Dolphineer Turned Model

Western Weyr - Lagoon Shore
A sandy beach running along the edge of the lagoon, between the sparkling waters and the bowl. Sometimes riders and dragons are seen playing in the water nearby or a dolphin can be seen cavorting. At other times seacraft can be seen coming in under the arch to dock. The lagoon is large enough to fill a quarter of the length of the bowl. A path winds out along a ledge out to the docks to the southwest, the lagoon to the west and the bowl to the east.
The vast majority of residents bustle back and forth on their many errands, keeping Western Weyr running smoothly. Children released from lessons scamper across the bowl while weyrlings bathe by the lagoon and practice. Delivery wings can be seen coming and going all day long overhead.The days grow slightly shorter as the turn winds its way into fall, and the air becomes gradually a bit cooler, carrying with it smells of moist earth and changing leaves.


It's a lovely early Autumn day at here. The sun is bright and shining in the cloudless sky. Most are here for swimming, bathing their dragons, or just soaking up the sun. Lorenze, however, is working. The painter has an easel and canvas set up at one end of the beach, a palette, brushes, and other art supplies sitting on a small portable stand beside it. He seems to be getting ready to work on something, looking out over the sand as he mixes paint.

Jeyinshi isn't a beachgoer, she's a permanant fixture. The dolphineer is out in the water as usual, idly fiddling with the stopwatch in hand. Every few minutes the dolphineer breaks out in a strange mixture of clicks and squeaks. The strange language seems to be a code of some sort, because every time she begins, a large multi colored beach ball floats in specific directions. Suddenly, the dolphineer brings to fingers to her lips and lets out two loud whistles and the ball goes flying in the air, landing on the shore a few feet from a painter. Jeyinshi turns her around, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand and running over. "Sorry. It didn't get close enough to mess up your work, did it?"

Lorenze looks up at the dolphineer, who enters his field of few just as he's putting the very first drops of paint to the canvas, a touch of blue for the sky in the upper corner. He sets the brush down and smiles in a friendly manner. "Oh, no. The ball didn't cause any problems at all. Though I'm afraid that now since you've run through the spot I was painting, you'll have to be in it." He's clearly joking, evidenced by his smile. He holds out his hand. "Lorenze."

Jeyinshi laughs goodnaturedly, "I'm not good enough to model, so don't blame me if your painting turns out horrid now." She picks up the ball, holding it against her hip with one hand and using the other to take his hand in a firm handshake. "I'm Jeyinshi, journeyman dolphineer. And the cause of your almost ruined painting is my partner, Haesungie." Dropping his hand, the petite woman hitches a thumb over her shoulder at the exact moment a small white dolphin leaps into the air and does a flip. "HI! I'm SUNIGE! I'm SORRY!" Jeyin rolls her eyes a bit at the dolphin's self introduction, "He's a bit energetic, but he does have his manners. I'll apologize as well again. Sorry about the interruption."

"Good enough? In what way do you think you're not good enough to be painted?" Lorenze asks with a hearty smile. "No offense ever meant to professional models, but honestly? Being the subject of a painting isn't all that difficult. No real work to it." He shakes the offered hand firmly. "Very nice to meet you, Jeyinshi." When the handshake is complete, he laughs and waves to the dolphin. "Very nice to meet you as well, Sunige! No harm done!" His grin returns to Jeyinshi. "Seriously, you didn't interrupt. Though if you'd like to be in my painting, I certainly would appreciate it."

Jeyinshi grins, "I couldn't sit still long enough to be painted properly, but I like your way of thinking." She turns around for a moment, quickly hitting the beach ball back into the water and towards the waiting dolphin, "Take a bit of a break Hae!" The dolphins gives an affirmative wave with his tail before clicking a friendly goodbye and disappearing underwater. When she turns back around, there's a wide grin on her face, "Shards, you're one of the few people that isn't completely taken aback when Sungie first speaks to them. But if you really want me to, then why not? Though I'm curious as to what the painting is for exactly. And whether I could maybe get a photograph copy of it once you're done."

