Open for Buisiness (Open)

[Mercii Longclaw]

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[atrb=background,http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/5130/merciimidcopy.jpg,true] The bustling streets of the bazaar would be enough to make any newcomer's head spin. All the yelling, dancing, singing, haggling was enough to make you go mad. If you were a seasoned professional though, all of the action would be like heaven. Especially the conversations that were going on, all of the information you could gather from them was wonderful... Sitting at her wooden booth filled with her art displays she pretended to work on painting a bark carving of a lioness while listening to a conversation between two female tigers and a lioness. They were quite young and thus could be quite chatty, exactly what the older serval loved. Chatty teens who talking about anything and everything. Sure, listening to others conversations could be called nosy but Mercii didn't care. She was nosy, and she was quite proud of it too! Her large ears were perfect for listening in on faraway talks and she had gotten good at doing it inconspicuously as well. After a bit of time the young felines moved away and the serval was left with no one to listen to. You'd think that the Central Bazaar would be full of cats conversing, but it seemed as if they were intentionally staying away from her booth when they talked. Word probably got around quickly that she was quite nosy and prone to listen in on conversations. Ah well, she should get back to work... The painted serval dipped her paws in some yellow-plant dye and proceeded to work on the bark carving, actually putting work into it instead of pretending. It wasn't long until the carving was vividly colored and quite close in resemblance to an actual lioness. Proud with her work she set it aside to dry, then she turned to find a feline close by. It looked like a cheetah and he seemed to be interested in her work. Putting on a charming smile she walked over to the potential customer. "'Ello there, darlin'. Care to by somethin' or would ya prefer me to paint that pretty fur 'a yours with some lovely dye."

[/b] The cheetah glanced around at her art once more then at her with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, but I didn't bring any ivory with me today... Although I will keep your shop in mind case I come back through." Only slightly crestfallen she spoke back politely, "That's alright, sweet'eart. You just come on back through when ya get the money, I'll be lookin' for ya." The cheetah trotted off and Mercii watched him go for a minute before laying her head on top of the booth, ears swiveling in case anything interesting conversation-wise came her way.


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[Jacque Albury]

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[bg=0F0704] The cougar's claws glittered as a stray ray of sun hit them, illuminating the unusually sharp, dangerous claws. There was nothing threatening about his claws though. Except, maybe for the wood that he was working on carving at the moment. And, maybe the subjects of his other job. Yes. He was dangerous, quite dangerous. It just depend on the moment in time. And if someone had hired him as an assasin. Jacque sheathed all of his claws, but one, and began carving out the features of a tiger cub. Someone wanted a statue of one of their cubs, and, well, he had a perfect memory, basically, when it came to art. Jacque carved out the features of the cub's face, throwing in detail, so it almost looked like it would start moving. Working down to create the stripes, and , finishing the face, Jacque began to pull a form out of the block of wood, creating legs and a tail, plus the small body of the cub. Jacque slowly finished the carving, everything but the painting. It was beautiful. Well defined. As if it would step around him and walk out of the booth. The face tilted upward, curious and smiling, with nearly all of the innocence of the cb captured within the sculpture. Jacque's eyes wandered to his paintings, flickering back to the carving of the cub. His carving were so much better than his paintings. Well, his paintings were good enough, but, still, he excelled at carvings. But, it was, more or less, because he enjoyed carving over getting his paws dirt with dryed paint. Jacque padded to the front of his booth, glancing about, skimming over the cats that bustled around the bazaar. The male's eyes flickered to the right, spotting the serval. He had noticed her about before, but had been more focused on his art, to really speak to her. Plus. He didn't just talk openly to anyone. "Hello, there." he said, his voice audible and polite. A friendly smile on his face as his gaze rested on the fellow artisan. She had paint on her, sort of like him. Only her's was more creative that his. All Jacque had was streaks covering his scars. To streaks on one side, two on the other side, and two on his front left leg. Not very creative. But it kept the prying eyes away, so it worked, at least, for the purpose he had it for. But it didn't show very much creativity, either way. It worked for him. _____________________________________________________________ 0423 words . who?: mercii . status: finished . muse: fine .

