Forums » General Roleplay » The Shop Inbetween

Most people, when they decide to go to the beach, head straight for the board walk and the night life. The shops multiple little shops all lined together and all with similar merchandise, the mini amusement parks with five or six over priced rides, and of course the food stands. Sometimes they even manage to get past all of this and make it down to the over crowded sand to watch children play in the waves. At night, Pen spent his time in the hustle and bustle that is the board walks. He had a permanent location, right in the center of it all, where he performed every other night. During his performances fire lit the night sky a midst the awe of those around him, and change littered his feet. That was, however, at night.

During the day Pen kept himself about an hour away from the crowded board walks. There was still ocean and beach, and sand, and shops, but this area was populated mostly by the locals. Five steps away from this less crowded beach area, and across the pavement road stood a building nestled in between a gym and a pizza hut. The little shop in between was decorated with blues and cream colours, advertising itself as a small gaming location. On the surface it was, but Pen knew better.

He had arrived early in the morning, the sun had just peaked it's bright head out from the horizon, and the shop's main sign read "closed" with a smaller sign underneath reading "come in anyway".

Pen smiled and pushed past the glass door, only giving the merchandise a light gaze over. No one normal could get past the steel gate separating the front of the store from the rest of it anyway. All of the board games, and miniatures, and card packages were closed off right now. Somewhere in the back Pen had once been told there were comics, but he was never around when he could browse that area. Instead, the tall man turned to his left and ascended an almost impossibly narrow flight of hardwood stairs. The aroma of different coffee bean flavors all mixing together attacked Pen's senses as the steps shifted from wood to carpet.

Anyone entering on their first time might be shocked by the change from downstairs to upstairs. The area was now a large room covered in a dark red carpeting. Small tables with brown cloth were artfully scattered, never seating more than thirty or so customers at a time, and one waitress bustled between what few had already arrived. Still smiling, Pen took his seat at a table as close to the middle of the room as he could. The walls were decorated with fantastic tapestry, each one telling a different story from and a different realm of time.

Ami sat at her usual table a bag beside her full of different decks and other tools of fortune telling. In front of her was a black silk cloth that covered half of the table, a deck of cards in front of her, the back decorated with dragons. She was laying out a spread slowly, contemplating it as she went. In the direct center of what was left of the table was a cappuccino, the handle pointed to the north.

Her pretty features were held in a look of concentration as she flipped the final card. Seemingly satisfied with what the cards read, she scooped them up and shuffled them back into the deck. Wearing a skirt that barely covered her, tights marked with hearts and broken skulls as well as a corset, covered in buckles, she didn't look much like she belonged, other than she seemed into fortune telling.

One who knew her would be able to tell the difference though. A skilled seer, she did more than read people. Instead she told them truths about themselves, their futures and their pasts. Her only wish was that she could do the same for herself.

Pen had sighted her almost instantly, a few tables away from his own. Who could possibly miss such a display of buckles, skulls, and hearts? His own clothing today consisted of a loose black shirt, and green cargo pants. Around his neck hung a leather chord lacking a medallion, and his shoes were the kind usually reserved for hiking or rock climbing. These were most useful in his line a work.

Pen grinned, ignoring his own coffee, and padded towards Ami's table, positioning himself just behind her. "So miss, can you tell me whats in my future?" His voice was light and rich with laughter. He wasn't making fun of her, that would be rude, but his tone did have a slight teasing nature to it whenever he spoke. He was smiling though, of course, and curious to know if she would notice what he was. Pen loved this game, and loves fortune tellers because of it. Each one, if they pegged him for a fire demon, reacted differently.

Ami looked up at him, her big brown eyes taking him in. She studies his face carefully, shuffling her deck of cards, "Not human. That much is clear." She frowned, brows knitting together. She tapped her lips, chewing on the lower one, "Hmmm..." She flipped over a few cards without seeing them, "I see something hot about you. Steam? No, fire." She flipped another card, "You're not a fire-keeper. Not a human elemental..." She frowned, "Demon?"

His smile broadened into a wide grin, while his arms rested lazily on the back of Ami's chair. "How wonderful! You are correct!" His eyes squinted at the cards on the table in front of the both of them, then shrugged his shoulders; laughing at himself. "I can't read heads nor tails of those things, never could never will. They look neat though."

Now his laugh shifted into a comical smirk, broad shoulders braced, arms locking as he put more weight on the chair. "You're good, very good, very impressive...so!" His voice became mockingly mysterious, "Are you afraid of me little fortune teller?"

Ami smiled, giving him a quick once-over. She looked over the cards on the table, "No, I don't think I need to be. If you were going to start trouble for me, you would have started it already." She scooped up the cards, shuffling them back into the deck, placing them back in a pouch, "Would you like to sit with me? It's been quiet so far today and no one has wanted to sit with me. I'm thought of as a quack sometimes."

She brushed her long hair over her shoulders, crossing her legs, gesturing to the free seat across from her, "If you wanted, I could tell your fortune, or I could tell you the outcome of a question or concern you might have. Or," she added with a pause, "We could just talk." Her brow quirked, but she never lost her smile.

Pen left her chair to swing one of his own around and straddle it. The waitress gave him an annoyed look, carrying his coffee over to the new table with that look which all waitresses have. The one was dared him not to leave a tip. He waved meekly at her, then returned to Ami.

"Actually there is something I'd like to ask you miss...Well first I'd like to know your name. It's creepy talking to strangers."

He paused long enough for her to tell him, if she did, then said "I'm Pen", paused again, and then continued the conversation.

"I want to know..." His voice took on a slight whine now, "Why no one is leaving me tips anymore! Don't they know thats how I survive?!" He whimpered, like a puppy, sticking one finger into the hot coffee without cringing.