Nia kicked her legs uneasily as her pencil moved across her paper, taking in the entrance of the cavern in quick strokes. She was hardly an artist, but a simple impression in her sketchbook would be enough to jog her memory of the sight in the future. A cell phone photo wouldn't be half as evocative.
She took a couple of those too, though, in case her limited talent failed her.
>> Nia Karahalios continued from Chrysalism
This was hardly Nia's first trip to this particular rodeo; on the contrary, most of the tour guides here knew her by name, or at least by reputation. It would be difficult, she mused, to forget the girl who prepared a list of mostly unanswerable questions in writing and handed it in at the end of every tour. A couple of the guides inevitably surprised her with knowledge going above and beyond the scope of their job, and one of them had actually met her challenge head-on and prepared answers to all of her questions the next time she came by. His name had been Chris, and he was the only one she had remembered, because he was the only one that was worth remembering.
She sat on a wooden chair beside the entrance to the cavern gift shop; the next tour was in twenty minutes and she had a fair amount of time to kill, but experience told her that the tour would exhaust her, and so conserving her energy was the optimal strategy. Her eyes darted back and forth between the cavern entrance (one of many, but the closest one to the gift shop, and a particularly interesting one at that) as she worked on her sketch. She was reasonably satisfied that someone who had been to Winnepesaukah Caverns might possibly recognize it for what it was, which in her book was basically a victory.
The sun was shining. It was unseasonably warm, actually, and Nia considered taking refuge inside the gift shop, but that was where most of the other visitors waiting for this tour were at the moment. The unfortunate side effect of not having any spelunking ability herself was that she could only experience the caverns on public tours, and public tours were public, and public meant people.
She considered taking refuge inside the cave. Nia found herself wondering if anyone would stop her if she wandered in alone. She could find somewhere to hide if she was followed, she was certain; how much of the caverns were still unexplored? That was one way to make a mark on the scientific community, mapping out some unknown section of the cave systems here.
Or she could just stumble into some pocket devoid of oxygen with no way out and die.
Monachopsis
Monachopsis
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
((Kayla Harris continued from This Woman's Work))
He fucking did it again.
Kayla stormed out of the gift shop... or, well, she sure would've slammed the front door if it wasn't for the fact that it was one of those hydraulically controlled doors that are next to impossible to slam unless you really had a particular thirst for blood and property damage. But she tried!
Gretchen. Gretchen. Gretchen. That name was going to haunt Kayla for the rest of her life like student loans. It was always someone with that name that ruined Kayla's life. Like right now, with the redheaded witch her brother has flirted with for the last 15 minutes and counting. "Oh yeah, I love sedimentary rock formations, too!"
Yeah right, like he even knew the difference between a stalactite and a stalagmite! Not that Kayla really did either, but that's besides the point. The point was that it always ended up like this: Octavius wants to go somewhere with her, they go there, he gets distracted by a girl, and he leaves Kayla cold and alone to fend for herself in this cruel twisted world.
Oh, but she wasn't jealous. Nah, not one bit. Not at all. Just that, ya know, it was supposed to be just the two of them. Just her and her brother. Not her brother and his new plus-one.
Kayla huffed with her arms crossed as she took a seat on one of the available chairs near the entrance of the gift shop, crossing her legs too while she was at it to really sell her "girl, what he do?" vibe going on. She shouldn't have even come today if it was gonna be like this; so much cosplay work still needed to be done before July.
She looked around, her eyes settling on the girl nearby drawing something; Kayla couldn't really get a good look at the drawing, but she recognized the scar on the drawer's neck. That's the mute girl, right? Apollonia or something. It was fairly poetic and like a name straight out of the Iliad, though after that one substitute teacher years ago role called her as "Appleonaea" Kayla could never be satisfied with another pronunciation. Regardless, they never really talked; Kayla said maybe 3 words to her before, but it's not like the reverse wasn't true either. She seemed really... actually kinda cool. Like a bad bitch, possibly even the head bitch in charge.
Kayla watched as Apple continued doing her thing, sketching something down while periodically looking up at the cave entrance.
In the game of being a nosy bitch, sometimes it was best to wait for an opening move.
He fucking did it again.
Kayla stormed out of the gift shop... or, well, she sure would've slammed the front door if it wasn't for the fact that it was one of those hydraulically controlled doors that are next to impossible to slam unless you really had a particular thirst for blood and property damage. But she tried!
Gretchen. Gretchen. Gretchen. That name was going to haunt Kayla for the rest of her life like student loans. It was always someone with that name that ruined Kayla's life. Like right now, with the redheaded witch her brother has flirted with for the last 15 minutes and counting. "Oh yeah, I love sedimentary rock formations, too!"
