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paintedscales · 7 months

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FFXIV Write 2023 :: Day 22

Prompt :: Fulsome Characters :: Nomin tal Kheeriin, Alphinaud Leveilleur, Dulia-Chai, Chai-Nuzz Word Count :: 2,330

FFXIV Write 2023 Master List

A loose towel was draped around Nomin’s shoulders as she sat outside the showering rooms that Eulmore had that were mandatory for those coming in from the outside. She had scrunched her nose at the sight that surrounded her ever since stepping foot through the threshold into the impressive structure that made up the city. Green marble, golden accents, ruby red walls tinged with the floral scent of roses... It would have been wondrous were it not for the horrid living conditions of Gatetown and the added desperation of Kai-Shirr wanting to get in so that he could live among his friends.

Hells…even hearing how Tristol had lost the will to paint had been heartbreaking to Nomin. She would not have been able to imagine not being able to love painting -- recreating settings and sceneries to reflect upon and remember… She wondered if Alphinaud had felt the same, for the two of them had often indulged in art, different as their subjects may have been. And so, with the idea that they were both painters -- Alphinaud the expert in painting people, and Nomin his protégé who specialized in landscapes, they had their cover story for entering into the otherwise secretive city.

Nomin leaned her head back, the back of it hitting the wall behind her. She had been waiting for Alphinaud at this rate, his reluctance to take the opportunity when they first got there delayed them in meeting with their new charge.

Leaning down somewhat, Nomin took a small sniff of her clothes. They did reek of sweat and earthy tones…though she supposed that was what the perfume was for. If she was supposed to look and smell her best, Nomin thought to herself that she and Alphinaud both could have been provided some appropriately-sized clothes to wear. Or there could have been something nearby to wash their clothes without bringing them into the showers with them.

Scoffing to herself, Nomin lazily spritzed the perfume upon herself. The scent of roses only became stronger, not that she minded. It was, perhaps, the only decent thing so far that she found herself amicable toward.

When Alphinaud finally left the showers with his clothes back upon his person, a towel upon his own head, and a liberal spritz of the provided perfume, Nomin got back up on her feet and looked down at him. She noted the well-used brush within his grasp, thinking back on what Tristol had said about ‘sending them back to that awful place.’ For a place so lavish and desired to leave such an impression…it had left a rather bitter taste at the back of Nomin’s throat.

“Well, that was bracing! I believe the lingering smells of the road have been successfully expunged.” Alphinaud said, looking up at Nomin. He then adjusted the tome at his hip; “shall we go and present ourselves to our new patrons, then?”

A sigh fell from Nomin’s lips, reluctance in answering Alphinaud right away.

“... Something still troubles you,” Alphinaud observed. “What’s on your mind?”

“This place…” Nomin started, shaking her head somewhat. “Sorry, I don’t mean to halt our progress now that we’re standing here. Just…this place feels a bit too good to be true, does it not? I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this short of the Vault back in Eorzea. I don’t even think that could hold a candle to how…opulent this all feels.”

Nomin gestured vaguely around them at all the things that she had come to notice.

“Hm…” Alphinaud brought a finger to his chin, his expression falling to pensiveness. “Quite…’tis all steeped with this fulsome luxury that, from what we already know, leads to living in a contented state of indolence.”

Nomin tilted her head somewhat, hearing something she had never properly heard before. She then asked, knowing that Alphinaud would likely be more than happy to inform her: “‘fulsome’? Forgive my ignorance…I’ve never learned this word in the common tongue alongside the language of my people…”

“Ah, pray forgive me. What I mean is that this is all in such excess -- and perhaps sickeningly so. Hells, it could encompass all the meanings of the word that are logged away in the dictionaries of Sharlayan’s libraries…” Alphinaud sighed in a frustrated manner. “Alas, it does us no good to stay here in stagnation. We should find someone to direct us to the Chais that we might learn aught more of this place.”

“The faster the better…” Nomin replied, nodding in agreement. “Let us be about it, then.”

