Yulia, who had been at the head of the small group of urchins, stopped upon seeing the young man seemingly appear out of nowhere and request a moment of their time, Jair stepping up beside her.  Dressed entirely in black and white as he was, he would have stuck out like a sore thumb no matter where he was in the city, which made it all the more surprising that he had managed to remain hidden until they had almost been upon him.  As his gaze swept over them, briefly lingering on Soli and Recco, their sense that something was off about this man intensified, though the thought of fleeing never crossed their minds.

After a few more moments, the man spoke again, breaking the silence that had filled the air by mentioning that he had a proposition of sorts with Soli and Recco.  [color=lightsalmon][b]"I suppose that you won't let us just tell her about your offer later,"[/b][/color] Jair said with a sigh, feeling that this was certainly not a man that they would want to mess with.  

After a moment or two of hesitation, he turned to Perrin and said [color=lightsalmon][b]"See if you can wake her up, I guess."[/b][/color]  The bigger boy nodded and carefully lowered the sleeping girl to the ground before he began gently shaking her in an attempt to wake her up.  As it turned out, Soli wasn't in as deep as sleep as it seemed, and it was just a few moments later that she was sitting up, rubbing her eyes groggily and asking what had happened.  

Once she had been filled in, Jair, Yulia, and Perrin walked a little ways away to give the others a semblance of privacy while the man made his offer.  By the time they were far enough away to more or less ensure that they wouldn't be eavesdropping, Soli had stood up and approached the man, curious to hear what he had to say.

Recco himself wasn't so easily persuaded, and eyed the man with suspicion. To him, the man's admittably admirable stealth seemed comparative something unnatural and it raised warning signs in his head as he remembered what he'd been told often in the woods about how leaving would have him hunted down. With this in mind, he spoke up. [b]"Why in the goddesses' names should we trust you? You just pop out of nowhere and think that a smile and and your fancy tone will just win us over like that?"[/b] he said, staying where he was as he placed Soli's bag on the ground, folding his arms. While he did feel tempted to walk up because his friends seemed to trust the man, he wasn't about to walk into what he felt might be a trap. Even if this man had nothing to do with the forest, he was still a stranger and that alone made him wary of him.

The man chuckled inwardly, bemused. "Not in the Three Golden Goddesses' names, no," he replied quietly while gazing down before lifting his eyes back up to meet them. "I am not asking for your trust yet, young one-only of your ears and if thine find it suits thee, thine cooperation." He steps up in front of Soli and inclined his knees, squatting down to nearly meet her eye level.

"I wish for thee and your wily friend just yonder to be present in the central plaza come this middlenight hour," he said, sobering and face taking a more serious tone. "You must see what transpires-however, not intervene. Do [i]not[/i] attack as your allies would have you do. Stay back and observe. I will have a guide arranged for you to head to a place important; there is a dire task ahead that you, should you be willing, are part of."

The elfin man reached into a pocket at the side of his pants-a moment later withdrawing a stone of a size akin to a rupee, slab grey though weathered smooth with a loop at the top through which it hung from a cord of simple black leather-a pendant necklace, judging the size of it. He held out his free hand upturned, seeming to ask for her to place her own in his.

Soli was honestly a bit confused by Recco's reaction to the man, but she didn't let it bother her too much.  The man seemed benign enough to encourage her to at least hear what he had to say, though the fact that, as far as she knew, Jair and the others were okay with him helped soothe any residual concerns she may have had.  Still, when he suddenly stepped forward and lowered himself until he was eye level with her, Soli instinctively took a half-step back.

As he explained what he wanted her to do, Soli nodded along to show that she was listening, his somber tone indicating the importance of the request.  When he mentioned her allies, however, she felt a surge of panic that her cover had been blown.  But before she could say anything, he was giving her more instructions concerning what would be waiting there for her and Recco after the thing he wanted them to see, causing her to forget her fear.

Once the man had finished telliing her what he wanted them to do, he pulled a strange stone necklace out of his pocket and offered his other hand.  After a moment of hesitation, Soli placed her tiny hand on the man's palm.  As she did so, she eyed the strange stone necklace in his other hand with curiosity, though she wasn't sure if she should ask him what exactly it was.

