"You seem to know a lot of people." I observed
"Just people around here". He answered staring down the road avoiding my eyes
"Why is that?" we just hit Barneys store when Vanadium said,
"That's a story for another day".
The store had a red brick outside, any normal person would walk right past and not realize that amazing things were happening inside. Vanadium opened the door for me and I just stared at him until he walked in before me. If he wanted me to act myself then he better expect someone rude and not lady like. As soon as Vanadium walked through the door he gasped.
"What in the world is this place Alice?"
I let a smile take over my face. Barneys shop was one unlike any other, he sold exotic animals, strange foods, different inventions, interesting bottles of smells, and anything else that ships brought from around the world.
"Alice? Who is that man with you?" I could barely hear Barney over the sounds of squawks from the colorful flock of birds in a change.
I grabbed onto Vanadium's arm unaware of his reaction and dragged him over to a corner that was partially hidden by a rack of red dragon silk. It reveled Barney hunched over a strange contraption. Barney, slightly short had to stare up at me. His blue eyes crinkled at the sight of Vanadium. Barney was 75 years old, a magnificent year to be alive, or at least according to him.
"Vanadium! My boy, what are you doing here?" Barney shouted over the squawks
I felt slightly confused, how did Barney know Vanadium?
"I suppose that I can tell you that I am here to escort Alice from her ship and back, or shall I say that she's escorting me." He laughed and pulled his arm from my grasp in a soft matter
"Is that Georgie?" Barney stared at the sleeping dog in my left arm who I almost forgot about
Barney pushed the wooden contraption to the floor and with a bang it cracked open. The wooden object was shaped as a sphere but it had strange pattern of triangles written on it.
"I do think that you broke it!" vanadium kneeled down to move the pieces around which laid in two perfectly broken pieces
"Good! I've been trying to get it open all day! Some ship ember brought it in and let me trade it for some chocolate, I don't think that he realized how amazing this is! Here watch this" Barney stood up from the chair and slowly knelt down to the ground with clumsy movements and swiped at Vanadium's hand which was about to pick up a piece. Then before Vanadium could stand up Barney moved a piece and 3 long bugs crawled out. Vanadium stood up abruptly and backed away staring at the bugs. I also a bit terrified of bugs back away almost falling on Vanadium before stopping myself.
"For the Kings sake Barney what are those thing?" I shouted and at the birds started to chatter louder
"Come on! Don't tell me that you are afraid of bugs!" Barney lifted one of them up in his hand. The bugs looked strangely like worms just with 6 legs, 3 on each side of its 4 inch long body. Barney gently picked up the rest of them.
"Now see how they are all almost translucent?" the bugs did seem to almost be disappearing, for they were clear with a pinkish tint. "Well see, when in the dark they glow. Quite a spectacle, they fad in and out of pink and blue colors, some types of natives believe them to have special powers, so they take the tree which this species is found and carve a round circle out of it to entrap the bugs, then they all wait to see which one of their bugs can eat its way out of the circle the fastest, and that means that bugs the best. Then the leader of the tribe or group eats it in a soup, believed to make sure that the leader always sees light in darkness."
Barney stood up slightly in pain, I would have moved to help him, but I just noticed that the bugs has pinchers the size of my fingernails on them. He walked past us and I backed away quickly, as did Vanadium.
"You guys are possibly the most terrified people I've seen today, and I just tried to sell some purple leaches to a man who faints at the sight of blood. Not my best pitching idea." Both Vanadium and I glared at each other, as if saying, you better have not seen me look scared, because I'm brave. I dodged a tall manikin dressed in a black dress to follow Barney. He stopped and put the squirming worms in a metal box. And then turned to me, or more so to Georgie.
"I have to say, I am most excited to watch him, and I haven't had a pet of my own in a couple of years, how long will you be gone again?"
"I believe for 3 or 5 months, but our fate is in the winds, so who knows." I sat down on a short stool that was ordained in red and green paint.
"Oh, my that's somewhat of a long time. I wish you the best of luck. Is there anything that need to know about watching little old Georgie?" Barney looked at me with concern for the tiny dog
"Just don't feed him any sweets." I patted the dog almost a bit sad to leave the sleeping dog.
"Okay, Alice, we should get going, the ship should be leaving soon." Vanadium walked out of the store after nodding to Barney.
"Good bye Alice, I promise that I will take proper care of him!" Barney said with stern eyes
"I know that you will, goodbye." I patted Georgie on the head and leaned over to give Barney a halfway hug. Then, dodging items I made my way out of the shop.
Vanadium was waiting for me outside with the cool winds slightly messing up his black hair
"How did you know Barney?"
"I used to live down here, that's why, no more questions about my past please." And vanadium and I started are way back to the ship in silence
