"My friend! My sincerest apologies for sending you through to voicemail. Leave a message and I'll get back to you just as soon as I can. I trust you'll make it worth my time."
[ The being afraid of burdening others with their emotions and therefore keeping to themselves. Maybe...he should have tried harder, to fight against the urge to follow that trail of emotion to Sumina those few weeks back, but — that's not really what she intends for the takeaway to be here, is it?
He asked, and he expected her to ask in kind. Given the way they met, it's been easier than it usually is for him to be more candid with Sumina, but he also can't deny that her presence has a habit of putting him at ease.
Maybe that's another reason he was glad to meet up with her today, why his days feel just a little easier when she needs him to take her somewhere. ]
...Well. You know I'm usually a veritable font of self-expression, and terribly easy to read with my heart on my sleeve. [ Couching vulnerability in some self-deprecating sarcasm, his smile kind but weary. ] I suppose I reacted to it rather similarly to yourself. It was...easier. To keep to myself. Risk management is important, you know...
[ It felt like what he had to do, but it certainly doesn't make him happy. ]
[ It's true that they had shared a moment of sincerity when first they'd meant - perhaps unintentionally so, but Sumina appreciates it for what they were able to say, thoughts and feelings that otherwise would have gone unspoken for gods only know how long. For both of their parts, she believes, and so that ease goes both ways even now, when his facetious remarks earn a genuine laugh from her.
Not at his expense, but just... appreciating the lightness when approaching a heavier topic. Appreciating how much she can relate, to finding oneself unable to keep up the mask they normally do. ]
That you are, my friend. [ The f-word... ] Given my occupation at home, it was quite unsettling to be isolated, even if it was self-inflicted. I'm glad we're able to meet up without fear of inciting anything supernatural, now.
Maybe it's not the first time he's heard it even recently, but it still takes him aback to hear himself called a friend so genuinely, from someone who would never use the world as a tool for her own means. She's far too generous in applying it to him, but he doubts she's respond much differently than Livio had.
A laugh tumbles out of him, a little bewildered, and a little brighter for it. ]
I couldn't have said it better myself. For what it's worth...
[ Hm. This is a...strange thing to offer. At least, coming from him, but isn't it also a fitting transaction between friends? ]
...That is to say. If you need company just for the sake of it, we don't need to limit ourselves to these drives only, as enchanting as our outings are.
Still, she's not quite sure to make of his laughter— had she said something untoward? Was it that she'd called him a friend? Truth to tell, perhaps she'd used it loosely - but there is something to be said, in her mind, for the fact that he is one of the people she's known the longest here. "My friend" tends to be thrown around rather casually, especially at the inn, but in this instance, she did mean it more sincerely than not, especially when she rarely is the first one to call a guest a friend.
He assuages her momentary panic that she'd said something completely insane, at least, and in fact... his offer sounds nice. ]
...I would like that very much. But I must say— if you find yourself wanting the same thing, please reach out to me using a... phone call.
[ Such a foreign term... but yeah she really hates texting.
With that, though, they'll surely enjoy a pleasant, friendly drive to find the mysterious merchant out in the Fringes. It might take them a few hours, but that's preferable to the entire business day Sumina might have otherwise spent trying to drive or hitchhike her way out here. ]
Over there— do you think that might be the cart we're looking for?
[ The way she says phone call...it's so utterly charming. Fortunately for her, Aventurine is one of those freaks who prefers chatting on the phone to texting, anyway, so that arrangement suits him just as well. ]
Offering me the chance to hear your lovely voice on a whim? I'll be sure to do so.
[ With that settled, the rest of their drive is amicable, if uneventful, pleasant chitchat between bouts of Aventurine trying to get Sumina to play road trip games with him, before they at last arrive at their destination, a lone cart at the side of the road with no other notable landmarks nearby. Perhaps not the most ideal place to conduct business, but this whole situation was already a bit fishy to begin with...
...Well. He doesn't want to startle Sumina, and he doesn't want to give the merchant the wrong impression, so he won't be erecting any magical defensive barriers around them just yet, but he's prepared to, at the snap of his fingers. ]
I'd say the odds are in our favor. Let's see what this business is all about, shall we?
[ Pulling off to the side of the road, Aventurine kills the engine and steps out of the car — and of course, will cross over to open the door for Sumina if she waits for him. ]
[ No notable landmarks, but a landmark in and of itself; it's hard to miss a pair of ghostly steeds drawing a mysterious cart in these wastes, after all. Sumina's merely relieved they managed to find her at all, with how expansive this region is— not to mention its usual state of flux.