Recco remained suspicious, but as the man spoke, he found himself curious as to what event the man could be speaking of, his interest becoming piqued the moment the stranger pulled out the stone, his curiosity causing him to approach cautiously, though still keeping an eye on the man himself. [b]"What exactly is that thing? And I don't suppose you could tell us what's going on at midnight, could you? Or maybe what this "dire task" is supposed to be? I mean that sounds a bit...cryptic if you ask me."[/b] he said, though with a tone that poorly hid his obvious curiosity.

The man seemed to pay Recco no mind for the moment, his gaze focused solely on Soli. Once her hand was in his, he lowered the stone down into it, cupping her hand within her own. The span of a moment passed with little change other than the feel of the warm stone-then it began.

A surge of liveliness bubbled up from within the girl like a rising spring, mana whirling up from her in a degree she previously had not known herself capable of. A faint glow shone through their closed hands, the energy flowing towards it and pooling there... amid the storm of energy, she could feel the nature of the stone altering, the shape changing against her hand...

The feeling slowly abates and the glow dulls and dissapates, leaving the girl winded and breathless, yet alert as though invigorated. He removed his upper hand, revealing the stone morphed into a design akin to a Chess knight, a horse... except for a pointed knob on the forehead-a spiral horn.

The man gazes down at it for a moment, then lifts his eyes to look into Soli's. "... the pure unicorn thou art, child. Dance, frolic through these forest glades..." he lifted his hand and placed it atop of her head, ruffling her hair with a light, faint smile. "... blessed of the Fairies, return innocence to these shades." Then he rose back up and looked to Recco, eyes beckoning him as he responded.

"In time, young one. Each of thee know enough-for now. At this moment, the mystery shall serve thine well. some answers, only you can answer," he said, glancing down to the pendant in Soli's hand.

Soli turned her head to look at Recco as he approached and voiced the same question that Soli had concerning the stone, having momentarily forgotten that he was still there due to the way the man's words had held her attention.  Instead of answering the question, however, the man lowered the stone into Soli's palm, causing her to turn back to him questioningly as he closed his hand around her own.

A moment later, Soli felt the threads of energy that surrounded them flock towards her, rushing through her body and into the strange stone she was holding.  While she was intimately familiar with the sensation of the threads filling her, as it was the same everytime she used her magic, the intensity of the energy in those experiences paled in comparison to the flood she was experiencing now.

After what felt like an eternity had passed, the surge of energy flowing through her diminished, eventually disappearing entirely as the threads returned to their natural positions.  Wide-eyed, Soli took several deep breaths as the man recited what sounded like a blessing of some sort and placed his hand on her head, ruffling her coppery hair a bit.

Still breathless from the experience of channeling that much energy, Soli said nothing as the man stood and turned to Recco, evading his questions with responses that were no less cryptic than the instructions he had given them.  [color=limegreen][b]"T-Thank you,"[/b][/color] Soli said once she was able, her voice breathy even so.  [color=limegreen][b]"W-will we see you again?"[/b][/color]


Recco looked at the transformed stone, having not experienced the sensation Soli had felt and having seen only the faint light barely for himself. Looking up at the man, he spoke up, not even bothering to hide his curiosity, though it was mixed with a hint of frustration this time.[b]"What exactly did you just do? I swear that stone didn't look like that. And what kind of answer was that anyway?"[b/] he asked before looking to Soli. [b]"Bet you any amount of Rupees this guy practices his cryptic lines daily."[/b] he joked with a grin, pointing a thumb at the stranger as he did so.

"You are welcome. And several times each,"  he replies simply. He then puts his hand into his pocket, withdrawing another corded stone pendant. "As for you... stay by her. You are an important part of this as well." He steps away from Soli and bends his knees again, holding out his hand towards Recco still paces away.

Reluctantly, Recco walked up to the man, more curious than anything, his head filled with even more questions to the point to where he was actually getting a bit of a headache. [b]"I'm tempted to ask what you're talking about, but I have a feeling that you'll say something like 'you'll see in due time' or some other cryptic phrase old people say when they're telling stories and stuff..."[/b] he joked, which helped him ease up a little more. He finally stood before the man, though his nerves were creeping up on him again.

