A large block of stone has taken up a part of the Grayson grounds. It stands tall and wide, enough to show off several bodies. In fact, there are several being worked on and depicted even now. A set of scaffolding is set up before the block of stone, and sitting atop the scaffolding is Lou Grayson, Princess and Voice of House Grayson and Pathfinder of the Society of Explorers. She hard at work, chiseling away at the stone, for the moment so caught up in her work that she's lost track of time and the fact that her event has even begun as people start arriving and getting settled in.

Braelynn has found a place near the scaffolding from where she can peer up at the still unfinished sculpture and attempt to pick out the details.

Sira arrives and finds a drink as soon as possible, then slowly circles the giant block of stone to inspect the entire situation. She pauses, head angled up to watch Lou's work with interest. She doesn't say anything to her, just quietly watching.

Eirene has brought her pre-teen Malvici twins Idris and Iris and younger Riven son Jace to come and see the artistry. The elder boy and girl are casually swordfighting one another with blunted metal blades as they stroll up to the grounds. Jace has a book under his arm of astronomy, borrowewd from his father likely.

Braelynn looks to the person nearest to her. Sira in this case. "Did you know Princess Lou was such a good sculptor? I never did."

Scarf, the violet serpent arrives, following Raymesin.

It might be noted that Prince Niklas, of all of those on the statue, looks absolutely perfect in all ways. He's even smiling and has a dimple that shows. Very lifelike, that. The rest of the sculptures are a huge work in progress in comparison to that one particular figure on the statue. It's Braelynn's voice, speaking to the others, that brings Lou out of her work trance. She sets down her tools and turns around to see who has arrived. "Hello down there," she calls to the newcomers, offering a faint smile of greeting. That smile does not have the usual luster, but there's still a smile all the same. "If any of you are working on things and keeping me company as I work, feel free to set up anywhere," she tells them. Eirene gets singled out with a wave of the hand, being a long time friend and current protege.

"No," Sira murmurs in response to Braelynn. Her head shakes, causing her thick auburn curls to bounce around her shoulders and back. After a moment, the woman turns to actually look at who spoke to her. Gold-rimmed blue eyes flick over Braelynn curiously and without recognition. "Master Sira Illuso," She introduces herself. Then there's an Eirene and children. One hand lifts in a wordless, smile-less greeting of the physician.

"Lady Braelynn Deepwood" Braelynn replies. "It's a pleasure to meet you master Sira Illuso." She looks to the target of the wave and offers one too.

The arrival of an overtall man in neat black leathers goes mostly unremarked, Raymesin heading for the sculpture and then turning towards Eirene when he spots her. There are polite nods for the assembled - including one for Lou, should she look in his direction.

Eirene offers a raised hand back in hello to both Sira and Lou, but she calls out "Hey" to the artist. The kids salute with their swords before going back to their swings and parries. Jace gives a cheerful wave as he smiles before finding a place to sit and read his book. "Eirene Riven," she introduces to Braelynn, sans title or rank. "How's it coming, Lou," she asks the artist. The lanky man ALSO in black leather is given lifted chin of comfortable greeting.

Sira's attention shifts from Eirene back to Braelynn. "Deepwood?" Her brow creases faintly. "Cousin or sibling to Lord Grady?" Though she's still not smiling, there's a trace of amusement in her expression when it comes to Grady. When Raymesin arrives, he is given a nod of greeting.

Lou nods back to Raymesin, recognizing the Harlequin amongst the others. Since most people seem to be congregating below, she moves back down the scaffolding and drops to the ground, happy to join the people who've come so far to see and watch her work. "Did I hear one of the Deepwoods is here?" she asks curiously, eyes touching briefly on Braelynn. "And as far as being good, in truth this is my first piece. I've got a long way to go before I'm good," she demures, showing she heard the earlier commentary.

Braelynn asks Sira "You know Grady? He's my cousin." before smiling brightly at Eirene. "Eirene Riven? Everyone says you are a wonderful healer. Its a pleasure to meet you Eirene." That same bright smile is turned up towards Lou. "Just me I think, Princess Lou."

"Ey, Eirene," Raymesin greets the Physician; he'd looked entirely respectable, but on opening his mouth he's revealed to have a thick accent, and one straight from the Lowers. "Master Illuso," he greets Sira, and then, "Yer 'Ighness," to Lou. Braelynn gets a curious look, but then Raymesin's looking at the sculpture and taking in the sheer scale of it.

