Who: M&M -- Mel and Mallory What: Inspired Art Where: The Park When: BACKDATED! Number of weeks ago, before Thalia came to town sometime. Warnings: None.
Sometimes, a muse just needed a change of scene. Mel was on the verge of another muse attack, and decided that it might be safer for the house hold if she took her need to creatively vent out of the house. Grabbing Shadow and his leash, and letting the dog carry his own squeaky toy in his mouth. Hopping into the car, she drove around part of Miami before finding a decent parking spot near a dog friendly park. Good enough.
Both jumped out of the car and proceeded into the grassy area. She should have been more concerned about his leash, but Shadow had never given her a reason to worry. Looking around, she found an area with some sidewalks, and walked over. Ah, that would do nicely. Sidewalk chalks were brought out from a pocket in her cargo pants as she had Shadow lay in the grass near by the edge, and quickly sketched a water bowl. standing from the correct angle, it looked pretty real. Pleased with the work, she moved down a bit and started to draw something else.
A change of scenery must have been a somewhat common theme in Miami, as Mallory found herself breaking away from the Lot household to meander around the town with nothing but her camera to keep her company. She did some window shopping, got some coffee, and eventually found herself nearing the park. That was when her artistic mind got the better of her and the camera that had remained safely in its case was brought out as she began to walk along the path.
As luck would have it - someone was drawing on the path with sidewalk chalk. Despite the level of successful and struggling artists in the area, anyone over the age of ten drawing on a public sidewalk was not something one usually came across. Particularly not one who was this good.
So, decided to shoot now and ask permission later, Mallory kept back at a safe distance and raised the camera to her eye. Flash!
Huh? If Mel noticed that she now had more of an audience then the people passing by, she gave no real sign of it. After Shadow's water bowl, she'd drawn a grate with people under it trying to get out. Each was dressed differently -- business suit, prisoner, rock star, KKK member.... -- and beneath them were shadowy figures to pull them back down. If one looked carefully, they might even notice a large three headed dog. It was a rather good sized piece.
Not far away was another drawn bowl, looking like it had donations in it.
But the young woman, dressed and looking more like a high schooler, was now working on her third bit. So far it didn't look like much, but soon she hoped to make people think there were tree roots growing out of the sidewalk. Don't trip!
Noticed or not, Mallory kept taking pictures of the pieces, and some of the artist while she worked. Hey, at least she could sent them to this chic later - if nothing else. This was just fun.
She did, however, pause while taking a closer look at the image of the grate. It took a second for her to notice the dog - though once she did a shiver involuntarily danced down the length of her spine. It was more the imagery of Cerberus paired with the shadowy figures that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end, like somehow she knew how that felt...
Three was a good set of about three roots crawling out of the cracks when the artist finally straightened and looked over her work. Not a bad way to spend some time. Her eyes skimmed the area, and finally noticed the photographer. Huh. That shouldn't surprise her, but a small frown came to her face as she watched the young woman. People didn't normally bother trying to make a picture out of something like that, unless it was their own work. Glancing to her, then away, she moved back over to Shadow, and took a seat, petting him before he rested his head in her lap. Now she got to watch and see if anyone actually stepped over the roots.
But, something about the girl made her turn back and watch her now. The frown grew just a bit more as she realized just how much she was staring at the work. It wasn't that disturbing... Now, curious, Mel slowly stood up, shoved her hands into her pockets, and walked up to the photographer. She paused behind her for a moment, watching, before speaking in a soft voice. "Hades is only a poor place to be, for those who make poor choices..."
Mallory jumped. Not a small jot of surprise, but instead a few inches off the ground sort of jump. Once she was sure she didn't have a heart attack, she turned to the girl with a small twitch in the corner of her mouth. "Still a poor place to be even if you're undeserving of being there." Mallory replied and exhaled as her heart rate slowly returned to normal.
"Sorry, I just..." Just what? Got a slight familiar sense from an image made of chalk on a sidewalk? With a lack of a better response, the brunette simply scratched her head.
Mel's eyebrows came together slightly and she continued to study her. Something.. "Try not to confuse Hell and Hades. The underworld had some good parts to it." Or so the stories went. It wasn't like the muse had ever been there, but she had a bit of renewed faith in her uncle. She tilted her head ever so slightly. "You look shaken."
