Sparky slowly opens his mouth, and you hear a sound: it’s just a slight hissing at first, but then you realize that it’s the sound of a breath being drawn. A very long, very slow, very deep breath. Sparky speaks slowly, in a voice that sounds like squelching mud. “That’s a very good… …ca...t…you’ve selected. Yes….yes. Found it…by the sid…e… …of an abandoned… …highway.” You hold your breath for a moment. Sparky doesn't usually say anything about where or how these wares are acquired. This is very exciting. “Someone had… …lost it, I thi…nk. It fell out of a tru… …ck, many… …years… …ago.” He pauses again, for a very long time. Conversing with this fish is almost like watching paint dry. “But I found….it. Saved…it. Covered in… …mud, it...was. Old…and dusty…and…fraaail. Healthy…now. Strong…now. Never once b…roke.” Sparky’s head turns, and you are suddenly being stared down by one beady silver sturgeon eye. “You two…match. But you still… …have to… …pay.” [“What do I have to pay?”] |