Drawn Together [Emily]

[Lily]

As an artist, Lily always had an interest in how people looked at the world around them. For example, a child with a sketch pad sitting outside drawing drew no attention at all aside from the occasional adult who felt like getting their baby-talk on. A child with an easel, two chairs and a sign that said 'PORTRAITS 50 RUPEES' drew considerably more attention, stares and more than one oh-that's-adorable, and when they actually approached her, more than one you-can't-be-serious.

Still, they came. Her work was good enough, even if they were just rough sketches. It was amazing how happy some people would be for a picture Lily would rather have burned and tried to forget about entirely. Still she smiled and tried her best to look adorable. It was amazing how many people pulled just a little more than fifty rupees out of their pockets when she smiled.

It was an abnormally hot day, though. One more and then lunch, she decided. Just one more.

[emily]

One more, huh?

Emily wasn't exactly the kind of person to have her portrait painted. Not voluntarily, anyway. She was somewhat bashful when the time came and wasn't too fond of pictures of herself. Interesting how that could be considering her love of pretty things and clothing. You'd think she'd love to dress up in front of a mirror or something, but truth be told on particularly off days she barely even looked in a mirror, except for practical purposes like doing her hair and stuff. The important bits every girl should monitor from time to time, even if they don't care too much about their own appearance.

It was just healthy, see?

Still as Emily walked along she noticed the sign. Or, rather, she walked into the sign. And the easel, and one of the chairs. How? Well the klutz inside of her wasn't paying enough attention and as she walked she tripped in the sign. Instinct kicked in and she barreled forward in an attempt to save her balance, struck the easel and put her head through the canvas that stood there waiting, and finally lost all balance as she tripped in the chair and somersaulted to the ground.

Hey, the clouds were pretty. As she tried to recall what hit her, lying there as spirals should be swirling in her eyes, she stared up at the clouds. Once she realized she wasn't supposed to be doing that she blinked and sat up, the canvas still wrapped around her neck, and looked over a Lily, who would no doubt be dumbstruck by the sudden hurricane that was Emily. "Sorry about that!" Emily declared with as innocent a tone as could be managed.

[Lily]

As Lily got hotter and hungrier it was starting to look like today's haul might turn out to be an odd five. Not bad, all things considered, but as one of her friends was so fond of saying: The rent is too damn high!

I wonder if they've got chicke-OHMYGOD

For a moment there Lily was about to flip the frack out. Then she thought better of it and just liberated the canvas from the clumsy girl's head. Next she picked the easel back up. Well, most of it. Lily's face blanched as she examined the damage. It's alright, she told herself. I'll just get it fixed. Not a problem. None whatsoever. I have more. Don't freak out.

The chair was still in one piece, surprisingly. Figures that a cheap folding stool would hold out better than a five hundred-rupee easel. "It's alright," she told the girl who had just fallen into - and on - her life. "Care to have your portrait drawn, miss?" She asked as sweetly as she could manage as she extracted a sketch pad from her bag. Part of her wanted to latch on to the girl's pouch and suck it dry like a Mimic for the damage. A portrait would have to do.

[emily]

Emily blinked calmly. Well the girl was taking it better than most people Emily tended to stumble upon. Though it seemed like there was anger bubbling up in there somewhere. Emily's hand reached down instinctively to the Fairy Bell at her side. She didn't like people getting angry with her, so the bell was an easy out when the time came. It just took all attention off of her. But anyway, that was all irrelevant. The girl whose work Emily just totally ruined was calm, and even posed a question.

Emily looked down at the canvas still wrapped around her neck. "It looks like I've already got my face on canvas," she said and giggled somewhat bashfully. Lame joke is lame. She reached up and pulled the thing off, then shook her head in hopes of untangling her plethora of hair from itself. Problem is with so much hair it's always tangled with itself. She fluffed it anyway and carefully climbed to her feet before brushing off her shirt and her skirt. "Are you an artist?"

Duh.

"Can I see some of your drawings?" Emily asked, suddenly bubbly once more. There were few things that could properly dampen her mood. "I love artists! Well, I envy them. I tried drawing before but it's sooooo hard! You must be really good if you can sell drawings!" the fairy exclaimed with glee, and nearly tripped over the stool once more in her own excitement. This time she caught herself and, instead of waiting for anything else bad to happen, sat down and folded her hands on her lap before more stuff could break.

[Lily]

Oh dear. She had that look in her eye. The OH MY GOSH YOU ARE SUCH A GREAT DRAWER KAWAII DESUDESUDESU~~~ look. And then she would have to patiently explain the difference between an artist and a piece of furniture. Still, she couldn't help but giggle at the girl's joke. It was so gloriously lame.

