RP:Paint With All The Colors Of The Sea

Summary: Meri surprises Khitti by showing up unexpectedly and setting up the baby's room to be painted! When Khitti arrives, the two set to work on a mural that spans the entire room.

The Tranquility, Cenril Wharf

Last Meri and Khitti saw one another, the parting was....not good? Yet also not bad. There were no negative feelings toward one another, yet their closing topic of conversation was a somber one. So Meri decides to pay Khitti a surprise visit. It is always a risky maneuver showing up unannounced, it could be a bad time and the visit may not be welcomed. That's is partially the case today, it is not that the visit is not welcome it is that Khitti is not even on the Tranquility - she is out and about, possibly taking care of things at the bakery (?). Does that stop Meri from making herself at home? No. Presumably there are at least a couple of people on Brand's crew that are familiar enough with Meri that she'd be able to gain passage onto the ship regardless. She has not yet had the chance to learn where the kiddo's room is going to be, so it will be with the help of the crew that she removes all manner of painting supplies from Kadence and has it hauled down to the baby's room. If Khitti returns to the Tranquility shortly after Meri's arrival, the blonde would be thrilled to see her. If not? That was okay too, it would give Meri a bit of time to actually get things set up for the two women. They had talked murals, and maybe painting a crib, so if there was any other furniture that needed protecting then Meri would be working to cover them. Protecting the floor was probably important too, Brand probably did not want little smatterings of paint on the ship's decking.

It wouldn’t be right away that Khitti would return to the ship. She rather liked her walks to and from the bakery even now when she looked like she was going to pop and usually opted not to take the Tikifhlee unless she was going out of town or was just not feeling up to doing much physically that day. Today was no different, and Khitti would make her way along the beach, waddled up the dock and the ship’s gangplank, and headed into the ship. The baby’s room was located down the same passageway that Khitti and Brand’s actual bedroom laid in (seeing as how Khitti wouldn’t have to worry about that ginormous belly of hers after the delivery). Khitti hadn’t been intending to head down there, as it was down one of those pesky ladders, but one of the crewmembers directed her attention towards that level of the ship, and she headed off that way instead. The redhead climbed down the ladder with her back to the rungs, as the same crewmember diligently watched her descent just in case. She surprisingly made it without accident, and found the room. “Hello?” She’d knock on the door; it might be her home, but she still wasn’t going to barge in on anyone.

Meri was counting on the crew to point Khitti in her direction when she arrived. I mean Meri would have made it work, but the most ideal situation was that Khitti get a hint or two from the crew. It was sorely tempting for Meri to disguise her voice, maybe sound a little manly, but that notion is quickly dismissed. It is probably not a good idea to prank a preggo like that, especially when she has had so many troubles no thanks to Facilier. “Hey girl,” is the hello that Khitti will hear from inside the room, the voice that is speaking definitely belongs to a wild Meri and it sounds like it is moving closer to the door as those words are spoken. The door is opened, confirming what Khitti probably already knew. There is Meri. And now Khitti has a full view of what the blonde has been up to. No painting has been started yet, only the prep work. “I thought I would stop in and pay you a surprise visit. I hope you don’t mind.” Meri did not sound like she really believed that Khitti would mind, it was just one of those things that unexpected visitors say to the people they are surprising.

“What? Of course I do. Get off my ship.” There’s a super serious face for a moment, and then a smirk. She doesn’t have any say on what happens on the Tranquility, even if she is going to marry its captain and is carrying. Khitti’s seen just how attached to it Brand is and she’d not want to get in between him and his floating, wooden love. Khitti eventually stepped into the room and looked around, crimson brows knitted together in surprise, “Aw, Meri. You didn’t have to do all this.” She looked grateful though and gave her surrogate sister a hug. “Thank you, though. The closer the clock winds down to baby-time, the more worn out I feel, so this is definitely appreciated. It’s getting hard lugging this kid around.” Khitti prodded at her stomach lightly, “It’s going to be as tall as Brand--I can -feel- it.” She grumbled at the unborn child, shrugged it off, then looked to Meri again, “So. Where do we start?”

