If I had a hammer...

[tevinteraltus]

Who; Dorian Pavus and the other employees of Cloak and Dagger
What; Just another day at the office?
Where; Cloak and Dagger, during or after business hours
When; May 11th, All Day
Warnings; You know, I can't think of any, but you never know. I'll update if I need to



It's been nearly three weeks since Dorian began working as an enchantment and magical item craftsman at the Cloak and Dagger, but he's still succeeded in keeping himself fairly scarce. He spends most of his time in the workshop, whether it's fulfilling customer orders or working on a project he's not quite ready to show the world, but every once in a while, he has to enter the shop proper for some part or parcel that wasn't within ready access.

He was fairly certain there were others who worked here, someone had to run the front counter after all, and Cassian was around somewhere, but certainly the boss (Maker, he was starting to sound like Bull) wouldn't mind taking some of the ingredients for a worthy cause. He'd...pay him back or something.

Otherwise, he'd be found in the workshop, with a tablet of obsidian, sweat beading on his brow as he focused intently on the runes he was carving across its surface. He doesn't look up if someone walks in, but he'll respond if he's addressed.

Comments

[escape_artist]

Someone's running the front counter, alright. If by running we mean she's got a big-ass piece of paper laid out across it and is doodling in every free space available. Look, cashiering is one of those things; if no one's here to buy shit, she's not just gonna stare at the damn wall. This ain't Walmart.

Akara's pretty focused and honestly, she hasn't been paying a lick of attention to the workshop. Not in her job description, okay? Okay.

So...

She hadn't realized anyone else was even in the building.

With Dorian set on finding some ingredient or other from the main room, and Akara not the least expecting company that doesn't come through the fucking front door--

"Mother of fuck!"

Aaaaand she damn near jumps out of her skin.

[tevinteraltus]

Intent as he is on the shelf of ore dusts before him, he doesn't start at her exclamation, but he does look over, arching an eyebrow and smirking slightly.

"Did I frighten you?" He chuckles slightly as he continues to browse for the powder he's looking for.

"Sorry about that."

[escape_artist]

Something that hopefully isn't fragile gets chucked at Dorian from the direction of the counter. "Asshole! If you're gonna rob the place, do it when I ain't here!"

Look.

Look, they haven't fucking met. Not face to face, anyway.

Who the fuck are you.

STOP BEING SO CALM.

[tevinteraltus]

Instinct and years of honed reflexes react before Dorian does consciously, and he turns in her direction, raising a hand from which a dome of shimmering, semi-green energy flows. What turns out to be a paperweight strikes the hastily erected barrier, sending sparks of more green energy in all directions and the thrown paperweight clattering to the floor. When he lowers his hand, the barrier falls with it to reveal a very displeased expression.

"Is this how you greet customers? Surely Cassian selects his help more carefully."

He brushes a hand over his robes, as though they've been soiled (they haven't) and crosses his arms. "I'm not some common thief, thank you. I work here."

[escape_artist]

Oh good, a mage. Noted. Akara matches that displeased look with one of her own.

"Customers don't come into the shop from over there."

And Akara points... pointedly, at the workshop.

How long have you been in here today, Dorian?

"Who the flying fuck're you?"

[tevinteraltus]

"Really? Why, I must be telling the truth then!" He places a hand over his heart and bows slightly.

"Dorian of House Pavus, most recently of Genessia City. And you are?"

[escape_artist]

"Akara."

One corner of her drawing is trying to roll inward; she keeps her papers in a tube, when not in use. Fucking paperweight seems to have gone somewhere. The thief grumbles to herself and looks around for a substitute.

"--You're a snarky shit, is who you are."

Yeah she saw that little bow, ass.

[tevinteraltus]

He casts his eyes down to the discarded paperweight, crouching to pick it up before looking up to her.

"That may, indeed, be true, but I do apologize for startling you." He stands holding both hands in view as he moves toward her. "No more projectiles, if you would. I'm simply returning your paperweight."

He makes a motion toward her curling paper with his free hand. Yeah, he's familiar with the problem. "You seem to have need of it, and you may have it back, on the condition you not toss it at my head again, of course."

[escape_artist]

He gets points for manners, anyway. If belated ones.

"Yeah sure, whatever," Akara leans over the counter to try to snatch the paperweight back from him. It's not even hers, okay? She's just using it. "You been here all day, then."

[tevinteraltus]

He allows the paperweight to be snatched, smirking slightly. She's an easy one to rile, this one. Ah, well. There's always one uptight one. Wait, including Cassian, this establishment has at least two.

He nods at her question and nearly answers before he realizes she'd said all day, which doesn't process properly as he came in in the evening. Ah. Well.

He runs a hand over his mustache and makes a show of tidying it up to stifle a yawn. Maker he's tired suddenly.

"Yes, it would seem so. At least that long." He looks toward the front of the shop, remembering the atmosphere outside does little to actually give an accurate read on time, blasted fog. "How...long is 'all day', exactly?"

[escape_artist]

"All day is all day," Akara huffs, putting the paperweight back where it belongs. Is that where she'd found it? Nope. Where it belongs, right now, is holding down the corner of this goddamned--

Aaaaaand she's back to doodling.

"Yeah, one of those are you? Surprised you don't have a cot back there. Careful if you're thinking about it; shorty will start charging you rent."

