[Gift] Lemonade and Magic [Stonks Tier 2]

"Bam!" Vi picked up vir tablet, shoving it into Stonks' face, "3 stocks of MERE!" 

Stonks rubbed their nose, backing away from the tablet to get a good look.

"MERE? But that's almost 200 a stock! Are you sure?"

"Go big or go home!" Vi laughed, "If it's that high, then it'll keep getting higher, right? At LEAST for the week."

Not necessarily... Stonks thought to themselves, but didn't relay that to Vi. If they wanted to win this competition, it would be best to stay quiet.

"I'll get smaller ones with some promise too, don't worry. Gotta cover all my bases!" Ve shoved vir nose back into the tablet, the light reflecting strongly off vir eyes. Stonks turned back to their own tablet, scrolling through articles on the internet instead of the stock app.

Oh, this one says VIRU is going to partner with TELA! I bet that'll cause TELA to skyrocket! Maybe. Stonks switched back to the app and bought 50 stocks of TELA as it was pretty cheap. The two spent the next few hours researching and purchasing stocks. They were so focused on their glowing screens that they didn't notice when Ken, Vi's caretaker, strolled into the room.
"Ah! There you two are!" He plopped down between them, looking at Vi's tablet, "Whatcha doing?"

"We're seeing who can make the most money off of the stock market in one week! We only have today to buy them, so I gotta get as many as possible." Vi responded to him telepathically.

"Oooh, that explains it! Silly Vi, I can't afford all these stocks! I'm sorry, but you two will have to find some other way to pay for this. You can keep your current stocks, though! Don't worry." He smiled, patting Vi on the head.

"Oh no! How are we supposed to get money to buy more?" Stonks looked a bit worried.

"Hm...I bet you two could sell something! Like lemonade. All the cool kids sell lemonade!" 

Vi leapt to vir feet so quickly ve dropped the tablet onto the plush rug.

"I'm going to make so much more money than you, Stonks! Then I'll buy the most stocks and win THAT too!" Ve snapped up vir tablet and bolted away in a ball of sudden flames, tapping quickly on the screen to research the best business practices and advertisement techniques.

Oh geeze. Stonks grinned and walked more slowly out of the towering library. Quite impressive, Stonks thought, then shook their head, Gotta concentrate. OK, how am I gonna make money as a paralogos? They thought for a second, then got the best idea ever. Of course! I just have to develop my tier 2 magic and then use it to make money! Humans are always trying to bond with me for my word and make lots of money, so why not take advantage of THEM? Stonks smiled, pleased with their idea, but then frowned. Oh...how am I gonna get my next magic tier?! They walked around the city aimlessly for quite some time, wondering what to do, when they saw Vi sitting on a stool much too tall for vem to touch the ground at a quickly-made stand of some kind.

What? Stonks stared in shock, How long has it been? How did ve do that so fast?! They walked up to the stand to see what ve was selling. It was...purple lemonade and hot dogs?

"Hey, Stonks! Great stand, huh? I read that in the past pink lemonade got a lot of sales because it was new and exciting! So I've made PURPLE lemonade! I've never seen that before. It's grape flavored!"

"I see. And hot dogs?"

"It's extra salty with bread, so it'll make them more thirsty!"

"Oh. That's not a bad idea. But if it's purple lemonade, why is your stand mostly red?" Stonks poked the front of the stand, a tiny bit of red paint coming off on their finger.

"I also read that the color red makes humans more hungry and catches your attention better!"

"Wow. You thought of everything." They rubbed the paint off onto the pavement.

Vi smirked, crossing vir arms and standing tall...as tall as a tiny paralogos could, anyway.

"I know. So what are you going to do?"

"Oh...I was thinking of getting my tier 2 magic, whatever it will be, and using that to make money somehow. Sell my services." Stonks sighed heavily and looked down.

"What's wrong?" Vi blinked at the sudden downturn in Stonks' body language.

"I'm not sure how to get it. No idea at all." Stonks looked back up at vem. Vi rolled vir eyes before vir hand met vir face.

"You're dumb for a para with such a strong word."

"Hey!"

"Just go to a stock person, a stock broker or whatever they're called, and ask THEM for help. I'm sure they'll have an idea of what to do."

Stonks blinked.
"Oh. Yeah. That's a good idea. Thanks." They looked down in embarrassment.

"Don't mention it. I wouldn't want to win just because you couldn't do anything."

Stonks walked off, intending to go to a small business they were pretty sure would suit their needs. They didn't want to go to a larger one, worried they wouldn't get help in time. They stopped in front of a door, a large sign above it displaying "Ava Hart Investments". Stonks closed their eyes and imagined their anxiety leaving them at the door as they entered the building. Immediately they noticed it smelled of pure maple syrup and butter, like someone had made waffles. They looked around at the plain decor, not sure if it was a choice or if Ava couldn’t afford more decorations. The carpet was lovely, though.

“Um, hello?” Stonks watched a pale woman stand up and look towards the door, trying to figure out why it had just opened by itself. She noticed the little paralogos on the ground and blinked in surprise.

“Ah, a paralogos? What are you doing here, little one?” She looked at them in confusion. Stonks jumped up onto the desk, not keen on straining their neck to talk to her.

“Ahem,” They said telepathically as they cleared their throat, even though it was completely unnecessary, “As you can see, I am a very scary WICKED paralogos! See, my focus is ‘Stock Market’, a very good word for a wicked indeed!” They tried to pose in a way they thought looked boastful and powerful, but came across as silly and over-the-top, “Do not be afraid, I am not here to hurt you!”

“Uh huh.” Her eyebrows raised as her eyes scanned them and slowly sat back down, clearly not convinced, “I wasn’t scared.”

