awashlogs | catch-all for march!

[ ..........she's just being literal, for the purposes of the Quest. It's the first time she's going to be drawn by him. Yes. That's... what she means. ]

I—yes, that's right. And it'll be my first time drawing your portrait. So it's a first time for both of us. Our first time. Hahaha.

[ How to describe this feeling.... Excitement? Anticipation? Giddiness? She doesn't know, but she wonders that-- if she had a heart-- if it would be fluttering in this moment.

Pyra beckons him in, shyly smiling, equally shyly bringing a hand to her cheek to scratch it nervously. ] I never--... Ah.... If you had said anything sooner, I would have tried to find some sort of make-up.... lipstick, perhaps? [ Darn-- for a moment, her expression falls. She should have tried to find something in the thorn-castle back then. She should have found some red, or perhaps something bolder, something nicer, more prominent, something that might actually capture his attention than... than what she was created with.

(Somehow, the idea of getting dressed up for him makes her feel light.) ] Rouge, and then... [ Her hand idly goes to the back of her head, as if to signify as if she could fashion it in a different way.

.....And then, almost as if she's lost herself for a moment, she flushes and glances back to him. ] Ah! What am I saying; come in, come in.

Yes, you will be my first.

[ Mythra..... she would be a far more suitable subject to be painted, she thinks. With all of her light, her glory.... her providence. And then her sensuality, the way her hair drapes about her shoulders, how soft her skin looks, the very pinnacle of a human's form, with a blessing of the stars upon her skin... How would he draw Mythra, she wonders.

How would he draw us?

Guess we'll have to find out, replies Mythra, lazily, idly, half awake, half asleep, half uncaring, half taking what she has already reaped. ] But... let me get ready first, okay?

[ Once upon a time, back in the old days, he always had flowers or jewelry or cosmetics to give to girls. He couldn't really think of himself as a proper flirt otherwise. So he's embarrassed, now, that he doesn't have any of those things on him. He should really step up his game.

Quickly: ]

As if you'd need anything like that. If you were more beautiful... I don't think my heart could take it, haha!

[ He grins. He's kidding around, obviously. He needs her to think that. Because if she thinks he's serious, she might send him away. She might break off contact with him. His heart couldn't take that.

He busies himself taking out his brushes and ink, and smoothing out a scroll of paper. ]

Take all the time you need.

[ The flamboyant tone he uses... he's joking, as usual. But it is nice to think if only for one fleeting, indulgent moment, that she does seem beautiful to him in that way. That she could possibly make his heart flutter in that way that would get him to stop thinking about anything else, anyone else in the world...

Or... can she?

Unbidden thoughts of how they were so... close together within that trap in that castle come to mind, heat creeping up the back of her neck coupled along with it.

.... ] A...alright, I'll.... just prepare....

[ She says quietly, turning away rather quickly before she makes her way up the stairs to her room.

She wants to do this for him, even if she knows she's toeing a rather dangerous, thin line with even daring to think of doing something like this at all. But there is something she wishes to know, as if whatever happens here is going to prove some sort of question she has had in her mind. What is that question in the first place, however? Is it something she wishes to wonder about him, that he would look at her in such a manner that should only be reserved for someone he is truly fond of? Or is it a question she must ask herself? She's not even sure at this point, but she knows she wants to do this.

Pyra has seen Nero's self-portraits and the, ah, traditional way in which she depicts herself, baring almost everything about herself or everything, period. Pyra is not so bold to pose for Wei Wuxian completely without clothes, but perhaps she can--... Perhaps she can use a sheet to drape about herself in a way that is both tasteful and tantalizing to the imagination. Something elegant in the same way Nero does, something that might get him to pause.

Then again, if his own house is filled with portraits of Nero already (un)dressed like that, he might not give her a second glance.

Eventually, Pyra descends the stairs barefoot, the sheet wrapped around her loosely, bunched together in the front by a hand she holds to her breast. Here, he will be able to see that the crystal upon her chest is indeed embedded into her skin, glowing steadily as ever. She makes her way to him, letting the fabric fall from one shoulder as she looks to him-- both shy, seeking approval, and... eyes carefully upon him as she moves across the room, as if watching him for his reaction. ]

How is... this?

