[open] she sells sea shells

The first thing Arialla had traded her beachcombing finds for was a basket to carry them in. Thus rendered efficient, she had a good pile of pretty shells, interesting rocks, pieces of sea glass, mermaid's purses, scraps of mother-of-pearl -- anything appealing you could find along Torchline's shore. There wasn't much of a market for such things in Torchline, of course, since anyone could go walk along the shore and pick them up. But Arialla hoped that someone here in the Hollowed Grounds would be willing to compensate her for the work of finding the nice stuff and hauling it through the portal.

"Shells for trade!" she called, standing in the marketplace. "Shells, sea glass, driftwood! Add a taste of the sea to your home or apparel!"

Surely someone would take her up on it.

Though the settlement itself was not particularly interesting, there was still the urge to wander through them, to take in all the sights, to talk to the people when the chance arose. Osozo didn't think they'd stopped wandering once since they'd come alive, but today there was something new in the market, an unfamiliar voice, offering unfamiliar wares. "What... is a shell?" The light voice preceded the body, all angles and strange shifting in a long boxy dress, with a shock of pale pale green hair, and bright, nearly white eyes. The face was all curiosity. osozo Electrifying mine chambers wholly scorching out thine sovereignty

That ... wasn't the reaction Arialla had expected, or the person she'd expected to react to her sales pitch. For a moment she stared, but she quickly mastered herself. This person was outside her experience, but perhaps they were normal for Caido -- and even if not, well, best to be polite.

"Shells are things that wash up on the beach," Arialla explained, angling her basket so that her potential customer could see into it. "People value them for their beauty, mostly."

Or at least she hoped they would.

If Osozo is offended by the stare, it's impossible to tell by their face, an unblinking gaze focused on the girl, a wide grin spread over their face, and their head cocked to the side. Waiting. As the explanation was given, Osozo leaned forward, peering into the basket with a renewed interest. "Where do they come from? Before the beach?" Without asking, they reached out, trying to lift a piece of sea glass from the basket towards the sun, to catch the light as it shone through. osozo Electrifying mine chambers wholly scorching out thine sovereignty

"Sea creatures," Arialla explained. Somewhere in the back of her mind rose an instinct to step back as this person approached her, but she suppressed it easily. Her previous encounters with divinity had given her a bit of an even keel when it came to such things. "Mollusks, clams, and snails live in the shells, and when they die, the shells wash up on the beach."

Watching her potential customer take a piece of sea glass made Arialla a bit wary, too, but she ignored that as well. It was only sea glass; even if they did run off with it, that was no great loss, as nice a piece as it was. She added, "Not that one, though. That's sea glass -- it comes from glass that people lose in the ocean, rubbed smooth by the waves and the sand."

Pale eyes float back up to the woman's face as she explains, violet suddenly overtaking the irises as Osozo leaned in. "So these are skeletons, in way, right?" Except, of course, the one in their hand, that the sun shone through so prettily. "Skeletons and old glass." So simple, yet still so pretty. Osozo moves to hold the glass between them, almost offering it back to her, but not quite going the full distance. "What kinds of things are you hoping to trade for? I will admit, I don't have much yet, but I want this." They twisted the piece back and forth, head cocked and expectant as they awaited the answer, ready to barter. osozo Electrifying mine chambers wholly scorching out thine sovereignty

Arialla nodded. "Skeletons, but from the outside of the creature. Oh, and I have mermaid's purses, too -- they're egg sacs, from sharks."

She fished one out to show it to her potential customer, a dried black case the size of her palm. The tendrils coming from each corner gave it its name, as they resembled straps that a mermaid might use to hold her bag.

"My end goal is to create an offering for Safrin," Arialla said plainly, "so anything you have that's pretty, or resembles stars or starlight, would be great. Failing that, I'll gladly take something I can re-trade -- a useful trinket, maybe."

For just a single piece of glass, her expectations weren't too high. Besides, she suspected it would be good to be in this person's good graces, so she didn't really plan to refuse even a subpar offer.

From the outside of creatures. More and more interesting. Osozo holds out the hand that isn't holding the glass, trying to imagine the insides on the outside, in such smooth and pretty shapes as the shells. They can't, not really, but it having their hand already out makes it easy to reach out to touch the new black shape, a delightful amount of give to the smooth item. The mention of Safrin has Osozo's nose wrinkling purely on principle, their eyes narrowing in distaste. "She would not like anything you take from me." They say quickly, though the empty hand moves to the sides of the dress, as if looking for a pocket. "Trinkets... hmmm..." "I have these?' They seemed to find what they were looking for, a hidden pocket somewhere, and pulled out a few rocks splashed with colour, reds and violets and greens. They had been more impressive alongside the rest of the Rainbow Road, but with they still shone in the dullness of the Hollowed Grounds. osozo Electrifying mine chambers wholly scorching out thine sovereignty

Arialla smiled; it was nice to see someone take such interest in what she'd collected. She'd never met someone before who had so clearly never seen a shell or mermaid's purse before -- they were common sights back home.

