[Job - Garnet & Victoria] Payment for Attendance

It was fairly chilly outside. The Inkling was standing outside, watching people go by about their day. He was wearing a white and green striped shirt underneath a blue hoodie, simple black leggings and heavy blue boots. His face was covered under a face mask that protected his nose and mouth, as well as a beanie that protected his ears and covered most of his hair tentacles. He was leaning against a side of a building that was home to a shop with various magical potions and such, which he had visited a few moments prior. It was interesting to see their wares. Though he was not quite familiar with the many different uses and ingredients what went into making the potions, it was still a very much insightful visit. It gave him a better idea of how a mage's life can look like. While the visit was useful in that manner, he also paid a visit to that shop because of that article he had read before. The substance that was found and sounded awfully like his ink. He tried asking discreetly about that, but the shopkeeper seemed to have no clue what the substance could possibly be. That gave him a bit ore hope that he wasn't alone in this predicament.

The people went by and the Inkling was getting tired of just standing around and he wasn't exactly keen on surfing the web again. He let out a bubbly sigh as he pushed himself off of the wall and started walking, without a destination in mind. As much as he didn't know what to do, he didn't want to go back to the Fairy Hills quite yet. He walked for a little bit, until he came upon a newspaper stand. Maybe instead of reading everything online, he could go for actual printed text. Yeah, that sounded nice. The Inkling walked over and bought a copy of a newspaper. It was a few Jewels that he could spare. He did that rather awful job in that café, very recently. Shortly after he was reading about the newest events, happenings and accidents in Magnolia and its near vicinity, as well as some news from around Fiore as a whole. There was one tiny tidbit that caught his eye, though. It was an ad of sorts for a concert of band called Altitude, with a ticket attached inside of the papers. They were also.. offering Jewels for just simply attending? They must've had really low expectations of the number of attendees, if they were handing out tickets and offering monetary rewards. It sounded extremely tempting. He read through the rest of the ad, looking for a time and date. And he found them. The concert was scheduled for the day, in about two and half hours, outside in one of the parks. The Inkling knew what he was doing in just a little bit.

It was hard to fill out the remaining time, but Garnet just wandered around magnolia for a bit, until he saw it fit that he goes to the place where the concert was supposed to take place. There was a surprising amount of people already at the park, presumably at the promise of Jewels. If he had be fair, that was the reason why he was there aswell. The concert was supposed to start in about 20 to 30 minutes, but the queue was long and barely moving. Garnet wasn't sure if the Jewels were already being given out or the ticket checking was just taking so much time. Either way, he couldn't exactly do anything about it, so he just walked to the end of the queue with the newspaper and his phone in hands. He was secretly hoping that the music will be at least worth the time, besides just the money.

Minutes passed by and the line barely moved. There was a solid number of people behind Garnet himself at that point aswell. The Inkling just took out his phone in response to that and reviewed his to do list. Find his brother Crystal, find the source of the presumed ink, get more Jewels, change the bed sheets... Just the usual, nothing out of ordinary there. After moment Garnet typed in get a notebook to write down stuff. He reckoned that he could store his thoughts on paper aswell, just in case anything happened to his phone. As he was typing that out, a lady was walking beside the line. She had a band on her shoulder that said STAFF. "The line will be moving shortly, sorry for the delay!" She kept on repeating the phrase as she was walking along the queue of people. Garnet heard a few people murmur and whisper in a displeased manner as the information spread around. The Inkling was starting to get a bit tired by then and regretted not sitting down during the time he was killing before he went to stand in the line.

Even though it was chilly, it wasn't windy and because of the lack of moving air, Garnet's facemask was getting kind of stuffy and sweaty on the inside. With a bubbly sigh he would lift the left side of his beanie off of his pointy ear, so that he could unhook the left side of the facemask and let both his face and the mask breathe a little bit. Garnet would let the other side of the facemask be, so it hung on the right side of his face. A few moments would pass by, as the line started to move forward. A bit slowly, but it was moving surely. It felt like it was high time for that, as Garnet was almost sure that the concert was supposed to have already started. The Inkling would stop moving momentarily to put his phone away. As he did so, he would bump into somebody behind him with his elbow. Garnet would immediately turn his head around with an apologetic expression a slight wave of his hand, as if to say I'm sorry, my mistake.

