Closed That Special Scent (Jed Sitai)

[Adair Askara]

Fall 25, 513 AV

Had things gone a little differently, Adair Askara might have become a perfumer or poisoncrafter like Jed Sirai rather than making tattoos and occasionally branding a slave. There was something inherently creative about inventing a new perfume or mixing a poison, so subtle that it wouldn’t be noticed until it was too late. But as it was he just bought a new bottle of perfume occasionally. He liked to surround himself and fill his home with exotic scents that were reminiscent of faraway places that he would likely never see with his own eyes.

Sitai’s Scents was one of his favourite shops in all of Kenash. The building was a work of art, and the different scents that filled it were almost overwhelming. He could have spent entire bells there, just taking a look at the countless bottles. This time he was looking for something special, not just a perfume that he would wear occasionally, but the right scent to fit the theme of a most unusual party he had planned for his twenty-third birthday that was about to come up.

„Jed Sitai?“ he asked and looked around to see if he could find the owner of the perfumery somewhere. „Are you there? I have a challenge for you, if you are interested.“ If Jed decided to show himself, he would find Adair standing in the center of the shop, holding a bottle with one of the newest perfumes Jed had created in his hand. He had just noticed it and thought that it looked interesting.

Banjemin Askara’s nephew was rather tastefully dressed for a change, without any ribbons, gems or clashing colors. He wore a simple white silk shirt over black pants, although he had painted his arms, his shoulders and his neck with complicated geometric patterns, as always and put on crocodile leather boots so that he wouldn’t look too boring.

He didn’t want anybody to accuse him of losing his touch.

[Jed Sitai]

.

Roughly, his hands brushed against the shoulder of her dress, tugging the garment downwards hastily. He leaned in, thick lashes casting shadows on his sandy cheeks as he inhaled her scent, shuddering involuntarily. Her skin prickled briefly at his warm exhale, subsiding when urgent kisses swept across the surface. Burrowing nose to neck, he pulled her pliant body closer, feeling the heat rise between them. Despite his fiery lust, the familiar ringing of the bell was quick to cool his passions. He growled quietly, the noise muffled further by the skin against his lips. Releasing his hold, Jed marched over to the nearby mirror to straighten his clothing and hair. Once satisfied, he left the laboratory, a little proud to note that Chessa had moved out of the view as he shut the door behind him.

"I am. Welcome to Sitai's Scents." He replied, greeting the visitor with a soft, gentle tone which, when combined with his hazy gaze, gave him a touch of otherworldly appeal. This was grounded with his simple dress of white cotton shirt, breeches and leather boots. As he spoke, he closed the distance between the colourful customer and himself, brown eyes occasionally wandering to the vibrant patterns on his arms. An Askara clearly, but which? Though they were all eccentric in their own way, Jed had long since place them in the same category of strange and was now found difficulty in differentiating between them. Perhaps if Adair looked more like his usual self, the young Sitai would realized his identity sooner, but such was not the case. His previous visits were likely welcomed by Chessa, who was more commonly found out front than the quiet perfumer. Rather than potentially offend, Jed simply kept quiet, hoping that their conversation would reveal clues to this man's name.

Curious of his intentions while shying from commitment, Jed responded vaguely. "Depends on what you have in mind." In waiting, he noticed the bottle in the other's hand, a newer scent by the name of Temptation. With its blend of raspberry and saffron, it made for an inviting scent. The careful addition of the local deep passion tob further increased its tempting scent, all without overwhelming the nose. This was a fragrance of unisex appeal, one that could be easily integrated with incense or vanilla and has a conveniently heavy sillage. Pleased with his customer's choice, he offered a light smile. "Temptation. It's one of my newest scents. Do you like it?"

[Adair Askara]

As Jed stepped into the main area of the shop and adressed him, Adair grinned and turned to face him.

“Wonderful”, he replied. “I was already worried that nobody was here and that I would have to come back in a couple of bells. I hope that I didn’t interrupt anything important though.”

