Welcome to Gaia! ::

“Mel,” he greeted warmly, and rose from his seat behind the table. “I am always doing okay, never worry yourself with me. I’m very resilient. Of course I’m in the trade business!” he said, gesturing to the tables behind him as he effortlessly raised one knee to his chest and leaned forward, planting his heel on the corner of his table. He stepped up on it like it wasn’t nearly three feet tall. Mindful of his treasures–of course–he climbed over the table as easily as if he’d been simply taking the stairs.

When he stepped over the table on the other side, he dropped down with equal grace.

Though he had nice boots, the action probably hadn’t been to show them off.

“Look at you!” he said, placing one hand on either side of each cheek and leaning in. “Hm. Well, as lovely as ever. What’s that sadness in your eyes, is someone bullying you? Or have you exhausted yourself, ah. Hm.”

He eyed her wagon of treats. “Have you amassed a small army of little mouths to feed? What is this?’

“Oh, I can feel the warmth of your heart from here. You’re so very charming, Mel, do you know? How kind, how thoughtful. You’re right, though. I mean, not about ‘what to get a man who has a museum’–of course, I am always looking for more things to add to my collection. Although,” he glanced at his table. “I suppose I’ve made a bit of a show about trying to declutter some of these things that just don’t fit in. But I like to think of it more as ‘helping things find the right place’ but I’m getting on a tangent. What I mean to say is,” he finally lowered his hands from her face and lifted one of the baskets.

He did not scrutinize this with the same care as he had her face but he was obviously no less interested.

Almadel had an insatiable appetite, after all.

“I do not get homemade meals often. My heart is fluttering. It is louder than my stomach.”

He lowered the basket but looked very much like a kid at his own birthday party because he then lifted the second with equal admiration and excitement.

He abandoned professional decorum because he could not help himself, and before he had time to think better of it–as if he could have ever even come to such a conclusion–he withdrew a pastry. He savored the first bite for the longest, but each bite afterwards was given the same reverence. “Oh, it’s delicious. I must give you a gift, too. Hold on, let me find something. No, after I finish this. Perhaps I should steal you from Earth, do you know what I don’t have for my museum? Someone who feeds me.”

“Only a visit? Well, I suppose beggars can’t be choosers,” he said, too choosy to have ever been a beggar. “We’ll make time for it. The universe is a bit electric right now so I’ll keep you here, safe on Earth, until things calm down. But,” he shrugged and gestured vaguely to the sky, to some far away point where the Calamitous Hollow was still trapped in a distant cage.

“It’s been quite an effort to restore everything. With so much else going on, ah. I’m behind on my schedule. But I suppose I’m the only one who was keeping up with it, so it’s no trouble. Who would know if I didn’t tell them?”

Another laugh, warm and pleasant, because Mel was as charming as ever in a way she didn’t mean to be, and Almadel was as charming as ever in the way that he did.

It took him a moment to finish eating, because he was determined to enjoy every bite–not that it was difficult–and then he licked his fingers clean, pulled a handkerchief and wiped his hand, and then returned to his tables.

This time, he didn’t climb over them; he crouched beneath a table and pulled out a box. He had a hidden trove of treasures, as if meant for special occasions. After a moment of sifting through, he produced a simple, pale blue box. The symbol of Mercury was seared into the box and one long gash marred the side, but the box itself was not of interest–the portable data stick inside was.

He uncapped the box and spun to show her the contents, doing so with a showman’s flourish.

“Ta-da! It doesn’t look like much, but don’t judge it. I found this in one of my storage boxes and thought, ‘I know just where this belongs,’” he said, and held it out to her.

“Not me,” he answered easily, “I’d never deface a treasure. Alas, some secrets evade even me. I suppose this poor little thing has been through quite an ordeal, but better the box than what it protects, hm? I am equally sorry to say that I haven’t any inclination of what data you might find. I’ve yet to find a machine that can read it, it’s encrypted. I suspect I’d find my answers on Mercury–which I like, chilly as it is, but the technology exceeds my capabilities. But I thought,” he smiled sweetly at her, “Perhaps someone as kind and clever as you might unlock what I cannot.”

The smile sweetened.

“And then I thought, perhaps you might share what you find! My curiosity is insatiable. But perhaps whatever is there can be of use to you? I’ve been digging around, trying to uncover the secrets of the universe. You know, in case any more monsters make their way to Earth, I want you all to be as prepared as possible. But for all I know that’s just codified smut.”

He teased, but it was short lived; he didn’t want to give Mel too hard a time, not when she’d brought him so many treats. “There was an old charm on the box, I think a safety ward? But it’s long since faded. Whatever is on that data stick, it was important to someone. I hope it will be important to you, too.”

“Oh, I hope so,” Almadel said, but his lips pressed together thoughtfully. He tapped his cheek thoughtfully. “Well, a week or two might be busy for me. Things in this business get wild, sometimes. But I want to make time for you. We’ll figure it out. I simply cannot spend the rest of my life not knowing.”

He smiled sweetly at her. “But don’t rush on my account. I’ll be excited no matter when I find out. Besides,” he looked at the carts she’d brought. “If these are half as good as they smell, I might need more the next time I see you. I ought to give you some time to make some. No pressure, of course!”

But he batted his eyelashes anyway.

“I’m just so excited to see what you’re working on! It’s not often I get to be on the sidelines to observe such greatness!”

Almadel looked at her fondly, like one might a piece of artwork they liked. “How do you do that, is it an act or is it real?” he mused, very fixed on the way she’d drifted from disappointment to delighted. If it was a mask, it was a good one. Mel didn’t strike him as a simple creature, so he traced the lines of her first for a few seconds longer before his face settled into one of easygoing delight.

An out, in case she needed it.

“Well, you should know that if I’m interested in something, I will always find a way. So, naturally, it’s no impossibility for me to find my way back to you when I’ve got a free moment. Of course, maybe I could just stop by Mercury sometime, you know. When I’m in the area. I’m not much of a fan of the cold,” he hummed, which was most certainly why he was here in summer and not winter, “but I could stomach a chill for something important. I’m sure that smile of yours would warm me up in no time, anyway."