-Here we have a little drabble with Volaris, and @bastart13 's lovely apprentice Abosede. <3
1212 words, more under cut.
-
“Here’s the clay you ordered, Illume.”
“Thanks, just set it down there,” Volaris said, smiling at the delivery boy.
With a huff, the boy set the big pack down and left the shop.
It was silent, save for the soft sound of carving. Volaris sat at his desk, black hair tied in a bun. He was carving a crow out of a small block of wood. Occasionally he muttered something to himself, or brushed at his stubble. His lilac eyes flicked around the room.
A cup of hot coffee was on his desk. The entire surface of it was littered with tools, shavings and leftover pieces of clay. ‘I’ll clean it up,’ Volaris said. But he still hadn’t gotten to it... A single lantern stood on the counter.
There weren’t many customers that day, but he wasn’t bothered. He liked lazing around.
The shop wasn’t very big, but it was full. The shelves were full of figures, mostly animals or creatures, but also trinkets and decorative tiles. Most were made of clay. Not all of them were painted, but some were. Others were made of polished wood. A bunch of them were made of metal, mostly the ones you could hang from your ceiling. There were also some items made with jewels or crystals.
A dragon the height of his desk stood on a pedestal, near a corner. It was fully made of hardened white clay, and there were many details. That took him weeks to complete. He didn’t paint it, because he worried that it’d ruin his hard work. Paint wasn’t always an improvement.
“Hmm.. Where’s the black paint…” Vol dug around in a cabinet on the floor. “Not here…” He accidentally kicked a bucket over, and wood shavings poured out. “Damn-”
The little bell hanging on top of the door rang, and someone walked in. Volaris jumped and knocked his head against the cabinet.
“Hrk-! Oww!” He clutched his head with a groan.
“Oh! Are you alright?”
“Y-yeah. I’m good, don’t worry.” He got to his feet and blinked at the stranger. But he needed to look up. “...H-Hey there.”
He’d never seen this person before. So tall! He swallowed, straightening himself out a bit.
“Welcome to my shop, miss-...?” He tilted his head.
“Abosede.” she smiled. He gave a slight grin in return. “Nice to meet you, I’m Volaris.” He bowed his head and went to sit back at his desk.
He couldn’t help but be embarrassed though. He must’ve looked like an idiot… He shook his head and returned his attention to what he was working on before. Ah, but damn, he still hadn’t found the paint. He got up again to search for it.
“Wooow.. Where did you find these?” The visitor asked, looking at the shelves and gently running her fingers along some of the figures.
“Uh, I made them,” He responded, face buried in a dusty closet.
“You made them?” Abosede looked impressed, although he couldn’t see.
“Well, yes. I’m working on a bunch more as we speak!” He peeked at her with a grin, pulling out a bottle of black paint, along with a small can of iridescent powder.
“What are you making now, then?” She got closer to the desk to take a look.
“A crow… and a black cat.” He held up one of the figures to show her.
“It’s so detailed… Impressive.” She turned one of the pieces over in her hands.
“Heh, thank you.” He fiddled with his carving knife. “What brings you to my humble shop?” He glanced up at her with a smile. Beautiful, he thought. Vol looked away when she caught his gaze. He wasn’t usually this awkward.
“Well, I was told a gifted crafter lived here somewhere. Looks like I found him!” Abosede beamed.
“Aw, I’m not that good..” Volaris tried not to blush. “You flatter me, miss.”
“But look at all your work! You should give yourself more credit.” She patted his shoulder. This time he did blush.
“You’re too nice… but thank you.” He glanced up at her before returning his attention to painting. “...Have you ever made stuff yourself?”
“Oh, all the time! I love crafting!”
“Ah! Then you must know how nice it is! it’s quite calming to me.”
She nodded. “Yes, I can totally understand that.”
“What do you usually make?” He looked up at her with a grin, dusting some blue, iridescent powder on the crow’s wings.
“I weave and embroider a lot. I also carve, like you do… Oh, and beadwork too! But that’s just to name a few.” Abosede made a thoughtful noise and leaned on the desk to look at his work.
“Ohh, I’ve wanted to try weaving for a while… But I don’t get a lot of time,” He hummed. “But gosh, that’s amazing! You must be very talented!” He smiled, setting the finished figure down on the edge of his counter. “I’d love to see sometime. I don’t meet a lot of folks who enjoy crafting too..”
“No?” Abosede turned to look at some more of the figures.
“Nope. Where I’m from, where I used to live, there were hardly any crafters. Most people were just merchants or farmers. My dad made pottery, though.”
“Hmm, I’ve met a bunch of crafters and handworkers in this city though,” Abosede said, peeking on one of the higher shelves.
