[PRP] Art to Art - COMPLETE

[shushida]

Time: A weekend
Where: An arts market
Who: LuLu and Luka
What: A much needed second meeting  

[shushida]

The town square was abuzz today. An arts market had come to town for the weekend. Locals and visitors alike had crowded into the area in order to enjoy the festivities. Face painting, caricatures, and homemade wares were a few of the things being offered. Most importantly all of the activities were free. Of course, a raevan born of creativity would not miss this opportunity. Josh had dropped her off for the afternoon while he was off on business errands and the rabbit had taken to the fair like a fish in water.

Already, LuLu's features were accented with a freshly painted mural of a rabbit. She donned a mask of white. Whiskers defined her high cheek bones and a pink dot stood out prominently on her nose. While it might have bothered others in the summer heat, the weight of the thick face paint was pleasant to the rabbit. She could practically feel the creativity seeping into her pores like a mini facial. This market may have been an artistic outlet for some but for LuLu it was like a spa getaway. It was exactly what she needed after her taxing endeavor as an ink monster.

For now, the raevan was resting on a bench. Elegantly twisting iron composed her seat and appeared like something from the roccocco era. She was shaded delicately by an old bent oak tree. It was just one more picturesque scene the town square had to offer. Therefore, the easels on either side of her were no surprise. Each wooden frame situated a canvas with a painter at the helm. Some worked slowly and savored their time while others pumped out art like a inspired faucet. No matter what speed they favored, it made no deference, LuLu was partaking of their creativity as though it was a full buffet. Each person's flavor was unique but light on her palate. Currently, she found the man drawing a rose particularly delicious.

The rabbit quirked her head towards him. She studied the page that was on display. In his vision, the flower's petals were abstract and tightly bunched. In fact, his interpretation looked much more vicious than the beautifully unfurling bud situated in front of him. The results of his labor were unimportant though.The intensity of his focus, the way sweat had begun to bead at his temple, is what would yield the best taste. The sigel leaned back again and let her eyes drift shut. She seemed at peace here....

and completely unaware of the surprise that would be in store for her today.  

[a crybaby]

It was the perfect day for an art festival. The sun was out and about, with just the perfect number of clouds in the sky to help ease the heat but not induce any fear of rain. Skin glowing softly with the light of the sun, Luka lazily floated amongst the crowd.

Stretching out his arms and wings, the Frei continued to meander through the various stalls and shops set up. He'd just passed by a face painting booth earlier. And while the offer had been tempting, Luka had declined. Even though there was no pain when he touched the scar on his face, it still caused for him to flinch when others hands drew near. Maybe it was the lingering memory of LuLu's claw digging into his skin, but it was something he was still coming to terms with.

As he neared a stall with various moleskin journals on display, he couldn't help but feel that maybe it would be a good gift for his guardian. Elai despite being a caring guardian was never particularly expressive about the feelings and worries in his own life. Rather, it seemed the acupuncturist seemed more interested in the worries of others. Running his fingers long the surface of the leather cover, Luka looked up at the vendor. "How much is this?" It would be good for Elai to have somewhere to dump his emotions into. Even if it upset the Frei somewhat that Elai went ahead and assumed on his own that Luka couldn't be bothered with his issues.

"It's 15 dollars. I'll give it to you for 10 if you tell me how you got that nasty scar on your face kid." The vendor replied, his jowls shaking violently with every word. There was something about his manner that gave Luka the impression that the man enjoyed hearing grim stories of others.

"I was attacked by an animal is all." He replied, suddenly feeling uncomfortable by the man's leering eyes.  

[shushida]

The day was peaceful and conversation was plentiful among the people around her. Even nature itself was content enough to come out and enjoy the market. A pigeon had joined LuLu on her bench, most likely tweeting furiously at her for some illusion of food she might have. LuLu could not be certain. After all, she spoke rabbit not avian.

The rabbit peeked her eyes open at the pudgy bird. LuLu's ears were keen which could give her an advantage in some situations. However, her gift sometimes became a disadvantage when trying to relax. Her feathered friend's advances were becoming a bit of an annoyance as it grew more bold, and loud, in its demands. The sigel tried to wave off the scavenger with an elegant hand but her motion was only mistaken as an offering of sustenance. The pigeon nearly plowed her over as it flapped its wings upward in a showy display. The girl chirped in surprise and bolted from her seat. She narrowed her eyes at the round ball with a beak. It had won the battle for now.

