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 Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2020 12:21 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 stall was somehow both simple and overwhelming; it was only a table with a deep purple cloth over it, but scattered neatly atop it 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 a customer approaching, he smiled. He did not rise to meet them nor adjust his position in the slightest. He followed them with his fierce eyes. In a silky voice, he greeted, “Welcome.”
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Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2020 12:55 pm
((Follows on from this solo here))When Oort had left the park, it had been with the intention to head straight home–
After all it had already been pretty late when he'd left the park and he didn't want to have to sneak around his parents who had no idea that in addition to being Briar he was also Oort - particularly as he didn't have any plans to go patrolling.
He'd been a little distracted, in part caught up in thoughts of his brother, and in part caught up in thoughts of the strange almost star-shaped item he had found, so it had taken him a while to realise that he had actually been walking in the complete opposite direction of home–
In fact he wasn't even in the city - at least not really - although he was still close enough to spot some of the skyscrapers as they formed large and dark silhouettes against the night skyline.
It took a few moments for Oort realise that there was also a stall - one that he was almost, but not quite - on top of. Reddish eyes taking in the purple cloth topped table with a mixture of startlement intermixed with curiosity–
At least right up to the point where it finally sunk in that the table wasn't as unoccupied as he'd initially thought courtesy of the silky voice speaking up.
"Uh hi" Oort said somewhat awkwardly as he tried his best not to stare at the horns, that protruded and curled from the temples of the stranger. Curiosity warring with caution for a moment, before he hesitantly took a few steps closer.
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Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2020 6:07 pm
“Oh!” the Merchant seemed quite surprised, if not outright delighted to see the boy. “A senshi! I haven’t seen one of you in--oh. I don’t know. ‘ Years’ is a bit of an understatement. Come closer,” he insisted. “Welcome, welcome. Please, have a look.” He gestured to the table with barely concealed enthusiasm. “I’ve already made some very interesting trades this trip but you, a senshi? Certainly you must have something lovely.” Across his table were a number of artifacts that seemed to beg for attention. Perhaps, the loudest, was one of the smaller, albeit more lustrous trinkets on the left side of the table: a feather-shaped gem fastened to a simple chain. At present, it seemed to be purple on the tablecloth, not quite blending in but easily matching it. Under the moonlight, however, it had a strangely beautiful, almost electric sheen of color that made it stand out above the rest of the items on display.
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Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 11:36 am
Startlement flickered across reddish eyes and, most likely, was equally reflected in his face - but then again whilst Oort truthfully wasn't quite sure what to make of the strangely, if well-dressed, stranger - and certainly wasn't sure what to expect, he could honestly say that he hadn't expected the other to address him as a senshi–
Even if he was a senshi.
However the stranger didn't seem threatening and had addressed him in a friendly enough manner–
And if truth be told, Oort really was interested in the objects on the purple cloth-topped table and so after a moment or two of hesitation, he stepped forwards again and continued to do until he had closed the last of the remaining distance.
"Have you come across a lot of senshi?" He asked, as his reddish eyes took in and looked over the items laid out on the cloth, finding his eyes almost immediately drawn to a purple feather-shaped gem that was situated on the left-hand side.
There was something about it.
Something–
Something lovely?
The stranger's voice snapped Oort out of his daze, reddish eyes looking startled for a moment as he realised that he'd had his hand outstretched towards the gem.
He snatched his hand back, embarrassed.
"Something lovely?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2020 2:30 pm
“A lot of senshi,” he repeated. “Here? No. There’s hardly any anywhere else, you know. It’s been so long. Are you the senshi of Earth?” he prompted, but the question was filed away and he shook his head. He was far more interested in an exchange; information could come later if need be. “If you have something to trade from Earth--or elsewhere--I will approach it with an open mind. But the rules are simple. You give me something nice, I give you something you nice. I’m looking for,” he seemed thoughtful. “Something shiny. There’s quite a number of them laying around. Though, for obvious reasons,” he gestured to his appearance. “It’s not so very easy for me to come upon them. But I’m keen to see other trades as well. What will you part with, young one? I’ll make it worth your while.”
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2020 10:03 am
Actually Oort didn't know that there were hardly any senshi anywhere else, although it wasn't something that he was going to admit to - at least not at the moment.
"Err no" he shook his head at the question, "I'm the senshi of keys" although he couldn't quite help but wonder if there was a senshi of Earth.
Oort had found his eyes once again straying towards the feather-shaped gem, although at least this time he'd managed to stop himself from reaching out to it again, but his attention shifted back to the stranger as the other mentioned that he was looking for something shiny.
He frowned, slightly, still not sure what the other would consider 'nice' although he did have a few bits - kind of.
"Well I've got these..." Oort started pulling them out as he spoke - a couple of coins, the crimson charm that he'd been given earlier, a tiny LED flashlight and then finally the blue star-shaped object that looked as pretty as a gemstone that he'd found at the park.
Actually come to think of it, Oort wasn't quite sure why he'd pulled that last one out given that he'd been planning to show the gemstone object to Euporie when the two of them got the chance to meet next, but there it lay alongside the other objects.
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Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2020 8:06 am
The merchant's lips pursed, like he was a bit disappointed, but he managed a shrug. "Ah, alas. Keys, though. That's a good power to have. Ah, ah," he leaned forward and nodded to the gemstone he had extracted. He tapped a long finger on the table to indicate that he was after the gemstone, though he made no effort to touch it. He had ethics and there were rules to this exchange. He wouldn't touch what wasn't offered. "I would trade for this. For anything on this table. Please," he added, and offered his kindest smile. "I'm quite the collector, you see."
