Dusk was settling over the land outside, yet it had seemed that way for the whole day inside the calm building to the boy. The tree was comforting to him, one of the last pieces of home come with them to this strange new place. He wasn't one to protest, he was devoted to his Mistress, yet still, it was much more calming near the tree than anywhere else in the store. The stones on the ground radiated warmth and color through their cracks, giving him what light the baubles and trinkets didn't that hung from the branches of the Lady's tree.

Pale green eyes blinked for a moment, realizing he'd read this passage in the book he held several times now, and still hadn't realized he'd done so. It was useless... Snapping it shut with long, pale fingers, the boy sighed and leaned against the trunk of the tree, fingers finding the fur of the Rakai next to him, Varinsae. The Arcane was often a companion of the boy. They tolerated each other, sitting in the serenity of the building. It was so quiet...

"Seems as though we have another quiet night ahead of us, Varinsae," the sprite told him with a pained smile as he pushed his spectacles back up his perky nose. The Fel glanced over at him with a bit of a shrug before putting his head on his paws again. Valinmur gave a bit of a frustrated sigh and shook out his long, tawny hair. He didn't mind watching the shop for his Mistress, he only wished someone would appear sometimes...

Smells. The instant Ebony had entered the shop, she'd noticed the strong various scents around- that was the first thing, she didn't know why. All sorts of things, probably natural- not unpleasant, but to her they felt inescapable, and it made her somewhat nervous. That she'd felt since she'd first entered, and it still hadn't gone away now, as she approached the tree in the center of the room.

How did this all fit in the shack, anyway? Shelves everywhere, stuffed with who-knew-what, cages, lamps, bam, everything in here, and she just didn't know how that worked. Most places you'd practically expect to expload with the sheer volume of it. But nope, everything was just fine in here. Cabinets, books... she was normally the sort to notice small details, but the Veil was full of so many that her mind had practically shorted out.

And then she'd made the mistake of looking up. Good lord, what was going on here? Gems carved into the ceiling, in the shape of constellations... something was going on here, and for a moment she wondered if she was going insane. Still, she had continued on the path until she'd ended up... here. Where the confusion about the very nature of the shop had, naturally, not gotten any clearer, instead becoming much, much more puzzling.

Music, now, soft music... And a slightly less crowded feel, with curtains and the like. She wasn't claustrophobic, no, but Ebony had been glad to be in somewhere without as many different things to distract her eyes from what might be important. The giant tree... what was up with this place? How did something so ancient get light? She'd once more made the mistake of looking up to see the top, and found that the top of the branches was... through the ceiling. Agh, looking down now, right away.

As such, it was a while before she noticed the table, and then the boy standing nearby. Oh, he must be watching the shop, then. At the moment, she was so confused she didn't really... know what to do. Even her normal impulse to avoid humanoid contact had been so confused it seemed to have shorted out. It was just... strange here.

She remembered the coin in her pocket- the smallest amount of currency available. Probably couldn't buy anything with it, but if she could, she was going to use the little bronze disc. Very shiny, it'd been, but its own unusual looks were nothing compared to the sheer oddity of this place. Slowly, Ebony walked towards the boy, and the Rakai near him, and after a somewhat awkward pause, she spoke.

"Uh... hello there. I'm... here to make a purchase, I think." Yeah, this was very, very awkward. "So, what do you have? Is there anything I can get with one of the bronze coins, in particular." It was so quiet and empty in here that it only made her more uncomfortable, and her instinct to flee was beginning to emerge beneath the haze of utter puzzlement. Stupid rabbit DNA.

The boy's eyes went wide, snapping open at the sound of the girl's voice. He clutched the book he held to his chest a little, knuckles going white for a moment before his heart calmed down for a moment. His other hand slowly slipped down to Varinsae's head, fingers twirling between the fur of the creature beside him. The Arcane gave a low growl, first to the rabbit, then to the cat before standing up and padding behind the furniture which served as a counter.

