2713/Seek the Hand, Find the Ring

Seek the Hand, Find the Ring
Date of Scene:	31 July 2020
Location:	Occult Shop
Synopsis:	Elektra goes hunting for Hand artifacts in NYC, but finds an artifact for herself, instead.
Cast of Characters:	Elektra Natchios, Amanda Sefton
Tinyplot:	Zodiac Rising

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Elektra Natchios has posed:
For Elektra life had been a dance of danger and death these last few weeks. Split between New York and Gotham she had been involved in meeting old enemies, new allies and ..., helping in saving the city of a God, of a city. It had put things in perspective somewhat, specially that last event, making her consider some of her life choices...

She was still processing it all, figuring out a path, but stopping was dying and so she had gone back to old routines, tracking Black Sky, following leads, informants. Information was scarce but she had received note that there -could- be a certain item to be found here related to what she was looking for. Some old occult shop...

She had yet to step foot in the place ever since her return to New York. Not that she had too many hopes about this, for after seeing true magic at work she very much doubted there would be any 'real' one to be found in a shop. But perhaps she was about to be surprised..

Arriving near the doorway to the shop she took a moment to breathe in, looking at the window of the shop, the reflection there showing her image, the black jeans, the jacket. A bit dressed down from her usual, but this would do..

She opened the door, that familiar ringing announcing there was a new customer on the shop.

Amanda Sefton has posed:
There's a man behind the counter when Elektra enters the shop. He has a shock of naturally red hair on top and striking blue eyes. What's most notable about him, however, is that he's short. Like 4'6" short. He doesn't particularly look like the proprietor of an eclectic place like this old shop, but he does have a pentacle around his neck in place of a tie and has chosen to dress himself all in black -- boots, jeans, a mandarin-collared button down shirt, and leather sport coat.

He looks up from the black-cased phone in his hands when the bell over the door rings and gives Elektra a polite nod in greeting. "If you're looking for anything specific," he tells her, "let me know. I'm happy to help." His voice has a light accent to it -- Irish, quite possibly -- and his smile is relaxed.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Walking into the shop Elektra takes a moment to assess it, the old tomes, trinkets, the closed curtains that tell of secrets further inside the store. And then finally her eyes rest on the man behind the counter. A bit on the short side indeed but she puts on one of her elegant smiles.

"Good evening." She replies in that refined accent of hers, beginning to approach the counter. "Mayhaps you can. I am looking for a few items ..." she begins, gesturing with one hand about the store. "... more notably related to ancient japanese culture. I have always had this .., interest towards it."

Amanda Sefton has posed:
The small man purses his lips lightly, considering the request. "Japan, eh?" He slides off his stool and makes his way around to the front of the counter. "Any particular sort of item you're looking for?" He gestures about the shop. "We have bits and bobs from all over, don't you know. Do you want books or coins, jewelry or figurines? I believe there's actually collection of old tsubas from long-since lost katanas in the back. I *know* there's a collection of vintage Japanese signet rings back there."

Among other things.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
"Such a fascinating culture, isn't it?" Elektra replies, watching the man amble to the front of the counter, expression framed into a picture of politeness. At the question she hmmms, lips jerking to the side in thought. "Nothing specific, no." her informants hadn't gone to that detail, but if there was indeed something here related to what she was looking for.., she'd be sure to find it.

"But I trust you will be able to show me the most interesting items?" A brow arching up at the mention of tsubas, and ancient rings.

"So much that has been lost to time, but sometimes we find the most interesting of things out in these places."

A gesture is then made with her hand. "Would you care to show me?"

Amanda Sefton has posed:
"Absolutely," the man says, his smile broadening somewhat. "Wait right here, I'll be right back." With that, he slips past a beaded curtain in the rear of the shop and disappears for several minutes.

Presently, he reappears, with a large wooden crate balanced on one shoulder and a black tray held in his other hand. The beads of the curtain sway and clack around him, but he twist his body in such a way as to escape them easily enough, even carrying his burden. Crossing swiftly back to the counter, he lays the tray near the cash register and sets the box up on the end of the counter. "Here we go," he says lightly. "Easier to find than I thought."

The box is about the size of a breadbox, fashioned of wood, and filled with mats of dried grass upon which half-a-dozen ancient sword guards are laid. There are probably ten or twelve of these mats stacked one on top of the other.

The ring tray, however, is about half a meter square and maybe three or four centimeters deep. It is filled with ridges of black foam, between which the shanks of rings have been set so the ornate signets atop them may be easily seen. Not all of the rings in the tray are Japanese, however. There are a few from other cultures there as well.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Not exactly one to stay idle Elektra busies herself taking a look around the other items visible in display. She closes the book she was currently perusing when the man returns, placing it back on the shelf and re-approaching the counter, hands slipping within the pockets of her jacket.

Her first look goes to the tsubas, the guards to the blades, a faint, interested mmm escaping her lips while she seeks. She knows well the craftsmanship that comes with those tsubas, the work of the Hand even if not only them, looking for any that may look anywhere familiar.

