Inbox: Pumpkin Hollow

[stoneoftherose]

[Pyotr is always slow to answer his sending stone, when he bothers to carry it with him at all. He's only rarely interested in talking to others, even when it relates to his safety or livelihood. Sometimes especially then -- if you really need to pin him down about something, it may be better to do it in person. But if you persist in this pointless endeavor, eventually unsteady hands will raise the stone to cracked lips and a drunk or hangover voice -- there doesn't seem to be any pattern as to which it is at any given hour of the day -- will answer.]

Yes? What is it?

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[stoneoftherose]

With Fever's help Pyotr has aired out the main room of his apartment, which sees the most use as his studio, so there will hopefully be nothing that offends the senses of his models. It's process that's almost nostalgic in its petty annoyances; he might also be embarking on a school assignment.

But he cares about this much more than he ever did any professor's regard. It's for Fever, his first truest friend in...quite some time.

His appearance is also tidier than usual when he answers Cassandra's knock. "Lady de Rolo," he acknowledges her with a little bow of his head, standing aside to let her in. "Thank for you agreeing to this. Have you thought about how you'd like to be portrayed?"

This is a more important question than it sounds on the surface. Remember, the point of these portraits is to give Fever something to hold onto if she ever loses all her memories again.

[not_the_last]

"Master Stamatin," she greets him in turn, with a similar bob of the head. "I must admit I haven't given it much thought yet, aside from being recognizable. I'd be pleased to hear any suggestions you may have."

[stoneoftherose]

He considers her for a moment before beckoning her over to a chair positioned next to a window, where the curtains have been pulled back to let in the afternoon sun. "Then why don't you sit here," he directs her. "We'll begin with some warm-up sketches, and you can tell me how you and Miss Fever met."

[not_the_last]

Cassandra seats herself in the offered chair, chin high and shoulders straight, hands clasped neatly in her lap.

"Certainly," she says. "I don't know how much you already know of the cursed ship that a number of us were on before coming here?"

[stoneoftherose]

"I've heard it discussed a time or two...but it's your personal perspective that I'm most interested in." He gathers his drawing pad and pencils, sitting across the room from her. "Help me imagine it as it looked through your eyes."

As she begins to speak, so he will begin to sketch, focusing on the way her face shapes itself around her emotions, her memories. It is there, he thinks, that he'll find the things Fever most wants to remember.

[not_the_last]

"I first met Fever there," she says, "when we were both part of a group attempting to find a way to free us from the ship. I think ... I am almost sure that the first discussion we ever had was an argument over principle and practice."

(Cassandra's face doesn't often show her full range of emotion around people she isn't close to. What can be seen, here and now: reflection, and a kind of distant amusement.)

[stoneoftherose]

She's a lady who keeps her emotions close to her chest, like Victoria the elder. No doubt she is used to moving in circles where this is a great advantage, and though is makes Pyotr's current task harder, he will not begrudge her. In swift, deft strokes he sketches what he can, and then says, "I can think of several situations where Fever's practice might clash with another person's practice. How did you find yourselves thrown together? A fight, perhaps?"

He is a great admirer of Fever's magical prowess -- and its destructive capabilities -- as the many sketches of her pinned to his studio's walls can attest.

[not_the_last]

"In a sense. The group that wanted to free the ship ... we met every so often, and discussed plans and options. And carried them out, when we hit on some that we thought might work. Fever was ... very determined, as I recall, to find others' boundaries. The lines they were not willing to cross. And bring them to face the implications of those lines. Keeping us honest with ourselves, if you will."

That cool reflection has taken on something like a note of approval.