Another day, another collector to visit. Kitty had heard of a mercenary who killed Gembound in exchange for shiny gifts -- and sometimes kept their stones. It was a gory profession, but Kitty wanted some new treasures, and was willing to trade for it. Stored in Slimespace she had the less impressive diamond and the shiny stone from Tema (although she hoped to not have to part with that one). She also carried the goggles around her neck, while wearing her own neat little spectacles and a red bow around her neck.

She'd spotted a Baubled-up den full of goodies from a little ways off, and wagered that it was probably a decent bet. "Venari?" Kitty called, a ways off. She didn't want to just barge in if the other creature wasn't there, but she could certainly wait for her to come back. "I'm, uh-- I heard you collect things!" She was eager to see if Venari would be willing to part with anything, at least in exchange for a pretty trinket or two.

Venari unfurled from the shadowy reaches of her den, slipping into the light one crawling segment after another. The little creature had indeed heard correctly.

"I do," she said, legs and feet clicking against the walls of the den as her body moved slowly closer. Her scythe-like mandibles touched together as she inspected the tiny visitor, two in one day! Was it here to propose a contract of some kind?

@Kitty

Kitty's eyes lit up. Despite the normally frightening insectoid view that Venari offered, Kitty wasn't all that phased. "I also collect things!" she said brightly. "I was wondering if you'd be interested in a trade? I have some pretty things that I could offer you in exchange, if you'd let me peruse your own collection and take one or two things of equal value." She smiled and flicked an ear. "Based on your judgement of your items, of course -- I'd hate to undersell your collection." She nodded at the baubles. "Assuming you didn't make those, I can also create more for you."

After a beat, she added, "Oh! I can also offer you a look into the past or future in exchange for certain things, if you so desire it." Kitty sat up straight, her paws close to each other -- she looked neat and prim, perfectly groomed and bright-eyed. She was clearly business savvy, at any rate; she had obviously been practicing her pitch.

Venari listened, mandibles flexing absentmindedly as she eyed what Kitty was offering. The small Gembound was clearly unfazed by her presence, and that was nice.

Venari considered, her mind sharp--and curious.

"What's your name?" was her response, what she started with. It seemed good to have that... to have a name. She turned, after eyeing her over once again, and coiled and clattered back into her own den. "You can come in," she added, as she vanished back into its shadows. Ahh, and--"Don't step on the flowers on your way in."

@Kitty

"Oh, I am so sorry!" Kitty said, gathering her things up. "I've left you at a disadvantage. My name is Kitty -- I am something of a collector, as I've already mentioned. I'm a fortune teller as well." Kitty followed after Venari brightly, ears pricked forward. She looked down at her paws, careful of the flowers on her way in. "I love these! Did you plant them, or were they already there?"

Luckily, she had decent night vision, at least after her eyes adjusted. Venari's den was rather cramped, but the baubles certainly helped things, especially in helping her feel less claustrophobic. She edged uncertainly next to one, shifting a little awkwardly. "I'm sorry, I'm, ah-- not great with the dark. Apologies."

Venari listened, massive mandibles briefly (gently) clicking together in thought. A trader, hm-?

"Well, I'm more of a mercenary, really. But I'm happy to trade," she added. It held her interest, anyway; what sorts of things could this little stranger offer? She was almost... excited? by the prospect. She cast a glance out at the flowers at Kitty's question. "A friend put them there," she answered simply.

She eyed over Kitty for a moment, watching her settle by a light. "It's okay." Then she turned, reaching over to a small pile of items: some stacked up, others left laid carefully out. They were mostly stones: some glittering gemstones, others just pretty rocks. There were one or two loose, Baubled stones in there, and trinkets: scraps of armor, some with inscriptions or carvings visible on them; a couple pieces of jewelry; a large, tusk-like tooth.

"You're a fortune-teller?" Venari asked, after a moment. She scooted the items, as a whole, a little toward Kitty for the stranger's perusal.

Among the gemstones were a glittering Topaz (with a little speck of dried blood at one corner); a large, smooth Moonstone; a little dot of a Ruby that shone red-pink; a brown Smoky Quartz; and two little twin (or perhaps broken apart?) Peridots that gleamed a bright, vibrant green. There were three banded gray-and-brown, polished rocks, and another jagged silvery stone flecked with glinting mica.

