Under no circumstances are you to enter Imp's on your own, Liv had said after learning what Fliss and Lucas' next assignment from their History teacher was. And in true teenage style, they had found the loophole. Johnny was with them when they headed to the city to do some research at the stores in the Old Marketplace. Still blushing and smirking after their visit to the Bestiary - the encounter with the unicorns was going to stick with them for a while - Fliss nudged her father teasingly as they headed for Imp's Little Shop of Horrors. "So what are you gonna tell Mom about first?" she asked her father impishly. "That I'm still a virgin, or that every dragon in the place thought you were the sexiest thing they'd ever seen?"
It wasn't often Johnny was asked to escort the teenagers on a field trip - in fact, he had never been asked to escort them anywhere - so it was something of a treat for him to find himself exploring the shops of Old Market through fresh eyes. "I'm considering starting a campaign to free the unicorns," he replied with a frown. He didn't think it was right they were being captured and sold for profit, but there wasn't much he could do about it. As for the dragons, he'd tangled with them on occasion before and wasn't overly fond of the beasts. "So long as you aren't thinking about adopting any dragons." He made no comment regarding her virginity, though Lucas was blushing furiously at the mention of it.
"Just be glad we didn't bring Alex," Fliss chuckled, glancing at Luc with a fond smile. "There's no way you'd have left there without something alive following us home." Although, knowing Alex, it was more likely to have been one of the exotic animals than a dragon - a tiger or a wolf, perhaps. "Kinda makes you wonder, though. The lady there obviously really loves her animals, but how many of them get bought for, like, spells and stuff?"
"Maybe you have to sign a waiver promising not to use their, um, parts for spells and such," Johnny suggested, though he wasn't too sure and hadn't thought to ask while they were still at the shop. "So, did you get everything you need while we were there?" he asked, a little anxious about visiting Imp's for some reason.
She glanced down at her notebook. "Yeah, I think so," she nodded. "Mom made me promise not to buy anything alive, so I had to make do with notes. Ms. Longfoot was really helpful - she's got some really strong opinions about people who hunt animals for sport."
"Have I ever told you about the time I fought a dragon?" Johnny asked, though this probably wasn't the right place or time.
"But you weren't hunting it for sport," Lucas pointed out, assuming Johnny had probably had a pretty good reason for taking on a dragon.
"Seriously' You fought a dragon?" Fliss looked duly impressed, though her expression twisted into a vague grimace of disgust as she considered the rotten sign outside Imp's. "Why do I get the feeling the dirt isn't the only reason Mom didn't want us coming here on our own?" she murmured to Lucas, a faint smirk on her face. She hadn't actually told Johnny that Liv had attempted to veto this particular shop.
"Only once. Long story. I'll tell you later," Johnny promised as they came to a halt outside Imp's. "You sure you wanna go in there?" he asked, noting the brief look of disgust on her face. He hoped whoever was working today didn't recognize him, though his was a face that was easily recognized these days in Rhy'Din.
Lucas' expression belied his own reservations about visiting the place, trusting Liv's judgment more than Johnny's, for some reason.
"Well ....yeah," Fliss admitted with a grin. "Besides, I promised Maria I'd get her an Imp Plushie, and you can only get them from here." Steeling herself, she pushed the door open and stepped inside, her nose wrinkling at the smell. "Okay, now I'm blind. Where'd the light go?"
"Give your eyes a minute to adjust," Johnny said as they stepped inside, not daring to light even a small fire to lead the way for fear he'd be banished from the shop forever. "Just stay close, and don't touch anything!" he instructed them both.
Lucas didn't look as excited to be there as Fliss, but he wasn't about to chicken out now.
They stood there in silence for a long moment, uncomfortably aware that some of the things on the ramshackle shelves were looking back at them as their eyes adjusted to the low light level. Before Fliss could take another step forward, however, something small and blue leaped from the shadows in front of her.
"You want it' We got it! I'll find it!"