Removing themselves from the entry to the showers, Nomin and Alphinaud found a Eulmoran guard that kindly provided them a basic layout to the city. With a small word of thanks, the two had climbed a number of stairs -- a ‘fulsome amount’ as Nomin so mentioned to Alphinaud just to ensure that she had the meaning of it correct. And what a fulsome amount it was, as it proved to have been a test of endurance for the both of them; Nomin less so, but she could still feel her heart’s beat having picked up as kept her breath practiced.

Waiting a moment for Alphinaud to compose himself, the two had made their way around the Canopy, asking around if anyone knew where the Chais were. The two had been pointed in the direction of a large eatery filled with tables and decor that had been as equally gaudy with its golden accents. It had been made even more of an eye sore with the bright light that filtered in through the windows, only serving to make the glint of them worse.

The table that had their quarry sitting at it, Nomin noticed, had been full of what looked to have been fresh fruits. A plump looking miqo’te -- mystel -- had been sitting there with her husband -- a smaller man with spectacles that sat on the bridge of his nose. They had taken note of their guests, the woman gazing over them curiously.

These must have been the Chais -- Chai-Nuzz and Dulia-Chai.

“Ooh? Who’s this then?” Dulia’s voice carried, her tone light and somewhat shrill.

Bowing to them in respect, Alphinaud’s tone had changed as he addressed them: “Lord and Lady Chai, pray forgive our intrusion. I am given to understand you were in search…of an artist?”

Nomin’s lips twitched before she simply pursed them to force herself not to smile in amusement at how Alphinaud had carried himself. A small hint of his younger self had come out in that moment, not that Nomin would ever tell him.

“Ahh, you must be the new, uh…” Chai-Nuzz spoke, trailing off.

“Oh, goodness me! What an adorable boy!” Dulia exclaimed with a giggle, now having come to process Alphinaud and Nomin’s arrival. “That silken hair, those pearly cheeks…oh, and you even smell wonderful -- like a bed of flowers!”

Dulia had leaned in, smelling the air happily before looking at her husband and cheerfully stating: “I approve of this one, dearest! I am positive he will paint us the most delightful pictures.”

Nomin had been uncertain if Dulia had been saying that simply because Alphinaud had tickled her clear maternal sense, or if because she was absolutely certain that, because they stood before her table, he must have been a devoted artist. Either way, it looked like there was at least one obstacle down…

“I, um, er, y-yes… Ahem. Well, as long as he paints better than that talentless wretch we sent packing last week…” Chai-Nuzz spoke, clearly wanting to at least be on his wife’s good side more than anything.

Momentary amusement quickly gave way to a scowl of disdain. For both Nomin and Alphinaud, it seemed.

And so there was the second obstacle…

“Wonderful, wonderful! Welcome to Eulmore…um, er…” Dulia started, looking at both of them expectantly.

“Alphinaud, if it please you, my lady. And this…is my assistant.” Alphinaud introduced.

“A pleasure. My name is Nomin.” With her words, Nomin offered a bow.

“Your…assistant?” Chai-Nuzz looked incredulously between them, failing to hide that same incredulousness from his tone. “I’ve heard of folk bringing in family members, but this seems a bit irregular. Aren’t you a little young to have a protégé?”

“We are family in all but name, my lord. Though we share no blood, we have stood by each other through life’s many challenges, resolved to prevail together -- or not at all,” Alphinaud said in earnest response. “Of all people, ‘tis she who best understands my work. With her unique insight guiding my hand, the art I create is sure to satisfy your expectations.”

Nomin glanced at Alphinaud. The sincerity within his tone as well as the way he worded his response was heartwarming to her. She would have smiled in warm fashion had she not wished to play at stoicism if only to prevent herself from ruining their overall facade in being there. In fact, she had even reached for her bag, there had been at least two or three paintings done upon hide that she had safely stowed away.

“So what do you learn from him, Nomin?” the Chai-Nuzz asked. He pointed that self-same look of incredulity in Nomin’s direction.

