#{ ☾✩ 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤 ↬ honey wozniak }

[ofchrysoprase]

"Thank you, darling, I appreciate that." Aaron replied with a smile, appreciating how comfortable it made him feel to know he could just come back next time. There really was a lot to see and check out, so they had no doubt that they would have to return another time to see all of it. For now, he tried to ground himself and focus on one thing at a time, though. "I can barely cook, so I'm really impressed by people who can just, you know, make these kind of things, to share with others. I think that's really nice." They added, offering an honest smile.

He watched while she set up the jars, now only regretting a little bit that he had requested to try so many. "Thank you," He said again, reaching for one of the popsicle sticks and opting to use a slice of bread as well as he scooped up a bit of jam to try. "What's it like? A commune, I mean. I've never really heard of it before." They admitted, eager to keep the conversation going and hoping he'd have something to listen to while eating. "I used to sort of... live in a group." It was hard to explain and it was most definitely very different. "It was nice to... to have people around."

honey smiles at the customer's willingness to have this new experience for as long as he can, and then to come back if it all becomes too much for him during this visit. she's a big believer in trying new things and breaking free from your comfort zone every now and again, but she's also a big believer in honoring ones limits and in trying again if a first or previous attempt isn't quite right. "you have the perfect attitude for it!" she tells him. "i'll be here next time too, so if that happens - by all means, seek me out and i can help you along," she offers. "you sure can!" she answers brightly, already stepping to the side to find the sample jars of each of the flavors she suggested. "it makes the flavors so much more dynamic, having multiple main ingredients," she tells him. "we try out a lot of different combinations, and we try to find the most complimentary flavors to make the jams really stand out - we still do make your average one fruit jams, though, which you can never go wrong with," she chuckles. "we do grow it all ourselves! not me on my own, but the entire commune together. all of our ingredients come from the commune," she nods proudly. "here we are," she finishes lining up all of the selected sample jars in front of him, and then she pushes a small box of - clean, unused - popsicle sticks towards the front of the table, too. "use the popsicle sticks to sample, to keep good hygiene! and if you want some bread to try the jams with, we have a loaf fresh from the commune, too," she points to the small slices of bread next to the box of popsicle sticks.

[ofchrysoprase]

Aaron chuckled softly and nodded in agreement, glad to have at least sparked her enthusiasm. He figured that the market was something the people were very proud of. "If I get too overloaded with... newness, I will have to come back next time." They replied with a smile. It was indeed a lot to take in, but not in a bad way. In most cases, 'new' still meant 'scary' to them, but since they also weren't the type to avoid scary situations, it luckily didn't prevent them from discovering those good new things. He tried to pay attention as she listed off the different types of jam, though it was hard to memorize them all from the get-go. "Would I be able to try those favorites? They do sound really nice, having more than just one type of fruit in them." They agreed with a soft smile. "Or... fruit and flower." He laughed, correcting himself. "You grow all of those things yourself?" He then asked, hoping it wasn't a really dumb sounding question.

"it's your first time here?" honey echoes the fact with extreme excitement, and while she wouldn't have thought much about his startled reaction to her speaking in the first place, it's definitely a forgotten thought as honey is thrilled to know that this trip to the market is their first visit. "that's so exciting!" honey isn't always so upbeat and happy, but it's been a good start to her day thus far. "there definitely is a lot to look at, but don't you worry. we're here every second sunday, so if it's too much for you to get around to everything today, you can just come back next time," she offers sweetly. "of course!" honey doesn't need an explanation for why he asks her to tell him the types of jams she's selling; many people ask the same thing for a wide variety of reasons, and coming from the commune, it's not in honey's nature to judge. "we have rhubarb, strawberry, raspberry, apple, blackberry, apple and blackberry, gooseberry and elderflower, plum, and cherry," she finishes with a large breath. "right now we have a little bit of a lot, because of what's in season - or more, what isn't - but i'd suggest the apple and blackberry or the gooseberry and elderflower jam. they're my favorites."

[ofchrysoprase]

Aaron had taken Drew's suggestion to heart, finding himself in the middle of the market on a normally uneventful Sunday morning. They hadn't been sure what to expect, apart from just a good amount of people gathering to check out the stalls, similar to his own intentions. Getting up early wasn't their usual routine, but with their rocky sleep schedule, they had at least managed as much for today. He's briefly startled when spoken to, panicked eyes slowly focusing on the brunette. Maybe getting up early without much sleep had not been a good idea. Or perhaps it was the alcohol in their system. Which wasn't from the night before, but rather about thirty minutes ago.

"Good morning," He echoed with a sheepish smile, before letting his eyes dart towards the jars in front of the stranger. "Yes, it's my first time, so there's a lot to look at." They then added, tucking a stray piece of hair behind his ear. "I mean, it's my first time going to a market ever, I'm not sure if I came prepared." He chuckled softly and then squinted looking at the labels. "Could- Could you tell me what kinds these are? I forgot my glasses." It didn't feel good to lie, but the lie was less embarrassing than admitting to his illiteracy to a complete stranger. "I'd like to try whatever you recommend."

open starter for @shrikestart from honey wozniak. takes place in town square, early sunday morning. please use beta editor!

honey finally snaps out of her daze when she notices someone nearing the small market stall that she's hosting this sunday market, one of many occupied by commune members, amongst others. despite her mind previously being consumed by her concern over being so close to the bloody scene reported in the news recently, she shakes it off quickly and she readjusts a few of the jam jars in front of her while engaging with the other. "good morning!" she greets them. "enjoying the market so far? do you care to try any of our jams?" she asks them as she ensures all of the handmade labels are facing forward, presenting them with all of the different fruit options.