Yeah right, like he even knew the difference between a stalactite and a stalagmite! Not that Kayla really did either, but that's besides the point. The point was that it always ended up like this: Octavius wants to go somewhere with her, they go there, he gets distracted by a girl, and he leaves Kayla cold and alone to fend for herself in this cruel twisted world.
Oh, but she wasn't jealous. Nah, not one bit. Not at all. Just that, ya know, it was supposed to be just the two of them. Just her and her brother. Not her brother and his new plus-one.
Kayla huffed with her arms crossed as she took a seat on one of the available chairs near the entrance of the gift shop, crossing her legs too while she was at it to really sell her "girl, what he do?" vibe going on. She shouldn't have even come today if it was gonna be like this; so much cosplay work still needed to be done before July.
She looked around, her eyes settling on the girl nearby drawing something; Kayla couldn't really get a good look at the drawing, but she recognized the scar on the drawer's neck. That's the mute girl, right? Apollonia or something. It was fairly poetic and like a name straight out of the Iliad, though after that one substitute teacher years ago role called her as "Appleonaea" Kayla could never be satisfied with another pronunciation. Regardless, they never really talked; Kayla said maybe 3 words to her before, but it's not like the reverse wasn't true either. She seemed really... actually kinda cool. Like a bad bitch, possibly even the head bitch in charge.
Kayla watched as Apple continued doing her thing, sketching something down while periodically looking up at the cave entrance.
In the game of being a nosy bitch, sometimes it was best to wait for an opening move.
Nia kept sketching. She glanced up, looked down, moved her pencil for a few more moments, looked up again. The light was moving, slowly but surely, casting shadows where they hadn't previously existed. She glanced down again, frowning at the smudged graphite that had made up her best approximation of the shading on the cave entrance. She held out her pencil at an angle and brought it down to her paper. It was a few degrees off, she thought, though it was kind of hard to tell. She liked to think her interpretation was precise enough to capture such details, but really, that was a gross oversell of her actual abilities. Probably it looked fine. But now that she noticed the difference it was going to irritate her until she fixed it, and she found herself erasing tiny marks that felt just so slightly out of place.
A losing battle, obviously. The sun would keep moving. By the time she fixed all of the shading it would have moved again. She cursed the ceaseless rotation of the planet before giving up and turning her pencil back around.
She paused, the pencil tip hovering a spare few millimeters above the page.
Nia had many years experience of detecting when she was being stared at. It happened quite a lot, though less often than it had when she was young, possibly because she'd cultivated a reputation of staring right back until the starer (was starer a valid agent noun? she'd look it up later) got uncomfortable and gave up. But it still happened, usually because someone's eye caught on her scar, or else they knew and thought that if they looked at her long enough they could figure it out, some nameless ceaseless mystery about herself that she had no answer to, either. It was always something. She never had any answers. Staring back, she supposed, was answer enough.
In this circumstance she could be charitable. At least she was doing something worth watching.
Quite abruptly she flipped to the next page of her sketchbook, scrawled a word on the page, and turned toward the source of the eyes she'd felt on her. The girl in question seemed vaguely familiar. A classmate, most likely. A few more moments and she'd have a name. She already had a response. She held the sketchbook up.
Yes?
A losing battle, obviously. The sun would keep moving. By the time she fixed all of the shading it would have moved again. She cursed the ceaseless rotation of the planet before giving up and turning her pencil back around.
She paused, the pencil tip hovering a spare few millimeters above the page.
Nia had many years experience of detecting when she was being stared at. It happened quite a lot, though less often than it had when she was young, possibly because she'd cultivated a reputation of staring right back until the starer (was starer a valid agent noun? she'd look it up later) got uncomfortable and gave up. But it still happened, usually because someone's eye caught on her scar, or else they knew and thought that if they looked at her long enough they could figure it out, some nameless ceaseless mystery about herself that she had no answer to, either. It was always something. She never had any answers. Staring back, she supposed, was answer enough.
In this circumstance she could be charitable. At least she was doing something worth watching.
Quite abruptly she flipped to the next page of her sketchbook, scrawled a word on the page, and turned toward the source of the eyes she'd felt on her. The girl in question seemed vaguely familiar. A classmate, most likely. A few more moments and she'd have a name. She already had a response. She held the sketchbook up.
Yes?
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
Heh. Clever girl. Not that Kayla was very subtle about staring at Apple's sketchbook, but she took the bait with a very simple question. Plus she got a little peak at what she was drawing, the previous page flashing before the wind pushed it back to Apple's question.