[Mercii Longclaw]

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[atrb=background,http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/5130/merciimidcopy.jpg,true] A sigh heaved from the small cat's mouth. It seemed as if business would be slow today... Maybe she should do a painting to pass the time by or maybe she should go take a walk. She was sure that no one would take anything... Then again, you never knew in this place. Thieves could be running about anywhere... The stormy-gray eyes of the serval narrowed and she decided to stay put, something would happen eventually. "Hello, there." Right on cue she heard a voice and not just one of the chatty ones that she had trained her ears to listen for, but this was a voice that intentionally spoke to her. Mercii's large ears swiveled towards it and her eyes slowly followed. What she saw was a cougar, an artisan like herself. She had often seen him working but had never felt obliged to say anything to him, she didn't even see the cat as competition since he mostly did statues and whatnot. While she could make a statue she much preferred painting and carving images, they were much easier for her smaller paws and claws. The serval's head lifted as she yawned once before replying back to the tiger, "'Ello ta you too, dear. Is there anyting I can 'elp ya with or are ya just wantin' to make frien'ly conversation?"

[/b] Mercii quite enjoyed talking but she had never known the cougar to do much of it. What made today so different? Was he sick or something?

The serval's gray eyes clanced over the feline... He seemed to be fine but... wait... What was that she saw? There was paint on his body! Was he trying to steal her idea or something? She was the one who painted herself and the only one who painted others if they so wished! Who gave him the right to infringe upon her idea? It was all hers!


Her light gold and purple-spotted fur bristled slightly as anger and indignation started to course through her blood.
"What's this I see on yer pelt?! Is it paint?! Don't deny the accusation 'cause I see it plainly! Are you goin' 'round tryin' ta steal the ideas of a poor serval tryin' ta make it in this 'ard place? Huh? Are ya?" Mercii's short tail lashed back and forth angrily. How dare he?! Who did he think he was, stealing ideas from her... A growled rumbled in her throat and she pleased herself with one thought, Well, at least his paint isn't as creative as mine...[/i] It was a small thought but it provided a bit of victory for her.

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[Jacque Albury]

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[bg=0F0704] Jacque gave a slight smile as the serval asked if he needed help, or if he just wanted to make a friendly conversation. "Yes, I'd just like to talk." He said, giving a slight smile. He considered himself rather chatty today, considering that he was talking to someone, of his own free will, instead of being spoken to. Or the barely audible words he used while selling his art. So, considering that barely talking was the way he normally went along with his day, he considered himself awfully chatty. Jacque's eyes roamed back to the bazaar, seeing the cats bustling around, glancing at his art stand, and taking in all of his art before continuing on their way. Jacque shook his head slightly, eyes landing on the tiger cub he was working on. He hoped that the cats that wanted him to make that would appreciate it. Even if his painting wasn't the best, the male was pretty sure that he had absolutely nailed the body shape of the cub. Or, at least, he hoped he had. Jacque's eyes widened as the serval began accusing him of stealing her idea of paint on her pelt. The male's eyes narrowed slightly, and then he loosened up a bit. "Want to know why then?" He asked, turning briskly and heading back towards his quarters. "Follow me." He said, giving a flick of his tail. He would show her. If she freaked, then she freaked, if she didn't, well, then she was either crazy, or, well sympathizing with him. The male reached his quarters quickly and began working at the paint. First the paitn that ran in two streaks over his front left leg, revealing two scars, slightly raised, covered with a darker brown fur. And then one of his sides, removing the paint a bit more difficultly. Revealing two scars, the same as the ones on his legs, there were a few slight scars, marking five claw marks, but they had long since vanished into his brown pelt. Jacque began the same with the other side, revealing the long scars that he had had since childhood. Ever since his father had begun training him to be an assasin. It payed well, sure, but Jacque wasn't very keen on killing. And, well, he didn't like the risk, either. Jacque turned towards the entrance his his quarters, having finished removing the paint from his pelt, and, carefully from his paws. "Now do you see why I wear the paint?" He said, eyes remaining fierce. The male didn't like paint as it was, carving was where he exceled. To him, paint was just an annoying hassel. He wouldn't be wearing paint unless he thought it would help him. f he hadn't thought that, there would be no paint on his body. "I promise I didn't steal your idea. I started doing it a while after I started being an artisan." Jacque said, his voice now relatively calm. He wasn't a big fan of exploding when he didn't have to. And he was, also, afraid of losing his head. And, well, when he lost his head, it was in no way a good thing. No, not at all. _____________________________________________________________ 0542 words . who?: mercii . status: finished . muse: fine .

