[asclepius] now is the time to be alive. [rose]

Though Nessa was far from afraid of what happened in Knockturn Alley she knew better than to let her guard down while she was visiting. The little shopping district had gotten pretty violent when the Dark Lord was gaining power but now it was mostly back to normal. It was still dangerous and dirty, but far less than it had been just before the war. Nessa didn't exactly align herself with the dark during the war but she did heal those who had. Even still she still didn't feel like she belonged here. She doubted any sane person really felt like they belonged to the Alley, most just found it useful. And that was why she was currently traveling down the stuffy street. She had heard of a new apothecary that was just opening and of course she wanted to check out the place. She had been told one of the Bane children was working there, even though she was far from a child now. Nessa walked quickly and kept her dark eyes in front of her, also knowing better than to stare at any one person for too long as she passed them. She could handle her own but that didn't mean she went looking for fights. When she reached the building it looked as described and she was pleased as she entered.

The word Apothecary gave her a certain mental picture and she was glad that the shop keep had decided to stick with the traditional ambiance. Plants grew in corners, vials of strange colored liquids ran across shelves, and things that were better left untouched sat on their own pedestals. It had the classic feel of a wizarding potions shop and Nessa was a sucker for the classics. She smiled lightly and began to browse slowly. She was looking for a certain ingredient and she had already checked the other suppliers in the area and in Cork and no one had any in stock. She had bribed, and threatened, some of the owners to contact her as soon as they got their shipment but she had had no luck as of yet. Pushing her well maintained hair from her shoulders Nessa nibbled on her lip a little. She hoped she didn't come all this way for nothing. And then just as she was about to resign from looking she spotted something in the back corner of the shop. She stepped quickly and then took a deep breath as she saw the enlarged spore sitting safely inside of its own little protective case. Gently, with the hands of a skilled potioneer, she picked up the case and turned toward the sales counter of the shop.

Walking carefully Nessa approached the employee and recognized the young witch standing behind it. Nessa had known Tegan in school and she had met Rose a few times at Regan gatherings but they weren't quite friends. She knew of her, she knew a little about her and more about her family, but that was about it. Conall said good things and continued to invite her to Regan parties so she had to be okay. Nessa got her game face on because the next part was her favorite part of shopping: haggling for price. In Nessa's eyes no price was final and there was always room for negotiations. She was well aware of the rarity of the item that was currently hanging off her finely manicured fingers but that didn't mean she was going to over pay for it. "Good afternoon Miss Bane." She said, getting the formalities out of the way. If Rose didn't remember her Nessa wouldn't be offended, but she would make sure to remind the younger girl that she was a Regan. That held sway in most parts of the wizarding world, and Nessa often used that to her advantage. "I am interested in purchasing this item but only at the right price." She held her head high, knowing from experience that negotiations were an art. If a buyer came on too rough they would most likely be shot down for any deal, but if they were too gentle, they would get ripped off.

Since she had moved back to the United Kingdom, Rosaline had begun work at her mother and her mother's partner's [partner in more ways than one, unfortunately] business: Asclepius's Apothecary & Greenhouse. She enjoyed the work, and even the people for the most part. Blair was an excellent mentor for her, despite her issues with what he did in his personal life. Professionally, however, he was excellent. His son, Callum, worked there as well. Rose had found that she had become rather fond of him, in particular. He had a decent enough personality [much, much better than his cousin Jayce's], and he was aesthetically appealing as well.

Devon Incarnadine also worked there, in a business arrangement between her family and the Incarnadines, as a Herbologist. He was nice enough, and appeared to hang on her every word, but Rose was still not quite as fond of him as she was his brother. Of course, she never let him catch on to this lest he not be so cooperative with her requests around the shop. The other Herbologist was her uncle's nephew, Dáire Sages. He wasn't quite as useful to Rose as Devon, simply because she could not simply bat her eyelashes at him to get him to answer to her every beck and call. Still, he was alright. She supposed. More importantly, despite the sometimes questionable clientele, she very much enjoyed her chosen profession. Technically, she was continuing on from a previous apprenticeship in Neroli.

Sometimes, however, they did, indeed, get some rather reputable clients. One such client was standing right in front of her, now. Rosaline offered a polite smile to the older woman. "Good afternoon, Miss Regan." Nessa was the cousin of her friend, Conall. She had always seemed pleasant enough to be around, though certainly not overly so. From what Rose knew of her, she liked her. However, she could not, thus, let the other woman take advantage of her in a business matter.

"I have that listed as costing only fourteen galleons." Rose smiled a little more pleasantly, then. "The container is hand-made, and I am sure that you are aware of the rarity of that particular spore. It's practically a steal."

Fourteen galleons? Nessa's nose crinkled up slightly at her obvious disappointment in the price. She could see the tag on the item, she was not asking what the price was, she was asking what price she could get. She often found those were two entirely different amounts. Still holding the spore carefully with one hand she tapped a manicured fingernail from her other hand on her lips, thinking quietly. She wasn't going to spend fourteen galleons on this item, not if she had anything to do with it. She needed it. She needed it for something she couldn't exactly explain to Rose but it was important. It would save a life, but she wasn't about to be one of those customers. Nessa refused to give Rosaline a sob story about how the spore was going to help repair a defect in Blo's heart that would eventually kill her. Instead she gently set the case down on the counter in front of her and then flipped some hair off of her shoulder. "I'm not buying it for the container, and just because its hand made doesn't mean its quality." She raised a thin dark eyebrow as she turned her gaze from the case to the young witch in front of her.

Working where she did it was Nessa's business to know quality craftsmanship from a first glance. She was no where near as good as her uncles, but acquisitions wasn't really her job title anyway. "If you'd like you can keep the container. If we can settle on 11 galleons instead of 14. That's a bit steep don't you think?" Keeping her cool even though she was in a bit of a hurry Nessa left the small, pleasant smile, playing on her features. She wasn't trying to start a fight but it was difficult for her to haggle without at least a few insults thrown around. At least her comments were directed at the container and not the salesperson, that tended to happen. Nessa was a brilliant witch but she didn't have a lot of tact when it came to social situations. She said whatever to get her way and didn't care if she stepped on people in the mean time. It got her into some fights, but it also cleared out the rift raft. She knew the Bane's were not rift raft, but this girl was young, Nessa hoped to take advantage of that fact. Maybe she knew a lot about what she was selling. Maybe she was just working here part time. Either way, Nessa wasn't leaving with out that spore.

"Are you coming to the New Year's Eve ball this year? Tain's outdone herself with the decorations and the color scheme." Nessa quickly changed the subject, hoping that a bit of polite conversation might help to sweeten the pot. She had seen Rose at the family parties before. Nessa knew she was friends with her younger cousin, possibly more based on the kiss they had shared a midnight, but Nessa wasn't really sure. Either way she continued to chat as she absently ran a finger over the metal casing around the spore she really needed to acquire. "I hope you like the color gold because I'm assuming the manor will be basically covered in it come December 31st."