Art in the park (Elijah Brooks)

[Mason]

Even as she opened her eyes she felt the calm of what she'd done, wow she'd really have to do that again sometime. Felt weird but still. Though, the calm was a bit overwhelmed by her excitement to look at the picture as she leaned forwards pushing her hands against her legs as she smiled leaning forwards with an, "Ohhh," as she go the first glimpse of it. She wasn't exactly a person who was self centered on her appearance, but there was still a good bit of excitement at seeing herself drawn. It was insane how detailed it was. Like looking into another world. Her eyes had lit up as she'd seen it, and every moment she looked at it the more she realized how crazily lifelike it looked, and how it somehow felt...more real then a mere picture. Like there was life in it. Perhaps that was imagination, perhaps it was the work behind it, whatever it was, it was like she could feel it.

She lifted her eyes to look at him for a moment, "This is incredible! How- she looked back at the image, "How'd you do that?" she asked, somewhat rhetorically. The answer was probably work and talent, but it still seemed incredible that it was possible at all. There was just something ever so special about art, something that she had always respected and felt a love for. This was it right before her the moment after creation, and even better she had been a part of it.

"Are you sure you do this just as a hobby? I know I'd pay for skill like that," she said shaking her head, "Just unbelievable! Wonderful!" she said again leaning back and clasping her hands together looking at the picture a little more for a moment, appreciating the time spent put into it and work into developing the skill even if she didn't know to what extent.

[Elijah Brooks]

Some charcoal illustrations can take hours to complete, but Eli and Macy were sat together for more like half an hour as he rendered her image onto the paper. Even he is surprised at how quickly he was able to turn around this piece and still make it look good. He can’t really explain it other than to assume his muse struck at the perfect moment. His hands moved so quickly that they felt possessed and before he even knew it, the near-perfect reflection of Mason is there staring back at them both with the contented look on her face. Blood fills his cheeks, right up to the ears, with oppressive heat as she compliments his talent. He physically shies away at the subject of payment; the rungs of the bench press painfully into his back.

“Well. I’m just glad you like it,” he says, even though his voice crackles a little bit. “I wanted to capture you at peace, so whenever you’ve had a rough day, you can remember how you felt when I drew this.”

Eli carefully folds a line at the top of the page, searing the edge with a firm run of thumb so that when he tears off the piece it leaves a neat edge. He hands the drawing over to Mason and smiles. It’s just then he remembers that he’s forgotten to set the illustration, but then also remembers the controversy. To spray or not to spray - that has been one of the most debated topics in the charcoal drawing world. While some artists shun the idea of applying a fixative, others insist it’s the only way to preserve a drawing. A fixative will help prevent the loss of charcoal particles, but can cause value changes if not used properly.

“Oh. I usually set my pictures,” he adds. “So they don’t smudge, but, that’s a personal thing among artists. I have some fixative spray in my bag, though, if you want it.”

[Mason]

She chuckled at his reaction and his voice cracking, not mockingly however. Macy smiled happily again as he handed it over, gratefully taking it, "Well thank you so much!" she said looking at it in her hands, not daring to touch the charcoal itself, just holding onto the edges of the paper carefully as she stared at it. Perhaps there was a good way to frame this, it sounded really self obsessed somehow but how could she not? It was so well made, it had such a feel to it that she couldn't just hide it away. She absolutely had to hang it up somewhere.

Her eyes were raised as he mentioned using a fixative spray and she paused, alright, she didn't know about that. Hadn't heard of it before, she pushed he tongue against her cheeks in thought for a moment before nodding and handing him the drawing carefully, "Uh...yes, please, if that's a good thing? I admit I've never heard of that before." she admitted with a half grimace, half smile at it and a shrug.

[Elijah Brooks]

“No worries,” he says quietly.

Eli watches Macy fondly as she admires her portrait. The pride he feels when her face lights up makes his stomach warm and he thinks that this smile is just as flattering as the look of pure contentment that he sketched of her. It’s long past Christmas at this point, but Macy is giving him the impression that Eli has just given her the best belated Christmas present ever. Now all there remains is to wrap it properly to make sure it gets home safe.

“Well. That’s just the thing,” he says and brushes his hand through his hair before taking the portrait back. “There’s this big debate on whether it’s right to use a spray or not. Some think it can ruin the image, but others think it saves the image from being smudged.”

Eli digs in his bag with the one hand to search for his spray. It’s a struggle to wriggle his fingers between his uniform and sneakers to locate the can and it’s even more of a challenge to get a good grip on it and bring it out. Once he has it, he raises it above his head in a silent chant of victory and then looks to Macy again; his cheeks are a little flush.

“So it’s up to you,” he says breathily, then chuckles. “I promise I haven’t ruined a picture since this afternoon.”

[Mason]

Mason chewed into her lower lip in thought as he explained the possibility of it getting damaged. She looked at it and back at the spray, debating on it. There was the chance that it could be messed up later, which she greatly didn't want, and the other side which she was uncertain on. She groaned considering it before nodding to herself and carefully going to hand over the picture,

"I-I think it might be a good idea to spray it. I don't want to risk smudging it and knowing me that's plenty of a possibility. I mean I'm not exactly clumsy so to speak but I could forget or do something without thinking and I really don't want to accidentally mess it up." she said sort of smiling.

