of Hoa. She was a star that burned out too soon-may she rest in peace-but Hoa taught Atawhai all she knew, so we were lucky in that."

The old farmhand finished counting out the change as Roderich put it in his pocket. He listened as the young teacher finished singing.

He mumbled under his breath thinking to himself out-loud, "Those chord combinations are unusual. Actually that's not a common key to choose for guitar because it can be difficult to finger the chords and this is used for a teaching song?"

The other man interrupted his vocalized musings. "Are you a musician too, lad?"

Roderich nodded, "Yes, I teach the younger childern too, although I'm still finishing my schooling."

"Ah, I thought you looked similar in age. You ought to go over there. It's rare for Atawhai to get to meet another teacher let alone a professionally-trained musician over on the farm. It'd please the child to no end."The man gestured with his hands, pantomining a gentle push in the direction of the music. Roderich complied and headed that way.

Roderich made his way over as the last song finished and youth with a short blonde curly bob stood up and set their guitar to the side announcing "And that is all I'm singing from that song, until I see you anklebiters at school on Monday."

Roderich quickly backed out of the way as a sudden flood of children came dashing out from the front of the stand where they had been sitting earlier in an attentive circle. One little girl turned back around just before she ran out, so that she could give the lanky teacher a big hug. The little girl then turned and ran back out waving and not looking where she was going. She promptly crashed into Roderich's legs. She stumbled back and he caught giving her gentle smile as sent her on her way.

It was then that young woman/boy/no, woman/ ah-the Atawhai noticed him standing like some awkwardly carved greek statue in front of the pole to the awning over her/his little market stand. It was then that he realized he didn't know whether to say Mr. or Miss Atawhai. He opted for "Hello, I wanted to compliment you on the piece you were playing earlier, the song was lovely and so was your voice."

He paused blushing. That came out wrong. That sounded like some come-on, which would be awkward if the young farmer/teacher was a young lad instead of pretty lass. He stumbled over his words as he tried to do damage control. "Um, I meant, from one musician to another, I admire your skill."

[Atawhai Kirkland]

"Oh, um.. thank you kindly, sir. I'm glad you liked the song." Atawhai smiled sheepishly. When her students complimented her, it was bloody adorable... but when someone who's a musician compliments her, it just wasn't the same. It was different, like butterflies were flying about in her stomach. She sent a glare at the old farmer that gestured to her, assuming that he said something potentially embarassing.
Why did she even care if he said something embarassing about her? It wasn't like this random guy was even going to remember her in a few days. She sighed quietly to herself. She couldn't let her cynicism take over, she had to have faith in everyone. Just like Hoa taught her to.
"Hi, my name's Atawhai. I'm assuming you are very confused about my gender. Don't look at me like you weren't wondering, friend. It's okay, I don't really mind. It's nice to meet you...?" Atawhai smiled, looking indirectly at him. She felt that he was a decent, clean sort of man that shouldn't really been seen with talking with a simple girl like her. She knew her place. She knew his. She knew not to break the order. That's how things were, and she wasn't going to change it.

[Roderich Edelstein]

Atawhai's comment surprised him. But yet it simplified things for him. He stared a moment, and having confirmed his suspicions he gave a satisfied nod of the head before moving forward to close the distance between them.

"Mostly, your youthful appearance caught me off-guard, I had thought that we had to be similar in age, considering your the teacher and not the student, (that and the old merchant back there said as much) but you don't look it. Quite a useful trait to have 20 years down the road, I imagine."

He approached near her and turned to set his shopping bags full of produce out the way to free up his hands. He reached a hand out to her in greeting, a pleased smile on his face. "Anyhow, since the only thing you could possibly get confused for is a pre-teen boy, in the clothing that you are wearing; then I'm fairly confident in saying, 'It's nice to meet you as well, Miss Atawhai.'"

She seemed reluctant to shake his hand, but finally took it and gave it a quick half-hearted shake and then retrieved it back from his grasp immediately. Roderich noticed her embarrassment and wondered if she was shy aound people in general or if it was just around men. It didn't really matter at the moment, he'd just try not to invade her space to much if that was the case. He was glad though, that he had chosen rather simple and somewhat worn clothing to wear coming down to the Lowlands, at least he didn't scream 'Highlander' in his slightly faded denim, painter's style beige muslin shirt and canvas boat shoes. Still he couldn't do much about his gentlemanly bearing, nor did he wish too. His mother and grandmother would turn in their graves, if he acted any other way.

