Welcome to Gaia! ::

The glass of the jewelry cases shined brightly after one very thorough cleaning and polishing. She glanced over towards Athan, hands on her hips with a rather peeved look on her face. "You sure you don't know a spell to keep this clean and dust-free?"

"Positive," he replied smoothly as he plucked Sam up off the floor and let her sit atop the reception desk, "If I did, my house would be much cleaner. Right, Sam?"

The little girl nodded her head with a grin before squealing loudly when her uncle tickled her sides. She flailed backwards and kicked her feet, all but sprawling out onto the desk before Athan scooped her up into his arms when her mother gave him the look. Even he knew it was time to behave when the demon cast that particular glare his way. Fragments settled atop his head and he frowned as he glanced up towards the little ghost-dog.

"Come on, kiddo," Reyna murmured as she pulled the child away from Athan, "It's lunch time!" She turned on her heel and headed into the back room to rummage through the miniature sized fridge for the food she'd brought. It was a lot of work putting the shop back together after the mess with the break-in! It was definitely time for a break. Athan could mind the front-end for a while.

Athan peered over at the woman curiously, before a small smile warmed his features. "Aki, wasn't it?" he replied smoothly as he shifted from where he sat behind the desk to stand and politely shake her hand, "It's a pleasure to see you again."

He paused for a moment as he looked her over once more. "That looks terribly heavy, dear," he went on as he moved towards her side to lay a gentle hand against her shoulder. "Do you mind if I help you with that?" he motioned towards the briefcase.

He took the briefcase with a smile and sat it atop the desk. He paused for a moment and shot her a small smile when he was granted permission to take a peek inside. Truly, he had become quite fond of gems and jewelry in general since he had opened the shop. Then again, it was more the information about the stones that captivated him rather than their beauty.

He also was by no means an artist. Hence why he brought Reyna in. While he had an eye for design, that was really about it.

The woman in question bustled back into the front room with Sam on her hip. She looked as though she were about to make a remark to Athan, but stopped short when she spotted Aki. A smile graced her features and she offered the other woman a small wave in greeting.

"Fancy meeting you here," she grinned before moving to hover about the desk so she might be able to sneak a glance over Athan's shoulder. "And you brought us goodies, too!"

"Indeed," Athan smirked faintly as he lifted a small gem encrusted pendant up to the light to admire it. Fancy cut tourmaline. Very nice.

Sam made a sweet noise and waved to Aki with one little hand. She burbled something happily and craned her neck looking around. Nisha was usually with that woman, but she saw no large elephant daemon to indicate that the other girl was present. A brief look of dissappointment crossed her face, but was washed away when Fragments zipped past her in a flurry of movement. She clapped in approval before giggling when the daemon settled himself on Aki's shoulder, tail waggling in excitement.

"I've actually begun carrying semi-precious pieces along with the higher value gems," Athan spoke up in a contemplative tone, "My only complaint about them is having to sort through all the synthetics to find the real gemstones. Turqouise in particular. These, though, are very nice in quality."

"Come on! Open the side-compartment!" Reyna urged. She usually didn't wear much jewelry, but she was terribly fond of the larger stones. It was a wonder her own collection of accessories wasn't more expansive given her current occupation.

Enthralled with the treasures Aki has brought, no one really seemed to notice the small brooch-like gem that was hovering beneath one of the jewelry cases. None of the adults, anyway. Sam spotted something sparkly after growing bored with her mother, uncle, and their familiar looking guest.

She gurgled something softly and pointed with one hand as Fragments zipped his way over towards the shiny to root around as though sniffing for something (even though he clearly lacked a nose in which to do such a thing). He mentally yipped and ran quickly to hide behind Reyna when the thing moved, startling him completely.

Athan moved to open the other compartment since Reyna was so insistent about it. He blinked rapidly as though to clear his vision. He wasn't one to swear much at all, but damn! It normally took him months to come across larger gems of that particular quality.

Reyna stared as well. "Akii~ii... you're my hero!" she chuckled as she looked the jewels over. They really were quite lovely. She tore her vision reluctantly away when Sam made a whining noise that nearly always indicated she wanted something and was about to throw a fit if she did not get it.

The little girl frowned and pointed towards the same spot Fragments had been in. Reyna tried to follow her gaze, a puzzled frown on her face. She seemed to freeze for a moment as she went rigidly still before reaching mechanically to tap Athan on the shoulder with her free arm.

He ignored her for a moment before she grabbed his chin and forcefully turned his head to the direction she was looking in. He went from looking irritated to confused before recognition settled in. At that moment all the color drained from his face.

"Aki... dear," Athan managed as he stood in abrupt manner from his stool, "Would you mind accompanying Reyna to the backroom for a brief moment?"

Reyna shot Athan a worried glance before holding open the door to the backroom so that Aki might pass through. She offered the woman a reassuring smile before moving to set Sam into her playpen so she could play with her toys.

"Can I get you anything," she began before wincing when she heard a crash in the front room, "To drink?"

Reyna caught the other woman by the arm and dragged her forcefully away from the door. "Sorry sweethear, but trust me when I say you really don't want to go out there," she murmured quietly, a small smirk twitching at her lips. "Athan can handle himself just fine."

The man in question cursed loud enough that both women could hear quite vividly. Damn Coral! How had she managed to escape him?! AGAIN. It was absolutely infuriating, to tell the truth. He'd locked her away so that he could find a proper guardian for her without having to chase her all over Gaia when she decided it was time for a game of hide and seek.

"It's about the size of one?" Reyna murmured with a slightly anxious look on her face. She fell silent and leaned against the door, waiting for Athan to announce that the coast was clear. Normally she wouldn't be so concerned but Coral was a bit rambunctious, and she didn't particularly feel up to inflicting that sort of chaos upon her friend.

"...alright," sounded Athan's voice, slightly muffled by the door.

The demon paused for a moment before pushing her way through into the front room. "Did you catch it?" she asked before her answer was question when Athan held up the stone in question. Tendrils of darkness swarmed about his hand furiously. She wanted to be let go so she could run and play!