Beauty in the Broads of the World [Izumi, Elyss]

The sky is mocking her. It’s a beautiful day, barely a cloud in sight. The sun is but a perfect sphere, unperturbed with the everyday happenings of those who exist below it. If only the same could be said about Elyss. Alone, the redhead finds herself sitting on a bench, staring up into the sky, watching the few clouds float by. If only life was as easy as that. She wouldn’t mind floating through the sky, not a care in the world. But, things aren’t that simple. At least, after everything that’s happened, she was allowed a week off for herself. It’s not easy cutting off all ties with your mother, and it was pretty evident that her mental health was at risk. With that said, she has yet to shake Ulv out of her head. Not to mention that she’s curious about Abalia, and that Tenmarin has begun being a pest again.

Her Zanpakuto didn’t like the fact she had broken it again. However, Elyss just doesn’t care right now. She’s letting her thoughts bounce around without focusing on any particular thing. It helps her keep her cool. The noise of happy kids and chatting parents also bring her a sense of ease. Good, Wrong, and the inbetween. Right now, none of it matters. The fact that everyone around her seems content and happy is therapeutic. The men and women that pass and throw her glances aren’t even bothering her. Himiko helped her understand her worth as a woman a bit more, and after everything, she’s not emotionally aware enough to berate anyone for staring at her right now. The only thing pulling her out of her own bubble is the sudden shout that pierced all the yelling. That would move her head just a bit to look over at the woman who had cursed so abrasively. Even though her eyes lack focus, she can still see the issue: an artist failing at their work.

Against her better judgement, she’s already up and walking towards the woman, her arms folding over her chest, standing with a slight tilt, right side heavy. “A bit loud, aren’tcha? Might scare off the kids.” She spoke in jest, even with a small frown on her face. This woman could see that the redhead has had better days, but that didn’t stop Elyss’ eyes from showing the tiniest bit of concern. Even with her mind in shambles, somethings never change.

Kids are loud and annoying, but the purity of it is endearing, in a way. Ruining it just to shout obscenities left a bad taste in Elyss’ mouth, but it’d be worse to ignore this woman’s issue. Giving it a second thought, being unable to create, as a painter, probably sucks. A quick glance is all it takes for her to catch a glimpse of the frustrating process. Much like training, consistently failing eventually starts to wear on a person’s mind until they’ve had enough. Day to day life is a more extreme example, but Elyss understands the struggle. She simply hates the byproduct.

However, normally, Elyss wouldn’t have cared to even come over and would have kept her annoyance to herself. This just proved an ideal opportunity to pry her thoughts away from her grievances. Focusing on other people’s problems is a great way to keep from focusing on your own. But, with how sudden the stranger’s mood changed, doubt began to grasp Elyss’ thoughts. Maybe she should have stayed away, but it doesn’t look like she’ll be allowed to escape that easily.

“Uh…” Is this how people feel when she looks at them? She’s being checked out ungraciously, and Elyss isn’t sure how to handle this, honestly. Of course she’s used to wandering eyes, but none have ever dared to assault her so bravely. It’s obvious that she’s a woman that could snap a person’s neck at will. Her worn mind basically melted because of the sudden change in topic. So blatant and straightforward, this woman compelled Elyss to follow suit just because the redhead has nothing better to do and didn’t want to cause a scene. The surety in this woman’s eyes is a bit much.

Now she’s sitting, her legs folded over one another as her hands rested on her outstretched knees. Her head tilted and face twisted with curiosity, Elyss resembled a buff lost toddler, or an ape as some may jest. Her reasoning for coming over here had already lost meaning, for it seems this woman had already left it behind in favor of asking Elyss about herself. How exactly is she supposed to answer this inquiry, her black eyes jumping from the coins, bottle, and ending on the woman’s own.

“Bribery? Really? Ya know… Ah… Nevermind. Name’s Kishimoto Elyss. I guess I’ll talk, but tell me why first. Who are you, huh? And, what had ya screaming like that?”

She’ll sate her little bit of curiosity first before going off on a tangent about what little she feels able to relate to this stranger.

