✏ PAINTED FACES ✏

[Vita (DELETED 9215)]

The quick contact with Indigo hadn't really raised any questions with Vita. Some people got cooler more easily than others, some people had bad circulation, and it hadn't been something Vita had been really paying attention to anyways. "Really?" Vita had been sharing her work with the city for some time and had never had a 'fan.' Some people hated her form of expression, while others liked it, but to be a 'fan?' Never. Maybe her mom and people in her family, but they were sort of obligated to be 'fans' weren't they? "Nice to meet you Indigo." Vita said before her attention was drawn to the male beside Indigo.

He didn't really say a lot, but that was okay. Some people were talkers, some...not so much. Vita tended to be on the latter side than the talkative side, unless it was a topic that she was passionate about, or deeply interested in. Then, as her name suggested, the woman almost livened up and became another person. While the contact with Indigo went unnoticed, the handshake with Adley was completely different. As soon as they connected (as brief as it was), Vita felt a 'snap,' of power, or energy coarse between them. Not in a positive way, more comparable to a situation where someone stuck a butter knife into an outlet and felt a zing of pain for a brief second. That was exactly how it felt-not that she had ever done that, but her brother had and the way he described how it felt a couple years later when he could articulate such a thing had stuck with Vita.

The compliment from Adley had Vita sucking in some air, while Vita shook her hand a little, still feeling the tingly, but stinging sensation on the tips of her fingers. "Proposition?" Vita asked, eyes bouncing between Adley who had a serious case of static electricity or something, and Indigo. "I'm all ears." Vita said as she started walking a little more, this time a little slower than before, still feeling a little confused and stunned at the same time; in more than one way.

[Indigo]

A few steps forward had Indigo taking in a closer view of the features that held the focus of her indigo blues. The warm human inhale was something that the allurist was feeling in the tips of her own empty fingers. As Indi released the stale air from her cool lungs the sensation it provided inspired an aware smile from her lips. A brief glance to the woman’s ears left Indigo with the conclusion that it was simply not true. Not physically anyways. Vita had far more to her than ears. The woman before her had something else that stood out even more. A fire within was in the early stages. That was exactly what Phineas Knight was committed to nurturing in his life and what the Apiary was created for after his passing.

“Yes.” Her hand absorbed the kiss of the night air flowing through her fingers. “An offer I hope you find impossible to refuse for all the right reasons.” Her pace matched Vita’s while the scent of Adley close by reminded her this was a joint proposition. Her eyes danced to his face then back to the one who had yet to hear of it. “What if you were given the resources and materials you use for your art without cost to you? What if you were permitted unlimited access to workspace year round that is not subject to the elements or restrictions of private property? A place you were safe and not held back by opinion, time or space.” She paused her words only long enough to glance again at Adley to support the fact that it was a joint offer on all levels. “You would be in the company of a colony of up and coming artists thriving in a diverse creative environment representing all forms. You have talent. We want to share a place with you that can nurture that when you freely choose to access it. It is whatever you want to make of it. Your art would remain under your control. If you choose to exhibit or commercial or private sale that is all yours. There is no under cost, dues or sharing of your rights to your art.”

Indigo wasn’t feeling pressed to sell what Phineas created. It would speak for itself if Vita felt it was worth the effort it would require her to stop in and check out. Many have found exactly what her uncle intended in providing to the community he chose to call home. It is what he wanted and what Harper Rock needed.

“We can show you what we are talking about. You can see it for yourself.” Her head tilted just enough that the flow of golden curls found their way briefly in her face until she tucked the strands back where they were expected to stay. “It is entirely up to you, Vita.”

[Adley Reed]

Joint offer as it may be, Indigo had the words that Adley lacked. She was the Allurist, through and through; he was the Necromancer, with all its creepy benefits. Vita’s reaction to his touch only elicited a smirk, and his withdrawn hand returned to the pocket that lacked any warmth.

