[G] [O] 740.06.21| Idle Shopping

The weather was starting to truly heat up for the summer months, and Tazikel was taking full advantage of the long daylight hours to spend as much time outside as possible. He'd spent the morning riding down to the Fishercraft Hall, on an errand for his father to bring a message to the Masterfisher. Lord Barenkel wanted to confirm that the usual seasonal change in fish locations was progressing as usual and there was no reason for concern that would prompt him to pad the food stores more than usual just yet. The fires in Ista of the turn before were not forgotten, and Tazikel's father had been excessively worried about food stores recently. Not the most exciting message, but the Masterfisher had shown Tazikel on some of the maps where different types of fish were plentiful, and one of the Masters had promised Tazikel he would take him on his boat someday soon if he wanted to go (Tazikel did). It also got him out of the meeting with the Lord of Wherever that his father and older brother were stuck in. Hah. Promises of boat trips were much more fun. 

Errand complete, however, Tazikel decided to wander the shops, chatting with merchants and shopkeepers, reminding everyone that the Lord Holder - through his son - was present and cared about the people. Or whatever, that's what his father and tutor were always on about and it was the excuse Tazikel always gave to justify all his exploration. He was getting to know the people and reminding them the Lord and his family gave a shit about them. A little jewelry shop holds his attention for a while, as he debates getting a small gift for his youngest sister, or perhaps his brother's newish wife. His brother was very focused on learning to be a Lord and had little time for Tazikel anymore, and Taz somehow doubted he gave as much attention to his lady wife as she deserved. The young women is quite nice, and Tazikel doesn't want his brother to give her a bad opinion of the entire family.

Azrin wasn’t a fan of Tillek. It smelled like fish and had terrible wine. He was fairly certain he had a child running around from a fling he had possibly a decade or so ago when his father sent him down for political purposes. His wife never came along on those ventures and his appetite was always as strong as his boredom so affairs were had. The women were smart enough not to contact him if they did become pregnant, likely more out of fear for their safety, but this particular affair lasted the full two weeks he stayed. Oh well, it wasn’t his concern.

No, his concern that day was tagging along on his baby brother’s important meetings. Jalazmar was getting better at pretending he was a Lord and knew what he was doing so Azrin didn’t feel the need to sit in on the negotiations. He was more inclined to flirt with his pretty sister-in-law and spoil her as they wandered the shops. He had already purchased her and Yanzi a new dress each, though Yanzi’s package also contained a sheer slip that she would know to wear the next time they were in the same Hold together.

Currently, he was doing his best to ignore the fish and focus on the sparkling jewellery the vendor was doing his best to hock. Azrin liked to accessorize, especially in rings though the one of the High Reaches crest was currently retired to a small chest in his bedroom. He supposed he was more of the Ista line now that his brother ruled High Reaches, effectively taking away the glitzy title of ‘second son’ from him to give to one of his sons.

“Which ring do you like, Kitten? Maybe this one?” Azrin removed his arm from around Xyliah’s waist and picked one with a large gemstone and slipped it onto one of Xyliah’s fingers. She was a delicate thing and the ring looked almost ridiculous on her but he chuckled and nodded in approval. “Perfect. The Little Lamb won’t miss it and we can lay bets on how long it takes for him to be jealous that I bought you such a fine thing.” He was bored and picking on the youngest brother was always fun.

He hadn’t really noticed the other customer when he appeared but Azrin had noticed the man was loitering as long as they were. He hadn’t survived in his family as long as he had without being suspicious and cautious and he paid the man some attention out of the corner of his eye before finally addressing him. “Would you like me to pick something out for you as well? Looks like you’re having difficulty there.” His playful smirk turned into a look of momentary confusion as he realised he recognized the face that had been partly obscured in shadows. “Tazikel?” Speaking of second sons; what was this one doing out of his Hold that day?

It hadn’t taken Tazikel long at all to find something for his youngest sister. Bazera had always been easy to shop for, and he had found multiple things she’d like within minutes. One pair of silver earrings with small blue stones stood out though, so he’d asked the merchant to put those aside for him while he continued shopping. He picked out a simple gold chain for his other sister, though Tazikel had no idea when he’d see her next, now that she lived inconveniently far away with her husband. Maybe he’d need to come up with an excuse to visit.

He still wanted to find something for Itherida, but it was a little harder to find something for his brother’s wife. Tazikel spent as much time out of the house as he could, while Itherida seemed to rarely leave, and he didn’t know her as well as perhaps he should. Getting her a gift could maybe help change that, but it was hard to pick something that she’d probably like that wasn’t a little too much either. A voice interrupted Tazikel overthinking a few pairs of earrings, and he turned to see who it was. He was surprised by his answer.

“Azrin!” he greeted, smiling at the other man as he recognized him, “you got out of the meeting too, did you?” Tazikel hadn’t been aware Azrin was going to be in Tillek at all, he’d only known of the one Lord from High Reaches who was going to meet with his father. Well, clearly Azrin wasn’t meeting with them, but he was visiting. Clearly, being caught unawares was a side effect of getting out of the house as soon as possible when he heard ‘meeting with a Lord’ and not getting more details. “Lady Xyliah, you’re here as well, I see. Welcome to Tillek,” Tazikel said, turning to the women next to Azrin, who he thankfully recognized. That made some sense, then. Jalazmar had gotten his brother to keep his wife company while he was stuck talking with Tazikel’s father. Satisfied that he had a decent understanding of what was going on, Tazikel nodded to himself. “I am having a bit of trouble, actually, if you’d like to help. Looking for a gift for my sister-in-law, in fact. You seem to be good at finding sister-in-law gifts, so your advice would be invaluable.” He gestured towards Xyliah’s hand, where she was still sporting the ring they had just picked out. Tazikel knew it was from the shop they were in, since he’d glanced at that particular ring display a few minutes before, and while he hadn’t been eavesdropping, he thought he’d overheard that he was buying it for her.