Crafting Submission Part: 2

Ashe hurriedly put on her clothes, threw on her Rainbow Scarf, and finished the look with her comically oversized hat. It was nearly half her body length but an oh so important accessory for her to be taken seriously as an enchantress. At least thats what she told herself. She grabbed a couple boxes, a coin purse, and rushed out the door. This years harvest had been particularly bountiful so Ashe was headed down to the markets to try and scope out a good deal. She desperately needed to restock on flour and sparkling sugar. If she could, she would also restock her moon cheese but that was a personal need and she was out here on business. On days like these she also liked to wander the markets finding new and exotic ingredients that she could use in her art. Her short little legs carried her as fast as they could go, as she hurried towards the market. She was suddenly and abruptly halted by a river of bodies, All shambling forward in search of fresh produce and good deals. She was absorbed into the river and pushed and shoved every which way as it flowed from stall to stall. As if by fate though, she found herself pushed out into an opening and in front of the stall she had been intending to go to. She had shopped with this merchant for years now and still didnt know their name. It was exactly how she enjoyed doing business and why she kept coming back to this stall. On this particular day, a customer was taking up the merchants attention. They had clearly been going back and forth on their decisions for quite some time now. Ashe stood there waiting for her turn for what felt like an hour. She had seen this customer ask the merchant to bag, unbag, and rebag the same produce several times. And yet she remained undecided on what to purchase. Several other customers in line became fed up and left. The merchant was clearly uncomfortable with the situation but continued to be polite. Finally the customer landed on a bag of sparkling sugar and left satisfied with her purchase. Ashe approached the merchant and said "What the hell was that about"?

The man who had been running the shop turned to her with a small hum. He wasn't the typical friendly face that one would usually see around these parts. Every merchant attempted to look prim, proper and overly interested in order to help sell their wares. This dragon however... He didnt seem like he could care less about what his customers thought of him and only sought after the glint of gold beneath the mask of professionalism . He had every right to feel confident however due to the extremely unique goods he managed to hunt down from across the sea. It was all brought here for the highest buyer to do whatever they pleased so long as they could pay the price. "Ahh, You know how it is. Some customers are fickle with what they end up buying. Some may also be unsure of what they want" He expressed glancing behind her to see the long line that had formed. "As a result we are experiencing some _slight_ delays for our waiting times" He added with a snake like grin. "Anyway, back to business. What might you be looking for today? We have fresh stocks on exotic ingredients and crafting materials. Im certain you'd be able to find what you need. Bottled Dragons Fire, Vials of Demonic Venom, Mermaid Honey, or if you want to ruin someone's day there's also fresh Anxious blossoms. A petal or two would send whoever ate it bawling to their rooms" He explained with a hearty laugh.

"Yeah. Tell me about it. Ive gotten my fair share of those down at the bakery too. And dont even sweat it. Your goods are worth the wait. Well.  Im already stocked up on dragons fire and venom isnt usually a great ingredient for baking. I am interested in the mermaids honey, but can you guarantee its from REAL mermaid? Last time i bought mermaid honey it ended up being SIREN honey! Can you believe that? Ruined my whole batch of diving danishes. *grumble grumble*. As for the anxious blossoms, nevere heard of those! But if they do what i think they do, i think i could whip up a new pastry with those. Im thinking could make an adrenaline tea cake. Not sure how well theyd sell but its always fun to try new things."

"If there is one thing I don't do its counterfeit items. I ain't about to soil my good name by false advertising either. I got a business to run here so screwing over my customers isn't exactly the smartest of ideas." Tidus said as he pulled out his journal, flipping over to an entry that contained some photos along with writing. "This honey was collected out near Sol Solir, A pretty common place for mermaids to bask on the shore. Wanna know how I know? Cause I came from there myself" He stated as a matter of factly while pushing the journal closer to her so she could see. Whilst Ashe viewed the pictures of the mermaids resting on the beach, Tidus went to fetch the jar of the sweet nectar bringing it to the table for her to look at after. The jar had a beautiful blue vicious liquid inside that had a pearlescent shimmer if looked at in the correct angle. Tidus then removed the lid, letting the intoxicatingly sugary scent flood the back end of the store. "Well? What do you think? This is the real deal. The good stuff" He said, crossing his arms with pride.

"Oh no im sorry. I didnt mean to question your honesty! Im simply well aware that people often mix up the two and am cautious after my last purchase. It looks and smells absolutely divine. Ill take your entire stock! Having said that though.  A little browbird told me that you keep certain wares out of view for more....discerning customers." Ashe looks around shiftily, reaches into one of her boxes and then slides a pink, sprinkle covered cupcake towards the nautical browbird.

