Welcome to Gaia! ::

Albite shook himself slightly as he hastily ducked inside, stepping through the aura made his teeth itch, and being within the whole of the place set his nerves abuzz, like a dull full body shiver. It was different from facing down the screaming wall in the rift, not as unpleasant, but still really tingly.

"He-ll-oo.." the low awed whistle that followed, as he surveyed the menagerie of wares. A veritable trove of treasures untold. The best one being at the center of it all. Faustite, early as always, and a dragonesque looking counterpart sitting prim, proper, and purple, behind a decked out table of gleaming baubles and bits.

"So, you're the guy? Huhhn...." a tilt to his head that spoke of muted intrigue. Albite almost looked haggard, rare smudges of darkness beneath his eyes. The gaggle of wisps he'd collected the night before seemed to have the run of him, tucked up amongst dreaded locks, within his sash, atop his shoulders, he was a veritable jungle gym for the bunch. The look he wore spoke of someone who had gone long past frustration into exasperated acceptance of his circumstances.

The wisps had won, they owned him now. He was little more than a courier to ferry them home to the be-scaled man before them, who seemed to want them badly enough to post a reward.

"There'd better be a hell of a reward for putting up with all this. Like. Seriously man..you need a better sitter for your orb's than our city." Albite huffed briefly, nudging an errantly slipping wisp back onto its perch just beneath his ear. One of the Twin Beas, who seemed to enjoy playing at being imitation earrings for Albites amusement.

Faustite approached the table, tossed the first wisp between his hands with a flick of his wrist. Cycling the rest from subspace was a waterwheel through air, hand acting as the door between reality and subreality, until the seven were somewhat cooperative in his gesture. Soon as the first started to break rank, he brought his hands together, and all seven were banished to subspace again.

This one was slimy, he decided. Quick to goad and entice. He looked back at Albite, waited for him to come forward.

"Got used to burning to death without dying," he answered tritely. They hadn't come for a stranger to inquire about how overheated he must be. No one in the Negaverse asked if it hurt, or what his pain scale was. No, this one asked to make a personal connection. He already offered remuneration the wisps, so what was he angling for?

As the Negaverse's torch mulled the question, he took a seat on the corner of the horned one's table and shifted some of his majestic crap to the side. Legs crossed, a hand leveraged on one knee while he leaned back against the hand that braced against the table.

"The wisps — explain them. Like to hear what I'm giving up, what I'm getting in return. That aura, too — that coming from you?" His attention settled on the pretty draconic thing as he waited for his answers. Couldn't begin to guess where this one was from, why he was here, or what the wisps were for.

“Oh, come now,” the Merchant sighed heavily, but his smile didn’t falter. He seemed amused, but there was something faintly dangerous behind his eyes, distantly hidden beneath the long lashes he batted innocently at the two.

“Don’t tease me. I’ve been run ragged already. I’d make time for two fine specimens, such as yourself, any day now. Without you dangling my wisps likes treats for a dog. You have those here on Earth still, don’t you? I’ve seen the cats, the Mauvians, at least.”

He shrugged, and in the absence of offered wisps, steepled his fingers together and leaned forward as if to more comfortably engage them.

“I must have you know. I never rush anything worth enjoying.” His voice was a low rumble, practically a purr, and his forked tail leisurely swished behind him as he remained comfortably seated.

“I suspect you boys are very much worth enjoying. So,” he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, “to answer your questions, the wisps are from my personal collection. Something very dear to me. Only, it’s not supposed to be broken into small pieces. And I really need to get them back together quickly. The longer they’re separated, the more volatile they’ll become, and they’ll lose any potency. I can’t keep broken artifacts, it’s a waste of space and effort. So I need to repair it quickly before the damage is permanent. As for what you’re getting in return, that completely depends on what you like, my dears. As you can see,” he nodded to what Faustite had already moved to make a seat, and then gestured to the other tables, “I have an assortment of unique obscurities I’m willing to part with. I can’t read minds, so I need to get to know my customers a little bit before I can suggest them the perfect deal. Of course, you’re welcome to look about if you like and pick something out if you think it’s what you want. But I might have a few special items tucked away for people I like.”

