[Lazuli]

Lazuli wasn't in dire need of any supplies, but it never hurts to have something fun to do. She walked through a slightly crowded street, holding a flyer in her hand that read as follows:

"OUTDOOR BAZAAR
ALL ARE WELCOME
Trinkets, books, art, furniture, antiques, clothes, and more! Find what you've never seen before!
OPEN ALL DAY May 20th to 23rd!"

These sort of events attracted quite a lot of attention, and this particular bazaar was supposed to be the big one of the month. From neighborhood sellers to professional marketers to traveling merchants from other regions, stalls with an endless beach of colorful items filled the area spanning several blocks of New Alexandria. Lazuli would loved to have brought along her good friend Phen, whom she thought might be interested in something like this, but she hadn't been able to catch her fellow nyad home that dawn. Instead, she could only send off a wish that she would happen to meet someone today, whether friend or new companion.

Lazuli walked past quite a lot of people who had shown up already to head to the bazaar, although the area had yet to reach its fully bustling peak. Lazuli tipped her head at the sky -- still milky with that soft early morning glow. A light wind made her adjust her hat. She breathed in the cool fresh air and thought, Mornings are always so nice, aren't they? ...and then, I wonder what will happen today.

Chiko poked his furry head out of Lazuli's vieux rose shoulder bag. He sniffed the crisp air lazily. The nyad grinned at the darling cheefle and tickled the underside of his chin lightly with a pinky finger. "Are you ready to start the day with me, Chiko?"

Chiko made a squeaky noise and disappeared back inside the bag. Lazuli sighed and shook her head with a sad smile, although she was too excited to be disappointed. She could already smell the scents of the bazaar as she approached the handmade entrance, from the homely smells to the exotic.

"Little lady! Do look here! What would you like from this magnificent stall?"

Lazuli stopped by the merchandise of a bald, roundish jewelry seller who had waved her over. She surveyed a pair of donut-shaped earrings as her face lit up in amusement. "Hee hee, they have sprinkles on them, too."

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[Naava]

“Ack! Flit! Stop that!” Naava shrieked softly as she simultaneously tugged on her rambunctious cheefle's leash and adjusted the height on her main easel. This was her first day trying to actually sell her works. The deposit to be able to sell here had taken a large chunk out of her savings, but hopefully it would be worth it. After all, her funds were dwindling badly and she needed to make some money somehow, so selling her work seemed like a good idea. Besides, she had gotten pretty talented after practicing so much lately. Maybe. A little. Hopefully.

Talented or not she was here now and people were arriving so she really needed to finish setting up. “Aaaah! Flit! If you don't stop then I'll feed you to a Tepua!” the young half-breed threatened. Her ultimatum fell on deaf cheefle ears, however, as the critter proceeded to try and get to the roasted nuts tent that was directly next to Naava's booth. “Ughh, why today? I'd rather drink Hydra venom than deal with this!"” Naava whined as she practically wrestled with her creature.

Naava was mostly set up now at least, though. The painting in the center was her portrait of Xanth that had been inspired by the other half-breed girl in the quadrangle a couple of months ago. “If I can sell something, then I'll buy us both a treat, all right?” Naava said, eying the tea vendor that was just a few booths down from her own.

((OOC: Naava's art is entirely IC and has no OOC component, thus if someone wants to "buy" something from her here then they just need to RP it and no xanthos will change hands OOCly ))

Piper's Boutique + Jessica Alba

[Lazuli]

After a moment's decision, Lazuli said no to the donut earrings. "Thank you for showing me these, sir, but my ears aren't pierced. Otherwise I would have bought them."

With that, Lazuli politely waved good-bye to the jewelry seller. She turned around to find out what else would catch her eye. She didn't really know what she was looking for, but then that was the whole fun part, wasn't it? And she had brought enough money to buy at least three very expensive items.