Valinmur let him go, slowly standing up and looking up at the two people in front of him. It might have been odd for them, to see such a young looking boy caring for such a strange store. However, this was not the place to expect much of the ordinary. The boy gave a bit of a bow, placing the book on the ground next to the tree and pushing his spectacles back up his nose. "W-Welcome to our store..." he gave, almost a whisper to his voice. He'd wished for someone to enter the store, yet he'd not expected for one to enter, let alone two...

Pale green eyes snapped over to the cat-girl as she stumbled across something else, a pale white ghost following behind her. The Dragon had one similar... it was strange what things he'd seen since following his Mistress to this place. "Please, be c-careful where you step," Valinmur said, bowing his head slightly a little, "You... you are both here to purchase...?" The thought astounded him, but if they proved themselves worthy... Well, his Mistress had faith in him, and he would do anything to not let that fail.

As Ebony approached the boy, she noticed how young he was- what was he doing, possibly the shopkeeper for now? Oh well, as long as he wasn't incredibly chatty, she figured it'd be okay... she just wanted to figure out what on earth was up with this shop, and what they sold here, two things she currently had no idea about. Stunned, she stood there for another moment, waiting for something to happen. This was, to say the least, perplexing for her- never had she expected to run into some place so mysterious in her lifetime.

Noise. It'd been... somewhat quiet in here before, so when the sound hit her ears, her head snapped around to check the source. Another girl stood there, not that it mattered- she was first in line now, it wasn't as if she'd have any of a wait. Still, she just hoped the humanish wasn't much for conversation. Clumsy, though, apparently. Still, she didn't care, and her head turned back to look at the boy, waiting to see what he might have to say about the bizarre store's wares up for purchase.

Hmm, she'd alarmed him, it seemed. Now that she looked, he had a creature by his side, too, one of the dragon-wolf pups. And it was growling at her. How nice. Meanwhile, she hoped she would be getting the answers to the questions she had soon- she could hardly stand to wait like this. Sure, she was naturally not the sort to seek out interaction, but she also was too curious here for that first tendency of hers to take its full grip on her actions.

As soon as he spoke, Ebony got the feeling that the boy wasn't going to be too chatty and eager to interact- that was a big relief there. He almost seemed scared, except that with her impatient foot shuffling and almost nervous look, she didn't think she was the most frightening of people, and the feline humanish didn't seem very scary either, in her mind.

Looking back at the other girl, she finally noticed something- a white, glowing ball, hovering behind her. First time she'd seen something like that, she noted. It just... stayed there, too, and Ebony was getting the feeling yet again that something about the shop, its other customers included, was more than a little bit strange. And now... the boy acted as if he was surprised by getting two customers. Hmm, the place obviously wasn't too busy, normally, then.

Responding to his question, she gave a quick nod, then grabbed the lone coin from her pocket, holding it tight in her hand. "Um... I, yeah, I think so. Depends. So... you see, I don't really know... what is it you have here for sale?" She wasn't saying she was going to buy anything until she knew what she could have. "I kinda, well, I only have one of those bronze coins, so... anything I could get?" She didn't like spending time with one other person around, let alone two, and now, she just wanted to know what she could get here.

The boy stared at them both, jaw almost dropping in astonishment. They both had the currency he was allowed to take, but neither knew what he and his Mistress sold...? It was a strange place, this land his Mistress had brought him to. Perhaps there would be a time when he could educate them on what they were missing, but he himself had quite a bit to learn still. However, there were questions to ask and questions to answer, until then, he could only dream of teaching them all he wished to.

"We sell c-companions," Valinmur told them both before ducking behind the table. He pulled out one of each item he was allowed to sell, only five in total, though there were rumors from his Mistress there might be more in the future. "Five companions, all with powers to be discovered," the boy added, setting each item on the table top as he explained them, "A Spirit of Fire, a Spirit of Wood, a Spirit of Water, a Spirit of Air, and what you might know as a Yumenokei, a Pale, to be exact, only found in this shop. The Amulets which house the Spirits are a single Bronze coin each, while the Pale would be a Silver." A long, pale finger pointed to each item as he explained them, four Amulets and a small bottle with a strange white orb in the middle, pale green eyes peering through his spectacles, however, at the two strange girls in front of him. Maybe he hadn't expected much when he and his Mistress traveled here, but now he would have to.

