Painting [Open]

Subject: Painting [Open] Mon Apr 30, 2012 10:53 am

• Justine Jay Locke •
Daughter of Phobos

The brush danced across the surface of the canvas, splattering a red trail along its wake. Justine's hand moved in graceful strokes as she lost herself in her favorite hobby--painting. She worked in silence, like always, dipping her brush on the palette and letting a streak of vermilion trail across the canvas. It had always been like this. When Justine wasn't training, she focused on improving her talent. She might not have been a child of Apollo, but with her skill, she could pass as one. Heck, some people even mistook her for one.

Justine paused for a few seconds to look at her work. It was of a sunset scenery, the whitish-yellowish sun already half-hidden from the horizon. The skies and the seas were tinged with red and orange instead of being the usual blue. It was nearly perfect, but she just had to spot the imperfections. She frowned slightly, noticing a few small red dots that looked out of place near the edges of the canvas. As she tried to correct her mistake, her hand shook--out of nervousness maybe--and the brush moved in a zigzag stroke. The small red dots became a jagged line that just seemed to pop out of the painting, catching the attention of anyone who would look. Justine fought the urge to scowl. She had made it look worse.

In a swift downward motion, Justine ripped the unfinished painting off. She crumpled the fabric, letting her frustration flow to the cloth now scrunched up in her hands. She heaved a heavy sigh before tossing the crumpled fabric to the trash bin. With a heavy heart, Justine set the palette down on the table and raked her hand through her hair. All her efforts were wiped out by a single careless move. It would be an understatement to say that she was frustrated. Justine clenched her teeth at the thought.

Subject: Re: Painting [Open] Mon Apr 30, 2012 11:37 am

Hephaestus||Raphael Cornell||Fifteen

In walked a young lad with shaggy hair and a perked up look in his face. In his mind, he was all alone here as usual at this hour and he was going to have fun with some tinkering of his tools. Then Raph noticed the girl, then the crumbled fabric, and then sensed the tension in the room. He wasn’t too good at guessing, but he had a hunch something unwanted happened. He cautioned his footing now, walking towards her the young girl.

He pointed at her painting with a puzzled look on his face, shifting between the crumbled mess and the young lass. ”Um…Did you decide that paper was going to dominate that world?” He asked. He’d crumble up sheets of blueprints before, but he never really did something with this amount of anger. At least, that’s what he felt. He walked over to the girl’s failed project and unraveled it, taking a good look at her scenic imagery. ”That’s not that bad, actually…” He muttered, then noticing the slight mess up at the edge. ”Oh…you see, that’s why I don’t paint.” He commented jokingly. ”One false move and you have to redo the whole thing.” He muttered, looking at her with a smile.

Subject: Re: Painting [Open] Mon Apr 30, 2012 11:55 am

Justine started at the sound of a boy's voice. She must've been too preoccupied to notice that she was no longer alone. She turned to the source of the voice and saw that the boy had just looked at her failure of a painting. Justine set her lips in a tight line as he spoke, frustration still rolling out of her in waves. When he smiled, she only nodded her head in acknowledgment.

The demigod studied the shaggy-haired boy. He looked happy, she noted. As to why he seemed like that, Justine had yet to find out. She had seen him around, knew that he was one of the Hephaestus kids. She doubted if she even heard him speak before. Well, it isn't really much of her business, she told herself as she went back to her tools.

Justine's eyes swept over her messy palette. The colors were all mixed up together now, and the mess just wasn't helping her mood. She rubbed her hands together--also splattered with paint, she realized--as she looked back at the boy. "True. That's why every move has to be perfect," she said in a rather emotionless tone. "Every stroke has to count. And mistakes... aren't an option." She was speaking more to herself now, her eyes trained on the empty canvas now set up right in front of her. "All the more reason to practice."

Subject: Re: Painting [Open] Mon Apr 30, 2012 12:20 pm

Hephaestus||Raphael Cornell||Fifteen

Raphael nodded at the young girl, feeling a tad sympathetic for her with her crave for perfection. But, he understood how she felt, looking down at his watch. With a heavy sigh he pulled out a chair and got to work on what he came to do, pulling out a small contraption from his pocket, along with a Swiss Army Knife.

The device seemed to be a collection of four L-like blades, clipped together by a swivel at their ends. Raph flipped out a small drill from his knife, clearly it was Hephaestus made. He began to dig in ridges and slots for the blades, every so often flicking it to force them to move. Some spun all around the joint, other only stopped at a right angle. He sighed softly as his tool, but kept working.

