Woodstains [Open]

Bastien

There was a pause before the expected smile, but it still came, and Bastien grinned in response. He considered a wink but decided against it, not sure Remi was in the mood (they were, after all, discussing his God-given curse). The question was clearly a hard one given the way the other man ran a hand through his hair and seemed to slow, pause as he thought his way through it.

"Ah...well." Bastien thought about it. Perhaps it would be best to not say anything, given that he did not know Remi, but he had opinions. Bastien rarely let opinions go unaired. "Sometimes that happens to those in long marriages anyway. It is not such a terrible curse so long as you may fall in love again. With someone else, or...could you not try and recover your feeling for this man?"

He shrugged, thinking through the many lovers who had passed through his doors. "Maybe it is not my place to say. But I have sometimes fallen out of love only to fall back in when I see them in the sun."

Bastien's initial reaction caught the alchemist quite off-guard. Releasing a breath he hadn't realized he was holding (though this was a habit that Remi had had for years), Remi offered the man a roguish but sad smile as he shook his head slightly. "Well, this was quite new. For me at least." It likely wasn't worth mentioning that Loren was the first person he'd ever loved, man or otherwise, or that he'd only just managed to decide that pursuing the librarian was worth the morally-thin grounds it placed him on. Then again, Bastien wasn't the first to suggest that Remi might just be able to re-fall in love with the man and set everything to right that way. Running one of his hands from back to front from his neck through his curls, Remi gave a boyish shrug, his expression immediately looking lighter. "Perhaps." He replied sunnily, not mentioned that Loren had been unsettlingly absent in the past few weeks. Still, he very much doubted that he could simply thwart the god's curse by simply seeing Loren again. If anything it might make it worse, to see the librarian and feel nothing for him, where before the alchemist had been filled with all sorts of emotions he had never thought possible. "Well I am no expert by any means. Perhaps you are right." He chuckled, before glancing up the street. "My shop is not far. If you like you can come and get some proper paint?" remi Trying to teach my common sense to not waver with my confidence

Bastien

Bastien nodded sagely but paused to say anything else about the whole situation. He wasn't sure if relationships worked the same way here as they did back in Venice. Even at home he had been an outlier, quite content to have several loves at once and not minding if they had others too. To lose love for someone was not a tragedy for him for there were always more. He did not think that perhaps he had not loved deeply enough for it to be a tragedy.

"Alternately..." He said as they turned to walk up the street (he shut his door but the keyhole was long rotted away and he had nothing worth stealing anyway, so did not lock it). "You could have sex. A lot of it. It can be healing, fun and perhaps you will fall in love, hm? Sometimes the way to the heart is not through the stomach but through the--"

He was cut off by someone passing by and pushing him accidentally, after a moment of apologies and making sure he was alright he tried to remember what he had been saying.

"...Either way, I do hope you can remedy this solution, my friend. Perhaps for the payment for the paint I could organise for you a date. I'm sure there must be a lonely man out there somewhere. Do you only do men? If I can look for women a whole new world of possibilities opens."

Listening with his usual brand of eager politeness, Remi could feel a coral blush colour his cheeks as Bastien suggested that perhaps sex was the answer. Drawing in a hasty breath and then immediately trying to cover the sound of it with an awkward cough, Remi ran a hand through his curls and blinked rapidly a few times to focus his mind. Given the culture in Northaven, Remi had been forced to sleep with a fair amount of women to keep his secret carefully guarded. While he had left his partners satisfied, he himself rarely had been, even under the most pleasant of circumstances. Since all of that, he'd only been with two men: one of whom had all but disappeared, and the other had disappeared. Luckily for him, Bastien was interrupted though rudely so, and instantly the awkwardness fell of Remi's face to be replaced by a naively genuine concern. "Are you alright?" He asked, pale sea-glass green eyes dropping down the man's length to ensure that he hadn't been harmed. Whatever brief respite from the conversation the jostle had provided, it was about to get worse. Not only did Bastien sort of make it sound as though only someone lonely would ever bother to sleep with Remi, but the mention of woman, while courteous made the alchemist laugh nervously. "I have had my fair share of women, thank you." He tittered, the blush rising up to his ears in a charmingly embarrassed way. Swallowing down his disbelief that he was having this conversation with someone he'd only just met, Remi gave Bastien a sideways glance as they continued on. "As for anyone else, I...ehm..." Again Remi ran a bashful hand through his hair. How to explain that he was a bit of a romantic (read: a hopeless romantic) who'd only just learned the joy of having sex with someone he truly cared about, and that he very much doubted that meaningless sex would do anything other than drill home the idea that he truly had lost something great? "I am not sure I am ready to date. Honestly, I do not know if I am even single." Remi said with a lopsided smile. He and Loren had never really...confirmed what they were. remi Trying to teach my common sense to not waver with my confidence

