"Shopping Excursion"

[Yeoman C. 0]

There was a decided "ew".

 

"You eat those?"

 

"Why yes! Though not at this stage -- only in the larval stage. They flavor drinks as tadpoles."

 

Odile leaned closer, peering at the multilegged, oozing black... frog? It hardly seemed a frog. Most frogs she'd seen (offworld, naturally -- it wasn't as if Xenex had marshes and swamps to breed their own) were cute, and made pleasant 'ribbit' sounds. This sounded like an off-key dirge.

 

"They spawn quite easily," the man hovering hopefully nearby was prattling. "You could have one... two... maybe three drinks a week with as many young as these produce."

 

"Oh." She didn't quite know how to reply to that, tapping on the side of the cage. The frog-thing opened its mouth wide, and she saw several rows of serrating-looking teeth. "I don't think so. Maybe I'll think about it?" she tried.

 

"Nonsense! I'll bundle two up for you!"

 

"No!" she answered emphatically, distantly aware that a diplomatic incident would ensue from this. Oh, wait... a few of their boys had gotten arrested, so Odile couldn't do that badly...

 

"But... you must!"

 

"I can't pay! I don't have anything to barter with! I can't afford even half of one of these!" she volunteered in a moment of grand-idea.

 

His eyes went wide, and his hand moved away from opening one of the tanks. "Oh... well then... yes... if you get something valuable to trade..."

 

"Yes, this will be my first stop," she replied, relieved.

 

"Very well. Good afternoon to you," he answered, finally, and Odile breathed a sigh of relief as he moved to his next customer.

 

Pleased to be rid of that, she started moving through the market square with more careful glances at booths lest she be sucked back into a similar situation again. With a happy pat to the knife at her hip (she was off-duty, after all), she set out, quite in her element.

 

Xenex had been on a barter-system since Odile was born. And though the Federation would attempt to bring in the omnipresent Credit as the unit of currency with Xenex's admission, the manner of bickering over prices for this scrying mirror for that goat wasn't going anywhere, anytime soon.

 

"I like those," she commented, looking at a few nicely-polished, gleamingly colorful gems. "What are they?" she asked the dealer, a timid-looking young girl.

 

"They're... just some things my family has on the property. We sell larger boulders carved as furniture," the girl commented, pointing to a few chairs that had been hewn from the highest quality rocks. "But they're very expensive, as you'd guess... I just sell the little pebbles myself, for cheap, in case someone collects or something..."

 

"Hmmm." Odile considered, picking out a few of the rocks. "Trade for these?" she offered, pulling out two ration-packs she'd... procured... while on Excalibur.

 

"Ooh... food?" she asked. "Alien food!"

 

Condacin had to snicker. "Yes. Alien food for alien rocks."

 

"But these aren't alien... oh, I see what you mean." She nodded, grinning. "Very well -- that suits me."

 

"Then thank you. But tell me... if I wanted to buy somebody a present... something... special, where would I go?"

 

The sales-girl considered. "Maybe an amulet? There's an amulet dealer in that stall over there. Does your friend need good luck?"

 

Odile considered, then nodded quickly. "Definitely. All the luck possible."

 

"Then you want to get an amulet." The sales-girl grinned. "Have a nice day, stranger."

 

"And you," she answered, already off on her next mission.

[Maria Zier 0]

I can just see the Frog and Citrus getting along... :)