xp_logs | Sooraya and Artie: Food adventures

Sooraya and Artie head out to... arrange for some food.

"Food is out." Sooraya simply stated as she looked over what supplies they had, then twisted to look over her shoulder at Artie. "I think we might need to go out and see if we can get some more?"

Artie nodded and began to bundle his things (sleeping bag, change of clothes, the money they hadn't cached elsewhere, toiletries and phone) into his backpack, leaving the bottle of water at the top, easiest to access. If he'd learned anything as a child, it was that you never left anything you wanted to keep hold of lying around and that seemed to hold true here, too. "are we a couple again?" he asked, giving Sooraya a sardonic smile.

"Why not? It worked just as well last time." Sooraya bundled up her own stuff, tucking it in a bag she could drape over her own arm. Then she pulled out the flowered cloth she had been using as an outer veil and quickly wrapped it around her around her, obscuring both her shape and face and making it a lot harder for anyone to really recognize her. "I think though..." Sooraya said as she tucked the last folds into place. "... That we might have to try that money trick you were talking about. People were starting to notice us at the dumpsters last time..."

"well, yeah. i'm white and u're ...u." It stood to reason that they were noticed, especially here in Genosha - most of the dumpster divers around here looked nothing like either of them. Artie tucked a handful of notes into his pocket - a couple of larger ones and a handful of the stupid annoying small ones. "wash your face, Sooraya." He showed her an image of the smudge on her cheek. "We can't look like poor people. poor ppl are dirty and get noticed..." Unlike all those times in New York where he'd passed dodgy notes half for shits and giggles and half for the Morlocks, the stakes were a lot higher here.

She quickly folded a part of her veil back, whipped her face with a wet cloth and tucked it back into place. "Does this look better?" She considered for a moment. "I noticed a little market nearby, where a lot of Asian immigrants seemed to be shopping. I think I can blend in there like this..." She gestured at her clothes. "Can you do an illusion that makes yourself look like you come from those areas?" The young Afghani shrugged. "I don't know... It's just a suggestion..."

It was a good thing he already had dark hair and long sleeves. Artie nodded and began to lay an illusion over his skin, flipping the collar of his jacket up because he always missed a bit at the nape of his neck. "good?"

The young Afghani looked him over and nodded. "That looks just fine." She gathered up her own bag and hung it around her shoulder. "Mr. Beaubier should be back soon, but I told him we might be going out for some more food. So... you're ready?"

"I guess so," Artie offered, before dropping the projection. "Remember, I can't talk at all once we leave." Or you know, open his mouth too much. Little details like that.

Sooraya nodded. "Alright. We'll manage... Let's go." With that they quickly stepped outside in the hot air and the hubbub of the poor area around them. Sooraya oriented herself for a second and point. "The market is that way."

Artie nodded, stepping out beside her. He let Sooraya handle the haggling, trying to look casual as he surveyed the market - was that man looking at them funny? That woman in the blue shirt - was she following them or did she just want some bread? How the hell did Marie Angie and Doug do this? He felt like he was going to jump out of his skin with nerves.

Sooraya tried to change her English as haggled, letting her accent coming out full force and slipping words in Dari and a few words in Portuguese and Arabic that she had learned in Attilan. It seem to fit in fairly well in the cacophony of accents on the small market. She checked the fruits she wanted herself, checking for their ripeness and soft spots. She mostly picked things that needed little cooking and happily tucked them in her bag.

When they got to paying, he fished out a small note, laying the illusion over it as he smoothed it out and handed it over to the stall keeper, taking a lot of change back in return. (More money in their kitty.) He kept the illusion on as the man pocketed the money and they moved away, getting lost in the crowd. (Hopefully lost. Hopefully they weren't made. The woman in the blue shirt had turned down another aisle.)

A wince almost stole over the Afghani's face as Artie tricked the seller, but she understood the reason why they did it and controlled herself. "If we can find some bread and maybe some more of the dry cheese we should be set for a bit."

Artie nodded and nudged Sooraya's arm, pointing again, at another stall. It had everything they needed, thankfully, since he wasn't sure he wanted to deal with the fallout of scamming too many people at once - he'd always hit multiple stores over a wide area when he'd needed money in New York. Three market stalls in one area seemed riskier than two.

"That looks perfect. And it smells good." Sooraya quickly headed over and once more slipped into her broken English, playfully arguing about the freshness of a loaf and the quality of the cheese. The stall keeper finally wrapped up two small cheeses and two loaves of bread. She looked over to Artie for payment again though.

Artie pulled another small note out of his right pocket and smoothed it out between his hands, laying another illusion over it. He gave the stall holder the bill and a small smile, taking the bags in return, looking like nothing so much as Sooraya's long-suffering husband.

Cheerfully Sooraya made her goodbyes and wandered of, pausing here and there briefly to inspect the wares at a stall. Steadily she kept going in the direction of their meager shelter though. Once they were in a small side street, she turned and addressed Artie: "I say we go back. Mr. Beaubier should be back and we can have something to eat..."

Artie nodded and gave her plan a quick thumbs up. A meal would be welcomed, right about now. He lead the way back, doubling around through a half dozen streets and cutting back alleyways as they went, just in case. He'd be able to drop the illusions covering his face soon, which was wonderful.

The young Afghani happily let Artie take lead on the way back though. He was far more familiar with this kind of town and it left her to keep a sharp eye on their surroundings, knowing her powers were the more offensive ones. Soon though their shelter came in to view and she let out a small sigh of relief. "Home, sweet home..." She could not help the faintly sarcastic tone that came through in her voice though...