It looked like... the cave? Made sense, but Kayla wasn't sure.
Kayla chuckled and groped inside the worn black messenger bag draped over her shoulder. She pulled out the notebook full of lists and flipped to a clean page near the back. She clicked her pen and got to work, her hand flying around the paper.
When she finished she held the page up to Apple:
nice doodle!
It looked like... the cave? Made sense, but Kayla wasn't sure.
Kayla chuckled and groped inside the worn black messenger bag draped over her shoulder. She pulled out the notebook full of lists and flipped to a clean page near the back. She clicked her pen and got to work, her hand flying around the paper.
When she finished she held the page up to Apple:
nice doodle!
((Katie Agustien continued from he let me set fire to a fleet of ships when no-one else would))
Was this the first time she’d been to the Winnepesaukah Caverns? Y’know, thinking about it for a hot second, yeah, it was.
Katie ran her hand over a set of brightly coloured gem stones, nestled in a snug wooden tray, close to the exit of the gift shop. They felt kinda nice under her palm; smooth and cool to the touch. This whole gift shop was pretty neat in general, especially considering the weather today. It was nicely air conditioned, but not so much that Katie was freezing in her tank top and shorts, and the whole place smelled of fresh wood, pine or mahogany or some shit like that.
She picked up a smooth, white stone, turning it over in her hands. ‘Milky quartz’, if the label attached to the tray was to be believed. Yeah, it was pretty cool. Might look nice on her desk or something like that. She had no clue whether there was quartz of any kind in the caverns, but hey, what else could a gift shop for a cave system sell? Couldn’t really sell a plushy stalagmite, could you? Maybe a boulder, if you were pushing it.
Katie made a little noise of appreciation, returning the quartz to its previous resting place. Maybe she could swing by here and pick it up later, although she did only have, like, three dollars on her. First up though was the actual cave tour itself. Which… She really had no idea what to expect. Again, this was her first rodeo in the Winnepesaukah Caverns.
She took the few steps to the right to the gift shop’s exit, pushed the door open, and walked straight into the middle of two of her classmates wordlessly speaking to one another with their notebooks.
“Uh…”
Katie blinked, eyes flitting between the two of them. Nia, quiet. Kayla, less quiet. Much less quiet. Both of them were cute, both of them Katie was only passingly familiar with, and both of them were engaged in some kinda weird game of Pictionary or something. She blinked in the sunlight for a couple of seconds before speaking.
“I’m not interrupting anything important, here, right? Some kinda… cave summoning ritual?”
Was this the first time she’d been to the Winnepesaukah Caverns? Y’know, thinking about it for a hot second, yeah, it was.
Katie ran her hand over a set of brightly coloured gem stones, nestled in a snug wooden tray, close to the exit of the gift shop. They felt kinda nice under her palm; smooth and cool to the touch. This whole gift shop was pretty neat in general, especially considering the weather today. It was nicely air conditioned, but not so much that Katie was freezing in her tank top and shorts, and the whole place smelled of fresh wood, pine or mahogany or some shit like that.
She picked up a smooth, white stone, turning it over in her hands. ‘Milky quartz’, if the label attached to the tray was to be believed. Yeah, it was pretty cool. Might look nice on her desk or something like that. She had no clue whether there was quartz of any kind in the caverns, but hey, what else could a gift shop for a cave system sell? Couldn’t really sell a plushy stalagmite, could you? Maybe a boulder, if you were pushing it.
Katie made a little noise of appreciation, returning the quartz to its previous resting place. Maybe she could swing by here and pick it up later, although she did only have, like, three dollars on her. First up though was the actual cave tour itself. Which… She really had no idea what to expect. Again, this was her first rodeo in the Winnepesaukah Caverns.
She took the few steps to the right to the gift shop’s exit, pushed the door open, and walked straight into the middle of two of her classmates wordlessly speaking to one another with their notebooks.
“Uh…”
Katie blinked, eyes flitting between the two of them. Nia, quiet. Kayla, less quiet. Much less quiet. Both of them were cute, both of them Katie was only passingly familiar with, and both of them were engaged in some kinda weird game of Pictionary or something. She blinked in the sunlight for a couple of seconds before speaking.
“I’m not interrupting anything important, here, right? Some kinda… cave summoning ritual?”
