RP:Tattoos - You Show Me Yours And I'll Show You Mine

Summary: Meri finds Thamalys in one of his blackest moods. And yet, she manages to steer an otherwise rather brisk conversation toward distant memories, present struggles, and future inking. Nonetheless, the two of depart on fidgety - if amicable - terms...

Cenril: Roaring of Waves

Thamalys was perched on a rock a few steps away only from the cacophony of the waves, rolling, tumbling and smashing as if they truly wanted to grab the willowy shapes of the Blue and bring him down and deep into the foamy waters. He - the impossibly tall Avian, that is - wore a rather battered pair of leathery pants, broken and torn in multiple places. Brushing upon them, the extremity of a loose, white shirt, barely covering the tattooed chest of the Spellblade. The elaborate embroidery running across the fabric, sadly enough, was altogether hidden by the swaying cascade of dreadlocks raining down his head, partly across his shoulders, where the Gossamer Halberd seemed to be rooted right in the middle of those huge, silver-clade wings, and some more across his bony face, eyes nailed into the distance, as if looking for a ship long time ago forgotten at sea. Legs crossed, arms likewise, no one but the Wind could have witnessed the long sigh finding freedom from the grey lips of the Blue, a sound made of sorrow and pain. Yet another wave crashing near by, the noise thundering through his ears into his skull.

Meri 's presence in Cenril was not such a strange sighting, often having to travel through the city to get to her preferred stomping grounds if Rynvale or Gualon. En route back to Rynvale, Meri decides to take a detour prior to boarding any ships, traveling up the beach at a slow gait to enjoy the sights and the sounds. She is not really anticipating bumping into anyone she knows during this little expedition but the beach was a relaxing place and finding people here was not out of the norm. It comes as no surprise when blue eyes come to rest on Thamalys' form. Though Meri is only vaguely familiar with the avian, their mutual connections are enough to cause the woman to approach and come to a halt next to Thamalys. He easily towered over her, as Meri only stood five foot nine inches. His ripped pants are not judged, Meri's own pants were worn in, boots have seen better days, and the only fashionable article of clothing was her burgandy bodice. "Hey. How's it going? Seems like you are chewing on some deep thoughts there.”

Thamalys heard something carving his way through the mighty noise of the roaring waters. A voice, no less. He stayed still for some moments, though, as if trying to decide whether it was best to just ignore it - in the end, manners had the best of him. He exhaled loud enough, not really turning his head, but instead letting the whole of himself sliding down the rock, some more bits of leather finding their end on the sharp spikes of the rough cliff. One single, liquid move, and the Blue would have found himself right in front of the Tattooed One, a monumental tree staring down at a tiny - of rather elegant - shrub. “Meri…” he simply acknowledged, head dipping toward the right into the tiniest of bows. "Well..." he continued at once nodding slowly, his gaze fixed on her, nonexistent eyelids making his stare possibly more than uncomfortable. "The whole business with those Giants-that-never-were has been archived - it would seem. Tell me… do you believe me utterly insane?” Not the faintest trace of irony dripped from what was not even an inquiry, but a loud cry indeed - that much he needed to overcome the clashing of the waves nearby. Unfazed, the Spellblade crossed him arms soon after, leaning much of his weight onto the rock, the awful sound of mithril scratching against the stone mingling oddly with the lamenting voice of the sea.

Meri has managed to encounter a number of beings ranging from giants to nagas to dragons and yet Thamalys' unblinking stare was still found to be rather unsettling, yes indeed. Not really because she felt like Thamalys wound bring her any amount of harm. The discomfort Meri was feeling was more a feeling of insecurity. Was her lipstick all smudged up? A booger hanging from her nose? That sort of thing. She is definitely used to a break in any stares leveled upon her, even if it just a person blinking. Her discomfort is made apparent through subtle gestures, like the way Meri shifts her weight from one leg to the other, or the way her tattooed hand is lifted to rub the inked side of her neck. Just little nervous, fidgety gestures. "You know? Emi and I were talking about that yesterday. She seems so quick to be willing to believe that she is insane? I am not so willing to accept that. What I said to her was that...I am no crazy doctor, but I do not think that those who are mentally ill usuallt share delusions or hallucinations? I would be more willing to place a bet on you two having been influenced in some fashion before I would be willing to bet that two people went crazy at the same time and shared a joint hallucination."

Thamalys completely disregarded each an every symptoms of whatever manner of anxiety was plaguing the Fair Headed. Instead, he pondered at length her words, letting them sink into his mind much as a beaten ship would find peace at the very bottom of the pitch-black ocean. “Yes, I daresay that makes sense…” he muttered in a low tone, meanwhile taking some steps away from the rock toward the inners of the shore, a wide gesture following to invite the Human to do the same: too annoying it was to stand there and try to talk - well, shout, in fact… - above the mighty music of the waves. Reached or not a more quiet spot, the bare feet of the Spellblade engulfed into the countless pebbles. “I… do not necessarily trust my own mind an awful lot…” he admitted the Avian, eventually lowering his gaze to apparently inspecting the very ground. || Ah, but you should! You have - me - after all, have you not, o’ Silly? || echoed the Ageless Black, once more keen enough about his own self-esteem to proffer a silent, if rather unwelcome, solid remark. “But that of the Icy One, I trust beyond measure. Ah…” he scoffed, his right hand high above his face in a gesture of sudden irritation. “I suppose I do not have the right to bother you with this particular concern of mine. Instead…” and here his tone sort of focused, much as his eyes, now narrower, pale streaks of gold building beyond the polished blue surface. “Who inked you - if you don’t mind me asking? That is skilful craft… and I might have some planes to get down some more ivy on me soon enough…” he concluded, casually waving his hand across the endless patterns of roots, leaves and branches covering the overwhelming majority of his pale skin, blue lines on pure marble.