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Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2020 4:47 am
"Really?" And whilst Oort hadn't meant to half blurt out the question like that, that didn't make the question any less sincere - because whilst the blue star-shaped object that he had found at the park was kind of pretty, the items that lay spread out on the table seemed far more interesting.
He looked down at the gem-like item that he had taken out again "But your items seem far more interesting" he admitted "Especially..."
Reddish eyes drifted back to the feather-shaped pendant that continued to draw his attention, a feather-shaped pendant that Oort was finding that he couldn't really look away from for that long "Especially that pendant" he admitted at last as he hesitantly pointed to said pendant.
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Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2020 3:16 pm
"Go ahead," the merchant insisted, gesturing towards the piece. "You're allowed to pick it up and examine it. If you want to make the trade, absolutely. I'd be more than happy to swap it for your shiny little thing. Here," he scooped up the feather-shaped pendant and held it out for Oort. "I trust that it will be in good hands." There was an unspoken 'You break it, you buy it', but that only meant that there was something rather genuine about him giving his permission. Offering it.
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Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2020 3:27 pm
Oort reached out towards the pendant that had caught his eye at the stranger's urging and then paused, hesitating.
"I'll be careful" he said seriously, before impulsively holding out the gem-like item that the other seemed to be so interested in "Here you can hold onto this whilst I look if you want."
Because it seemed only fair that if he got to have a closer look at the pendant then the stranger should too–
Especially as Oort still thought that the stranger's items seemed to be far more interesting.
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2020 12:41 pm
The merchant hummed as he accepted the gem but he didn't have any reason or need to examine it closer. He pinched the tiny object between two fingers and drew it to his eyes, taking in the way the light caught it, and the beautiful luster of the tiny thing. He let out a wistful sigh and tried not to look like he wanted it so badly. His eyes slid from the gem to Oort's face and he tried to read whatever details he could from the Senshi's expression. "Yes, I'd make this trade in a heartbeat. You seem captivated by that thing. It seems almost cruel to consider forcing you to part with it."
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Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2020 3:38 am
Oort had reached out and carefully picked up the pendant once the stranger had taken the gem-like item from him.
For some reason the pendant that he was so drawn to made him kind of think of Euporie, his senshi partner and friend - although Oort couldn't really explain why.
Maybe it was the fact that the gem pendant was shaped like a pendant. Maybe...
Oort's thoughts drew to a startled halt as the stranger mentioned something about being happy to make the trade, his reddish eyes still looking down at the brown pendant in the palm of his finger-less glove.
Brown?
Hadn't..? Hadn't it been purple before?
He looked at the stranger "Wasn't the pendant purple?" And then because he realised that he hadn't actually answered the other "And yes I think that I'd like to take it - that is if you think that the other item is really enough for it?"
Then because he was really curious "Where did you find this pendant?"
And perhaps it was too many questions, coming on top of each other as they were, but it didn't stop Oort from asking.
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Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2020 9:11 am
"Your eyes are as good as mine, no?" he asked, smile dancing on his face. "Would it be so surprising if it changed colors? My goodness, you're a Senshi, you must see magical things all the time!" His eyes fell to the pendant and he seemed to think on it for a bit. "You know, I found it quite a while ago. Sometimes it's hard to keep track of. But trust me in my evaluation, I'd be happy to trade it for that little gem." His long fingers tapped atop the table as he strained to recollect. "An asteroid, perhaps? Or maybe a planet. It was in a little box, I think. The box was badly damaged, though. It had a beautiful lock. I wish I'd saved it, but without a key it wasn't worth anything--and the box itself wasn't worth the effort to repair it, I'm afraid. But it must have been important to someone. They put a lot of effort into keeping it safe."
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Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2020 12:05 am
Oort huffed slightly "Yes I've seen some magic stuff" he agreed, because it would have been kind of hard to miss seeing magic stuff being a senshi - even if he was still only a chibi "But I wasn't expecting it to do that."
The way that reddish eyes glanced down at the now brown pendant as he spoke suggested that it was the identity of 'it'.
Reddish eyes looked back up as he admitted "But I think that it's neat."
A determined look crossed his face for a moment as the other confirmed that the gem-like object would really be enough for the pendant "Ok, then I'd like to make the trade" he confirmed - and whilst Oort had already kind of said that he wanted to do so - it felt right that he say it again for some reason - one that he didn't question.
His reddish eyes widened in unabashed fascination as the other answered his next question "That's pretty cool actually" and if the words were blurted out, then Oort wasn't about to admit to it and hopefully the other hadn't noticed.
He he hesitated for a moment before asking the next question, before going ahead and asking anyway.
"I know that we've traded and all, but do you mind if I ask some more questions?"
Because he truly was curious - and besides it wasn't every day that one came across a stall and stall owner as interesting as the one currently before him.
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Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2020 8:37 pm
With the trade completed, the merchant only smiled. The gem Oort had offered was long gone once the exchange was solidified, and the strange man across from the senshi seemed to make himself comfortable. He laced his fingers together and rested his elbows on the table, leaning forward just a bit as if to give himself a bit more closeness. "I am a curious fellow, myself. Ask me anything you like, Senshi. It's the least I can do in gratitude. It was a good trade. And I am always in the market for good company. There are no lines behind you, I'll be grateful for the company. What's on your mind?"
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