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Post by Morgan on Oct 3, 2020 21:17:54 GMT -6
Rain.
Something simple, that happened every day. It was difficult to think of it as a 'miracle'. There were so many people that lived in the desert (a place Morgan had never gone to, but they had read about). They had never thought about it before. Flashes of another night, about a two years previously, where a still 'lost' Morgan was tracking a lowly Labs worker through the streets with their freshly procured houluh pup in tow, crossed their eyes as they leaned against the brick wall of the Catseye, under the awning. They sipped a freshly procured pumpkin spice latte from one of their proprietary cups, and tried not to look too interested in anything in particular.
It was cold out, and dark. About six in the evening in the dark part of the year.
Morgan waits, boots firmly planted on the sidewalk, watching the crystalline rain pour off of the awning, and they waited expectantly.
They didn't really enjoy others being late, but in this instance it didn't much matter.
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Post by Renathan on Oct 3, 2020 21:45:41 GMT -6
Renathan steps out of the Catseye, having closed it a bit early. Auburn sits on his shoulder as he locked the door, trilling lightly. She didn't much like the rain, so the russet mammalian had made sure to bring an umbrella for them. The forecast had said it would rain. He draws a little shoulder coat around him, and pats Auburn on her head as she shifts to accommodate him. "Good girl." He mumbles to her for doing as he had hoped she would.
That was when he looked up and saw the individual leaned up against the bricks. It was the kid. "Oi- you know you aren't supposed to loiter." He said, playfully pointing to a sign that said as much. Still, it was playful- this was his best customer by far, even if they were an annoying child.
He walks over, fiddling with the umbrella to get it ready. "Waiting on someone?"
[Auburn is with Renathan - but Won't be counting towards a level.]
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Post by Morgan on Oct 3, 2020 21:51:21 GMT -6
Morgan had long since pulled a cigarette out of their case, and running their thumb along the inscription on the cherry wood case (reminding theirself why they were here, why they did what they do- they needed it sometimes), and began to smoke. They made sure to angle the cigarette away from the Izer whenever the owner of the Catseye stepped out. They were anything if not courteous. They let their breath out in a soft hiss and cast their gaze to the sign.
"Well, I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed t-to be publicly intoxicated either." The human said. "Tough." They were certain that they had a bit of an easily-addicted personality. Caffeine, Alcohol, Nicotine... The human shrugs. They flick the cinder off of the end of their cigarette, careful not to toss the cherry, too.
"Yeah." Morgan says. "A Ssashirk." Another drag, another flick. "He was supposed to be here... Twenty minutes ago."
The rain picks up a bit.
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Post by Renathan on Oct 3, 2020 21:56:48 GMT -6
This kid often liked to pretend that they were complicated. In some ways, perhaps they were. Renathan never really understood exactly why they told him things, though.
Oh, he knew. He knew what the Kid's job was, and what they did. He didn't make a big deal out of it. It wasn't his business what this self-destructive little spoiled rich brat did. He did feel a little bad for them, if only because he remembered them when they were a technical 'kid' by the law, and he remembered what it had done to them to sell them those chaos crystals. He'd helped to make a bad situation worse.
Still, he likes to poke fun at them, because they have a temper. "Still smoking those things? Tsk. You'll mess up your lungs. They're bad for you. But you know that."
He opens the umbrella, but doesn't move quite yet. Auburn cuddles into his neck, keeping him warm by way of her fur.
"A ssashirk, huh? A boyfriend?" He knows that's not the case. Apparently, the kid had chosen his shop's corner as a drop off point- twice in one day. "Or is he the one I'm finding stuff for?" He unties a pouch from his side and hands it over discreetly. Both of them were Elementals, and both of them could feel the tainted crystal within it.
He readies to leave, but sticks around for a moment or two more.
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Post by Morgan on Oct 3, 2020 22:04:01 GMT -6
The human rolls their eyes, takes another drag, notes that the cigarette is about down to the butt, and then drops the black thing onto the concrete to put it out before picking it back up and moving towards the trash. Of course they knew that they were bad for them. But the scent reminded them of their father, and that was probably the first half of it. They pointedly ignore his comment.
The umbrella opens, and Morgan watches the jackalope with interest. They can tell he has the needed item on him. Where was it? "Not a b-boyfriend, of course." Morgan says, trying to sound indignant for anyone watching, but it came out sounding a little bored instead. "And that is none of ya-your business." Still, Morgan presses the money into his palm as they 'shook hands', and took the pouch into their pocket along with their cigarette case and lighter.
"T-thanks." They said, anyway, voice a little lame. "Take c-care on the way home." Their voice a little softer towards the end. "You still have two m-more to find, after all." They leaned back against the wall again, eyes focused on the street lamp from across the street.