[ He has his supplies laid out by the time she returns. He hears her light (okay not so light) step upon the stairs and glances up. ]

[ .............and does a double-take because what on earth. He'd thought to himself, not seriously, that he wouldn't discourage her if she wanted to disrobe for her portrait. Not seriously, because seriously he'd never have expected her to do... this. ]

[ Somehow, he's on his feet, swaying, having only just barely managed to avoid knocking over the table and the ink and brushes. ]

Y-you...

[ He swallows hard, feeling his face getting hot. Even though her usual attire is revealing and form-fitting, the sheet she's draped herself with is unexpected. It's different. He cannot help staring at the expanse of creamy skin across her throat, her arms, her shoulders, nor at the glowing crystal embedded into her chest. He'd touched that thoughtlessly, several months ago; until this moment, he hadn't realized to what extent it truly is a part of her. ]

[ After a few false starts, he's finally able to speak. ]

It's... it's... perfect. Would you... er. Would you like to stand? Or... or sit? Or...

[ ...

Dare he? She's either going to kick him out, or this is going to be a wonderful evening. ]

[ His eyes flick to the sofa.

Silkily: ]

Or... would you like to lie down?

[ Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand then he loses his nerve and starts stammering: ]

E-either way is fine with me, it's - it's - it's t-totally up to you! W-whatever you're most comfortable with!

[ nailed it ]

[ ...She finds she likes the way he looks at her when she first walks down the stairs, his eyes upon her-- she knows his gaze goes to the crystal at her chest, she wonders if he would like to place his hand upon it again. As for how his eyes seem to sweep over the rest of her-- it is like he was...appreciating of what she's showing him. An artist's talent for identifying beauty, that's all; an appraisal of sorts, she cautions herself to not think more of it. Still, she can be quietly content with actually being thought of as beautiful by him.

She's crossed the distance over to him by the time he's down speaking... and all the while, she's trying to figure his varying expressions out. Wei Wuxian is very expressive, it's a quality that she's found endearing of his-- there's no denying that, but he's also a very careful man in what he reveals. That he's brought up the option of lying in a specifically different tone must mean that that is he wants her to do. ]

Ah, actually... lying down sounds much more comfortable. [ It's the truth! She doesn't know how many drafts or how long Wei Wuxian will take to paint her, but it would be far easier if she were to hold a stance while lounging than standing. ]

...Upon the couch, mm. [ She'll walk over to it, reaching out from the sheet she has around her to delicately place her finger upon one of the cushioned arms. She turns partly back to him, looking over her shoulder. ] ... However you imagine it, Wei Ying. [ Has he imagined it, she wonders? What it would be like to pose her and paint her?

It's terrible, but she hopes he has. She likes the idea of him thinking of her as something worthy to be painted by his own hand. ]

[ He stares at her, posed like that, looking over her bare shoulder at him.....

He shuts his eyes. He has imagined it, all the different poses he'd like to see from her, over and over again, and had to shut the thoughts out in order not to torment himself. But reality and imagination are two different things. No matter what, they'll have to experiment a little. ]

For now, lie down on the sofa normally, as if you were just resting. I want to see how look posed naturally, before I start trying to pose you.

[ Lounge naturally, he suggests, but honestly Pyra is pretty self-conscious at this point that she’s sure she just might embarrass herself trying to look natural in front of him!

...But she will try.

Settling herself down, she brings her legs upon the cushions and one arm upon the arm of the couch, arranging the sheet she’s draped about her over her front carefully, tastefully....

And intentionally low, risqué. Her elegance is not Nero’s, and she definitely cannot complete with Xie Lian either. But... can she captivate his gaze all the same? She’s going to try, because she... she needs to know, to know for certain if he might... If he will.... ]

Such as this...?

[ ..........no, there won't be any experimentation necessary. ]

That's... that is...

[ That's perfect, is what he wants to say, but all he can do is stammer. You are perfect, is what he wants to say also. He can feel his face prickling with heat. He feels heat all over. In that instant, he's transported back to when the two of them were pressed together in that coffin. His lips part. ]

[ And then he looks, really looks at her, and he fancies he can detect some stiffness in her pose. Her shoulder up a little too high, her muscles a little too tense. He exhales... and then smiles, helplessly. ]

Pyra....

You don't have to do this, just to please me.

