shellphones | ❄ 01 ❄

March...7th?

[...well he can't judge the names of people from other worlds, he guesses!]

When you put it like that...alright. Where should I meet you?

I'll explain it when we meet up. :)

I'm on Eltrut right now. You wanna meet at the MANTA Center?

Oh, I can be there in about ten minutes, will that work?

Sounds good! Here's a picture of me so you know who to look for.

[SELFIE TIME]

Oh, ah, one moment...

[ it takes him a little bit of fumbling but he does manage to take a selfie! The shellphones don't work...quite like the Kameras he's used to. ]

I'll be right there.

[He's tried his best, but oof his selfie game needs work. She can teach him later as thanks for coming with her on this quest.

March arrives at the MANTA Board first, playing with her phone and bouncing slightly on her heels as she waits. When she sees the man from the selfie, she gives a wave.]

Thanks for not standing me up, Kaveh!

Of course not, how could I? Thank you for waiting for me.

[Kaveh chuckles a little. This girl--March--seems to have an excess of energy, huh? It's pretty cute. Like an excitable puppy, really.]

You're welcome! I still think it's better to go with a buddy than alone. Moral support, you know?

[Nevermind that they just met. That's a trifling detail.]

I have the address. Are you ready to go?

Ready as I can be. Please lead the way, Miss March.

[He isn't going to point out she just met him because he does intend to be the Buddy here, so you know, it's fine. He's very curious about this painting, anyway.]

[Thanks for not lecturing her, Buddy! She starts leading him off to the proper location.]

Are you going to have her paint you, too? Or are you just tagging along to see what my picture is gonna look like?

I suppose if I'm curious about her techniques, it's only fair I sit for a portrait, right? But you should go first, it sounded pretty important to you.

[Thankfully, March is short and Kaveh is Not Short, so he doesn't have much trouble keeping up with her!]

I appreciate it. And it'll be interesting to watch how she does her stuff while she paints you, so it's win-win.

Are you hoping to learn anything, or just curious about what she'll do?

I do like painting, so on some level I'm curious how she approaches portraits...but I suppose I'm more curious as an artist than what she'll see in my soul.

[He's not expecting this to be any more revealing than a typical reading of his constellation. Poor Kaveh, doomed fool.]

And what about you, Miss March?

I'm more interested in the soul stuff. Although I bet the art process is really cool to watch.

[It's less "soul" and more "this is a lead to my past" that has her interest, in fairness.]

Looks like this is the place!

[KNOCK KNOCK.]

[The door presumably opens, likely in a somewhat creepy fashion, because this is an artist what paints souls.]

...Um, hello? We aren't disturbing anything, are we?

["Not at all, please come in!" comes the reply from within. For her part, March gives Kaveh a slight shrug before entering the home.

It's cozy enough, although terribly lit--the owner is blind, so the use of lights is a secondary concern at best. Dorina Gray greets them with earnest interest, offering snacks (which March happily accepts) and sitting them both down for some small talk before she gets started.

One of the questions she asks is perhaps the most obvious one: "Why did the two of you decide you wanted to be painted today?" March speaks up first.]

I admit, my motivations are kind of selfish. I don't really know a lot about myself or my past. I know I was trapped in ice for awhile, and every memory I have is from after I was saved. I was hoping that this whole soul-painting thing can at least give me some insights into myself, you know?

[Miss Gray nods, then turns her focus to Kaveh. "And for you, sir?"]

[Give him a minute, he was staring at March. What...what a sad story...she's been through so much at such an apparently young age! Amnesia must be rough...

...wait, what was that about a block of ice?

Wait, shit, someone asked him a question!]

O-oh, uh. It's nothing so grand or important as that...but if these paintings reveal a part of the soul, as an artist, I admit I'm pretty curious. Usually it's the artist's own soul that's reflected in their work, no?

But mostly I'm here to accompany Ms. March.

[She'll give you the full details later if you're interested! Her history--at least what little of it she recalls--isn't at all a secret.

For her part, Dorina Gray seems satisfied with their answers. "Intriguing reasons, both of you. Please, miss have a seat so I can get started."

March has a seat in the indicated chair and does her best to remain still and quiet through the painting process, although as time goes on she starts to squirm a little. Clearly, she's unused to sitting still--and is anxious about the process besides.

Miss Gray makes no move to block Kaveh from seeing the painting as it comes together. She paints a background of a vast universe dotted with stars before adding patterns of blue and pink throughout and a bit of amber along the outermost edges. Next is the image or March 7th herself, rendered in vivid colors but with a sketchy, slightly abstract artistic style. And, finally, she adds five bright stars around her.

Once finished, she calls March over to inspect the work. March looks at it for a long while, before finally speaking up.]

What are the five stars for?

["Companions, bright and dear."]

Oh...

[In piecing the symbolism together, the disappointment starts to become clear in her expression. Miss Gray speaks up as if she could see the way her face falls.