Adley had heard a similar spiel, though it hadn’t been so direct; he wasn’t one that Indigo had sought. They’d landed in each other’s sphere of existence, and it just so happened that he had an artistry that she could use. He didn’t paint with brushes. He had no liquid medium, except for the formula used to expose his photographs. There was an art in timing, in the tints and tinges. There was now a whole chunk of the business, of Apiary, circled around the art of photography. It hadn’t taken much to convince Adley it was where he belonged. So much so that he’d given up the freelance activity of photographing crime scenes and horrific accidents to sell for money. Now, the city had become his subject. The city, and the night.

Indigo continued to look his way as she made the proposition; Adley had nothing else to add except for his silent nod. Joint offer as it may be, Adley was not going to mar the perfect speech that Indigo had made with any of his bumbled efforts at the same. His pace matched that of the women beside him, his gaze slipping down a side street as Indigo gave Vita the option to see Apiary for herself. How far away were they? Not too far – they were at least headed in the right direction.

[Vita (DELETED 9215)]

Her eyes moved off of Adley for a little bit to hear the pitch of Indigo's. It all sounded good. Really good. Almost too good to be true. It was as if she were promising the world to Vita at what seemed to be free. No expectations, no cut on any profits should she ever choose to sell her pieces. Products and materials that didn't come out of her money, or her mom's, to be precise. Was this really happening?

Vita's left hand moved to her right arm and gave it a pinch, because everything sounded too good. The pain was there, indicating that this wasn't a dream, or some alternate reality, even. It was as if Indigo was almost some fairy godmother peddling some potential fantasy that the godmother think she deserved. And Vita wanted it bad. Really bad.

"You paint? Or draw?" Vita asked as she looked at Adley again. What was his part in this whole thing? Was he an artist? A business partner? Or? Her eyes moved to both of them in a quick swivel to try and figure out if he was just there supporting Indigo as a friend, or something more. "I want to see his work." She made the assumption that Adley had to have some sort of art background, and whatever it was, Vita wanted to see the space he worked in, the materials he was given first hand and the amount of finished work he produced. His success, no matter the degree of it, would sell Vita on taking the opportunity, then the excitement of endless supplies and space. She wanted both, and so much more for her work, but only if she was going to be successful.

[Indigo]

“Not like you do.”

Indigo’s tone was truthful, gentle as she admitted the fact that she had less than a pinky’s worth of Phineas Knight’s talent. Her eyes stuck to Vita and hoped the woman would get some sort of her uncle’s vibe that it was all good. What was being offered was there and it wouldn’t have any conditions other than Vita take it for all it was worth and fly with it. Maybe a wall to wall exterior mural expressing the diversity of talent within the Apiary walls would be her one request of the street artist. And that was an afterthought thanks to Adley’s inspiring suggestion. It was then that the man who left the legacy of hope for the future came to be the focal point. She smiled at the progress that was evident in the conversation. The woman wanted to see what Adley had to offer for what could be possible if she accepted.

“Of course you can see that and everything else in one place. The Apiary over in Westwall.” She finally looked to Adley and shrugged her shoulders as her hands found her pockets with a gradual slide into the cotton available to hold each one snuggly. “Adley you have any plans that can’t wait? Show her what you got?”

Indigo had no doubts that Adley’s talent would speak for itself once they arrived there. It was what made the hive bursting with energy. The diversity of its sources came together and made it so much more than one brush or stroke. More profound than one medium or vision could take credit for. It had a hive heart and soul fueling it that couldn’t be found anywhere else.

[Adley Reed]

”Do I have any…? No,” he shook his head. He had no plans that couldn’t wait. He was as easy-going as they came, and though he’d given up freelance work for crime photography and selling to the media, his work still was freelance. Every now and again he got jobs for particular events, but if he’d had one of those tonight, he’d already be there. There were no asteroid showers or eclipses he needed to catch, either.

