Best Of

Kelliara follows you to the southeast.

You say to Kelliara, "Where would you like to have this made then? A den?"

Kelliara wryly says to you, in Idrethi, "Did Xenia's missive not say all of that?"

You say, "A den, on top of a pile of furs, yes."

You ask, "But you'd stay in your Idreth form. She even drew a nice little picture for me. Want to see?"

Your eyes twinkle enchantingly at Kelliara.

Kelliara stares blankly at you for a few moments. "I...do," she responds finally.

You give an elegant white letter to Kelliara.

Kelliara smiles wryly.

Kelliara gives an elegant white letter to you.

"Quite the artist, huh?" Teani comments as Kelliara returns the letter.

Kelliara wryly says, in Idrethi, "I am surprised she did not volunteer to do the portraits."

Deepest Stygian night steals over the land as the symbolic hourglass empties and turns, ready to begin a new day.
It is now the 4th of Arios, year 440 of the Midnight Age.

Teani chuckles, shaking her head. "She knows her limitations... I think." She says the last a bit hesitantly and with a small frown, then returns

to the matter at hand with a brisk tone. "Alright, so, I have a den out on the plains we could use, unless you'd rather spread some
furs out at the Winterbreeze Inn or something?"

Kelliara gives a casual, indifferent shrug. "It makes no difference to me," she replies lazily. "Which will make it easier for you to do your

painting."

You nod your head emphatically.

Kelliara follows you to the in.
A massive pile of corpses has been built in a corner of the den.

Teani enters the den with ease and almost immediately she seems to relax, even though it was never evident that she was tense before. She puts her

things away to one side, waving for Kelliara to come in and get comfortable. There's a pile of furs on one side of the den, while the other is

occupied by more recent kills.

Kelliara's eyebrows lift the moment her eyes fall on the piled furs. "Preparation, or are those yours?" she asks, unable to keep a smirk from her

lips or voice.

Teani grins at Kelliara. "I prepared just in case. Besides, it's kind of nice and warm in the winter, almost like having the Pack there, you know?"

With a nod, Kelliara says, "Fair enough."

Kelliara asks, "Very well. How shall we begin?"

She is an athletic Idreth. Standing at roughly the average height of a human, she has pale skin marred with healing cuts and bruises. The short

black hair falling from her head has been meticulously straightened, and styled with an off-centre part, the larger portion left neat and tidy, and

swept back behind her ear. The smaller section meanwhile has been scuffed lightly, creating an almost roguish look. Her face and neck are marked

with a number of scars of varying sizes, some beginning to fade with age, while others, a long slash across the bridge of her nose and a burn on

the back of her neck, appear to be more recent. Honey coloured eyes peer out at the world almost sleepily from above a button nose and a pair of

full pink lips. She possesses an athletic frame, with lean muscle and slender well-toned limbs. She walks with the blessing of Chakrasul.

(dangling around her neck) : a torc of wolf teeth
(hanging from around her neck) : a darkly flaming heart necklace
(laced tightly) : snow wight boots
(burned into her right wrist) : a glowing brand
(worn on a finger) : a venantium ring
(hanging from the shoulders) : a hooded salvager's cloak
(worn on the legs) : durable leather hunting trousers
(covering the torso) : a fighter's gray leather shirt

Looking at Kelliara, Teani begins with her instructions, "First of all, I think you need to lose some of those clothes. Perhaps not all of them,

but at least loosen them up a little." She purses her lips, and shakes her head. "I wish I still had the design for that fur dress I made for you

all those years ago. That would have been perfect for now." After some thinking, her lips curl up in a smile. "I could make you a new coat and you

could wear that."

Without much ado Kelliara pulls off her cloak, folding it over one arm and then tossing it to one side. "It makes no difference to me, Teani. This

is your project, yes? Inform me of what you wish, and we shall see it done."

Teani quickly produces a brand new coat and hands it over to Kelliara. "I made that design for you, after all." she says, smiling brightly. "So,

off with the rest, then put that one on and settle down on the furs, if you please?" She starts picking through her different canvases, settling

for one of prepared hide.

"Should I be concerned you had this on hand?" Kelliara asks with a wry grin. It takes her only a short time to pull off the remainder of her

clothes and replace them with the provided coat. "I have always been fond of this design," she comments, settling herself comfortably on her side

atop the piled furs. "Like this, yes? Or is there some other thing that need be done, also."