Offering a nod of thanks, Sumina steps out of Aventurine's car before making her way over to the cart. ]
Hail, merchant. We've journeyed out here to examine your wares...
[ NPC to NPC communication... But the woman glances up at her new customers, tipping her head just enough to meet their gaze from beneath the wide brim of her hat, and beckons them over with a stroke of her long nails. ]
[ I can just picture the two of them chatting with little bubbles appearing over their heads...and Aventurine didn't come all this way to turn the other cheek now, so when the merchant summons them closer, he steps closer, hands slipping casually into his coat pockets.
...Still ready to protect the both of them at the drop of a hat. ]
That's right. I believe I've heard something about...a "soul shard" in a bottle? Please, indulge our curiosity, will you?
[ The merchant puts a finger to her lips and murmurs "ah, but seeing is believing," before chuckling and reaching into the stall's shelves and setting a pair of bottles down before them. It doesn't look like anything particularly remarkable, but there is some sort of unusual substance floating in there that Aventurine can't identify.
He glances furtively towards Sumina. It can't...actually be a piece of a soul, can it? That sounds ludicrous. ]
Do tell us more. A shard of whose soul, my good lady?
[ Perhaps to neither of their comfort, the mysterious merchant simply grins and shrugs her shoulders, saying, "Whose? Surely nobody that you would know... Or?"
The look that Sumina returns to Aventurine is offered less furtively, skepticism and concern plain in her gaze as she turns her head to glance at him for a moment. On most days, she wouldn't readily believe in the concept of souls being split into shards, or that such shards could be contained in something like a bottle like this, and even less so that they would somehow end up in the hands of a merchant, but...
Well.
Such practices seem to be more... universal than she had previously believed. And so she finds herself leaning in to more closely look at the bottles they've been presented. To think that a shard of someone's soul could take that form... ]
I don't expect a straightforward answer on this, but... how did you come upon these...? How could part of someone's soul end up like this?
[ Sumina isn't alone in her skepticism, but there's no shortage of bizarre phenomena across the cosmos or across the Diadem, and even if it does wind up being nothing but a sham, there's only one way to be certain, isn't there? He doesn't have to consider himself hoodwinked if he's only following through to satisfy his own curiosity.
With a slight chuckle, the merchant answers, "Shrewd of you to ask only after coming all this way...I can't give away the secrets of my trade, now! Then you'll go off and start your own! But needless to say...there are plenty of wandering souls out in these parts, just like you and me. Maybe fluxdrifts who never fully took? Who can say..." ]
Who indeed. [ Dryly. ] You asking us to operate on an awful lot of unearned trust here, my friend...could you cut us a deal to coax open our wallets? The gas for the return trip is still cheaper than what you're asking.
[ He still fully intends to buy one either way — he can't not after coming this far — but he can at least try to save them a few joolies. ]
[ There's no shortage of strangeness to be found, certainly... some of them need not even look any further than themselves.
Sumina, on the other hand, isn't quite sure she'd actually want to take one of these back with her. Does she really need to invite more soul-related oddities into her life? She'd come out here hoping, perhaps, for some insight or wisdom around how part of someone's soul could just... be captured in an item, or even instilled into someone.
But perhaps there is only one way to find out.
The merchant holds up a finger to Aventurine, wagging it playfully. "You chose to come all the way out here with your own free will, my dears. But your negotiating is best served elsewhere - I'll let you have these without payment. An undeniable deal, hm?" ]
Ah? You'll really not ask for anything in return, madam? I've only more questions, hearing that. What's to happen if these slivers of a soul are released?
[ Sumina earns a sly, unsettling smile for her continued curiosity. "Let me ask you - what do you think would happen?" ]
[ Oh, this is absolutely some sort of terrible trap, to be given these for free, and yet is that going to stop him? It should, and yet here he is.
He arches a brow at Sumina's mention of "possession" — a curious thing, perhaps, for her to jump to first, but isn't it possible? It seems like it'd either be that, or... ]
Or perhaps, we gain a new, less-desirable companion while you have a laugh at our expense? Well — I'll bite. Let's see which of us is right — or if we'll be pleasantly surprised.
[ He honestly doubts it, but he's holding out his hand anyway, into which the merchant is quickly depositing one of the bottles. ]
[ Sumina can't quite meet Aventurine's gaze even knowing what she's said, but soon enough she finds herself unable to look away when she watches the merchant deposit the mysterious bottle into Aventurine's hands. ]
I'll...
[ ...Should she? Shouldn't she? At the end of the day, what's one more mishap or misfortune in this place, anyway? If there's any way this can offer her some kind of answer or insight, then...
