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After collecting her little orb-wisp thing, Scylla had needed to attend to some business. After all, one couldn’t just visit an almost-certainly dangerous, potentially malicious, and definitely powerful entity (possibly entity; the Senshi hardly knew what was on the other side of the barrier) without having a few plans laid out in case of complications. Well. They could, but that would make her a very irresponsible parent, and Jada tried awfully hard not to be too irresponsible with young lives that would be affected. Therefore, she had done her best to set up what any normal parent would for a night out: A well paid babysitter, pizza, a movie, and firm instructions that the kids should be in bed by 10.

She had also confiscated the orb Charybdis had found. And threatened her with grounding. Again. Honestly, as ineffective as trying to punish her little sister (for doing exactly what Jada herself had done, just 8 years younger) was, it was also… just about all she had. Emotional manipulation worked equally poorly now that Giulia was nearing eleven. She hadn’t spanked them, and taking things away worked… poorly. Taking the orb after their (heated) conversation, however, would at least (hopefully) prevent the young girl from trying to find another one of these things and then… trying to take it to get a reward. Lord knew the blonde wouldn’t ask any questions at all and would just…

Sleep with an unidentified magical crystal under her pillow in a strange and very long-term attempt to help an alien get enough energy to leave the planet and go back to outer space? Okay, maybe this was a pot and kettle situation, but Jada had been an adult, and Giulia was- not.

By the time that the Senshi of the Kraken approached the barrier, a plastic bag that was decorated with a bright, cheery Fuchsia Star Charm and a coffee carrier in hand, her scowl was almost as dark as her hair. She couldn’t go into this with her face so contorted, so she took a moment to collect herself. Inhale. Feel around for murder auras. Exhale. Straighten shoulders. Inhale. Yes, the WANTED sign was still there. Exhale. Reach out with her left hand and poke at the barrier with one carefully manicured finger, curious to see if anything felt different. Well, her hand still seemed to pass through it- so would the rest of her?

The Transcended Eternal stepped through the barrier, bright eyes darting around the area and taking in a few points of interest. The alien, of course, but he was seated. Tables, lined with some interesting objects. Her face was a carefully neutral expression as she sought out possible danger points and exits before turning her eyes back to the humanoid. “Oh good, you speak English. It’s always nice when the aliens can communicate.” The senshi's expression flipped from neutrality to a bright smile as the Senshi of the Kraken approached where the alien sat. Eyes darted over the items on the table, thoughtfully. “Interesting choice of location for an antique store.”

She pulled out a cup, offering him a steaming beverage. “Do you drink coffee? The other one is cocoa. I’m happy to trade, but I think you might enjoy coffee better with the cookies.” The alien hadn’t attacked her, so she was going to start by offering him a drink, instead of her emergency backup plan of splashing it in his face. "Crash-landing onto Earth is probably hungry work."

Sailor Scylla, promoting earth using cookies since… probably sometime in 2012?

That pointed smile seemed to shift, and Scylla shifted with it, passing the coffee into the merchant's hand. "It's hot," she started to say, but the alien was chugging, and Scylla simply raised a brow before finishing, "But I see that doesn't bother you. Good to know." Heatproof alien; that was one defense tactic down the drain, and he clearly hadn't been concerned she could be harboring negative intentions either. Had he even checked for poison or anything?

"Food is a universal peace offering," Scylla said honestly, "So I do tend to try and feed them. Of course if I was supposed to be the meal that might be a different story, but thus far no one has tried to make me the main course." From her plastic bag she pulled out a tub full of cookies, setting them down and sliding them across the table. "Of course I would never say no to a bargain. That would be silly." her smile flashed, teeth distinctly less sharp than his own.

Something about her was familiar, was it? Her dark head tilted with interest. "I'm Scylla. Senshi of the Kraken. A pleasure to meet you." her eyes left the 'merchant' and turned to the wares settled across the table, taking them in. "Mostly I came because I was curious as to who or what had caused so much... chaos... the other night. We might not be a quiet town, but we don't get hit by 'meteors' all that frequently." she reached out, running her hand along the table, not touching anything but simply running her fingers a few inches over the items.

"If I had known this place would be so interesting I would have come more well-prepared."

"You're going to make a girl feel special." Scylla pressed a free hand to her chest as the Merchant extended a visitation offer. "Be careful having an open visitation policy, I have a terrible habit of taking people up on it." Caedus had lived in a forest and she'd visited frequently; if her horned new friend wasn't careful she'd be a frequent visitor to his little 'antique store' as well, seeking yet more alien knowledge.

The humanoid ate the cookies with the same lack of concern as he had devoured the coffee, and the Senshi couldn't hide her grin as she watched him. "Maybe we should stick with me being your temporary Earth-food delivery service. And I wouldn't suggest telling people they look like a snack, unless you're well versed in Earth slang and you're flirting with me. In which case please, continue; it's an excellent next step in the bartering process."

It was interesting to hear that he hadn't caused the havoc, and the dark-haired woman hummed in acknowledgment. "I'll let you keep your safe driver discount, then." Scylla informed him dryly, knowing he probably had no idea what she meant by that. And as he reached under his table and lifted something out she slid forward with interest, stepping up to stand across from him. "Something of mine, you say?" she tilted her head to consider the box, flicking her eyes up to blink at him through her lashes. "I did see the Wanted sign, in fact, and I just so happened to find a shiny little bauble that looked suspiciously similar to that lovely artwork." And she technically had a second, since Charybdis was most certainly not going to be visiting Mister Alien, but Scylla was determined that she wouldn't give it to him until she knew why he was looking for it.

