2017-02-25: Portraits and Pickpockets
- Log: Portraits and Pickpockets
- Cast:Talise Gianfair, Fei Fong Wong, Vin Barrett, Josephine Lovelace, Sephilia Lampbright, Lord Chauncey of Foxington
- Where: Adelhyde City
- Date: 2017-02-25
- Summary: Fei Fong Wong and Vin Bartlett have set up stalls in the market. Divers Others make use of their services
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei Fong Wong hates gears and fighting. That is why he has purchased some canvases and set up in Adlehyde's Town Center, figuring he can make some money here doing paintings of people. And he's a rather good artist so maybe he won't get kicked off the street as he doesn't have any kind of vender's lisence. Because he hates fighting and, well, gears--he doesn't see any reason to pilot one.
He is doing this in the first place because he's running low on money and if he doesn't do a good job here he'll have to do something desperate... like becoming a *shudder* Drifter.
"Charicatures and portraits!" He shouts. "Charicatures and portraits! Only 30 gella! 15 if you only want a sketch!"
He doesn't have any art showcased right now because...
..because nobody took him up on his offer just yet.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia is used to exploring on her own, so it's a little out of the ordinary for her to be sticking so close to an "adult"--especially since she's not a kid! Normally, Chauncey's enough security for her, after all. Today, though, she's hanging around with Talise, partly because she really likes the woman, but partly because she wants to beg a favor.
"Can you teach me to sing like you do? I really like singing but back home nobody would teach me anymore because of--you know. Anyway I really want to sing as good as you!"
The girl is unusually focused, though, hearing Fei's calls, her attention is grabbed. "Ooooh! I wonder how much he'd charge for me AND Chauncey?"
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
A few days in, and Talise has found out that nobody in Adelhyde is going to think she's a freak if she wears her tank top out in public. In fact it even helps her handle the more arid temperatures around these parts.
Walking along with Sephilia, the tall woman laughs sheepishly and rubs the back of her neck, blushing slightly. "It's okay. You can sing here all you want. No matter what the Guard and the priests say, I don't think the Goddess will mind if you sing." The smile she casts towards Sephi is easy and pleasant. "But sure, I'll teach you sometime. If we're going to be traveling together, it'd be a great way to spend time."
As she's speaking, she blinks, trailing off as she overhears the calls from the roadside. Shading her eyes with a hand, she squints towards Fei, there in the town square. Another laugh bubbles from her.
"That's good question," she says as she reaches for the coin purse at her side. "Let's go," she urges Sephilia, ushering towards Fei.
"Hello!" she calls towards him. "I think my friend here is interested in a portrait."
<Pose Tracker> Vin Barrett has posed.
Yes, well, Fei isn't the only one hanging around to take advantage of the Ancient Golem Exhibition Thing!
After all, it'll be a while before a large caravan decides to head back to Vin Barrett's usual stomping grounds up in the November City region of the Aveh Badlands. And, well...spending cash is nice.
This explains why the Baskar is currently sitting on the ground in the town square, looking Properly Mysterious, cloak concealing most of his body, utterly unconcerned by the temperature. He has a number of bottles sitting in front of him, tucked under the shade of a tree, condensation dripping off them from recent chilling somewhere. There are also a number of leather pouches and small drawstring bags. Seems he's running his own impromptou street stand.
"Authentic Baskar Jerky! 5 Gella a bag! Cactus Juice, the Badlands Rarity! 10 Gella a bottle! Healing medicine for your aches and pains, fifty gella a bag!"
...What? He made everything he's selling, that means they are -totally- Authentic Baskar Made Goods. And it's not like the ingredients cost him much more than some time gathering and prepping 'em...
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
It's been a pretty long trek. On foot, anyway. From where Josie set out from. But she's finally made it to Adlehyde.
Stepping with an almost lazy air through the plaza, her dark eyes skim the crowd, as if looking for something. It seems a little busier than she'd expected, actually --
"Looks like a festival," she murmurs aloud. Oh, hadn't someone mentioned that?
Something stirs around her scarf, shuffling along her shoulder to perch in the sun as Josephine navigates the bustling crowd. The black and white bird readjusts its wings slightly, settling to sit in a way that would almost be broody if it weren't for the fact that all pigeons look a little dim.
Portraits?
Josie stops then, turning her head.
"Oh, hello!" she calls out to Fei, casually pushing past a few people. "Just portraits? Or can you do other things?"
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei Fong Wong thinks 'wow if this keeps up all day i can actually make a decent living and maybe get a place to stay--' (spoiler: It won't). He looks towards Talise and nods to her a few times before adding, "Hello Miss, for a portrait I'd charge thirty gella, but if you're willin' to wait for me to double up so I can get some samples up, I'll throw in a free sketch." He looks back towards Talise. "It's fifteen if you just want a sketch, ma'am."
Fei looks like he works out though is frankly a bit dirty too. He's even got some cuts and bruises that are still healing.
