assault their senses with persuasion - painting

[fulzanin]

WE'LL MAKE A WAY WHERE YOU CAN FIND YOUR PLACE
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Feza had found something odd in the back of her home. It was strange looking, and it had warranted further inspection. It was taller than she was by a foot or so. A triangle of deep orange wood with the lowest side extending out further with a rim. The other two sides extended down- and a third side helped it stand up on three pegs. There were markers and paintbrushes near it, all sealed up. The item, Feza wasn't sure what it was. It was strange. She paced around it a few times, nudging it with her shoulder. It budged a little, the snow leopard noting that it was light if such a gentle nudge could move it. Her blue gaze fell to the other strange contraptions, only now noting that there was more than one. There was paper nearby too, strange booklets of it. Feza nudged it open with a paw, looking at the splatters of paint that dotted the page. The snow leopard's head swiveled back between the paper and the contraption, and an idea came to mind.

It was a struggle to get all of them outside. They were bigger than she was, and doing such alone was quite the struggle. Feza wound up knocking them against a wall so she could have the item fall on her back. Then her wings spread, and kept it from teetering off her back. She bounded down the stairs and set one down, and then went back to fetch another. Feza was out of breath when she had set them all up outside. The feathered wings she possessed dropped tiredly from her sides. She rushed back inside to grab the paint brushes and paint canisters. There was glitter glue as well- Feza would never be caught doing something artistic if she didn't have glitter glue on hand. There were vibrant colors- some even had labels that claimed it glowed in the dark.

She grabbed one of the unopened glitter glue tubes, settling it between her paws. She bit down on the top, and twisted her head to get such open. She spread the glitter glue on the wood of the easel- just to give it a little more happy, peppy flare. That, and the snow leopard supposed that these would all have to be opened either way. Then she went and fetched the paper that was needed. They were neatly placed upon the lower bars. It took time to get everything set up the way she wanted. It was messy, but it was messy in the usual Feza way. "Hey, I'm- I'm hosting a painting session, if anyone wants to come over and paint!" Feza called. She went on to open up the canisters of paint. In truth they were the cheap, party supply edition, where there was tiny little spots for each color and no room to mix. Made out of plastic with a clear top to allow the colors to be seen. They all came with their own little and equally cheap paintbrushes. She was still trying to get everything organized to be less of a mess, putting the glitter glue all in one pile and the painting kits in another pile and stacking the extra paper pamphlets together.

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THE EMPTY CHAIRS WILL BE RESERVED FOR OUR PITY

[wormwood.]

Feza was hosting yet another event, but this time it seemed as though it wasn't something that would make Wormwood tear his own ears off. Even if it had been something annoying that he couldn't stand, he wouldn't have charged in as angrily as he usually did. Ever since what had happened with the tinsel hats, Worm had kept his distance from the snow leopard, not wanting to upset her further with his presence when it waznt needed. But it seemed as though she wanted people around to attend this particular little gathering, and he was a person, so he figured maybe if he attended and just took part peaceably, maybe she wouldn't see him as so much of a threat. It seemed as though she already didn't see him as much of a threat since he was now smaller than her, but he didn't want her scared of him, or petrified he would kill her anyways. He would never hurt another of his classes, no matter how annoying they were, and after her little breakdown... he could see why she did things like this. To cheer everyone around her up. He could see why she put things together, and why she tried so hard to make people happy, when so much sadness had been afflicting the group around her.

Taking a deep breath, the hellhound approached slowly and eyed the offering that Feza had set up, before he pinned his ears back and barked softly, seeming a bit confused, "I'll participate, but... are we going to hold paintbrushes in our mouth, or are we just going to use our paws...?" He would prefer to use the paintbrushes, considering the fact that he was already an unusual bright blue rotted color, and he really didn't need a bunch of paint being added on to that to make him look like an absolute colorful mess – sort of like Feza's present coloring – but he would do it if it was absolutely necessary. After all, he was here to participate the way that Feza wanted him to, and he could always wash paint off afterwards, even if it would take a bit more effort now that his fur was so thick in certain places... although he was also fairly certain that it would've been a nightmare with his old mane as well, since it was usually so thick and tangled up. Still, he missed his mane...  he missed his old form in general. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, focusing on one of the pieces of paper before he moved to grab it for himself, trying to imagine what he could paint... he could paint the old city the pride used to inhabit, but that would probably just make him sad in the long run. It would bring back bad memories, and he'd just fall apart. So perhaps he should just paint the town that Tanglewood lived in... maybe he'd paint his family. His thoughts were already racing with possibilities, and he actually felt sort of excited for this particular activity. He supposed that would make Feza happy.

