It kind of grated to be told what to do, but Iouri had a point, okay: sitting around all the time and knitting between jobs and Wonder visits was not exactly winning him any measure of independence other than the monetary sort. He'd met some success selling ironically lumpy sweaters on Etsy, and he supposed he ought to be looking to expand his tiny business, but, like.
No?
Still, he did want to meet more people. His goals did include eventually getting out of his brother's apartment, and getting his own place--someplace he could be responsible for, and like, decorate? On his own? Meeting people at this jewelry... thing... could really only help him along.
Aleksy hooked a lock of dark-red hair behind his ear and stepped closer to one of the displays. From what he understood, this whole thing was some sort of show for talented artists. Different display surfaces held earrings, necklaces, even little coronets, each sunk in black velvet. They were untagged, he noted, but all of them were apparently for sale. Classy. Or not--it depended, he gathered, on the situation. So much depended on the situation, though. "This wire is scratched," he said to himself, leaning down to examine the torque that had caught his eye. Most of the jewelry on display had few tool-marks. This one did, sections of scored metal peeking out between the twists.
A mark of craftsmanship? Or of lack of style?
To his left, a young man with a delicate face and pale green hair was examining another piece by the same artist. "Pardon," he said, "Do you know much about this style? I am rather new to it, and have some questions."
Moonstone Dazzle