The nymph continued scanning the colorful stalls, while inside her bag, Chiko had a premonition. Oohhh, he smelled something. He poked his head out, much to Lazuli's surprise, considering he had been drowsy just a minute ago. "What is it, little one?"

Nose vibrating in alert, the cheefle all of a sudden shot out of the bag. "Chiko, wait!" Lazuli called. She thrust an arm forward but it was too late. She quickly gave chase as Chiko ran purposefully in the direction of some booth.

The cheefle wove in and out of the various stalls to avoid capture and people's feet. Lazuli spotted a brown-haired anyeli girl with an array of artworks in one of the booths. Chiko leapt and ran over the side of one of her paintings (much to Lazuli's horror), with the next tent clearly in mind. Then Lazuli realized what Chiko wanted-- the roasted nuts in the next tent! As the cheefle once more flew into the air, Lazuli hurried herself in the way without time for anything else and caught him with both hands. "Oh no, Chiko, you're so rude!" she scolded, keeping a firm grip on the ball of fur but not enough to hurt him.

As for the girl with the wings, Lazuli approached her general direction and hastily apologized. "I'm terribly sorry for that," she said, clutching Chiko to the base of her neck as the tiny cheefle cried rivers of tears at the tragic loss of his beloved nuts (well, not really rivers, but...). "I hope your painting is all right!"

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[Naava]

Flit was still squirming from time to time, but it had been at least twenty minutes since she had last tried to make a break for it. Naava silently thanked Xanth for the unbreakable leash and harness that she had received so long ago from the grotto. They had been life savers ever since the moment she'd gotten them, especially times like now. “Thank you very much, sir!” Naava said as she sold a painting she'd made of a lavender wyrm taking a drink from the river Cora. The man buying it wasn't a 'Vari, so Naava hoped he wasn't purchasing it just for the subject matter. However, it was her first real sale and now she had money to get herself one of those amazing bubble teas the vendor a few booths down had. The vendor was from MysTeaCal, a local tea shop who had the most amazing drinks Naava could remember having. not that the list of drinks she could remember having was very long at the moment, but the point remained. Maybe today she would try a new flavor.

Suddenly another cheefle was rampaging through Naava's booth like a gytrash in a landstrider herd. Flit responded by also freaking out, and then attempting to chase the strange cheefle towards the nuts next door. “Flit! Stop it! I told you I'll get you some soon!” she said with a shriek as her arm was jerked away from her body by the small creature's leash. For being so small, Flit sure could muster up a solid burst of strength when she wanted to. As she pulled flit back she found herself diving forward to catch the painting that the other cheefle had dove off of (which was ironically a small picture of Flit nibbling on an acorn) before it fell.

Naava was just getting the painting resettled as the apparent owner of the run away critter came back to apologize. “Oh, it's alright, really!” Naava said politely. “I've got a cheefle too, so I know what trouble they can be,” she continued politely. Then Naava noticed something extremely peculiar - the cheefle wasn't on a leash! “Er, but, do you have a leash for it? They're really quick little devils so they can escape awfully easy if you don't have them on some kind of tether,” Naava explained as she tugged gently on Flit's leash to get the cheefle to climb her dress. Once the cheefle complied, Naava picked her up and tickled her wings lightly. Flit responded by flicking them rapidly and then spinning about to try and catch Naava's fingers as the anyeli continued to tickle the critter's soft feathers.

Piper's Boutique + Jessica Alba

[Lazuli]

Lazuli was relieved that the girl's paintings had escaped near destruction-by-cheefle. Knowing what type of effort was required for painting, she didn't know what she would have done if someone else's artwork had been messed up because of her. Thank Xanth, she thought with an apologetic smile. She would have to take a careful look at all the anyeli's paintings in a moment so she might be able to buy one.