[glow=black,2,300]YOUR CHANNEL IS UNREACHABLE[/glow]

[selby roux !]

[align=center][div style="width: 51%; text-align: justify; font-size: 10pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: georgia;"]Work, work, work. Sometimes it felt that that was all there was. Work in the morning, work in the afternoon, work in the evening. Go home and pretend it won’t be the same tomorrow. The cycle continued viciously and endlessly, filling the grieving feline with an overwhelming sense of dread and weariness. It would be different when Moth was fully trained, but for now, Selby’s plate was full to the brim.

All of this to say that Selby needs a break. Not even a long one. Just a few hours where he wasn’t worried that someone might get hurt, that Leroy might kick the bucket at any moment, or that Beck might freak out and tear his stitches again. (The last scenario he knew was unlikely due to the sedatives he continuously administered to the ghost, but still the worry was there.)

After one morning coming from Beck’s houseboat, he heard a call. Painting? He’d never tried it before, but it sounded interesting. On top of that, the promise of relief, even for a brief moment of time, was too good to pass up. Though his encounters with Feza were few and often negative, he doubted that anything could go wrong here. It was only painting.

Selby studied the scene, eyes lingering on the tubes of glitter glue. "I’d like to try, Feza. You did a good job setting up."

[torren]

[align=center]

M e r a k i . v.
The call for a painting session through the Scottish wildcat off-guard.  He hardly felt put-off by the idea however surprised he was, raising to his paws.  Curiosity guiding the way, Torren found himself among a small gathering group around the colorful Tangler he recognized to be Feza.  The snow leopard seemed in her natural habit surrounded by tools of the craft.  And that's a lot of glitter.

He glanced at Wormwood, voicing an inquiry into the important process of how.  The prince hardly minded earning a pair of messy paws for the sake of art, though given the sheer amount of paintbrushes, he suspected that option obviously open.  "I'm happy to participate, Feza."

Only now he wondered what to paint.  The caverns his country lived within?  His family?  The stars came to mind, along with it a more recent, treasured memory.  I'd like to paint that.  "And you have my gratitude for setting all of this up." It seemed to him, a somewhat big job, given how many supplies she was organizing and he intended to make her feel proud for the effort.  No doubt, she intended on painting as well and he wondered what she might come up with -- something with glitter, most like.

[fulzanin]

WE'LL MAKE A WAY WHERE YOU CAN FIND YOUR PLACE
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For a moment, she had to still herself. To stop bouncing back and forth, trying to get everything settled and prepared for the session that she had already called for. Her blue gaze stared at Wormwood for a good, long moment. It took Feza's mind a few moments to decide on what sort of approach she was going to take. Her face lifted up into a more soft smile, releasing a long held breath. "There's paintbrushes in the little paint holder things. Very convenient. I wish I'd thought that up. See? There's a spot right there for the brush." As she spoke the snow leopard opened one of the paint capsules. It was done with difficulty, but she managed. All the main colors were lined up, and there was a brush at the top. A little kid's painter set was what it was- small and convenient nonetheless. "If you wanna use your paws then I'd say go ahead though. I wasn't planning on, on using my paws unless I was using the pink paint." She laughed for but a moment, scooting over the paint package that she had just opened to the hell hound.