He decided to try to break the tension a little though. "And I'm Roddy, Mister Roderich, in case you were wondering which it was, as well."

He smiled as he introduced himself, laying down heavy emphasis on the 'Mister' so she would catch the little joke. She seemed to get it and finally actually looked at him, a little half-smile on her lips; though not in time to see the dark round puffy shadow before it had slowly and quietly moved into place.

The creature had sensed its mistress' distress and as her defacto guardian it had decided to take care of the problem with decisive proactiveness. With a quick snort and stamp of its hoof, it charged forward. Its head of round curling horns, lowered and aimed at its target.

[Atawhai Kirkland]

"I-" Atawhai started, but cut herself off as soon as she heard a snort. Oh God, not again. Atawhai quickly turned and saw her sheep William charging towards Mr.Roderich. Unlike the other times William has tried to charge at people, specifically males, Atawhai knew what to do. She moved out of his way, and caught him right before he could hurt Roderich.
"William Armando Ernesto Alexander Ortega Cara-de-Pescado-Muerto Smith! I am very upset with, Mister! Why must you always do this when I meet someone? Shame on you!" Atawhai scolded in a sad tone. She put down William and stepped closer towards Roderich."Are you okay? Did he manage to land anything on you?" She asked worriedly, looking straight at him now.
William just sat there snorting every now and then, followed by a few mumbles that went sort of like 'habba babba.. ba habba.' All he was trying to do is save his dearest owner, why did he have to get scolded? It wasn't like he was going to kill him or anything. Maybe fracture a few bones, but nothing major! Just so Roderich knew his place, away from his owner, Atawhai.

[Roderich Edelstein]

Roderich heard a snort behind him as Atawhai suddenly cut off what she about to say and shoved him out of the way as she jumped behind him. Roderich turned around as soon as he got back his balance to see what had occurred.

He saw the young lady standing there holding onto a little sheep wagging a finger at it in annoyance as she scolded, just as if it was one of her students. It hung its head dejectedly as its mistress scolded it; though when she glanced away to check on him, he noticed the little creature snorted and chattered under its breath, waving its wicked little round horns in his direction.

He answered her questions in quick succession. "Yes. No. I'm perfectly fine, don't worry-wait, what did you call it?" He pointed towards the sheep that was sitting by Atawhai's feet glaring at him from around the back of her legs. Looking nothing so much as a hit-man plotting attempt number two.

[Atawhai Kirkland]

"Oh that's good. His name is William Armando Ernesto Alexander Ortega Cara-de-Pescado-Muerto Smith. Most people just call him William, though." Atawhai smiled, glancing every now and then at William, just in case he decided to try again. He was a stubborn sheep, who very obviously didn't want to play nice with his owners aqquaintance. Never the less, Atawhai was a stubborn girl who wanted to talk more with Roderich. "So, you said you were a musician. What do you play?" She asked, tilting her head slightly, to get a good look of a man behind Roderich. He had a few bags of produce and a very uncomfortable look on his face. His body language also gave off that he didn't want to be here. He was a highlander, without a doubt.
"Roderich, I got the groceries. Can we go now?" he growled, not acknowledging Atawhai in the slightest bit. Really, it was standoffish highlanders like him that made Atawhai want to release a horde of mutant sheep on the highlands. Atawhai then remembered one of Hoa's sayings 'Do not lose faith in someone you do not know. But don't close your eyes and fall for them either.' She was about to speak, but then she heard that almost non-existent, quiet snort. William was going to charge again, and maybe she would let him hit the rude-looking man.

[Roderich Edelstein]

"Wow, such a big long name for such a small creature to live up to! Well, Mr. William Armando Ernesto Cara-Pescado-Muerto Smith, it's good to meet you."

He was sure he missed a couple of names in there, but perhaps his clumsy attempt would still be appreciated. He held a hand down near William's head in greeting. He waited for the little ram to sniff his hand and decide if he approved of him. The little ram gave a derisive snort but seemed to back down a bit. Well, at least he didn't look like he was readying himself for another running start. He had decided to watch Roderich like a hawk instead, waiting for him to make one false move.

"Roderich, I got the groceries. Can we get out of here now?" a familiar voice growled behind him suddenly, not offering a greeting or acknowledging the young Lowland woman in the slightest.