Meri did not deny Thamalys, her feet would follow after him so they were not competing with the roar of the ocean during their conversation. The concern that Thamalys should not be bothering Meri with this talk is dismissed with a lazy roll of her shoulders. "We share a mutual friend who is suffering from the same troubles. I do not mind hearing you out at all. Not like you are some stranger weeping to me about how someone I have never met has broken your heart." In that instance, Meri may not be so sympathetic to hear the troubles of another. Tattoos are worn proudly, making no effort to cover any of the artwork up now that the winter months were melting into warmer seasons. "Ah, a lot of artists over my few years of life have helped with these. Many of them are not in these lands." She flips her arm over so that Thamalys can see the freshest if the new ink, a sparrow carrying a banner that reads 'Daine' flying over a field of wildflowers. "Lita did this piece for me. I do work for other people though, if you were interested in a tattoo. Have you seen the raven on Emi's hip?"

Thamalys showed an hint of gratitude via a stiff - if genuine - nod he would have offered right after the words of the Fair Headed. Maybe, not all Humans were beyond any hope of wisdom? He scowled at the mere thought, trying instead of considering the matter at hand. “A sparrow, is it not? Majestic birds indeed…” he commented, without any sort of notice seizing - if allowed - the woman’s wrist and soon after twisting it slightly to get a better angle of the masterpiece. His hand was more than warm, as if a whole stream of fire would have been running below the thin curtains of his tattooed skin - which in fact, was exactly the case. “Daine? What’s a Daine? Would that be a person?” he asked, a split second before licking his lips and commenting some more. “Yes, I saw that particular raven…” he stated flatly, possibly letting go of the Human. Not a single note of malice could have been noted from either his words or his tone.

Meri's gaze narrows a fraction when Thamalys grabs hold of her wrist without warning but that looks tempers itself when she comes to the realization that Thamalys is just looking. If he does not let go, Meri would be yanking her arm free as an instinct reaction for if his touch runs hot as fire then Meri would not be tolerating it for long. "It is a sparrow, you are correct." Normally Meri would be more than happy to leave the explanations of that particular tattoo at that but Thamalys inquires about the name. "Daine. He is a person, yes. Was a person. Lost at sea." Based on somber tone and the fact that Meri even thought to dedicate a tattoo to this Daine, they must have been very close. Right hand is raised so that she can rub her left wrist gingerly, a bit of a thoughtful frown weighing at her lips. "It almost seems like you are kind of interested in getting a tattoo?" Meri wasn't certain, tattooing an avain would be far form a first for the artist but Thamalys could just be curious about her own ink. "But you seem to run rather on the hot side..." Meri pauses here briefly for it crosses her mind that she perhaps should have worded that differently -- there had to be a more eloquent way to make that point. On the bright side, Thamalys seemed to rigid to really take that in anything but a literal since, Meri figured. "So unless you can manage it like Emilia can?" With her ice, respectively. "I'm not so sure that I personally would be able to tattoo you...." Other implications of this statement being: that kind of hurt, please maybe don't go grabbing me again.

Thamalys let go of her wrist the moment she brought into the mix her loss at sea. “Oh, I see… how rude of me - apologies. It is a beautiful name indeed, and that ink is amazingly well detailed.” Whether or not he noticed - and/or he cared even a little - about her wrist, no one could have told, eyes still stubbornly transfixed upon the art covering the Fair Headed. Staring can be an art, one in which the Avian excelled indeed, much to the exasperation of most of his prays. “I constantly renew my own ink…” he continued instead, this time running his eyes up and down the spiralling ivy-shaped patterns covering his arms. “Much of it is enchanted, so that there would be very little point for anyone to care about it… in fact, I can deal fairly well with it myself…” he noted, outstretching his right elbow so that the full, ominous length of the arm would have been positioned right at the side of the Human, mid air for her to be look at. Shortly after that elegant gesture, he would have raised his head toward the gloomy sky, muttering what seemed to be a spell in a language long ago forgotten. The ink on his arm seemed to happily follow that cadence, twitching gladly till, from the already quite crowded branch twisting along his own forearm, a newly born ivy leaf would have started to blossom, thin lines of ink first, thick strokes soon after coming together in building another piece of that ever-changing painting. “There…” he eventually acknowledged the Avian, a long sigh letting go shamelessly, more than a hint of proper pain on that bony face. “It is not particularly pleasant, but serves it main purpose…” on he went, scorching droplets of liquid blue fire dripping relentlessly from the brand-new leaf, transforming in tiny, flaming spheres that sort of remained mid air - till a flick of his hand dissolved them into utter nothing, leaving a rather queerly pleasant scent of vanilla in the ether. “Nonetheless…” he added, notwithstanding any particular reaction the Fair Headed would have produced. “Some of my ink is just plain ink… partly because I use it as guidelines, but in truth, mostly because I can’t resist the temptation of having some proper art on me. His hand was scratching his left shoulder, where possibly something was lurking on his skin, covered by the ample shirt - no way to tell. “You are not sure…” he frowned, head tipping slightly, only to widen his eyes a split second after. “Ah, you mean because of what flows within me? That, I can quench at will… why, in fact I should probably have had to before grabbing your arm - please do accept my apologies…” he concluded, the stiffest of bows collecting right in front of her.