The woman that Garnet bumped into assured him that it was fine and the Inkling nodded back, as he started to move forward, bit by bit, to minimize the gap that he left in front of him because he stopped for a moment. The woman was dressed in black on the outside, sporting a hoodie and slightly surprisingly a skirt. Then again, Garnet himself wasn't exactly dressed for extremely cold weather, save for the facemask. Which was becoming slightly cumbersome, but Garnet hoped that it would get gradually colder during the concert.

After Garnet was assured that all was well and good, the woman asked him if he was attending the concert. As much as it grated him that the answer was painfully obvious, the Inkling reckoned that the question most likely served as a small talk instrument. Which meant that he had to take out his phone again. Garnet would reach into his back pocket for his phone, making sure that he didn't elbow the woman for the second time. The line was moving forward, but not at a breakneck pace, so he didn't have issues with typing and walking at the same time. His fingers would fly across the keyboard, as he typed out his reply. Shortly after, the Inkling would turn his head around again, along with his phone, that had a message on the screen, for the woman to read. Yeah. I'll be honest, the promise of Jewels was mighty tempting, so here I am. A playful smirk would play on Garnet's face, clearly not ashamed of the fact that the only reason why he was in that queue was the money. He would scroll a little bit more down with his thumb. They were almost at the entrance to the concert itself, so that was great. I can only assume that the same could be said about you, at least partially. Of course, Garnet had no way of knowing whether the woman just happened to be a die-hard fan of the soon performing band, but much like himself, she didn't exactly fit the waiting crowd. Then again, he was just assuming things, which, in hindsight, he probably shouldn't do.

So it seemed that Garnet wasn't far off with the thought that the woman had a similar mindset to that of his own. It wasn't that Garnet himself was too big of a sellout, but he could really use the Jewels that were being offered, as he had to pay the rent in Fairy Hills, somehow. And Jewels being basically offered up for free? He couldn't pass up this stellar opportunity. He was just hoping that the music would be good. Though probably nothing would come close to the bands that Garnet loved from back home.

The line of concert goers was shrinking, as the people entered the concert grounds. Garnet was almost at the gate. He couldn't really keep up any meaningful conversation as it was kind of cumbersome for him to convey his thoughts to others. That still didn't stop his fingers from quickly flying across the keyboard on his phone, typing out a simple message for the woman. Before the part of line where Garnet was in crossed the gate, he would flash the screen of his phone behind him, for the woman to read. My name's Garnet, by the way. Pleased to meet you. He would quickly introduce himself, as he then put away his phone. Staff members at the gate were still checking the tickets of the attendees, despite the fact that the concert was supposed to be starting in just a minute or two. The band would probably wait until everybody gathered together. But then again, maybe they wouldn't. The Inkling rummaged through his pockets as he scrambled to find his ticket.

The ticket finding didn't take long and Garnet proudly presented the ticket in question to staff. A part of the ticket was then ripped off, signifying that it was used to get through the gate. Garnet didn't want to keep anyone waiting that was behind him, so kept on walking, but he decided to stand to the side as soon as he could afford to do so. He wanted to wait for certain somebody to get through the gate aswell. It suddenly didn't feel as awkward going to the concert, now that he made an acquaintance.

Victoria didn't come immediately. Garnet was sure that she was right behind him, but he didn't see her after he got his ticket checked. There was no music playing, so it seemed that the band was going to be waiting until everybody was present. The Inkling was actually thankful for that and he could imagine that the rest of the line that still wasn't through the ticket check was glad aswell. With Victoria still lagging behind, Garnet quickly swiped through the news articles on his phone. Nothing new that would be worth noting. It was becoming a really bad habit for Garnet. He was slowly starting to get immensely frustrated at the lack of information, but he reckoned that he had done enough stressing over the subject for one day. It was high time that he enjoyed some music and chilled for a bit.

