Penny for a Portrait(Karasuki)

Gades yawned while he sat in his small booth in the town of Magnolia and waited for customers to come to him, things were rather slow in Hargeon at the moment so the Incubus had decided to take his stand he stored in a lacrima and headed to Magnolia town to see if he could make some cash and also perhaps get some muse for new paintings. So far though he had been sitting for a few hours and he got no customers yet. At the moment he was currently sketchings things with a pad of paper and putting up some of the art so people could see it.

“ I do hope someone wants a drawing soon it’s a shame when I cannot put my talents to use” he mumbled as he pulled out a case of macaroons and started to munch on the gourmet treat while he waited for people to come up to him, he didn’t really feel like yelling out since that seemed more attention seeking that respectable.

Karasuki had been traveling, not going too far from home. She worked in the bookshop all day every day, and never did she tired of it. In fact, she had surprised her adoptive mother, Isadora, when requested to go to Magnolia Town on an errand. Karasuki had agreed, ever the kind and obedient daughter, but it was obvious that Isadora had interrupted something else she had been working on in the back of the shop. The violet haired female had planned to laze the weekend away with the next book in Anon's series and going out of town instead seemed unnecessary. She had packed a bag, and her book of course, and ended up in Magnolia Town. She had gotten settled into an Inn and decided to go for a brief walk.

It was practically lunch, or was it dinner time? Karasuki was lost in her own world, in Anon's world. She was  day dreaming, walking through the market square and past vendors of every type. She gave nonchalant smiles, waves, and was clearly well practiced in the art of walking and reading at the same time. The book, open in her palms, had most of her attention as she wondered through the market, enjoying the sounds and smells, but mostly enjoying the characters in the book. As she walked, she passed a painter, though by the glance she gave him as he munched on a snack, he wasn't very busy. She took no interest in him because of that. She paused to look around and saw a bench beside some well manicured garden flowers.

Karasuki closed the book, pinching a finger between pages to save her place, and then took up her seat upon the bench. She looked at the flowers curiously, and then whispered, "Ah, irises. I thought there would be more magnolia trees here. What a surprise." She relaxed, breathing in and out slowly. It was so peaceful here, an engagement amongst the people purchasing and selling that was as amusing as watching a game of chess. And with the well placed flowers and benches, it was quite picturesque. Perhaps, traveling out here for Isadora was not so bad after all. At least here, Geralt had been silent and had given her some solace. She flicked open her book once more and returned to gazing into the pages.

As Gades ate his macaroons he suddenly saw something that caught his eye, it was a woman with glasses and she seemed to be focused on a book. It was strange but something about her captured the Incubus attention and he put down his snack and grabbed his sketch pad and started to sketch the woman as she was on the bench. His eyes darted from her to his pad in quick succession as he made sure that he got all her features and his silver eyes were intense and focused as he got into his work. After a few more moments he grinned and he blew on his paper to get rid of any pencil bits on it and he then looked at her.

“excuse me miss can I get your opinion on something” he called out to Karasuki, once she came over he would turn the sketch pad over and show her the sketch he did and he smiled softly.”Did I manage to do a good job I always like a second opinion on my work” he said before he dipped his head in greeting.”Where are my manners I am Gades Saito a Incubus from a far away land may I know your name miss” he asked being gentlemanly.

Karasuki delved into her book, page after page, eating the words up with her eyes as if she were a starved woman at a banquet. She heard a man's voice call out to her and at first, she couldn't help but assume that it was someone else. When Karasuki adjusted her red framed glasses to look about the area, she discovered the man who had called out and made eye contact with him. Her brown eyes looked almost golden at the angle when she brought her chin upwards to meet his direct gaze. Karasuki's cheeks colored realizing a moment of awkwardness too late that he had been politely addressing her.

She looked around as she got to her feet, closing her book and using her index finger has a bookmark once more. The violet haired girl had always thought that she looked a little plain, wearing simple black flats and a light blue dress with a few buttons up the torso and a bow beside her waistline. She analyzed herself as she walked towards him, her dress flowing just above her knees, her summer hat tilted upon her brow, and for once her purple hair fell in sways around her shoulders. She wore no jewelry, no make up. It was simply a comfortable dress to travel in and her mother had suggested it in the first place.