[ It occurs to him just then, that he's thinking too much of himself. She's probably not doing this to please him, but because she thinks this is what portraiture is all about, based on what she's seen from Maiden Nero's works. Hastily, he adds: ]

I mean, anyone would be pleased. Very much so. But... well, Chinese portraiture is a little different from what you've seen in my apartment, the things that Maiden Nero makes. The... the picture of Xie Lian, for instance, have you seen that one? It's very traditional. He's in a red wedding dress seated on my—

[ FUCK FUCK FUCK why the FUCK is he bringing up his not!wife now??????? He wants to slap himself. ]

I'm just.... I'm just saying, you're loveliest when you're happy. If doing this, like this, makes you unhappy, I—

[ couldn't cope with that. ]

[ It seems that she's not posing quite right for him... He wants her to pose like his... husband.

If anything, it's a sobering reminder to her about just what she's doing here. Or, perhaps, trying to determine from this. She hadn't expect him to show up at her door with paper and paint brushes, but the instant he offered her mind had run wild with what she might be able to learn from this, from him, and about how he might feel about her.

She isn't completely dense. Upon reflection there have been times before where she had thought he was looking at her a certain way or saying certain things or being so considerate of her that-- upon thinking really hard about them-- have gotten her to question, and it has only been made worse after after... after he had regained his color, after the events at her ramen shop. Or like just now, just when he had said her name, he had seemed almost entranced; but then he mentions Xie Lian and it's back to square one and he's confusing her once more.

Pyra's trying to move on, she really, truly is! She's been throwing herself into planning their wedding, she's been happy for them, she's been doing all she can for them. She can still respect him from afar, honor whoever he chooses, and she certainly cannot disrespect Xie Lian. She would absolutely never be able to forgive herself if she hurt him, as the poor god deserves all the happiness in the world with whomever he chooses as well. And Xie Lian would absolutely treat Wei Wuxian right; they've both chosen each other. So how can she do this, how can she?

It's her curiosity, her wanting to know just what he might actually feel for her. This, she promises herself, will be the only time she tiptoes around... trying to... She's trying to... entice him, in a way. To test him, his love for Xie Lian versus... what might be mixed signals. Albeit in the most indirect and convoluted way possible; hell, at this point, she's confusing herself. What remains to be true is that she wants to do this.

Because regardless of what happens here, at least she will treasure his portrait of her, a reminder that at one point, his eyes had only been on her.

So with that all said within her mind... time to get to business. ]

--I'm happy. [ She quickly replies, all of the aforementioned cycles of thought occurring within but seconds in her mind.

She smiles at him, resting her head down upon the arm of the couch. Now that she's made up her mind, now that she's reached a resolution of sorts... she feels a little more at ease. Come what may, she will accept the results; her heart simply can't take it anymore, after all. ] Happy to have your talented hand paint me as your roommate. [ It would be nice to have him actually close to her, to have his hands... ah. ] ...Or as your wife.

[ She closes her eyes for a moment, and when she opens them she speaks with a satisfied sigh. No, there's no way she can be Xie Lian. So she says: ]

Have me... however way you like. [ Posing however he would like, she means.

...But she misses the double entendre a little too late after the words leave her. Feeling her face warm from the implications she decides to just... let her words be, to see how he reacts, she herself at first glancing away, but then looking back at him side-long. ]

[ As soon as she relaxes into the sofa and affirms that she is, indeed, happy, he instantly reaches for his brush. That gentle smile, he wants to capture it, wants to capture this moment for eternity. ]

[ ...

It's a good thing he hasn't yet dipped his paintbrush in ink yet, because he drops it. He's frozen, stunned. ]

[ And then he dives under the table, pretending to look for it. What... what is she doing? Have me however way you like, as your roommate or your wife. What's going on? Is she trying to seduce him? She is naked beneath that sheet, which is astonishing enough, but then to say that...

But how can this be possible? She'd reacted with such anger when she'd caught him kissing Shen Qingqiu. How could she, herself, do what she'd scolded others for doing? She isn't that kind of person, he believes that with every fiber of his being. Not only that, but if he thinks honestly about it, she certainly wouldn't compromise her principles for someone like him.

Which means she's testing him. Trying to tempt him, for some reason. It probably has to do with the wedding. She's probably trying to make sure of his feelings for Xie Lian. ]

Edited 2019-03-26 14:59 (UTC)

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