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017
Nia tilted her head as she watched Kayla's hand move rapidly across her own notebook, the corners of her mouth twitching downward. First of all the amount of drama she had put into writing two words was patently ridiculous in and of itself, but—was she making fun of her? Perhaps she was being presumptuous to so quickly assume malice, but in the past it was the case more often than not. Though, she thought, she ought to attempt to be rational enough to avoid the sweet, sweet simplicity of the availability heuristic. At the very least she could give the girl a moment to explain herself. The girl. Kayla. Her memory rarely failed her in these matters. The main thing that stuck out in her memory with regards to her was that she was... loud. Not exactly Nia's favorite character trait. It might be for the best that she'd chosen not to speak.
She lowered her pen to her sketchbook but paused at the sound of the door of the gift shop opening. She glanced in its direction, expecting a stranger she could safely ignore, but for the second time she was surprised by the sudden appearance of a classmate. Was there some event or something happening at the caverns that Nia wasn't aware of? This was normally a safe haven from her peer group; she couldn't escape people here entirely, obviously and sadly, but gaggles of tourists were far easier to ignore. She was obligated to perform at least the bare minimum of polite social behavior toward people she had some minor acquaintanceship with. At the very least she couldn't pretend to be deaf, as she often did when she didn't care to interact.
This particular classmate, though, came with her own challenges. Nia didn't struggle for a moment to remember Katie Agustien's name. They hadn't interacted much, or at all, really, but Nia had what could charitably be called an academic interest in her. She bit the inside of her cheek as she looked back down at her sketchpad. Of all the places and the times to run into her, it naturally had to be one where she was already put off-balance. She took a breath before beginning to write again. She could play cool, right? Had she ever really played cool, though? What did that even mean, really?
I can't think of any definition of important that this particular conversation would fit.
Did that sound clever? Perhaps it was unnecessarily rude to Kayla. Perhaps Katie didn't like rudeness. Perhaps she needed to study this more.
She showed the notebook to Katie before pausing and adding a couple more words, flicking the notebook back up at Kayla.
You can just speak.
She lowered her pen to her sketchbook but paused at the sound of the door of the gift shop opening. She glanced in its direction, expecting a stranger she could safely ignore, but for the second time she was surprised by the sudden appearance of a classmate. Was there some event or something happening at the caverns that Nia wasn't aware of? This was normally a safe haven from her peer group; she couldn't escape people here entirely, obviously and sadly, but gaggles of tourists were far easier to ignore. She was obligated to perform at least the bare minimum of polite social behavior toward people she had some minor acquaintanceship with. At the very least she couldn't pretend to be deaf, as she often did when she didn't care to interact.
This particular classmate, though, came with her own challenges. Nia didn't struggle for a moment to remember Katie Agustien's name. They hadn't interacted much, or at all, really, but Nia had what could charitably be called an academic interest in her. She bit the inside of her cheek as she looked back down at her sketchpad. Of all the places and the times to run into her, it naturally had to be one where she was already put off-balance. She took a breath before beginning to write again. She could play cool, right? Had she ever really played cool, though? What did that even mean, really?
I can't think of any definition of important that this particular conversation would fit.
Did that sound clever? Perhaps it was unnecessarily rude to Kayla. Perhaps Katie didn't like rudeness. Perhaps she needed to study this more.
She showed the notebook to Katie before pausing and adding a couple more words, flicking the notebook back up at Kayla.
You can just speak.
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
As soon as Apple started writing her response, the gift shop door opened. Someone approached.
Oh, it was just Katie. Kayla forgot she even existed sometimes. She was way too quiet; even Apple talked more. But overall Katie was cool, kinda cute too. And now it was a party.
"Iunno?" Kayla shrugged her shoulders back at Katie. She honestly wasn't even sure what she was doing; her boredom was at the wheel right now. But it was going somewhere, or at least it was going in circles to waste time until the tour started. Either option was acceptable.
Apple, looking frazzled, wrote something new down and showed it to Katie; Kayla pulled herself around in her seat to get a good look, but it didn't work. Didn't Katie know her mama raised no glass babies?
But it was all good since Kayla got to see the message anyway (rude) along with a new one just for her. The corner of her lip upturned as she wrote a new response back, lifting it up for Apple's viewing pleasure while motioning for Katie to get out of the way.
So?
Oh, it was just Katie. Kayla forgot she even existed sometimes. She was way too quiet; even Apple talked more. But overall Katie was cool, kinda cute too. And now it was a party.
"Iunno?" Kayla shrugged her shoulders back at Katie. She honestly wasn't even sure what she was doing; her boredom was at the wheel right now. But it was going somewhere, or at least it was going in circles to waste time until the tour started. Either option was acceptable.
Apple, looking frazzled, wrote something new down and showed it to Katie; Kayla pulled herself around in her seat to get a good look, but it didn't work. Didn't Katie know her mama raised no glass babies?
