Noonday. The sun arched high in the rich blue sky of the desert, shining down on the citizens of Essyrn. Rich and poor gathered in the city of wonders, especially in the open air marketplace. Stalls and rugs of brightly colored fabrics lined the ancient streets, each merchant hawking their wares, the wares of kings. Jewelry, gold, silver, spices, incense that perfumed the air... anything to dazzle the visitors, have them give up their gold coin in order to live richly for a day.
At least, that was how Rashida saw it.
Her slim fingers placed each item, the spices in their hand-blown containers, the brooches, the silk fabrics, in each place on her stand of crimson fabric. Her copper skin gleamed with oil, and seductive eyes glanced from the top of a creme veil, though one could imagine she was smirking behind it. The sarong hung to her curves, gracefully exposing her midriff, yet the fabric split to allow glimpses of her long, oiled legs, delicate gold anklets and toe rings around each of them. Silver and gold was wrapped around her neck, earrings of snakes with emerald eyes hung from her lobes. It was all quite a show, and meant to attract customers.
A man approached her stall, his eyes gleaming with the sapphires that caught the sunlight. Rashida smouldered from above her veil, her voice slightly muffled. "I have everything that you desire," she cooed, her hands moving into mystical signs. "Everything that a man... could dream of." She brought out incense with the flick of her wrist, and lit it, making the air of her stall hazy with perfume.
The man's eyes were wide with the gold, and he looked at Rashida expectantly, almost at her mercy. "Do you have... rubies?"
Rashida gave a smile from beneath her veil, her eyes glinting mysteriously. "Of course," she whispered, and as her hand went to pluck the fat ruby...
It wasn't there.
Panic seized the inside of Rashida for a second, but she quickly fought it down, batting her eyelashes at the man. "I believe I have some inside my tent. Excuse me...." With a whirl of her sarong, she was gone, disappearing into her tent.
It was then that she ripped the veil from her face, better to start throwing spitting insults. "You worthless sack of fur! What in the god's great divine did you do with those rubies?!"
The recipient of her comments was currently lounging on a gorgeous rug, stretched out languorously. Though wearing long fabrics between the legs was more of a woman's style, the red fabric matched his obsidian fur quite nicely. As did the great big wolfish grin on his muzzle, silver fangs glinting as his eyes shown with mirth, ears perked ans swiveled as he followed his master's movements. "Why, I don't know Rashida," The high demon purred, mockingly, flicking his tail idly. "Maybe you... misplaced them?"
"Don't you dare give me that Akhenaten!" The merchant spit violently, her seductive glare gone with a twist of her mouth. "You had better cough those rubies up or I swear to the stars I will choke you with those necklaces!"
The high demon laughed, which sounded more like barking, his clawed hands holding his stomach as if Rashida had just told a very amusing joke. "Choke me? Why, Rashida, you tease!" His great hand pawed at the edge of her sarong, his muzzle still twisted in that amused grin. "My dear, I think the perspiration is ruining your complexion. You shouldn't get so worked up."
"Worked up? Worked UP? Oh by the great gods... I had to get stuck with you!" She pushed the demon's hand away from her, and began to tear the tent up, throw pillows and clothing and sandals sent flying as she looked for her rubies.
"Better hurry dear," Akhenaten sing-songed, folding his ears back as his eyes scanned her stall. "I think your customer is getting bored!"
Rashida cursed at the demon in something of her own tongue, and dashed back out of the stall, forgetting belatedly to replace her veil. It hung like a rag on the edge of her hood, as she smiled and tried to tidy her hair with a few quick strokes. "I'm sorry, we seem to have run out of rubies!" She tried to sound nice to the customer, ignoring the irritation that was building inside of her. "But could I perhaps interest you in something else?"
The man looked at Rashida strangely, but his eyes traveled downward, following the curve of her sarong as he glanced over her wares. He picked up a few items, but never seemed interesting in anything. Rashida could feel her smile straining at the corners of her lips, and she busied her hands with smoothing out her fabrics in order to not seem impatient. "Does anything at all appeal to you? I'm sure there must be something...." And yet the man continued to look. And look. And look. It was plucking at Rashida's last nerve, straining her willpower, because she could see other potential customers walking away, toward the empty stalls that weren't blocked by some fat, hairy, stupid--
"Where are your rubies?" The man asked again, and that did it. Rashida howled as she stood, eyes blazing with anger.
"Look, are you going to buy some damn jewelry or not?! I'm running a god damn business here, not some pay-by-the-hour sideshow, so if you don't want something, move your ass so other people can see what's in front of it!" Her hands clawed at the fabric of her stall, foam forming at the corners of her mouth. "Now buy something or stop staring!"
The man looked nothing less than horrified at Rashida's outburst. And he ran as if someone had lit him on fire. Rashida was still blowing steam out of her nostrils. But once the situation hit her, she groaned, holding her face in her hands as she sat back in the stall. "Why?" She muttered. "Oh, why?"
"Maybe because you're a bad merchant!" The demon pulled away at the curtains of her tent, a sway in his step. His grin was still huge on his muzzle, his tail curling around his distressed master, tickling her bare legs. "But just think: only everyone within a mile heard that outburst!"
For a second, Rashida was completely still. And then a scream tore out of her throat, matching the fury of a wild animal. She leapt upon the demon's broad back, her manicured nails clawing at his throat, grabbing the necklaces that he wore. "YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT! I'LL SEND YOU SO FAR BACK INTO HELL THAT YOU WON'T SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY FOR A MILLION YEARS!"
The demon seemed to think this was highly amusing, and simply danced about her stall, laughing as the mortal tried unsuccessfully to choke him or rip his ears from his skull.
A good day for a high demon indeed.