[Tain's Studio] Painting the Midnight Sky

[Savis Maren]

87th of Winter, 518

The peak of Zintia was, as the Nuit expected it on the eve of such a momentous night, aflame with activity. Shops were bustling with activity, and even Tain's Studio was infected by the bug that was life. The Nuit was astonished to see so many in the store, and she was quite pleased to have her hood with her, cloaking the signs of undeath from scrutiny. The Nuit found that more and more people approached her for commissions, and a number of satire pieces regarding the issue of the Towers versus independent teaching, and frankly, Savis was overwhelmed by it all.

Political satirist, defender of the independent... As much as it is a joy for my labours to bear fruit, a bit of time to let the floodgates of inspiration wax with ideas was absolutely needed. The Nuit kept herself quiet as she began to mix paints. Blues and yellows fused together with the addition of white paint to form lime greens and purples, and Savis was quite pleased with her assignment of preparing for the festivities due within the Studio. The Azure Festival was nigh and Tain opened his doors to those who elected to create a masque of their own design.

"Your role tonight is to make sure the guests have a decent time of painting their masques. Get them their supplies, show them how to use a brush. Whatever you do, just smile," the artist informed her. The Nuit nodded in understanding then, and even a bell later, she was well into the swing of things. Fortunately for her, there no children in attendance this evening, for the Azure Festival was an affair for the adults. Savis was relieved for this, for the low giggling of children was nowhere to be found and the undead could focus the entirety of her attention on making sure everyone had proper guidance.

The Nuit looked at each of the masques made available to her, and certainly, she took one, a full-faced featureless masque that covered all of her from view. Savis Maren relished in the thought of the masquerade, letting faces and forms fall by the wayside in favor of illustrious dress and bountiful laughter. She'd been all but forced into going by Madeira earlier in the season, but now? She looked forward to it, even.

"Excuse me, miss?" a patron called out, and Savis arched her eyebrows, curiosity suffused into her hidden silver eyes as she approached the table she'd heard the voice from. When Savis arrived, there were two young people, older than teenagers, but clearly not very far along in their journey in the world. The pair, a couple by the Nuit's presumption, were holding hands, one a thin brunette with vibrant happiness on her unwrinkled and unmarred countenance. The other, a tall blonde boy, pressed his lips to her cheek in a (frankly) disgusting show of affection, and the Nuit felt the distinct impression of bile rising in her throat before pushing the sensation down her maw and deep into obscurity.

WC: 507

[Savis Maren]

"Yes?" she answered, doing her utmost to keep her tone placating. She found the effort easier, and she effectively disguised her disgust as she elaborated on her acknowledgment. "How may I help you?" she asked, the disdain suppressed and the Nuit looked even happy to be helping her patrons.

"I have this idea, but I don't think I can execute it properly. Could you help me?" she asked, light green eyes suffused with hope, a sentiment that didn't escape the Nuit at all. She groaned inwardly, despising the weakness that was hope. Beyond all things, it was hope and its sister naivete that the undead despised above all other things, for they were among the first of the kindling fed to the fires of time and scalding tongues of a life full of horrors.

"Of course, what's your idea?" she asked, doing her utmost to abstain from rolling her eyes. The woman seemed bolstered by the Nuit's helpful demeanor, and Savis Maren privately mused that simple adjustments in tone could work wonders, even if her 'heart' wasn't in the words she spoke. Lying became second nature to the undead, but lying for the express (and before hence trivial) purpose of assuaging one's doubts... perhaps this was useful to know. Easily encouraged, the brunette woman curled into her lover's embrace before she said,

"I want my boyfriend and me to have matching designs. I was thinking of the moonlit sky, on opposite sides of a masque painted to show the beauty of Leth and Zintila's domain!"

In truth, the idea was a sweet one, and the Nuit immediately had bits of advice she could offer in order to create the effect she was looking for. Fortunately, she'd already painted stars, a multitude of times given the prominence of Zintila's reign in the hearts of the Lhavitian people. So, when the answer came, it came from a place of knowledge rather than theory or conjecture. It felt good, to feel knowledgeable again. In the midst of her princess fantasies and the haughtiness, she adopted in the Winter, her employment at Tain's proved a necessary humbling. But now? She was eager again, excited to assist an effort she understood fully. Savis sat down next to the couple, on the lady's side and as far away as possible without trying to make it seem like she was avoiding contact with them. Which, of course, she was.

"So, you'll get your black paint and mix a bit of white into it in order to create the night sky. With stars, the sky won't be fully dark, after all," she said, beginning with an example on a masque of her own. First, Savis Maren mixed a sliver of white dye into the black block of paint. She whisked it with a tiny spoon, putting the completed mixture at the middle of the table for all three of them to use. Then, she withdrew her sleek, prized black brush held between her index and middle finger three inches above the hairs. Savis twisted up the hairs somewhat, making the tip of her brush thinner by necessity before dabbing it in water and repeating the process.

WC: 529

[Savis Maren]

Savis rested the rest of the handle - which extended another few inches - against her forearm before dipping the brush into the mottled black paint. The Nuit placed her masque over a sheet of masking paper and used long, parallel stroked to slowly paint over the entirety of the mask. Line by line, the Nuit didn't take care to avoid the eye sockets, allowing the viscous black sink to sink into the masking paper as she concerned herself fully to apply an even layer of the night sky onto the masque.

"So we'll start with the sky. Keep going until it's fully painted over. Don't be afraid to make mistakes," she cautioned, a warning she felt that she needed to heed quite often. Panic was an emotion close to home when Savis forayed into the unknown, but now... she was comfortable, even if her skill with a brush and the finer points of painting weren't where she wanted it to be.

