Dolasach - Of Ivy & Seafoam

She rolls her eyes at him, just a sprinkle salty that she'll have to watch as he uses up their points on whatever silly thing he might be planning on getting.

"A ball of fire?" she repeats, laughing at the notion. "Come on, I'm not gonna sic my flame-tossing boyfriend on you for this. He might even tease me for losing to a florist in a game about reflexes and quick thinking."

"...And luck," she adds, unable to resist teasing him a little more in a faux-sore loser kind of way. She tries to follow his line of sight to where he was looking, curious about what he'll be buying with their points.

Though her eyes still lingered on the prize she'd been planning on getting, which was a small collection of little Artsy Birb figures in different poses.

"Sooo... Anything caught your eye?"

(RE?)connecting; @jeremiahofphilo

Wednesday night. Cool, moderately windy, with the moon mostly blocked by the clouds.

Half an hour earlier than the agreed upon time, Dolasach arrived at the arcade—a flashy building with three floors of entertainment that ranged from the classic crane game, to a newly installed interactive holographic setup ‘that brought VR into IRL.’ Rolling up the sleeves of the beige and navy cardigan that her pouty lover insisted she wear lent her, she made her way deeper inside with a goal in mind.

Recalling that Jeremiah mentioned that he couldn’t figure out some of the machines, she made it a point to take some time to scour the place for anything that either looked like something Jeremiah would know about, or seemed like the right level of complexity for it to still be fun to figure out. Or maybe they could have fun with something they could both figure out together?

It crossed her mind that this was probably way more busywork than Jeremiah could’ve ever expected from her, but after how… Awkward? Some of their last meeting went, she just wanted to try and make sure things go relatively well. Or at least, they wouldn’t have that much dead air if it did get awkward again.

She pulled out her phone and quickly sent Jeremiah a text once she was satisfied with her findings, the time hitting close to their rendezvous.

->Mr. Philo-dendron: Let me know when you’re here, will meet you at the entrance. Take your time btw! No rush :>

It would really benefit Dolasach to simply be normal and let go of all her little worries and concerns, and habit of overthinking everything. Take a few notes from her employer, see how much it’ll benefit her.

Thomas really is just a nice, friendly guy.

The explanation was a perfectly mundane, normal one, save maybe for how she didn’t quite expect Rafayel to have been the one to introduce Thomas to Kitty Cards. But really, with how much of a wild card he can be, she shouldn’t be shocked at all.

“I was just surprised. You don’t seem like the type to be into Kitty Cards, let alone stop by Meow Cafe for it.”

She accepted his hand and stood back up, smoothing out whatever wrinkles had formed in her clothes once upright.

“Oh, actually… The deadline for this isn’t due for another few days, so we’re good with not having it done right away,” she explained with a brief laugh. “Now that you know that I do know a few things about art… You have better context as to why I was so upset about Rafayel’s challenge. It's really not that urgent.”

With one last glance at the paintings, she slid her tablet back into her bag and nodded to his offer. A chance to make a new friend wouldn't hurt, and one that she didn't have to hide who her most recent employer was too.

If anything, now that she wasn't so wary of... Everything, she had a good feeling about Thomas.

"Let's go."

❦ a reintroduction to shape and color

closed starter | @thomasicism

—

Perhaps Dolasach should’ve known better when she agreed to be play bodyguard for a rather… eccentric personality.

She wasn’t a stranger to world-renowned artist Rafayel’s odd quirks, or to his occasional apathy towards coming off as unreasonable. Whispers of those facets of his personality made rounds among her circles in university and never failed to be mentioned in his interviews—artists are stereotyped as strange and anti-social for a reason. Even in her brief encounters with him prior to the arrangement, she could already tell that he wasn’t an exception to the trope.

So why then, she asked herself, did I agree to be his bodyguard?

The answer echoed in her mind in the form of a coral stone and a dark blue envelope. She sighed and kept walking along the city sidewalk, paying little mind to the passing cars or passersby.

Almost as if in mockery, today’s weather brought a slight drizzle, too. The soft pitter-patter of the rain making contact with Dolasach’s umbrella did little to soothe her mood.

Nearing her destination, Flux Arts, she pulled out her phone and reviewed her conversation with her employer from last night.

Noisy Oarfish: im still saddened by the fact that my own bodyguard cant identify my work at a glance. if word gets out and youre called “incompetent,” ill be devastated

Noisy Oarfish: you need to improve your artistic sensitivity

Noisy Oarfish: tell you what. ill leave those forgeries at flux with the original and you need to tell me which one is the real one

Noisy Oarfish: but not only do you have to pick the correct painting, i need you to analyze. no point in this if you just get it right by guessing or asking thomas

Noisy Oarfish: think you can get it done by friday?

Me: Fine.

Something about the whole situation sparked such a deep annoyance in Dolasach that had her determined to get the assignment done as soon as possible. Rereading the messages rekindled that flame, and she felt all the more eager to get started as soon as she entered Flux Arts.

Thomas better be here.

The sudden shift from noisy city sidewalk to quiet white cube gallery made her feel a little too aware of how upset she was. After taking a moment to try and collect herself, she approached the receptionist.

“Excuse me.” Her tone was calm and even. “Is Thomas around? I’m here to run an errand for Rafayel.”

Dolasach heard the commotion unfold from the other side of the call, her brow instantly furrowing as she tried to make sense of what might be happening. Surely she won’t have to drop the call to contact emergency services instead?

“Kaia?”

She breathed out a sigh of relief when she heard her voice and laugh come through, glad that she was at least okay enough to keep talking as though nothing really happened. For a moment, she wasn’t sure of what to even say or address first. In the end, she just trusted that Kaia was fine and that she wasn’t calling at a bad time.

“I’m—okay, yeah, I can bring some fruit. See you in an hour, and um, stay safe, yeah?”

After bidding her goodbyes, she ended the call and got to work packing a few things for reference. Concern for her friend aside, she was looking forward to a productive day talking over some ideas for this project.

—

By the time she arrived at Kaia’s place, about 45 minutes had passed. One hand held onto a small bag of assorted berries and fruit, while the other gave the door a few knocks. Hopefully now was a good time to be here?

"Kaia, any chance you'll be free for a bit of brainstorming over some tea sometime soon? I have an idea for a little project I'd like to work on, and I figure you'd be someone I can trust for the job."

"Hmm?" Kaia places the phone between her shoulder and her ear, reaching up to grab a book from one of her shelves. But Dolasach's words make her pause, and her expression immediately brightens. "A project? I mean, sure! I'm actually free right now, you did call at a pretty good time! D'you plan to meet up somewhere? Ooorrr... You could come over, if you want?"

Azizbek Sulaimanov (Kyrgyz,b.1986)

Zuhair Murad | Fall/Winter 2024 Couture