I Swear on All the Cash in My Wallet (Shiva, Waverly)

Shiva spent a decent amount of time hanging around ports, mostly because of their proximity to the ocean. It was most comfortable for her, after all. Even though the cities built on the coast lines weren't necessarily the biggest or most luxurious, many still had a fair population. Lavanitir Port City was a surprisingly neutral trading place, where individuals of all backgrounds could venture to make a profit. Its apparently unjudgmental nature failed to put Shiva at ease. Somehow, the locations heralded as the most welcoming could be the very opposite. Still, Shiva had come ashore to look around and perhaps acquire any goods that piqued her interest. The cruise here on the back of Aegir had been peaceful, and she had enjoyed the ride up until dozens of sea marks had materialized into her field of view. Beacons, buoys, and other anchored objects intended to help with navigation; in the end, all they did was prevent those who should be lost from meeting their fate. Furthermore, the safety they provided was miniscule in the grand scheme of things.

Shiva turned her thoughts away from her irritation. Hopefully, Lavanitir would have objects of interest for sale. Lately, she had been lured in by specific magical items. With this city so close to the ocean, undoubtedly some artifacts had been acquired by divers or scavengers from wreckages. She pulled her hat further down, the brim covering her eyes, as she glanced around the streets. Nearby, a man was shouting about sausage links, a vendor advertised their scabbards and knapsacks, and a tall mage was casting magic on an unsuspecting passerby. The spell's intention was obvious and not at all benevolent. Unamused, Shiva turned away as the target of the magic found themselves sprawled on the cobblestones, their ankle twisted. In a fluid motion, the mage snatched up their target's purse and then slipped into the crowd.

Glancing around, she made her way over to a stall where a man seemed to be selling wallets. The entire booth smelled of fish, but she didn't mind that itself. Rather, the implication that a great number of sea dwellers died for his ugly handbags irked her. Wait- handbags? Her eyes glinted as another visitor to the man's stall picked up a wallet and rubbed it for a moment, then marveled at its transformation. Hm. Shiva was not nearly as impressed. Just as she was about to move on, she registered a few words in the spew that had been flowing nonstop from the vendor's mouth. (Originally, she had tuned out the man due to his incessant prattling.) "... the palm tree shaped rock..." that was a place she knew. Or more precisely, she had just seen it a few hours ago on her way to Lavanitir. A strange rock jutting out of the ocean bed, its various points and the long, skinny section closest to the water was distinctively reminiscent of a palm tree, especially when one grew closer. Leaning towards the man slightly, Shiva spoke up. "What was near that rock?" Without skipping a beat, he turned to her, waving her in on the conversation. Immediately blabbering on about some kind of mermaid and how he simply needed to find her again, Shiva's forehead wrinkled in half confusion, half disgust. Summoning all of her patience, she made mental notes of his specified route as he rattled off the path once more, then again, and then again. Truly, the man was obsessed- but considering his state of mind and his countenance, it was likely that. Just an obsession.

Shiva was already facing towards the next stall when his voice cried out behind her, "Everything I have! I swear on all the cash in my wallet! She's out there! Please help me find her!" Did he say... all the cash in his wallet? Now they were talking. Shiva's eyes gleamed with distinct interest. How broke was he, again? This wallet handbag business of his seemed to be turning a pretty penny, but she had to confirm. Shamelessly, she asked, "How much is in your wallet, then?" Glancing around her, it seemed as though a few others wanted to know the same. She had no intention of sharing the rewards, but it wasn't like she could close their ears for them. "A hundred fifty thousand jewels! All yours, to the ones who can catch her!" That was a nice sum. Shiva wouldn't mind sharing, just a bit. As long as the other person had something useful to contribute.

752 Words

Nodding to herself as she finished considering the number of jewels the man had decreed he currently possessed, Shiva laughed outright as several more people crowded around him. So much for everyone thinking he was crazy. Money could buy credibility. Even if people didn't expect the mermaid to exist, they were willing to waste time and energy, potentially even their lives, just for some jewels. Shiva shrugged. She wasn't really any different than them, except, she had no intention of squandering away any of those things. This little search and retrieve excursion could be completed with ease. Just as she was about to drawl out that she could complete this task swiftly and without any pretense- mermaid for jewels, done and done- a strange looking young woman just a bit taller than herself sidled up to the merchant. Shiva scoffed as the newcomer tried to barge in on her dealings with the mermaid obsessed man.