Close Appearance:

If he asked for her opinion, it had to have been her glasses. People said that glasses made you look smart and it was lucky coincidence that Karasuki was great with books. Politely, Karasuki placed her hands in front of her and leaned in as the man showed the sketch he had done. Taken aback, her hands unclasped and she took a half step to the side and backwards, bumping into the man himself. Her amber eyes widened in embarrassment. The girl in his sketch was beautiful, graceful, soaking up the sun with a book in her hands, the shadow of the hat hiding all but an amused little smile. Karasuki fought her urge to lift up a hand and trace the flowing lines along the pencil woman's posture. She swallowed hard, "It-it's a.." She ducked her shoulders slightly and put her lips together. He sketched her? And she looked like that?! Karasuki had long adored the arts and she felt a little guilty, having assessed the painter as originally muse-less and bored. "It is remarkable and inspiring," She rewarded his forwardness with praise.

"But I think, Mr. Saito, that you have painted past the point of reality and blurred the lines into the abstract." If he was this good with a few minutes of sketching, she wondered of his capability with the painting materials he had with him. What would this sketch look like in color? Would he paint in her cheeks as they were then- kissed by sunlight- or as they were now- tinged with rose. She withdrew her hand/bookmark from the pages of the novel and reached to gesture towards her chest, withdrawing her face downward in a short crisp bow of the head. "I am Karasuki Kitsuharu of the Edge of Time bookstore in Oak Town." The introduction was somewhat odd and it was obvious that she either had no interaction outside of that bookshop, or that she had introduced herself too many times this way to clientele or customers back in her hometown. Still, she appeared otherwise confident, taking no notice that this was an odd sort of greeting on her own behalf.

Hearing her praise Gades smiled and he bowed his head in appreciation,”thank you very much miss for your kind words I try to keep up on my skills so they don’t dull” he said as he heard her then tell him that she thought he might have sketched beyond reality and into abstract which caused the Incubus prince to chuckle slightly.”Honestly miss I just drew what I saw simple as that” he said though it was also a complement to her as well as he heard her introduce herself as Karasuki Kistuharu from Oak Town.”It’s a pleasure to meet you Karasuki if you like you may keep the sketch” he offered before he then got an idea.

“or if your interested I could paint your portrait. Since I have no customers at the moment I will offer this one free of charge” he said being a bit generous since he had no customers he wondered if perhaps she might be willing to spread word of his skill thru the town to give him some work until he left for Hargeon again. “if you do not want it then its ok I thought I would offer since I have had no real customers and this could give me some muse to make some amazing pictures” he explained since he wanted her to know that there was no pressure if she didn’t want a portrait then that was fine.

The man chuckled when given her appraisal and she blinked at him, noting the genuine mirth in the sound. She had been truly honest and looked at the sketch again and put her lips together tightly. He really saw that? Had he seen another girl's face perhaps and penciled it to her body? Karasuki didn't ask and instead took his complement as a flirtatious ruse. He had said he was an incubus from a far away land, but she wasn't quite sure that she believed that either. She saw no wings, horns or tail, and even the mischievous look that Masha often had in her eyes and the aura of desire about her, she felt nothing extensive and saw nothing very unusual in this man. Either he was lying, or he was such a low level incubus that his power didn't show. Karasuki kept her less than polite evaluation of the male to herself and when he asked to paint her she clasped her hands in front of her again, standing up straight.

"Why, Mr. Saito, I couldn't possibly stand in as an artistic muse or have you paint my portrait for no cost." She considered the blank canvas resting still in front of him and the paints, her intense curiosity for his ability driving her to add on, "Though I have a little bit of money for my traveling. I can spare say 15 Jewel? If it helps you get customers, I think it would be a nice way to thank you for selecting me." Karasuki didn't have much to her own name and needed to spend some for the train back to Oak Town. If she didn't purchase another book today and resisted the urge, then she surely could spend some here. There was a certain joy in art and Karasuki did like that she would help support an artist's endeavors. She didn't give him a chance to argue her paying for it hastily questioning, "So where would you like me to be, or how do you want me posed, Mr. Saito?"

Gades blinked in surprise as he heard Karasuki tell him that she could not have a portrait painted for no cost and then she offered him 15 jewel for his work and Gades thought before he nodded.”Very well Ill accept your offer but instead of 15 jewel just give me 7 and that will do. That way you have some leftover money incase you need something” he said before he then heard her ask how he would like her posed and where he would like her to be it took a moment but Gades then spoke.”I guess if you would like you could sit back on the bench and for a pose you can chose I don’t want you to be uncomfortable” he suggested as he grabbed his art supplies and his white Incubus tail emerged to carry one of his containers of paint.

