Completed [Simpering Seacow] Impressions and Impressionism (Tove)

[Kynier]

To say it was idiotic was an extreme that Kynier wouldn’t have used. Naïve seemed more appropriate. Sunberth was harsh. To everyone. Not just kelvics. Tove did not have any clear physical signs to indicate that she wasn’t human, unlike a Nightstalker that he knew. Even sitting as close as he was, Kynier couldn’t see anything that was really inhuman. Was Tove unique in that regard, or was she more of a typical example?

The silence that followed between them wasn’t an uncomfortable one. They were both busy trying to channel the images in their minds through their hands. The charcoal stick he held added more shading to the eyes and lips of the woman on the parchment to give them a sense of depth. From that he did more detail work on the nose. The way the width of the bridge was consistent and didn’t flare or narrow as it dropped down to her nostrils. Then her remark about not spreading word that he was human gave him pause to look up at her. She was smiling. It did sound like a jest, but that was something he hadn’t experienced from Kelski. So kelvics could be of a lighter heart. Kynier chuckled a bit as he bent his head back down and set his hand to work.

When she exclaimed that she was done he suspected that it was going to be fairly basic. And it certainly was. Kynier looked at the slip of parchment she had been using to see the series of circles and lines. It seemed as though it had been drawn by a child. The mage didn’t understand that kelvics physically matured much more rapidly than humans did, so he wouldn’t have guessed that Tove could very well have been a “child”. So he stared at the image as a smile of amusement tried to stretch across his face.

“It… hmmm…” The urge to laugh was growing immensely. Kynier didn’t want to thinking that it could upset or offend her. Tove seemed so proud of the drawing and he didn’t see any benefit in belittling that, intentionally or not. He needed to say something though. After a moment’s silence he found something. “I think I look better without a nose.” And then it was too much. The smile cracked and he chortled at his own jest. He looked up at her, hoping that she didn’t take his reaction negatively. Non-hostile acquaintances were something to cherish in this city. “That’s not bad for a quick drawing.”

Though his smile did fade a little when she purposed the trade. Kynier’s thought processes were most often very rational. The parchment before him had taken bells to develop, and hers only chimes. The idea of a gift exchange was something that he did like. So then…

“I’ll be honest Tove. I really like how this,” his fingers tapped his drawing, “is coming along, and would rather not give it away. At least not yet. But I do like your suggestion on having a gift exchange.” Kynier set his charcoal down before rolling up the sketch for transportation. When it was stowed away in his pack he withdrew another parchment that was blank. “So how about I draw another picture? One just for you? It can be a picture about anything you want, and I’ll do my best to draw it for you.”

By Akajia, please don’t say you want me to draw a replica of the first drawing.

Boxcode credit goes to Gossamer!

[Tove]

The 14th Bell had flown by far too quickly for Tove. For once things in Sunberth felt still- stable even. She would leave the peaceful stranger to focus on his own whims and she would have no friendly face to engage in conversation with. She had learned quite a bit in the time they spent with one another- how charcoal works, how to engage in peaceful conversation, how to focus. The occasional yelling and laughter were all that reminded Tove how things would be once she left the Café, and with that would come the end of her artistic journey for the most part.

Kynier’s kind words brought a bright smile onto Tove’s sharp features, a light having made way behind her eyes. It was no masterpiece but it was a first. Firsts could easily become lasts and last would become mere memories. Tove wanted her memories of art to be peaceful in the way she often thought of art, in the way Sunberth would never usually allow in any other circumstance.

“I…thank you. I think you may need a nose though, less you wish to scare small children and suitors alike.” She paused, her eyes widened as she processed her own words, “Not that I have anything against those without noses! I have just never seen someone who fits that description so I don’t know- I just imagine the process of losing a nose and how it would throw every feature of your face off.” Clearly not all that great in the conversation apartment, Tove decided to change the subject with a swift clear of her throat as the transition.

