30th of Summer, 518 AV
Nieve had briefly pondered the possibility of purchasing a bow to learn how to hunt with an actual weapon; hunting in her yowlwing form was all fine and good, but she couldn't take down very large prey, and she felt much too small in her animal form in the jungle. With the thick canopy above, there wasn't much place for her to fly to safety, either.
So standing at the treeline, staring into the trees and greenery thoughtfully, Evie decided she should indeed do that, and decided to head to the Mercantile. Dressed in her loincloth and with her scarf wrapped around her chest, for it was a slightly cooler day, she fetched her coin purse from her tent, and set off at a trot down the beach.
It didn't take her too long to reach the Mercantile. Nieve's stomach rumbled, reminding her somewhat rudely that she had yet to have breakfast, but she ignored it. She was on a mission. Nieve climbed up the ladder to the lofted building, peering around as she entered its shade. Juli Chaliva stood behind the counter at the other side, and gave a smile.
Nieve smiled back readily; she hadn't interacted much with the other woman, truth be told. She knew she was one of the Founders' daughter, James if she remembered correctly, but that was about all. "Hi Juli," Nieve chirped, padding over to the counter.
"Hello," She greeted. "Nieve, right?" The Kelvic blinked in surprise and then grinned even wider. There weren't many people in the settlement, and being the daughter of a Founder, Nieve should have expected Juli to know everyone...but it still surprised and pleased her to no ends to be recognized, and she nodded enthusiastically.
Juli chuckled quietly. "What can I help you with today?"
Nieve shifted her weight, brushing her curls out of her face. "Well, I was hoping to get a bow and some arrows, for hunting."
"What kind of bow?" Juli asked immediately, skirting around the counter. Nieve paused long enough that Juli smiled. "For hunting, you said? Shortbow it is." The mental image of the tiny Kelvic, who clearly had no experience with a bow, trying to use a longbow was enough to make Juli suppress a laugh.
"We have one or two in stock usually...ah, here we go." The young woman plucked a bow that was hanging from the ceiling, handing it to Nieve to inspect. Evie took it, turning it over and examining it, though for what she had no idea.
A simple curved piece of wood, pale in colour and sanded and polished to a gentle shine, held a string between its top and bottom edge. Nieve gently plucked at the string, finding it to be elastic in nature, and nodded. That made sense.
"How many arrows did you want?" Juli asked, ducking behind the counter.
"Uhm...how many do you think I need?" Nieve asked, sheepishly, trailing after Juli.
"We sell twenty for one gold miza...so maybe start with twenty?" Juli suggested. "You can always come back to get more; we've always got arrows in stock. You'll need a quiver to hold them, too."
Nieve nodded, and Juli placed a bundle of twenty arrows on the counter, along with a small leather quiver. "So, shortbow, twenty arrows, quiver..." The woman did some math in her hand, counting on her fingers quickly. "That comes out to fifty-one gold mizas."
Nieve pulled out her coin purse, counting out the coins while Juli waited patiently. It was perhaps more than she was expecting to pay, but then again, she had no real grasp of how much these sorts of things should cost.
"Perfect, thanks," Juli collected the coins, tucking them into her pocket. "If you need help getting the basics down, maybe ask Buraga," She added, helpfully. "I don't think he uses a shortbow, but I should think the basic principles are similar enough that he can help you out a little bit."
Thanking Juli for the information, Nieve carefully ducked her head through the bow to rest it across her body, dropped the arrows into the quiver, and slung it over her shoulder before leaving the Mercantile to find Buraga.
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Word Count: 698