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Post by Darien Kachine on Mar 20, 2007 15:03:52 GMT -5
The fete the night before had left me with a rare morning free. Placing a little sign in my window that I would be back after lunch should anyone decide to wander by, I gathered up my sketchbook and charcoals before heading out.
The day was amazingly mild, as if nature itself was taking pity on those who would be stumbling home from a foreign bed. No matter the day though, the market square would be busy and I made my way there.
I bought a skin of water from a vendor and found a sunlight bathed bench to settle on. Opening the sketchbook, I flipped to an empty page. I glanced around as I withdrew a charcoal from the little box. There was a flower woman off to the side, sitting on a stool as she tied ribbons around bunches of flowers, trying to spruce up the winter flora. I had sketched her before, she had a wonderfully wrinkled face, but that didn't make her any less interesting this time.
Charcoal in hand, I stole glances at her as I began to draw.
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Post by Annette nó Fronsac on Mar 20, 2007 17:40:35 GMT -5
Having left the fete not so late, I got a good night's sleep, and was up around mid-morning. Eglantine was quiet, so after a quick breakfast, I decided to walk the streets for some exercise.
Hardly anyone was about. Even the animals seemed to be sleeping late. As I approached the square, the streets became more busy with vendors selling things to people on their way home. The only person not moving was a sketch artist, charcoal in hand, busily drawing a flower girl on a stool. Coming closer, I observed his strokes. He was obviously very talented, and his face looked so familiar! I wondered who he was.
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Post by Darien Kachine on Mar 20, 2007 17:52:07 GMT -5
There was a shift in the light around me, not so much a shadow as a bending of the rays. Glancing up from the nearly finished sketch, I was greeted with the sight of a lovely adept… well isn't that a redundant thought? All adepts are lovely… actually, all people are lovely, each in their own way.
Without even thinking about it, my hand slipped to a blank spot on the page and I began to sketch the new woman.
"Eglantine?" I asked, eyes flicking back to the paper.
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Post by Annette nó Fronsac on Mar 20, 2007 17:59:12 GMT -5
"Yes," I said. I was a bit surprised, but I didn't let it show. It was then that I remembered who he was. "I remember you, you're Lucas no Eglantine's child, no?" I smiled happily. He was 11 years my junior, but even as a child he had had great talent.
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Post by Darien Kachine on Mar 20, 2007 18:10:26 GMT -5
"Yes," I answered. I turned slightly so I could see her more clearly as I continued to sketch the lines that made up her shape. "Darien. Darien Kachine now."
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Post by Annette nó Fronsac on Mar 20, 2007 18:13:07 GMT -5
"Kachine...I recall you became a marquist," I said, still smiling. "You've done well, I hear."
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Post by Darien Kachine on Mar 21, 2007 1:11:08 GMT -5
"Yes again, to both the profession and the success," I said. With a quick sweep of the side of my finger, I blended the lines to create the shadow of her hair against her neck.
"Did I know you at Eglantine?" I asked, trying to recall if I had met her before.
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Post by Annette nó Fronsac on Mar 21, 2007 22:03:26 GMT -5
"Only from afar," I said. "I am some 11 years older than you, so you probably had a lesson with me at one time or another." I frowned a little. "Do you not remember your time at Eglantine well?"
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Post by Darien Kachine on Mar 21, 2007 22:07:43 GMT -5
Part of me thought it odd that she still recalled just how much younger than her I was. "Some things I recall perfectly, others I don't care to recall at all," I told her simply.
Flipping the page around, I showed her the sketch. Even standing still, I had given her the illusion of graceful movement. "You tried to teach me to dance," I said, remembering her.
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Post by Annette nó Fronsac on Mar 21, 2007 22:11:02 GMT -5
"I did," I said, smiling. "And all you wanted to do was draw. Still, I hope you learned at least something."
I peered at the sketch. "Elua!" I cried. "It looks just like me!"
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Post by Darien Kachine on Mar 21, 2007 22:14:30 GMT -5
"That's the point," I said, smiling. "And I still can't dance."
I looked back at the page, then to her again. "Would you like it, the page comes free."
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Post by Annette nó Fronsac on Mar 21, 2007 22:18:57 GMT -5
"Are you sure?" I asked. "If you like enough to want it, please keep it." The page might have been free, but my marque was in need of a touch-up and someday soon he would have a few of my pretty pennies.