Meri didn't even flinch when Khitti demands that she get off the ship, the remark is met with a smirk before Khitti smirks toward Meri. Not buying it. "So you're more than welcome to sit and put me to work, that is what I am here for." Of course any time Khitti wanted to put in her own artistic hand, she was welcome to do that too. Comment was only made because Khitti had mentioned she was becoming worn out. "Tall as Brand you think? Maybe you are having a little boy though." Meri did not know for certain though, but trying to guess was natural. "Of course I don't have to." Which means that she wanted to, obviously. Meri does not prod at Khitti's stomach, but she does place her hand upon the belly for a moment before moving away entirely. "As for where to start...You guys had not entirely settled on what you wanted? So I guess...A bit of instruction from you as to what you are looking for. You had said we could paint a crib that Brand built?" The crib was one of the few pieces of furniture that was not covered, but it does rest center on a tarp. "We had also talked about a mural perhaps?" The contents of which Meri still needed confirmation of, "But in the grand scheme, if we are doing a mural...It is going to be some sort of primer color for the walls. And then we will go from there..."

Khitti made that face she makes when she’s thinking--the one where her face gets all scrunched up, with squinted eyes and pursed lips--as she looked around the room. “Hmm. One that wraps around the entire room. I think it should be sort of like the window in library here on the ship--the one with the window that shows half of the surface world and half under the sea? Except, more of the under the sea part. There’s that fairy tale that I love, the one with the redheaded mermaid?” There’s another smirk, and an eyebrow raised as she side-eyed Meri, because Khitti knew full well how Meri felt about mermaids. She’s sorry, Meri! Even though they’re murderous creatures, those fairy tales sure did romanticize them in just the right way for Khitti. “But, I think it should have just a ship captain, instead of one that’s also a prince. Maybe… a blonde one.” Cue awkward, innocent cough. Hopefully, Meri was picking up what she was putting down.

Standing directly in front of the door, and facing the middle wall, Khitti squinted again and looked around. “That wall--” she pointed in front of her, “--could have the mermaid and the captain. Maybe they’re not together? But they’re looking on towards each other from their own worlds. And that side--” Khitti gestured to the right, “--could be the city that the captain is from. And that one--” there was another gesture to the left wall, “--could be the mermaid’s world. There could be an underwater city and the mermaid’s grotto.” The redhead paused a moment, pondering on things. “Or, if we wanted -more- room for the underwater area, we could shift it all to the right and have less surface world.” She looked to Meri again, for her input. “-And-! I think the furniture could be painted in dark blues with seagreen… maybe…”

Meri knew about that fairy tale that Khitti loved, and she definitely picked up on the hint that Khitti the prince should be a blonde Captain. Meri looks to each wall as Khitti talks about it, trying to imagine each picture in her mind. This was something that came more naturally to her in the past, but she had time to get there and she was not the only artist in the room. With the description of things that they were going to paint, it would be impressive if they made it through all four walls in one painting session. But they could progress things, step by step, and the first step was honestly the most basic step. "So like I said, the first step is going to be to get the walls covered in a base paint. A primer. And from what it sounds like, a light blue would be a good base coat to use for this purpose. Under the sea." So Meri goes to a large can of a very pale blue and grabs a tool to pry the top off. The blue paint is going to be dumped into a small tray so that Meri can start to roll away. "I think that this is going to be adorable. But admittedly I don't know too much about that city that this captain is from. I suppose if we are going to go there, then there should be some amount of accuracy? It does not serve to have buildings with red roofs and matching shutters if they went with a brown...or a green." This is only a small obstacle, Khitti probably has some vision for the city portion of the mural.