"I'm afraid I can only see you as you are, not as you were. If there are insights to your past to be found in this image, they are as hidden to me as they seem to be to you."

March is quiet for a few moments as she takes this information in. It's better than being told she shouldn't look into her past, at least? And Miss Gray is being really nice about it. There's no small amount of comfort to be had in that.]

I knew this might happen. [The disappointment stings, but it is what it is.] It's still a really nice picture, though.

What do you think, Mr. Kaveh?

I think...

[He pauses, eyes trained on the canvas. There's a lot he could say--as an artist, of course, March's soul is beautiful, and the portrait reflects an avant-garde approach to the symbolism of what makes up a person's core. He could say that the past is sometimes a chain, and the present a lantern that sees you through the dark, but that's insensitive, to say to someone without memories. He could say that March has nothing to fear, because there will be other clues and other hopes.

What he says, however, is something slightly different.]

It is beautiful. And I know it isn't what you wanted, but...[He gestures a bit at the stars.] If they are so bright within your soul, your companions are quite dear to you, aren't they?

Even if the answers aren't here in this world, I am sure with their companionship, you'll find what you're looking for.

[As it turns out, Kaveh's approach is the correct one. She brightens up a bit, and it's only slightly forced as opposed to wholly ingenuine.]

You're right. The Astral Express are like a family to me--as much as I've had here, I really miss them. And they've been really supportive of me looking for my past, so you're probably right.

[Honestly, looking for it in another world entirely--one that's cut off from the Path of the Trailblaze, as far as she can tell--was a long shot anyway.]

Thank you, Miss Gray. It really is a nice picture.

["You're welcome, and thank you for being willing to sit for it."]

Now it's your turn, Mr. Kaveh!

Oh...ahaha. I'll--sit here, then?

[Dorina nods, and Kaveh swallows his sudden nerves to sit, straightening out his spine and trying to smile, though only faintly. He's a fidgety man, and it's much easier to sit still for a Kamera, but even so, out of respect he sits as still as possible.

The paining comes in layers. A dark, deep green mixed with eerie red to make the background, and then as if illuminating the darkness itself, Kaveh is painted, loose and with streaks of bright color--the gold of his hair, the red of his cape, the white of his shirt--pulled off, making him look like a man aflame. He is crowned with sorrowful red flowers, and in the inky darkness behind him, a constellation of a great bird may be seen, seeming to rise out of the very flames of Kaveh's own existence.

There is sorrow in his eyes, but also, a great determination. Here sits a man on fire. Here sits a phoenix. He hasn't seen it yet, so March has a moment to see it before he gets up.]

...Is it about done? What do you think?

Edited 2024-01-17 13:12 (UTC)

[March watches all of this come to life on the canvas, fascinated at the process. She may not have an artist's eye or anything, but she has a trailblazer's curiosity. It's enough to keep her invested until Kaveh speaks up.]

I think it's really beautiful.

[He may or may not like that this exposes some imagery in it that he might prefer to keep hidden--for her part, March would have never guessed that there's a sadness beneath his demeanor--but she's giving her honest opinion of the piece. If she were him, she'd be super flattered by the depiction.]

[He does get up to come have a look and falls silent for a long while. March doesn't know what all these things refer to, but Kaveh does, like he'd been stabbed and flayed open here in the room. He hasn't felt so exposed since...

...

No need to bring that up.

Still, despite the expression on his face, he can appreciate the skill that has gone into this painting, and it is a stunning likeness of him, just not parts of him he'd much like anyone to see. Dorina, perhaps sensing this, remains silent.]

...Yes. It's--It is beautiful. You're quite skilled, Ms Gray.

[He's not sure what else to say. All his weal and woe is made plain on a canvas by a stranger, and just what is he supposed to DO with that?]

[For all of the ways in which March can be dense, she's emotionally intelligent enough to pick up that this makes Kaveh feel deeply uncomfortable. It's a testament to Miss Gray's skill and authenticity that she's managed to throw him off (really, what was that one guy's issue with her painting?)... but it's also a sign that she should step in and get them out the door.

Later, she can give him a hug and buy him a juice or something to help cheer him up.]

Yeah, you did a great job with everything. Are you sure you don't want us to pay you or anything?

["No, no payment is necessary. Meeting you and getting to paint you was reward enough. Please, take the paintings with you."]

Got it, and thanks again. I'll carry both of them so you can handle the doors. How's that sound, Mr. Kaveh?

[aka: I'll hold yours so you don't have to look at it for a bit]

That's-- [He balks at the idea of making her carry anything, but...he hears what she's offering.]

That's...yes. Thank you, Miss March, Miss Gray.

[Right. Time to open the door because he really needs out of here and maybe booze.]

❄ 01 ❄

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shall we switch to action on this post or

works for me!

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i wanted to be cool too

you ARE cool!

😳

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