The rain refracted the light from it into blue and red in the darkness.
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Post by Renathan on Oct 3, 2020 22:09:08 GMT -6
Well, he didn't get a lot of information out of it this time. He carefully pats Auburn, and uses her body to block the view as he puts the credits in the pouch around his neck. "See you around, kiddo." He says. Auburn trills, and he raises the umbrella up above their heads. She did so hate to get wet. The human was staring out across the street at that lamp like it would save them from all of the problems that they had made for theirself. As for him? Renathan was doing fairly well, all things considered. He walks away with a wave of his hand.
As he walks down the side walk in the heavy picked up rain, he sort of figures that the individual must be waiting out the storm somewhere. Then, he decided that he didn't care, and should think about what he was going to cook for dinner this evening.
He passes a dark figure along the street in a cloak- and he can smell that they are a Ssashirk, as any good mammalian should. None of his business, he thought, and went on despite the curiosity he did have.
[Exit Renathan!]
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Post by Badrani on Oct 3, 2020 22:17:05 GMT -6
It was Raining.
He knew enough common through the traders that it was the word for it. He could remember the conversation. 'Out there, where the soft skins hole up in their 'city', water comes from the sky. It does it at least once a week, most of the time more. Sweet manaah, straight from the sky! They call it Rain. They take it for granted. They grow soft in the water-lands, where it never goes dry enough to migrate.' He thinks of that, whenever he enters the city from the south side, as opposed to the side from the west. It took him a little longer to get here, and part of it was because he wanted to make sure that he traded for a cloak, a thick black one good enough to obscure his beloved egg.
He walks down the street, and past many different odd kinds of people. Some of them he recognized- and some he did not.
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Post by Badrani on Oct 3, 2020 22:26:37 GMT -6
He had only heard of some of these kinds of people, and it took him slow foggy moments to realize that these are what they are.
However, he was not here to people watch. Perhaps someday, he would. For now, he tried to make sense of how the roads worked. He didn't understand common script, but he did have a slip of paper with identical markings on it, and that was what he was supposed to look for. It did not take him long to find a pattern to it, and figure out where the street was, at least. He searched for the sign that he needed to see, the one with the other markings... Common script of a specific kind.
He walks past a peculiar individual with what looks to be 'trees' on his head. The individual looks at him, and even obscured he's sure that the individual sees him. He has an... Animal of some kind (he's not sure which) on his shoulder. This was a quirk of this 'city' indeed, he'd heard about it.
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Post by Badrani on Oct 3, 2020 22:30:30 GMT -6
The idea of retiring in a city where manaah falls from the sky, where people spend their days training animals that were as useful as any tool and apparently good for companionship, where people are free to practice a trade, and live in a stationary home... Though it was cold, he could bare it. He never thought he'd be able to retire... It was too good to be true. So he hid a weapon beneath his cloak (that he wasn't sure how to use, and it was scarcely a good one) and walked down the street, until he saw the individual he figured he was looking for.
White cloak, beneath a sign that shared the markings that were on the piece of paper that he had. He tucks it into one of his many pockets, and then walks straight to the individual. He is cold, but it is somewhat more warm beneath the... Roof of the building. The human is leaned there.
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Post by Badrani on Oct 3, 2020 22:37:34 GMT -6
Badrani had certain... Expectations about the individuals that had asked him to retrieve this. A syndicate of hooded figures, lead by an old greying human, perhaps an old warleader-looking individual. Someone that was probably doing experiments to start a war or another. It wasn't the kind of request that his group would normally receive, of course. Only the soft skins of the so called 'Labs City' would require something that was of little use to anyone else while also being incredibly dangerous and unethical to get. The price had been good, important, if only to him. He is sure he could understand.
However, he did not expect to tower over the soft skin by at least a foot. The individual was tiny, and had some sort of soft sun-colored fluff on their head. This one had defective eyes, apparently, and was speckled with markings across the face. However, it had to be the individual. The white 'labcoat', the green eyes... Like 'grass'. He had seen plenty of grass, on the outside of the city. It was bizarre. Everything was so bizarre. The culture shock was extreme.
So this was the elder of the 'scientists' of WELP. It was difficult to believe.
He isn't sure entirely what to do for a quick moment, time stands still as the 'Rain' drops around them, rolling off of the awning.
