[Nicolay]

Nicolay this time was the one placed in the position of the student, catching himself following Lazuli almost intently with his eyes while she explained her intentions and how she wanted her place done...or how to do it right. He looked at the cheefle painting he held, then set that one of the River Cora aside -- just to the side of the counter visible from the stairs -- and went towards the random direction of the wall across the couch so that the people could be entertained by her cute pet while they waited for her to attend to them.

He sneaked out an anchor from Lazuli's pile, let the painting lean against the wall, protected by his feet, then leveled the anchor at the space in-between his eyes.

...he turned to look at Lazuli.

He moved the anchor lower.

Glanced over to the nymph, again.

Adjusted the anchor an inch lower.

“How do you remove these things?” he asked as he installed the anchor in, finally. He had to. What if what he did was wrong? And there was no even space and Lazuli would not like what he did? If it could easily be undone, then there was no problem but if correct installations were a matter of life and death, well...

Nicolay immediately covered his work up with Chiko.

[Lazuli]

After Lazuli finished setting up the portrait of her mother, she moved on to install the beach painting over at another side of the wall. The two paintings weren't really related, but the style was the same, and it also demonstrated her ability to paint different subjects. She spared a glance at Nic. "You don't have to make them too low," she assurred him. "Just as long as they're easy to look at."

"It's also quite difficult to make these perfectly straight," she continued musing. "There is a tool for fixing that, but I don't have one."

After the beach painting was up too, Lazuli stepped back a moment to make sure it was indeed rather straight. She couldn't see any noticeable fallacies in its horizontal alignment, so she smiled and called it a win. Then she walked over to Nicolay. Oooh, he had chosen a lovely spot for Chiko! She imagined that the excitable cheefle would be proud. "The glue behind them are made to come off walls without leaving behind any damage," she explained. "You need to pull hard to rip them off, though."

She watched as Nicolay helped her set up. "Thank you so much," she said gratefully as they neared finishing. She gave the shop a happy glanceover. "Doesn't the room seem much more pleasant now?"

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[Nicolay]

Oh great, now he worried he'd done the anchor too low! Way to go. Nicolay was almost tempted to put Chiko down and rip the hanger off the wall but decided against it because he might damage the finish and well, would waste the hanger. So he decided to trust on his own judgment. It doesn't look so bad anyway, right?!

He followed it up with the River Cora, deciding to put it to the right side of the doorway from the counter because that was the first space he saw that could fit it. He thought to raise the anchor a little higher this time but feared that that would ruin that already-faked symmetry of the paintings (with great thanks to his magnificent skills) and so decided to tack it on by the same height he used with Chiko. What Lazuli said about keeping them straight seemed to have attached itself to him like a curse and he yelped a little when the river sloshed a little to the left and slid down to that direction, his hands quickly grabbing it to the sides to right it. No picnic with the pretty girl if he ever destroyed any of her works.

Nicolay removed his hands tentatively from the frames, showing his palms cautiously the river if that would keep it from diving to the right as he stepped back and straightened up only when he decided he did a relatively good job. He breathed out a small breath as he turned to look at Lazuli's performance and approved of it with a nod. At least someone in this room knew what she was doing...

“Yup, definitely looks better,” Nicolay said as he rested his right forearm on the nymph but pulled back immediately, gesturing an apology for fear that she might not like the gesture. But she was just so...petite! Sometimes, he wondered if any of her friends wanted to just take her home and squeeze the hell out of her because of her size.

Hands on his sides now, he asked, “How much do you charge for these things?”

[Lazuli]

"It looks quite excellent, Nic!" Lazuli praised him happily once she saw that the works had been properly placed.

It was nice; the paintings opened the room very well and gave it a mixture of aura. Since the room itself was fairly small, the landscape paintings in particular would serve almost as windows to more vast dimensions without leaving the comfort of the shop. Space-enhancing was in fact among Lazuli's talents.

The petite nymph didn't flinch or move away when Nic rested his arm on her. She took it as a gesture of friendship and to be truthful, well, she was a huggy type of person. "Thanks! I'm glad you agree."