Even though she had internally entertained the thought of allowing on of the numerous bystanders to accompany her, she wasn't actually interested in that sort of arrangement. It would probably just be a hassle. "Your god, huh?" Shiva was momentarily distracted as the strange white haired witch looking idiot mentioned something about 'her god.' Laughing out loud, she rolled her shoulders back and then stepped away a few paces. Well, this girl could be her guest. Obviously she had some sort of charm that had convinced the hand bag seller. It was too late to try to change his mind; the better prospect would be somehow losing this young woman while retrieving the mermaid. If she just so happened to fall victim to a sea serpent or shark, that wouldn't be Shiva's problem. She would simply have to collect the whole sum of jewels on behalf of her lovely dead companion. Tragic.

Judging by the strange noises this mage was making, Shiva assumed she had some sort of mental or physical problem. Perhaps when she was rolling her eyes in a dramatic way, she simply couldn't help herself. Shrugging, Shiva decided that it didn't really matter what this girl's issues were as long as they didn't hamper her ability to work and be useful. However, she couldn't help but eye the mage's key ring as it spun around and around and around on her fingers. That was a really bad nervous tic, or boredom fidgeting habit to have, whatever it was. Such a key ring could easily go flying off into a random direction due to momentum, should this strange mage suddenly stop moving. Whether she were forced to halt in their path or not, Shiva supposed it wouldn't end up good for this stranger if that were to occur. But honestly, she couldn't be bothered to say anything.

"Pass," Shiva said flatly when the witchy girl offered (seemingly against her will, according to her body language and facial expressions) to give her a ride on her broom. There was absolutely no way she was getting on that twiggy bundle of sticks. Without her having to say a single word, a large killer whale arced towards the pair of them from where he had been waiting nearer to the water, and Shiva jumped up onto his back. Aegir would be able to carry her through the air fine enough. The mage and bond duo set off towards the first land mark the purse merchant had mentioned. It was a sunken ship wreckage with a great deal of famous treasures and belongings lost inside. Nearly a decade ago, a vessel carrying precious magical artifacts and chests filled with a variety of other valuables had been sunken by a sea monster there. The beast was still rumored to sulk around in the same place, so most people avoided it even if there was plenty of money to be made off of the underwater remains of the ship and its cargo.

Personally, Shiva probably would have already tried to mess around with selling some of that stuff, but she had no interest in fighting or killing a sea serpent. Glancing over at her (temporary) job partner, she decided they might as well converse to make the trip a little more interesting. If she was as obnoxious in conversation with nobody else around as she had been back at the docks, then Shiva would back out of talking as quickly as she had initiated it. "Lemme see your keys," she smiled in a friendly way at the other mage. "I'm a summoner too, so out of interest, it'd be nice to get to know you better. What's your name?" Her tone was light but extremely blunt as she spelled out exactly what her apparent purpose was for talking to the stranger. Perhaps she ought to give the girl something to call her by as well. Considering it for a moment, she tacked on, "I'm Shiva." Flying over the ocean was so beautiful; truly, she enjoyed this type of traveling, especially when it was purposeful. "By the way, what's your, uh," she snickered slightly, "Your god that you kept referencing back there?" Maybe she could get some more amusement out of this interaction as well. Depending what type of a devout worshipper the stranger was, as well, Shiva might be able to convince them to visit her lands to establish a seat of power there. Like a temple or something similar.

901 Words, 1653 Shiva, 2676 Total

Hm. Way it was then. Holding back her derision, Shiva took it in stride as much as she could when the witchy girl began to softly giggle. Not witchy girl. 'Way.' It was interesting that Way had made the logical leap from Shiva simply asking to see her keys to Shiva thinking she was a dumb witch. Well, that statement wasn't necessarily untrue. Admittedly, she had a rather low opinion of Way as of right now, but no accounting for taste. She had been wrong before. Anyway, to Shiva, satisfying her fascinations and her compulsive whims was one of her primary motivators most of the time. That and her actual work. Her self restraint was surprisingly great in most instances, meaning that even if she found herself highly amused by a situation she wouldn't necessarily continue to pursue involvement in it. Shiva would let her gaze follow the movement of Way's hands as they deftly handled the key ring and broomstick in tandem.