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Post by Darien Kachine on Mar 21, 2007 22:22:58 GMT -5
I loosened the binding on the sketchbook, pulled the page free and handed it to her. "You can cut away the flower lady, and still have a good sized sketch," I said. "Consider it an apology for ignoring you when I was younger."
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Post by Annette nó Fronsac on Mar 21, 2007 22:26:06 GMT -5
I took the page, rolling it up so it was easy to carry. "Thank you," I said. "It's beautiful, flower girl and all."
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Post by Darien Kachine on Mar 21, 2007 22:27:48 GMT -5
"Thank you," I said, absently rolling the charcoal around my fingers. "Did you come looking for me? Did you need work on your marque?"
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Post by Annette nó Fronsac on Mar 21, 2007 22:35:22 GMT -5
"I didn't come looking," I said, "but my marque does need touching up. Are you busy now? I don't want to take you from your art."
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Post by Darien Kachine on Mar 21, 2007 22:38:58 GMT -5
"I am taking the morning off, but I will be back in the shop after lunch," I told her. "If you prefer mornings, I am free tomorrow morning."
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Post by Annette nó Fronsac on Mar 21, 2007 22:42:32 GMT -5
"Then perhaps I will come by tomorrow morning," I said. "As it is, I haven't enough coin on me to pay you."
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Post by Darien Kachine on Mar 21, 2007 22:46:13 GMT -5
"How long is it since you've had it touched up?" I asked. A little girl, hardly more than two, caught my eye and I began putting her down on the fresh page in front of me.
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Post by Annette nó Fronsac on Mar 22, 2007 19:28:34 GMT -5
"A year, perhaps more," I said. "I don't see many patrons these days, so I haven't had a reason to get it touched up."
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Post by Darien Kachine on Mar 22, 2007 21:04:35 GMT -5
"It shouldn't take all that long, we can do it in the morning if you like," I said, glancing up at her and smiling.
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Post by Annette nó Fronsac on Mar 23, 2007 14:19:51 GMT -5
I smiled back. "That would be good," I said.
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Post by Darien Kachine on Mar 23, 2007 15:55:13 GMT -5
"Then tomorrow it is," I told her, finishing the sketch of the little girl.
"Are you still at Eglantine?" I asked her. I wasn't much of one for small talk, but I could be polite and try.
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Post by Annette nó Fronsac on Mar 23, 2007 20:37:33 GMT -5
"Yes," I said, "I am. I teach more than I take patrons, though, but I am content with my lot."
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Post by Darien Kachine on Mar 24, 2007 1:52:42 GMT -5
"As long as you are happy, eh," I said, smiling up at her again. I shifted slightly so that I was facing her fully. "If we're going to keep talking I'm going to end up asking you to sit so I can sketch you in a different pose, just to warn you."
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Post by Annette nó Fronsac on Mar 24, 2007 12:56:50 GMT -5
"I'd be glad to pose for you," I said. I looked around for a place to sit. There was a bench at a right angle to the one Darien was sitting on, where the street curved. "Shall I sit there?"
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Post by Darien Kachine on Mar 24, 2007 13:14:25 GMT -5
"That would be perfect," I replied, nodding slightly. I had yet to find an adept of any House but Alyssum who didn't like to sit for me, in fact hardly any d'Angeline would pass up the chance. We were a vain society after all.
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Post by Annette nó Fronsac on Mar 24, 2007 13:18:24 GMT -5
Summoning up years of grace and training, I settled myself on the bench. My back was straight, my arms were languid but artful, and I crossed my ankles to the side. My face I kept serene until he directed me to do something with it.
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Post by Darien Kachine on Mar 24, 2007 16:26:15 GMT -5
"You can relax," I told her. "I'll let you know when I am ready." I flipped to a new page and made a show of searching for the right charcoal. In truth, I wanted her in a less rigid pose. "Did you go to any of the fetes last night?" I asked.
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Post by Annette nó Fronsac on Mar 25, 2007 13:33:20 GMT -5
My posture was what it was, years of dancing had taught me to always keep it straight, but my legs I crossed more comfortably and I let my arms rest in my lap. It probably looked posed, but in truth my muscles were relaxed and I was comfortable. "I went to the Palace," I said. "Did you go anywhere?"
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