Khitti nodded at Meri, “Right. Primer.” She somewhat recalled this from their painting session in the bakery. She went to grab a roller brush for herself, but as Meri mentioned the city that nameless blonde captain is from, Khitti’s brain had another spark of inspiration. “Oh! Be right back!” She hurried off out of the room as quickly as a nine month pregnant woman possibly could and soon returned with a picture frame. “Here. I, uh… think this city will do.” It was Cenril, during what some considered ‘the golden hour’. It was the period of day, just after sunrise or just before sunset, where the sunlight was redder and softer than when the sun was higher in the sky. It brought out the oranges and reds of the brick used in some of the buildings, and the same hues of the freshly lit candles in the streetlamps. “We could probably make some changes, so it’s not exact. But, it could be used as a guideline?” She was still unsure of this mural-making business. Meri’d been doing the art thing much longer than she had. It was too bad that Khitti was not yet aware of Meri’s doubts towards her own art. If Meri hadn’t taken the framed landscape, then Khitti would set it aside, and grab up that roller brush she’d claimed minutes ago and start helping with the primer.

Khitti was likely not gone long, but that would not stop Meri from pressing roller to wall and formally starting their work. Pause was given when Khitti reappears with the framed pictures, taking a second to study the details but not taking the frame away from Khitti. It was not needed as reference just yet, so Khitti is left to set it aside once the two are done inspecting it. "Sure, we could do that. I think using that picture as a reference would be fitting." There was Brand's home then, years ago, and where is home is now. Meri's mind had initially gone to Catal, but this suggestion seemed to have a far more romantic feel to it. "I haven't really done any painting in...I don't know how long. Maybe since we were out at the bakery painting together? I might be a little rusty." Which is probably of no concern at this exact moment, they are so far only painting one flat color. "But I think once we are all done with this...It is going to be great. The kiddo is going to love it." For a few years, hopefully, until that fateful day when Khitti and Brand are not paying attention and their mini ends up finding their way into their own crayons, paint, or chalk. We know what happens that day, creativity will strike, improvements will be made...Khitti and Brand will probably not be as pleased with this as their child.

The funny thing about Brand, was that Catal wasn’t ever truly a home to him. He barely knew the meaning of the words ‘home’ and ‘family’ until Khitti came along. she knew that Cenril was well and truly his home now, even if he didn’t directly live on land. Khitti tilted her head, giving Meri a sidelong glance as the blonde mentioned not having done any art since before the bakery opened. “How come? Hasn’t anyone come to you for lessons? You’re the best artist in Lithrydel--” Khitti was probably pretty biased about this, but it was definitely something she firmly believed in, “--so how could they not?” She paused, chewing the thought over a moment and trying to not look sad about it as she continued to add the paint to the wall.

Meri shrugs. "People are not super thrilled with Larket as of late, art lessons do not seem to be a pressing reason to come out. Lanara wanted a tattoo and she made the trip for that, but Estelle handles the people that do come in these days." These sentiments fell in line with the ones that Meri expressed last time, about how she was not sure how much longer she would keep the shop's doors open for. "She is equally capable and was a big help while I was gone. Cal did the books,"...and may still be doing them for a bit yet with Meri's detachment from her own business. "And she did the art stuff." The paint on Meri's roller starts to run thin so the artists takes the two steps needed to get a refresh, and then back to work she would go. Between Meri and Khitti, the walls would be covered in a primer in no time flat. Their rollers covered much more ground than a brush, which Meri would not use until she needed to cut into the corners. No spot will be missed, the entire wall would end up with a coat of paint in it in no time flat. But then they would have to break to let it dry enough to paint upon. "I've looked at places around Cenril like you suggested, but I don't think I am going to commit to a business out here until things with Kahran find their end..." If it ever does.

“Oh…” is all Meri’d get on the art studio front. Khitti felt stupid for asking now and it showed a little. Things felt a little off to Khitti, but she wasn’t going to press Meri anymore about it. Meri seemed like she’d made up her mind on things, so what was the point? Khitti attempted to press on, as the two finished with the blue paint. “Lanara… that name sounds familiar. I think I saw her advertisement for dance lessons somewhere? I was thinking about taking some, after the baby was born. Ballet, specifically. It’d help with my balance and get me back into shape… hopefully.” Khitti’s uncertainty persisted; the fact that Meri didn’t want much to do with her studio, or art in general besides helping with the baby’s room, bothered the redhead a bit.