What’s wrong with bribery? Well, there are numerous answers to that question, but Izumi is correct. It doesn’t matter. Elyss humouring her is probably enough for the supposed artist. The finest, however? Now, that is somewhat hard to believe. Why? There is a lack of fame, isn’t there? If Izumi is famous, shouldn’t there be more nuisances, like the paparazzi? Though, there are plausible explanations for this, one being this woman’s ego. That’s what Elyss thinks anyway, but who’s to say that that’s a bad thing? A person who knows who they are or what they want to be is her type of person. Yeah. Elyss is a gal who’d help someone find their way, but it’s nice to meet someone who doesn’t need any help in that department.

“An angel, huh? I’d wait a bit before making accusations.”

Is Izumi trying to flirt? This situation is a bit hard to grasp. Why exactly is Elyss here again? An artist calling her an angel? Bribery? She’s no ace detective, but maybe, just maybe, she’s being led along. But, despite the circumstances, she complied and held out her hand for this woman to look at. Normally, Elyss would have been put off by someone trying to hype her up emotionally or something, but she’s just too tired to really care right now. She doesn’t want to think too hard about any of this and is simply letting herself circumvent a bare understanding.

“Yo, Izumi. I don’t really get what you’re selling, but have at it.”

Her hand is as mangled as they come, yet, somehow, still feminine. It’s obvious her nails had been done not too long ago, a lack of training keeping them from looking like a buzzard’s claws. However, her fingers and hand share tales of warfare. Scratches and dried wounds litter her creamy skin, darkening portions of her skin and painting a picture itself. Her knuckles are hard to the touch while her palm is strangely soft, only perturbed by her hardened calluses that add more texture to her worn digits.

Is her hand that fascinating? This must be Izumi’s creative vision at work. At least Elyss has the chance to experience Izumi’s hand during this. Unlike her own, Izumi’s rather soft but the pad of her fingers are harder than Elyss first thought. That’s a sign that Izumi draws a lot. Her fingers have grown used to holding wooden brushes. Well, at least this woman isn’t a novice pretending to be something more than what they are.

However, they move from one thing to another without pause. Suddenly, Elyss’ cheeks are donning a light red coating as Izumi blurts out such obscenity. Obviously, nothing about this comes off as romantic, but being wanted like this proves shocking. The only other person that had ever wanted to draw her was Fuuen. This and that are two entirely different situations though. Knowing that artists prefer their models standing still, at least, Elyss became a statue for Izumi.

“You can have your way, but refrain from being so loud about my…, as you call it, beauty.”

But, Izumi is fast, really fast. The woman had finished her sketch in the blink of an eye, and in another blink, had taken up Elyss’ personal space. Leaning back just a tad, Elyss let out a tired sigh, closing her eyes for a moment to blot out Izumi’s face. How flustering… This is all moving too fast, and Elyss doesn’t want to have to actively keep up with Izumi’s bubbling eagerness. It’s for the best, to keep her sanity in check, to just go along with whatever happens and just let the day whisk her around as it pleases.

“Just be a bit more mindful, but I don’t mind. I’m guessing you’d rather take me somewhere else than have me pose out here?” She asks, hoping that this is moved someplace private. Her eyes would open again, a bit more color in them, but it’s clear that she’s still tired and with a waning patience.

Izumi is unrelenting, but Elyss is steadfast. She’s not going to let herself feel anything more than just general acceptance. There’s an ego. It’s just focused on other aspects of herself that she actually enjoys flaunting, like her strength or fighting technique. Elyss doesn’t enjoy thinking about her assets or the jealousy that it may cause others to experience. That’s giving too much attention to the wrong thing. She has better ways of ruining her life than by being a whore.

Rising from her spot on the ground, it’s only natural that Elyss lets her curiosity grow. Izumi has a temporary home? Temporary as in she has a main home someplace else or temporary as in she’s a hobo? Who’s the runt? Questions and questions: there’s only one way to get answers. Ugh. She’s really about to go and pose for who knows how long just so someone can scratch their creative itch. At least she won’t have to think too hard about anything when your only job is standing still. Throwing away the broken paintbrush that she had picked up after Izumi had gone on her way, the redhead would fall beside the shorter woman and sigh.

“So, I guess I’ll ask how often you pull strangers off the streets to draw them.”

Elyss isn’t special, right? There are probably countless others that Izumi had made immortal through her art, others that the woman had seduced with pretty words. Putting her hands behind her head, Elyss would show even less interest in all of this. She’s being called beautiful, but there’s nothing beautiful about being a brute. Izumi is just full of it. Himiko had tried, but one day in a dress isn’t enough to change the way the world sees someone or change how that person sees themselves.