He might have told Indigo exactly what his plans were, but he doubted that would be very professional; even saying that whatever he’d planned would probably have involved her didn’t seem to have its place in this conversations. So he stuck so his simple answer. No, he didn’t have any plans that couldn’t wait.

It was a surprise, honestly, that he didn’t have his camera on him now. Given the art they had just witnessed, he should have. He’d have taken photos of it, as scarred as it might have been by the misdemeanant miscreants. His hands even shifted, looking for the strap and the weight of the camera. He’d been too caught up in Indigo’s quest to grab it on their way out.

”I’m a photographer,” he said eventually in answer to Vita’s posed question. ”I know ‘artists’—“ with air quotes ”—like to pooh pooh photography as a true form of creative industry, but there’s as much of an eye for detail in photography that there is in any other form of art,” he said. He was accustomed to defending photography’s place in the artistic world, and so jumped ahead before Vita could say anything. ”There’s as much technicality, too. One light beam out of place, and the whole thing goes to ****,” he said. He didn’t think Vita would mind his colourful language. She didn’t seem like the sort to mind, anyway.

[Vita (DELETED 9215)]

Vita smiled a little more at the compliment that came from Indigo, before she shrugged her shoulders. "Art is a funny thing. One person says you're good, the next two says it's crap." Vita didn't think her work was crap, and she knew it wasn't given the amount of 'haters' she had surrounding it and her. Once again Indigo shifted the attention to Adley, and Vita was sure they were either good business partners or there was something there. Maybe both.

Vita crossed the street, keeping in line with the other two as they headed for Westwall. She knew the area pretty good; not that much of her work was there. Apartment building owners really got heated over art displays on their buildings, a lesson Vita learned at a much younger age. The fee her momma had to pay when she was around thirteen came with a good tan to her backside and a summer of house chores to work off the debt Vita accrued from her display of work. All it took was one valuable lesson and that was it for Vita.

"Really?" Vita gave Adley a once over, surprised to hear what his form of art was. She held up both hands, shook her head, which allowed some of her natural curls to fall free from the high pony tail she was wearing on the crown of her head. "I don't judge art in any form. Outside of you two, maybe a handful, or two, consider anything I do art. Otherwise it's destroying property." She rolled her eyes, knowing how much work and time got put into her pieces of art. People just assumed she pressed down on a button and sprayed away, but that was the furthest thing from the truth.

"I feel you. It's sort of like the wind with my design work. Your light beam problem. One strung gust of wind and I've got a color somewhere it wasn't supposed to be. Turns to ****, like you say. Pretty cool." With Adley describing how he works his photography in a way Vita hadn't considered, she had a little more of an understanding and could relate to Adley's work a little better. "Sometimes I work in a pretty big space." Vita said as they came close to where Westwall started and her side of town ended. "Your building need any sprucing up any time soon? Been playing with an idea for a while, I just haven't found the right space for it yet." Vita admitted, eyes cast back to Indigo who seemed to be more or less in charge of things, or at least in charge of whatever the Apiary was.

[Indigo]

“And this is why what we have to offer could bring your talent to a whole new platform and exposure. Appreciation will flourish from that as well.”

The steps she took were keeping her even with the two she continued to walk with. Westwall surrounded them and the prospect of finding the talent they sought out was having her take into account aspects of the city that she perhaps had not entirely appreciated before. Awareness came in many forms and at unexpected moments. This was one of them for Indigo Knight. She listened while the two discussed influences of light. Her thoughts spun with the information shared and she learned. And while she did this she found so many places in passing that transformed into a multilevel canvas. The exterior wall of the closed car dealership. It appeared far more plain that it had before. The whitewash needed something breathed into the construction brick beneath. A delivery van crossing the intersection in the distance came to her attention beneath the glow of the city street light. It too was lacking and again it was something that stood out to her more than it ever had before. The power of creativity and talent should not be constrained. She looked to the young woman and smiled. Not Vita’s.

