"Pet" Store

It was a pretty bad part of the city, an area where few would dare venture, even if they wanted what was here. But, he was there, walking on down the alleyway, looking for whatever signs there was to be seen. He had only heard of this place in passing, and even after trying to pay for the information, it was still a hassle to get.

It was like a taboo that even the scum of Ivalice didn't want to talk about, let alone tell others. Maybe they feared that any who heard of it would bring the full force of the law down upon them... maybe they feared whoever ran the place would bring the full force of their underworld contact on them. Or maybe it was meant to be exclusive, and whoever told would lose whatever rights they had.

Regardless, money talked, and several thousand Gil later, he had what little information it could squeeze out of that bastards mouth.

After much searching, he found but a simple sign with various off letters of a script he'd not seen before. Looking at a small scrap of paper in his hand, he realized that this was the place. Looking closely at the wall which bore the sign, he saw a thin, but unmissable outline... it was in the form of a door.

"So... I just have to knock..."

He said to himself, hand raised. Hoping that he remembered the proper pattern. He knocked in several bursts, resting but a few seconds in between... to him, it was just a set of patterns, but for those inside, it was a message, the various letters that formed it was composed of a given series of knocks with pauses in between to tell when one ended and another began.

With the message done, he lowered his hand and wondered how long he'd have to wait... it was a surprise when, not even a minute after he got there, the wall split and then was drawn open, exactly where he expected a door to be. A flood of light came from within, causing him to shield his eyes... then, a voice was heard;

"Welcome, my good sir."

The voice wasn't Human... not at all. It had little in the way of a gender specific tone,, its accent reminded him of something... but what was it? He had his answer soon enough, though... for when he lowered his arm, eyes adjusting to the brightness, he saw the small form. It was a Nu Mou, a hunched over, canine like Humanoid creature with long, large droopy ears that preferred to dress in loose fitting robes.

"So, good sir, I assume you wish to look at my stocks."

It says, its large eyes peering up at him. It was hard to take something that small, that... cute serious when it came to this business. He had to wonder if this was all a sick joke played on him by that piece of filth that charged him too much even if the information was correct.

Quickly, he was ushered into the tent by the Nu Mou... and upon entering, a foul oder attacked his nose. It smelled like a mixture of bodily fluids and waste, from both Humanoids and rodents that have been allowed to fermented for weeks, maybe even months. He considered backing out of this, I mean, if these were the conditions his stock was kept in, what kind of quality could he possibly have?

"Come, come, this way!"

The Nu Mou called as he walked past him, hand motioning forward. Following, he took some time to look around... it was a cesspool if he'd ever seen one. There were cages everywhere, various fluids could be seen dripping from between the bars, soaked and stained straw strewn about the floor and coming from between them as well.

He caught sight of a small face peeking from behind the bars, and when he turned to give it his full attention, it vanished deeper inside. Tempted to look into it, he decided against it when the sound of whimpering came from it. In-fact, as he walked past the many cages, the sound of fear started... then grew louder, stronger...

Clearly, the stock knew what his presence could mean.

A short walk later, the Nu Mou came to a halt before a large, heavy drawn curtain. Stopping himself, he tried to peer through it... but, the chamber on the other side was far darker than the current, he couldn't make anything out. The Nu Mou turned, then looked up at him with those big eyes, a smile on its lips.

"Good sir, I assume you do not wish to waste time on the common stock. Oh no you don't, I can tell these things, that I can. I can tell that a man of your fine, noble caliber wishes for something more exclusive, something few get to look at, much less possess. So good sir, please do come this way. Feel free to browse... but I must warn you, do not get too touchy with the stock in here, unless you wish to make a purchase."

The curtain was drawn and swiftly, the little being pushed him inside, and then drew the curtain again. The scent in here was far better, he could see wisps of smoke pillowing from candle, which provided the only light source in the chamber. The candles themselves must be scented, it's the only thing he could think of that could kill the oder of the previous room.

He ventured deeper into the room, his feet made very little noise as he walked. The place must have been carpeted... a far cry from the cold, hard floor from before. There were no tiny cages in here, in-fact, there was very little that indicated that this room could hold bars. Everywhere he looked, there were drawn curtains.

Perhaps they hid something...

"Come, come, sir. Do you not wish to see the exclusive stocks?"

The voice of that Nu Mou came, scaring the ever loving shit out of him. He didn't expect the creature to follow him, considering that he was pushed in and the curtain drawn immediately after the fact.