Teani grins cheekily at Kelliara. "I never know when you might come asking for a new coat, you know? I like to be prepared!" She watches her

position herself, nodding slightly, then pursing her lips. "Actually, roll onto your stomach and prop yourself up on your arms..." she directs

while settling down at a good angle for herself to paint. "And keep the coat open in the front and cover a bit with your arm right there." She

points at Kelliara's chest before pulling up her paint brushes.

As instructed, Kelliara rolls onto her stomach, and props herself up on her arms. Before settling into comfort, however, she takes a moment to tug

the front of her coat open until it reaches just past the point of decency. "Like this?" she asks, before grimacing slightly. "I may need to smoke

at this rate."

Teani smiles brightly. "Perfect! Oh, and yes, feel free to smoke. I believe that's something Xenia suggested as well, no?" She sets about painting

the background while Kelliara gets comfortable. "I'll let you know when I need you to be completely still for me."

"True, she did." Kelliara smirks, and watches you for a few moments until she's sure that you is sufficiently occupied. As quick as she can,

Kelliara darts from her position to fish a smooth, ice-blue cigar from one of the pockets of a hooded salvager's cloak, before swiftly settling

back into the furs in her previous pose. Looking both pleased, and relaxed, she holds her prize between the index and middle fingers of her left

hand, and takes a long luxurious drag from it.

Teani only briefly glances up as Kelliara moves away, eyes returning quickly to her work at hand. Once her main focus of the painting returns, she

starts working on a rough silhouette. "Feeling alright there?" she asks, watching the smoke ascend towards the ceiling of the den over the
edge of her canvas.

"Should I not?" Kelliara asks, absently, exhaling a particularly large cloud of smoke as she speaks. "Perhaps I will grow stiff remaining like this

for a time, but for now? No. I am as 'alright' as can be expected."

Teani's lips twist up in one corner, but her expression is one of extreme focus. "Alright, going in to more detail now, so no moving." Her eyes

dart quickly between her subject and the hide, paintbrush moving fleetly across it.

Kelliara asks, "Am I able to speak, still?"

"Of course." Teani responds, still focused. "Just don't move anything but your lips."

Kelliara falls completely still, save for her steady breathing. "Is there a portrait you are particularly eager to do?"

"What do you mean?" Teani asks, staring even more intently at the canvas than before. From the slowly spreading blush that darkens her cheeks, it

is quite obvious she understood the question and the implications.

"I mean is there someone you are more eager to paint than others," Kelliara presses wryly, the corners of her lips pull upwards into a something of

a smirk. "Looking forward to do, more than others, perhaps."

"I, ah..." Teani closes her mouth and swallows hard. She remains silent for a long time, intent on her work on the canvas. All the while, she seems

to be struggling to control her blush. "Well, there are some people on the list that will be quite interesting to put on canvas." she replies at

long last, attempting to keep her answer as neutral as possible.

Relentlessly, Kelliara says, "Such as?"

"Um, well, there's Ferrik, of course." Teani says off-handedly, nodding to herself. "That will be interesting just because the mere concept of him

in any kind of pin-up fashion is just..." She pauses, a slight grin creeping up on her face. "Well, you know. It's Ferrik and he's generally

hilarious." She keeps working on the painting, seemingly once more in control of her emotions. "And of course it will be a privilege to paint

Faerah." she continues.

Thinking: Alright, I avoided that one narrowly. Please don't let her ask any more questions.

"I admit I do not know Ferrik overly well, Kelliara comments slowly. "Aside from his love of buffalo. Which is not surprising to me. And as for

Faerah? Hmm, I admit I was surprised she agreed without the need to press the matter."

"I, eh, feel obligated to say that she chased me around the city attempting to strangle me to death for even daring to ask." Teani says, nodding

to herself after finishing her statement, which sounds, perhaps, a little but rehearsed. "Dangerous woman, that one."

Skeptically, Kelliara says, "I find that unlikely. She is more likely to turn someone into a pincushion than try and strangle them."

"That is to say she has always seemed to prefer her bow to her whip," Kelliara adds, by way of explanation.

"Well, yeah, but dead is dead, no?" Teani attempts to wave the matter away. "She will be standing for a portrait in her winery, giving that some

publicity. It's going to be great."