Meri frowns, she could tell that Khitti felt a little silly for asking but Meri could not place a finger on what it was that she had said to make Khitti feel this way. It was concerning to Meri, perhaps she had projected some sort of tone? They finished up with the blue paint and Meri began the process of cleaning up, as best as she could without having to leave the room to find an immediate water source for rinsing trays and rollers. The extra blue paint is dumped carefully back into its original container which is sealed shut. "Hm. I guess I would not be surprised if Lanara was offering lessons, she and I didn't really chat about what she did for work." The rollers they were using are put aside in a junk bag Meri brought along, one that she does not care if the inside becomes stained with paint. As was about to happen. Neither of the women would need the rollers from here on out. "But she seemed like an energetic woman so if you do end up taking lessons from her, I am sure she will whip you right back into shape." With the walls of the room still too wet to move on to the next stage, Meri peers at each wall, as if contemplating which one they should start with.

Khitti shrugged a little, “We’ll see. I don’t think I’ll be going to the Bard’s Guild’s headquarters anytime soon though, unfortunately… considering the fact that Kahran took it over. If she’s still even alive after all that--if she was there when it happened, I mean--maybe I’ll send her a letter and see if she wants to do the lessons at the theater or something. I probably shouldn’t stray too far from the ship after the baby’s born anyway.” Meri’s frown hadn’t gone unnoticed, and when the blonde stopped to eye the walls, Khitti eyed her instead. “I know I already asked, but… you -are- okay, right? You know you can tell me if something’s wrong. It just… doesn’t seem like you to not have much of an interest in art anymore.” There had been talk before Khitti died of her getting more tattoos, and all of them done by Meri. Now she wasn’t so sure if she should even bring it up again.

Meri nods to Khitti's first point, it was probably not a wise idea to try and pay the bard's guild a visit if it has been taken over by Kahran. The blonde still felt largely out of touch many details, but Kahran's presence was still obvious to her. "I can't speak for Lanara, but the first time I met her was out here in Cenril, so I am sure she would not mind coming this way. But I am confident she is alive and well...for now." With that grim note, Meri frowns and moves on to address Khitti's question. "Composers and writers both sometimes suffer from writer's block. Artists really are no different...So you're not wrong. My interest has waned considerably since I have been home. I just don't feel it quite like I did." Meri wrinkles her nose, she has always struggled putting her feelings to words and they are dealing with one those more difficult concepts. "I mean obviously the skill is still there, it's just not the same for me...." Meri has given up her work by now, trying to study Khitti. She did not want upset her friend with this expression, but it already seems like Khitti was getting bothered by all of this. Which was not at all Meri's intention -- she came here to do something nice. "But this is not really something you should be worrying about...I mean, we're painting your baby's room. I wanted to do this as a nice surprise and a happy moment..." Khitti has not exactly gotten your glowing, relaxing, pregnancy that a lot of women seem to get.

Khitti nodded, with regards to Lanara. If Meri was sure that the witch was capable enough to survive that onslaught, if she’d been in Schezerade at the time, then Khitti was also sure--she -had- heard that Lanara was in that Frostmaw tournament, after all. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’ll probably just take some time. Sometimes I have that with baking, especially after making the same thing all the time. I’ll end up adding something extra to a recipe, just to change things up a little.” There was another shrug before she let the matter drop. “I know, but… I can’t help but worry about you anyway. I’m not as bad as I used to be, but it’s still there, because you spent an entire month or so in that place.” She shook her head and stepped closer to the woman she considered her sister, and gave her a hug--as best as one can with that large of a belly. “It’s definitely still a happy moment, I promise. And a nice change of pace from going up to Frostmaw to do Lionel’s paperwork.” Khitti eventually released Meri from her hold, and eyed the walls like the blonde had, “Where should we start? Should we each take a wall and meet in the middle? Or should we start on one together and go from there?”

