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 Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 8:00 pm
A light huff escaped Ebony's sun-kissed lips as the other woman continued along the business of her nails. Fresh bruise indeed! Naturally, the Brit was vain as most thieves were and having her exotic hair color placed into the same category with some skin discoloration wasn't her idea of cute. Nose twitching, she closed her eyes and counted to ten to keep from being snappy towards Rong Wei. The last thing she needed was to piss her off and end up with digits resembling something akin to Edward Scissorhands'.
Ripley's smug comment didn't go unnoticed though, effectively drawing Ebony back from her calming reverie. What had the boy meant by that? She knew the Chinese woman's earlier explanation was pathetic at best, but did her Raevan know more to the story? And then the way he laughed cast a darker light to the whole situation. Had Ripley...no that's impossible. Yet if he had, surely it was an innocent accident...right?
Through all this, Cordelia remained oblivious to the inner working of things, too focused on watching the sphinx's woman. Her eyes followed as the slender board she used scrapped evenly over Ebony's nails, watching as they shortened in length. Frowning, the snake looked at her own long, fairly sharp nails. In the spirit of pure experimentation, Delia ran a finger over the nails of her other hand.
"Doesn't that hurt Ebby?" she pouted. It surely looked like it did, especially since she could feel some dull sensation in the clear fibers.
"No..." came the automatic response with a trace of distraction lingering upon it.
Now it was Cordelia's turn to frown. What was wrong? She followed the violet human's wary gaze which was transfixed upon Ripley. Now that was confusing. Why was Ebby staring the Egyptian Frei down like that? All he was doing was helping his woman, nothing out of the norm from that.
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 2:29 pm
Rong Wei had taken no time in getting Ebony's other hand prepped and ready to be trimmed and soaked, her motions fluid and quick as she ran the board over the tips and sides. Somehow she'd managed to get up and getting the heating bag, rather Ripley had gotten it for her when she motioned to it without the intent of dislodging the Raeven, and Ebony's hand that had the plastic cover on it was situated inside and being warmed. The solution would help loosen the skin around her nails so it could be trimmed easier and it also would help her relax - were the woman to want such a feeling. The process was repeated with the liquid, bag, and pad, and the woman sat back a little to take a breath while she waited. Ripley had removed his hand at some point in the process, since it was hard for the woman to keep working with him pressing down.
"Cordelia, do you think you want a manicure as well? I can promise you it doesn't hurt, I do it all the time to myself and others."
Rong Wei started speaking again (she'd been quiet while working, conversation wasn't a forte) as she removed the heating glove from Ebony's right hand, pulling the plastic bag off as well and reaching for a pair of snips that looked more like they belonged in a hardware store than a nail salon. The Chinese woman had her focus on Ebony's fingers as she snipped off the loosened dead skin around the nails, careful not to cut too close lest she cause a hangnail instead of preventing them, but her words were very much directed towards the female Raeven.
"If you're feeling uneasy about it even after I finish with ebony, I'll do Ripley's nails as well so that way you can see that if I treat my own Raeven friend with care, I'll be gentle to you too. Ripley, go ahead and go pick out a nail color you want and I'll get you done."
Ripley had been raising an eyebrow the whole time the woman was speaking, hardly used to hearing (or believing) that his name and the word 'friend' could ever exist in the same sentence, yet he shook his head and went towards the shleves again to find a color. The whole concept that 'boys don't have their nails done' wasn't something he knew as of yet and most likely wouldn't be something he'd grow too deep into as he got older, gender issues and differences hardly going to be a concern of his. He stayed over there and kept looking, taking time to choose whatever would look best.
Rong Wei in the mean time was now on Ebony's left hand with the clipping, holding up the woman's fingers closer to her eye to get a better view. She wasn't so worse off with only one eye that she couldn't tell what she was doing, but it was slightly more difficult.
"You did want to leave your nails natural, right? And full length nail paint or just tips?"
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 7:04 pm
Cordelia was a bit startled when Rong Wei actually addressed her without prompt for the first time since the female duo stepped foot in her shop. At the question, the snake merely swayed back and forth for a bit in indecision. Yes, she was still very suspicious and unsure of this whole manicure business. But...Delia slowly shifted her slated gaze to the Egyptian once more, if Ripley was willing to have his done then she might be convinced of its safety.