He was not shy about the way his eyes moved over the two of them, and his eyes sparkled mischievously. The aura is mine, but it is a bit synthetic. I don’t come with a fancy signal like you all. No, like many of my items, it’s a magical little thing. A beacon, so my customers can find me. Wouldn’t be very useful if I was out here in the dark, all by myself. And I find that those of you with special powers usually have the better things to trade. I don’t want bottlecaps and paperclips from the everyday-person, if you know what I mean.”

Albite felt out of his depth, like he was standing between a pair of people playing 3D chess, while he was out playing hop scotch in a field. That feeling of inadequacy made doubly irritating by the fact that he was tired. He was grateful that Faustite had the mental wherewithal to trade snarky little barbs with the overly flirtatious merchant, to step up where he normally would have, but just didn't have the energy to.

As tempting as it was, Albite found he wasn't interested in endearing himself to the suave merchant with the unflinching grin, the little something in the back of his brain that warned about giving too much over to a total stranger with a silver tongue. "Yeah, I'm trying to imagine something out here running you ragged, and I'm coming up short. You don't seem the type that gets run." Albite commented lightly, his smile edged with weariness as he approached the table and laid his own wisps out carefully, mentally giving little goodbyes to each and every one of the eight.

There was nothing on the sign about garnering favor, or being well sought company. It had been a clear ask for an exchange, bring wisps, get rewards. The guy'd done the equivalent of setting up a lighthouse in the middle of the sea, shining out to any who could've caught the message. So he clearly didn't care who brought in his wisps - so long as they were returned.

Still.... If playing nice got them better stuff.

"I don't know if there's anything I could tell you about us that isn't obvious at a glance. I'm a 'wear my heart on my sleeves kinda guy' - sept I forgot the shirt. He's hot stuff, literally." and Albite gave the wisps a gentle nudge into some semblance of order. Letting his gaze linger over the merchants form, taking in all the glitz, the way he held himself. Before slanting it across to Faustite, and then the wares beyond. "I mean, between the two of us - firebrand especially - we're already intriguing enough right, enjoyable?" and Albite took in Faustites question, he'd never thought of their auras before, let alone where they came from. He'd always assumed it had something to do with them having starseeds.

Albite skirted the main table briefly, hovered about the others, it was nearly too much to take in. Choice overload. If something called out to him, it was drowned in the din of to many visuals, not enough labels. Even as he briefly touched over one object or another - delicate barely there glances of fingertips across things he was afraid to break.

He didn't want to attract the merchants ire. Felt the guy was only willing to be tolerable so long as they had something worth trading. For all that the guy was a ten outta ten, on the dragon salesman scale. He also made Albite think of the kind of pacts warlocks made in the dark with denizens of the deep. Ancient deadly things, that people who weren't nearly half as clever as they thought they were, should've made deals with. Albite wasn't interested in selling his soul twice over, not for any bit of glittering bauble.

"Auras are real interesting things, all that goes into making 'em. M'thinkin, magical stuff is too. I can't speak for my friend, but if me telling you what I'd want would help? Like...if what your saying is all that you've got in here, is what's on offer?" Albite hazarded with a shrug. Stepped away from a wicked looking piece of metal that lay atop one of the tables; etched with something that gleamed all wrong.

Interesting chalice for a bunch of tiny wisps. Curious what they were for, precisely, but the merchant wasn't sharing. Pity that; Faustite might've gone to find more. But, perhaps withholding was the only way to motivate others to do his tracker work for him.

The burning General swung one foot back and forth lazily, contemplating the irritating way their mercantile acquaintance responded. Anything that could be sensed, then, channeled cosmic power. Which left that star at the fore of the table — was it channeling, or just imitating? Faustite watched it, thoughtful and silent while Albite wasted words again.