She reaches out with an opened palm. ]
...I'll take one as well, madam.
[ "A wise choice, dearie," the merchant says with a grin as she places another bottle into Sumina's hand. "Do take care now!"
And just like that, as if there's nothing else to do or say, she rouses her pair of phantom steeds to ride again, and they're off... ]
Edited (mochi sent my tag before i finished it,) 2025-12-06 02:18 (UTC)
Aventurine turns the bottle over in his hands as he watches the retreating caravan, his mouth forming a little frown, but he doesn't appear overly concerned (when he probably should be). ]
A shame. I'd hope to work out some sort of distribution partnership with her...
[ For what purpose? Who can say. Regardless, he would have been getting ahead of himself without testing the product first! His gaze turns to Sumina then, his brows drawing together. ]
I know I should say that since we came all this way, you ought to open it, but...at the very least, let me go first.
[ He doesn't have the reservations that she seems to, even if, once again, he probably should. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[ The being afraid of burdening others with their emotions and therefore keeping to themselves. Maybe...he should have tried harder, to fight against the urge to follow that trail of emotion to Sumina those few weeks back, but — that's not really what she intends for the takeaway to be here, is it?
He asked, and he expected her to ask in kind. Given the way they met, it's been easier than it usually is for him to be more candid with Sumina, but he also can't deny that her presence has a habit of putting him at ease.
Maybe that's another reason he was glad to meet up with her today, why his days feel just a little easier when she needs him to take her somewhere. ]
...Well. You know I'm usually a veritable font of self-expression, and terribly easy to read with my heart on my sleeve. [ Couching vulnerability in some self-deprecating sarcasm, his smile kind but weary. ] I suppose I reacted to it rather similarly to yourself. It was...easier. To keep to myself. Risk management is important, you know...
[ It felt like what he had to do, but it certainly doesn't make him happy. ]
no subject
Not at his expense, but just... appreciating the lightness when approaching a heavier topic. Appreciating how much she can relate, to finding oneself unable to keep up the mask they normally do. ]
That you are, my friend. [ The f-word... ] Given my occupation at home, it was quite unsettling to be isolated, even if it was self-inflicted. I'm glad we're able to meet up without fear of inciting anything supernatural, now.
no subject
Maybe it's not the first time he's heard it even recently, but it still takes him aback to hear himself called a friend so genuinely, from someone who would never use the world as a tool for her own means. She's far too generous in applying it to him, but he doubts she's respond much differently than Livio had.
A laugh tumbles out of him, a little bewildered, and a little brighter for it. ]
I couldn't have said it better myself. For what it's worth...
[ Hm. This is a...strange thing to offer. At least, coming from him, but isn't it also a fitting transaction between friends? ]
...That is to say. If you need company just for the sake of it, we don't need to limit ourselves to these drives only, as enchanting as our outings are.
no subject
Still, she's not quite sure to make of his laughter— had she said something untoward? Was it that she'd called him a friend? Truth to tell, perhaps she'd used it loosely - but there is something to be said, in her mind, for the fact that he is one of the people she's known the longest here. "My friend" tends to be thrown around rather casually, especially at the inn, but in this instance, she did mean it more sincerely than not, especially when she rarely is the first one to call a guest a friend.
He assuages her momentary panic that she'd said something completely insane, at least, and in fact... his offer sounds nice. ]
...I would like that very much. But I must say— if you find yourself wanting the same thing, please reach out to me using a... phone call.
[ Such a foreign term... but yeah she really hates texting.
With that, though, they'll surely enjoy a pleasant, friendly drive to find the mysterious merchant out in the Fringes. It might take them a few hours, but that's preferable to the entire business day Sumina might have otherwise spent trying to drive or hitchhike her way out here. ]
Over there— do you think that might be the cart we're looking for?
no subject
Offering me the chance to hear your lovely voice on a whim? I'll be sure to do so.
[ With that settled, the rest of their drive is amicable, if uneventful, pleasant chitchat between bouts of Aventurine trying to get Sumina to play road trip games with him, before they at last arrive at their destination, a lone cart at the side of the road with no other notable landmarks nearby. Perhaps not the most ideal place to conduct business, but this whole situation was already a bit fishy to begin with...
...Well. He doesn't want to startle Sumina, and he doesn't want to give the merchant the wrong impression, so he won't be erecting any magical defensive barriers around them just yet, but he's prepared to, at the snap of his fingers. ]
I'd say the odds are in our favor. Let's see what this business is all about, shall we?