"I mean. You say it's dumb, but you wanna see mine? Catch." If Way didn't manage to catch the ring of a couple keys in time, then they would probably fall into the ocean. Shiva could retrieve them later. While Shiva wasn't really concerned with strength, she just got the sensation that this girl was rather weak. That, or extremely lacking in confidence. Sure it was judgmental of her to make that assumption just because she wouldn't hand over her keys and she worshipped some random dude as a god. But Shiva had always been a rather judgmental person, after all. Either way, so much for her words. 'Strong summoner.' She certainly could see that one of the keys flashed gold as they clinked against each other. A zodiac, she guessed. If Way had managed to snag her own couple keys, she would see that there weren't very many. Four, really. One belonged to Gemini, and the rest were high ranking summons. Not that it was easy or even apparent in any way what strength of spirits lay behind the tarnished metal of their representative key. After all, Shiva knew better than most people how a summoned spirit was only as great as their master's power. She would love to see Way try to use her keys. Really. If Way made any move related to channeling power through them, her eyes would just about light up in excitement. So interesting. Or maybe boring, if she was just another coward. It was what it was.

"Nice Aquarius key. I wonder if I killed you, would she answer to me? Aquarius has always been picky," Shiva shrugged her shoulders casually as her fingers pet Aegir's back fin. Just making conversation. Silence was boring. Over the past few years, Shiva had become accustomed to silence and found comfort in its purity. She still thought talking was almost always more fun, though, as long as the conversation didn't call for a bunch of posturing and great shows of strength. Genuinely, she rather wanted Way's take on the situation. Did the little idiot think that she would stay loyal, when spirits were so fickle? Perhaps Aquarius would, but it was a huge toss up. Shiva had no use for power and no real intention of picking a fight, but she liked to entertain the idea to pass the time. When she truly wanted to kill someone, it would be a quick assault under the cover of the dark. In and out. Anyway, it seemed like this dizzy Way girl was off in her own little land talking about that god of hers again. The 'Celestial Spirit God,' now that was a name she had heard before. One of the keys on the ring that could be sitting at the bottom of the ocean right now or in Way's hands, or wherever, had a key that matched one of that supposed god's. "Ah yeah, that guy? Odhran, I think his name was...? I might've killed his friend, not sure," Shiva mused out loud, trying to recall a bit more exactly what had happened. Way seemed entranced in her own recollection, so somehow Shiva doubted that she was paying much attention. It was just how humans tended to be. Rather selfish and self-centered, especially when it came to matters of the heart. Even sacrificial actions had inner motives. Martyrs were guilt trippers. All of that. Shiva was no exception, but somehow she still found the absolute lack of remorse in finding herself above it all.

"Lover, maybe?" Simply going off of the fact that the spirit Shiva had talked to had told her she belonged to a matching pair, lovers was possible as well. Former lovers, excuse her. Even if Way was the new prospective um, side piece, Shiva thought it was possible the petite mage whose magic she had found intriguing was the earlier version. Hm, maybe it was best not to mention anything about that dude around Way. She seemed a little unhinged when he was the subject topic. Not that Shiva was judging about the state of her sanity. Well, she certain was, but she wouldn't necessarily admit it any time soon. Either way. Definitely had heard of that Odhran guy. Her thoughts cleared slightly as they neared the sea landmark that had been their first goal for following the map the merchant from earlier had painted a picture of so generously for them. Oh, a sea monster! Shiva could just barely see its coils wrapping around the oddly shaped rock that Aegir was almost about to fly over. They could honestly just leave the serpent alone, but Shiva felt like pointing it out to Way just for posterity. Serpents were pretty cool, after all. But in the end, she didn't say anything, still letting their conversation continue from earlier. If Way decided to shut up and be boring, she wouldn't complain out loud. As she had observed before, it seemed like little witchy Way had some personal problems, especially with admiring some random person as a god. Shiva could be called stupid in the same way for having her own little mini religion set up in a similar tone. But the difference between the two of them as of right now was that Shiva blatantly would say she didn't give a flying fish about whatever happened to her deity. He could go die in an underwater trench, for all she cared. The godly carcass would probably feed the worms and marine life in a better way than he ever had.

