Never let it be said that the apparent strife which seemed to plague Mihail's life as of late was preventing him from enjoying himself to an extent. Father may well have proved himself to be the most despicable man in existence (a state of mind which the youngest Thanasi now deigned to share quite willingly with most of Colchis, albeit it for far different reasons), and the entire family might have lived under constant scrutiny, but he would be damned if he could not go to the market when he wished. As if anyone could fault him for desiring some fresh air after spending so many days trapped in the nicely-decorated yet dingy rooms of the Thanasi home.

He was drifting through the market, half-hanging off the arm of a taller man named Ploutarchos whom he had not known all that long, but whose rugged appearance had easily dragged him in. He was a little older than Mihail, but filled with the kinds of military stories which were fascinating to hear and likely awful to experience firsthand. Ploutarchos was also, so the dark-haired younger man had very soon discovered, almost excessively generous with the wealth he had accumulated over his years, and he would give most things in exchange for the charms Mihail knew how to provide. He was a delightful companion whenever they went out together, and this day had proved no exception to that rule. Together, they seemed like a prosperous merchant and his highborn lady (with Mihail's tightly cinched crimson chiton not particularly helping the matter), but such feminine misunderstandings had not mattered significantly to the Thanasi in a long while.

"Come," Mihail whispered to his current escort, almost dragging him across the centre of the market and towards a set of clothing and jewellery stalls, his steps half-stumbled from the mild drink they had both enjoyed earlier that morning. It was often difficult to find items of quality in the Colchian market, for most local merchants favoured the selling of weaponry and armour from the provinces neighbouring the capital, but when you had lived there all your life, it was less complex to find those who sold items of genuine quality. Of course, with high quality came the struggle of cost, but that barely seemed an issue with the reassurance of both Mihail and his companion's substantial wealth.

He released the other man's grip for a brief moment, darting with almost childish excitement through a small group to stand before a jewellery stand decorated with plenty of pretty pieces, and a surprising number of serpentine accessories which were just the sort he had always adored. It was ironic, perhaps, that for someone who had so recently complained that he was not a Thanasi at all, he was still addicted to jewels which proudly declared the family emblem, but there was something about the writhing yet elegant shape of a snake which endlessly appealed.

Red-tipped fingers reached delicately past other patrons to snag a bracelet in that same reptilian design from the table, sliding it onto his forearm and twisting it from side to side as if to admire its full beauty. The craftmanship was more exquisite than most - though Mihail knew this to be a store of generally superb quality - and each scale had been individually carved into the gold, with little red gems positioned like eyes, and further pure white ones running down its length. His immediate decision was that he both loved it and required it, and after a brief enquiry as to the price, turned back to Ploutarchos with the expression of a wife waiting for her husband to finance her silly fancies.

"Isn't it darling, Ploutos?" he queried, thinking the nickname doubly ironic as he raised the bracelet before the man, batting his eyelashes. "It's only a few drachmae - forty-seven, maybe. You can buy it for me, can't you?" He reached out to place his hands on the other's upper arm, as if pleading, though the action proved unnecessary when his companion stepped forward to hand the seller the appropriate amount of coin.

One could barely fault Mihail when another was so willing to share their wealth.

Almost as soon as the transaction had been completed, he positioned himself so the man's arm wrapped around his waist, chuckling as the man's rings entangled themselves with the golden belt hanging from his hips, resting his head on the other's shoulder, their height difference perfect for the movement. "You love me, don't you?" It was a silly question, for they had known each other far too briefly for such sentiments to be expressed already, but Mihail liked the fantasies of romance.

He didn't wait for an answer, however, for his gaze fell upon a lady of apparent noble status - she looked familiar to some degree, though Mihail could not quite place it - standing at another merchant stand. He knew that one well, for though its ample selection of goods appeared to be of the same quality as those of others (and more than a few were utterly pleasant), it had never tempted the Thanasi as much as its neighbour. He glanced up at Ploutarchos, almost smiling as he nodded in her direction. "I imagine she isn't from around here..." he commented, the words half-derisive, half-pitiful, partially referencing the way he did not seem to recognise her despite her apparent status, and partly the way she was browsing the stands with the laziness of someone who didn't know the intricacies of the Colchian marketplace.

Still, in a surprisingly good mood now that his arm was adorned with an expensive bracelet to match the gold serpents curling through his hair, trimming the hems of his chiton and decorating his eyes in thick, dark kohl, he strutted over to the girl, resting a hand on his cinched hip. "Darling, you don't want these." Mihail nodded absentmindedly towards some of the wares on display, uninterested in the slight look of offence which crossed the merchant's face. "Let me show you something far better, hm? I don't want you wasting your drachmae on something so ugly when you obviously have such otherwise impeccable taste."