"That depends on the question," he answers, still holding out his hand for Recco's-smiling gently. ""In your journey you will find your niche, should you take up this task. Though be ye warned now, while it will bring you reason and companions, it will be an often lonely, bitter path that traverses the dark." He dangles the pendant over his hand, indicating the gift, should he 'accept'.

Recco paused, taking in his words with more thought than he usually did and considering what he meant. After a few minutes of contemplation, he shrugged with a small shake of his head. "Hey I think I know how to make the 'dark' path more fun than you think. I used to live in Lost Woods, y'know." he said, extending a hand to accept the pendant, a grin on his face showing his confidence in his decision.

Rather than respond by word, the man lowers the stone into the imp's hand, his hand following a moment after and cuppint his between his two. The spell of a moment passed with little different; then energies began to stir in Recco, whorling inside of him and outward. Life surged and mana sprung forth like lightning coursing through him, his perception of the world warping as though light and time danced and spun without order. It was an eternity and an instant: then it was over, the faint glow subsiding before he removed his upper hand to reveal the new warps in the stone. similar in design, this piece had a pointed face, ears and a long, bushy tail. A fox, unmistakably. The pale man looked up to meet Recco's eyes, speaking softly as the small being caught his senses and breath.

"The fox art thy, child of the forest dark. Guile and wit, allure them all; beckon now, those darkling fey, return them now to those lines of ley." He then reaches up and brushes his cheek with a tender touch before withdrawing and standing.


Recco was completely caught off guard by this sensation, having never really expanded past his basic three spells and never tapping into the threads as grandly as what Soli did to him earlier, and almost fell backwards entirely as he swooned a bit, holding his head as the sensation faded. This was quickly replaced with excitement. "That felt amazing! How did you do that?! I felt like if I was spinning really fast and my vision got all blurry then it just...stopped! It happened so fast I feel I almost imagined it. What even was that?!"[/b] he said quickly, his voice filled with childish excitement.

Soli watched as the man performed the same ritual with the Skull Kid, absently running her hands over the strange stone she held in her hand.  The whole thing lasted for just a few moments, though Soli was pretty sure that it would have felt like much longer to Recco, the Skull Kid swooning as the light in his hands died out.

Unable to help herself, Soli stepped closer in order to get a closer look as the man removed his hand to reveal that the stone had changed into the shape of a fox.  Before Recco fully recovered from the rush, the man gave him a blessing that was similar to the one he had given Soli, though tailored to the fox shape that the stone had taken.  Of course, nothing seemed to phase Recco for long, and the man had barely finished speaking before Recco began asking questions about the ritual excitedly.

The man smiled, a faint warmth taking his mouth and cheeks. "A fox, indeed," he mutters. "I did little, only acted as the catalyst. You will learn of what on your own." He points to the stone in your hand. "That is your totem. Remember it." With that he sent a final, tender glance towards Soli.

"Should you walk this the most harrowing of journeys, then yes, you will. However, at the moment this, many an unspoken voice doth cry out and I must heed their beckoning to be prepared for this great design." He sighs, sending a vague, nostalgic glance downward for a moment. "The crack in the wheel doth spread... and with that, I leave you." suddenly and quickly, he spun on his heel, walked for and rounding the corner into an alleyway.

Soli nodded as the man continued, somewhat relieved to know that they would encounter the kindly stranger again.  If the journey they were going to be on would be as bad as he made it sound, it was certainly comforting to think that they might have his help, even if it was cryptic and hard to understand.

Before they could ask any more questions of the stranger, he turned and left, heading down an alleyway a few feet ahead of them.  Upon seeing the stranger leave, Yulia, Jair, and Perrin dashed over, inadvertently blocking any attempt Recco or Soli might have made to head after the mysterious man.  [color=lightsalmon][b]"What did he want?"[/b][/color] Jair asked, looking over the two of them to make sure that they hadn't been injured in any way.

[color=limegreen][b]"We'll tell you on the way back to the house,"[/b][/color] Soli replied, slipping the leather cord over her head and around her neck so that the horse-shaped stone rested against her sternum.  With that, the group collected their spoils from the market and made their way back to the store they called home, Soli and Recco explaining what the man had wanted from them and the strange ritual that he had performed with them as they walked along.
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(Collab between Nevis, Riolux, and myself)