Gratia (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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psychoshenanigans2017-03-17 10:30 pm
skeletoncity) wrote in psychoshenanigans2017-03-17 10:30 pm
GRATIA // PSL
The first thing he feels is the cold.
It permeates everything down here on the lower levels. What little warmth humans have made for themselves is greedily gobbled up by the stone walls that surround them on all sides. Despite the stirring of people in the streets, in their homes, and around corners, this place feels like a grave. A similar sense seems to loom over the heads of most who make their way through this deep, dark part of the world, hovering around them like a cloud of inevitability. No one has been outright sentenced to death, but they may as well be.
Upon waking, Tek will have found himself in a dark, wet alleyway. Attempts to orient himself reveal that he has been brought, somehow, to an impressively large network of tunnels that all lead, more or less, to three or four larger chambers. There is far more vibrant life above him somewhere, far, far above the layer of caves he's in now, and there is also a very deep, sluggish form of life somewhere far below his feet.
No one is coming to get him. No one follows him in his immediate vicinity--the few stragglers hanging around doorsteps and windows don't give him a second glance, or even a first one. The place is crowded, but not busy. Everyone keeps their heads down. The people are all dressed poorly, in rags and robes and bundles that suggest a certain level of consistent poverty all throughout the level. The buildings in these tunnels look man-made, either built from scrap or carved straight out of the rock of the cave, but the majority of the actual roads and cave walls seem to have been formed with very little help from human hands.
The place is lit with lanterns and dirty-looking florescents suspended high above in the cave ceiling. The air is thick and stuffy, the smell of mold and mud prevalent over even the smell of human stagnation. It would not be hard to drag someone off, and he gets the immediate feeling that if he did, it's unlikely that anyone would come looking for them.
What does he do?
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It did come off that way, didn't it.
[he certainly does not take it back, smiling up at the sky.
the jewelry store comes up on their right, a two-story timber building with some brickwork accenting the base. the storefront features several pale, stained-glass windows, all of which are open to let in the pleasant, early-afternoon air. a discreet metal sign on the door reads, "Malia's Wonderous Jewels and Trinkets".
this is where Robin leads the two of them, and also where he'll open the door and give the "after you" gesture for Tek to make his way inside.]
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if he's going to be spending an extended amount of time in this world (which he will also assume is the case instead of considering the alternative) he will need to build up a nice little hoard anyway. might as well start it off well.
so, after a cursory glance around once he strolls his way inside, he starts heading toward whatever looks immediately expensive.]
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in the middle of the store, a small, round table is dressed up to display several necklaces and bracelets all on their own. a small wooden sign propped up on the table indicates that these are "featured" pieces, whatever that means.
at the back of the store, there's a long desk where a few items are being displayed underneath a protective glass case. leaning on that case is a bored-looking teenage boy, with sandy-blonde hair, a thin build, and no jewelry on him to speak of. behind him, rows of shelves display other things--glittering perfume bottles, small brass vases, some needlessly-artistic sets of utensils, even a couple of abstract metal sculptures.
when someone enters, the young man picks his head up from where it had been leaning on his hand, looking a little more attentive.] Uh, hello sirs. Can I help you?
[that glass display case is probably where Tek wants to start, if he's looking strictly for valuable items.]
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he can take a brief pause to address the boy, however. remembering the sign hanging outside (and thinking of himself as terribly humorous) he smiles brightly in response.]
Ah, you must be Malia, hmm?
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the boy laughs humorlessly, having heard that one before.]
No, sir. Malia is my mother. She owns the store and makes most of the things here. I just run the shop while she's out...
[Robin has since filed in behind Tek, but he's waiting to see what expensive havoc Tek will wreak first. the young man, glances over Tek's clothes and does his best to sound polite with his next question:]
What brings you in today, if I may ask?
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[with hands clasped politely behind his back, he leans to inspect the finery inside of the cases... but his eyes are drawn back to the undeniably sparkly things on the table. he motions back toward those featured items for the boy to explain.]
What can you tell me about the glass?
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Oh, the Celrym glass? It's-- [the young man laughs, then, almost a little embarrassed to be talking fondly about jewelry, but.] It's actually really slick. We just got them in yesterday. Here, let me show you--
[and, maybe anxious for something to do, the boy swings around the case to go walk to the table and pick up one of the necklaces. as he continues explaining, Robin is visible near the door, half-hiding his mouth with his hand and trying not to look too amused at Tek's first choice.]