When Nicolay asked about the money, Lazuli slid over to her counter once more, this time not to get any furniture or tools, but a small stack of standard-sized paper instead. She took them to Nic to show him. The papers contained lines of text and boxes, almost arranged like a survey. There was one particularly large box that gave the customer plenty of space to write details. The only area of color was Colormints's multi-colored logo on the upper corner. "This is the order form for commissions," Lazuli explained lightly. "I charge depending on how long the piece will take and what supplies I'll have to use. Supplies are quite expensive, to be honest!"

She smiled up at him.

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[Nicolay]

Nicolay was faithful on following behind her, but knew his place and did not even attempt to step into the counter anymore, stopping when she left it and receiving the paper she had handed to him while she explained what it was to him. Even if she didn't, though, he could tell it was an order form. The basic details said it all and he did recognize a few alphabets and words to help him along the way.

But ugggh, Elysian text? He fought against dropping his shoulders and groaning and grimacing. Lazuli would not like to see him doing that. Hadn't he just agreed to learn the language from her?

“So if I want to have something done, I just need to fill this up,” he said to her, pitching the last word up like a question although he didn't wait for her answer. In his silence, Nicolay spent it reading over -- or scanning through -- the printed text of the paper he held, lips pressing against each other.

Starting towards the counter, he turned to Lazuli and asked, “You have a pen I could borrow?”

[Lazuli]

The mild tension on Nicolay's face did not escape Lazuli, for she was so much more perceptive than some may think. She could well read his movements and the nuances of his expression. "I'm sorry I don't have an English form," she ventured to say, thinking it could well be an inhibitor considering he hadn't spoken much of the language to her at all since they'd met. She brightened. "But that's no problem, since you will be learning from me soon, right? You just call a time!"

When Nicolay began aiming in the direction of the counter, Lazuli's ever so changeable face again shifted to that of surprise. "You wish to order something?" she asked incredulously. Faint dimples highlighted the corners of her mouth. He wanted to order something? So soon, too?

Lazuli quickly retrieved a pen for him. "Yes yes, here you go!" she trilled, presenting him with a slender lavender pen with a huge ball of rainbow fluff at the end. She followed him, leaning against the counter by his side, just smiling cheerfully and watching.

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[Nicolay]

Nicolay only smiled and nodded at Lazuli when she asked him of his intentions -- yes, he was going to order something...even if he has no idea how much it would cost him but he really wanted to. Lazuli was a natural artist and he really wanted to help her in her business. Besides, he thought it would be fun. He'd never had anyone paint something for him, after all, and the thought of Lazuli doing it was not only appealing, it was just...it just made sense to him. He never had much friends like her, after all, quite surprisingly.

In spite of the Elysian language, however, Nicolay wrote down his details in English particularly because his penmanship in his first language was better than his one in Elysian and he didn't want to show her how much he failed on it. On some parts he was uncertain what to write, he asked Lazuli to clarify for him or asked her for her opinions as, after all, she had a better grasp of these things than he could ever.

Eventually, the order form was filled as faithfully and as completely as he could and he handed it to the nymph. Nicolay wanted a portrait of himself drawn by none other than Lazuli Kitay.

“Is that fine?” he asked the nymph as he rested his folded elbows on the counter and leaned towards there, his six-pointed star pendant swinging forward, himself looking at Lazuli.

[Lazuli]

Lazuli guided Nicolay to the best of his ability while he filled out the form. All the while, she had felt so excited that she almost began bouncing around. She kept her excitement under control, though, and merely tapped her feet to some imagined rhythm while Nicolay completed the paper.

She took it from him when he finished and read over the details, nodding her head every now and then. "It sounds good!" she said nicely. Subject details... material preferences... they were all there. She tucked it in safely into a compartment behind the counter, the drawer where she kept all her orders. Nic's was of course, the first one. "I will get started on it as soon as I can," she promised with a smile. "My first workday is coming up soon! I believe that I'm almost done sorting out the shop. Let's see... I might have a few more canvas and paint buckets to drag in."