[ Pulling off to the side of the road, Aventurine kills the engine and steps out of the car — and of course, will cross over to open the door for Sumina if she waits for him. ]
no subject
Offering a nod of thanks, Sumina steps out of Aventurine's car before making her way over to the cart. ]
Hail, merchant. We've journeyed out here to examine your wares...
[ NPC to NPC communication... But the woman glances up at her new customers, tipping her head just enough to meet their gaze from beneath the wide brim of her hat, and beckons them over with a stroke of her long nails. ]
no subject
...Still ready to protect the both of them at the drop of a hat. ]
That's right. I believe I've heard something about...a "soul shard" in a bottle? Please, indulge our curiosity, will you?
[ The merchant puts a finger to her lips and murmurs "ah, but seeing is believing," before chuckling and reaching into the stall's shelves and setting a pair of bottles down before them. It doesn't look like anything particularly remarkable, but there is some sort of unusual substance floating in there that Aventurine can't identify.
He glances furtively towards Sumina. It can't...actually be a piece of a soul, can it? That sounds ludicrous. ]
Do tell us more. A shard of whose soul, my good lady?
no subject
The look that Sumina returns to Aventurine is offered less furtively, skepticism and concern plain in her gaze as she turns her head to glance at him for a moment. On most days, she wouldn't readily believe in the concept of souls being split into shards, or that such shards could be contained in something like a bottle like this, and even less so that they would somehow end up in the hands of a merchant, but...
Well.
Such practices seem to be more... universal than she had previously believed. And so she finds herself leaning in to more closely look at the bottles they've been presented. To think that a shard of someone's soul could take that form... ]
I don't expect a straightforward answer on this, but... how did you come upon these...? How could part of someone's soul end up like this?
no subject
With a slight chuckle, the merchant answers, "Shrewd of you to ask only after coming all this way...I can't give away the secrets of my trade, now! Then you'll go off and start your own! But needless to say...there are plenty of wandering souls out in these parts, just like you and me. Maybe fluxdrifts who never fully took? Who can say..." ]
Who indeed. [ Dryly. ] You asking us to operate on an awful lot of unearned trust here, my friend...could you cut us a deal to coax open our wallets? The gas for the return trip is still cheaper than what you're asking.
[ He still fully intends to buy one either way — he can't not after coming this far — but he can at least try to save them a few joolies. ]
no subject
Sumina, on the other hand, isn't quite sure she'd actually want to take one of these back with her. Does she really need to invite more soul-related oddities into her life? She'd come out here hoping, perhaps, for some insight or wisdom around how part of someone's soul could just... be captured in an item, or even instilled into someone.
But perhaps there is only one way to find out.
The merchant holds up a finger to Aventurine, wagging it playfully. "You chose to come all the way out here with your own free will, my dears. But your negotiating is best served elsewhere - I'll let you have these without payment. An undeniable deal, hm?" ]
Ah? You'll really not ask for anything in return, madam? I've only more questions, hearing that. What's to happen if these slivers of a soul are released?
[ Sumina earns a sly, unsettling smile for her continued curiosity. "Let me ask you - what do you think would happen?" ]
...Possession, perhaps...
[ oh ]
no subject
He arches a brow at Sumina's mention of "possession" — a curious thing, perhaps, for her to jump to first, but isn't it possible? It seems like it'd either be that, or... ]
Or perhaps, we gain a new, less-desirable companion while you have a laugh at our expense? Well — I'll bite. Let's see which of us is right — or if we'll be pleasantly surprised.
[ He honestly doubts it, but he's holding out his hand anyway, into which the merchant is quickly depositing one of the bottles. ]
no subject
I'll...
[ ...Should she? Shouldn't she? At the end of the day, what's one more mishap or misfortune in this place, anyway? If there's any way this can offer her some kind of answer or insight, then...
She reaches out with an opened palm. ]
...I'll take one as well, madam.
[ "A wise choice, dearie," the merchant says with a grin as she places another bottle into Sumina's hand. "Do take care now!"
And just like that, as if there's nothing else to do or say, she rouses her pair of phantom steeds to ride again, and they're off... ]
tell mochi i said hi
Aventurine turns the bottle over in his hands as he watches the retreating caravan, his mouth forming a little frown, but he doesn't appear overly concerned (when he probably should be). ]
A shame. I'd hope to work out some sort of distribution partnership with her...
[ For what purpose? Who can say. Regardless, he would have been getting ahead of himself without testing the product first! His gaze turns to Sumina then, his brows drawing together. ]
I know I should say that since we came all this way, you ought to open it, but...at the very least, let me go first.
[ He doesn't have the reservations that she seems to, even if, once again, he probably should. ]