Then Feza's attention was turned to the medic that had approached. Feza's last interaction with the medic had been...was it the wind chimes? Or had it been when she had arrived to the smell of death and despair? She couldn't quite remember. It didn't matter. What mattered right now was painting with cheap brushes and cheap art supplies- not that Feza knew that the items were cheap. To her it was golden, it was just as righteous and mighty as the cardboard boxes. Her fluffy ears raised at the praise, and a twitch of her tail accompanied the motion. It felt absolutely wonderful, that finally this was doing what it had always been meant to do. She'd done a good job! Her previously small grin had grown to the wide smiles that were near always present across her face. "As long as you try it's gonna be great, I'm sure. Here, I'll go get one of the paint things open for you. You want glitter glue too?" Feza ended in a inquisitive tone, noting how the other's gaze had been resting upon the tubes upon tubes of vibrant glitter glue. There were all sorts of colors and attributes- some looked home made with labels with tape slapped over the originals.

Then there was the most recent arrival. Had she ever seen this one before? Feza didn't think she had. Her expression of curiosity of her question to Selby remained. The snow leopard's eyes narrowed for a moment. Again, it didn't matter: oh well, as she had said and been criticized for using before. And he was happy to participate. It felt like she was going to absolutely explode with delight. Her wings twitched a little from her sides, using her claws to pry open the paint container for Selby. She slid such over to the feline, her gaze then returning to Torren. "Oh, it's, it's nothing. I'm...yea, it's nothing, really! I'm happy to..ah..words." Feza squinted and her originally loud voice died off. What she wanted to say didn't form in her mind. She shrugged and turned, snagging another paint canister to struggle and open for the latest to arrive.

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THE EMPTY CHAIRS WILL BE RESERVED FOR OUR PITY

[suvi.]

[align=center]
— s̛͢u̴͟͝v̛i ̴͏̢ki̛ir̷a ̨͢ņί̡͡ ͜͜f̨ao͝l͏ą́͜ín͟͡ | t̢àn̢glewo̧o̷̢d̷͢ | medic —

Painting? Sounded... Colorful.  The petite vixen sat up from her porch.  Her raven companion, Fiachra cawed irritably as her eyes drifted towards the gathering painting session.  Her medical pouch sat at her paws, going through re-supply.  A harness seemed to her the next step, one small and maneuverable for her feathered friend.

Exhaustion lined her face, ached through her entire body.  Since the fiasco of glitching into a tree, Kiira put some extra effort in attempting sleep, to little use.  Insomnia plagued her nights still.  She remained thin and scrawny as ever, finding most food unappetizing since her return, uneager to fill the void in her stomach.  She should try, she knew.  W̶̢h̕a̡t̴'̢̀̕s̴̶ ̷t̛he̶ ̷͞͞p̀҉oi̸n҉̴t̸͟͡?͟

Putting her paws to something other than restocking and gathering and locking herself away from everyone would count for something, right?  W̢h͏̸y͏?̧͟͟ ̢ ͢Ẃ̧͜h͞y̸̕ ͟b̕o͝t̴h̕͡ér̵̛?̡͘  Slowly, the fox scrambled up to her paws, ignoring Fiachra's squawk and began drifting towards the group.  Hesitantly, she lingered nearby Torren, her unmatched hues taking her surroundings in quietly, so much slower than before.

A strange memory poked her thoughts.  Images of hand-drawn sketches and charts.  Stars.  Had she painted before?  Surely, right?  Softly, she finally raised her voice, focusing on the supplies, rather than looking right at anyone.  "I-I'll give it a... T-try too."

— T͏O̴G͠ETH͏ER̕ ÁT̴ ̸T̕H̶E ST͏ART̶ O͏F̀ ̵TI̡M͏E —

[selby roux !]

[align=center][div style="width: 51%; text-align: justify; font-size: 10pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: georgia;"]Selby gratefully accepted the paints from the vibrant snow leopard, but shook his head at the offer of the garish glitter glue. "Ah, I’ll pass on the glue this time. Thank you for the offer, though." Having said this, he took the paints and moved to an easel, carefully unscrewing the lids and setting them out neatly in front of him.

Now, what to paint? There seemed to be an infinite amount of possibilities. He could paint the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, a cloud, a feather, a leaf, or anything in between them. The prospect was daunting to say the least. Still, he closed his eyes and thought hard, and an idea came to him.