"All yours... They're 75 Stargold a pop though for the three jars I got" Tidus said, twisting the lid back onto the one he showed her. Afterwards he turned to the back, fetching the other two pristine jars filled with the blue syrup before her comment about his more... unsavory goods. He glanced over his shoulder towards her. "Hmm... And What might a little lady like you be wanting those goods for? You know... Some goods aren't all that easy to stomach" He gently warned, giving her the option to bail out incase she wanted to.

"As long as ive got the coin, shouldnt really be your concern where these ingredients are being used for now should it?" Ashe said as she placed a sack of stargold onto the table. "But if you must know, im looking for powerful mystic ingredients to make enchanted pastries. Go ahead. Have a bite." She winks at tidus.

"Fair enough. Your spit in the face of uncertainty is enough to tell me you got the grit to handle what I'm selling" Tidus said while reaching down to pick up her strange offering. He paused, giving the pink frosting an inquizitive sniff. Sweetness hit his nose and while he wasnt a man who enjoyed sweets. something about it was just too alluring. Parting his lips, he took a large chomp out of the pastry then motioned her to come along. "Dish whay" He muttered with his mouth full. Some in line muttered in dismay now due to the realization it would likely take forever for them to get a turn to buy. A chorus of hushed curses and complaints echoed behind Ashe as she stepped into the back. Here were a completely different array of unorthodox goods, some of which bordered on the line of legality. To acquire such ingredients took a level of fortitude many lacked.

Ashe knew what she was getting into  and braced herself for what she would see.  Despite this, Ashe couldnt help but marvel at just how many containers lined the walls, each with substances that were outlawed or she had never even heard of. Unicorn fat? She wasnt even aware unicorns could get fat, but she had heard rumors of a terrible practice similar to fois gras that certain criminal groups had been employing. Kraken teeth? Kraken didnt naturally have teeth so these must have been a rare mutation. Thats when she saw it. A shiver crept down her spine, and her feathers ruffled. Every cell in her body, conditioned by millions of years of evolution, screamed at her to run, to get out of there, or to simply stop existing. Fear paralyzed her as she read the label on a container."Rapid cabbage". She had only heard of how dangerous this plant could be. It had been outlawed in nearly every world that contained life. It was rarely if ever allowed for academic study, and even then the utmost restrictions and security measures were used.   These mysterious plants had been observed to contain unstable molecules that could accelerate at incomprehensible speeds. They also had a tendency to suddenly vanish and appear in random places several thousands of miles away with no discernible pattern. They had the unfortunate tendency to also bring a large chunk of their surroundings with them. They also didnt always teleport all the parts together leading to some gruesome occurances. Rumors had it that the planet where they had been originally from had dissapeared without a trace, nowhere to be found in this universe. Because of this, they were extremely rare. Shocked, Ashe stumbled backwards and knocked over a glass jar that shattered upon contact with the floor. "Oh! Im so sorry. Youll count that as a gift for your favorite customer right?"

Tidus could practically hear his soul shatter along with the jar. The pixie that had been held inside quickly got up and attempted to make a break for the door nearby. Unfortunately for it, Tidus was considerably faster with his Aspect and trapped the small creature within a bubble it could not escape. If it tried its wings would become soaked leaving it downed either way. "You're lucky that it wasnt something that would of obliterated my store" He lightly wheezed as he went to fetch a new jar for the creature. " Or if it had been Banes Breath... We would of suffocated on the spot" He said, lightly rubbing his throat before setting the bottled pixie down on a shelf that was higher than Ashe could reach. "Now... What exactly were you looking for again?" He inquired as he stuffed the rest of the cupcake into his mouth. "What kinda enchanted stuff are you lookin at for your pastry... What are you attempting to achieve? Cause I need all the info I can get to provide the right goods you see..." Tidus asked.

"Gotta be honest with you. I have no idea. I could take anything in here and make something out of it. Id gladly take that water you used on that pixie right now. That little essence of pixie probably has enough magic in there to enchant a pastry with guiding light magic." Ashe picked up another random jar and shook it vigorously. Luckily nothing happened. " i have been quite curious as to what i could make out of mimic parts. You wouldnt happen to have any of those lying around?"