If Karasuki saw it then she might be surprised since most Succubus and Incubus had black or close to black wings and tails so Gades had features that were very rare for a Incubus as he set up to draw her and he got his paints ready while she got into a pose that he would paint. Once she was ready Gades grabbed two paint brushes and his tail took one of them before they started to paint Karasuki, Gades gaze darted from the canvas to Kara and his hand and tail moved fluidly only stopping to dab for more paint to keep going, the Incubus had to admit this girl was interesting for some reason but he couldn’t put his finger on it. However as he worked he seemed to get more ideas and he wondered if she would be willing to pose for him again in the future.

She should choose the pose? Well, Karasuki considered, what an odd thing that was. She wasn't a model and had no idea how to pose. Was she supposed to cross her legs, play with her hair, look off into the distance wistfully? Karasuki looked visibly uncomfortable and her nerves almost got the better of her. She could hear Geralt speaking in her head, as always, though he had given her a bit of a break. "Look at you, so pretty you can be his model. And then I am sure he will ask for more.." The voice was crisp and sarcastic. Karasuki pursed her lips, telling Geralt back, "You keep quiet. You don't know anything, he's just an artist." "I have experienced more in my life than you have, sheltered bookworm. That guy has other intentions than just painting you. All guys do." He grumbled. Karasuki plastered a smile on her face, telling Geralt to go back to sleep, and quickly moved back over to the bench. "Would you cut it out, please?" "I am just looking out for you, lass. But suit yourself, I don't care." What a mood Geralt was in today, but at least he seemed to go quiet then.

"I'm just going to sit over here and read then, since I don't know much how to pose. I hope that is all right with you, Mr. Saito," Karasuki called to him as she sat down on the bench. She leaned back and tried to relax, tried to pretend he wasn't painting her, tried not to put any sort of face on just for him. Karasuki just tried to be herself reading her book on a bench with a light summer breeze in the air. She took her hat down and rested it on the bench next to her, her purple hair playing in the wind behind her, strands floating up and down at random. Her brown eyes moved towards the pages, her deft fingers sliding through until she found her page once more. And then, with surprising ease, the woman began to fall back into the book's plot and out of the world.

At one point, Karasuki felt curious enough to see the artist at work and she looked up at him. He seemed focused, his eyes moving from the canvas to Karasuki and back. She tried to watch secretly for a moment and caught sight of a pure white tail; so he was a real incubus. She stared for a moment as the tail helped to paint and tried not to laugh. She hadn't seen a tail used in an artistic way before. Masha wasn't like that at all! Karasuki wanted to ask him why his tail was white. Was it genetic? Was it the paint or the sun exposure? Was it because he was a different kind of incubus, or maybe a lower class of incubus? As she had thought before, no aura of rampant sensual intentions, painting in the street for 7 jewels, and an unusual tail kind of denoted that maybe he was lower class after all. It was nearly confirmed and Karasuki thought it might be rude to question him about his social standings. She returned her eyes to the book and bit on her lip, hoping he didn't notice that she had stared for so long. "I saw that you know," Geralt murmured inside with a pompous air, "Don't get yourself too involved if you think he's lower class. Low class men are complete scoundrels." Karasuki didn't respond and instead closed her mind off to Geralt, something she rarely did. It was as if she pinched his nose shut and blindfolded him to the world. The villain was likely to be salty afterwards but he got the message loud and clear from her.

Gades gave her a small smile and nodded “that is fine Karasuki as long as your comfy also Gades is fine im not that big on formality ” he said as she sat down and he started to paint her while his tail helped him fill in areas that he wasent focused on at that moment. His silver eyes darted from her to the canvas but after a moment or two he noticed that she was staring at him and more specifically his tail. It made him wonder if she had ever seen someone like him and if so if she questioned how strong of an incubi he was which most did since he kept such a tight reign on his power though his charm still slipped by since he couldn’t control that.

“if your curious about my tail miss its genetic along with my horns and wings but I don’t tend to show them in public. But with all the Incubi and succubi I so far am the only one to have white features” he explained as he kept painting without missing a beat.”However that does not make me lower in the Incubi hierarchy the opposite I am very high up but most do not tell due to my restraint and control I have over my inborn abilitys.” He added as he glanced up at her for a moment.”Im here to show that not all Incubi and Succubi are sex driven monsters we are better then that and that some of us can be civil like myself” he said with a small smile “your doing very well as a model also miss Karasuki” he praised as his tail grabbed a different brush to add more detail to the painting.

