((A new rp thread with @dentonclone and his lupe!))
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick-ding!
A small, neovian-styled wallclock chimed a single note for the hottest part of the day in a small shop tucked in the markets of Krawk Island. Winding cobbled streets with buckled shoes clacking upon them echoed their roots across the South Neopian seas so far, far away. It echoed the thoughts of Bonny, perched atop her clerk’s stool, quill in paw, paw in chin, eyes closed in thought. Spread before her were simple timesheets and sums, marking trends in popular business hours, what sold well when and why, with freshly-drawn circles around strange upticks, deviations from the norm. She had come across a recent trend in the artisan trades, with a surprising uptick in small metal bits, lanterns, and rope. Large quantities of rope. Many different kinds of rope. She had been comparing cost versus gross income of the types of rope they had bought, wondering the comparative cost of buying smooth, well-treated rope versus simply buying lower-quality rope and using oils that hadn’t sold well to soften and increase the quality when—
Ding!
The bell above the main shop door chimed, waking Bonny from her reverie and jostling her quill against her cheek. A small yelp escaped her throat and she scrambled to grab a rag above her workstation, arising such a clatter that a deep voice called from the front door,
“Is everything alright back there?”
“I’ll just be a moment, hold on!”
Alighting from her stool, she smeared the rag across the fur on her cheek as she made her way from the cozy room to the main shop. As years passed she learned the change of air in each House Jade shop: from scrolls and papers to the smells of mixed commerce; crates and burlap, salt and iron. The scent brought a small smile to Bonny’s face as she sat behind the clerk’s desk and scanned the customer, a tall, long-muzzled figure with grey hair spilling from a woven traveler’s cloak. A thieves guild member?
“My apologies for the delay, may I help you?”
