Surprises and Lacy Things

ARtistik Talisman Studios

It's an art studio. A cluttered, bohemian, art studio. One wall is a mess of various artwork and trinkets, mirrors, clocks, a small shelf filled with art books and records, old lamps, fans; pretty much everything the resident artist has ever worked on or treasured. To the right of the studio is a wall filled with neatly organized drawers filled with paints and brushes, several easels with unfinished paintings, a small pottery wheel and kiln, a sculpture stand, and a table filled with implements to create jewelry.


It's late in the afternoon, the only time during which Ivan is relinquished of his work at the Mayor's office. A quick text from an unfamiliar number has sent him speeding, running practically, towards the ARTS. It had been short and unbelievably ominious. A 'go 2 ur sisters shop after work. or else' that had sent his heart boiling and unwelcome thoughts running through his mind. Jogging out of his Civic, the man is out of shape by the time he throws himself at the door of the establishment. "Scarlett! Scarlett, are you here! Scar - fucking answer me!" Could that be…fear? Worry? Concern? Perhaps it's all the above.

-

Fear? Worry? Concern coming from Ivan? The music in the shop is cranked right down, and Scarlett goes to open the door. She gives her twin a bit of a concerned look and points out wryly, "The door was unlocked yanno." Grinning, she holds it open wide. "So what brings you here? It's not your typical haunt, lil' bro." The shop itself looks like it's been ransacked. Paint all over a drop cloth, an easel skewed to the side, but the artwork on the wall looks pristine and untouched by her flurry of work.

-

God, with a text like that, it could be anything. Even his baby sister's strange sense of humour. She found the shop - that in itself was a triumph since she kept somehow taking a wrong turn on the way. Loitering outside, out of sight, until both twins are inside the shop, Helen then emerges from the shadows, grinning wryly to herself. Not long after Ivan's dramatic entrance, she slips in more quietly. "Hey guys," she greet with deliberate casualness, though the impish grin kind of betrays her a little bit. Her eyebrows lift and she watches eagerly for their reactions. Surprise?

-

Ivan stumbles into the studio, looking around frantically as if expecting to find a fire. Or his sister being held at gunpoint. Or who knows. But none of this is happening, and when his eyes settle upon a smiling Scarlett, his worry begins to drain away slowly. Instead, he finds himself standing there, feeling stupid, tricked, outsmarted…

Oh, hi there, Captain Angrypants.

Scowling, he wrinkles his nose with distaste. "I got a text, telling me to come here." He informs the twin dispassionately. "Did you send it? Because I'm going to freaking kill you if you did. I was all worri-…well, I came here in a damn hurry and-" he is interrupted by the familiar voice of a precocious little runt. Swirling around on his heels, he practically gapes and boggles at the blonde where she stands. No other reaction is offered - the poor man is broken.

-

"I didn't send you anything." Scarlett was sort of settled on not speaking with him for a while after their disastrous last conversation. Her reaction is one of both amusement and worry when she hears, then spots her baby sister. "Helen!" She pushes past Ivan, going to wrap the girl up in a hug. "What are you doing here? What about classes? Please tell me you didn't drop out." Ever the mother hen. "Come in! Can I get you guys anything? Sorry about the mess, I was ahhh… working on something new." Luckily, she was going out to pick up food when Ivan arrived, otherwise she likely would have been covered with paint herself.

-

Helen can't help but laugh with good-natured amusement at Ivan's poor plight, even as she gets swept up in Scarlett's hug, offering her sister a grin as she returns the gesture. "I didn't drop out," she offers offhandedly, sort of brushing that aside for right now. She didn't, technically, though she'll drop the rest of that bombshell when the time comes. "Ooh, something new? Show me?" she asks, eyes lighting up with curiosity. Ivan gets another sidelong grin now. "Cat got your tongue? Don't tell me you're not thrilled to see me after I came all this way." Not that she's really worried about that in the least; it's just teasing in an attempt to un-break him.

-

Ivan blinks. Not once, but twice. And after openning and closing his mouth like a goldfish wordlessly, he finally manages to remember just how to move once again. And then, suddenly all his ire disappears, only to be replaced with a sort of boyish exuberance. "Helen! You sent me that - geez, I'm going to kill you, runt! I thought something seriously bad happened!" The exclamation follows a bright laugh, and soon enough the tall man is making his way towards the youngest Fontane, arms out wide in hopes of a hug. "C'mere, teddybear!"