"Ah, sure, I guess," she acquiesced and flipped back through her sketches. "These are some of the ones I've done today." The page was a chaotic mismatch of thumbnails, larger drawings and studies. There was a left eye she had obviously taken pains to get as right as possible, fleeting thumbnail sketches of interesting faces she'd seen in the plaza and a plethora of other things. She didn't hand the pad over to the girl, only displaying the page to her, and even that was enough to make Lily uncomfortable. It was like she'd just showed off a pile of her dirty laundry. "Ehe, I keep the bigger, better pieces in my studio or just sell them off," she said apologetically.

Eventually she turned it back towards herself, flipping once more to a blank page. Blank pages were at once soothing and frustrating. It meant she didn't have to think about any of the thousand other flawed pieces she'd made, and yet it cried out to be filled. "I'm Lily," she said, offering her hand. "Are you new in town? I haven't seen you around before."

[emily]

Emily stared starstruck at the drawings. Where Lily saw imperfections Emily just saw wonderful drawings, even the incomplete ones. Even the thumbnails were unfairly good compared to what Emily could do with a pencil and a piece of paper. The most Emily ever managed to accomplish was a stick figure who looked at least somewhat proportionally correct. It just seemed unfair that Lily's pictures looked so good and Emily's only ever turned out to look like sausages held together with paper clips.

"I would love to see them!" Emily said in response to Lily's abstract apology. The thought of better pieces meant to Emily that Lily captured the essence of the Goddesses on paper. Of course Emily was the type to blow this sort of thing way out of proportion and put Lily on a pedestal, which she was doing right then and there. "I mean, unless you charge admission or something. I don't have that much money, I'm afraid." That innocent bashfulness returned once more to Emily's voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm Emily! Nice to meet you, Lily!" Emily offered Lily a little curtsey as she returned from her spot looking over Lily's shoulder to the stool. "I'm sorry about your stuff. I can be really clumsy sometimes. Is there any way I can make it up to you?"

[Lily]

Oh dear, she loved the pictures. She loved them. This really wasn't doing anything healthy to Lily's ego. She giggled. There was something off about this girl. She didn't comment on her apparent age, she was actually interested in seeing her work, and liked it. "I think I can make an exception just this once," she joked.

Hrm, what could make up for this latest incident? Lily could just ask her sponsor for the money to buy a new, better easel, but being owed a favor was not something to be turned down. She stood up, placed her pad, papers and other supplies into her messenger bag, slung it over her shoulder and then picked up a chair and folded it so that it was easy to carry. "Well, to start with you can have lunch with me. After that you can help me carry all this back to my studio. Then we'll see. C'mon."

Chair in hand, expecting Emily to pick up the other chair and the ruined easel, Lily headed off into a nearby inn. It being so close was no coincidence - The Laughing Man was Lily's favorite inn. The food was good, the people weren't bad and they knew enough not to deny her anything based on her apparent age. What more could she ask for? She led Emily to an empty table and leaned the still-folded chair up against it as she sat down. Her bag was deposited on the floor. Carefully.

A serving girl was there shortly to take their orders. "Pork," Lily told her. "The way I like it. Wine to drink." She looked at Emily. "Order anything you like. It's on me."

[emily]

Lunch? Okay, definitely getting a different reaction out of this girl than normal. Instead of demanding to have the easel replaced instead she's insisting the two go for lunch? No doubt it would be Emily's treat, considering the damage she had done to the stuff. But how could she afford lunch? Oh no! Emily blinked a few times as the girl made her orders, picked up the chair and promptly trotted off. There was nothing to do, really besides follow her. So with too much ease Emily hefted up the chair and broken easel and followed the girl into the inn.

She made it to the door before her clumsiness and the awkward objects she was carrying became cumbersome. As she tried to go through the door the two pieces of furniture caught on either side and Emily was nearly taken off her own feet as her momentum was halted. With some clatter and strategic sideways movements Emily managed to get the load through the door and was faced with the challenge then of getting it across the inn to where Lily had decided to take a table. This would be sheer torture.

So Emily set the stuff against the wall by the door.

She could still see it from the table, and the easel was broken anyway. Lily would understand considering the circumstances that led to this lunch. Emily made her way, carefully, through the inn and to the table where Lily was just finishing up her order. Wait, did she say it was on her? Emily blinked and stared for a moment at the Kokiri, then looked up at the serving girl. "Uh... water?"