Seamus led the way into what Patrick immediately recognized as a pawn shop. There were no signs to indicate as such, but Patrick had seen enough to recognize the signs. Glass cabinets filled with an assortment of jewelry in clashing styles. Walls filled with musical instruments and obviously worn tools. Rows of clothing in a mish-mash of colors, styles, and sizes lining the back wall. It was missing a pile of old and partially broken electronics, but there was no mistaking that slight odor of regret and despair. Pawn shops were magnets for regret and despair, and my hometown might not have had much, but those it had in spades.
"Go look through the clothes along the back, see if you can find yourself something that fits. If you finish before I get back, try looking through the book I gave you. Never know when it will pay off to be well-read." Seamus gestured to the racks of clothing along the back of the store, before walking up to a glass fronted counter that ran the length of the wall to the right of the entrance. There was an old fashioned mechanical cash register sitting in the middle of the counter, with a small silver bell sitting right next to it. Seamus walked up to the counter, and with a little hop, managed to reach far enough over to ring the service bell before he landed.
"Oy, bird-brain, you've got business." Seamus shouted before the echo of the ringing bell had fully faded. After a slight pause, a soft thump could be heard of something heavy being placed on a hard surface, followed by the creak of a chair being slid along the ground and the sound of light footsteps gradually growing closer. Behind the counter of the right side wall as you entered the shop was a doorway in which hung a dense beaded curtain made out of what looked like thin strips of bamboo.
"I don't know why you even bother to keep this shop open, given how you spend all your time stuck in the back with those dusty old tomes and scrolls of yours. You could at least get a nice busty shopgirl to watch the cash register, give a fella something to appreciate while they wait on your creaky old bones." Seamus continued to speak before the shopkeeper had even made it to the doorway. He leaned back against the glass counters that were nearly head height on him, appearing fully at ease.
With how Seamus spoke, and how at ease he appeared, Patrick would have assumed the shopkeeper and Seamus to be relatively close acquaintances. Unfortunately, through their short but eventful time together, Patrick has come to realize Seamus is the type of person that would probably be relaxing while cracking wise and insulting the guards even on death row, so Patrick wasn't sure if he should share in the Leprechaun's relaxed attitude.
While browsing through the racks of used clothing, something he was more than familiar with, Patrick tried to frequently glance at both the doorway through with the shopkeeper would appear and the door through which they entered the shop, which was the only exit to the outside. This became slightly more difficult as he realized looking through these clothes was slightly different from sifting through the racks at the local thrift store. While he still had to sort through old styled clothing looking for something of the right size with as few stains as possible (none is rarely ever an option) there were a few more issues he was coming to realize would limit his search. Besides some of the clothing being made for body sizes wildly different from the average human, there were items with too many or too few sleeves, or a much wider variety of stains than he was accustomed too, including a few that seemed to be left by a few different shades dried blood. He also had to discount any clothes made with unusual materials, like a leather jacket whose beaded fringe he discovered on close inspection to actually be made of polished human teeth.
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Patrick became so engrossed in examining the clothing with greater detail after almost trying on the leather jacket made with human teeth that he didn’t realize the shopkeeper had already entered the room through the beaded curtain. It wasn't until he heard a strange voice cutting off Seamus' rambling that hadn't ceased since he rang the service bell a few minutes ago that he looked up and caught sight of the owner of this pawn shop.
Patrick didn't know why he kept letting himself get surprised. Knowing the shop was mystical in nature he was certain the proprietor wasn't going to be a regular human. And yet he still found himself doing a forced mental reboot when the being entered the room. The first thing that caught his sight as he glanced over was the head of a bird. It possessed a long sinuous neck, dark indigo colored feathers with an almost iridescent shimmer to the edges, a skull roughly the size of a normal human, and a long but thin curved beak. Patrick's eyes tracked down, almost expecting this giant bird to be perched on the shoulders of the store owner, only to see the neck disappear into a firmly starched white dress collar bearing a bow tie with a monochromatic polka dot pattern.
"You know very well my wards are perfectly capable of securing and monitoring this space on their own, and anyone besides impatient Leprechauns who are granted access to my shop are able to wait to be seen." The bird headed gentleman spoke in a quiet, even tone with a slight accent, which reminded Patrick of the British substitute teacher whose car he once egged.
"Now, do you wish to step into the back and settle your accounts, or do you wish to stand here and commence in some childish petty squabbling while that odd unawakened Fae gawks from the corner?" After speaking the bird headed fellow turned on his heel and disappeared back behind the bamboo curtain without waiting for a response.
"Actually I'd prefer a bit more of the childish squabbling, but I won't mind if you wish to pay me first." Seamus retorted as he slipped through a gap in the glass counter and prepared to follow the proprietor. He turned to face Patrick with a wink before he left through the curtain, "Don't worry lad, Mr. Akila is as much a dull wet blanket as any other Ibisian, but he's harmless. Long as you don't try and knick anything from his shop that is. Just look around and hang out till I get back."