Completed From a Distance

[Toan Onox]

From A Distance
Spring 1st 514 AV, 12th Bell
Location: Streets of Nyka, near The Heavy Coffers Quarters

It was a glorious way to start off the new year but one that only did good as a purpose, as the lonely man who'd taken to drawing the front side of the building before him while he sat just oh so tucked out of bothersome range of people. Sure enough those who passed by on the street would notice the artist as he sat down against the cold red stone, but none would seem to bother him as he looked to be deeply enthralled in the very sketch he was drawing. It was the very front of a building that remained to be in his sigh, the "bank of Nyka" as many of the locals referred it to be. Why he took interest in drawing this place was based on multiple reasons actually, the first one mainly because he wanted to literally remember the face of the Heavy Coffers Quarters. Secondly for his future plans in the endeavors he'll make for an infamous reputation, if not a place to focus on as a potential heist should he find himself prepared for the challenge.

Thirdly? Well we'll just leave the list at two for now, seeing as the point had already been practically. There were several reasons why he would not only draw this place, but the main one was for artistic purposes that benefited thorough planning later to come. The Heavy Coffers Headquarters stood a magnificent structure before him and with it the perfect highlights and shadows to sketch, all thanks to the position Syna seemed to have reached in the daytime. As he felt the stone he sat against send chills up his spine, he felt a few shivers come on and off while he continued his work in the detail of the building. He'd began with what looked to be the surface of a box but only with light edges for the necessity to go over them as he added more detail.

The first thing he'd worked on was the depth of perspective within the sketch, which didn't look too bad seeing as the building didn't look too flat... Oh who was he kidding, it looked terribly flat compared to the wonderful image in his head.... and the glorious example that actually stood before him. He'd not drawn in too long it seems, the talent rather worn down compared to the once daily rituals of drawing he once did when he was younger. He sighed. How life can be so cruel at times, especially when it made things seem easier back then. Yet they were too simple really, which was why he left his home in attempt to find something else. Something that would've made his life more thrilling and fun!

As he continued to work on the outer asthetics of the exterior design he paused occassionally to grasp at a few mental images, then worked from top to bottom as he would carefully etch lines onto the sheet of parchment to match what he'd seen. There were circles here and there likely representations for windows, slowly being filled out as he still took a moment to glance up once more, and see to it his hand was accurate in placement to what his eyes told him.

[Vanari]