"So you have a cheefle too!" she said, smiling happily this time. Somehow that made the girl more appealing, knowing that they had something in common. And now that she had a chance to look at the anyeli girl up close, did she mildly resemble a nymph? Lazuli couldn't be sure, although it definitely brought Phen to her mind. She turned her gaze to the other cheefle to avoid staring unpolitely. The critter was quite cute, spinning in the air like a little dancer. "She is adorable," Lazuli voiced her thoughts.

The girl's last statement, however, caught her off guard. Put Chiko on a leash? Since he had been a gift from Xanth, Lazuli had received no leash she might have had by buying him at a pet store. To be honest, the thought of restraining Chiko's freedom hadn't really come to her mind. She looked down at the ball of winged fur in her hands. Although he still looked emotionally depressed about the nuts, Chiko seemed to have calmed down and now gazed up at her with typically bulging obsidian eyes. Lazuli placed a finger on the top of his little head.

Then she sighed sadly. "Oh, I don't really know. Chiko is my first pet, and I never really thought about leashing him."

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[Naava]

Naava grinned at the compliment towards Flit. “He's cute, too,” she responded after having picked up on the stranger addressing her cheefle as a "he" and gesturing towards Chiko with her head. Naava stopped antagonizing her pet and proceeded to scratch Flit's head with two fingers. The cheefle responded happily to this and flattened her wings loosely so that Naava could scratch in between them. Naava picked up on the cue and Flit closed her eyes happily as she was lavished in attention.

“Well... I got mine as a... gift, but you can buy leashes for cheefles at any good pet store. They're not really expensive, either. Most domesticated cheefles just don't have the survival instincts to live on their own in the wild, so by tethering the little guy you'd really only be protecting him from himself.” Naava advised kindly. The anyelos had grown a soft spot for cheefles ever since she bought Flit, regardless of the trouble they could cause. They were really affectionate creatures, especially when they were cared for appropriately.

“And it's not like it's a cage or something. Your cheefle can still run and scurry, or even fly if he wants to!” she said happily. “The harnes goes around the wings, see,” the skotadi continued, pointing out Flit's harness as she did so. The harness and leash were both polished black leather with light purple stitching. “When leashes get old, or if you have a particularly mischievous little pet, than they can break or the little thing can squirm loose,” Naava warned politely. “So you need to make sure to replace them every so often. It really depends on who made it and how talented they are at their craft. The Wainwright boys ship them in from a craftsman in Serendipity, supposedly,” she continued, slowly drifting more into small talk.

“Oh, I've forgotten my manners! My name's Naava Makani, and you are?” she asked, blushing a bit after realizing how much she had talked but extending her free hand for a friendly shake nevertheless.

Piper's Boutique + Jessica Alba

[Lazuli]

Lazuli listened attentively as the girl explained the leash, taking in all the information seriously. She definitely seemed more of an expert than Lazuli was, and Lazuli really did need a way to keep Chiko under control, whether she liked it or not. Maybe it would be for the best; Lazuli would rather Chiko's freedom be restrained a little than to have him scurry into dangerous situations anyway.

"Do you hear that, Chiko?" Lazuli asked, glancing down at her pet and tickling his white belly. "We can get you a harness to keep you from trouble."

The cheefle tipped his head, apparently indifferent toward the subject matter. Lazuli smiled at him and looked back at the girl. "Thank you for the information," she said gratefully. "I'll head to the Wainwrights sometime and find a good, comfortable leash for him."

Lazuli's smile widened when the anyeli introduced herself. She took her hand and shook it kindly. "Nice to meet you, Naava! My name is Lazuli Kitay. I like to paint. You... you're an artist too, right?" She glanced around in mild excitement at the paintings surrounding the booth. It was always nice to be around art. Her eyes traveled to the painting of Xanth in the center and she let out a happy gasp. "That painting there is amazing!" she exclaimed. "The Goddess looks absolutely beautiful! And you're selling all these?"