He was good at that — wasting time. Faustite started to think it would do for a distraction. Albite runs his mouth, people pay attention to him, people get ambushed by the real threats.

His thoughts came back to the moment when the merchant spoke again, and offered some corset-looking thing. Black to match the uniform, at least. Silent about it, he picked it up, tried it about his manufactured waist. It fit perfectly, as he suspected all magical things did, and to test it, he beckoned for Albite to come closer. Faustite held his hand out for the other man to take. He hadn't felt any different, but the person to detect a remarkable temperature change would be anyone else.

There was also the snowflake-loving dragon man, but. They weren't quite friends.

"People try for s'mores, this time of year." Faustite drawled, unamused. Surprising that Albite hadn't pestered him for that, though a subordinate stood more of a chance to use him for a campfire than other Negaverse grunts.

"Oh," he cut in, splaying his fingers out to catch the merchant's attention, "do you have something that will compel him to be succinct? Wastes words, that one." Albite wasn't smart, but Faustite hoped he knew that gifs were adjacent to that book, and the second one was called a camera.

"Could tell us about yourself, too. Where you're from, your name, how you collected this." Or stole it.

“Oh,” the merchant cooed. “You’re actually in luck, my friend.”

He moved box beneath the table and placed it carefully in his lap, navigating with only one hand to open it, fish around, and pull out what looked like an ornately braided cowry shell sash. It seemed well crafted enough that he wouldn’t have to worry about pinching himself or catching any hair on it. Passing it over quickly for inspection, the merchant explained, “I’ve had that one for a bit. It’s got a bit of weight to it, but I think that means it’s quite durable.”

The smell of the beach, faint as it was, was on the wind.

He kept the box in his lap in case the sash was rejected, but while Albite was inspecting the item, he answered, “My name is Almadel. I hope you’ll tell me what you prefer to be called as well? I’m from a good while away, but I lay claim to no world. I think I acquired that in a card game. Many, many years ago.”

He leaned back thoughtfully. “I excavate abandoned worlds. Sometimes you find treasures, sometimes you find nothing. But I’m always looking for something interesting. I don’t play with fire much,” he shrugged. “So that piece is better off with someone else. And I like my accessories a bit shinier,” he confessed, reaching up to touch a strand of iridescent pearls for emphasis; they curled around one of his horns, and a lovely little gemstone dangled just within his line of sight.

"Huhn? Oh, 'm Araullo..." and Albite offered his middle name distractedly. Was mesmerized by the offered garment. Felt the heft of it in his hands, the light clack of jangled shells, and fine work of colored beading patterned into the tightly woven thickness. Even as he tugged at it, he could tell it wouldn't tear or snap easily if he wore it often. He loved it, enough that it shown easily on his face that he wasn't about to consider returning it to the merchant.

It was the smell that got to him the most; sea breeze salty. Like a wearing a sunny day...

Albite hummed while Faustite spoke to Almadel, tilted his head ever so briefly in curiosity of the topic while he busied himself with tying the thing on. Using his large hands to gather up the bulk of his dreads at the base of his head; pulling them out of his face and twisting them into something of a messy ponytail. An easy enough thing to secure it somewhat with one dread, and then wrap the rest with the length of the sash - tuck it just so - to avoid keeping the ends of it loose and free.

Albite wondered at the idea that someone like Almadel could be chased off. It was worth considering how the guy got around though, for all that his trinkets seemed borrowed, bought, or bartered. "Dunno bout that.." the comment light, tilting his head to feel the difference of having his hair up securely for once, instead of trying to consume half of his face with every errant twist and shrug."The crystals aura's not screaming for one side 'er another, s'just....Power? Side's, I bet it'd be real hard to play cards 'n trade wares if he was spookin' the locals, yeah?" casting a soft grin and glance between the dragon and the banked fires cast from his General.

The pair alike in their differences, at least to him, and the pair of them were both so far from being human in so many ways. He had to ask.."You're like not a youma, are you?" He wanted to say dragon, but that didn't seem accurate either.