Josephine shows up too which really gets him excited. Maybe he wants something with a nice big background. He could charge 45 for that. "Oh not at all. I can do anything if you're patient enough or have the gella--the greater the complexity of the piece, the more I have to charge and the longer it may take but I'll make it a good deal, miss."
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"Even if it's me /an'/ Chauncey?" Sephy asks, eagerly, holding up the aforementioned worthy--a battered and oft-repaired stuffed animal that might once have been a fox. "That's a pretty good deal!"
She looks to Talise. "Can we do it? Pretty pretty please? Chauncey's always wanted his lordly portrait done!"
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Tal's not going to put Fei's kids through college, but she might at least buy a picture. "Oh, it's not for me," she says with a smile, folding her arms across her midsection and cocking a hip. "It's for my friend." She nods meaningfully towards Sephilia.
As Sephy pleads with her, the tall woman smiles another of those slightly flushed-faced smiles of hers, just enough to reveal the points of her incisors - as if the cheekstripes and elf ears didn't set her apart as it of. "Of course we can do it," she says as she fishes into her coinpurse, coming out with a handful of gella and counting out a few coins. "Good thing we got a lot of those berries from that cave, huh? Go ahead, Sephy - I'll cover it."
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"Yay!" Sephy does a happy little dance.
<Pose Tracker> Vin Barrett has posed.
The Baskar is doing decent business today! After all, folks are all rushing about for the Golem Exhibition Preprations, so someone offering fairly cheap food and drink that can be noshed on the run works. And, well...minor muscle aches for people running about all day, as well.
The Badlander quietly takes another handful of gella from a passing merchant, forking over his wares. Glancing over, spotting Lord Chauncey and his entourage, he waves a hand idly towards Lord Foxington before counting his remaining stock.
Eh. Nearly done for the day. Been a good day for trading!
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Someone bumps into Josephine as she closes that gap towards Fei, a little too hard. "Hey--" she starts, before shaking her head as the bump-er passes off into the crowd without even a word. That's just how it is on festivals, real busy.
Stepping up alongside Talise and Sephy, she glances briefly between the two younger girls. She grins slightly, baring just a bit of white teeth, then shakes her head. "Why don't you two go first? She seems like she can't wait another minute," she says to Talise, moving to one side to get out of the flow of foot traffic.
There's a food vendor just over there, too -- reminds her as her stomach threatens to growl that the only things left in her pack are the rations she doesn't really want to eat.
"And, actually, I have something I'd like a sketch of. It's just not a person!" she says, turning her gaze back towards the artist.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei Fong Wong looks at Chauncey. Fei Fong Wong remembers--they had stuffed animals like that in Lahan village. AND NOW THEY'RE ALL DEAD AND ITS HIS FAULT UWAAAGGH. So he better give this girl a good deal. "Yeah, sure, a special deal for you and Chauncey cause ... ..." Fei starts sweating. What gender is this stuffed fox??? "...he is such a good friend."
He really hopes he got it right and didn't just lose a client.
Fei doesn't comment on pointyears or anything but he does recall he's never actually seen pointyears before. At least, he thinks that's how it is? He thinks?
Fei chuckles briefly. Kids are cute--
FLASHBACK
DAN: I HATE YOU UWAAAA
NOW
Most kids are cute. "i'll be here all day!"
He sets up his paints and takes the gella. "Thank you very much." Wait--they are in no way related are they...Ahh what does he care it's not his business.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
As if Tal was going to miss cactus juice. She cants her head and looks over towards the nearby mercantile Baskar with a curious smile, though she does take her time to ensure Sephy gets going first. Her eyes catch Vin's for a moment as she nods across the intervening distance as if to let him know she'll be over in a second.
As Josephine comes slinking up, Talise tilts her head back slightly as she realizes she can make eye contact with this woman without looking down half a foot or more. That's enough to evoke a grin from her. "Sure! She's the one going for it but let's let her take it first," she says.
Stepping back, she pats Sephy on the shoulder and urges her forward. "Go on! It'll be great. I'm just going to get a drink."
With a smile for Josephine, she's soon turning to take the couple of steps over to where Vin has set himself up. "Hey, think I saw you yesterday, didn't I? What's that cactus juice you've got there? Goddess knows I could use a drink."
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia, not remembering that she needs to sit still for the portrait, waves at Vin as she spots him!
Then she remembers, and settles in for the portrait.
<Pose Tracker> Vin Barrett has posed.
Obviously, Cactus Juice is the -finest of beverages-, made from only the -finest Cacti-. Why, there is even a better than even chance that they're actual cacti, not horrible mobile cactus monsters that have been hunted down by enterprising Baskar and turned into a delicious beverage and dried fruit snack!
Vin prefers less mobile flora, y'see, for his Material Gathering.
He gets out-haggled by a passing lovely old granny, his usual bargaining skill (Such as it is) handicapped by his well-trained fear and deference to overbearing-yet-family-loving older ladies.
oO(Dammit, Auntie.)Oo
Sighing as he watches several of his pouches of medical herbs go off with the trumphant elder shopper, he glances down, shrugging slightly. "Meh. Whatever, she'll put 'em to good use, I guess."
