Torpova Market Stall (Meats and Dairy)

[Luno Asherah Deactivated]

Fresh and dried meat hangs from hooks bolted into the rafters of the stall. The smell of meat is unmistakeable, and as one draws nearer this little shop, their eyes are immediately drawn to the severed heads of the animals they sell. Beef, goat, swine, and fowl. The Torpova's have perfected their craft to provide this small village with quality meats. And when Melba is at the stall, there will often be milk for sale, kept chilled in a barrel of ice cold water from the river. Yara, without the help of her husband, is both merchant and butcher for the stall. Her apron has been stained from years of blood splatter and organs, but she doesn't seem to mind the mess. When Yara is at the market, meat pie and butter are on sale (and most likely fresh). 

[Nafarman]

Alphonso walked out of the tower some time earlier, hearing the little fuss regarding the sheriff approaching the lake. A maid told him Lady Fausta was looking into the matter but out of the feeling of responsibility, he came out to see himself. By the time he reached the streets, it was empty. He was surprised by how quick it was taken care of but now that he was out, he decided to patrol around the village. It's been a while he had done it.

The day was quite windy. His open jerkin was waving from the mild gusts, sporting his muscular torso. Little ropes of dusts and other particles were latching up on to the furls his black trousers and leather boots. His medium length grey hair was tied up in a bun, except for a few strands of the silver locks resting on his forehead. A dagger in a leather sheath hung from his waist. The village seemed quite peaceful, he was barely coming across any people at this hour of the day. Mostly some hungry dogs were trying to gather up around him. Figuring he had nothing, the dogs moved away too. With casual steps he reached the market.

Most of the shops were closed, except for the meat shop. The lady behind the counter seemed quite familiar to him. Yara... was it? he tried to remember her name. He had seen her a few times in the church gatherings. Alphonso approached the shop. "Greetings." Alphonso said softly. He took a pause, examining the condition of the shop. A young redhead girl came to his notice, doing something at the back of the shop. It sort of picked at his curiosity seeing two women doing the job of men. Unwanted troubles from perverts would be a given. "How's the business going?" he finally took a good look at silver haired woman behind the counter. Her age had graciously bloomed in her facial features. A poetic softness behind the strong arms and shoulders could be felt, and the woman... was well endowed. Her clothes seemed to be hugging her bosom rather tightly. Even in this messy environment she could stand out with her presence.

[Luno Asherah Deactivated]

The Torpova girls were hard at work. Thanks to Melba's lateness, Yara had more time to prepare meat. The younger one could expect to work a little bit longer today. It didn't seem so much to be a point of contention between the two, as Melba was already very hard at work cleaning off the shop countertops. Yara herself was off to the side breaking down the body of a young lamb. It was hard work, but with her sleeves rolled higher on the arm, she had earned the muscles for it. The shepherdess, ever conscious of blood, wore a simple red linen dress. Her brown bodice was left partially unbuttoned, giving her more freedom of movement. At the same time, with nothing to conceal or support the size of her bust, her decolete exposed a great amount of her cleavage. It certainly garnered the attention of some indiscrete men around the village, but she could hold her own against them. "Melba, make sure you wrap the parcels pretty, my love. It'll make them easier to sell." She said, setting chunks of meat to the side to be prepackaged. Her daughter sighed and nodded along. "Yes, Yaya."  

Yara smiled  a bit. While disappointed that Melba had never called her 'Mother', she could settle for the little names she gave her. The woman watched her for a few moments, directing her on which color wrapping to use. Her direction was interrupted by the sound of a mans voice. Both girls looked over to the front of the stall and went pale. What was the herald doing here? They seemed to be frozen in place. Rarely did they ever get to see him. But often was his name on their lips. They needed something to talk about. And when it came to Alphonso, there was much to be said. Tall, handsome, great with an arrow. Ugh, if only Yara wasn't married... Both mother and daughter seemed to sigh slightly at the thought of having him in their house. What were they thinking? He was a man of the church- way out of their league. But that wouldn't stop their eyes from wandering, would it?

Finally snapping out of it, Yara quickly went to wash her hands and forearms off in a bowl of water. "O-Oh, uhm. Business is going well as ever. What brings you to our little stall, sir? Has the church already run out of meat? Cheese?" Melba squeezed up front and rested her elbows on the counter. "I'd be happy to make a delivery for whatever you need~" Yara rolled her eyes and nudged her daughter back. "Ignore her, she has no filter. What can I get for you?" 

