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 Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 3:56 pm
Quote: It was already late in the evening but the merchant seemed unfazed by the passing of time. He sat, poised and elegant, watching the world around him. He didn’t seem bored but he sat, fingers laced atop the table; below it, he kept his toe tapping to some silent tune in his head. He was tall, by human standards, though while sitting down he didn’t seem particularly threatening. If you didn’t look at his face. He had graceful features--sharp and refined. His chin and nose tapered to a point, giving him an air of sophistication, but that, combined with his slitted eyes and pointed teeth, there was something undeniably predatory about him. He watched with a hungry gaze and a mischievous, nearly sinister smile. His ears were pointed and were prominent despite being tucked behind his vibrant, multi-colored hair. The most intrusive feature that indicated there was something not human about him were the curling horns protruding from his temples and the oil-slick black scales that brushed his cheeks and forehead. He was well dressed, in a fashion obviously otherworldly, and seemed to enjoy dressing himself up in glistening gemstones. His tables were somehow both simple and overwhelming; each table was draped with a dark purple tablecloth, all with extravagant embroidery in different designs. Scattered neatly atop the tables were an array of items that seemed to carry some magical weight to them. He did not seem intimidated in the slightest and, upon noticing that the barrier surrounding him rippled to allow his visitor to pass, he smiled. He did not rise to meet them nor adjust his position in the slightest. He followed them with his fierce eyes and greeted, in a silky voice, “Welcome.”
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Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 4:25 pm
Pendour had spent her evenings hovering at the edges of the festival, suspicious for any form of trouble after the attack a few weeks back. She had stayed near the booths, where the people were, rather than wandering too far towards the area where the meteors had fallen. The distinct aura at the edges of things changed all that. When Pendour powered up and felt that, she decided that she could leave the festival to itself for a little while, so that she could see if this was the being that she thought it was. She'd thought about him some, when she'd used the trowel that she'd bought last summer. She'd wondered if he'd been telling the truth when he said that he'd return. When she saw the sign, she was glad that she still had the wisp in her subspace pocket. It also confirmed her suspicions. The barrier was new, but when she tested it, she found that she could pass through. On the other side, she could immediately see that it was him. "Hello. It's good to see you again," she said, stepping forwards to look over the table.
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Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2021 7:45 pm
The man looked up and his eyes flashed with almost instant recognition. “My Neptune Knight! Oh, look at you! Still on Earth, I see,” he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “No luck with Pendour yet then, have you?” He was sitting up straight, clearly more alert and interested because he knew her. “I hope you’re not here for a refund. Come closer, let’s catch up,” he said enthusiastically, patting his hand on the table as if to summon her closer to him. “Are you in the market for more gardening tools? I might have some.” He did have many things laid out on the table, some that might have passed for tools, and some clearly branded with symbols of other worlds. He had jewelry, some more noticeable than others--perhaps though, none more noticeable than the swirling silver ear cuffs, that seemed to catch the light just right. Blue gems adorned them, and there was a strange pull to them, like the ocean drawing the tides back out to sea.
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Posted: Sat Jun 26, 2021 3:14 pm
He was a charmer, as the best salesmen tended to be. Pendour understood that, as she stepped forwards, but it did not mean she was entirely immune. She smiled softly with how brightly he asked about her Wonder, her eyes slightly averted from his as she moved to scan the table instead. " Some luck with Pendour," she said, "But I don't think I could completely leave Earth, even if I got it all the way fixed up." If the rest of Neptune could be vibrant and bustling, too, it might be okay, but as it was, even if Pendour was livable, it wouldn't take long for the bubble to start feeling very small. "The trowel's nice. I don't need any refunds on that. You're here for business, aren't you?" she asked. The tables around him said as much, as did the sign out front. "I wanted to see what you had." Although with everything that had happened on Pendour in the last few months, the main thought that went through her head as she looked over the tables was how fairly he'd acquired all this. She wasn't sure what emotion it was, exactly, that welled up with the saw the blue and silver set of ear cuffs. They were beautiful. She knew that much, and she tapped the table next to them. "These are Neptune make, aren't they?" she asked.
