Spots and Stripes - RPLOG

Participants

• Fenris
• Rokarion
• Zuri

Date

13/5/478

Log

Fenris is seated at a low table, cross legged and working with a collection of little bottles and brushes. His normal clothing is abandoned for a light, silky kimono that he wears tied round his waist, rather than worn over his shoulders. Settings for tea have also been prepared in the warm, sunlit room.

Zuri tugs Rokarion's hand as they walk towards the Twin Pillows, the salamander smiling back at his plant friend. "It'l be a blast, I promise! We're just going to have a nice time together over some tea and Mister Fenris is going to show us what he can do with his paint things." He giggles. "He did such a good job on his fur, I'm sure he could really do something fun for me!"

Rokarion followed behind Zuri, removing his hand from the salamander's grasp before walking with him inside the Twin Pillows, "Twin Pillows, I see." he simply notes before looking at Zuri, "Not sure what you are up to, but I definitely do not support painting yourself." the plant being quietly adds, "Not that your friend used paint for his fur." Rokarion let out a sigh as he entered the Pillows after Zuri.

Fenris looks up from his preparations with a smile and stands smoothly. "Welcome!" he says, "I am glad you could make it. I know the Twin Pillows isn't your first choice for venues, but they have the nicest rooms for the best price." He ushers the pair to some soft pillows meant for sitting and goes about preparing tea. "You prefer Fire blossom, right, Mister Aeneas?" the tiger asks, pouring three cups of tea and carrying two over to Zuri and to Rokarion before adding an ungodly amount of sugar to his own.

Zuri huffs at Roka's words. "Lighten up a bit Roka, it will be good fun!" He smiles at Fenris as they enter the private room, and sits down upon the soft pillows when they are offered. "I like the place Mister Fenris. Never been here but it looks nice!" He peers down at his cup of tea. The warm beverage isn't really his favorite, but he hopes it will put Rokarion at ease. "Did you bring your friend over Mister Fenris, or is it just us?"

Rokarion enters the room after Zuri, glancing Fenris before moving to take a seat on the table, "Not my favourite, but I enjoy it form time to time." he answers Fenris's question before taking a sip from the cup, testing its temperature. "And with quite the interesting and mixed reputation too." he adds when the Twin Pillows is mentioned.

"Only us, Zuri," Fenris assures the salamander, "I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable." He sips at his highly sweetened tea and points to the low table laden with carefully prepared brushes and pots of some sort of thick, white paint. "Everything is ready whenever you are," he says to Zuri, pointing to a privacy screen in one corner, "You will find a robe there that I think should fit you." The tiger then turns his attention to Rokarion. "Yes," he admits, "The Twin Pillows does not always have the most savory reputation. But it is always clean and safe and pleasant. Besides, I am no employee here, all you get out of me is some body painting."

Zuri nods at Fenris. "Thank you.. I mean, I wouldn't have minded too much if you had brought a friend but.. I do prefer if it stays between us three." He smiles at Rokarion, clearly excited for having the plant being here. "I'll be right back!" He hurries over behind the privacy screen and begins to stip down layers of clothing and armor being removed before being replaced with the offered robe. He steps out after a minute of frantically changing his clothes, barely containing his excitement as he paces back to the other two. "Okay Mister Fenris, what now?"

Rokarion takes another sip from his tea cup before setting it aside, answering Fenris with a nod as he takes out his notebook and a pen, committing words to paper, then raising his gaze once more, "Do tell me when you finish." the flower says before going back to his book.

"Come sit here, Zuri," Fenris says with an easy smile, kneeling on a pillow, "We can get started right away. I will wash your back and you can tell me what it is that you want."

Zuri sits in front of Fenris as bidden, although he keeps his eyes on Rokarion. He frowns slightly at the plant's reaction, but hopes that he will start playing along. "Well, I was thinking little spots, kind of like dappling. You know how some equine beings have coats with little white spots, or sometimes a big white area with little spots of their other fur color? Something like that, I think it could look nice!" He reaches over to take his cup of tea and takes a sip, his eyes returning to the jasmine being.

