A Deal With The Devil (Cards_of_Fate)

[Bubbles]

"This is my first time here, actually. I've spent most of my life in Salvar. My mother often told me of her home, and I've been anxious to visit for years now. But when the war broke out, I was afraid that would never happen. It's nice to know that I received at least one chance to come. After all, it's dreadfully cold at home. But it's so warm here..."

Luna chatted happily as her current persona. Nothing about her story seemed false or questionable. It was very thoroughly thought out. She'd made certain not to leave a single detail unattended.

[Cards of Fate]

The scholar listened intently as she spoke, turning every detail over in his head. Satisfied he shot her a smile, “What a wonderful time to visit! A lot of people are filled with hope recently. The guys in charge here are working really hard to rebuild the country!” he chuckled and guided her around a corner at the end of the street. “Just a few more blocks this way…” the scholar noted pointing with his free arm to a distant sign. “We’ll take a right there and them it should be two or three buildings down…”

With that they began walking again. “I personally came here when the government tried to purge the Red Forest of some witch’s curse. Bloody nasty business that was, I was just a common soldier and I barely got out with my skin still attached.” The scholar shrugged. “After the heroes did their thing, I followed the money here, now I’m a bit of a blacksmith.” The scholar mimed striking an anvil with his free hand. “Tough work but the coin is alright…” he paused for a moment.

“What do you do for a living miss?”

[Bubbles]

Luna smiled, listening to Vince speak. Such a cute personality. Oh, and what a wonderful voice! Simply delectable~.

"I've been doing my best to start a small flower shop, actually. Right now, all I can afford is a stall. But business is fair. You should come by tomorrow. Perhaps purchase some bluebells to brighten up your smithy a bit?"

[Cards of Fate]

The scholar smiled at the woman’s offer. “What a wonderful idea! The town seems some dreary, maybe we need a little more color to brighten things up! We use to have a similar flower back home where I’m from, called bluebonnets. They were really famous, and a lot of artists would travel to my town to paint portraits of them!” He chuckled a bit as the continued walking. “My only fear is my smithy would be too hot for them, and they’d wilt within a day…” The two continued to walk, their turn growing ever closer.

[Bubbles]

"So long as you kept them in cool water, and in the coolest place you can find, they'll last three days to a week. And I can always provide replacements."

Luna looked around a bit. She began making mental notes of where they were going, memorizing the buildings they passed. She didn't feel like getting lost any more than she already had.

[Cards of Fate]

The scholar nodded for a moment, as if her comment had not crossed his mind before. “I see, I guess that would help them for sure.” He gave her arm a gentle squeeze, “And it’ll give me a reason to see such a beautiful woman more often!” he teased. The turned a corner, and Vince found his eyes scanning the building numbers. Building one thirty seven was about six houses down, giving them plenty of time to finish their conversation.

“I will have to make a point of dropping by your stall on the way to work tomorrow. Where would I find it?” he asked.

[Bubbles]

Luna made sure to blush slightly at the gentle teasing.

"You remember where the butcher's shop is? The one on the southern end of the market? I'll be right outside it. It's not the best place, but I provide Mr. Harfell with peonies in exchange for a nice bit of sandwich meat for lunch."

[Cards of Fate]

The scholar nodded as the woman explained where her shop was, internally grimacing as she mentioned the butcher. Just a year earlier a madman had inhabited that shop, killing people and grinding them into mincemeat pies and serving them to the few residents of the town. He’d still be at it had he and his friend Joseph not come to the rescue. “Okay, I do know where that is. It’s right next to the Aces High bar, my boss likes to drink there after work…” the scholar mused. By the time he was done, they had arrived at her door. He paused for a moment and took a deep breath. Her enchanting aroma practically begged him to stay.

“Well…here we are!”

[Bubbles]

Luna looked at the door a moment. Her twinkling emerald eyes shifted to his a moment. Once she started looking into his eyes, it would be as if time slowed about them. The green would be so deep... So enthralling... So wonderful...

"... Would it be alright for you to come inside a moment?~"

[Cards of Fate]

The scholar had begun to take a step away before her eyes caught his, and he hovered mid-step. Something was wrong, he could feel a foreboding tingling trail down his spine as she spoke, inviting him in. ‘I think someone might be in the house and she’s scared…’ he mused to himself. Normally he didn’t do this sort of thing, but something about this entire situation seemed to be off. Fate was telling him something, but what?

“Sure…” he droned cocking his head to one side. “I guess I don’t see a problem with that. I can’t let a woman enter a building alone without making sure it’s safe.”