True Art Is In the Eye of the Beholder(Stall/Open)

[Aftershock]

Samael sat quietly behind the counter of his Gather stall, gloved hands folded before him as his clouded blue eyes passed over the mostly-white blur of his surroundings. Heimdall sat below, curled around Samael's feet to share body heat with his master... at over 8 turns old, Samael's long-time canine companion was starting to show grey around his muzzle, and had begun moving a bit slower, though he still put forth his all for his beloved Samael. Freyr sat on Samael's jacketed shoulder, tail curled around Samael's shoulders as he wrapped his wings around his bronze form, trying to stay as warm as possible in the cold Northern air as he passed images of things he found of interest to Samael's mind.

Around the trio were the items that Samael had come to sell... works of art the young man had made over the Turns since he had befriended Ruliana... the same Ruliana who had convinced him to attempt to sell his wares at the Fort Hold Gather, when it had been announced. So, hitching a ride with Ruliana on Amalath, Samael had gone through the process of applying for a stall location, and had finally set himself up, awaiting his first customer.

The items for sale were varied... everything from clay sculptures, to kiln-dried bowls and cups with intricately decorated sides, to small paintings done on canvases of cured and stretched wherhide or the insides of large, thick pieces of intact bark from the large trees of the southern jungles. The sculptures and containers had been done by Samael on his own, using his incredibly sensitive sense of touch alone to form what he saw in his mind's eye... each a representation of a small part of how the blind man viewed the world around him.

The paintings, on the other hand, were a newer form of art for Samael, a joint venture between himself and Freyr. As Freyr had begun showing him what the world looked like through firelizard eyes, he had began to understand the concept of colors, a concept his own blind eyes had made him unaware of for over 15 turns. Again with encouragement from Ruliana, he had begun trying to paint, using his memory to paint a few strokes, then getting a visual still image of his work from Freyr, then continuing, with Freyr helping him choose what colors to use. The end result was a number of unique paintings, almost surrealist in their combination of unique colors and varied strokes.

Reaching down with one hand to scratch Heimdall's head while reaching up with the other to scratch along Freyr's back, Samael said to his two closest companions, "Well, guys, time to see if anything comes of this."

[Rei]

“I wish you would stop running off.” Elysia commented in a slightly irritated manner to the now empty space to her right as she looked around for S’rei. Where the large bronzer had slipped off to she hadn’t the faintest clue. One would think that the large man would stand out in the crowd around her but he had somehow effectively disappeared. It was beyond irritating. How someone that large could be so damn sneaky when he chose to be Elysia didn’t know. But it made her just a bit angry with him. Miguel had asked for marks and then flounced off with promises to return to the food stalls and meet up with them in a couple candlemarks. By the time she had turned from the older boy S’rei was gone and she had only Elias clinging to her hand, his large brown eyes staring at everything around him with the type of wonderment only a child could express.

With a small sigh the greenrider couched down to his level and adjusted his hat for the third time that day. It was just a bit too big for him but Elysia had been loathe to buy him a smaller one since he would just grow out of it before the winter was over. “Just you and me little man.” She commented softly to her four turn old son a smile offered him. “What would you like to do?” Elias bounced slightly in place and stuck his fingers in his mouth before pulling them away and making a face. He had forgotten that he was wearing gloves apparently. Elysia tried not to laugh as she patiently waited for him to answer her hand lightly gripping the boy’s other one to prevent him from just running off.

Finally the toddler pointed excitedly to a stall not far off. “There!” He exclaimed and began to tug exuberantly at Elysia’s hand. With a good natured wrinkle of her nose the woman allowed the little boy to lead the way and when they finally got there she released his hand and straightened, her hand moving to rest lightly on the boy’s head instead as she glanced over the stall. It was…interesting at least. The paintings were a bit odd but the cups and bowls were quite nicely done. Her dark eyes flicked to the stall keeper and her eyebrow rose as she noticed the cloudy quality to his gaze. He was blind then? How did a blind person create such things? So momentarily taken aback she didn’t immediately notice that Elias had slipped away from her to curiously peak around the counter. He was too small to see over the counter or reach the bowls he had been able to see from afar, so he was looking for something in the way of a step stool.

