Shopping in the Square

It was little ways into the afternoon in the bustling market square of Grassveil Town and a young Fennekin was stood on her hind legs, cooking the last crepe that she would sell at her stall that day. Mille used practiced skill to flip the crepe in the pan, cooking the other side as the young Espurr customer waited patiently in front of the stall. With a smile, Mille made pleasant conversation with the youngster as she cooked, not wanting anyone to stand by awkwardly and in silence if she could help them feel more comfortable.

A few minutes later, the thin crepe was done and Mille slathered it with syrup as the Espurr had ordered, before folding it up handing it over gently, wrapped in a napkin. The Espurr thanked her for the food and scampered off, Mille smiling as she watched them go.

The Fennekin then turned away from the front of the stall, placing a small sign that said 'Not Serving' at the front so that others wouldn't come asking for her food. Mille would have happily continued serving for a few more hours until the hustle and bustle of Grassveil Town's square calmed down for the day, but she had run out of ingredients. Instead, the Fennekin had opted to pack up for the day and have a look around town whilst she bought some more.

Mille spent the next twenty minutes or so washing her tools and cleaning her stall. Once her saucepans and tools were all washed and dried, Mille packed them all away and closed up the stall, hoisting her bag full of tools onto her back as she went to explore the rest of the square. She popped on over to the stall next to hers to let them know that she was heading off for the day and went to have a look further on in the sqaure.

The crisp afternoon air gently breezed through Grassveil Town. A Skorupi exited the town's guild. Work at the guild had been slow recently, so Morty had set today aside to some shopping. He wanted to set out on some more dungeon explorations, so he would definitely need some food, and some other supplies. Since he needed more food than anything else, Morty decided to go and buy that, first.

He walked through the town square. It wasn't very crowded today, surprisingly. He occasionally gazed at the stalls he passed by, selling things like clothing. Once he had reached the stalls that sold food, he browsed through the various shops. After he had finished looking through the usual shops, he took note of one he hadn't visited before. It peaked his interest, wondering what it was like. Morty prepared to walk to the shop, but it seemed that the one who ran the store was just packing up and preparing to leave. The owner was a Pokemon that resembled a fox, with large, fluffy red ears. Morty had never seen a Pokemon like that before, and he wanted to know what kind of food they were selling. While he was lost in his thought, he noticed that they had already left.

In a rush, Morty scuttled over to the now empty stall. If he were too slow, there was a high chance that he wouldn't be able to catch the owner. He looked around for a few seconds, before going to the stall directly nextdoor. He quickly asked them, "H-hey, did you see the owner of the stall over there?", pointing next to them. They responded with a smile, calmly answering, "Yes, sweetie, they went that way.", gesturing down the street. "They told me that they were closing for now." That was disappointing... "Oh... thanks for telling me, then.". Well, even if he couldn't buy anything from them, he could at least ask when they planned to come back, or just get to know them better. Nothing wrong with meeting new people, right?

As Mille wandered down the street, she glanced around at the various shops and began making a mental note of what she would need to buy. She had gathered the day's earnings up and there was a little more than she'd normally get thanks to a few tips from some particularly nice customers. She figured she could perhaps splash out on something for herself as well as buying the essentials and still have enough to save up a decent portion of the day's earnings towards her dream.

For the time being, she'd look for ingredients first. Flour, eggs, and milk were what she needed most. She knew that there was a Chansey that sold eggs somewhere in the square, but they had recently moved their stall to a different location. Mille, unfortunately, hadn't had the chance to ask where. The Fennekin kept her ears pricked and eyes open for the telltale signs of the pink Egg Pokemon, passing a number of other interesting stalls as she looked.

Soon enough she spotted the familiar form and made a beeline for the correct stall.
"Hey, Erica!" Mille grinned, hopping over towards her. The Chansey in question waved cheerfully.
"Would you like the usual?" she asked with a smile, Mille nodding in response.

