Takara

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- - - - - - - - - -| ☼ |- - - - - - - - - - T A K A R A Intricate Weaving Dragonmade These blankets are prized for their craftsmanship. The pattern is too delicate for most dragons to reproduce. 32 Windsinger Painted Vase Trinkets A delicate vase, painted to depict the Windsinger. The brushstrokes appear to wriggle and dance across its surface, as if they yearn to peel off and fly away. 105 - The Merchant - PURE CINNAMON ROLL TOO GOOD FOR THIS WORLD - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

╭━━━━━━━╮ F A M I L I A R Name - - - - - - - - - - - T H E M E None yet - - - - - - - - - - - A R T None yet - - - - - - - - - - - E X T R A None yet ╰━━━━━━━╯

- - - - ⊵ Introduction Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vestibulum lobortis orci eget nunc sollicitudin, vitae scelerisque urna elementum. In tincidunt dapibus ultricies. Nam scelerisque dui nec sapien pellentesque, nec venenatis erat tincidunt. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Nunc vestibulum leo libero, sit amet rhoncus ipsum suscipit quis. Vivamus sit amet enim eros. Donec ullamcorper ornare vestibulum. Maecenas laoreet maximus massa eu ultrices. Vestibulum euismod nibh mi, vitae blandit tortor convallis non. Maecenas ac accumsan nunc. - - - - ⊴ History Nulla tincidunt purus at arcu accumsan tincidunt. Aenean tristique porttitor nisl, a consequat velit ornare eu. Mauris sit amet convallis urna. Curabitur non erat at velit tempor eleifend. Donec nulla dui, rutrum eget mattis vel, sagittis id arcu. Nullam eu aliquet dolor. Sed non risus vitae elit fringilla sodales. Suspendisse vitae tortor aliquet ex ullamcorper auctor. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nullam viverra venenatis finibus. Etiam tortor nunc, vulputate eu luctus at, blandit et purus. - - - - ⊵ Personality Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vestibulum lobortis orci eget nunc sollicitudin, vitae scelerisque urna elementum. In tincidunt dapibus ultricies. Nam scelerisque dui nec sapien pellentesque, nec venenatis erat tincidunt. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Nunc vestibulum leo libero, sit amet rhoncus ipsum suscipit quis. Vivamus sit amet enim eros. Donec ullamcorper ornare vestibulum. Maecenas laoreet maximus massa eu ultrices. Vestibulum euismod nibh mi, vitae blandit tortor convallis non. Maecenas ac accumsan nunc.

FRIEND??? ALLY FRIEND

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Obtained: Hatchplace: Gender: Orientation: Original: Goals: Changelog: Alignment: Myers-Briggs: Sun & Moon: Tarot Card: ██████████

Bought from @Clairvoyant (110kT). Byzmara Male - he/him Asexual (homoromantic or biromantic?) Basic / Basic / Basic / Mirror Vipera / Shimmer / Underbelly / Coatl Vipera obtained 12/26/2015, 23:53 FRT. Underbelly obtained 12/26/2015, 23:53 FRT. Shimmer obtained 7/1/2017, 16:03 FRT. Coatl obtained 8/5/2018, 13:13 FRT. Neutral Good ENFP Libra + Pisces X of Cups ████████████████████████████████████

Hatched 10/1/2015 12:02 AM. Old Mirror stats: 5.2M / 5.28M / 697.44KG

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Tactful, friendly, non-confrontational, likes to see the good in everyone, optimist, innocent, somewhat gullible, tries not to be offensive but sometimes doesn't know when he says something that is. No one in Byzmara has ever actually seen him angry, just perhaps a bit moody or disappointed. Pretty much always has at least a small smile on his face. Master of puppy-dog eyes and looking adorably happy, which is probably why he's so good at selling whatever it is he sells. does anyone actually know what he sells??? what DOES he sell???

Wants to go on an adventure like in the old stories.

Can play a flute? clarinet? ocarina? something???

Has a cute little brother named Tomoya and can sometimes be a little overprotective of him. Tomoya is pretty much constantly hiding behind Takara whenever they go anywhere and doesn't talk much. Due to some of Byzmara's weirdness at some point, they don't remember ever having parents, and whatever it was that did that also got rid of their parents in some sense. Turned into something, dead, dragged into another dimension, thrown back/forward in time, something idk. End result is that it's like they never existed.
- Tomoya, Peach Sav/Caramel Shim/Maize UB

Maybe been in one or two casual relationships, just sort of trying things out? Likely didn't last long, but also didn't end on a bad note.