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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2021 9:11 pm
“You’ve got a good eye,” he complimented. “I think they’re lovely, but they just don’t fit mine,” he said, and drew his hair back to show off his pointed ears. “Blue’s not really my color, either. But! It is a lovely color for a Neptune Knight,” he suggested, smiling pleasantly. “Go on, you’re free to give them a good look over,” he said, and gestured that she should feel free to pick them up and examine them. “For a modest fee, they can be yours tonight. I suppose you must have seen the sign out front. I don’t suppose you’ve managed to locate one of those wisps I’m after? It’s a bit important that I get them back as quickly as possible. They’re not meant to be separated, you know.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2021 2:18 pm
The merchant's compliment hit a little strangely, given the circumstances. Pendour didn't think he meant anything by it, but she still shifted sideways slightly in an attempt to draw attention away from the fact that she only had the one good eye. Her gaze lingered on the merchant's ears for a long moment that almost drew out into a stare, and then she turned to the table again, instead, squinting slightly. Still, she eventually drew out something from her subspace pocket. It was a little terracotta pot, sealed off at the top with reusable beeswax wrap tied off with a piece of string. "I saw your sign," she said with a nod. She drew the wrapping back enough to show the faint glow of the wisp from within, but she didn't put it down on the table, not yet. "I brought this." "Um." She swallowed as she looked over what was laid out in front of her, some of the items simply exotic while others were clearly stamped with symbols of other worlds. She picked up one of the ear cuffs in her free hand, running her fingers over the cool metal. "When did you get this?" she asked, voice soft. "There's not so many people to trade with on Neptune, not that I've seen."
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Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2021 9:51 am
The merchant looked, longingly, at the wisp in the terracotta pot. “When?” he repeated, drawing his attention back to her words. “Oh, it’s been quite a while. I don’t think there was anyone left on Neptune when I found them. It doesn’t count as stealing,” he pointed out. “The world was practically dead when I happened upon it, so I hope you’ll save any reprimand. I don’t think people understand how boring it can get out there if you play by the rules of the deceased. I like to think, rather, that I’m helping give treasures a second life.” He tilted his head at her. “Just in case you’d had a thought to reprimand me. You might never have found these, for example. I had to dive very deep to find them. And it took me four trips to find the set.”
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Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2021 2:34 pm
The previous Pendour might have had a very specific type of reprimand for this alien, but his descendant was hardly the type to for harsh words. It was true that most of the planets were little more than ruins now, and anyone who took from them would be more archaeologist or treasure hunter than thief. It had taken a long time for the senshi and knights to come back, and there might have been a long stretch of time when it seemed as if it would never happen at all. Pendour understood that. "Not stealing, maybe," she said slowly, "But it's a bit strange that you're selling my own things back to me, now that you know I'm here, isn't it?" She wasn't about to push the issue farther, though. Even if the disagreement of it hadn't made her brain churn, she wanted the earrings. They called to her in a way she could not explain. Instead, she smoothed out the wrap on top of the wisp's pot, and she pushed the whole thing over. She'd have given it freely, if he'd asked. "Although, well, if this was yours in the first place, I suppose it's an even trade," she said, her eyes flicking upwards to meet his gaze. Although it also seemed a little strange to her that he kept losing his belongings on the planet Earth. Her brows were narrowed slightly, even as she handed over the payment.
