'Tis Just a Shop

[Hiya]

Thank you for respecting the authenticity of this shop.

The sign hung in two spots outside the door: the left and the right. She used sliding doors for her shop. These were large wooden ones that were tucked away into their respective walls for now. It was early. The dawn was here, moving as slowly as the shop owner wished to rise. This was a new day, however. New goals to pursue and new coin to earn. There was that saying of early birds and worms to live up to after all.

Kaylin swept the last of the "filth" out her door. There was hardly any dust now. She had been up for hours cleaning and reorganizing the shop. This was only the fourth time she swept. The young woman let out a sigh as she rested on her broom under her sign. It read in clear, simple, old letters...

Plain Jane

Her shop sold only non-magic items. As such, there was no magic to be had in the shop. Out in the streets, that was fine. She was in Serendipity after all. However in her shop, was a safe zone.  At least, mentally as such. Kaylin turned back into her shop, eying the rows of basic utensils, toys, art supplies, and travel gear before she heard a meow - or thought she did. Maybe it was the sound of a small bell that made her jumped and caused the broom to pose like a bat near her shoulder.

"Get out of here ya mangy cat!!" Fear made her voice strong. She blocked the creature from entering and shooed it out robustly. At least she seemed wide awake... "And don't come back!!"

[Wrathwyrm]

OOC: Hello!  ;D

IC>>>>>

"It is better to visit kindness to smaller animals, miss."

Eh?  Ah, yes...  She had shouted the cat out, and there was a funny sort of man standing there.  He looked like a man of the desert, one reason for which being that he was Essyrni, but he also owre a furry little hat and was not quite so billowy in attire as others of his ilk.  Wait a minute...  Didn't this guy have a shop a few streets over?  Yes, indeed.  For this man was...Akbar The Third!

"Akbar has heard in Adela that to treat a cat so is to expect wanton misfortune.  Akbar does not think much of these things himself, but...Adelan customers do, and that is most important."

Well...this was an odd occurrance.  What did a shopkeeper want in her shop?  Was he missing something?  Or was he trying to sell off something from his own?  If Kaylin knew anything about this Akbar fella, it was this: He's an odd sort of a guy, and he really gets around.

[Hiya]

OOC: Hiya!!!!!   ;D

IC>>>>>

Ahh yes, she knew this one. Of this one, rather.

Once he stopped speaking, she stopped squinting. It took a short time to pick up on if anyone meant harm. For now, he didn't. He likely wouldn't, to be honest. She was the one with a "weapon" in hand.

'But if he's a magic user....' She pushed the thought back as she tucked her ear.

"They are bad luck, sir, even when you're kind to them. Thankfully, they're not my customers," she stood up straighter. "May I help you with anything?"

She was tired. Looking at the bags under her eyes was proof enough. Even her skirt droozed to the floor gave as much away. At least, she was alert enough to converse. That and her shopkeeper senses were in tact. If anyone knew about that, it would be the man before her.

[Wrathwyrm]

Yes, the man before her definitely Shopkeeper Senses.  As in, he could actually sense things in relation to his shops - Yes, shops plural. - and indeed perceive the value of things at a glance.  He also had good instincts to boot, which is a good thing because - and let's be honest here - he was a bit of a loon.  Even before he answered her actual question, he'd noticed that Kaylin was a little tired - perhaps alot tired, even - and was quickly seeing an opportunity there.

"Aha...  Akbar sees that the long hours are taking their toll.  Perhaps yon fellow shopkeeper would like a supply of Akbar's preferred brand of waking brew?"

That's 'coffee' to you and me.  Whatever state it's in up in Serendipity or Connlaoth, Akbar tends to use an Essyrni version that's a spiced drink that nnot only wakes you up, but makes you want to do a little dance.  You get alot of funny liquids in Essyrn, but that's because there's alot of alchemy work down there.

[Hiya]

"As long as it doesn't suddenly appear in a cup..."

My, Kaylin was a wary one. She was also suspicious of those outside of her shop. A quick glance down and - yup. He was out side it. Surely it didn't help that she was smack dad in the middle of the entrance. While he could easily slip by on either side of her, it was the principle of her position.

