RP:In Loving Memory

Part of the The Day I Tried To Live Arc

Summary: Brand takes a trip to Meri's shop, wherein they speak about Khitti and Brand gets himself a new tattoo.

The Rebel Room, Larket

Meri was present within the shop but it would not be Meri that greets a brunt of the customers passing through the doors, not that there were many passing through at this hour. Presumably Brand will be entering though, so that is one person. It would be Estelle who greets him when he does make his entry. Meri still was not feeling quite like her usual social-self, and so she has situated herself in a chair that is positioned in the back corner of the shop. Still around in case Estelle needed help, but mostly mentally checked out from her work day. The artist did not want to give off the vibe that she was sitting in the corner stewing (she was), so she had her sketchbook unfolded before her that way it looked like she was lost in concentration rather than brooding. Estelle was an older woman with long silver hair, wearing a deep blue dress that is loose-fitting and flowing and no shoes. She had a very airy vibe about her, down to the tone of her voice when she speaks her 'good evening' to Brand.

Brand descends upon the shop like a storm cloud... not that anyone anywhere around here knows anything about that. The evening seems calm and clear when the man rolls in, first darkening the windows with his presence. He’s totally scoping out the place from the outside, you see. It’s been quite some time since he’s gone so far out of his way to visit Larket, and he’s heard news enough to be wary. Does he have the right place? He doesn’t see Meri from outside, but it would appear to be sufficiently artsy, hmm… | When at last he looms in the entryway, he seems a bit unsure how to receive Estelle’s greeting. His eyes aren’t on her, but scouring the back of the shop. “Hi. Er, just lookin’.” Please do not be one of those shopkeepers that immediately leaps into a thirty minute sales pitch of the hot new items, thanks. | It’s with relief that he finally espies Meri, and here he steps further within to hold himself awkwardly a pace or two away. “Meri. I’m, ah...” The Catalian clears his throat. Out with it, you clod. “...Sorry I haven’t checked in with you. How’ve you been?” His brow seems permanently knit with worry, and he’s earned a few new grey hairs in the last few weeks. This time of mourning has not been kind to him.

Meri didn't look up when the door opened and Brand stepped in, without a visual inspection it sounded like Estelle had things well under control. It's not until shadows dance immediately in front of her and Brand actually speaks directly to her that she comes to realization that his voice is familiar to her. Blue eyes come to rest upon his face and a smile is forced, not because she has any issues with being in Brand's presence but...they had not had the chance to encounter one another since that day, and it was an instant reminder. Brand may notice another reminder that he may or may not appreciate witnessing. Pinned to Meri's wall, right by 'tattoo's by Meri' is a piece that Khitti herself drew -- it's the design for her sleeve tattoo that she had Meri do for her. "Hi, no, sorry I have not checked in with you..." Part of Meri wanted to go out to Cenril to see how Brand was doing yet at the same time, the Catalian seemed like such a private man. Maybe he would rather his space? It was a tough decision for Meri, made more difficult by the fact that she and Brand still had plenty to learn about one another. "I am doing alright." As alright as one can expect, probably better than Brand. Meri felt awkward turning the question back to Brand, but it seemed rude not to. "...How are you doing?"

Brand sidesteps toward the wall, eyeing the pieces Meri’s tattooed in the past. As he does so, he also sidesteps her question entirely. How is he doing? Better not to ask. “I was thinkin’ I’d get myself a piece here, y’know? I’ve never gotten a tattoo before, but I’ve never found sufficient reason.” The Catalian clan he was once a part of had rituals for group tattoos… for the owners, anyway. Slave crew of the Sunderia often scrabbled together the tools for creating rituals of their own, but even if Brand had ever held desire to don a group identity, the moldy green-black of the ink was far from appealing. “And not entirely for lack of tryin’. I’ve had plenty of ideas before now, but…” He trails off with a shrug. Part of the problem had been Dominic, too. Back when the kid had been an issue, getting the two entities to agree on anything was near impossible. And something as permanent and meaningful as a tattoo? Forget about it. “Anyway. The back of the shoulder shouldn’t be too terribly sensitive, I imagine? I was thinkin’ maybe a peach, and a glass of whiskey.” His gaze has lingered on each of the sketches in turn by now, and had time enough to return to Khitti’s art. Gingerly, he pulls it from the wall and hands it off to Meri. “And, I wonder if you could copy her style…?”