"He is..." Sira pauses, uncertain how exactly to describe Grady. "We were partnered for a feast at Archduchess Jaenelle Velenosa's a long time ago. It was an unexpectedly pleasant experience." She turns to give Raymesin a bow of her head, respectful when he greets her. "Harlequin," She replies, "You're tall as ever." The woman still hasn't really greeted Lou, and so she does that now, dipping a proper curtsy to the princess. "Pathfinder, thank you for inviting us and including us in your craft. I'm no sculptor, but I appreciate artforms that aren't clothing."

"Nice to hear I'm known for that, and not my creative cursing," Eirene jokes to Braelynn. "Though from what I understand I'm -also- known for that." She keens her head at Sira's description. "One of the feast of the senses balls? I've never really been keen on those, too much out of my own control for my liking," the physician and Lycene says. She turns to Raymesin and says, "Heard your group got some traction with the Oathlanders. Congrats, that couldn't have been an easy sell."

Lou can't help the grimace at all of the princess this and highness that. "Really, just Lou is fine, or Pathfinder," she tells Raymesin and Braelynn gently. She gives Braelynn a curious look a moment, then nods to herself about something. She turns to Sira a moment. "You are quite welcome," she's also given an appreciative look for using Pathfinder, instead of the formal titles. "Eirene, I don't think you'll ever escape being known for creative cursing," Lou teases the Riven woman. She lifts a brow at Eirene when she says a feast is out of her control. "You literally go exploring where there's no control over anything at all during expeditions," she lightly chides Eirene, letting out a light laugh.

"The cursing too." Braelynn tells Eirene with a smile. "But I thought being a physician was nicer!" She turns to gasp at Sira. "You went to the feast with Grady? How ever did you manage to get him to eat?" When Sira speaks to Raymesin she offers him a bright "Harlequin"

Sira nods to Eirene. "Mm, yes, one of the Feasts of the Senses. Now, whenever we run into each other, it's always a delight." A fact which might be a surprise, as the seamstress isn't the effusive, 'delight' type. Or so it seems. "I enjoy them," The Feasts, "When else might I get to smear food on the face of a noble?" Finally, a smile lights up her face and she gives a wink to no one in particular. To Braelynn, "Carefully! It was surprisingly easy." Then she makes a gesture to the seat beside the Lady. "May I?" Before she sits, she gives Eirene and Lou an amused look. "the general is quite good at handling things entirely outside of her control, but I think I understand. She's trained for combat and emergent, dangerous situations. It's... A familiar unknown."

"I know yer for th'cursin'," Raymesin assures Eirene with a trace of amusement in his voice, then nods. "Yeah. It weren't easy, but by th'end'a it we'd 'elped 'em so much as they 'ad ter admit it." He nods to Lou, then. "Right, Lou," he agrees. He looks to Sira, then nods to Braelynn. "'Arlequin Raymesin, Queen's Blade," he says, presumably an introduction.

Eirene counters to Lou, "Out in the wilds, I have more control over what I wear and what I eat, at a party there's a entirely different set of rules - I don't always play by them though. Speaking of what I wear," she says as she segues towards Sira, "I have some fancy fabrics 'Tino gave me I haven't the shittiest idea what to do with. Some rose-leather, cashmere, and some seatouch wool. I -think- I have an outfit or two for Q's upcoming ball, if my husband can give me puppy dog eyes into being his arm candy." The three kids go 'eww' at the idea of their parents being mushy.

The way that Raymesin introduces himself to the others catches Lou off guard a moment. Her expression clouds a moment while she looks him over, as though looking for a familiar blade. Not seeing it, she then looks disappointed. She purses her lips then turns to pay attention to Eirene's address to Sira. "Balls are Liara's and Keely's thing...." There's a pause and then she looks distressed a moment. "Shit. I've got to find my dress for Keely's wedding. Er. The /other/ dress, not the murder death kittens one." Yes. It seems Lou only owns two dressess.

1 Saik Guard, Micana, an efficient assistant arrive, following Lucita.

Braelynn replies to Raymesin "Lady Braelynn Deepwood. Its a pleasure to meet the Queens Blade." Looking back towards Sira she says "But he's always so chatty." She nods once at Eirene's words. "I prefer to be out in the wilds too." Hearing Lou's words she asks "You have a murder death kittens dress?"

