Welcome to Gaia! ::

In the Name of the Moon!

Back to Guilds

A Sailor Moon based B/C shop! Come join us! 

Tags: Sailor, Moon, Scouts, Breedables, Senshi 

Reply ♥ In the Name of the Moon! ♥
[StarR] Glowing Wisp Lanterns for Sale (Viatrix+Encke)

Quick Reply

Enter both words below, separated by a space:

Can't read the text? Click here

Submit

Seiana_ZI

Codebreaking Conversationalist

PostPosted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 5:44 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 tables were somehow both simple and overwhelming; each table was draped with a dark purple tablecloth, all with extravagant embroidery in different designs. Scattered neatly atop the tables 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 that the barrier surrounding him rippled to allow his visitor to pass, he smiled.

He did not rise to meet them nor adjust his position in the slightest. He followed them with his fierce eyes and greeted, in a silky voice, “Welcome.”


"So, this is it."

"Yup, big barrier, seems to be pulsing weird energy, I think it's at the location the other thing was at," Viatrix glanced at her phone like she had actually taken notes. She leaned on him as if he was a wall and said, "Seems to check out. Alright, lemme get 'em out--" and like it was nothing, Viatrix very suddenly pulled several mason jars out of space, setting them down in front of her.

They were so warm--

Viatrix couldn't help her pout. "Kinda sad he wants these back--"

"Let's just see what he wants with them." Encke scooped up the mason jars and pushed through the barrier, finding it easy to pass through, more like water than what he would have expected. Viatrix quickly gallavanted in behind him.

"Oh, are you some kind of merchant or something?" the Mauvian found herself in amused stitches. "Like in video games! Let me show you my wares."

... Encke resolved that his guardian cat was definitely hanging around his sister too much, though perhaps Viatrix wasn't wrong. Tables covered in purple full of random objects he didn't have a chance of naming. He could make the relation to video games, though something about the person in front of them was distinctly other. "Uh, thanks. Understand you want these?"

"Oh, right! Those!" she pointed up with a paw as Encke held them in the air.

the space cauldron
PostPosted: Sat Jul 03, 2021 10:23 am


“I am some kind of merchant! A very good one, if I do say so myself,” the man said, visibly pleased, but he seemed to have something of a softness for Mauvians and it looked like he wanted to reach out and pet her almost as much as he wanted to scoop up the wisps.

“Come closer, I won’t bite. You should come take a look at my wares. I’m willing to strike a very good bargain--for you--for the return of my wisps. I’ve already gotten quite a bit back, but I still need more. There’s no use if I can’t complete the collection,” he said, and reached below the table. He withdrew an extremely ornate chalice that could have easily doubled as an extravagant candy dish, complete with stem and lid. The crystal bowl was cut with many facets that all perfectly seemed to capture and accentuate the light inside. Atop of the clear crystal, an ornate silver lid encrusted with what looked to be a giant diamond in the center. It had a large silver stem and a beautiful, sturdy base with a few more gemstones embedded within it. A few wisps danced around inside already, and he looked from them to his guests. “Let me put those back where they belong and we’ll go over how I can repay you.”

Seiana_ZI


The Space Cauldron

Captain


Seiana_ZI

Codebreaking Conversationalist

PostPosted: Sat Jul 03, 2021 11:17 am


Viatrix could always tell where she was wanted, and she let out a pleased rumble of a purr when she realized the merchant was paying particular notice to her. She abandoned Encke for a moment, instead trotting up to the table the merchant was behind and hopping right up onto it.

She might have been projecting very heavy pet me, then vibes. Encke rolled his eyes but couldn't necessarily fault his guardian cat for, well, being a cat--

His approach was a bit slower and warier, though, even despite how safe Viatrix seemed to feel around him. He was always wary. He even pulled the mason jars a little closer to his body as he leaned over to take a look at the chalice. Looked like a few people had already come by to give him some of them back. "Complete the collection," murmured Encke, glancing between what he held and the ornate chalice below him. "Are each of these a bit different?"

Viatrix trotted a bit closer to the dish to get a better look.

the space cauldron
PostPosted: Sat Jul 03, 2021 3:40 pm


The more Viatrix seemed to want to be pet, the less the Merchant could contain himself, and he finally reached out his very nicely manicured nails and gave her a good scratch behind the ears.

“No, not really,” he answered. “They’re practically indistinguishable. But, that being said, they’re not supposed to be different. They’re not supposed to be separated at all. Think of it like a glass of water. Individually, it’s made up of many tiny droplets of water, but together in a glass, they’re just one singular entity.”