[Mercii Longclaw]

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[atrb=background,http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/5130/merciimidcopy.jpg,true] The serval's eyes narrowed and she silently dared him to throw a tantrum. If he tried anything she'd call the guards and they'd have him thrown into prison so fast it'd make his head spin! However, he didn't try any of that instead he just told her to follow him and turned briskly towards his own stand. Mercii blinked once in astonishment but quickly shook the look off her face, a scowl taking the place of her surprised look as she followed the larger feline. When they reached his art stand the female cat plopped down like she owned the place. "Alright, now give me yer wonderful explanation. I'm all ears."

[/b] The cougar needn't have been prompted though, as he immediately started working at the paint on his leg. The serval waited patiently as the paint slowly came off and revealed long scars. Her eyes widened as she watched as the other paint came off that it revealed similar scars. They looked as if they were long healed but they must have been so bad that they left noticeable marks... No wonder the poor guy covered them with paint. Mercii felt quite guilty that she had even accused him of stealing... "Aww, sweet'eart, that's a shame that ya have such 'orrible scars... I see why you use the paint on them. I'm sorry I accused ya of stealin' the idea."

She looked closely at his scars, not at all disturbed by them. She only felt pity actually, and a will to help as she could see that he had had a hard life like her. With that small thing in common it made her feel sympathy for him.

"Excuse me, sweet'eart, but I may be able to 'elp ya a bit. If ya don't mind me gettin' a bit close." Without waiting for a reply Mercii walked forward until she was mere inches from the cougar. Her eyes held the look of concentration as she studied his fur and his scars. Then, she raised one small paw and gently patted the cougar's leg. A smile was on her painted face as she raised her eyes to look at the larger feline. "Well, m'dear, I believe I can 'elp ya if ya don't mind. Y'see I don't know if ya have the mixture fer permanent paint but I do, an' it would be all in'a days work if I could paint over those scars for ya with some nice dark blue paint an' the mixture I was tellin' ya about. The paint wouldn't come off so easy or 'ardly at all really, like it did with yer tongue. Also, I could give ya some nice designs if ya like as well." She stepped back a bit so as to give the cougar some space. She didn't know if he would accept her offer but she hoped so, she was sure that permanent paint would make covering the scars a lot easier.


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[Jacque Albury]

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[bg=0F0704] Jacque was a bit surprised when the serval said that she was sorry that he had such horrible scars, and apologized that she had accused him of stealing her idea of having paint on her pelt. "That's fine." He said softly, giving a slight shrug. Jacque was surprised by the fact that she wasn't freaking out by now, since his scars were, well, quite bad, and, well, they could be frightening, as well, depending on the cat that looked at them. Jacque nodded when the serval told him that she could help him better if she could get a closer look at his scars. "Ok." He said, voice remaining soft. He wasn't sure how she could help him, really, there was no way that you could fix the scars, make them go away. Using the paint was the nly way that he had even gotten close to making his scars disappear, so, he couldn't imagine how this fellow artisan could help him with his scars. Jacque was a bit surprised that the serval just began looking at his scars, and then she patted his leg with her paw. Saying that she could give him the mixture for permanent paint, if he didn't have it yet, he nodded slowly when the serval said that she could cover the scars with dark blue paint, and it would barely come off. And that she could give him some designs, as well. Jacque gave another nod, "Yes, that would be nice, thank you." He said, his head giving a bob to the serval. "The designs would be nice, as well." He said, his tone rather friendly, and polite, as well. "By the way, I didn't catch your name." He said, head tilting slightly, "My name's Jacque Ablury." He said, eyes remaining focused on the serval, he wasn't afraid of any threat from her, no, not at all, he was just curious. And he thought it was more polite to meet her eyes, and to remain focused on her. _____________________________________________________________ 0346 words . who?: mercii . status: finished . muse: fine .

