[4:18 AM] Myrtenaster: Having heard of the victory in Intetsu, Collette had come over to the capital on the morning on the 27th but it didn't take long for her to hear of what happened to Concordia, so there she was on that very afternoon, attempting to do inventory with a smile on her face.
[5:29 AM] Marimalade: Fingers weaved together, the Concordian pair slowly made their way through the streets of Intetsu, away from the manor that was the Freyzenwald troops' temporary base. They were silent, a rarity in public, and a sight only amplified by their somber expressions.
Finding themselves in the middle of what seemed to be a bazaar, Amelia and Emilia wandered from vendor to vendor, window shopping save for the occasional small, random purchase to sate the small feeling of stacking guilt. It was as they were walking between the merchants that one of them noticed something odd, familiar. They stopped in their tracks, shaking their held hands to get the other's attention, before pointing off to the side. After a moment of checking their vision, they approached the foreigner that caught their attention, a curious, voice coming from Amelia nearly filled to the brim with disbelief.
". . . . Collette . . ?"
[5:37 AM] Myrtenaster: The red-haired merchant shot straight up, as she pulled away from her inventory and out of her thoughts entirely. A thin layer of frost covered the back of the clipboard she had been using, having slowly formed without her notice. Collette hadn't even noticed the twins approach, caught up in her own thoughts. The small, still not entirely set up area that had been claimed was still rather messy.
Disbelief filled her own tone as well, "...Amelia...Emilia? Is that you two?"
[5:49 AM] Marimalade: Expressions slowly turned towards relief and excitement, the sight of the familiar face boosting the Twin's morale. They moved a bit closer to the other Concordian, Amelia, indentifiable as always by her hair being tied into a long ponytail, letting out a small laugh at the encounter, looking like she was just barely holding back from jumping forward and hugging Collette. "To think we would find a familiar face here! How long has it been?"
"Too long since we've seen -any- face that we recognize. It is good to see you, Collette." Emilia added in, bowing her head slightly.
[5:57 AM] Myrtenaster: "Wayyyy too long for me to go without seeing you two!" Collette's own excitment was obvious as she set down her clipboard, taking her chance to hug the twins. It'd been some time since she'd returned to Concordia, especially with her peddling through Khlin and Valenheim.
She pulled back from the quick hug, glancing at her two friends with a bit of confusion, "What are you two doing out here...? Concordia usually prefers to stay out of conflicts like this. I haven't been using the Feather Wishes' name because of that..."(edited)
[12:04 PM] Marimalade: Brighter smiles were paired with a slight laugh from Emilia as they were pulled into the hug, both of them returning it with interest. At the question, though, their expressions regressed back to the melancholy of earlier. The twins glanced to each other, then in opposite directions, looking around the sparse morning crowd for prying ears.
"We . . . weren't expecting to come near Intetsu, let alone stay in it. We left the country to escort the Queen of Freyzenwald, but once we met up with their group . . ." Emilia trailed off, looking over to her sister's hand, which now rested on her shoulder.
"Have you heard of what happened in Kranhai . . ?"
[12:19 PM] Myrtenaster: "Oh, so Freyzenwald's queen is with this group?" The red-head inquired, "I came out this way since a friend asked me to see if I could spy on the queen's well-being since he ended up sidetracked." Her hand fell to the emerald brooch she wore in thought.
"..." Whatever remained of Collette's excited mood disappeared quite easily at the mention of Kranhai. "I heard, only rumors though...Have you two heard anything more?"(edited)
[3:36 PM] Marimalade: "We were there, it . . . was horrible." Amelia shuddered, her eyes looking down towards her feet. "A scene like that . . There's no way anyone could prepare themselves for something like that. The Khlinese army took everyone hostage afterwards, us included, so I'm not sure what it's like there now."
Emilia just shook her head, running her teeth across her lip with furrowed brows.
"A moving fortress that may as well have been the size of the city, rampaging without discrimination. Not to make light of the situation, but had Khlin not been in a civil war, we may well have seen a massive shift in the balance between countries."
There was a moment of silence at the thought, before Amelia spoke up again to answer Collette.
"The Queen is . . . We-- we don't know. We thought she may be here, but apparently not." She shook her head. "They were apparently holding one of the Queen's children hostage, but even then, us assisting with the fight against Khlin's nobles . . ." Her depressed termerment came out through a long sigh, turning into mild frustration. "Even if we get the Queen's army to the gates, just thinking of the consequences for that . . I'm not looking forward to facing the Council."
[3:44 PM] Myrtenaster: "..." Her response was to hug her two friends. "I'm sorry you both had to deal with that." She pulled back but left a hand on both of their shoulders.
Collette frowned at the news though, "Dammit, well, at least I can tell Cece I tried. He's the one trained for this, he can find her highness if he really needs to."
"They really aren't...I've been selling without the Feather Wishes sigil just to make sure I don't cause any incidents, to say nothing of the two of you getting involved," The soft frustration was obvious before the merchant's frown deepened, "...if we can even contact the Council. Have you heard about Concordia?"