The hug that Khitti gives definitely is returned, as best as Meri can given that there is a belly in the way. “I know.” Khitti was not wrong to worry, it came with the territory of caring. Clearly both women cared about one another, or else they would not consider the other sister, and they would not be having this conversation right now. It may not seem like it now, but in time Meri would work past it. That does not mean she will ever do tattoos for -everyone- again, but certainly she would be willing to continue to do them for Khitti. How could she not? But for now Meri and Khitti has a room to paint. Where to start from here? “I think it would better infuse our two styles if we worked on each walk together.” Of course Meri could try and mimic Khitti’s style but it would never be exact. “And I think that perhaps we should start with the city? That way we can get our reference.” That framed picture. “Back to a safer spot on the ship.” Where it will not be at risk to have paint droplet splatter upon it. With that being said, Meri would pull away from Khitti so that she could arm them both with both paint and brush. From there her focus would be on the wall that Khitti wants this on. Khitti is left to grab the picture that they need as reference.

Khitti attempted to push those worries from her mind. Or, at least, push them far away enough that it wouldn’t dampen the mood anymore right now than it had. She’d talk to Brand about it later. He was always good at giving insight with people. Sometimes he wasn’t though and just assumed Khitti was seeing things where she wasn’t. It was that whole Cassandra Complex thing that always happened to her. You know, she has a bad feeling and no one believes her. It happens a lot. This would probably be one of those times. “Hm. You’re right. That’d definitely be a good place to start.” As Meri got the brushes and the paint, Khitti grabbed the picture again and eyed it carefully. “We probably won’t need the whole town. Just sort of cut half of it off? That way there’s room for the shoreline… and maybe that captain’s ship… before we get to the ocean on this wall. At least that part won’t be as time-consuming.”

Khitti was not wrong to think something was wrong. The psion knew that she was not feeling quite right. But how did she put it to words? How did she even begin to express those feelings? Khitti was concerned for Meri, and she was right to be. Meri was concerned for Khitti, also right to be. It was a bit of a dance made worse by Meri not even beginning to know what to say. Khitti does not press much further and admittedly Meri was relieved. It was not that she was trying to hide anything from the woman she considered to be her sister, but Meri herself was still trying to figure it all out. It was nice to set her sights on the painting, despite the artistic funk she has been in. At least Meri has a reference to work with, rather than having to drum up all of the ideas herself (well usually, some, Khitti came prepared with her own concept). Brush in hand, Meri starts off with the black paint and begins to draw a rough outline of the city landscape, half the view just like Khitti presented. The lines were kept thin, in case they wanted to make changes to the rough layout painted on. Meri honestly spends about two minutes on this generalized concept, more details will be filled in as they go. “So have you two talked about a lot of the meaty details yet? Like were you two planning on raising the kiddo on the ship forever?” Not that Meri is judging, she was merely curious. “Or are you guys going to be in the market for a house on the mainland too? Or...?” Granted with Kahran trying to destroy everything, house shopping was not top priority for many people. But still, she was curious, maybe Khitti and Brand have had discussions? A sista wants to know!

Half of the evening scene of Cenril would slowly start to come into view as the two went to work, copying off of that original picture Khitti had made when she still had amnesia. “We did… once. But, we’re still not sure. Brand’s so keen on staying on the ship because of his work. If we did get a house and I just stayed on land, we’d probably hardly see each other. I mean, between the bakery and his captaining, sometimes we don’t even get to see each other for dinner and one of us will already be in bed by time everything is said and done. And… he’s right about that. While it’s a nice fantasy to think about, being the captain’s wife and waiting for him to come home, like in all of those romance books… I don’t think I can be without him for that long. I think it’d be the same for him too, even if he wouldn’t say it outloud. Even when I was here, with that amnesia, I wasn’t fully -here- and even that hurt him.” The sour note didn’t last long, as Khitti continued to paint and speak, “On the flip side, however, I’m concerned about the obvious lack of grass and trees the kid would be without. Brand assures me that they’d have enough room to run around on the top deck, but it’s not really that. It’s not something Brand understands though, because he didn’t get that childhood that most people have. So, I think we’ll play it by ear. We’ll test the waters and see how things go.”