Roderich glanced down at his watch. Honestly, the man didn't listen. He said for him to meet back at the intersection of streets where the market started. Obviously, he finished early, 20 minutes to be exact, and had decided he didn't want to wait and had decided to hunt him down by wandering past the various stalls.

"Excuse you? We were having a conversation, before you interrupted so rudely."

He heard the other man huff annoyedly in response. As Roderich looked over at Atawhai, he eyed William and seriously contemplated giving her the go-ahead to let the little ram loose on the man behind him. This particular med student tried his patience often. But instead he excused himself to Atawhai with, "I apologize, give me just a minute."

He saw the young woman nod in acknowledgement

"No, I'm not done yet. I've got most everything except for eggs, which I was going to get here and half dozen sourdough baguettes from the place about two stalls down." He pointed in the direction he meant. "So since you're here (and you're being an a** he thought to himself) you can go pick up the baguettes for me." He shooed the man off on his errand.

He turned back around, "Sorry about that miss. His type drive me nuts. Anyways-could I get two dozen eggs, please? If you have them?"

As he waited, he chatted. "You were asking me about instruments, right?"

He saw her nod.

"I'm studying to be a music instructor, so I know a how to play quite a few different types. Of course when I say 'play' I'm meaning the basics. The only ones that I have mastery of are piano, violin and my little ocarina. I know how to play the guitar too, but I'm nowhere as good as you are. I struggle with the individual strumming of notes. I think it's because it's similar but different enough from what I'm used to on the violin, that it makes it harder to learn and adjust. So when I said I admired your skill, I meant it."

[Atawhai Kirkland]

"Oh well... Thank you. That's really nice of you to say." Atawhai mumbled, putting a two dozen eggs in a styrofoam sort of carton, and then placing the carton carefully in a brown paperbag. She looked up at him with a light blush on her cheeks and gave him the bag. "Here you are, Mr.Roderich."
William was mumbling to himself again while counting the profits. He had grown to accept Roderich, but he still wanted to ram that other guy into a stall, break a few bones. He glanced over to his owner and sighed. Hoa said she wanted Atawhai happy and safe, and from what William could see, she was happy. Now, if Roderich decided to put her safety in danger, William would come to the rescue and ram onto Roderich's human skull.
"Eh, eh eh! Put that money back in your pocket. Think of it as a gift from me." Atawhai beamed, pointing at the money in his hand. She had grown to like this Highlander, he was nice and treated her like a lady, even if she was a Lowlander who looked like a little boy. The least she could do is help him save some money.
She hadn't noticed before, but the Sun was starting to set and there was less people around. The old man that indirectly introduced them was still there, watching from a safe No-William-Throw zone.

[Roderich Edelstein]

Roderich started to protest, when the young woman refused to take the money from him, but then he saw his companion's tall form winding through the crowds in his direction. He acknowledged his defeat and surrendered to her generous nature if only temporarily.

He answered her,"That is very kind of you, thank you, but I will only allow it if you let me do something kind for you in return." She seemed ready to protest, but he waved her off. "Will you be here next week as well?"

She smiled and answered in the affirmative. It sounded like she was here most weeks that the market was up and running.

He glanced at her gauging her characteristics a moment before muttering, "Mhm, red maybe." He then smiled and said, "I will see you next week Miss Atawhai. I must leave before the Demon of Impatience," he gestured with a jerk of his head and a wink of the eye in the direction of his companion that was stomping back in irritation from his latest errand, "returns to ruin the evening hour for you."

He then picked up his bags and headed the man off before he could approach the stall and walk into range of William. He turned momentarily back as he walked away giving her a quick warm smile. "May gentle winds guide you to safe harbor." It was an old phrase his mother had told him that she had heard the sailors say when wishing someone goodbye. It had somehow seemed appropriate for this occasion, oddly enough.

He saw her wave good-bye in return before he turned back around. He noted that the merchants and farmers that he passed as he walked back to the train station had already started to tear down their stalls for the night.

Yes, he would come back next week. He would be back with more business and one brand new guitar strap as well. The Lowlander girl's was little more than a long piece of knotted rope. Maybe something that had red in the pattern, he mused to himself as he walked away from the Market. He pointed out the beautiful sunset to the other man, but he looked disinterested. Ah well, no reason he couldn't enjoy it at least. He wondered if he should look for a pattern with the color of the sky tinted by the setting sun. He thought she might like that.