Bastien

"I'm fine." He replied to Remi's question with a little bow and a flourish of his hands. Still, he tried to pay more attention to his surroundings and walk a little quicker in the hopes to reach Remi's shop sooner.

Remi turned down his suggestion, which he supposed was not so much of a surprise. He considered pointing out that he was very much on the table, an offer he thought no one would be able to turn down. Ultimately, he decided against becoming the slut of the domiciles until he knew the environment better. There was plenty of time.

It wasn't something he wanted to push too much for fear of scaring off his new paint supply, so he just shrugged.

"Then I hope you find a way through it. You can always come to me if you wish, though." With the issue dropped, he was quiet until they reached the shop. Bastien, excited to get his hands on some real paint, began to imagine all the things he could do. "Do you know where I could get canvases? I would love to paint as I used to. I would have to...change...these buildings though." He said, with a look of unguarded disdain at the shop.

It was probably for the best that Bastien kept his availability to himself for the time being, lest Remi all but crumble into a useless and blubbering mess. It didn't help Remi's case that he'd already shared quite personal details of his life with this stranger which of course made him unconsciously feel a bit closer to him, but hearing his own familiar accent from the man's lips resonated far more strongly within Remi's mind than he would have thought possible. "I...." Remi murmured, clearly flustered now despite trying to laugh it away. Already his mind was playing with the connotations of what the man had said, and Remi had to swallow down uneasy thoughts of the implications. "..thank you." He managed, all too relieved to see his humble shop just ahead. Glancing skeptically at Bastien's unabashed criticism, Remi chuckled. "In your paintings, or in real life?" He asked before producing a key and opening the door. Inside Bastien would find a cozy and what some might think of as cluttered interior. There was a counter in the back left corner, a woodstove burning in an unseen room, and shelves upon shelves of half-finished inventions and other creations in various stages of completion. Walking to the back where once upon a time Remi had been trying to perfect the blue of Loren's eyes in paint form, he grabbed for several brushes. "I have something to admit." Remi said with a mischievous smile as he leaned against the counter. Grabbing from beneath it several jars of vibrant jewel-toned colours he'd made, he looked towards Bastien and grinned. "I am a bit of a fraud as of late." With a flourish of his own, 5 canvases appeared in his hands, neatly stretched over wood and of various dimensions. "I did use to create everything myself. I hope you will not think less of my abilities as an alchemist for taking a few shortcuts now and then." remi Trying to teach my common sense to not waver with my confidence

Bastien

"Real life would be good, no? But I am no builder. It will have to be in paintings." Bastien tutted as if disappointed by this but perked up when he saw Remi's shop from the inside - he loved cluttered, lived in creative spaces. They made him feel at home.

Upon seeing the paints Bastien's eyes lit up, his expression immediately changing to one of almost childlike delight. He had expected some brown, murky water, not the exquisite jewel tones in the jars before him. Eagerly he picked one up and turned it in front of his face, watching the way the light made the colour shift. Oh, he could definitely do something with this.

He was so caught up in the paint he almost didn't see Remi defy gravity with his magic, but he caught the motion just as it ended. He placed down the paint (which suddenly seemed less important) and stared in an uncharacteristically gormless manner for a second at Remi. He had heard people mentioning magic around him here but had yet to see it for himself, had thought it some kind of language mix up between his world and this one.

"My God, that was wonderful!" Bastien exclaimed, hardly noticing the canvases. "The performances you could do with that! Oh, can you teach me? You must. I insist."

