Log:A Consultation

A Consultation
"We can adopt."
Participants Malachi Underwood and Signe Desrochers	2018.02.23 And it might have been a marriage proposal as well?
Location Skin and Bones
Signe hadn't been sure if she was going to return home, but she'd gotten back over the weekend. She'd stayed at her parents house because she just didn't want to be at the shop by herself. Alocer had grumbled muchly about the 'being by herself' comment. But then he'd gotten over it. Today had been reopening the shop. Mainly cleaning up things like the counters and getting things set up again. Currently the woman is sitting up on the main counter by the register with a small container of Chinese food and eating, "Things are coming along nicely." she smiles to the massive hellhound at her feet. And someone left the door unlocked! Malachi pushes the door open and steps into the shop, his eyes going to the huge mural first. He calls back over his shoulder to whoever is there, "Good evening. This is very a nice picture. Did you paint it?" The tall gray man with the flowing locks down his back turns his head to look at Signe finally. "Oh. I am sorry. I did not mean to $R$Rinterrupt your meal. I can return later, if that is preferable?" Signe gives a look to the big man when he comes in and she slurps a noodle between her lips a bit comedically when she realizes he's basically a moving gargoyle. "Good evening." she greets him with a wiggle of long fingers. She then settles her Chinese to the side and hops off the counter, "I did paint that, yep. Thank you." she tells him with a smile. Then the hedge beast moves to sit next to her. "What can we help you with this evening?" she asks him with a smile. Malachi eyes the hell hound with a little trepidation, a hand reaching for a long cylindrical carrier tube strapped to his back by a leather belt that crosses his chest. " I was told I may get a tattoo here. It may not be possible due to an inherent skin condition, but a friend said this place is better suited than most." He walks over to the counter and leans onto it, arms crossed, elbows holding his weight. By the way that container pulls at his shoulder, it is likely not filled with large art canvasses. Signe's blue eyes look over the man and there's a bit of a smile to him as she watches him, "I do tattoos, yes." she tells him with a smile. "Though your skin being stone. I suspect there might be an issue with that." she admits as she looks to his face. Oh yeah. He'd been clocked. "Let me see what you've got and I can see if maybe we can do something. I've not had anyone like you come in before. So I'm not sure if it's possible or not." she tells him honestly. "I am.. unique. " If the man is at all phased by her recognition, it doesn't show on his face, although he does give her his best version of a smile, which all things considered for rock skin, is pretty passably good? He leans in closer and sniffs ta her or the noodles, who knows which? Ogres, am I right? "It may prove out of your scope until you have some experience with a chisel? The one I have, I got... before." He lifts his right shirt sleeve to show a tattoo melded into the stone skin of an angry badger and 235th in script under it. "You do look pretty unique." Signe admits to that. "And you can speak freely here. There's no cameras or recorders." she assures him. She then gives him a 'please' look, "I'm an artist, sir. I have experience with many tools." she tells him with a shake of her head. "I've just never...chiseled...anyone." she admits. Then she looks at the tattoo he got before, "Military? What branch?" she asks him. Malachi nods his head to in her direction as he follows her gaze to the older ink. "Marines. 8 years in. Mostly in Afghanistan. Lifetime ago, it seems." He begins to soften, not his skin, but demeanor as he speaks. LIke the reverse of a plant getting sunlight. Conversation seeming to ease him, especially once the all clear is given by Signe. He taps his arm, the sound thunking dully. "At least you have a challenge and a story to tell our grand kids?" Boom! He's still a little of it behind that hard exterior. The smile raises a little as he watches her. Signe gives him a smile, "Once a Marine, always a Marine." she tells him. It was a statement of fact. Though the silver haired woman blinks and seems to just stare at him for a moment when he talks of grandchildren, "You know you guys can't..." she then presses her lips together. He didn't seem fresh from the Hedge. "Can you take a girl out for a drink first?" she asks him with a chuckle. "Or my family owns a bar, I can take you out for a drink I guess." she offers. "Semper Fi." Mal states quietly but with deep reverence. He reaches for a piece of scratch paper left over from someone's