Hmmm!
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"Your friend? Or," she pauses a moment, looking Talise over. Hmm. Quite the build. "A friend's sister?" she hazards, glancing back down at Sephy. The grin only widens. "...They're so cute at that age, you know."
Josie smiles, winningly, at Fei. "Great! I'll need to get it out of my bag, first, and you can tell me what you can do with it or not, but I'll wait until you're done with the little lady. It's fine~"
With that, she strides out into the crowd without a second thought. She doesn't have too much money, but a little something different would be good. She doesn't think she can afford room /and/ a proper meal. "Oh, hello!" she says, approaching Vin, apparently on a similar (if not identical) wavelength to Talise. "Are you still selling food? How much are you charging?"
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei paints. It turns out that this sort of thing takes a while but he can talk to Sephy while doing this. He doesn't seem to mind her moving around a little. It tells him a little bit about the person he is painting. She is energetic, perhaps a bit forgetful--the sort of person who lives in the moment perhaps, he thinks, and clearly imaginative--and caring, if she takes such good care of Lord Chauncey whom he assumes is a totally normal fox doll who..
..though wait a minute... Is it a hand-me-down? It must be a hand-me-down. There is only so much abuse one fifteen year old can inflict on a poor doll. That must be it.
"So tell me about Chauncey." He says to Sephilia. "How did you two meet?" He expects a cute story about a parent leaving him to her. "Have you been together a long time?"
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Tal doesn't /look/ related to Sephy. She smiles wryly back at Josephine, her hand moving to her hip. "We're from the same neck of the woods," she explains vaguely. "And she's great, but I wouldn't go telling her about age. She's a pretty tough cookie - her and Lord Chauncey both."
She jerks her thumb to indicate... the plush fox.
Back to Vin she goes, and she laughs lightly as the Baskar is out-haggled by an old lady. "Oh, merchant problems," she murmurs as she steps aside to make room for Josephine. She gestures to Vin's wares with one gauntleted hand. Even in the village she's not about to take /those/ off. "So I'm interested in some of that cactus juice," she says with a nod to the big Baskar man. "How much are you charging for it? And the other important one is, is it alcoholic?
"Because I could /really/ use it if it's alcoholic," she adds with a broad grin that bares her fanglike incisors.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"Well, that's a good question! I'm Sephilia, by the way! It's a really good story, anyway! My dad and I were out exploring some ancient ruins one day about six years ago and I found Chauncey there all alone! He doesn't talk much about how long he was there, so I think it must have been a really long time."
Indeed, Lord Chauncey of Foxington's button eyes are stoic, staring off into the distance as Sephy relates the tale.
"Anyway I asked Dad if it was okay if I took Chauncey home and took care of him and Dad said it would be! So I fixed him up an' now he's with me all the time. He's my bodyguard!" She nods somberly.
Chauncey doesn't react. He must be a real strong silent type.
<Pose Tracker> Vin Barrett has posed.
The Baskar finishes counting his wares, glancing up as he gets a customer he knows and a newcomer. He smirks, waving slightly to Talise in response to her query. "Heh. One second." He pulls a bottle of the juice that, unlike the others, has a strip of red tape around it, handing it up to the pointy-eared MYSTERIOUS PERSON he was eavesdropping on the other night. Glancing down at his remaining wares, then up again. Glancing between the two, he shrugs, casually plucking the last bags of jerky up, cheerily tossing two to Josephine and her pigeon and two to Talise, studying Josephine for a moment before shrugging. "Eh, go ahead and have 'em. I've made more than enough money to pay for the gella I slipped a couple of urchins to get me some clean bottles, and you appear to be at least a friendly aquaintance of Lord Chauncey, which means you are good people."
The Baskar is packing up the remnants of his stall, leftover merchandise sliding away under that amazing Baskar Cloak, presumably into a hidden satchel or pockets. He also ends up sliding Talise another bottle of non-alcoholic juice for the kiddo, passing one up to Jospehine as well.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei Fong Wong says, "Nice to meet you Sephilia I am..."
DRAGON SLAYING BOXER PONYTAILED YOUTH WANDERLING SQUIRE BELOVED SLACKER
"Fei Fong Wong," Fei says.
Oh good secret identity asshole.
Fei looks down at Chauncey's button eyes--and then pulls back to work on something on his canvas--and then he takes another look into the stoic brave foxling. Hmm.. Yes, he thinks he has an idea on how to paint this. "He must be very brave, guarding you all by his lonesome in those dangerous ruins. Well, and your father." He pauses and then something hits him.
"Say--where is your father, Sephilia?" He dabs his brush and does some rapid strokes, dabs it again--more rapid strokes.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy looks a bit sad and her arms tighten a bit around Chauncey. Then she smiles. "Dad's back at home, it's just that that's really really far away from here." She glances around for Talise, as though to reassure herself.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josephine nods, as if she understands. They seem close, but not quite in the friends way, and sisters is right out based on appearance. Josie inclines her head to the right slightly. The pigeon on her shoulder does similarly, only more exaggeratedly. As pigeons do. "So, are you here for the festival?" They must not be from Adlehyde either, based on that comment.
