Closed Contrasted [Anouk]

[Ripp]

7th Day of Summer 515AV

Ripp liked the beaches here. Some of them nearer to the docks were packed and crowded but there was always a cove somewhere in the shade that he could use to escape the general populace for a while. That was where he was headed now. He’d just spent a half a day trying not to notice the guards following him around, or the people whispering about him, and now he needed an escape. He was tired and grumpy and still adjusting himself to fit in with the rest of the city. He kept his eyes down, using mostly his ears to help him navigate his way through the crowd. They were much more sensitive than the average human so not only could he hear each footstep and move himself out of their path, he could hear each whisper. When they saw him they said the same things “It’s that Zith brat.” They said “What’s he doing here” They hissed “Someone should get rid of him before he eats someone.” Ripp was used to it, but it was still fairly grating.

He had trouble adjusting to this city and even now still got lost. He lifted his head and momentarily slowed down his walking pace to check he was still heading in the right direction. He could smell the sea ahead but couldn’t see it yet. After readjusting his course he continued on his way. Right now it felt a lot like he should be sleeping, but he’d worked very hard to get rid of his nocturnal habits and he’d be damned if he was going to ruin them now. He should have brought Flos out with him.

The stupid cat was hard work but he made Ripp feel better somehow. All he had was his little journal full of random entries, drawings and clothing designs. His eyes were lined today, and shadowy kohl circled them. His candy pink hair was neat, and his clothes were washed and wrinkle free. He looked the best he had since he entered Zeltiva. The only thing that hadn’t improved was his attitude, outlook and general moodiness. He noticed people avoiding eye contact with him because of this.

He reached the sand finally and removed his shoes. He rolled the bottom of his brown pants up and dug his toes into the gritty white grains. He walked along the beach watching the waves for a while before finding a place in the shade. He sat, propping his back against a little rocky outcropping and pulled out his quill and journal.

He opened to a new page, dated it, and wrote ‘Zeltiva, another city where I don’t belong. I will have to make do. My designs and sketches will do just that.’ He turned the page and though about what he wanted to draw. He draw three blank faceless woman in different positions. Anyone could tell he was naturally a decent drawer, however it was also obvious that he had no real skill or training or any idea what he was doing. The first clothing shop he’d seen had been a dress shop, so he figured dresses would be a good place to begin. He started etching in the hem, feeling inspired to create something influenced by both Lhavit and Zeltiva. Though he still wasn’t sure quite how to do much more than add in a basic shape. He wanted the dresses to have plenty of detail, but he hesitated in drawing it because he didn’t want to have to start again. pausing for a moment to consider her absently began filling in the figures faces. This was something he’d never done before and the proportions looked a little… experimental. Frowning deeply he pulled his pen back Maybe I should stick to designs... he thought.

[Anouk]

Summer was Anouk's favourite season. The water was warm, the sun golden and everything looked effortlessly beautiful. Her creative mind saw potential art everywhere. In response to this constant wave of inspiration, her paint-stained fingers twitched and flexed excitedly, as if holding a paintbrush and standing before a canvas. How she desperately wanted to capture it all! The swing of a woman's dress, the strings of sunlight dappling through a window, a sea dog lounging lazily in the shade -- all these things were imprinted into the Konti's mind. She would regurgitate them later, perhaps as a sketch at first, but later as part of a painting.

She considered the season just passed: her first in Zeltiva. Anouk found the city welcoming enough; the sailors were rough natured, but generally kind. She'd been the victim of no crime, despite the constant warnings Niva had imparted onto her daughter before Anouk left Mura. In fact, she'd made a solid group of friends, as well as a small number of clients.

As always, the Konti found herself wandering in the general direction of the beach. Perhaps it was her peoples' heritage that attracted Anouk to the ocean. But the artist likened to think it was more than that. It made her breathless with inspiration and calm. Should she ever find herself with a case of artists' block - which was as real a thing as writers' block, she argued - Anouk would come to the beach and find herself released, like a sigh.

And she sighed now, as soon as the sight of the foamy ocean graced her eyes. Anouk smiled before hurrying down to the sea front, kicking her shoes off and carrying them as she trudged closer to the waves. Her dress - a simple white knee-length number - flared and whipped around her legs with the sea breeze, but she paid it no mind. A delighted grin crossed her lips and a giggle erupted from her throat as she half-skipped, half-danced, her way across the beach.

She walked for a few chimes, breathing deeply and greeting other beach-walkers enthusiastically. Eventually, though, a sight caught Anouk's attention, which carried her back further up the sand. A figure with an unnatural-looking hair colour sat huddled in the sand, though it was not the male's style that attracted Anouk. He seemed to be drawing. Ever entranced by any form of art, Anouk immediately approached him, one hand held over her eyes to stop herself from squinting in the sunlight. "Hello," she called out when she approximately six feet from him. When she closer, she added: "the beach is always a good place for art, isn't it? Might I ask what you're drawing?" Enthusiasm fringed her voice, but the sake of politeness, the Konti refrained from peeping at the male's artwork.

[Ripp]

Ripp tried to detail the other women on his page, giving this facial features, hair and various decorations somewhat procrastinating trying to finish the outfit because he was finding himself at a loss how to communicate his vision on paper. He’d never drawn a face before, or hair, and he’d made a bit of a mess of it. He was very close to scrapping it but realized that would be ludicrous considering he was here to design outfits, not draw people. His was a different type of artistry. However, thinking about it more if he could draw the men and women that would be sporting his designs, wouldn’t that inspire him more when he was creating? Ripp sighed deeply “How on earth do you get a nose to look right… and where do you place the ears on the head? What’s with these eyelashes…” He was muttering to himself scratching his head. All those lines inside the ear were baffling as well. He thought about cheating and just covering them both with hair. It was what he used to do with hands before he’d managed to learn how to draw them beyond the skill of a 3-year-old. He suddenly wished he had a mirror so he had some reference of anatomy to draw from.