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[Naava]

Naava smiled as the girl shook her hand and introduced herself as well. “Nice to meet you, Lazuli. That's a very pretty name,” Naava said politley as she smiled softly. “A painter as well? Wow, we seem to have a nice bit in common,” the anyelos said with a chuckle. She wasn't a professional painter or anything, but she was definitely making strides in her work. Her latest piece, the one in the center of her tent, was probably her best.

And speaking of that painting. “Thank you, I actually just recently finished that one. It's called "Mother Butterfly,"” she said with a smile. That was the name the other half-breed girl had used for Xanth that day in the quadrangle. Since then Naava had been so busy that it had taken her most of the fall season t finish the painting. It featured a side view of Xanth's most well known form, having her dress blown about by the wind as butterflies seemed to sprout from beneath her. Indeed, if one paid enough attention Xanth was even simply standing on butterflies, and you could see the air beneath the delicate creatures as they held her up. The whole piece was a flourish of purple and blues, giving it a cool and comforting air.

“And yes, I am selling all of these. Feel free to look around if you'd like, or just stay and chat,” Naava said, deciding she could wait just a little bit longer to visit the MysTeaCal vendor and purchase her bubble tea. She was almost entirely decided on Mango. But, wait, strawberry was her favorite, should she really risk getting one she wouldn't like over one that she knew for certain she would? If today wasn't so particularly warm Naava would have undoubtedly gotten a cup of their "Heart of Gold" tea, which was a delectable combination of Heartlost and Goldrush that as of yet she had not been able to figure out the right combination for. But that tea warmed your entire body in that way that truly good tea does, and Naava was pretty sure that if she tried some on a day like today she'd break into a sweat. Hum, maybe she should try the lemon flavored bubble tea. That had to be refreshing, right?

Piper's Boutique + Jessica Alba

[Lazuli]

"Thank you, Naava!" Lazuli said, beaming at the anyeli's kind compliment. "And yes, we do seem to have much in common! I hope it means we could become good friends." The statement may have been a little direct considering they had just met, but to Lazuli it wasn't strange at all.

She continued examining the painting of Xanth, treasuring the beauty of the heavenly moment that Naava had captured. From the cool wash of color to the airiness of the butterflies in flight, the picture definitely felt pleasing to look at. She'd have to consider buying this one, with the only doubt being that its magnificence may not find a good home in her small apartment. 'Mother Butterfly', she thought.

After one more fleeting look, Lazuli moved on to the other paintings. As she looked over the subject matter, she also noted the type of brushstrokes used, the choices of color and nuances of shadow and light... it all served to benefit her own skills as an artist. Indeed, one could learn much from another's art in addition to enjoying them.

As Lazuli was caught within the atmosphere of a landscape painting, Chiko's stomach began to growl abnormally loudly for such a small body. That drew Lazuli's attention and she cast Naava an amused smile. "Oh, my cheefle is hungry. I think I'll buy a bag of nuts from next door. Shall I get some for yours, too? I'm sure they won't cost much."

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[Naava]

Naava was a bit taken aback by Lazuli's comment. Friends? They had just met! It was rare to find someone so straight forward, any yet... it was kind of appealing. She wasn't really lonely in Elysia, after all she did have her friends. Well, at least, she had Piper, that vampire from the boutique who she'd kept in general contact with, and Alicia, the girl who had the apartment next to hers in the Cloud Palace who she talked with regularly, as well as some of the other Anyeli-in-training, but there was no one else, really. No family. Well, Piper had brought up a girl named Nymphadora a few times, but Naava had never been able to find her so it was pretty much a dead end. The skotadi did wonder about Nymphadora from time to time. The name had sounded familiar, and as Naava started to recover memories she was pretty sure that the girl was her sister, but where was she? No one really had an answer. When Naava had tried to look her up in census information at the Great Library she hadn't been able to, and the young half-breed wondered what that meant. Had she died? Piper said she was an aide to Xanth, so she might just be in another dimension or something.