[Nafarman]

Alphonso slightly parted his lips to speak but only pressed the tongue against the inner portions of his bottom lip. He enjoyed the way the mother and daughter showered him with attention. They both were beautiful in their own rights, and it was certainly an ego booster for Alphonso, even though he was the herald. "Just patrolling," he chuckled lightly, watching Yara nudging her daughter back. His eyes then fell on her exposed cleavage. Rightfully he was getting quite distracted, she had a nice pair; and with nothing to support them, he could see the print of her nipples on the bosom of her bodice, poking out from the sides of her apron.

"Oh um," Alphonso snapped out and looked away from the question. "I see you are dressing a lamb. I will have uh... 6 pounds of lamb and uhhh, half a liter of cow milk." He said. Initially he was planning to get beef and goat milk, but that's what came out of his mouth from the moment embarrassment of getting caught staring.

"And oh, what's your name again? My age is messing with my memories I am afraid. Aren't you married? Shouldn't your husband be doing these stuffs?" Alphonso asked calmly as her strong muscles came to his eyes when she got to work. He figured she has been maintaining the shop alone, for quite some time at least and he didn't remember any man ever being passionate about ranching in this village.

[Luno Asherah Deactivated]

Yara nodded along as she made note of his order and gestured for Melba to get it ready while she and the herald spoke. Alphonso was handsome- he'd certainly be popular with the women back home. But, he was still a man. As much was apparent from the way he stared at her chest. With her own husband being the way that he was now, it did give her a bit of a tingle to have someone like Alphonso looking at her that way. She shifted her weight to one hip when he asked her her name and a few other questions. "My name is Yara, the small one is my daughter, Melba." There was a pause in the sound of paper rustling in the back. "I'm not small!" Melba called, finally walking over with a pretty green parcel of meat and a bottle of milk. "I'm just the right size for entertainin'~" The short girl brushed her red curls from her neck, giving the man a decent view of her own cleavage. 

"Oh, Melba! Please, be a lady! What would the priestess think if she saw you acting in such a way?" Yara swatted her towel at her giggling daughter and pulled a bottle of milk from the barrel they kept. She even added a small parcel of cheese. "Melba can certainly be a brat when she wants to be. Please, the cheese is on the house. As for my husband...he is currently indisposed at the moment. He's quite...unwell. It's just better if I take care of things. Until Melba takes over of course." Melba pouted and and played with the pleats in the skirt of her mother's dress. "Baldur should just drop dead already. What use is being strong and handsome if you're just going to sit there all day." 

[Nafarman]

As she leaned over one hip more, Alphonso's eyes locked on the movements of her bosom out of instinct. One of the breasts had moved over the other and the cleavage was flashing more than anything. He could feel a rush traveling down to his groins. It's been a while he had someone to warm his bed. He looked away again, before his arousal became evident.

Alphonso nodded as she introduced her self and her daughter. Seeing Melba having red hair, he wondered if Yara was a redhead too, or if it was her dad. He chuckled slightly and crossed his arms over his chest, hearing and seeing Melba protest. "Such a lively daughter you have, may the Goddess bless her," he said softly as his facial features went back to indifferent state again.

"Don't worry the priestess wouldn't mind, she is a young one herself." A soft smile curved up on his lips as he spoke of Fausta, but it disappeared rather quickly. "That's alright, let her enjoy the young days while it lasts," he reflected, heaving a soft sigh. He approached the counter as Yara was keeping the goods there. "I see, I don't remember seeing you with him at the recent church gatherings. I might come to your house to see him some time. Merciful Leto wouldn't make it so suffering for anyone that they can't attend Her" He said reaching under the pockets of his trousers. A little tinker was heard before Alphonso grabbed something and pulled his hand out as such, "Please accept the change as a gift. And possibly get a new apron." he whispered, grabbing one of her hands to extend it towards him and putting his palm over hers. There were 3 or 4 gold coins in his grasp. He closed her palm over the coins, not letting her see it yet. He then turned to Melba and motioned her to come closer. When she came close, he let go off Yara's hand and rested the hand on Melba's shoulder, the other reaching into his pockets. He leaned down a little to come to her eye level,  "Even if he just sits around all day, he still is your father. Don't wish death on someone who made it possible for you to come into this world." He said with a soft yet firm tone. Before Melba could protest, he brought out a gold coin and stuffed it in her palm like he did with Yara, "This is for you, don't give it to anyone else. Get whatever you want with it" the hand then moved up to her head and ran his fingers through her red locks affectionately.