After Ebony spoke, she hardly noticed the other girl- she just wasn't important in the mind of the rabbit-humanish. Still, she paid enough attention to be rather annoyed by the way she was rambling on and on- she wanted to hear what this shop had, not a bunch of stuff this girl had to say. And then, finally, she heard the fellow customer ask the same question she had. Well, what now? For a while, all she saw was the boy... staring at them. Really, it was awkward. Okay, so maybe he wasn't an experienced shopkeeper, since the place hadn't been opened long, but certainly anyone placed in charge of somewhere that sold various things would expect people to ask what was in stock- it was only natural, wasn't it? Still, he was looking at them as if it was a surprise, what had just happened. This was more than a bit confusing- Ebony wondered exactly what was going on.

Companions? Blinking in even more confusion, Ebony listened to the rest of the boy's words, hoping it'd give her answers. Powers? Now she was really curious. Obviously, this wasn't an ordinary shop- did what the boy'd said suggest magical creatures were being sold here? It seemed so, indeed. But... would she be able to handle having a magical creature? She was nervous. Some of them were said to be smarter than people, so owning one would be like... enslaving it. That sounded awful to her- she couldn't do anything like that.

Hmm? A Yumenokei? She'd... heard of those creatures, the labs made some of them, right? But she hadn't heard of this special breed. That was interesting. Unfortunately, she currently couldn't afford one- just a lone bronze coin was what she had. And then, seeing the boy holding up the items, she realized that the... mist... in the bottle, that was the poor Yumenokei. Imprisoning it in such a small space! She gave a barely visible wince at the realization, but then, blinking a few times, managed to recover. This... place, she still needed to learn more about it. She could... afford one of the amulets, right? Yes, she could, but she was so puzzled about how those worked. She could... ask this boy, she supposed. Yes, that was exactly what she was going to do now.

"So, that's all you've got here by... so... so far? Um, about the amulets, I have a few things to ask- I mean, I have a few questions about the amulets. The... spirits... live in... an amulet?" She paused for a moment, deeply confused. "If they're in there, err, somehow, how do I go about getting them out, I mean, can they get out, and... once they are, can you teach them... um, train them things, like a name or whatever?" She was still in a bit of a shock, but she hoped her questions had been understood nonetheless.

The boy tilted his head a little as the questions were stated. How odd, such simple things for him to know, yet they knew nothing about them... He supposed it shouldn't suprise him, after all, he'd grown up with this sort of thing, they might not have had the same pleasure. But he was thrilled to have more questions to answer.

"They l-live in the amulets, yes, b-but they already have names. You'll know them once you receive them," the boy said first, softly as he tried to remember each question. Sometimes that was the worst part, but he tried his best. "I know how you t-train here. That w-will not work with these companions. Their abilities span the w-world and come out only to a companion who has s-shown their devotion," he told them both, thinking it the only way to really get the meaning through, "Though... the cute t-tricks you seem fond of here, those may be taught, possibly..."

His pale green eyes snapped over to the girl with the tail, looking as though he was sizing her up before giving a little nod, "And I am Valinmur, apprentice to the L-lady." As he drew the Amulet in question closer to the cat-girl (green in color, set into a seemingly bronze base), he shook his head a little, "Y-yes, a Yumenokei lives in there. They are spirits, they do not require m-much to live."

((So sorry! I didn't notice Speckle's post until now.))

Coins.

Two small, bronze coins that sat squarely in the palm of his hand, gleaming faintly up at him. He didn't quite remember how he'd come into possession of them, but he knew they were special. Perhaps not rare, but definitely special. They tingled with a certain spark of magic, and while it wasn't exactly a lot, it was still there. It was empowering, and terrifying all the same. He had never been one to dabble in magic - in fact, it had always been a foreign thing to him, unattainable and fascinating. The fact that he didn't remember how he got them only made it slightly more unnerving, and the fact that he hardly knew what to do with them even more so.