"If Ripley does it..." she replied in that smokey voice, so soft and low. "I'll...consider it." The half girl gave a tiny smirk of sorts. There was no need to jump right in with promises of actually going through with the treatment even if the male Raevan did.
The Chinese woman's silence as she worked was graciously accepted by Ebony whom actually preferred it that way. She hated when some chatterbox of a bimbo was doing her nails or hair and just would not shut up, yakking about very trivial, stupid things like how handsome her boyfriend was or how fast his car was. It greatly urked her and even more so when her nails or hair came out less than perfect.
Thus seeing no immediate threat from the dark male Frei, Ebony took her eyes back off him and allowed the treatment to relax her tense muscles. "Yes, natural. And full length color please."
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 7:25 pm
"Come over here and at least look at the colors then, Cordelia. We'll have to find one that matches your lovely eyes or hair, or makes your hands look much prettier."
Ripley's voice was smooth as he turned back to the trio of women, a small bottle of color in his grasp. His fingers were covering all but the black top, hiding the actual hue of whatever was inside, though the smirk on his face likely indicated that whatever the color was he was pleased with his choice. Rong Wei had come to surmise that Ripley either had a fine eye for color or he simply liked surprising people, which wasn't bad whatever he decided to focus on. Having an eye for color was vital in this line of work, since detail meant everything - not that the Chinese woman expected this Raeven to one day actually help her at all in the salon. She didn't expect anything from him.
"Not a problem then."
Rong Wei took a slightly warm, slightly damp rag from beneath the table, a small basket of them sitting between her feet, and she quickly wiped away all the dead skin and lotion from Ebony's hands. She gently pulled at the woman's fingers as well, sticking her own between and rotating the joints in a soft massage. In her mind she was marveling at how thin and long the Brit's fingers were, very pretty actually, and she wondered if the woman cracked her knuckles at all. A nasty habit that lead to short, fat fingers in the future - not to mention possible arthritis.
The purple nail polish bottle was shaken a few times before she unscrewed the top and started on Ebony's fingernails, the beautiful purple color hardly living up to it's awkward name. It certainly did accent the British woman's hair, and Rong Wei applied it quickly and thickly to give it a more fuller look.
"Tell me if you like that color at all, or else we'll try something else. I'd rather you leave here satisfied with what you've got."
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Posted: Mon May 24, 2010 9:28 pm
A cautionary look was shot towards the darker male as Cordelia floated over to join him. Even if she was capable of taking care of her self technically, Ebony could never entirely erase the thrum of uneasiness she got whenever her ward wandered into a certain situation that felt...troublesome. Though Ripley had yet to do anything of true merit to actually raise the Brit's suspicions, the warning flags were already cast. Ebony just didn't trust the youth.
It was clear almost immediately which color the basilisk would emerge victorious with, but perhaps it would still be a surprise to the other two whom did not know her great affinity to a certain earthy tone. Quickly, the girl reached up and snatched the very first bottle she'd spied with those smokey orbs. Holding out the bright emerald nail polish to Ripley proudly, Cordelia grinned and said, "I like this one. What did you get?"
Unwittingly, Ebony relaxed again while the two Freis interacted as Rong Wei massaged her hands. She'd never admit out loud how amazingly wonderful that felt on her nimble digits. If the other woman had bothered to ask for the reason to Ebony's slender fingers, the violet woman would have simply replied that she played piano, which was true, yet wouldn't add the various other exercises her hands were subjugated to on a near daily basis. Things such as lock picking.
Cracking an eye (she hadn't realized they'd shut), Ebony peered at the color of whose name she'd absolutely abhorred. The shade itself though, she opened both eyes and gently rolled her head from side to side as to better assess the nature of the purple paint, it wasn't half bad. It could even be considered pretty she dared to think. "That looks very nice. You do great work Rong Wei. How long have you been in the business?"
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Posted: Wed May 26, 2010 11:39 pm
"How long? Can't really say, the parlor's been with the family for at least a decade. My parents moved here before I was born, before my oldest brother was born even I think, and they opened it when he was four or five? He's got almost twelve years on me in age, seeing as I'm the baby of the family. My second brother's three years older but acts about ten years younger."
Rong Wei stopped and pressed the corner of her thumb against the side of Ebony's index fingernail, cutting back a bit of polish that had rolled over onto her skin. It didn't matter that she was getting odd colors mixed onto her own nails (they'd be redone tomorrow), and it was much easier for her to wipe away the slight overlays before they had a chance to dry and acetone was required.
