"Alchemy," Leo nodded lightly. It was something which had become such second nature to life in Camorr that he had temporarily forgotten that it wouldn't necessarily be so in this time and place - especially since the technology in this land seemed to be eras ahead of the clockwork and alchemy he had always known. "It's -- well, a science of sorts. I never quite caught the finer nuances of it but it has a lot to do with finding the right proportions of certain agents and chemicals. There were all sorts of applications - from glowglobes to exquisite lamps to liquors to just about anything you can imagine. It seemed to almost be an on-going competition, to see who could conceive the newest and cleverest way to grow or design a new alchemical plant or device. There was even --" It was here that Leo finally caught onto the fact that he had been rambling and he silently cursed the part of himself that had actually managed to get homesick for the dark streets of Camorr. Shaking his head, he offered Shannon a foolish grin. "Well, you get the idea. It's nothing much compared to what's scattered around here, though."
"Oh?" Leo raised his eyebrows at the fact that Shannon apparently had come to this place from someplace that was equally as fucked up. "I can't imagine what that must've been like, if it was just as bad as this." He paused a moment to weigh his hours split between the Orchid and Tel Verrar but this place just slightly edged out both. "Can't say I'm jealous of where you must have been, if all that's true."
"Ah, there are many dull and boring among some of the other orders," he agreed with a careful smile. "The Order of Perelandro seems to recognize that there's no better way to bring mercy than through lightheartedness and joy - since there's so little of either in the world most of the time." That might have been a slight exaggeration of the true tenets of faith but it locked in well enough that Leo felt comfortable speaking so. Necessary Pretexts protected him, anyhow.
"I'll see if I can't find something long that won't clash with the beautiful colors of your dress," he agreed. He almost immediately started to pick through the piles of clothing in search of something appropriate. At her mentioning of him being the leader of her guild, Leo forced a light laugh and a slight shrug. "Oh, I don't know. I'm not sure that I'm fit to be the leader of much of anything." It wasn't entirely a lie - not when his attempts at leadership seemed to always end with a large majority of his crew killed in some messy way or another. "Besides, I can't imagine a group of men more willing to backstab just for a chance to get close to the glorious object of their undying affection."
"Oh, but what else can I say about these clothes other than--" He trailed off with a laugh. "You are right. These are some of the most hideous clothes I've seen in my life. I believe I know gaze-addicted blind men who would go clean and swear themselves to a life of purity before they'd be caught dead in something like this."
"I would be right there to catch you, madame, long before you could even think of hitting the floor." Again, Leo traced an elaborate bow and offered her an easy smile. "Of course, I don't know what good I could do for you - anything past remedial care is quite beyond me."
"How could we resist playing dress up when there's all this--" His words trailed off as his hands happened upon the most perfect bubblegum pink jacket with a pale yellow zebra print. Holding this up, he judged that it would likely fall well past Shannon's knees and it seemed to be of warm enough material that she wouldn't have to worry about freezing. "Ah! Just what we needed to finish the masterpiece!"
"Yea, I would like to have a look around," he agreed with a slight nod. "I'm not sure if there's anything useful but I certainly wouldn't mind having the chance to restock a few of my goods."