Using the lids to the jars of paints, he created various mixtures of paints. Different combinations of green, blue, and white gave him grass, and he used this to paint a big hill, the curve of it taking up the bottom half of the canvas. Blue and white made the sky, and a white splotch on top made a cloud. He worked wordlessly, even as conversation continued around and over him. On top of the hill, brown made a handsome sapling, and another shade of green made its leaves. A small black triangle in the boughs of the sapling was a witch’s hat, waving lazily in invisible wind.

Sitting back on his haunches, Selby studied his work. It likely wouldn’t win any awards, now or anytime, but he felt a little proud of it in any case. He hadn’t been to his sister’s resting place since she’d been buried, both because he wasn’t ready to and because he was simply too busy. Still, the reminder that this sacred hill was waiting for him was oddly comforting, and creating the piece had been cathartic. He was glad that he had taken the moment to do it.

[wormwood.]

It seemed that he didn't have to sacrifice his nice pristine pelt for his art. Er, well, at least what he considered to be his pristine pelt. In all honest,y his fur was rather messy and unkempt, but it was mainly because it was difficult for him to clean his rotted hellhound form, especially since the large amount of hair running down his back now was much different from his mane back in his normal lion form. He wishes desperately that he could just go back to his winged kingly form, but as he tried to think of it, he found himself just sighing, unable to do anything. When Feza turned to look at him, he tensed up a bit, worried that she was going to freak out or become upset, but then he relaxed and smiled back as she smiled softly at him. Nodding a bit, he moved forward to carefully take one of the paintbrushes up into his jaws, wincing as he tried his best to hold the brush extremely carefully. His jaws were so strong and his teeth so sharp that he didn't want to snap the thing right in half as he turned back to his paper, staring at it for a long moment as he wondered what he was going to paint. Eventually he decided to just paint what was truly close to him, and showered his brush into the red paint.

He began to paint what seemed to be petals of almost reddish gold, and then he began to paint a lion face in the middle, smiling a bit to himself. He began to gradually paint the body of a lion, and then he began to carefully paint others around it. First he painted Roy sitting beside him, then Red on the other side, with Vathmos in front of him. He added in Selby and Crow in the background, along with Leroy to the side, and eventually everyone was painted rather crudely onto the paper. He pulled away and made a soft pleased noise as he looked down at the drawing, smiling and barking as his tail wagged happily from side to side, "Alright, there we go... it's pretty simple, but I like it. It's got everybody that has come along so far." He pointed out where everyone present to the event was in the painting, and he smiled happily. It really was like his own little family, and it was certainly a better family portrait than when he was a child, and it just would've been him, Judith, Aethelwulf and Poetking.

[glow=black,2,300]YOUR CHANNEL IS UNREACHABLE[/glow]

[fulzanin]

WE'LL MAKE A WAY WHERE YOU CAN FIND YOUR PLACE
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Feza had given the vixen a smile when she approached. The snow leopard's insides twisted a little- she didn't even know this one's name. It had been confusing in the tree situation, where other names were being tossed about and used. It had befuddled her. Not that it mattered- little mattered to her in truth. She fetched another paint kit, fumbling with the latches to get it open. "As long as you try!" She happily chirped. The kit finally opened, almost being flung from Feza's grasp. She stumbled for a moment, before giggling and then sliding it over to the other. "Er. Well, not really. You could do it mindlessly, I suppose. It's just a for fun little thing. Doesn't really matter the effort level." She babbled, tail sweeping behind her.

Then her blue gaze turned to Selby, holding back a small scoff. To her it didn't make any sense as to how someone could do any activity without the use of glitter glue. Preposterous, really. A lengthy word for such a thought, licking a paw as she turned it over a few times. The limb was a little sore from struggling to open all of the painting kits. "If you change your mind, I've got a lot." Of course the party-oriented feline did. She had collected rows upon rows of glitter glue- she was even trying to learn how to formulate her own kind of glitter glue. A kind that was oriented towards her purposes. Dried faster, stuck better, and was more glittery. She would be surprised if there was ever a limit to the amount of glitter that she liked present in her glue. Maybe she could replicate the glittering by cutting up small pieces of reflective confetti. She stood there, thoughtful, tail slowly flicking behind her. The movement reminded Feza that she had yet to turn and paint anything herself.

