This Stall is Fishy (Job Thread)

[Crystal Tokei]

It was time to test out her new Gigai, custom made by Crystal herself while experimenting on what else she was capable of creating. Not to mention the perfect opportunity made itself known for testing out the body, selling to those spiritually unaware. Due to this event she decided to forgo wearing her Soul Patch today, after all it'd be hard to sell to normies if they can't see you. With a grin she looks over to the Kitai clone currently manning the front desk, bored out of his mind at that. "Aight boss, I'm headin out for a little while! If other boss shows up let 'em know I won't be working until later."



With that quick comment Crystal would turn to her side of the store where her little door is, unfortunately she is no longer small enough to fit through that exit. That is, she isn't small enough to fit through the one designed for her doll form which currently resides in her purple and pink backpack. With a quick button press under her stand a good section of that wall swings outward, swiftly moving through the opening she turns around just as the timer hits 0 and the wall begins closing. I'm so happy Boss let me add that to the wall, and if he ever finds out he'll be thrilled at my contraption!


Now that she stands in the alleyway next to the Kitai shop Crystal figures it's time to head to her destination. Thanks to an "accidental" meeting with another shop owner, the Mod Soul had a plan set for today. What plan could that be you ask? Well selling goldfish at a stand in the shopping district of course! Thanks to the fact the owner known as Nuala was the proud owner of a fish store, some of her knew breeds were a bit defective and needed to be gotten rid of.



That is were Crystal came into the picture, throwing out the concept of selling those goldfish at a stand to make some extra cash which could be spent on further breeding. With the Mod Souls help this stand will be the most popular stand in Karakura while it was up! Thus why Crystal was arriving at a good corner in the shopping district closer to the residential area. Reaching in to her pocket dimension she began pulling out the supplies needed to build the stand. With a little bit of elbow grease and proficiency with tools the stand was standing strong.



Now that the stand was up Crystal had to decide on the sign while she waited for Nuala to show up. Should it be a few words that make a joke, a fish pun, or just a statement? This was certainly a difficult endeavor, so the best course of action she figured would be to wait for her partner to show up before the sign was completed. Together they could probably come up with something good that catches the eyes and minds of the people around them.

[Nuala Byrne]

Nuala never expected to be using the midnight coral reef like this, but it was the most convenient way to transport a large number of goldfish without taking up a ton of space. She loaded her genetic rejects-- goldfish in a variety of colors, ranging from deep red to effulgent gold to bright purple to shimmering silver-- into the inventory by the dozens. She fed them a color enhancer and a bit of high-quality flake to tide them over, adjusted the ambient temperature of the reef to be comfortable for both its coral and its goldfishes, and set out.

For the rare spiritually aware, she selected the obvious mascots: a trio of silver-pine fantail goldfishes and a single lime moon jellyfish, which haunted her shadow and provided backup in the form of functioning as a critical think tank. These fish did not occupy her coral inventory, she "wore" them out in the open, clearly advertising to her peers with their flashy tails and dance-like movements that something special was happening wherever she went. Fish that fly through the air did have a tendency to attract a bit of attention.

It was late springtime, on the warm side of temperate, and the skies were mostly clear, but for the occasional persistent cloud intent on sprinkling the ground below it with a patch of the lightest rain. Barely a drizzle, really. She modulated her fullbring to speak with the spirits of the air and what could collectively be considered the weather, telling them stories of idyllic days with bright sunlight and kitsune tricks, setting the mood for an easy, breezy day.

Today was not a day of mourning; that is, not one of the thirteen days she set aside in the year for honoring the fallen Guadaña. It was unlikely she'd be seeing combat or Hollows today, given that her goal was to sell these fish at a stall with a fellow crafter. It was an odd way that the two of them had met. If Nuala didn't know any better, she would have guessed that Crystal had come to her with the explicit intention of meeting and making some kind of deal.

Of course, Nuala did know better. Her advanced sense of auras and energy had already revealed Crystal's motivations and surface thoughts, and there was simply nothing "accidental" about their meeting. Everything had seemed almost too perfectly laid out; not that the fullbringer woman minded a little targeted advertisement. It's not like Crystal was a browser.