"No, I'll find it!" another small blue shape declared, setting off a round of bickering that, in other circumstances, would have had Fliss snorting with laughter.
"Uh ....we're just ....browsing," she offered, totally ignored by the imp cousins who were far more interested in their small argument. She leaned back. "Dad, which way?" she whispered, gesturing to the cluttered aisles around them.
"Well, what exactly are you supposed to do for your assignment?" Johnny asked, just a little creeped out by the jars of eyes lined up on the shelves that were lifelessly staring back at them.
"I'm not so sure this was a good idea, Fliss," Lucas whispered beside her, reaching for her hand. There was no way he would have ventured in here without her father, and he just hoped they wouldn't live to regret it.
Her fingers wriggled into Lucas' grasp, but Fliss was determined to go through with this. "The whole point was to visit a couple of the shops, see what they sell and how popular they are, and then compare them," she pointed out. "Everyone comes here, we should at least see what they sell."
"Okay," Johnny said, "But this place is a mess, so be careful. We'll just go up and down the rows and see what?s on the shelves, okay' I assume most of this stuff is for spells and stuff." Though there were the odd items that made no sense at all, and those that were obviously for the more kinky clientele. "I bought your mom some lingerie here once," he volunteered.
"Ew," was Fliss' succinct response to that, but she was laughing at the idea. "Please tell me you knew her size, and you didn't just guesstimate it with those two back there." As she spoke, her eyes were scanning the shelves, arrested in mid-passage by something that looked distinctly ....penis-like. "Oh man ....that isn't all that's left of some eunuch somewhere, is it?"
"I made a pretty good guess," Johnny replied. As it happened, the imps had suggested some rather unconventional accessories, but had still been arguing about their suggestions when Johnny had finally snuck out of the shop. It was only his innate sense of curiosity that had brought him back here again, always making sure to avoid the imps as much as he could. Unsure what it was that had caught Fliss' eyes, he leaned in and chanced a small flicker of fire to shed a little light on the matter. "No, I think it's someone's finger," Johnny replied, stifling a shudder. He wasn't sure why someone would want to buy a severed finger, but at least it wasn't what Fliss had first thought it to be.
"I wonder where they get their inventory," Lucas mused aloud.
"Yeah, maybe we should go see the armory instead," Johnny suggested.
It wasn't often Johnny was asked to escort the teenagers on a field trip - in fact, he had never been asked to escort them anywhere - so it was something of a treat for him to find himself exploring the shops of Old Market through fresh eyes. "I'm considering starting a campaign to free the unicorns," he replied with a frown. He didn't think it was right they were being captured and sold for profit, but there wasn't much he could do about it. As for the dragons, he'd tangled with them on occasion before and wasn't overly fond of the beasts. "So long as you aren't thinking about adopting any dragons." He made no comment regarding her virginity, though Lucas was blushing furiously at the mention of it.
"Just be glad we didn't bring Alex," Fliss chuckled, glancing at Luc with a fond smile. "There's no way you'd have left there without something alive following us home." Although, knowing Alex, it was more likely to have been one of the exotic animals than a dragon - a tiger or a wolf, perhaps. "Kinda makes you wonder, though. The lady there obviously really loves her animals, but how many of them get bought for, like, spells and stuff?"
"Maybe you have to sign a waiver promising not to use their, um, parts for spells and such," Johnny suggested, though he wasn't too sure and hadn't thought to ask while they were still at the shop. "So, did you get everything you need while we were there?" he asked, a little anxious about visiting Imp's for some reason.
She glanced down at her notebook. "Yeah, I think so," she nodded. "Mom made me promise not to buy anything alive, so I had to make do with notes. Ms. Longfoot was really helpful - she's got some really strong opinions about people who hunt animals for sport."
"Have I ever told you about the time I fought a dragon?" Johnny asked, though this probably wasn't the right place or time.
"But you weren't hunting it for sport," Lucas pointed out, assuming Johnny had probably had a pretty good reason for taking on a dragon.
