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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."
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."
There were still things she was processing, even months later.
The fact that it'd taken the combined forces of Order and Chaos to weaken the Calamitous Hollow enough to cage it up. The fact it hadn't been enough to kill the thing, just contain it again. The fact that even while she was lost to the flow of energy through the spike she held, she still felt the overwhelming despair from what'd apparently been a whole <******** massive blast of Chaotic energy the Queen of the Negaverse sent out. The fact someone who wasn't a senshi remembered being on Solaris before everything had crumbled… whose own world was lost, and a synthetic replacement in danger, too.
She already had it in her mind to reach back out to the Vanguard's Commodore, if only to return to the topic of potential trades. Distantly, almost numbly, she'd considered how if--... when she got her ship running again, she'd have access to far more crystal mining locations. Far, far more than she'd ever be able to use. Even a small city could use a fraction of it.
So another world and people who needed it?
She'd rather the resources be used responsibly, sustainably, and actually help the living.
Energy holding and absorbing crystals could do nothing for the dead, afterall.
Oh. And another thing she was still processing? The fact there were still more of these damn… Heralds of the Dark Star. Something she wanted to try to look up next time she got the chance to get back to the Moon Palace or something…
She gave a sigh, rubbing a gloved finger against her temple, causing the small chains and charms that hung from her tiara to twinkle and jingle lightly. There was that upside, at least. The energy that'd raced through her… it must have done something. Or maybe her own damn stubbornness had kicked off something in her starseed. She had no idea. But that tiny Mauvian gave her back the pen she'd not seen in the longest time, and with it, the fluctuations of energy had stabilized around and in her, and she was back.
Eternal Sailor Solaris.
Goosebumps zoomed over her arms and down her spine. Even now the realization still awed her. Translucent fabrics danced around her, the white bodysuit moved easily with her. She cried after, when she got back to her world. Centuries later, Kyrie realized she was crying a lot more these days than she had in… a long time. It was surprising--she thought the tears had all dried out ages ago.
Her steps were easy as she moved towards the barrier, a smile on her lips brightening as she passed through it easily. "Nice to see you again," she chirped back to his greeting, holding up her hands and their contents somewhat. A bag of fried cinnamon dough bites with icing in the centers, and a small tray with two capped cups of watermelon-lemonade slushies--both being things she nabbed from the festival before heading over, leaving them still freshly warm and comfortably cool respectfully.
Coming closer to the table, her eyes roamed the arrangement briefly before flicking up to meet his gaze, offering the bag of treats across to him as to make sure she didn't hit anything on the table. "How'd you manage the mass-delivery of all those bags of goodies? Reminded me of stories I've heard around here about Earth's Santa Claus." One of the drinks was offered as well.