Yet she only inspects the top half-dozen for now. "This is quite the collection, I wasn't expecting as many." she says, appreciatively. Attention then goes to the rings, to those signets, studying each in turn. On these she takes longer, meticulous. She had time afterall.

Amanda Sefton has posed:
The red haired man smiles. "I was surprised when I saw them, too," he agrees. "I believe they're something of an obsession for the shop owner." Which, apparently, is not him. Perhaps that's not such a surprise.

Moving back behind the counter, he kicks over a small foot stool and stands on it so he can more easily reach the rings he's placed on top of the glass. "These, however, are things I know a little more about." He picks up a pen and points at one of the rings with a clearly Japanese aesthetic. "This one, for instance, is quite reminiscent of the crest used by the Tokugawa Shoguns." His pen hovers over the simple silver insignia for a moment, the image that of three broad leaves inside a circle. Then, the pen draws through the air to the opposite side of the tray to point at a ring of an entirely different style.

"This one, on the other hand," he says, "has heraldic elements indicating the Chimera, which is excedingly rare in most heraldic traditions. Mountain goats are common enough; goats signify a martial man and appear in several coats of arms. The chimera, however, combines the martial prowess of the goat with the divine feminism of the woman, the valor of the griffen, and the wisdom of the dragon. This particular example, I believe, was actually sized for a woman's hand, rather than a man's -- though it could just as easily have belonged to a youth."

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Elektra's dark gaze briefly turns up from the rings to the man when he mentions not being the owner. But perhaps expected. When the man goes about talking about the rings she listens, actually genuinely interested. She knows the people that normally work these places -can- be the real deal where it comes to the knowledge she seeks.

The three broad leaves of that first symbol are certainly not an unknown to her, she nodding her approval, taking note of the ring. A mental note to perhaps taking one. Eyes then skim to that second ring, not exactly one she recognizes at a first glance.

"The chimera. Change." She murmurs, something that somewhat mirrored her own state of mind these last few days, with so many changes coming. She wondered what kind of woman she'd become once all was said and done. But then a faint smirk. "It can also mean something unachievable, the impossible. A word that I truly do not like." because for her anything is possible, or so she thinks.

"May I?" she asks, gesturing towards the ring. If the man answers affirmatively she will pick the ring up with one hand to take a better look at it and the craftsmanship.

Amanda Sefton has posed:
"By all means," the man says, gesturing lightly as he straightens and pulls the pen away. "It's a lovely piece, really. Unexepected, I think, in its detail. See how the figures seem to almost come alive?"

His body language becomes relaxed. He seems truly in his element here. "Sure now, and there are many things in life that are unachievable. But it's the striving that matters, don't you think? We may never reach perfection, but that shouldn't stop us from reaching for it. That's one of the reasons I've always liked the chimera, and that piece in particular. Dragons think they hold all the cards, but chimeras? Never underestimate the power of a courageous woman willing to fight."

Elektra Natchios has posed:
A delighted little laugh escapes Elektra's lips. "Yes, quite true. For stopping is to die, there is no other way but to struggle against the cards we have been dealt." Then a brief snort coming out of her nostrils, eyes turning from the ring to the man. "You know your words." she says in approval. "Very well, I shall take this one." Elektra not placing the ring back on the box, keeping it on her hand, fist closing around it.

A gesture with her free hand. "And this one." the one with the Tokugawa shogun's symbol. She does like her antiques afterall.

Amanda Sefton has posed:
The man nods to that, smiling with satisfaction. "I'm Irish," he says self-deprecatingly. "We have a way with words." His blue eyes sparkle as he speaks, friendly and warm.

He picks up the second ring and looks around under the register until he find a small box that will fit it. Then, wrapping it up and placing it in the box, he slips them into a small brown paper bag with the shop's logo on its side. Finally, he rings up the cost of both pieces and tells her the price, processing the sale as she gives him funds to cover it.

"Regardless, they're both lovely choices. Do come back, if you think of anything else that might suit your fancy," he says, passing the ring in its box back to her, along with any change that might be owed by a cash sale. "It's been a pleasure, miss."

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Elektra follows up the 'ritual' of the payment without much attention to it, just going through the procedures until eventually they are done with the exchange. She allows another faint smile to grace her lips. "Likewise. Perhaps I will be seeing you about, mmm?"

Empty words perhaps. She doesn't much expect to see the man again. With a small wave over a shoulder she begins her walk to the outside, bringing along those two rings. Not exactly what she was looking for, but they would certainly look good in display at her home.

Amanda Sefton has posed:
"Perhaps you will," the man murmurs as the door closes behind the retreating woman. He inhales a satisfied breath and lets it out in a jaunty whistle, taking the box of tsubas and the rings back into the store room.

Placing them back neatly on the shelves from whence he drew them, he glances over his shoulder to the shop owner. "Thank you *so* much for lending me your shop," he tells the catatonic fellow. "I'd say it's been a ringing success."