Random Shops, Bring Surprise Meetings

It had been a fairly peaceful afternoon, with only the occasional naive student coming into the shop to get something they felt they needed to get by with an easy grade in their classes. Not that it was the concern of the fae woman who ran the particular shop. She was here to make money, not lecture students about their moral academic choices. That line of thinking had earned her the ire of a few professors, but that was also not something she really cared about. No, what she cared about was sitting gently in her lap, the smell of aged leather and paper creating an intoxicating perfume.

She was sitting behind the counter of her shop, a towel thrown across her jeans to help preserve the leather bound book that rested on her thighs. She had been absorbed in it for the last hour, latex gloved hands turning each page carefully as she tried to unravel the ancient language that was written on them. It was elvish in origin, but the dialect was unfamiliar to her which made it difficult to determine what it was about. The book was a treasure from one of her latest expeditions within the Forbidden Forest, and she was anxious to get back to the site that she had discovered to find more treasures. Unfortunately, she still had to make money to survive.

"I guess we will get luckier next time, Binx" she said with a sigh, brushing a few strands of her hair from her face as she looked at the black lump that also sat on the counter. The black feline did nothing more than flick his tail in acknowledgement, and then went back to observing the customer that walked in. There was a faint tinkling of bells as the door opened and closed, and Amani glimpsed a blur of white wings before they disappeared as if they had never existed. It was a young fellow, and Amani watched him for a few moments more while he looked around the shop, then carefully closed the book as he approached the counter. She wrapped the towel around it and set it on the back counter before she got up from her chair, peeling off the latex gloves and gave him a once over.

Binx seemed to be absorbed with him, his green eyes never leaving the man's.....or rather the male being's face. "I aim to please," she said with a smile, the prospect of a sale giving it a predatory edge. "Is there something in particular that you are looking for? I can help, depending on what it is that you want."

Amani raised a delicate brow at the bow, appreciating the sudden show of respect seeing as she didn't really know the young man. It made her smile widen unexpectedly, and she inclined her head. "It's a pleasure to meet you Soren Haine, my name is Amani Mellarc," she said, her head tilting slightly to the side as she regarded him, wondering why he was looking for something so very specific. Not that she had anything against the angel race, who were powerful in their own right. They were just.......well, terribly old fashioned. Amani had little experience with them personally, but she felt confident that she had something that would interest the man.

"Anything related to angels," she murmured, coming around the counter and crossing her arms, trying to think of where she had seen a particular book she had gathered. "I get a lot of discarded things from students, and you would be surprised how many valuable items people want to get rid of." She walked over to one of the corners of the shop where several large piles of books were stacked, beginning to rummage through them. "I've lived a long time though, and have collected quite a number of odd things as well." Some of the books she put aside were basic textbooks, which she didn't think would interest Soren all that much, but near the bottom of one pile, she came across a book that was far older than the textbooks.

The leather binding was old and cracked, and there was an odd sort of stain on one corner that wasn't easily identifiable. This was what she was searching for, and she opened the book with a smile. The pages were full of tiny, handwritten passages, and there were even drawings inside the book that were carefully painted on the thin paper. Amani turned back around to face Soren, the book held carefully in her hands. "Tell me, Soren, what do you know of the ancient battles between angels and demons?" she asked, coming back the the counter and placing the odd book on the surface between them.