The possibility of waking up more was... appealing. The leaned on her broom a tad more.

"Do you have everything you need to brew it with you now?" She asked with an arched brow. From what she could tell, it didn't look like he had anything in his pockets.

[Wrathwyrm]

Akbar did kind of understand her strange wariness, though it wasn't a common sentiment to be found outside of Connlaoth.  He knew, of course, since he'd been there, in yet another little shop.  Now, he actually DID have the mixture on him and quite easily pulled out the pouch in which it was contained.

"Often has Akbar traveled with special brew.  Not usually having cup on hand without actually being on journey.  Water is also required.  Boiled water to mix it all in.  Akbar could go back to shop for things, brew special brew to open negotiations."

Wait...  Negotiations?  Ah, of course.  He was here on business.  This was his means of getting a foot in the door.

[Hiya]

Well... at least he did not pull out a cup, a pot, nor a sink from his pocket. Kaylin was alright with this. It was-wait...

"Negotiations? " She paused, but her mind protested. Kaylin stepped to the side, giving the man enough room to allow him in her shop if he wished. "Tell you what... if you can find what you need to make your brew in my shop, I will give you a discount and my ear for your negotiations."

Did she just attempt to make a sale to a seller? Yes. Yes she did. "You are welcome to head back to your shop also. I will be here.... though knowing the subject first would be grand."

She was comfortable with the options. Whichever way it ended, she seemed okay with it..... surely she was sleeper th than she realized.

[Wrathwyrm]

He actually might've pulled stuff right out of his pocket, and he had the ability to, buuut Akbar was a very savvy man.  He had his nose to the grindstone and his ear to the ground, so to speak, and during that time...he had heard the point of information stating that Kaylin did not really like magic.  So, much like his business up in Connlaoth, he did not make use of it.  Simple, no?  As for the subject at hand...

"The subject, dear lady, is trade.  Akbar will return!"

Shoom!  Akbar darted off at full running speed - he was actually quite limber - and disappeared around a corner.  Several moments passed, annd then he reappeared, holding what appeared to be a backpack of things, which - as he began to pull out some of the items, which included some campfire kindling - he announced...

"Behold, the Akbar traveling survival kit!  Akbar could cook dinner right here, if necessary."

Canteen, pot, brew, firewood, and flint set were out already.  This man was crazy-prepared.

[Hiya]

At  this point, she was behind her counter in the back of her shop. Sitting was not the smartest thing for her to do, which is exactly why she was standing. It was quiet, so quiet... so quiet she could close her eyes still and-

"Behold-!"

Dear sweet King Ansgar in a manger! She was more awake now. Kaylin refused to acknowledge how badly she was startled. Too bad her body did not. Thankfully most effect remained unseen from her long sleeves, but her face was reddened. The frown on her face would tell anyone that it was best not to address it.

Then she saw the items he got. "O-oh. Wow.... you really could," she asked, frown forgotten at the prospect of food.

What? It was early. A girl needs to eat every now and then also.

"Here, if anything, you can set up behind the shop," she lead him through the back door where a tidy little office area with two doors. One remained closed, the other, lead to the back. It was a tidy patio area. Nothing enormously big, but good enough for his objective. She thought. "Does this space work?"

[Wrathwyrm]

He had picked up his stuff again and brought it back there to the litle room with barely a nod.  Once he was re-setup, and that he was actually working the flint for the fire...

"Akbar has worked in many a places to do many a'things, from the open wilderness to the tinier stalls.  That is why Akbar is great shopkeeper."

Boy, he must've been in a good mood today.  No mentions of his bitter, hated enemy yet.  Once the fire was going, he opened his canteen and chanted something very fast and Essyrni as the water fell to his brew pot.  The man had been around, but he was still from that desert country, originally, and water's very important down there.  Because this was essentially something akin to a modern coffee blend, the time needed to make the brew was about the same as getting a percolated cuppa.

[Hiya]

She watched him as he moved about in between her working. For she was working. She had to stay busy or else risk falling asleep again.

