Striking Embers 79

"So how long has that girl set that stall for?" A passing agent takes a seat with Matthew. Matthew looked away from Kyle to make a moment glance to Eliza. Her hands in constant number battle with whomever thinks trading with her be worth it. Just from watching, it seems a price war. He slides back to watching Kyle at the Hunter oath counter. Kyle was listening to a request and its rules. Matthew makes a second glance over to Eliza as she slams the table aggressively. The merchant backs away with nothing exchanged in the end.

"If I had to choose who to worry about more. It be the prince for internal human affairs. If I was on the other side, I would be afraid of her." The agent peers over her way in conflict expression, "You don't mess with those that keep tomes. At least with her, I can guarantee that she trusted in orders of court laws. Kyle... his will have a failed verdict at this point." The agent nods at accepting the valid perspective.

"Every that seems a problem can be traced back to a Seer or Fallown. Here she is, the blood of both sides." The agent stirring more oil into a flame, "Nocturm has became silent, that pathway has been blocked by them."

The two share deep stare off. This guy slips glance at her a lot. A lot of bad things seated over him. A lot of energy that would suggest a hell walker. The being behind the human mask was all the more darker. Yet, Matthew makes another check more for Kyle then bothering her. Leaned in scaling the guy for a short bit and leaned back the same mirror as the agent.

"If your trying to ask if that girl has some sort of sway. Be a guest to go ask her. If you try anything funny, you will have a bad time that not even my lord will save you from." The strange man stands and walks to find a way around to her without being awkward. Although it was to late, she has already had her eye on the guy - the instant he was bothering Matthew. She settled with the next customer being a familiar face, smiling to her brother warmly. He stares at her alot, looks back from where he was and back to her that more confused. He clearly has a party of oath hunters that are to afraid of trade with her. 

"The spirit folks are awkward poeple. Just as they see us as the scary ones. I would rather be scary then be on the bad end of business." she purrs lightly in tone, "Anyways, you need black sands or candles?" he pats about himself. Once a paper was taken from his pocket, he offered by his left hand. She goes to take it with the wrong hand, which he lifted away. She looked at her hands giggles a little and then used her left, he gave it her. She looked only about the stamp vaild mark to know what he was asking her about. She stands and looked about her table for a while, counting at times. She steps aside for a bit and back in return, a candle in black wrapping is posed in showing him, "That's to make them leave you alone." he shakes not and she nods again, "Right, well. You have to ignore what it looks like naturally. Instead, Morpheus is a cat but his a tart for fish treats and chin scratches. He will not bite you. He eats dreams. He only cares for dream worlds. You will find him sleeping at the statue of an old face of mine. Sometimes his a corpse hanging off the arm of the statue. But his there." She puts the black wrapped candle down and it disappears into the fabric the table is covered in, "Treat him like a cat. No belly scratches, its a trap. He will smell you the second you arrive in the area, he could even be hunting something while your around since your like fish bait. Do not provoke him. He can't harm humans. But he can do some nasty pain." Her brother nods and takes back the paper. He gives her the finger guns like they always did as kids. She returns her own finger guns. Off he returned to his little hunter party, she softly smiles happy his moved on from gloomy beginnings.

It makes her reflect on herself and her situation. She looks back to Matthew, those days have long passed. No longer was she needing to be afraid. Yeah there was harm, but it wasn't like a clothus contract. Her eyes dimmed in having accidently stepped back in such a memory. She shakes out just enough to get back to business. As now another child snatcher vulture has come to take a turn. This guy was the demon definition of kidnapper, the Seer magic chain of being enslaved and that whole broken inside look. She didn't want to bother with the freak really, the next step was just sizing him up even more. Measuring how much meat could sale on the black market, and if his skull was display worthy. His soul wasn't even anything note worthy, he had nothing to scream 'nightmare' or 'phobia' enough for her. But the moment at her table, she has already made her mind to kidnap the freak in broad daylight. 

"Excuse me." even his voice is stupid. Sheesh, drop to hell.  The demon within this human made a little squeak as darkness of her table cloth flows right over. The human left standing peers about confused, looking at the place in a new light and even more confused as the worse things didn't add up. The human posed to ask something and collapsed. Some first aider nearby rushed and pulls this guy to a stretcher. She makes a strange crushed gesture with both hand, the table sprays of ashes and then she picked it off the floor. She flops it across the table indifferently. A damned nearby with a broom and dust pan, cleaning among the faceless sorts. She brushed the table softly in getting all the wrinkles out. Back onto a stool seat that wasn't visible before. She wiggles her finger over sections, display items soon lifted from the blacky vape of the dewy cloth. Just a small fragment of things she was selling for display - just the cheap stuff that is of poorest qualities she could sell. Those in the circle that know her merchant ID would have better graded (based on rankings and aura reading). 

