Honeysweet Antiques

Manis had always loved to socialize. It was something she often did as part of her business but it was something special when she was just the guest instead of being there to work.

She was currently wearing a mask based on honeycombs she was so well known for. It wasn’t hard to guess who she was considering her traits and markings but Manis did not care.
She scanned the crowds for a target to approach and perhaps drag onto the dance floor?

A dark Greed bun with bright shimmering horns caught her attention. He was beautiful and shimmering all over.
Perfect. Manis moved across the room with surprising ease to approach him.

“Hello~! You caught my eye from across the room with your stunning looks. I’m Manis and you are?”

-

While Chaoshin didn’t quite enjoy socializing a whole lot, he knew that the best way to make bank was to find the right kind of people and get a little schmoozy with them. What better place to be than this masquerade then? It was full of important Succubuns coming from all kinds of different backgrounds. Artists, Performers, Bankers, Successful Entrepreneurs and so many more. He was bound to forge a few new connections if he spent enough time here, and more Clients were always welcome in his book.

A pair of glowing eyes peeked out from beneath a golden mask, wandering through the people in the area as he attempted to find a famous bun among them. Of course he had done his research on some persons of interest, so he knew what to look for despite the masquerade attire. Though despite his best laid out plans, he found his attempt cut short by an approaching stranger. He couldn’t help but blink in surprise, taking a brief moment to recollect his thoughts and reply.

“Greetings to you as well… Miss Manis? I apologize if my assumption is incorrect.”

YESS, nailed it! A perfectly mannered response despite being caught entirely off guard.

“I am Chaoshin, pleasure to meet you”, he gave a little nod in acknowledgement, not wanting to touch anybody just yet, if possible.

“I’m curious, did you approach me solely on my looks?”, he raised an eyebrow, though his expression looked more amused than upset.

-

“Correct~! Nice to meet you, Chaoshin!” Manis cheerfully responded, her tail wagging with some weight to them thanks to being coated in crystals. 

She laughed softly “Oh I did. The way the brilliant yellow and purple stands out so beautifully from the black coloring you have. I couldn’t help it but admire that. It’s not common to see such coloring and combinations of traits” 

-

“Huh… “

He paused. Admittedly he had never really thought much about it. Or at least he hadn’t thought about it in such a way. He did enjoy the image in his mirror, and he had been called handsome or pretty here or there, but he had never given a thought towards his own traits.

“I suppose they do come together rather well, don’t they? And I suppose that may be part of the reason why my usual attire doesn’t cover up much of it. I do enjoy the markings and being able to see them.”

He paused again, though more briefly this time.

“I’m flattered, I won’t lie, so thank you for the compliment. Do you work in an industry that works with models a lot, or is it more of a personal interest of yours? You seem… knowledgeable?”

-

Manis had to muffle her chuckles at the way Chaoshin paused at her observations. 

“Oh I work in the food industry. Making mead and honey mainly so I often get a lot of customers in. Through Gilded, Crystalline and Shimmer are rare traits among my clients as I see more Skeletal, Spikes and Evil Eye. Probably due to the location of my meadery but I digress” She shrugged, not really minding that as they paid well for her products and she did like to see
“They’re also usually darker and desaturated in colouring.” She paused with a quiet click of her tongue

“I do however see Gilded, Crystal and Shimmer more when I’m participating in one of my two hobbies occasionally which happens to be fire dancing and belly dancing. Usually because of where I perform….” Manis glanced at him as she slid closer.

“What about you? What kind of industry are you in?”

~  

“Mead and honey… “, he murmured to himself.

It was easy to tell that he was putting two and two together as he looked Manis over thoroughly. One might have been able to guess her profession by her looks alone, and though he didn’t like to judge a book by its cover, it seemed to fit in this case.

“A personal interest then, I see. I can’t say that I pay a lot of attention to the looks of the people I meet, so I wouldn’t be able to tell you what kind of traits are more or less common in my social circle.”

He paused to take a tiny sip of the drink in his hand. The champagne flute had been untouched so far given that he’d been too busy hatching plans. While he couldn’t say that his thoughts were any less active now than they were before, he did find the bubbly liquid to be a good excuse for his need to think things through. A few seconds were all he needed anyway.

“Mh… I suppose I enjoy dancing as well, though I prefer more classical dancing. Ballroom dancing, if you will. I - “

Oh. He noticed. He noticed her sliding closer and he couldn’t help but tense up a little. Hopefully this didn’t mean anything much. He wouldn’t want to be propositioned right now… 

“My industry is all kinds of valuables. I’m an appraiser of a variety of goods. I work mostly for auction houses, and private collectors. My knowledge is rather extensive, I’ve been told.”

-

“I kind of picked up on people watching from one of my littermates and it helps me discern which customer will likely be most profitable and which will give me some trouble” Manis admitted before raising an eyebrow.

“Ballroom dancing? I can’t say I’ve seen it in person but I have seen it on tv and it looks elegant….”

She noticed his tensing and stepped away with a quiet apology. It was a bad habit of hers to unconsciously get into personal spaces after all. She was usually eager for good conversations and often got closer physically.

“Appraiser huh? Fascinating. You must meet a lot of buns then” 

Just then a waiter came around with champagne flutes and Manis helped herself to a glass to sip on. “How did you get started in that industry?”

~

“Littermates… that’s rather… sweet? Did you enter Burrowgatory together or did you find one another later in life? And if people watching helps you profit I should perhaps look into it myself?”