After leaving him to his own devices for the longest time (a grand 5 minutes), she decided to speak with him instead of gazing from afar. "Is there anything you need, Akbar?" She figured that was his name, odd as his speech was, he was not a terrible fellow so far. Kaylin seemed a lot more kind and open to him at this point, despite only interacting with him not even for an hour.

Besides, he went through her shop. He was an honored guest at this point. With things looking good, nothing could possibly so wrong, she decided. Was she right? Time would tell. She did see a cat that morning after all.

[Wrathwyrm]

She came back in there after a few minutes and there was a wonderous aroma.  Akbar was crouched at his place of brewing with a pair of cups at the ready now.  In response to her question, he said...

"Akbar is needing only time and preparation.  Feel the glorious smell of wakefulness bursting forth into the nose, even as Akbar speaks.  It is nearing the readiness!"

So yeah, he'd be fine back there, really.  However...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Down an alley, some streets away, there was a cat.

"Meow..."

Namely, it was the same cat that had come to the Plain Jane and been shooed away.

"Mrooow..."

And...it was talking to another cat, of the sleek black-furred variety, with red eyes.

"You don't say..."

A cat which spoke perfectly good english.

"Perhaps I should pay a small visit."

"Mreow?"

"Yes, you may watch."

Uhhh...problems.

[Hiya]

Problems Kaylin knew nothing about, surly. "Well, alright then, Kaylin is going back to work now. Let me know when you're ready," she said before leaving promptly. My, she was a brief one. Perhaps it was the special brew.

In her mind, it was Akbar who was the odd one. Did he find her strange? There'd be no way, unless he or anyone else never met a Connlaothian before. She was as plane as she came. There were no voices in her mind telling her otherwise.

"Ahhh, foreigners are nice," she mumbled to herself as she tidied a shelf for the third time since before dawn. She was in plane view of the door. Just enough to look up and - ...wait a minute.

She squinted.

No.... there's no way that could be another cat... right? Maybe her eyes were playing tricks on her. She rubbed them just to be safe.

[Wrathwyrm]

Akbar did not think she was strange.  Akbar thought she was Connlaothian, which she was.  And because he savvy'd faster than a certain Caribbean pirate, he had revealed none of his special shopkeeper abilities at this time, just his normal immense skill at being himself.  Such was the ability of Akbar The Third.  Of course, we say that, but uhhh...he was more-or-less just making spiced coffee.  It doesn't take a genius.  It really doesn't.

As for Kaylin and her view at the door, there was...a problem.  You see, there was a cat.  It was a black-furred specimen with a rather sleek coat that would largely be known when a country called Bombay comes into focus as a Bombay Cat.  This one looked at her as soon as she was finished rubbing her eyes, sitting prim and proper about a foot away from the door, and simply went...

"Mrow!"

Across the street, not so noticeable, was the cat that had previously made an appearance.

[Hiya]

Indeed. The other cat was noted.

Her squinty eyes slid back to the sleek specimen still at the doorway. A direct approach to a cat would be bad without a weapon in hand. A duster was no weapon. Any sane person knew that. There was something about this cat though. Maybe it was a specific breed she didn't know about. Something like that she didn't care to think about. 'Cats. Bleh.'So, Kaylin decided to not to think about it.

How can one not think about some abomination who meowed right in front of her?

In this case she set her duster down, moved to the side of the door way, open her mouth to say something, and.... have the doors shut. Ah, the speed of her quick shutting doors. Mechanics. As close to magic she'd ever get.

"Not today, bucko!"

Ah, there those pleasantly harsh words she had in mind. With the doors shut and the words said, the felines were out of her mind. She was certain they were outside still. Any decent customer would just have to knock. Nothing an animal could do, obviously.

Kaylin went back to cleaning. The aroma from the special brew (she did not often drink coffee) came inside towards her. She would wait to bother the man outside in the back, where surely any one outside had access to if they could climb the wall there. No person would, surely. Unless they were desperate for a warm drink.

[Wrathwyrm]

The door was shut in Garlock's face.

"Hmmm."