Lazuli gave a casual glance around her shop, pride glittering modestly in her eyes. Her gaze swept fondly past the couch, where the food items had been finished, the cake gone, the champagne drained. "Oh, I should probably clean that up," she said. She almost asked if he wished to eat anything else, until she realized that she had forgotten to supply the shop with food.

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[Nicolay]

Lazuli was so excited, Nicolay would have to be blind not to even guess it. It was almost like she was brimming with so much energy that layers of glowing light surrounded her. He laughed -- a healthy, cheerful kind of laugh, evidence of his amusement, as he straightened himself and landed a hand on Lazuli's shoulder, shaking her mildly. “Laz, calm down!” it never really occurred to him that he'd just snipped her name short but it was a normal thing for him to do. “You've got the whole day ahead of you. You don't have to finish everything at this very second, do you? Anyway, you've got me! I'm here to help.” What a really cute girl, though.

“Why don't you clean that up while I go and drag the other stuff in?” he offered as he went around the nymph, catching himself looking at her eyes again as he started towards the attic. “How many would you need?”

[Lazuli]

As Nicolay suggested nicely, Lazuli did attempt to calm herself down, although such excitement was really quite normal for her. Ah, if only Chiko was there. Who knew what the little cheefle would do in such a bubbly atmosphere?

"Sorry, Nic," Lazuli said lightly, grinning when she noticed the lovely alteration in her name. Nicknames were a sign of friendship! Nicknames were a sign of affection! She remembered how nice it had been when Phen called her Lazuu.

She took a breath afterwards and somehow fell into a peaceful, Buddha-like state. Her glowing eyes yet remained the same with the same blazing energy. "Yes, you're right!" she agreed. "I can't wait to make plans for later. But for now, I'll enjoy being here with you."

There was a kind of softness behind her words and a very thorough appreciativeness.

As the nyad began taking the plates and utensils away, she nodded in Nic's direction. "Sure, that would be wonderful," she remarked. "I believe there are three buckets sitting together in a corner. I would like those down, and the stack of half-inch thick canvases as well. Oh! And could you get the roll of oil paint brushes? Thank you!"

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[Nicolay]

“I can't wait to make plans for later. But for now, I'll enjoy being here with you.”

Those words hadn't been something he expected so quickly from Lazuli. Nicolay had heard them from the women of his life -- from three of his girlfriends, to be exact. It was a normal thing for them to say especially if they were walking down the park, leaving the movie house or having a date in the coffee shop with the rain outside. But there was something in the way Lazuli said them that somehow...set her version apart from his previous girlfriends. They weren't in a date, they weren't even together! It was just an ordinary day that had so happened to be her opening day. But when she said it, it somehow hit him home and for the lack of a deeper gesture, he simply smiled -- heartfelt -- as he gazed at Lazuli. No one had said those words to him with as much...as much sincerity? Or basically the way she had. He wanted to squeeze her hand if he could.

He stayed in his place as Lazuli started towards the plates and left him instructions for what to do in the attic -- and the bubble burst. What? What did she say? Buckets of canvas what? Nicolay looked embarrassed with his eyes as round as coins while he held onto the vague clues he could remember. He'd always seen Lazuli's character as simply the bubbly time who liked sharing things with people or easily accepted anything or was always giggling or jumping so whenever she began putting down these orders or advices, he always caught himself in a sense of surprise. Nicolay felt a little bit like a fool when he thought about it.

“Sure,” he said as he turned and started up the stairs, disappearing from Lazuli's view. The solitude gave him time to think about it -- and that was when he found that he was comparing her to some names he knew from Earth. She was a little bit like this person, but more like that person. She was a combination of many of his friends and he wondered if he sought for them in her?

For a sense of familiarity? Or a sense of home.

Nicolay allowed himself to recognize the creeping guilt as he took up the three buckets she had mentioned by their handles. He knew he had to recognize Lazuli as her own person -- albeit a fleeting one. Because he was going to go home soon, wasn't he? He'd love to stay in contact with her -- but would Elysian signal work in Earth? Would there be cell reception in his room? The thought of being unable to talk much to her depressed him a little. Would he have to keep going through the portals just to chat with her? That was tedious and he had university. And what time was it in Scotland? What if it was 2:00AM there while it was daytime here?