Carefully, he tilted the lid of the chalice up; none of the little wisps tried to float out, but some seemed to get a bit close. “Would you like to put them in?” he tempted, all the while seeming to contemplate the two of them, as if by looking at them alone he could deduce what to offer them.

Seiana_ZI


The Space Cauldron

Captain


Seiana_ZI

Codebreaking Conversationalist

PostPosted: Sat Jul 03, 2021 6:20 pm


None of the people she minded ever gave her a scratch on the head quite like this. Encke and Basiluzzo always had such dull nails and she was pretty sure Anser spent too much time biting them off. The merchant was rewarded with intense, pleased purring for his efforts, Viatrix scrunching her body up and rubbing against his arm to show her approval of his action.

It may have also been to encourage more of the pets. Either or.

"If they're all the same," Viatrix's voice was encouraging, "why can't I just keep one? They're so warm and you know cats like warm things."

Encke eyed Viatrix and her attempts to convince the merchant while setting the rest of the mason jars to the side. Carefully, he twisted one open, popping off the main cap but still leaving the smaller seal on as he glanced in the chalice. They seemed to stay in place, roughly. Contained. The chalice seemed to keep them in check as if it was an actual wisp prison of sorts. "What are they for, exactly? I can't imagine you went through all of this," this being the meteor, setting up shop, having so many strange objects to exchange for the wisps, "just to collect wisps."

the space cauldronx
PostPosted: Tue Jul 06, 2021 7:42 pm


“Oh, no. The plan wasn’t to involve them at all. See, I’m trying to grow it,” he explained to Encke. “If all goes well, all the positive energy will manifest into a protective spirit, as it were. It was in one piece, a cute little blob, but when I landed on Earth, I came in a little hard. Your atmosphere wasn’t as dense as I remember, so the resistance got me all messed up. When I crashed, I made a bit of a dent.”

He gestured to the crater around them. “My little blob was fragile, when I collided, it split into all these different pieces. I had wanted to make a standard trade--see what you all had that you were willing to part with in exchange for what I was willing to part with--but collecting these wisps and reforming my little blob is my priority. I’m afraid that I can’t get it to reform if I don’t have all the pieces,” he admitted, and scratched Viatrax for a moment longer, “Or else I’d share. Once you’ve gotten them in, I’ll find something nice for you both, to trade. I’m getting the impression that you, my dear,” he looked to the Mauvian, “Appreciate the finer things in life. Something advanced, for you. I have some Mauvian technology. Actually.”

He stopped petting her and kept the chalice open for Encke, but fussed around with things beneath his table for a moment before he pulled out a perfectly preserved gadget with a small screen and a few buttons. “I think it used to have other functions. Last I checked, it was useful in pinpointing magical anomalies, but it’s very peculiar. I think it’s got a GPS feature, but it’s malfunctioned of late. You look like a clever girl, maybe you can take a look at it some time and see if you can repair it? I know it’s missing some components. It needs a special gem to function--a little magically charged element, as it were. For the world you want to sync it to. I don’t think Earth has anything of the like, but you should see if your Senshi friend over there might give you a ride to his. If you could find something up there, I’m sure you could get it working again. That device would probably be more useful to someone planning on staying in one place, so I can’t use it as well. Always moving,” he explained with a shrug, and turned his attention to Encke as he waited for the wisps.

“Although, speaking of magically charged rocks. Where did you say you were from? Your colors remind me of something. Oh, here it is.”

He opened a little display of rings, and while there were a number of them lined up, he deftly picked out a very specific one; it had a silver band, and a gemstone of swirling purple, blue and magenta. It looked like electricity was dancing inside, and when it touched him, a tiny little electric arc zapped at his finger. It didn’t seem painful, but he made a face as he laid it on the table in front of Encke. “It’s got a bit of a spark to it, I don’t think it likes me very much.”

On the back of the ring, clearly visible, was an engraved comet with three lines falling after it.

Seiana_ZI


The Space Cauldron

Captain


Seiana_ZI

Codebreaking Conversationalist

PostPosted: Tue Jul 06, 2021 10:24 pm


How long had it been since this merchant had been on Earth if the atmosphere now felt thinner than he remembered? It piqued Encke's curiosity immediately in the same way as Caedus had, and Encke found himself listening raptly as the merchant explained himself and what exactly the wisps were for. They were all identical because they were all pieces of a whole -- a whole protective spirit.

Encke glanced down at the mason jar he had nearly uncapped. The concept of these all being pieces of a spirit that had shattered made him feel a bit bad for holding several of them back from the chalice where they could mingle with others of their own self. Perhaps it was just a way to get Encke to hand them over, though. He was uncertain. He was distracted by the merchant shifting his attention fully to Viatrix, who was absolutely delighting in the scratches and the positive attention.