But it was all good since Kayla got to see the message anyway (rude) along with a new one just for her. The corner of her lip upturned as she wrote a new response back, lifting it up for Apple's viewing pleasure while motioning for Katie to get out of the way.
So?
Aight, cool, this wasn’t some freaky cave-worshipping cult ritual, then. That was good. If that had been the case, Katie would probably have very quickly walked backwards into the gift shop and run back home, money she’d already paid for this tour be damned. It’d probably be a little difficult to look Nia or Kayla in the eyes afterwards, too.
But that still didn’t really answer the question of what, exactly, this was supposed to be. Katie stood back, a bemused look on her face, letting the other two girls have line of sight of each other to continue their little back and forth. Maybe this was some weird sorta game where they couldn’t speak to each other. They hadn’t taken a vow of silence or any shit like that, Kayla had just spoken to her after all. Maybe they… uh…
Yeah, no, Katie really didn’t have a clue why this was all going down. She rolled her shoulders before stretching her arms up above her head, tanktop riding up slightly, getting rid of the last vestiges of tiredness still in her system.
As she did so, she noticed the very prominent scar, cutting across Nia’s neck, and she mentally slapped herself.
“Oh, fuck, right-“
Yeah, of course, that was the reason Nia was using their sketchbook to talk, that little tiny thing where they were almost entirely mute. That small little detail that Katie’s mind had totally let slip.
Jeez. Well, putting aside the intense feeling of stupidity that she was still reeling from, that explained Nia’s side of this. And Kayla? She guessed this was just… something Kayla kinda did? Whatever. Didn’t matter too much. She’d cracked the case, whoooo, go her. And all it had taken was for her to feel intensely stupid.
“Y’know, I could join in this non-verbal session, if you wanted,” Katie said, curling a lock of hair around her finger. “Don’t have a notebook on me or anything like that but, uh… I could type stuff onto my phone?”
But that still didn’t really answer the question of what, exactly, this was supposed to be. Katie stood back, a bemused look on her face, letting the other two girls have line of sight of each other to continue their little back and forth. Maybe this was some weird sorta game where they couldn’t speak to each other. They hadn’t taken a vow of silence or any shit like that, Kayla had just spoken to her after all. Maybe they… uh…
Yeah, no, Katie really didn’t have a clue why this was all going down. She rolled her shoulders before stretching her arms up above her head, tanktop riding up slightly, getting rid of the last vestiges of tiredness still in her system.
As she did so, she noticed the very prominent scar, cutting across Nia’s neck, and she mentally slapped herself.
“Oh, fuck, right-“
Yeah, of course, that was the reason Nia was using their sketchbook to talk, that little tiny thing where they were almost entirely mute. That small little detail that Katie’s mind had totally let slip.
Jeez. Well, putting aside the intense feeling of stupidity that she was still reeling from, that explained Nia’s side of this. And Kayla? She guessed this was just… something Kayla kinda did? Whatever. Didn’t matter too much. She’d cracked the case, whoooo, go her. And all it had taken was for her to feel intensely stupid.
“Y’know, I could join in this non-verbal session, if you wanted,” Katie said, curling a lock of hair around her finger. “Don’t have a notebook on me or anything like that but, uh… I could type stuff onto my phone?”
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017
Nia wasn't the sort of person to show her emotions on her face. She wasn't the sort of person who felt many strong emotions at all, really. There were a number of psychological conditions that could be the root cause of that, and it would probably be a matter to discuss with her therapist, if she had one, but she had long since accepted it as just a facet of her character. She was quite talented at feigning emotions, and her face was quite expressive when she wanted it to be, convenient attributes for an aspiring actress, but otherwise? Certain things evoked a passion in her that she supposed was at least partially emotional in nature, if you wanted to count that, but her primary motivations were less based in her feelings than in the level of interest a particular topic or event or person inspired in her.
That said, irritation was likely the emotion that came most easily to her, and it was certainly flooding her now.
She sighed, extremely conscious of how that expulsion of air was one of the louder sounds available to her, and went back to her notebook, her pencil scratching a touch more aggressively than perhaps entirely necessary. Some part of her was concerned that Katie might see this as untoward aggravation toward her, which wouldn't do, encouraging her to add a second line under the one she'd already written, showing the notebook to both girls in turn.
I hope you realize how ridiculous you're being.
Not you, Katie, you're fine.
She paused before adding a third.
I appreciate the effort.
That counted as sociability, right? She was attempting to make a decent impression here. If she concentrated hard enough maybe the intense urge to lob her notebook at Kayla's head wouldn't become a problem.