Anyway, I still have to pay her back for the COM money she lent me, he thought -- and that promptly ended his wonder.

Walking with the three buckets to the head of the stairs, Nicolay called out, “Where are those brushes?” The canvases could come down later.

[Lazuli]

Whatever musings and wonderings Nicolay may have had managed to completely escape Lazuli's notice as she was busy cleaning the eating utensils. Although she had successfully cleared the table, there now remained the question of washing. This she solved fairly easily, for she crouched down by the bowl-shaped sink hidden in a corner behind the counter and promptly combined faucet power with nyad power to make all the silverware sparkly clean.

I should get a cabinet and a refrigerator, she thought to herself as she wrapped the utensils in a towel and slipped it inside a bag. She couldn't stuff things in boxes all the time, and what if she wanted to bring freezer goods into the store? She would need a fridge for that.

She heard Nicolay's footsteps echo upstairs in the attic, and her head perked up when his voice came down. "Um, I believe they are on top of a stack of boxes!" she replied affirmatively. "The brushes are wrapped in a dark olive cloth container!"

Hm, or was it more of a deep forest green?

Lazuli would have gone up to the attic herself to help out, but that question made her ponder for a minute and thus distracted her. After she'd decided that it was indeed most likely dark olive, she began unpacking the boxes nearby and arranging packages of papers, paint mixers, glass bottles, palettes, and other artsy objects into the many shelves and drawers of the counter.

Perhaps it was the nearby presence of both a friend and customer, but Lazuli felt a wave of motivation to finish setting up shop soon. And yet, Nicolay had told her to take things easy. Thinking over it, Lazuli only unpacked the items that she absolutely needed for any order and left the other few boxes to do later. While doing so, she came across an old art history book that she had checked out of the library last week. How had it ended up in there? She flipped through it. Names of famous Elysian artists of the past centuries brought a smile to her face.

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[Nicolay]

Even if Lazuli had mentioned the wrong color of cloth, it wouldn't have made much of a difference, especially since Nicolay had decided that anything that looked greenish and was on top of a stack of boxes and looked like a bunch of brushes was definitely it. He snatched it up by his right hand the moment he found it, picked up the bucket he abandoned for it and started down the stairs, seeing at first glance the absence of the dishes. He didn't pay it much mind, as he only announced to Lazuli, “Here are the buckets and the brushes,” and was soon on his way up.

The canvases were a little difficult. Half-inch as they may be, the stack occupied half his torso and the weight was something he had a little trouble accommodating for with only his two hands. With a quiet grunt, he lifted this up a stack of the inch-sized canvases, taking his time to get used to the new arrangement before he waddled his way back down, keeping his descent slow and careful lest he suddenly lose his footing and basically everything else in front of Lazuli. That wouldn't be a nice thing to happen to him.

Setting the stack by the couch carefully, he breathed out a small sigh after as he straightened up dusted his hands by his pants. He was a little amazed. Being an artist must be hard work. He wondered how Lazuli could have possibly carried all this around and yet remain intact. At least she looked like she was alone in the business.

He meant to ask her if she had a partner to share the burden with as he turned to look at her until he found that she was enjoying the book she read. So he left her alone.

...for one second. With wrinkled brows and slightly pursed lips, Nicolay smirked. He was a mischievous fellow when he wanted to be. Careful feet started on their steps as he made his slow approach, forcing his movements to be light and easy, the tension of his trick felt to himself with the bones on his sides pulling themselves to the back as he controlled his breathing -- an easy feat.

If he was successful, he would be leaning over Lazuli's shoulder and keeping his breath to himself, his face an inch away from hers, as he read the page with her.

[Lazuli]

"Thanks!" Lazuli called out when she heard Nicolay announce that the buckets and brushes had been safely lowered.

