Shop Visits! (Open post!)

[foundfate]

[Maybe you stumbled upon the front gate to a strange house while walking in your neighborhood. Maybe you found it nestled between skyscrapers in a downtown area. Or maybe you didn't stumble across it at all, and instead fell into the backyard or something. The way you got there matters little. What really counts is that you're there for one reason: a wish.

A want. A desire. Something you can't get on your own. Something you want so badly that you would do anything to get it.

Well, you've come to the right place.

There's plenty to see in the house. The foyer is nice, and the kitchen is well-stocked. There's several other rooms as well: a sitting room, a dining room, a couple bedrooms for the people who wander upstairs to look, and a rather luxurious bathroom too. Several rooms open to the outside as well, so it's easy to come inside by many different paths.

But ultimately, you will end up face-to-face with a screen that opens into a room with a table and two chairs which overlooks the backyard.

And in that room, you will find the shopkeeper.]



[What happens now? Well, that's up to you, isn't it?]

Comments

[thedevilrebukingsin]

Well enough.

[No hindrances, no unnecessarily helpful pedestrians, no loud noises. This spot was a good distance from the highway, and the only regrettable thing about this trip was that to avoid being seen, he had to leave early and forego tea.

(If the shop served it the traditional Russian way including the homemade concentrated brew, color him surprised.

And suspicious on how far that ability extended.)]

You don't exactly advertise your business hours, nor is there readily available information on your establishment.

[foundfate]

[The shop does not serve traditional Russian tea, unfortunately, but Watanuki does have some tea prepared and ready for a visitor. But it's green tea, prepared the way someone from Japan would prepare it.

He probably could have made things more customized for Fyodor, but he also is aware of Fyodor's paranoia, and he would rather not trip that.]

I don't really need to. Anyone who is in need of my services will find their way here eventually.

[He'll indicate to the spot near him, on the other side of the tea tray. Come join him for a chat, Fyodor.]

[thedevilrebukingsin]

[Tea made not with strength and flavor aged over time, but clarity of essence. What Fyodor missed from Russian tea culture, Japanese rituals, tradition, and the exactness of quality were curiosities enough for him to dispel his disappointment.

(The Shopkeeper was correct in not making a special brew. A gesture of hospitality it might be, until today Fyodor would have no reason to trust he wouldn't be poisoned.)]

Part of your ability?

[A question asked in a neutral tone. He sat across the shopkeeper, calm and expressionless.]

[foundfate]

[Watanuki is going to drink some tea, even if Fyodor doesn't. No sense in letting good team go to waste.

And, to answer that question:]

Something like that. Wishes are not easy to grant at the best of times.

[thedevilrebukingsin]

[Fyodor follows suit after this one takes a sip. He'll also take a piece of konpeito or other sweets, if those also have been served.

(If not, tough luck, Fyo.)]

So they aren't. [A different type of "wish granting," but Fyodor has, in the past, had to customize plans for certain allies. Not all objectives are easy to accomplish... and not all of them necessarily realized the consequences of what they wished for.] If you're still alive and well, I take it that you haven't been sufficiently threatened by clients who didn't know what they were getting into.

[Half-guess, half-statement of fact. This one looked physically healthy enough, any signs of exhaustion or weariness Fyodor might pick up aside.]