Private Fragile Sound

[Lief]

The brief spurt of pride he'd felt toward her only intensified when he watched her pick up the brush with her other hand, even with an issue of its own in the way of a missing pinkie, and considered how to paint regardless.​

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Eliphas watched her in awe at how far she had come compared to earlier that morning; the holoscreen was ignored, covered up by their easels, the blankets were gone, and she was shining. Maybe not in the way that most would consider, not the glow of a pregnant woman or something akin to that, but in her own way.​

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"What's it going to be, sunshine?" he asked her, the last word sort of slipping free without thought; he barely even realized he'd said it, carried on regardless. "We trying the left hand, then? Should I maybe switch to my right, make things even?" A challenge, a challenge could be nice. Though truthfully, maybe she just wanted to paint. Without any added chit on top of it.​

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Paint until their food arrived, and who knew? Maybe even then. Pizza in one hand, brush in the other? It seemed a nice way to end the evening.​

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Iris Arani ​

 

[Iris Arani]

"I'm left handed." Whether Iris had picked up on the nickname or not wasn't too clear. She was focused now. Her whole grip on the brush had to change from the loss of her pinky. It was ultimately why she'd switched hands. Easier. She stared at her hand, the brush, uncaring of the orange paint that was dripping down her arm from where she plucked the blush free of the tinged depths.

It was easier than she figured, honestly. A pinky was a small price, considering what had claimed it in the first place. And then she was painting. The excess paint on the brush had been wiped away, now coating her shirt. Skin. She focused on a color and just went with it. Seemingly random patterns, dragging the brush across the canvas without much of a care. But always with a smile. A brighter one. She could always loose herself in her paint.

She was about half way through what she was working on, the basis of various shades of orange slowly drying, when she stopped and blinked.

"Oh, are we competing?"

 

[Lief]

A fellow lefty, delightful! Then he could only deduce the reason she'd been intent on using her right before now had to do with the pinky, or lack thereof. She hadn't had much luck, had she, where dexterity was concerned? Like the Galaxy was thwarting her at every turn, intent on rending her unable to fulfil her creative desires.​

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Well, look at her go, Galaxy! Look at her go...​

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He did not in fact switch to his right hand, for that had been mostly a joke, and as she put brush to canvas so too did he. His brush was used as though it were a pencil, to sketch out various regions on the taut fabric and get an overall general sense of scale, positioning, and composition. Drawing from memory was admittedly much more difficult than having a live model, but he pressed on all the same. There was a sense of duty held within him as he delved into the piece, and he knew that though it would not be finished that evening, he would make sure he tended to it for however many days were to come in its onward progression.​

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Her question pulled him from his focused state; he shook his head with a chuckle. "Not unless you want me hanging around for the next week; I've got a feeling this one's going to take some time. I wonder if I can find somewhere that'll sell me some paints of my own..." He didn't wish to steal hers, nor did he wish to impose himself upon her domain any more than she was willing.​

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Before he could set brush back to canvas, the doorbell sounded. Pizza... Yum. "Want me to grab it?" he asked, setting down the brush. Soon enough he was on his way toward the door, as if asking had only been out of habit. Of course he'd get the food, what kind of man would he have been if he'd left her to struggle with it?​

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Iris Arani ​

 

[Iris Arani]

"You can take as long as you need. So long as I'm in physical therapy I'm not allowed to go anywhere." There was no chance Iris of all people would get between someone and completing their painting. How many times had she gone out of her way to finish her tagging, regardless of where she was or what she might of been painting? "There's a shop close by I can take you to. It's where I usually get my supplies." She flashed a smile, looking his way for a moment longer. Then turned back to her canvas. Speaking of completing.

She was quickly back in the zone. New colors were brought to the canvas in front of her, the brush dipped in differing shades before being cleaned on.. Whatever she had handy. Usually herself. More than once she'd wipe away what paint remained in her brush by running it over her arm or shirt. Which would eventually end up on her face or hair as she wiped at her brow. Iris always ended up covered in her paint, and even now there was no exception.

It wasn't until Lief got the pizza and the scent of melty cheese on dough pulled her from the paint craze. She blinked, turning her head towards the kitchen.

"Pizza?"