Meri stayed firmly seated, listening to Brand's request and flipping the sketchbook that is already laid out in front of her to a blank page. It's not until the request to copy Khitti's style comes into play that Meri rises from her seat and takes a stand near Brand in front of the piece of artwork Khitti left for Meri. "I can try but..." Art was such a personal thing, even the most uninspired pieces were still part of an artist's soul. It could be a tricky thing to capture, another person's spirit and soul. Meri let's her thought trail off at the but and instead takes to studying the finer details of Khitti's work. We're not talking about her color choices, but the details of the lines, their curves, thickness, how everything flowed together. Meri would find her way back into a seat and would attempt to whip up a quick sketch for Brand. It would take Meri more time than normal to bring this design into fruition. How would Khitti draw a peach? A glass of whiskey? It would be nice if Meri could just sit her down and ask her, a frown from across Meri's flips as she works but she does catches herself and masks it. Finally a sketch is produced, not in color just black charcoal on white paper. The color would come later. It was as asked, a glass of whiskey resting behind a ripe peach. There was a slight addition to the design, a few small flowers resting around the base of the beach. They are peach blossoms though! And as Meri will go on to explain, "We can ditch the flowers if you think that they might be too girly, it's your ink so your call." Meri motions toward the only chair that appears to be suitable for a tattooing job in the building. Make yourself comfortable, Brand. It's almost immediately next to where Brand and Meri currently stand and is cushioned for comfort. "Do you want to see any changes made to his design before we start?"

Brand feels it would somehow be improper to stare at an artist while they work. Art may not be his forte, but intuitively he seems to understand something of its intimacy. That’s why he’s asked Meri to imitate Khitti’s style: to capture something of her soul in the work... despite all Brand’s doubts of the ethereal. A bit of Meri would make its way in too, of course, but Brand considers her friend enough that this is a boon and not a detriment. | When Meri has finished, Brand returns from where he’s wandered and looks the sketch over. “No,” he murmurs, “Keep it. I think she’d prefer it with the flowers.” They have yet to mention Khitti by name, but it hasn’t seemed necessary. Khitti’s ghost, if she’d even be allowed one after everything she did, seems to linger in the space between them. Brand regards the sketch a moment longer before nodding, removing his shirt and vest, and settling into the chair. His torso and upper arms are littered front and back with scars, but there’s canvas enough along his left shoulder blade to work with. Perhaps a scar or two will be worked into the design, or perhaps the scars are old enough for the skin to allow new pigment.

Khitti's name is not one that Meri manages to speak with ease yet, and present company made her especially want to avoid saying her name. For the both of their sakes. Meri was liable to choke up at any attempt to utter Khitti's name and Brand was such a stoic perhaps that Meri was having a hard time stomaching the thought of even chancing a cryfest in front of him. Not that she was a crier in most cases. Thanks, Khitti. All the tears are yours. "S'pose we could even do a banner near them flowers," Meri was just brainstorming out loud, but the woman had freehanded enough tattoos that she felt confident that she would be able to add this bit in post-sketch. "With the letter she left," and the note she left on that piece of art on Meri's wall, "I could probably even replicate her handwriting. We could put something like 'forever' in that banner or..." This was where Brand was supposed to chime in with his thoughts on this design addition. As someone who has done tattoos professionally for a living, the woman is alright with having her suggestions turned down. No offense would be taken. That much was made obvious by the way Meri was moving around to gather her needed supplies. It was an impromptu visit, so she did not have most of the inks that they would be using mixed up and ready to go. It wouldn't take her long to gather everything she needs, setting them within her work space, and settling into her stool immediately next to Brand. For now. There was a noticeable lack of reaction to the scars, which hinted that Meri did not seem overly concerned with having to work with them.

“ ‘Forever…’ “ Brand echoes, mulling over the idea. His gaze does not trail Meri as she moves about, instead fixing on a distant speck on the floor. Forever? But it clearly wasn’t. “Khitti,” he breathes her name at last, “wanted her cure in part to escape ‘forever.’ She could have pushed for me to join her in immortality, and it likely would have been simpler... but she didn’t.” That’d be a no, then. The matter seems final until Meri approaches with her inks; Brand pivots round to, for once, look her in the eye. “ ‘Together or not at all.’ If you can fit it.” The gaze lingers briefly before settling back into the dust. His right hand strangles the arm of the chair.

Meri bobs her head in a short nod, acknowledging the change made. Up Meri would go for a quick moment, departing her position just long enough to get the letter that Khitti wrote. "Alright, well, let's get to it then," she'd say as she picks up her needle and dips it into the black ink, starting right into the process of tattooing Brand. There would be a small pause right before needle pierces skin so Brand could brace himself mentally. "If the pain is too much, speak up and I will stop." Though judging from those scars pain was something Brand was used to, she did not anticipate that this would be a problem. In most cases, depending on the severity of the scars, tattoo artists can work with scars that have had at least a year to heal. The longer, the better. That does not mean that they are still not tricky to work with, and often the skin is more sensitive than unscarred skin in a number of ways. Pain would be the most obvious, the needle may sting more as it passes over scar tissue, but also if Brand does not take proper care of his healing tattoo then it may be more prone to infection. Work would not be in silence, Meri hated working in silence (she paid a lot of money to avoid working in silence once). The outline progresses, Meri tentatively asks, "Are you going to hold any sort of memorial in her honor?"