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Post by Badrani on Oct 3, 2020 22:44:53 GMT -6
He knew, like any good desert Ssashirk, how to start a trade, especially one that was already spoken about. However, he isn't entirely sure if his common is going to hold up. He opens his mouth, and finally pulls the vile thing from his pocket. It is of course a vial, but it feels... Disgusting. The thing he had to do to get this was not any worse than the things he had to do before, but still... He is not entirely certain if it was worth it. However, he had hope. This could be all he'd ever hoped for- finally, some rest... and in a land where manaah fell from the sky in downpours that happened sometimes once a week. Amazing.
He pushes the vial into the hands of the somewhat surprised looking human. They're wrinkly, and small. He's careful not to cut them with his claws. "Thisssss. Vial." He says. "Still good." He explains, showing the little glowing marking at the bottom that would show that it was carefully closed, where air could not ruin the specimen within. "Now, my-" The word? "Payment." He says, expectantly.
It was hard to imagine, but he was somewhat scared, despite his extra height. This was a huge leap from him, and he still felt like it was possible to all come crashing down, or for him to be caught, even at this end stage. He was sure he hadn't been followed, but this city was easy to get lost in.
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Post by Morgan on Oct 3, 2020 23:08:58 GMT -6
Morgan sees the Ssashirk before the Ssashirk sees them. They stand in the low lights of the awning of the Catseye, against the cold brick but sheltered away from the rain. They watched him, more conspicuous than he probably knew that he was in that big black cloak. What a mess. Morgan never really knew exactly what they were getting into when they made requests for the samples they needed. They always went through at least two or three people, and generally sent out groups that had flying mounts. They knew that the individual would be male, and a ssashirk, and that was about it. They were surprised to see that he was so tall.
Everyone was kind of tall when it came to Morgan, but this one was different. They didn't exactly feel threatened, however, when the person stepped beneath the rain of the awning and under the lights. They looked up, making sure not to draw up to make theirself look like they knew that they were small or cared, and put their hand out expectantly.
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Post by Morgan on Oct 3, 2020 23:15:50 GMT -6
The item was placed into their palm, gently. Ever so gently. It was at that moment that Morgan could see his face. Of course, they'd met many Ssashirk, so they knew to expect his face to be drake-like, perhaps. However, this one was more like a dragon in shape. Sharp and sleek and calm. Nothing brutish about it. He was a dark colored Ssashirk. There weren't many of those that they knew of- most in reds and greens and such. This one was brown, but dark brown.
They realized they were gawking a bit whenever the individual requested payment. Right. Of course. They slipped their hand out of one of their labcoat pockets and then placed the packet and the pouch into his leathery palms. Huge hands. They pocketed the vial with ease. "In the packet-" They pointed to it, to make sure that he knew what they were talking about- "Are credits. Enough for a permit. Enough for books." They said. "A bookstore, see this writing? Go there, sometime." Morgan says. They notice that his common isn't the best yet.
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Post by Morgan on Oct 3, 2020 23:22:51 GMT -6
Morgan knows they have to explain further. "Credits are cu-currency. Most shops take them. Now here-" Morgan says, pointing to the pouch. "This has a s-s-single shadow crystal in it. What you requested- your price, your payment? It will take time. I will get them to you." At this, the human carefully make sure to explain. "I need you to write your address, after you g-get your permit... On this." They said, handing him an envelope that was already stamped to WELP. "And stick it in a m-mailbox. I'll get it, and we'll make sure to get you a pa-place built, and of course I'll know where to send the rest of your payment." Morgan said. They hoped that was enough explanation.
Crystals didn't just grow on trees. It was gonna take the Jackalope a while to get them. They had been worried that he didn't know what he was asking for- shadow, really? Just as bad perhaps as Chaos. They'd had difficulty with it, theirself. However, now that they had met him, they were sure he could deal with it.
He looked about as tired as anyone that lived the life that Morgan's associates did. They understood that, if nothing else.
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Post by Badrani on Oct 4, 2020 13:15:06 GMT -6
It was somewhat difficult to smell things properly in the rain. Something about it tended to dilute and wash away even the scents of people still standing right in front of one. Badrani could smell certain things about this particular 'human' (or so he thought it was). The smell of some sort of vaguely sweet smoke, a sort of chemical-like smell that he was only sure how to place because he'd traded in something like it before, and a fake sort of perfume (nothing like the oils of his homeland) that had a light watery scent to it that wasn't anything like the real deal around them, since he was able to compare them right away.
It smelled more dangerous than he was sure was let on. Still, he listens intently as soon as he feels the packages pressed into his palms. Creh-diits. They are for trade. Books. Get books soon. He felt the thing in the pouch as it was explained to him. He had sort of both expected to get all three at once, and expected to get none at all. It was interesting, to have one of the crystals in palm- and there to be a promise for more.
"And... Berry?" He asks, after searching for the word. "Books, why books?" Another one.
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