Running 2.8.6 with Atahualpa 3.4.4
Only got introduced to Wordpress last week, but loving this theme, and have learnt a fair bit.

Not betraying the Atahualpa theme, but I was having a peek at the Mystique theme...

There are a few visual things about that theme that I would like to apply within Atahualpa.

1. The RSS button in the top-right (partic the hover-over/animate affect)
2. The style of the kickers for the posts looks amazing (partic the comments icon, that highlights green when there are comments.
3. The User Login box - I dont have this on my page - is this a re-vamp of the default meta widget? Id like users to be able to login via a similar panel.

Would really appreciate any pointers on trying to get these implemented.

You need to look at the PHP and CSS that comes with that theme and pick out the pieces you want. Add any CSS to the CSS Inserts. You may find that some of the effects are created by java scripts, in which case you'll need to figure a way to edit Atahualpa's code to include that also.

Some of the CSS may use different class names and id's so you may also have to edit the Atahualpa code to make sure it uses those names in the right places.

If you want detailed 'how to find these things and apply them to Atahualpa', feel free to post on the 'Customization, Design, Programming...' forum or send me a PM and I'll quote you my rates. It wouldn't be cheap because you will have to pay for the time it takes for someone to dig into the other theme and see if it is in fact do able.