Kaimana hadn't wanted to go so far from the room where her child-to-be was resting but, well, she was like an actor being repeatedly inconvenienced by minute details that were just slightly out of place! She couldn't keep working (treasure hunting) like this.

"C... Collector? Mister Collector?" Yet another name heard from rumors alone, often feeling like they echoed through the empty spaces of the places Kaimana inhabited. Who said them? Who carried them so far? She never really knew, or if she did know, she didn't remember. At least this creature was in the land of bones. So many bones, of all sorts of wonderful shapes and sizes. Here would be a good place to stay for a while, and puzzle over a few, and take some home.

Once she got something to take them home in, that was.

What was with all of these Gembound coming to him lately? Had they been breeding? There had to be dozens in and out of Canis every day--ahh, and if they knew the purpose of this cave... well. He'd love to have seen them find out.

Ahh, well; work was work, and so when called, he appeared: as if out of nowhere, behind Kaimana and to one side, a dozen or so yards away.

"That would be me. My, what a fine pelt you have," the Collector crooned, crimson pinprick eyes roaming the jaguar's little rosettes. "And whom do I have the pleasure of addressing..?"

@Kaimana

Out he came. 'The Collector' they called him, or so she'd heard. Just as his eyes investigated her form, hers investigated his. Likely not for the same reasons, though. Kaimana wasn't nearly as... devious. The compliment to the rosettes on her pelt made her smile. He spoke of her pelt like she would speak of a fish's shiny scaled skin. Maybe that should've perturbed her more, but Kaimana generally just took compliments. It was the polite thing to do, and besides, someday her pelt might amount to as much as a fish's skin, for another creature somewhere down the line of time.

"Why thank you, Mr. Collector. If that is your name. I am Kaimana. How are you doing today?" she said bowing her head a little in respect. Another gentleman it seemed, whose name had reached her doorstep in her time of need. How did all these gentlemen's names find their way into her ears when they never seemed to leave their rooms..? It wasn't a question Kaimana could ask, she didn't know of all that. It's me asking. These caves are like the gosh darn Internet.

Anyways, "If you don't mind helping me -- I heard that's what you do -- I'm looking for something to carry all my treasures in. I have a hatchling slowly growing back at home, and I must prepare for their arrival." Her smile turned into a grin. She had never known that it was possible to feel this much love, love of this breed, for a regular stone. Ah, but then, it was not a regular stone, was it?

Kaimana wondered what the Collector might offer to help her with this... plight. It had become a plight, honestly. A slow and building inconvenience she could no longer deal with. All it required was a simple solution, but that simple solution seemed so far out of her paws. Until now, of course. If all went well.

"Ahhhhh," the Collector purred; "how refreshing it is to meet one with such good manners. I am quite well, thank you, Kaimana; and yourself?"

He listened to her request, then-... and faltered.

In ages past, they had come to him in fear. Knowing his costs. Knowing that he could get them anything--anything--for a terrible cost.

Enchanted swords wreathed in flame. Tokens that led one's claws unerringly to blood with every strike. Rings that made one impervious to damage, or amulets that made them invisible. And the costs..? Betrayal. Death. Destruction.

Chaos.

...

And this one wanted a basket.

This era is terrible, the Collector thought sourly to himself. And then he plastered on his best smile--not that it could be seen, beneath his hood; but it could be heard and that's what counted. Ahh, well; what could he get someone to do for a basket? Could he convince a Gembound to kill someone for something it could get easily? -No, she did not seem that sort.

Hmmm...

"Ahhh... a basket, or a bag? Certainly, I can think of a few items. But I must confess, I do not just help others; I facilitate exchanges. I am a trader, you see; I ask for things in return." Clawed hands spread out to either side, his mind working fast.

That cat (though caves knew if it would come back) was out searching for the Collar; what else could he use..?

...How far could he push this?

"Are you amenable to the idea of... exchanges, Kaimana?" he crooned, trying to buy himself a moment to think.

@Kaimana

"I am also well! Just... in need of something." Segue to her request. The Collector asked for specificity, although Kaimana didn't really understand the importance of the difference. Her own comfort, perhaps? More interestingly, though, The Collector seemed to feel a need to edit her perception of him. He did not want to be known as a helper but as a trader. Intrigue immediately lit up Kaimana's eyes. She hadn't meant to misconstrue his business as a charity-- no, in fact, she enjoyed a fair trade far more. So when he asked about her 'amenability to the idea of exchanges', Kaimana grinned in a way that could make one question just how well-intentioned she was and responded with, "They're one of my favorite things, Mister Collector."

She paused, for a moment, to think about The Collector's earlier question. Bag, or basket? "And as for a bag or a basket, whichever is easier to carry around, I suppose." She also wanted one that could hold quite the amount, but honestly, wherever she chose to be for a night could hold her treasures for the duration of her stay. It was when she wanted to move that things got annoying. And having limited space felt helpful in keeping from taking superfluous things.

