RP:In Good Company
Part of the The End's Not Near Arc
Summary: Reginae and Callum find each other in the madness of Cenril's market district. They exchange pleasantries, names, and minor goods and services. Callum gives Reginae some water lilies and Reginae helps him move some of his boxes out of the hustle and bustle of the main street.
Cenril Market District
The last week had been strange. So strange, Reginae decided to take a break from the overbearing political chaos of Alithrya and stretch her land legs in Cenril’s market. It’s not a far cry from the wares she’s use to seeing. The naga shifted human is tall, by female standards in the human realm. All legs and arms, pale skin and unnaturally straight snowy locks pooling against her spin if not in motion. She’s wearing a set of black robes that drape appropriately around her lithe frame, nothing separating her pale toes from the market street. Bits of sand cling to her legs and feet, the tell tale sign of someone who has wandered into Cenril from the beach. Currently, she’s bent over a stall, examining a seashell necklace and trying to determine if it’s actually made of sea shells or magical replicas. Her tone is a bit arrogant as she argues with the vender. “There’s no imperfections in the shell. In order for you to get this kind of hold, the pressure would crack it. Here…” Reginae runs her thin finger down an imaginary crack that doesn’t exist in the polished white surface of the center shell. The shop keeper huffs. “Lady, you wanna tell me how to do my job or you wanna buy something?” It doesn’t sound like much of an option. “I’ll give you a guess which one I want.” He’s staring at her with blatant annoyance.
Callum was busy peddling off the remnants of his plants as he often did at the end of the day, several days a week in the port town. “Flowers! Herbs! Anything you might need for potions and elixirs! Food! Or even just simple decorations!” His sales pitch could probably be a bit better, but it wasn’t nothing that a wink and a grin couldn’t fix. Those female types loved that sort of thing--even some of the men too. He would pick and choose his targets ever so carefully, their manner of dress and speaking all taken into consideration when finding the best fit for his wares. Oh, there was nothing at all wrong with his plants, of course, but he used these means of seeking out the best customers to help line his pockets a little more. The strangely tall female and Cal’s fellow business owner catch the raven-haired Catalian’s eye and an eyebrow is raised in their general direction. With all but a few water lilies sold, the man carries the last of his flowers with him, stopping just near the stall to address the shopkeeper, “Um. Ahem.” Cal cleared his throat before continuing, trying to get the man’s attention, “If the lady knows her seashells, and yours aren’t up to par, I’m thinkin’ she’s probably -not- going to buy. I guess we can’t -all- sell genuine items around here, though.” A bit of water is conjured up around the water lilies, sealing them up in a nice little bubble to keep them fresh.
Reginae , who is use to back up in all situations, doesn’t look at the Catalian until after she gives the shop keeper a smug grin with those pouty lips that said ‘see?’. Her long fingers fall away from the wares and the man snorts in Cal’s direction without another word. He’d hear from him later on, surely in a tavern or some such. Business was business. When the woman turns to thank her supporter, she finds this raven haired man, near her height. The hand she pulls away from the seashell falls against her hip, which she cocks to the side while examining her new acquaintance. Almond shaped Azurite eyes watch the water form around the lilies, encouraging a good natured smirk to replace the formerly smug expression. “You’ve got good tastes,” she says, as if impressed. By the flowers or his interjection, it’s unclear. “Though you already know that. Tell me something I don’t know, like your name perhaps?” Not a meek woman, Reginae’s gaze doesn’t break from the man’s face as she awaits a reply.
Callum was used to this sort of thing. The older shopowners -always- had a sharp word or two for him, as they thought they knew better than the twenty-five year old. It happened nearly every day like clockwork. “Good taste?” He peered at the watery bubble, eyeing the lilies within. “You’re the first person around here to actually show an interest in them. S’pose they don’t like the type as much seein’ as how they’re around water all day anyway. Sells much better in the forest.” The orb is handed over to the woman, as perhaps a sign of good faith (or maybe he’s just trying to get her on his good side so maybe she’ll buy from him in the future, but, that’s Cal’s little secret). “The name’s Cal. Here--it’s on the house.” ‘House’ was figurative, of course, as he didn’t even have a nice stall like that jerk a few moments ago. “People ‘round here prefer the frostfire roses from Frostmaw and the like from the other side of Lithrydel, or things from Vailkrin. “Exotic”, they call it.” He leaned in a little bit closer, his next words in hushed tones, “Wouldn’t be so exotic if they’d leave the city once in awhile, but don’t tell them that.”
Reginae took the lilies with a wide grin. "Your secret is safe with me, Cal." She loved the conversation topic of exotic breeds, even though it was flowers. "I'm a fan of rare breeds myself." Odd that she's saying that to a Catalian of all people. "So you are a traveler I gather?" Then a pause, with her smile widening with realization. "Ah, forgive me. My name is Reginae, it's a pleasure to meet you.." Threads of her spider silk hair are caught in the salty breeze.