LuLu began her search for another seat to relax on. Her ears twitched and bobbed about in different directions. They honed on different noises, particularly places free of cooing pigeons. However, both appendages snapped to attention when she caught the ring of a familiar voice. The satyr's words rang clear to her like a thunderclap interrupting her perfect afternoon. The sigel's eyes began to dart around as she searched out the frei. She was not sure what she felt in that moment. Whether it was a desire to apologize or run. All she knew was that she NEEDED to find where Luka was. The girl trained her ears for any more clues on his location.  

[a crybaby]

"What kind of animal was it?" The man asked, drawing closer to Luka.

The Frei could catch the smell of alcohol from the man's breath. Pulling away from the vendor, Luka recomposed himself. "It was just an animal. Since it doesn't seem like you're too keen on selling that I'll be on my way." He floated away as quickly as possible away from the stall, but he could still hear the man yelling at him above the crowd.

"IT DON'T LOOK LIKE NO BEAR OR COUGAR SCAR SON. NOW TELL ME WHAT KIND OF ANIMAL IT WAS!"

Scowling, Luka wasn't paying too much attention to where he was escaping to and flew straight into LuLu's back.

"OOHF!" The Frei let out, as he bounced of the girl and slammed back into the ground hard.  

[shushida]

Now, due to a full torso, the girl had more density than Luka so she ricocheted much less spectacularly than the frei. Still, the other raevan had built velocity while fleeing the vendor and had enough of it to send LuLu forward a foot or two. She had her arms braced for impact but it would not protect her from what was to come. "Eek!" The rabbit cried out before she tumbled into an advertisement board. The wooden stand flew right while the poster it held rocketed to the left. The sigel was left eating dirt on the ground and was probably left the most damaged of the three.

LuLu lifted herself on woozy arms before she looked back to see who or what had bumped into her. Her eyes nearly doubled in size when she saw Luka. She froze in place and looked more like a deer in the headlights than a rabbit. Her face was smudged with white paint mixed with brown dirt. Her whiskers had been mussed up beyond hope to look more like blobs than lines. A smear of green from the grass stained her forehead and her lavender eyes, as large as plates, gawked at the satyr. The sigel had been so desperate to find him just a few seconds ago and now that he was right there LuLu’s mind had turned to useless goo. Her jaw fell slack as she stared.  

[a crybaby]

"Are you okay?" Luka asked, amber orbs taking in the other's appearance very carefully. Something about her reminded him of something, but he couldn't remember what. "Sorry, I was trying to get away from someone. I should've been paying attention to where I was going..." There was something about this stranger's eyes that made him feel as though they'd met before.

"By the way, sorry about your face paint. You might want to wash it off since it's so smeared." The Frei fumbled around before pulling out some napkins from his pocket and held them out for LuLu. "Have we met before?' He asked slowly, his eye scanning up and down the sigel's body.

It was impossible for the Satyr to tell that this girl he'd run into was the same girl who had mauled his face only weeks before. When he'd encountered LuLu in the forest, her body had been oozing with ink. It had covered every part of her body, and now, here she was in her full (and normal) glory.

"You remind me of something, but I don't remember what." He said slowly, his eyes trailing from the tips of her bunny ears back down to her ribbon. "I'm Luka by the way. I didn't expect to see another Raevan here. You must be older than me too." He said slowly as he reached to trace the defined lines of her hips. There was something seductive about them, and he couldn't help but reach out and touch her.

He knew this was what Elai would categorize as a bad touch, but he could careless for now. Soft, yet firm under his fingertip, he felt the strangest desire to simply grab her firmly by the hips; kiss them even.

Pulling his hand back, he gave her a sheepish smile. "Sorry. I've never seen girl hips before. They're different."  

[shushida]

LuLu's stare finally landed upon the scar on Luka's face. Her stomach fell out in that instant because she knew immediately who had caused that mar of reddened skin over his eye. The rabbit could practically taste the guilt in her mouth it was so strong. She had left such a gruesome mark on the frei. Every part of her wanted to reach out and make it better. She silently willed the scar to vanish, but it remained vibrant as ever.

Her jaw opened and closed as she grasped some sort of answer to Luka's question that was not her babbling like a dolt. Incapable of forming anything coherent the sigel nodded her head fervently, enough to cause the feathers in her hair to splay out in odd angles. "Ahh... mhm." She continued to nod at his words. No matter what response came to mind, it did not seem fitting or worthy of being spoken to Luka. Her first words to him should means something. Especially since their last meeting had ended on such bad terms.