That said, irritation was likely the emotion that came most easily to her, and it was certainly flooding her now.
She sighed, extremely conscious of how that expulsion of air was one of the louder sounds available to her, and went back to her notebook, her pencil scratching a touch more aggressively than perhaps entirely necessary. Some part of her was concerned that Katie might see this as untoward aggravation toward her, which wouldn't do, encouraging her to add a second line under the one she'd already written, showing the notebook to both girls in turn.
I hope you realize how ridiculous you're being.
Not you, Katie, you're fine.
She paused before adding a third.
I appreciate the effort.
That counted as sociability, right? She was attempting to make a decent impression here. If she concentrated hard enough maybe the intense urge to lob her notebook at Kayla's head wouldn't become a problem.
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
Riding on the ecstasy of fucking with someone was the easy part. The hard part was knowing when to quit.
This was the time to quit, before Apple could lob her notebook at Kayla's head. It was still worth it to see that emotion, that pure rage. Why bother messing with someone if they didn't even react to it?
"I'm sorry," Kayla chortled, "thanks for humoring me." She closed her own notebook and returned it to the front pocket and zipped it clo—huh? Halfway shut and the zipper wouldn't budge. She pulled it back and forth to no avail; didn't she just fix this damn thing a month ago? She grumbled. Whatever, she'll fix it when she gets home. Again. Hopefully Apple and Katie didn't see that; they probably didn't, right? Kayla was still cool. Right?
Regardless, now was the time for some damage control. Kayla clasped her hands together and looked back over at Apple with a nod. "I really do like your sketch."
Kayla's eyes shifted to Katie next, her finger pointing at the sketchbook. "Did you see it?"
This was the time to quit, before Apple could lob her notebook at Kayla's head. It was still worth it to see that emotion, that pure rage. Why bother messing with someone if they didn't even react to it?
"I'm sorry," Kayla chortled, "thanks for humoring me." She closed her own notebook and returned it to the front pocket and zipped it clo—huh? Halfway shut and the zipper wouldn't budge. She pulled it back and forth to no avail; didn't she just fix this damn thing a month ago? She grumbled. Whatever, she'll fix it when she gets home. Again. Hopefully Apple and Katie didn't see that; they probably didn't, right? Kayla was still cool. Right?
Regardless, now was the time for some damage control. Kayla clasped her hands together and looked back over at Apple with a nod. "I really do like your sketch."
Kayla's eyes shifted to Katie next, her finger pointing at the sketchbook. "Did you see it?"
Katie nodded at Nia, making a little noise of appreciation, before stepping back to watch the show in silence. She folded her arms, rolling her shoulders slightly before settling into a relaxed stance, looking on as Kayla wrestled with her bag, and subsequently lost. She smiled, managing to stifle a laugh, and angling her head down and away from Kayla so she wouldn’t see. Not very subtle, yeah, she knew. Maybe she could pretend she was checking out N-a particularly interesting patch of grass. Yeah.
Actually, this would have been the perfect time to tell Nia it was no big deal, trying to accommodate for her condition, that it was what any decent person would do. But before she could, apparently Kayla wanted to say something. Big surprise there.
She shook her head slightly. She was being too harsh to the girl, she knew that. Sure, she could be loud, and that could really get under Katie’s skin, but it sure as hell wasn’t like she was alone in that category. And if that was her only crime, then she still easily ranked in the upper half of George Hunter High’s student populous.
Plus, it had to be repeated; girl was real cute.
“Nah, didn’t get a chance,” Katie said, shaking her head at Kayla’s question before looking at Nia. “You mind letting me have a look, Nia? I’d like to see it.”
Katie gave Nia a big, earnest smile.
Actually, this would have been the perfect time to tell Nia it was no big deal, trying to accommodate for her condition, that it was what any decent person would do. But before she could, apparently Kayla wanted to say something. Big surprise there.
She shook her head slightly. She was being too harsh to the girl, she knew that. Sure, she could be loud, and that could really get under Katie’s skin, but it sure as hell wasn’t like she was alone in that category. And if that was her only crime, then she still easily ranked in the upper half of George Hunter High’s student populous.
Plus, it had to be repeated; girl was real cute.
“Nah, didn’t get a chance,” Katie said, shaking her head at Kayla’s question before looking at Nia. “You mind letting me have a look, Nia? I’d like to see it.”
Katie gave Nia a big, earnest smile.
