Welcome to Gaia! ::

‘WANTED. Will reward handsomely,’ said the sign out front.

Roselite paused, glanced nervously at Bloodstone, then stepped through the barrier, which rippled and allowed them to enter.

He did not know what he was expecting from this place, but it wasn’t this. Tables draped in dark purple cloth. Sumptuous embroidery. Items scattered over each surface, carrying the low hum of magic. Most astonishing of all, at least to Roselite, was the man in the chair.

There were aliens in the city. Roselite knew this because the Negaverse told him so. The Senshi and Knights were attempting to invade the Earth, and it was their duty to protect the Earth from that invasion. But the Senshi and Knights looked human. This man had human-like qualities, yet there were other aspects of his appearance that were anything but.

Roselite looked from the man’s colorful hair to his sharp features to the horns protruding from his temples.

“Um…”

The stranger looked sophisticated and relaxed, like their presence here did not concern him at all. Apprehensive, Roselite’s throat closed up before he could return the man’s greeting, and he looked toward his Captain for reassurance.

The merchant brightened immediately at the mention of ‘looking for these’ and his eyes went to Roselite expectantly. “Have you found some wisps?” he asked eagerly, and leaned forward to wait for their retrieval.

“I must say, I was beginning to worry that I wasn’t going to find the rest of them. I’d have gone out looking, myself, but I haven’t got anyone to keep an eye on things and, well.” He gestured to his tables, “I’d really rather not risk losing any more treasures unless absolutely necessary. Someone has to stay here to make these trades. I take it that’s why you boys are here?”

His smile was sharp and keen, and he seemed to be looking them both over and summing them up as quickly as possible. “Don’t be shy, come introduce yourselves. Let me get to know you, I’ll find you something lovely in exchange.”

No, Bloodstone wouldn't have wanted to reveal who they were to someone they didn't know. This man was clearly odd, and had his priorities of trading these items rather than searching for these wisps himself. If they were that important, he would have been working harder to find them, rather than hoping people would show up and trade for them.

At least that was what he assumed would happen, given the number of… trinkets layed out.

"And you are?" he asked, already looking at some of the arguably useless junk on the tables. "You're not with the White Moon, otherwise you wouldn't still be here. Have you considered joining the Negaverse? We have plenty of things to trade. Probably much more valuable than any of these…" he said as he paused to sneer at what looked like a tiny french horn and a bell with no clapper to make it ring.

"Do people actually trade for any of this stuff?" he grunted, picking up a weird looking hat with a feather and tossing it back onto the table when there were no identifying labels.

First, Roselite smiled. Praise was always welcome, even for something as simple as his manners — which everyone should have, in his opinion. Then his expression froze, because this strange shopkeeper looked predatory all of a sudden, and Roselite was fairly certain that wasn’t a good thing, as that meant he was the prey.

Roselite took a nervous step back, the wisp still clutched in the gentle cradle of his hands.

The second smile seemed more welcoming. Roselite thawed slightly and managed another twitch of the lips in return.

“Um…” he said again, as was his way. “I’m sorry for—” Captain Bloodstone, he would have said, if he wasn’t worried that Captain Bloodstone might be angry about it. Apologizing for his superior officer while his superior officer was right there seemed wrong, or at least not proper protocol.

“I… um…” Roselite looked between Almadel and Bloodstone, then to the wisp in his hands, then to the tables lined with treasures. They called to him, even if Bloodstone deemed them useless. “Um… where do all your things come from?”

Beneath that question lied another, unasked at the moment, Where do you come from?

Almadel flashed a charming grin. “Is this not handsome enough for you?” He must not have meant it because he carried on quickly, “I doubt you’ll find much information about me here. I do enjoy playing hard to get. But no one’s been so courteous to ask. I’d love to give an interview, but only if you intend to say good things about me.”

He smiled, either good natured or good at pretending to be. “I do have starseeds, yes. But you have plenty here so it doesn’t make for a good bargaining tool if it’s common. I’ve never heard of anyone getting addicted to them. I’ll have to try one sometime.”

He laughed then, like this was very funny. “I’m kidding, no. I would never eat my merchandise. I’ll save those for some Senshi, probably means more to them. My things come from everywhere, are you looking for something in particular? It might help me find something reasonable to offer.”

He was looking at Bloodstone, who clearly did not know how to appreciate all of his treasures. “What’s your taste, something a bit more murder-y? What are you interested in, mining? Perhaps you’re a lapidarist?” He gave him a look over and clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “Perhaps not. But I’ll find something to win you over.”

He moved a few things and reached beneath his table to pull out a few others. An intricately beaded pouch, a box of little tools, a stack of books, and a small box. Almadel laid them out for easy display, and opened the box to reveal two small silver earrings, set with vibrant red gems.

He straightened the stack of books, most notably the one on the top–a leather bound tome whose age was not immediately perceivable. It was old, but well cared for; the symbol of Earth was embossed on the cover, intertwined with creeping roses. The pages had rough edges, and as Almadel flipped through it, as if to check that he’d left nothing inside, it allowed a peek at the first few pages. Scribbles, text. He moved too quickly to give time for proper examination.

The scent of fresh roses carried on the wind, and he closed the book so he could sit up and look at his guests.

“We’ll come to an agreement before the night is over, I’m sure. I’ve got a knack for uniting people with treasures they never knew they needed. And I’m asking for so little in return. Really, you can’t pass up this offer.”

Bloodstone’s eyes narrowed on nothing in particular. He wasn’t sure he appreciated this Merchant’s taste in humor. He didn’t understand why he would assume anything about him made Almadel assume he would be interested in rocks and gems, carving or otherwise.

But there was something that drew his interest to the silver earrings with red gems. He wore earrings now, out of habit. He didn’t know why he’d always been interested in wearing the little red studs he had now, but they weren’t unique or all that special.

Then again, it was probably obvious to pick something like nicer red earrings when Bloodstone was already wearing some.

“What are these? Rubies?” he frowned as he went over to pick up one of the earrings to inspect. He glanced over at Roselite’s choice, thinking it was unsurprising that he would want something like a book. Obviously Bloodstone was going to take something too. Since he and Roselite found the wisp together, it was only fair that they would both get rewarded with some junk from the alien merchant.

Carefully, Roselite passed the wisp along in exchange for the offered books. They both seemed innocuous at first glance, but he found himself drawn to one bound in leather, the cover of which had been embossed with a vaguely familiar symbol entwined with creeping roses. His interest became further piqued by it when he gently flipped through the pages. Most were blank, but they all emitted the scent of roses.

“Thank you,” he mumbled, completing the trade.

Nervously, he glanced between Bloodstone and the merchant. Bloodstone seemed annoyed, or angry, or otherwise on edge. Roselite didn’t see any reason for hostility, but Bloodstone was more experienced and thus far more knowledgeable about potential dangers. Even so, Roselite hoped he wouldn’t decide to become aggressive.

More so than he already was, anyway.

“Um… they would look nice on you, Sir,” Roselite said of the earrings.

With any luck, he could coax Bloodstone out of here before Bloodstone’s mood worsened.

Maybe Roselite could find his way back here some other time. Fascinated as he was by it all, he was a bit disappointed that lingering with his Captain along didn’t seem advisable.