As he took a closer look at Jed, he noticed that they were wearing similar clothes that day. Apparently they had visited the same tailor at one point, although Jed’s boots were made of cow leather or something similar.

How dreadfully conventional!

He needed to do something about it.

“Your boots”, Adair remarked and pointed at them. “You should really try out crocodile leather. It’s currently in fashion. I can show you where to get some.”

Once he had criticized Jed’s terrible choice in boots, he opened the bottle he was holding and smelled at it again.

“Strawberries, right?” he guessed. “Your new perfume smells good, but unfortunately it’s not what I’m looking for. It’s too pleasant and not intense enough.”

“I’m planning a party”, he revealed and put the bottle back where it belonged.

“Not just any party, but a death day party. All the slaves will be wearing black costumes and frightening masks, the walls will be covered with black cloth and there will be death themed decorations everywhere. I need a certain scent to go with that theme, something that is dark and mysterious.”

”Do you have anything for me?"

[Jed Sitai]

.

Jed shook his head gently, his voice equally soft. "Nothing that couldn't wait." As the visitor gave him a look over, the Sitai caught wind of the lightest steps and sweetest scent. This was a good of a time as any for Chessa to return to the storefront, though her presence brought with it a tightening sensation in his chest. Though his demeanor remained open and nonchalant, he really did not know if he could wait.

Momentarily lost in thought, the perfumer heard only the last few words of his comment. Fortunately, he need not guess for a finger guided his eyes glance toward the floor. With a ghost of a smile, he replied. "Sure."

"Close. They're raspberries." To him, the scents were worlds apart, though he could imagine how others may confuse the two. Then, curious, he tilted his head slightly to one side. "Oh? For what occasion?" He encouraged unnecessarily, for he sensed the excitement of the young Askara. As he spoke, Jed listened as attentively as any slave, though it was not an ingrained fear but kindness drove him. For a moment, he thought "death day party" referred to a funeral, but was quick to realize that it was merely a theme. However, the image of the graceful, waltzing socialites mindlessly avoiding and completely ignoring a rotting corpse laid in the middle of the ballroom floor did amused more than disgusted him. Nonetheless, he was intrigued by the concept, eyes twinkling faintly with fascination. At times, Jed wondered if he perhaps born into the wrong family for he would always gravitated toward the strange and mysterious; a mindset that seemed to be more suitable for an Askara.

"Mysterious...that would be incense and some sort of white floral, jasmine most likely. Dark...vetiver perhaps, with its woody scent, but combined with ginger for the spiciness and myrhh for its pungency..." Jed spoke aloud, forgetting his manners in his excitement as he began to bore his guest. His words were delivered with a misty tone, gaze distant, his body phasing from tangible to intangible as he spoke, as though he were completely of this world. Suddenly, as though he had fallen back to Mizahar, Jed asked. "Would you follow me please? We can try a few scents in my lab." He paused for a response and, if it was agreeable, headed toward the back of the store.

[Adair Askara]

„Oh“, Adair made as Jed informed him that the perfume contained raspberries. „I always confuse the two. They are both red, look kind of similar and taste and smell delicious. Actually I think I’ll have something with raspberries in it when I get home.“

He licked his lips a little. Was he the only one that got hungry when he smelled a fruity perfume?

„For what occasion?“ he repeated Jed’s question and grinned mischeviously. „As I said it’s going to be a death day party, a funeral, my funeral. Everybody else has birth day parties, you see. I find that dreadfully boring and uncreative, so I’m going to die instead. Not really, of course. It’s all going to be some big, slightly morbid joke. I hope that you’ll be there to mourn me.“

„Presents would of course be appreciated.“

He noticed the faraway look in Jed’s eyes as he spoke of the scent he had in mind and arched an eyebrow. If he did something inappropriate now would Jed even notice? He was tempted to try, but then he decided to behave and simply wait until Jed returned to Mizahar instead.

If he pranked Jed, the man might not want to make that scent for him.

„Jasmine sounds good“, he decided. „I like jasmine. Let’s go and try something out. I’ll follow you.“