Her own grin reassured him.

Maybe there was something to work with, here, after all.

"And just how much might you be carrying..? I have items that are simple, you see, and others that are... special. Others touched by magic; things that can carry a great many items, though their use is... hm... shall we say, less reliable. Still, useful," he added, with a shrug.

"Well, I will tell you one thing I do need: a tail. Gembound die all the time; I have need, in my enchantments, for a tail. Fluffy is preferred... a fox, I think you call them; something along those lines. You needn't kill anyone, of course, but if you'd like the magic bag, I will request a tail. For the simple baskets..?" Claw raised, tapping chin beneath the hood. "A large claw would do. Something from a Greater, as with the tail--those who can think, and speak. There is more magic in it, for me to work with," he explained.

@Kaimana

The trade offered to Kaimana made her ears flick, her eyes narrow, as she paused in thought. A tail? A claw? For... a bag or a basket? Of a magical order, supposedly-- capable of carrying a 'great many items', that was undoubtedly enticing. Kaimana didn't really know much of anything about magic. It seemed capable of anything; giving life, controlling water, probably much much more. And it seemed to always come with some unfavorable, even dangerous side effects. Would a special bag be even better than a regular one? Would the downsides of it really be made up for in whatever abilities magic gave it? It depended on the downsides really, which Kaimana should ask about; any important details revealed could tip the scale in favor of any decision.

Except the pros and cons of the object weren't the only thing Kaimana was judging. The cost of acquisition mattered too. The Collector wasn't asking her to kill another creature with life in their stone. No, but asking for a body part? Indirect mutilation--? Kaimana didn't know how hard it was to just stumble across a fresh tail. She wasn't sure she would even want to do that.

A tail, Kaimana feared she could not provide. But a claw... WAIT! Information first.

"I could be carrying any number of oddities at any given time. The shores of my home tend to wash up all manners of things, so anything would work. What risks does the magic add? Why shouldn't I settle for something simpler, more reliable, and perhaps easier to get? And another question, Mister Collector, if you don't mind my asking. Would the claw or tail of any 'Greater', as you call them, work?" 'And why do you want these things?' Kaimana wondered in private. She didn't want to absolutely bombard him with questions, though. That seemed rude and needlessly intimidating. All she was doing here was negotiating a deal, not interrogating a prisoner.

The jaguar had an idea. If the item seemed worth the effort, there was something she could possibly try.

"Mmm, the riskier object has an infinite carrying capacity, though it is quite small and light to carry. But the decision, of course, is yours; you ought, I imagine, to choose based upon your needs. And any Greater, yes; but it must be the entire claw, a whole claw, down to the root. It would likely be less painful, less... debilitating, to do this with one who has already... passed; but from a living, I doubt such a thing would grow back. Straight to the bone," he added, with a wave of one hand.

@Kaimana

Kaimana's eyes widened at the idea of infinity, placed in a small enough space to carry. The concept made her twitch, a little, in reaction to a flurry of pinprick emotions -- all small, all conflicting, all coming down at once in a siege. To stumble across a body... but to have infinite space... could you imagine what she could do with that? And all it would take was a tail or a claw. Her idea was pushed further away from potential realization as The Collector described, in depth, what was meant by 'claw'. Yes, it would be far less cruel to take it from someone who'd already passed, but Kaimana was far more accustomed to bones than fresh bodies.

Infinity was impressive, but did she need it? This was kind of urgent. She didn't have time to wait around for a dead body to appear. Taking from the already dead didn't bother Kaimana; nature did that all the time. Rot. When something passed, its body was free for all to take what they would from it. That was how cycles worked; you couldn't be selfish and hold life back from getting what it needed. It would find you, eventually. Everything, in a sense, could be reused. It was the waiting for the passing of that cycle that Kaimana was concerned about. She didn't have a time or a need.

There were normal bags out there that could serve her needs. Yes, it was anticlimactic, but it was honest. She was already beginning to worry again about the stone growing back at home. "I see. I've thought it through, Mister Collector, and I have decided that I do not have time to gamble away on waiting for what you need to arrive. I am very sorry for wasting your time." Kaimana would shift her position, obviously preparing to leave. And then, Kaimana would laugh. A good natured laugh, a sincere one. "Have a good rest of your day, Mister Collector. I hope you get what you need, and, as a courtesy to you, I won't ask why you desire certain dead body parts." She couldn't judge. That would be rude, and, for her, hypocritical.

If The Collector would allow, the jaguar would head out.

- attempted exit ? -

He did not stop her--he did not even speak. But there was a bright flash of anger in his crimson pinprick eyes; these Gembound had been wasting his time more and more often, lately.

He would remember this.

Arms parted as if in annoyed accepted, and he simply vanished, already plotting.

@Kaimana