"I doubt she does." two nervous undertakers stepping next in the invisible queue that seems to be built up. They been in telepathic talks to each other but that spoke comment was the disbelief. She crossed her arms with knowing they have empty pockets. She doubts they had anything worth her effort, but she will hold back since this was a monarch. The guy could wave people with better goods over. They hovered looking at her table in being very uncertain that she was even the real deal. 

"Miss Trixie, you have in possession several items of great concern to several public orders." She looked unfazed by this, "Including a death god blade, the crown of fallen crest kingdom and the pocket watch of a passing traveller." She had uncrossed on that last one. 

"Well about time someone finally will come take that off me. I am sick of this time distortion crap." she forgets her outward appearance as she pats her pocket with removing a silver case full of dreamworld smokes. It has the crest of a undertaker kingdom that isn't in this boundary of universe. In furthering this was that she lit one at her lips, clouding the air with metallic dust that arched occasional blue sparks. She was about half done before anyone spoke up again. She been in a dark glare stare off with them this a whole while. 

"I am to invoke ranks" She waved her status at them, and it glitched with broken language for a while. She then punched the panel through and replaced it. She had even sighed in aggravation. She first had her fake status up and then had it calibrated to her censured version of her status. This out ranked the poor monarch. He stared at the screen a lot in just not grasping it, not that it mattered that he did, "So in other words, the scale system your using is broken with me. You cant use the evoking laws to force me. So we going to do this another way. I would assume you have mail or expecting to be with a god vessel of death. Or at least his top three of his order. Maybe Not the fedora guy, his a cheat." the monarch waved something of a gesture and swoops in death's personal mail carrier, "Micky! You good boy looking a little plump. You been a desk decoration again?" The hawk lowered with soft nod, "Oh poor little guy. Have some snack. You know I trust you with the blades, sharpening comes part and parcel." Nods a lot to this, "You. Not these undertakers." She reminds this bird, "You have to take them back." it slowly nodded again, "well Ok then." She removed the casting off her arms, and these things altered into gear for the hawk to wear. She waved it over and helps the little guy getting it on correctly. He struggles a little and that meant some adjustments with straps so he can fly. He shakes a little last time and flies into nothingness. No one but her and that bird really knows how they do that travelling thing.

So now she turned back with the undertakers. There a suddenly a whole team of people with decent trades for the things they are requesting. The monarch posing his left hand in asking what it takes to get her items. He used some very exact royal gestures that fancy undertakers use among their own. She learned these from Riddle. Riddle doesn't know our history, Curiosity doesn't even know why we are even an item. Dude been through thick and thin with me. I am still a bit sad he doesn't, and glad he doesn't. I wouldn't want those lifts and falls to weigh his soul. I will carry them in silence. She focused back to important things of how much was being offered and the degree of what was good enough will they think she has. 

"Three death coins, a barrel of angel nectar and..." She posed her left hand in stopping them being to complicated, "Copies of the laws. One of death's realm, one of god debate hall which I need the uncecusred version, your domain and..." She turned to her side, "Was it Hel? Or Hade's?" She asked beside her to what seems no one. They cant tell who she's asking this, "Well that be rude to make the poor monarch suffer for that. Dude doesnt have the claim over mages for that." She shakes disappointed, "Well a copy of some sort of educational guide to Mage magic because we aren't going to use the Necronomicon." She then had punched something beside her, "Maybe the guide of vile darkness will be better, the human verison off the shelf." She caught something of a punch back but is unfazed, "Dont bother worrying about the small stuff like why I ask these things. I am not repeating this demand again." 

"Demand?" The began taking things away and she huffed. 

"Sorry poor word choose, wasn't it?" She puts the cig out on the table in front of her, "You demanded the crown and I returned this with wanting law books. Its a equal exchange in my trades. I have rules and mortals. I don't sale souls. I do not gift people the ability to own over another's soul. My soul is not for sale. I am not interested in yours." She posed her right hand to form her mask and it began to speak in her human lips place, "I am not bending the law for your sake. Your very under valued to be worth my efforts. Not unless you plan something stupid that makes me. It would be the first time I brought things back from broken." 

