[Kodai]

Life around the House had begun to become rather dull.

…All right, so that wasn't exactly true. There had been the matter with the attempted invasion, and there was always something going on that could be considered eventful, but otherwise, things were getting a bit stale. He simply needed to go on a short vacation of some sort and see something completely new for a change. Maybe even meet some new people. Everyone would be fine without him for a little while, so really, there was no reason not to go.

So it was that the train found itself today with an unusual passenger. Not to say that everyone didn't have their own quirks, but it was obvious right off the bat that this man was different. Or was it rabbit?

Certainly, he had the body of a man, which was dressed in awfully formal attire (black tuxedo, white gloves and jabot, brilliantly polished shoes), but upon his neck sat the long-eared, pink-eyed head of a white rabbit. Animals with human or human-like forms weren't unknown on this world, but from the looks he was getting from the other train patrons, they weren't sure what to make of a form like this.

Well, some of them might have been staring at his pipe instead, the way it was emitting tiny blue sparks like that.

The rabbit-man paid them no mind, however, until he stood to exit the train at his stop. Giving them all a short smile, he tipped his top hat to them. "A pleasant ride to you all, ladies and gentlemen." Stepping off the locomotive, he immediately made a bee-line for his destination. Had he ever been to the place before? No. Did he even know what it was called? No. But he wasn't about to allow petty details to get in the way of going where he had decided to go, and soon enough, he was standing in front of a small shop. "So this is it, eh?" he grinned to himself good-naturedly, pausing to look at the storefront before opening the door.

[Jaykobell]

He was flopped all over his desk idly, tapping his fingers now and again on it out of boredom. The business had been doing better, but things always got slow after any major holidays. Especially considering the nature of his store, few people were willing to start spending even more money after splurging on gifts.

Jonathan had gone to do the groceries, so Matthew was left alone to watch over the store. That was fine and dandy, except for the fact barely anyone had stepped in today. "Humph," he grumbled to himself as he rolled a little on the desk, wiggling about slowly like a child bored out of his mind. He was alone, he could do whatever he wanted!

He had recently thought about ways to make the business work better. He didn't want to expand the store's specialities, really, since he had opened this store with a specific idea and business in mind. However, maintaining the store and the house was becoming problematic, since ultimately, they only relied on the profit they made from the shop. If the shop didn't sell anything, then they didn't get any money for basic needs like groceries or electricity or hot water. He sighed and grumbled some more, long and drawn-out, annoyed. He was tempted to get up and just turn the sign to "CLOSED", since no one was coming in at all.

That was until he heard the door bell ring at the entrance. He perked up almost immediately, standing straight like an animal that had just heard a predator coming. He dashed towards the front of the store to greet the client whom had just stepped in. "Welcome!" he greeted, chipper, with a hand raised for a greeting. But his expression changed from excitement to confusion when he noticed that the client who'd just walked in was... a rabbit. "... Are you a rabbit?" Which he wasn't asking out of malice, but really out of stupor.

[Kodai]

As soon as he opened that front door, the rabbit-man noticed someone dashing straight for him. Had business really been that bad today? "Hello to you!" he returned, just as jovial as the man that he assumed must be the store owner (certainly a customer wouldn't be running to greet him like that). Although the storekeeper quickly went from being excited to confused, the rabbit-man kept his cheerful demeanor even after he was asked the perfectly valid question. "Am I a rabbit?" he repeated, sounding thoughtful and very much like he'd never considered the question before. "I don't believe I can say that I am. Mind you, I don't believe I can't say that I am, so take that as you will."

What sort of answer was that, honestly?

"Enough about me, though. This is all about you, isn't it?" He smiled and took Matthew's still-raised hand, giving it a firm shake. "I can only assume you're the proprietor of this establishment." Dropping the man's hand from his grip, he looked about at the various odds and ends on display. "I've heard a bit about you, and the wares you sell, which is why I'm here. I was hoping I might be able to make a decent purchase from you." Reaching into the folds of his jacket (presumably into some pocket), he drew out a generously-sized pouch that emitted the distinct clinking sound of coinage. "Let's keep the price between you, me, and the stock, however – Black Jack will be terribly cross with me for making an unauthorized purchase as it is." Instead of appearing to be worried by this, his expression remained upbeat, as if amused by this thought. "So why don't you show me around. good sir, and explain your items to me?"

[Jaykobell]

He didn't know whether to be more confused or irritated. Or maybe both?

He raised an eyebrow at the rabbit-man, baffled as he grabbed his hand and shook it with much enthusiasm. He wasn't good at dealing with the weirdoes; he was too judgmental and quick to anger to fair very long with them. They often got on his nerves right from the beginning, and the odds of him making a sale out of them was almost nul.

Matthew crossed his arms when Baron said that he'd heard about his store and what he sold here. He wasn't all that surprised, but the surprising part was how a rabbit-man could seriously just live normally. Oh, sure, you could argue Matthew himself wasn't normal, but at least he could hide that fact. Something Baron couldn't quite hide at all.

At the sound and sight of Baron's money pouch, however, Matthew got just a little bit more patience. If he could manage to get this guy going, maybe he would be able to get some profit out of this single guy. He stretched a smile and tried to make it look natural. "Of course. How about... this way?" he proposed as he pointed in a specific direction before heading that way. They passed a multitude of items, ranging from common silverware to unusual vases to entirely ridiculous items like geometrical shapes and objects that had no describable shapes. "What exactly... would you like, then?" Matthew inquired as he looked over his shoulder. "We have a tons of things, so giving me some pointers would get us straight to the heart of things."

[Kodai]

Well, it seemed that the shopkeeper was of a similar mind to Black Jack when it came to interpreting his statements. How delightful! Baron supposed he ought to try to tone it down a bit, however, since Matthew was no acquaintance of his and he'd rather avoid angering the man. He wouldn't be able to keep any unspoken promises, though. It was in his very nature to never give a straight answer if the question didn't have one (and even sometimes when it did). At least he was presenting the other man with the offer of becoming a customer, so that would serve to temper his, er, temper a bit.

Following Matthew in the random direction he had chosen past the silverware and vases and… whatever those were supposed to be (allowing his eye to wander over each one of them), the rabbit-man considered the shopkeeper's question. "I'm afraid I really haven't a solid idea of what I'd like, but I'll spare you the trouble of having me wander about the place. Let's begin with the most expensive item you have, and work our way down from there, shall we?" He gave Matthew a knowing sort of look and added, "Anything with a decent capacity for magic would also be appreciated; I'm not here for purely aesthetic pieces." Moving back to where the indescribably-shaped objects were displayed, he bent down to consider one. "Now, you see, if this had more function than simply sitting on a pedestal and looking pretty, I might consider it." Baron paused. "…Well, I might consider it anyway, actually, but it's certainly not the first thing I'd like to purchase from this store."