Shortly after, Victoria did indeed come by. The woman apologized for getting caught in a conversation with one of the staff members. The Inkling would just wave nonchalantly. It wasn't a big deal. Garnet would turn his head to the side, noticing that there were some little stalls, selling presumably overpriced snacks and beer. He realized just how hungry he was. He didn't know if Victoria was hungry aswell, but Garnet didn't want to drag her around because of his own issues. The Inkling would let out a bubbly sigh, momentarily lost in thought. That moment was cut short, by a growing applause from the gathered crowd. Garnet couldn't see the stage, so he had no idea as to why the people were freaking out for.

"Ladies and gentlemen! I am glad to welcome you to this glorious comeback concert of one heck of a band that was sadly forgotten in the sands of time...."

Garnet didn't recognize the voice, but it seemed that it wasn't the band, quite yet. The voice belonged to a male, at least that was what Garnet was assuming. Which he really should stop doing. The person was probably just somebody that other people knew and thought was important. It still meant that he could grab some food, without missing anything. Garnet would once again type a message into his phone, that he would then show to Victoria. The concert didn't start properly yet, you wanna grab some food? He was secretly hoping that she would, but he would survive if he had to skip a dinner. Magnolia had plenty of joints open long into the night and Garnet did take advantage of that fact a few times already.

Garnet was glad that Victoria was up for food aswell. The Inkling wasn't sure whether he wanted a drink aswell, but he would probably have to say no. He could survive a bit longer without that. He was very well aware of the lineups that were present at the stalls and that the prices will be higher than usual, though. But the hunger was greater than the price difference and Garnet knew that he was going spend next couple of hours at the concert. When he was asked about the kind of food that he would like, the Inkling wasn't quite sure. He pondered for a moment, as he considered the options. Garnet was lost in thought, until an idea came to him. "Yyyeegsh!" He would exclaim in his strange, bubbly language as he fistpumped into the air. Garnet would take out some Jewels that he thought would be enough to buy some food with and tried his best to motion for Victoria to stay where she was. He thought that he failed, horribly, but he hoped that he managed to convey at least some of the thought. Garnet would then quickly head for the food stalls.

The Inkling would discreetly push past some people, most of whom didn't really care. He was at the stall with pizza slices and Garnet managed to get two slices - one for him and for Victoria. They were some of the last slices, so he was glad that he had gone ahead of people. It was after his purchase was complete that people realized what he had done, but he was gone before a real riot could start. The Inkling would return back to Victoria with a victorious smirk on his face and two slices of pizza, one in each hand. They were placed upon simple paper plates and Garnet would present them to the woman, letting her choose. Both were the same base, but one had some ham and mushrooms on it with cheese and other had just some salami and sweetcorn with cheese on it. Garnet himself didn't care much which slice he would eat, as his food preferences didn't quite reach to regular pizza toppings.

"..And as such, I will leave the stage to Altitude, at long last. Have fun, everybody!" The voice from before yelled the last bit at the top of their lungs and clapping and cheering spread among the concert-goers. That meant that the concert would be starting very shortly. The Inkling was starting to get kind of excited for the band's performance, if he had to be honest.

Out of the two presented slices Victoria took the one adorned with ham and mushrooms. That left the other one, the one with salami and sweetcorn to Garnet. The woman thanked him and he would give her a smile back, as he dove into the pizza slice. He was immensely hungry, so when Victoria asked the Inkling about the seating, he was almost finished with his slice. Garnet would look over to the large crowd of people, that was surprisingly still growing, as people who were occupied before now flooded the area near the stage itself. There was seating available, yes, but not that much of it and the spots that were left were either being taken or were just outright horrible spots. Which were going to be taken aswell, shortly. Garnet would let out a small bubbly sigh, as he finished the pizza crust.

