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 Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2020 5:08 pm
Previously . . .
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: Mon Jul 06, 2020 7:16 pm
She let out a puff of a breath, grateful for the cooling effect of the night on the city. Summer was great and all--fewer classes, longer days--but the heat wasn't her most favorite part. Unless she got to go hit the beach, but patrolling didn't currently include that luxury, so here viewpoint still stood strong. Cassiopeia stretched up, arms folded somewhat behind her head as her back cracked and popped. The various layers of the semi-sheer fabric of her uniform helped to keep her cool at least, a complete one-eighty to how difficult the winter patrols were with the expanse of skin it exposed. Now? She absolutely was fine with it.
Except if she patrolled in the daytime. Then she was nervous about getting sunburn. She was of pretty heavy Irish heritage, after all--she burned instead of tanned. Required her to load up considerably on sunblock before she set out on any sunny day patrols, and even then she was wary and frequently reapplied due to help from Realta.
No, nighttime patrols were, without question, highly preferred. Something she figured was a general theme amongst many individuals who lived these sorts of double-lives. It was when she met most other powered folks she'd come to acquaint herself with by that point, minus family she supposed, and most events of notice took place. At night. When the rest of the world was, hopefully, tucked away in bed or otherwise occupied and unable to notice the extent of what was going on outside their windows. At least until they woke up and saw the property damage left behind, anyway...
Her heels clicked gently over the sidewalk as she made her way slowly along the empty street, mostly sticking to alleys and watching out for random folks she saw milling about at the late hour. Not super late, to be fair--it wasn't even midnight yet--so she wasn't entirely concerned to see small groups of people hanging near clubs or coming out of bars. It was more she was concerned for their safety at large. Easy targets for youma or Chaos agents looking for victims.
So her pace was slow, keeping track of what energy signatures she caught traces of. Some senshi, some knights. There were some youma, but most signatures vanished before she could even start heading in that direction--where she could also feel another Order signature, so. She wasn't feeling entirely pressed about the evening. The clear sky above offered a brilliant view of the sky, once she got into an area with fewer street lights and buildings to challenge the twinkling stars.
It didn't take much to spot the particular group she was very familiar with at that point, the tell-tale 'W' bringing a smile to her face. She should... go back soon, shouldn't she..?
The idea was appealing, but didn't linger--she felt a strange... sort of static in her head. Cassiopeia blinked, her brow furrowing as she looked about before heading off in a jog towards the source. The area was something of a large park and offered the city a large portion of a nearly forested area. Large boulders leftover from ancient glaciers made the terrain more hilly and full of random rocky outcroppings than some parks, some even large enough for rock climbers to enjoy.
It was atop one of these outcroppings that she found him.
The massive granite rocks formed a harsh slope and plateaued to form a wide, flat top before falling into a sheer cliff over part of a lake and river that snaked through the park. The figure with the odd aura sat there with his table, the moon and stars causing the gently lapping waters of the lake to shimmer below. It wasn't a Chaotic aura, she could figure that much. But it wasn't Order, either. Briefly, her mind went to Caedus, and she began to approach tentatively up the slope till she stood at the far side of the top of the small cliff. Her brows rose as she stared at the table, from there able to see some of the objects arranged on its surface.
This was... definitely new.
She could see he was adorned in mostly purple and silver, though most of his features were somewhat unknown to her with the gloom of the night and only some odd light sources here and there around his table to illuminate the scene.
"Pardon me, I hope I'm not interrupting anything," she started, lifting a hand to offer a small wave and smiling. Manners, after all. Slow steps began to click against rock as she approached carefully, keeping a keen eye on the man in case her presence turned out to be not as welcomed as his single word suggested. It was then she began to see how some of the lights played on the sheen of curling horns at the side of his head and scales along points of his features, something that made her breath catch in her throat briefly. Her hands began to twist and fidget before her, head tilting slightly and causing pink and teal dyed purple locks to drift about her face. So... what... was he..?
"I... am likely being very rude for this, and I apologize, but are you... from around here?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2020 7:08 pm
The man seemed amused, like it just tickled him that she couldn’t tell it immediately. “Rude? Not at all. I’m not from around here, no. Why, have you found a long lost brother of mine living amongst you? ...I can’t deny that there’s something attractive about humans, but I don’t think I could easily pass as one. Nor would I want to.” He reached up to brush his fingers gently over the tip of one of his horns. He tapped it twice for effect, sharp little smile in place the whole time. “Regardless, I’m here for business, and Earth is just booming. I’m looking to make a trade. I’ve got all these lovely things,” he gestured to his table, with a beautiful array of items--some jewelry, some weapons, some simply stunning gemstones--like the lustrous, multifaceted, iridescent gem that caught the moonlight just right. “...You’re a senshi,” he pressed. “I trust you’ve got plenty interesting things to trade with, yes?”
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