Alphonso then stood up and approached the counter again. He slowly grabbed his things, "Bless be upon all of us." he said before slowly nodding at Yara and turning on his feet. With the church taking care of his meals and other necessities, he barely had any use of the money he was making for being the herald. Most of what he spent went to feeding some stray animals and helping others.

Edited March 1, 2021 by Nafarman

[Luno Asherah Deactivated]

"Oh, the priestess is the very image of what a lady should be. Demure, polite, well-mannered...The last priestess wasn't even so dainty. I'm sure others would thoroughly be convinced that she were Leto herself. May she quickly be blessed with a child." Yara sighed, almost sadly. She wished she had more children, but Melba would be her only one it seemed. It had always been her dream to have a house full of tiny little humans. The sound of his pockets jingling didn't grab much attention from her as she was used to the sound of change, but when he put it in her hands, it felt...different. She was tempted to look, but that would mean pulling her hand away. His hands were quite large and she couldn't imagine what they felt like inside- no, Yara! Bad! Yara looked down at her hand and was shocked to find gold coins. This was far too much. Even one gold coin was overpaying and here she was with four. 

Melba raised a brow when his hand touched her shoulder. The man was a giant compared to her. Alphonso could give her a good toss around if he wanted to...not that she'd mind. She didn't quite care for the scolding, but having him so close was something to take in. She bit her lip and smiled as she was slipped the gold coin and seemed more attentive to it than him now. "Thank you, sir~!" Melba turned the coin this way and that, loving how it sparkled more than any other coins. Yara was still speechless as she just stared at Alphonso. This was simply too much. By the time she had gotten her wits about her again, Alphonso was already turned away. The girls looked at each other and showed their pieces of gold before squealing in delight. Between the two of them they had five gold pieces. "I could by a new necklace!" Yara said happily. "I can get a horse!" Melba said. "Melba, we've been through this, we don't have room for horses." "But I want one!"

[BladeRunner]

"I told you! This town is riddled with different women Umbral!" The black haired brother, known otherwise as Lumian White, stated to his brother seemingly trying to convince him as they were entering the market. 

After the introduction and guide from one Yshea, the small apothecary down the street, the two brothers Umbral and Lumian traveled back to the market with nine jars total. Most of which were being carried by the younger black haired brother while the older white headed carried his one. They were stopping by their Uncle Stephans' shop which was currently being refurbished. Umbral looked to the sky and saw it was mid-day, almost commenting on how much time had passed from them walking around. But he didn't, Lumian wasn't an idiot like that, though his social skills were complete rubbish... Either he wanted to screw or fight, and normally he jested, so it was a good thing Umbral decided to come along. 

Once they reached the building they noticed material, wood and paint and stone of the such, not much but enough to get a few things done. There were old shelving, cabinets and other furniture and miscellaneous items leaning against the structure, a pale of water used on some of it with a wet and dirty rag. The two brothers called for Stephan once with no answer, so they set the jars behind the counter for safe keepings. They then exited the structure for Umbral to look over the lost that Orvjund gave him. Just about twenty feet away were the Torpova Market Stall, clearly the next stop they needed to make. 

Umbral frowned then looked up and around, he was going to pick up food... Someplace, then Lumian pointed out the stall. The two began to walk over. While they'd only been in town for perhaps an hour the family as a whole moved quickly, just a few weeks ago they fled their kingdom before things became too hectic. Self preservation was in mind. And on horseback they rose for days and nights until reaching the town Stephan tracked through old maps, though it was quite tricky to do so as it hadn't been on any of the renowned scrolls or books. 

Umbral and Lumian White weren't simple men, they didn't appear like the common rabble nor sport anything that would mistake them for peasants. They wore their attire made of fine leathers and studded steel, their designs clearly of high pricing while yielding considerable protection against both elements and harm. This was due to them, well Umbral, being a knight whilst Lumian were something different. And it bothered Umbral even now that they stood out. It would take getting used to. 

"You just need to find one right for you!" Lumian quipped, clearly not checking out a maiden who happened to be dping the same for him. 

"Yes, and pay them off like some five bronze whore?" Umbral asked with a raised brow, now shifting his gaze ti the brother. 

