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 Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 11:27 pm
Who: Lorenzo, Ian
Where: Thistle Do Nicely, Ian's Barton-based flowershop
When: Midday, on Lorenzo's day off.
Weather: A crisp and chilly fall day.
__________________ Lorenzo Fisch prided himself on customer service.
While many fly by night necromancers hardly followed through at all with clients, let alone did anything to try to make sure they were comfortable, Lorenzo always kept in touch, and did everything he could to make his office full of dark and horrifying devices as clean and bright as possible. He never forgot a deathday, never was late to a funeral, and always kept fresh flowers in his decorative urns. It was the little things, Lorenzo thought, which really separated licensed, professional necromancers from the crowd, and he had worked hard for his license. He intended to make sure he deserved it.
This meant that he didn't mind going out of his way to Barton to pick up flowers from a slightly nicer flower shop. While a necromancer being a regular at a florist's, let alone a necromancer being a discerning connoiseur of flower shops might seem unusual to the layman, death and death-related incidents required far more flowers than most people would ever think to buy while they were alive. Lorenzo kept his florist on his toes, especially in the lily department.
Today wasn't for a client, however. Lorenzo's father had been undead since Lorenzo was ten, and his deathday was rapidly approaching. Lorenzo was a good necromancer, but he prided himself on being a Good Son as well. And for an extra special deathday bouquet he needed to consult specially with someone outside his field of interest.
He needed to consult with his florist.
Lorenzo took a deep breath, steeled his wallet, and walked into Thistle Do Nicely with a cheerful, "Good afternoon!"
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Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2015 7:37 pm
Today was one of the slower days, though Ian was glad to have the time. Thanksgiving certainly wasn't the largest of the holidays, not compared to Easter or Christmas, but people did still want centerpieces for their family tables. So he was using the downtime to put together a few simple but eye-catching bouquets for the occasion, just so he'd have a few things people could grab quickly or use for inspiration for more specific orders. Bethany was tending the front desk for him while he was at the workstation in the back.
When the bell on the front door chimed quietly, signalling a new customer had arrived, Ian glanced up from his work. Bethany had greeted the man, but Ian set down his trimming shears and made his way to the front with a bright smile. He wiped his hands on his apron and adjusted the thick-framed glasses on his nose; he'd unfortunately forgotten to order more contacts after using his last pair.
"Good morning, Lorenzo. Good to see you again!" He recognized the man only because he'd been here countless times. From what Ian remembered, which was quite a lot, Lorenzo was a necromancer. He didn't forget odd occupations like that easily, let alone Lorenzo's often-eccentric manner of dress. The man usually came in to pick up "deathday" bouquets and funeral arrangements, and was most likely Ian's main buyer for those types of bouquets. He loosely grasped the idea of a deathday, assuming it was the day whenever Lorenzo had resurrected someone. That he knew of, Lorenzo usually only resurrected pets, but it wasn't exactly his right to question him about his practices.
"How can I help you?" Judging from the necromancer's disposition he guessed it was certainly a more positive occasion than a funeral, but he could never be sure.
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Posted: Sat Dec 05, 2015 10:53 pm
Lorenzo nodded to the shop girl. She was less familiar to him than Ian, and when Ian came out, he was ever so slightly relieved.
"I'm here for a deathday bouquet for my father," Lorenzo explained. He reached into his cloak and pulled out bits and bobs until he emerged with a battered wallet, which folded out to reveal a photo of a dead-ish man in a Barton Regular uniform. He scooped the rest of the papers he had pulled outback into his cloak, mostly more of his Friendly Educational Pamphlets, some receipts for groceries and horrible dribbly candles, and some flyers that looked a little less Friendly and Educational about Gaian research programs like "Akari Labs".
"He's retiring this year, so I'd like it to be a little special," he continued as he hastily sorted the papers. "He's not much of a celebrating type, but I think he secretly likes the fuss. He used to be allergic to flowers in life, but he grows them now, so I wanted to order something that would impress someone who already knows a little about flowers."