[4:05 PM] Marimalade: Both of them gave a soft nod to the question, brightening some at Collette's kindness, even through the sour topic.
"We heard, last eve. We're . . . not sure what to make of it?" There was a hint of confusion in Emilia's voice, her mind trying to wrap around the informtion for what was very obviously 'too many' in the list of times she had tried. "We can't figure out the reasoning from either side, be it one of the Houses, or one of the countries. What good is it to seperte Concordia from the outside? The city is self-sustaining, and it wouldn't be seperating us from any troops outside of our naval patrols. The lack of an obvious reason is just more worrying."
[5:42 PM] Myrtenaster: "No idea...as you said, Emilia, it depends on whether or not they wish to trap something in Concordia or keep out those who can help." Collette sighed, "I heard your group was going to head out there after things were settled in Khlin so I'll likely be joining you."
"Too many variables, and too many possibilities." There was a bit of cold emanating from the merchant's hands, as it so often did when she was stressed, but Collette herself had yet to notice, "All we can do right now is pray Reyna and all the others are safe." Her adoptive mother, she hadn't seen her in some time, and Collette had gone against warnings when it came to getting involved in Khlin's matters.
"...well, we all will have lectures to look forward to when we get there."
[11:02 AM] Marimalade: "Joining us?"
There was a hint of surprise in Amelia's voice, mixed with excitement. "It would be wonderful to have a familiar face for the journey back!"
Emilia nodded quickly in agreement, smiling softly at Collette. There was a slightly uncomfortable shift under it, though, as she glanced to her twin, silently sharing her thoughts. At once, the two shifted past the hands on their shoulders, leaned forward and pulled Collette into a hug from both sides.
"Whatever happens, we're Concordians, right? The city will not fall because of one attack to it."
"We don't have to worry so much. The city guard won't let anything happen to your family."
[11:58 AM] Myrtenaster: Collette smiled. slightly surprised from the hug, "And the same goes to your family as well, you two." I'm not losing another family member if I can help it. "The city knows how to sustain itself and everyone's resourceful."
She nodded at the twins, "Yes, a solo merchant would have trouble making the journey alone but with your group..." A wink, "I'll have a nice group of customers you know! There's plenty of profit to be had and Reyna would have my head if I didn't take advantage of this opportunity."
[4:26 PM] Marimalade: There was a small snirk, before Amelia broke into a short laugh. "Father should be fine, and Mother would be able to take half an army on if they caught her on the wrong day." She laughed again, trying to keep hold of her light-hearted tone.
"And we'll be sure to count on you for supplies on the way. I'm sure Lady Rinaldi will be pleased with your work." Emilia nodded, holding a smile that complemented the bright atmosphere her sister attempted to put on. "But we seem to have caught you in the middle of work, haven't we? If there anything we can do to help you make up for lost time?" She tilted her head slightly with the question, with Amelia nodding at the idea.
"Right! If you need the help, you're free to have our afternoon!"
[4:46 PM] Myrtenaster: "Absolutely!~ Everyone's just fine. Whoever messes with Concordia doesn't realize just who they're dealing with." Collette let her salesperson persona comletely fall upon her face, a smirk appearing when the twins offered up their afternoon to her.
"Well, you'd be helping out your group then too, you two." She took out clipboards and gave them each different sheets of paper.
"I was running inventory checks so I could actually open here in Intetsu! Amelia, you have the list of swords I have on hand. Emilia, you've got the list of tomes," She winked at them both, "Might as well give you two first glance at my wares for your specialties."
[8:24 PM] Marimalade: The Twin's eyes practically shone at the job they were given. They tried to keep it professional, they really did, but an edge on the field was something that neither was willing to give up.
"Well, if you insist . . ."
"We'd hate to waste your kindness . . ."
Like stars, they were off, swishing towards the seperate sections and closely looking over Collette's selection.
"Wow, the work on this guard! Is this Dwabi-made?"
"You even have tomes in Valenheiman script . . !"
--The two became quickly absorbed in the wares (thankfully not so much that they forgot the job given to each), like tourists in a souvenier shop. At once, they turned back around to face the red-head, expressions as bright as the hair on their heads.
"Collette, you're -amazing-."
[8:39 PM] Myrtenaster: Collette's eye glinted, watching her friends act so upbeat over her wares. "'Tis only what is expected of a Feather Wishes merchant!" She held up her clipboard, running through the staves she had set out.
"Come on now, when I get back to Concordia, I can't be beat out by non-Concordian merchants after all." She brushed the now-noticed frost on her clipboard off, "I struck a deal with a supplier I met in Valenhiem for a few Nolorian items as well. Those are supposed to be sent straight to Concordia so I'll probably have to send a messenger bird about that."
"Glad you two enjoy the wares I've got though. It means that other customers are also going to love what I have in store for them."(edited)
[10:00 PM] Marimalade: "Whaaaaaat~?!" Amelia cried out with both awe and disappointment that the out-of-continent goods wouldn't be available in the store until they made it back to Concordia. She slumped her shoulders in defeat, counting out the spers on one of the weapon racks. "You can't just build us up like that!"