"Oh! Alright," the boy said, shaken to attention by his companion as she began to animatedly emulate the Nuit's easy venture into painting a single layer of paint. Savis Maren excused herself for a moment, standing up and taking a brief moment to catch Tain's eye. The store owner had a thumbs up pointed right at her, winking at the undead as she handled this matter to his satisfaction. The Nuit moved to gather more paints, seeing that the three tables dedicated to this little event were not only filled up but out of supplies. Savis breached into the depths of her soul. A lithe motion was taken as she willed the layer of the astral body to rise at the elbows. She separated ethereal from corporeal, and her arms fell limp as she carried two sets of paint at a time.

Little by little, the Nuit carried one color at the time, putting it in front of the artist assisting each set of guests. Savis Maren, at last, took her chance to survey the entire store and found that 16 people were in attendance that she didn't recognize. Seven artists split among them as help, there was little in the way of chaos going about as each of the guests seemed to carry enjoyment on their features. As it should be, she reasoned, and at last... she put down her sword. The wickedness sought to flee from Savis with each passing day, as she began to realize the utility of guile and the doors that venom closed.

One by one, each table was given a set of paints, to the general astonishment and delight of the guests. Savis carried the paints with a swagger, each tube of white paint placed on the head of an artist while the rest were situated on the table. The undead smirked, winking at Tain before she released the last set and made her way back to her table.

"You're a mage!" the boy exclaimed, and the undead nodded in acknowledgment before she said, "That I am!" Her words were cordial, and the guests seemed far more astounded than filled with any sort of apprehension or fear. This is why I live here. Prejudice against us is weaker. It's not perfect, but this is the best city in the world, she affirmed to herself before she asked,

"Are you two ready to continue?"

WC: 561

[Savis Maren]

"Yes!" they both said in unison, and Savis continued to guide them in their efforts to dress for the Azure Festival.

"Okay, so next, let's start creating the moon and the stars, right? The night sky is done and ready for you to fill it with the stars. So something I've done before with the stars is combining a bit of yellow into a white paint. So you start with this," she began, taking the large pool of white paint and placing it in a wafer-thin white dish. She then took the mixing spoon and cleansed it of the black and gray goop that lingered there. The water cup in the center of the table was mottled with gray, and Savis pulled out the spoon, scraping the last of the gunk with her fingertip before swishing it one final time and making her way to the project at hand. Her young students followed her example with their brushes, and she moved forward with their little lesson.

"So for this, you still want access to the white paint, so just take a bit of yellow and dab it into the mixture on the side. Then use the mixing technique I showed you while limiting its area to as little of the white paint as possible," she instructed. Savis Maren was growing comfortable in her efforts to teach, and even on the subjects that she knew less about she could impart an understanding of techniques and procedures, which she found of tantamount importance.

Then, Savis demonstrated the technique she wanted to impart. The Nuit created small circles onto the mask, each less than half the size of her smallest fingernail. She spaced them apart, the very dark gray beginning to give way to bubbles of white. The Nuit then created a swish that struck through the stars, accenting it with a line of black paint. The Nuit need not instruct her "students" on this, for she sought to explore what adding the textures of light and shadow might do for the composition of her artwork. The Nuit let that layer sit, blowing on the surface of the masque in an effort to get it to dry faster as she looked to her students. The two had haphazard circles and their paint was flaking in places, but Savis' was only in reality somewhat better. What's more important, she began to reason, Is that these two are enjoying themselves and remember Tain's Studio as a place with friendly painter mages who accommodate their requests.

Subservience was something the Nuit hated above all else, but she realized that this is not what she was doing. She was being accommodating and gentle, concepts that she'd begun to scrape from the damaged depths of her soul and found that she enjoyed them quite a bit. These mortals are innocent and pleasant, not deserving of the eternal venom I came to Lhavit with. It's those with that chip on their shoulder, their hostility a parallel to their weakness, and I'm anything but that, she assured herself proudly. The white paint dried, and Savis cleaned off her brush once again, the gray water taking a lighter, disgusting tint to it.


WC: 536

[Savis Maren]

The Nuit looked to her project, then dried the paintbrush on the masking paper before dipping just the tip into the yellow-white mottled paint. She placed in the middle of each 'star' a tiny dab of paint, completing the illusion before she created a 'glow' effect on the white edges of each star. Content with the appearance of her own masque, she looked to her guests and found their efforts were successful, indeed.

"These look amazing! Thank you so much, Ms..."

"Ms. Maren. But please, call me Savis," she offered, closing the door on the negativity as a genuine touch of warmth materialized upon her countenance as a smile. She excused herself, taking her masque with her. She'd then punch two holes into the top of the masque, looping a thin white lace into it to support it against the cranium. Savis looked to Tain, curious of what she should do with the creation before Tain shook his head.

"It's yours. Keep it as a memento. I was listening in, Sav," he said, adopting a nickname for the Nuit that she had an immediately instinct to fuss around. Sav? What am I, some school girl? I am an undead, a mage and a professional to-- she began, the internal monologue dimmed by the charming smile that Tain wore. She silenced her thoughts, nodding as a sheepish smile cast upon her features,

"Excellent, then. I'll take it home," she remarked, tying the lace loosely at the ends and placing it around her neck. The masque bounced behind her, fully dry and its face pointed up towards the ceiling to show off the creation to those that walked behind her. Savis Maren returned to the table, shaking each of her former students' hands before excusing herself for the evening. The Nuit had quite a lot to think about, ruminating on what had transpired. The instinct to lash out remained a fire within her soul, a defense against the vile betrayers and the prejudiced monstrosities of the world. But, she realized that far more people were placated by the slightest of positive reinforcement. Even the dead could call guile to themselves as an ally, and she'd keep this lesson in her heart for the rest of her immortal existence.

WC: 377