“I think I will flip it and focus more so on the drawing than how to draw it. I can’t trade something of no value for something of value, plus if you dislike the new drawing you can simply flip it over. A win-win, don’t you think? I think so.” Kynier’s proposition caused her bright smile to return. She had a choice of what would be drawn for her? An even better deal than her own.

Before she could make her request two more customers made way to the outdoor sitting area of the café, each dressed in fine silks and expensive jewels. From the richer more conniving side of Sunberth most likely. The pretty dresses and sparkly gems had caught Tove’s attention for a split second.

“Could you draw…hmm,” The Kelvic tapped her chin as Kynier managed to catch her undivided attention once more, “A tree?’ Basic, too basic for Tove. She wanted to change her mind but the fear of seeming indecisive kept her lips sealed for a few excruciating moments. Then, an idea hit her like a brick to the face. “Wait, I change my mind. I would like a cat. You can draw a cat yes?” The light returned to her eyes as she spoke. Excitement left her eyes more slit-like in nature, her pupils sharper and less round than before.

After her request, Tove focused on her own parchment once more. She shifted away from a portrait and instead focused on something a bit simpler in nature. A butterfly. Her mind worked away at tiny details whilst her poor hands could not keep up. Sharp would have been one way to describe it. The wings jutted outward as if to stab anyone the bug approached.

[Kynier]

Tove’s behavior was interesting to say the least. The way she was attentive to her surroundings and her mannerisms of speech. It made him wonder what her other form was. The little that he understood was that their behavior was heavily influenced by that second half of their nature. He wasn’t going to ask that though. The few questions he had given had been rather bold already. And besides, there was no way of knowing if he’d ever actually see Tove again. Unless she instigated it, there was no need to develop too close of an attachment.

So he smiled when she flipped the envelope over to begin drawing on the other side. For some reason he found it pleasing that she didn’t just resign the effort. It was possible to acquire significant skill through hard work and not just natural talent. Kynier had no way of knowing if Tove was generally interested or just doing something to occupy her time. It didn’t matter much to him in either regard. The Kelvic made for a pleasant model and equally pleasant conversation. It was comforting to be able to speak without the tension and fear one had when engaging a stranger in this city. Tove had given him… a civil conversation. A rare treat.

A tree? That was a fairly simple request. So much so that it surprised him a bit. Kynier would’ve said something but could see that Tove was already reconsidering. Patiently he waited for he had the rest of the day at his leisure. Then she said what she really would’ve liked. A cat. Kynier set the knuckles of his hand against his lips as he imagined what he could draw in regards to her request. “Hmm…” he gave thoughtfully. Drawing a cat was easy, but he wanted to do more than just that. For a few long moments he thought on it and allowed his eyes to wander for inspiration.

When his eye caught the opening of an alley across the street an idea blossomed. “Yes,” he said more to himself but still loud enough to be heard by Tove. “That would work nicely.” Kynier gazed down at the empty parchment and immediately drew a straight line from the left edge to a deliberate off-center position. He formed another straight line at the same latitude from the right edge but didn’t allow the two to meet. Then he set a sharp angle at the end of both of them to form the opening of an alley that he saw in his mind.

With a hand he twisted the parchment around only slightly. Kynier studied the surface carefully as he was about to establish a Vanishing Point for a sake of realism. Once it was decided he set the end of the charcoal stick down at the point of the alley corner and drew another line off at an angle to begin establishing depth in the picture. Twisting the parchment the other way he repeated the process on the other corner with the same degree of care. Then he straightened it out before him and started on forming a crate inside the alleyway.

It was a simple crate at first. It was going to be a box crate but he made a mistake with his line. It hit something on the table just under the parchment surface. Kynier lifted the parchment and wiped away at the obstruction. He looked down at the parchment and decided to salvage it by make the crate broken. He added the appearance of a jagged edge as though it had been splintered. From there he paused. The crate was to serve as the cat’s perch. But now that he was there, he couldn’t decide how the cat would be positioned.