"I was allowed into the shop to help when my parents figured child labor laws wouldn't come into play, even if it was family owned...so I was what? Twelve? I really can't remember, I just know it's all I've ever done and likely will be all I do until the either the old man dies off or the bat decides a parlor is more trouble than it's worth."
There was a faint chuckle from her lips at the thought of the parlor ever closing down, which she knew it wouldn't. Her brother would take over when her father decided enough was too much, and that basically meant it would fall into her hands to keep the place running. She pretty much did all of it anyway as it stood, so what would a passing over of official papers do? Nothing.
"I picked this color. I...find myself liking darker colors naturally, but I wanted something new."
He held a shade of orange in his hands, something Rong Wei would actually call "Indian Red" (the bottle said "PUMPKIN PRIDE" ), and he held the contents over towards Delia so she could see more of it. Even inside the glass it was a very stark contrast to the darkness of his skin, not quite a polar opposite but working well towards it. It gave an out of seasonal feeling more than anything else, but if it was the color he wanted then it was the color he was going to be getting. A glance up to Rong Wei and a clear avoidance of her eyes on him was an affirmative.
"Do you want me to go first, or do you want to go first? I don't mind either way, since I'd love to watch her do your nails. That green is lovely, it makes me think of the Earth."
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Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 6:16 pm
Ebony smiled a little at hearing how big a family Rong Wei had. Even if the other would have disagreed, she couldn't help but think how nice it must have been to have so many siblings growing up with, to talk to, to laugh with, to cry with. It must have been really nice.
The Chinese woman's continuance into how this business was the only thing she'd ever known and probably ever would made the violet woman think how parallel it was to her own situation, if slightly different scenarios. All Ebs ever knew was how to lie and steal, how to think only of what she wanted and taking it with no remorse of whom she may or may not have been hurting in the process. The lifestyle was waning on her, becoming more of a burden than anything else these days, but...she'd made a promise, a vow she didn't look lightly on taking back.
Raevans completely forgotten, Ebony prompted the other for an answer to a question that held significant meaning even if Rong Wei didn't know it. "Haven't you ever wanted to do something else besides this Rong Wei? I mean, there's got to be something else you'd want to do if you could, yes?"
Bad mood completely evaporated, Cordelia mused over Ripley's color choice. It wasn't as pretty as her green, but it did hold a certain...wow factor? Bright, it clashed well with the male's mostly black ensemble. Something about the two colors sitting side by side like that though seemed oddly familiar. Hadn't the basilisk seen these together before?
She slipped out of her thinking when Ripley complimented her choice and the girl held the jade bottle closer. Grinning mischievously, "Nooooo...I said if you did, then maybe I would. You go first."
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Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 7:01 pm
For the first time since she'd started, Rong Wei's hands hesitated over something other than Ripley's words or touches. It wasn't a nervous hesitation, nor a scared hesitation. She lifted her head slowly, her face almost blank though her eyes a bit...melancholy.
". . . . . I don't know. If I'd ever had a dream of doing anything else, that dream died the day he did."
Rong Wei didn't say anything else, instead her gaze lowering from where she'd raised it to look Ebony in the eye. Her focus was back on the task at hand, and if she'd been paying attention she would have noticed that Ripley's eyes had fallen on her as well. He was actually listening to what she was saying, more than the words of Cordelia, though he was fairly quick in turning his head back to address the female Raeven.
"Alright then, I certainly don't mind going first. We'll need to wait until your....Ebony? We'll need to wait until she's done though, I don't want to rush Rong Wei."
Rong Wei snorted at the remark, clearly not believing the Frei. She was applying a second coat to Ebony's nails, the purple becoming a richer shade, and she once again pinched the side to keep the excess from spilling over.
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Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 8:25 pm
". . . . . I don't know. If I'd ever had a dream of doing anything else, that dream died the day he did."
For a short moment, Ebony's eyes meet Rong Wei's for probably the first real time ever. And in that moment she felt she saw something more, something beyond the hard exterior that the Chinese woman always upheld. What it was, was a reflection of herself. Quickly, the Brit looked away as the other did and uttered a soft 'sorry', but nothing else. Somethings didn't need to be said to be understood.
Feeling rather affectionate now towards the Egyptian, Delia wrapped her pale arms around one of his dark ones. Giggling, "Yes, that's her name. But I call her 'Ebby'. I think it sounds better than Ebony. Don't you?" Like a thunder bolt passing through her mind, the snake grinned huge and exclaimed, "Hey! Can I call you Rip? You can call me Delia or Cordie if you want."