A new year. Ari shuddered in spite of Syna's warm rays, forcing herself to keeping moving through the bustling streets. A season ago, she would have celebrated the glorious arrival of Spring and all of its riotous celebrations. No proper Vantha wouldn't feel her blood sing at the thought of New Year festivities. They were always the biggest and brightest, with good cheer to share all around. Even for Lady Winter herself, whose graceful return to her frozen domains was met by both ends with equal appreciation. Vanari had come to enjoy all the diverse ways cities outside of Taldera chose to celebrate. As a vagrant wandering from one place to the next, it was a rare opportunity to forget her foreign status amongst complete strangers. The connection she felt with those who exulted in the same joy of beginning anew, that fleeting sense of kinship and belonging, eased some of her homesickness each year. Every year, except this one. The girl was lost. Not just in the geographical sense, but a spiritual one to boot. She was here in this strange city of Monks and unbearably adorable Infik messenger deers and underground cultists who worshiped giant, alien worms from dead planets, completely on her own. And, for the first time in a long time, that really, really bothered her. The solitude that usually came with vagrancy wasn't the true issue. Ari had, after all, chosen this way of life. She even liked it from time to time, enjoying the peace and quiet after so many years spent cooped up with indefinite numbers of loud, rambunctious relatives and neighbors who knew each other from birth and from whom no secret could be kept. No, it wasn't semi-hermitude that had put a damper on her usual, mischievous spirits. It was the knowing. The missing. The wondering why everyone had in some way or other abandoned her. What was she even doing, shuffling about on this busy street, with no bleeding idea where she was headed or what the street itself was even called? What was even the point? Vanari wanted to sit on her rump and grab at her unruly hair. Right then and there on the side of the street. She wanted to pout, to throw a fit, to scream. She wanted to act like the spoiled, careless infant she had never been allowed the privilege to be. Great Morwen, how frustrating it all was! Not knowing what had happened to sly little Ria, or ferocious Kaie, or--oh, how it pained her heart to even think of her!--Vera. I want to see her, the Vantha found herself sobbing inside her own head. Is she even alive? Is Nolan treating her fairly? Oh, Vera... She'd never had a child of her own, but that dark eyed, steely spined slip of a girl was as close to the real thing as could be. Verennia had dug a hole straight into her auntie Ari's heart to reside within it and never let her rescuer go one day without wishing she could feel that calloused little hand resting in her own, equally calloused one. And, to make matters worse, Vanari was no closer to Ionu than she had been a season ago. Especially not now, without the help of either Ria or Miro. What the petch was she supposed to do now? Why did she keep having to ask herself this? Gods above, it was starting to grate on her nerves. In her miserable distraction, the girl failed to notice a young man sitting near by, lost in his own world of concentrated effort to sketch the building in front of him. Nor did she notice a colorful ball about the size of her head bounce haphazardly her way, after it had escaped the clutches of a few overly energetic children. Ari blinked in surprise about half a tick before the ball rolled up to her and stopped it with one boot. A crazy, irrational urge overtook her once she and the toy made contact. It wasn't nice or civilized, her unexpected compulsion, but that only made her want to do it more. Not bothering to hesitate, Vanari channeled all of her frustration, all of her sadness, into one fearless movement and kicked the ball as hard as she could. It felt good to inflict such violence on an inanimate object! Perhaps she ought to do it more oft--the vagrant stopped mid thought as her eyes, wide with horror, followed the ball's trajectile. And realized it's destination was a person's face not twenty feet away. "Watch out!" she cried to the young artist seated upon red stone.

oocI apologize if this was rather long winded, I'm returning from the partially dead and had a lot to mull over xD Let me know if this is okay, and if anything needs to be reworked! I look forward to surprise RPing with you

[Toan Onox]

oocNo worries! I'm glad you found a chance to start your character off again, and you're certainly more than welcome to jump in any other open threads we have here in Nyka. Now it's my turn to apologize for the wait, as I've been incredibly busy off and on with RL and with the "Cath-Up" game on my alts. Should be picking up on things soon though, so further waiting for posts will shorten in turn.

He'd totally zoned onto the landscape before him in its magnitude of grandeur and architecture, the shapes that developed a shallow transparent line edged on paper carefully as he would lightly trace the tip of charcoal over to the left in an arch. How genuine these windows appeared to be, circles with signature designs intricately made to stand out to the very nature of the buildings own image. They were difficult to match in terms of depth when he marked the edges down to continue his work, the track of thought solely focused on the copy of mental images on certain spots of the building to further capture the detail of the surface. Little children ran about playing their little game and sure enough the face of a beautiful figure distracted him for a chime's worth, his eyes deadlocked on her discreetly while she seemed distracted.

Well well, a flower amid the rigid stones. He admired with a smirk on his face as he continued to watch her rear for just a few ticks longer, then of course he resumed focus back on the object of the structure before him. Now then, The voice in his head remarked, The lines connect but not fully, so the shadows is what will make it look more realistic. He noted as his eyes darted from corner to corner of each of the buildings front, he had to try and grasp at the areas of shadow to work on his shading. This should be interesting. He resumed his work with the tip of his tongue barely poked out, caught in a soft bite between his lips as he became entranced with the work he engaged himself with once more.

Then of course it was there... the sudden shriek to be alert, to take notice and be aware of something. Something that was inevitably approaching and fast too, something Toan could only manage to see out the corner of his eye as the voice of the flower distracted him. It was an object. A ball that traveled in a blur straight for him, and his expression changed to one of nerved awe as his eye twitched for a moment. Now or never! Which way should he go though? Petch, no time to decide now just move! The first instinct told him one thing; LEFT! And so while he would still be seated against the wall he would lean over, to where his paper and charcoal would fall to the red stone next to him as he leaned onto his left arm sharply. The ball missed the intended target but to say that it missed anything would be all but foolish, for it immediately smacked hard right into the wall where Toan's face used to be positioned at. In turn it recoiled with a heavy bounce off back towards the street, where the urchins known as children were quick to retrieve their precious toy while it was freely rolling away.