After a moment he decided to have it lying on its side with the tail hanging over. The strokes of the charcoal drastically changed to slower, methodical scratches at the image. Gradually he formed the bulk of the body beginning with the spine and hindquarters. Forming the tale he dragged the utensil down and formed a small curl at the end before going back up to the main body. Kynier never cared for cats and was suddenly forming a blank in his mind on how the legs would be for this picture. He gave a shrug and moved onto the head before addressing the leg issue.

Boxcode credit goes to Gossamer!

[Tove]

The butterfly had started to form upon the parchment, Tove using her fingers to create adumbrations much like she had seen Kynier do. There was no technique, no attention to wear the shaded area would be nor what it would highlight. It was just there because she felt like it needed to be, and having no prior experience with art, the Kelvic hadn't had the opportunity to play around with the many techniques that could be used to improve one's image.

Tove attempted to imagine a butterfly. How many had she seen in her lifetime? Not many it seemed, her brain refusing to create an image of the insect for reference. This, in turn, caused the linework of the butterfly's body to look like a weirdly asymmetrical moth. The lines were undefined in some spots yet overly sharp in others. She was asking herself more questions about the insect more than she had ever envisioned herself asking.

'How many eyes do butterflies have? What do they eat? Do they bite? Why do their colors vary so drastically? Why are they so ugly up close?'

The subject of butterflies had never seemed so deep. The beautiful insect was a mystery to the Kelvic and suddenly she found herself craving to know more about them. Sunberth had Parchment Moths, but moths weren't butterflies. And what was the difference between the winged insects? Tove had no clue.

The cat allowed her brows to furrow as she pressed the charcoal to the parchment, creating a warped image of what was in her own mind. In her mind, the butterfly would look as though it was about to flutter its way off the paper. It was elegant, something that would shock Kynier and sell for thousands of mizas in even the least classy markets. On parchment, it looked like a weirdly shaded moth with the wings of a deadly and menacing 'butterfly'.

"So...Kynier...you wouldn't happen to know how many eyes butterflies have, would you?" Tove shielded her parchment with her arm in the hopes of hiding her work from the man. She wanted it to be a surprise despite the fact she had done little to hide it before she had addressed him with a question. One that gave her 'surprise' away in its own right. "Ugh- not for any particular reason, I just realized... on a whim...that I lack much knowledge on butterflies." Her eyes pierced into the man as she awaited an answer, she could not continue on without one. Of course, she could always make up an insect but the idea to do so slipped her mind.

After her ever so pressing question- presuming her answered- she continued to draw. Without an answer, she would simply guess the answer. She worked away at the small details of the small insect, attempting her hand at creating elegant swirls and dots. The skeletal details of the wings faded into the smeared charcoal she had hoped would add something to the image. Soon it became clear that this smearing affected far more than the internal points of the art, however, once Tove sat back she realized her arm had smeared the line work of the butterfly. It had pulled the pigment outward which in turn had softened the once darkened lines that made up the insect's wings.

'Uh...time to improvise.' Tove's brain tried to conjure up a new image, one she most likely could not replicate but would try to anyway. A butterfly emerged from the fog of her mind, and in that came inspiration. She began to smear the already smudged charcoal around the butterfly, even more, attempting to be ambitious with the image. Rather than metaphorical fog, this bug would fly from an actual fog.

"I think...that's it!" She quickly snatched up her art and held it to her chest, a small grin plastered onto her face as she awaited Kynier to finish his own art. She was excited to see her cat knowing full and well it would be done far better than she could do herself.

Tove's posture straightened as the pitter-patter of soft footsteps made way to her senses, knowing full and well that a contagious grin would soon rain down upon the two.

"Hello again- sorry to bother you two again but would you like any refreshments or food maybe?" The same pretty waitress made her way to the table, wiping her hands on her apron as she spoke in the same sweet accent she had done before. That same saleswoman smile still spread across her face. Tove opened her mouth to speak before her eye caught another group of customers finding their seat nearby. It saddened her to know that the comforting silence between her and Kynier had died upon the entry of the group.