Karasuki didn't lift her head up from the book, trying to keep in position. The least she moved the better a model she would end up being right? Karasuki absently flipped to the next page, able to read and think at the same time when Geralt kept to himself. Gades explained himself and his tail in a strange way, as if he somehow knew what she had been thinking. Even if he had caught her staring, it was unusual for the man, or any man, to guess literally word for word what was in her head. Her brown eyes lifted upward from the book to meet his. He had white wings, horns and a tail. And he had no problem calling this out to her in public, though right now the market wasn't that busy a place. He was the only one with white features, but when he said that he was high up in status Karasuki made a face of disbelief.

Someone so unusual was usually pushed out of society, not pushed up. He talked about restrain and control over his abilities and Karasuki began to feel pity for him. He had clearly practiced this lie many times and he might even have believed it himself. Then calling other succubi and incubus sex driven monsters- he must have felt great betrayal and hurt for how they must have treated someone who looked so different. Karasuki gave a smile and nodded to him. "Well, thank you, Gades. And I must say your color is very appealing to me as is your impressive restraint," Karasuki pretended to believe his lies by infiltrating her true feelings with also true facts she held. "With an extra help of your tail, you must paint very swiftly. I am sure a real model doesn't move quite as much as I do though I appreciate the compliment."

Gades missed the look of disbelief on her face at his explanation since he was focused on painting at the time but when she gave him and smile and said she liked his color and his restraint and he gave her a sincere smile”thank you very much Karasuki I appreciate the compliment” he said as he worked on putting the finishing touches on the painting with his tail adding to it. She then guess that his tail helped him out a lot and that a real model most likely wouldn’t be moving as much as she was which made the Incubus shake his head a bit.

“its fine I have the basic pose down so a little movement is fine Karasuki but yes my tail does help but it took me a while to learn how to get so good with it” he explained before he stopped painting and looked at her work before he grinned widely in pride as he motioned for her to come over. Once she did she would see her image on the canvas but with the detail that Gades put into it the canvas was almost like a portal and the Karasuki inside was so life like you would think you could reach out and touch her.”Like the end result?”he asked his grin still on his face as he glanced at her.”you were a very good model” he praised again.

Karasuki sat there patient and mute while he finished working, happy to get pulled back into her book. In there lay adventure, romance, and traveling to new places. She followed characters through series like a fan girl fawns over celebrity mages in magazines. It was a relatively short while before Gades spoke and gestured for her to join him. Karasuki closed her book, sliding a ribbon from her pocket into the book to use as a mark this time. She brushed her layered dress out and walked towards him, her posture straight and elegant. When she stood next to Gades, she could feel his presence behind her as he asked her for her opinion once more.

Karasuki brushed her purple hair behind an ear and gazed into the portrait. It was incredibly life like and filled with unexpected colors. She hadn't realized how much green was around her or how rosy her skin looked besides the flowers. She beamed, feeling a rush of graciousness inside for how he brought out some hidden beauty in her. She patted his arm and said, "It is just lovely. Even if you're out here on the streets, no incubus has nothing on your skill. They are all going to be jealous regardless of your social status." She gave him a grin and pulled out a handful of Jewels from her purse. Then she reached for his hand and dropped the pile into his hand, folding his fingers over it.

Gades gave Karasuki a small smile shen she complemented it and stated that no other Incubus could touch his level of skill and would be jealous no matter what his social standing was " thank you Miss Karasuki its always a joy to hear that my work is so well done, if I may ask one thing please pass my name around so I get more work” he asked as he offered her painting to her along with the sketch, due to the paints he used the canvas was already dry and would not run and resist most forms of damage. As she passed him the money Gades gently brought her hand up and he kissed it like a gentleman.”Thank you again for letting me paint you Miss Karasuki perhaps if we meet again I can do it once more” he said humbly.

Karasuki blushed lightly when he kissed the back of her hand and she took a step back. She took the offered painting and shook her head at the sketch. "The painting is more than enough, Sir. I mean, Gades." She looked up at him and down at the painting once more. It was quite picturesque and she looked forward to going home with it. Isadora might even hang the painting up in the shop, a perfect place for people in Oak Town to hear of his work.

Karasuki stepped away from Gades and then looked back over her shoulder with a wave, "Come see me in the shop some time. I am sure Oak Town will love your style." And then the purple haired female walked away, a brisk happy step in her walk. Not only was she back on track for completing the errand she was sent on in the first place, but she had a new painting, for which she had secretly paid the amount she had said she would in the first place. Folding his hand over the jewels and his preceding farewell hand-kiss were enough distraction that she was able to leave the wonderful meeting with Gades feeling like she paid him what he was really due.