“Once we get inside take your time and explore. Nothing is off limits. Anyone currently inside is more than happy to discuss their projects they are working on.” Indigo reached for the front doors just a step ahead of the two and pulled the right one open. Stepping to the side she waited for them to pass through. The scent of all types of mediums of art rolled over her as she stood and waited. “Sometimes looking around first is the best thing to do. If you have any questions along the way feel free to ask.” Indigo glanced up at the exterior of the building looming over them. It was a canvas in need of an artist. Not just any artist would do. The 'one' it had been waiting for had finally been found. Her indigo blues washed over Vita and fixed only for the time it took to make the connection the look intended. “As for the building, well, she is yours to dress if you are up for it.”

[Adley Reed]

”Art changes,” Adley said. ”It evolves, like everything else. Like opinions on politics and sexuality. Art has to evolve to reflect the world that inspires it. In that way, I think that what you and I do is more art that any copycat traditional artists tries to produce,” he said. They’d reached Apiary, the bricks and mortar welcoming him like a home welcomes its occupants. It was home, as much as the Hive.

Indigo suggested that Vita take a look around, to make herself as at home at the Apiary as they did. She also offered the front of the building as a canvas, to which Adley grinned. It would look so damned ******* good with Vita’s art sprawled across it. There’d be no question about what kind of place they ran, what kind of place Indigo had built.

”The photography studio is to the left,” he said, gesturing to the door that led through to his specific work space. Plenty of his photos were pinned to the walls, some in frames and some not. Some were ready to be sold—he was considering, even, whether he should try to do an open gallery show. Showcase his work. Make some money that way. Or even approach some of the more independent shops in the city, the quirky and grungy hole-in-the-wall cafes or bookshops. They might be open to selling some artwork, too.

As soon as they’d given Vita permission to roam, Adley slid in to Indigo’s side, his arm around her waist. It was a moment of pride, as if they’d brought a stray home for good. Though it wasn’t set in stone yet. Vita might not like the space at all, or want anything to do with it. So they would have to wait and see.

Photography looks a bit like this

[Vita (DELETED 9215)]

The offer of the building had been made and Vita was just about damn near sold on everything. There had to be a catch though, right? Everything for nothing seemed out of place to her. Before she signed up for anything, Vita had a little more looking around to do; she wanted to see if things were as good as her two new found friends claimed it to be.

"I'll be back in a bit then." Vita announced to the two, before she took the directions to the studio and went inside to view the work. She took her time appreciating the difference scenes and the angles that they were shot at. Adley had a good eye about him. Vita took one last look around the photography studio, before she left and moved throughout the building. Her eyes glanced at anything and everything...from the way the building was designed to the art within it.

After a good half hour or so, Vita stumbled across some guy who was working with some red paint and some broken letters. Vita tipped her head to the left and then the right as she tried to figure out what his thing was, before Vita just asked him outright. "What's that you're working on?" She asked, pointing to the broken letter that she couldn't tell just what it was. It looked like a broken or weird 'n.'

He chuckled and then put down his red roller and replied with "c'mere." Vita looked at where he was calling her over to, then moved. He shifted to the right and then held out both his hands. "May I?" He asked, before she nodded her head. "Stand here." He directed both vocally and then with his hands on her shoulders. It was when she was standing in that specific spot that Vita could make sense of it all. She laughed. "Holy cripes, that's cool, man." Vita acknowledged before vocally speaking what he was working on. "It's not just Art. Nice." Vita complimented before turning to him, never having seen anything like that before. "It's called Anamorphiosis. Can only appreciate it in a certain spot. It's all about being on point.' He extended a hand. "Javier." Vita offered her's in return. "Vita. How long have you been here?" As he moved to close up his paint can, Javier started telling his tale, Vita listening intently as she digested it all. Every detail was essential, especially when Vita would have to eventually deal with her momma.