deal 005 ❖ [video]

[intogold]

[Rumpelstiltskin is smiling. This in and of itself is probably not at all surprising. In fact, it's genuinely par for the course.

The video shows that he's not in his shop for once, instead out and about and in motion. And even more surprising, perhaps, is what he decides to ask about.]

Where I'm from, love is a very powerful magic. Well, the right kind of love is.

So tell me, dearies, what is your experience with love? Have you been in love? Does love conquer all where you're from? Has it ever saved someone you know?

I can't help my curiosity, after all. [Here he giggles, high pitched, the sound sudden and then ending just as abruptly.] So perhaps you wouldn't mind indulging an old man's wondering.

Comments

[Video]

[intogold]

[It's his charm, Ed. All of it. He laughs, a high pitched little sound.]

Kidding about what, deary?

[renkinjutsu]

[Nope, that's not charm. He's pretty sure this guy might not be all that stable. W o w.]

Magic. That's like throwing your hopes to some god you can't even see.

[intogold]

My my, a non-believer? [Another laugh, same manic sort of sound.] I assure you magic is quite real in the world I'm from. Quite real. Other worlds do not possess it though; I'm certain of that much.

[renkinjutsu]

[You really creep him out, Rumple. And it's a little evident by the way his expression flickers when you laugh like that.]

Whatever. It doesn't exist where I come from. [He frowns, looking serious rather than annoyed for a moment.] Loving someone doesn't mean it can save them.

[intogold]

[He creeps most people out. So he's not terribly bothered by this.]

Ah, of course. And where you come from is all that matters or counts, is it?

[Here he laughs again.] No, it does not. Love is strong magic, but even magic has its limitations. Its rules

[renkinjutsu]

[Rules. Rules he can work with.]

How is it magic if it has rules?

[intogold]

How is it magic if it doesn't, deary?

[He smiles a slow, toothy grin.] Unless of course you're only familiar with tawdry parlor tricks.

[renkinjutsu]

I don't make it a point to be familiar with magic. That's all it is. Tricks.

[intogold]

So narrow minded! I assure you that magic can be very very real.

[renkinjutsu]

[He's not narrow minded, he's skeptical.]

Prove it then.

[intogold]

[Skeptically narrow minded.]

Of course, deary. But you'd probably be more easily convinced in person. My shop is in Traverse Town, won't you come by?

[renkinjutsu]

[Semantics.]

It's Edward. [Please don't call him deary it's kind of creepy coming from a dude like you. He considers the offer for a moment, brows knitting. What does he have to lose, exactly?]

Fine. Give me an address and I'll get there.

[intogold]

[Not going to help, Ed. Deary just rolls off the tongue better.]

Wonderful. [And have a quick rattling off of directions here.] The door will be open, of course. We are in business, after all. Let yourself in.

--->[Action]

[renkinjutsu]

[Getting to Rumple's place isn't hard with the directions given, so it doesn't take Ed long to get there. When he does, he lifts one gloved hand to knock on the door lightly.

This is going to be hilarious, if anything even happens. He's got to admit though, the creepy old man has confidence at least.]

[Action]

[intogold]

[The door swings open of its own account and Rumplestiltskin calls out, brightly.] Come in, come in. I'm glad to see you found the place well enough.

[renkinjutsu]

Yeah, it wasn't hard to find.

[He steps inside, stopping to look around.]

So what kind of tricks do you have up your sleeve, pops?

[intogold]

No tricks. [The shop is lined with small vials and bottles, trinkets, dried flowers. And off in the corner is a spinning wheel, a pile of straw to one side, a pile of finely spun fiber beside it, glinting and shining a bit in the light.]

Well, what would you like to see? I suppose I'll have to make it good.

[renkinjutsu]

[He's eyeing the golden looking thread and the straw. You know, that reminds him of a story his mother told him when he was younger.... Even as he thinks of it, he shakes his head. Impossible.]

Huh? You mean I get to choose?

[intogold]

Yes, deary. You pick something and I'll pick something. Though you'll have to understand that there are some limits to my magic.

[Rumplestiltskin heads back to his little workbench, watching Edward expectantly. He already has his idea. Oh yes.]

[renkinjutsu]

What kinds of limits? [He might as well ask that now, and get it out of the way.]

[intogold]

Reaching other worlds is quite difficult, for example. What is dead is dead, and no magic great or small can change that. And I can't change the past. After all, it's past.

[He grins and waves a hand.] Beyond that well, those are the larger ones.

[renkinjutsu]

[He snorts at that.]

What's dead is dead, huh? [He sobers up a bit, quiet.] Yeah, that makes sense. [Afterall, if Alchemy couldn't... He shakes his head looking back at Rumple.]

I'm not picky, let's just get this over with.

[intogold]

That's right, deary. Unless you happen to have a spare lying about. [He managed that once. Aaah twins. So useful sometimes.]

Well, where to begin. [He smiles a bit here.] I can show you quite the thing, deary. A few wiggles of his fingers and there's an almost luminescent violet smoke winding around his hands, moving to wind itself around Ed. It should be painless and barely noticeable, until he looks around and sees he's gone and grown himself a good six inches or so. Look, Ed. He made you taller. ...for a minute or two.]

so rude.

[renkinjutsu]

[You're going to get a very dark, very serious look at that joke, Rumple. But well, magic is happening, and that's got Ed's attention. Sure enough, he only really notices the change once it's done. Mostly because his pants are fitting rather poorly.]

W-W-WAIT A MINUTE. YOU DIDN'T SAY YOU COULD DO ANYTHING LIKE THIS! [It's... a dream come true! He grins, a rather shark toothed sort of expression as he tests this out by comparing himself to the door frame.]

[intogold]

[A look he'll be ignoring entirely. It wasn't a joke so much as bit of reminiscing of strange deals past.]

I didn't say I couldn't either. Magic's a versatile thing, deary. I could have turned you into a slug or a cactus, but I didn't think that would do so well for the conversation.

I'm afraid it's only temporary though. Can't go giving away my product, after all. I'm a business man, first and foremost. And all magic comes with a price.