Better though would of course be a subject. He could draw from a reference that was standing in front of him and just copy their facial features and anatomy. There wouldn’t be so much guess work involved if he could convince someone to model for him. But unfortunately that would be hard to come by for him. He certainly couldn’t just ask someone. These people wouldn’t even look at him let alone sit close enough for him to draw them. It was always going to be like that where ever he went. Sinking into a stormy mood he seemed to hunch over even more than before. He tried to close his eyes and focus on mentally conjuring up an image of his foster mothers face, since she was a person he remembered vividly from his childhood. It didn’t really improve his mood. He opened his eyes and scrapped the page. On the other side he began drawing again.

This time was better, if only marginally. It was overly simple and looked like something out of a children’s colouring book. He’d given up on trying to draw ears; they were far too complicated. He just covered her ears with scruffy looking bangs before sculpting the body once more. He smiled to himself a little. It was better. Good enough for now. He could move on finally to the dress. With confidence he drew a simple or a long strappy dress that was tight on the torso and billowed outwards from the waist. He sketched lines that intertwined and crossed over one another starting from the hem and ending just as the bodice ended. Upon those lines he scattered clumsy, but recognisable drawings of roses.

He was about to add the finishing touches on the dress when he began to hear footsteps that seemed to be coming in his direction. He ignored them initially, thinking he was mistaken and they were just leaving the beach instead. But the footsteps stopped a little way from him and a melodic female voice distracted him from his thoughts. He jumped a little, despite hearing her approach. And she approached closer still, and continued to talk. Ripp’s raven eyes stared at her for a moment too long before he came to his senses and averted his gaze back down to his paper. What is she? He wondered And why is she talking to me? He had never seen or heard of such a creature. There were scales on her forehead, arms and neck, and the gleamed in the sun in soft pastels. Her eyes put the ocean to shame, and they were gazing down at him now not with distrust, but curiosity and excitement. She was breathtaking.

He looked around as if to check she was really talking to him. When he’d stopped gaping like an idiot he cleared his throat awkwardly and found his voice “Um, It’s a design I’m working on for a dress.” He said looking back down at the drawing in his hands and then flipped her way it so she could see. “I don’t draw faces a lot usually in my designs… as you can probably tell.” He found himself unsure what to say after that. Lhavit hadn’t prepared him too much for being social. Even in Kim’s store he’d very rarely actually talked to customers. He wasn’t sure how he must look right now, nervous and sullen was a good guess. He still wasn’t sure why she’d approached him. Maybe her friends were around the corner taking turns daring one another to talk to Zeltivia’s new sideshow attraction.

Drawing references :

[Anouk]

The first thought that struck Anouk about this mysterious male who sat in the sand was the bright orange flashes that accompanied his voice. Her mind was filled with vibrant shades that twisted and danced with each other as he explained that his drawings were in fact designs for a dress. She allowed herself a small smile - the beauty of her synaesthesia was that it added colour to even the most awkward and shy looking individuals

"Don't be silly!" The Konti scolded, stooping down and plonking herself beside him so she could better see his sketches. "The face is one of the trickiest things to draw, it's so dynamic, you see." She flicked a strand of hair out of her face and nodded firmly to cement her statement.

Anouk was not a woman who thought about things like boundaries and personal space at the best of times. She believed firmly that a smiling face and good intentions were enough to break down all social barriers and walls. And wherever art was concerned, the Konti made sure to bustle her way in even more vehemently, to fully drink the majesty of whatever creation was being made before her. To Anouk, all forms of art - regardless of the skill of the artist - was worthy of some sort of appreciation.

"What style dress are you designing?" She asked, leaning towards him to peer down at the parchment on his lap. Her lips curled into a delightful smile as she inspected the sketch, her eyes flittering up and down the woman's face and the dress. "Oh! It's beautiful." Her words were innocently kind and genuine, "I like the flowers especially." Turning attention to the artist once again, Anouk allowed a minute frown to crease her brows before saying, "are you a designer?"

She had never designed any clothes herself. Anouk's lack of skill in sewing and embroidery meant she would never be able to bring her designs to life, and instead the Konti would be struck with the worse kind of artist's lament. But now, as she looked down at the male's design, she was struck with a newfound inspiration. Turning to her satchel bag, which was sat on the sand beside her, Anouk withdrew a parchment piece and charcoal of her own. "I do like drawing on the beach," She said, glancing to her new companion and nudging him as if they were the oldest of friends. "There's a certain... atmosphere, isn't there? The sand, the sea, the people." Again a shadow of a smile flickered on her face.

Anouk set about sketching, her lips pursed in concentration as she drew a faint wavy horizontal that cut across the parchment, separating it into two. She began to resketch over this line, pressing down more firmly and creating a thick, grey wavering line. She rubbed this line with her index finger approximately two inches in from the left side, creating a fracture in the line and instead dividing it two. Then she began to sketch a seabird, one that she had seen chasing the waves mere ticks ago. She started with the body of the bird: an oblong shape with one end fanned out into a tail and the other rounded off smoothly. She created a short neck, rounded off at the top with a small head. Two beady eyes were drawn next, followed by a curved beak that created a 'C' shape on the front of the bird's face. It was far from perfect, but a bird it was.

oocSo... Award for the latest reply of the century goes to..... Moi. So sorry about this!