Rokarion stops his writing for a moment going to take a sip from his tea before setting it down, glancing Zuri in return before going back to his book, he does glance the two other beings each now and then to see how things are going.

Fenris gently pulls Zuri's robe down and starts to scrub the little salamander's back with warm, soapy water and drying it with a soft towel. "Spots should not be a problem," he says, "Would you like them for a day or for a week?"

Zuri studies Roka's reactions carefully, and can't suppress a sigh as he returns to his tea. He takes another sip before answering Fenris. "Maybe just for a day, we can see how it goes and do something a bit more permanent-ish if it turns out to be good." He actually has a plan of sorts to make the changes permanent period, but he's not going to mention that one just yet. "And we could try different colors too before we commit to it!"

Rokarion flips through another page, stopping for another sip of his tea before closing his book and setting it aside, "So, Mister Fenris." Rokarion raised his voice again, "Where did you learn to do body paint?" he idly asks before taking another sip from his hot beverage.

"It was part of my training in Auroon," Fenris says, finally picking up a brush and a pot of white paint, "I had a teacher who was fond of painting and he required all of his students to practice as part of our training." The tiger dibs his brush and starts to paint delicate whorls and spots on Zuri's back. "I was never especially good at anything detailed or realistic, but patterns and simple abstractions? I was not so bad at those."

Zuri tries his best to sit perfectly still, not wanting to sabotage Fenris' delicate work. "Don't worry, I don't think I will be wanting anything too complex Mister Fenris. Altho it would be hilarious to walk around with a picture of someone on my back. The Good King maybe? Or Lady Kalt? Some worthy noble, at least!" He grins at Rokarion. The little salamander thinks that will wind the jasmine up at least a little bit. "But spots will do for now."

Rokarion nods his head at Fenris, glancing Zuri and giving him a nod too, "Indeed you sure can have a painting of those two OR someone worthy." he quips back in his usual nonchalant tone before placing a hand on top of his book, "Ah, speaking of Auroon and nobles. Whatever happened to that Jadelands noble who came here."

Fenris laughs a little and continues to make a pattern of elaborate spots down Zuri's spine, drifting off into swirling patterns. "The Sakura woman with the exciteable servant?" he asks, "I understand that they moved on. I was surprised to hear that a Sakura had visited, to be honest. They are a small family, not really known for traveling far from their holdings."

Zuri smiles brightly. "I hope they visit again, or that I can one day visit them in their homeland. I miss Kawa, I learned so much from him. And Lady Sakura, well.. I didn't get to speak to her much, she was always a bit grumpy or very busy, could never really stop and talk for long. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for her being stuck in the Inn for so long, barely able to walk."

Rokarion purses his lips and nods, "Aye, such a pity. I heard that you didn't even get to meet them, Fenris. Such a pity, I bet they would have loved to meet a person who is so knowledgeable about their culture." Rokarion comments idly before taking another sip from his tea.

Fenris shrugs, dipping his brush again, then does a bit of a doubletake. "Wait, Kawa?" he asks, "Little green otter? He didn't mention anything about the White Lotus, did he?" The tiger starts to work up to the top of Zuri's head, the dots getting smaller and tighter in their patterns as he moves forward. "If he did, then I am sorry I missed them too!" he says, "I knew a Kawa while I was training with the White Lotus school in Auroon. Younger than me, of course, but a nice little guy."

Zuri nods. "Yea, Kawa! He was a little green otter, yep! Really smart and talented, such a great warrior. He demonstrated some of that White Lotus discipline on a boar-being in the training yard, and floored him in no time." He giggles. "Makes me wish I had studied with him..." He smiles at Rokarion. "You should have seen Kawa, he got so upset when I ranted at him that it was difficult to fight beings that were much bigger than me. I think he tried very much to impress upon me that I shouldn't let such a thing bring me down. He was a big reason I went back to my training after I had stopped."