"Seriously' You fought a dragon?" Fliss looked duly impressed, though her expression twisted into a vague grimace of disgust as she considered the rotten sign outside Imp's. "Why do I get the feeling the dirt isn't the only reason Mom didn't want us coming here on our own?" she murmured to Lucas, a faint smirk on her face. She hadn't actually told Johnny that Liv had attempted to veto this particular shop.
"Only once. Long story. I'll tell you later," Johnny promised as they came to a halt outside Imp's. "You sure you wanna go in there?" he asked, noting the brief look of disgust on her face. He hoped whoever was working today didn't recognize him, though his was a face that was easily recognized these days in Rhy'Din.
Lucas' expression belied his own reservations about visiting the place, trusting Liv's judgment more than Johnny's, for some reason.
"Well ....yeah," Fliss admitted with a grin. "Besides, I promised Maria I'd get her an Imp Plushie, and you can only get them from here." Steeling herself, she pushed the door open and stepped inside, her nose wrinkling at the smell. "Okay, now I'm blind. Where'd the light go?"
"Give your eyes a minute to adjust," Johnny said as they stepped inside, not daring to light even a small fire to lead the way for fear he'd be banished from the shop forever. "Just stay close, and don't touch anything!" he instructed them both.
Lucas didn't look as excited to be there as Fliss, but he wasn't about to chicken out now.
They stood there in silence for a long moment, uncomfortably aware that some of the things on the ramshackle shelves were looking back at them as their eyes adjusted to the low light level. Before Fliss could take another step forward, however, something small and blue leaped from the shadows in front of her.
"You want it' We got it! I'll find it!"
"No, I'll find it!" another small blue shape declared, setting off a round of bickering that, in other circumstances, would have had Fliss snorting with laughter.
"Uh ....we're just ....browsing," she offered, totally ignored by the imp cousins who were far more interested in their small argument. She leaned back. "Dad, which way?" she whispered, gesturing to the cluttered aisles around them.
"Well, what exactly are you supposed to do for your assignment?" Johnny asked, just a little creeped out by the jars of eyes lined up on the shelves that were lifelessly staring back at them.
"I'm not so sure this was a good idea, Fliss," Lucas whispered beside her, reaching for her hand. There was no way he would have ventured in here without her father, and he just hoped they wouldn't live to regret it.
Her fingers wriggled into Lucas' grasp, but Fliss was determined to go through with this. "The whole point was to visit a couple of the shops, see what they sell and how popular they are, and then compare them," she pointed out. "Everyone comes here, we should at least see what they sell."
"Okay," Johnny said, "But this place is a mess, so be careful. We'll just go up and down the rows and see what?s on the shelves, okay' I assume most of this stuff is for spells and stuff." Though there were the odd items that made no sense at all, and those that were obviously for the more kinky clientele. "I bought your mom some lingerie here once," he volunteered.
"Ew," was Fliss' succinct response to that, but she was laughing at the idea. "Please tell me you knew her size, and you didn't just guesstimate it with those two back there." As she spoke, her eyes were scanning the shelves, arrested in mid-passage by something that looked distinctly ....penis-like. "Oh man ....that isn't all that's left of some eunuch somewhere, is it?"
"I made a pretty good guess," Johnny replied. As it happened, the imps had suggested some rather unconventional accessories, but had still been arguing about their suggestions when Johnny had finally snuck out of the shop. It was only his innate sense of curiosity that had brought him back here again, always making sure to avoid the imps as much as he could. Unsure what it was that had caught Fliss' eyes, he leaned in and chanced a small flicker of fire to shed a little light on the matter. "No, I think it's someone's finger," Johnny replied, stifling a shudder. He wasn't sure why someone would want to buy a severed finger, but at least it wasn't what Fliss had first thought it to be.
"I wonder where they get their inventory," Lucas mused aloud.
"Yeah, maybe we should go see the armory instead," Johnny suggested.