An Artist at Work

[Celeste McCalmont]

Celeste had been there since early morning, having left her home with a wagon filled with goods before the sun had even begun to hint at rising over the horizon. Now she sat in the warm midday sun, humming vaguely to herself as she painted a little figurine of a dancing woman. She'd started with the base colors, and was now painting a royal blue pattern onto the soft grey of the woman's skirt. She scrunched her nose and squinted, with the statuette held close to her face as she painstakingly added another row of lace-like flower texture. 

The market was continuing as usual around her, but she didn't like to holler at people the way some sellers did, screeching about the freshest fish on the island, or the most potent spices. She much preferred to let people come to her. Once they idled near her little stand to look at things, she could see what caught their eye and help them find something they would love. Some people stopped for the basics--a new set of plates, or a pitcher to replace one that had begun to crack, while others admired the art she had created in the vases and sculptures on the other side of the display. She liked seeing what piece matched each person. Today, though, she'd only had a few customers; it seemed like the lovely weather had tempted people away to other things, leaving few to shop. 

Focused as she was on the details in her hand, she almost didn't notice the fair-haired man who slowed to look at something on her display, but the shadow he cast over her hands caught her attention and she looked up with a smile. "Hello, sir. Is there something specific you're interested in?"

for Pearce Lockheed

[Pearce Lockheed]

Pearce didn't like shopping. Not for himself at least, or for everyday things. He did, however, enjoy shopping for others. And he did enjoy walks. So window shopping at the market, even with all the hawking and bustle was sometimes attractive. Today, it wasn't so crowded and he appreciated that. It meant he could take his time. It also meant he got specifically called out a bit more but...well, nicer clothes tended to have that effect around here.

He noticed some of the smaller figurines the potter had sculpted and was taking a look to see what sorts she had - animals ideally - when her words made him jump.

"Oh, ap-p-pologies," he said, looking up and realizing he was interrupting her work. He shifted so he wasn't so much in her light. God, he hated that word. "I was looking at the figurines you have. Animals, specifically, tough that one there is quite finely detailed," he said with a smile, gesturing at the one in her hand.

[Celeste McCalmont]

"Oh goodness, it's nothing that needs an apology!" Celeste assured him immediately, resting her elbows on the table to give herself a little break while they were talking. She hadn't realized her arms were getting tired from being at such a strange angle before--likely because she was so absorbed in her work. She rolled her shoulders to shake out some of the tension, and her eyes drifted to the animal figurines as he mentioned them, then back to the dancer in her hands with his gesture.

"Ah, well thank you! As you might have noticed, I've given myself quite the task, painting this lace," she answered his compliment with a soft laugh. Animal figurines, hm? She set aside the piece she'd been working on, and slid her stool over to the side so she could look over her little sculptures. She had a few people: a child with a flower, a woman carrying a basket, a couple in the middle of a 'dip' in their dance. The animals were actually far more numerous, and she slid them to the front of the display with her index finger, towards the man. Most were small enough to fit in the palm of his hand; she enjoyed making dainty miniatures.

"For animals, I have... several deer, the fawns are so cute I can never resist; a few rabbits, a horse, and oh... probably more birds than any woman should have." She covered her mouth as she laughed. "I love all kinds of birds, so perhaps I make too many of these. Bluejays, cardinals, ducks, chickens..." She listed them as she moved them. A few of the little ceramic chickens also wore little hats and one had a little poncho. She didn't mention those were modeled from life...most people thought it was a bit strange that Henrietta was her pet, not just dinner.

"Is there a favorite you're looking for? 

[Pearce Lockheed]

Pearce gave her a nervous smile at her reassurance but he still felt a bit awkward. "A g-good artists sets good challenges," he noted. And even from a casual glance over her other figurines she was quite skilled.

He examined the menagerie as the artist shifted them around for a bettet view. He was impressed with the small size and just the excellent shaping alone. The nobleman would never have said he was infatuated with small figurines but...well, he wasn't thinking about these for himself.

Her description made him smile. As she mentioned the rabbits he selected on of those, this one posed standing on it's hind legs, ears up. He glanced over her selection of birds with a raised eyebrow. There were a lot of them. His eyes caught on the chickens wearing clothes and he chuckled. He didn't understand but they were cute.

"Oh, I'm looking for a friend. I'm not s-sure exactly." He set the rabbit aside for the moment but he had a feeling Briella would like it. Actually he had a feeling she would like just about any of the animals. "The blue jay, maybe?" He did love the look and symbolism of the bird. And picking up the figurine, he coukd see there was a lot of detail to the feathers in this piece.

"Do you make a lot of commissions?" He asked. Pearce couldn't imagine she made all her money from simply selling at the market but she did fine work.