"If you weren't in the body of a little girl, maybe I would have started negotiation with corpses." the moanrch punched the table and she marked the wall behind her with a black coal. That was the first time his noticed there being coal marks. She been tracking something about them. He backs a off, taking a moment of looking about the whole situation differently. He studies her more in better depth, braving to look deep behind the human face. She takes out another smoke, lit it all the same and posed more comfortable. Her seat changed from stood to chair with a back, she seated saddled, leaning the back to smoke her cig. She looked older, her clothing was the armour of a path walker that didn't belong here. Her many pieces of hung nick knacks are a tell of her jack of trading. The way her flesh is crumpled like thicken valem, a dusty grey parlour and the disconcerting mouth line passing behind her neck line. Those human eyes are vast of to much, there carries too much. She looked exhausted, haggard even. Starving too. He had moved away from looking further into her. Back to this place of mages walking among undertakers. Back to seeing a black brown haired girl in a sun dress and tired eyes. 

"You're a nasty bit of work." He hissed putting five death coins down. He has someone placing books down in pile beside that. A corpse tribute. Someone tied up in bindings, blindfolded and wiggling about the floor. She takes the extras, "You're a trickster through and through... but at least your not the problem." he turns away with getting on. But she lifted a sinner chain and this stops the undertaker on his track. She shakes in letting feel what this chain meant. She crushed it all once there was understanding. She held three chain lengths that survived this, the burden this chain was was gone. She puts these loops on her and posed that he can go now. He had stumbled confused of how deeply that impacted him, holding his chest and having to he assisted away from her. The crown appears over his head, as are several artifacts of his previous kingdom. Empowering his glory among the major undertaker realms, putting his rank over his rivals when it was needed the most. She was redirecting history of undertakers but doing this - skipping to a better time faster. So that it will fall in equal depth. Death would know she just meddled, and would have told her off. But his not here. Sent the bird for his personal chore. 

"Why are you doing this?" Omens lands on her left shoulder. The tied up stranger was snatched up with some of her little nightmare creatures. They go to sort them out without her aid, it wasnt someone she had direct interest dealing with. It must have been something for the Nocturms. 

"Why does that matter to you?" She squared back, "You're just the native American teller of fortunes, the Celtic call of guiding departed souls and the whispers in the mist by the waterfalls." he was confused of that last part, "Twais. You can't see the dangers that I do. It be easier to fix a place that is already broken from what is to come. So we have to force it to implode inwards to spray the danger away from us." She stares in how undertakers put the monarch to the stretcher, "There is a lot of soul that aren't coming back. I would rather that we have enough to keep going." 

"You should let nature takes its course and see where that takes you." She takes him off her, setting him away from her and she finished packing away things for the day. It put her in a bad mood, empty even to hear a god stay that. That she should have left this place to decay like all those other places. She should have left the scrap remains of the tomes she found to die where she found them, alone in the abyss to scream like they did.

That was nature, but she was in her natural right to take them for herself. She needed to repair a timescape for some soul letters to pulled back from dust. It was that effort that got this compendium back. And omens say let it decay? Even death wouldn't have the powers to break that. But the effort could be worth its result, so she can see omens point if he meant that. Not even death's wife. Or their future kids. 

"If I did let things takes that way, then there is no such thing as soul laws." She stated in finishing her packing and plucked him off the floor, tucked under arm. She looked about and then the time. Curiosity would be on duty and it be about time to be back to the flat. But... Kyle is on mission to something within Sigil. She been left with Omens. So she holds Omen's closer, "If your sticking around with me, you going to need to get comfortable with me holding you. Luna will try to eat you." she looked around at so many eyes looking at her. So many are wanting to trade with her as dark black market merchants. She gave them the gesture they been waiting for and plenty provide her safe passage around them to allow her to her Sigil merchant spot. She doesn't change at all as she walked through to veils while omens did. Coming around to a place covered in chalk drawings, she lifted her cloth to make a table and she gets the step stool. She sets omens at her feet, as he back a bird. She began her merchant rules of trading - the typical clothus promises and the oath hunter regulations. Once she was by the last gesture, she was back to business with regulars. Passing faces very fast, paper receipts is the only paper of authenticity to suggest they traded at all. A ledge left open with marking off items gone and wrote in what was gained. Omens could see what she really was doing, how she has the cloth pick pocketing things that was trash to these people. She has storage barrels of things being broken or piled the same spaces. 

"I have to go find them." Omens told her. 

"Then I will always be among the lost on the pathways. That is how nature takes it course." He lowered in understanding but he knew deep down he has to go to them. He takes off... and she continued back endless trading. Left alone in the dark. 

"The court finds this young man to be guilty, and to be left to the court eaters." the hammer falls and the howls began. The creatures lifted from hiding, hidden in plain sight this whole time. But they stop short of the boy, they backed away with tails between legs. Lowering themselves, whimpering. The leader among them came forwards, does a smell check. 

