[Voice]

[planet_rin]

Paint.

[Kneejerk reaction to memory recovery! Had to get it out there.]

[At this point Rin takes several seconds to sort that thought out.]

Need to paint. Very important. Need part-time job to pay for supplies. Part-time jobs don't pay up front.

Somebody lend me some painting supplies. And some paint. I'll give back the supplies when I can afford my own, but if I use paint, I can't give it back. It doesn't come back off the canvas, which is kind of the point.


[[1% spent on painting technique.]]

Comments

[rainbowbrush]

I have paint! I have lots of paint!

[planet_rin]

I don't need that much.

[rainbowbrush]

Well, you need a lot of colors! And different brushes! And stuff to mix colors with! You're not very good at this painting thing, are you?

[planet_rin]

It's not a lot of paint if I need that much. A lot of paint would be too much to ever use all of at once.

[rainbowbrush]

Depends on what you're painting!

[planet_rin]

What kind of painting requires more paint than it requires?

[rainbowbrush]

You never know how much paint a painting'll need til you're finished!

[planet_rin]

Can I borrow your paint or not?

[rainbowbrush]

Only if you let me paint with you.

[planet_rin]

This is a very serious condition. I will have to think carefully about it.

[rainbowbrush]

Whaaaaaaat? Why? It's okay, you don't have to worry about messing me up - I'm the best there is, after all.

[planet_rin]

Painting is a representation of who I am. If I paint together with someone else, I might lose track of my identity.

[rainbowbrush]

...I'm not gonna paint on the same paper as you!

[planet_rin]

Oh, OK. That's fine, then.

[rainbowbrush]

Yay! I'm gonna go to your room, okay?

[She doesn't wait for an answer. A few minutes later, Relm is knocking at her door, arms full of painting equipment.]

[planet_rin]

The door's unlocked.

[rainbowbrush]

Gah! My hands are full! Open up~!

[planet_rin]

If you insist.

[Weirdly long pause.]

[Fumbling noises.]

[What is she doing in there.]

[There we go door open.]

[rainbowbrush]

It's about ti-

[She stops. And stares.]

Where are your arms?!

[planet_rin]

[Rin mechanically rotates her head down to look at her missing arms.]

[Then,]

[She mechanically rotates her head back up to look at Relm.]

I don't know.

[rainbowbrush]

[Relm drops her painting equipment unceremoniously to the floor. Then, she peers at the area around Rin's shoulders.]

They're really gone?

[planet_rin]

[Looks at no arms.]


[Looks at Relm.]

[rainbowbrush]

How are you gonna paint?!

[planet_rin]

[Rin deftly takes up a brush between her toes.]

Can you help me with mixing paints?

[rainbowbrush]

Whoa.

[She takes a moment to quietly admire Rin.]

Yeah, I can do that, no problem!

[planet_rin]

[Painting begins. For Rin, it's a slow, ponderous process, but it doesn't seem to bother her.]

I need a color that's like when you've almost fallen asleep, and something happens in your dream that makes you suddenly jerk awake.

Maybe some orange would help.

[rainbowbrush]

I got it.

[And she begins mixing paints. At one point, she nearly stops and asks Rin how close the color is... but then thinks better of it and adds a bit more orange, some more white, and... just a touch of yellow.

She won't say she wants Rin's approval, but the way she looks up at her like an eager puppy probably makes it fairly obvious.]

[planet_rin]

[Rin leans over comically close to peer at the color mix, looking almost like she's going to lose balance and topple facefirst into it. She doesn't.]

Maybe...

No, this is good.

[Painting continues. Rin's picture is starting to come together a bit, although it doesn't really seem to be of anything.]

[rainbowbrush]

[Relm beams, but then quickly goes back to her own painting, using liberal amounts of the color she just mixed. Her own painting appears to be of a very realistic sunrise over Sirocco; it almost seems to shine with the sun's light.]

[planet_rin]

[Rin isn't much of a conversationalist when she's working. Aside from occasional incoherent descriptions of paint colors (a color like a traffic light that can't decide how fast it wants you to go), she works in silence.]

[The two paintings are in remarkable contrast. Relm's painting shines with supernatural realism, whereas Rin's is a work of stark lines connecting barely-identifiable shapes. It is a picture of being metaphorically lost at sea.]

[rainbowbrush]

[Relm, however, loves to talk. She chatters on idly as she paints, talking about nothing in particular, and not even really seeming to realize that Rin isn't responding for a while. Then, when her painting is nearly done, she pauses for breath as she contemplates any additional touches of paint.]

[planet_rin]

[Relm is also much faster! Between Rin's slow, deliberate care given to every brush stroke and her periodic breaks to sqint intensely at it from as close as a couple inches away, her painting is still very much a WIP by the time Relm's wrapping up.]