The Baubled stones were equally as random: a simple rock, a bright orange-yellow Topaz, and a tiny shard of Diamond.

Among the armor scraps were what looked like old, tarnished brass (perhaps a piece of an ancient pauldron?) and a silvery rod-like thing, equally tarnished and unclear in its purpose. It might have been part of a support of something, or perhaps a strange weapon hilt. There was a twisted, burnt piece of yellowish alloy, and a half-rusted, palm-sized chunk of steel with part of a carving still visible on it.

Then came a broken, golden necklace chain, the pendant mostly shattered. And beside that, two silver rings: one much larger than the other, and ornate, the other small and simple. "I'm willing to trade any of these," Venari started, though she hovered close to her collection.

@Kitty

"A mercenary?" Kitty asked, glancing at the stones lining the walls. "I suppose that's how you, ah, found all of these?" There was a bit of uncertainty in her voice as she began to look the produced items over, eyes catching the light as she inspected them (notably, without touching, at least not without permission).

A moment later than she probably should have, she remembered that Venari had asked a question, and looked up at the creature. "Ah, yes! I am! I can tell of the future or the past. I would be happy to provide a demonstration, if you'd like," Kitty offered, glancing down at the gathered elements again.

Assuming that some of these were life-stones, she cast her magic outward. The response was weaker than she would have liked it to be, but still, all the pinpricks of magic in the lair lit up. Briefly she was distracted, looking around her, but she shook her head minutely and returned her attention to the stones in front. She gestured at those that had lit up, assuming any of them had. "Do you recall the creatures to whom these belonged? What they looked like?" She was, admittedly, curious about the peridots -- she wondered if they were one stone broken or two stones of somehow-twinned creatures.

Venari eyed the stones closely as Kitty looked them over.

Of them, both Topazes reacted dimly, as did the ruby, moonstone and the smoky quartz. The shattered peridot was empty. There were also other bits of magic scattered around the room: all the Baubled stones, and a few other tiny specks out of sight on shelf-like protrusions of rock higher in the den.

"Maybe," Venari considered, mandibles clicking. "The gemstones--I found many of them. The peridot was prey--food. The Moonstone was prey, but... a different sort," she explained. One limb reached out to lightly tap the teardrop-shaped stone, as if thoughtful. "It was... white? Bold, furred. Larger than you, much smaller than me." She didn't know the name of the creature, only its stone and its magic, really. "It wanted its stone left intact to be revived by a friend, but the friend never came." Venari said this coldly. She didn't care about it, really. But the stone was still here--still in her possession--and so far as she was concerned, by this point it was fair game for trading.

@Kitty

Kitty's eyes widened slightly. This had belonged to a Gembound? She looked back down at it and notably did not touch it, wracking her brain. If she were to take a life-stone, it would be to revive it -- something especially large wouldn't be particularly useful, blended with her arboreal nature.

"Such a shame," Kitty said softly, looking down at it. "I would hate to trust someone enough to give them my stone and be betrayed by them." Her nose twitched -- something about that statement tugged at the back of her mind, but she couldn't place why, and so she moved on. "What about the other three? The ruby, topaz, and quartz?"

She supposed that she could have simply looked into their pasts, but still, she didn't want to rely entirely on such a thing. Still, she couldn't deny -- she was strangely curious about a much brighter pulse of magic above her. "And, I must ask, though feel free to deny me -- I sense that there are more life-stones up further. Would you mind if I also looked at them?"

"Maybe," she agreed, indifferently. Shame, or not, it didn't matter. It left her another gemstone to trade, at least.

'What about the other three?'

Perhaps this visitor was not very smart, or maybe Venari hadn't been quite clear enough. She was remarkably good at identifying gemstones by eye, though; few would have been able to immediately identify the quartz, for one. So she gave her the benefit of the doubt, for now.

She repeated, more slowly: "I found many of them." She thought about this, then clarified: "Lying around." Scavenged, here and there, among the detritus and dirt. As for what lay on the shelves: "Most of those are not alive. But I mind. Unless you have something very good to trade; those are mine. What do you have to trade? I've shown you my things; let me see yours," she suggested, though from something so overwhelmingly large, it might have seemed more than a request.

It wasn't intended to be, though. In fact, she was rather excited. What did the little Gembound have to offer her..?

@Kitty