Toan first looked to the spot where the wall hit sharply, rather astounded with how hard it hit as he could've sworn part of his hearing temporarily failed him for a few ticks. What a kick! He looked back to the flower he noticed earlier and straightened back up, quick to recollect his things and reorganize them as an eyebrow rose with sudden interest. To think she's just a girl, but then again she's got strong legs. He mused with a smirk cast her way afterwards, finally he greeted her aloud with but a joke to humor the poor girl. "Well. That was certainly a thrill, I'll have to keep you in mind for future head rushes later on."

He was too curious about her now to pass this chance up, since she'd came to be someone both pretty to look at and interesting to encounter. Who would've thought a woman would kick a ball hard enough to try and take out a man, the fairer sex was always the type to show such extremes sometimes of course. It was a concept he used to amuse himself even more, as he stood to his feet so he could properly greet and converse with the lady. "Kick balls more often? I would fear the poor man who encounters a blow between the legs from your feet madam." He chuckled inwardly as he walked closer to her, hopeful that the comment would very well make her laugh and, or, blush in turn.

[Vanari]

oocno worries, I'm a slowpoke atm as well!

For one, panic stricken moment, Vanari watched as the ball flew toward its inevitable destination. Passersby had stopped to join the Vantha in her wide eyed stare of alarm. It seemed to take eons and eons for that gods forsaken thing to sail through the air, stealing with it the breaths and focus of everyone within a twenty foot radius as it whizzed away. Then the artist leaned violently to his left and missed being hit in the face by mere inches. The ball slammed into a wall with a loud smack! before bouncing off with incredible force and speeding away in a different direction, resuming the childrens' merry chase through the streets. "Ruro's frozen balls," the girl swore in relief, hardly aware of what she had just blurted. "Are you alright?" Her ensuing embarrassment was worth at least a whole tome in depth and description, though she was loathe to admit it. It certainly didn't help that the young man she had almost concussed not half a chime ago was now responding with unexpected humor. Most of the crowd around them had moved on, their moment of entertainment having passed, but a few still lingered, chuckling at the ball kicking foreigner's discomfort. "Err--" was Vanari's brilliant response. Oh gods, he was getting up now. Moving closer. This couldn't be good. The Vantha fought a strong urge to turn tail and run; if he was angry about the whole thing, or at the very least upset, which he had every right to be, then she ought to apologize with a spine made of something stronger than pudding. Lest she become the laughing shame of her entire lineage. She could almost hear her mother's shrill voice echoing all the way from the crystal halls of Avanthal already. Morwen, he was speaking again. By then the vagrant was forced to accept her near-victim was handling the whole thing with genuine good humor. She found herself grinning, though sheepishly, at his comments. They were, after all, not without some merit. "My deepest apologies," she offered, holding out her hand in way of both greeting and redress, "and you won't be needing to worry about any blows between the legs. I think I've done enough kicking for one day. Oh, and the name's Vanari--or just Ari, if you like! May I have the honor of knowing yours, perhaps so that I can offer a better apology?" The Vantha peeked to the side at her new acquaintance's fallen tools of trade. After a moment, curiosity won out against politeness. She just had to ask. "May I see your drawing?"

[Toan Onox]

Well now, Toan's face held a look of amusement in his approach, She definitely has a certain proclivity to say the least. It was true she did take to the approach of formality to better make up for the accident that had occurred, nevertheless Toan was one who was always by far willing to play along and see where the courtesy led him. Especially when it came to women, and even more so towards women he might take fancy to. There was no doubt this woman was an exotic flower grown elsewhere, yet rare in the arrival of her occurrence in a place so different from her own.