What he found was a large canine. His eyes lit up and he gave a wide smile before reaching out to the massive dog with one small hand. “Puppy!” He exclaimed happily. “Mommy look!” It was so much bigger then Emi and Lei’s Harper puppy. Elysia had been about to ask to take a closer look at one of the cups when Elias’s voice same from somewhere more distant then she liked. The woman whirled around with a slight look of panic on her face before the boy spoke again and she got a fix on his location. Puppy? Moving quickly around the counter to tell her son not to bother the man’s puppy she froze. An expression of horror quickly flashed across her face as she watched her son reach his tiny had out to the massive canine that was so not a puppy in any way shape or form.

To her credit Elysia didn’t scream or rush forward to grab him as she wanted to. She was afraid that if she did that she might startle the dog enough to cause it to actually lunge at her son. “Elias come here.” Her tone was calm but stern and the little boy paused, his hand in mid reach as he turned his head to regard his mother with an unsure expression. He only heard her use that tone when he had done something wrong. What had he done? Oh. He had not asked first. Blinking up at the blind man the dog was laying near Elias offered the man his biggest smile. (He didn’t know the man couldn’t see after all) “Can pet puppy? Pease?”

That was so…not what she wanted. Elysia tried not to panic as she took a slow step forward towards her son her eyes fixed on the massive form of Heimdall. She did not feel comfortable around dogs at all. Harper, Dmitri’s family dog, was middle sized and bad enough. This thing was…terrifying.

[Aftershock]

Samael was starting to get bored, and also starting to develop doubt in his ability to actually sell any of his artwork despite Ruliana's assurances of his skill, when he suddenly heard two sets of feet crunch up in the snow and stop in front of his stall. Freyr sent him a quick flash... an attractive brunette woman, a rider by her knots, and a small boy... and Samael worked up a smile for the pair, his first customers of the day. "Hello, there," he began, a bit nervously, but performing just as he had practiced with Ruliana, "welcome to my stall. If you have any questions about any of my works, I will be glad to answer them."

As he spoke, he heard one of the pairs of feet... small and with quick steps, so he assumed the little boy... circle around the side of the stall, and he felt Heimdall sit up in alertness... though not aggression, so he assumed the boy was up to no ill. Hearing the boy's exclamations, he placed one hand down on Heimdall's neck to make sure the canine knew that Samael was not feeling endangered by the young child, and waited for the woman to (hopefully) retrieve her errant youngling.

Soon, he heard the woman's footsteps crunching around the side of the stall in pursuit of the boy, and then their exchange. Though it was obvious she was trying to remain calm, Samael's exceptionally sensitive hearing detected the fear in her voice, though he wasn't sure why... Heimdall was alert, as he should be with a strange person approaching his master, but was not in an aggressive stance. Turning his head in the general direction of the boy, his blind eyes staring at a spot up and to the right of the boy's actual location (possibly coincidentally staring at Elysia's chest, if she happened to be standing there), he replied carefully, "You certainly can, if the woman I assume is your mother says it's all right." He knew the woman was nervous, and was doing his best to assuage her fears, since she was his first potential customer, and he added, "His name is Heimdall, and he's my oldest friend. Just approach him slowly, let him sniff your hand, and be careful not to pull his ears or poke his eyes."

[Rei]

He usually listened better than this. Elysia frowned as the blind man behind the stall spoke. It was all well and good for him to say that. It wasn’t his son reaching towards the massive beast. Still the greenrider was too nervous to just snatch her boy back, and rather thought a sudden move like that was still a bad idea regardless of the man’s reassurances. Elysia bit her tongue as Elias turned to her, his gaze imploring. Despite her own reservations the dog really hadn’t moved much so Elysia offered her son a small nod. “Okay but listen to the man and not for long.” She would really rather he not touch the beast at all. Elysia had never been found of canines at all and that had never changed. Even nice ones made her nervous though she struggled not to let that show.