"True," Kelliara agrees. "But I find your story unlikely, yes? Makes me wonder why you bothered with it."

Impassively, Kelliara says, "At any rate, it does not matter, overly. The point is you convinced her to do so."

Teani glances at the entrance of the den, as if half-expecting the subject of the conversation to suddenly burst in, then looks over the edge of

her canvas at Kelliara. "She wanted to protect her reputation." she confides with a low voice, then nods her head. "I'm glad she got on board."

"Oh? Why would she not have simply said 'no' in the case? No need for the attempted-strangulation," Kelliara observes casually. Her eyes follow

your look towards the den's entrance, but somehow the rest of her remains stone still. "Is it just those two you are interested in painting?" she

asks, abruptly changing the subject. "You said 'some'. I wonder if there are more than two."

"I think she doesn't want her guild to see her in a different way for accepting, but at the same time, she might want to participate since it's for

a good cause?" Teani muses, going back to painting, working on the finishing touches. "Alright, you can move now, if you want. It's mostly small

things left and I can do those from memory." she says, dipping her brush in some paint, hand freezing as Kelliara returns to the previously dropped

topic. Taking a deep breath, she wills herself to go back to work. "Well, they're all unique in their own way..." she says, once more attempting

the neutral path.

Thinkin: Well, Pit! She won't let that drop, will she?

Kelliara immediately takes a deep breath from her cigar -- something she's been waiting to do since painting began, if the way her eyes close and

smile widens is any indication. She exhales slowly through her nostrils, and climbs to her feet to circle behind you and inspect what's been done.

"Evasive," she points out. "But likely not untrue."

Teani presses her lips together into a tight line, the blush now raging on her cheeks, giving it a very deep burgundy hue. However, the portrait

has not been ruined by the distraction. As Kelliara comes around to watch, she adds a few small wisps of white above the end of the cigar,

carefully smudging it to look like smoke. "Yeah..." she murmurs softly, but then eventually lets out a sigh. "To be completely honest? There is one

that most likely will get my heart racing a little." Her lips tug up on one side, creating a wry smile.

Kelliara doesn't reply straight away, busy as she is inspecting your work wearing an entirely impassive expression. Finally, a grin overcomes her

features, and she withdraws a step from looming over the artists shoulder to give you a slight nod in approval. "You should be wary," she cautions

goodnaturedly. "You may have people pressing incessantly you to do paintings for them."

Teani looks over her shoulder at Kelliara, grinning widely at the praise. "Thank you, Doyen. I do quite like to paint, but I'll heed your warning."

She finishes the last, then, as she puts the brush away, she flexes her hand a few times. "It's quite tiring on the hands." Holding the portrait

up, she smiles with satisfaction. "This one turned out well too, I think."

Curiously, Kelliara says, "Did you expect it would not?"

Teani lifts a shoulder, still looking at the painting. "Oh, you never know, really. It's easy to over-think things and do too much." She turns towards Kelliara with a small grin. "And you distracted me a little with those questions, you know." Carefully, she sets the painting aside to let it dry on an even surface.

Kelliara wryly says to you, "Consider it a test in your ability to work whilst being distracted."

Teani smirks at Kelliara, but then nods her head sagely. "True, might be a good thing you put me through that. I'll need it later."

Kelliara stretches languidly.

You say, "Well, I guess we're all done here. Oh, and you will be on the first page inside the calendar, the table of contents, unless you want to switch to one of the months?"

You say, "You can represent Ios if you want, instead of me."

Yawning widely, Kelliara crosses over to retrieve her clothing, tossing the bundle of clothes over one shoulder. "Did you require me any further, Teani? I will need to rest a while shor- Oh. It does not matter to me. Place it wherever inside you wish."

Teani shakes her head. "I'm all good. And alright. I'll keep that in mind if someone else wishes to change their position." She smiles brightly and gathers up her tools. "I'm guessing you don't need an escort back to the city."

Shaking her head, Kelliara says, "I will be returning to my haven."

Kelliara inclines her head politely to you.

You nod your head emphatically.

You incline your head politely to Kelliara.

Kelliara says, "Be well, Teani."

Kelliara wryly says, "I trust you will enjoy doing the portrait you are looking forward to."

Kelliara leaves to the ether.

You snort arrogantly.

You say, "Darn inquisitive woman!"