[We pick up where Ne Rina left off, just milimeters from entnering the Crafters Clayton. Sai Link has given her all the support he can, and has hence hurried off. Perhaps he doesn't want any Gwesus either.] [Mini start!] * Ne_Rina glances over her shoulder in the direction Sai Link went. No, he's not coming back. * Ne_Rina sighs, takes a deep breath, walks up to the door of the shop, and... opens it! [Ne Rina opens the door! Despite Ran Dom's paranoia training, it's not trapped. Inside is a shop with a number of types of shoes, as well as a wide variety of jewelry and accessories. Necklaces, bracelets, circlets, you name it...] [A middle-agd Clavat is behind the counter, with a shoe resting on the counter in front of him. A young lilty with clavatish features is watching the older man work on the shoe.] * Ne_Rina looks around. Oooh, shiny! Her eyes widen as she tries to take a good deal of it in. Then she spots the people at the counter and looks slightly embarassed. "Ah, hello? Is Mona in?" Her voice is a bit scratchy, and there's an obvious nervous note to it. [The younger half-clavat and the older man look over at the woman, smiling in a friendly manner. The older man says, "I'm afraid I haven't seen her since she went to caravan training earlier," and the kid agrees with a nod.] Oh. Um, I guess maybe I should have checked with her after training then. * Ne_Rina gives a quick, polite bow. "I'm Ne Rina Arata. I'm in the caravan with her." [The man ohs, and smiles. "I'm Belgano Clayton. Mona and my wife mentioned you, but I'd never met you personally." He looks down at the boy. "This is my son Danach." The boy waves cheerily.] * Ne_Rina gives a timid smile and wave back. "I was going to look for something to keep my magicite in..." [Danach says, "I can do that!" His father looks down at him with a faint smile, and the boy looks nervous, and says, "I mean, I can help you. Until Mona gets back."] * Ne_Rina takes a few steps closer to the counter. "Oh, sure! Err, that is, if you don't mind." [Belgano chuckles and says, "Go ahead. If Mona doesn't get back, we'll be able to take care of you." Danach fidgets a little and walks over to Ne Rina.] * Ne_Rina smiles shyly at Danach. "So, where's a good place to start?" [Danach smiles up at Ne Rina and says, "Well... um... let's see..." he looks thoughtful, then says, "Is that what you'll wear when you're on the caravan? Dad says that picking the right materia holder for every caravaner is very important."] (As a mental note, your desc in your bio has bracer/gauntlet things, I think. ^^;) (Yeah, it does, and she would have worn caravan clothes. And phone. BRB.) ("Unknown Caller." Ha. Proceed!) * Ne_Rina nods. "I was at training earlier, and I didn't know what to expect, so I wore what I'm going to be wearing on the caravan." [Danach nods and looks at your outfit. "Um... I guess... um... maybe we could alter those bracers? Or try some new ones?"] Hmmm? Oh, yes! Actually... I'm changing my fighting style. I have claws now, so will having magicite in my bracers be okay? Or will the claws get in the way? [Danach looks slightly confused. "Can you wear the claws and the bracers at the same time?"] I was wearing them both earlier, so, yes. [Danach nods a little, and says, "Well, maybe you can try something else neat. Lemme see..." he walks over to some of the pieces on display.] * Ne_Rina follows him over. Neat is good! * Mona runs in through a back door, from the living part of the house, wearing a belt of pouches. She says, hurridly, "Dad! I'm not too late, am I, did Ne Rina show..." Mona's eyes fall on Ne Rina. "Oops." * Ne_Rina waves timidly. "Hi, Mona. Was I too early?" * Mona waves her hands, "No, no, I just got distracted..." [Belgano looks at Mona with a slight smile. "You're not too late. Danach was just starting to show her a few options." Danach is starting to look pouty.] Um... well, you could both show me... * Mona looks over at Danach and steps out from behind the counter. "Well, if Danach had an idea, I'm sure he could show you that." She gets over to them and rubs his head. [Danach looks a bit more pleased and points up at a silver bracelet set with a series of small yellow gemstones in a spiral pattern, with four of the small materia sockets in it.] Oh, that's pretty! * Mona looks over at what Danach's pointing out. "Oh, that is a nice piece. The gems are citrine, which makes for defensive enchantments, should you ever want such a thing." * Mona reaches over and grabs it, since it's too high up for Danach, to show it to Ne Rina more carefully. Really? I haven't studied