[Celeste McCalmont]

Celeste nodded amiably as he looked through the figures and mentioned he was looking at them for a friend. She wondered who he was shopping for; she thought maybe knowing what they were like might give her a better idea of what to suggest, but she didn't want to pry. The man seemed a little shy, she thought, which was actually a little comforting--not that she wanted him to feel nervous with her, but more that she didn't think she needed to worry about him being overly demanding or aggressive. She didn't often get bad customers here in Aralore, but there were people like that in any land.

She nearly jumped at his question about commissions, it surprised her so much. She shook her head quickly but then paused. When she thought of commissions, she thought of fancy things for wealthy customers--like portraits her family used to commission when she was young, or the fountain her ex-husband had commissioned for his large gardens. Technically, though, she had taken requests from some customers for things they wanted in specific shapes and colors. She considered for a moment, scrunching her face a little while she thought about it, then brightened up.

"It depends on what you think of as commissions, I think. I haven't done any large pieces for anyone, but I have made matching sets in certain colors for people who wanted them, and I did make a few horses for the Hawthornes." She shrugged. "I'm not much of a businesswoman, I confess. I tend to trade with people for things that I need just as often as I make money, and I haven't done anything to ah...advertise? But I have enough to get my supplies, and I sell eggs from my chickens as well."

She paused again, then realized she'd rambled quite a bit. "My turn to apologize, that was far more than you asked!"

[Pearce Lockheed]

He could tell she wanted to talk even when she didn't. While he couldn't begin to read minds, he really didn't mind her asking questions.

Pearce hadn't meant to surprise her and had she jumped he might have too. The man had simply been curious aboit anything so the woman's long winded list was actually what he was looking for. From the smallest figurines to an entire fountain. He didn't know much about trading for what he needed but he understood that many of the working class did at the moment, while they were reorganizing on the new island. It had only been a few years after all.

"No ap-pology necessary, good lady." He said, blushing at that word again. "It's quite interesting." Pearce smiled.

"As long as b-business runs smoothly?" Pearce asked. Not much of a business woman or not, he did want to make sure she had what she needed. He had a small fortune and with his experience in mining and quarries, he had asserted his family into that business again with the move. It was useful, to provide some jobs, but also to help acquire the stone necessary to rebuild the castle and to form the docks and much of this very market place. If he could spend some of that back into the community, then he would.

"Do you have any r-red foxes? Or could make one?" He asked. He did loke the rabbit and the blue jay, but a fox seemed more fitting for Zander. Beautiful, smart, sort of like a cat, sort of like a dog, entirely a pain in the ass. In a good way. Perfect.

[Celeste McCalmont]

"As long as b-business runs smoothly?"

Celeste laughed. "Si, yes, there's the key. If things go smoothly. But to be fair, I do have a garden and all that for myself, although I'm still learning." She blushed lightly when she realized she'd slipped up a little; she preferred people think she was just the average commoner. Here, anyway, she was. Who she was in a past life had nothing to do with it. She chose to push forward rather than dwell on it. "The pottery is as much for me as it is for anyone else. I like to keep busy. Too much time for thinking, otherwise." She shrugged.

"Do you have any r-red foxes? Or could make one?"

Celeste tapped her fingers against her lips as she considered, trying to remember what she had left at home. "I can't recall if my last fox sold or not. It was my first try, though, so perhaps it is better if it stays with me. He was not very graceful! I could certainly make more. Do you have a specific pose in mind? Or, este...a mood, perhaps? If you know what type of emotion or personality you want to convey, I think I can do that."


este... = um... in Spanish

[Pearce Lockheed]

The nobleman smiled faintly at her answer. "G-good," he confirmed. Most people here had small gardens at least. It was rather normal. His own staff had a vegetable garden on his property. Mostly for the manor, but he really didn't pay attention too much. He wasn't very much for micromanaging.

He caught the other language though he wasn't certain he recognized it. And either way he didn't care too much. His boyfriend waa from Teronna and half the people of Aralore were foreign refugees and all of them were refugees. As far as Pearce was concerned, it only mattered if people made ot matter and her past belonged to her just as much as his belonged to him. Sharing wasn't a question. But no one was average. He had learned that rather quickly in life. "Liking what you do for a loving is important too," he agreed.

He looked over her animal collection as she thought. He didn't see one. Or any predators, actually. He just...liked the symbolism of foxes. Pearce didn't want to bother her with a commission, but at the same time, he felt like it would help her. He blushed slightly. He didn't want to buy something for one sibling and not the other either though.

"Um...that would be lovely," he said finally, giving in. He pushed over the rabbit he had set aside before. "Something p-playful? And I'd like this rabbit and the blue jay you have too. If I can pick them all up together? Whenever the fox is finished?"