Lorenze gives the dolphin a little wave before his full attention returns to the handler. "Really? I guess it's like those people who don't grow up around dragons, and it seems weird to them. I suppose everyone gets worried by the unfamiliar… I've seen dolphins, before. They're cute, really." He returns her wide grin. "Excellent! I'll tell you what, Jeyinshi. You let me do a painting of you. If you like it, and you let me do another one, you can keep the one you like better for yourself. How's that for a deal?"

Jeyinshi nods, "Yeah, I think that's exactly what happens. And I'll thank you on behalf of the dolphins. Or at least on behalf of Sungie. He'd much appreciate the compliment." The dolphineer tilts her head, listening to the proposal before smiling, "You've got yourself a model. Now….what should I do? Am I supposed to sit still for something like this?" Her question is genuine, it seems that Jey hasn't really ever sat to get a painting of herself done.

Lorenze ponders that for a moment, tapping the not-painted end of his brush against his chin. "Why don't you pose however you think you look best? You know yourself best of all, after all. Make sure you're positioned in a comfortable manner, you might have to hold it for a little while."

"The position…I look best in?" Jeyinshi seems honestly puzzled for a few seconds before snaps her fingers, apparently deciding on a pose. Quick strides take her in front of the artist and she sits down on the sand, bringing her legs up slightly and leaning back on her arms for support. She closes her eyes, raising her face to the sky and staying that way for a few seconds before popping open one eye and looking over at Lorenze, "How about this? Does it work?"

Lorenze looks over the pose adopted by the dolphineer, smiling and nodding a bit. He's already started mixing paints to match her skin tone. "Looks perfect. See, you /are/ a natural at this. Very pretty." He says this with a very wide smile. "Thank you for volunteering. You'll be comfy like this?"

Jeyinshi chuckles softly, "To be honest, I just chose the most comfortable pose I could imagine. But thanks for the compliment. And speaking of comfort…" The dolphineer frowns a bit and shakes her head, "One sec." Jey is quick to stand, unzipping her wetsuit and slipping out to reveal her regular black swimsuit. She folds it caerfully, placing it on the ground a little ways off before settling back onto the sand. "It gets ridiculously hot in that thing when you're not in the water."

Lorenze looks just a little surprised by the removal of the wetsuit, but certainly not in any unpleasant way. He laughs a little and grins. "I imagine. You look even better without it. Feel free to lose the suit too, if you like." He says in a manner which is really only half-joking, continuing to add paints to his palette. "Almost ready to start."

Jey's eyes pop open at /that/ comment and she frowns a bit, "I'm more than happy to help you model, but I think I'll keep my swimsuit on." After a while though, the irritation seems to melt away and the dolphineer goes back to looking up at the sky, "So do you paint as your profession then? I haven't seen you around here before, so I'm thinking you're kind of like a wandering artist?"

"Can't blame a fellow for trying." Lorenze says with another bright, deep laugh. Takes quite a bit to shake him out of his cheery mood, it seems. With his paints finally arranged, he dips the brush back in and starts applying it to canvas. "You're very perceptive. That's exactly right. I go from hold to hold, weyr to weyr, painting the people and the places I see. Selling my work has gotten me enough to survive so far."

"It might have worked for some other girl, unfortunately I'm a stick in the mud. Gallant effort though." The dolphineer smiles easily for a few moments. "Am I? Guess I am. But that's nice, it seems like a fun life style. What got you started with the whole wandering artist routine? Or was it just something you always wanted to do since you were young?"

"Oh, you're hardly a stick in the mud. You're here modeling for me, after all… but I probably do owe you an apology for that remark. It was unprofessional of me." Lorenze shrugs a little at the questions, continuing his work. "Well, I've always been on the road. My family were traders. Entertainers. We always kept moving. I apprenticed for a little while, as a Harper… but I couldn't stand being in one place for so long. Got back on the road. What about you? Why dolphins?"

