Shilling
Legacy Name: Shilling

The thick door opened with a bang, startling a pair of largely-built customers who were sitting next to it. They meant to stand up but then noticed who was standing at the entrance, both then shrinking back into their seats.

The new guest was a dark-haired girl who seemed to be in her twenties; perhaps less. "WHERE DO YOU KEEP YOUR STOCK, DOUG?"

The grey-haired store owner -- Doug -- was startled the worst; he dropped a small porcelain vase he had been inspecting and took a step back behind the counter. "J-Jin, I-I wasn'... e-expectin' to see ye here t'day."

The young woman let out a sarcastic snort. "Expecting me? At your store... for my usual supply... from you?", she started to approach him from the door, and he flinched back with every step she took. "You, MY SUPPLIER?"

"Shh, shh, for th' gods, keep ye voice down!", the old guy pleaded. His fake eye was pointing pathetically downwards, the eyelid twitching over it. The real eye was bizarrely wide open, fixated on hers. He was clearly terrified. "I-I told ye, Jin, I... I dun' have it. B-but maybe I can provide ye with somethin' lighter, sweeter..."

"Oh, lighter, you say. Sweeter, too?", she threw back her head and laughed loudly, the scrawny man still uselessly gesturing with his hands for her to quiet down. "You know I'm not looking for light or sweet, Doug. I doubt anybody comes looking for Liquid Shadow expecting a pleasant taste." The girl reached for her pouch and threw down a leather bag onto the counter, the silver coins inside rattling against each other. Doug flinched instinctively away from it, as if the prospect of large money actually did not please him one bit.

He lowered his voice down to a whisper. "Jin, listen, I can' do this, see? I can' give ye any more of it." Doug looked around nervously, thinking he was doing a fine job at beeing discreet. "M-maybe it's better if ye lay off without it for once, ye know? Ye know it's not g--"

"Not good for my health, you mean to say?", her voice was now only a hiss. "Well now, this is new. I wonder why you haven't mentioned this in those good TWELVE YEARS YOU'VE BEEN SELLING IT TO ME." She grabbed the coin bag on the table and threw it at his chest, leaving him to gasp for breath. "I don't care who put you to this, Doug, but this is my needs we're talking about here, and nobody pays you better than I do." She squinted her already-little eyes until the blue was only barely visible. "Now give me their price. I'll pay you twice that much in silver."

"I-I would, Jin, but that is if ye...", he bent down and picked up the bag she had thrown, putting it back on the counter. His hands seemed to be shaking slightly. "T-that's if ye'd be willin' t' pay me in gold."

If he expected a surprised reaction from her, he didn't get it. Instead, she squinted at him even harder, her eyes now only a pair of thin lines. "They told you to tell me that, didn't they? Gods...", she looked over her shoulder, as if expecting someone to burst in through the door she'd banged open a minute ago. "They're really trying their hardest to pin me down this time."

"I-I've no idea what yer talkin' about, Jin--", his sentence was cut off by a sharp thing aimed at his throat. She still had her eyes on the door, but her long, pointed tail had moved to keep the shopkeeper where he was. "And you, 'Doug', don't go thinking I'm your friend.", she turned back to face him, a mocking smile on her lips. "You call me by that name again, and you'll see where I'm stuffing you with any gold."

"Y-yes, miss Shilling. T-that much I can do." The poor man seemed to have shrunk to at least half his original size, but he still gave her a weak excuse for a smile. "If it is for my favourite customer."