Giving his mother a bright smile Elias turned back towards Heimdall and offered his small hand for the dog to sniff. Afterwards he gently stroked the canine on the head. “He’s bigger en Harper. Harper is black and white and much litter…litt…small.” The boy explained to Samael, frowning a bit as he stumbled over the word and then falling silent. Smiling at Heimdall he gave him a final pat and then moved back to his mother, who quickly ushered him back to the front of the stall. Part of her wanted to scold him for approaching the canine in the first place but Elysia held off, simply because she didn’t like correcting Elias at all. It was something that made her feel terrible. Instead she just tried to turn his attention away from the dog and to other things. “Would you like to get daddy a present?” That seemed to work well and in the next moment the woman was lifting him so that he could get a better look at the wares the blind man was selling.

A few moments later Elias pointed to a cup that had a sleeping dragon wound about the base of it. “That one.” With a nod Elysia lifted Elias onto her shoulders and once he had his balance she picked up the cup he had indicated and offered it to Samael. “How much?” Glancing at a set of bowls she nibbled on her lip. They all looked so nice and she couldn’t really help but ask a bit skeptically. “Did you really make all these yourself?” Honestly? How did a blind man create such things when he couldn’t see them? The greenrider was a bit at a loss. Yes he had a firelizard but she herself also had firelizards and sometimes when they got excited their images were hard to piece together at best. Well she supposed Baron’s were all pretty clear. Not so much Amour’s. Regardless now that she was looking at the cups and bowls closer there were a lot that she actually liked. Not so much the pictures. They seemed a mess of color to her. Elias certainly seemed entranced with them however.

[Aftershock]

Heimdall looked up at Samael as he spoke, then back to Elias as the boy stuck his hand out. Feeling no tension in his master, and seeing that Samael was aware of the boy, he relaxed his posture, realizing the boy was no threat and sniffing the chid's hand carefully, his large muzzle twitching as his nose inhaled the boy's scent. He dipped his large head as the boy began to scratch it, his ears perked as his huge tail wagged happily, loudly slapping against the hard ground, and as Elias retracted his hand, Heimdall gave it a friendly lick with his huge tongue. Samael listened to the boy speak, and replied, "Yes, I've been told Heimdall is big for a canine. But that's good, because I've needed Heimdall to keep me safe since I was very small, because I can't see, and haven't been able to since I was born. Heimdall helps keep me out of trouble," he concluded, waving a hand to indicate his clouded blue eyes as he mentioned his blindness to the boy.

Hearing the boy and his mother retreat back to the front of the stall, Samael turned once again to face forward, waiting patiently as Elysia and Elias looked over his works. When she presented the cup, he took off his gloves, then took the cup carefully into his bare hands, moving his sensitive fingers slowly over the surface, committing every tiny detail to his mind. Smiling, he said, "Ahh, my sleeping dragon klah cup. I'm quite proud of this one, it's a very good choice." In response to her question, Samael replied, "Since I've always been blind, my other senses are quite a bit more sensitive than most. I create my clay works by touch alone, creating the decorations by feel and memory." Holding the cup still in his hands, he continued, "The paintings are a new idea for me... Freyr," he continued, indicating the firelizard on his shoulder with a small gesture, "sends me images, and I'll paint, then have Freyr send me another image of what I've done, then paint some more. I'm still getting used to the concept of colors, having never seen them before I Impressed Freyr, but my friend Ruliana said my paintings are quite interesting, so I brought them with me as well."

Still holding the cup, thinking for a bit after finishing answering Elysia's question, he finally said, "I will gladly part with this for five marks. Does that sound like a fair price to you?"

[Rei]

Elysia listened patiently to the young man’s explanation, her hands gently holding Elias still on her shoulders. The little boy kept trying to get a look at the paintings and other cups as Samael spoke. The greenrider raised an eyebrow as he indicated the flit but rather then say anything she simply gave a soft snort. And people said that flits were useless. Her’s certainly were not and it seemed that the bronze was hardly useless either. Clicking her tongue as he uttered the price she debated it for a moment before deciding that it was fair enough. It was a unique piece after all and S’rei was sure to like it if only because it came from Elias. Finally Elysia spoke. “Five marks sounds fair enough yes.” Her eyes flicked to a few of the other cups as well then and she wrinkled her nose. “If I buy more than one any chance you’d give me a discounted rate?”