1090 Words, 2743 Shiva, 5099 Total

Whether or not Way wanted to call it picky or selective, it didn't change the fact that Aquarius was a strange spirit. In all honesty Shiva thought that Way had an enormous ego to think that the spirit wouldn't give her a chance of an alliance. Most keys melded somewhat to the wishes of their master, even if others had a will strong enough to decide not to pursue a relationship with a summoner. Even if at the current moment in time, Way's strange nature and dumb attitude had led Aquarius to act one way or another, that was subject to change. What she was saying now about Aquarius having vanished for a while... maybe that was true, but more likely, it wasn't. It sounded like total bullshit to Shiva, but she held in her laughter for now. Sure, all summons had their own criteria and whatnot. But they probably weren't as impressed by Way as the little witch thought. Shiva couldn't be bothered to care much more about her affairs, already bored of the conversation. Way hadn't risen to her unspoken challenge to do something more than just take a quick peek at her keys. Currently, the witchy girl was just acting like a normal human being.

A movement caught her eye, and Shiva blinked lazily as her keys fell back onto her lap. Nice toss. So she had given them right back, huh? Shrugging to herself, Shiva's hands absentmindedly stroked Aegir as they continued to chat. This girl was really obsessed with Odhran Aegisbane, apparently. Seemed like she gave absolutely no shits about the mage Shiva had killed off a bit ago. Of course she could be faking a reaction, but Shiva chose to take it at face value. Going off of that, she would assume in the future that Way didn't care for Odhran on an emotional level, such as thinking about what the man (because he was a man, really) would want in the end. Perhaps it wasn't fair to say she didn't care about his emotions. Obviously Way was entranced by him in general. But Shiva had a feeling it was a different dynamic than something actually romantic and personal between them. Just admiration and one sided attraction lacking in depth, maybe. Oh well, there wasn't much to be gotten out of getting too invested in this witchy girl. She seemed like the type to die in a few years, so to Shiva, the most she could feel for her would be a bit of disgust, doubt, and possibly pity.

Finally nearing the same serpent she had spotted earlier in literally the same timeline (love it when the dimensions are constantly being rewound in order to add on things), Shiva stared at it blankly. She truly loved serpents. As for this one, it was no exception. There was something beautiful and pure about the way it curled around the rock, oblivious to the outside world. Way appeared to antagonize it in some way or another, seeing as the serpent attacked with a sweeping movement of its serpentine form. Shiva coughed in laughter as the witch's broom was demolished into splinters. Weirdo. But she probably had a reason for not dodging, that or she was just that bad at fighting. She couldn't completely judge the other girl, especially because she appeared to have several mental problems and or emotional issues. However, it was still funny to her how summoning Aquarius was the fall back on it plan. Gate of the white stormcloud... looked like for now, the picky spirit was a weather related entity. The zodiacs could take on multiple different varieties of magic, and one could never be sure what was in store when a zodiac stepped onto the battlefield. Anyway, this seemed like a confirmation that Way either used the serpent's attack as an excuse to strike back out of a desire to fight, or that had no actual reason for taking the blow except idiocy.

Aquarius was rather homely in appearance. Wrinkling her nose in confusion, Shiva shrugged her shoulders at the nun-like outfit. Her chirpy voice did nothing to sedate Shiva's swiftly rising irritation at the strange get up. Sure, she had also dressed this way in the past and might continue to do so in the future when necessary. But as judgmental as she could tend to be, Shiva found it hilarious that for an avid worshipper of the celestial spirit god, Way's summon looked incredibly non secular but just in a manner belonging to the common religion. "Don't litter its environment," Shiva eyed the splinters of wood scattered on the ocean. After all, this was the sea serpent's home or at least domain long before they had come by here. In Shiva's opinion, she had no idea what was in the strange broomstick, but it looked like wood. There was no telling what effects it might have on the marine habitat here, so she extended her fingers towards the water, curling them up as the wood lifted away from the sea. Mastery over wood was quite handy at times, especially for cleaning up others' trash when they couldn't be bothered to do more than just stare at it blankly. Glancing at Way, Shiva continued to ignore Aquarius' greeting or acknowledge her introduction. She gestured to the newly repaired broom; whether or not its magic worked like it used to she had no idea, but Way could figure that out herself. For now, it would hang suspended in the air by a large wave that was erected by Shiva. "Let's move on, unless you want to enjoy yourself some carnage," she drawled. If the witch wanted to stay behind and fight the serpent, then she would be interested in seeing what happened next. Perhaps intervening. Oh, she would love an excuse to do that. Otherwise, it would be preferred for their now group to move along without much delay.

980 Words, 3723 Shiva, 7819 Total