Note: takes place some time after the job hunt (but before chapter 5)
Actually chapter five will no longer be chapter five, but it's a good quantifier on when things take place

~

I fiddled with the hair over my face once more, grateful for the shadows that had encompassed the entire moon, grateful that the only thing that might now reveal this mark was the light of a handheld lantern coming too close. And this was a highly unlikely possibility, seeing as no one had ever come close to my stall in the past two hours.

I didn't mind the solitude much though, in fact, I welcomed it in a way. My entire life had been filled with voices and persons crowded too closely together, shared beds and noise meals. The only solace to be found was tucked away corners that were kept on a strict schedule. After all, with so many girls in one house, solitude was in great demand, but diminishing supply.

Fia had also been tasked to work the stand with me, but had suddenly fallen ill, and forced me to remain alone. Once again, not like I minded.

Even though the market was quieter now, since the hours had dragged long past midnight, it still bustled with life and laughter, people taking advantage of the eternality of the passing night, wrapped up in this even, reliable darkness.

I had hated the dark season at first, when I had experienced it newly after coming to the Hents House, but now it felt something almost like an old friend. A comforting reliability, that it would always come, and always linger over the face of the moon before flaunting off to return the next revolution of the planet.

It was clear from one glance that others thought the exact way I did, bundled in their longer sleeves, tucked in coats and furs imported from other systems where animals could flourish, systems so unlike the one Pestas resided in. I had, of course, heard of things such a seasons, of the changing of weather and time, of plants and animals fading into winter forms. Pestas only knew dark and light, and the blistering days where all huddled indoors as the planet orbited closest to the sun, it's heat burning any wisp of life that dared step out in the day.

Yes, we welcomed this darkness and its inviting arms, eager and urging us to live without abandon and care and without any fear of the sun.

So I sat there, in this gentle darkness and stared out at the crowds of people, my feet swinging underneath the wood table in from of me. I had talked old Mrs. Kyo into letting me staff her market stall for the night, so that it might stay open longer and she could gain more money from it. Of course, I was to also earn a quarter of all proceeds from the time period, but when considering she didn't make any money at all at night, she had accepted.

Her other term of "payment" for me was that she would be sure to send her son over within the week, that he might finally meet me.

I wasn't sure if I considered this a gift, or a threat, seeing as I had never met the man, and though all Mrs. Kyo did was heap praise upon him, he seemed rather bland in her words.

But after all, a person without flaws revealed was not a person, but a picture, a flat depiction of a living breathing personality. He was probably nice enough, but finding a man to tear me away from the Hents House was negligible on my list of priorities. Actually, I wasn't even sure if it had ever landed on my list of priorities.

First and foremost and above all other things, though, was the need to make enough money to support the house. So maybe relishing in my solitude wasn't exactly the smartest business decision.

I hopped up to me feet, pushing back the wooden chair I had been relaxing on, and fixed my hair back over the side of my face once more. Then a breath, deep and smelling of spice and food, and I waved one hand high, calling out into the crowd.

"Fresh grown veggies! Squash and tomatoes, here to freshen up your food and bring flavor into your life! Not from crates, not from storage, and never rehydrated! Get your squash while you can!"

The words stung a little in my throat, mush louder than I had expected them to come out. There was a murmuring within the crowd, of glances tossed my way and flitting emotions over passing faces.

But no one stopped. They simply scanned over the stall, over the lines of real veggies, the lumpy kind, the ones that varied in shape and size. Of course they wouldn't wouldn't these, not when they could get the lab-grown ones from other systems, where they were artificially filled with nutrients and vitamins. They were cheaper, too.

But those lab-things couldn't compare to the fresh stuff I was trying to sell. These burst with flavor and individuality, they were real and they tasted real. Let that sun-blasted SC-IT group sell their rations, their balanced bricks of flavorless proteins and supplements. I would always advocate for these sorts of home grown foods instead.

I continued on, untill my voice scraped heavily in my throat and I could speak no more. Still no one came any close, no one showed any interest beyond passing glances. I sat down, defeated.

"Stupid," I muttered, kicking at the dirt. "I wish people would just buy something."

"I will."