Yes Toan knew she didn't belong here, it was plainly obvious that her demeanor stood out from the average Nykan. He'd been here long enough to watch them, know just how the fundamentals of the city worked... but only to a fault.
"Fear not my dear, for Lhex surely willed that ball to bring us together on this fine day." He complimented in regards to her apology as he placed a gentle kiss on her hand, he was by far enjoying the most he could out of interacting with this new stranger he encountered.
"Ari is quite a beautiful name, as I shall never let it leave my thoughts. You may call me Nato." He introduced himself rather humbly with a courteous bow towards her, he then found interest in her sudden curiosity of the project he'd undertaken.


"Ah, this? Tis nothing worth seeing really, I found myself rather in love with the architecture." He posed with a smirk as he led on with the intent of a cover up, a gentle display of his work in progress revealed to Ari as he contemplated what she would think. He always loved to see how people reacted when they looked upon his art, namely art in general was something he loved to share. People were always bound to find something amazing in the design of some form of art, only if they looked deep down and truly appreciated the very nature art revealed itself. Looking at Ari now Toan actually couldn't help himself... She was stunning to look at! Quite a gem to gaze upon indeed, in fact he found himself rather tempted to draw her already.
"Surely the beauty of this building here is meager, in comparison that which true beauty lies. Which is in your face my lady." He complimented once more, a charming smile cast towards her afterwards.

oocHaha, being a slowpoke might be the least of your worries now... Toan's a major flirt as you can tell. >.>

[Vanari]

oocoh boy...good luck Ari...

Ari fought the compulsion to snatch away her hand like an animal caught unawares as the young artist's lips met her skin. She'd spent far too long on the road and away from civilization; social norms and constructs were so faded with disuse that she found herself panicking. It was a minor miracle she had even managed an acceptable apology at all. Plus, it certainly didn't helped, the Vantha noted to herself, having been herded deep underground to stare upon the glistening, tentacled visage of Lord Wutchamacallit like the unwitting fools we were. What had that thing been called? Bavarisk? Navarisk? Giant, hideous, oozing wor--oh, Morwen's mercy, he's complimenting me. The vagrant ignored her burning cheeks as best she could and pretended to stare elsewhere in hopes this Nato wouldn't notice that her eyes had gone from surprised golden to a pinkish, flustered shade of violet in less than half a tick. Air, suddenly too warm. Her mind, blank. And she was fairly sure the last time she'd been this lost for coherent words, it was in the face of a couple dozen, emaciated cultists throwing pink liquid at a wounded creature big enough to live inside of and whose origins were from a dimension she'd never even heard of. Ari couldn't remember the last time she had been complimented. It felt as if the bulk of her social interactions had been with her horse, Pie. Actually, the first part wasn't true--though the second most definitely was. It wasn't true, because she could remember the last time someone had found charm in her name. Someone petite and wry, with bright green eyes that sparkled through candlelight and exuded a new kind of fondness she had never before experienced. Ria... Fortunately, the young artist moved onto a different subject with effortless swiftness. Ari blinked a few times before following him to view his artistic progress. It all seemed so long ago. Gone and faded, like the hems of her sleeves or the handful of oats Pie had eaten the other day. "Well, I'd like to disagree," the Vantha commented aloud, finding it none too difficult to focus on the present. She looked at the drawing, still unfinished due to renegade balls and the like, but definitely work that showed promise and dedication. "I believe all art is worth seeing..." A spark of whim caught her mood. "...because, frankly," Ari added, sliding her gaze toward Nato as though divulging a secret, "my family would have disowned me if I believed anything else." She would have said more, had she not realized the artist was staring back with a strange look in his eye. The Vantha sincerely hoped there wasn't something left on her face from this morning's rather large breakfast. She wasn't sure she could live through that kind of mortification. And, just as that thought crossed her mind, Ari found herself looking at anything but those pale blue eyes as Nato laid yet another bold faced compliment. Thank the gods for baths, the girl sighed inwardly. Which was a ridiculous initial reaction, to be sure, but it was a genuine one nonetheless. Because if she hadn't bathed that very morning, after all the shyke she had been through...well, let's just say sitting on the side of the street with a bowl laid out in front would have earned her a decent meal or two. "It's been a long time since anyone has had anything nice to say about my face," Ari blurted without inhibition, grinning toothily as she did. The Vantha figured that if she was so rusty with that finicky tact her mother had tried to instill all those years, might as well just abandon it altogether and go with unadulterated honesty. And then, a bit belatedly, she realized at last her most immediate faux pas. "Oh, shyke...I've interrupted your drawing, haven't I?" The girl thought for a moment before a potential solution hit her. "Would you like to continue? I can keep you company." She dug around in her pack, which she carried with her at all times, to produce a block of wood and some carving tools. A smile--the kind that resulted in a temporary forgetfulness of her troubles, and one she had not worn for what seemed to be an entire season--lit up her features. "I haven't practiced my trade in a long time; I could carve while you draw, and we can show each other what we've done along the way. What do you think? Any takers?"