"Size is not really an important factor at all." Rokarion comments at Zuri, "In fact one of the more celebrated military commanders in Cliffside is of the Small Folk, Commander Tallvalor. And to quote him, 'Size is neither an advantage or a disadvantage. It all falls to how you use it.'" Rokarion opens his book again and goes back to reading inside it, "Any closer to finishing anyway, Fenris?"

Fenris smiles at the conversation between the pair and nods. "Almost finished," he says, "Turn around and close your eyes, Zuri. Let me get just a little bit on your face and we will be finished." The tiger takes the momentary reprieve to take a sip of his tea.

Zuri turns around as requested, exposing his painted back to Rokarion. He smiles up at the tiger being. "Thank you Mister Fenris." He closes his eyes before continuing. "Do you like it Mister Rokarion? Does it look good?" He asks, hoping that the new decoration is impressive enough that it might sway the jasmine over.

Rokarion takes yet another sip from his beverage, picking up his book and stowing it away, before giving the salamander's due attention, "Interesting, you told me that it will last for a day, yes?" Rokarion asks before shrugging, "Well if that is what you, Mister Zuri. I hope you enjoy it." the younger jasmine states, before stifling a yawn with his hand.

Fenris finishes his work on the salamander's face, putting stylized whorls of dots around Zuri's eyes. "This will last until you wash it off," the tiger says, "And I think it looks pretty good, even if I have to say it myself." He puts his brush into a little cup filled with water for washing later. "There should be a mirror behind the privacy screen if you want to go take a look," he offers with a smile before turning to Rokarion, "I hope you feel that you learned something worthwhile here as well, Mister Rokarion."

Zuri stands up and speeds towards the privacy screen, slipping inside to view himself in the mirror. "Wow!" He exclaims after a moment. "This is even better than I thought it would be!" He giggles. "You're really talented Mister Fenris! I was expecting like just random dots but.. this is incredible!" He stays behind the screen for now, admiring the handywork from all angles that he can manage.

Rokarion sets his half-empty cup on the table and shrugs, "Nothing new to be honest." the plant being comments before reclining back on his seat, "But again I had nothing to do and Mister Zuri insisted on wanting me to see his body paint." Rokarion commented idly as he waits for the salamander to finish his inspection.

Fenris waves at the collection of brushes at paints. "I came prepared to do something for you as well," he offers, "If you are interested. Zuri thought you might like to try it." He smiles at the praise from the little salamander. "I am just glad that you like it, Zuri," he says, "It should stay clear and crisp until you wash it off with soap and water."

Zuri returns with his regular clothes on, although he has opted to not wear his jacket but rather carry it folded on his arm. He's smiling happily, as bright as can be. His smile just amplifies the joyful and whimsical appearance of those spots and whorls. He giggles. "You don't have to do it Mister Rokarion, I just thought that if you liked it you might want to indulge too." He smiles at the plant being, waiting to see his reaction.

Rokarion appraises the equipment before raising a petal of an eyebrow at Fenris, "Thanks for your offer, but I am not interested." the plant being answers before glancing Zuri and shrugging, "Are you done then?" he asks as he stands up.

"Suit yourself," Fenris says, sitting back on his little pillow and sipping at his tea. "I'm glad that you came," he says to both beings, "It was a pleasant way to pass a little time." The tiger idly runs his fingers through his thick, fluffy fur. "I suppose that it is back to the daily grind now," he says.

Zuri keeps his bright cheer despite Rokarion's apparent derision of the work that was done. He turns to Fenris, showing how his smile playfully distorts one of the whorls upon his cheek. "Thank you again Mister Fenris! I may ask for another session in a week or so, if that is alright. And.. if I need to recompense you for your time or your materials, it would not be out of place. Your work is nothing short of fantastic!" He paces back towards Rokarion, nodding at him. "Ready to go Mister Rokarion. Shall we?"

Rokarion gives Fenris a polite nod before turning around. "Very well then. I bid you farewell, I have other business to attend to." the plant being answers as he glances Zuri and moves towards the door, "If you say so, Mister Zuri."