My head shot up, and I saw a man appear out of the shadows that stretched out in front of me. My hand slipped to my pocket, but found no knife like I normally kept. Reah had scolded me the last time she had found it kept in my skirts, and made me promise to never do such a thing again. She had wanted to be rid of it altogether, but I had hidden it away first. Now, it was relegated to only those small bits of freedom I gained through wearing my pants as I snuck out of the house.

But I wasn't wearing such pants now.

"How much are they, Miss?"

I knew him, that face, that voice. It nagged in the back of my mind, and I blinked repeatedly, studying him.

"You're the man who saved me," I blurted finally. "You're… oh but what is your name?"

"Dawson." He bowed, but it was a playful gesture. "Happy to see you again. Enori, wasn't it?"

I nodded, standing to my feet. "Yes. I would like to apologize for my actions that night we met, though. It really was quite reprehensible." The words were practiced, a thing I had lain awake many a night reciting in my head as I regretted every word I had said before. "I shouldn't have hurried away in such a manner, nor behaved so rudely."

"Oh it's quite alright." His words were light, as if excusing all I had done. "I am quite glad I ran into you, though. I was worried if you were alright after the events of such an evening. I know such things can be too much for many people."

"Yes," I muttered to myself, my fingers spraying out on the wood of the table. "Because people get accosted just outside their own homes all the time."

"You'd be surprised." I looked up, startled at his reply. His eyes were dark now, the forgiving joviality in them having since shifted into something more jaded. "It doesn't happen as often in the small systems where all are connected, but the central planets are rife with such things."

"But," I stammered. "Aren't there guards and police there in the central systems? Aren't the people protected there?

He chuckled, but it was without humor. Maybe… maybe the slightest bit of sympathy for the naivete he surely saw in me. "Yeah, for the rich, sure. But those who can't afford to live in the nicer parts of the planet often have the harder lives. Harder even than those on outer planets. It's why so many of them become pioneers."

"And you?" I asked. "Is that why you're here now?"

"Oh, no." He shook his head, propping one arm against the table and leaning into the moment. "No, that's a story for another time."

"Another time," I repeated. "You expect us to meet again?"

Dawson shrugged, his face covered in shadows from the lack of light now, and I wished u could see it better, see the emotions flitting across his features. "Well, we're set to be in port for a month. I don't see why I couldn't bump into you here and there."

"You say this as if you expect to see me on purpose." But that couldn't be right. Not after the way I had acted.

"Why not?"

He said them so casually, so effortlessly, and my heart stuck in my chest, unsteady and unsure as Dawson continued.

"You seem like a nice enough girl, miss. Do you find it unlikely I would want to know more of you?"

I paused, thinking over his words. "Well… honestly?" I looked over at him and he nodded encouragingly. "Yes, I am a bit surprised. I left you so abruptly that night." I spoke slower, chosing my words carefully. "I will say, I cannot fully see why you would want to know me in any sort of way."

"Because you're interesting," Dawson replied, shifting to stand upright once more. "You seem as if you want to close yourself off from others, yet I've seen the care in your eyes when you look at the other girls in that house. That intrigues me."

I laughed. "What, because I'm kind to the people I live with? Or what, am I a challenge to you? I'm closed off so naturally I'm something that must be won over? Becauee if so, let me assure you that—"

"Of course not." Dawson offered out two open hands, either to ward off my words, or offer some sort of surrender. "No, I simply meant what I said. I find you interesting, js all. No one would have placed any judgment on you if you had simply hidden away the whole night, away from any of us, but you came back out, to see and support and mingle. I admire that dedication."

I shrugged. "Not dedication. Expectations. And I shouldn't have disappeared like I did when speaking with you."

"You don't have to apologize for that again, you know. You've done so already."

"Who said I was going to apologize again?"

Dawson tilted his head. "Well, you have done so twice in this conversation. It is not unreasonable of me to think you might have intended to do it again."

I smiled, a soft twitch of my lips as I rubbed at the back of my neck. "Well, you're right. I probably would have if you had giving me the chance."

"Oh, I mean if you really do want to, you can. Go right ahead, I'm sorry for stopping you."

I laughed, then breathed in sharply, startled by my own reaction.

Dawson ducked his head down to look at me. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." I swallowed back my surprise and turned my attention back towards him. "You had said you wanted to buy something? What would you like?"