"I like your new location," the Fennekin commented. Erica's produce stall was positioned rather nearby to a fountain, which allowed her to get the attention of customers who were relaxing on a bench or catching a drink, "It seems very convenient."

"Of course! As soon as I saw it was free when the old rug salesman retired I just had to nab it for myself," she chuckled, moving a number of eggs into a convenient box for Mille to carry, "I'll keep an eye on the gossip around this area in case another spot opens up though!" She winked at the Fennekin, "I'm sure everyone would love to eat your food sat near the fountain."

(I would have posted this a half hour earlier but I accidentally deleted the whole thing and had to retype it)

Morty followed the fox down the street. He ran as fast as his little legs could carry him  (which wasn't really that fast). Most likely, he wouldn't have to worry about losing track of them, as the street was still pretty barren. There were a few other Pokemon out and about, wandering across the streets to whatever their destination was, but the majority of them were occupying stalls on the sides of the road.

The further into the town they got, the more and more Pokemon filled up the streets. "They must be going towards the fountain," Morty thought to himself. The area of town with the fountain always had the most Pokemon in it. The fountain was in a convenient spot for both pedestrians and venders. Navigating this part of Grassveil was always a pain. Even on slow days, there were just too many Pokemon for Morty's tastes. However, there were also plenty of stalls, so at least a large number of pedestrians were attracted to them, keeping down the clutter on the road.

By now, Morty was out of breath. All this running had gone and gotten him tired. Lucky for him, though, the stranger stopped near a stall and started chatting to the owner. Morty recognized the shopkeeper - it was Erica, a Chansey. The two of them had already been previously acquainted. Heck, Morty could probably consider himself a regular at her shop. It was annoying that Erica decided to move her stall out here, but he could see how good it would be for her business.

Now that the stranger had started a conversation, Morty wasn't going to go and interrupt them. Usually, he would never do this, but he decided to sit down on a bench and rest. For however long the two were going to chat, Morty would have the time to catch his breath, maybe take a sip from the fountain as well. And whenever they finished, he would go and ask Erica about the fox Pokemon. Maybe she could give more information about them to him?

(No prob! I was out until not long ago anyways :3)

Mille laughed good-naturedly at the Chansey's statement, waving a paw. "You're too kind, Erica," she smiled, "But I definitely appreciate it! I get a lot of custom where I am now but the fountain is that coveted place. It's always awesome to have a view after all!" Mille grinned, the Chansey nodding in agreement. Erica soon finished up placing the eggs in the container and walked around the stall to help tuck them neatly into the bag on the Fennekin's back. When she was done, she put her hands on her hips.

"All done!"

Mille nodded, "Awesome! Thanks, Erica." She paused and sifted through her small pouch of money, counting out the appropriate coins before handing them over.
"It's no problem dear! I love to see the square flourishing. And of course, as always I appreciate your custom," she chuckled. Mille laughed back, re-stringing the coin pouch together before she bid her farewells to the Chansey and made to continue onwards through the square.

Erica waved to Mille as she left, before turning back to her wares and re-arranging the produce on her stall so that it filled the gaps where she had just taken the eggs from. Meanwhile, Mille mentally checked off eggs from her shopping list and padded away in the search for flour and milk.

It seemed that by now, Erica was finishing up her conversation with the stranger. She was helping them put something into a bag, before they went on their way down the road again. Morty, still recovering his stamina, waited a minute before approaching the stall. He didn't know if Erica would be willing to tell him anything about them or not... well, she probably would. She was definitely one for gossip, he had learned that much.

Morty got up off the bench, still a bit fatigued, but much less so. He sauntered over to the produce stall and opened with "Hey, there, Erica.". She took note of his presence, and returned his greeting, "Oh, hello, Morty! Is there anything I could help you with today?"