Lumian sighed as the woman winked and left, missing the moment and turned back to his older brother, "I admit, I can't help but be... Generous. After all, they seemed quite thirsty." 

Umbral scoffed, "If you're talking about the twin princesses and the duchesses at Nothrope Keep they weren't thirsty for sensual feelings, they wanted water." 

"Well..." Lumian started to chuckle as they approached the stall, already looking over the meats and... Heads... Of the animals, "I certainly quenched a thirst of theirs now didn't I?"

Shaking his head and beginning to look over the choices himself Umbral replied after a silent moment, "Yes, and both the King and the duke of those regions wanted you dead. If it weren't for you that mission wouldn't have been complicated."

 

[Luno Asherah Deactivated]

Yara hummed quietly to herself as she wiped down her butcher counter. The once white rag was stained pink from the blood of all the animals broken down at the stall. She was ready to close up for a break, but hearing two men speaking of princesses and duchesses, she decided to stick around for a few moments. Perhaps she might hear something interesting? As they came closer, she did learn something however. Talk of missions and kings...they'd not had anyone with that kind of background on the island quite yet. "Ah...you must be the new residents! The priestess mentioned potential new neighbors." She said, wringing out her blood soaked cloth. Yara gave the counter a final wipe down before tossing the rag in a bucket and rinsing her hands in a dish.  

"Well, I hope for everyone's sake that storm hasn't followed you to the island. You'll find it can be quite peaceful here and many would like to keep it that way." Yara spoke with a serious tone and stared down the two men. She definitely tried to keep up the serious act before a smile cracked along her lips and she let out a laugh. "Hahaha! I'm sorry. I'm sure you lads won't be much trouble. Oh! Where are my manners? I'm Yara Torpova. I'm one of the farmers on this island. I'm usually here for the better part of the day if you need meat. But if you're in need of cheese, milk, or wool, you'll have to wait till the afternoon for my daughter, Melba." Admittedly, she looked a bit annoyed upon realizing that it currently was past noon. "Well...clearly not today. The little brat's gone and deserted me, haha~ We're all outta milk, but there's some cheese left. Beef, lamb, sausage...What do you boys fancy?" 

[BladeRunner]

As the two young men bickered Umbral turned out Lumian when the- pretty woman looked and spoke to them. By gods, Lumian was right, and that wasn't something the older brother would ever admit. Immediately without looking he pinched the black haired brothers mouth shut before they were slapped away. It certainly did the trick by shutting him up, and it allowed Umbral to listen to the woman before him. He could tell she was middle aged, no wrinkles he could tell but by the eyes and body movements, a trick he payed attention to since he was a kid. Children and young adults tend to be jittery, one could generally tell they were still young by the socket of their eyes and how smooth they were; older folks such as this woman here had a slight wear on the skin, nothing necessarily bad, just the most minor detail. Then there were his Uncles and people like them. 

Umbral cocked a brow when the woman became serious, and jokingly Lumian whispered a bit too loudly, "Pfft! Yeah, if ashes could create a storm!" 

The white haired brother kicked the other behind the knee rather quickly, just a swift motion of his leg which caused Lumian to give out forward and face plant into the front of the stall just as the woman cracked a smile. With a groan, he remained kneeling as Umbral smiled back and listened. The two brothers have had the discussion of talking about Neilthiegm, anything about the kingdom spoke behind closed doors, and or course Lumian didn't care to share. Such were the nature of the White families men. 

Umbral gave a short bow and then looked at Yara, "It is nice to meet you Yara Torpova. Don't mind him down there, he tripped on a stone. My name is Umbral White, and this is Lumian, my younger brother. We were actually planning on opening ship it seems close to you," Umbral pointed to the older man working on getting the boarded windows of the shop fixed, "We moved here with our Uncles, despite the trek we're glad this town is quiet." 

Lumian now stood cursing his older brothers name and that seemed to give Umbral of amusement before speaking again, "Actually... How much for the whole lot?" 

 

[Luno Asherah Deactivated]

Yara chuckled at the boys' antics. They certainly acted like brothers. Shame she never had any sons, they seemed to have enough energy between them to keep her daughter occupied. At least for a little while. "Umbral. Lumian. Nice to meet you boys." When Umbral gestured to the shop, she raised a brow. "Well, as long as you don't plan on competin' with me, I think I'm glad to have you around." Yara gave a passing wave to other shopkeeps that were packing up. They'd all gotten to know each other quite well since her arrival on the island and would drink together on occasion. 

