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

Good. Izumi predates on people on a normal basis it seems, even if it’s only once every two weeks or so. Elyss is just the woman’s current prey. For some reason, it makes her feel more at ease. Knowing that none of this is some complicated plan to get her in some bed, Elyss doesn’t care to question any of it anymore. It’s just a modeling gig, a gal helping another gal with her muse. There’s no pay needed. Elyss did walk right into this after all. Though, she did not expect to walk up to the hovel of a home that Izumi claims as a workspace.

The outside isn’t much, and the inside is worse. There’s barely any room to spread out. The kid inside looked as bratty as they come. However, he followed Izumi’s orders without a second thought. The least she can do is take it when it’s served, opting to not drink it anyway. Then, there’s a quick back and forth which has Elyss somewhat pleased. At least there’s not going to be someone besides Izumi staring at her posing. But, with that out of the way, Elyss does take a bit of time to look around and admire the art show.

“Nice place. Real spacious.

She’s unsure if Izumi understood the bit of sarcasm in her tone. The place is bland, at least. That’s agreeable, but the artist had made it into a rather complicating setting. Each piece on the wall varied greatly from one another, some bringing her pause while others stroked her curiosity. This is, in fact, the home of an artist. Oh, well, it’s in fact the temporary home of an artist. Izumi staying here secretly is the true mysterious aspect of this all. People are rather negligent, but it’s not Elyss’ place to dictate right and wrong right now. If Izumi gets in trouble, it’s the woman’s own fault.

Can’t say knowing tickled her funny bone. It’s just weird, but whatever. Being told to strip ripped her from her sightseeing. Well, of course that was the next course of action. Half of these paintings are sacrilegious at best. Still, it brought her pause, a moment's hesitation. Huh… Without a fuss, the sash around her outfit is undone, but her head would turn as her dark eyes focused on the peeping teen. At that moment, her bodily language had changed. Her presence increased as her spiritual energy flared for just a moment, a warning to the youngling that his sneakiness if unappreciated.

“I guess if you enjoy tragedies you’ll have much to paint.”

Her clothing falls, leaving her near bare besides the wrappings around her chest bottoms. Her perfect skin, ruined by scars, only for this artist’s eyes. Her physique is magnificent. Of course it is. She’s been fighting her whole life, perfecting her muscles, building herself into a warrior. Somehow, in a way that’d have the world envy with jealousy, it is perfectly clear that she is still a woman. Her measurements seem impossible for someone of her height and mass. With a sigh, she turns away from Izumi and begins to undo the bandages, moments later, her heavy chest falling with the excess space given to it. Somehow, during all of this, Elyss spared not a single blush, somehow stoic through it all. Why? She’s unsure. She just doesn’t care right now? It’s just art. Izumi has done this with so many others. It would be weird to make a fuss about something someone thought natural. Maybe all that buttering her up actually left her guard a bit open.

She understood why she had to strip, but she’s a bit lost on why Izumi’s clothes are barely on. It was like that at the park too. This woman lacks decency. It’s probably an artist thing. When it comes to fighting, people would probably say Elyss lacks decency. Maybe that’s just their passion for this kind of stuff. When they’re in the mood, things such as public image and whatnot become an afterthought.

“Ah…” She’s being pushed, ushered over to a table. Wait. She has to pose? This is new, for her that is. Has she ever posed before? What should she even do? How does she give herself to someone without touching them? Looking down at herself, ideas about how to flaunt what she is came and went, none of them seeming correct. She’s thinking too hard again. She’s not a flashy person. She gets things done and keeps it moving, so she should treat this the same.

Jumping onto the table, she simply grabs the edge of it and leans back some. It’s not much, but her whole person is clear for anyone to see. The slight bend of her back flexes her midsection, making her abs that more prevalent. Her chest requires no help, for it’s what it is on its own, something she doesn’t think too hard about making a show of. Then, her face is set in a way that is normal for her. She’s just looking at Izumi with the same stoicness she looks at everyone with, her black eyes focused as if trying to peek into the artist’s soul. Yes. Elyss is bland. This right here simply shows off her lack of self. It is what it is. Take it or leave it.