“Yes, well…” They shook their head and beamed at her, “I need help getting my tier 2 magic, and I was hoping you would like to help!”

“Yeah…Why me?”

“Because I’ve heard so much about you!” Stonks lied, “You’re one of the best stock brokers in the entirety of Sermos!”

“Really now? And who told you that?”

“Er, um.” They paused, “You know, I never got their names, I just, uh, heard them talking, you know?”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

“No, I- OK yeah, I came here because it’s a smaller business and I thought I’d have a better chance at getting help. So…will you help me?” They looked at her hopefully. She sighed.

“I’m not sure…I have work to do.”

“Pleeeeease? How hard can it be?” Stonks said, realizing they needed to sweeten the deal, “OK, how about this? I want my next tier of magic so I can make money to win a competition. Once I make some money and win the competition, I’ll share it with you! How does that sound?”

Ava chuckled. She really wasn’t busy at all right now, and she seriously doubted she’d see any money out of this, but it did sound a little fun.
“Sure, I’ll help.” She stretched as she stood from her desk once more, “What did you say your name was? I’m Ava, of course.”

“My name is Stonks!” They watched as her eyes shot down to them, betraying her attempt to conceal her laughter as the corners of her lips twitched. Stonks grinned, “No, no, you may laugh. It’s funny!”

“Pft, well, let’s get to work, Stonks,” She tried to stop from laughing, “What did you say your word focus was? ‘Stock Market’?”

“Yeah! So, what do you think my next magic could be…?”

“Hmm. Well, most paralogos I’ve read about know all about their word and sense it. Perhaps you should be able to know what any stock is doing at any moment?”

“Oh, that makes sense. OK, so how do we…do that?”

“How about I pick random stocks and you try to guess what they’re worth?” Ava suggested. Stonks’ eyes lit up.

“Yeah! That’s a great idea!” They plopped their tushy down on her desk as she sat once again.

“OK, let’s see…heh, how about FAIL?” She started. Stonks closed their eyes and concentrated very hard. They didn’t think they could sense anything, though.

“Um. 3….56?” They opened their eyes. Ava shook her head.

“Not even close. It’s 21.03. Oh, 21.02 now.” She noticed Stonks seemed immediately deflated, “Whoa, hey, it’s OK. It’s just your first try. You’ll get it eventually.”

“Yeah. OK, what’s next?”

Ava read off many different stocks, Stonks failing all of them. Eventually they stood up and stomped in frustration.

“Ugh, never mind! I’ll never get it!”

“Wait, no! You’re getting so close, didn’t you notice? You were only off by one dollar this time, and before that you were off by three.”

“I guess, but it’s still wrong!”

“Just try a few more, alright?”

“Fine.” They fell roughly back down onto their butt, poking at a fancy expensive-looking pen on her desk.

“Right. How about TARE?”

“42.01.” They said, not really trying or paying attention anymore.

“Wait, 42.01?”

“Yeah. Wait, what?” They looked up at her shocked face.

“Hang on, how about GOSA?”

“Uh, 2.78?” Stonks said, realizing what was happening.

“Incredible! You got both of them right! Wait…” She typed something short on her computer, “OK, HERE has been very volatile lately. What is it?” Ava asked, staring intently at her screen.

“0.000567. No wait, it's 0.000569. No uh actually it’s 559, 555, 55-” Stonks answered, getting mildly frustrated that the numbers kept changing the instant they answered.

“OK, I get it.” Ava laughed, “You got it exactly! You were even a little bit faster than my computer!”

“You’re right! You’re right!” Stonks leapt into the air in excitement, dancing on her desk. Ava jumped up, smiling widely at them.

“This is awesome!” Stonks looked at her happily, “Now I can-Oh...” They frowned, their prior happiness dampened.

“What’s wrong?” Ava looked concerned.

“Well…That’s not really something I can sell, can I? I mean, I’m basically just your computer, but without the computer part. Anyone can look up how a stock is doing at any time.”

“I suppose. But still, it’s a cool ability to have.” She tried reassuring them.

“Hm. I guess. Well, thanks, Ava.” Stonks nodded at her then jumped down from her desk.

“Oh, you’re leaving?”

“Yeah, I gotta find some way to make money before-” They stopped as they noticed the sun had set long ago, “-it’s too late. Welp. I guess I failed.”

“It’s alright, you’ll get them next time.”

“Thanks. I guess it’s better to have my next magic tier than to win some silly competition. I better get going, Vi will want to rub it in my face that ve kicked my butt today. Bye!”

“Goodbye. You can come here and visit anytime you like, Stonks!” She added quickly as they walked out the door.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Stonks replied and set off back to where they had seen Vi’s lemonade and hot dog stand. It was still there, but Vi and vir stock was not. Stonks went back to the library and found Vi there, ready to shake the lockbox full of physical cash in their face the instant they walked inside.

“Ha! See how much money I made?” Ve opened it up to show them.

“Very impressive.”

“And that’s not the half of it! Ken let me borrow his card swiper and I got tons of purchases that way! So.” Ve smirked, “How much did you make?”

“Ah, I didn’t make anything. I spent too long wandering the city and figuring out my magic.”

“HAHA! Yes!” Stonks blinked as Vi became a fireball, “I beat your blue butt! Now I’ll have a much better chance at winning the stock market competition too!” Vi began dancing away, shaking the box in tune to vir steps and singing, “Oh, yeah, I won, I won, yeah! You’re go, -ing down, yeah!”

Stonks chuckled and turned to leave the library. They may have lost, but they felt strangely light. They looked up at the clear sky, smiling.

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