Got Milk?

"Milk! Get ya' milk here! Fresh every day!" Maryam shouted over the bustling crowd before her. Today was an unusually slow day for her, having only sold a few jars as time to close up shop fast approached. She desperately tried to think of some way to attract more customers. "Special offer! Today only! Add yer' own berries for free!" ... Nothing. She couldn't tell if no one was interested, or if they just couldn't hear her. 'Probably the latter,' she thought to herself. "... Hopefully the latter." she mumbled under her breath.

A half hour had passed and still no luck. She could see the crowd slowly grow thinner as Pokemon finished up their shopping and headed home for the day. There was still hope, but not much.

A young Fennekin wandered through Grassveil Town's market square. She'd been here for a few days now and had managed to set up her stall. She had, however, run out of ingredients for her pancakes and so was currently on the hunt for other stalls or stores around the market which might be suitable for her to procure the ingredients she needed. She was running out of time that particular day though, as she was aware that some vendors began to pack up for the day around this hour.

Mille was wandering rather aimlessly, not particularly knowing where to head for specific things when she heard a salesperson calling out:"Milk! Get ya' milk here!" The Fennekin's ears immediately pricked upwards, twitching as they sought to find the source of the voice. Mille padded forwards a few steps, her ears doing all the legwork as she pinpointed the direction that the sales pitch was coming from. Soon enough, the bustle of Pokemon in the square parted enough for her to catch sight of a Miltank who was fronting her own stall.

Grinning in excitement, Mille darted forwards, nearly crashing into a Torracat as they walked past and skidding to a halt almost immediately afterwards. She apologised a little sheepishly as she stepped around the fire cat, slowing her pace but still making a beeline for the Miltank's stall.

Upon finally reaching the stall, Mille tried to look over the table that the milk jars were positioned on but found herself to be too short. Instead, she raised herself up so that she was stood on her hind legs, her front paws leaning on the storefront so that she could look at both the milk and the stall owner.

"Hi! Uhm, you sell plain ol' milk right?" she asked, her tone sounding almost urgent.

Maryam rested her chin on her palm as she waited for someone to approach her stall, tracing invisible patterns onto the store counter she stood behind. Her ears twitched as she heard fast-paced footsteps. Looking up, she saw a little Fennekin bounding towards her stall, almost crashing into a Torracat along the way. Her face lit up and she stood up straight, watching the Fennekin walk over and ask if she sold milk.

"Why, yes I do Sugar! How much ya' need?" she leaned over the counter slightly to get a better view of the Fenniken, smiling softly.

Mille's expression broke out into a large grin when the Miltank informed her that they did, in fact, sell 'plain ol' milk'.
"Sweet! Okay. So, I recently started up a stall further down the square," she began to explain, her gaze switching from the milk to the Miltank running the stall and upwards to the sky as she explained her situation. "It's a crepe and pancake stall, and of course I need milk to make those! So, uhm. To put it simply I need some milk for tomorrow's working day..."

The Fennekin paused, raising a paw to her jaw thoughtfully as she tried to work out how much she would need. Her words were a little rambling and she had the tendency to reveal probably a little too much. But Mille didn't mind. She was just a little talkative due to being more sociable by nature.

Mille hadn't been running her stall for too long at this point and wasn't exactly sure how much milk she would exactly need for one day. Back in her home village, she'd just cooked as and when she needed to, rather than needing to prepare for a lot of Pokemon to purchase food in a single day. The Fennekin figured maybe she could just try a number and then learn from it? Then again, this kind salesperson was here, so she could ask her!

"I guess... I'm not too sure how popular my stall will be... Do you have a suggestion for a starting point?"

"Hm," Maryam paused to think, rubbing her chin. "Well, how does a gallon sound? Should last ya' a good day or two, and ya' can always come back for more if needed!" she grinned and reached under the counter and pulled out an empty gallon jug. "This'd be just about the gallon. I don't have enough to give you today, but come back tomorrow morning and I'll be to give ya' what ya' need!" she put the jug back under the counter and turned her attention back to Mille.

Mille thought about the idea of a gallon, trying to picture how much that was in her mind before the Miltank pulled up an empty jug to demonstrate how much milk it was. The young Fennekin nodded eagerly, "That'd be a good starting point I think!" She grinned widely, imagining how many pancakes she could make out of that.

"How much would that cost me?" she asked, taking out her coin pouch and having a second look at how much money she actually had to her name, "And would it be easier for me to pay you now or tomorrow morning?"

Mille was a little new to dealing with other merchants so she wasn't sure what would be easier. The ingredients she used in her home village were usually sourced by her parents. She was beginning to learn a lot more about how to source her own ingredients but she was still very new to the entire process having only moved to Grassveil Town a short while ago.

"I'd say just about 6400 poké," she said as she leaned against the counter. "But if ya' don't have enough don't worry! You can always pay the rest after work tomorrow." She smiled sweetly, wanting to help this lil' Fennekin the best she can.

"Whichever works best for you, Sugar!" she said, shrugging. "This is my first big sale, so I'd be happy to work with ya' any way I can!" she grinned excitedly as she spoke.

" Oh, by golly I've never asked yer' name! I'm Maryam, Maryam the Miltank! And you are?" she reached out her hand to shake Mille's paw, tilting her head as she asked their name.