-

Actually, Scarlett is working on several new things. Her jewelry table is littered with items, the painting still a tad wet on the skewed easel, and something on the pottery wheel. It's less ADHD, and just love of having several things to focus on at once. "It's there," she says, pointing haphazardly at the easel. A reproduction of an old-style oil painting miniature, in a much larger size. "Some vampire is paying a pretty penny to get a proper sized portrait from their youth. Not my typical choice, but hey, it pays the bills." Then Ivan's moving in on their sister, and Scarlett heads back to the door to flip the sign to say CLOSED, so that they can have a discussion without being interrupted.

-

"Glad you pointed it out," Helen remarks with a laugh, as a quick scan brings up many current works in progress. Not that she can't relate, she of the revolving door of majors. Tilting her head to one side, she gives the portrait a brief but thorough look, before nodding. "That's cool. It's looking good." Her attention is quickly drawn back to Ivan as he remembers how to speak, and she is imminently pleased with the whole reaction overall. She just laughs at his worry, shrugging her shoulders in apology, but still grinning with amusement. The hug is stepped into, returned in kind. "Someone's got to keep you on your toes," she points out sagely.

-

Ivan grabs Helen up immediately, his bear hug tight and powerful enough to lift her straight off of the ground, unless she stops him. "Jesus! You're getting big. You didn't weigh this much the last time I went to see you," It's a tease, really. Please don't hit him. Finally plopping her down on the floor, he throws a curious glance around the studio, as if seeing it for the first time. "A vampire, huh?" He inquires, brows furrowing slightly.

-

"Thanks," Scarlett says to her baby sister. "Oil isn't my favorite, but I think it's coming along decently." Hurrying over to her jewelry table, she reaches up to the wall and pulls down a cute little charm on a black ribbon. It's offered out to Helen, though she's talking to Ivan when she speaks again. "Mmhm. Someone that's passing through and saw the shop. He seemed nice enough, though why he stopped here I have no idea. Strictly business, in case you were wondering."

-

Helen makes a little sound in the back of her throat as her feet leave the ground, somewhere between a squeak and an oof, though neither done in protest, just surprise and amusement. At his comment, she tries to give him a scowl, though the corners of her mouth keep tugging upwards, ruining the effect. "Hey!" is her comment in protest to that. When she's set back down, he does get a little thwap for it, but it's just a glancing blow done more on principle. "Ooh, pretty," she's quickly distracted by the charm offered out to her, taking it by the ribbon and holding it up to give it a closer look. "Clearly he stopped in because you're awesome," she notes in a 'duh' tone, butting into that conversation without looking up from the charm.

-

Ivan chortles heartily when he's swatted, and he takes advantage of the opportunity to reach over and ruffle her hair. Being an obnoxious older brother is fun. However, soon enough, his attention is transfered over to Scarlett, who he appraises thoughtfully. "Mhmm. Okay," he accepts, a little less flippantly then he would like. "Just…be careful, Scarlett." The moment passes by in that dragging sort of way, the one that hints that it is well and truly awkward. "I'd hate to have to bail you out of your messes. It'd be such a pain in the ass." He adds, clearly trying to save face with his shit-eating grin.

-

"My messes? MY messes? Ivan Apollo Fontane! I'm the one usually cleaning up your messes! GOD!" Scarlett tosses her hands up and stalks back to her jewelry table. There, she grabs another charm and ties it around her own neck. "That one's for you, Helen," she says after giving herself just enough time to let her anger dissipate. "It'll heat up if you're entering into a dangerous situation. Wear it while you're here, okay?"

-

There's a half-hearted attempt to duck out from under the ruffling, but most of Helen's energy goes to quickly pushing her hair back from her face once she's done and giving him a look. As tempers flare, it's enough to get Helen's gaze up from the charm, though she moves only her eyes, her glance flickering over each twin in turn with a quiet, resigned sigh. As the charm is explained, it gets another look from her, and then she nods, reaching up to tie hers in place as well. "Yeah, okay. Thanks. I don't plan on getting into dangerous situations though. Things can't be that bad, right?" she asks, ever so innocently, looking between the pair.