Kaylin went back to her cleaning and the black cat looked up at the knob.  Now, ordinarily, a cat cannot operate a doorknob, and rest assured that this was a knob...which even the most wily of cats cannot open.  Garlock meowed across the street and got Cat #2 to come over.  At this time, someone's robust calico had made an appearance, feeling curious and wondering just what he Alpha Cat was doing.  It had to be the second-largest tom that Garlock had ever seen, the first being one a bit more north by the name of 'Boomer'.

Suffice it to say, Kaylin's cleaning would be interrupted first by Akbat, who declared "It is done!" and stepped into the room with a pair of cups.  He placed one of them on the counter for her, and then began to drink of his own cup.  It was then that the door opened.  Akbar noted this by saying "Oh?  You have guests.", and then Cat #2 stepped in with Cat #3 on the outside, looking in.

"Meow!"

Garlock was somehow hanging onto the doorknob with his paws, no explanation as to how he had done what he just did without levereage presenting itself.

[Hiya]

The brew was delicious. Coffee was as close to magic as she would get. As he mentioned guests, she thought on the wonders of ordinary thin-

"PFFFTT! Is that a cat on my handle?!" Out the magical-nonmagic substance went. Spewed all over the side of a once clean shelf thanks to being so stunned. "How is this even possible??!"

Kaylin set her cup down and reached for her ultimate weapon: a bigger, better broom. Temporarily she forgot she was entertaining a fellow merchant -the other way around, surely, but that was besides the point. Kaylin had cats in her shop.

This meant war. Kitty war.

There was only one way to stop her from moving forward. If left to her own devices though, she would be chasing any cat who chose to show up out.

[Wrathwyrm]

"Akbar is certain the lack of thumbs makes this impossible."

Akbar was indeed pretty sure of this, but then he was not taking the possibility of more unusual talents into account, like if said cat was gifted in some way.  He had not really heard of such things, or at least if he had, it was not coming to mind.  So, there were cats.  Cats #2 and #3 did in fact step in, the Calico blurting as though to say "Sup.".  The first cat would follow inside as Kaylin was unleashing her fierce broom technique to shoo the others out.  In the commotion, Garlock would somehow end up on a high shelf, wondering who would notice first, out of the two.

Of course, the real question was what was he going to do about this situation itself?  This was somewhat irritating to his fellow felines, but it wasn't exactly a dire problem.  The most he was seeing was an unsympathetic shopkeeper to the name of cat, for some unspecified reason.  He'd heard that some people were superstitious about them, but this didn't look like someone from Adela.  What gives, human?

[Hiya]

"...And stay out!" Kaylin shut the door again. Locking it this time. She had been so busy swinging, she did not notice the other one missing. Stepping back, she breathed heavily. This was much too early for her. She barely got to drink the coffee mix. Her eyes went to the top of the door. "Sliders. Definitely upgrading to sliders."

She turned back to look at Akbar, long hair twirling around her. "See? I told you. Cats are nothing but trouble!" The young woman went to get cleaning supplies to pick up her coffee mishap from earlier. "There should be a cat free zone... Technically, there is. And that isn't a place I'm rushing to get back to. So nevermind. Others can keep their cats. I just don't want any here. Is that so much to as-"

The paused, looking up on a shelf. It had been where a certain feline was. If she looked areound hard enough, she was likely to see it. Unless the feline had other plans of course.

[Wrathwyrm]

"Akbar is not always having luxury of doors, so animals are sometimes in.  Akbar tends to sell them, if possible."

Of course, he would.  He's a wily shopkeeper with convenient profit in mind.  As for the certain feline, he was actually still there.  Since the name of the game was 'Spot The Cat', Kaylin won first prize.  Unofrtunately for her, the prize was...that she had a cat in her store.  Said cat looked down at her with mild interest while licking his paw, and paused only when noticed by her.

"Mrow."

Perhaps the cat-equivalent of 'Yeah, what now, human?', perhaps something to be cennsored from being heard by the viewing public.  We'll never know.  All we DO know is that there are things on that shelf, things that a cat's paw may find fun to just...knock over.