mincingminuet | Recolle Inbox

I trust the police to handle this.
This is still in the 48 hour window.

But if you need, you're welcome to come over and wait for news.

Nobody should have to be alone at times like this.

[That goes against every feeling she has. She has to look for her, has to make sure she's okay.

But Pen is right, there isn't much she can do, even if she left right now.]

Okay. I need to clean up first. I haven't even taken a shower yet.
See you in an hour?

Yes, whenever you're ready. Door's open, I'll be working on a costume in the main room.

[About fifty minutes later, Vera walks through the door wearing a pair of yoga pants and a plain white top. She's forgone her usual heels for gym shoes, making her lack of height all the more apparent.

Wandering into Pen's main room, she settles herself on the couch, eyes glued to her phone.]

Hey Pen. Still no news.

[Pen is actually not in the room, she's sitting half in-half out of the doorway to her deck, a long piece of wood and a knife in her hand. Slowly whittling away at the top, she looks up at the noise of Vera entering.]

Sorry to hear that.

[Still working, she breathes out a sigh.]

How you holding up?

Well... my hands have stopped shaking. That's a start, at least?

[She finally puts her phone back into her pocket after checking the network for the thousandth time, resting her head on the back of the couch with a groan.]

It is.

[Still whittling, slicing through bark with long strokes by rote, Pen looks up at her.]

Sorry. I...really don't know what I can say that'll ease your burden, but I'm here for you. I do trust the police though.

It's... fine.

[It really isn't. Her girlfriend is gone without a trace, and her Retrospec account is gone, meaning even if she's found, there's no promises that she'll even know who Vera is anymore, let alone their relationship.]

I just need to stay distracted. What are you working on?

[Pen holds up the stick, showing that she's been peeling off the bark, exposing the white yew.]

A part of a costume for Seto's convention. Are you at all familiar with anime? I'm going as a character from Enrage.

[Because Berserk didn't have an expy yet.]

Also, I guess it's a walking stick, too.

Edited 2017-06-21 15:18 (UTC)

Those are like cartoons, right? I've heard about that kind of stuff, but I've never seen any of it.

And people wear costumes to these conventions? Is that normal?

Yeah, it's shorthand in Japanese for animation, basically. They're animated movies and TV shows, though most of them aren't like what would show on American TV. There's a DVD case on the coffee table for the show I'm dressing up from. Have a look.

[And just like Berserk, it's...dark, lots of red and black coloring, and the synopsis is all about a fantasy war and demons and shit.]

And yes, they do. Loads of people go in costume, it's a hobby called Cosplay. I do it for fun every now and then.

That's interesting. I guess it can be fun to dress up in strange outfits every now and then.

[Vera leans forward to grab the DVD case off the coffee table, flipping it over to skim over the back.]

Looks very... gruesome.

This one is. It's one of those dark fantasy stories, and it's fun in it's own way.

[She hops up and pads over to the entertainment center, rooting around inside before pulling out another DVD. Yowl's Roaming Castle.]

Now, I do have this one, which is a lot more lighthearted. I'm going to pop it in for background noise. One of my favorites, and it's a good introduction to anime in general.

So it's not just one genre then. I always thought cartoons were just for kids.

[But she's not about to turn Pen down when she wants to show her something, especially when she's as upset as she is. So she'll just get comfy on the couch. But before she zones out and watches the movie, she turns back to her host.]

Is there... anything I can do to help?

Nah. This runs the gamut. Honestly think of it like any TV show around. Just animated. There's stuff that's about fighting, and stories about drama and teenage romance, really dumb comedies, the works.

[Popping in the DVD she sets it to play and goes back to her seat.]

As for help...maybe. I assume you don't know anything about whittling but do you think you could help me do some paper staining?

[If only as a distraction.]

You may need to show me, but I'm sure I can help.

[So she'll just get off the couch to crouch down beside her.]

What are we staining?

Paper. Specifically some old parchment I've gotten ready. I need it to look older, more weathered.

[Shifting to open a basket, she pulls out a stack of rolled up bits of paper about the size of a page each. They've got some rough edges like they were deliberately torn and defaced to look old.]

There's a paint pan in the fridge filled with old tea water, just earl gray, nothing that'll stain actual cloth but it works fine on paper.. If you don't mind just soaking these in it and then hanging them up on the clothes line on the deck that would be amazing.

Sure, no problem.

[She'll just get up and retrieve the tea water from the refrigerator before carefully bringing it to the deck.]

So what are you making, some kind of weird book?

mmmMmm.

[Pen hums a negative and flips open her phone to a picture of a young witch.]

I'm making her scroll basket. Don't have a good picture of it on the phone but she carries around a small basket full of scrolls covered in magic runes. Once the stains are done, I'm going to paint on some of the runes, and stain over them again.

[Vera looks over the picture. Well, at least the girl is cute.]

That's certainly in-depth for a costume.

[She sets the first couple of pages into the tea water, letting them rest for just a moment to let the stain set in without dissolving the paper.]

Please don't tell me you'll be dying your hair.

[She's also like, 13. Pen just happens to like the outfit and it's an excuse to wear a witches hat.]

Why would I dye my hair? Her hair's green, so it wouldn't show up. I'm going to wear a wig.

[She's got that styled and set aside in a closet already.]

But I have dyed it before. Just...not green.

I don't know, you seemed to be pretty detailed about everything else, I thought maybe you'd dye your hair too. For realism or something.

[She's hung the first set of pages to dry and begins staining the second.]

Is blonde your natural color?

Nah. Wigs are way easier.

[Carving away here.]

It is though, yeah. Why?

Just... curious, I guess.

Besides, I can't imagine you with a different hair color.

Oh. Well yeah, no. it's my natural hair color. It's been pink and blue at times for costumes, but I always go back to blonde.

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