"I'm sorry about that." Xavier murmured softly as we were making our way out of the palace. "I didn't realize she was going to bring up an awkward topic… I wouldn't have let you come if I knew."
"It's fine Xavier." I said. "Talking about stuff like that is important. We should actually discuss having kids… Um like are you interested in having hatchlings?"
Xavier went slightly red at my words, pausing on the outer steps of the palace. He took a moment to process my words before he started walking again.
Finally, he answered, "Well… I guess I would like to have hatchlings, but I don't think now is the right time for that. Maybe in the future. What about you? Are you interested in cubs?"
"I'll be honest with you. I haven't thought much about cubs." I replied. "It was just something that might or might not happen in the distant future…"
"Hmmm. Well if you don't want them, I don't mind." Xavier mused. "I'm not exactly courting you so I can have hatchlings. I would've mated with the first female that was interested in me if it was like that."
I chuckled at his words. "I'm happy to hear that, but don't push your wants away just for my sake. Compromise is always good and I'm sure we can figure something out. It's not like I hate the idea… but like you said it's something for the future. When we have a more stable home and resources."
"I like that." Xavier stated. "Anyway, we should probably hurry to the market. You can walk when we get there, we'll just need to stay close because it'll get packed."
"That's fine by me." I replied.
We soon made our way through the upper district, Xavier explaining that the most powerful beastmen lived around here with their females. It didn't have a market, so we were heading for the middle district where there was more business movement.
I had to say the city had quite a bit of structure to it with they being well thought out cobble stone roads between homes. Guards were stationed everywhere, patrolling the area and keeping the peace.
The upper district was quiet for the most part with only a few beastmen walking around and even fewer females around. The middle district was another story.
We got to the entrance of it and it was already packed with beastmen. People were talking loudly over each other, merchants yelling out about their goods to anyone that passed by them.
The scent of animals, spices and other things I couldn't identify filled my nose. A few beastmen glanced my way as Xavier set me down on the cobble road.
I grabbed his hand, not wanting to lose him in the chaos, catching him by surprise. Pulling up the hooded fur cloak the queen had offered before we left, I said, "Hold on tightly so I don't lose you."
He nodded his head in understanding and we made our way through the market, Xavier holding my hand tightly and keeping as close to me as possible, keeping others away.
Stalls lined both sides of the road, displaying all sorts of things. Some had a few people in front of them, making it hard to see what was being sold while others were empty.
I moved to one of the empty ones selling what looked to be fabrics. What I guessed was either a sheep or goat beastman was manning the stall and glanced up at us in surprise.
"Are you interested in some fabrics?" The beastman asked excitedly, pointing at some of the rolls of fabric in front of him. "These are some of the best wool fabrics you'll get in the city and they'll keep you warm during the cold season. Only five crystals per roll of fabric. I'll even throw in some needle and thread to make clothes."
I looked over the varying colors of fabric rolls, a little surprised with the advancement of clothing. Most beastworld novels typically only had animal furs as clothing.
However, here it was much more diverse. I knew about linen and cotton fabrics because they were popular in the villages and the system had given me some. But to think they were also dying the fabrics as well.
This place was definitely more similar to ancient civilizations back on Earth than those Stone Age styled beastworlds.
"What do you think, Elisa?" Xavier suddenly asked me. "Would you like to get some?"
His words brought me back to reality, realizing the merchant was waiting for us to answer. I pursed my lips, touching the slightly rough fabric. It wasn't as perfect as modern day fabrics, but it could work.
We definitely would need warmer clothing and possibly extra blankets, especially for Ahi. He did say that the cold would make him quite sleepy with a possible full hibernation for the colder months.
"Which ones are your thickest fabrics?" I asked the merchant.
Linen would be better for the hotter seasons since it was more breathable. So, I would stick to getting the thicker wool fabrics for winter.
"These ones over here are the thickest fabrics." The merchant pointed over to a small stack of fabrics next to the ones I was touching. "They're the finest quality you'll get. Handcrafted by the sheep beastmen of the Sheep Village. You won't get anything better."
I glanced over at the fabrics and asked, "Can I see how big a roll of fabric is please?"
"Of course!" The sheep beastman hurried over to unravel one of the fabrics. "As you can see it's quite big. Enough to cover this table."
It was quite big, enough to probably make two blankets if we cut it in half. Granted I didn't really have that much skill when it came to sewing and stuff. I only knew enough to patch up small holes.
Still, the fabrics looked decent enough, making me decide to get two rolls of it. We could use one for clothing and the other for bedding. I didn't think we needed more than that.
Not to mention the price was quite high. Ten crystals for two rolls was a fifth of my budget for prepping for winter gone. I still needed to get stuff for food prepping since that was the most important part.
Was it really worth ten crystals? That was the other problem I had. I couldn't really tell if this merchant was trying to rip me off.
"Hmmm…" I pursed my lips in thought. "Five crystals seems like a lot for this…"
"It may seem like a lot, but I'm willing to give a discount." The sheep beastman mused, eyes glinting at the thought of a sale. "I'll sell two for seven crystals and throw in that needle and thread."
He bent down for a moment before appearing with a small wooden box in his hand. He opened it and showed a bunch of wool spools and a few needles of varying sizes.
"This box comes with every purchase making it worthwhile." The sheep beastman stated.
"Make it two rolls of this fabric from here and give us that silk roll in the back too for eleven crystals." Xavier suddenly said, pulling out a small animal fur pouch.