[Toan Onox]

The smile he held at the time grew upon her remark about art, indeed all forms of art was something worth seeing. Something worth sharing with the world, even if it were just a little less perfect in the eyes of the artist that constructed it. How about that, a gorgeous face paired with a gorgeous mind. This is one I'll have to watch out for. He mused with an inner chuckle as he felt more aware and involved with this woman, he had to admit she was turning out to be quite the charming one in her own sheepish regards. Though it was Toan who more or less made the social advantages in terms of charm, he could actually admit that by basking in her presence that she was special in her own regard.

What? I've been the only one to recently remark upon the beauty of her face? How is that so? The question brought a look of puzzlement for a brief moment as Toan considered just how exactly someone so softspoken and decent as her, could very well easily be overlooked and ignored whilst she walked around here... maybe it was the time between her travel? He could only assume that's what she referred to anyway, as he could only deny such a notion was brought on by other means. "Rest assured I can compliment it further if you would ask me too." He raised his eyebrows up as he smirked to her once again, an idea in mind sent forth through the impression that generally labelled his words as another flirt. He was quite prone to do so after all.

Then of course she noticed that he had indeed been interrupted with the commotion between the kick of the ball, and of her presence in the moment of it all whilst he drew. The idea she had suggested was something he thought rather remarkable to do, seeing as how it would allow him to finish a drawing he worked diligently on to perfect. Then again... he could do so at another fine time. Now... now he had a new form of art to look at, one that could very well do her own form of art in the process therefore lead the two to interact. And where there was interaction and interest, there was the possibility of something more later on. Romance? Fun? Those were just the two first possibilities that came to mind, but the number of possibilities in general spanned further out. Toan liked this idea better. The chance to see where this idea would lead him was too good, too opportune, to really pass up.

"This sketch can be finished later on, right now I find myself... enthralled by the lovely outlook of your features." He eyed her carefully up and down to get a better look at her form, rather pleased to think of her as his next model for the sketch he wanted to do. "How about a better proposition? We can do it your way but instead of me finishing this drawing, I'll draw you while you make your own art instead?" He offered with a wide grin, hopeful that her blushes and sheepishly cute reactions would lead on to a yes. The idea was something he grew fond of, more or less for the possibilities afterwards, but he left it in her hands to really decide where they would go with this.

[Vanari]