much about magic, so I don't know anything about that. [Danach beams.] * Ne_Rina examines it. Pretty. *_* * Mona nods a little. "Gemstones are part of magically enchanting most jewelry." She shows Ne Rina her bracelet. "Red Garnet, for example, can be enchanted to make you toughter." * Ne_Rina blinks. "Oh! What else is there?" * Mona turns her head slightly, to show off her silver-emerald earrings. "Intelligence for Emeralds." Then she gestures around. "Various types of pearls can resist elemental magics. Ruby makes you more able to simply take damage and not fall." [Belgano chuckles from a distance, and says, "It's no wonder my daughter likes jewelery making, with her magical bent."] * Ne_Rina 's eyes widen. "Did you make all of this, Mona?" [Danach laughs.] * Mona shakes her head. "No, not all of it... some of it, yes, but I'm... busy..." she blushes slightly and looks over at her father. "So I can't always help out." [Belgano looks back at Mona and shakes his head. "My daughter does good work, even with all of her hobbies. Don't let her try to convince you otherwise."] ["But the majority of these pieces are mine."] * Ne_Rina looks over at Belgano. "They're really pretty!" Then she smiles a little at Mona. "I've been busy lately, too. I know there are some things at my parents' shop that I've fallen behind in." She scratches the back of her neck in a slightly nervous gesture. * Mona nods a little and gives Ne Rina a return smile. "I do know the feeling. Do you want to try it on, see how it looks?" Yes, please! * Mona looks down at Danach and says, "Could you bring that mirror over, please?" She points at a mirror. [Danach nods and scrams to fetch the mirror!] * Mona hands Ne Rina the bracelet and says, "Here you go." * Ne_Rina carefully slips it on, then gazes at it admiringly. [Danach comes back with the mirror.] * Mona picks it up and takes a few steps back, so that Ne Rina can see how she looks with it on. * Mona smiles a little. "I do like it. It's pretty and lightly colored... Citrine is really a very good looking stone." It is! * Ne_Rina is still admiring it. * Mona chuckles, and says to Danach, quietly, "Good pick, Dana." * Ne_Rina finally tears herself away from the shiny. "I really like this one." * Mona smiles. "It's a pretty piece. Not overly expensive either, which always helps." She winks at Ne Rina. * Ne_Rina blushes a little. "Um, yes." She takes it off and holds it out to Mona. "What else do you think might be good?" (And here is where I wish Zeg was around to cost this for me. ^_~) (Yep. I forget when he gets back from class, too.) (Uh, I have 55 gil available. I really don't know how prices go.) * Mona takes the bracelet back and puts it back on its stand. "Well, let's see..." * Mona looks Ne Rina over. "Do you want to try another bracelet, or perhaps add something to those bracers?" Hmm. What would you suggest for my bracers? Well, something, perhaps, like... * Mona walks a distance across the store and picks up a pair of gloves, where the backs of them are raised slightly, such that they have three raised materia holes, set in what _looks_ like gold, which fades to bronze and brass up towards the fingers. * Mona holds it up to Ne Rina. "Something like this... materia slots set in bronze, highlighted by pyrite." * Ne_Rina looks at them carefully. "Would my claws fit over them okay? My bracers don't seem to interfere, but I'm not sure about these." * Mona nods along with her. "Oh, claws wouldn't work at all. That's why I said something like it." * Ne_Rina looks embarassed. "Oh, of course. Sorry." * Mona shakes her head. "It's fine... just imagine something like this, set higher on the bracer. Perhaps around the wrist." Mona hands Ne Rina the glove. * Ne_Rina tries it on and attempts to picture it. * Mona chatters on, with a twinkle in her eye. "This is more meant for a hand-held weapon user, especially a selkie or yuke, and pyrite, in general, can even be enchanted to make your blows more forceful." But there's no reason your bracers couldn't be adapted if you liked. * Ne_Rina eyes it consideringly. "Hmmm... so citirine for defense and pyrite for force?" * Mona nods slightly. "Something to that effect. Some also say citrine invites success and prosperity, but I don't think you can enchant for that." She gives a quirky grin. * Ne_Rina laughs softly. "You wouldn't have any left in your shop if you could enchant for that." * Mona smiles faintly. "Probably not." [Another customer comes in, and Danach sees them and runs off towards them, giving them an enthusiastic greeting!] * Ne_Rina takes the glove