Emilia laughed lightly at her sister's reaction, organizing the tomes as she spoke. "We'll just have to sit outside the shop as soon as we get back, until you're open."
"Ah, that's true! That way we could test them in the arena, too~"
[7:12 AM] Myrtenaster: The merchant giggled, running her hand over her personal forged Fimbulvetr tome that rested at her waist. "Looking forward to seeing the sights of home? How long has it been for the two of you anyways?"
"Besides, setting people up only to deliver not to long from now is one of the basics of business." She waggled a finger at the pair. "Now, I'm assured to have at least two customers when the new wares come in."
[10:36 PM] Marimalade: Both of the women groaned, the small hope that they'd get a chance to look at the imported goods before the rest of Concordia shot down as soon as it was brought up.
"It's been... Nearly a moon? A few days from it, at least. With all that's happened it feels twice as long as it has been."
Amelia nodded in agreement with her sister, resting her hand on the pommel of a broadsword placed delicately in a showing rack. Her eyes travelled towards reminiscence, thinking to herself a moment before speaking up.
"It's hard to not miss the view from atop the wall, but the time not spent fighting has been enjoyable. The cities we've passed through have been wonderful; seeing the difference in culture in person is a completely different feeling than reading about it in a book!"
[4:45 PM] Myrtenaster: Collette giggled, "Much better, isn't it?" She twirled a bit in place, her shawl flying up as she extended her arms in a tadah motion. "The world is huge! This is only the start. Concordia's great and everything but there's sooo much outside the walls."
"Oh, actually!" She made a little motion, cradling her fist in a hand as an idea came to her, "If it's the two of you..."
The merchant skipped over to behind an area she'd made her desk, ducking behind it to search for something, "I actually have an extra copy of something I asked to be shipped directly to me. It's a collection of Ice Tribe folklore..."
[2:21 PM] Marimalade: "Well now that we've gone through Khlin, We'll need to at least visit Valenheim. Emilia will throw a fit otherwise." Amelia laughed after her words, causing her sister to pout somewhat playfully.
"Hey, it's only fair."
With curious glances between each other at her words, though, the two moved away from their work and aproached Collette. In sync, they looked over the edge of the desk, staring at Collette until she came back up.
[2:55 PM] Myrtenaster: "Make sure your visit to Valenheim is in a group, even with my magic, I don't travel there without hiring a guard or two..." Collette commented, coming up from her rummaging, with a book decorated dark blue and white, "There's a lot of snow related fairy tales and folklore and it's really just a collection of stories told to children in the Ice Tribe."
She set the book down in front of her, running a finger over the spine, "I have my own copy but the tales told to the children are a great way to learn about the values and culture of a people."
[3:53 PM] Marimalade: Amelia & Emilia straightened back out as Collette stood up, their eyes focused on the odd book sitting between the three.
"The Ice Tribe . . ." Emilia murmured to herself, eyes shining slightly as she looked up to Collette. "Would you be willing to sell it to us?"
[6:48 PM] Myrtenaster: "It's why I'm showing it to you two, aren't I?" She winked, leaning on the desk towards them. "Special friend discount, 200 gold, whaddya say?"(edited)
[8:39 PM] Marimalade: Before either of them spoke up in response, Amelia took a pouch of gold off her belt and pushed it forward.
"We'll take it!" She proclaimed, without even bothering to count it out the gold, "Think of the rest as an advance tip on those weapons." She grinned, laughing some.
[10:48 AM] Myrtenaster: Collette laughed at their enthusiam, "Alright, alright, you two." The merchant began counting the gold herself, "So this'll be you two bribing me for first peek when everything else arrives?"
[8:55 PM] Marimalade: The twins laughed in unison, Amelia lifting her shoulders in a shrug with a smile. "It benefits both parties this way, right?"
Emilia seemed to have no objection, just smiling while her sister spoke.
"We've gotta support our favorite supplier, after all!"
In total, there'd be about 700 gold in the pouch, though the excessive spending on books was nothing new for Amelia and Emilia. It was faily well known how much time and money they put into the library in Concordia.
[3:18 PM] Myrtenaster: "So glad to hear that I'm your favorite." She rested her elbow on the desk and rested her head on the hand of that arm with a smirk, noting just how much extra the twins had paid her, "You two are definitely getting first pick at the incoming stuff."
"Any idea what specifically you want me to prioritize unpacking whenever that shipment arrives?"
[8:04 AM] Marimalade: "Any swords or tomes you may have gotten access to would be greatly appreciated." Emilia responded, a slight smirk curling the corner of her lips at Collette's words. "We'll leave the specifics to you, after all. . ." She gave a sidelong glance towards her sister.
"Learning how to handle a new weapon is part of the fun, right?" Amelia finished, grinning back at her sister.
[7:20 AM] Myrtenaster: "I'll happily stick to my usual tome." Her finger traced the book resting at her side, "But I'll note that the two of you have first priority to the new shipment from Nolore."
"...Now, I imagine you two will want to go off to read that book?" The merchant grinned, shooing the twins out of her shop. "I've got to open shop! And you two should enjoy yourselves after all the fighting you've done."
==END RP==(edited)
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