Here's a little snippet of something I'm working on:
The market in Pelon was a square mile of stalls selling everything from shoe leather to sunblossom butter. It was also a magnet for every busker and ne'er-do-pel in Harken's Landing. A chel show was underway, the pel actors made up with large, oversize speckles all over their faces and orange wigs. Fix hurried past the laughing crowd.
"Silsinthe! Best quality! Brimstoke Gold Label Silsithe here!" The barker was a tall pel with shaggy black hair in need of a trim. She wore the livery of a coat-check pel at the Harken Club as if it were an ash dealer's smock and the very sight of her made the ground feel more solid beneath Fix's feet.
"Brimstoke Gold Label my ass," he said, stepping up to the little stand made from bottle crates. "It's soda water and apple brandy."
"Fix! Keep your voice down," said Break.
"What happened to your job checking coats at the Harken Club?"
"I quit it a week ago."
He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Okay, they fired me, all right? You happy?"
"Anything but. What did you do?"
"Why do you assume it was my fault?"
"Tell me you weren't going through their pockets. You could be hanged for stealing."
"No! Not that. Though one pocket mirror more or less would hardly matter to those purebloods. But I know, I know, not worth the risk. No, I just happened to overhear Ei Fielding telling Ei Parmenter she was planning to sell her lands to Ei Somerday and I informed her neighbor, Ei Candletree for a very tidy sum. Which is a good thing, because Ei Somerday got wind of it and got me fired, the spawn."
"Silsinthe! Best quality! Brimstoke Gold Label Silsithe here!" The barker was a tall pel with shaggy black hair in need of a trim. She wore the livery of a coat-check pel at the Harken Club as if it were an ash dealer's smock and the very sight of her made the ground feel more solid beneath Fix's feet.
"Brimstoke Gold Label my ass," he said, stepping up to the little stand made from bottle crates. "It's soda water and apple brandy."
"Fix! Keep your voice down," said Break.
"What happened to your job checking coats at the Harken Club?"
"I quit it a week ago."
He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Okay, they fired me, all right? You happy?"
"Anything but. What did you do?"
"Why do you assume it was my fault?"
"Tell me you weren't going through their pockets. You could be hanged for stealing."
"No! Not that. Though one pocket mirror more or less would hardly matter to those purebloods. But I know, I know, not worth the risk. No, I just happened to overhear Ei Fielding telling Ei Parmenter she was planning to sell her lands to Ei Somerday and I informed her neighbor, Ei Candletree for a very tidy sum. Which is a good thing, because Ei Somerday got wind of it and got me fired, the spawn."