LuLu was still quiet as she accepted the napkin from Luka. She dabbed it meekly at her face and peered into the folded cotton to see what had come off or some kind of inventory of the damage. Her brow furrowed. It would take a small army of dry napkins before her face was back to normal. LuLu bristled at his next question. Her face went back into the napkin nose first. Her voice was shaky as she answered, "Um! Yes." She continued to scrub at her skin with the napkin. Most of Luka's words became jumbled as the sigel became focused on her task.

LuLu jumped slightly when she felt Luka's fingers on her hips. She rolled her newly acquired bone structure. Her full hips moved smoothly as though built on an axis. The trinkets on her belt bumped into his hand and jingled together. She was still hidden behind the makeshift veil of tissue she replied, "It is ok." She said that; yet, everything felt gravely not ok. She knew when she moved the napkin away from her face Luka's own facade would be there. So would that glaring scar. Would it be bad if she lied? What if she could convince Luka their real first encounter had never happened. That right, what if their first meeting had just been them passing by each other on the sidewalk or at an event. That was much nicer than her mauling his face in cold blood. LuLu felt a hitch in her breath.

Her eyes were red when she finally showed her face again. The napkin in her hands felt gummy and wet. She patted at her puffy lids before her hand fell to her side, "Actually, it is not ok." LuLu was simple. She was not good at lying or playing mind games. What she was successful at was being herself, even if the outcome was not always the best.

The girl reached out a brushed a hand along Luka's brow, a ghost of a touch. Her moistened eyes locked on his, "I am so sorry. I wish you could just forget me. I want to take this back."  

[a crybaby]

When the other Raevan pulled away the napkin, Luka was slightly taken back. Was she... crying? Why was she crying? Was it because he had ruined her face paint? "Uh... don't cry. It was just facepaint. We can go to a booth and get it fixed." His hand reaching up to brush aside the last of the tears.

"I am so sorry. I wish you could just forget me. I want to take this back."

The Frei's hand dropped to his side in shock as her words echoed through his chest. It was her. She was the one who'd turned his face like this. She was the one who couldn't go out in daylight without being stared at. She was the one who had made people pity him just because of the scar. Anger flaring he raised his own hand up and quickly slapped away LuLu's hand away from his brow. Whatever kindness that been in his eyes had been replaced with a deep seething anger and resentment. "That would be so easy for you wouldn't it? If I just conveniently forgot you. Then you wouldn't have to deal with the consequences of your actions right?!" The Frei was shouting, and heads were turning to stare at the two Raevans. A commotion was rare, and people liked drama.

Struggling to control his breathing, Luka's simmering liquid gold orbs locked in with LuLu's own amethyst ones. "Sorry doesn't change a thing." The Satyr's words were knives cutting into the tension thick in the air. "I hate people like you." The Frei spit out. "Maybe you don't look nearly as hideous as before with all the ink, but you're still just as disgusting. You have some nerve coming up to me and trying to touch my face while saying you want to take it back. This isn't a movie LuLu. You did things. And, now you have to pay for your actions."

Hand shaking, Luka formed them into fists in an attempt to control his emotions more. He was pissed; he felt wronged. He wanted to grab her by the face and leave her the same mark. But, that wasn't the kind of person he was. "I really don't want to see you again." The Frei said slowly, turning his back against the rabbit. Suddenly, he just wanted to cry. He wanted to be alone and reconcile with these feelings that he'd been avoiding. The ones LuLu had brought back up by admitting her mistake.  

[shushida]

The strike to her hand was not physically painful, only a mere sting, but the knife like pain twisting in her chest was another thing entirely. Luka’s words cut through her like a honed blade and left her feeling raw. Only a select few had that sort of power over her. The satyr was certainly using that command to its fullest as enraged remarks spilled from him one after the other. It was like she was being stripped down in front of the crowd. The rabbit shivered softly, felt like melting into the ground to escape. Her eyes were wide and shocked, but she let Luka say what needed to be said. She had run away before and that had left a rift between them, along with the scar. She could not afford to run away again.

Luka’s hatred was met with an even tone, “That is not why I want you to forget. Not for me, but for you. So you never felt this pain.” The rabbit did not enjoy seeing the satyr like this. She much preferred him when his eyes glowed with gentle warmth. However, now, there was practically an inferno contained in his sockets. She felt like she had taken more away from him than physical appearance. The sigel felt as though she had removed some of his innocence with her attack. LuLu wondered if Luka had ever felt this much resentment before. “But I made it impossible to forget. I am not going to hide from consequence.” LuLu’s wings flared and her brow knotted as though challenged, “I am going to deal with it right now.” Just as quickly as she was roused, she settled back down. Her spread wings folded against her back neatly. She tried to get the lines of her face to settle into something less distressed and more pleasant. Her form took on an approachable look once more, much unlike her appearance as an ink monster.

