Morning: Business Location Scouting (Gray)

Snow would stretch as she stood outside of her tent. The early morning air was nice and crisp, the sun not quite out yet as the wanderer let out a yawn before letting her arms drop to her side as her honey brown eyes looked around the woods she had hidden out in for the night. It was as peaceful as always at this time day. Peaceful and relaxing. That was the way she liked to start her morning. With an appreciative sigh, she would wander off to a more private area of the woods to take care of some personal business before finding the river to wash off in. Once she was done with her morning ritual of getting ready for the day, she would head back to her tent to prepare breakfast.

Her breakfast was a simple one of: a slice bread, dried meat, and a few grapes with a nice cup of water to wash it all down with. As she ate, she’d watch the sun rise taking the day in one breath at time. She would spend about an hour simply relaxing before moving to pack up her camp. Making sure to clean dishes and store her tent just right, the woman would put out the fire she had created making sure to thoroughly kill it so no random forest fire would occur.  With her bag ready and the surrounding area safe from flames, the woman would place the pack on her back before beginning her move from the forest and back into the real world. She would walk for a long time with only the sounds of nature surrounding her as she moved. She didn’t mind the quiet. In fact, she enjoyed it as the sun graced the earth with a pleasant warmth and the skies above remained clear and blue.

It was simple things like this that caused Snow to prefer the outdoors to being inside; however, it looked like she would need to head to the jungle known as the city to make some money today and perhaps some more days depending on how bad sales were. Her stash of cash had been getting low, so it was time to refill it before it hit empty. And the only way to refill it was to head into the city. Her sleeping spaces would be odd for she was use to sleeping in a tent, but being in the city for a bit meant she would have to sacrifice that luxury and sleep in an inn until she had enough money to go out on her own again.

It was a minor annoyance, but simply the way life worked. Without money, she couldn’t buy the stuff needed to stay alive on the road. It was as simple as that. So the woman would continue her walk to the city where she would perform her job as a merchant this round.

As she walked her paths went from quite to a bit more congested with people as she entered the city under the mid morning sun. Making sure not to stay too long in the more crowded locations, Snow would head to Sunlake Palms where she first made a stop to the local inn to get a room and also to square away her bag. Once that was done, she would head back out to explore this the quieter section of the city. She wanted to give it a good look around to determine just where she would perform her business later on in the night.  To explore her options of where to set up shop, she took to wandering the place at a casual pace. She would wander the streets and pass through a garden that took her into a quiet residential area. Slowing her walk, she would move through the peaceful shade of the area wondering what sort of people rested behind the doors she passed. She would continue to walk until she came to a fork in the road that left her with choices of going back, going right, going left or going forward. To her left and right were more houses and the straight path seemed to eventually lead out of the area. She wasn’t going to be backtrack any time soon so the pathway leading back the way she came was out of the question. So now she had three choice. So…what did she want to do?

Exploring the residential area further would probably not help much in finding the ideal location for her shop, but at the same time knowing a better lay out of the area could be helpful down the road. On the other hand this could be a perfect excuse take a break from location hunting for a bit…Hmm? What to do?

Debating, she would stand in the grass alongside the side walk to stay out of the way of any foot traffic that came her way as she pondered what she preferred to do: continue exploring or push forward in finding an ideal shop location as soon as possible…

The dark haired woman would continue to think as a nice breeze passed through the area causing her Rapunzel like locks to shift a bit as the band at the end struggled to hold it all in place. She was still debating about which way she should go with her exploring and probably would’ve settled on a direction, if the sound of someone walking hadn’t drawn her back to the present.

As she heard the footsteps, she would pause in her thought as she let her right hand fall from her chin and come to rest on top of her bandaged left arm that was crossed right under her breast. Her honey brown eyes would drift to the sound of the footsteps and take notice of the man that was walking there. He was a good looking fellow with dark skin and dark brown hair wearing an outfit of white that probably had seen better days. Right now it looked as if the outfit and perhaps the man himself had gotten into a bit of trouble with something to get them beat up like that. While Snow most certainly couldn’t tell exactly what happened, she saw the signs of some form of struggle on the guy...and with it being so early in the morning she found the sight quite odd. What on earth did he do to get like that before noon?

The situation was indeed peculiar. Even more peculiar as the other seemed to move towards her muttering something. For a moment, she would not say anything waiting until her's and the man’s paths had crossed before speaking out in a rare effort to engage with something that caught her attention.

“It seems you are having quite the day already. You going to be okay?” she would ask as for the moment she put shop location hunting on the back burner. As she asked her question her face would remain serious as she watched the other to see what he would say or do as she eyed the tear in his clothing before moving her eyes to take in the rest of this strange man.

Honey brown eyes would watch the guy as he came to a stop not seeming to be bothered by the unreadable expression he gave her. She would simply remain quiet as she took in his ruffled appearance with serious eyes waiting to see if the quiet man would answer or simply brush her off. It would take a moment, but eventually the man would smile and speak.