Takara and Axel:
Met sometime after they had both set up shop, prolly saw each other out and about in the marketplace and ran into each other a few times, started talking, became friends, etc. Axel started having a crush on Takara at some point.

One day Takara got some sort of merchant offer thing that required traveling (perhaps to the Windswept Plateau), he asked Axel to go with him (partly out of having someone around who knew the territory), and Axel agreed. Turns out the whole thing leads to some sort of adventure, which makes Takara pretty happy and excited about it all but stresses Axel the heck out and he complains a lot. Over the course of the adventure Axel probably saves Takara's butt a time or two because Takara's too distracted by the awesomeness of being on an adventure, and they get a lot closer and learn more about each other and by the time they get back to Byzmara after doing whatever, they're adorable boyfriends.



Age - adult; 23-ish in human terms?
Gender - male
Sexuality - ace (homoromantic or biromantic?)
Species/breed - Coatl
Habits - fiddles with his bracelets and twirls them around his claws when relaxed/daydreaming; daydreams quite often
Family - Tomoya (little brother)
Friends - Axel (currently)
Mate - Axel (eventually)
Birthplace+Current Residence - Byzmara



NOTE TO SELF: ORGANIZE THIS MESS AT SOME POINT



Byzmara is often called "the secret city", which begs the question: How do you hide something that big?

You don't, really. When secrets grow big enough, they take on lives of their own. And every secret wants to make itself known. Thus no matter how hard the caplins tried, the city had a way of reaching out and drawing in the unwary, the desperate, and the adventurous...

Takara thought he might fit into that last category. He remembered no parents, though he did have a younger brother, Tomoya — proof that at one point, there had been a family to go home to. When Byzmarans asked him about his ancestry and he could only shrug, they nodded in understanding: "It's not unusual in those who come to the city. If the city doesn't swallow you up, it protects you — but it takes something else in exchange."

That something, it seemed, was his memories of his childhood and family, and possibly also his parents... It was not something Takara liked dwelling on. He had his brother, and business was good — that was more than enough for him already.

Or actually, no, it wasn't...

"Rise and shine, Tomoya," he crooned. A small bundle of feathers was curled atop the nearby bed; it stirred, and a shining golden eye peeked out. Tomoya tottered, still groggy, to the table where Takara was just setting down their breakfast. Outside, the city was coming alive. Shadows retreated and the merchants took over, preparing their shops and wares. Cart vendors began making their rounds, and enormous beasts of burden stomped past.

Takara would join the scrum soon enough. As he had done so for the past days, the past weeks, the past months, the past years...

This was what he thought was missing: an adventure, something more. It was one more reason he supposed he was originally from outside Byzmara; he liked to imagine that he and his family been adventurers coming here in search of excitement. Byzmara was supposed to be a place of mystery and intrigue, and there were dragons who prayed every night that it didn't find them, but not Takara — he wanted mystery and intrigue. He wanted an adventure.

But now the clamor outside was crescendoing and there was money to be earned and stomachs to be filled. Adventure could wait — for now, it was time to go to work.

---

Within the house were little cages draped with cloth, and Takara bent over them and made a mystic sign. Chitters and clatters came from within the silken depths as he drew the drapes aside.

Takara sold tsukumogami (for now; he was starting to get bored and was considering hawking new wares). The city of Byzmara was chock-full of abandoned things, objects discarded or whose owners had disappeared into the folds of the world. Some of these objects were retrieved by other dragons — and if they were old enough, they could be coaxed to life.

Takara specialized in the small ones, things like miniature bathtubs with legs, bouncing teacups, or animal figurines that behaved like their living counterparts. After acquiring them, he cleaned them up and built little cages for them, elegant dollhouses of cloth, porcelain, and wood. They were popular with many of Byzmara's gentler inhabitants, and if they were particularly well-behaved, they could be coaxed to do tricks together.

Tomoya helped load the tsukumogami onto a cart. He was Takara's assistant, a mostly-silent shadow to his bright and confident brother. Many dragons assumed he was mute; he spoke so little. He was painfully shy and got spooked sometimes, but Takara was always happy to have him around. Besides, he couldn't leave Tomoya alone at home. The city was so unpredictable; whatever mercy it had conferred on them could be revoked any time...

The day was bright and brilliant, and there was already much noise... too much noise. Takara squinted. It looked like there was a commotion ongoing. It didn't seem to be an accident; there weren't any screams... But dragons were hurrying to get out of the way, and soon Takara saw why.