She wished she had something she wanted to think about. An hour is a long time to sit still, the redhead never proving capable of meditating for long. And, it all consisted of Elyss watching Izumi. The woman was in the zone, her hand moving in an incomprehensible manner. Elyss doesn’t know what’s going on. She can’t see what’s being drawn. She simply knows that her naked body is being forever documented, even if people don’t recognize her. That’s not the important part anyhow. If someone looks at it, then they’ll know the secrets under her clothing. For some reason, that thought didn’t bother the redhead. She is just a model after all.

What did bother her is Izumi’s falling clothes. Talk about passion. The artist is so far lost in her muse that she’s practically painting her own clothes off. It’s kind of funny, but also nerve wracking. Elyss doesn’t care if Izumi is suddenly naked or not. It’s a bit late to care about modesty anymore, but it’s annoying to watch her clothing barely keep up with her movements. Either secure it better or just take it off. It’s like when the claw machine barely gets the stuffed animal into the hole. She wants to say something, voice her annoyance that’s being amplified by her boredom, but Izumi is the first to open her mouth.

“Uh huh… I’m guessing that means you’re going to be using me more?”

She posed her response as a question because Izumi is making it sound like she wants to use Elyss for more than just one picture. It doesn’t bother Elyss, but she definitely didn’t see her day going in such a direction. Is it safe for her to move now? Whatever. She’s moving anyway, making herself more relaxed on the table and rubbing at her wrists that had started to go numb from supporting her own weight for so long. She’s curious about what Izumi had drawn still, but she’s content waiting until it’s finished all the way.

Tch. And then, like an afterthought, Izumi’s clothes hit the floor. For some reason, finally seeing the woman naked pissed off Elyss. She couldn’t help but think about Ulv’s lack of modesty and compare it to Izumi’s. There’s just something about people who don’t care about their bodies that irks her, no matter how hypocritical it is for her to think such. It isn’t even the fact that Izumi’s naked. It’s the fact that the woman could probably walk around Soul Society naked and not give a shit. And then, there’s the lack of space cognition. Elyss had watched Izumi move about, putting the picture down and grabbing another canvas to use. It’s easy to guess that they’re going to do another picture and she’ll have to sit still for an hour again, but she didn’t get the sudden advance made on her person.

Huh? So, they’re just two naked gals having a normal conversation? Elyss doesn’t mind. It reminds her of that time she was in the springs with Hanako, but this time, there’s no water to hide anything. And, unlike last time, this feels a lot more invasive to her privacy. That’s probably because of Izumi’s nact of trying to get under the redhead’s shell and learn something juicy.

“Expecting me to share? Ya gonna do the same? Only fair, yeah?” She’d poke Izumi for information as well. It wouldn’t be fair to tell your secrets to a stranger with nothing in return. Elyss is doing this for free, but if this is going to be a recurring thing, she’d like to get to know Izumi more too. Hell, the woman did just stare at her body for a whole hour, but before Izumi could respond, a story spilled from Elyss’ mouth.

“But, anyway… Hmm… When I was little, there was this puppy. My parents had kicked me out of the house to go play by the riverbank. I was a bit of a recluse, so they thought some fresh air and sunlight would be good for me. I remember sitting there, my bare feet in the water. It was boring, to say the least, but then, there was a sudden splash and howling. A puppy in the water being taken downstream. There weren’t any adults around. I knew how to swim, but I was just a kid. Fighting the currents while carrying a panicking puppy sounded like too much, but I had dove in anyway. To keep things short, I had saved the puppy and got yelled at for doing something so risky… But, at the end of the day, I was happy, I think. I had saved a life, even though I could have lost my own… I guess that was also the day I had decided to train myself and grow stronger so I could help more people…”

Thinking back to that day and comparing her youth to the present, it’s a bit sad. She’s not that optimistic little girl anymore, but it’s funny how little her ideals and such have changed. Things just became harder, that’s all. She feels like she just had an epiphany, but she’s not going to bask in this feeling. Her eyes are already trained on Izumi, wondering what the woman would think about her little tale. It wasn’t much, but it paints a bit of a picture of how Elyss operates. Maybe it’ll be something that Izumi could paint about.