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 Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2023 3:25 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, 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.”
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Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2023 3:28 pm
Whilst things between them were a lot better these days, Athene didn’t generally patrol with his cousin, but when he’d received a message from her somewhat out of the blue that had turned out to be a patrol request there was no way that he would have turned her down. He hadn’t had the chance to pick up a hot drink as was his habit when it was so late into the evening, and so he had made sure to take the chance to pack a small thermos of tea and some cookies in a small satchel as Arian before heading off to find somewhere quiet to power up. His cousin had already powered up by the time that he had made his way to the agreed on meeting point at the park and it seemed like she had a direction in mind given the way that she was walking with purpose. "So where are we patrolling?" Athene asked at last, because Iðavöllr hadn’t actually really mentioned. Iðavöllr hesitated for a moment before admitting "It’s not really patrolling as such." Because whilst she’d asked for Athene’s company, in truth she wasn’t particularly planning to patrol–
Well at least not unless trying to track down a certain merchant counted as ‘patrolling’.
But after meeting with Abzu by the tree with all the pods, Iðavöllr figured that she may as well try to track said merchant down–
Especially as she didn’t want to find out if the pods could somehow hatch in her subspace and Abzu had mentioned that said merchant was apparently looking for pods.
She had ended up leading her cousin somewhat out of town to a hill, brown eyes blinking as she stepped through.. Something, only for the other side to feel curiously and blessedly air conditioned–
A nice change from the summer warmth.
The lone table and the figure behind it drew her almost like a moth and she could see her cousin trailing her slightly as she made a beeline towards it.
"Good evening" she called out politely as she got closer, because it never hurt to be polite, even if she was trying her best not to stare as she took in the elegant but undeniably alien features of the figure on the other side of the table..
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2023 6:54 am
“Greetings! I love a crowd, it’s very good to have you both here.” He seemed particularly welcoming, but when they kept a bit of distance, he was quick to usher them closer. “Come, come. Take a look. Let’s make friends while we’re here. It’s been such a busy season, I’ve hardly had time to catch up on things. Tell me, how is Destiny City doing, and Earth? And take a look at my wares. I’m sure you saw the signs out front, I’m interested in making a few trades. And having a good time doing so.” And, if he was biased for Mauvians and Eternal Senshi right now, who could blame him?
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2023 4:04 pm
Athene’s lips quirked up in a small smile as he picked up his pace slightly, enough so that he walked next to his cousin instead of slightly trailing her as he’d been doing. "Good evening" he called out in a greeting of his own, as he fought the urge to shiver somewhat from the shift from summer evening to something that felt somewhat more air conditioned. There was a slightly amused note in his quiet voice as he added "Although I’m not sure that two is really much of a crowd." The figure behind the table was tall, although Athene was used to most people being taller than him considering that he’d never managed to grow past 5'3"– Even his cousin was taller than him (and that was without the heels that she tended to favour wearing), as was Liryn on the occasions when his mauvian friend chose to take human form. The figure also looked elegant and sophisticated in a way that seemed almost ingrained, although the horns suggested that the other was very much not human. Unlike Iðavöllr, Athene wasn’t staring at the figure, but unlike his cousin he’d also had the benefit of sharing living space with a senshi that wasn’t human. Instead he’d found his gaze glancing in interest in the purple table cloth draped over the table and in particular the embroidery in different designs for a moment before his gaze shifted to take in the figure proper "Has business been good?" Annoyingly Athene didn’t seem to be particularly phased by the fact that the figure had horns that curled as they protruded from his forehead–
But then again her cousin had been part of powered life for a lot longer than she’d been and as it turned out was a lot better at keeping secrets than she’d given him credit for.
She wasn’t sure whether the figure was the same as the merchant that Abzu had mentioned when she had crossed paths with the Squire by the historic tree–
Although come to think of it, the general area seemed to be about right and Abzu had mentioned that the merchant was an alien merchant.
It didn’t hurt to be sure though.
Iðavöllr waited until she was by the table, and then after Athene had asked whether business was good to ask "You wouldn’t happen to be Almadel would you?" And there was honest curiosity in her voice as she waited to hear the answer to the question.
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Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2023 11:38 pm
“Ah, when you have seen the universe as I have, sometimes only one feels like a crowd. But I feel I am in good company, so please don’t think I mean any offense.” His attention shifted from Athene to Iðavöllr and he nodded. “I am Almadel, yes. You’ve heard of me? Only good things, I hope.” He looked at his wares and smiled, as polite as always. “Business has been very good, thank you. But you have the advantage of knowing my name, and I am without yours! Please, what shall I call you? And–feel free to look. I’m willing to trade anything you see on the table. If you’re in the market for anything in particular, let me know. I’ve got some more tucked away, still. But if you’ve brought me something good to trade, I’ll make sure you leave here satisfied.”
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 9:15 am
"No offence taken" Athene said with a small but friendly smile, because he hadn’t been offended by the other’s comment. He couldn’t help but give his cousin a curious glance as she had come right out and asked whether the other was called Almadel, because whilst Athene had heard of the merchant, he’d not been given a name - well at least not that he could recall. He shifted his attention back to Almadel at the question and nodded "Yes I’ve heard of you" he admitted quietly, his lips quirking up in a small but rueful smile as he added "Although I have to confess that I didn’t know your name prior to tonight. It’s nice to meet you though." He gave Iðavöllr another curious glance. It wasn’t often that Iðavöllr knew more about something than her cousin, well at least not when it came to powered things, although that was by dint of her cousin having been part of what he referred to as ‘powered life’ for a lot longer than she had.