"Well apology accepted. Don't worry too much about it, I've dealt with worse. And it usually takes more to get me angry." Jey nods a bit, listening to his explanation before smiling a bit and launching into her own. "My parents are Master Dolphineers. I've got 4 older brothers and they're all dolphineers too. I grew up with dolphins, loved them and the water ever since I was little. There was never really any question as to whether I would do anything else with my life besides being a dolphineer." The woman's explanation gives off a sense of pride in both her family and her craft.

"Well, thank you for that. Here you are doing me a favor, and I make a crass remark like that. Don't know what I was thinking." Lorenze says with a little chuckle. "Both parents are Masters, huh? Wow. You have reason to be proud. Obviously, it's in your blood, just like wandering's in mine. Sounds like you're perfectly suited for it… hold your face still for just a moment, okay? Just smile." He carefully fills in some details in the painting, concentrating for a moment. "… Okay, you can talk again. Just keep your body still."

"Like I said, don't worry about it. We all speak before thinking sometimes." She smiles a bit at the compliment to her parents and nods, "Yeah, I am really proud of them, and of my family. I….ah, yeah." The dolphineer stops her talk and freezes, eyes closed and smiling up at the sky until Lorenze finally tells her it's ok to speak. "I'm not used to getting painted, which is what's accounting for the restlessness right now. I'll try not to move anymore." She chuckles softly before blowing a stray strand of hair from her face, "So what're you going to do with the 2nd painting of me? Sell it…?"

"Possibly. If you liked it, and gave me approval to sell it. I never sell portraits of people without their permission. I might just keep it. In fact, if it turns out good enough, I might keep it even if you gave me permission." Lorenze answers with a smile as he paints. He switches between flesh-toned colors and darker ones for the suit. "You are doing just fine. Please don't be nervous. You're a beautiful subject."

"I was thinking of having my parents buy it. They like these kinds of things and it'd probably make you a few pretty good marks. But keep it? I think it's better if you sell it really." She pops an eye open, watching curiously as he mixes his colors before chukcling softly, "Alright you compliment laden painter, I'll believe you but cut down on your sugary sweetness." Jey grins and shakes her head, "You should've painted Sungie instead of me. I'd have liked a painting of him. Maybe I can commission one from you eventually."

Lorenze laughs again. "Laying it on too thick, am I? I really need to work on my approach… well, if you or your parents want to buy it, and you approve, I'd be more than happy to sell it. Sounds like a good deal for all of us." He's continuing his speedy painting. "I do take commissions. I'd love to paint a dolphin, I never have before. Would he be able to stay still enough to pose properly."

"Just a bit. Or maybe you should just work on who you approach." Jeyinshi grins before nodding, "I approve. Just let me know the price and I'll get it to you once you're ready to have them picked up." Could Sungie stay still? The dolphineer suddenly bursts into soft laughter, "That might be a problem. Though if I get him excited enough about the end product, he may listen for a while. How long do you think it would take? Actually…it might be good training for him, teach him a bit of patience."

"Why? You seem like a perfectly nice young lady. Pretty, good career, adventurous without being sleazy. Seems like just the sort of person I should be approaching… let me guess. Handfasted? Don't like men? Your only love is the sea and your dolphins?" There's more obvious joking and laughter. "Well, if you're willing to pay, I'm willing to give painting him my best shot. Though obviously the end results will be somewhat dependant on his efforts. Okay, hold still just a little longer here…" He tries to work quickly, not wanting to tax the first time model unnecessarially.

Jeyinshi grins, "It's the last part mostly. The sea and my dolphins come first, I'm too busy to deal with love right now. I spend most of my days and nights out here training with Sungie. So I'll tell you right now, you'll get nowhere with me." The dolphineer states this bluntly but with no menace in her voice and evnetually she lets out a soft laugh as well. "Mmm, I can pay. I'll see what I can do about him though. Worst comes to worst it'll end up looking like some white blur of a thing. I'll pretend it's a ghost picture." The last comment is said with a straight face and complete monotone, her strange form of humor showing itself. "Mk, just let me know when you're done."