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Posted: Tue Dec 08, 2015 10:13 pm
"Oh! Your father?" The florist smiled and looked at the picture that Lorenzo fished out of his pocket. He was apparently carrying many things in there, and Ian had to repress his curiosity as to what they were. Were those candles? Surely the cloak of a necromancer had many pockets to hold all sorts of mysterious things.
He snapped back to attention when Lorenzo spoke again. "Oh of course! We'll be sure to find something big and colorful, then." He laughed softly. "Did you have any particular flowers in mind, or does he have any favorites?" He looked further into the shop, moving along the aisle a bit so that Lorenzo could follow. "Or his favorite colors, or anything?" Custom birthday bouquets were a bit tricky, because there wasn't really a starting point. "Or we could build off of a sample bouquet, too..."
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2016 8:29 am
Lorenzo swept up the last of the odds and ends into his cloak, a pamphlet from Lab 305, and dusted himself off.
"As for favorites, he's a fairly stern and simple type of person," he said thoughtfully. "His garden is fairly practical, and the flowers he grows tend to be my mother's favorites. He does grow some wildflowers that I think he enjoys personally though." Lorenzo considered and added, "Since it's a deathday, maybe some lilies as well. They don't have a cat to worry about." It pained him to think about what had happened to poor Buddy. He had switched florists after that incident.
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2016 8:47 am
Ian smiled, and caught a flash of the Lab 305 pamphlet as well. But he didn't have time to mention it just yet as Lorenzo explained his father's preferences. "Hmmm, I think wildflowers will look nice with the lilies, it'll really make them pop." He wandered over toward his work space in the back, waving idly for Lorenzo to follow him. "I have a few orange poppies here, those will be a nice pop against the white lilies don't you think? And maybe some tall foxglove for contrast..." He assembled the stalks so he could start putting the bouquet together, and glanced at Lorenzo almost shyly.
"Um, I don't mean to pry, but- I couldn't help noticing you have a brochure for Lab 305. Are you interested in becoming a guardian?" He couldn't fight the small, eager smile that spread across his face as he held a few stalks together to see what they looked like. "I've just recently been accepted, I'm waiting for my Raevan to be... born."
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2016 9:20 am
Lorenzo nodded his approval as Ian rattled off his ideas for the bouquet. "You're the professional," he remarked admiringly, following Ian into his workspace and watching an extremely respectable arrangement begin to emerge. Lorenzo liked watching other people work. He thought it must be rather nice to have a profession that didn't make most people feel uncomfortable.
"Ah?" His mind was still on the bouquet, so it took him a moment to adjust, especially since the last person he expected to talk about work with was his florist, but Lorenzo rallied quickly. "Ah, yes! I've actually been accepted into the Lab program recently, but I'm doing more research on it before I commit to a soul capture." When Ian revealed that he was a candidate as well, Lorenzo leaned forward excitedly. "Oh, that's wonderful! Do you mind if I ask you about your experience with the program?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2016 12:35 pm
He laughed softly and held up a few flowers together to see if they looked good. "Well congratulations! It took a while for my approval to come, I'm not sure why. Maybe they assign essences more carefully than I'd imagined." He smiled and started clipping and arranging a few stalks, starting with the tall foxglove ones first.
"Well, everyone in the program is really great. They're all very supportive, especially for us newbies." He remembered how many people, Zeke included, had answered countless questions from him with so much patience and genuine desire to help. "It can be a bit overwhelming, what with the soul capture and all, but everyone is very helpful."
He gave a short cough of a laugh, thick brows flashing as he grinned. "And sometimes you have to be careful with the essences themselves. Mine, especially, seemed to really affect me. It was Parasitic Cherry Blossoms, and I think it... drained energy or something. I got really exhausted handling it for too long." He shrugged a shoulder. It was out of the house now, and the waiting game had begun. He glanced up at Lorenzo from where he'd been working. The bouquet was beginning to take shape, lots of shorter wildflowers, a few big lilies, and a few stalks of tall, purple foxglove for height.
"What essence did you get? Hopefully a less threatening one?" He grinned again.