Probably.

She lifted one of the remaining cups out of the cup holder, and pulled the lid off, spilling one of the orbs into her hand and putting the lid back over the other one. Holding out her hand, the wisp still caged in her slim fingers, she asked, "Is this what you were looking for?"

Exactly what he was looking for. Probably a good thing; Scylla didn't want to consider a wide variety of strange little orbs dancing about the city. "So we have competition?" she asked lightly, tilting her head at him. "What are your other two favorite worlds?" His words possibly implied there were two other world out there that may have survived Chaos- or, perhaps, he just liked the view? So far he seemed the playful type, but not the particularly loose-lipped type.

She watched the Merchant settle the wooden box in his lap, and tug out a glistening chalice. It could have been made from diamond, for how it gleamed, and the handle on that lid almost certainly was. It was certainly fancy, and she was clearly not the first to have come and made a trade; there were other wisps contained inside, and the Merchant didn't seem bothered in the least by her being aware of the fact.

The box was, at last, pushed across the table, and the lid removed so that Scylla could see the contents of what he was willing to trade.

It was, undeniably, from her world. The gemstone was unmistakably from her homeworld, and one of them was settled in the necklace around her neck even now; the gold-wired kraken decorated several of the other statuettes under the White Temple. So many of them had been destroyed by time, or Chaos; so few remained in such perfect shape as this. And yet each of them were parts of her, statuettes made to give honor to the Scyllae of the past, each crafted with respect for the One whom the Scylla had served, no matter how long or short their service- or life.

Will reward handsomely indeed, and she reached out her hand to the Merchant. But before she opened her hand, she paused. "I want one other thing. One answer. A yes or no question. Do you intend to use these things, whatever they are, to cause harm to anyone?" It was a poorly worded question, she knew; intend didn't mean the orbs were harmless. Harm was a wide variable- and 'anyone' could include both Order and Chaos. Not to mention that he could, frankly, lie to her. While honesty was implied, it was not demanded. In essence, she had perhaps asked for a vacant answer to soothe her own conscience should anything happened.

His smile was ambiguous, and she cursed herself for asking her other question too soon.

However, the merchant gave her an extended answer to a question that she had asked only for a yes or no, and as soon as he finished her fingers loosened, allowing the merchant to collect the wisp- or placing it in the goblet herself, if he passed it to her. "Before you put that thing away," she added, and re-opened the coffee cup, dumping out the second wisp she had appropriated from her younger sister, "Because you gave me more of an answer than I expected. And because I like making friends."

Especially alien friends, who enjoyed good food. Scylla liked feeding people. Humanoids. Aliens. She couldn't cook, but takeout and sweets were her love language- a dangerous thing, in a woman who had worked as a model for a long time, and still needed to keep up her appearance.

"So. If I'm still allowed to maybe come visit you again, is there anything you'd like to try, food wise? And do you have a name I can call you other than 'you', or 'merchant?'"

Once the alien took the second wisp as well, Scylla reached out reverently to take the box with the funeral doll contained therein; returning the 'gravestone' one of those who had come before her to the Temple was worth more than the five minutes she'd spent shoving a wisp in a coffee cup by far. She carefully tucked the box into her plastic bag, and smiled at last back at the merchant.

"It is a pleasure, Alma." Scylla reached out with no qualms and took the hand he held out in one of her own, squeezing in a friendly manner; her eyes crinkled at the corners with the brightness of her smile. "And I'll take you up on that offer to visit again, so don't regret it when you start gaining weight from all the snacks. Gelato can and will be arranged. We have a few options, and in the summer heat I can imagine it will come in handy."

Too bad he almost certainly didn't have a power outlet for a mini fridge.

"So, about those other planets we're competing with in the top three." Jada hadn't forgotten- not one bit. "What are their names, and how can I help make Earth number one? Other than ply you with calories."

"If you decide to sell the ability to travel the stars as a diet plan, I'll be your first customer." Were they holding hands now? He wasn't shying away, so the senshi just kind of shrugged and rolled with it. Space might be awful lonely, after all, but did an alien ever need human contact? Other-alien contact? ..... though probably to his line of thinking, Scylla was the alien.

"Well," Scylla assured her somewhat squirrely new friend cheerfully, "assuming it all goes well, you have made a fantastic new friend for planning vacations." Nostalgia and practicality were terrible things to compete against, so she rarely tried. "I don't even pretend to be practical when it comes to relaxation."

Still, her dark head tilted and she beamed at him (still holding his hand, unless he had released her first) cheerfully. "There you go again, Alma, flattering me. You're going to make me blush. You don't have to keep going, I'll come back with more food tomorrow either way." Though she did appreciate being told she was charming, and the merchant could likely see so quite clearly.

Pursing her lips, Scylla hummed thoughtfully. "Well, if you want to make some non-scavenger hunt trades, how about a trade of information? I'm the curious sort, and on the evenings you're not busy working with other wisp-hunters, I can ply you with food and answer some of your questions, while you tell me some things about your travels and answer some of my questions. Until, of course, your intergalactic adventures take you away from here."

What a flirt. Scylla's eyes positively twinkled with amusement (and, perhaps, a little delight) at the merchant. "A date it is, then. I'll make sure to have some gelato with me next time I come by." her own smile was genuine, and she didn't stop her huff of laughter. "Thank you, Almadel, for tonight's trade- and for something else to look forward to."

She collected the trash from the cookies and the coffee- leaving the remainder of the cookie tub for his dining pleasure later- before taking her leave with a friendly wave.