There were more than a few of the cups that she was interested in maybe acquiring. There was one with a feline pawing curiously at the handle that she liked as well, and maybe they should get one for Miguel too. Bother. The greenrider didn’t really want to spend tons of marks here but there was no denying that the cups and bowls were of good quality, and interesting as well. For a blind kid who created from touch alone they were eerily good. She might have to bring S’rei by later and show him. Maybe…depended on how angry she was with him when she finally tracked him down.

Drawing her finger along the edge of the feline cup she poked Elias in the foot. “What about you my little one? We got a cup for Daddy and I think I’m going to get one for Miguel. Would you like one as well?” Shaking his head the boy pointed to one of the more colorful of the paintings before replying. “It looks happy.” Elysia raised an eyebrow and squinted at the painting that looked more like a mess of color to her than anything else. Did she want that hanging up somewhere in her weyr? Not really. But at the same time she didn’t want to say he couldn’t have it. Not unless the price was something ridiculous.

The woman glanced at Freyr and then indicated the painting Elias had pointed at. “How much is that?” Honestly she didn’t see the appeal but Elias had already turned his attention to Samael as he waited for an answer and Elysia could tell he was hoping she would agree to whatever the man said.

[Aftershock]

Samael's smile widened as the woman agreed to his price... honestly, he wasn't sure what would be considered fair, since he had no experience in the actual sales of artwork (until this moment). Then, his eyes widened a bit as she asked if she would get a discount for buying multiple pieces... Samael considered himself lucky to make his first sale, and now this woman was thinking of buying even MORE? Stuttering a bit in uncertainty, Samael replied, "Er, o-of course. I thank you for such interest in my work, and I would not want you to feel cheated."

He listened silently to the boy and his mother discuss his works, and then apparently indicate one of his paintings. Freyr, his chest presented proudly as the boy (and then his mother) indicated one of the paintings the flit had helped His create, sent an image of the chosen work to Samael, as well as a suggestion that it should cost five hundred marks. Smiling a bit despite himself, Samael replied out loud, "Freyr, that's a silly price... and you don't even know what a mark is, not to mention the value of one." Turning his attention back to Elysia, he thought for a bit and replied, "Does two marks sound fair to you? Though once we gather everything you'd like to buy, we can discuss a total price that you will be happy with."

[Rei]

Her eyes flicked over the other wares as Samael and his firelizard interacted mentally checking off the pieces she wished to buy and how much in marks she had left. It would probably be just a bit unfair to spend S’rei’s marks on a gift meant for him. Though, in truth, Elysia really had been planning on spending her marks on some good benden wine before Elias had pointed to this stall. So much for that. Maybe she could use her charm to get a better price on the wine. Damn wine always ran so damn expensive. At least the older vintages the greenrider most liked. “Two marks for the painting you say?” She repeated with a wrinkle of her nose. Well that settled it then. It wasn’t like she could really deny Elias for that price. The boy knew it too because he smiled brightly and bounced slightly on her shoulders his eyes flicking to the painting her had chosen as he waited for his mother to complete the transaction.

Finally having made a decision on all the pieces she wanted, Elysia picked up each one and passed it to the young blind man. “Okay the sleeping dragon cup, the one with the feline pawing at the handle, the one with the two flying flits and the one with the vines creeping up all over it. Those and the painting he picked out. How much for all?” Really the greenrider was curious to see what kind of a discount she ended up getting. Hopefully enough of one that she could still get at least one bottle of benden red and feed herself and Elias. If not well then she’d just have to steal some marks from S’rei when he finally showed up again. Whenever that was, knowing the bronzer he had gotten himself involved with someone political and would be all day.

Elias smiled as his mother handed the man the cups his dark eyes flicking to Samael. “You make nice things.” He offered brightly and then turned his attention towards Freyr. “Thank you.” It made sense to him to thank the flit anyway. It seemed that it was doing good work like momma’s flits did. Well except Amour but he was silly. Baron was the one who always did what he was told and never got in trouble.

[Aftershock]

Samael accepted each piece in turn, removing his gloves and carefully feeling over the cups to verify they were the ones he imagined they were from Elysia's description. Smiling widely at the number of pieces he was selling at once, Samael thought for a bit and said, "How does eighteen marks for everything you selected sound? Fair, I hope? If not, we can discuss it and find out a price you are comfortable paying... I would not want you to leave dissatisfied with my stall."

