057 Red Letters

[eat_me_beat_me]

Hey guys, if any of you tired parents want to give your kids something to do I'm setting up some arts and crafts in the lobby. Finger painting, chalk, clay... you name it I've got it.

[Nora might still be on crutches but she's somehow managed to set up a few low tables and chairs in the lobby with art supplies galore for the little ones. She's sitting on one of the couches with her leg up on the coffee table sketching as she keeps an eye on things.]

((OOC: Open for all!! Threadjacking highly encouraged))

Comments

[thraxios]

[Gideon could definitely use some time where Zipporah isn't his only company. He returns to the castle, baby in tow, and finds the art tables. It occurs to him then that perhaps the baby is too young to do these activities; he's not sure how old she is, but she can't yet walk or talk, and that doesn't bode well for drawing.

He needn't worry, though, because once he sets her before the supplies, Zipporah is more than happy just to examine them. She picks up individual crayons between her finger and thumb and holds them up to her face, more interested in looking at them than actually coloring.

Before he gets too involved, Gideon tries to catch the eye of the young woman who set this up. He dips his head, both greeting and thank-you for the opportunity.]

[originalcopy]

[Holy Crap this is the best idea ever! Church will gladly set Beth up with arts and crafts and let her go nuts. The less he has to actively supervise her the better.

The little red haired girl is going to be happily getting finger paint everywhere. Keeping paint on the paper is so gauche.]

[eat_me_beat_me]

[Nora watches the little girl with the crayons, smiling as she examines the red one. Hey, whether she's drawing or not it's still nice to see someone interested in art.

When she notices the father looking her way she smiles and gives him a nod back]

Hey.

[eat_me_beat_me]

[Hey, man, painting the paper is completely optional. What's the fun in coloring inside the lines, after all? Nora laughs as she watches the tyke getting paint all over the place]

[thraxios]

[Gideon gives her a bright smile. He'd like to speak to her from here, where he can supervise Zipporah's examination of the crayons--what if she tries to put one in her mouth, after all? That can't be good.

But that's not possible, given his limitations, and he's not going to make a woman with an injured leg hobble over to him. So instead, Gideon picks Zipporah up, bringing a crayon or two with, and moves close enough to the woman that he won't have to make signs to talk with her. Pulling out his tablet, he writes out a message and hands it to her.]

Thank you for providing this.

[originalcopy]

[Hey, as long as he doesn't have to clean it up, Church is fine with her making as much of a mess as she wants.]

[eat_me_beat_me]

[Oh how kind. Her leg is in a cast up to her knee, a pair of tricked out crutches leaning nearby.

She leans forward to see what he'd written. It doesn't bother her speaking to someone like this, she'd been friends with someone who's loss was their voice as well as someone who barely spoke at all until she'd been there a few months. She smiles brightly]

You're welcome. I run the gallery downtown so I figure why not bring a little art to the little ones while they're here, right? I do this every year when the kids are here.

[eat_me_beat_me]

[He might not have to clean up the mess but he'll have to clean up the kid. Nora doesn't care either way. She's just there to make sure parents don't try to ditch their kids and kids don't die trying to eat crayons or something.]

[thraxios]

[Gideon's used to being a bit of an oddity--but here, everyone seems to be. And he's not about to complain if it means people don't question his silence.

Anyway, Zipporah is happy enough to babble in his place for the week. Having grown tired of the red crayon, her eyes alight on Nora, and she holds the crayon out to her.]

I don't think I've seen your gallery; I'll have to visit it sometime.

[eat_me_beat_me]

[She smiles at the little girl and takes the crayon]

Want me to draw you something?

[Looking back up at the father]

It's in town. It's kinda been under construction lately. Parts of it collapsed during the earthquake we had last month. I'm trying to plan a grand opening for it next month, though.

[thraxios]

[Zipporah can't say much, and what she can say isn't intelligible to anyone other than her, but she certainly tries to offer a suggestion. She likes receiving attention, after all.]

Daaa!

[Gideon, meanwhile, listens with interest to the woman's explanation. He hasn't gone too far afield and could stand to explore the town a little more thoroughly.]

I'll be sure to attend. What kind of art do you make?

[originalcopy]

[Meh, stick 'em under a shower for few minutes and they're fine. She eventually drags Church over to see what she's been working on.]

Oh hey, look at that. That's a great... What is that anyway?
It's a blob of some kind. With hand prints and splatter.

How very Jackson Pollock of you.

[minicaptain]

[ having never in her life been around children her own age -- or close to it -- naomi actually wants to come down here. she doesn't have her kadis-kot board for once, as she's more interested in seeing what earth activities might be around, but she's shy about being here, peering into the lobby from a hallway before she slowly makes her way over.

someone wants to teach her all about fingerpainting, right? ]

[silentrunning]

[Chell is sooo confused now.]

Nora?? What's fingerpainting?

[She writes in the journal.]

[both_neither]

[Gren is happy to take Nora up on her offer, especially since he was a single father this year and could use all the help he could get. Plus, it made it feel something like a tradition.

He arrives with a slightly older Colby on his shoulder]

How'd you know I couldn't resist finger painting?

[He smiles and swings the giggle child down to the ground]

[psych0p0mps]

wait the lobby of the castle
you mean were not all in sunnyland or whatever its called?

[eat_me_beat_me]

No, I think just those of you who got kids went there. There's a way to get back and forth, though.

[eat_me_beat_me]

[She grins up at him]

Sticking your fingers in something slimy and making a mess? How could you resist something like that?

[She waves at the kid, shooting him a wink]

[eat_me_beat_me]

It's when you paint using your hands instead of brushes. It's really fun! You should come try.

[eat_me_beat_me]

[She smiles at the little girl and starts drawing her with the crayon she'd been so helpfully provided.]

Me? A little bit of everything, I guess. I draw and paint mostly but I've done other stuff, too. I haven't decided if I want any of my own stuff in the Gallery, yet. Honestly I never really was one for stuff like that til I started working there. Of course I never thought I'd be running the damn thing, either.

[eat_me_beat_me]

[Nora looks up when she sees the girl. She's older than the castle-provided kids so she must be a resident. Nora smiles and waves a little]

Hi. Wanna paint?

[eat_me_beat_me]

[She laughs]

Hey, you never know. Some galleries pay good money for crap like that.

[thraxios]

[And when her father hands her another crayon--this one green--Zipporah is content to entertain herself rather than bother Nora overly.]

You must be quite talented. [From what little he knows of art (and it is a very little), "everything" requires a variety of skills.] Did someone run the gallery before you?

[eat_me_beat_me]

[She shrugs casually, though her smile belies how pleased she is at the compliment]

It's what I do. I'm an artist and a poet. I've never wanted to do anything else. [She pauses in her drawing] Yeah... It was opened by a woman named Jo. She was the one who hired me. When she left it was taken over by Steve Rogers... when he went home last month I took it.

[originalcopy]

Yeah? Maybe I should get it framed and hang it on my wall or something.