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Posted: Sun May 30, 2010 11:49 am
Rong Wei almost snorted while listening to the female Raeven and her addressing of Ripley by such a ludicrous sounding nickname. She was fairly certain he wouldn't like such a thing since he was hardly used to being called anything other than his name (and the occasional swear word from her) but the woman wouldn't put it past him to try anything at this point. all his actions today, towards the female Raeven and her human counterpart, seemed so out of character and out of place that she didn't have much of an idea what he may or may not have been planning - not that it mattered. Her focus was on Ebony's hands, the last coat of polish going on them before being covered with lacquer, and after that she could send her attention to anything else.
"I'd love to be able to call you Delia, so please feel free to call me Rip. I've never had a nickname before, since Rong Wei and her family only ever address me by full name if they want my attention."
Of course it didn't surprise her to hear Ripley's words that came next, his agreement to the absolute butchering of his name into a nickname. Thankfully he left out whatever else she called him, what with many of the words probably going to be offensive enough the Brit and her ward would stomp (and float) out. Rong Wei did recall that she'd do their nails for free but hey - hey said they'd pay too. The money was a good thing.
"You're done, go sit over there and place your hands inside that little booth. The light will help dry your nails quicker and I have some spray you can put on them too if you're in any kind of a hurry. The television remote is over there as well if you want to change the channel."
With those words Rong Wei placed the brush back into the bottle of hardener, the top coat over Ebony's purple nails finally completed. It was the prepping of hands that always took so long when getting a manicure, the painting of the actual nails taking less than ten minutes even if done slowly and properly. When the polish all set Rong Wei slid herself over and pointed at the booth in question - a small table-like object that had just enough space between levels for hands to fit in. A pale white light was drifting from the top, likely one that was heated to help speed up the process.
"Ripley, you're next. Then Cordelia."
The male Raeven obeyed (!!) and floated over towards the two human women, having first politely asked Delia if she would either let him move forward or stay floating with him. Most of his concentration was focused into the pulse of his skin, the steady thrum not shocking as he didn't want to hurt the female attached to him. She was finally warming up, he didn't need any trouble.
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Posted: Sun May 30, 2010 12:19 pm
Giving a simple nod in acknowledgment of what the woman had said, Ebony got up and moved over to sit where she'd indicated. Yet she didn't go looking for the remote or even glance in the direction of the glowing box. No, she was more interested in keeping an eye on Cordelia and Ripley then. Don't get her wrong, she was quite happy that the snake was finally coming out of her funk, but she didn't like just how chummy she was getting with this boy. The Brit couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't all legit there, and who would no better than a thief of what was legit or not?
She grinned wide, pleased as peach that Ripley would call her Delia and allow her to call him Rip. She didn't know what it was exactly about nicknames, it was just that she really liked them for some reason. Perhaps because it was more casual and personal.
Cordelia giggled and let the Egyptian go so he could get on this his own manicure then. She followed after of course, but took to watching much more closely than prior. "Ebby does that too! She won't ever call anyone by a nickname unless they insist. But even then she gets this weird face about it." The dark girl tried mimicking her guardian by folding her arms over her chest and scrunching her nose oh so matter of factly. You had to admit, it was a very good impression of the Brit.
Meanwhile, Ebony was mirroring that same frowning expression without knowing it. She didn't look like that! Did she?
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Posted: Sun May 30, 2010 12:36 pm
Ripley lowered himself down enough that his hands could be easily touched by Rong Wei and he extended one towards the Chinese woman, an eyebrow raised as he watched the timidity with which she reached from him. Ripley would have like to say that he was appalled she thought he would shock her, but then again he wouldn't have tried to put that thought past her anyway. He'd shocked her many times before and even struck her once in the face so it was only natural for her to not want anything to do with him and contact. This human was a quick learner and the Egyptian Sphinx in him could respect that.
Still and eventually the woman reached over and started his manicure, a sigh escaping from her lips quite loudly as she found the pulse was somewhat lowered. He hadn't put it down enough in his thoughts like he did with Cordelia, but then again he just simply didn't like Rong Wei enough to try that. He wasn't overly fond of Cordelia either, mostly since they just met, but that was another story.