Eyes focused on the book, she barely noticed when Nic's footsteps ceased and the hassling sounds of a few moments ago was lost. Instead, the quieter atmosphere soothed Lazuli's concentration, making her fall into a peaceful, intellectual state. Not a quick reader, she nonetheless read each word carefully and appreciatively.

Quote

Louisa Chatelete, born the 28th of Deminas 9,852 XA, revolutionized watercolor landscapes during her long-lived career. Known for her smooth and meticulous brushstrokes, her unique style brought calming pale-hued backgrounds, vibrantly-detailed foregrounds, and rich, complex shadows into a dazzling harmony that stirred the imagination while staying true to reality. Her life itself was laudable, for despite being born the poor daughter of a...

Lazuli skipped the rest of the text to look at the images of Chatelete's most famous paintings. This was one of her favorite artists, and familiar titles such as Fae Forest from afar and River Flowers on a sunny day brought warmth to her heart.

All this time she had no idea that Nicolay was peeking from behind her shoulder, until all of a sudden she caught the sight of the canvases out of the corner of her eye and wondered where he was. "Nic?" She made a sudden movement, like a jerk, that brought her head backward into possible collision with whatever that was there.

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[Nicolay]

“Oh!” Nicolay's laughter was cheerful and light when Lazuli hit his left collarbone, his hands instantly at the back of her head, his right fingers particularly on where he thought he might have hit her as he laughed on. The tension ceased and the bones retracted. Yes, that was funny. “I'm sorry, I hope you didn't hit too hard!”

He massaged the part a little by his thumb before he rested his left hand wherever he could, pouring his left weight on it as he remained behind the nymph, almost barring her from any movements since the counter was too tight already! Stuffs need to be moved around. This is fact. “You were so focused, I couldn't help but sneak up on you! What are you reading, anyway?” No, actually, he didn't need to ask that. Didn't he see the paintings? “Oh never mind,” he said shaking his head, still amused.

Then he propped himself up the counter to sit on. Because there was no other place to sit on but there. “The canvases are down, Laz. Where do you need them placed?”

[Lazuli]

Lazuli had initially thought that she had hit some box or object she misplaced behind her, but at the warm laugh, she immediately knew that it was Nic. "No, I don't feel any pain at all," she said cheerily, but that may have been because her attention wasn't on the faint sore at the back of her head.

Anyway, Lazuli was calm enough that besides a light gasp and a widening of her already large eyes, she didn't react in total surprise. Laughing at Nicolay's light-hearted intentions, she got up from where she had crouched to read the book, or last least tried to, since Nicolay had lessened her area of movement. After he had seated himself on the counter, she held up the book for him to see. "It's on art history," she explained with obvious passion for the subject. "Do you like history, Nic?"

She glanced at the canvases when her companion brought attention to them. "They can stay there for now," Lazuli replied with a shake of her head. "I still need to figure out where everything will go."

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[Nicolay]

Nicolay took the liberties of taking the book from her and heaving it up to his lap while he flipped through the pages, eyes barely recognizing any of the images that passed him before his attention short-circuited and he changed artists. “History isn't my best subject,” he said to Lazuli glancing up to her with his eyes. “But I'm okay with history.” He was quiet for a long while as he concentrated on going through the book as quickly and ignorantly as he could.

On the page of the artist applying the use of knives to his art and causing outrage among the traditionalists, his arms fell on the book as he looked up to the ceiling. “Come to think of it, I didn't really have a best subject back in high school. I guess I'm kinda good at math but I have to be since I'm taking up business studies. Physical education's all right...I guess that's what I enjoyed the most in high school.

Anyway,” Nicolay flipped the book back to that artist Lazuli was reading before he turned it around and handed it back to his friend, quite happy where he sat. “You still gotta figure out where the canvases go, right? I think we have to start here,” he pointed downwards to indicate the counter. “Your counter's too cluttered, there's hardly any space for both of us! You gotta figure out what you want in and what you want out. I'm definitely out.” He laughed. Oh silly jokes.