-

Ivan snickers jovially at Scarlett's explosion, clearly deriving joy from managing to get beneath her skin. Oh, and Helen too! A two for one deal - sweet! However, when Helen begins talking about the dangers of Dallas, he sobers up considerably, pursing his lips as he looks to the blonde. "Well…it's as dangerous as life can be. I'm working on making everything better though. Don't you worry. Just…don't be stupid and you'll be fine."

-

Scarlett gives her sister a lop-sided grin. "Maybe not, but it'll make me feel better knowing that at least you'll know if it's a dangerous situation, and you can get out of there." A look is shot in Ivan's direction, and she mutters, "Working to make things worse, more like." Rolling her eyes, she again lets the slightly dark mood pass before smiling at Helen. "Have you got a place to stay yet? If not, you can crash upstairs with me. I'm sure Ivan would have invited you to stay with him, but he's been too busy stuffing lacy bras into his couch lately."

-

"I'll be careful," Helen promises just a little too quickly to be entirely taken to heart. It's more of a reflex promise than anything, though she does smooth a hand over the charm, patting it in place against her chest once the ribbon is fastened. "And when am I ever stupid? Don't answer that," she quickly appends with a look towards Ivan. She's about to reply to the offer of a place to stay, but gets distracted by that bit about lacy bras. Which earns Ivan another look, somewhere between amused and 'do I even want to know?' as she lifts her eyebrows just a bit. "Haven't really figured that part out yet," she goes on, managing to actually get back on track with the original question. "So, yeah. A place to crash would be great."

-

"Yeah, wait a second. Why are you here in the first place? Did I miss that?" Beat. "Does mom know you're here?" He gruffs, brows furrowed. Someone fears the wrath of Momma Fontane if he find out Helen ran away. When Scarlett offers that bit, his eyes widen dramatically. "Scarlett! Not in front of Helen, Jesus Christ!" Because she can't know what lacy bras are. Slowly, he looks over to the blonde again with a cough. "My…girlfriend is living with me for the moment being. You can stay at my place, sure…" He's more offering out of obligation, though. It would no doubt put a damper to his romantic life.

-

"But you'll have more freedom here." Scarlett snickers a little, and then jokingly waltzes away toward the back of the shop. Whereupon she can be heard rummaging through some metal things. Then she reappears, dangling a key from a little pink rabbit foot keychain. "Key and everything, just make sure to lock up when you leave." Without missing a beat, she smirks. "Ivan, sweetie, I'm sure Helen's known about lacy bras since ninth grade. Get over it already." Though yes, he does bring up a good point. "If mom doesn't know she's here, we would have been called already, I'm sure."

-

"Yeah, not so much of a mystery anymore," Helen replies with a grin, as to the lacy bras. Heck, she even owns a few herself, but she's distracted enough by everything going on at once to spare her big brother that bit of sanity. "Ooh, thanks," is offered as she gets her own key, waggling the bunny foot. "And it's lucky and everything." She absently pets the furry foot as she looks back to Ivan again. "Though I'm thinking I'll need to meet this girlfriend." It is most interesting news, after all. There's a pause as she almost forgets there was a whole other part of the conversation. "Oh, and yeah, mom knows." Her feelings may not be entirely favourable, but she knows. "As for why I'm here, well, I've got another bit of news." She pauses for dramatic effect. "I'm transferring to UTD." There's an eager smile with that, and she looks between the two, anxious for their reactions to that incredibly awesome (if utterly random) news, no?

-

Ivan must never know that. Helen must always be the perfect virginal innocent little sister, or his mind will break forever. With a wry smile, he looks over the Helen, running a hand through his curls casually. "Yeah? You'd want to?" He sounds pleased, almost. "Cool. I'll have to arrange a meeting, then. I figure she'd enjoy meeting you as well." Hell, they might even meet on campus, considering the fact that she's going to be going to some school eventually. "How long are you here for, kiddo? So I know when to set everything up and…" Beat. "No. No, shut up. She does not know what…those are. Do you?" Helen is eyed. She is eyes suspiciously. But then…she drops the bomb. "You're…what?"

-

"Sure she does," Scarlett says just to get under Ivan's skin, "I bought her one for her sixteenth birthday." Winking at Helen, she nods to the backroom. "It's not much, but you can take the futon. I'll dig out the air mattress." It should suffice for at least a little while. "UTD, huh? Well, you're welcome to crash here as long as you need a place, and if you get a room on campus let me know and I'll give you some artwork." Minor little protection spells weaved into each and every single piece. "Ivan, chill. She probably just missed your annoying big-brother behavior and needed to get a fix. It's not exactly like you or I can say anything now, is it? Considering we're both already here."