Macy seemed mostly happy about her decision on the matter, or at least, that she had made the right one. It was somewhat of a difficult choice but she was far more worried about it getting messed up then anything else at the moment.

[Elijah Brooks]

Once she has made her decision, Eli offers up a smile and gets to work. He sets the portrait flat onto his sketchbook - careful to avoid the lines of charcoal - and prepares the spray can with a vigorous shake. Eli has always enjoyed the sound it makes: the bell-like rattle reminded him of retro arcade games like pinball machines. Eli's father loves fairgrounds and makes any excuse to steer the annual family vacation toward them. He is especially fond of the coin droppers. Phillippa and Janette fight for dominance on the air hockey and foosball tables. Eli's mother prefers the bar.

The quiet hiss of the spray can is also somewhat comforting. The clear lacquer falls as a fine mist of the paper as Eli makes steady, slow lines from the top to the bottom. He's also careful to ensure he keeps a good distance away from the paper to avoid any heavy blots, but close enough so that the wind doesn't whip it away. In a few short seconds, he's happy with his work and carefully sets the can down beside him.

“There,” he says. “Now it just needs a few minutes to dry and you can take it away. You probably still want to be careful either way, though.”

[Mason]

She sat with her hands on her lap watching as he took only a few moments to fix up the drawing and then handed it back to her, Macy took it carefully. looking at it as it dried and smiling, "Thank you very much," she said gratefully turning back to face him.

"Are you this nice to everyone who starts talking to you when you're drawing?" she asked with a bit of a chuckle, she quite liked him he was nice and giving and also was not a vampire which for sure was a plus. Today had turned out to be quite a wonderful one so far. She wondered if there was a good way to meet with him a bit more often.

[Elijah Brooks]

Once Mason has accepted the illustration, Eli closes his sketchbook and lets it rest, forgotten, between his lap and his balled up hands. His face relaxes and he’s so comfortable that he barely acknowledges the hard slats of the bench pressing against him as he sits back. He watches Mason ogle her charcoal reflection for the moment and then smile at him. He nods at her appreciation, smiles briefly, then finds himself amused by her observation.

“Of course I am,” Eli says, chuckling. “It’s the best way to meet new people. How about you? Do you find yourself approaching artists very often?”

He asks because he’s curious; his head tips lightly to the left as he waits for her response. He does expect that he will answer yes because artists are always looking to invoke reactions. Their work hopes to inspire, spark debate, and open communication between people who might otherwise not have crossed paths let alone glanced in each other’s direction. People often gather around their shared passions and with something as visual and practical as portraitures, it’s easy enough to get the attention of like-minded folk. Eli is pleased that he has found Mason and hopes they can stay connected.

“I should give you my number,” Eli offers. He reaches for his smartphone from his pocket, unlocks it with a swipe, then turns to her. “You can get in touch with me then if you fancy catching up on art. Or. Whatever, really. I’m up for a friendly chat basically all the time.”

[Mason]

She'd have to find somewhere to put this, she'd probably have to go put it up pretty quickly after this. Didn't want to risk ruining it by carrying it around that would be just awful. Probably need to frame it, stick it on the wall somewhere once she got her apartment that'd be nice.

Macy kind of bobbed her head to one shoulder and then the other her hair bouncing slightly,"Sometimes sometimes not. I don't really get to see too many unless I actually go to a gallery or something. I probably would do it a lot more often but I just rarely see anyone actually drawing or painting and stuff." she answered.

He offered to give her his number and she snapped a finger pointing it like a gun, "That's a splendid idea." she said smiling and getting out her own phone and getting ready to enter in whatever he gave her, as well as give him her own. Seemed like a good enough person to talk to if she wanted to, plus having friends around here would be great. She could always do with more friends, especially since she was always so busy it'd be good to sometimes just sit back with somebody or something.

[Elijah Brooks]

They exchange phone numbers, with Eli tagging her as ’Macy - art’ in his list of contacts. The addition of the slight nickname will help him to remember all about their meeting today because he isn’t very good with putting names to faces. He won’t be forgetting her face - her features are an artist’s dream - only over time her name might just fade away and he would have to call her by something else. Eli has the unfortunate habit of renaming the people he’s forgotten the names of based on their most appealing physical attribute. In Macy’s case, he’s most likely to remember the angles and the curves of her body, which reminds him of the skin she bared to reveal her mystical tattoos. The flashback highlights one in particular: the flaming rose on her abdomen, above her navel.

Thankfully, he doesn’t have to resort to such shallow degradations of her body. During the phone number exchange, Eli notices the time.

“Oh,” he murmurs. “It looks like I have to get going if I want to be on time for work.”

Eli bends away from Macy to pack his belongings into his bag. The blood rushes to his cheeks, making them hot, red, and uncomfortable, so he keeps his movements quick and efficient. As he stands, he hauls his duffle bag over his shoulder, then turns to face her. He hopes that she isn’t disappointed that they have to part ways tonight. To make sure that it doesn’t sound like he’s making up some kind of excuse to leave, Eli smiles and waves his phone in the air like he’s waving goodbye.

“Be sure to message me whenever you want,” he says, still smiling. “Every reason is a good reason. I enjoyed today. Thanks, Macy. I’ll see you soon, ok?”