Sadly for Garnet, he didn't take any napkins. If he had to be honest, though, he didn't remember there being napkins in the first place anyway. He would try to wipe off some of the crust dust and grease onto the paper plate, but it didn't really help. The Inkling would then throw away the paper plate into one of the nearby bins. Those were thankfully plentiful. The concert had at least something going for it, if nothing else. After he somewhat managed to wipe his mouth and fingers clean, Garnet would take out his phone again. He was typing as fast as he could, but the concert was seemingly getting started, if he had to judge from the increasing cheer.

"Who is ready for noise, folks? We, Altitude, are here to give you the night that you will remember for the rest of your lives!" The banter of the presumed leader of the band went on for a bit, with only some cheering support. Most of the crowd wasn't really having it. Garnet would finish his message and show his phone to Victoria, once more. There's some spots left, but I don't think they are going to be worth it. I don't mind standing up, but if you want we can look for a place to sit down. Garnet didn't mind either way, but one choice required much more effort than the other. Maybe the crowd would shift after the band's speech.

Garnet could only agree with Victoria. Who knew? Maybe they would find a lucky pair of seats that weren't in a horrible spot as they were going to look for a place to stand. The band was giving some last words of their speech, as Garnet would wave at Victoria and start making his way through the crowd. The Inkling knew that it wouldn't be easy for some his size and strength, but he would give it his all to get the duo through the mass of people.

Some of the ones who were of the uninsterested group were leaving some of the standing spots in favour of the food and drink stalls. If Garnet was that uninterested in the concert, he would've done the same. As he pushed through the people, the band started playing their music. Garnet knew that he had to find a place from where he and Victoria could observe the concert. Speaking of which, Garnet was hoping that the woman was behind him. He couldn't really check, as there were people around him who prevented him from being able to turn around and see.

The music was on, a tune and singing that definitely felt old. But it wasn't that bad, if Garnet had to judge. It had a certain feel to it that was difficult to describe. With those thoughts he would finally push through the crowd and appear at the base of the amphitheatre. The true fans of Altitude were lined next to the stage, but there weren't that many of them. Most of the people were seated, not even paying attention to what was happening around them. Garnet did spot a few unoccupied seats, but the crowd was so thick that he decided to just fully stick to the plan of standing up. The Inkling would then turn around to make sure that Victoria was with him and point to a nearby spot where they could stand and have a relatively good view of the stage. If the woman was not present, Garnet would start looking for her in mild panic.

Victoria wasn't immediately behind Garnet and he worried for a second, until she emerged from the crowd. She apologized once more, but Garnet brushed it off. He knew very well the amount of people that were present and it was about to be expected to get slowed down by the mass. He was just glad that she didn't get completely lost. When Victoria complimented him, he would just smile and give her a thumbs up as his thanks. The two of them made their way to the standing spot that Garnet had observed just a few moments ago. The view really wasn't half bad. He couldn't remember the last time he went to a concert with somebody.

Garnet listened to the music that was being played. It sounded surprisingly... clean. Old, but clean. Perhaps it was because he could actually hear his own thoughts, instead of most of his senses being completely overwhelmed by the lights and loudness. It was truly a pleasant change. The song that he liked the most was named Reaching New Heights. It was one of the very first songs Altitude played on the stage and Garnet found himself really liking it. Some parts of it were kind of meh in his ears, but the gradual feel of the song ascending, in a sense, was something that he didn't expect, but appreciated. If he had to pick one more song that he found memorable, Garnet would have to choose Mountain Whispers. It had a gritty undertone, but there was something enchanting that echoed through the whole song. It was quite unlike the music that he was used to back home.

Garnet didn't expect the songs Altitude played to be so intriguing. A few times he caught himself bopping his head into the rhythm. Ultimately, however, it wasn't his style of music. But now he understood those hardcore fans who stood right under the stage.