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 Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2022 5:44 am
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, even as he leaned forward and laced his fingers 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 table was somehow both simple and overwhelming; it was draped in a dark purple tablecloth, with extravagant embroidery in different designs. Scattered neatly atop the table was 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 when his visitor entered, 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.” The Star Festival had started up in the years that Nectaris couldn't remember, but and it'd had enough time to get pretty big, and now that she was experiencing it basically for the first time, she was loving it. Well, the part where people had kept going missing was kinda weird, but all of the actual festival stuff was nice! There was just one more thing that she wanted to go see before it all shut down. She'd heard rumors of a merchant dude who was a little bit more magical than all the other vendors, and if there was something that Nectaris loved, it was magic. He had a distinct aura, and she followed it, but when she popped through his bubble, she wasn't expecting him to look like a dragon. "Woah," she whispered. "Are you, like, an alien?" A second passed, and Nectaris squinted at herself. "Sorry, that's kinda rude. It doesn't matter if you're an alien or not. I brought stuff to maybe trade?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2022 1:24 pm
“Is it rude?” he asked, watching her carefully. She was familiar enough to him that he didn’t feel like this was a stranger to him, but he couldn't immediately place why. “I can’t be offended by simple curiosity. But to answer your question, no. I’m not like an alien. By your standards, I am. In that, I’m not from Earth. But if we were anywhere else, you’d be an alien too, so it’s hardly that interesting.” But then, there was plenty interesting about her, and suddenly it seemed like something had clicked. “My name is Almadel. Have you forgotten? I thought we were friends. Come,” he patted the table in front of him. “I’ll forgive you, show me what you have.”
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Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2022 4:55 pm
"So you're not like an alien 'cause you are an alien?" If she'd been interested before, she was excited now, and she rocked faster back and forth on her heels as she added, "And I'm an alien too? That's awesome." Only, the bouncing stopped when he recognized her, and the grinning too, 'cause that always made things a little awkward. She was getting back boring memories every once in a while, but she still had no idea who this dude was. "Um, sorry?" she said, cheeks going pink. "It's not just you, I forgot, like, everything. I purified, it's a whole thing. My name's Nectaris now." He was asking what she'd brought, though, and so she got it out from subspace and held it out in front of her. It was five rings, ones that she'd worked hard to make by hand. They were wire rings with swirled designs, ones that would cover nearly the whole finger, and she'd picked out pretty, quality, semiprecious stones for them. "I brought these!" she said, proudly. "I made them!"
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Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2022 5:14 pm
“Did you!” He exclaimed, and leaned forward to better examine it. “Well, I’m not surprised. I always liked you. That’s gorgeous. You should make one to match me next time.” He gestured to the golden chains and gems that dangled from his horns. “I like to look pretty. I don’t get to show off how good I look often when I’m out in space. Very lonely. But if you can make such lovely things, maybe I’ll make extra trips just to see you.” He adjusted positions only just slightly so he could pull out a long, slim golden box from beneath his table. He hardly had to look for it and it was as if he had prepared it specifically for this trip. “No hard feelings if you’ve forgotten me. If you’re getting memories back, it’s only a matter of time. As long as you’re happy. Here, maybe this will spark your memory. I promised you I’d bring this for you.” The box was made of an incredibly thin wood and it was clear that he’d packed this with care. When he lifted the lid, he tilted the box so she could see into it. Inside, a meticulous folded pink shawl. It sparkled when it moved, like there was something sewn into the threads. When he lifted it, it shimmered, like maybe it was covered in rhinestones no larger than the tip of a needle. It was smooth to the touch, and though it had a bit of weight to it, it was still light and comfortable. Sometimes, it seemed to reflect light that wasn’t there. “My starlight shawl. Well, yours, now, if you want to trade for it.”
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2022 6:49 pm
"Oh, yeah, I can take custom orders," Nectaris said, her smile going a little less over-the-top and a little bit more charming and serious. She could go into business mode, too! It was one of those things she'd theoretically learned in college. She took a closer, more serious look at his horn jewelry, and then at the rest of his outfit for good measure. "So, you seem like a silver kinda guy," she said, "And, like, amethyst? Or, uh," her eyes widened again, the bubbly curiosity showing back through. "Do you have any cool space gems? If you have cool space gems, I can totally set them for you. I mean, especially if you're gonna bring me stuff like this to trade for it." She reached out to run her fingers across the starlight shawl, gasping at just how soft it was on top of the whole being magically sparkly thing. "I was here before, huh? This is totally the kinda thing I would've ordered." Without any more hesitation, she dropped the pile of rings on the table and reached out. "Yes please!"
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Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 9:32 pm
Almadel’s eyes betrayed his interest, but it didn’t seem as though he was putting much effort in to conceal it. “I do like silver, and amethyst. And a little bit of everything if it sparkles enough. I’m afraid that all of my favorite gems are packed up at home. I don’t usually bring things that I don’t intend to trade, but the next time I’m in town, I’ll have to stop by just to see you. You’re a trustworthy girl. As long as you remember me.” He smiled, sweetly; if he was teasing, it clearly wasn’t meant to hurt her feelings. He rather liked her, no matter what memories she had. As she accepted the shawl, he gathered up the rings. “Go ahead, put it on. Let me see you wearing it. It’s come a long way to come home to you.”
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Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2022 7:21 pm
Nectaris's cheeks flushed pink and for a second she looked down, past the tables with all the fancy stuff and right down to the ground. On top of everything else that sucked about losing her memories and her old life overnight, it did make things kinda awkward in times like this. "If I forget you again it'll be 'cause I got corrupted again or something, and trust me, that'll be way worse for me than it'll be for you," she said, looking up again and trying to keep smiling so everything stayed lighthearted. Although, it wasn't too hard to fake happiness when she had someone handing her a piece of fabric that looked like it was made out of stars. She already had plenty of capes between the skirt overlay thingy and the butterfly wings, but she wasn't about to say no to more. She wrapped the shawl around her shoulders, and then popped it over her head like a hood for good measure. "So?" she asked, since it wasn't like she could see herself. "Am I, like, even cuter now?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2022 8:12 am
Almadel leaned back and sighed in appreciation. He looked her up and down and cupped his chin before he nodded approvingly. “You look stunning. Even better than I could have imagined. But, as long as you have that on you, I’m sure you won’t forget me. I’m sure, every time you see it, you’ll think of me and how I always bring you such lovely gifts. I won’t hold it against you for forgetting, I know how Chaos is when it gets into a starseed, when it gets out. I know how it can change someone. But if we’re being honest, I have to say that it seems like you’ve changed for the better. That shawl matches you better now than it did before.” He smiled at her, and despite whatever playfulness or shadiness he had ever embodied, he seemed honest. “You look stunning. I’m glad you came back so I could give it to you.”
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2022 4:08 pm
"Okay, okay," she said, her tone equally as playful as she spun around, letting the shimmering fabric flutter out around her shoulder blades. "No forgetting you when I've got this around. I guess I could even embroider 'From Almadel', like, on the hem or something." She was grinning when she said it, but it wasn't a joke. Then, no matter what happened with her starseed, she'd at least know who he was. "I'm glad you came back so that I could meet you again, and pick this up! I'll totally be back if you come back to town again, and see if I can whip up something custom for you." His fanciest space gems might be halfway across the galaxy, but she was sure she could make him something pretty nice just with what she already had in her kit. Or, like, maybe she could find her own fancy space gems on the moon? Judging by her outfit, there had to be some fancy space gems up there somewhere. "See you around, okay?" she said, and then, with her usual abruptness, she was turning to go.
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