I move around to the sparrow's front and give him a quick scratch under the chin. "Wait for me out here okay? I'll only be a minute."
"Mr. Parker…?" a familiar voice squeaks from the closest storefront.
I turn to the tinkerer with a smile. "Hey there Pascal. You're just the man I was hoping to see. Been nearly two weeks now hasn't it?" The smith peeps over his tiny bifocals and gives Kiwi and I a scan over, as though he's still skeptical of what his eyes are showing him. "Just about..." he finally answers.
I take a moment to give a cursory inspection of the whole street. Seems like this part of town went relatively unscathed in the raid. There's still a broken window here and there but I don't see any sign of fire damage. "Glad to see you and the shop survived okay."
Baterilla's top craftsman nods silently at me and seems lost on how to respond. "..would...would you like to come inside?"
"You know, I would in fact love that Pascal." I say with cheer, totally ignoring the feeling of Berwynne glaring at my back from his flower shop across the street. We both know that he was very clear my presence isn't welcome in his town but we also both know he's not going to make a scene in a public forum. "Please, after you." The familiar golden bell jingles and Pascal takes his place behind the counter. "I heard what you did the night those brigands attacked. Took me quite by surprise. I know you said you were a bounty hunter but that fella you fought, wasn't he worth something like 40 million Beri?"
"38. But I'm sure it'll only go up in time."
Pascal hums noncommittally and bends down behind his work table. "Well...here you go." He announces, sliding a small rectangular box across the counter towards me. "10 of 'em. All perfectly in spec. I suppose I could've thrown together a few more but...wasn't sure you were coming back. You did just off and disappear on us. Plenty of folks were wondering the next day where you'd vanished to." Pascal leans back to glance at Kiwi outside his window. "Though I guess now that questions been answered."
I take a look at out the window as well and watch a pair of children run up to start petting my bird. Their father is watching cautiously off to the side as any parent should but he's worried over nothing. Kiwi's practically preening under the attention.
"Come to think of it…." Pascal starts again. "I think I've got a saddle for one of those things sitting in the back. Maybe a bridle too. Fella couple years back had a similar idea. Thought he was so clever tryin' to wrangle one of them birds. Ordered a fancy setup in advance and everything." Pascal paused to break into a series of low chuckles. "As you might imagine though, It did not go nearly as well for that young man as it clearly has for you. He was so upset he never even came back for his purchase."
"How much do you want for it?" I blurt out, trying not to sound too excited. 'Not just a saddle but a bridle too? Hell yeah! There's that LUK stat showing its head! Here the best I was just hoping for was that he might have some goggles to protect my eyes from the wind.' "Name a number, I'll probably pay it."
"Bah." Pascal waves my offer away. "You helped protect the town. And I've got no use for it. It's just been using up space and collecting dust. Take it. It's yours."
Pascal takes a brief trip to his storeroom and returns with a small mountain of riding equipment in his arms. He dumps the pile on the counter and gestures for me to give it a look over. 'Oh wow. Quality of the leather's not bad. And it's even got the goggles included. I haven't even asked about them yet.'
I pocket the small case of speedloaders and move to scoop up the collection but a small niggling thought holds me back. "...I have to give you something for it." I voice with a slight frown. "This is a lot of stuff Pascal. It wouldn't sit right with me otherwise." "Tell you what," The merchant says with a grin. "I'll give you the 'friends and family' discount. It's all yours for 100 Beri."
A small chuckle escapes me and one hand reaches down to riffle around for a loose coin. "Sure thing." I snap the tiny piece of silver up and watch the smith snatch it cleanly in his palm. "Pleasure doing business Mr. Parker."
I tuck the supplies under my arm and head for the door. The golden bell jingles for my departure but I pause once again, lingering in the doorway. "Hey Pascal?"
"Hmm?"
I move back to his counter, grab a scrap of paper, and begin scribbling numbers down with a pen from my breast pocket. "This is my Den-Den-Mushi number." I finish writing and slide the slip back to him. "I can't promise I'll be in the area. In fact, odds are, I won't be anywhere close. But Kiwi- err the sparrow outside that is-, he flies faster than any Marine ship can hope to sail. If pirates come here again, call the number. You never know."
Pascal looks at the card and subtly nods. "Thank you Mr. Parker. I'll surely do that."
Making my way outside at last I throw the harness across Kiwi's back and begin fiddling with the adjustable straps. The sparrow rotates his head around to watch me work but otherwise doesn't have any outward reaction. He's pretty much at peace with the world. I've said it before, I'll say it again.
Such a good bird.
Another three minutes pass as I finish suiting Kiwi up for the trip. The crowds have gone back to their daily routine, business is returning to normal, and I feel Berwynne step up next to me with his cheery facade in full force.
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