Ari made a face, something between disbelief and suppressed amusement, but otherwise expressed no outright intention to reject his offer. She wasn't entirely sure under what circumstances a vagrant like herself would ask someone for more compliments. In fact, the Vantha was fairly positive she'd never asked for a compliment in her entire life. Such was the iron rule of her upbringing. Could anyone blame her for leaving? "I think I've enough from you to last a lifetime, good sir," she half joked, "But I'll keep it in mind. Who knows? Perhaps compliments could be useful..." Already, the girl's head was churning with ways to make a decent profit. Six years ago such a reflexive attitude would have appalled her; generosity and selflessness, as her mother had often scolded, were traits to be prized over all others. Especially, Voria would add, in a young lady. But her eldest daughter had neither the luxury nor naivete--not anymore, not after the dozen or so misadventures she had been through--to continue behaving in such a way. One had to eat, after all. And food required mizas. And mizas required some method to be earned. The Vantha had not the gift of mind for business or nimbleness of hands to steal, so she settled for two of the things she did best: carving, and storytelling. The former was rather straightforward and no nonsense, as was dictated by her training. The latter, however, though less stable in terms of income, offered more chances to score big. Bigger at least than any little carving or repair work could achieve. But the tricky part was that to put on a good show meant not doing the same thing over and over. And that was hard with a one woman act. Even with all her endless supply of dastardly twists of fate and unlikely heroines or heroes climbing out of the rubble to save the day, there was only so much she could do on her own. It had helped immeasurably to be able to perform with the ever acrobatic and daring illusionist she had left behind in Ravok. But Ria was gone now. Maybe, Ari thought, stroking her mental beard, this rather forward and silver tongued fellow wouldn't mind making a guest appearance at some point... Before she could think further on the subject, Nato was onto yet another compliment. Except this time he was suggesting she be the model and not the building he had been scrutinizing so closely only moments ago. The Vantha cringed inwardly at his sudden inspection. Oh, how she had never been more thankful that she didn't happen to look today like the complete dirt-caked, raggedy vagrant constant travel tended to force her to be. True, the hems of her tunic and the lining of her boots may have been a bit...scruffy. But the young artist wasn't running in the opposite direction, so maybe she wasn't quite as hopeless as life had led her to believe. Ari squinted at the man in mock deliberation, then answered, "You have yourself a deal." She paused for a moment before an afterthought struck her. "No one has ever drawn me before...I think I should like to know how others see me." And with that the carver sat herself down with her tools and set to work. The woodblock she had plucked from some of the abandoned remains near the Aperture. Ari still wasn't quite sure what had possessed her to go back. Curiosity? Morbid fascination? Utter loss as to what to do with herself? Whatever the reason had been, she'd managed to come back in one piece, and with just one, little woodblock to show for. The Vantha began carving, a small mound of wood slivers forming in front of her feet. She was quick with the carving tool but careful as well. In a matter of chimes, something vaguely humanoid began to peep through. A grin formed behind her mass of unruly hair. Nato would be, in turn, the subject of her carving, but she would not be informing him of the matter. Mostly because of a few, ah, creative additions she had in mind. But he would find out soon enough.

[Toan Onox]

Toan allowed a soft but hearty laugh to follow along with the joke she had made, a casual grin on his face as he felt rather sure this had led to an interesting first meeting with the girl. Why not make an impression to last right? That was part of his game anyway, now of course he was curious, curious enough to want more out of her. In turn that's what led him to decide to continue on with this little ordeal, this random turn out for an idea to use her as a model for his artwork. Why not? It would surely benefit them both in multiple ways, and in turn could benefit him on multiple factors depending on where it led to.

There was a moment of consideration in the bargain but when she made up her mind, Toan couldn't help but think she'd made a deal with the defiler herself. Such fun this would turn out to be for the two, Toan would surely have to put his all in the work he would do now. How else was he to try and charm her? Sure enough he could win her over with more than just flirts and witty jokes, but that remains to be seen considering he'd only just struck a deal with the woman. Now he had to keep his end of the bargain, only then could he truly hope to impress her. "Oh believe me," His tone of voice slightly rose in amusement, "nobody could ever hope to capture your full beauty in one mere drawing."

As she took a seat down nearby Toan did the same in turn with his back to the wall once more, his eyes sharp as they locked solely on her to grasp at the outer lines of her figure first before working on the inner ones, the traces of shadows were a bit off and on from the movements she made in her carving, but the features remained the same so he was quick to get a grasp at his starting outlook. Begin with the lower head and left shoulder area, then continue from there. He pulled the spare sheet of parchment he brought along and turned it to be a little crooked, so he could keep his hand in a comfortable position when he started and in turn avoid messing up the position her head was in. After his eyes boldly captured the images of her lines and figures once more, he smirked right afterwards and began to draw with the idea he had before.

First he lightly outlined the curve between her head and shoulder and started downward and slightly outward from the main body, only to arch back towards the inner reaches of the body as the arm would slowly appear in it's shape. He would stop at the middle length of her forearm seeing as how the hands were in a sort of constant motion, and right now he just needed to capture the still parts of her body. Therefore he returned to point one and started in the opposite direction. Outlining the outer reaches of her hair as it would round over to the right side of her face, a pause in the slow steady motion occurred as he eyed the woman once again, only to pick up it's cautious sluggish travel across the surface of the paper. His smirk had long faded now as he was completely enveloped in the project before him, the amount of dedication solely put into capturing what beauty he saw, and in turn placing it down on paper for it to be immortalized so long as the parchment lived.