Naava shook her head a bit to rid herself of the thoughts. She didn't like thinking about her empty past. It made her sad, and scared. It was like being stuck in a terrible oleaginous pit or something, where the muck and grime just pull you down. “We might!” Naava said a little late with a half-hearted but friendly laugh. She hated spacing out like that, it always got her behind on the current action, and then sometimes her replies would make no sense because so much time had passed and people would just stare at her like she'd gone missing from the world or something. It wasn't like her brain had retired or anything, usually she'd just gotten sidetracked by something and would realize where she actually was in a few moments - or a few hours - Whichever.

“A-are you sure? That would be great!” Naava said, a bit stunned at the random kindness. This Lazuli person seemed so nice. It was like she was an angel or something. Of course she wasn't, no wings, but still. Maybe she was a nymph? They were supposed to be gentle and kind, weren't they? “She'd love that,” Naava finished, scratching Flit's chin as she did so. “I wanted to get some but it's hard for me to leave my stall unattended,” she explained, giving a brief, longing look towards the tea vendor down the way. She'd figure out how to get there at some point today. She had worked herself up for that bubble tea, and as sure as Hel was bright she was going to get it. Shortly after thinking that Naava looked up briefly to verify that Hel was, in fact, still bright. Assured of the sun's consistent luminosity, Naava smiled. Yes. Bubble tea was certainly going to happen.

Piper's Boutique + Jessica Alba

[Lazuli]

Naava's silent musings were lost to Lazuli as another painting temporarily caught her attention. She stepped forward a bit to examine the bowl of fruit (Chiko sniffed interestedly at it), completely unaware that her comment had caught the anyeli off guard. Even if she had ignored her, Lazuli would only have been mildly sad. Nonetheless, she noticed the somewhat half-hearted tone in Naava's voice. Lazuli smiled serenely. "I'll look forward to it, then."

She happily began shifting carefully through her bag for her purse when Naava accepted the offer. "Yes, of course! And yes, I understand; it wouldn't be good at all if someone stole any of your paintings." She grinned at Naava's cheefle. "Wait just a moment, okay, little one?"

Her own Chiko seemed to have caught on that food had materialized in the near future, for he leapt out of Lazuli's hold to scamper around her neck ecstatically before climbing her hair and settling on the top of her head. He stood up tall on two muscled hind legs and raised his little fuzzy head gloriously toward the direction of the nuts like a pirate captain prepared for a treasure voyage.

Lazuli meanwhile left the stall and trekked the small distance to the roasted nuts next door. "Two packs of roasted nuts, please," she ordered pleasantly.

The vendor, a stocky, cheefly man, hefted two humongous bags of said items onto the wooden make-shift counter. "I don't think I need this much--" she began to say, but decided there was no point. By this time, Chiko was a whole circus on top of Lazuli's head.

"That's quite an acrobatic creature you've got there," the man noted as Lazuli paid for the oversized bags of food at normal price.

"Really? Thank you," Lazuli said brilliantly.

"In fact, how 'bout I sell you and your hungry cheefle four more bags of these roasted nuts? I'll give each of them to you at three-fourths price."

"Oh, no thanks... these are more than enough..."

"But these nuts are top-quality and 100% homemade!" the man goaded. "Buuuuy! Buuuy!"

"Bye!" Lazuli answered sweetly and hastily returned to Naava's haven. "Here they are," she said, handing Naava one of the bags while Chiko scuttled all over hers.

anime rain | discolore | celestial-star | night-fate-stock

[Naava]

This Lazuli person was exceptionally nice, even for a nymph! Well, no, perhaps especially for a nymph. Just because nymphs were pacifists didn't mean that they were nice. “You hear that, Flit, Lazuli's going to buy you some nuts!"” Naava said as her own stomach grumbled. Oh, yea, she hadn't eaten since early this morning before she came out here, had she. The half-anyeli girl sighed softly as she placed a hand on her stomach. She should probably eat soon.

