Wow, lookit that feedback! First off, thanks for the kind words, and glad you're intrigued by Aurum. She's a super-fun narrator for me. Now for the specifics:
@ Rhoxi: Her eyes are yellow, though they're a darker yellow than the rest of her. They're sort of amber colored.
@ ladyaya: I totally just goofed around until something neat happened. Sorry to hear you cannot have a fuzzy kitty in your game.
Chapter 1, Part 1: AlbedoFrom the personal accounts of Aurum Alchimia
And so I arrived in Lucky Palms, with a cat, but no money and no hope. I had read the appropriate literature, and was assured that despair at the blank, rolling emptiness before me was an appropriate emotional reaction.
I gathered myself briefly and set forth to see what I might accomplish in my mission. My first thought was that I was running out of time in which to act.
If I was to survive, I would first need currency. To acquire currency, I would need a proffession...And while I was tempted to devote myself to alchemy, I believed firmly that I would be better off surving society directly...
As a hunter of ghosts, a capturer of wayward spirits, so I could anaylize the soul, and find perhaps where mine is lacking... I mean, help society. Something like that.
Still, this would delay my studies; no, rather begin my studies, and then adjust as I need funds. Or...something.
First off, though, our lot needed supplies for Quicksilver's happiness; my own furnishings would be acquired as I felt the need.
I went forth to acquire such an item, but my sense of direction is...Rather in need of refinement. Instead of a store, I ended up at...
The household of this gentleman. The stress of my move, getting lost, and meeting a stranger must have been overwhelming my system somewhat; at the time he opened the door, I suffered a minor heart palpitation. Steady breathing was the antidote.
He gave me a bright smile, an intentness filling his eyes at the sight of me. All dressed in white, I suppose he must have been a very clean man. I found myself taking a thorough examination of him.
"...I have taken up residence in this town, and am trying to find my bearings."
A small truth.
"That makes sense; I'd certainly remember a face as pretty as yours." His voice had an intonation I did not recognize. Still...I was not aware I was pretty. I will handle this information with care. After a pause in which he seemed to expect a reaction from me, he continues,
”I’m Jaycen. Jaycen Hendrix.”What an unusual name, Jaycen-Jaycen Hendrix. Still…His is….The first name I’ve really heard outside of my father’s friends. I will document it and test it for consistency with other names I discover.
“I am called Aurum.”
"That’s an interesting name. What brings you to town?"I took a moment, standing stock still, to consider my options. Do I tell the truth? Do I lie?
"...I would like to...Become a better person. To achieve perfection in my craft, and therefore myself."
”Ha! What a pretty idea.”“I do not generally rate my ideas for their aesthetic qualities. What makes this one pretty?”
Here, he looked surprised. Perhaps he had not considered its full ramifications.
”Well, that is…It’s a pretty idea because it’s charming. I think all that self-actualization talk is really inspiring.” He speaks quickly, finding a totally metaphorical footing.
”So what’s this craft of yours, Aurum?”“…It is alchemy.”
”Oh, you make potions? Mixing two things together and make a new whole, that’s very –““True alchemy is more than potion-making…Though it seems you grasp the value of potion-making to true alchemy. To take the essence of a thing like the happiness of a plant, to blend it and refine it, strip it bare and boil it until it’s something marvelous and strange. That is potion-making to alchemy.”
***
It was when she talked like that it drove Jaycen Hendrix wild, not that Aurum knew enough to describe it correctly. He was not a bad man, though he’d never tried to be a good one, either. He was a creature of his most immediate passions. And right now, his passions were all calling for this woman. She was like nothing he’d ever seen before. Which is, you know, the entirely factual situation. Creatures of passion will make anything passionate, I suppose.
And worse…She was completely immune to his charms. He was starting to wonder if no one had ever taken her by the hand and said ‘Baby, you’re beautiful’ before (she hadn’t; aaah, assumptions.) He was half-tempted to just give up, put all his efforts away, and call it a day. There had to be a woman in town left who was a) young, b) good-looking (he’d accept ‘good-looking if you squint,’ and ‘good-looking if you’ve had too much nectar,’ to be honest,) and c) not an ex-girlfriend.