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2016 6:48 pm
"The letter said that my essence was a false reflection," Lorenzo replied. "It's a jar of murky water, but the essence itself is the reflection on the water, I believe. I took a look when the essence arrived and the face reflected back was subtly different. Even by my standards it's a little eerie, so I haven't looked at it since, but as far as I'm aware, it's not dangerous."
He frowned, wondering how to explain things to Ian. "I've actually been doing research on several rebirthing programs on Gaia. I sent off to be approved to maybe three or four, but Lab 305 is the only one which appears to still function properly these days." Steepling his fingers, he explained, "It seems like most applicants at Lab 305 are looking to adopt a child, but I'm acting on behalf of one of my mother's clients, so it was essential that the Lab understand the situation and match me with a fel essence that would suit the client if I was accepted."
He realized his wording was vague, and added, "Ah, but I'll still be taking care of the raevan! The client is just going to become the raevan. Er, if she wants to. There have been some communication problems, since she's an undead person who is tied to a specific place geographically. But if she doesn't want to become a raevan, well..." He grimaced. "Then I'm afraid that there aren't many favorable solutions to her situation left."
"B-but!" he stammered, "That's all just work stuff. It's an interesting problem from a necromantic ethics point of view, but I doubt you'd like to debate that. Tell me more about your soul capture, if you'd like! I'm interested to learn about the process."
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 2:09 pm
Ian couldn't help raising his brows a bit in surprise when Lorenzo described his essence. It sounded rather unorthodox, but still very interesting. He wondered briefly what his own reflection would look like on the water.
"Oh, that sounds really cool! Certainly calmer than mine." He grinned and let out a little self-pitying chuckle. He'd quickly learned his lesson about keeping the little jar in its case. It had been discouraging to not be able to look at it often, or display it where he could always see it, but it had been for the best.
Lorenzo's recount of the journey to joining the Lab was very different than other motivations he'd considered, but he supposed it was no less important. "Well, I certainly hope for her sake, then, that she chooses to go with you. Rebirth can be... the only option in some cases." Almost as if on cue Lorenzo asked about his own soul capture and Ian smiled softly. It was still a bit difficult to talk about, but the lump in his throat wasn't as large as it had been in the past.
"My soul capture? Well, it was kind of- maybe fate, I guess?" He laughed and started putting the finishing touches on the bouquet. "At first I didn't know what to do, and I came across a nymph while I was seeking some inspiration. It turned out that her home was going to be destroyed, and... Originally I was just there for support while they bulldozed the meadow, but she ended up choosing to give me her soul." He took a breath as if he'd been holding it the entire time. He could feel his brows furrowed just slightly above eyes that were locked on the bouquet, hands busy with tying a large ribbon around the vase. After a few moments he glanced up at Lorenzo with a more sincere smile. "It sounds similar to your situation now that I say it aloud, huh?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 9:32 am
Lorenzo nodded. "For nymphs and nature sprites, such sad endings are fairly common in the developing world, I hear. I normally don't deal with them myself, but my client is a certain kind of nymph as well. Or, she's considered to be a nymph, I suppose." He wondered if he should explain to Ian, since he didn't want the rusalka to start off on the wrong foot with anybody just because she was what most undead communities would classify as a 'problem creature'. He settled for saying, "As far as nymphs go, she's undead enough to be within my realm of expertise."
He steepled his fingers and added, "It was good of you to help your nymph. Nymphs are normally romanticized and beloved, but also fairly helpless to resist change. The rusalka has endured because she's not helpless, but the village she lives near is also more adamant about getting rid of her because of that. Rusalki can lure men with enchantments and drown them."
Startling slightly, he clarified, "Oh, but I'll be fine. I don't have fate on my side, really, but I do have an appointment with her. Anyway, necromancers train to resist this kind of thing." Granted, that was advanced training, but you didn't get a degree in necromancy without becoming at least a little resistant to that kind of thing. "A-anyway! If I do die, I don't necessarily think it'll be, uh..."
"Permanent."