In response, the woman would keep her arms folded, her facial expression remaining serious as she nodded at the other. “I am glad to hear it,” she would say and then blinking she would tilt her head as her black hair shifted slightly with the movement. Ah. He wanted her name. Of course.

“Forgive me. Your ruffle appearance distracted me a bit and I forgot my manners,” she would say and then giving a faint smile back, she would shift in her position to face the other fully. She would place one arm at stomach level while the other went to her side and her upper body bent towards the other as she gave a bow, her eyes never leaving the other as she looked up at him through the dark locks of her hair. “The name is Snow. And you?” she ask, her tones calm as she simply studied the other wondering if maybe he was a resident around here or mayhaps a wanderer like herself. She was curious now that she had his attention, but instead of flooding him with questions, she minded her manners and kept the questions simple and less abundant for now.

Snow would blink at the wave and the comment her expression remaining serious for a few seconds before a small smirk came to her face.

“I dunno. With a pretty face like that I am sure you would have no issue with drawing folk to ya. Perhaps the rough appearance will draw the odd’s attention instead. Like myself. You sure want weridos around you?" Snow would ask as she watched the other, her honey brown eyes holding an air of amusement. Her approach was rather unusual by normal standards, but on the other hand, the woman did not know this or know how to act any other way. While she functioned in normal society well enough, social norms eluded her like no other typically chasing others off, but this guy? He actually hung around and spoke with her. Now that was something.

In any case, the expression would settle into seriousness once more as she made her introduction and bowed before standing straight again and hearing the other’s words. To what was said the woman would shift her weight to the left as she recrossed her arms and looked off to the side.

“Gray, huh? Well, I can remember that. As for you, drop the miss. I don’t need the formality,” she would say her attitude laid back despite the blunt nature of her words. When she was asked a question some time later, she would look back at the guy as she tilted her head a bit.

“Like I told you before you appearance caught my attention. Thought you had gotten beaten up or something, so I just asked. Didn’t think it would turn into a conversation of any sort though. So I can’t really say I was intentionally trying to engage ya outside of seeing if you were okay. Though since we are at it now, I suppose I will just go with it as it isn’t hurting anything.” She would pause to tap her lip with her index finger in thought as she looked up towards the trees for a moment. She really didn’t expect this, but it is what it is right? But wait…..

Honey orbs would shift back to the man. “On the matter of harming things, why are you questioning this? Did I do something that unusual?” she would ask not seeming to understand that her random asking was indeed just that: unusual.

Snow’s smirk would fade as she tilted her head at the man’s response to her words.

“Compliment?” she would say as she looked upward and to the left as she tapped her lip in thought. “Mmm. I wouldn’t call it compliment. More like a truth,” she said before serious brown eyes drifted back to the man and her hand dropped to her crossed arm again. “You are a pretty boy and if I go by observations, having a nice looking face or body attracts others. At least that is what the world seems to show me.”

Yes. The more attractive you were the more the world paid attention to you. Whether this attraction came from physical appearances or something else, the world paid attention to things that stuck out from the norm. It was a curious truth about the world with even more peculiar reactions; however, this musing was beside the point. So drawing herself out of her wandering thoughts on the matter, she would blink once at the other’s words before returning the cat like gaze on him.

“You the flexible go with the flow type then? Or are you just good with people in general? Also how are you weird? You seem pretty normal from a visual standpoint,” she would say as her eyes crossed over him. Outside of being a pretty boy, he looked pretty human and seemed to be dressed more appropriately than herself with her wild and torn look. So how could someone that looked so ordinary be weird she had not a clue, but maybe there was something else about him that made him say such things. Maybe if he was kind he’d shed some light upon the matter even if they were just strangers.

Regardless of what happened there, the woman would give a light nod to the words spoken about dropping the Miss off her name. “Politeness is not needed here. Only respect. In any case, thank you kindly fulfilling my request,” she would say her voice holding none of the usual politeness associated with the words. Her lips holding none of the smiles associated with such gestures. Her words were blunt and to the point devoid of the typical mannerism the norm would expect as she studied the other before her. She was indeed odd and didn’t seem to be ashamed of her action at all, making one wonder if she was ignorant of social rules or if maybe she spoke and acted the way she did because she honestly didn’t give a damn about the rules. It was hard to say and her expressionless face would give no insight into the matter.

“I honestly never know what to expect when I am around people. Most just avoid me or do their best to pretend I am not there in a casual setting. Customers are a bit different, but even they are skittish in my presence. I never expect to engage in long nor short conversations with those I encounter. I actually expect quick and to the point response before the one that engaged me scuttles off," she would respond back and then hearing the rest of his words she would close her eyes with a light sigh. “If the path chosen bothered me, I would’ve been gone a long time ago not even bothering to entertain this thing call conversation.”