Well, until it stopped. This had better be good for him to just stop scratching her like that--

"Mauvian technology!" she gasped, and she found herself hopping around the table in delight -- careful to avoid any of the other objects, of course -- as she looked to the item that was revealed to her. A device for pinpointing magical anomalies and the GPS feature -- this could be so useful! Her Mauvian brain was already putting together ideas of ways she could attempt to reassemble the missing components, and the suggestion to grab the magically charged gem from her senshi friend's planet seemed to feel right, and she turned over a little grin to her senshi. "Oh, I'm sure he'd love to take me to his comet!"

Comet might have been saying too much and Encke would have gone to hush Viatrix but he was the type to be easily derailed and he was quite interested in knowing what exactly his colors reminded the merchant of.

He released the wisp he was holding into the chalice in exchange as he plucked the ring right off the table.

It didn't seem to shock him in the same way it had shocked the merchant.

"Encke's Comet," replied Encke, quietly. "s**t, how did you--" How did he get to his planet? How had he gotten this? This was clearly an Enckean ring. The colors were right. The symbol matched the symbol that was currently glowing like a beacon on his forehead. The ring didn't seem to be enchanted to shock him the way it seemed to be shocking the merchant. "How do you travel through space -- who are you?"

Viatrix nudged one of the other mason jars toward the chalice and attempted to get it open herself. "If we're gonna inundate him with questions, Enc, we should probably give him what he wants."

"Yeah, sure-- I," Encke was at a loss and wanted to know everything.

the space cauldron
PostPosted: Sat Jul 10, 2021 6:57 pm


The merchant seemed pleased, despite the startled questions--which, really, he had come to expect by now. He eagerly took every offered wisp, and as he did so explained, “I am but a humble merchant,” he insisted, but perhaps felt a little more loose-lipped than he’d first thought and continued, “My name is Almadel. You can call me Alma, if you like. I travel using a starstone. I’ve learned you don’t have them here on Earth--but they’re very useful. They get me where I need to go. Creating them is a lost skill, I’m afraid. I haven’t found anyone who has mastered the technique, and the last crafstman I met capable of creating one has long since disappeared. Ah,” he sighed wistfully.

“The universe has lost so much already. Such a shame. But, I suppose that’s why Earth is so nice. It seems like something is always happening. I don’t think I could ever get bored here. But, I have too many things to do to visit for long, I’m afraid. But I do like these trips, so very much.”

Seiana_ZI


The Space Cauldron

Captain


Seiana_ZI

Codebreaking Conversationalist

PostPosted: Sat Jul 10, 2021 11:17 pm


Viatrix set to work on giving the merchant his wisps back--fair exchange, after all, and she wasn't about to let Encke keep those wisps when there was actual Mauvian technology on the line. Mauvian tech! Mauvian tech she might be able to use on Encke! To find magical things!

She was struggling to get the mason jars open in-between being stuck as a cat with a woeful lack of thumbs and the sheer excitement she felt, but she eagerly gave over each wisp.

Starstone.

Encke locked onto that word in immediacy, realizing that could have been the answer to so much -- how to get to space, how to explore other planets, how to perhaps recolonize space, bring back these once-thriving societies, and gain a terrain advantage away from Chaos they simply would never have on Earth -- but found his heart very quickly broken when Almadel said that the last craftsman who was capable of creating one had long since disappeared.

"The universe has lost so much already," replied Encke, and he sounded truly heartbroken about it. What Caedus said had implied the same, even if he had deeply hoped and believed that his people were still out there. "None of us senshi are here because we're naturally supposed to be. We should be out there. I should still be on Encke's Comet." He should have been The First Born of the First House of Encke, Encke's Chosen Senshi-- "The Enckeans should still be on Encke's Comet."

Viatrix glanced to Encke, offering him a smile as well as she could. "You have brought the plant life back!" She held onto the last wisp for the moment, enjoying its warmth for just a bit longer. "And the electricity! That's super important!"

But it wasn't people.

Encke couldn't help his quiet question of, "Do you think there are any other starstones out there? Any others that might be capable of making them?"

What skill did it take?

... Was it something he was capable of learning?

... Was it possible to find the last starstone maker Almadel knew?

the space cauldron
PostPosted: Wed Jul 14, 2021 6:07 pm


Almadel seemed delighted to have the wisps pushed in his direction, and as soon as they were offered, he scooped them closer when they were within reach.

He listened curiously, because it wasn’t really eavesdropping when the conversation was being had right in front of you.

