A pleasant afternoon in the park.

[azuranthine]

Who: Satomi (Open)
Where: The West Park
What: Satomi likes to paint in the park.
When: An afternoon during the weekend following the library thread.


There was something about the West Park that drew Satomi. Perhaps it was the size, it was smaller and seemed less popular than Kochi Jinja park. Maybe it was the old bear statue in the park square that ensured her presence whenever the whether was nice. Something about it comforted her and put her mind at ease. Quite the curiosity, it was.

And so Satomi had set up her portable easel in front of a bench in the park square. She was sitting on the bench with a small jar of water, an open watercolor set, a thin roll of paper towels, and an array of soft paintbrushes laid out beside her. A large tote bag with a color scheme that could only be described as psychedelic rainbow sat on the ground by her feet.

Comments

[azuranthine]

"Maybe? I'd wonder about their logic, though. I'd be curious how they came to that conclusion from the piece I presented."

This conversation was starting to feel a uncomfortably like an interrogation of some sort. But Satomi had been the one to open the door, hadn't she? Or maybe she just wasn't used to being questioned like this. It wasn't as if she'd had a lot of lengthy conversations with people and Shirokawa-senpai had been in charge of the Disciplinary Committee last year. Perhaps old habits died hard?

"So if you were to interpret this piece as is, what message would you take from it?"

Both her expression and her voice remained calm, revealing nothing of her increasing anxiety.

[disappointedidealist]

"Me?" The question turned back at her, Aya seemed to falter for a moment. She worried at her scarf as she stared at the image. Finally, "It's not complete so I can't say I know what the message might be. But..."

She sat back. "I guess I'd have questions. Is she really in the water? Who's she and why's she there? Is it another 'you'? I don't really have a message as much as I'd want to know what it is." She shook her head. "I'm sorry, that probably isn't very good feedback...."

[azuranthine]

Incomplete?

Satomi studied her painting, hand still moving though the strokes didn't seem quite so certain now. For a moment, she seemed to lose control of her brush, smearing the girl's eyes into an ugly blur. Ordinarily, she would have hurried to fix the error but this time, she just sat there holding the paintbrush.

"I wonder who she is," she said in a subdued voice that bordered on monotone.

[disappointedidealist]

Aya noticed the shift from the tranquil girl who'd confidently been painting earlier. The panic and guilt was clear on Aya's face,

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm not very knowledgeable with art so I probably said something completely stupid and I'm sorry," she blurted. "I didn't mean to offend you."

[azuranthine]

"You didn't," Satomi said in a much more normal tone. "You've actually given me something to think about. Thank you for your honesty."

She managed a reassuring smile for her senpai.

"You didn't do or say anything wrong so please don't worry or think that you did."

[disappointedidealist]

"You sure?" Aya asked, some of the guilt and anxiousness still there. "You don't have to tell me otherwise if I really did."

She stared at the painting again. She didn't know whether it was worth pushing her mouth a bit further right now but, "I think it's got something, though, even if it's not done yet. You're painting to find the message in it but it's still there, somewhat. Like..." She brightened and nodded. "Like cookie dough. It's not done baking so it's not cookies yet but it can still taste good and you have an idea of what it could be but you won't know until it's done. It might not even turn out to be cookies in the end but a sort of cookie brownie. It's just the answers to the recipe you decide fit best in the end."

[azuranthine]

"That makes sense."

Satomi nodded to herself.

"And cookie brownies can taste just as good as cookies and brownies." She hesitated. "Perhaps this painting will be easier to understand after it's finished, then."

[disappointedidealist]

"And so can cookie dough itself," Aya said with a smile. "When you're done the painting, can I see it again? I don't know much about art so I can't guarantee useful feedback but I want to see if I can 'get' more of this girl next time."

[azuranthine]

"Sure. You can see it then."

There was something oddly embarrassing about unveiling unfinished works, Satomi thought, but she'd done better this time than she usually did. Normally, no one paid her any mind when she came here and in all honesty, she preferred it that way. Standing out from the crowd truly was an overrated luxury.

"Um, I should probably start packing up. I have some things I need to do at home," she said, sounding apologetic. "It was nice speaking with you, Shirokawa-senpai"

[disappointedidealist]

"Ah, right. I should get going too." She gave her scarf another light tug to make sure it wouldn't fly off again and stood. "I'll see you around, Izumi-san."

She gave the younger girl a bright smile and waved as she went on her way.