A diamond in the Gokai kingdom

Bags and Buddies

Rachels POV:

"Just so you know Sirin can be a bit much, and Dustin is the exact opposite. If he doesn't talk that much then that's normal for him don't try to force conversation. It'll just become awkward. It always does." Ira said shaking his head.

"Seems like a problem you've had a lot." I replied watching his expression. He rolled his eyes frowning.

"Yeah, fans just get excited to talk to him. Then forget he doesn't actually talk a lot around strangers, so they try to force conversation and it never works so they just keep asking questions and he never answers." Ira explained.

"I can see how that would become awkward." I replied thinking about how Maya's attempts at conversation had been shot down a few time, and her persistence. It normally ended well because it was Maya, but I could see how it would get awkward for anyone else.

"Basically just go with the flow, don't try to force anything." Ira said and stretched out his hand, "Ready to go?" 

"Yeah, why not?" I said and took it. Immediately we appeared in front of what looked like an open air mall. There were buildings stacked on each other with stairs up to them. The buildings had a wall missing with a thin see through curtain instead. Some Mercainers would fly up through the curtain to the shops above, others would walk up the stairs, and some just walked around enjoying the breeze and looking up at the sky.

"Earth and Splendorious malls, or markets, are a bit different." Ira said. I nodded.

"This is kind of like a combination of the two isn't it?" I asked. There were individual buildings, and levels, but no ceiling and they used cloth.

"I see it!" Rory said floating forward.  

"We should get going." Ira said and started walking into the crowd. I followed him and gripped the book a little bit tighter. There were merciners everywhere. They weren't intimidating or anything, just walking carrying bags, enjoying treats I didn't recognize at tables and talking excitedly, or pointing at cute outfits and bags through the curtains or placed in the walkway in front of the store. A few of the stores kept their curtains tied to the wall so nothing blocked the entrance, others had a second curtain that was thicker and couldn't be seen through. Inside the shops they sold strange trinkets like an orb that seemed to glow different colors when someone touched it, an outfit that was a single piece of fabric wrapped around the mannequin elaborately, books with titles I had never heard of, bags with intricate embroidered details. The last two definitely had my attention.   

"Already finding things to buy?" Ira chuckled.

"No." I relied quickly turning away from a bag on display that had flowers and swirls covering it in a white that looked silver as we had passed it, "just looking I know we should meet up with your friends." I said ready to start walking again.

Ira grabbed my hand and pulled me into the shop with the bag I had been looking at, "We have a little time, besides they always expect me to be late." Ira explained.

"Are you sure?" I asked as we entered and I saw the wide variety of bags, all of them with excellent quality, and gorgeous colors. Ira nodded and gestured for me to look around. I slowly walked around taking it all in. They had clasp bags, draw string bags, small backpacks, bags with zippers, flaps, a strange materiel that held it closed but wasn't velcro, and some that stayed closed when you tapped the brand name that was embroider on it. They had pastels, and royal colors, some were gradient, and some had no details, while others were covered in them.

"They have a lot." Rory murmured to me. 

"Yeah they do." I said I looked at one bag that was a deep blue that transitioned to purple.  I found a price tag and as expected it wasn't in dollars or another kind of currency that I recognized.