 

[Lief]

Eliphas had not been expecting this response.​

​

For a moment he turned his head to regard her, as though trying to deduce whether or not she actually meant it. He found no reason to doubt her within her expression or her mannerism, in fact no sooner had she said it was she offering to take him to a store she knew of. Would it be okay with the Temple, if he took further time out to come back? To paint, and give her company, and maybe a helping hand with anything she might have been struggling with? It wasn't as though he'd really gotten into a schedule yet, after all, they'd been a little slow on the uptick with that.​

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Seeing the change in her in just a few hours, he decided he'd have to insist even if they tried to argue against it. He was doing more good here than he would be at the Temple, at least for right now. So he nodded his head.​

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"Alright. Alright, consider it done. Just... Let me know when. And what time's best. I don't want to get in your way, of course, but uh... This has been, nice. Painting again; thank you, for bringing that back to me." Her company was nice too, of course, but he didn't want to come across as too eager. No doubt that was obvious though, they'd been rather comfortable in one another's presence for most of the day and that didn't usually happen with such ease.​

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But onto more pressing matters: pizza.​

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He came back from the door a few moments later, with a pizza box and a smaller fast food container perched on top of it. His other hand held a small bag with a couple of different single serve sodas inside. ​

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"Pizza, and a burger, just as m'lady requested," he did a rather ridiculous and flourished bow as he offered out the burger's container atop a pizza box platter. Then he devolved into laughter. Force, for a second it had almost felt like he was back home again. Almost.​

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He plopped himself down on the sofa, and opened up the pizza box. Offered her the first slice, all while staring at the trio of shapes with a dumbfounded expression.​

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"Triangular slice, circular whole, square container. Nope, even with it here in my hand... I still can't make sense of it!"​

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Iris Arani ​

 

[Iris Arani]

Pizza.

The burger had been forgotten. The wonderful scent of greasy cheese was all Iris focused on instead. She set her brush down on the easel, turning just in time to watch Lief .. Bow? Why was he bowing? Was that a custom from his homeword or something? Bow for food? Iris at least understood what a bow was, if only because of Briana Sal-Soren 's noble background.

So she bowed back and smiled.

A paint covered hand lifted a slice from the box before she plopped down on the couch beside him, happily munching away. Now wanting to eat, she opted to just, speak in his head. Better than speaking with her mouth full.

<Complex shapes or not, it's good. Thank you.>

 

[Lief]

The goofiness of his gesture had gone unnoticed, in that the girl bowed back to him. A dorky smile made its way over his expression as he regarded her in the brief aftermath, before they both sat down to eat.​

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He slid the box so that it lay half on his lap, half on hers. It was warm, kind of nice actually. Hopefully it wouldn't end up being too hot though if it sat there for a while.​

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Once she'd taken a slice, Eliphas happily took up one of his own. He murmured in satisfaction of his first bite; boy was this better than he remembered. Way better than Atrisian take out! Maybe he should have lingered in that pizza joint with Starlin Rand that one day. Then again, maybe it wouldn't taste so good now if he had.​

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And boy was it good. Even in it's plain cheese form. Tomatoey, a slight hint of garlic, even the doughy bread base was divine.​

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Iris' words echoed through his mind, and for a moment he quite forgot that it was something he was able to mimic back. He just sort of smiled at her. Nodded.​

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Then the remembrance came.​

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Mhm, I think you're right! It's great! He paused for a moment. Why was she thanking him? That question drifted between them as more of an impression than tangible words. I mean, nothing to thank me for, sunshine, it's just pizza!​

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Just pizza.​

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Great pizza.​

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Iris Arani ​

 

[Iris Arani]

<Pizza was your idea.> She tilted her head, glancing back to Lief for a moment. Still happily chewing away at the garlicy cheese pizza. This one was pretty different from the slice she'd gotten with Kai and Kyrric before. Were pizzas this different from one another, despite being y'know, cheese pizza? It was like the sauce itself was a whole different thing. And the crust.

Who'd of thought there could be so many differences between something with the same name.

<Why do you call me sunshine?>

 

[Lief]

You suggested burgers; I might have gone with Atrisian food otherwise.​

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He shrugged, it didn't much matter, and felt the curiosity drifting through the link between them as Iris pondered the curious nature of pizza toppings and differences. Being so new to all of this though, Eliphas couldn't quite pinpoint exactly what had got her in so thoughtful a mood. He just continued to munch his pizza, until Iris asked something he wasn't expecting.​

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Pausing mid-bite, he pondered it for a second or two. He'd been staring at the easel at the time, contemplating where to take the painting once they were done. Now he turned to look at her. He had sort of an incredulous expression, as though the answer was so blatantly obvious that it didn't bear speaking on.​

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He answered anyway.​

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Why, because you're brilliant of course, he stated, with a nod. Pizza now forgotten, he shifted to face her a little better in a physical indication of sincerity. Because when I looked through your eyes, I saw only bright hues radiating... All of it coming from you.​