“Hah, well… I’m not too good at finding things. Or people.” Volaris chuckled.
“Ooh! Is this a crane…?” She picked up one of the figures.
“Could you show it?” He leaned a bit closer, holding out his hand. She gave it to him. “Mrm. Yes, indeed. This is a red-crowned crane.” He gave it back to her with a musical hum.
“Oh, I love it. It’s so detailed!” She ran her fingers along the delicate lines.
“Heh, I’m glad! That piece was actually requested by a patron. But multiple people liked it, so it’s a part of my collection now.”
She stared at him for a moment. “You take requests?”
“Uh, sure? I can make a custom made one for you, if you’d like that.” Volaris tilted his head.
Abosede grinned. “In that case,” she began, reaching into her pocket. “Do you think you could make one of these?”
She showed him a picture of her familiar, a crested crane.
“Ooh! Sure, I haven’t made one of those before… But it shouldn’t be too hard. Is that your familiar?”
“Mhm! Her name is Ife.” She beamed.
“Ah, lovely. Sure, I could do that. Give me about 3 days. Would you like it in clay, or wood? And would you like it painted?” Vol blinked curiously.
“If you could make it out of wood, that’d be great. And you can paint it, if you’d like.”
He nodded, taking a sheet of paper, and writing it down. “Mind if I borrow the picture until it’s done?”
“Sure.”
Vol stretched and pinned the paper on a clasp. “Gotcha,” He chuckled. He looked up at her. “Hey, maybe next time you visit, you could show me some of your works? I bet it’s all beautiful.” He smiled and rested his head on his hand.
“Oh, you’d like to see? I can do that.” Abosede hummed.
I just had this thought, but what animal/animals do you see your main apprentices being? (You can pick multiple if you want).
Also what do you imagine their voices sound like?
Animals, hm... I'm not sure I associate them with any particular animals. I can see Isha being a rottweiler like their pet. Maybe a particularly chill one. Tashi could be a preening or constructive bird, or a flashy fish. Then Abosede is either a large, colourful bird or a giraffe. She has unbothered large herbivore energy.
As for their voices, Isha has an androgynous, calm voice that doesn't rise or fall much in tone. Tashi is loud and very expressive with an odd blend of well-spoken and harsh tone. Abosede's voice is light and airy. Like Isha's, she's mostly calm when she speaks, but when excited, her voice pitches and she goes a mile a minute.
What kind of colors do you associate with your fan apprentices? And what's their elemental motifs/symbolism? (Or just symbolism in general).
Also! What's your fan apprentices body types? What shapes do you normally use when drawing them?
Isha: Sunsets, fire, and magic. Warm, but dark colours with a contrast of green and white. I give them a lot of natural and celestial symbolism, with stars and sunlight patterns. I also reference Indian and Pakistani art to stylise the patterns. They have a broad, overweight, pear-shaped body with wide shoulders and wider hips, with thick thighs. I use a lot of rounded square shapes in their body, face, and clothing, with loose curls or draping fabric as a contrast.
Tashi: Marble, gold, ocean, and luxury. Cool colours combined with white and gold. Blue and turquoise are his main colours, but I'll branch out into green and purple. His fashion style is inspired by Tibetan art and haute couture. He is muscular and stocky with a broad chest/shoulders and thick arms, and a comparatively thinner lower-half. Again, I use a lot of squares when drawing Tashi, but in contrast to Isha, he's angled, not soft. I use a lot of overlapping circles and sharp edges for his hair and outfits.
Abosede: Bright nature, tropical plants and birds. Bright, saturated colours together to play off her dark skin with lots of yellows and greens, but she'll rarely stick to a single colour. I take inspiration from forest imagery and birds of paradise for her outfits (feathers, branches, and petals). She is very tall and slender, with few curves which is highlighted by wearing long, draping skirts with straight sleeves. I use long, loose lines to draw her body/clothing, contrasting with the short curves of her facial features.
So, uh, I'd been planning on drawing more chibis for my apprentices, but then @timmys-and-scribbles came out with her absolutely incredible Celestial Ball charm designs on insta
I dropped everything and spent hours drawing Abosede representing her ruling planet, Jupiter. It was a lot of fun trying to work in the warm, shifting colours, as well as the many beaded necklaces, bracelets, and rings for its many moons.
But seriously, if you haven't seen them yet, check them out. They're out of this world
Unfortunately she isn't actually that strong. She can only lift a little more than the average woman so while she could probably lift Portia, Nadia, or Asra, she'd struggle with Lucio, Isha, Julian, and have no hope with Muriel