Hearing that Lumian was thinking of buying her out, one could nearly see the dollar signs in her eyes. "What? All of it?" She was honestly in shock. She'd never had such an offer. With that kind of money, they could spruce up the house, buy new clothes, fix the barn- really anything they wanted! The Torpova's would be set for a few months at most. Yara looked around her stall, and started doing a few mental calculations. "Uh...well...for everythin' that would be thirty-eight gold pieces." She said. "I knocked off a few since you're talkin' about everything I've got, but it's forty-three if you insist on paying full."  What the hell were they gonna do with all that meat!? And the cheese!? But mostly what men had that kind of money in this village!? 

[BladeRunner]

"The whole stall?!" Lumian exclaimed, just as shocked as Yara. 

"All of it," Umbral glanced at Lumian with a sly grin, "Lest you don't have the coin like you said?" 

"You have your own!" Lumian pointed in accusation, "You said essentials you jackass, and when I said I had plenty I didn't mean you could buy a whole stocks worth!" 

"I can pay you back, it's no problem. Do you have the gold, yes or no?" 

With a brisk sigh, the black haired young man began to rummage up the the coins from pocket to pocket, then shown Umbral he had at least twenty. The older, white haired brother pulled out a small sack and opened it, digging out the remaining twenty-three. The pair set the gold on the stall, the younger secretly cursing the olders' name, and the older smiling to the woman before stating, "This should cover it. This bounty should set us up for a good bit. And don't worry, I have doubts anybody us would want to compete with the people of this town. Lumian, start grabbing stuff and head home with it, we'll have to make a few trips." 

Lumian sighed as he already begun grabbing large hunks and whatever else he could carry, not bothering to wait on Umbral he took off and in a quick pace too. Umbral watched as his brother was walking away, then turned to Yara, "You won't have to worry about competition. Between you and I, my uncle's are doing these things as part of their retirement. We're all born into knighthood, soldiers and squires, paladins and heralds and the such. They've seen their fair share of war, and the only thing they know is the work ethic of life," Umbral then leaned against the stall and sighed, almost in deep thought as he stared down the street with an aimless expression, a somewhat somber tone taking hold, "We didn't have the luxury of childhood or a normal life... It's... Difficult to put it into perspective, the age we were when us children were inducted as squires fur knights. I could remember I was eight when I began the gold, my brother was the sneaky kind when he grew older and found ways out of being a soldier. But we..." 

Umbral caught himself rambling and shook himself from the thought. Everything still happened too fast and he felt the effects of war catching up quickly. Taking in a sharp breath then exhaling Umbral looked to Yara, "Anywho, I hope you can make use of that coin. Should... You need help with anything, you or your daughter, let us know, alright?"

[Luno Asherah Deactivated]

Yara watched the glittering gold pieces settle into place as the brothers placed them on the stall. Oh what a bounty! If only Melba could see what riches would have come to her if she'd stayed for that bloody shift! She quickly swiped the money onto the lower desk to count out while Lumian started to grab things. "Forty-one...forty-two...forty-three..." Seemed like it was all there. Yara put the money in a small pouch before tucking it into her kirtle. 

Perhaps it was the way Umbral's tone shifted when he spoke of his childhood, or maybe it was the story itself, but as Yara packaged cheese and sausage into more mobile parcels, she couldn't help but to feel bad for the boys. She'd only ever had one child and though she wished for more, the living situation wasn't something she'd bring another youngling into. She couldn't imagine even sending Melba away for something so dangerous. She unhooked the last link of sausages before wrapping them up in brown paper and setting a stack of four parcel's in front of Umbral. "I'll be sure to give you a shout if I come across anything in your area of expertise." She reached over to give him a gentle pat on the shoulder and smiled. "And if you boys find yourselves in need of help around the house, we'd be happy to help." Yara chuckled to herself as she turned back around to finish cleaning out her stall.  

Once the last of her goods were on the outer shelves, she relaced her kirtle and slipped into a plain green jacket. "Well, now that I've got nothin' else to sell, I can go home and get a head start on my chores. It was a pleasure to meet you boys. Don't be strangers~" And with that, Yara picked up her basket of tools and walked away from the stall, leaving the Whites to finish carrying home their haul. 

[end of scene...?]