Affairs Amongst Immortals {POLY}

☆Another Petty Complaint (pt.15)☆

(3rd person pov)

Vrena had a lot of things on her mind. She had plenty of things to do, but this had been at the top of her list for some time.

She rushed through town knowing exactly where she needed to be.
A healthy amount of other vampires filled the paths, some of their footsteps quick, some slower. A cool mist was falling and murky fog was settling to line the ground. The gentle rain dripped off street lamps and collected into drops on the decaying leaves of bushes.

It fell against Vrena's skin and she didn't have a care in the world.

On her right, stands were lined up where people were trying to sell their things. It was mostly where trading happened. The bigger businesses were reserved for the spaces on the left; the buildings with large display windows and articulately designed wooden doors. She'd shopped at many of them before and eaten at many of the restaurants before.

Now most of them were closed, a sheet of paper colored in a bright red with the word in the display windows.

But Vrena wasn't planning on going to those.

Groaning, she shoved past a couple that in her opinion, were showing way too much affection in the middle of the street, making out.

The building was at the very end of the road. Dark purple curtains dusted with white glitter could be seen inside from the windows. This place looked more shabby, with no signs of life. However, dark purple flowers sat in the bushes that edged the building. They were a rare kind. Midnight Lyla. Their green stems glowed white in the dark, but in the sunlight, their deep amethyst color shone beautifully.

Selling Midnight Lyla would earn big coin. But no one dared pick them because of the poison their stems bared.

Vrena admired the flowers but grabbed the door handle and pulled it open. She'd seen them times before.

The door was unlocked, as always.

"Joyari!" Vrena sang.

There was shuffling from one of the rooms and a woman emerged.

Her dress was a deep blue and her cloak was thin and black, splattered with purple and white dust. She resembled the beauty of a nighttime sky.

"Vrena," Joyari hummed, "I didn't think I'd see you for a while. I thought you'd gotten rid of all your petty complaints."

The place was decorated with vases of all different kinds, vintage mostly. Dead flowers sat in all of them, their brittle, dark petals wilting. The light illuminating from the many ancient floor lamps was always a dim sunset yellow and the wooden floor always creaked whenever someone stepped. It was all just as Vrena remembered it.

"I need a favor," Vrena said.

"Shoot, then." Joyari gestured to her desk. Vrena sat in the velvet chair across from hers and crossed her feet, the chains on her platform boots clicking.

She smoothed out the layers of her skirt, then looked back up at Joyari, who was lighting a candle. The flame flickered and the lighter let out a soft whistle.
Sighing, Joyari brushed her dark hair out of her face and sat down, throwing her notebook on the table.

"I'm loving your highlights." Vrena smiled, leaning forward.
"Thank you, buttercup," Joyari snorted. Sometimes they were blue, sometimes they were green, but this time, Joyari's black hair had thin purple streaks running through it.

The click of her pen sounded. "What do you need?"

"Jesus, okay. I didn't know some of us were afraid of small talk," Vrena scoffed.
Joyari gave her a firm eye and a raised eyebrow.