Brand almost turns around to look at Meri again, then seems to realize he might mess up the work if he moves around too much. “I’ve not allowed myself time to think about it,” he admits, and sighs. “Lionel came to the Tranquility some hours after I left you all at the bridge.” Best not to speak of the time in between. “I… asked him for something to keep me busy. Tryin’ to keep my mind off it, y’know? Joined the Warrior’s Guild, heh. Me n’ the crew have been investigating the sea life that’s been beachin’ itself like they’re fleein’ the gorram apocalypse. Still haven’t the foggiest why, but it’s a hell of a sight to be sure.” He allows himself a mild shake of the head, clicking his tongue. “I dunno. I s’pose I still could. You’d come?” That’s not really a question; it’s more of an invitation. With Brand being the private sort, any memorial would likely be small and private as well.

Meri was glad to hear that Lionel had indeed gone after Brand, she felt like someone should have that night and of the company present Lionel was the one close enough to Brand to do so. "I'd come," Meri says without skipping a beat. How could she not be in attendance of such an event were it to take place? As sad an affair as it would be, Khitti and Meri had gotten into too much trouble together for Meri to miss such a thing. Silence would fall between the two, at least on Meri's part with the only noises she makes the occasional clink. Usually the noises occur when Meri is dipping her needle back into the black ink, she had to do this often. Once she makes a bit of noise as she swaps out needles entirely and begins to work with a bit of color. She'd start from stop to bottom, colorizing first the whiskey glass and working down toward the peach. Needles are changed out any time a new color needs to be added into the mix, not wanting to contaminate one color with other. That could through the whole thing askew. "I think she has a few other friends who would like to go too… Alvina." Meri would finally say. "And if you decide you'd like a bit of assistance with that investigation of yours? I mean, just let me know..." There would be a bit of a shrug at this point but Brand would be hard pressed to see that given his position to Meri's.

Brand can’t rightly tell what part of the tattoo is being worked on when, except vaguely. Sometimes he catches a glimpse of ink being put to needle, or it’s clear she’s working on a particular edge of the piece, but otherwise… it’s a mystery. “If you want to revisit Rynvale anytime soon, you’re welcome to help out.” As for the memorial, he’s already composing a mental list of invitees. Lionel and Meri, obviously. Alvina. Anyone else? Pilar, maybe? Would Khitti have wanted her estranged, adopted sister to come? He’ll have to muse on that one a while longer. “I wish there was a body to recover,” he speaks, abruptly. “I dunno, maybe that’s silly. So often they’re mangled or burned beyond recognition.” Not that he has any experience with that or anything… “Just, something. Anything. Could’ve sent her ashes out to sea. She could’ve hung with the mermaids. I think she would’ve liked that...”

Meri frowns heavily, but thankfully she is behind Brand so he is once more clueless to this gesture. "Yeah, just let me know," if she meant about the memorial, or investigation. Hard to say? Conversation is replaced by silence and thoughts of Khitti's burned or mangled corpse almost consumes Meri's thoughts, but she manages to push them to the back of her mind. Instead she tries to replace it with less dark images, dwelling over the finer details of...would Khitti appreciate this shade of peach more than that one? It's a struggle to chase these grim thoughts away but Meri manages it. Meri was usually better at chatting with her clients but with Brand and Meri so focused on Khitti, it was making things a wee bit off for Meri. Minutes pass, how many is hard to say, but Meri is nearly complete with the detail work on the peach. Needles are changed out again, on to the flowers, and then another needle swap and the banner. The lettering would be the last detail piece that Meri would do, and it would be obvious when she is there for she references a certain letter quite a bit. "I'm almost done...." A beat. "I don't know how many little reminders you have of Khitti. Probably plenty, I am sure...But. If you would like to take the drawing she did, when you leave for the night...You are welcome to it." Not that Meri -really- wanted to part with it, but it was -Brand- she was offering the piece of art to, so…

Brand is not bothered, generally speaking, by imagery of the gruesome dead. He’s rather desensitized to it by now, as much as a person ever can be. We’re all just meatbags full of blood and bones stumbling around pretending it means something more, right? The exceptions, however, can be rather rough to handle. A close friend, a lover… Brand wouldn’t be here if this death didn’t hit particularly hard. He’s entirely done this to himself, since he’s the one that brought it up, but the thought arises as if Khitti had died like a certain prior lover, bathed in flames, the framework of a noble house crumbling around her. It’s little consolation that Khitti didn’t die like that, and didn’t die directly by his hand… but every bit is something. “It’s yours, Mer.” What a lazy nickname. He only took off the ‘i’. But ‘mer’ is also for mermaids, like the one inked into her skin, like the love for them she and Khitti shared. “You should keep it. I can come and visit, if I need a look again. And you as well -- if you want to look through Khitti’s room, and there’s anything in there that’d have more meaning to you than it would to me…” He hesitates, fidgeting his feet a bit. “I haven’t had the heart to touch it yet.”