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017
Kayla had... well, to say she had shut up would be entirely inaccurate, since she was significantly louder speaking with her words than with her pen, but at least she was less difficult this way. "Thanks for humoring me"? Honestly. If Nia was humoring Kayla it was only because she was forced to by both social convention and her physical inability to actually interrupt her. She supposed there were worse ways to spend the time she had to kill before this cave tour began, though. Far better ways, yes, but worse ones.
She gave her a strange look as she mentioned her feelings about her drawing. She supposed she was happy that someone liked it. It didn't matter, particularly, as it only existed for her own recall, but on a base level it was encouraging to have her work appreciated, even if it was by someone whose opinion was fairly irrelevant. More importantly, her comment had spurred Katie to speak, her question followed by a large smile.
Smiling was interesting, scientifically speaking. The very act of smiling stimulated the brain into rewarding you with pleasure, which would naturally cause you to smile more, causing a feedback loop of enjoyment. Real and fake smiles were quite distinct from each other, with real smiles engaging the muscles around the eyes, but even so, feigning a smile could trick your brain into improving your mood and potentially causing a real smile regardless. A smile took the movement of approximately 42 muscles to perform, significantly more muscles than were required for frowning, though it seemed more than a little spurious to claim that smiling was overly exerting. Smiling was nearly universally considered a sign of enjoyment, which was only logical given its connection to brain chemistry, though certain cultures had more or less subtle social meanings behind the expression. In some cultures being overly smiley was considered suspicious or uncouth, which was interesting to consider from a sociological perspective when you consider that smiling was hard-wired to cause happiness. In other animals, expressions that humans were liable to confuse for smiling were generally actually either threat displays or signs of submission, neither of which was particularly positive, obviously. This led to a proliferation of videos of animals who were "smiling" to the delight of their human observers who were actually afraid or enraged, potentially endangering both parties in the process, an unfortunate result of the human tendency to anthropomorphize the creatures they come into contact with.
Also, sometimes, a girl would smile, and it caused a turning in her stomach Nia did not have a scientific explanation for. It just was.
Nia didn't say anything. Obviously. She didn't write anything, either. Silently, her gaze not quite meeting Katie's, she flipped back to her drawing and held it up for her.
She gave her a strange look as she mentioned her feelings about her drawing. She supposed she was happy that someone liked it. It didn't matter, particularly, as it only existed for her own recall, but on a base level it was encouraging to have her work appreciated, even if it was by someone whose opinion was fairly irrelevant. More importantly, her comment had spurred Katie to speak, her question followed by a large smile.
Smiling was interesting, scientifically speaking. The very act of smiling stimulated the brain into rewarding you with pleasure, which would naturally cause you to smile more, causing a feedback loop of enjoyment. Real and fake smiles were quite distinct from each other, with real smiles engaging the muscles around the eyes, but even so, feigning a smile could trick your brain into improving your mood and potentially causing a real smile regardless. A smile took the movement of approximately 42 muscles to perform, significantly more muscles than were required for frowning, though it seemed more than a little spurious to claim that smiling was overly exerting. Smiling was nearly universally considered a sign of enjoyment, which was only logical given its connection to brain chemistry, though certain cultures had more or less subtle social meanings behind the expression. In some cultures being overly smiley was considered suspicious or uncouth, which was interesting to consider from a sociological perspective when you consider that smiling was hard-wired to cause happiness. In other animals, expressions that humans were liable to confuse for smiling were generally actually either threat displays or signs of submission, neither of which was particularly positive, obviously. This led to a proliferation of videos of animals who were "smiling" to the delight of their human observers who were actually afraid or enraged, potentially endangering both parties in the process, an unfortunate result of the human tendency to anthropomorphize the creatures they come into contact with.
Also, sometimes, a girl would smile, and it caused a turning in her stomach Nia did not have a scientific explanation for. It just was.
Nia didn't say anything. Obviously. She didn't write anything, either. Silently, her gaze not quite meeting Katie's, she flipped back to her drawing and held it up for her.
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
The scribbling finally revealed itself. Kayla had no words, enraptured by its beauty. Oh, Apple; thy hands art a master craftswoman.
Just kidding. No, the drawing kinda sucked. It wasn't like a 5-year-old's doodle stuck on a refrigerator sucky but moreso it just existed. Sure she got some of the details nailed down (kinda freakily in fact), but it was devoid of life. Where was the pizazz? What was the point besides just being a hollowed out rock? Kayla sure couldn't tell, even though yes this was just a doodle.
Kayla kept that fact to herself. She went back to playing with the zipper on the bag, and with a couple of muttered swears she finally got it to seal again. God is good.
"So...," she said after giving some time for Katie to admire the portraiture, "caves, huh?"