[Lazuli]

Lazuli tried to think back to when she had been in school, but she and Nicolay's situations had probably been different. "I was home-schooled for a few years," she remarked. "Afterwards I focused more on my Rites of Passage. But there's nothing you can't learn from the library, you know? And certain things you can only experience."

She smiled. "I like history, too!" The nyad gazed at Nicolay in amazement when he mentioned business. "Really? That's great! Will you open your own store sometime, too? Maybe you could teach me some things!"

After taking the book back from Nicolay, Lazuli took it to their makeshift food table so she would remember to return it to the library later. Then she came back and stood in work area like a surveyer checking the land. "I need plenty of room to paint," she said, almost to herself. "But yes, the counter must be clean first." She turned to it, expression clearly stating that she was in organizer mode. "All the brushes can go in the squarish compartments," she said cheerily, beginning to arrange them as she saw fit. "The paints and palettes can go under them. Paper should be stacked horizontally and divided based on what medium they're suited best for."

Her face began lighting up as she started organizing the counter area. The newness of everything obviously made her happy, although most of her supplies were old ones from home.

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[Nicolay]

Nicolay gave a little laugh when she mentioned his being a store owner in the future. He thought to himself for a while, eyes gazing up. “I suppose I could. Open my own store up, that is. I could open a Colourmints branch in Earth, for one. We could be business partners,” he was thinking aloud with his mouth. “But my degree -- for when I do get it -- isn't really for stores. It's like...managing people from the background, if you get what I mean.” He smiled a small one at her while he placed his hands on the counter. “But I'll be more than happy to share to you what I can! Won't be the best person to do it but I'll see what I can do.” He nodded. It could work as a form of payment for his Elysian lessons, he figured.

He followed Lazuli's direction when she left the counter, swinging both his legs over the opposite counter and watching her give her shop a once-over. When she began moving again (something he expected this time, although the look she gave him made him smile a little), he hopped off the counter and followed behind her with calm steps, allowing her to discuss her ideas and begin executing them. Nicolay stayed outside while he checked out whatever else was in the counter. His jacket came to sight and he tossed that up onto the counter.

With Lazuli busy by the compartments, though, he decided he didn't want to hog up all her space and after rolling up his sleeves to his elbows, began collecting the items she didn't mention and putting them up on the desk beside his jacket -- in case they weren't supposed to be behind the counter. Just because they were busy in their separate worlds didn't mean they couldn't talk, though, especially when they enjoy each other's company. “So you stayed home all your life? What about this rite of passage of yours?” he asked her.

[Lazuli]

"That sounds like an interesting kind of work!" Lazuli remarked. "So you'll be a kind of hidden leader!" She smiled; she could see a good leader in Nic. He was funny, smart, and easy to get along with. "And a Colormints branch on Earth would be exciting, although that sounds like a lot of hard work for me." She laughed. "I wouldn't want to sell anything mass-produced. There's something special about art done by hand for someone."

As Lazuli carefully organized a stack of slightly gold-tinted watercolor paper, she cheerily replied to Nicolay's question. "Not all my life, of course," she said lightly in her feathery, serene voice. "Just during my time on Earth. Experience in nature is stressed more here in Elysia, at least for us nymphs. My Rites of Passage involved experiencing the wild on my own to gain knowledge. I Bonded with the Element of water afterwards, and I'm hoping to become a Wanderer soon. Basically, I'll be traveling freely rather than stay with any one grove."

Just the thought of that made Lazuli happy. She could see Elysia, enhancing and nurturing nature as she went along. She and Phen had frequently discussed choosing their specialties together.

She became quieter and more focused as the afternoon wore on, working hard alongside Nic to finish setting up the shop. She looked around after an amount of time had passed. "Nic, everything looks so much cleaner!" she exclaimed, wiping off a drop of sweat on her brow. Indeed, the cluttered counter looked smooth and much more organized, and nearly all the boxes had been emptied and their items properly stored. "Thank you so much for your help! I couldn't have done all this without you."


(( @Colly whenever she reads this: I hope you don't mind me mentioning that Lazuu and Phen had talked about becoming Wanderers together ))

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