After Elias spoke, Samael smiled wider and turned to face the child's general direction from the sound of his voice, responding, "Thank you. It's just nice that people appreciate my work... I wasn't sure about actually trying to sell any of it, but my friend Ruliana convinced me to try it. I just enjoy making things with my hands, and clay is something I can work with that doesn't carry the risk of injury due to my blindness in the way something like woodworking or sewing might." He was about to respond to the thanks, but then Freyr puffed up, flapping his wings out proudly and displaying his red-marked chest before chirruping happily at the boy, and Samael realized the thanks was directed at his mindmate, not himself.

[Rei]

Elysia shifted her weight and watched Samael handle the cups, idly wondering what it would be like to live in a world without sight. She couldn’t imagine it. Never being able to look upon her dragon again, or her children, or her weyrmate. Never again seeing their faces, people’s expressions, the colors and sights around her. All those things that normal people took for granted. Being born without sight like the young man said he had been had to be better than losing it after being gifted with it she decided. Not that the woman thought that made Samael’s situation really suck any less. But she supposed you could not miss what you had never had. The greenrider tilted her head as a price for all the items was finally uttered and she ticked off the number of pieces in her head, doing some simple math. Supposed it wasn’t a bad price but Elysia had something of a penchant for argument. Which meant that haggling was pretty much right up her alley.

“Eighteen marks you say? Hmm. Would you take thirteen marks for them?” As she spoke she pulled out her coin purse and silently counted what she had left her eyes flicking back to Samael’s sightless ones expecting him to respond with a counter offer. Okay. It was kind of creepy to try and hold gaze’s with a sightless person. Her eyes flicked back to the cups then. He did do very good work. His friend was right to encourage him she supposed. Even if his blindness made it harder for him to spot thieves but she supposed that that was what the canine and firelizard was for.

Elias smiled at Samuel and nodded before his attention went back to Freyr and he smiled even brighter. The boy quite liked firelizards. Miguel had a green one and Mommy had two brown ones. Daddy didn’t have any flits but he had a Mhir and Mhir was the best of them all. Even if the small mandyr wasn’t a flit he could fly like one and could talk. The boy’s fingers tangled into his mother’s hair then and he played with the strands as he waited, his attention obviously waning now that he knew he was going to get his painting.

[Aftershock]

Samael's expression dropped a tiny bit as Elysia stated her counter-offer... though his inexperience in the world of business showed loud and clear when instead of a counter-counter-offer, he simply shrugged and replied, "If that seems fair to you, I cannot deny it. I would not wish you to leave unhappy with my pricing, or without my wares." Obviously unaware of the greenrider's inability to hold his gaze, he held out a gloved hand for the marks, adding, "I only ask that you let those who ask you about my work know that it was I who made them, and where I am located. In fact, if you wish, you can even let them know that normally I am located at Selenitas Weyr, and would be glad to take orders for custom works, if anyone would desire them from me."

[Rei]

Elysia could have just accepted his acceptance of her extremely low price and left. However the woman was not quite cruel enough to rip off a blind man of all things. So when Samael finished she simply snorted softly and counted out sixteen marks. Placing them into his gloved hand she smiled. “Hun you need to learn to haggle better or people are going to walk all over you. You sell quality items don’t sell them for less than they are worth.”

Wrinkling her nose she placed the purchased items into the cloth bag she had brought with her. “I actually live at that weyr too. Maybe I’ll look you up some time.” Certainly couldn’t hurt. He did a good job and if he offered custom works? Well that might appeal to her. Shame he couldn’t work with glass. She would have liked a nice set of wine glasses. “Good luck. I’ll put in a good word with some of my friends.” T’san might find the stall interesting at the very least. Maybe M’ta would too. With that she flicked her hand at him in a brief wave and turned to enter the crowd.

“Thank you!” Elias said cheerfully as his mother turned to leave and he waved goodbye to Freyr and Heimdall with enthusiasm before his head turned to watch the sea of people he and his mother were heading into, looking for a particularly tall bronzer.