But until then, there were customers! In the few moments it took for Lazuli to purchase the nuts next door, a very gaudily dressed Zanaryan woman and her... servant of some sort walked up to the stall. The servant was a young man, possibly a sidhe based on how very attractive he was, and was dressed in mostly dark reds. Naava blushed a bit as the man smiled in her direction, and tried to focus her attention on the rather obese woman. The woman was very rude, and essentially walked through the stall apraising Naava's art as "sub-par" before picking out at least six pieces she was going to "feed to her carser when she got home."

Naava felt her face grow hot with anger. She couldn't even fathom how someone could possibly be so rude! The woman then implied that Naava should give a discount because of the art work's "poor quality." Naava refused as politely as she could, but the woman in the end haggled Naava down ten percent. As the pair walked away, the artist sighed. Oh well, at least they were sales. She was almost back to an even point on the amount she'd spent on the supplies, but there were still several more pieces to sell.

Naava smiled widely as Lazuli returned. Oh yes, the skotadi definitely appreciated the beautiful young girl much more after her experience with that terrible old crone. “Oh, thank you so much!” Naava said happily as she took the heaping bag. Her eyes went wide at the amount of nuts. Oh, and it looked like there were all kinds of different nuts in the bag, too. Just at a glance Naava could see some large chestnuts, peanuts, and almonds, as well as some she couldn't identify off the top of her head. The half-breed held the bag in fron of Flit who lunged at it like a howler vine.

“She seems to appreciate the gift, thank you,” she commented as she snagged a couple of peanuts before Flit could get them and popped them into her own mouth. “Are you sure you don't want any money for them?” she asked as she walked farther under her tent in order to get out of the sun. It was exceptionally warm for an end-of-fall day, but that happened sometimes. It wasn't so much the heat, anyways, as it was the sunlight.

Piper's Boutique + Jessica Alba

[Lazuli]

"You're very welcome," Lazuli said with a smile. She shook her head at Naava's offer to pay her. "I don't need your money, really!"

She followed Naava into the shadow of her tent, finding a comfortable and safe location among the various artworks where she could continue looking and eat at the same time without disturbing any of the paintings. Chiko followed the other cheefle's precedent and shot straight into Lazuli's bag. It didn't matter how much food there was; Chiko would drill through them all in moments. She struggled to keep the nuts from spilling and making a mess. "Don't be overeager, Chiko!" she scolded, athough she couldn't help but grin at the cheefle's relentness energy. "We are guests. Please eat politely."

Saying that, Lazuli placed one of the almonds on her tongue and savored its delicious crunch. Mmm, so good! She closed her eyes. Was the almond coated in sugar? There was an ever so slightly sweet taste...

"If you don't mind me asking, where do you get the inspiration for your paintings?" she asked conversationally. She looked once more at the "Butterfly" painting. Hm, she would buy that one.

anime rain | discolore | celestial-star | night-fate-stock

[Naava]

Lazuli was so nice. It was so odd for someone to be so nice, even (or perhaps especially) if the girl was a nymph like Naava had convinced herself of. Nymphs were so judgmental sometimes. Even had learned this quickly even without her past memories. Some nymphs and sidhe just seemed to hate the other species of Elysia, especially if they found out the Naava was not only a half-breed, but a warrior as well. Though, sometimes the skotadi found herself wondering about her specialty as well. Being half a nymph didn't seem to mesh with being a cold blooded killer very well.

Flit had already managed to dig her way halfway into the bag of nuts. “You're going to need a bath when we get back tonight,” Naava scolded the little rodent as she tried to coax her out of the bag. Flit responded by continuing to gorge on almonds, walnuts, peanuts, cashews, and the occasional chunk of a chestnut. Naava finally abandoned her efforts to try and get Flit to stop eating for a moment with an exasperated sigh.