[Celeste McCalmont]

Celeste beamed at him and clapped her hands lightly. "Perfecto! I can absolutely do that. I love having something new to work on, so this is fantastic. It won't take long...perhaps a week? I'll need to make it, dry it, glaze it, and fire it." She looked towards the sky and murmured to herself as she did the mental math. "Yes, a week should be about right, but let's say eight days, just to be safe. If anything goes terribly wrong, I can let you know, of course. Sometimes things explode in the kiln--that hasn't happened to me in years, of course, but I try to plan for disasters. You can never be too careful."

She took a piece of paper from her bag and scribbled down what he'd said so far--a playful fox, plus the rabbit and blue-jay. "Oh, and I'm sorry, I don't think I got your name, or introduced myself, actually." She stood and gave a neat curtsy. "I'm Celeste McCalmont. I'm very excited to be working with you."

[Pearce Lockheed]

Pearce smiled when she seemed pleased by the arrangement. He nodded at her mental math, not really sure how long making something out of clay took, let alone firing and glazing it, though they were terms he understood in passing. In action...he would have no idea how to use a kiln. "Eight d-days sounds wonderful," he agreed.

"I can pay you for the other two now? And the fox in eight days?" he suggested. He didn't want to ask her to do all that work and to hold those pieces for him for nothing, but it made sense to wait for the work to be done for the fox.

He could have had the pieces delivered. But Pearce liked visiting the market. And he could bring company next time. Plus, it was a good excuse to return and consider more figurines or other projects he might have for the woman.

Oh, right, names would be rather helpful. He hardly expected her to remember him in eight days, at least not by looks. He didn't consider himself particularly memorable or handsome. "P-pearce. Pearce Lockheed," he said with a smile and a nod of greeting. "Pleasure to make your aq...to meet you, Miss McCalmont."

[Celeste McCalmont]

"Miss McCalmont" he called her! Ah, she would never get tired of that. No Mrs! She had been so angry when she had to sign everything and be introduced as Mrs. Rodrigo Valdez. As if she didn't have her own name or identity! It was good to be herself again, and to hear herself called by the name that she had chosen, rather than one that was thrust upon her.

"The pleasure is mine, absolutely," she answered sincerely. She truly was glad that he'd stopped at her stand and was commissioning the new piece from her. It would be fun to work on, and she thought that it would be nice to work with Pearce more. He seemed to be a kind person, from what she could tell. It was nice that he was actually asking about her work and seemed interested to know how business was going, not just talking about the one thing he wanted.

"But yes, you're welcome to pay however you like. I'm not in any rush," she added as she took a piece of thin fabric from a box under the table and began to neatly bundle the bluejay and rabbit into it. "Either way I'll keep these pieces set aside for you..." She hesitated slightly, she was fairly sure that he was a noble, but he hadn't introduced himself that way. She wondered if it was alright to just ask. In Tresteria this had been such a formal thing, and to make a mistake was a huge insult. In Aralore, she'd found, people were much less rigid about hierarchy. "Do you prefer Lord Lockheed? Or something else...?" she finally asked, looking a little embarrassed. "I apologize, I don't know how things are done here. O sea, it's a little different on each island, and with each person."

[Pearce Lockheed]

He had come to the market to enjoy it and the people and he was quite excited to have made a new acquaintance. Celeste seemed a very sweet woman and very talented. Pearce was looking forward to seeing her again and not just for the gifts. Well, admittedly, that excitement was rather a lot but the artist had made it a pleasant experience and he hoped to continue working with her and perhaps get to know her personally, as he tried to with most people.

"Thank you," the nobleman nodded and would give her coins matching whatever Celeste asked for the pair without bothering to haggle. He did sometimes, but now was hardly the time to be stingy with hia money.

Pearce wasn't sure why she hesitated and he stiffened a little apprehensively, watching her and trting not to look concerned. And then she was just asking after his name and he let out a breath. He never liked hearing himself addressed as his father had been. "Oh, it's quite alright. Very d-different everywhere," he hastened to assure her. He had traveled enough to know most places frowned upon a higher born like himself using his first name but...it made him more comfortable. He did like etiquette and propriety but not at the sacrifice of comfort.

"Pearce," he corrected gently with a smile. Pearce gave her another nod of the head and took half a step back, indicating he should be on his way. "I shall s-see you soon, Miss McCalmont."

[Celeste McCalmont]

Celeste smiled brightly in return, pleased by his answer. She couldn't blame other nobles for using their title, certainly, but she had grown to detest the distance that it put between her and others. She much preferred the be treated as an equal whenever possible. She felt like this might be something Pearce understood, although she couldn't exactly jump right into that story on a first meeting, and certainly not when he was trying to leave. Perhaps another time.

"In that case, please call me Celeste," she answered cheerfully and waved goodbye. "Until next time, Pearce. Have a good rest of your day."

[END THREAD]