RP:Of Ink and Blood

Kelay Tavern

It was well past sunset when Pilar appeared in the tavern. After an adventure in the woods that was all a blur (mostly becausde it hasn't been RPed yet, lol), she decided a relaxing dinner out was in order. She found her way to Kelay Tavern and sat down with a bowl of stew and some milk. She was saving her coppers for... something. Mostly for the sake of saving. She'd never had much money before Hollow, and while she was more fortunate, she was far from rich. Her eyes went to the tavern board, where she saw that a flyer for a certain tattoo artist had been left. Her thoughts went to her friend's statement that she would look 'badass' with a tattoo. Heh, her, badass.

Meri was the sort who was prone to traveling and venturing about, her return to Kelay tavern would be inevitable and her arrival today was marked in the same mundane manner that many of the patrons came and went. The door opened, Meri stepped inside. Those baby blues sweep about the establishment as booted feet carry her closer to the bar. It's not so much that she is looking for familiar faces on her way to collect a drink as her memory is shot. Who does she expect to see? But she making note of who is present as she was of the mindset that it was good to know your surroundings. Much to her surprise, a familiar face is something that she does find. After ordering and paying for a short glass of whiskey, Meri crosses the room in a beeline for Pilar, stoping at a vacant chair across from the other woman. "Mind if I join you?"

Pilar tore her gaze from the flyer to the tattooist in front of her. Speak of the devil and she will appear. "Of course, Miss Meri, of course. How are you?" Pilar had another spoonful of stew. It wasn't bad, but she'd added a certain special ingredient to it, which made it taste a little weird. But it was the only thing that actually satisfied her hunger. That thing, of course, being blood. She rarely had blood straight from the bottle, and never from the source. She always mixed it in with something she was eating or drinking. It made it easier, psychologically, to get it down. She was still a fledgling, after all.

Meri would likely argue that there is a little bit of a devil in all of us, but here she is, smiling at Pilar with ruby red lips. Using the toe of her boot, the tall and tattooed blonde pulls out a chair so that she can drop down into it, taking full advantage of the permission to join that was given. "Hey. I am doing well enough." There were certain variables out of Meri's control that hindered her from coming up with an answer like 'fabulous' or something along those lines. She was coping with it, her smile remained, "What are you eating over there?" The woman seeks to lean forward enough to get a gander at what was on the menu for dinner tonight. "Stew? Smells delicious. Hey. Sorry about the other day. I suppose that was kind of awkward, no?" Rhetorical because she goes on to say. "Anyway, how are you?"

Pilar would have offered to share, but with the addition of blood, it probably wouldn't have gone over well. "It is delicious. Whoever cooks here knows what they're doing." Over by the bar, Mesthak puffs up his chest slightly, unnoticed by anyone but Nancy, who just rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, thank you. Things have been busy." She took a sip of her milk, mostly as an excuse to work up the courage to broach the subject that had been on her mind. "So... A friend of mine said she thought I would look good with a tattoo... Is your offer still open?"

Agreement. For all intents and purposes, Meri does appear human and the addition of blood would very much not be well received by her, provided they've figured it out. It is safe to say that Meri does not notice that puffing up of Mesthak's chest nor the rolling of Nancy's eyes as her back is to the both of them. Busy. That was a sentiment that Meri could whole-heartedly understand because as she sits right now, another client is presenting herself. "Well sure. Of course it is. I just issued it to you, be lame of me to take it away so quickly." There was something about Pilar's words that Meri found to be slightly alarming. Yes, she made a living off her tattoos and of course she wanted to have a consistent flow of gold coming in, but she also wanted her clients to be happy. "Is this for you? Like a piece that you want to do for you? Not because a friend made a comment about it? Because once you ink these things into flesh, they're pretty dang impossible to remove." Meri won't say there isn't a way, she just doesn't know of this way. "If this is for you, then tell me what you are thinking and where you thinking about getting it."

Pilar shrugged. "That's the thing, I never would have thought about it without her, but she had a good idea. A memorial, for my family. I... I would probably have to think about it some more, but it doesn't sound like a BAD idea... I just have no idea where I'd put it..." She looked down sadly. "There are... many names that would have to be included. It would take up a lot of room..."

The glass of whiskey that Meri has been holding onto is placed onto the table, freeing up her hand so that it can dip into the bag she is prone to carrying with her. A sketchbook is produced along with a piece of charcoal. She probably uses it for sketching but it works just fine for taking notes as well. The tattoo sounded like it had the potential to be personal enough to Pilar, and that was a nice starting point for making sure she was satisfied with it for life. "Okay. How many names are we talking? Do you have any concepts or themes in mind? Depending on what you think you would like to honor your family, we might have to use a larger piece of your body. Like back. Or ribs. Maybe leg? Full sleeve. There are plenty of options. Alternatively, if the names are considerably in length what we could do is list the initials over actually writing out the name." Here is where Meri uses her free hand to pull back some of her blonde hair, enough to reveal the tattoo that is on the side of her neck. The dagger that appears to be stabbing into flesh? The initials down the blade of the dagger? Five sets on initials run down the blade. The possibility that this is Meri's nod to her own family is high.

It took Pilar a second to count the names in her head. "Twenty-fve names," she said at last. "My parents, my five brothers and sisters, and my uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces, nephews..." She fell silent again in contemplation. So many people had died that night. If it wasn't for the mysterious vampire who sired her, it would have been twenty-six. "I think... maybe some flowers? Flowers that mean remembrance, and love. Perhaps a cross, too and wings?" She wasn't an artist by any means, but she trusted in Meri's abilities. "My back would... would probably work," she said.