"Bottled Pixie water? Interesting. I never considered offering that. People usually sniff the dust recreationally" Tidus said. A shiver went down his spine. "Its some crazy stuff..." He admitted, having once tried it for fun and proceeded to get no sleep for the next 3 days. He picked up an empty vial, filling it with the water he used to create the bubble and set it down. "Mimic parts... Lets see..." He pondered, rubbing his chin as he opened up a compartment under the floorboards. "Ahh.. I have Wooden Mimic Pieces... But thats just junk. I also have a Tongue, Heart, Teeth and Blood" Tidus explained. "The blood can be a bit tricky. If it comes into contact with stuff it can change its appearance to something else close around it."

"Youd be surprised at the kinds of effects you can draw out from ingredients based on how you prepare them. Yes yes, weve been there, had a little too much pixie dust and you wake up naked in a forest 75 miles away from your home. But the interesting thing is that when boiled in water it can produce a light that will guide you to hidden treasure. Only issue is that the tricky little things lead you to danger more often than not. Risky little concoction that is usually not worth the trouble. I once knew a guy who ended up encountering a basilisk because of it all. At the end of the day, the guiding light led this poor bastard to a pile of worthless metal scraps the basilisk had grown fond of!" Ashe gave a hearty laugh before calming herself. "Ahh... poor guy. Anyways. Ill definitely take as many tongues as you got. Not sure what ill do with the heart but ill take one of those as well. The teeth are useful but unfortunately they taste AWFUL. I could never really figure out how to use those. Blood sounds interesting so ill grab a jar. Oh and ill take a few planks of wood. Theyre pretty useless but surprisingly, its a good substitute for cinnamon!"

"Cinnamon? Well I'll be damned. I cant fathom who the hell would try Mimic wood shavings... but if it works it works?" Tidus said as he began gathering each material that Ashe had requested. "I only have one tongue though so you'll have to work with that. As you can imagine... Mimics aren't exactly _common_ creatures. Those that meet them usually get bitten in half after their greedy hands get a little too close" He mused, picking up the thick slimy muscle out of the compartment below. "Got one heart here..." He added, separating each material so they wouldn't become contaminated with one another. The dragon then grumbled to himself as he lowered a light in order to locate the vial of blood. It took him a moment to find it as it was disguised as one of the numberous teeth he had sitting in a basket. "Ahh heres the blood. You might wanna put a bell on it so you can tell which is which" He suggested, bringing all of the items over. "Alright... Since you already paid for the Mermaid Honey... You owe me 550 Star gold for the rest of the goods."

"Hmmmm. Hmmmmmmmm. HMMMMMMMMMM." After what felt like 30 straight seconds of hmm'ing from the browbird, she steeled her resolve and said "can you also throw in one of those cabbages?"

Tidus nearly dropped the jar he was holding upon mention of that _thing_. His life practically flashed before his eyes as he recalled the grueling effort it took to get his hand on that untamed destructive force. A chill ran up his spine as a result. "Are you _sure_ about that?." He questioned, looking at her with a piercing gaze. "I'll sell it to ya but not until you sign a waver. I ain't about to find myself liable for your pastry ingredient choices." Tidus said, crossing his arms.

"Yeah yeah yeah. Ill sign the waiver. Surely it cant be that bad." She sloppily signs the piece of paper. "So whats the damage? How much do i owe ya?"

"600... Take it cause you aint leavin it" Tidus said as he grabbed the waver from her, giving it a quick glance to make sure it is indeed signed. After letting out an indecisive hum he fetched the magically sealed jar that contained the offending cabbage. He tapped the glass lightly which caused it to stir within, its leaves flaring in offense. It was still alive... He picked it up and hastily made his way over to her, deciding to put it into a cushioned box. He wasnt going to take a repeat of her clumsy falls within his shop again otherwise the cabbage would destroy everything. "Alright. Here it is all boxed up." Tidus said handing it to her.

"You dont exactly inspire confidence in your safety measures when youre acting all nervous like that." A bead of nervous sweat ran down her feathers as she took the box. She stared at the box, thumbing at its lock mechanism. After fiddling for a bit, she reached into her own bag and pulled out a coin purse. "Looks safe enough. Lets see here." Ashe gently placed each coin, one by one, into Tidus' palm. "Wow. You really took me for everything i got. I think im looking to make 700, maybe 800ish if im lucky.  But if im not lucky, whats your refund policy again?" As she said this, the latch on the box became undone, dropping the cabbage onto the floor. Horrified looks plastered themselves on both faces as a green magical hue flooded the room. In an instant it was over. The room was filled with a green smoke and smelled awfully like steamed cabbage. And just like that, all of the items that Ashe had purchased were gone.

"So about that refund"

"Get out" Tidus responded firmly.