Her claws unsheathed to try and open the canister easier. It flung open - easier to open than the last one had been - and the paintbrush popped out and almost smacked her in the face. Feza recoiled, giving a small grumble. "Okay then," she said softly to herself. The vibrant snow leopard grabbed the paintbrush, applied the first paint that she saw, and then just smacked it against the page. Feza didn't know what she was painting, she just wanted the vivid colors on the paper. Lots of paint splotches dotted the paper of all different colors and hues. Some had mixed together, some hadn't. She took a pace back, feeling mighty proud of the vibrant eyesore that had become her painting. Then the snow leopard turned to fetch the glow-in-the-dark glitter glue, and splattered that upon the page as well. Her ears swiveled when she heard that Wormwood had finished, her head following suit.

"Oh, it really is everyone! You've done this before, haven't you," Feza said, a bound and a flap of her wings carrying her over to look at the hellhound's painting. It was no contest, there was no prize for who painted the best. No, it was but a mere painting session, it was to destress the group from the horrors of reality. Feza felt the surge of pride and delight. This was working. This really was working! "It's not simple, it's got lots of...people, yes, so it's not too simple. Lots of color too!" She liked all of the colors in particular- was that any surprise when her own painting was just a mess of paint smacked against a canvas. Feza's blue eyes watched as he pointed out everyone present on the canvas, her tail falling still against the ground. "Do you want another paper? And, and you too Selby, since it looks like you're done with your's, too." Right, she'd forgotten to even go and look at the other's painting! How rude, how inconsiderate, how foul. She turned, keeping her tail close to herself as to not knock into the easel she had been inspecting prior.

Feza looked over the painting a few times, then pointing a little with a paw. "The grass looks nice- it's grass, yea?" She made sure to clarify. She vaguely understood the concept of trying to create one thing, but it being taken for another. The box gods knew how badly that had hurt her a while ago. She tilted her head a little, and then presented a smile upon her face. "This is really good too! Do you- do you want me to fetch something to hang it up with? I've got thumbtack things back inside, if you'd- if you'd want to hang it up. Or whatever you want to do with it. It's yours." Feza again blathered on. A flick of her tail added to her words, gesturing back to her home. "More paper, too. I got a lot here, if you wanna paint more." Feza knew she was repeating herself, but what was wrong with making sure that her question was made clear? Her smile remained present upon her face, looking back and forth between the two that were finished with their paintings.

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THE EMPTY CHAIRS WILL BE RESERVED FOR OUR PITY

[arcy]

[align=center]

[glow=#000,1,400]all you've ever done is been a noose to hang on to — ｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

[div style="width: 480px; height: auto; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 13px;"]There were ... a lot of people Crowley wasn't too familiar with here. He was pretty new, so this shouldn't be a surprise, but for a brief moment, the serval pauses, blinking behind his sunglasses. For a moment, he tries to memorize all of the strangers. It's not like there should be more than a dozen or two members, right? An incredibly small number, but easier for him to try and remember.
He's not really sure why he cares.
Now, it should be noted that Crowley was greatly familiar with how painting worked. He'd spent a good while as an apprentice under some of the old greats, just for fun. And this was ... nothing like that. Glitter glue and cheap paint, huh. Good thing Crowley lives for some minor chaos. A grin tugs on the serval's maw as he trods over, taking in the scene.
"Looks like you're all having fun," Crowley says. He's already thinking of how to cause some minor chaos without, well, ruining the whole thing. Maybe he'd "accidentally" pour a touch of paint onto somebody. This, of course, is for later -- in the meantime, not waiting for the snow leopard to fetch him some supplies, Crowley snags a canister, a paper, and, yes, some glitter glue, tossing it all haphazardly onto the ground.
It should be noted that, just because Crowley knew full well how to paint, didn't mean that he had to. He'd never tried the "modern" style of painting before, and especially not with cheap supplies. Modern painting was such a terrible thing, wasn't it? It didn't even look good have the time, and the artists were such smug gits. With this in mind, and a small, sardonic grin, Crowley sets to making a mockery of it.
Well, at least he's enjoying himself.