(D6 EA) Paint Party (Crane Quarters)

[Shiba Jiro]

Jiro offers a bow in return. "Isawa Natsuko-san. I am glad to see you once more. The fortunes have favored me with wonderful companions for the afternoon, including the new arrival."

He smiles gently at her, but they had both said they met her so introductions were unnecessary.

[Kakita Ahiru]

"Good afternoon, Isawa-san. We finally have a moment to meet somewhere that isn't the shrine," Ahiru greeted warmly, giving a bow to the priestess. "Your dear betrothed has been keeping us company as we paint."

[Isawa Natsuko]

She nods, glancing to Jiro. "He is good company," she says simply, her hands moving to clasp before her, sleeves falling to cover them. "And this is certainly more lively than the shrine was, though it is much improved. The spirits here do not seem to lack for attention."

Glancing around the space, she adds, "have many come to paint?"

[Funegao no Hirame]

"Good to see you again, Isawa-san." Hirame said, a bit more reserved in tone than he usually was.

He frowned thoughtfully at his own painting, then added "I'm curious to see what you'll be painting today."

[Shiba Jiro]

"As am I," he says with a nod, smiling gently.

"Shall we?" he says, indicating some nearby supplies so that they can get started.

[Isawa Natsuko]

"As am I," he says with a nod, smiling gently.

"Shall we?" he says, indicating some nearby supplies so that they can get started.

Natsuko nods at the request, though she asks, before beginning, "Have you both done paintings already?" bright eyes fixing Mantis and Crane a moment each as the question is asked.

As the exercise is meant to honor the Fortune, Natsuko curls a bit of incense within a scrap of paper, with a quickly murmured prayer to Kisshoten and a promise to burn it at the temple in offering later. Looking over the assortment of brushes, she chooses a single brush and array of watercolors then she examines the paper, leaving the offering scrap beside the collection of tools.

"Is there a traditional place to start?"

[Shiba Jiro]

"Traditionally we start with the head or heart," he says, smiling. "Determining what it is you wish to create. From there, the technical aspects vary a lot. I like to start on background though."

[Funegao no Hirame]

"The theme is something to do with children." Hirame said, smiling. "I chose to paint a memory from when I was a kid. Maybe five or six years old?" He shrugged, still smiling. "To be honest, I don't remember all the details, but it feels like that sorta helps? I can just fill in with what feels right."

He glanced around for confirmation from those who he deemed better artists. That is, everyone else. Well, he didn't look at Natsuko for more than a moment.

[Kakita Ahiru]

"I'd say that doing what comes naturally is fine. For me it depends, but for this I liked to shape out the center of the image first. The art of creation is different for everyone," she said, smiling kindly to Natsuko.

[Isawa Natsuko]

Natsuko nods at the advice, and dips her brush into the pigment, letting instinct guide wide washes of sunset colors as a background, then the dark of mountains in sweeping arcs.

Then at the center, with the same, mid-sized brush, she absently dabs child-shaped forms. The brush dips into ink, to paper, to washwater, to ink without thought in between. The children’s orange kimono flowing into the mist of the inks below the mountains.T

he brush’s tip touches to the mountains, feathering them with pines. “happy old trees,” Natsuko murmurs.

The brushtip touches rough blue eyes; short, unruly black hair; laughing lips on one girlchild. The other children are facing away, so there is only the slight touch of combs in their hair to distinguish the pair.

Natsuko pauses a moment, then dips the brush into thicker ink and swipes in three quick, tiny strokes, a strange brush-headed doll in the girlchild’s hand.

Blinking as she settles back on her heels a bit, swaying slightly before catching herself, Natsuko looks at the painting as if seeing it for the first time. Then she nods. “I think this is worth offering to Kisshoten-no-kami.”

*****************
D6: Painting party: Aesthetics/Void, using Void point | TN: 1 | Success: 3 / Opportunity: 2 / Strife: 2 / Magnitude: 0


3 success, 2 opp, 2 strife, 1 fatigue

opportunity to be creepy. ^^

[Shiba Jiro]

Jiro nods and settles in with his paint. He begins working, occasionally pausing to watch others, but he is quiet while he works. Little by little he finds his smile fading as he lets his instincts guide his brush. He watches the continually growing image he is creating with a bit of surprise.

His hands stop and Jiro looks at it, shocked to see a child standing and facing the viewer. Three things stood out as very strange: first, this child's eyes follow the painting's observer and holds it's arms out to be picked up, almost like it actually wants to be picked up; second, this child looks like it is absolutely the child of Natsuko and Jiro with blue eyes, curly hair, clearly aligned with Natsuko but also ears, nose and lips that look just like Jiro's; third, it is definitely the same child that Natsuko painted except with more precision, despite neither observing the others process having gotten caught up in their own art.