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Posted: Sun Feb 21, 2016 11:54 am
When Ian heard the word 'undead,' his brows rose slightly. He really should have guessed as much, given Lorenzo's line of work, but for some reason it hadn't occurred to him. Could he really capture the soul of an undead creature? It seemed a bit strange, since they were technically dead but still living. Did they still have souls? Lorenzo would know, so he figured he had researched enough to know if it would work. He wasn't going to doubt him, of course.
"Well, I certainly don't doubt that you're capable of handling it. But be careful, of course." He smiled. The entire subject of death was a bit awkward to talk about, considering their vastly different experiences with it, but he felt a bit proud that Lorenzo felt comfortable talking about the soul capturing process with him. He was quite the newbie as well, but to think that someone trusted his input at the very least was flattering.
"We'll have to check in after you return, I'd love to see the soul. Or even after they're both here, I'm sure they'd be great friends." He smiled warmly and looked down as he finished up the ribbons on the bouquet for Lorenzo's father. "Hopefully everything goes smoothly for you in Russia. At the very least you'll have a nice trip to remember."
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Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 10:40 am
"Of course I've taken every precaution," Lorenzo assured hastily. "Not just for me, but for my client!"
He admired the bouquet as Ian put the finishing touches on it and admitted, "Actually, I'm quite looking forward to the trip. I haven't had much of a chance to travel in my practice, since I deal mostly with Gaian clients. I studied Russian necromancy a bit in university and it really is fascinating. The rusalka especially is an interesting subject, since they can't be handled like normal undead people. If I'm able to help her, it'll be a very rare case in the history of necromancy." He paused, concerned that he sounded conceited. "N-not that the success or failure of the thing depends on me," he clarified. "It actually depends on her. The fact that she could contact me for help at all is a shocking achievement on her behalf."
He smiled faintly. "I'm looking forward to meeting her. Hopefully things will go well and she can meet you, too. And, of course, whoever your raevan grows to be."
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Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 2:39 pm
Ian smiled and held out the bouquet for Lorenzo to take. "Well, it sounds like you have a good plan for it, which is good. I hope it goes well!"
After handing Lorenzo the bouquet, Ian chuckled. "That'd be great! Feel free to call or text me if you have any questions in the meantime, as well." He smiled again. It was great to know that he wasn't alone in this new and sort of intimidating process. But to think that Lorenzo was traveling so far away for such a well-planned soul capture... His own had been rather impromptu and unplanned, despite having time to think about it with Antheia. He wasn't sure which was better, but it probably just depended largely on the circumstances and the soul.
"Wait, she reached out to you personally? Wow, that's really cool." He laughed a bit sheepishly. "I always kind of assumed that soul captures were kind of... spur-of-the-moment, or accidental."
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Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 3:57 pm
"Well, she contacted my mother," admitted Lorenzo. "And not exactly to be reborn as a raevan. My mother's an undead rights lawyer, you see. But legally, we can't expect to win a case to stop her village from redevloping the marsh. And negotiations aren't going well, either-- a big reason the villagers are choosing to develop is because they want to push her out. So we're hoping to somehow extricate her from the marsh and bring her somewhere safe." Lorenzo laughed nervously. "Rebirth is a hard sell, but it's the best option I've managed to find."
Gratefully, he took the bouquet, eager to change the conversation topic. "Ah, excellent work as always! My father will love it."
Normally, Lorenzo would just leave once his business was done, but now that they were in a conversation, he felt awkwardly about just excusing himself and going. His enthusiasm for talking about his work had briefly eclipsed his social anxiety, and now he was on speaking terms with his florist, and there was no undoing it. He briefly toyed with the thought of finding yet another new florist, but remembered that even if he did, if they were both guardians, they'd be seeing each other again and again, with the added awkwardness of knowing that Lorenzo was choosing not to buy flowers from him.
He struggled to find a way to excuse himself. "So, uh, I'll take it to him now! And I'll text you or call you if anything comes up." That would do, right?? He turned his heel to go, but paused, remembering something he genuinely did want to ask.
"And before I go, would you mind if I took your picture? I'd like to show the rusalka the kind of community that she would be choosing to be reborn into. It's a little friendlier than just my telling her that this is her last, best choice."
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