"I... I don't know..." Emerald responded.

"But.. I... all I know is that it was frightening." he told her. "It was so terrifying, Vi..." he admitted quietly, as he hunched up closer to as as they walked.

"It... it really felt like she saw me as nothing more than a meal for her." he whispered.

---

He approached the wiccan bookshop and smiled a little as he looked at the paraphernalia in the display window, seeing some orbs and crystals and books and candles and such, chuckling slightly.

"Such a perfect little cover." he mumbled, before stepping through the door, the little bell above the door ringing softly as he did.

He looked around, before seeing the woman behind the counter, and waving at her.

"Hey, Abigail." he greeted her.

Zeke just sighed, but there was a smile to it. He knew she was half-teasing, but she was right. Every time he went into there, it was usually because he was looking for something for his mother. There had been the odd time where he got something for himself, or Angela, or Olivia, but 80% of the time it was for Aimee. He knew that, so he then shrugged.

"You know me." he said. "Not that hard, though. My intentions are an open book, easier to read than the kitschy books you display in the open." he added with a small laugh.

"And I'm looking for a special kind of jar. Or bottle. A glass container." he told her. "Something that can hold coloured sand that shifts and moves on its own." he continued.

"I found a little trove of it of various colours, and I know she likes it, but I also know that regular jars and bottles tend to crack and split because of all the movement of the sand." he went on.

"Her birthday's coming up, and I thought it'd be a good idea for a present, I just need... well... the most structurally important part of the gift." he chuckled.

Zeke lightly clapped his hands in front of his chest when he heard that.

"Oh, excellent!" he responded. "That's perfect!" he told her.

"And... well, practically speaking, price is no limit." he then said. "Just so long as they're not... like, 5000 bucks a bottle, I think I can grab 1 at the very least." he went on with a small laugh.

"...actually, even if they ARE that, I'll still get one." he then admitted. "Ferasche Fae glassware is practically indestructible, and I can't think of a more perfect container for coloured shifting sand." he reasoned.

"But yeah, anyway, show me whatcha got." he said.

"Knew I could count on ya." he added with a point and a wink.

"...." Zeke was silent for a moment, before telling her what his budget was.

"If that will get all three, bring them all. Otherwise, bring how many that'll buy." he told her.

"Admittedly, I don't know the true retail value of that sort of glassware, as it so rarely comes up." he shrugged.

"I... don't know a lot about fae and retail, and their relationship, admittedly." he then muttered, before shaking his head.

"But I digress." he said.

"I'm going to peruse your legitimate books in the meantime."

Zeke was immediately on the defensive when he saw this.

"...what the...?" he muttered as he slowly approached it to investigate. When he got close enough to it, he noticed it was a small crystal-like object, about two inches tall and an inch wide. He also saw it was a brilliant blue, and deduced it was some kind of sapphire.

He cautiously picked it up, and as she held it, he wondered if this was something that he needed to tell Abigail about. However, before he could ponder it any longer, it shattered between his fingers, despite him exerting no pressure on it, and the fragments fell to the ground, dissipating before they could even land.

"....okaaaaay..." Zeke mumbled, as he looked over his hand, and around him. No smoke. No obvious residue. Nothing.

'The hell was THAT?' he wondered internally, making his way to the door and looking around, outside the windows, just to see if anyone was around, or if anyone looked particularly suspicious.

Zeke was still confused about earlier, but he wasn't going to dwell on that right now. He made his way towards her and the box, and checked inside when she opened it. Immediately, he was impressed.

"Wow, those look amazing." he said.

He gently picked one up and looked it over, before doing the same to the other two. After a minute or so, he nodded.

"I'll take 'em!" he told her.

"I know JUST what to do with the lot of 'em." he announced.

"The box is good." Zeke replied, as the price was talked about, and he then paid for them. After the transaction, he paused for a moment, deciding it would be best not to freak her out, but see if this was something he needed to be concerned about.

"How are things here?" he asked.

"I've heard a few stores somewhat close to here have been either vandalised or been the target of pranks from teens." he went on.

"How about you?" he asked. "Anything like that been happening to you, or to this place?" he asked further.

As it stood, it seemed like nothing had happened... like it was a cheap knockoff gem that someone had chosen this place to dump it. He'd hoped that's all it was.

Zeke just sighed as well.

"That is true." he said.

"At least you haven't had any issues with that so far." he told her. "We can only hope it stays that way." he went on, deciding to just put the strange gem out of his thoughts for now.

It seemed like he was fine, the store was fine, Abigail was fine, and this was probably just some weird person getting rid of exceptionally cheap jewelry.

"Anyway, thanks so much once again." he then said.

"This will make Mom REALLY happy, I'm sure!"

"If these do what's promised on the tin, worth every penny." Zeke assured her. "Seriously, these should be the best containers money can buy for the purpose." he added.

He then paused for a moment, before snapping his fingers.

"Oh! And do you have a book, or if not, can you be on the lookout for it?" he asked her. "It's about ancient pagan rituals involving death rites. Mom wants to read it, but it's hard to find." he said further. "Called 'Mors Officium'... which I believe is latin for "The Voyage of Death" or something." he added.

"I don't expect TOO much, due to the rarity, but I know you've pulled through for insane special requests in the past. And... hell, even right NOW." he chuckled.

Zeke raised an eyebrow when Abigail said all that, and when she produced the tome in question, his eyes lit up with sheer shock and surprise. He gently looked at the book, opening it slightly and checking something, before gasping quietly.

"...the real McCoy." he said.

"Right, I need to buy this. Now." he told her.

"Price was something of a factor for the bottles, but not for this." he went on, before checking his phone for something, scrolling through a couple of things, and nodding.

"Yep, had a special fund squirreled away in case I found it." he confirmed.

"Name your price."