"Oh, a challenge. I like those." Lorenze is either extremely thickheaded or simply continuing to display his own odd sense of humor. Or both. He grows silent for a moment, a look of concentration on his face as he finishes some last details. "… Okay. Done. Came out rather nice, I think. Come have a look." The painting shows surprising technical skill and accuracy, especially considering the speed with which it was produced. It's extremely flattering to the subject, but obviously recognizable as her.

Jeyinshi stares at the artist for a few seconds before shaking her head and sighing. When he finally finishes, the dolphineer smiles and quickly hops up, brushing the sand from her legs. She wanders over to gaze at the painting, nodding in approval, "You…well, you certainly made me prettier than you should have, but otherwise it's great really. You're good at this, it's no wonder that you can make a living off your paintings."

"It's yours. I'll put it in a nice frame for you, then you can have it whenever you like. Unless you prefer the second painting, when it's done. Or you can just pay and take them both." Lorenze grins broadly at the compliments. "Well, thank you very much. I'm glad you approve. I'm rather pleased with it myself. Should I make you less pretty in the next one?" He asks with another laugh.

"You can frame it? That'd be nice. Easier to hang up and such. But yeah, I'll probably take them both." She laughs along with him and shakes her head, "You're welcome, but I was just speaking the truth. All you need to do is paint me as I am, no need to pretty me up or anything like that. It's just my family and I that will be looking at them so there isn't much to worry about."

"I will strive for realism. But I was just painting how you look to me." Lorenze has not learned his lesson about laying it on thick. "Now then. As I have only the one canvas with me, I was going to suggest that we have dinner, go dancing and drinking, then go back to my temporary studio and finish it there. But I am beginning to get this very subtle hint that you might not be interested. So, I will instead ask when would be a good time for you to just drop by to get the painting done."

Jeyinshi frowns at the initial comments, and the frown deepens as he goes on. But the last comment seems to dispel most of that. "It seems you're learning to be perceptive yourself. But seriously, I don't think I could sit and pose like that again. Can we just make the second painting of Sungie? Once you're done framing the first you can drop by. I'll give Sungie the day off so he doesn't get distracted with anything else. That sound alright to you?"

"Sounds fine by me. Just anytime during the day, then? Around this time?" Lorenze asks as he begins packing up his supplies, cleaning his brushes and palette before returning them to a carrying case. "I'm looking forward to it. It'll be something new, and I don't get genuinely novel things to paint that often." His expression suggests he was planning to lead into more flirtation with that, but he stops himself. Fast learner. "Well then. I'll get this framed. If you change your mind about dancing, I'm set up at the guest weyrs." He pauses. "And just so we're clear on that, I'm talking about regular dancing. That's not a euphemism for anything."

Jeyinshi nods, "Around this time is good. And I'm glad that you're interested in painting Sungie. It'll probably be the only portrait he ever gets painted." The dolphineer smiles and slips back into her wetsuit, zipping it up and nodding. "I won't change my mind, but if I need a painting I'll know where to find you." Jeyin then pauses a bit, tilting her head, "Regular dancing? Euphemism? What other kind of dancing is out there? I don't see what it could possibly a euphemism for." She thinks this aritst is /strange/ and it's written all over her face. "Anyhow, I have to get back to work though. It was nice meeting you Lorenze, and thanks for the painting." With a bit of a wave and a smile, the dolphineer heads back to the waters, whistling loudly for Sungie.

"I have no idea what it could be a euphemism for. But you already seem to think I might be some sort of terrible lech, so I figured I shouldn't leave anything ambiguous." Lorenze says with a grin as he packs up everything and collapses his easel for transport. "Well, whatever you do with your evening, I hope it is enjoyable. Please tell Sungie I am looking forward to painting him." He returns the wave before departing.

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