Well, perhaps saying he had no idea was a little exaggerated. He had heard rumors, of course - a shop, though from the outside it hardly looked it, full of magic and power, with items and options beyond what many would consider their wildest dreams. One in which special creatures and spirits are sold in return for something equally special. It was only fitting, was it not? These things were magic and rare, and so it would take something truly worthy to buy them with. Nothing too big, but nothing too small - something he already had, staring back at him from the palm of his hang, gleaming and shining and pulsing faintly with long forgotten power.

Coins.

They were bigger, heavier than credits, and when he closed his hand and deposited them into his pocket, he could feel the difference. They bounced against his thigh as he walked, following the road as he made his way. He didn't quite know where he was going, only that the road led that way, and as such, it had to go somewhere. That much was logical, sensible, expected. What was not expected, however, was for the road to lead to a small, and rather dingy looking shack. It surprised him, to say the least, and his eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion. What would such an old shack being doing here? Was it a shop, or did someone live there? Whatever it was, there was a light on, so someone was definitely inside. For a short time, he deliberated, and then, having decided, he made his way to the front door and pushed it open.

He was immediately struck with a wave of scents ranging from familiar fragrances to flavors strange, many of which he did not know, but nonetheless found enjoyable. Still, it was a shock to his senses, and for a moment, he was almost blinded, his head spinning as he subconsciously tried to identify and catalog each smell. This, of course, was impossible, and eventually, he stopped trying without even realizing he had begun. Shaking his head and blinking (once, twice, three times), he was able to get his first real, good look around the shack.

Which was, most decidedly, not a shack.
It was huge.

There were cabinets full of bottles and flasks and vials and beakers, shelves lines with books and jewelry and bones and carvings. He could see cages down the walkway (garden stones on a dirt floor, surprisingly), but not what was in them, if anything. They, like much else, were every where, either hanging from the ceiling (which was utterly gorgeous, sparkling and twinkling and winking at him, showing the night sky with such passion that he thought it might have gone dark) or stashed under and around and on things, covered with white silk. Not one of them moved, or made a sound, which led him to believe that they were empty. He could not, but for the life of him, help but stare. It was like he had walked out of reality and right into a fairy tale, except this was far more real.

Shuffling in, he closed the door behind him, and began to make his way down the walkway, constantly turning and looking and learning as he went. And when he got far enough, he began to hear bells and chimes and flutes. It was gentle and soothing, and he found that this music might put him to sleep, if he so let it.

Then, of course, there was the tree.

It shocked him, to say the least, but he hardly had enough time to really take it in. There were three people gathered around a table, one of which seemed to be showing off wares, and he made his way over as quietly as he could, hoping to avoid interrupting. The boy looked young, but he also sounded pretty smart. '... abilities span the w-world and come out only to a companion who has s-shown their devotion.' He did not know what the boy was talking about, but he thought it must have been important. He stayed behind as he finished, as thought trying no to be seen, and waited until one of the girls had voiced her questions. She had a Shijin, though it was different from Night's (now Zin's, he reminded himself sadly) and Shadowcat's. Turning his gaze back to the boy behind the table, he suddenly thought it extremely rude that he just walk in as he had. He smiled, and laughed, somewhat nervous.

"Sorry if I'm intruding. The... door was open, and I just sort of... followed the path, I guess," he said hesitantly. He shifted, feeling the coins brush lazily against his leg once more, and tried not to look at the table, though the amulets threatened to steal his attention many a time.

{I fail, so hard, I know. Thank you for reminding me, Obsi. x-x;;}

The rabbit-girl seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, and the boy found his eyes rolling skyward, wondering what could bring someone to do something like that when it was them who was trying to buy something in the first place. His eyes narrowed and he glanced back to the one who was paying attention, the one with the questions.

"They d-don't require f-food, no, and 's-smart' is a r-relative w-word. Smart c-compared to what?" Valinmur asked, tilting his head to the side a little. It was at this point he noticed the new customer in the shop, and the boy raised an eyebrow when he seemed nervous. The people who came to the shop, he just wasn't sure how some of them existed. "To g-get them out, y-you will be t-taught a s-spell," the boy finished answering her questions before addressing the new customer, "Y-you have come to p-purchase as w-well, I suppose...?"