Producing from her bag one of her rolled hides, Nomin spread it open to reveal a painting of a nightly vista found on the Steppe if one were to travel the Tail Mountains. The colors upon the hide were a culmination of browns, purples, pinks, blues with spatterings of white for stars. Clearing her throat as she showed off her own work, Nomin went on, “though Master Alphinaud and I differ in our technique and subject matter, I learn much from him in the matter of emotion. How these vistas I paint make me feel, and how I would wish to provide that for those would would gaze upon my work.”

“Oh! Dearest, look!” Dulia exclaimed, clapping her hands together with joy. “Why, the sky in this painting is so vast and beautiful! Just like in the books I read when I was just a little girl! Young Alphinaud must be talented if this is the work of his protégé!”

Relief wound itself around Nomin’s heart. Of course, her skill in painting landscapes would have no bearing on Alphinaud’s skill in painting people. She would have to hope they were ignorant in the lifestyles of artists to overlook that much.

“Would you like to keep it?” That question alone had been a knife to her own stomach as Nomin uttered the words. However, she spoke them as a means of good faith to keep both she and Alphinaud as on a good side of the Chais as possible. Even if she hated parting with the paintings she made as a means to record her memories of places.

“You would let me keep it?” Dulia gasped.

“A present, and a token of my appreciation to see us well here in Eulmore.”

“I would love it! Ooh, I know just the place to hang it, too!” Dulia looked between both Nomin and Alphinaud, a crinkle at the corners of her eyes as she smiled widely. “Such a gift…and manners, besides! To have two wonderful painters in our midst! I am so excited to see what young Alphinaud has in store for us!”

Alphinaud, however, nodded with a pleasant look upon his face. “I will certainly do what I can. I am ever so lucky to have been blessed with such an assistant who can provide me with such artistic insight as you can see for your very self. As I said, she is the one who best understands my work. Once the picture for you two is begun, of course, I shall have no need of her constant encouragement. And so I wondered, rather than her being in your way, might it then be permissible for my assistant to explore the city she has so longed to see? Out of gratitude for her priceless contribution to my art, I thought it only fair that I make this humble request on her behalf.”

Nomin slowly looked in Alphinaud’s direction. Would they have even bought tha--

“Oooh, did you ever hear of such devotion! Of course your assistant must have her wish! She shall be free to roam to her heart’s content!” Dulia cooed before she looked in Chai-Nuzz’s direction. Her tone then became expectant as she addressed him, “...Isn’t that right, darling?”

“Uh…” Chai-Nuzz was taken out of his thoughts, his mouth falling slightly agape at the prospect. “Oh, yes. Yes, of course, dearest. Q-Quite right.”

Once the Chais had been more enraptured with speaking amongst themselves, Alphinaud met Nomin’s gaze. His expression became determined before he walked forward and cleared his throat. He addressed Nomin, putting that pleasant smile on once more: “now you’ve the opportunity to experience Eulmore, I suggest you make the most of it. Explore the city, top to bottom.”

Alphinaud needed to say no more to Nomin as she nodded. After all, their experiences in Ishgard and Kugane both, had left them with some knowledge on how to carry themselves. If Tataru were here, she would have happily gone to the places that would have provided the most amount of gossip. And it seemed that Alphinaud was on the same page.

“Try wandering around the market stalls, mayhap…? Such colorful places are usually filled with colorful characters, and I know how much you enjoy a myriad of colors,” Alphinaud said. “I would appreciate, of course, if you could share any discoveries with me in turn. We should both learn as much as possible about our, ahem, ‘new place of residence.’”

“I’ll leave you to it, then…” Nomin said, offering another polite bow to both Dulia and Chai-Nuzz. “Thank you again for allowing me this rare opportunity. I shall make the most of it.”

Turning heel, Nomin strode off. She certainly intended to make the most of every second she and Alphinaud had within the impressive walls of the fulsome image that was Eulmore.

#ffxivwrite2023 #ffxiv #ffxiv writing #my writing #ffxiv oc #oc: nomin tal kheeriin #alphinaud leveilleur #dulia-chai #chai-nuzz #shb spoilers

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