earlier design thoughts and turns it over to the blank side. Rummaging around for a pencil, he writes in big block letters, a single word: A D O P T. "Ogre doesn't always mean stupid." He says it as matter of fact, not from a place of insult as it's happened too many times to bother him any longer. He holds it up to make his point and then sets it back to the counter. "I'd like that. Coffee or beer or just some nice green tea at the little Japanese place I saw before?" Signe just shakes her head as she laughs, it's an honest to goodness laugh, one that she's not had in a long time. "Sorry, I just didn't know if you knew and I didn't want to be the bearer of bad news if you didn't." she tells him as she reaches out to swat him gently in the arm. "Thanks for writing that down though. Ass." she mutters. "At least you are okay with adopting." she muses. "I didn't think you were stupid Mister..." she starts, then stops. Clearing her throat, "I'm Signe Desrochers and your name is?" she asks as she offers a hand for a shake. "And sure. Green tea is good." she smiles. Signe just shakes her head as she laughs, it's an honest to goodness laugh, one that she's not had in a long time. "Sorry, I just didn't know if you knew and I didn't want to be the bearer of bad news if you didn't." she tells him as she reaches out to swat him gently in the arm. "Thanks for writing that down though. Ass." she mutters. "At least you are okay with adopting." she muses. "I didn't think you were stupid Mister..." she starts, then stops. Clearing her throat, "I'm Signe Desrochers and your name is?" she asks as she offers a hand for a shake. "And sure. Green tea is good." she smiles. Malachi lets out a chest deep laugh himself, his black eyes twinkling like little stars brighten and dull in rapid succession and they seem to convey far more than his heartier exterior allows. "Sometimes, you have to make sure they understand you. Letters are powerful." He turns to look her over slowly, not really having taken the time since he came in. The introduction is a bonus to it, so he doesn't seem awkward with his eyes on her. "I am Malachi Underwood. Of the Dallas, Texas Underwoods." He winks at her and takes her hand gently in his. He gives a very measured squeeze and shake, but seems in no rush to let go of her warm hand. HIs own has the strangest sensation of warm skin and soft sandstone, not at all unpleasant, but definitely unusual. "They have a garden. At the tea place. Gardens help people relax?" "You would have felt bad if I couldn't read." Signe tells him with a chuckle as she shakes his hand. "And if you read the sign outside, if people come in drunk and request certain letters they get Teletubbies instead." she beams. Then she gives him a smile, "Malachi, like from the bible?" she asks him. "Never been to Texas." she admits as she looks down to his hand. Then there's a smile as she thinks on something, but mention of a garden gets her attention, "Gardens are nice, yes." she nods to that. "So what brings you to Fate's Harvest?" she asks him. "If you couldn't read it, then I would have read it for you?" Mal leans against the count on his elbow, making the wood creak slightly. "And yes, just like in the bible. My parents were good God-fearing folks. But I like it. It's different and has a certain depth to it?" He opens his hand, letting her pull away if she wishes to with greater ease. He glances around at the other art for a second and nods slowly. "Well, although I may look like an accountant, I'm actually here after a bounty out in the Hedge. Privateer sort causing some trouble down south fled up this way, well, roundabout but this is the closest entrance? I'm guessing you're from here?" Signe just giggles, "Sound it out with me, pretty girl. It says... 'A...dop...tion.'" she teases him gently. "Well, I was born as a surprise on Christmas to mine. So I'm probably as close to Jesus as you're getting on Earth." she tells him. Then she gives him a look over and then sniffs lightly, "Hmmm...Summer mantle...Ogre...Tolltaker?" she asks him as she looks to him. "And yes, I'm local. I'm part of the local Desrochers family." she admits. Malachi looks at her and laughs lightly grabbing the paper and holding it up to his face. "Ogre read. Uh... dop..chen. See?" He lowers the page, peeking over the top down to her. He opens his fingers, letting the paper slip out and fall gracefully to the floor between them. Looking down at it, then to her, he shrugs his broad shoulders. "Yes, Tolltaker Knight, Court of Summer for many seasons now. Do you walk on water, by chance, Silver Jesus?" He chuckles, a sound like rocks rolling down a mountain. His mantle is strong, smelling of ash and soot mixed with the deep smoke of raw wood. If she can glimpse