[tevinteraltus]

"Shorty...?" Ah, yes. Of course. He chuckles. "That's very clever. You mean Cassian, of course."

He moves his eyes to her hands, tilting his head to the side as he watches her for a moment. "You're...an artist?" That might be very good to know. He can carve runes, certainly, and inlay magical conduits...but...carving an articulate hand? No.

[escape_artist]

"Yeah," at all of it.

"Quick study ain't ya."

OKAY SO SHE'S STILL BITTER ABOUT BEING STARTLED.

[tevinteraltus]

He chuckles again, this time at his own expense. "Oh yes, something like that."

He moves to lean against the counter, a casual gesture obviously. "And what is it you draw?"

[escape_artist]

"Lotsa shit," mostly, the people who'd come and gone in the shop in the last few days on this page. Some were whole faces; there were several small drawings of Cassian on here, a couple of Tannusen. Some... weird guy who'd tried to stick his own hands up his nose, somehow.

But it was doodles, so there were also little bits of people and things. A hand here, an eye there, an expression, the way someone had stood, a neat piece of jewelry or anything else in particular that had caught her eye.

Akara was like a magpie, but with visuals.

"I draw, I charcoal, and I paint. Ain't bringing a whole easel in here though, shorty would bitch."

[tevinteraltus]

He chuckles at the mental image, nodding, but allowing his eyes to move across her rolled paper as he did so. She was talented, that much was obvious. Dorian may have a flair for dramatics and a gift for style when it came to casting, but he was no visual artist if he wasn't weaving the stuff of the Fade.

"Indeed he would, but I'd wager it's mostly to be obstinate." It was a segway to his next comment, and one he was much more interested in.

"Your hands are very realistic." He makes a motion to her drawings for clarification.

[escape_artist]

"Never understood why everyone fuckin' hates drawin' hands," Akara eyed the drawings, then held up one of her own hands for clarification, "Got me a model right here don't I? Once you're good at drawing your own, drawing other people's ain't so bad. Maybe they got bony knuckles. Maybe they got long fingers. Maybe there's a scar or a tattoo... whatever, right? Still basically the same part."

May 13th - Cloak & Dagger

[clevermind]

Belle had started almost immediately after speaking to Cassian. She set to ascribing but also learning small easy spells to help out where she could. Her manner was sweet and focused though she had the habit of singing while she was at work. Her voice was beautiful but it could also be distracting so she tried to keep her singing only to when someone wasn't in the shop.

She hadn't realized that Dorian was there until stepping out from the back of the shop to grab another spell to copy.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I disturbed you." Belle didn't bother to mention that she had a job here now. She'd thought it would be rather obvious given that she was currently working. "Do you need help with anything?"

[tevinteraltus]

"I suppose you do, yes." He watched her as she explained, nodding as he did so. "Tell me, would you be willing, with commission of course, to design a prosthetic left hand with dimensions? Schematics should suffice."

May 13th - Cloak & Dagger

[tevinteraltus]

He turned from the shelf only slightly before smiling gently and returning to his search. While the shelves themselves were meticulously organized, he wasn't sure exactly what he was hunting, only the outcome he desired. He'd been at it all night and most of the day, as well, which meant his thoughts were slightly more sluggish than usual.

"Not at all, though," and he turned to look back over his shoulder. "I'm glad to see you came."

May 13th - Cloak & Dagger

[clevermind]

Belle felt her smile widened. "I've been enjoying myself here so far. Thank you for the suggestion." It was a nice change in pace compared to what she was used too though she might have to find a second job to have suitable lodgings. That or a roommate which wasn't a completely displeasing thought.

"Do you mind if I ask what you're working on?" She won't distract him if he was too busy but she wanted to learn.

Belle's eyes swept over his features curiously, trying to compare them to the Dorian she'd spoken to a few days before. It didn't look as if he was sleeping well or perhaps it was her imagination.

May 13th - Cloak & Dagger

[tevinteraltus]

"It's a pleasant enough distraction." And that was to say yes, he did use it as a distraction as much as a means of employ. There were many things, nasty things, waiting for him when he returned home, but also someone he was having increasing trouble avoiding thinking of.

He looked back over his shoulder again at her question, paused, then turned from the shelves. It was a secret, at least as of yet, but he didn't see the harm in telling Belle.

"A gift for a friend. She's come over missing a hand recently and I'd like to see if I might make her a new one."

May 13th - Cloak & Dagger

[clevermind]

"It's nice to see you lending a hand." She felt her smile widen before brushing pass her turn of phrase.

Belle saw nothing wrong with the practice though she wondered how it was that he'd create a hand for someone. If it was grown or created and then somehow attached. It sounded very useful but also potentially complicated.

"I wish I could help with such a noble task but I don't know how I might." Sometimes staying out of the way was helpful.

[escape_artist]

Akara's brow furrowed a bit.

"I don't know shit about prosthetics, or schematics."

May 13th - Cloak & Dagger

[tevinteraltus]

She wasn't sure how she could help, eh? Olive eyes panned down to her hands before looking back to her eyes.

"I may need a model...for a hand, that is." He blinked, his thoughts catching up to what she'd said and he laughed. "Ah, yes. Lending a hand. Very clever."