Just Visiting [CLOSED; Nobu]

Here comes a killer whale

to sing me to sleep

Nobu had come to the markets in Haven not to buy anything in particular, but to walk through and observe the goings-on around him. Though by now a good number of the faces were familiar, there was always something interesting to be found in the hustle and bustle of the mid-day shoppers.

Presently, he had taken up a seat on a bench near the main walkway, in an area with a mix of shops and stalls selling mainly jewelry and other accessories, or various articles of clothing. A younger avian magi was attempting to haggle over the price of a bracelet— which he apparently found to be “outrageous” and “bordering on theft!”— with an aging tortoise magi who seemed to be quite stubborn on keeping the price just where it had been listed. It was quite funny, really, watching the younger of the two become more and more worked up as the argument went on. He could have put tomatoes to shame, with how red his face was getting…

However, someone else soon caught his attention as she stopped at another stall a bit further down the street. Pretty and slim, she had long lavender hair, twisting horns, and a tail trailing behind her. Her face was an entirely new one, worthy of observation at least for a little while, so Nobu kept his eyes no her while she began picking through the selection of items before her.

Even with the distance between them, it soon became apparent that whatever mission she was on was not going well. Her sides had started heaving, movements becoming jerky and uncertain, and after another moment or so, Nobu rose to approach her from behind. This was someone he wanted a closer look at, he’d decided.

“Excuse me,” he said once he was close enough, putting on a charming smile as he stopped a short distance away from the lavender-haired magi. “Is everything alright?”

Here comes a killer whale

to sing me to sleep

Although unconvinced by the woman’s answer, Nobu said nothing on the matter while she appeared to recover. Whatever moment she had been having seemed to have passed for now, and he was content to let it be so. “Very well, then,” he replied instead, carefully maintaining his smile while the other magi looked him over.

There was something odd in the way this one stared at him, more than the simple curiosity people tended to show toward a new face, even one as unique as his own. Odd, too, was the way in which she reached for him with seemingly no regard for the breach of personal space she was making. Stiffening visibly, Nobu shifted away from the woman’s touch quickly, and shot her a raised brow.

“I am a magi, of course,” he answered her, fully aware that his answer was not quite the one she was looking for. But if she was going to behave strangely, he might as well have a little fun himself, right? “Much like you are, hm?” A mischievous smirk played across his lips at that, lingering only for a moment before the previous smile settled back into place.

Offering a light chuckle, Nobu played off the incident as though it were nothing shortly afterward. “It’s alright, Miss Ootari.” Taking her hand in his own webbed fingers, he shook briefly before releasing her. “My name is Nobu.” Turning his eyes back on the stall she was standing before, he added, “Looking for anything in particular here?”

Here comes a killer whale

to sing me to sleep

His statement almost seemed to take the woman by surprise, and while he was careful not to show it, this Nobu found incredibly strange. Of course, her initial breach of his space had been odd in itself, but the fact that she seemed to need a moment to remember that she herself was a magi was unusual on an entirely new level. It seemed he’d chosen a good subject to approach indeed— this one was proving already to be quite full of surprises.

Bowing his head in brief appreciation, he said, “Thank you. Your name is rather nice as well, and very unique—” The lion fish magi stopped then, seeing the same panic he’d noticed earlier begin to resurface. Flattery would earn him few favors when Vashti was in such a state, he was sure. So instead, he would change tactics, adopting an air of gentle concern much like the one he had approached with.

“Well, I know what I like myself,” he told the purple-haired magi, shrugging, “But I hardly think I can speak for men as a whole, hm?” A very… traditional mindset this one had, didn’t she? Noting this, Nobu turned his gaze on the various odds and ends laid out on display. “What can you tell me about your brother? Surely you must have some idea as to his tastes, no?” Deep blue eyes flicked over to try catching Vashti’s crimson pair. “Favorite colors? Preferences on patterns? What sorts of things does he usually wear?” With any luck, these questions could not incite further panic.

Here comes a killer whale

to sing me to sleep

Purple and plaid, and a taste for finer clothing. Although it was admittedly not much to go on, Vashti’s few hints were at least better than nothing, even if she had seemed rather uncertain about them. “Perhaps we can find him a nice shirt, then,” he suggested, eyeing the selection laid out before them. “Or perhaps a tie, a pair of cufflinks…” Business attire was not something Nobu knew much about, but he was pretty sure both of the accessories he’d listed fell under that category.

Moving a bit further down the line of stalls, although he remained relatively close, he began picking his way through the next display for something that might be acceptable, based on what little he knew. “Some siblings are closer than others,” the lion fish magi answered his new companion with a shrug, sparing her a brief smile. “That doesn’t necessarily make you a bad sibling.” Pausing, he picked up a shirt, looked it over for a bit, and then would set it down again unless the purple-haired woman seemed to take interest in it.

“Besides, once you see him again, perhaps you can take the opportunity to learn more, hm?” A single red brow lifted curiously. “That way, the next time you want to do something nice for your brother, you will be better informed as to what he might enjoy.” And, perhaps, less likely to panic as a result.

Here comes a killer whale

to sing me to sleep

As Vashti agreed with the point he had made, Nobu simply nodded, making no verbal response as he continued to idly browse the selections laid out before them. The resolution she made would be hers to uphold, but by the confidence of her tone he wasn’t too worried that it would fall through.

Pausing in his search, the lion fish magi glanced over to find Vashti had taken interest in a flannel, and watched her quietly as she examined it. It wasn’t a winner, by the lack of interest in her features. “Oh?” he asked, raising a brow as she mentioned a favored fruit of her brother’s. “What is it? Perhaps you could bring him some of that, too, when you return.”

What she pulled out was an unfamiliar thing, brown and scaly. Taking it, Nobu turned the fruit— an Aguaje, apparently— over between his fingers, sniffing at it curiously. “Thank you,” he said, flashing her a smile as he dug into the tough skin with a nail, finding bright yellow flesh underneath. Careful not to make a mess, he would nibble on it quietly as he wandered further down the way.

Here and there, he would point out a tie, or shirt, or some accessory that seemed like it might suite Vashti’s brother’s taste, looking to her for an opinion rather than offering his own. It would be more helpful to her, he thought, if she was the one making decisions, rather than influencing them too much himself.

Here comes a killer whale

to sing me to sleep

Nobu was beginning to wonder if they would ever find something that suited Vashti as a gift, and had begun forming plans to see if he couldn’t get her to settle for something that wasn’t absolutely perfect for her brother, when the purple-haired woman’s interest fell on a bright red tie. Pausing, he turned to watch as she scrutinized the thing, sizing it up in much the same way as the other items she had stopped to reject. Only… this time there was something a little different. A shift in her demeanor that indicated a promising opinion of the tie, which she voiced moments later.

Offering her a wide grin, the lion fish magi nodded encouragingly to Vashti and replied, “I’m sure your brother will love it.” Even if the tie ended up being not necessarily to his tastes, the thought of these things was supposed to count for something, wasn’t it? It would do well enough, surely. And if it didn’t… that wasn’t really his problem unless, he supposed, he encountered the other magi panicking over it later, as he had before.

Following Vashti’s voiced intention of buying the tie, Nobu would wait on the sidelines until the purchase had been completed, finishing off the last of the fruit he had been given in the meantime. Once the tie had been paid for and handed off, he would rejoin the other magi with another pleasant smile on his face. “Now then,” he began, tilting his head to one side, “was there anything else I can help you with?”