Her smile widens a little, this time knowingly. "Oh, I seeee~" she says, a little sing-song. /That age/.
Her gaze tracks in the direction Talise indicates. Oh. Yes.
Her hand is already reaching for her wallet, but apparently --
She snatches the bag out of the air with her left hand, the sudden movement sending her pigeon fluttering up for safer perch (namely, Josephine's head). She blinks in surprise but recovers quickly. "Oh, thank you! It's nice to have something other than traveling rations for a change. Is it fresh?" Her rations don't have jerky, after all.
"It would be good to have a drink," Josie sighs, glancing at Talise, but shakes her head helplessly. Besides, if she were about to go and feed a vice-- ah. "Oh, well, thank you again. So this is all completely free?" There isn't a catch, is there?
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
The very very mysterious person catches the bottle of red-ribboned cactus juice. She holds it up, balancing it between both hands as if to check the way the light goes through it, then she decides it doesn't matter, smiling wryly back at Vin. "Well, hey, if you're sure. Who'm I to complain?" Talise asks, popping her shoulder up in a shrug. "And yeah, me and Lord Chauncey kind of roll together these days."
Discreetly, she snags the bottle of plain juice and tucks it into her inventory.
Truthfully she'd have let Sephy have a sip of the alcoholic stuff, too.
She doesn't open her drink yet, mostly because she's waiting for the catch, but she does grin as Josie's bird takes flight. "Yeah! Yeah, we're here for the festival," she says, figuring that explains it about as well as anything. "We're staying with a couple of traveling companions and just getting to know our way around the place."
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
If Sephilia hadn't mentioned he was 'all the way back home', Fei probably would have assumed that he was dead and sunk deeper into self-loathing. Unfortunately, Sephilia was clear enough to tell Fei that she...had to leave her home for some reason and actually has one to go back to. But she's homesick. Fei reasons 15 is old enough to go out on a wild adventure with your stuffed animal guardian. He's only 18 himself. What's he going to do, tell Seph that she's too young to leave her life behind, possibly forever? Well--it's not like Fei wanted to but maybe the wandering bug bit her earlier than others.
"Well," He says. "I can tell you miss him...but I bet he's proud of you, knowing you're making it all the way out here, with your spirits as high up as they are. Proud of Chauncey too."
He steps back to examine the piece and then moves forward again. "Would you like to see how it is so far?"
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia nods eagerly. "Yeah! I can't wait to get home and show him all the stuff I've picked up and tell him everything I learned and saw. He's an explorer too!"
Then Fei offers to show her the work in progress, and she all but erupts forward to see it.
<Pose Tracker> Vin Barrett has posed.
Vin straightens up from where he's been Stoically Selling Things, quirking an eyebrow as the pair of Acquaintances inquire about the price after he's already handed the goods over. Tch. Outsiders.
The cloaked Baskar just shrugs, folding his hands under that heavy cloak, snickering at the bird perching on its partner's head. "Eh, pretty fresh. Brewed the non-fermened ones up...ehh...two days ago? Red-ribbon's the last of the batch I made last month and fermented on the way down here. Jerky's finished smoking last night, so it should be good."
He's still not mentioning any price.
Vin does turn a deadpan stare on the pair, grins, then casually strolls off, leaving them with their sudden bounty of Free Snack Food and Drinks, curious and indulging his nosiness to get a look at what Lord Chauncey's portrait looks like. That fox is -dynamite-, after all!
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei turns the painting around. It's not actually done yet, but the basic outline for Sephilia's face is done as are several major features of her face and hair. The hair in particular is very expressively done. Fei tried to evoke a free spirit in the hair so it's a little wilder looking than it normally is but he got the curls right. Sephilia's eyes are done and seem to look right out of the page back at her as if they were trying to explore right out of the page.
Chauncy is done, his stitches and patches like honorable battlewounds. He stars at something offcenter from the page, as if in challenge. He's a bit larger than he is in practice though that might have been explicitely done to emphasize him as a 'bodyguard' because that's a pretty cute fantasy.
He turns it back around once Sephy gets a good look. "How is it?"
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia makes an excited noise in response. "I love it!" she says, super-happily. "It's wonderful! You're really good!"
"She taps her nose thoughtfully, a quirk of hers. "I can't draw or anything myself, but I'm good at sewing from helping Chauncey after he gets beat up sometimes." She frowns. "Like when I met Tal, we had to fight some Balloons, and they hurt Chauncey a bit. But I fixed him right up!"
She remembers then that the berry cave is supposed to be off limits, and that she better not tell any more details about that.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Tal was about that age when she became an adventurer, to be fair. Sephy doesn't strike her as weird. Just preccious.
Lazily, the half-Beastwoman sloshes her drink around the still-sealed bottle, smiling thoughtfully back towards Vin as if she's waiting for him to spring a price on her. "Wait, you have jerky too?" she asks with sudden interest. The laziness vanishes, replaced with a bright, intent little smile and a twinkle in her eyes. "Shut up and take my money! I like you already."