Lou is settled at the bottom of the scaffolding for now, to mingle with those who came to her arting event. She seems to be the only artist for the evening.

Lucita comes into the grounds, late, but she did show up, quietly glancing around to see who all has assembled to watch the progress on the statues. A warm smile and a little hand wave is given in greeting.

There's a soft, murmured, almost silent congratulations offered from Sira to Raymesin for the Harlequins' public relations triumph in the Oathlands. She comes back to a normal volume for Eirene and Lou when fashion enters the conversation. "Of course, General, come by whenever suits you. I can't handle the rose leather, but I can sketch a design to take to a leatherworker. The rest I'd be happy to handle." Lou gets a very arched brow at the name, or description, of the dress she mentions. "Oh. Mm, speaking of fashion and Graysons... I recently spoke with Princess Lark. It was suggested that I consider reopening my mother's tailoring shop, now that Bastion has been recovered. I... Have no intention of moving /back/, but I could train apprentices to run the shop. And support the crafters of Bastion." KInd of the least she could do for her place of birth. For Braelynn's part, she smiles, and offers, "He can't talk when you put food in his mouth."

Raymesin catches Lou's look; he shakes his head ever so slightly. "I ain't - an' I ain't got - that blade," he says. "I'm a knifeman, what'm I gonna do wi' a sword?" He inclines his head to Braelynn, then. "Pleased ter meet yer," he says, then offers a polite nod to the arriving Lucita. There's a nod to Sira, as well, but Raymesin seems to be fading back as more people arrive.

Lou has made her way over to Eirene to give her a few quiet words, her mood going deeply solemn a moment. She glances back to Raymesin when he speaks and gives him an equally solemn nod. "Thank you for letting me know," she tells him.

At Braelynn's question, Lou beams at the other woman, momentarily forgetting her mood for something lighter. "I do!" She moves to her backpack and pulls out a dress and shakes it out, showing it off in its full, very, very, exceptionally wrinkled splendor; that poor seamstress has to endure the state of Lou's wrinkled elegant dress.

Lou gets Regal Forest Green Silk Lehenga With Ivory And Cream Death Kittens from Rugged Backpack with Quick Release Straps.

Lucita Approaches Eirene and spreads her arms to offer a hug. "How is my favorite Auntie doing? Seems ages since we got to talk." And Sira is given an appreciative nod, Raymesin spoken to next. "Did you ever get to try a short spear, a siangham?" Then that smile is given Braelynn. "Ben a while since we got to talk, also." And finally Lou is greeted with a her walking around the latest effort and her murmuring. "Beautiful, simply beautiful."

"oh my" Braelynn says as Lou pulls a gown out of her backpack. "That is so lovely." She smiles brightly at Lucita. "Hello Lucita! It is so lovely to see you again."

Eirene's expression at Lou's commentary falls hard on her lined face. There's a sneer, a sigh, and a simply uttered, "Well fuck." The kids, sensing mom's shift, look over anxiously. "Nothing, my little monsters," she says with a fake smile. "GO back to beating one another up." She then shifts gears and gives Lucita a wan smile. "Hey, glad you're up and about.." And she nods to Sira, "I can see about stopping by the shop some time. Maybe get a nice doublet made up or a winter cloak." It's an attempt to regain normal conversation. "Having a second store is a neat idea. Show folk Bastion is rebuilding on a deeper level and throw some investments into it."

Lou grins at Braelynn. "It was a gift from my cousin, Baroness Natalia, ages ago when she was still a Princess," she explains to Braelynn. She stuffs the dress back into her backpack unceremoniously. What's an explorer have a use for dresses for anyway? She looks back to Sira and nods her head. "I think Lark is right. It'd be good to show people that we have an active and thriving commerce once more, to bring tourists and citizens back to the city." She looks over at Lucita and nods her head in the woman's direction, "Baroness Lucita."

Raymesin shakes his head in response to Lucita's question. "Never did find a short spear short enough ter work fer me," he says. "By th'time it gets that short, it might as well be a knife." He eyes Lou's dress with some amusement, but it's the interaction between Lou and Eirene that has him pricking up his metaphorical ears.

