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Seraphine rolled her eyes. A date with that creepy Gengar of his, perhaps. If it did happen to be with another woman, she would eventually figure out what kind of man Zev was, and Seraphine almost pitied her for it.

Almost.

"A pleasure doing business with you, Isaac," Seraphine said to the younger man, though her tone did not necessarily sound as if it had been a pleasure. She turned on her heel and walked briskly over to the couch where Zev had been sitting, Rouge trotting after her. A few stray pretzel crumbs lingered on the expensive fabric, as if left there deliberately to further mock her. "Clean this up," she ordered the Smeargle, lips pursed with agitation. He nodded, and went in search of the small handheld vacuum she kept in one of the storage closets.

"Return here in one week's time," the artist continued addressing her remaining guest, though she did not turn to look at the young thief. "I will have the gems, the documents, and the receipts. And then, well. The rest will be in your hopefully quite capable hands."

She paused.

"Oh, and Isaac? When you return, leave your chaperone behind."

THE ART OF FAKING IT [M][break]Zev Harcourt + Isaac Merlo

Seraphine waved her hand dismissively when Isaac began to ramble on about one of his Pokémon's abilities, intending to help her acquire resin. Such a foolish, overcomplicated suggestion. She'd agreed to do the job, hadn't she? He needs to learn to recognize when he's said enough, she noted with slight irritation. That was one thing, thankfully, that Zev was good at: knowing when to keep his mouth shut.

Overall, though, Isaac had impressed her, and he was still young. Perhaps in time he would become the master thief he clearly wanted so desperately to already be. "Nonsense," She quipped. "I can buy all of the materials I need at Slateport Art Supplies. I will simply mix in much of what I regularly purchase, such as my favorite oil paints, so as to better cover our tracks."

She walked over to a collection of smaller paintings leaning against a far wall, each depicting a different view of the Slateport beach. Rouge hurried around to her side, anticipating she might ask him to move one of the canvases for her. Hands on curved hips now, Seraphine contemplated them for a moment, and then turned back to look over her shoulder at Isaac. "One week will suffice. I can create 10 small diamonds and 5 medium ones. I do not think large gems are the way to go here - you're trying to be subtle, after all." She smiled at him, and it was neither a kind nor unkind expression, toeing the line between mockery and diplomacy. "Payment will involve time and materials - which is standard, and I will write up a receipt once my shopping trip is complete - as well as one other, special request."

Now she did turn her gaze on Zev, and though she had not, in fact, poisoned any of the food or drink she had offered him, her smile had grown sharp enough to wound. "My other condition is that Zev hang one of my recent paintings in Howling at the Moon. An artist is always in the business of self promotion, after all."

THE ART OF FAKING IT [M][break]Zev Harcourt + Isaac Merlo

"Counterfeit gems?" Seraphine tapped her jaw with one of her long, pointed fingernails thoughtfully, weighing Isaac's request. It had been some years since she had sculpted anything, preferring her oils and acrylics to the 3D arts, but the fundamentals were still familiar to her. A fake diamond was nothing a little well-molded resin couldn't solve. More importantly, she would be able to replicate the documents proving the authenticity of the gems - those were the forgeries that would matter the most, as they would likely prevent a jeweler from scrutinizing the gems too closely, giving her more leeway with them.

"I can do this for you," She told Isaac, tone decisive and laced with an undercurrent of arrogance. She idly took a glass of champagne from Rouge's proffered tray of goodies and sipped it as she stole a glance at Zev. A mild curiosity graced his handsome features, but it wasn't directed at her - instead, he seemed fixated on Isaac and what the young man was planning to do. His little protégé indeed.

"But the cost will depend on how many fake gems you need, and how soon you need them. What is the timeframe for this particular operation? I will need to gather supplies. Sculpting is not my primary craft these days, as I'm sure you can tell." She waved a hand at the studio and its myriad of paints, brushes, and canvases.

THE ART OF FAKING IT [M][break]Zev Harcourt + Isaac Merlo