Her voice would remain level and calm the whole time without any hostility to it. She would reopen her eyes and be quiet until she had asked her question to which the other began to answer, but paused for a bit to consider it. Instead of rushing the man or trying to insert something into the silence, the woman simply waited until finally he did reply back. To his words, she would lower her head in thought.

“Hmph. Unusual again, my dear,” she would mutter to herself in at a tone that was barely audible, the words coming off as a grumble to the normal ear. Regardless of this, she would look back up at the man with a nod.

“Then I suppose I am the exception. And perhaps you are too. You are not running from me and you decided to stay to make idle chatter with me. Why?"

Despite her direct way, she seemed preplexed by the man who could've easily snapped at her or brushed her off without a word. Yet...he hadn't. was this part of being polite too? Or was his motives different?

A sigh and a movement to run his hand through his hair. Was this one perhaps frustrated with her? Or was the action towards something else? She wasn’t sure, but she began to lean towards the former as she heard his words. To what was said, the woman would give him a blank look for a moment.

“.....”

Silence as she studied him a bit debating how to respond to that without coming off as hostile. After some contemplating, she would speak.

“I am not here to impress nor try to convince you my way is right. I understand everything is a matter of perspective and preference when it comes to anything. That is nothing that needs explaining. As for being letdown because I view things differently. Well that is your problem,”she would say her words as blunt as usual. She...was not going to make this easy on the other it seemed even though in the end she was not even trying to be difficult. This was just her. The man could either accept that and adapt or leave. It was up to him.

“If you cannot trust your own study and observation to make conclusions about the world around you, then what else is there to trust to help you understand what is before you?” she would ask as she shifted her weight to the right as she gave the other a serious look her lips remaining in a line that did not curve. She was trying to understand his point with this. Was there a point at all or was he doing something else with this talk? As for that last point, she would give the other a light frown.

“So we cannot use figures of speech then?” She found that odd, but whatever. She wasn’t try to make this one uncomfortable or start fights with her odd wording, so shaking her head a bit to clear it before continuing. “Noted.” That was all she would say.

No apologize or anything of that nature. Just a simple word to sum up her settlement on the matter that had been presented. Her briefness could make one wonder if she cared at all as her face remained as hard as ever to decipher. Even so, she didn’t seem to be trying to cause harm by her words, so maybe that was okay. After all, the guy was still here for one reason or another….
Peculiar.

“Hmph. Perhaps so,” she would say as she considered that for a moment. So he was adaptable on one hand, but on the other did not value his people skills? Kind of odd in her book...Though she could agree with the point being made. People were odd and how one handle them was an even stranger affair, but even so sometimes being direct and unforgiving was the way to go. Though...she had to wonder if there was something else behind his words. With a tilt of her head, she would ask the question that came up from this wandering session. “Am I difficult for you to handle?” she would ask, her voice calm as usual as she observed the other some more.

She would take note of him glancing at his gloves and when he spoke she would raise an eyebrow at him.

“That’s a shame. You actually had my interest there for a moment,” she would tell the other her voice serious, but if one were to have a careful eye her lips would show a slight smirk. Was she playing a bit?

Maybe, but it was hard to tell as the smirk faded and she dropped her right arm to her side as her left one moved upward. Bandages fingers would mix with thick black hair as she scratched her head with a small frown.

“I am not your dear.” Would be the first blunt comment out of her mouth and then following that “Yeah. Respect is hard to gain. As for being polite, I don’t get it. I am talking like anyone else - with words - yet people squirm and flee as if I was gonna bite them or something. I don’t get how pretty words equal politeness and just being upfront equals rude. I find that a bit baffling.”

That and she probably was missing something along the way. After all she wasn’t trained in the way of normal society. Her blunt nature worked fine in the past and most of the time silence was even better, but out here? It seemed everything fell apart on that end. It was quite strange.

Even stranger was the guy’s next comment.

“Hm?” Snow would give him a cool look. “So I have a different way of speaking and carrying myself. Why should that be intimidating? I am not being hostile, so what is the deal?” she would ask clearly not understanding this. She spoke to people and didn’t raise a weapon to them, so why? Why did they run...but not this one? This was quite perplexing.

“...” A silence to the short answer given back. Guess he didn’t have anything to say back, so she did not see the need to try and expand on conversation there. Moving along.

She would give the other a quiet stare at his next statement debating how to take the words. When she settled on something, she would blink and become active again.

“Hmph,” she would begin and then looking him up and down she would continue as she shifted from her spot and came nearer. Keeping her distance reasonable, she would circle the other as she sized him up much like she did a prized fighter. When she stopped again she was facing him once more as she took a step back and fold her arms.

“You don’t look like much on the outside. You look like the type to snap honestly with your frame and all, but on the other hand. Your type can be surprisingly strong and deadly, so without an actual fight I cannot answer your question fully,” she would say her voice business like as she made the assessment and then settled to watch the other once more.

She probably didn’t need to answer, but she had anyway. Welp, so much for understanding the rhetoric.