Sira is transfixed by the dress, some combination of awe (on account of the scandalous yet whimsical design) and horror (on account of the wrinkles and stuffing into a backpack) in her expression. She takes a deep drink of whatever it was she found when she arrived, and then she gives Lucita a bow of her head in greeting. "Baroness, hello." The talk of knives has her self-consciously moving a hand to touch a pommel tucked at her waist, just making sure it's there, her hand moves away immediately upon reassuring herself. A nod to Lou and Eirene then. "Something to consider more seriously, then."

Lucita drops a sharp siangham.

Eirene rubs her hand over her eyes, then pulls her flask out of her coat to take a long, long, very long drink. "Anyhow. Art. I do embroidery, which may surprise the lot of you. One of those 'my mum was a duchess and they expected me to learn some silky behaviors' things." "But those looks pretty good, Lou. Are you doing the whole family, then?" She peers closer at them as if trying to remember something.

Lucita simply removes her siangham from where it was stashed out of sight and sets it down to be examined. "Extends the reach at times, useful in those cases, such as cutting boarding lines on ships when they would otherwise be too distant for me to reach." The dress gets a soft laugh and a wink toward the others present. "Lycene influence on its dress design? I'm not familiar with some of the personages you are sculpting. Can you tell us about them?"

Lou bobs her head in Sira's direction, then looks back to the statue. "I should get back to work on it I think. I managed to give Minka and Donovan a bit more detail, and I've refined some of Augustus a bit, but the whole thing still needs a lot of work. If anyone wants to help chisel some things, I have a basic outline of John and Aibek that can be done without any art skills at all. Really, there's not much you can mess up with the basics," she assures them. She looks over at Eirene. "Just the ones that fell at Bastion," Lou tells the Riven woman; Eirene might recognize the non-magic'd, non-zombified, non-plant people versions of their faces. Her look gets somber again. "I'm also going to add Rodric and Daniela, Aindre's parents. They were part of the gargantuan there."

Eirene was probably looking at them for just that kind of recollection.

Lou notes for Lucita. "Augustus, John, Donovan, Minka, Aibek, and Calain were members of the Grayson family killed by The traitor and turned into monsters that we then had to kill. Niklas was found by the Deathspeakers in transition to becoming one of the magicked, zombified plant people, but discovered before the transition was completed. They saw him laid to rest. Aindre's parents were part of a gargantuan. This statue is being created to commemorate them as they were, not how I remember my last times with any of them." Not that Lou saw Niklas. Just, she saw what he MIGHT Become and that's enough.

Sira actually moves back, closer to Raymesin but not beside him, partly to get a better look at the statue and partly to put some distance between her and the nobles having complex emotions that don't really involve her. Once her drink is finished, she figures out where to put the cup and then politely excuses herself. "Thank you, again, Pathfinder. I should make my way back to handle some business, but please feel free to reach out should you have need of me." That last is said to all present, as she looks around and gives each person anod before making her way for the gate.

Eirene murmurs, "I'm glad my sister wasn't in Bastion..' She nods to Sira and calls out, "I'll send you some ideas for what might work, we can figure out something all dangerously sexy like," she says as she tries to recover some of her usual bluster and cheer.

Raymesin's eyebrows lift when the siangham is produced. "Yeah, I'd get 'Ouse Grayson's guards on me if I pulled a knife 'ere," he says. "'Specially one as weren't peacebonded. Looks like a interestin' bit'a kit, but I figure as I'll stick wi'my blades." He looks over at the statue, then nods to Sira. "'Ave fun," he murmurs, but he seems to be fading further back even as he says it.

Lucita gets a sharp siangham.

Lucita says, "I moved and was very careful how to set it so it was clearly on display, no threat and now back in a peacebound sheathe." She reassures the man. "It will be a wonderful memorial for them, Pathfinder Lou.""

Eirene mutters something to Raymesin before pointing out to Lucita, "You're also a baroness. That goes a long way when it comes to wielding shit around royal guards."

Lou seems to be nodding along with Eirene. "I'm glad she wasn't either," she tells her. She looks to Lucita. "I'm trying to make it so." She furrows her brow. "Actually, I think I should probably leave it as it is for now, and think in other ways to detail it. Give things a rest for a bit." Lou is not remarking upon the siangham being pulled out, others seem to have that handled.

Raymesin listens to what Eirene murmurs to him, then nods ever so slightly. "Let me know if I can 'elp," he says simply. And then he's looking to Lucita again, with a shrug. "You're a Baroness, I'm street scum from th'Lowers," he says. "It makes a difference."