It's a kind of glass that we can only find after a burn storm. One hit just last week, and we were able to scrape this up out of the pavement. Something about the lightning super-heating the minerals in the ground causes these... hundreds of tiny facets that are almost impossible to see.
[as he moves the necklace, the lights hit other jewelry made of that same glass, causing more flecks to refract back in whites and soft blues. the boy crosses to a stained-glass window, closes it, and then holds the tear-shaped necklace up in front of it.
it is dazzling--the stone seems to catch up every scrap of tinted light from the windows and scatter it over the floor, the table, even the ceiling, sending rippling flecks of blues, reds, greens, oranges, and purples over all of them like a sea of multicolored stars.
the boy, who has seen this before, still sounds a little proud of the piece.]
Some folks think it's a little too much for jewelry, but I think it'd be nice to have just as a decoration. [he pauses, suddenly remembering another factoid:] The glass is named after one of the Nine, something about the lights bringing solace just like they did in the stories... or something.
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he's even able to forcefully ignore Robin's stupid face through most of the explanation. when there is something so distractingly pretty throwing light around the room, lighting up his mind's eye with visions of what his new hoard could be like, it's easy to put on blinders.
however, just as he has almost made the unbreakable decision to add one of the pieces to his collection, the kid mentions the Nine... and Tek can't help but finally shoot a glance in Robin's direction.]
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Oh, no. It's fine. It's a lovely story.
[the young man looks his way, as this is the first time Robin has spoken the entire time he's been in here. thinking through some hidden context, the boy lowers the necklace a little, sending the light flecks dancing closer to their point of origin.]
Yeah, but it's just a story. At the end of the day, it's really just a nice piece of glass, don't you think?
[the boy looks tentatively at Tek again, while Robin smiles slyly into the palm of his hand, adding his two cents.]
It's pretty. You should get it.
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with an obvious pause, he's suddenly trying to judge a few different things here, and he is annoyed that he even has to do so.
he narrows his eyes.]
...And just what do you mean by that?
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[realizing he's probably turning Tek off of the necklace entirely (which feels very familiar, even if their previous, nearly identical necklace incident has not quite sprung to his mind yet), he raises his hands up to stretch and shrug off some of his own judgmental air.]
I just think it's funny that the first thing you picked has vague religious connotations. And I've heard that those things are poisonous.
[the young man, who had been quietly observing until now, objects immediately:] No sir, that's a common misconception. That only happens around huge pools of glass--these are much too small to do anything.
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[he could be speaking to either of them, as his eyes are back on the necklace. whether the boy is still hovering over it or not, Tek moves in to pick it up himself, holding it up to the light--getting a closer look and maybe tasting whatever energy it might have while he's at it.]
And just because you get twitchy around religious things doesn't mean anything. I think it's a lovely story.
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the young man does not particularly want to fall into a conversation about religious preference, but he doesn't know how to approach the odd remark about poison, either. finding himself in an odd spot, he just relinquishes the necklace into Tek's beautifully manicured hands.
the necklace itself doesn't feel particularly interesting. whatever magical or energetic properties this thing possesses is very mild. it could potentially give someone a headache if they wore it for long enough, perhaps, but it is unlikely to cause any lasting damage or decay.
up close, Tek can see that the glass has hundreds of very, very small jagged lines inside of it that break up what would have otherwise been an unremarkable piece of glass. several flecks of lavender appear on his palm as the light passes through it, mixed in with whites and pale yellows and greens.]
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eventually, his eyes flick up to catch the boy's. this is an important question.]
Is it expensive?
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but he was born into a family of second-generation surface-world jewelry makers, and despite his demeanor in the beginning, he answers briskly and confidently.]
Very expensive, sir. Not many would be able to afford such a rare piece in their lifetimes.
[then he folds his hands together, adding:] --Oh, did I mention yet that it comes with a gift box set with black opals?
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I'll take it.
[the boy's mother should be very proud.]
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the boy looks pleased, smiling wide and holding out his hand to take the necklace back.] Shall I pack that up for you, then?
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[he relinquishes his new necklace, and as he does so, one question gets asked over his shoulder at Robin without properly turning to look at him. it's a question that both makes it seem as though he is considering further purchases (maybe Robin's defeated sigh didn't placate him enough), plays up the ruse that he is not from the area... and is a subtle warning clue to Robin that he may be asking for nourishment reasons instead of anything else.]
...What are the precious metals around here like?