"You're trying to evade the conversation, Enori. If you would rather not speak to me, please let me know. I would hate to be needlessly bothering you."
I fiddled with the hair over my face once more, grateful for the shadows that had encompassed the entire moon, grateful that the only thing that might now reveal this mark was the light of a handheld lantern coming too close. And this was a highly unlikely possibility, seeing as no one had ever come close to my stall in the past two hours.

I didn't mind the solitude much though, in fact, I welcomed it in a way. My entire life had been filled with voices and persons crowded too closely together, shared beds and noise meals. The only solace to be found was tucked away corners that were kept on a strict schedule. After all, with so many girls in one house, solitude was in great demand, but diminishing supply.

Fia had also been tasked to work the stand with me, but had suddenly fallen ill, and forced me to remain alone. Once again, not like I minded.

Even though the market was quieter now, since the hours had dragged long past midnight, it still bustled with life and laughter, people taking advantage of the eternality of the passing night, wrapped up in this even, reliable darkness.

I had hated the dark season at first, when I had experienced it newly after coming to the Hents House, but now it felt something almost like an old friend. A comforting reliability, that it would always come, and always linger over the face of the moon before flaunting off to return the next revolution of the planet.

It was clear from one glance that others thought the exact way I did, bundled in their longer sleeves, tucked in coats and furs imported from other systems where animals could flourish, systems so unlike the one Pestas resided in. I had, of course, heard of things such a seasons, of the changing of weather and time, of plants and animals fading into winter forms. Pestas only knew dark and light, and the blistering days where all huddled indoors as the planet orbited closest to the sun, it's heat burning any wisp of life that dared step out in the day.

Yes, we welcomed this darkness and its inviting arms, eager and urging us to live without abandon and care and without any fear of the sun.

So I sat there, in this gentle darkness and stared out at the crowds of people, my feet swinging underneath the wood table in from of me. I had talked old Mrs. Kyo into letting me staff her market stall for the night, so that it might stay open longer and she could gain more money from it. Of course, I was to also earn a quarter of all proceeds from the time period, but when considering she didn't make any money at all at night, she had accepted.

Her other term of "payment" for me was that she would be sure to send her son over within the week, that he might finally meet me.

I wasn't sure if I considered this a gift, or a threat, seeing as I had never met the man, and though all Mrs. Kyo did was heap praise upon him, he seemed rather bland in her words.

But after all, a person without flaws revealed was not a person, but a picture, a flat depiction of a living breathing personality. He was probably nice enough, but finding a man to tear me away from the Hents House was negligible on my list of priorities. Actually, I wasn't even sure if it had ever landed on my list of priorities.

First and foremost and above all other things, though, was the need to make enough money to support the house. So maybe relishing in my solitude wasn't exactly the smartest business decision.

I hopped up to me feet, pushing back the wooden chair I had been relaxing on, and fixed my hair back over the side of my face once more. Then a breath, deep and smelling of spice and food, and I waved one hand high, calling out into the crowd.

"Fresh grown veggies! Squash and tomatoes, here to freshen up your food and bring flavor into your life! Not from crates, not from storage, and never rehydrated! Get your squash while you can!"

The words stung a little in my throat, mush louder than I had expected them to come out. There was a murmuring within the crowd, of glances tossed my way and flitting emotions over passing faces.

But no one stopped. They simply scanned over the stall, over the lines of real veggies, the lumpy kind, the ones that varied in shape and size. Of course they wouldn't wouldn't these, not when they could get the lab-grown ones from other systems, where they were artificially filled with nutrients and vitamins. They were cheaper, too.

But those lab-things couldn't compare to the fresh stuff I was trying to sell. These burst with flavor and individuality, they were real and they tasted real. Let that sun-blasted SC-IT group sell their rations, their balanced bricks of flavorless proteins and supplements. I would always advocate for these sorts of home grown foods instead.

I continued on, untill my voice scraped heavily in my throat and I could speak no more. Still no one came any close, no one showed any interest beyond passing glances. I sat down, defeated.

"Stupid," I muttered, kicking at the dirt. "I wish people would just buy something."

"I will."

My head shot up, and I saw a man appear out of the shadows that stretched out in front of me. My hand slipped to my pocket, but found no knife like I normally kept. Reah had scolded me the last time she had found it kept in my skirts, and made me promise to never do such a thing again. She had wanted to be rid of it altogether, but I had hidden it away first. Now, it was relegated to only those small bits of freedom I gained through wearing my pants as I snuck out of the house.