off and hands it back to Mona. "I don't know... the pyrite would probably be a lot more useful, but I really like the citrine bracelet..." She turns her head and watches Danach go, then moves a bit closer to Mona. * Mona takes the glove and says, "Don't worry too much about the enchantments now, really." * Mona picks up another piece and looks at it with a smile. "I just like giving people a little of the background, in case it helps them make their decision." * Ne_Rina nods slowly. She looks like she's still considering. "Um, anything else?" * Mona hrms, then says with a little smile, "If you were looking for some more accessories, I could think of some lapis pieces that would really set off your eyes, but I don't think we have any materia holders with lapis." * Ne_Rina looks slightly disappointed, but nods. "Well, um... maybe someday I can look at them just for fun?" * Mona looks down at a bracelet. "Absolutely." She smiles a little. "Lapis is a personal favorite stone of mine." She picks the bracelet up. It's another silver bracelet piece, with an alternating white and smokey grey stone pattern. * Ne_Rina looks at it. "What's this one do?" * Mona holds it out. "The stones can increase charm and confidence when interacting with people, a bit. It's a little more austere and practical, but has a bit of simple charm." She points out the three materia slots, snuck into the alternating pattern. * Ne_Rina bites her lip. "I... I probably could use that..." * Mona continues to hold it out to her and says, with a slight frown, "It's a nice setting, at the least, but... well, try it on?" * Ne_Rina takes it and puts it on. So, was your visit to the Greens a good one? * Mona holds up the mirror for Ne Rina. (I'm going to run for some food real quickish. Feel free to respond. ^_~) * Ne_Rina looks at it in the mirror. "I had a pretty good time, I think." Her voice is a bit clearer than it has been, and there's a slight shift in her posture. "He seems nice, and so did his dad, although..." She frowns briefly. "I found something pretty there, but... you don't think his feelings will be hurt if I pick something from you, do you? Because I don't want to do that." * Rowyn has joined #ffcc * Mona smiles a little. "Oh?" (Yay! Xani goes shopping!) (No he doesn't ^^;) * Mona chuckles and gives Ne Rina a bit more of a teasing grin. "And how do you have a good time, you think? Either you did, or you didn't." * Ne_Rina shakes her head. "I don't want to hurt his feelings, because he's nice, and we're going to be on the caravan together, so we'll be seeing a lot more of each other. And, okay, then, I *did* have a good time. And I'm having a good time now!" * Mona grins. "Well, that's good! And I don't know if it'll hurt his feelings. Sai Link's a bit strange about that, sometimes." I don't know him as well as you do. * Mona nods a little. "Well, I know him pretty well. He does tend to wear his heart on his sleeve." She looks at the bracelet Ne Rina's wearing. "It's a nice bracelet... but I'm not sure it goes with your outfit as well. Still, though, it suits you." * Ne_Rina smiles. "I really like it. It's not as pretty as the citrine one, but it... feels right? Does that sound silly?" * Mona gives a teasing smile. "Only a little. But you are talking to a woman who subjects herself to being burned on a nearly daily basis." * Ne_Rina blinks. "What?" * Mona chuckles. "It's mostly a joke. When Leran and Nikki first met me, I was being hit with fire spells for training purposes." * Ne_Rina blinks again. "That's... different." * Mona nods. "Yeah. I really stepped into training in the last few months. Counterspelling, toughness, chains..." she smiles a bit. "Well, you saw a lot of the most useful stuff." Yeah, you did a really good job! I was worried during my interview. I've been working on things but... well, I've got some catching up to do. Thanks. * Mona smiles back at her. "I'm sure you're doing well. And if you can't find Ran Dom, I could show you some of what we talked about." Thanks, I'd really appreciate that. * Mona nods, then grins. "Well, I'm sure I wouldn't have to show you it many more times. As a fellow woman-of-the-library, I'm sure you're smart enough, right?" * Ne_Rina laughs softly. "I try. You know, I'm sorry that I didn't really talk to you much before now. But I figured you were always busy studying and I didn't want to interrupt you." * Mona nods. "That's okay. I was really busy studying. Besides, like you said." Smile. "Lots of time together, right?" Yes! * Mona looks back at her dad, and then says quietly, "I think we'd better