Just kidding. No, the drawing kinda sucked. It wasn't like a 5-year-old's doodle stuck on a refrigerator sucky but moreso it just existed. Sure she got some of the details nailed down (kinda freakily in fact), but it was devoid of life. Where was the pizazz? What was the point besides just being a hollowed out rock? Kayla sure couldn't tell, even though yes this was just a doodle.
Kayla kept that fact to herself. She went back to playing with the zipper on the bag, and with a couple of muttered swears she finally got it to seal again. God is good.
"So...," she said after giving some time for Katie to admire the portraiture, "caves, huh?"
Katie had absolutely no artistic inclination in the slightest. The closest she came to that was her foray into creating techno music, and anyone who saw the mountain of unfinished Reaper files would know that she was still a lifetime away from even being good at that. She’d tried her hand at drawing and painting, in art class and prompted by fits of boredom, but she’d very quickly given up on those projects the moment her attempt at a tree looked more like some kinda hydra-esque monster.
In other words, she was the perfect audience for anybody to show off their artistic endeavours. Nia could have drawn nothing but scribbles in crayon in the vague shape of a cave, and Katie would still have been impressed. This, though… Man, it looked almost uncannily like someone had just gone and taken a black and white photo of the caverns and slapped it onto Nia’s sketchbook.
Katie whistled in appreciation, before shooting Kayla a bemused glance. Odd girl. That really summed her up, didn’t it? Odd. Weird, not in Katie’s circle, not her tempo. She didn’t hate the girl, but they probably weren’t ever gonna be best buds, maybe not even get along well. Kinda sucked, but eh. Shit happened. Better to realise it early than to lose a friend.
“Yeah, uh… Yeah, it sure is,” Katie said to Kayla, keeping her befuddled expression fixed on the girl for a moment before looking back at Nia, exchanging it for a smile again.
“It looks real good, Nia,” she said, nodding. “Like, hella good. You could probably sell that shit in the gift shop, put it on a postcard, or, I dunno, a jigsaw or something.”
She scratched at the corner of her mouth with her thumb, before another thought struck her.
“So, like, how long did it take you to get that good at art? I’ve tried stuff like that before, but it’s real easy to get disheartened and chuck it all away, right?”
Katie paused, before hastily adding a postscript.
“Ah, wait, shit, that’s kinda long to answer, isn’t it? You don’t gotta answer, don’t worry. It looks good.”
In other words, she was the perfect audience for anybody to show off their artistic endeavours. Nia could have drawn nothing but scribbles in crayon in the vague shape of a cave, and Katie would still have been impressed. This, though… Man, it looked almost uncannily like someone had just gone and taken a black and white photo of the caverns and slapped it onto Nia’s sketchbook.
Katie whistled in appreciation, before shooting Kayla a bemused glance. Odd girl. That really summed her up, didn’t it? Odd. Weird, not in Katie’s circle, not her tempo. She didn’t hate the girl, but they probably weren’t ever gonna be best buds, maybe not even get along well. Kinda sucked, but eh. Shit happened. Better to realise it early than to lose a friend.
“Yeah, uh… Yeah, it sure is,” Katie said to Kayla, keeping her befuddled expression fixed on the girl for a moment before looking back at Nia, exchanging it for a smile again.
“It looks real good, Nia,” she said, nodding. “Like, hella good. You could probably sell that shit in the gift shop, put it on a postcard, or, I dunno, a jigsaw or something.”
She scratched at the corner of her mouth with her thumb, before another thought struck her.
“So, like, how long did it take you to get that good at art? I’ve tried stuff like that before, but it’s real easy to get disheartened and chuck it all away, right?”
Katie paused, before hastily adding a postscript.
“Ah, wait, shit, that’s kinda long to answer, isn’t it? You don’t gotta answer, don’t worry. It looks good.”
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017
Suddenly Kayla's pocket vibrated. She reached down and pulled out her phone, showing a text notification from here brother. "where u at???" was all it said. She smirked; he must have been done with that Jezebel, or more like she was done with him. That's how these things usually turned out.
She gathered up her stuff and rose from the seat as Katie kept ogling over Apple's doodle, conspicuously inconspicuously heading for the door to the gift shop.
"Be right back," she signed off and stepped inside.
She wouldn't.
((Kayla Harris continued in SPLAT!))
She gathered up her stuff and rose from the seat as Katie kept ogling over Apple's doodle, conspicuously inconspicuously heading for the door to the gift shop.
"Be right back," she signed off and stepped inside.
She wouldn't.
((Kayla Harris continued in SPLAT!))