As the female Raeven kept chattering about her guardian Ripley did his best to stay interested, and he swung a look over at her expression and then back over at the woman she was talking about. He raised an eyebrow for a moment before a chuckle softly escaped his lips, his head nodding.
"You've been captured quite well Ebony, even if you won't say so. Delia has a really good eye for mimicry, another hidden gem of a talent I'd say. I'm really curious to find out what else you can do."
There was a double meaning behind that, or was there really? Ripley was curious to know what the soul was of this Raeven, seeing as he could ask Rong Wei what the "Essence" was later on, but he didn't want to be right out rude and ask. Women could be touchy about things like that and so far everything was running so well.
"I'd try to mimic Rong Wei but I don't think I could do her any justice.. . and I also don't think I could give her such a fond nickname either. How does one shorten a Chinese name anyway?"
"You don't."
The gruff reply came quickly as Rong Wei shifted from one of Ripley's hands to the next, her movements still as meticulous as they had been with the human woman. She was going a bit faster than she would have liked but she didn't want to dwell on working on her Raeven, an unknown chance he could do something to her always in the air.
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Posted: Sun May 30, 2010 1:32 pm
She smiled, pleased that he thought she was good at impersonating her guardian, and though she was happy at how his speech reminded her a lot of Zul, it was starting to get to a point where it was a little over her head. What was mimicry anyway?
"Umm...what else I can do?" Cordelia gave a rare blink of confusion. She could do a lot of things, but did he mean special things? Like his shocking ability? Tapping her finger to her lip, "I don't know, lots of things. I talk another way if that's something you'd be curious about."
She was about to answer his other question about shortening a Chinese name, whatever Chinese was, when his human quickly butted in with her answer. Delia frowned, seeing that Rong Wei was just as stubborn as her Ebby was. Giving Rip a sly grin, the girl demonstrated her other language by saying, "You could always call her 'Ron' for short. She might be mad for awhile about it, but eventually she'll just let it happen since she knows you'll never drop it." Then the serpent just swayed slightly back and forth without looking at Rong Wei, pretending like she'd not said anything about her. But perhaps they'd pick up on it with hearing the word 'Ron' amongst the hisses. Rip was smart, she knew he'd figure it out.
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Posted: Sun May 30, 2010 2:59 pm
Ripley wasn't sure if he was supposed to be impressed with whatever Cordelia was doing (it seemed to him all she was doing was hissing), but since she seemed so pleased with herself the Frei figured it was very much in his best interests to at least go with whatever she was up to for now. The female did say she had another way of speaking and she did sound quite like a snake, not to mention Rong Wei had looked up and was also watching her whenever she started to do his hissy-talk. If it had managed to get the usually impassive and uncaring about anything that was Raeven-related woman's attention. . . then it did merit some credit.
Unfortunately though Ripley did not understand a single thing the Raeven was saying but he did catch the 'Ron' bit, passing it off as something else mixed in there. It was the only word he could actually understand and maybe it was hinting at something, but for now he stored that tidbit away. At the very least he mustered up a smile and a nod, as if to appear that he was agreeing.
"So you can speak like a snake? Was that what you were doing? That's amazing, I can only speak English for right now, but I think Rong Wei wants me to learn another language. I'd love to be able to speak like a snake."
"Speaking my native language isn't an option for you if you're going to stay in this house. Either accept that now and pay attention during lessons or just don't talk period."
Rong Wei had moved on to just rubbing the lotion on Ripley's hands before putting the plastic bags on them, prepping him for the hot mitts. Hopefully everything would be fine from this point and maybe even now Corelida would be ready to have her nails done. As much as Rong Wei didn't care about how many people she had to do (she hated her job regardless of the amount of customers) she wanted to get them both in and out, back to her shows and back to the silence. Her fears of being alone with Ripley were all but forgotten at the back of her mind, the Chinese woman's personality just that...tough.
"Your turn Cordelia. I'll get you ready while Ripley's hands are getting cleaned, so that way you both get your nails finished around the same time."
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Posted: Sun May 30, 2010 3:19 pm
"Mmmhmm." she nodded with delight that the other Raevan at least thought it something of interest. "I don't know if you can learn it. I've just...known. The only other ones I know who speak it are the snakes themselves. But I don't get to see that many of them here in the city. They like to be away from humans mostly."
Forgetting that she'd been a bit against getting her nails done, Cordelia automatically "sat" down next to Ripley and looked to Rong Wei with those wide, curious eyes. "You speak something else too? What do you speak?"
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