-

"Of course I'd want to. If she's living with you, that's got to be a pretty big deal, right? I feel like I've missed everything!" Helen remarks. All the more reason to get caught up now. She can't help but laugh at Ivan's shock about her knowledge of female undergarments. At least it's better than having an intimate knowledge of male undergarments and all that implies? Scarlett earns a thankful grin as she comes to the defence of these newest life choices. "Yeah, I just figured it was time for a change of scene, and since you guys are here, well, it seemed like a good idea." For the entire five minutes that she pondered on it, even. "And, really, whatever you've got is great. Air mattress, whatever." Better than the other options, like a skeazy motel or some rooming house - and the heart attacks they'd give to the older Fontanes.

-

"Well…it wasn't planned or anything. It all just kind of…happened. So it's not like I was trying to keep anything from you or the like." Ivan clarifies, licking his lips thoughtfully. "Her name's Faith." It doesn't occur to him that Scarlett might make the connection to a certain Faith Tyler that's in the media. "And she's…well. She's one of a kind. Like you, gidget." His grin is teasing at this point, and he blinks over to Scarlett. "Oy - I am calm. I was just surprised, is all. Geez. And, dude, cut it out. I'm serious." The hand that goes on Helen's shoulder is quite protective, and almost sullenly he looks to his youngest sister. "…You didn't have any boys at home, did you?"

-

"What? Are you wanting to know what she knows about men's underwear now?" Scarlett smirks at him a little, then it's like a light bulb goes off in her mind. "Her?!?!" She shoots Ivan a look of incredulity and then rubs a hand over her face. "Please, please tell me it's not the infamous Faith from the television? The insane chick then went missing from a mental institution, then thought she was a vampire?" Surely there's a lot of people in Dallas with the name Faith. It's not like her twin would hone in on the one that's infamous. Though, if she recalls correctly that girl was a twin also so it's possible.

-

"Yeah, yeah. You'd just better start with the details, mister," Helen mock-threatens her big brother, whether or not he was deliberately keeping her in the dark previously. "It's a pretty name," is offered with a grin. She glances down at the protective hand that lands upon her shoulder, and in the beat she takes to figure out how to answer this question, Scarlett's beaten her to the punch. Knowing that it probably won't be entirely successful, she tries to quickly move right along to the next topic, which is, admittedly, quite a doozy. "You're dating someone in a mental institution?" No judgement here, but it's still a bit surprising, to say the least.

-

"And if it is? What will you do?" Ivan inquires Scarlett, looking unimpressed and vaguely irritated by her overreaction. "She's not insane. Her mind had been destroyed by vampiric glamour. She's been fixed now. She's the victim in this situation." He is careful, deliberate in making sure he emphasizes this point - it's important that he does. "I wouldn't date an insane chick." Even…though he kind of did.

-

"Right, it all makes sense now. Trying to over throw McNaab because your girlfriend got her mind messed up by a vampire. Christ, Ivan, that's lame even for you." Scarlett exhales slowly, an apologetic look given to Helen. "I was about to head out and get some groceries. Since you'll be staying here a while, feel like coming with? I'll even let you buy that sugary crap you like." Chances are she just needs to get out of there before she explodes at her twin again.

-

"Gosh, that's terrible. Poor thing," Helen replies, genuinely sympathetic to this plight, though she's still a bit surprised by the whole turn of events. She brings her own hand up to pat the one that rests on her shoulder. She glances between the twins for a moment, hoping the irritation won't blossom into something more. "Ooh, sugar." Of course, she's still easily distracted. "Call me about meeting up?" she asks, looking back up at Ivan, eyebrows raised a bit. Now she definitely needs to meet this live-in girlfriend. "You've got my number." There's a trace of that impish grin returning as she alludes back to her original text message.

-

Ivan snorts, scowling to Scarlett. "Just send Helen over to my apartment when you decide to bring vampires over here, since you're so close to their kind now. And I'm doing no such thing - I don't know what you're talking about." He turns to Helen, mustering a smile for her. "Anyway, I'll see you around, gidget. Don't be a stranger, alright? I'll let you know." And, off he goes!

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License