Soft giggles of the two women and the boasting of their dates would replace that comforting element between the two strangers. Tove knew their time together was coming to an end, though she hoped to meet him once more. It was not often she found herself so relaxed in the company of others, especially when the 'others' were complete strangers.

'Maybe he could teach me about art and the many techniques of it? Perhaps we could be friends or at least allies of sorts?' Tove planned ahead, which was quite rare when it came to people. Friends were rare in Sunberth so to consider someone a friendly acquaintance was something the Kelvic clung onto quite tightly.

"Hold on, I'll be back in a chime or so." The waitress smiled as she turned a heel and approached the new set of guests. Tove took this as an opportunity to express her appreciation for Kynier's company.

"I...uh...thanks for inviting me to sit with you and allowing me to use this stick charcoal thingy. It was nice to have company, a pleasant surprise." Tove slid her drawing- alongside his charcoal stick- over to Kynier with a proud grin, "I know it's not the best but I tried my hardest to make it somewhat decent."

Wordcount-1,006

[Kynier]

Another rather comfortable silence fell between the two of them. One only disturbed by the soft scratching of charcoal on parchment from both their hands. The ambient volume of the city was on the rise as people were coming to begin settling for dinner. Kynier thought that once he was done with this drawing, it would be best to move one with his day. It was not that he wanted to leave, the mage was enjoying himself more than he thought he would. Tove’s presence was comforting. But one could not spend the whole day indulging in their hobby like this. There were tasks to perform and objectives to accomplish.

Kynier worked carefully on the shape of the cat’s head. The way the ear’s pointed and the roundness of their facial structure. After that it was the eyes he worked on. Trying to form those ovals in a way that expressed a lazy disinterest was something that gave him pause. But he formed them and accented it with slightly pointed brows as though the creature were furrowing by human standards. Kynier wondered why Tove had decided upon a cat of all things. They were…

Oh.

His eyes glanced up at her and watched her body movements. Then he recalled her physical behaviors from earlier. How her head moved around to take in the sight of something. She looked up at him and asked about butterflies. Kynier gave her a smile as his eyes focused on her in an intellectual manner. “I want to say they have two eyes, Tove. But I can’t say with any certainty.” Kynier lowered his head and continued on with the cat’s features.

It took him several chimes more to finish forming the cat’s body. One front paw draped over the edge of the crate while the rest were tucked up against the body. Time was progressing and the image was not as far along as he would’ve preferred. Yet it was far enough at the moment. Kynier looked up to see that Tove had already finished. Not surprising. Just a little inconvenient. The mage set his stick of charcoal down and reached into this vest. From it he procured a quill made from a ten inch feather. It was a deep dark blue at the core and gradually lightened in color until it was white at the edges of the feather.

A vial of ink was retrieved as well. Uncorking the top, Kynier dipped the magic quill tip into the ink. He set it down over the charcoal imprints he had left on the page. Charcoal markings would wear away or even smudge with time. Ink would make the image more permanent. When the server came asking if they both needed anything, Kynier did not take the time to look up. Too much focus was applied to getting the drawing to a state where it could be kept and last to even notice that the server had left them.

Applying the ink was much faster than drawing the image. It was already there before him with paths set for the magic quill to follow. After another chime it was finished. The ink still needed to dry before it was safe to roll up the parchment. Looking up at Tove he listened to her expression of gratitude. “You company was also very enjoyable. Meeting you has been a real pleasure, Tove.” Kynier scooted forward in his chair a little in an expectant manner. “I’m sure that you did fine, and I would like to see.”

When she slid the paper and the charcoal stick over his eyes focused on the image she had created. It was a winged creature. Obviously meant to be a butterfly, but the image had been smeared… deliberately? Kynier lifted it off the table for a closer look. The shapes of it were much better than her rendition of his face. The obscure nature of the butterfly’s form actually complimented the image well. “This… is really good, Tove. For someone that hasn’t tried before it turned out very well.” He set the twice drawn on envelope next to his things. “Thank you,” he said genuinely. Then he turned his picture around for her to better see.