Mille's face fell a little at the price. She didn't quite have enough money on her for the milk she would need, but she immediately brightened up when the Miltank suggested that she could pay the rest after work tomorrow.

"Oh, that would be amazing! I have about 5000 poké here now but I should definitely be able to pay the rest after my work tomorrow if that's okay with you!" she grinned, happy that this stall owner was willing to make such compromises for her. The Miltank mentioned how she was her first big sale, and Mille grinned.
"I'm glad I could be your first big customer! Hopefully, I'll be able to buy from you more often!" She grinned.

"I'm Mille," the Fennekin smiled, introducing herself as she began to count out her coins. "Pleased to meet you, Maryam!"

"That's more than ok with me, Honey!" she smiled back at her. "Gosh almighty so do I! Yer' an absolute doll to do business with and I'd love to work with you more in the future!"

She watched the Fennekin count her coins as she introduced herself. "The pleasure's all mine!" She counted the coins herself to double check before putting them in the till and turning back to Mille.

"Hey here's a pecha milk, on me." she grinned as she handed Mille a jar of pink colored milk, wanting to offer something as a little 'thank you'.

Mille grinned as the Miltank also showed enthusiasm at continuing to do business in the future. She had moved to Grassveil all alone, but it was both enlightening and empowering to know that she could make friends and acquaintances like this just by being herself. She didn't have to be business savvy all of the time, although admittedly it would probably be a good thing to develop for the future.

But Mille was the type to live in the moment and cope with things as they came. Her only long-term goal was, of course, opening her own little pastry and sweet treats cafe. Name still pending.

The Fennekin looked up at Maryam, blinking as she offered the pecha milk. She took the jar into her paws, glancing down at it before her amber gaze met the Miltank's once more.
"Are you sure?" she asked, almost in awe that the kind Miltank would just give her something for free, "Thankyou!!"

She tucked the jar of milk into her bag and bounced excitedly on the spot once it was safe and away within it. It would be super interesting to try using pecha milk instead of normal milk in her recipe!
"You should come over to my shop tomorrow! I can give you a taste of my pancakes!" She paused in her bouncing and stood still for a moment, "Well, that is, if you like pancakes."

She watched Mille bounce up and down, and couldn't help but giggle a little. "No problem lil' Mille!"

Her ears perked up at the offer of pancakes. "Why, I'd absolutely love to! I haven't had good pancakes since my mama was around!" she exclaimed excitedly, trying to remember the taste of the pancakes her mother use to make. "I'll try my best to make room for lunch tomorrow. If it's as slow as today was, I should have no problem comin' over!" she said, smiling down at the Fennekin. For once in her life she actually hoped business was slower than usual.

Mille grinned as Maryam agreed to come over to try her pancakes, "Awesome! I'll have to try out a recipe with your pecha milk as well! I reckon pecha pancakes would be pretty cool! Maybe I can find some pecha berries to use as a topping from Pecha Forest?" The young Fennekin's thoughts seemed to run away with her as she excitedly considered all the options there were. She had honestly never thought about milk being flavoured with berries before. It was yet another thing she hadn't experienced back in her home village. But now, it just gave her all sorts of ideas!

Mille hadn't yet been to Pecha Forest, but she had heard about it from various people in the square. Considering it was named after pecha berries though, Mille could only assume that such berries were commonly found there.

"Hmm, maybe I could try making a pecha syrup!" Mille frowned, although she was already making plans to try finding some pecha berries. She couldn't buy any today since she'd just used all of her cash on the milk for tomorrow, but she could definitely forage as long as she were careful.

"My, that sounds mighty delicious right there! If ya' want, I can tag along to help you find those pecha berries someday! I'm running low on supply myself, and I've been meaning to grab some more from that there forest." She paused and smiled, quickly adding in "Plus, I was born there so I know my way around decently enough. How's that sound?" she grinned and leaned against the counter, looking down at Mille. She hadn't been to Pecha Forest in a long while, and was excited to go back for both nostalgic and business purposes. Hopefully this time, with a new friend!

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Grinned the Fennekin. She was rather excited to explore the forest now that she had a purpose to go there. And going with a new face, perhaps a friend? It would be awesome! She wondered if the berries were really as plentiful in the forest as the name suggested and whether she and Maryam would both be able to get what they needed.

Either way, she would do her best! It would be fun to go exploring! Mille hadn't really left Grassveil since she'd got here, having to figure out how to set up her stall and trying to drum up business, so the excursion would definitely be a welcome break.

"It'll be handy to have someone who knows the area with me," she smiled, "Perhaps we could go next time we're both free?" she suggested.

Maryam's excitement started to grow, having to hold herself back from bouncing like Mille did earlier. Would her old friends be there? Probably not, but she can hope so!

"Of course!" she said, pausing and thinking for a moment. After some mumbling and thinking to herself, she finally asked "How does Monday afternoon sound? I should be free then." she tilted her head as she looked at Mille, awaiting a response from her.

Okay, she couldn't help but bounce a little bit, trying her best to keep it contained. She was now imagining all the fresh pecha berries she could get! Would Mille be mad if she snacked on them a bit while they were there? Probably not if it's just a few berries.