Things are quickly diverted; she turns with a blink and looks over to Fei to check out the art, stepping over with a heavy trudge of boots. As she spots what's on the page, she widens her eyes. "Oh wow. Damn, you're talented," she breathes.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"Penelope, get down from there," Josie sighs, as if she's had this argument a million time. Penelope, notably, does not oblige. "She's always like this," she mock-laments, smile returning a moment later. What can you do?
So it's all free? Josie looks him over, then shrugs. "Well, who am I to turn down free," she decides, only a moment later, pocketing the jerky before reaching out to take the gifted bottle as well. She's eating tonight.
She glances back at Talise. "Oh, you are? I've just arrived, too. Maybe we'll see each other around?" She hesitates only briefly, then extends her left hand to Talise. "Josephine. Josephine Lovelace. But you can call me Josie."
Turning, she looks over towards where the artist and the young lady are still respectively making art and getting art made. Another glance at Talise, especially since the vendor seems to be packing up too. "Let's see how your friend's getting on."
The results, once she makes her way back over, cause Josie to let out a lose whistle.
<Pose Tracker> Vin Barrett has posed.
The Baskar hmmms, nodding approvingly at the painting. "Not bad, not bad." The Cloak of Holding (AKA, his concealed inventory satchel) yields up a couple of things: Namely, he pulls one last pouch of Baskar-recipe Meat Jerky and a bottle of non-boozaholic cactus juice out, setting them down next to Fei's easel. Pausing, he stares at the kid, then frowns slightly. One of the pre-made pouches of medical herbs is dropped off. Grinning, still cheerily ignoring folks trying to give him money, he bows his head politely to Lord Chauncey.
"A pleasure to see you again, Lord Foxington."
Grinning widely, he then reaches out, ruffling Sephi's hair up now that she's no longer posing for Lord Chauncey's Official Portrait, then balancing a pouch of dried fruit on Lord Chauncey's Lordly Noggin.
That done, he turns back on Talise, waggling a finger. "I don't want your money, I've already made more than enough today. Asides, you deserve something for being one of Lord Chauncey's retainers."
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"I always knew how to draw." Fei says. "I'm not sure where I learned from. Been doing it as far as I can remember. After leaving home, I figured it'd be a good way to get some practice in." He works up on finishing Sephilia's face. He looks--unhappy, though it doesn't seem to be slowing his work down. "The world's full of some pretty nice people, huh?"
He moves onto the body. Bodies are easier than faces because people usually don't look too closely at them but bodies are also harder than faces because they're fucking impossible to get right. He sticks out his tongue--WITH DETERMINATION.
"How many balloons did you 'beat'?" He asks.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy gives Vin an impulsive hug. "Chauncey's happy to see you, too! Thanks for this!"
Sephy turns back to Fei, thinking. "There were an awful lot of them, but then scarf guy got all spinny and stuff. Chauncey and me beat up at least four or five though, right Talise?"
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Tucking a gauntlet under her arm, Talise slides her hand out of it with a broad smile, then holds it out to take Josephine's. She has a firm handshake and a grip like a vice. "Nice to meet you, Josie. I'm Talise Gianfair, but you can call me Tal. And I have a feeling we'll definitely be seeing a lot of each other, if you're on your way to the Festival too."
The pigeon, meanwhile, gets a big grin from her. "Hi to you too, Penelope. Don't make a mess on Josie's head, okay?"
As Vin refuses cash, Tal blinks at him a couple of times. "You don't want-" she starts, then cuts herself off, frowning with mild consternation. She looks down at the jerky, then up again. "...I hope you're at least gonna share that jerky," she says with a crinkle of her nose. "I'm a bit hungry." Still fussing with her bottle, she watches Fei draw, but smiles as Sephy speaks up. "You and Chauncey did good, Sephy. There were a lot of 'em."
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"...Scarf guy?" Fei pauses. "..Got...uh...'spinny'?"
SWEATING INTENSIFIES WHAT HAPPENED???
"Oh uh--" He starts working on body detailing. He thinks he's doing a pretty good job in spite of this--kind of terrifying conversation.
"Um--" He laughs awkwardly, looking over to Tal. "This--was a game, right? Was there a uh--prize?"
He notices finally that Vin has left some food by his eisel. He looks surprised and says, "Are you--asking for a painting as well, sir?"
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"Scarf guy's really weird. He kept eating all the berries, even the bad ones." So much for not giving more details!
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Whoa, strong grip. White eyebrows lift, ever so slightly. Still, Talise definitely has the build so it shouldn't be a surprise. "Tal. Got it!" Josie nods. "It's not what I came here for, but I'm an archaeologist so I should stop by."
Josephine mock-grimaces at that. "Don't worry about /that/. She might not look it," or act like it "but she's trained." A beat. She shakes a finger, vaguely in the direction of the roosting pigeon. "And if you do, Penelope, that's no snacks!"