Meri listens intently, but does not stand idle. The woman is facing the wall and painting away, glancing toward Khitti now and then while she is talking. The cityscape continues to unfold, their work progresses, more details are filled in from windows, lights, shadows and stars. The blonde woman does not immediately speak up after Khitti is done, she is mulling over the two scenarios. Khitti did have some valid points and concerns for both situations, which made the matter more complicated. Plus Meri did not have a traditional childhood herself, so she was not entirely certain the benefits of playing in the growing up with trees and grass either. “Play it by ear does not sound like a bad idea. I think what is ultimately the most important is that you guys end up having time as a unit.” Brand off to sea and Khitti on land may not allow for nearly as much of that. Plus they would miss each other. “I suppose you guys have a year or two before they start running around. So there is a bit of time to think about it yet.”

Khitti nodded in agreement, but ultimately let the conversation fade from there. There wasn’t much more for her to say on the subject, and it was just another worry--in a long line of many--that she was trying not to think about. It wasn’t a -big- worry, but it was there nevertheless. They’d continue on finishing that wall’s work, likely with other topics to speak of. The shoreline would come to a halt not far from the corner where the two walls met, and a dock for the ship that was totally not the Tranquility painted to stretch from the shoreline’s edge over onto the next wall. In the mid-ground behind the dock, that glorious wooden vessel would be given its home, allowed to float as it awaited the return of its captain. And the captain? Well, he was placed at the edge of the dock on the next wall, made to stand there to gaze off across the sea where his mermaid sat in the water. Khitti took especial care to make that blonde hair look like fire in the sunset, with just a few hints of grey here and there. She’d stop to consider something once the captain’s portion of the mural was finished, looking back at the streetlamps that littered the painted city, “Maybe when we’re all finished, we could go back over the different light sources with metallic colors? Things that match obviously. Warmer tones for the surface and likely colder ones for under the sea. I think it’d look really neat if the light hit it just right.”

Khitti would be left to paint the details of the Captain on her own while Meri took on the mermaid, she had a pretty good model sitting in front of her to borrow details from. A choice made intentionally considering who the Captain was meant to represent. Once she is satisfied with the mermaid, Meri takes a step back to survey the work that she and Khitti have both done so far. They have accomplished a lot but there was still plenty of work to be done. The subject of what Khitti and Brand will be doing is laid to rest for now, it seemed like more time was needed. The conversation stops for a brief time, Meri approaching various parts of the wall to flesh out a detail or add a little bit more color. She does not press on to the mermaid’s home or any of the under the sea stuff yet. “Well. I am not confident that I brought any of the metallics with me. We would have to check. Unless you have some? They can always be added next visit though. I can bring them then. Along with a few more colors for fish and corals and anemones?” Not that Meri did not bring a healthy assortment, but now that she had a better idea of what they were doing she could bring more. “What do you think? Should we tackle one more wall or start closing it up and save the rest for another visit?”

Khitti let out a ‘hm’ after their work was done. “Let’s take a break from it for now and come back to it. Maybe tomorrow? Or sometime this week? I could always go shopping for the metallics later on, just to make sure we’ve got the right shades. Even if we do, it’s not like it’s going to hurt to have extra. Let’s go get something to eat before you leave. And we can leave all of this here too! It should be fine on its own. No one’s gonna mess with it.” She nodded, then would lead the way to the galley when the paint had been covered up and other things taken care of, “Come on, you. There’s cake in the ice box,” with the intent of coming back with the blonde whenever Meri had time to finish the mural.