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Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2021 5:26 pm
He eagerly accepted the wisp and withdrew an extremely ornate chalice that could have easily doubled as an extravagant candy dish, complete with stem and lid. The crystal bowl was cut with many facets that all perfectly seemed to capture and accentuate the light inside. Atop of the clear crystal, an ornate silver lid encrusted with what looked to be a giant diamond in the center. It had a large silver stem and a beautiful, sturdy base with a few more gemstones embedded within it. A few wisps danced around inside already, and he scooped hers in with them before tucking the dish back beneath his table. “I was thinking the same,” he confessed, but seemed a bit more amused about it than he suspected she was. “But, even then, you can’t tell me you would have had the resources to make so many trips? Just think of it as a little finder’s fee? We both wind up getting something we want, so really, no harm done.”
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Posted: Sat Jul 10, 2021 8:58 am
Pendour didn't mind that the wisp was quickly squirreled away into some kind of chalice, really. Thinking about all this as a returning of belongings, rather than a trade, made it all a lot easier for her to go through with. Which was good, because she did want the earrings. They were beautiful, and they were hers. She might not have always shown it in the traditional ways, but she was the Knight of Pendour, the protector. She'd protect her wonder and everything that came from it. "Thank you," she said, and she meant it. She took the jewelry in her palm for a moment, then worked to slide the first cuff onto her right ear. Then he mention a finder's fee, and her nose wrinkled a little. "Um," she mumbled, and then took a breath, "Pendour isn't just under the protection of the dead, not anymore. It's under mine. You can come. I like visitors, and I'm working on getting it all fixed, just," she pressed her lips together and ran her finger over a bead in the remaining earring, again and again, "If you want to have me hire you to find treasures for me or something, ask me first, okay?" If he showed back up on Earth with more of her things again, she didn't think she'd be so happy about it.
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Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2021 10:25 pm
The merchant seemed to take no offense at this and laughed a bit. “Oh, I’m no thief, Pendour. The rules are different if there’s a protector. I don’t steal, rest assured. If I’m in the area I might drop by--as a guest. But I won’t pilfer what has a guardian. Trust me. I can’t guarantee I won’t find something elsewhere, but I’ll keep my eyes open. You’d be surprised how far away some of these things can wind up. If someone’s lost it across the universe, I think it’s only fair to try and bring it home.” He smiled still. “I’d like to see it fixed up. I’ve seen far too many dead and broken worlds. But you, Pendour. There’s something special about you. I bet you’ll do great things. I’ll have to keep my eye on you.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2021 6:00 am
He was very understanding about it all, honestly far kinder than Pendour had been expecting. She stopped her rhythmic fidgeting with the second ear cuff, and she slipped that one on, too. "Well, thank you for returning this one," she said, her smile soft, then. "Is it okay if I ask your name? If I know that, I can send you an invitation to the Wonder when it's ready, no matter where you end up. I could even let you know if I find something that should belong to somebody else." She'd never tested if the knight letters could be sent across space, but it would make sense that they could, if that was how people had stayed in touch back when messages needed to be sent world to world. If he was sweet as this and promised not to steal, she always loved to show people what she'd been doing with the cove.
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Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2021 6:33 am
“Well, it’s only fair that I give you my name since I know yours. I’m Almadel. But you can call me Alma, if you like. And I must confess, I would be delighted for an invitation to your Wonder, whenever you should feel so inclined. I get around, but I do so very much love getting mail. And being invited places.” He smiled, a lovely smile, that he’d obviously had many years to perfect. “You’re such a darling, Pendour. If only there were more people like you. I feel like I can trust you.”
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Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2021 10:29 am
"Um, I'm glad?" said Pendour, blinking a little blankly, feeling like she was supposed to say that he was a darling, too, that she felt like she could trust him, too. The thing was, that would be a lie. Hopefully none of his trinkets had been pilfered from the lands of the living, but there was no way to know for sure, not really. Still, trustworthy or not, she found that she liked his sharp-toothed smile, and she smiled back at him. "See you later, Almadel," she said, wiggling her fingers in a little wave. "Maybe in space, even." She could send him little notes in the meantime, updates from Earth or something. For now, though, she ducked out behind the barrier and was gone.
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