With that said, the woman gamely enduring the misbehaving pigeon settles in at an angle where she can watch Fei work. "How much did you say you were charging for sketches? 15 Gella?"
<Pose Tracker> Vin Barrett has posed.
Vin grins at the hug, noogieing Sephi a bit and then stepping away. He waves lazily at Tal and Josi, pausing to incline his head at the Pigeon Roost of Penelope. "Vin Barret of the Baskar. Pleasure."
Then, he turns his attention on Fei, looming a bit by accident. It's the cloak, you see. Very nice lines, helps with looming. He then grins easily, waving a hand lazily. "Eh, I'm good. You just looked like you needed a bit of luck, and I've got no reason to hoard when it's all the land's blessings anyways."
Translation: He's very generous when the stuff he's giving away costs him nothing to make or acquire.
"Asides, you did a fine portrait of Lord Chauncey. Think of it as a tip, if you must." He does scoot out of the way so he's not in Fei's 'Portrait Drawing Line of Sight' anymore, at least.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
It helps that Talise looks like she could probably bench-press Vin.
"Hey, nothing wrong with taking time out for other things," she assures Josephine with a grin. "That's what life's about, right? And that's kind of amazing - how you managed to train your pigeon to behave that well. You must be pretty good with animals."
She sets a hand at her hip, smiling easily back at Vin as she begins to understand how he's thinking. "Talise Gianfair, of the Lunabelle. But you can call me Tal." (The Baskar must be his ship,) her brain fills in. (That's the only way that sentence works with the 'the' in there. Unless the Baskar is a singular location...?)
She dismissed that idea because this town isn't The Adelhyde.
Biting down to her lower lip, she leans in towards Fei again, mostly to peer at the drawing. "I don't know... I don't /think/ it was a game? All I was saying is you're good at art."
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei has no idea what a Baskar is but apparently they can afford to give away free food so he decides he likes the Baskar. He grins apologetically to Vin and says, "Nice to meet you Vin. I'm Fei from Lah--" He pauses. "I'm Fei."
He finishes the work, signing it, and spins it around so Selphy can get a good look. "I believe that oughta do it." He swallows nervously. "Oh uh--I was worried she was getting in ACTUAL fights. Fightin's only ever caused me trouble so I get worried. Don't mind me." He pauses. "Tal."
Actually for someone who doesn't 'remember' how he learned to paint--Fei's actually pretty good. There's no OBVIOUS flaws though he also focused on Sephy's face and her upper body rather than going for a full portrait. Her hands are slightly blurred but it doesn't seem accidental--rather, he wanted to encompass the young woman's energy into the painting itself.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia oohs and ahhs over the portrait. "It's PERFECT! Um, it actually was a real fight, though! Chauncey's a good bodyguard."
She looks at Talise, eyes wide. "Should I show him?" After causing a bit of a commotion yesterday by showing off what Chauncey can do, Sephy's a bit nervous about doing so again without the okay from her friends. She doesn't want to bring trouble down on them, after all.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"Yes ma'am," Fei says. "Fifteen for a sketch. I'll go down to ten if you don't mind me doubling up on it so I've got samples to show." He says. "Normally I couldn't but a nice guy got me dinner." He gestures to Vin with his brush.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"Oh. Oh!" Talise widens her eyes as she realizes what Fei was worried about. It hadn't even occurred to her. "Oh no, Sephy's a tough girl. But it's OK. I was getting into a lot of fights when I was her age. Even younger, actually."
Sephi questions her. Talise opens her mouth for a moment. Then she grins a playful little grin, glancing around the town square, then at Fei, then at Vin and Josie. "...You know what?" she finally answers Sephi, her eyes twinkling with playful mirth. "Yes. Yes, you should show him."
She takes a step back.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia grins, and--taking care to leave enough room that she doesn't disrupt any of Fei's work, she holds Chauncey out in front of her. The doll bulges and suddenly grows to several times his normal size, with Sephy shifting from holding Chauncey dangling from her arms to dangling herself from Chauncey's neck, riding piggyback.
"Chauncey's a /good/ bodyguard," Sephy beams.
Even in giant form, Chauncey's button eyes communicate no emotion.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"Life's short," Josie says, as if in agreement. "Oh, her? It's just a matter of starting when they're young. Pigeons are used to people," she explains, before waving her left hand dismissively. "It's just like anything else."
Oh, Baskar. Understanding filters across Josie's expression as he introduces himself. That explains /everything/. "Pleased to meet you, Vin," she says, forgoing the extended hand to wave at him in kind and smile, a little slyly. "And thanks for the food. You have no /idea/ how much a relief this is~"
Penelope opts to puff out her feathers. She's just gotten settled and she's not coming down soon.
Her brow crinkles. "The Lunabelle tribe?" she ventures. It's... not familiar, to judge by her tone.
She even has a name for Mr. Artist now. "Fifteen, I thought so. That sounds good. I--" She catches Talise' look, just moments before it happens. Her eyes widen slightly and Josie cranes her head to stare up at the girl and her doll. "...Symbology?" she asks, after about fifteen seconds of staring.