But when she spoke like this, her eyes lit up and her face warm and open… It drove him wild. There was no way he would let this woman, this creature that landed on his doorstep, with all the self-possessed grace and distant beauty of a visitor from another world, slip by. It was time to bring out the big guns. The never-fail guns. The sort of guns wielded by 90s comic book heroes, but applied to romance instead of blasting villains no morally purer than the heroes. 
”Aurum…Do you believe in love at first sight? In destiny?”
Oooh, yeah. Girls melted for that one.“I believe in destiny. But I can’t say if I believe in love at first sight. I lack empirical knowledge in matters such as these,”
she told him, her voice fine and cold. It took him a moment to translate.“You’ve never been in love? Never cared for someone?”
Aurum considered her answer, and found it divided.“I have never been in love…But there was someone once I cared for very much. But… He…”
The weight of the past weeks drove her to silence. She held back to prevent unwanted, derailing displays.
Hendrix nodded to himself. Aaaah, a messy break-up. With his one-track mind, that was certainly the only explanation. Well, that’d make the game of wooing her longer…And the eventual rewards before his departure sweeter. Well, no sense in not trying to make her impression of him a little sweeter, right?
“For you.”
“Thank you. I’ve never attempted to use roses for alchemy; I will attempt an experiment on the matter… When I can afford a table for alchemy, anyway.”
He wheedled the rest of it out of her from there. While she had moved, she explained, she had not moved to a house. She didn’t have the money for a home, even a small one, so she purchased a place and decided to let the rest follow in due time.
As she explained this, Jaycen considered the situation: this girl, immune to his charms, self-contained as an oyster, was giving him a real workout.
“Well, maybe I can provide you with some money to start. And maybe a little…company. I can at least give you a lift back, so you don’t get lost again.”
He was surprised she agreed, at least to the last part. Helping her out sounded like a fun little game, anyway – and what was Jaycen but a man who, magpie-like, would chase anything shiny? So there he was, planning his next move and driving her.
About this meeting, Aurum herself says very little. I don’t think she knew what to make of it; certainly, at no point did she possess the social intelligence of a rock, so necessary to understand his intentions. But it was through this means that two people with the completely wrong idea of each other drove towards Aurum’s little vacant lot.
From the personal records of Aurum Alchimia, continued
Quicksilver, meanwhile, was making some efforts to fish in our local pond. I was hoping he would do such a thing...That he did was a source of near-bottomless relief. Fishing, after all, is a vital stage of this endeavor that I have yet to even work out how to do without Quicksilver. I begin to think I simply cannot do it alone.
I cannot imagine what Mr. Hendrix (he laughed, in a quavering way, when I called him Mr. Jaycen-Jaycen Hendrix. I am not sure I understand, but perhaps he is embarrassed?) thought when he saw my lot.
We continued our conversation, though he did not immediately bring up the idea of accompanying me again – he looked for a moment as if he was considering something, but would bite it down quickly, unable to commit to whatever idea was occurring. Eventually, it occurred to me that if I could not do it alone, perhaps he could be of assistance.
“Would you be willing to provide aid as you mentioned before?” This energized him, and after some of what I believe is called “Hemm-ing and Haw-ing,” according to my literature, he assented to take up residence with me for the time being.
He sighed and smiled, looking for all the world contented and at peace. Like some part of his heart was resolved, and full. I decided that this contentment would mean he would not mind so much if I sold his car for additional funding.
He made a variety of wailing noises. I have documented a few of them in my tape recorder for future analyzation.
"Is there a problem? You promised me funding...So I just took it in its most efficient form." The car was, after all, worth funds sufficient for the building of a small home. It had rooms for the both of us.
"Seperate rooms, huh?" He grumbled, once his tour completed. I asked him what he meant, but he would not elaborate. Still, he seemed happy that I was pleased with our efforts.
And pleased I was: I had made a house in which to study and research….
And perhaps I had made something additional, odd as it sounds. I have acquired a friend.
I shall continue my record-keeping at a later date.
