Strange Trinkets

[Arich Kaus]

Arich didn't usually wander off on his own. Oblivious as he may be, he knew that there was still much of the human world that he had not seen. But this morning, he had decided to wake up early and brave the markets by himself.

He accidentally bumped a few people as he went. Unicorns were not accustomed to large crowds and he wasn't entirely capable of focusing on everything at once. Happily enough, most people seemed used to this kind of thing and simply kept walking. How peculiar they were, packed in tight like the tangles of thistles that had always bit at the edge of his forest.

Eventually he was drawn to the nearby pawn shop, because it felt older than the other stores. Many of the items here contained old memories and he walked as though in a dream, picking up several odds and ends and feeling their emotional weight throb in his fingertips.

Eventually he turned his attention to a small blue book written in some language he couldn't understand, for he'd never learned to read. He thumbed through the pages, trying to make some sense of the runes, totally absorbed. 

[Anazvel Undaviere]

The cool autumn breeze danced across the girl’s pale skin as she walked along the cobblestone street entering the square. Although she had grown up in the city for all her life this was a section she had left unexplored. There had been no reason to come here. She had no money. Any currency she did have was spent on sitting around at a local tavern, gambling and drinking like a man.

 The slum girl felt out of place. It was as if she had just walked right into wonderland when everyone had been expecting Alice. Compared to everything else her clothes were quite simple, a white dress. There were not even shoes on her small feet. Her attire had a slight appearance of age, the colors were not there brightest, fraying seams, and the look of worn out clothing. Her long, pastel green hair flowed loosely down her and around her face as she walked. Over the side of her right arm was a small, dark brown satchel which for now served as her purse.  

Moving deeper into the actual square itself Anazvel was able to get a better feel for the overall atmosphere, and it was strange. The odd sensation of something or someone watching her made the girl’s hair stand up on end, but looking around she didn’t notice anyone paying much notice to her presence. Still,Anazvel’s paranoia kicked in as she decided to move further away from the buildings themselves as she walked. 

She suddenly felt herself walking into an older looking store, running her fingertips across the dusty items. Anazvel sneered at the items, knowing that they are not worthy of being stolen. After a minute of giving the items dirty looks, she found herself beside an odd looking man. Anazvel cracks a crooked smile, he may have something worthy of swiping. "Hey there, handsome." She cooed, batting her eyelashes.

[Arich Kaus]

He didn't notice the human standing next to him until she spoke. Blinking, he lowered the book and took a moment or two to examine the other before replying. She was dressed poorly, with no shoes on her feet, and he wasn't sure what to make of the smile on her face, but he finally smiled back regardless.

"Hello." He paused for a moment, unsure of what to say next, and then held out his hand, figuring it was best to just introduce himself. Did she want something or did she just want to talk? Humans were weird and he at least usually had his traveling companion to back him up when things got awkward. Which they did. A lot. Because unicorns can't read social cues. "I'm Arich. It's a pleasure to meet you."

[Anazvel Undaviere]

Her grin was more of a smirk now, this should be rather easy. Awkward and trusting, just her type. The woman greedily licked her bottom lip, and the color of her hair changed to a darker green. Anazvel inwardly sighed, seeing the sudden change. Perhaps he would say nothing about the strange color change. The petite girl made sure to not look at her hair, so the man's own eyes would not look there as well.

Now, if he was just some dumb hick or actually a little bit too smart for his own good remained to be seen. Still, Anazvel had tangled with large drunken men trying to reach a hand up her dress, so if this kid gave her trouble later on she’d be able to handle herself. Taking his money shouldn't be too complicated. She reached hand out and grabbed his, shaking it roughly before pulling it back. "Eh, nice to meet ya. I'm Anazvel." The girl took a step backwards shrugging as she put her hands behind her back. "What're you doin' in this dump?" She asked, her head tilting to the left.

[Arich Kaus]

Arich blinked. Out of the corner of his eye, he could have sworn that he saw her hair change color. Or perhaps he'd simply imagined it. He'd been running on only a bit of sleep lately after all, what with the amount of noise outside. The bustle never seemed to end.

He considered her question a bit longer than was normal. What was he doing there?

"I don't really know," he responded, a little puzzled. "I was just browsing out of curiosity, I guess. There are a lot of memories here." He looked wistfully down at the little book, wondering what it said, before realizing he'd cut off the conversation without giving her anything to respond to. He'd have to work on that. "And you?" he added as an afterthought, returning his focus to the other with some difficulty.

[Anazvel Undaviere]

"Just tryna find someone worth talkin' to." That playful tone was clear in her voice something that came second nature to her when she didn't want to deal with certain realities. She was here to find some rich egotistical womanizer who didn't give two shits about her. This man was obviously not it, but perhaps after taking his valuables she could go buy some new swanky little dress to impress one of those men. "In all honesty, I'm just explorin'" She added with an unsure chuckle.

Oh man, he was simply perfect. He did not seem suspicious of at all! Most men would have spit on her bare feet by now. Things were going absolutely perfect, though if Anazvel was honest with herself the girl would say she was surprised. She had been always cursed with poor luck. This man even seemed to zone out a little. Hopefully this was a nice little habit of his that happened often. The woman reached into her bag, pulling out a small flask. Anazvel took a quick swig, and put the flask back. She felt like that was a good time to do so, if there was ever even a good time for drinking in an old pawn shop. 

[Arich Kaus]

"I hope I can help. What do you want to talk about?" At her later statement his smile faded a little. He could tell when someone was lying. She wasn't just exploring. "Are you sure?" he asked, then hesitated. "I apologize. I suppose it's none of my business. Do you live here?"

He looked at the drink curiously. Was it alcohol or water? He'd learned recently that some humans drank fermented berries but he wasn't entirely sure whether or not what he was smelling was the drink that his traveling companion had mentioned. How strange mortals could be!