"The empress has taken your soul. You are a very poor thing." The leader speaks to Kyle, "You are as much a toy as a display piece on her little chess board. The only thing going for you is that you in the laws you do belong in. I would do well to beg for her to take back whatever price paid here... you dont want to be one of us." the wolf sits at Kyles feet and turns to his tribe. They bow and moved back, "What to do with you... She come have to take you or send someone that can." posed paws at chin and stares upon the launch of Omens throwing himself into here, "Well there you go. You get to have the god that been turned a god eater to take you home." The wolf guides the boy to Omens, "Bird brains, take the child home if that is what she wants." Omens shakes out of the bad landing and huffed. Lifted to human shape and pulls Kyle away from the Wolf, "The verdict was guilty. He was gifted to us. We gift him to her. She choose him, we expect him to have a purpose even if it was on a whim." the wolf guides them out the courts and watched to be sure they crossed back to living world. 

Kyle was back into the flat they been staying in at the tower. He peers around confused of something important missing. He walks around to the side bedrooms, his place was untouched. It was Eliza's side. It was cleaned up, cleared out. Bed broken down. None of her stuff was left. Just some smudges of chalk she draw and wiped away off the walls. Omens looked around too peering confused. Omens was franticly pushing things around to seek any clue of what happened to her. Kyle leaves the god to his crazy, walking around to the kitchen were she left a note and keys. 

'You're flat now, Kyle. The deed is there. It's technically still owned by Matthew but he been behind on the repairs and maintenance things. I paid those off. I moved to a flat of my own, I send mail often but I will not be seeing anyone much. I don't know what my wolves told you, but you have your soul. I just marked you temporarily to please Matthew. Death will take his time to find you eventually, as normal mortals do. So don't worry about it.' her business stamp is at the bottom and upon touching the paper, it altered. This paper has hidden message for his damned side. He makes the effort to try to understand this, but he doesn't. He puts the paper away as Omens flew in as a bird. He lands hissing and stomping about. 

"She's a cog ranker, she must be on some sort of mission." Kyle told Omens and Omens feathered up a ton. Flew through a wood door. Kyle was exhausted from the event, going to bed. He didn't even bother changing clothes. Even as he drifted to sleep, he felt wide awake and he lays on a bed. Lifted off a dirty dusty floor with flag stones. Plenty of chalk drawings on all these stones. He gets off the floor, following the path. Following the drawings as he knew her art style and those things she draw related to them. Small things like the shrimp pasta bowl. The bag of Doritos he dropped in the shopping cart. The candle that death gave in being sorry about the situation. Magic casting and a rune of protection.

It ends to a table around a moral of chalk. The wall stretches of art, a sort of motel place in Florida - geckos, raccoons and gator. The native American over seeing lands at the motel sign. The car park of three cars, a busted olive green mustang among them. The moral felt alive, parts like the palm tree had moving branch to wind breeze. Someone on stop motion knocking at motel doors. 

The table is full of tourist like wrapped goods, cheap looking fake sand and carved keychains of animals. In a glance the table suited the motel moral behind it. Nothing out of place. But there was a broken looking damned posing a lot to the merchant of the table. The merchant a grey dusty sheen with gothic horror expression, fitting some cheesy black and white film. The stick limbs matching the broken Damneds pleading. Both side smiling, twisting worse then human smiles. It was plenty of time to look back at the table of something off about it behind the display items. That the clothy material that covered shimmered and moved independently. The display sunk and something new was lifted. A leather bind book was writing itself, page flexed around a ink dipped pen. The customer frowns at his purchase leaving with dragging feet. 

"Hey K, looks like your sleepwalking. This is an area between the living realm and dreams. You shouldnt stay here." Her voice sounds how he thought and he appraoched in feeling safer near her. He peers about her table, "I take it Omen's was pissed that i disappeared on his watch." 

"It be Mat that be upset with Omen's. Not that he says it, he does worry and rely on you." She laugh lightly to that, "Are you leaving the living?" She shakes no, "You should go back to the tower too then." 

"I will. I am. I am sleeping, like you are now. I moved to a merchant flat. I am doing up my shop. I live in the back room of this shop. 'The estranged hunter among the oath, order and shadow.'" He nods at this, "If you need spell matreials. I have material componaites for even dark magic. I deal in to much with damned, darkwood and Nightmares. I have need for such things if its breaking what they set." He softly makes an agreeing gesture, having learned plenty with the sigil walkers around him. She scruffed his head and waved him away. He was waking up to the alarm set on his phone. Sitting up and glaring at Matthew hovering about the door. 

"She got a store downstairs, she makes so much money from her sales that she bought the place for herself." Kyle rubs eyes, "I escaped the punishment for now... but I guess I own her some small debt."