it at all, she can see smoke rise from his both and small rivulets of bright yellow and orange lava flowing over his skin like veins, both bodily and those in a mine, starts and stopping in different spots all over him. "You seem familiar to me, for some reason. As if I have known you before? And no, that is not a cheap pickup line. Mine are much worse than that." Signe sticks her tongue out at him as he looks over the top of the page at her. Oh yes, she was very mature. When the paper hits the floor though, Alocer picks it up and then goes over to deposit it into the trash, "She's already got one kid to feed. No rushing to get another one." the massive hellhound states before he lays back down near the counter. Signe gives a laugh to Alocer, "He's got jokes, Malachi, this is Archduke Alocer. Alocer, this is Malachi." she introduces them. Then she looks to Mal when he mentions her being familiar and there's a momentary panic there, "I don't know where you'd know me from if you're new to town..." she whispers. "Are you Isreal? Cause, girl, you is real fine." Malachi deadpans and looks over to Alocet and gives a little bow to the Archduke. "You've found quite the pet here, Alocet. Better keep a tight leash on her?" Smirking awkwardly, his face just not quite built for it, so it looks slightly off, he adds to the hellhound. "I'd bring you a virgin but I think this town ran out of them along time ago." Mal smiles now, as fully and reassuringly as he can, noting that little panic in Sigre's voice. He reaches a hand out to rest on her shoulder. "Probably just one of those faces or some fever dream I had ages ago? Bad taco night?" Signe groans, "Boo this man. Boo him." she tells Alocer with a laugh. "That was horrible. But kind of adorable coming from someone like you." she admits. Then there's a bit of a look, "I'm no ones pet." she huffs at him. Alocer gives a laugh, "Oh boy. He's in for a surprise." he states. Then there's a look to Mal when he touches her shoulder and she gives him a smile, "Some people save we have dreams about people before we meet them. Might be that. Who knows, right?" she asks him. Malachi nods his head, his black eyes looking into hers for a moment. "I was going to say that but I didn't want it to come out incorrectly, but yes, it does happen." He lifts his forefinger from her shoulder just to feel her hair and then pulls his hand away quickly, before things get too weird. "So... umm. I was thinking of something cute? Hello Kitty or Strawberry Shortcake? Something to completely throw off my enemies? Maybe Tigger?" He hides the light flash of nervousness under tattoo talk. Is it even a tattoo at this point or more of an etching? "I wasn't going to think it was one of your pick up lines or anything." Signe assures him as she looks to him with a smile. There's a bit of a shiver though when she feels him touch her hair and he's so close. Maybe she does remember something. Then his request catches her off guard. "Strawberry Shortcake isn't too overly done. So that might be cute." she tells him honestly. "Or could go over some stuff with you to get maximum cuteness." she grins at him. Malachi closes his eyelids for just a second, the soft feel of her hair resounding and sending a hidden shiver through him. He opens them again and grins, nodding his head to her. "I am sure with some time and research we can find the right character to instill the opposite of fear in our rivals! Or something like that?" Mal takes a step closer to her, almost without even noticing he does it. His nostrils flare as he draws in a heaping helping of her scent and he lets his breath out slowly, eyes and head turning to the exit. "Maybe later tonight or tomorrow for that tea?" "I can always do Teletubbies. I'm quite adept at Tinky Winky." Signe tells him with a brilliant smile. Then she looks at his chest when he steps in and there's a chuckle as he breathes her scent in, "You sure you aren't part Beast?" she asks him with a soft smile. Then she nods, "Sure, either time sounds good. I'm not tending bar tonight." she states. "No Teletubbies. I have to draw a line somewhere. There is my line." Malachi intones with no inflection in his voice, yet his eyes still carry that little mischievous glint. Luckily, he can't blush or if he can, it can't be seen. He lets out a rumbling laugh and shakes his head. "No, just.. you smell good. I do have a little Wizened, though? That's the gray. So, I'll come pick you up when you close shop for the night?" Signe gives a smile to him, "Well, you aren't drunk, so I can't give you one." she chuckles to that. Then she gives a grin to him, "Sure, I'm not working...so I can close whenever. I'm just reopening things next week." she admits. "So whenever you are free." she adds.