“There might be,” he said wistfully. “One can only hope. But, if they aren’t properly maintained, they can explode. It’s very dangerous, but that’s what you get for playing with the heart of a star, I suppose.” He shrugged, and seemed reasonably distracted by the idea still.

“But, I have hope, regardless. As long as they’re reasonably taken care of, they’ll last lifetimes. An eternity, maybe. I’ve taken incredibly good care of mine, it’ll outlive me. So there is hope. The universe is a very large place, after all. And you never know who--or what--is hiding out there.”

Seiana_ZI


The Space Cauldron

Captain


Seiana_ZI

Codebreaking Conversationalist

PostPosted: Wed Jul 14, 2021 11:28 pm


Playing with the heart of a star.

... Incredible.

Encke was absolutely enamoured with the thoughts, the energy and magic that must have been required to make them, the skill, the technology, the finesse. He had a thousand questions and he was aware that if Almadel was not himself a starstone maker, he likely had none of those answers. They still burned him.

What made starstones? Was it the energy of a star itself? The actual plasma and heat and elements inside it? Did it have anything to do with anything else? ... It didn't have anything to do with starseeds, did it?

Encke ignored that paranoid thought as he listened to Almadel and the magic of being able to simply teleport through space, instead. "Suppose the key to finding more is finding some that haven't exploded in the interim of not being actively tended to." His smile was wry. "Or just finding a new starstone maker. You're right, the universe is a very large place. Feels infinite."

Viatrix finally managed to get the last mason jar open with a victorious, "Hah!" before shoving the final wisp at the delighted Almadel. "Thank you so much for the Mauvian tech! I so rarely get to find any of that kind of thing!" She scampered right back to the ancient GPS, lifting it up and admiring it in all its glory. She couldn't wait to get on Encke and see if she could figure something fun out with this.

She paused, glanced back to Encke, and then asked Almadel, with a giggle, "Can you give me one more pet? Encke doesn't have nails like that so he's just not as good at it--"

Encke let out a quiet and oddly distant, "Oh come on," still thoroughly distracted by thoughts of space.

the space cauldron
PostPosted: Fri Jul 23, 2021 6:32 am


Almadel accepted the final wisp eagerly, and was quick to store it with the others. He was smiling, not just for his own good gain, but because Viatrix seemed so enamored with the trade. He might have been a businessman, but if he was earnest about anything it was that a good trade did seem to delight him.

“Oh, it would be my pleasure,” Almadel confirmed, and reached out to give her a very good scratch. “It was lovely to meet the two of you. I think I’ve found myself thoroughly charmed. If I find another Starstone, I’ll have to report back to you. Maybe we’ll be able to make another trade,” he laughed. “At the very least, the next time you see me, I’ll make sure to bring more treasures. So make sure you stop by, won’t you? I want to know there are people I can trust on Earth.”

Seiana_ZI


The Space Cauldron

Captain


Seiana_ZI

Codebreaking Conversationalist

PostPosted: Sat Jul 24, 2021 8:17 pm


Almadel was thanked for his service in another very good scratch with some very intense purrs, in turn, bumping his hand with her head in thanks to confirm just how much she was loving this.

Encke, for his part, resolved to perhaps find Viatrix a nice backstratcher. Maybe he'd file the edges to a bit of a point so it could scratch a bit more like Almadel's nails did--

"I would love that," confirmed Encke, his mind spinning with the concept of another Starstone. Perhaps his own Starstone.

To be able to travel to space.

Anywhere in space.

The ultimate way to escape Chaos, the ultimate way to work to restore where they should have been-- "I'll stop by next time you're back, yes. And I'll," he glanced toward his very happy Mauvian, "make sure to bring the guardian cat along, too."

"You better," chimed Viatrix, bumping Almadel once more before taking the Mauvian GPS and hopping up onto Encke's shoulder. He let out a small yelp of surprise. She didn't seem to care. "I expect more pets next time, so keep your nails nice and long on Earth! But Encke," she bumped him with her head, too, "let's let this guy get some more customers, eh?"

Encke nodded loosely. "Right. Ah. Until next time, Alma?" He grinned. "Look forward to hearing some positive updates about Starstones."

That was his hope, anyway, as he took their artifacts and his guardian cat back outside of the border.

the space cauldron
wrap!
Reply
♥ In the Name of the Moon! ♥

 
Manage Your Items
Other Stuff
Get GCash
Offers
Get Items
More Items
Where Everyone Hangs Out
Other Community Areas
Virtual Spaces
Fun Stuff
Gaia's Games
Mini-Games
Play with GCash
Play with Platinum