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 Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2025 8:27 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." Jihlava was tired, thirsty and wanting nothing more than a nice, soft bed. After a bath. A long, hot, soaking bath. She’d never been much of an outdoorsman, but being forced to rough it on Earth was testing her. All she knew was that there were far too many humans out and about and while they were all wildly different in their own ways, they all looked, well, human. Unlike her. All she could remember about Earth from her school days was that they had been considered a bit backwards. Maybe they were accepting of other beings, but she suspected not. Otherwise, she would have seen something by now. Huffing softly, she crept out from her hiding places within the trees and stretched. Nighttime seemed easier. There were less people and she could explore a bit more. And what she wanted to explore was the very interesting setup atop a hill. Moving quickly and carefully, she made her way up the hill and paused when she saw the table. Now, this looked civilized! Moving forward eagerly, she approached the table and it’s keeper. Bright reddish-pink eyes widened as the fellow said hello. He wasn’t reacting to her not being human! Then, she looked closer and saw why. He wasn’t human either. Feeling a rush of relief, Jihlava found herself smiling brightly, making tiny, soft hooting sounds of delight. “Oh! Hello!”
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2025 4:37 pm
“Yes, hello.” His eyes glinted as he looked up at her, and his smile sweetened. “Oh, your eyes are lovely. They look like the sister moons of Capernica, have you ever been? Beautiful, red. Like gems in the sky. They say ‘blood moons’ like we all bleed red. Do you?” He paused, and then stood up a little straighter, letting a delightful laugh fall from his lips. “No, forgive me. My tongue is running faster than my mind tonight!” Presenting a hand, the merchant introduced himself promptly. “I’m Almadel. Don’t let me scare you away, I want to get to know you a bit better. Have you come to make a trade? I’ve got a great selection. If you’re not in the market for anything in particular, I can help you find something worthwhile. But first, what shall I call you? Tell me about yourself.”
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Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2025 8:06 am
Any sense of temerity was forgotten in light of the merchant’s greeting. Face lighting up, Jihlava hurried over, churring deep in her throat.
“Oh! You’ve seen them? Poppa wouldn’t ever let me leave to go look. I was only ever to read about them in my books. You must tell me all about them! Err… please. If you’re not too busy, I mean.”
Any compliments paid were buried under the rush of academic curiosity and, for a moment, Jihlava felt like she had when scholars would come to her world in order to browse through the Great Library. Really, it was a little taste of home before home had been destroyed. She’d wanted to visit other world and see the stars that she’d only ever gotten to read about or see illustrations of.
Well, she thought, I’m doing that now. Sort of.
The merchant’s question about what color she bled startled her out of her thoughts even as he apologized and introduced himself. Tail fanning out slightly, the tall senshi found herself laughing along.
“To be very truthful with you, Almadel, I don’t… I don’t really remember. It’s been a very long time since my blood was shed enough that I paid attention.”
Which was true enough. The chaos on her world hadn’t subsided, but with practically every creature that once lived there now being deceased, her fight had become a sort of hold the line action. A resistance. No, she hadn’t spilled her blood in quite some time. And before that thought could make her too sad, Almadel was peppering her with cheerful questions. And her lonely soul latched on, delighting in something so simple as a conversation.
“You don’t scare me at all. I think your horns and eyes are quite lovely. I can’t place your species though. You don’t look like anyone from my books. Did you never visit Jihlava before, well before things got very bad? That’s my home. I suppose that’s what you should call me since that’s the tradition. Senshi take on the name of the worlds, after all,” voice growing quiet as she thought quickly. The universe was exceedingly large, it shouldn't be such a surprise that there would be peoples not mentioned in books. Well! That just made her rather lucky then. She got to learn about someone entirely new to her. “As for coming to trade, I’m afraid curiosity brought me up here more than anything. The humans don’t seem terribly keen about being out this late, so your lights surprised me.”
Tilting her head to the side suddenly, Jihlava resembled an owl studying potential prey. There were such a lot of things here to look at and Almadel was quite fascinating all on his own. He didn’t feel like any sort of Chaos she was familiar with. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to visit a little longer.
“I have some things I could trade, I suppose,” she said in a murmur, mentally inventorying the contents of her sack. “But as to what I could trade them for, I'm afraid I’ll have to rely on your expertise. This place is all still painfully new to me. I felt a call, you see. And when I answered, the meteor shower seemed to bring me here. And,” she added with a slightly complaining edge to her voice, “I must say, Earth has changed a great deal from what I was expecting to see. So little matches up with what I was taught!”