Meri could be desensitized to such things, but Khitti was one of those exceptions. For her friends? She never could never stand the thought of them suffering a gruesome death. They should die peacefully in their sleep after living long happy lives, doing whatever made them happy. If that was stealing leviathan teeth? Great, let's do it. Settling down and having families? Awesome, just please don't make me babysit, I cannot with little people. "You're welcome to come visit." Meri was half-tempted to slip in an invitation for Lionel and Brand to come out for dinner sometime, yet it felt wholly awkward to slide that one in given how heavy their hearts were with their talk of Khitti. Meri tells a little story instead, while cleaning up the area she was tattooing for the work is complete. A mirror is handed to Brand midway during this moment of reminiscing, another held up behind the man so that Brand can angle his mirror to Meri's, giving him a clean shot of the tattoo. "She was the first person to come out and see the shop, that's when she brought that along. The place was still hardly put together, a total mess. Not that she cared. She brought a cake too, in her typical fashion. Which was gone within like two days. I finished her sleeve that night, we talked about a lot of things...Including you. You smell like a bonfire in the summertime, she said during that talk." Amongst other things. "Anyway, I hope you feel like this piece does her justice....and as far as going through her stuff? ...Only when you're ready to go through it yourself. I'll help."

Brand smirks, and a bit of laugh escapes his lips. Normally such expressions come so easily to him that they aren’t even worth noting, but lately that’s not been the case. Everything’s been serious. Too serious. Khitti and her obsession with baking, though… that is worth a smile. “She -would- say something like that. And bring a homemade cake all the way to Larket. What the frak.” | Brand holds the mirror up for quite some time, taking in all the details. “It’s excellent work. I knew it would be, comin’ from you.” A rare Brand compliment. Pin it up on the wall with the artwork -- it’s that uncommon. “How much do I owe?” He’s up from the chair and digging through his pockets for payment.

Brand was no client to Meri, for clients don't usually hear these words from Meri. "I can't take your gold for this. This one is on the house. I was honored to do it...And I am glad that you like it." As someone who could call herself a business owner, rather than just some tattoo artist paying booth space in a parlor out in Rynvale, she could now easily afford saying those words to her friends without having to worry about keeping a roof over her head or hay in her horse’s belly. "But we're going to need to go over a bit of care..." Meri forgoes cleaning up the mess for now, abandoning mirror and Brand so that she can find...a bottle of lotion. Said bottle is put right into Brand's hand, with instruction to put the lotion on its skin. I mean. Wait. "Twice a day, morning and night. Don't forget or else the tattoo is going to flake like crazy. It's going to itch, don't itch. No itching. Avoid prolonged contact with water and prolonged exposure to the sun. Scars sometimes have a hard time taking the ink, so if you notice any fading of the color? Just come back, we'll touch it up. It's not unusual to have to color over them a second time to really get the ink to keep. It will take two weeks for it to heal up...Pretty basic stuff, really." And beat, "And yeah, she would bring a cake all the way out here." It was a good cake. Meri is going to miss those baked treats.

Brand is loath to leave Meri without compensation, though the rifling through his pockets does still at her insistence. If not gold, then he can find some other way to pay her. Maybe he’ll try his hand at making cookies or cakes for the memorial. Surely -someone- else on the ship knew something about baking sweets, right? …right? “No itching,” he repeats, redressing, “Lotion twice a day for two weeks, no shirtless bodysurfing ‘til it heals.” That about covers it, right? He makes for the front of the shop, pausing once again in the doorway. He knows what to say, but the words seem lacking. “Thank you.” Anything else? Anything…? No, perhaps he’s been vulnerable enough for one day. He tarries but a moment longer before departing with a fluid sort of salute to the artist and her shopkeep.

Meri smiles toward Brand in light of his thank you, which was as close as a 'you’re welcome' that he would get from the woman. It was one of those things that need not be spoken, just like she would have inferred that thank you regardless of if it was said or not. She got it. Brand salutes and departs, while Meri obviously must linger around to clean up and then close up shop. It's mundane but welcomed at the moment, she's got a lot of thoughts kicking around that skull of hers and the clean up is a welcome distraction.