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She attributed it to the Force, and no doubt that was the true source, but he could not see that without her as the lens. He shrugged, finally took another bite of the pizza, then turned back to stare at the painting.​

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Isn't that the job of any sun? To radiate?​

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Iris Arani ​

 

[Iris Arani]

Well now she was curious what Artisan foods were. Or would have been, if not for Lief 's answer. She stared for a moment as she listened to him. 'Listened' to him. A lot of words usually went over her head, but through a connection like they were speaking through, intention was easy to understand. She didn't have to try and pick up on sarcasm or the like because it was just there, obvious as the colors that she could see around them.

Her cheeks darkened. Kai never commented on what her world of colors looked like. The other person she tried to show thought it was too intense and didn't help them talk. Now she was being called a sun? Brilliant and bright? She lowered her gaze to stare at the pizza in her hands, lingering there in silence. Then she took another bite, smiling.

<Yeah.>

 

[Lief]

Her singular word spoken into his mind spoke far more than a thousand might have and tempted him into glancing briefly her way; just a quick snatch of her visage out of his peripheral through which he noticed the deepening colour of her flushed cheeks.​

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A simple smile formed over his lips in response. In the wake of what had been said, he felt no need to explain himself any further. Felt no need for little more than to sit and eat and be in her presence. One slice later, and he rose up from the sofa with a curious expression upon his face.​

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Head tilted this way and that like a curious puppy, he regarded the canvas. Held out a thumb for perspective. Squinted his eye. Then, with the crust of his pizza still held between his teeth, he picked up the previously forgotten brush and got right back to work. Clearly something had inspired him into action.​

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At some point he finished eating the crust, though he barely remembered the act of doing so at all.​

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Thank you came a whisper to her mind, a gentle reminder that he saw her even when fixated so on the work ahead of him. It was surprising, but in service to her he'd found relief for himself also. Commensalism had become Mutualism...​

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Iris Arani ​

 

[Iris Arani]

The silence between them was something that should seem awkward. That's what the shows taught her. Silently sitting with someone you just met usually meant that there was no chance for a friendship to bloom. That one or both should strive to find something to say. Yet neither did. And Iris was happy. This was the most normal she felt in a long time now, if normal could even be used to ever describe the currently paint covered teenager.

She took up another bite, her gaze off on her own canvas. She knew what she wanted to do to finish it. There was no ru- Oh Lief got up. She blinked, pulling the pizza box more onto her lap so it didn't fall onto the couch. Pizza stains would never come out, and if the couch got any more stains Iris was sure Briana would kill her. She'd of been concerned, if he wasn't so obviously focused. The colors showed her that much.

It was her turn to watch someone else paint. In their own world, focused on nothing but the art. Was that what she looked like when she was painting before? The soft smile came, but Eliphas ended up showing the difference between them.

Thank you

She blinked, quickly. Another faint tinge of red took over her cheeks as her gaze lowered. No, they weren't the same. He was still aware of the people around him, even when so focused on his art. .. Maybe she could be like that, too.

"You can come back whenever you like. I can give you a key." No, the ramifications of what she was suggesting weren't even on her mind. His painting was here, and she would be hard pressed to make an artist move. "Physical therapy takes a couple hours, so I won't always be here to let you in."

 

[Lief]

Eliphas was something of a traditional artist. Structure, and form, and yada yada yada, though it wasn't easy it all came to him far simpler than the more untamed style the girl had presented. He envied her the ability to be loose with it, to let it flow so freely onto the canvas, still as impactful, still as meaningful, but without all of the crushing weight of technical rules. Maybe he had the wrong of it, maybe abstract was just as rife with rules; if it did, her earlier display had made it seem effortless.​

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He turned his head toward her as she made mention of a key. For a moment he couldn't keep the surprise out of his expression, that she would entrust him with such; in that moment he knew there was no way he could ever abuse such. Not that he would have, that was not in his nature, nor would it ever be he hoped, but that sense of protectiveness and a desire to prove himself worthy of her trust made itself known all the same.​

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"Well, then, let me give you my comm details," He tucked the handle of his brush into his lips, without really thinking about it, and shifted so that he could release the device from his back pocket. At first he tried to mumble through the numbers, but the brush was proving quite the inconvenience. After a moment he stepped toward her, careful not to get any paint which might be lingering on his skin on her or the sofa, and offered the commlink to her so that she could read accordingly. Hand moved to pluck the brush back. "That way we can plan for it a little. I don't want to walk in on you or your roommate without a heads up."​

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No, he'd been raised better than that.​

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Iris Arani ​

 

[Iris Arani]

Com details? Iris tilted her head as she watched him still. Then looked to her own canvas. She should paint again. She hopped up from the couch, going to her painting to add the last couple of layers she wanted to get on. Or would have. Lief offered his com to her. She tilted her head, but would put in her details.