“Oh, you know, I just see things differently than other people sometimes,” Naava said with a giggle and a smile. “Sometimes they come out better than others.. like... this one...” Naava flipped through a few canvases before withdrawing a picture of Acheron's Tear where the patterns of the water swirled about to look like a nymph crying. The talent behind this work was not a developed as that of the mother butterfly painting. “I'm still having trouble with some of the finer details in painting,” Naava explained, pointing out with her finger some of the more prominent flaws with the texturs of the water and rock surfaces.

Piper's Boutique + Jessica Alba

[Lazuli]

Lazuli always listened carefully to other artists' words for a chance to edify her own vision and skills. She smiled. "I can understand that. And yes, sometimes my works don't turn out so well, either. But I like making mistakes sometimes, so I can become better next time, you know?"

She looked at the painting of Acheron's Tear, festooned with the graceful streaks of water. She nodded understandingly as Naava explained the flaws. "I think it might help to practice drawing textures by themselves," Lazuli suggested kindly. "I always had trouble painting grass and shrubs because they have so many details in them. So I would practice sketching little chunks of them."

Chiko scrambled around inside the bag Lazuli had bought. She shook her head. "Oh, Chiko, I'm going to have to wash you, too," she said sadly, knowing that he disliked baths. Chiko's head popped out. The tiny cheefle handed Lazuli a peanut as a peace offering. She took it and popped it into her mouth with no intention of letting him off. "Thanks, little guy," she said appreciatively nonetheless.

But onto more serious business. Lazuli patted her hair professionally and moved decisively toward the butterfly painting. She smiled brilliantly. "Miss Naava," she declared, half playfully. "How much would you like for this lovely painting here?"

anime rain | discolore | celestial-star | night-fate-stock

[Naava]

Lazuli had some interesting advice in regards to Naava's artistic technique. “Hum, thanks, I'll try that,” Naava responded thoughtfully. She didn't always take criticism well, but something about the way Lazuli said things was very pleasant and that made it very hard for the skotadi to get defensive.

Another customer came and was absently looking through the paintings as Lazuli spoke to her cheefle. Naava's stomach grumbled absently as she found herself once again looking down the way to the booth for MysTeaCal. Hum... maybe she would just let them surprise her. That would make her decision much easier... but then they could just end up charging her as much as possible and she might not even like the drink!

“What? Hum? Oh... wait, really?” Naava said, perceptive as always. “Well, uhm...” Naava did math in her head faster than she could ever remember doing. It was about 20 xanthos total for the materials because she'd gotten them at such a great deal, then there was the time to factor in, and she needed to make a profit. Oh, she also should probably include some extra to provide a bit of indemnity in case she were ever robbed. Hmm... maybe... “55 xanthos?” Naava said, inadvertently asking Lazuli if that was an okay price by her tone. She hadn't really expected to sell that piece today, but she wasn't about to turn away a sale that big.

Piper's Boutique + Jessica Alba

[Lazuli]

Taking into consideration the number of xanthos Lazuli had brought today, she could spare the amount Naava requested without fearing any loss of indemnity and still have enough left over to check out the rest of the bazaar. She nodded. "Oh yes, I could pay that."

A tiny, muted burp came from Chiko. The cheefle was getting oscitant after eating so much. Lazuli gently set down the bag of nuts on the ground by her feet and reached into her shoulder bag to retrieve the money. She held out the exact number of xanthos to Naava. "Here, I'll pay right now," she said with a smile. "So I don't forget later. Could I come and pick this painting up later before the bazaar closes? It's getting quite crowded around here, and I'd love to keep it safe."

Speaking of such, she looked around the busy bazaar, casting glances at several stalls which may be of interest. She had already seen Naava give several glances at the MysTeaCal booth. After eating so many roasted nuts, she was beginning to feel rather thirsty, too. And tea was well-known as a refreshing, cooling drink. "Shall I get us some tea?" Lazuli wondered aloud.

anime rain | discolore | celestial-star | night-fate-stock

[Naava]

Naava's face lit up as Lazuli agreed to purchase the piece. “Really?!” she gasped in disbelief with perhaps too much vigor. “Oh, of course! I'll keep it to the side, over here, just remind me when you get back,” the anyeli responded to her acquaintance's request. Well, no, maybe they were becoming more than acquaintances now, perhaps Lazuli had been right about that whole friends thing.