<Pose Tracker> Vin Barrett has posed.
...Hmm.
Vin is distracted from the others as Lord Chauncey flaunts his True Ultimate Power. The Baskar's head cranes back, eyes fixed on the doll as it grows and unfolds. He just gazes for a bit, then shrugs, leaning in to study Lord Chauncey a bit. "Hmmmm...Still, that's impressive, Kiddo. He does look like he'll make an excellent bodyguard."
The Baskar shrugs, turning back to Josie, completely at ease with the giant doll at his back. Honestly, once you start chatting with spirits and occasionally calling them to your aid, it really raises the bar on your Weirdness Meter. A cute kid's doll turning into a Fighting Megadoll just doesn't really peg the Weirdometer anymore. "Huh. Haven't heard of that tribe either, Talise."
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia pouts, suddenly irritated. "I'm not a kid!" she says, pouting. "I'm just--I'm just small for my age!"
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"I'm guessin' you want a sketch of your friend there?" Fei nods to Penelope.
Though uh. He kinda... He kind of...
The doll is now huge. It's adorable. And terrifying. Terridorable. Adorifying. Yes. Adorifying.
"o..oh..." He says, taking Seph's picture off the eisel and offering it to Tal because she isn't riding an adorifying death doll of murder. "Thats actually really impressive. Can't believe some of the stuff you find in ruins huh? Never heard of anything like that before but--well--I guess that's not strange. I've never left my village before. Heh."
Also what is symbology? Maybe transforming doom dolls aren't actually weird? "Sorry like I said I'm a bit uh--new to the area."
He smiles wryly at Vin. "yeah, she's just small for her age, man." Poor Vin.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"Tribe? No, the Lunabelle's the ship I was born on," Talise explains with a lopsided smile for Josephine and Vin.
Then she stands back and folds her hands, smirking as she watches the little crowd react to the glorious buffitude that is Lord Chauncey. "He's a /great/ bodyguard," she assures Sephy, her eyes twinkling merrily as she just drinks in the reactions as if she'd just won the best treasure in the world.
She plants her hands on her hips. "Good job, Sephy," she compliments, before shooting Vin a look, lips moued. "Yeah, she's not really a kid anymore. She's out exploring the world like the rest of us. Even though she has a lot of fun, she's still having to grow up early."
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Probably to the relief of some, Sephilia allows Chauncey to return to doll-size, though she's still pouting. "I'll forgive you this time 'cause you've been really nice and gave Chauncey some snacks," she decides.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"Oh, a ship... Out on the ocean? I've never been," she comments as Talise explains.
It wasn't what Josie was expecting, that was for sure. She hasn't exactly looked away from Sephy and Lord Chauncy yet. She's still staring, her fingertips pressed against her lips thoughtfully. She briefly looks at Fei, then Talise, then Vin, and finally out at the crowd. "...So how does it work?" she ultimately vocalizes, forehead creasing.
There's another glance at Talise as she explains to Vin, but Josie makes no comment here.
Fei had asked her a question before Sephilia demonstrated her doll's True Form (or something). "Not her -- it's an object." Absently, Josephine fishes a hand into her pocket. Right, she should get her wallet out and check exactly how much she has --
... .....
She pats at her pantleg. Reaches for the other pocket. Jacket pocket? ...The other other pocket?
Nada.
Josephine makes a very particular kind of face. The kind of face that would probably earn a subtitle of 'well, shit'.
"Can I get back to you on this?" she says to Fei, as pleasantly as she can manage. As it is, she sounds like she's pushing it.
Well, she did need to find work soon -- this just means she has the impetus to find work that much sooner.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"I actually don't really understand how he works," Sephy explains to Josephine. "I mean, I know how to make him grow up and he does a bunch of moves that I taught him, but, um...I kind of just figured it was some application of the Blessing of Althena."
The other woman pats her pockets, clearly not finding something she expects to find, and from what she says it's clear in a moment that it is her money. "I can loan you some--" she offers, then bites her lip, tapping her nose thoughtfully. Would Josephine be the type who's too proud for charity? Sephy just doesn't know...
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"Yes! An ocean-going ship," Talise explains to Josie with a broad, cheery smile. "I grew up on board, out at sea, travelling around--" (Robbing the rich to give to the poor) "--trading and conducting business with the rest of the crew. Not a tribal life, but a fun life anyway."
As Josephine pats her pockets, Talise presses her lips together for a moment. Then she sighs and passes a small handful of coins to the woman with the tame pigeon. "Here, this should help," she offers up, keeping her voice low.
That drops further, to a whisper for Josie and Josie only: "You can pay me back later."
<Pose Tracker> Vin Barrett has posed.
All this Dissapproval and Ganging Up On The Baskar Tribesman would be terrible...except Vin's had way too much experience with huffy younger cousins over the years, so he can't help but grin widely as Lord Chauncey shrinks back down. He snickers, looking completely amused. "Right, right, got it. Continue to bribe Lord Chauncey with snacks."
