genessia | [Action/Video]

[Yesterday, Mantis had found a replacement for her broken lamp at long last. It took a while given her meager paycheck, and while a lamp would have been a nice personal touch to her dingy poorly lit motel room, it wasn't a necessity.]

[It was sheer luck that she happened to pass a garage sale, and once she learned that it was not the garage but the items on the tables next to the garage, she found the most beautiful lamp she had ever seen. The shade was fashioned out of tiffany glass in greens, blues, and purples, with little dragonflies patterned upon it. She fell in love with the lamp and bought it, carried it home, and set it up next to her bed so she could look at it when she fell asleep.]

[Then the Paperboy CAME IN THE NIGHT.]

[She awoke with a start at the sound of shattering glass, twice: once as the newspaper crashed through the dirty motel window, and again as it collided with her lamp, knocked it over, and shattered the cunning glass work. Mantis sat up in bed with a jolt, and when she saw her lamp, her antennae drooped sadly. :c]

[Outside, she can hear the hotel manager bellowing in rage. 'BUG LADY! Did you break that window?! You'll have to pay for that!']

[And just like that, Mantis is in debt. She's swept up what she could of the lamp and placed it into a paper grocery bag. Perhaps she can get it fixed. She carries it with her up and down the streets in search of a repair shop, but no one seems able to fix it. She's told to just throw it out, but she can't bring herself to do it. Where else is she going to find a lamp with dragonflies on it?]

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[VIDEO]

[Mantis looks dejected, but she's smiling as hard as she can. It...doesn't look great. The dissonance is probably a little creepy.]

I would like a temporary job to earn more money. My skills are limited, but I will do my best for you.

[She will try. She will try so hard. ~~Success is not guaranteed.~~]

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[Mantis perks faintly at the sound of an unfamiliar voice, turning her head only to tilt it up to meet Lea's concerned expression. 'Bummed.' That must be a way to express sadness. She was not aware that a melancholy nature was associated with one's hindquarters.]

[She turns her gaze forward and lifts her chin, hands tightly clasped in her lap.]

I am experiencing frustration. The repairmen I have sought are unable to fix this lamp.

[It's probably easy to tell that's what she has in the bag beside her. --Oh, but perhaps...! Her expression eases, hope edging into her countenance as she looks back to Lea.]

Perhaps you are acquainted with a repairman of great talent?

[Lea frowned a bit.]

Sounds more like 'unwilling' than 'unable' to me if you've tried a lot of them and the lamp is still broken.

I'm afraid I don't know any repairmen off the top of my head, though I guess I could take a look at the lamp myself. I mean, if that's alright with you? It's been awhile, but my dad used to work with jewelry and things, and he taught me a little. I might be able to at least point you in the right direction if I saw how and how badly it was broken.

Oh, yes!

[She twists at the waist to pick up the bag, which crinkles and clinks as she swivels to hold it out to Lea. Her expression has brightened significantly, hope brightening her giant dark eyes.]

I do have it, it is here. It is very all right with me if you wish to examine it.

[The lamp hasn't been completely obliterated, but the glass has been broken into several assorted pieces, and the bulb has absolutely had it. Her mouth stretches into a wide smile and she speaks with a laugh.]

It is very fortunate that we are meeting this day! I am Mantis.

Nice to meet you, Mantis. My name's Lea; got it memorized? And this is Fireball.

[He indicated the Growlithe to her before taking a look in the bag, taking care when he saw the broken glass.]

OK, let's see here...

[He pulled the main body of the lamp out of the bag into the light so he could get a better look at it.]

Hmmm... well, from what I can tell the framework looks mostly intact. And we'll have to get that broken bulb out of there before we can test if the actual mechanism still works, not to mention to avoid cutting ourselves on it. But it seems like it's mostly just the broken glass. So it could be fixed, technically, but the repair men probably didn't think it'd be worth the amount of effort remaking and refitting all these fiddly little bits of glass would take, like I figured.

Edited 2018-09-13 04:51 (UTC)

It is not a difficult name to memorize~

[She laughs as she says it, pleased that he's given her a simple task that she can easily fulfill. She leans forward to see what he's gesturing to, and upon seeing Fireball, her big eyes get even bigger.]

Your puppy is adorable. I have never seen one with such wonderful stripes!

[She desperately wants to ask if she can pet the Growlithe, but since he's being kind enough to look at her lamp, she just scoots closer to him, forcing her hands to remain tightly clenched in her lap instead of reaching out to the pet that does not belong to her.]

Oh? It is possible? I am so glad!

[Her jaw drops with the width of her smile, absolutely delighted at the news.]

What do you require for pay in return for your services?

[Lea smiles at her compliment about Fireball.]

Well, he's a Pokémon; they tend to look a little unusual. But you can pet him if you want; he likes having his ears scratched.

[Her attempt to restrain herself had not been missed.

He looks a bit surprised when she asks if he'll require payment though.]

Well, I haven't actually done much of anything so far. And frankly I'm not sure I can. My dad probably could have, but that requires special equipment like molds and things that I just don't have here.

[He doesn't want to disappoint her given how happy she looks, but he also doesn't want to promise something he's not sure he can deliver.]

[Mantis grins from ear to ear, and carefully eases herself off of the bench so she doesn't scare the Pokemon by lunging at it directly. She follows Lea's advice, rubbing behind Fireball's ears and taking comfort in its thick, warm fur.]

[She looks back over her shoulder, feeling disappointment starting to edge in on her former cheer.]

Are they difficult to acquire?

[Much as she'd like to offer payment in advance, she doesn't have a lot of extra money. Such is the price for working at non-profits!]

[Fireball seems to find it pretty comforting too, closing his eyes and smiling in a canine-ish way at the scratching.

Lea frowned slightly in thought at her question.]

I'm not sure. I remember my dad showing me how to use them, but I never thought to ask how much they cost, or where he got them. He might have even made them himself; all I know is that he already had them when he started teaching me about his work.

My guess is that it'd probably depend on how how many were needed, and how detailed they'd need to be. More detail would mean harder to make which would probably equal more expensive.

I see... So even if it were able to be repaired, I could not afford the repairs at all.

[Reluctantly she stops petting the Pokemon. She's disappointed to hear this, of course, but it would be silly to dwell too much on the loss of one trinket she favored.]

Then I will have to search these sailing garages more thoroughly in hope of finding something better. Thank you, Lea, for speaking honestly.

[She holds her hands out to take back the bag. Maybe she can learn how to fix it herself someday.]

[Lea starts to hand it back, but then pauses and looks down at the lamp again, frowning thoughtfully. Yes, his father had used forges and molds... but his father hadn't had fire magic. He's starting to get an idea.]

...This lamp is really important to you, isn't it?

[Action/Video]

[action] Fashionably so!

Re: [action] Best way to be. :3

[action] Must be, because now I am the late one!

[action] Let's just say we're both fashionably late. XD

[Action] Deal!

Re: [Action] Deal!

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