More cash in tow, Naava desperately wanted to make an impromptu hegira over towards that MysTeaCal booth she'd been eying quite possibly since before it was even there. Lazuli had obviously noticed Naava's awkward glances towards the tent, given her next offer. “Huh, what? Oh, no, I couldn't possibly,” Naava responded rapidly. The new girl had already spent so many xanthos for the skotadi, the least Naava could do would be to spend some in return.

“But, if you don't mind watching my booth for just a few minutes, I could run and get us some? Is bubble tea okay with you?” Naava asked, smiling kindly as Flit continued to loudly nibble at her treasure trove of nuts like there was absolutely no tomorrow.

Piper's Boutique + Jessica Alba

[Lazuli]

Lazuli beamed as she watched Naava move her new painting off to the side. "Okay! It's decided, then!" She gave it one last appreciative look before picking up Chiko and the nuts back from the ground.

She realized from Naava's hesitancy about the tea that she might have been too pushy about buying them stuff, so she gladly accepted Naava's own offer to buy bubble tea. "You would? Sure, that would be amazing," Lazuli agreed happily. She rarely had anyone get stuff for her before so charitably (since she was the one who usually did the giving). It was really nice to receive from such a kind person and it made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. That of course, only increased the brilliant nature of her smile.

"I will definitely watch your booth for you," she said with determination. "If any people ask to buy paintings, I'll just have them wait for you, okay?"

anime rain | discolore | celestial-star | night-fate-stock

[Naava]

Naava couldn't help but think that Lazuli was kind of cute with her seeming naivety. It was rather disarming, to say the least, but the warrior didn't feel the need to raise her guard right now. If anything she was glad to be able to not have to care about combat details and the like, it was all rather... foreign to her, for lack of a better word. She knew all the details and the how-to's of her specialty, but none of it felt real or personal to her. Even being Anyeli felt odd to her, like she should have bonded to one of the four base elements as a nymph, rather than learning to manipulate darkness.

Once Lazuli's purchase was secure to the side, Naava stood again. “I'll only be a few minutes, then,” Naava assured her new found friend before setting down Flit's prized nuts and dragging the furred creature away from them. It took a bit of force, but the cheefle was finally removed from her salty addiction and was soon following Naava at a brisk pace.

There thankfully wasn't much of a line at the booth and Naava was at the front of it shortly after getting there. “two bubble teas, please!” Naava said with a wide grin to the person behind the counter.

“What flavor?” asked the young white haired Zanaryan girl rather flatly. She sat behind the counter on a stool and was fidgeting with a bottle of perfume. Naava absently wondered how much of it the girl had been using, as the air near her was a choking concoction of Zanaryan odor and... Honey?

“Oh, uhm... Mango, and...” That's when Naava realized she'd not asked what flavor Lazuli had wanted. “Oh.. uhm.. uh... strawberry?” Naava decided reluctantly. At least that way there were two flavors so if Lazuli didn't like one she'd hopefully like the other. The drinks were quickly made, and once Naava paid for them both she set off with the two glass cups in her hands.

“So I realized I forgot to ask what flavor you wanted... I got a strawberry one and a mango one, which would you like?” Naava said as she got back to her station before even checking to see if any other customers had come over. The moment they were within range Flit darted over to her bag of nuts that were on the ground off to the side. The quick motion jerked at Naava's arm and she almost spilled one of the teas. “Cease!” Naava ordered in sylvan with an oddly harsh tone that revealed her lack of skill with the language.

Piper's Boutique + Jessica Alba