For this outing, Nuala went with her casual springtime attire. The black fleece hoodie dress and the skull-and-crossbones symbol across the chest. Rather than the jeans she'd stitched together from multiple scraps, however, she selected a different piece from her wardrobe. The marginally more professional grey-green canvas cargo pants, advertising to passersby that she was a Do-It-Yourself entrepreneur, unafraid to get her hands a little dirty in the pursuit of money-making and good business practices. Since there was still a little nip in the air when a rain cloud passed and it went well with the outfit, she chose to wear her deep green cotton infinity scarf.

Then there were her constants. Her Quincy bangle took its usual position on her left upper arm, her prayer beads occupied the fore of the same arm, and a mask fragment that called to mind a sea star was clipped to her braids. Nuala's 'tactical messenger bag' was slung over her left shoulder, clearly stitched together from the uniforms of at least a few Quincy. Between the bag and the bangle, she looked like she might have been a servant of the Emperor on the down-low. The bone and steel tubes and beads in her hair clacked quietly when she walked down the street.

Had she not have been so aware of auras, she might have missed Crystal this time. Her energy signature was plainly the same, however, even if the body were different. Nuala had seen this before. They were called Mod Souls. Their true body was usually, or perhaps always, a tiny pill, but when popped into anything that could be construed as a body of its own, their soul took over the body in question.

That must have been the woman that Nuala was looking at now. Short, with pink braids and light skin. To Nuala, it looked like she was dressed for utility, and had set up the stall with her own two hands. Nuala wondered what that must have felt like, having real hands with which to do real work for the very first time. She couldn't fathom the thought.

Nuala had arrived with a cart in tow. It was full of fish bowls and tanks of water from her own goldfish aquaria. She was sweating at the brow, unaccustomed to hauling such a load, but relishing the opportunity. She stopped the cart near the stall. The air that exuded off her was neither standoffish nor aggressive. There would just be time to chat later when they were finished setting up. She had noticed the sign was empty and put her mind a bubble on thinking of a name or a statement. Until then, she simply got to work.

[Koshka Volkov]

Flip after flip after flip that Koshka made through the air, emphasizing her own gymnastic attitudes as she danced and painted herself through the sands of Hueco Mundo. Thanks to the techniques she'd been able to keep active while here, Hollow poisoning proved itself to be no issue at all. No, quite the opposite was going to make itself quite the problem for the individual that seemed to try to strike her dead where she stood.

"Foolish Quincy," a hollow echoed out, "many have tried to defeat me in the past, yet none have succeeded; what makes you think that you can do the same? You haven't even struck me yet!"

A soft laughter echoed from Koshka as she continued to gracefully avoid the incoming strikes from the Mantis hollow's sythelike blades. She was far faster than this thing had ever hoped to be, that much was for sure. For her to take a hit would've required her to let it happen! Such very much wasn't going to be the case, given her natural spirit energy, such would've been detrimental to her health if it had happened. As such, she just went about her day, occasionally flinging her hands toward the hollow in order to keep her balance.

Though, there was something much more insidious going on. Instead of actually trying to keep herself standing, she'd been doing something rather... different, the entire time. Unbeknownst to the hollow, sewing-pin sized needles rest embedded in the creature's back, seeping a rather dangerous substance into the monster's spiritual body. It was only a matter of time before its effects would no longer rest dormant in its system.

As the mantis reeled back its head, before launching a caustic liquid directly toward the Quincy, Koshka planted her wrists toward the sand before allowing herself to sink into them, causing a rippling sensation from where she was. Moving at her full speed, and closing the distance toward the creature, she emerged for a brief period of time in order to grab onto the monster and drag it into the depths of her oceanic soul. While it tried to move, the Hollow quickly found that it had been almost entirely paralyzed, caught like a fly in a spider's web.

Standing behind the beast as they reemerged in the watery world, Koshka drew her knife, and held it toward the still hollow's throat. "Shhhh," she whispered, pressing the blade into the creature, and raking it slowly to kill the beast, "Sleeeeeeep...."