Twenty-five names. Meri goes wide eyed at this revelation. It would be nice to say that this gesture is born from the fact that Meri is a caring woman who was presently feeling sympathetic to Pilar's story. And while that is not entirely untrue, it is not entirely true either. The heart of the truth was that Meri's mind went straight away into how to incorporate twenty-five names into one single design. It would seem the artist would have her work cut out for her with this piece. There is silence, the gears of her mind turning to work over a concept for Pilar. "That's enough to almost design an entire cemetery piece. So what if we did something like that? Say on a hill or in a field. I know it sounds dark and gloomy, perhaps because most of the artists intentionally design it that way, but we do not have it. It could be a across your back, a graveyard scene with each tombstone reflecting a name. For family members that were perhaps more personal to you, you can even personalize their 'tombstones'...so to speak. Rather than going heavy on the black outlines and shadowing, we can keep the black minimal and select other colors so that it's not a dark piece. Sprinkle the graves with flowers of your choosing and maybe we have the angel wings hovering above or about the scene, as if they were folding around this cemetery -- as if protecting them or watching over them. What do you think?"

Pilar nodded along as Meri explained how she would design the piece. A whole cemetery... It was a nicer idea than just listing them off. "I think it's a wonderful idea," she said. "I definitely would like my parents and my siblings to have more of a presence..." Gods, it felt horrible to give some of her family members priority over others... But let's face it, most people are closer to their immediate relatives. "Maybe my parents' names could be within the wings? Or maybe that wouldn't work... I'm no artist, I don't know. Maybe they could at least share a big fancy tombstone?"

Meri jots down a few of these notes before turning this notebook to Pilar and handing over the charcoal stick that was sure to stain her fingers black, at least until she washed her hands. "Start jotting down their names for me, please..." No judgement is pleased on Pilar wanting to put priority on immediate family members, especially her parents. "So what we could also do is, maybe...We'll nix the overhead wings?" None of this is drawn out or set in stone, it doesn't bother Meri any -- she'd like to see Pilar satisfied. "And perhaps design them a tombstone in the center, large enough for two. As though they were sharing one tombstone? And, yes, we can place the angel wings there, if you would prefer. And then the rest of the gravestones can be in the shape of crosses?" Emphasis on the parents, the rest equals. That seemed like respectful treatment to Meri.

Pilar took the piece of charcoal and started writing. "Maybe... or maybe they can have little crosses on top? Whatever you think will look good. These are my parents," she said, circling two names. "And these are my brothers and sisters." She underlined five more. "I think wings on my parents' gravestone would be good. What about, instead of just grass, they are in a field with lots of forget-me-nots? And they could have orchids and roses and lilies on the graves?" She finished writing all the names and handed the notebook back to Meri.

A few more notes are taken by the tattooed blonde once her notebook is handed back to her -- these include notions the requests for a number of forget-me-nots, lilies and orchids. "Fitting flowers," she comments. "What I will do is draw up a couple of concepts, honestly, and present them to you...and then you will pick which one looks best. Because first and foremost, this is your piece. I am just designing it." She points to the underlined names of the brothers and sisters. "We will place them immediately surrounding your parents. That seems fitting to me, if it does to you." Blue eyes flit toward Pilar as she waits for a response. "Do you have any additional details you'd like to see in the design? If not, then I really think I just need a few days to draw something up. A piece like this, full color and everything. It'll cost you a pretty chunk." But discount, Meri did make that offer. "Depending on your tolerance for pain, we might have to split up the sessions. Discounted and all, I am thinking it'll run about four hundred gold. Paid as you're inked." Meaning, if they do it in sessions, it will not be the full four hundred up front.

Pilar nodded along as Meri spoke. "That all sounds good to me," she said. "Take your time, I will probably not be able to actually get the tattoo for awhile..." At the price, Pilar frowned slightly, but wasn't about to haggle her down. Artists deserved to be paid well for their work. "It will take me a bit to save up that much, especially with everything going on. But that sounds like a fair price." Who knew if she'd even be able to get this done before the battle in Frostmaw. Heck, it was probably a bad idea to have it done beforehand. She'd rather not be sore and unable to move before her big mission. "Now, there is one more question I have, and I feel like it's kind of important... Where do you do your work? Here in Kelay? Larket? Cenril?"

Meri would advise against getting fresh ink right before a major battle, were she aware of this impending mission. Plus. what if Pilar gets knicked in the back after getting this big ol' piece done? Undoubtably, she would have to have the worked touched up. Since it seems the two women have hashed out the details in depth, Meri begins to gather up her belongings. Sketchbook, charcoal piece. They are all tucked neatly away into her satchel for future use. "Oh, well the shop itself is out in Rynvale. So sometimes I am out there, when work is slow I rather like hanging around Gualon. You can send word to either place, I'll get it. And if Rynvale is not a convenient location to get your back all inked up, then I can pack up my gear and we can make an appointment for me to come to you." As all of this is explained, Meri pushes up into a stand but she is not so quick to run away, Pilar obviously might need a few closing comments herself.

Pilar had never been to Rynvale, but as she didn't want to be a bother, she didn't say so. But the fact that Meri was willing to move her stuff was nice to know. It seemed she was very much a people pleaser. Or just desperate to do work. One of the two. Pilar stood up and shook Meri's hand. "Thank you, so much. I'll send word as soon as I'm ready."

Meri herself would cast her vote for option number two, that girl liked her gold, but she also took pride in her work. So in that regard, she liked when he clients were pleased. A tattooed hand is extended to meet that final shake. "Great, I look forward to hearing from you." And by the time Pilar was ready, the design would be ready as well. After one more smile for Pilar, Meri turns and slips out of the tavern, stepping out onto the streets. Meri would only linger outside of the door for but a moment before her path set itself to the east.