"Oh?" she said, more because the statement seemed to need a response than because she actually wanted to know what lay between her visitor and Safrin. Though perhaps she ought to ask -- it would be good to know everything she could about the goddess she intended to worship here. "You don't get along, I take it?"

Was she actually talking to a god? Not necessarily: Jigano had said Safrin had no love for him, either, so the goddess did enter into rivalries with mortals. She was jealous, Arialla remembered Jigano saying, and temperamental. Fantastic.

"Those will do nicely," Arialla said, looking over the rocks. She could trade such colorful specimens for something, surely -- and even if she couldn't, she wanted to make this trade, to keep her odd visitor happy. "Why don't you give me those two" -- she indicated the violet and red ones -- "and the sea glass is all yours."

Not, perhaps, the fairest trade on its surface, but she anticipated more trouble trading the rocks than she did the sea glass.

"I have never personally met Safrin." Osozo offers easily, bright gaze moving back to the woman's face. "It's... more of a family issue, really. She doesn't like my progenitor." That was... an understatement, if ever they'd made one, but if the sea-seller wanted more than that, she'd have to ask more. Though it did open up an interesting line of though in the Demi-god, eyes and hair both darkening to a deep blue as they thought. Could they meet Safrin? Would she even deign to answer them? The rocks they had pulled out did seem to be an appropriate trade though, a wide grin splitting Osozo's face as they separated out the two indicated rocks, offering them over and slipping the seaglass into their pocket. "Thank you." They considered what was left in their hand, then held them out again. "Could I give you the rest for the purse as well?" osozo Electrifying mine chambers wholly scorching out thine sovereignty

"Progenitor?" Arialla hoped she wasn't prying, but the choice of word intrigued her. That wasn't how people normally referred to their family, at least not back home. Maybe this, too, was normal for Caido. Or maybe it wasn't.

"Sure." Arialla handed the purse over. That wasn't a great trade for her, honestly -- the mermaid's purse was rarer and more valuable than the sea glass, and the rocks didn't really represent adequate compensation for it. But she still wanted to keep on her visitor's good side. Besides, they seemed to really like it, and it was nice to see someone so enthusiastic about her wares.

"Yes. The Voice." There's no hesitation to offer this information either, though it's difficult to tell if it's because Ozoso doesn't know about the Voice's reputation, or if they don't care. "She didn't birth me, but she did create me. So, progenitor." The trade is changed, all of the rocks Osozo had leaving their possession in exchange for the two strange treasures. "Thank you!" They chirped happily, tucking the glass and the purse away in the same pocket the rocks had emerged from. "I am sorry I didn't have anything more appropriate to trade." osozo Electrifying mine chambers wholly scorching out thine sovereignty

"Oh." The syllable came out flat, almost disgusted. Arialla tried to cover her reaction, but she couldn't help thinking that she regretted her kindness now, knowing this person's affiliation with the goddess who had dragged her from her home. She took a deep breath. Too late to take that back now, and besides, just because she mistrusted the Voice didn't mean she couldn't be civil. Sounding more neutral, she added, "I see. An impressive feat, even for a goddess."

Arialla didn't really mean anything by the words; she just needed something to say so that her negative reaction wasn't the last word on the subject. As they finished the trade, she flashed a quick smile, though a rather cursory and distracted one. "You're welcome. It's all right. The rocks are nice."

She spoke out of politeness, not genuine feeling; she slightly regretted the trade now, but she wasn't rude enough to shame the stranger over it.

It's impossible to not notice the shift in the womans tone, the reaction to the mere mention of the Voice. The smile that has been spread over Osozo's face does not move, but their eyes look her over carefully, the blue of them brightening again, even as their hair settles in a deep black. "Yet you don't sound impressed." They point out, digging at the discomfort now that it was obvious. Hands that are now free fold together in front of Osozo, their fingers twisting together. "I appreciate the kindness. But I don't believe I ever learned your name?" There is still an ease in their voice, as if they haven't noticed her distraction. osozo Electrifying mine chambers wholly scorching out thine sovereignty