decide which option you like most before Dad starts in on his own sales pitch." Mmm. Yes. * Ne_Rina points to the bracelet she's currently wearing. "If I needed more slots added in the future so I could hold more magicite, could you do it, or would it ruin the bracelet?" * Mona shakes her head, and says, "Many more complex armors also have materia slots, and you could always get another accessory. Now, if you wanted something that looked like that, but with more slots, we could make it." I really like *this* one. So I could get another one later, from you or from Sai Link, or armor, or something. We can worry about that later when we get more magicite, right? * Mona nods. Okay. So, um... I guess now is the time to ask how much it costs. * Mona nods. "Sadly so." She chuckles. "It's the worst, or the best, part of selling things." Well, you know that. Anyway. Let me check with dad. * Ne_Rina nods. * Mona walks back to her father, and seems to have a little conversation. (I apologize in advance, because I have NO IDEA how much a silver-and-quartz bracelet costs. ^_^;) (It's okay. Do you have anything you can reference?) (Not really. If he'd even listed a cost for my garnet bracelet, I'd know.) (The book costs for things areen't really appropriate here.) (That's what I figured.) (Well, let's just _say_ it's easily more than 5 gil. I'll guess 12 and we can substitute in log/when Zeg comes to life.) * Mona comes back and says, "Well, we can sell that piece to you for 12 gil." * Ne_Rina thinks it over for a second, then nods. "I don't know much about jewelry, but this is really nice and it seems fair to me." * Mona nods along. "Well, I'm very glad it works for you." I do think you should think about citrine and lapis in the future, though. They go well with your features. * Ne_Rina nods. "I will. Thanks for the suggestions. You and your family do really good work." Well, Dad's really good. * Mona grins. "The Crafters Clayton anywhere can be counted on for quality." * Mona pauses, then adds, "Well, anywhere is Tipa and here, but it's still quality work." * Ne_Rina laughs a little. "I'm not arguing. It's good to have pride in your work. So, uh, if you ever need any embroidery done, or just feel like a change in attire, you should come look my family up." * Mona chuckles, and picks at her robe. "I wish I could wear better clothing, but my sewing skill is more or less summed up by being able to keep this from falling apart." Well, if you were interested in learning, I could teach you, and if you weren't, I could make something for you if you wanted. * Mona shakes her head. "That's not the problem. The problem is keeping it intact when monsters set it on fire or try to cut you up." Right. Well, that's why I'm not wearing my best stuff on the caravan. I already made the mistake of wearing one of my nicer shirts to the auditio... * Ne_Rina stops and looks nervous. * Mona nods slightly. "I understand..." she looks around, then adds in a little lower voice, "Say, do you want to buy that now, or just leave it, and take a walk?" A walk would be good. * Mona nods a little, and says, with a weak smile, "Well, I'm sure you won't take it if I'm with you." She waves at her dad, and says, "I'm going to talk to Ne Rina for a bit, Dad." * Ne_Rina takes it off and hands it to her. "You can trust me. Or at least, I'd hope you could." [Belgano looks at Mona funny, but nods.] Oh, I know I can. * Mona winks. "You've seen me beat up dummies." * Mona hands the bracelet back. "See how you feel with it on the street." She then steps back towards the back and takes off the belt. * Ne_Rina puts it back on. "All right." [Belgano approaches Mona and says something to her, and she responds back. He glances over at Ne Rina, then looks back at Mona and nods.] * Mona goes into the back for a second, then comes back with her spear tucked where it normally is. .She gives Ne Rina a small smile. "Well, let's go, then." * Ne_Rina nods, waves to Belgano, and heads out with Mona. * Mona heads out too, and chuckles a little weakly to herself, then says, "At least Mom wasn't there, right?" Um. Yes. No offense, but your mom is... formidable. * Mona nods slightly. "None taken." She takes a deep breath, then adds, "You have no idea." No, I guess I don't. * Mona looks over at her for a second, then sighs. "Sorry. I know she's... and what she did to all of us is lasting. But..." But? * Mona shakes her head. "Have you read any of her caravan logs?" I've skimmed a few. I was concentrating more on the latest one when I was looking over logs. * Mona nods a little. "I understand