Although Iðavöllr was honest enough (at least with herself) to acknowledge that it was only courtesy of Abzu that she happened to know Almadel’s name and if not for the chance crossing of paths with the Neptune Squire, then it was likely that she probably would have been a lot more clueless - as per normal.
"A fellow knight told me your name" she admitted to both Athene and to Almadel, her lips quirking into an amused smile as she continued "And no he didn’t say anything terrible about you, although he did mention that you were a merchant."Iðavöllr’s comments suggested that she’d been making connections, at least of a sort, and Athene couldn’t help but feel glad for his cousin. Because powered life could be lonely sometimes, and due to the previous awkwardness between them after they had found out about each other’s respective powered identity, it hadn’t really been something that either of them could talk about– Well at least not until recently. He couldn’t help but look a little flustered when Almadel reminded them that they knew his name, but he did not know of theirs. "I’m Sailor Athene and this is.." "And I’m Iðavöllr" Iðavöllr said "Or I guess Iðavöllr, Page of Polaris to give the full title." And Almadel’s words reminded her of why she had decided to seek the other out "The knight that told me your name was Abzu" she admitted as she pulled the pods that she had picked up from subspace, three in all. "And he mentioned that you’ve been looking for these things?"
She made it a question.
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2023 4:00 pm
“That, I am! And you have brought me quite the selection, too. I’ll be more than happy to take those off your hands in exchange for anything you see out already. It’s a pleasure to be able to put names to your faces. Please, we’re all friends now. Make yourself comfortable, feel free to look around and see if anything catches your eye. I’ve got quite the selection. And, if you’re looking for anything in particularly, please let me know. I’m quite familiar with these objects, I’ll do my best to pair you up with something you’ll love.” He looked across his collection–his wares, his treasures. He was ready to part with any of them for the right price, and those pods looked perfect from here. Though he didn’t say as much, he must have already had a few things in mind. He adjusted some of the jewelry to bring a rich, teal-blue pendant to the forefront. The gem was round and clearly of expert make, and if Athene looked for any amount of time he’d be able to see the prominent Athenian inspiration in the design. He moved a few more things–tools, odd figures. Absentmindedly, he moved an ornate looking key with the symbol of Polaris set into it; the crystalline key caught the light briefly as he set it down. He rubbed his hands together afterwards, as if to warm them up, and smiled as he looked up at the two of them. "If you see something you're interested in, please feel free to pick it up and have a look. I trust you both."
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Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2023 10:19 am
Athene blinked as Iðavöllr pulled out a set of pods from her subspace– Well at least he was assuming subspace given that his cousin’s outfit didn’t have any pockets that he could see - well at least not any that were visible. The pods were pretty familiar, although that wasn’t particularly surprising given that he had a set of pods of his own in his subspace. "I’ve actually got a set of those things too" he admittedly quietly as he pulled the pods from out of subspace. "There were a whole bunch of them at the old historic tree in town, but I personally don’t have any use for them." He set them down on the table and blinked as he realised that he’d set down a small bag with sugar cookies on the table too "You’re welcome to the cookies too if you want?" He made it a question. Iðavöllr for her part had been all too happy to part with the pods that she had found, because whilst the trio of pods hadn’t shown any signs that they were about to imminently hatch out cicada-like critters with the ability to spit out acid (or at the very least a substance that was disturbing acid-like), she’d been a Destiny City residence for too long to put it past something like that happening.
She couldn’t help but be a little startled when her cousin had produced a set of his own pods and found herself blurting out "Did you run into the acid spewing bugs too?" before she could stop herself.Athene blinked as he looked from his cousin to Almadel and then back to his cousin "I, err, no…?" He said after a moment. Iðavöllr couldn’t help but give a sigh of relief that was hopefully internal as she looked back at Almadel "You’re very much welcome to all of my pods too" she admitted, and she was very much ignoring the heartfelt note in her voice. "I…" Her voice trailed off as the light caught and bounced off something crystalline, brown eyes shifting to glance almost automatically in its direction.
"I… Would you mind if I take a closer look at that?" She asked as she pointed to the ornate key that Almadel set down.For his part Athene had found his attention caught by some of the jewellery that Almadel had been adjusting, and in particular at the craftsmanship. Although he was honest enough to admit that it was because he (or rather Arian) crafted his own jewellery and thus he was always interested in seeing other people’s crafting styles. A teal blue pendant in particular caught his eye "I wouldn’t mind taking a closer look at that pendant if that's okay" he admitted to Almadel as he pointed to said pendant, and whilst Almadel had said that he was happy for them to pick things up and have a closer look, it seemed only polite to ask first as his cousin had done "It’s beautifully crafted."
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Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2023 4:07 pm
“By all means!” Almadel pushed both the key and pendant closer. “You both have keen eyes. I’m not used to coming across anyone with such fine tastes. But I should have known that about you already. Please, look as long as you like.” How could he deny them when they had such nice pods to offer? And cookies as well? He was already delighted with this exchange. The acid spewing bugs sounded like an unfortunate obstacle, but then, there must have been a reason he was willing to part with these treasures for those pods. Their offerings looked perfect to him, but those cookies were tempting him. “May I try one while you look?”
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