"Uh, sorry Erica, I'm not here to buy anything today, not yet. But, I do wanna ask you about that Pokemon you were just talking with. Who was that? I saw that they ran a shop somewhere else in the town, and I've been trying to talk with her, but, uh, I haven't been able to catch up with her..."

"Hmm, her? Why, her name is Mille, and she sells food in that other part of town you mentioned. It is quite delicious! She comes around her every so often.".

Mille, huh? Maybe if I'm fast enough, I can still catch up to her. Maybe she'll let me buy some of her food, too... I'm getting hungry just thinking about it! Morty sat there, thinking to himself briefly before speaking back up to Erica. "Hmm... well, thanks for the information, Erica. Catch you later! ...Actually, on second thought, while im still here, do you mind if I buy some eggs?"

Erica chuckled, asking politely, "Of course you can buy some eggs! How many would you like?"

Mille meanwhile headed onwards in her journey for ingredients. She knew she'd have to stop by Maryam's stall to get some milk, but she knew her next stop would be the stall that sold flour. Luckily, unlike Erica's stall, she knew where the flour stall was and made a beeline through the crowds. She bounded over to the owner who was currently placing a fresh bread roll into a small bag and handing it towards a Tangela. The Tangela extended one of its vines to grab the bag, giving the Bisharp who ran the stall the correct change before they bid their farewells and parted ways.

The Bisharp then turned to Mille, who was waiting patiently, her tail gently waving from side to side.
"Good afternoon, Mille," smiled the Bisharp. He was very well spoken and stood to attention behind the stall front. The stall itself sold a variety of things, including different types of homemade bread, but he also sold straight up bags of flour after Mille had spoken with him about needing a supplier. He'd been happy to oblige since he made his own flour anyway.

"Afternoon, Joaquin," the young Fennekin smiled, "Can I get a bag of flour? I ran out of ingredients before closing time today so I might need to start stocking more if this keeps happening!" Mille sounded rather excited, happy to talk to her acquaintances in the marketplace.

The Bisharp smiled almost imperceptibly. "I'm happy for you," he replied matter of factly, his tone remaining even. Despite this, Mille could tell that he was genuine due to the tiny smile on his lips. Joaquin wasn't as open as she was, but that didn't matter. She still considered him a friend of sorts. The Bisharp tapped one of the bags that was leaning against the side of his stall.
"Would you like one of these? They're bigger bags, and as long as you keep them dry they shouldn't spoil, so it should last you longer. I can deliver it to your stall after closing as well if that is helpful."

"Ooooh! That'd be great!" Mille grinned. Flour was usually rather heavy, so she was grateful for the offer, "I'll cook you something in return!"