So far so good, his lines were light and barely there. Yet he still had to outline the girl first before anything else, and he'd only just got started on that little trick. Were he capable of chuckling out of amusement he probably would've, for drawing his art always enlightened him in such small ways. Still he was midway through with the outlining, and he wasn't bound to take a break just yet.

[Vanari]

She slid him a look in silent bemusement as she set her tools to the block of wood. Silver tongued indeed, and clearly meant for an attentive audience--specifically the feminine, hopelessly romantic, swooning kind. Ari could think of a few dozen handfuls of women who would melt at the very sound of flattery. Who would pay mizas to hear such platitudes of beauty, even if they weren't meant directly for them. Perhaps, instead, a heroine they could imagine as themselves. A poor, orphaned, blossoming beauty, with not a penny to her name but wits and charm enough for all of Mizahar. As well as the incredible specimen of manhood that finds himself utterly captivated by her fae-like persona and razor sharp mind. Ari would be lying if she didn't find a certain appeal in these kinds of wildly fanciful stories, and she'd be an even bigger liar if she said the young artist's constant stream of adulation had no effect. But the Vantha had practically been born wary. And she had been burned once. She wasn't too keen on letting it happen again. Not to mention her vagrancy left the lass's attention more than a little difficult to hold. Who knew where the wind would encourage her to fly next? To Vera... it seemed to whisper in response. She ignored it. All the same, it felt good to have a compatriot in what many working class citizens often deemed as useless frivolities. Carving brought her a sense of joy and nostalgia that nothing else quite could. To be able to create beauty with her hands alongside another who found just as much value in the act was a rare and treasured experience outside of Skyglow Hold in Avanthal. Not to say that what she had in mind for the little block of wood could necessarily be construed as beautiful. More like outrageous, or completely ridiculous. But it was a pleasant environment to be working all the same, crowds and passing footsteps and hard, stone seats utterly disregarded. For an indeterminate amount of time, Vanari lost herself in the task. The wood she had chosen wasn't top notch in terms of quality but it was compliant. She sheared off the edges first to make it somewhat rounded in shape before proceeding to work on the basic features. Like most of her trade, the Vantha enjoyed how her knives and tools cut through the wood as though it were reasonably soft cheese. The best types of wood felt luxurious to carve into; that sensation of blade meeting pliant surface was wholly unique in the kind of euphoria it provided. It lent so much power and control to the craftswoman. Almost as if she were carving out a path for herself, exerting will and design as she pleased with nothing to stand in her way. Whether she found herself alone or in good company, happy or sad, depleted of or over-brimming with inspiration, it simply felt right. Felt as though it was what she was meant to do, to channel all that fueled and composed her life into the grooves and curves of a personal carving. First she began with a gouge tool, digging out small chunks of wood until she had formed the impression of a face and body. Next she chose a v-tool to carve parallel lines across parts of the body and create stylized clothing for the little block-shaped figure. It wouldn't do to have it be nude, after all, given that Nato himself appeared so well kept and groomed. Every now and then Ari flicked her gaze upward, taking down a detail or two to transfer into the carving. It was a bit nerve wracking, the way they were studying each other, at once objective and not as they worked intently on their respective projects. She tried not to let it distract her and was less successful than she was willing to admit. Focus! the Vantha ordered herself. Knowing from experience alone that carving often took much longer than drawing to produce satisfactory results, she forced herself to lay irrelevant matters aside. A painter or drawer could bring to life a portrait or their own imagination with a violent dab of the brush, a wild flourish of the pen. But a carver had her fingers to think of. Mainly keeping them all attached to the rest of her hands. After what had to be at least half a bell or so, Ari lifted her head to take a breather and propped her chin on one hand to watch Nato work. "How is progress faring?" she murmured, fighting the tides of noon time sleepiness, before wryly adding, "Has my portrait captured the beauty of a thousand gods and goddesses yet?"