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 Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2016 6:08 pm
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Considering everything and the fact that Thorne had never actually encountered Liam one on one, the fact that he took the greeting so well was a testament to his self control. Thorne smiled at Liam amiably, wild eyes alight.
"I am glad you're pleased, as you're the one who must stare at it day and night now," he returned easily, turning his head to look at the piece of art. It was truly a creature of its own standing - a wild beast half way between the imagined and the real world. A certain visceral soul lived inside of it, a two-toned beast of beauty and death.
"Honestly, I think that painting took part of my soul in the process," he added dryly. It had been a long process.
His eyes flared to the others, the smile twisting a little.
"Thank you," he said gracefully towards the compliments, bowing his head slightly. His eyes flicked to Juniper in amusement. "I do my best to impress the masses," he drawled, and turned his eyes to Zac, nodding in warm greeting.
To Shun he hummed a greeting.
"As with all things, it comes from hard work," he added when complimented, and grinned. "I'm pleased to see you here as well. Finally taking a night off from working?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2016 9:18 pm
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Temperance had moved away from everyone during their exchanges, feeling distinctly uncomfortably. She stared at the polaroids along one wall - an oddly quaint touch, considering the rest of the artwork. The only person she felt comfortable around was with Juniper and she would not interfere. Temperance wrapped her arms around her waist and wandered back towards their host.
"Why, Professor Noor, did you invite us, particularly?" The question was relatively innocent, but it sounded more like a 'why did you invite me when we do not get on'. "Or, barring that-" she continued, as it was only polite to give their host an out of any question and politeness at dinner parties had been ingrained in her from a young age. "-perhaps you could tell me which of these paintings you find speaks to you the most? Perhaps has the most 'soul'?" She did not know what to say to Thorne and so, did not speak to him just yet.
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Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 10:08 am
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Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 4:10 pm
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Thorne laughed and glanced at Liam, raising a brow. His expression was wry and amused, the clever expression of a fox.
"Thank god for small fortunes then," he returned, "Those paintings sound - interesting, to say the very least. There aren't any in your collection though, are there?"
His eyes roved over Shun next, amused.
"Well, as long as they don't set Coalsmoke on fire or anything," he drawled, "Anyways, let someone else take the night shift for that show."
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Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 9:08 pm
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Liam looked Temperance over, a smirk playing across his lips. "I've never done this before," he said. "I wanted to make it interesting."
He turned to Thorne. "There are, as a matter of fact," he said, and gave a meaningful glance to one of the Prividaniye pieces in the living room.
The wall of photographs beside the dining room table, should Zac and Juniper get close enough to examine it, was made up of polaroid photographs of residents of Ashdown - some of them familiar, some of them not, some of them just slightly off.
The waiter appeared at his side, leaning to whisper something to him. Liam clapped his hands together.
"I believe dinner is ready, if you'll take your seats in the dining room," he announced, and took a seat at the head of the table, the photographs at his back.
"They're something of a personal organizational system," he explained to Juniper. "An analogue affect for the digital age."
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Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2016 11:10 am
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She made a noncommittal noise to Liam's response, finding it lacking, but lacking a polite way to comment further. Her eyes turned towards the picture he looked at - Prividaniye - the name was familiar, someone at the ball, perhaps. What does a painting with a soul look like? Sounded frankly ridiculous, she thought, but this was (not) Ashdown, and related to it... Perhaps she should examine the paintings later, in better detail. Ask him who's soul was inside; she desperately hoped he would not say Vivien, of all people.
After a moment, Temperance smiled at Thorne. "Excuse me," she said, and walked over to the table, taking a seat both not next to Liam and not next to Shun. That is, she sat in the middle chair to the right of their host.
"And what-" she straightened the hem of her dress. "-do you mean by personal organization system? They seem rather candid, especially in comparison with the rest of the artwork." She hoped Zac would sit next to her.
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Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2016 9:06 pm
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Once everyone was seated, the waiter brought around bowls of vibrantly orange butternut squash soup, each garnished with a perfect swirl of pesto and a few roasted pine nuts. "Bon apetit," said Liam, tipping his wine glass slightly to his guests.
"Well, you see," he said, turning to Temperance, "there are so many names and faces involved in this business. I have to keep track of which pieces are in play, or I'd go mad."
Of course, that was assuming you were not of the opinion that Liam was already mad.
He looked over at Juniper. "Are you enjoying your soup, my dear?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 9:10 am
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When the food came out, Juniper now knew where some of the delicious scents had been coming from and she was not at all disappointed with the presentation of it either. Not that she would have much noticed if it didn't have that perfectly swirled bit of pesto of pine nuts. Still, she appreciated it, none-the-less.
Once everyone had their bowls, picked up her spoon and dipped into the soup as Liam began explaining his candid portrait wall to Temperance. Juniper listened intently as she took the first bite of the soup. All of this was extremely strange, but at the same time, knowing what she did, it wasn't terribly...out of the question that Liam would want to know who was a 'playing piece' in Ashdown. Or...Other Ashdown. He did mention he wanted his husband to survive the whole affair, so maybe this was his attempt at keeping track of who could pose a threat to Renard?
Then again, maybe she was giving him the benefit of the doubt and making it feel less threatening for her own sake.
When Liam turned his attention to her, Juniper stopped lifting the second spoonful to her mouth. Smiling she gave a nod. "It's lovely! Compliments to the chef."
She paused a moment and set the spoon back into her soup, a thought on her mind. "Will your husband be joining us tonight? I had been hoping to meet him." She address Liam with a casual tone. She was even more curious about Renard after her discussion with Zac about him.
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