Joaquin shook his head gently, "Your patronage is all the thanks that I require..." he paused very briefly, watching Mille look up at him with an almost pleading look in her eyes. "...But if you would like to cook for me then I will not say no," he added with a small chuckle.

~~~~~~~~

"Thanks again, Erica! See you later!", Morty exclaimed, as he continued down the road, his bag now occupied gently by a few eggs. Now that he had those eggs, he would have to be eggstra extra careful not to break them. And, with his pointy, awkward body... that wasn't eggsactly exactly very easy. Now he was slowed down by the eggs, and by his somewhat diminished fatigue.

He rounded a few more corners, walking quite awkwardly so as to not break his newly acquired produce, before seeing Mille again. This time, it looked like she had just finished purchasing something else from a different stall. She prepared to resume her walk through town, and before Morty could catch up, she was already leaving. Today was really starting to take a lot out of him...

Eggstremely Extremely tired at this point, Morty dragged himself to the counter of the stall she had stopped at, before panting out, "...h...hey, t-that was... Mille, right? Do you k-know where... where she p-plans... on going...?". He was drenched in sweat, and breathing heavily. He couldn't remember the last time he had gotten a workout much like this.

Mille grinned widely as Joaquin agreed to have her cook for him. The Bisharp had always been very modest, never wanting to put anyone out, but Mille was ever eager to share her cooking with others. And, hell, as polite as Joaquin was he just couldn't say no when the Fennekin was so willing to cook for him. It was free food after all.

"Woo! Think about what you want and I'll cook for you when you bring that by later!" she grinned, a little wag of her tail portraying her excitement to cook for those she knew. The Bisharp shook his head gently, a hand on one hip as he replied, his smile seeping into his tone of voice. "Alright then."

Mille chatted for a little longer before another customer came up to Joaquin's store looking to purchase bread. The Fennekin took that as her cue to leave and waved goodbye before the Bisharp turned to serve his latest customer. As she padded away from the stall, she mentally checked flour off of her list. The only essential ingredient she had left to purchase was milk. She honestly had some left over from today, so she could probably go a little bit without purchasing more... but at the same time Mille was always up for seeing Maryam.

The young Fennekin took a seat nearby to the fountain in the town square, stretching her paws for a moment before she gently pulled her bag off of her back, sifting gently through it until she found her actual checklist. She kept a written record of her ingredients just in case she forgot whilst she was out. It had come in handy before as it allowed Mille to keep rough numbers rather than ordering ingredients with the amount she'd need being a complete stab in the dark. Taking a quill out, the Fennekin updated the numbers for flour and eggs, using her mouth to move the pen across the paper with practiced ease.


As Joaquin finished up with his customer, a Skorupi dragged himself over to his stall, asking about Mille. The Bisharp blinked. "I'm not... fully sure," he replied, looking thoughtful for a moment, "She normally visits Erica's egg stall or Maryam's milk stall when she buys her ingredients though. Are you a friend of hers?"

At this point, was following her even worth it? He could easily just ask next time he went shopping.

...Well, he wasn't going to quit now. If he was gonna burn himself out, then it would be for a reason. Damn him and his determination.

"A friend? W-well, uh... not really... but... thanks for t-telling me... anyw-way..." Morty wasn't going to tell the Bisharp his true intentions, because it would probably sound pretty silly. Brushing off any further possible conversation, he crawled back down the street. Supposedly, Mille would likely be going back towards the fountain by now. Oh, man. He had already run past there once, and now he had to do it again? He didn't feel like he would make it.

His painful slog through town continued for, hopefully, the last time. He also hoped that Mille would actually be at the fountain. If he went all the way back there and she wasn't there, then he felt like he would die right then and there. After what felt like forever, Morty arrived back in the square. It was later in the afternoon by now, and the clutter near the fountain had decreased. Morty sat in place, scanning the area. A few Pokemon were still at stalls, while the majority were sprinkled near the fountain, like usual. And then, sitting right near the fountain, he saw her - the one he had been looking for! She was writing something down, with her utensil in her mouth.

Morty felt like he had just found an oasis in a desert. Now that he had spotted Mille, he could relax at last. With wobbly, exhausted legs, he took a few breaths to regain his composure. He approached Mille, and with a bit more stabilized of a voice, asked, "Hey you r-run one of those stalls down... the road, r-right?". He was feeling a lot better now he had finally stopped running. He would probably end up sleeping in, tonight, to. Hopefully he wouldn't have anything important to do early tomorrow!

Spoiler:

The Bisharp tilted his head in question at the Skorupi's answer, but before he could ask anything further, the Scorpion Pokemon had already moved away from his stall. He scratched his head but then turned back to his wares, figuring he'd mention it to Mille when he came to deliver her flour a little later.

Meanwhile, Mille was doing some counting, calculating her finances lately and how much she could potentially earn if the amount of custom she was getting remained the same. She was interrupted by an unfamiliar voice and looked up to see a Skorupi who looked rather out of breath.

Mille blinked, placing the quill down before she spoke. "Yea. Yea I do!" She confirmed. "I run the pancake stall, though we sell crepes and waffles and I can probably even cook doughnuts too if people requested them enough," she grinned, pausing as she took note of the Skorupi's rather haggard form.
"Are you doing alright, there?"

"Uh, me? I-I'm doing just... f-fine." Visibly, Morty seemed to be doing, not fine. He was sweaating buckets, and panting like he had just run a 10-mile marathon (he basically did). He probably looked like an idiot out here, going back and forth. Well, at least Mille didn't know that he did that. He hoped she didn't...

Mille told him about how the stall she ran downtown was actually a pancake stall, which sold various different sorts of breakfast foods. That did sound really good right about now. Especially considering how tired he was. After catching a few more breaths, he continued. "S, Sorry if I look so... out of breath... this m-might sound ridiculous, b-but I've been ch-chasing you through town for, like, 20 minutes... because I wanted... to ask about y-your stall. It caught my attention. Would you be w-willing to still... sell me anything?".

This was definitely not how he had planned his day to go so far. But at the same time, he was somehow having a little bit of fun. Maybe that was just all the running getting to his head? Who knew? Whatever the case, it was a nice way to shake up a boring shopping day... Though if he had the choice, he probably wouldn't do it again.

The Fennekin tilted her head to the side as the Skorupi said he was fine. It was clear he'd exerted himself, but Mille supposed that it wasn't particularly her business if the stranger didn't want to share. Her expression grew into one of almost wonder as the Skorupi actually did reveal the reason for his haggard state. Someone was that enthusiastic about trying her food that they would chase her through the marketplace?

Maybe to someone else it would have been borderline creepy, but Mille was more excited about someone new getting to try her pancakes, her eyes practically sparkling.

"I mean, I was meant to be closed for the day, but I just bought some new ingredients so I might have enough to make you a couple pancakes if you really want to try some. but I'd be happy to make you some, especially after you went to so much effort to catch up!" she laughed, tucking her quill into her small notebook and closed it. The Fennekin placed her bag on the floor and tucked the book back inside, before hopping to her feet once again.

"Although, you'll have to do a little more walking to get back to my stall if that's alright," she chuckled, a little sheepishly.

Morty chuckled along with her. "Haha, I'm fine with that. I'm s-sure I've been through worse." He was surprised that she would temporarily open the shop again, just for him. Though, the thought of having someone be this desperate to try your food sounded pretty flattering. He wouldn't know how to react if he were in that sort of situation. It would probably more embarrasing, than anything else. Morty hadn't really learned how to deal with that level of flattery or admiration.

As Mille packed up, the two started down the road that Morty hoped he would never have to run back and forth through ever again. The sun was no longer directly over head, instead beginning to descend downwards through the late afternoon sky. Within a few hours, it would be getting dark. By that time, Morty would have to start running again, this time towards the Guild, but hopefully he wouldn't be so exhausted anymore. To make the walk back to Mille's shop less awkward and silent, Morty tried to make some simple conversation with the Fennekin. "So, uh, how long have you been running that shop of yours? Because I've only been in Grassveil for, like, a year now, and I always remember seein' your stall over there."

Mille gently moved the bag onto her back and began leading the Skorupi back down the street and towards the area where her stall was located. The Fennekin padded along quietly, remaining silent for a moment as she mentally double checked the tiny amount of ingredients she had left. She was pretty sure she had enough flour for a couple of pancakes back at the stall. She wasn't sure if Joaquin would have been able to deliver her bag of flour by now as he had his own stall to pack up.

She was brought out of her thoughts by a question from the Skorupi.
"Oh, uhm, a little less than that long actually," She chuckled, "I moved to Grassveil about a few months ago because I wanted to follow my dreams of opening a cafe and bake shop." Mille grinned and paused to wave a paw at Erica as they passed her stall once more. The Chansey waved back and flashed a friendly smile towards Morty at the same time.

As they moved on from her stall, Mille, spoke up, asking her own question.
"I completely forgot to introduce myself. I'm Mille by the way, what's your name?"