“Once the ink dries it will be safe to roll or fold up for ease of travel. If you wanted, some other time, I could work on it more and add more details to it.” The picture itself was bland of details. A cat, sitting on a crate, at the end of an alley. There was no detail to the cat’s fur or to the rest of the environment. Overall an incomplete work. But Kynier was pleased with it given it was the second of two for that day, and done with some haste.



Word Count: 798

Boxcode credit goes to Gossamer!

[Tove]

"Really?" Tove's grin grew wider upon hearing Kynier's words. Had she done well for a beginner? Shapes were easy to draw, and everything was made up of shapes. She was no 'mathematical' thinker, of course, she simply had a somewhat of a decent ability to conjure up images in her head. It was a skill she had learned whilst listening to numerous tales of heroism and adventure. "I'm glad you like it."

The chatter of the new group grew louder as they settled into their seats, it was an almost painful reminder for Tove that she would soon have to rejoin the rest of the city in their fearful states. The paranoia would return as soon as she or Kynier left the table- but that very paranoia allowed her to appreciate the final moments of peace to its fullest.

Tove's eyes widened as she eyed Kynier's art. Though it may not have been completely finished, it still impressed the Kelvic. To be fair, anything drawn by the man's hand would impress her. Art was a magical thing, making thoughts and memories come to life upon parchment, whether it be by the strokes of a brush, scratch of charcoal, or in written language,

"It's lovely, thank you. I'll treasure it always!" The statement may have been a bit overdramatic but Tove hardly cared. She had never received art, especially not the kind that had been drawn specifically for her. "I'll also be sure not to bend it until it's dried." With an outstretched arm, she took the drawing into her hands.

Their time together was coming to a sudden end, the sound of the fifteenth bell making its way to her senses. "Time has passed rather quickly, no. I suppose that's my cue to stop procrastinating..." She half-jested, truth laced in her words. There was never a boring day in Sunberth, the city providing quite a bit of work for the Kelvic. "I...ugh- hope to see you again. Too many non-friendly faces around here. Maybe you could teach me more about art!" A large grin cut the girl's features in half as she gathered her things, holding Kynier's art carefully as to not bend or smear the drawing.

With one final grin, Tove took her leave, considering her time with the peaceful artist one of the finer points of her new life as a free citizen in Sunberth.

Wordcount-397

[Kynier]

Grades!

 

Tove

Skill Rewards

• Drawing +3
• Negotiation +1
• Observation +5
• Socialization +5

Lores Learned

• Drawing: Pressing harder with the charcoal will make darker lines
• Kynier: A peaceful artist
• Location: The Simpering Seacow
• Self: Quite the nosy type
• Self: Doesn’t have anything against people without noses
• Simpering Seacow: Rumored ties with the Night Eyes.
• Socialization: Compliments are often dishonest, whereas facts are not

Rewards

• Sketch of a Cat in an alley

 

Kynier

Skill Rewards

• Deduction +1
• Detection +1
• Drawing +5
• Interrogation +1
• Negotiation +1
• Socialization +5
• Teaching +1

Lores Learned

• Drawing: Finding inspiration to draw from people
• Drawing: Looking at people differently
• Drawing: Looking to the environment for inspiration
• Drawing: Tracing charcoal with ink to make the image more permanent
• Location: The Simpering Seacow
• Simpering Seacow: A refreshing place to be
• Socialization: A civil conversation in Sunberth, a rare treat
• Tove: Is Kelvic
• Tove: Is probably a Kelvic Cat
• Tove: Very attentive to her surroundings
• Tove: A pleasant person

Rewards

• Envelope with a butterfly sketch and a sketch of Kynier's face

This was a great introduction thread! I'm excited for our next thread together! If you have any questions or concerns about your grade please feel free to PM me.