So like his cousin.
The Baskar hmmms, turning back to Talise, cheerily ignoring all the chastisement he just underwent a moment ago. "Ah. Yeah, sorry, forgot you're really not from around here. The Baskar are a tribe that live on Ignas and Aquvy. The Aquvy tribe is pretty isolationist, though."
Grinning cheekily, he ruffles up Sephilla's hair again and then nods politely to the other adults (and Fei!). "Anyhow, I've got to take off. Pleasure meeting you, Fei, Miss Josie. See ya around, Talise, Lord Chauncey."
And, having come, made money selling Authentic Baskar Cuisine and Products, dispensed beef jerky and cactus juice to some of Lord Chauncey's friend, Vin is gone. Like the wind. WoooOoooo-Oh, wait, no, there he is, heading over where the cheaper inns tend to be.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"I'm not going to make you pay if you just got robbed--" Fei says, clearly troubled by this. He thinks back (WAIT ALTHENA WHAT IS AN ALTHENA??). He thinks back. His eyes widen. He looks off down several streets sharply--as if he's looking for someone. "...Can you do me a favor?" He asks, looking back to Josephine. "Show me what you want painted and tell me where you're staying? I think--I might know who robbed you. Or at least--what they looked like."
It's not like he has to get into that weapon of mass destruction, he thinks, he can do this. He likes this woman and wants to help her. He can't help himself. And it's not like he doesn't have a loooot of time on his hands to find this MISCREANT.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy giggles despite herself as Vin ruffles her hair. "Bye bye!" she says, helping Chauncey wave.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"A merchant ship, huh..." Josie muses aloud, before nodding. "It must be quite the life. I bet you have a lot of stories!" she adds, grinning.
Ripped away from her abrupt tragedy, Josephine glances down at Sephilia, only to shake her head. "No, no, there's no need for that. I have enough supplies for now. I'm sure there are people hiring with the festival going on, so don't worry about me." She smiles, and really means it this time. "I got all the way to Adlehyde already, right~?" The rest is nothing.
"...Ah? Wait, now, hold on a moment--" she starts to protest, as Talise hands her a few coins. "I--"
She purses her lips, cutting her own protests off short, as Tal leans in to whisper her message. And then, quite firmly, she nods. "...It's a deal."
Fei asks where she'll be staying. "The cheapest place I can find," she answers, breaking off only momentarily to wave at the departing Vin. "And only if you're sure, but I will have money soon." She is absolutely, positively dead confident about this. She just made a deal, after all.
This guy has a good eye, she didn't even see who...
She shrugs off her pack, and kneeling -- upon which Penelope finally dislodges herself to flutter off to the ground at last to strut a bit -- fishes somewhere into the depths of her pack. "I'm not leaving this with you, you understand," she says, displaying the object. It's... weird. Sort of lumpy, metallic, folded in on itself and very... intricate, in spite of itself. "Found it on a dig, but having a sketch might help..."
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"I'll see you around, Vin. Hopefully with more of that jerky," Talise says with a wave for Vin, smiling as he saunters off to keep the bedbugs company.
Taking a step back, she smiles back at Josie but otherwise lets her show off her cool thing to Fei. She folds her arms across her midsection and moves over to stand near Sephilia.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei takes a long look at the item like he's trying to bury it deep in his conciousnes. Eventually he nods. "I got it. I'll do a sample, use that as my sample work, then go over it again--"
He quickly packs up his stuff. "But I think I can figure a couple places he might've gone. And I'll get back to you and do it up proper." He takes the food that Vin gave him. He has a few ideas besides just the eating. Which will happen. He hasn't eaten all day.
"I'll chase him down and catch up with you!"
And with that, gathering his gear he rushes off!--leaving a painting of Not-Kiddo Sephy and a doll behind. Hopefully the guy didn't spend it all on cheep beer already, Fei hopes.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia, ever curious to a fault, leans in to get a closer look. "Hey, what's that?" she asks, eagerly. "Is it magical? Does it do anything? I could try and figure out how to make it do something if you want, I'm good at that! I did it with Chauncey!" The girl is enthusiastic and eager, if not really familiar with the concept of 'not her business'
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
The thing is returned to the depths of her bag. Hefting it over one shoulder (there's only a faint 'clank' sound from something deep inside), Josie stands. "If you do catch him, give him a punch for me, alright~?" she says, her tone light in spite of the request for a little bit of violence.
N O M E R C Y
She'll just have to see what he comes back with art-wise, if not wallet-wise. Though, if they do catch up again, she can probably let him study it a little more in depth.
As for Sephilia's question, Josie... shrugs. "I don't know, actually! It's why I came here. I'm looking for someone I used to know." She smiles, a little indulgently. "Maybe if he can't figure it out you can take a look next. Okay?" Only to sigh, and shake her head. "Right now, though... I should go and see what I can do about a place to stay. And work, too. Take care, all right? Maybe I'll see you again!"
With that and a little wave -- followed by Penelope taking flight to alight on a shoulder -- she's off.