LuLu was not surprised that ‘sorry’ would not cut it in this kind of situation. She had left the satyr wounded and that sort of thing was not healed with words alone. She had firsthand experience with that kind of grief. The use of hate though, that made the rabbit flinch. “I did not claim to be anything. I know I am still ugly inside. I hope to change that.” Her eyes locked with Luka’s, “What I want and what can happen are not the same. I cannot take it back. You cannot forget. Your pain is there. So make me pay then!”  

[a crybaby]

"Maybe one day I will forgive you, and forget about this. But, that day isn't today." The Satyr's tone was surprisingly calm given the explosive display of emotions he'd shown just moments before. "You did leave a scar on my face. But... that's not what makes me angry about you. For whatever reason, being around you, in front of you, makes me want to become someone I'm not. I want to hurt you, make you experience the same things I did that night. Only, I'm not that kind of person."

His eyes locked in with LuLu's. "Elai tells me it's natural to be angry at you. That it's natural to be stressed under a situation where there's a dramatic change in my life and resent the factor that caused it. But I was coping, slowly moving forward and coming to terms with my emotions. But, seeing you there in front of me makes me want to forget the progress I've made so far. I'm not a violent and hateful thing. Light... warms up and brightens what its rays touch, it's not like the darkness that makes everything frightening."

Luka sighed and combed his bangs back with his fingers, moving the hair out of his eyes. "I'm sorry LuLu, but I can't forgive you right now. I'm moving at my own speed on the path to recovery, and your words will not speed up or slow down that process." The Satyr gave LuLu a sad smile, tears gathering. Talking to her, it was like unleashing a flood gate of emotions. The whole time he'd been processing things in small pieces so he could contain himself during his healing but... there was no turning back now. Wiping away the tears with the back of his hand, Luka struggled to find the right words.

"Maybe one day I'll be able to look at you without any resentment. But, that day isn't today."

The day had only just begun but the Frei already wanted to be back home in his bed. Away from the fair, the people, away from LuLu.  

[shushida]

LuLu could accept what Luka said. In fact, his words had a familiar ring which made her ears twitch. It was almost as though the tables had turned on the two of them. Luka was now wrapped in a battle she knew all too well. Good and bad. Light and dark. It all felt like déjà vu to the sigel. Depite his harshness, the satyr had provided clarity to LuLu during her confusion. She could only try to give him the same.

LuLu nodded in agreement, “There is darkness in all of us. I let mine out of control and I regret it.” She rang her hands together nervously. The tension between them had settled somewhat. Still, the environment was far from hospitable.

Her expression grew solemn as their eyes locked. “You have a lot of control. More than myself.” The rabbit’s tone was gentle, so unlike the other side Luka had first seen, “I am fortunate I met you. Every part of you. You helped me figure myself out a lot and learn, Luka.” It was then that the sigel noticed the dewiness growing in his goldenrod eyes. Lulu was at a loss for action though. She wanted to comfort those tears away. Yet, how could she when it was her that caused of them?

Throwing caution to the wind, the sigel drew in closer. One arm wrapped around Luka’s shoulder and squeezed it consolingly. The other held out a crumpled tissue to the satyr. “I understand. I do not expect forgiveness now or ever.” She smiled with her eyes, not having the will to upturn her lips. “But, I will be here if you ever need me.”  

[a crybaby]

"You give me too much credit." The Frei said softly. And although he felt like pushing the Sigel away, he stayed still for a moment to soak up the comfort she was providing him with. Only seconds had passed and yet to Luka they had felt like minutes. Pulling away from the Sigel, Luka looked LuLu in the eyes.

"One day, I'll find you."

But, that day wasn't today. And, he had the feeling it wouldn't be for a while. Even though their meeting had started off badly, Luka was already feeling lighter. The heavy feeling in his chest was gone. Something about seeing LuLu had helped him, even if it had also hurt him. It seemed to have helped him ultimately.

"... Be safe."

They were strange words to say, but he had the feeling that they would do LuLu some good. He gave the Sigel a nod of the head before turning to merge with the crowd. It was time for him to leave. The day had just begun, but he was already exhausted. He needed peace and quiet to sort out his thoughts again.  

[shushida]

The hold might have looked sweet to bystanders at the market. However, as it drew on, the awkwardness of the whole situation was becoming more and more apparent. LuLu released Luka when she felt like it had been enough, when it no longer looked as though the frei might burst at any second.

Her eyes locked with the satyr's once more before she wished him off. "You too Luka." She watched him disappear into the crowd.