”I know how you feel.” He muttered, not even bothering to look back at her. ”Always having to be perfect…Living up to the expectations of others…Trying to do compete in a field you’re not meant to do…” He muttered, a slight smirk on his lips. He could tell she wasn’t an Apollo child. She didn’t seem to scream happy sun light at him. Not to mention he never really saw her around the Apollo kids that often and certainly never saw her by their cabin. He concluded that they were in the same boat in a way. His combat skills, her art.

Subject: Re: Painting [Open] Mon Apr 30, 2012 12:41 pm

Justine stilled, forgetting that she was supposed to be mixing the colors together to create the shade of orange she wanted. He didn't really hit the nail on the head with his words, but he was close. Justine stared at the red-orange paint blot on her palette as if mesmerized, but she was really in deep thought. "I'm not doing this because others expect me to," she said truthfully as she lightly traced the brush on the palette before starting to paint once again.

Justine stole a look behind her and saw that the boy worked with his blades. He didn't seem to think that she was an Apollo child, as evidenced by his words. In fact, what the boy said seemed to trigger some sort of distant memory within her mind. It was more of a little irritation really, how the children of Apollo were all so good at art without trying. It was unfair to them, who weren't born with the godly powers of being awesome at art, but Justine had already long accepted that fact. She just had to live with it.

"It's not as if I'm competing," Justine admitted. "I'm just trying to do what I want." She stole another glance at the boy. She was a little bit curious about him saying that they were similar in a way. She pondered on the possibilities on why he would arrive at the conclusion, but that was it. Justine's thoughts remained unspoken. She wasn't one to pry for answers. Besides, it seemed like the boy was going to talk about that anyway. Justine continued her painting, secretly waiting for him to speak.

Subject: Re: Painting [Open] Tue May 01, 2012 10:59 am

Hephaestus||Raphael Cornell||Fifteen

A smile snuck its way on to Raph’s lips. He paused his tinkering for a moment, but he didn’t turn to the artist yet. ”It’s good to do what you want…” He muttered, setting the device down and sliding his way from the table. ”Someone does expect this of you.” He commented, finally looking towards her now, his hands resting in the pockets of his cargo shorts. ”You expect it of yourself. You’re trying to please yourself…”

He began pacing a bit, trying to think of how to compare the two of them. Or, possibly just thinking of some other gadget he could use. His mind always thought of several things. He always saw situations in blue prints and schematics. ”I on the other hand am trying to do something a bit different…” He spoke at last, turning to face her again. ”You see, I’m a Hephaestus son. We’re not generally made for combat.” He started, walking towards the table to retrieve his bladed contraption. ”Ares kids are just born fighters. Apollo kids have accuracy. The big three have their special abilities…”

He began to walk towards her this time, flicking his gadget about, two blades locking in and the other two freely swinging. ”And we’re just blacksmiths…” He commented, finally standing next to her. ”I’m no blacksmith.” He said to her with a soft smile. He held his work up to her. It was rather plain and as he held it, the blades lined up perfectly, making a dagger-like weapon. When he flicked it again, one could see his direction. The blades would form a star, most likely to be thrown. ”I’m trying to do what I love…just as you.” He muttered, folding the blades back up and tucking them in loop on his belt.

Subject: Re: Painting [Open] Tue May 01, 2012 11:58 pm

Justine found her eyes following the gadget-weapon as the boy held it up in front of her face. When he placed it back on his belt, she shifted her gaze to him, her brush still as if frozen to the canvas. She let her hand fall back with a sigh. The forger had a valid point, she had to admit. She can now see how they were, in a way, alike. "You're a blacksmith and a fighter rolled into one," she stated calmly, giving him her full attention now. "Like me, for instance. I am also a fighter, but at the same time, an artist."

She subconsciously started to mix the colors on the palette. "I believe that people are not limited to having just one thing they're good at. Ares kids... Yes, they are born fighters, but I'm sure that they like doing something else too. Something that they're not inherently born with. Maybe writing. Or singing."

Sighing, Justine started to paint once again. She couldn't recall a time when she talked this much in a conversation--one that had barely started too. Usually she just shut up as others spoke their thoughts. Maybe it was how she found the boy's words interesting, or maybe it was just because the last time she talked to someone was when a girl her age spilled out her boy troubles. Not something she wanted to listen to.

"I guess that's just how life goes," Justine said quietly as she gracefully guided her brush across the canvas, leaving a streak of orange in its trail.

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