A Certain Request (Neverwinter)

Eddie perused the stock of first editions, and wound up selecting some compilations - three of them, the compiled first ten issues of Ultraman, Captain Awesome, The Goon, and BATTLEDUDE THE INVINCIBLE. Goon had good art, she'd thought, but the rest were completely over the top representations of the genre.

"How much for these three?"

"Twenty dollars for all of them" said Nina smiling as she sat in her chair and stared at Eddie calmly "do you want a bag for them?" she asked.

Eddie nodded and produced a wallet on what looked like a small length of narrow iron chain. It was a far cry from the purse of some little old lady or a fashionista - this was rugged, hard, bleached several times and had grease stains. The chain looked like it was part of the wallet itself - this was the arrangement of someone who very much did not intend to be pickpocketed. For one thing, they'd end up dragging her along and by the look of her get a short, sharp lesson about elbows, throats and why they don't go together as well. Upon the wallet was the phrase "Bad Motherfucker" in cheerfully curvy cursive black lettering that had been done with a soldering iron.

Eddie produced a couple twenties an handed them over. In some small way, she felt she should apologize, but couldn't actually bring herself to say %#!@ - the Kitsune had been terribly smug, and Eddie liked someone who would get argumentative rather than pick up a phone. It showed guts - only a coward, she felt in her knotted and battered soul, called the police about things like that or got all bent out of shape. The kitsune had won a prize, even if she was pretty, snotty, and didn't give a damn. That was the whole point really! She didn't back down.

Eddie made no comment about the tip, just pushed it towards the girl, accepting the books she'd selected.

"Nah. S'good." She said dismissively. The books precipitated about her person smoothly. "Name's Eddie, by the way." She said, ashing in a can of cola she seemed to magically, and suddenly, have.

Nina smiled as she put the money in the register and gave back the change "I'm Nina" she said smiling cheerfully, Eddie was one of her rare customers who actually kicked up a little of a fuss.

"Hm. So, Nina." She began, leaning back and to the side on the bar. "How long have you been in business? I mean, selling comics and all that."

Nina shrugged "a few years now, I use to work for the owner, advertising the store and such, then he ended up retiring and giving the store to me...then he died and left his money to me in his will...I guess he didn't have anyone else" she said with a sad frown "he was the friendly old man type ya know?" she added.

"So it's not true what they say about Kitsunes then?" She asked sharply, glaring at the girl directly in the face, eyes staring at her, staring through her. This was a test. Anyone could see that. "And don't ask whats that like you don't know what I mean, you're not a stupid woman." She added.

Nina raised an eyebrow "that we're Japanese succubi? No, its just the whole fox spirit thing tends to put men off so they usually leave us instead of us leaving them" she said calmly as she just stared at Eddie "I grew up not knowing my father, my mother moved to England to persue a better life for me, I became part of a fox den of other kitsunes, all aunties and cousins and nieces, no men at all, only fox women" she said calmly.

Eddie stared into her eyes for a full ten seconds before saying anything, then broke into a pumpkin grin, her eyes clearly saying 'good show, you pass! hooray!', and might have hinted that this woman was a hell of a lot sharper than she might appear. She looked forward again, and seemed to switch off in a way, her presence suddenly completely casual, completely at ease. It was a little bit like having a tiger curl up and sleep on your lawn - it was still a tiger, but nobody was losing any fingers.

"You seem to do alright for yourself here, is business alright?" she asked after a calm moment or two

Nina nodded "yeah, I have my own nerd army" she said with a smirk "thought about expanding a little to make a little playroom for them, dungeons and dragons and such, just to say thanks and save them from the jerks who bully them you know?" she said as she leaned back in her swivel chair behind the counter.