---

Ah, the Human World! Quite a wonderful place, if she did say so herself. Especially after having spent the afternoon to deal with Hueco Mundo and its rather awful weather. Not to mention the creepies that seemed to walk the place. It sent a shiver down her spine. Regardless, though! While the body of that Hollow she'd just slain remained within her watery world for safekeeping, Koshka very avidly felt that today was the day she focused on exploring the town! Again.

After her last visit in the Human World caught her sidetracked and working to help serve food, she wanted to actually spend time at some point to find a nice little place for her and her lover to spend time together! Perhaps exploring the tea houses? Truth be told, she wasn't sure how Zinnia felt about tea, but Koshka herself did rather enjoy it.

Regardless of that fact though, today was going to be a fun day for her! It had been a little while since she'd gotten the opportunity to explore, and- "Wait," she spoke, cutting off seeing a school of fish walk down the sidewalk with someone in front of them, "is that Nuala?" The woman had sent her a couple of jellies not a week or two ago, and she hadn't the opportunity to repay her yet. Perhaps this was the time?

Lightly jogging over toward the Fullbringer, Koshka walked behind her, before turning around and heading backward to surprise her. "I knew it was you!" She exclaimed, "what brings you out and about today?" She inquired, intent on following the Fullbringer where she went. It hadn't mattered that she was headed to see Crystal; Koshka would've been glad to see the Mod Soul as well.

In terms of what she wore, Koshka kept herself dressed rather casually, with a white tee tucked into a longer blue skirt. Her hair had been down for once instead of in that same long braid; she'd been almost unrecognizable to anyone in the Vandenreich! Well, if it weren't for the pendant that hung proudly around her neck, displaying her allegiance rather obviously. Her spirit energy however, had been tainted like the smell of smoke, with faint traces of Hollow reiatsu clinging around her.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Outfit for the day!}

[Crystal Tokei]

Wiping the sweat from her brow after working to construct the stall, Crystal placed the name slab in it's position. Using her stool to stand at eye height with the sign she scratches her chin as she debates what the name should be. Two possible names pop into mind so she jumps down and scribbles them on a paper to show her stall partner when she arrives. Letting out a sigh the Mod Soul takes a step back to appreciate her construction and enjoy the fact soon this will be bustling with customers.



It's around this time Crystal spotted Nuala approaching, "Ah, was wondering where you were. The stall is up so now all we need is a name, I have to suggestion which I've written down on this paper. Though if you have any ideas I'd love to hear them! After all, a name is part of advertisement and good advertisement means good business!" Her eye's sparkle as she speaks about making this stall popular, why you may wonder? Money, money is needed to craft new things which means she's excited to make money to further the creation of her babies in the future.



On the paper Crystal handed Nuala was written two names. The first was "The Golden Fish" and the second was "Rainbow Pond". She would wait to her the Fullbringers opinions and maybe even suggestions. From there she would stand there mulling over the different names until one of them clicks. It's about then that the Mod Soul noticed someone she's meet before, a girl known as Koshka. "Oh, Didn't see you standing there, almost as if you are to stealthy for average people to notice. Like that's actually the case though." She would end that with a girly giggle, something that doesn't fit her current attire at all.



At the end of the day, Crystal is still a girly girl. Most don't notice this due to her obsessive drive to create more exciting contraptions or when she pushes any business she has connections to, even her constant yearning to understand how souls and the soul cycle work. In reality she still loves dresses and makeup, even having tea parties. These were things her mother did with her while she wasn't being taught about souls or the soul cycle, or how creating something is fulfilling. She misses those times but they are long gone, so she'd enjoy finding someone to do those things with.



"So, what brings you here Koshka? I doubt it's because you knew I'd be here, in fact do you even recognize me when I'm not in this body?" It'd be at this moment that Crystal would pull out her Doll body to show the Quincy. She'd hold it out until Koshka would comment about it, placing it back into her purple and pink backpack. Lifting her arms above her head she would stretch, "It honestly feels really strange being in a normal Human body." Turning her attention back to Nuala she would see if there might be a name she'd prefer among the suggested.

[Leonie Dallmann]

31 paragraphs counted total, meaning 9300 Ryo for Nuala, 18,600 for Crystal! Koshka's retired, so no rewards.