Callum gave the woman a wink and a grin of his own, nodding at her question. “Aye. I do a bit of traveling thanks to my business. I sell more than just water lilies. I grow pretty much any plant you can think of. Most of it goes to the healer types, to replenish their supplies. Others, I’ve had use my flowers for weddings and such. And then, you’ve got the types that like to do a bit of cooking too--so many uses for such delicate things.” He gave Reginae a bit of a half bow, that grin of his still present, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Reginae. You do a bit of traveling too?” Well, this -is- a port town, so it’s not like it’d be out of the ordinary for her to say yes.
Reginae wrinkles her nose and nods, mirroring his bow to be polite. “I dare say I’ve never met someone in the business of plants.” Her smirk here is not meant to be rude, it’s quaint in a charming way. “I’m afraid I stay close to the water when I can. It’s calming, no? The sound of the sea.” Not that she could usually hear it underwater, in the caves below that housed Alithrya. “Frostmaw and Larket, I’m use to. Rynvale less so. Where do you hail from?” She looks through the rest of the market. “First let me ask you, feel free to say yes, Am I keeping you from something?”
Callum shook his head, focusing on the last question first. “Oh, no. I’m just finishing up for the day.” He motioned to a couple empty crates filled with equally empty jars and vases. “You’re not keepin’ me from anything.” Ever perceptive, the mage caught that wrinkling of the woman’s nose, filing it away in some nonsensical corner of his mind: not a fan of bowing. “As for the water, aye, it’s definitely calming. I like to conjure up a fair bit of mini storms from time to time at home when it’s not raining in the forest.” A dismissive hand motioned again, indicating the area around them, “I’m from Cenril, but I live over in Kelay-Sage. It’s much quieter there. Rynvale’s plenty nice too if you’re lookin’ for a nice island getaway. Larket’s all well and fine also. I don’t frequent Frostmaw, though. A bit far for this one-man herb business. Went up there once, though, to take a peek at what they sell up there, and found that I could made a fair bit of copper down here -- “exotic”, like I said, heh.”
Reginae narrows her eyes at Callum. From Cenril? He has an awfully familiar set of facial features. Maybe she knew someone else from Cenril he was related to. “I’m grateful for your back up and this gift.” It isn’t weird to her that he’s given her something for nothing. Paying him for the lilies only occurs when he mentions ‘coppers’ like they are his main source of funds or the money he’s most familiar with handling. “If I make a trip that way, I’ll bring some back for you.” She offered, instead of actual money. “I’m actually here to look for someone, maybe you’ve seen them? Kind of hard to miss.” She smiles casually. “A man by the name of Xzavior?” She doesn’t specify his race, only his name. “He’s a friend of mine and he’s known to frequent this area. You seem to be familiar with Cenril so, I hope you don’t mind my asking.”
Callum nods in agreement to her terms of payment, offering her another bit of a grin, “That’s perfectly fine. Seeds’ll do, if you come across any or bulbs. Don’t need the full flower or herb themselves, but that’s also welcome. Anything’ll do.” He rubbed his chin in thought with his left hand, fingertips idly running over the stubble, “Xzavior? Hm. No, name doesn’t ring a bell. Granted, I met a lot of people and see a lot of faces, but that sounds like a name I’d remember. What does he look like? Might be that he just didn’t give a name.”
Reginae likewise presses her thin digits against her own chin in thought, no stubble to redirect the contact of skin to skin. Would Xzavior have appeared as a human or naga? Impossible to say. "He might have been in an all white suit sporting humanoid apendages or...mastering some naga form illusion." That seemed like a safe reply, to keep their secrets in case Callum wasn't a fan like so many humans. Naga were monsters, sea serpants that would 'trick your life away from you' or however these stories got started. Nasty relationship, so far between Humans and Nagas. Neither have had long to exist together. "Favors frost and ice magics?" she offers again, watching the water around the lily in her arm fluctuate and bubble. Her lips part, in the expression of people who know and devulge secrets. "He's friendly, most of the time. Smidge of a temper when pressed. Ringing any bells?" She asked, sing song while dodging a fellow shopper who passed by.
Cal let out a ‘hm’ as he pondered on the people he’s seen lately. “You know, I did meet a naga at some point at the shop I work at in the Enchantment. I guess it could’ve been an illusion, seeing as how it was really early in the morning and I wasn’t paying attention so much to what the guy looks like. Said he had business in Frostmaw? Took a bunch of samples of herbs since he didn’t seem like he really knew what he wanted and I told him to come back and see me whenever he figured out the right stuff for him. Never did see him again though. Guess he didn’t like what I had or some such. Unfortunate for him seein’ as how I supply most of the stuff for the shops in the Kelay-Sage area.” The Catalian shrugged, then leaned over to stack his crates atop one another and picked them up, eyeing Reginae around the side of them. “That was also a few months ago, however. Not sure where he’d be at nowadays.”
