Deran let them into his shop, still fingering the Vitacore token he grins widely as he gestures in, "Welcome to my Litter, Lord Crimson."
Ulx hovers ahead of Lavinia into the shop, she licks the slick, seasoned juices off her fingers as she strolls in, scattering her sights everywhere something glitters. On the right a table pouring with blood, folded flesh and a bucket of stewing limbs snares Lavinia's senses. More of these limbs hang over the table from hooks, something like skin draws across a lines of metal rods along the ceiling.
Deran sets himself behind the table where the face of his shop opens with the fiery grill, he tosses his tail in and it bursts with flames. Unhooking one of the strange limbs from above, his claws tear thin slices into the meat he then layers and stabs on a metal stick before placing above his tails fiery flame.
The preceding scent has Lavinia bouncing over to his side. Deran spares her a wide grin as he repeats the process three more times and sets over the grill, seizing tokens from demons outside the Litter.
"Lavinia." She hears Ulx call and turns her attention to the left and wider part of the Litter. Ulx hovers among a cluster of shelves and piles of manhandled bags, he gestures her over and she groans, reluctant to leave Deran's grilling side, "He'll bring it to you, come."
Convinced she maneuvers through the mess of trinkets. The walls on this side of the room are mounted with long spears, flails, maces and all sorts of weapons Lavinia idly Inspects. Shorter tables than the one covered in blood host an array of jars with funny coloured fluids, boxes of rings, earrings and necklaces— all of glittering materials— the shelves behind Ulx store scrolls and books coated in thick covering of dust. Lavinia happens upon an open ironwood chest holding even more books and scrolls among the wealth of fabric, silk and armour within.
"Lavinia." Ulx calls for attention, the patience in his voice wearing away at each unanswered use of her name. Entrapped by the smooth, glittering blue of a particular scroll in the ironwood chest, Lavinia fetches it out and starts unfurling when Ulx snatches it out of her hands, "Enough, sit, listen and eat."
Lavinia follows his gaze to Deran approaching with two more of his stick-meat and she sit gleeful.
Ulx produces the token pouch, eager to continue from where he left off, "Here's an Auramote." He says, pulling out a gleaming green token. He fetches out another token, this one pulsing with a fierce orange colour, "This is a Vitacore and this is an Elderspark."
The last token swirls with a rainbow of colours, the power contained within it catches Lavinia's torn attention. She narrows her eyes at it and asks, "Can I eat that?"
Ulx tuts and sets the tokens away in his baggy sleeve, "No, Lavinia, you wouldn't even want to, it's far too volatile for a Pink like yourself, but that doesn't mean you can't use these tokens. Here in Corym, they can buy you as many kebabs as you like and you wouldn't have to kill another demon for it…at least not demons of Corym."
On her last stick, Lavinia points at the scroll he snatched, "Can it buy that?"
Here Deran presents himself, voice bolstering across from the other side, "That would be four more Auramotes, Lord Crimson, added to the Vitacore from earlier, of course."
He lugs himself over and Ulx hands him the scroll to inspect. Unfurled, the scrolls blue back end glitters with specks of gold that animate themselves— a tall figure, cloaked and clasping a staff repeats a slamming gesture. Deran hums contemplatively, tossing Lavinia a look over the scroll and stifling a grumble.
"Lord Crimson, upon inspection it's worth much more than a couple extra Auramote, pardon my slip up." He says with a sheepish grin.
Ulx shrugs, a thin smile forming on his lips, "Not my problem, she wants it not me."
Narrowing her eyes at the them, Lavinia tosses the metal stick aside and folds her arms, "You have my tokens."
His smile only grows as he wags a long finger down at her, "They were never yours, Seraph told me what happened out there. You must have thought that demon was a victim, no, he was a parasite sent to destabilize Corym. If you want tokens, Lavinia, you will either have to steal it like that demon did or work with me for it, there's so much you're missing out on here and right now Corym, no, the Trirax could use a demon with Vampiric potential."
Deran mutters something about vampire overlords and excuses himself to tend to his grill and customers. Ulx doesn't look away from Lavinia's demanding glare, meeting it with his own as he says, "I don't need to tell you how it'll end for you if you choose to be a thief, even with your potential, so instead I'll tell you what working with the Trirax would mean."
Before he can say anything else Lavinia reminds him of her stolen meal, "Seraph, Neibor."
Rolling all three of his eyes he sighs, "Frankly Neibor wouldn't have been made Crimson if the situation wasn't desperate. I'll handle Seraph and Jonn, they're furious you ate Neibor, yes, but they know better."
That isn't close to what she meant, her thoughts lingering on the Crystal and levels she lost when Seraph escaped her grasp. Safely assuming eating Seraph the next time she sees her won't be tolerated, Lavinia decides to ask, "And Essence?"
At this Ulx grins and gestures, "Any demon beyond Corym is yours to hunt, but for the meantime you'll stay here and recover, learn our ways, understand Ruishia and the complexity of our language."
"GroveStaff." Lavinia starts, "Where is it?"
Ulx's smile drops at this and he folds his arm behind his back, "That…well, we've seized that. It's a very powerful weapon Lavinia, beyond your scope of knowing."
Stepping forward and balling her fists, "Bring it to me."
"Not until you work." Ulx says, his calm, accommodating tone vanishing at Lavinia's unspoken challenge.
Before either one can say more the metal door scraps open for two barging Trirax. "Lord Crimson!"
Seraph.
Quickly spotting where she threw the metal sticks, Lavinia picks and brandishes the thin rods as a bare weapon. Seraph catches sight of her and the second Trirax peering from behind shudders seeing her— Lavinia recognizes him as the one that ran, the diplomatic Trirax that left Seraph behind.
"YOU!"
"Nooo!" Deran bellows out louder than ever, "Not in my Litter, Lord Crimson, please."
Ulx nods and wordlessly hovers past Lavinia, Seraph and Jonn on his way out. Jonn is right on his trail but Seraph and Lavinia linger a bit longer glaring at one another before she gives in and follows her Lord Crimson.
The last in the shop Lavinia parse a look around once more as Ulx's series of promises and demands ring in the back of her mind. Auramotes, Vitacores and Elderspark tokens, scrolls, weapons and armour of undiscovered power. Essence.
Whatever it is Ulx wants her to do for the tokens, Lavinia has already been at, the only difference now is…
"Hope to see you again, Lavinia, and without bared fangs." Deran says as handles the grill and kebab slices, "Lord Crimson means well."
Leaning by the rust metal doorway she mutters, "Maybe."