The shop owner was a man who seemed like he had seen better days. He wore sunglasses inside and a Hawaiian shirt with hula dancers across it. Gaudy jewelry clung to his knuckles and chest maybe there was a day when it was in fashion, but now it only looked like it was part of a costume. Maya quickly flipped the wand to match her forearm in order to avoid being seen, and tried to seem like she was simply browsing.  Upon the entry of Raj the owner's eyes darted over to him but neither his head nor body swiveled to do so.<br/><br/>The shop smelled like old laundry, and had obviously not been run very well. There was a layer of dust on everything, and there was an excessive use of security locks and cages. A shiver ran down Maya's spine. Security to keep people out often times did wonders to also keep people in. This wasn't a shop, it was a prison.  She shifted to leave promptly, but the shop owner spoke up.<br/><br/><span style="color: #804000">"You looking for something?"</span>he asked with an accent so thick from incuriosity, dislike of anything intellectual, and also from his own laziness.<br/><br/>Maya hesitated and surrendered her answer,<span style="color: #FF0080">"Rings?"</span><br/>She couldn't hold back the fear in her voice, but tried to salvage it by acting as though her throat was dry.<br/><br/>The man walked over to a case and pulled out a tangled wad of keys, jammed a few in the lock until the right one opened, and gently placed the display box on the counter. He waved his hand across them showing off his collection; however his eyes couldn't help but risk a second glance at Raj.<br/><br/>Obligated now, Maya crammed her fears deep into her bowels and approached. She glanced over the box, class rings, wedding rings, generic awful gem encrusted things. Most of them were junk mounted with glass and zircons, electroplated or made out of gold that was significantly less pure. There were 8 rings that dwelled outside of the box, unusual things well crafted detailed and mounted with massive gemstones that gleamed bright with fire. They caught her eye as out of place, she reached her wand hand forward and took careful attention to their reaction. A soft glow burst from the depths of the gems and faded just as quickly as her arm retracted. They were the only rings of there type in this place, and adorned each finger of the pawn shop owner. The owner had not noticed the alteration in his treasures.<br/><br/>As she pulled her hand back one ring, a black awful looking thing came popping out of the case, practically leaping at her. It landed on the counter and the man's hand slapped down on it to keep it from escaping.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0080">"Are they all for sale?"</span><br/><br/>With a half uttered word he confirmed her suspicion. His fist constricted around the item and he slowly brought it up in order to see which one it was.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0080">"What about that one, it seems like my size,"</span>it was obviously not and confirmed everything he had gleaned from Maya.<span style="color: #FF0080"> "â€¦ his size, I mean"</span>she quickly tried to salvage her statement again but it wasn't of any use.<br/><br/>The owner's fist tangled around the ring and he suddenly found it of relevance to address Raj.<br/><span style="color: #804000">"You with her?"</span>he inquired.