that." She chuckles a little. "I wonder how Mog got to be the writer when he snuck on." I don't know. Maybe he was just so persuasive when he finally revealed himself that they just had to let him do it. He writes nice poetry, though. * Mona nods. "Could be it. Who can say no to a moogle, kupo?" Certainly not me! Do you speak Moogle? * Mona nods and smiles a little. "Yes. I've even had a substite pom pom for years." I never had one. Then again, I never talk to many moogles, and when Kuralov writes, he does it in Common. * Mona quirks her head, and then says, "Well, it's not that important. I just spent so much time around moogles as a child that it was natural." She laughs a little. Kuralov used to laugh at me when I tried, but he was nice about it. * Mona chuckles. "Most moogles are nice about everything." * Mona shakes her head, and says quietly, "But really, the point I was trying to make is that the caravan of 1330 was... truly frightening in their abilities. Right up to the end." Mmm. * Mona rubs her neck. "So yes, mom truly is a frightening woman." I will take your word on that. * Mona looks up at Ne Rina and says, faintly, "Everyone dealt with that badly, that I met, so don't feel too oddly about it. Like Darell Racht said... we're all in the same brotherhood now." Yeah. I hope I get along well with the others that I haven't met yet. Do you know them well? * Mona shakes her head. "I've met everyone but Imza Doltt, but I've known Sai for years. The rest I've only known within the past few months." She tries to give Ne Rina a comforting smile. "I wouldn't be too worried, though." I'll try not to worry too much. And I'll have this now, so! * Ne_Rina points to her new bracelet. (Or soon-to-be-hers, as she hasn't paid for it yet, but she will. ;p) * Mona laughs a little. "It's very pretty, yes. I'm glad to see somebody enthused about jewelry." What, a lot of people aren't? * Mona laughs loudly. "Good point. I just don't see it too much. You know. Busy." Yeah. People aren't *quite* as excited about clothing, but if it's a really special piece... I don't really deal with customers that much, but I watch from the back room sometimes, and you can tell when someone's really happy about what they're purchasing. * Mona nods with a little smile. Maybe she's agreeing, or maybe reminiscing. "Yeah." * Mona mms, then looks up at her. "Maybe I will stop by your family's shop. I can't really get good adventuring clothes, but I could probably use another nightdress, come next month." Any particular pattern you'd like? I could start working on it now. * Mona blinks, and then shakes her head. "Oh no, I don't know what patterns would look good at all." Ahh, okay. Well, when you stop by, I'll help you out. ...it'll really surprise my parents. * Mona laughs. "Alright, then. I'll have to find you some day in the library and walk you home, just to make sure you're there, won't I?" She smiles at her joke. * Ne_Rina laughs. "Oh, I wouldn't run away from you." * Mona chuckles. "Well, I meant so I could be sure that you were at the shop." Oh, right. I'm usually around, though, if I'm not at the library. * Mona nods a little. Actually, I should probably be getting back soon. I've got some work to get done and I've been putting things off lately. * Mona winks at Ne Rina. "Forever busy. How will we ever find time to caravan?" I think we'll manage to squeeze it in somehow. So are we heading back to your shop? * Mona nods and says, "You were planning to buy it, so yes." Okay, then. * Mona chuckles and says in an amused tone. "You'll just have to show Sai Link how good you look with your new bracelet, to make him forget about that he didn't get to sell you one." * Ne_Rina laughs softly. "Right. Well, maybe I'll get something else from him sometime." * Mona walks her way more towards her home. "It's bound to happen eventually, I'm sure." So I won't worry too much about it. * Mona grins. "Well, why not slot your new materia in your new bracelet?" (We can probably cut just about anytime. Perhaps after the slotting.) Right! * Ne_Rina pulls out her two weapon materia and her Cure magicite and carefully puts them in. She pauses to admire how they look. * Mona pauses for a second too, and says, with a laugh, "We'd better get that paid for before dad wonders if we ran off with it. It just looks too good." * Ne_Rina laughs. "Eep, yes. And thank you." * Mona nods. "Glad to help." She adds in a mock service voice, "Come visit the Crafters Clayton again!" [And so they go and Ne Rina finishes buying a bracelet! Everybody wins! Except Sai Link. Ha ha. Mini over!]