The tiniest chuckle came out of his mouth at the thought. It’s not that he didn’t play into some of his client’s personalities, but gaining more knowledge never seemed like a terrible idea to him. Perhaps there was something there which he might be able to tap into. It would be worth a try at the very least.

“Yes, ballroom dancing. It is quite elegant, but it is also rather enjoyable.They do call it ballroom dancing, but it includes a lot of variety besides just Waltz. Foxtrot, Tango, Cha Cha… A lot of the official dances are latin dances or varieties of better known types. If I remember correctly there are roughly… 19 different types that are accepted for official ballroom dancing contests.”

Chaoshin had to stop himself from rambling too much about the dancing, seeing as it was one of those topics where he could go on for hours. He was very aware that not everybody wanted to hear him monologue about facts, statistics or interesting trivia for that long. Best to keep it reeled in, after all that was also part of manners, no?

“I do! We don’t spend a lot of time with one another, and I do have a number of repeat clients, but there are quite a few people who need something valued and certified. Some of them are investors who are looking to buy something to sell for more later, others wish to confirm the value of antiques they own, and there’s also some who are secretly strapped for cash and are either hoping or forced to liquidate physical assets.”

He gave the occasional nod as he explained everything to Manis, taking note that she had retracted her presence out of his personal space. While he didn’t say it in words, his more relaxed stance communicated a degree of gratefulness.

“I started work in a pawn shop, to be honest. That was many years ago, but that’s where I learned some of the basics. Where do your roots lie? Have you always worked in honey and mead?”

-

"Oh the three of us stuck together for most part though I moved away to pursue my passions as I prefer the country more to the city vibe." Manis smiled slightly "I see them often through. Also it can't hurt to look into it if it'll help you get some more profit. Gotta use all the tricks in your arsenal, yes?"

It did help that Manis was also quite a small bun but she wasn't about to admit that.

She tilted his head when the Greed cut himself off from talking more about ballroom dancing. Seems it was one of his favored interests. Her wings fluttered slightly at that as she took mental note to get him talking more about that later.

She nodded as she listened to him speak of his clients. It truly made sense to her that his work would have a variety of clients. She chuckled when he mentioned working in a pawn shop. It made sense considering.

“Oh I always loved honey. Drove Murmur crazy” she shook her head in amusement “I asked the Church of Sulfur for some information on where I could get mentorship to pursue my passions and they helped me out. My mentor taught me everything I knew before I searched for a plot to set my meadery up. It was greatly difficult to get started but I’m thriving with several types of honey going and my Bimble is a lot of help especially with harvesting.” She shook her head.

“Makes sense I’d get into honey and mead considering my own appearance…” Oh she knew she bore strong resemblance to her passions considering her honeycomb patterning, colouring and splattering of her dark crystals over her body. One of her littermates even joked that her glass parts were filled with honey.

~ 

Chaoshin occasionally nodded in acknowledgement as he listened to Manis speak of her profession and Littermates. It was admittedly rather pleasant to speak with her. Or at least he felt like his social batteries weren’t under any major stress, and he considered that to be very agreeable.

“I had no idea the Church of Sulfur offered such services, though I’m glad you were able to profit from it”, he gave the tiniest smile, and it became clear that his words were genuine.

“A Bimble you say? Adorable, little poof balls, those! I have a bit of a deal going to get my own Bimble not too far into the future, though I don’t think I’ll use it to harvest things for me.”

He chuckled, entire body relaxing as he thought about the Imps waiting for him back home. Precious, little creatures he was very enamored with.

“I suppose many Succubuns are drawn towards things that are in their nature?”

One of his claws tapped against the crystalline horns atop his head.

“I do have a weakness for sparkly and shiny things. I collect a lot of them. Nothing wrong with following your passions and/or your nature. As long as you find you are happy with how things are going for you?”

-

“Church of Sulfur offers many services” Manis smiled slightly “It is handy. My Bimble usually accompanies me everywhere but I left them behind because they don’t do well at fancy events” She shook her head as she thought of her silly Bimble who often got into some mischief and she knew Angora would disapprove. Not to mention all of the food available.

“I suppose so? Or toward things similar to what their appearance indicates” Manis spoke as few buns came to mind. 

“Indeed, as long as you’re happy; that’s what is important. You appear to enjoy your passions and that’s wonderful” Manis’ tail flickered as she sipped her champagne “Shall we go have a seat and enjoy some food? I see other buns starting to take their seats and I am quite hungry. Perhaps you could tell me more about ballroom dancing? You did cut yourself off earlier” Manis had noticed and taken note of that after all.

“I am intrigued as it seems it’s one of your strong interests and I would like to hear more”

~ 

“Oh yes, this is most definitely not an imp friendly event”, he nodded in agreement.

“So do you. It is enjoyable to hear people speak passionately of the things they enjoy”

In response to her suggestion he looked around, having almost forgotten they were just standing in a random spot.

“That sounds lovely, yes. And if you would like to hear more of it, I’d be happy to oblige. Perhaps even teach you some steps after we eat? I’m well versed in leading, so you don’t have to worry about stepping on my toes. And you could tell me of your meadery as well?”

He smiled, attempting to not let on too much of how excited he was for this conversation. Truth be told, no matter his expression, it was his wagging tail that betrayed him. Perhaps this would become a much more pleasant evening than he had anticipated.