D6 EA, Painting | TN: 1 | Success: 3 / Opportunity: 2 / Strife: 1

3 successes, 2 void opps for universe/spiritual weirdness

[Funegao no Hirame]

Satisfied enough with his work, Hirame did his best to dab off the blue and red paint on his hands as he came over to see the work that the other two had done. "Wow, that's really great! Cute kid..." he frowned as he looked at Jiro's painting, "-and also cute kid." Frowning he looked back and forth between the two. "Did you guys plan that? That's uncanny!" His frown deepened. "Really uncanny..."

And then he focused on what Natsuko's doll was holding.

"Ah... Natsuko-san." He said, a hint of strain in his otherwise casual tone. "What's that she's holding?" He shot a quick grimace at Ahiru, jerking his head significantly towards the painting.

[Isawa Natsuko]

She looks at JIro's painting for a moment, stepping closer, brow creased in thought. "I see..."

Then Hirame's question catches her attention. Natsuko looks closer, then turns to look at Hirame, blue eyes as clear as ever, "a doll, I think. Sort of an odd one, isn't it? I just let instinct move me, to be honest, with a sutra to Kisshoten running through my mind." She looks closer, head tilting. "I wonder if I had one like that before I came to the Isawa?" Looking up at the Mantis, she asks, "What sort of memory did you paint?" Looking behind him she tries to catch sight of it, apparently unconcerned at the coincidence between the other two paintings, or the odd doll.

[Shiba Jiro]

Jiro moves to look at Natsuko's painting. There's mo smile or giggle at a planned prank. Just a hint of curiosity. "Ah... that is unexpected." He looks at Natsuko and has to think long and hard about his activities since coming here. Feelings won't disappear just because you try to will them to though.

He remains uncharacteristically quiet for now.

[Funegao no Hirame]

"It's from when I was a kid." Hirame said, still frowning absently. "I remember watching some dolphins, and there was one kid dolphin that I remember as watching me. Who's to say if it was, or if I just remember it that way?"

He shook his head. "That really is weird that you guys both drew little girls. And hey, Jiro-san, yours kinda looks like if you and Natsuko-san had a kid!" Hirame said, stating the obvious bluntly.

[Isawa Natsuko]

"Some tales say that some of the ningyo may change shapes. Perhaps the young dolphin was actually a young ningyo, come to watch the strange things that happen on land?" She looks at the painting, absorbing the colors. "Sunset or sunrise?"

Hirame's question draws her attention back to their still-damp paintings. "All futures exist in the void, sometimes it offers those attuned to it glimpses. So...that is a daughter who is possible enough to appear in multiple glimpses, I think." She tilts her head, looking up at Jiro from the corner of her eye. "The connection your family has to the Void seems perhaps stronger than you let on Shiba-san. Or..you planned to combine our features in a likely representation and your choice of girl happened to match what the void presented to me." It would be a 50-50 chance, after all.

[Shiba Jiro]

"They have the same details," he says with a nod. "It's definitely a... an interesting coincidence." He looks at Natsuko.

Possibly a portent? Is Kisshoten saying something?

"I had... was just painting. I wasn't thinking so much about what to paint after deciding on a child. I just added details as they came to mind."

If all things exist at all times in the void... are we picking our daughter from potential futures? Or maybe she's picking us?

[Funegao no Hirame]

"I think it was sunset." Hirame said. "But really, I can't remember for certain. That's just what feels right to me, so that's what I'm going with." Not creativity, but feeling, yes; a similar well, but slightly different.

He looked back and forth between the two. "Uhhh... void?" He asked, smiling sheepishly. "I feel like I'm missing about half of this. Do you think this is some kind of sign?" His expression suddenly darkened. "What do you think the significance of that doll is? It looks a lot like the one I made yesterday..." He grimaced in memory. "It's gone missing since last night."

[Shiba Jiro]

"If I had to guess, I'd be at a loss and guess nothing. But it could be everything. It's not in both paintings though, so its probably not between Natsuko and I?"

[Isawa Natsuko]

"Lord Moon's gaze is less watchful than that of Lady Sun, so creatures that prefer to remain hidden, like the ningyo, are said to be more often spotted at night, or in those spaces where the Sun's gaze is less fierce." She pauses, sighs a bit, "or it was simply a curious dolphin."

She shifts her attention to their paintings again, lifting clear blue eyes to Hirame, her quiet voice continuing on with little pause. "The void connects everything, all the elements, all times. While many priests are called by one element or another, it is the void that called to me." Returning her attention to the little brush doll, she continues, "you made such a doll, and you are here. It may be that it is...important or at least present in your future and the void called it to my hand. Or you may gift it to our daughter. Or knowing of it, I may make one for her."

"The future is not set, the ripples are not like...reading a pillowbook. More like reading a dozen drafts of a pillowbook all torn to pieces and a handful of scraps floated upon a rough sea for you to read." She glances from the painting to Ahiru, wondering for a moment if she had also painted a scene from the past, or one from the future she faces with this Mantis.