phantasmalrift | We'll make our own party, with...art?

Who: Ravus Nox Fleuret and you
What: High-level avoidance strategies: wait until targets are out of the house before coming out of your room.
Where: Keystone Station common areas.
When: During the Fire Festival.
Warnings: None immediate, but watch tag headers!

[As the fire festival takes place on the beach, Ravus is not to be found there - but someone coming back to the Station proper for reasons of their own might well find him in the kitchen, making himself a sandwich with whatever odds and ends are available, or in the common areas.

[There he has settled down on a couch facing a table, with what appears to be a pad of thick paper and a paintbox. Judging by the glass of water and dimensions of the paintbrushes, it is likely watercolor paints. Ravus, in true artistic fashion, also has a bottle of wine; in slightly less-artistic fashion, he bothered to find a glass.

[Currently he is wielding a pencil and eraser, and as the afternoon grows by the latter comes into play more and more, and with greater and greater intensity. He doesn't bother suppressing his annoyance, so passersby can track his progress (or lack thereof) by the cries of frustration.]

>Approach him openly?
>Spy on his drawings?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[As great as the festival is, you know something it lacks? ~~Litterboxes.~~ Bathrooms. A trek back to the station has to be made at some point.

It's the frustrated noises that draw him towards the common room; Morgana lingers just inside the doorway, taking a minute just to watch curiously. What is he even doing that's leaving him so frustrated? His only real exposure to the art world is through Yusuke, who..... is almost certainly a bit of an outlier.

After a bit though, he just keeps walking, strolling in to jump up onto the arm of the couch; art seems like a kind of silly thing to spy on for any real length of time. If it's personal, then he'll probably just get shooed off.]

Having some trouble?

[Sure. The cat is talking to him. This might as well happen.

[Ravus is surprised enough that he neglects to whisk his sketchbook away. Currently on the page is the rough outline of a woman's face, though this sheet is getting a little shabby from much erasing.]

You might say that.

[Morgana leans in to take a look at the sketchbook, ears pricking forward curiously. Not only is the cat talking to him, but he's evaluating his art, too--and he's no professional critic, but it doesn't look too bad, for a rough sketch. It'll probably look even better once he paints over it; that should hide any messy line work from the pencil. Still, the paper is a little worse for the wear..... is it really going to hold up to such wet paint, after he's been wearing it thin with the eraser?

It'd be a shame, but..... meh, not his problem. The guy probably knows what he's doing, anyway. Morgana dismisses the thought with a flick of his tail, raising one hind leg to scratch at his ear.]

Looks like she's a tricky one to pin down.

...She always was. [The words come out soft, with an edge of some powerful emotion.

[Ravus swiftly suppresses it and hastens on.]

The fault is in my hand; it has been...many years since my last drawing lesson. I hoped some facility remained, but it seems not.

You don't just forget how to do something like that, you know. It's still in there somewhere! You just have to shake off the rust to find it!

[As though to prove his point, Morgana gives himself an expressive full body shake; if he'd been wet, Ravus would've totally gotten sprayed.

Sorry, Ravus, are you trying to have a Moment here? He doesn't know you, this lady, or your relationship, but he does know that you're being too hard on yourself after years of no practice. So you totally need someone being aggressively optimistic at you without any context to go off of, right? That'll definitely help!]

[Oh wow, optimism, that thing that Ravus definitely respects deeply.]

I suspect it of being more rust than metal. Not worth the cost of salvage. [If only there were anything else to do...]

If it's really not worth salvaging, then what are you even doing?

[The cat is giving you such a skeptical look, Ravus. He doesn't believe you or your negativity. ~~So help him, you will get optimism crammed down your throat, and you will like it, buster! .....Because frankly, he doesn't have anything more important to do than being a Mom Friend, either.~~]

...I am not entirely sure. Seeking a cure for boredom, at the very least.

[Is frustration better than boredom? Probably.]

[ Frankly, he's in no hurry to get to the festival, nor is he remotely considering participating in anything, even if he does join it... For reasons.

Normally, Aiden can move quietly, but... eh. He's been trying to learn to not do that, around here. Today, those efforts are paying off (for Ravus), since it'll be very easy to hear him coming, if the other man is paying attention even a little. ]

Not a fan of fire, either?

[ "Either" is meant to be a clue. Either way, there's only one other person who listed fire as a form of trigger, that he's seen, so far... And, really, he's making a few assumptions based on avoidance, but... well. ]

...Among other things. [If it were just the fire, he might force himself to go to prove it has no power over him. Especially having it brought up. But that 'either' stops his instinct to bristle.]

And it's quieter with everyone gone.

[Several specific 'everyone's in particular.]

[ He's nodding, since that's a perfectly fair response. ]

Agreed.

[ While he does enjoy watching everyone interact, as well as learning from all the people here, he can't deny it's nice to have some peace and quiet. ]

My name's Aiden. [ briefly, somewhat awkwardly gesturing towards the paint and alcohol (yep, he does get alcohol being a creative person's Thing, in some cases) ] Are you an artist?

[ Since it could just be a recent hobby he's giving a try? Who knows. Humans are... interesting, really. ]

Ravus.

[He looks down at the sketchpad with a scowl.]

Not as such. [The thought of himself as an artist is mildly amusing, though the ensuing small smile is very bitter.] I was taught once, some years ago. It was an accomplishment befitting my station.

I have not had cause to practice in recent years.

[ He blinks softly. ]

Your station?

[It's still strange to be reminded that he is far from home, that people recognize neither his face nor his family crest.]

As prince of the blood of Tenebrae. My - mother was the Queen, as my sister should have been after her.

[ Ah... the words being used here... ]

Should have...

[ It's not a question, because he isn't going to be trying to request information where it wasn't earned. Instead, his gaze lowers. ]

I would have been taking over my father's position. He was an- overseer, of sorts, I believe. Someone who was trying to get everyone to a new, safer home.

[ A form of hell is not being able to remember what your own parents did, exactly... ...or maybe he never learned that? ]

We'll make our own party, with...art?

What, no blackjack? I'm outta here.

blackjack for one is just really sad solitaire

.....That IS sad. :<

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