[Mercii Longclaw]

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[atrb=background,http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/5130/merciimidcopy.jpg,true] Just as the serval thought the cougar didn't turn down her offer. Good. She was happy about that, she wanted to help her fellow artisan whom it was obvious had had it rough. She liked this cat and she was sure that after a bit of talk they could become friends. After all, in Mercii's opinion it wasn't hard to like her. "Well it's nice ta meetcha, Mister Alb'ry. My name is Mercii Longclaw, feel free ta call me Mercii or Longclaw or whatever. I'm not too partic'lar 'bout what cats call me."

[/b] The serval laughed a little before standing and turning away from the cougar. "Well, if ya want those scars of yers painted over tonight I suggest ya come back with me to my stand." With that, she walked back to her art display booth not once looking back until she was seated near her paint. Mercii wasn't one to beat around the bush, when something was supposed to get done she got straight to the point and stayed away from pointless chattering... In fact, the only time she was one for pointless chattering was when she was gossiping or talking with others for pleasure. Which probably wouldn't be too long after she started working on the cougar's fur-paint.

"Ah yes, I can see perfectly 'ow ta do the designs on yer fur. It's all plainly one color, I sorta wish mine was like that... There's no end ta what I would paint on my fur then an' plus, th'colors would show up twice as better. I'm tellin' ya, the stuff I paint over those scars 'a yers is gonna look wonderful, no one'll even imagine what's unnerneath it." All the while she was speaking the serval rooted around for her painting supplies. First she found her dark blue plant dye and set it out near the cougar. Next she looked for her permanent-paint mixture. "Ah... where'd I put that darn stu- ah ha!" She quickly seized the covered clay jar of mixture from where it was partly concealed behind a bark carving of a leopard. She set it near the cougar and sat down before him with a smile on her friendly face. "Alright, whenever yer ready jus' lay down so I can paint ya. I'm kinda short y'know?" She said the last sentence good-naturedly as she waited for the cougar.


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[Jacque Albury]

[atrb=width,570px,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,-moz-border-radius:7px;-webkit-border-radius:7px;background-color:#191d23;padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:10px;] They said he was a dangerous man ;; Mama was proud and she stood her ground Jacque Albury Jacque game a soft smile and a nod when the serval said that it was nice to meet him, introducing herself as Mercii Longclaw, and saying that she wasn't particular about what anyone called her. Jacque smiled and gave another nod, "Well, then, it's nice to meet you, Mercii." He said, his tone remaining polite and friendly. It was good to have at least someone understand what he had been through, in a way, without shying away, or, at least, being frightened in some sort of way. So yes, Jacque was quite happy at the moment. Jacque gave a nod when Mercii told him that if he wanted his scars painted over tonight, to follow him over to her srtisan's booth. He stood, stretching out his legs a bit and padding softly after Mercii, nearly silent. Of course, he was supposed to remain silent, so, it was a hard habit to break. Especially when you lived two totally different lives. Jacque gave a nod and a smile when Mercii said that she wished her fur was a solid color, nd then she could paint over it better. Saying that once she was done painting his fur, cats wouldn't be able to imagine the scars that layed beneath the paint. That was comforting, he didn't want to have every cat in the bazaar gawking at him, staring at his scars and wondering how he had gotten them. No, Jacque would rather avoid that option. Jacque watched as Mercii searched for the mixture that would make the paint permanent, giving a slight chuckle as she began talking to herself as she searched for the paint, right before she found it. Jacque gave a nod when Mercii told him to lay down. Chuckling softly when she said it was because she was kind of short. "Ok." He said, laying down carefully. Ready for the serval to begin painting over his scars. It wouldn't delete the memory from his mind, but, at least it would erase the staring eyes. He didn't want everyone staring at him like the healers had every time his mother had brought him in, with all of his wounds from training with his father. No thank you. ________________________________________________________________________________ . 0379 words . who?: mercii . status: finished . notes: none at the moment . Actions – Speech – Thoughts But she knew she was on the losin' end-------------------------------------------------------------------------

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