A Lord of a noble House was coming through, and what an entrance! — His coach was open to the air, its gilded surfaces blazing in the sunlight. It was drawn by a pair of Dreadrams with flashing rainbow scales; there were the usual armored guards with watchful, steely eyes, and their familiars, Tigerblood Foos, their mantles adorned with the House's crest.

The House Head himself was a young fellow, though still splendid: He was a slim Coatl coiled atop deep velvet cushions, and was even more dazzling than his coach. His blue wings fanned idly as he read the tome before him, completely detached from the rest of the world.

"A noble," Takara murmured. He turned and beckoned to Tomoya, who looked ready to duck back into the house. The younger Coatl hesitated a moment, and then scampered to his brother's side.

The sudden movement caught a Tigerblood Foo's eye. It turned and lunged, letting out a warning roar even as its guard hauled on its chain. The chain snapped taut, and the Foo turned away, but Tomoya had already bolted into the crowd.

"Tomoya!" Takara gasped. He dropped the handles of his cart and sprinted after his brother. Behind them, the Lord turned, but after a single disinterested shrug he returned to his book.

Tomoya hadn't gotten far. Another merchant had been bustling around just outside his shop, and the little Coatl had gotten himself hopelessly entangled in the skeins of fabric on display. The merchant, a pale Bogsneak, stood over him with a faintly martyred look on his face. Takara approached in time to hear him sigh, "Ohhh, look what you've done."

Tomoya stared up at him with limpid golden eyes. His lower lip wobbled. Takara braced himself for the inevitable wailing, but the tension was broken, quite suddenly, when large pink amphibian waddled out the door. It lifted its head to lick Tomoya's cheek, and instead of crying, he let out a tremulous giggle.

"I am so sorry," Takara gasped. The merchant turned to look at him. "Quite all right. Nothing's broken... Well, I hope. Up you go." This last bit was said to Tomoya: The Bogsneak picked him up with one stout paw and, with a deft shake, twitched him free of the fabrics. He plopped down onto the sand and promptly ducked behind his older brother.

"Here," Takara offered, "let me help you clean that up. It's the least I can do."

"No, no, it's..." The Bogsneak broke off. His tail waved for a moment, and then his fins flapped once in a "Why not?" shrug. "You know what, yes, actually it's fine. Here — help me lift this up... aaaaaand..."

Between the two of them, they managed to wind up the bolts of cloth once more. Tomoya sat nearby. His young face lit up as he watched the Candycane Xolo toddle back and forth, burbling amiably.

After a couple of minutes, they were done. "And that's that," the Bogsneak said, dusting off his forepaws. Takara breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you for your understanding. I promise it won't happen again, um..."

"Axel — tailor, purveyor of fine fabrics, and maker of flowerfalls." The merchant gestured to himself, bowing gracefully. His face softened as he patted the Xolo's head. "This is Ruby, my familiar. We are both pleased to meet you."

Thus introduced, Ruby waddled back into the shop. A low chorus of hoots and chirps sounded from inside where, presumably, there were more familiars to see. Meanwhile, Takara introduced himself: "I'm Takara, a seller of tsukumogami—" He grimaced. He'd left his cart unattended.

Tomoya gently grasped his paw. He finished rather weakly, "This is my younger brother, Tomoya. We're sorry; he was spooked by one of that noble's guard beasts, and so—"

"I see." Axel bent his head. "Well, little one, you'd better watch where you're going next time, eh?" He grinned and, slowly, Tomoya managed to smile back.

"Um, I really must get back to my wares," Takara burst out. He lived in a good part of the city, but there were always opportunists about, and if anyone unscrupulous came across the unguarded cart...

"But of course!" Axel agreed. He waved graciously, like a king saluting his adoring subjects. "The day is young, but time is money nonetheless. But pray, feel free to stop by anytime, Merchant Takara. And little Tomoya too, of course. Your wares sound interesting; I have a soft spot for familiars myself..."

Takara was already bustling away. At the next junction, however, he paused and gave one last wave over his shoulder. Axel returned the gesture and went back to work, humming contentedly to himself all the while.

---

Takara sighed. A couple of his neighbors had tried to guard his cart for him, but three of the little cages had been stolen despite their efforts. The rest of his cargo was safe.

He thanked his neighbors, promising them the pick of his tsukumogami for their children once their nest hatched. The Mirror couple nodded, and then they returned to their business. They ran a lively little cafe, and the smell of their tea and coffee helped soothe Takara's mind.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. They didn't see the noble again. When they returned to their house at dusk, all was peaceful once more. Tomoya soaked in the bathtub while Takara put the unsold tsukumogami back onto their shelves. He crooned to them, making a sign to induce sleep, and they shivered and became quiescent.

