video;

[virginprice]

[Alcuin is sitting at his console with a thoughtful look on his face. It's been long enough that he's settled in and now he has concerns beyond the absolutely necessary- and the money to take care of them.]

Are there any in the city who have a marquist's skill? The circumstances of my arrival left my marque in need of tending, and I now have the coin to pay for it- if none of those who have been brought here know it, I will look among the kedan, but I thought I would try my fellow exiles to begin with.

[He smiles.] If you know of anyone, pray tell me. I would be grateful indeed.

Comments

[imaginate]

[While he's working, he decides to inquire more. Kyle is curious by nature, after all.] Who designed it? I've never seen this combination before.

[virginprice]

[It takes Alcuin a moment to answer the question- he was somewhere else, busily ignoring the sting of the needle.] Master Robert Tielhard, the greatest of the Marquists' Guild. My guardian, Anafiel Delaunay, assisted him.

[imaginate]

It's very beautiful. [Quiet reverence. It reminds him of a mountain, and the green is certainly putting him at more ease.]

[virginprice]

It is. I am proud to bear it. [He likes Kyle's appreciation of its beauty- he hasn't met many non-d'Angelines here with an attitude so similar to his.] It is one of Master Tielhard's last works. The other is my foster-sister's marque.

[imaginate]

[He falls quiet upon hearing that, a little too suddenly, and works for a few minutes before replying-] At least his work lives on.

[virginprice]

[Alcuin hastens to correct the mistake.] Oh, no, he isn't- at least, not so far as I know. When I... left... he was alive and well. He is simply very elderly.

[imaginate]

Oh. [He doesn't sound that assured though, simply because he's pensive now, and becoming absorbed.] Still.

[virginprice]

Yes. I am happy to carry his legacy- and perhaps someday this design will be used for another. [Or serve as inspiration for another's marque- all designs are registered. It's all so organized.]

[imaginate]

[That's a little weird for a tattoo. Kyle figures it's a cultural thing.] Why do you usually get one of these? Where I come from, people do it for fun, mostly.

[Or prisoners in a camp. Or a mob. But he doesn't mention those: unpleasant memories.]

[virginprice]

They are sacred. Our goddess of pleasure, Naamah, was said to scratch the backs of her lovers so that they would bear the marks of her all their life. Her Servants- courtesans- take marques such as this in honour of her.

[Yep. It's a cultural thing.]

[imaginate]

[That conclusion leads to... oh that explains a lot of things. He's not bothered by it except for one inquiry-] Are you... happy with your job?

[What he's really asking is: Did you choose it of your own free will?]

[virginprice]

[There's a long pause before he answers.] I am no longer in her service. With my marque complete, I owe no debt- I entered it willingly, but I am not sorry to have left it.

[It was a complicated situation, to say the least.]

[imaginate]

[He understands complicated, and he won't push. He treats it like encountering an alien culture that he doesn't quite understand: Ask. Do not assume.

They are strangers, after all.] I see. [A beat.] Sorry, this bit might hurt.

[virginprice]

I am prepared. [He got the whole thing done- not at once, of course... though the top quarter of it was done entirely in one appointment, thanks to a particularly generous gift. But he's accustomed to the pain of the marquist's needle.]

[imaginate]

[He makes it quick.] There. I'm nearly done.

[virginprice]

Ah, wonderful. [He's glad it's over so quickly. He isn't Phedre, he doesn't luxuriate in pain.]

[imaginate]

[Kyle is a fast worker when he's concentrating. It means the difference between life and death in battle, after all.

He finishes up.] Okay, do you want to take a look at it in the mirror?

[virginprice]

I suppose I ought to. [He goes to take a look in the closest one and smiles in approval and relief- he is glad that it was able to be fixed so smoothly.] As good as new. What do I owe you?

[imaginate]

[Honestly, it had been a joy just repairing something that intricate. Kyle doesn't honestly know what to ask for. Money? Food?] Uh....

[virginprice]

I do have money, as I said. [Alcuin fixes him with a look, both amused and stern. He'd better come up with a price, Alcuin is not fond of debts.]

[imaginate]

[He blanches just slightly under that look, and offers a sheepish smile.

Money it is, then.] I don't know what the exchange rates are between dollars and juulans.

[So he'll let Alcuin pick a reasonable rate.]

[virginprice]

[Alcuin relents and smiles at Kyle's capitulation.]

Thirty juulan, then? [He judges that would be close to the value he would pay for minor relimning at home in Terre d'Ange.]

[imaginate]

Sounds reasonable. [Since he doesn't actually know what he'd charge. Where was his agent?

He gets up.] Let me just clean this stuff up. Do you mind if I use the sink?

[virginprice]

Oh, no, not at all. I believe it would be very discourteous of me. [He laughs and goes to count out the money, moving carefully. It stings!]

[imaginate]

[He finishes cleaning up, always, fighting the instinct to just use his ring. It's been hard to train himself out of it, but saving power is more important. He's making fewer false moves than he was when he first came here, but still, instinctively, his right arm moves almost as though he's trying to lift the equipment with an invisible hand before he realises his mistake and picks it up instead.

It's hard, having to hide who you are, he reflects internally. But a lot of people would have trouble believing him.

When he's done washing up, he stands near the door, looking exceptionally pleased with himself.]