”Luckily a few of my pigments made it over with me from Northaven.” Remi said with a nonchelant shrug. “The rest I’ve found simply by exploring. The flora here is so much more vibrant than back home. Though I have learned a good deal of it is more poisonous as well.” With a raised brow, Remi nodded towards the containers. “So no chewing on your brushes.’ The alchemist warned which was a habit that he himself had. Bastien’s sudden interjection caught the alchemist off-guard. Magic among a commoner like himself was rare, and he knew that hybrids were probably even more so, but of course Bastien didn’t know either of those things about him. Perhaps he assumed he was a commoner by his dress and diction, but certainly magic such as the creation of canvases was no large feat? He’d seen children do much more impressive things. Looking skeptically amused and perhaps wondering a bit if Bastien was making fun of him, Remi offered a crooked smile as he slid the canvases across the counter. “I ...am not sure it is teachable.” He hedged, really having no idea where the magic came from (Ludo, he thought), as he very much doubted it was some sort of latent ability. That being said, Remi knew very little of magic as it was, so perhaps there was a chance for the artist. remi Trying to teach my common sense to not waver with my confidence

Bastien

Looking slightly offended at the idea that he would chew on his brushes like a child, Bastien nodded at the warning. He was more than used to poisonous paint, or paint made from things one just didn't want to eat like dead bodies or dung.

Remi seemed confused about why Bastien was impressed, which baffled him in turn. Remi had just performed what would have been a miracle for Venice; moving something with your mind was the stuff of children's fantasies and fairy tales. He ran a hand over the canvas on the top of the pile as they were pushed over the counter - good enough quality, from what he could tell, with good tension.

"...Then you must do it again so I can watch sometime. It is a miracle." He mumbled, disappointed but also busy investigating the canvases and brushes. He could definitely work with all of this, he knew. The whole interaction felt strangely empty without money, though - he felt like a thief.

"You must let me repay you in some way. I could paint something for you. A portrait, perhaps? A nude of your man to reignite your feelings?" This was a joke, as implied by his cheeky grin at the suggestion. "Or maybe if you come down to the Rathskeller I could make you a special drink. Clear out your favourite seat."

Blushing at the thought that anyone might want to watch him work (though magic wasn't really work was it?), Remi just nodded a bit bashfully. All of his life Remi's skills were merely a means of survival. Indeed in Northaven he'd been brought over as a weapons creator of all things, which was rather absurd title for the kindly alchemist. Still, in this new place and with these new abilities Remi seemed to for the first time possess the agency to do and create what he liked. Still, having a complete stranger seem so enamoured by what he could do made him feel a bit flustered. Blushing in earnest now, Remi tried to return Bastien's cheeky smile. Quickly the expression became genuine and the man laughed musically at the thought of Loren 1. sitting nude and 2. doing it for a portrait for Remi. No doubt the Launceleyn would think it absurd, although Remi could imagine Loren surprising them all and agreeing to it, if only he could have a book or something to keep himself occupied. Besides, he'd actually have to be able to find Loren in order to make that happen. The mention of the man making him a drink at the Rathskeller did give Remi pause for a moment as his smile turned slightly more secretive. Then Bastien didn't know that it was Remi who provided the majority of the alcohol to Vai and her establishment. The stuff working drinking anyways; Devrum's ale was hardly the sort of thing Remi found himself wanting on the regular. Still he knew what it was to want to show appreciation, and so he nodded welcomingly. "I would happily take you up on a drink. You work at the Rathskeller I take it?" remi Trying to teach my common sense to not waver with my confidence

Bastien

Bastien was happy to see Remi laugh at his joke, glad he hadn't taken it too far; often he offended people without meaning to. Still, he likely would paint him something. He was used to working for people who gave him money or supplies in return. It would be a return to normal - perhaps the front of Remi's shop, he thought.

"I do! Come this evening! Or any time you like! I am there most nights, pouring away." Waving his fingers in a way that definitely did not mimic anything normal people would consider pouring, he was happy to be able to report to Vervain that he had brought in a new customer.

Offers made and paintings to do, Bastien did not stay very long after that, heading home to make some fallen wood in his home into a makeshift table easel so he could work. The door frame was forgotten in lieu of the chance to work on a real canvas with real paint again, the stained designs soaking into the wood as night fell.