Meri wasn't going to dwell on her wrist for much longer, both hands fall limp to her sides as her gaze turns from Thamalys' face to the outstretched arm. Both brows are lifted as Thamalys seems to grow a tattoo in the shape of a ivy leaf, an experience that the Avian confirms is not a pleasant one. It didn't look like it was. Not that the having a needle repeatedly dug into flesh was a particularly pain free experience either. The scent of vanilla is noted and a brow is lifted a touch because of it. Curious. There is the slight urge to reach out and touch but this time Meri manages to remember that perhaps this is not a wise idea. "Interesting. I have never known anyone who can do that. And you said they are also enchanted?" Meri was undeniably curious as to the nature of these enchantments yet, those questions are not voiced yet. "Huh, so you can't shape this into other things? Is what what you mean by proper art? You couldn't...manifest?" Was that a good word for that Thamalys did with this tattoos? The blonde was not certain. "Say a portrait of someone? Or a ship?" Not that Meri believed that these were things that Thamalys would ever select to have tattooed upon himself, but it served the purpose of of the example as Meri tried to understand just what Thamalys was showing her. "Frankly I enjoy going to other artists not just because it is easier than tattooing myself, but because it is interesting to see their vision. Sure, I might have a concept in mind and yes I bet I could try and control the details of the tattoo entirely but I much prefer to see what others can come up with." Tattooed shoulders rise and fall in a half shrug, her mind turning over everything she is witnessing and discussing with Thamalys in silence for several seconds before voicing the conclusion of, "As long as you can control that heat then whenever you get the itch for some real art, please feel free to come by SoulsKin." Red lips twitch up into a briefly lived smirk, "Speaking of itches..." Meri mimics Thamalys' itching motion, pretending to scratch at her own left shoulder. "You good over there?”

Thamalys seemed to evaluate carefully enough his answer, weight shifting plainly from one - bare - foot to another. “Why, I never tried to shape them into anything different… it’s almost like… you see, I don’t think I actually -can- shape them into anything else… well, no, no, certainly not portraits or ships… by the Wind, I would never!” he said almost outraged, hands waving into wide gestures as to add some weight to his words - which were not over yet. “SoulsKin, aye? Noted… if and when I will have collected enough ideas - and, well, gold… - I’ll surely pay a visit.” The last words of the Fair Headed, though, appeared to have pinched some nerve. The Blue let go immediately of his shoulder, shaking the two of them plus wings with a clinking, metallic note largely lost into the music of the sea ever-singing nearby. “I am perfectly fine, thank you…” growled in his lowest pitch, legs flexing into a stance anything but peaceful. “Now, if you would excuse me… I have errands to take care of. Thank you for your words - I am looking forward to witness some more of your exquisite craft in person. Till then… farewell, m’lady…” he briskly saluted, a long stride already taking away from her, directed toward the elegant buildings in the distance. Too swift a motion, maybe, as in the swirling vortex of dreadlocks and feathers, the flowing fabric of his shirt would have flapped almost down his left shoulder, revealing… ah, too difficult to tell… a bird of pray, maybe, also inked in blue, but it seemed that some other detail was added in - for once - a different colour. It was the matter of a split second, where the Tattooed Lady had indeed the chance to try and accompany the fabric down his shoulder a bit more - possibly to reveal the full extent of the tattoo. Such a dire choice too make… would have she risked it in the name of sheer curiosity?

Meri was not so curious to know about that tattoo in particular, at least not in these circumstances. It was clear to the artist that she had managed to cause some level of offense with her questioning, but the intensity of the reaction baffles the artist but her reaction is mostly contained. Perhaps if they had not gone from civil conversation to  Thamalys almost growling at her, maybe Meri might have braved to reach out and pull that shirt askew to get a better look at that ink. The avain's words remained polite but his tone and manner had definitely shifted, so Meri would let him to his errands without pressing further. "Thank you for the conversation as well, Thamalys. You are welcome to come see my work whenever it suits you. Until next time." What else was there really to say? Again the woman is lifting a hand so that it can rub the side of her tattooed neck, watching Thamalys depart down the beach. From there that hand would drop and each into the back pocket of her pants to pull out a tarnished, silver tin that houses her cigarettes. While Thamalys leaves, Meri would loiter and smoke a cigarette in thought before carrying on her own way.