Nexus Spring Market Fair

[varnished_truths]

Seemingly overnight, one of the grassy areas edging the Forum has been taken over by a spring market and fair. Part state fair, part craft fair, part Renaissance faire, there are attractions for all comers. Tents and booths of every size, shape, and color are lined up more or less tidily, sometimes with wide avenues between them and sometimes with paths skinny enough to crowd a single person. Goods and treats from the far-flung corners of infinity are on display. The general organization has magic and alchemical goods grouped together and slightly separated from the other tents; arts and crafts fill the area around it. Goods such as clothes and jewelry, plants, and vintage and antique items are in the back. Food is front and center, between the entrance and the rides. This is perhaps not an ideal placement.

To one side is a brightly-lit collection of rides and games familiar to anyone who's been to a state fair. A ferris wheel, flying swings, and all manner of reasons to regret that last funnel cake are blaring tinny music and sporting blinking lights. Remember: rides first, then eat. Classic games that test strength, agility, and luck offer plush prizes sure to delight anyone until the fur rubs off. There are also some animal rides near the exit.

In the back of the roughly-fenced-in area are the exhibits. There's a petting zoo with creatures mundane and more exotic, all promised to be tame; practical demonstrations of new magical and technological wonders; a juried art show; and a stage hosting a variety of performers changing on the hour.

((This is an open event. If your character wants to have a booth selling wares or food, set one up. If your character wants to perform or provide other services, go for it! Please note what sort of service you're providing, if any, in the subject line of your top-level comment. Basically, just run with it and have fun!

I offer pictoral inspiration and ask that any pictures used in comments not be more than 300 px tall (and it looks better if you can keep it about the same height as your text). Code to have your text wrap around your picture below.))

<img src="blah.png" height="300" style="border: 0pt none; float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px">

Comments

[brave_heart_verity]

"Hmm. A few weeks? I'd better start planning." There will be cake, and presents, and if she can find these other friends he talks about, a proper party. "When exactly?"

"Oh, I know there are some art lovers around. I doubt you'll have trouble with that."

[losthunter]

"May 1." He tells her. In all honestly, he never had someone plan a birthday party for him. So he would not be expecting anything huge.

"The big canvas... the one at front... that is the one you inspired me to create. Painting the mother I never knew."

[brave_heart_verity]

She's not overly fond of celebrating her own birthday, but she loves throwing parties for her friends. It's a chance to spoil the people she cares about and show them how valued they are. And Hunter deserves all those things, so she'll have to think of a really good theme.

"It's beautiful. She's beautiful." She'd wondered, but she didn't want to bring it up if he wasn't ready to talk about it. "You've made her very proud."

[losthunter]

Hunter comes up to Verity, and wraps his arms around her waist to pull her into a hug. "Thank you for inspiring me. I feel closer to her, when I look at it."

It is the only one that has a 'Not For Sale' marked on it.

[brave_heart_verity]

It's not hard to pull her into a hug. Not for Hunter, anyway, and she'll lean into it with a pleased little sigh. "You're welcome. Where are you going to put her after the show?"

[losthunter]

"I would like for her to be displayed in a gallery." Instead of being unseen in his apartment. "I have a few options for that."

[brave_heart_verity]

"Good. You'll have to tell me where she ends up so I can go say 'hi' sometimes. You know, when they stop fighting over you."

[losthunter]

"I will do that."

"Did you want a clay pot?" Hunter gestures to a few that are already done. "I have paints, if you want to decorate yourself."

[brave_heart_verity]

"Sure. Don't they need to go in a kiln or something?" She vaguely remembers there was a kiln in her high school that was locked away and super secret.

[losthunter]

"There are some wet clay paints, that react differently in the kiln."

"Also, I have a kiln here. You can use it... I have a fire extinguisher handy." Hunter plays off the joke of her playing with fire.

His kiln is a small home-use model.

[brave_heart_verity]

"I do love a well-prepared man." The teasing comes complete with fluttering lashes and a breathy sigh. She plays the part well.

It doesn't take long for her to pick out a piece to paint: a shallow bowl about as wide as her hand. "This one, please? Hmm. What color... my bedroom's mostly gray, so really, anything will go in there."

[losthunter]

Hunter just thinks Verity is adorable when she does that. So she gets a little extra squeeze.

Then Hunter grabs the pottery bowl that she had selected. "Gray you say. A good purple or a light silver, or both... would feature well."

"And I have glittery paints too." Hunter shows her a paint tube with glittered-silver in it.

[brave_heart_verity]

The squeeze gets a little sound from her. She may have squealed.

"Ooh, glitter. Maybe around the edge, and the rest purple?"

[losthunter]

"That sounds perfect. It will definitely have a bit of a shine."

"If you need help, just let me know."

[brave_heart_verity]

"Thanks, but I think I can manage? It's not so different from icing a cake, right?"

Somebody stop her before it's too late.

[losthunter]

"Well, you definitely don't want a lot of 'icing' on these." Hunter sits beside her. And he picks up his own pottery vase and shows by example (after all, that is what she had done when she had cooked those grilled cheeses).

He uses a light touch, to put just a light layer of paint on the clay.

"You don't want to put too much pressure on the clay, while it is still wet. The idea is to seal everything with a light covering."

[brave_heart_verity]

Ver watches him work for several minutes before attempting her own. "Oh, okay. I can do that."

He already knows she has a delicate touch. It's her first time trying this sort of thing in ages, so it'll be far from perfect, but it shouldn't melt or explode in the kiln either.

"Like this?"

[losthunter]

"That is a good job." Hunter means it, when he says it. "Just keeping doing it like that."

[brave_heart_verity]

"This is fun." She smiles and nudges his arm lightly. "You're a good teacher."

Doing the edge is going to be trickier. Like eyeliner.

"So, is there anything you can't do?"

[losthunter]

"And I didn't even have to use the 'Ghost'-method of teaching." He teases. Yes, he has seen the movie. He is aware of the pottery scene.

"Can't do? I don't know if I should answer... is this one of those, I say something and then you help prove I can do it things?"

[That comic made me ROLF]

[brave_heart_verity]

And now Hunter's run into her spotty understanding of pop culture. The teasing gets a blank look from her. "What ghost?"

Sorry, Hunter. She doesn't watch movies. They're lies.

"Maaaaybe. Or maybe it's one of those, I'll feel better about my exceptional lack of creative skills knowing there's something you find tricky things."

[losthunter]

Right. He will at least give her the gist, so his poor joke makes sense. "A scene in an movie. Where the handsome shirtless guy, put his hands around hers as they worked on the pottery wheel together."

"Of course, I find some things tricky. Body art would be tricky."

[brave_heart_verity]

"Oh. Is that a good way to learn?" Still has no idea. She is such an innocent lamb sometimes.

She hums an agreement on that score; she doubts she could ever do it even if she were the greatest artist in the world. "Because of the new tools or the tempting canvas?"

[losthunter]

"Hands-on learning is okay, to a point in some things." He chuckles.

Hunter thinks about her question for a moment. "It would take a lot of trust. On both the artist, and the person who is acting as the mural. One has to hold still. And you have to be willing to be intimate, but in a way that doesn't intend to lead to a sensual relationship."

[brave_heart_verity]

"It does take a lot of trust," she agrees. He is, after all, preaching to the choir. "And a lot of patience."

Ver sets her brush down to look over the little pot, checking for any spots that need more attention. "I would imagine sitting for a portrait requires trust and patience as well."