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2025 7:58 pm
“Oh, you’re going to have a wonderful time. Just be careful here. It’s easy to get caught up with how lively things are. I get along with everyone, of course, but there’s a certain type of Chaos that lurks around these parts. They might find you a bit appealing. Ah, actually! Perhaps I have something to help, hold on.” He spun in his chair and hummed briefly to himself before he picked up a necklace with a heavy pendant. When he held it up, it caught the light–and reflected a beautiful, deep red. “Yes, this is not unlike the moons. Would you like to hold it? If you do it like this,” he held it up to the sky, “It looks a bit like the moons. You can try. Pretty and practical, mind you. That one’s got a protection spell on it. It’s old, so it’s a bit faded, of course. But if you wear it, it’s supposed to give you a warning when danger is lurking. I’d tell you to try it on now and see, but,” he smiled warmly, “of course you’re perfectly safe with me, so that would be useless.” His tail danced pleasantly behind him. “Are you interested? You said some very flattering things about me, so I find you rather endearing. I’ll cut you a good deal.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 7:39 am
For a moment, Jihlava felt a stab of alarm at the thought of a Chaos that would find her appealing. But, before she could really prusue that subject, Almadel was sifting through his things and pulling out the loveliest necklace she'd seen. Eyes wide in appreciation, she reached out to brush a finger across the pendant. And, with his encouragement, she carefully took it and held it up as instructed.
"Oh, lovely," she whispered. It was, indeed, very pretty. And upon hearing about the protection spell on it, she had to agree with the Merchant. Very practical given she had no idea how to really navigate this place. Oh, it was tempting. And she couldn't help but return his smile. Usually whenever someone said they were safe like that, it was a terrible lie. But she trusted Almadel. It was hard not to.
"I'm very interested," she answered. "Though are you sure you want to part with it? I would hate to take a protection away from you. Unless you're far more formidable than you seem. Which I suppose you must be if the humans don't bother you here."
It was all thinking out loud really. She'd already decided in her heart that she wanted the necklace. Setting it down carefully, she knelt by her sack and opened it, rooting around and withdrawing a few things that wouldn't hurt quite so much to part with. Laying them out for Almadel to examine, she kept quiet. She'd never been much of a haggler, so it was best to let the expert come to his own conclusions.
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Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2025 9:41 am
“The humans don’t bother me, they like me very much. They bring me treats and flattery,” Almadel said sweetly, and with great fondness. There was something mischievous, mirthful, about the way he spoke. “I’m not worried about myself when I am around them. I’ve done a very good job of winning them over. I’m sure you will, too. In time. So consider this just a bit of extra help along the way.” He nodded encouragingly, as if he was glad to part with the necklace, for her sake, and examined what she offered. Pressing his lips together, he examined the items she offered. It was a set of jewelry which seemed to capture his interest. His fingers brushed over the crystals inlaid in the necklace first, and then did the same for the pair of earrings. He lifted the set, rolling it over his fingers thoughtfully. “What makes you willing to part with these? They’re very shiny,” he said, as if this were the only thing he was factoring in such an exchange. Except, he was giving it quite a bit of attention, tilting each piece at all angles.
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Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2025 10:22 am
When she'd pulled the set from her bag, Jihlava hadn't been entirely sure how it had ended up there in the first place. She'd hated it as a child and she hated it now. Grandmother, she thought, had had abysmal taste. She must have simply grabbed it up without thinking. But if that was what Almadel decided he'd want, he was entirely welcome to it.
"They might be shiny," she replied drily. "But I also have no attachment to them. Truthfully, I always found the set kind of hideous. They were my Grandmother's."
She didn't miss his interest and wondered if the set harbored some hidden magics. It wouldn't surprise her, Grandmother had been a nasty piece of work. It was entirely in character if the old woman had booby trapped her jewelry.
"It was my understanding growing up that the crystals she had put into the set were unique to Jihlava," she added. The prospect of being rid of something she had hated for so long made her eager to sweeten the deal however she could. "My grandmother was... eccentric. I can't say that her tastes passed down to me."
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Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2025 5:52 pm
Almadel laughed richly, undeterred by her criticism. “Well, I think they’re lovely. But to each their own. I’ll take them off your hands and you’ll take this off of mine, and we’ll both be better for it,” he decided. She had the opportunity to protest, but why should she? He held his hand out to shake, to seal the deal. “I like things that are unique,” he said, more an invitation than an explanation. What she lacked in taste, he had in surplus, and he’d be glad to take such things off her hands. “May you get as much use of your trade as I will mine.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2025 11:32 am
Taking the Merchant’s hand eagerly, Jihlava shook. She knew the rules when it came to little rituals like this. The deal was never truly struck until hands were clasped and shaken. And why not shake after all? She was getting a useful, lovely necklace in place of one that made her skin crawl and her feathers twitch.
Smiling, she slid the chain of her newest acquisition over her head, getting everything settled and comfortable. Tilting her head to the side, she watched Almadel with unblinking eyes before chirruping softly.
“I’m sure I will if Earth is as... interesting as you say. For my part, I hope Grandmother didn’t boobytrap anything and both your hands remain firmly attached to your body. But I suspect that you’re much sharper than you like to appear. No doubt you would have sussed out a trap the moment I put the set out in front of you.”
The words might have seemed ominous or even flippant, but Jihlava had meant each one. Though this was her first time meeting Almadel, she had a strong suspicion that very little got past him. One didn’t stay alive so long or have as vast a collection as he’d implied by being stupid or careless. No, he’d be just fine. Giving the Merchant another smile, Jihlava took a step back from the table before placing a hand over her heart and bowing deeply. She’d often seen her father do similar things upon the completion of an agreement. It was the merest crumb of normalcy to her on this strange world.
“May every trade you make be to your advantage, Almadel,” she intoned solemnly. “I can’t thank you enough.”
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