But I wasn't wearing such pants now.

"How much are they, Miss?"

I knew him, that face, that voice. It nagged in the back of my mind, and I blinked repeatedly, studying him.

"You're the man who saved me," I blurted finally. "You're… oh but what is your name?"

"Dawson." He bowed, but it was a playful gesture. "Happy to see you again. Enori, wasn't it?"

I nodded, standing to my feet. "Yes. I would like to apologize for my actions that night we met, though. It really was quite reprehensible." The words were practiced, a thing I had lain awake many a night reciting in my head as I regretted every word I had said before. "I shouldn't have hurried away in such a manner, nor behaved so rudely."

"Oh it's quite alright." His words were light, as if excusing all I had done. "I am quite glad I ran into you, though. I was worried if you were alright after the events of such an evening. I know such things can be too much for many people."

"Yes," I muttered to myself, my fingers spraying out on the wood of the table. "Because people get accosted just outside their own homes all the time."

"You'd be surprised." I looked up, startled at his reply. His eyes were dark now, the forgiving joviality in them having since shifted into something more jaded. "It doesn't happen as often in the small systems where all are connected, but the central planets are rife with such things."

"But," I stammered. "Aren't there guards and police there in the central systems? Aren't the people protected there?

He chuckled, but it was without humor. Maybe… maybe the slightest bit of sympathy for the naivete he surely saw in me. "Yeah, for the rich, sure. But those who can't afford to live in the nicer parts of the planet often have the harder lives. Harder even than those on outer planets. It's why so many of them become pioneers."

"And you?" I asked. "Is that why you're here now?"

"Oh, no." He shook his head, propping one arm against the table and leaning into the moment. "No, that's a story for another time."

"Another time," I repeated. "You expect us to meet again?"

Dawson shrugged, his face covered in shadows from the lack of light now, and I wished u could see it better, see the emotions flitting across his features. "Well, we're set to be in port for a month. I don't see why I couldn't bump into you here and there."

"You say this as if you expect to see me on purpose." But that couldn't be right. Not after the way I had acted.

"Why not?"

He said them so casually, so effortlessly, and my heart stuck in my chest, unsteady and unsure as Dawson continued.

"You seem like a nice enough girl, miss. Do you find it unlikely I would want to know more of you?"

I paused, thinking over his words. "Well… honestly?" I looked over at him and he nodded encouragingly. "Yes, I am a bit surprised. I left you so abruptly that night." I spoke slower, chosing my words carefully. "I will say, I cannot fully see why you would want to know me in any sort of way."

"Because you're interesting," Dawson replied, shifting to stand upright once more. "You seem as if you want to close yourself off from others, yet I've seen the care in your eyes when you look at the other girls in that house. That intrigues me."

I laughed. "What, because I'm kind to the people I live with? Or what, am I a challenge to you? I'm closed off so naturally I'm something that must be won over? Becauee if so, let me assure you that—"

"Of course not." Dawson offered out two open hands, either to ward off my words, or offer some sort of surrender. "No, I simply meant what I said. I find you interesting, js all. No one would have placed any judgment on you if you had simply hidden away the whole night, away from any of us, but you came back out, to see and support and mingle. I admire that dedication."

I shrugged. "Not dedication. Expectations. And I shouldn't have disappeared like I did when speaking with you."

"You don't have to apologize for that again, you know. You've done so already."

"Who said I was going to apologize again?"

Dawson tilted his head. "Well, you have done so twice in this conversation. It is not unreasonable of me to think you might have intended to do it again."

I smiled, a soft twitch of my lips as I rubbed at the back of my neck. "Well, you're right. I probably would have if you had giving me the chance."

"Oh, I mean if you really do want to, you can. Go right ahead, I'm sorry for stopping you."

I laughed, then breathed in sharply, startled by my own reaction.

Dawson ducked his head down to look at me. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." I swallowed back my surprise and turned my attention back towards him. "You had said you wanted to buy something? What would you like?"

"You're trying to evade the conversation, Enori. If you would rather not speak to me, please let me know. I would hate to be needlessly bothering you."

~
Status: unfinished/in progress
The scene is currently in the works/I'm actively finishing this one, but that might take me a while to do so