The cafe next door was still open, and the Mirror lady's singing could be heard through the walls. Takara looked at the tsukumogami as he recalled the events of that morning. It had been fairly embarrassing; it was the first time Tomoya had actually gotten into trouble. Plenty of merchants got combative when their goods were damaged, but Axel had been very considerate with them, all things considered.

'I wouldn't be remiss in giving him a discount,' Takara thought. 'Wasn't he interested in tsukumogami anyway? Something about familiars...'

---

Despite that, it was still some weeks before Takara and Tomoya saw Axel again: on a warm afternoon, when a sunshower began to fall. The brothers took shelter under their neighbors' awning. Once the rain stopped, they could go on their rounds again, but for now...

"Hello, Takara. And little Tomoya — we meet again!"

It was Axel. The rosy Bogsneak lumbered across the street, his genial smile undampened by the squall. Takara blinked at him. "Merchant Axel! What are you doing out in this rain?"

"The same as you — making a living, I hope." He laughed at his own joke, a full, hearty laugh, Takara noticed — despite his slightly fussy air, it seemed very easy to delight him. "This rain's a bit inconvenient though."

"We're not going anywhere until it stops," Takara agreed. "But why don't you join us inside the cafe for a while? The owners are friends of mine... It'll be my treat, Master Axel."

"Just 'Axel', thanks," Axel responded with a smile.

Five minutes later, the three of them were seated at a table, sipping at their drinks. Axel took a deep draft from his glass and beamed. "Ah, how refreshing... It's just like home."

Takara squinted at him. "Have you lived here long, Axel?"

"Only a few years. I hail from the Windswept Plateau originally. You?"

"We're Byzmaran... we think." Takara hesitated before adding the last part.

Axel blinked. "You think?"

"Ah... It's a confusing story, and Tomoya and I don't entirely understand it ourselves. We are, well, we think we're orphans, since we haven't got any parents. Only... we don't actually remember them, and no one seems to know if we have other relatives here. So perhaps..."

Axel nodded slowly. "I've heard of similar things happening. It's a strange city, this place is. Sometimes the sand makes me want to pack up and go home...and then before I know it, a year's gone by and I'm still here making clothes. Is the city getting stale for you, Takara? A bit odd, with a place as peculiar as this, but I suppose it could happen..."

"Not exactly. Like I said, my memory of before is hazy—"

"If not nonexistent," Axel drawled.

"Yes, that's right. All I remember is Byzmara: the alleys, the buildings, the caplins..."

Axel nodded sagely. "And the sand."

"Yes, the... What is it with you and sand?"

Axel grimaced, his tongue flicking out. "It's gritty and irritating and gets everywhere."

Tomoya giggled at that, bubbles popping up from his glass. The Bogsneak merchant winked at him. "Ah, but you should see the Windswept Plateau, grass and bamboo forests rising up to kiss the sky. I came here in search of adventure a few years back—"

"Did you find it?"

"Eh?" Axel blinked. He seemed unsure how to respond.

"Adventure, I mean," Takara clarified slowly. He was fiddling with his bracelets. "I've heard something similar from a lot of other dragons, but to me, this place just seems so... ordinary. I think it might be more exciting beyond the desert. Oceans and prairies and fields of ice... They sound so exotic — to me, anyway."

"Interesting." Axel's fins fanned slowly as he looked down at Takara. Beyond him, the rain had stopped and the sun was shimmering again. "You're something else, Master Takara — that's the first time I've heard someone describe Byzmara as ordinary."

Takara laughed. He rather self-consciously patted his feathers with one paw. "Maybe I should be careful what I wish for, hey?"

"No, no, I quite understand... Sometimes one just needs a change of scenery. By the by, I'd better get going. Rain's stopped, and there are customers to see."

The two merchants shook hands. Axel picked up his bags and offered, "Tell you what, why don't you come by my shop next weekend? I'm free, and I would like to see your tsukumogami. I've heard they give delightful performances."

"When they feel like it," Takara admitted. Axel chuckled heartily again. "Ruby and I shall convince them. Now, by your leave..." He nodded to the brothers, and then he was off, lumbering briskly down the road again.

Tomoya patted Takara's arm. "I like him. He's nice," he chirruped.

Takara grinned back and agreed, "Yeah, he was pretty friendly. We'll probably run into him again in the future."

He didn't doubt it: They'd run into him at the marketplace, along the streets, maybe in the cafe. Suddenly, living in the same neighborhood and walking the same routes day after day didn't seem so boring to Takara now. In fact, he rather looked forward to it...

---