Reginae chews this information over carefully. That had been the last time she'd seen Xzavior too, likely before that. It's possible, she thinks, that Xzavior might have gone to Frostmaw to inform Hildegarde of his opinions of Reginae's claim. She thinks about his cutting remarks, and clears her throat politely before asking, "You have no distaste for naga?" That's rather fortunate though the citizens of both Frostmaw and Larket were acquainted with their presence. There had been many occasions where Regi herself had moved through the town with scales to the snow, blending with the white backdrop of the frigid plane. She never clarified if the illusion stood or if it was real, some things are better left mysterious unless inquired upon further. What had become of the naga she once called brother? What lengths would he go to oppose her? Azurite eyes reflect the sight before her; a raven haired Catalian loading crates of his wares. "Can I help you with those?" Her smile bloomed back to life; the water lilies were still cradled in the crook of her arm. "I'm stronger than I look." She added, with a devilish twist of her grin.
Cal shrugged, holding out the not-too-deep crates out towards the woman, the boxes numbering four in all, the top one holding empty vases while the others held empty jars. “I don’t really have much of an opinion, I s’pose. He would’ve been the first naga I’ve met, were he actually one.” He was vaguely skeptical of whether or not it was -actually- an illusion, but it had been so long ago and he was rather out of sorts that morning. “To be honest, I’ve got more problems with humans than anyone else.” Two humans, specifically. Two fiery, Catalian humans. But, then again, who’s to say either of them would try to kill him nowadays? “As long as I’m not given a reason to have a problem with someone, then I don’t. I don’t like trouble.” One could say that he was ‘a lover and not a fighter’ but, he wasn’t even a lover -- except for his love of plants and the sea, that is. When she’d take however many boxes she was to carry, Cal would motion his head towards the road that ran along the south end of the city. “It’s a bit less noisy and people-filled down here. Got tired of getting nearly run over by carriages down the main street.”
If you ask anyone about Reginae, saying she's a good listener is not on the list of things they will tell you. They will tell you she's opinionated and fierce, maybe that she loves snails or talking about boring government matters. They will tell you she's occasionally angry for no apparent reason but always interested in an intellectual conversation. Reginae Naganis is in fact an excellent listener, able to make sympathetic expressions and nod accordingly while actually listening instead of framing her reply half way through whatever her conversation partner is saying. She takes the box and follows along, chewing over his reply with silent glee. "It's refreshing to hear someone say that," she says at length, shifting the boxes. The lilies had been tucked inside for safe keeping. The tall woman keeps pace with Callum through the crowds. "About having more problems with Humans, that is. A lot of people I meet have strong opinions about other less human looking races." She's offering no clear reason for this statement as she dodges a feline passing swiftly. A carriage rolls by in the distance, redistributing some of the crowd in their direction and making conversation impossible. It would be rude to offer Callum assistance with his human problem, Regi couldn't possibly know one of those Catalian men she'd met and fought with in Frostmaw's main hall. She's thinking of this incident with little fondness, especially after what Xzavior took away from it. It stings her pride. Better not to mention it. She waits for Cal to direct her on where to set the boxes down and dusts her free hands once he does. "Is this all of them?" she asks, looking back through the thinning sea of people further into Cenril's market.
“I guess so. I just want to do my job and go home, you know?” Except that his -real- home is long since gone now, apparently. “Yeah, this is all of them. I’ve got quite a ways ahead of me, so I s’pose I should head back to Kelay-Sage. Thanks for the help, Reginae. I’ll be seein’ you. Maybe. And, I’ll keep an eye out for that Xzavior guy, if you want.” After the short break, he’d give her a sort of half-salute instead that bow from before, “Got a lunch meeting with the Queen of Larket tomorrow, so I’ll be up that way if you need me for something.” The crates were picked up again, all of them this time, as he nodded towards the water lilies, “Those’ll keep for awhile too, but just be sure to put ‘em in a bowl or some such before the spell fades away, or else you’ll have water everywhere.” And then, with one final grin, the Catalian was off on his way towards the west.
Reginae smiles, keeping her secret tucked close to her chest still. The water lillies sway in her grasp once more. "Don't we all just want to go home again?" She sighs, wispful but bright. "It's been a pleasure, please send Lady Josleen my regards." Would she tell him? Likely not. "Take care of yourself Cal." And then she watches as he vanishes into the crowd. Absent mindedly, she tries to sniff the water lilly before turning around to go her own way, droplets of water fall from her angled nose while she frowns in annoyance. At least they were still beautiful.