"Oh. Yeah. Briana might not like it if you juat randomly came in." Right. Briana. Iris smiled and nodded once.

"Yeah. We can figure it out."

 

[Lief]

Oops. He'd interrupted her train of thought, whatever it might have been. Had he stopped her from returning to her painting? A ruddy blush overtook his cheeks; still, she didn't seem to mind. Entered her digits, then confirmed his suspicions about the need for communication where this sort of thing was concerned.​

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Taking back the commlink, he quickly threw a static message her way. That way she'd have his details too. It read, quite simply, <Eliphas>, though he'd intended for there to be more. Wanted to write something more. Did not, however, wish to overstep his bounds. So his name it was.​

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"Awesome, that's all sorted! Now, where were we?"​

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He turned back to the canvas, intent on painting until it got too late to justify remaining there any longer. Hopefully she'd go back to her work too, she had definitely looked like she wanted to before the whole commlink fiasco!​

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Iris Arani ​

 

[Iris Arani]

"Painting." Iris's comlink was.. Somewhere. Honestly she wasn't sure where she put it last. People who messaged her often were left unread for hours. Or days, depending on her mood and attention span. Now was one of those kinds of moments. She pretty quickly fell into the zone again. Whatever flow Lief thought he might have ruined was immediately picked back up. Blues now joined the oranges on her canvas. No rhyme or reason.

She only painted what she felt.

Short of him speaking up Iris would paint until she was done. New colors now stained her clothing and skin as a soft smile stayed on her lips. She was at peace, for the first time in a while.

 

[Lief]

And so they stood there in their considerable, comfortable silence.​

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Eliphas took little note of the passage of time, he did not cease in his pursuit of perfectly placed paint until Iris stepped back from her easel with the completed piece in plain view. He'd kept watch over her here and there, glanced back every once in a while to make sure she was still smiling, still painting, still living her life. Every time his heart skipped a beat with joy.​

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But when she stepped back, deciding she was done, the reality of it all came crashing down. Feth, when had it gotten so dark out? His own canvas was still rather messy, though there was the general shapings of a girl coming into fruition. He stretched out his limbs, felt a few joints pop, and then set down the paintbrush.​

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Stepping to her side, he glanced over the finished piece and beamed a smile.​

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"Yep," he mumbled, with a quiet 'mm-hmm', nodding his head for a few seconds as he regarded it. "Just as I said. Radiance. Look at you go, Sunshine, do you always knock out masterpieces so quickly?"​

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Had it been quickly? The sky outside begged to differ.​

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"Here, I'll help you clean around some before I have to leave for the night. I'll message you in the morning, alright? See if we can't figure out a suitable time. You think you might want to paint some more? Or do you want me to move the easels away from the holoscreen for you?"​

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Iris Arani ​

 

[Iris Arani]

Radiance. Lief was calling her Sunshine again, and she couldn't help but smile. Her gaze shifted to him before back to the painting. It was good to paint again. Especially now. Didn't matter that her hand was sore from it. "I can usually paint faster. Back home with my spray cans I can do a lot quickly. .. Was it quickly?" Now that she thought about it, didn't she end up out all day whenever she went on her paint craze? She shrugged.

Didn't matter.

"The easels can stay. I'm bored of holovision." She leaned over, starting to gather up the scattered paint supplies. Despite how covered in paint she was, the floor wasn't. Briana hated it when she made a mess of the apartment. It surprised her what things stuck. "I'll try to reply, but um, I don't promise that I will. I don't reaaaally know how to use a comlink that well."

 

[Lief]

True to his word, Eliphas assisted in the cleaning of the apartment; leftover pizza made its way into the fridge, paint was returned to containers where possible, and the floorspace cleared of anything they'd put there in the wake of their painterly expedition. It looked more or less brand new when they were done, not counting the work Iris had previously done to brighten up the space. The easels remained per her request, and the paint was still out and accessible, it just looked more organized, more meaningful. Hopefully it would satisfy her roommate.​

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And then the boy left, though not before securing a time to meet with her the following day, after PT.​

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If they left it to the chance of her picking up her comms, he was worried they'd never find the time again.​

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fin​