"Even the good parts aren't great under the right circumstances," Mallory muttered, then shook her head. She had no idea what she was saying. "I'm fine, no worries. Just got sucked into the amount of detail, that's all."
Now she frowned a bit. She didn't like the metaphor that she was about to use, but it was the easiest that came to mind. "Is that like saying that not even Heaven would be good enough?"
Mallory frowned, and looked down at the picture again. "I... don't even know what the hell I'm saying." Then, she snickered, and shook her head. "I must sound like an idiot."
The frown relaxed on the muse's face and an eyebrow arched up, curious. "More like your faced with something you don't get." She paused to glance at her own art, and shrug. "And I thought it was pretty straight forward this time."
"No, you're picture is pretty straight forward." She breathed and gave a small shrug. "Probably just something else I don't get. Anyway, um, hi."
Now there was a twitch of a smirk. "Maybe you need someone else to help you get it." Who knew? Maybe Mel could. She offered a hand. "Mel."
Snicker. "Maybe," she replied, and took the offered hand in a professionally firm shake. "Mallory."
Mel gave a nod and shook the hand, nodding at the name, then gestured to the sidewalk around them. "Any requests? I do disturbed, tragic and painful best..."
"Disturbed and tragic, huh..." Mallory replaced the camera strap around her neck and thought. "Well, there are nightmares I have on occasion, but those are hard to put into one scene. So... I don't know what to suggest at the immediate moment."
An eyebrow went up and she started to reach for the chalk, nodding her head for Mallory to follow her. "Start talking and I'll pull something together." It was as good a challenge as any. And really, she couldn't resist a challenge right now.
"I can only remember bits and pieces, but for awhile it was me running through a forest, being chased by someone." She started, following Mel to the part of the sidewalk now becoming her new canvas. "But since I moved into a new house, I'm getting a new bit. I remember images of a man and a woman, no details. Only silhouetted against something darker. And the guy is sitting in what looks like a throne." It felt strange to be sharing this with a complete stranger, though it helped. She hadn't even told Dahlia of this new occurence. She seemed so distracted as of late.
"Forest, a couple in front of a dark background, with the guy in a throne..." She considered for a moment. This wouldn't be like the others meant to trick the eye in some way, this would just be a straight art piece. She considered and went to her knees with an idea in mind. "Any other details?"
She frowned. "No. Not visual, anyway. Worst part about the damned things is how I feel after waking up." Mallory admitted and set her hands on her camera. Oh yes, she was going to take pictures of this, too.
Mel gave a slight nod and used a piece of grey chalk to start some basic outlines. She decided to make the trees themselves, dark and scary like, with a cliff face or cave entrance in the middle, the couple before it. As she started the drawing, she continued to talk. "What feeling is that?"
Mallory began fiddling with her camera a little more, growing just a tad nervous. "At first, panic and fear. Then that sort of fades into sort of... loneliness and longing. If that makes any sort of sense at all." She blinked. Did it? Bah, just dreams anyway - how bad can it really be?
"Panic and fear makes sense, when you're running through the woods from something..." she mentioned, pausing to pull out some other colors and set building up the trees first. Her mind wandered over what Mallory had said, and how, as she worked, trying to let the emotion work itself into the art just a hint.
She nodded. "Obviously. That's the easy part to understand." Mallory thought she'd point it out anyway. "The second part is the new bit I haven't figured out yet. If you consider 'new' to be 'several months'."
She was quiet for awhile as she worked, letting most of it be gone before she moved toward the center, pausing as she considered the best way to do it. "You said the second part started after you moved. Did you just move to Miami?"
"Moved here at the beginning of the college semester," she answered as she snapped off a few more shots - this time without the flash as to not be as disturbing. "My employer, and friend I suppose, got married and bought a house with her. I was living with her for a short time before that - thus I was dragged to the new house, too."
Sheesh, was everyone getting married? No, it just seemed that way when she wasn't used to it. At least there weren't any ugly pink bridesmaid gowns for her. "What do you do?" There weren't a lot of employers who had their staff living with them, unless it was to nanny or something. Did nannies still live in the same house? She shook off the thought and began to drawn a high backed throne.
"I'm a model's personal assistant. I eventually want to make a career out of photography, but so far I'm mainly working for her as a learning experience." Mallory moved around Mel to get a good look at the work-in-progress without being in the way. She had to admit, the work was astounding.
A model? A model with a live in assistant? Who got married a few months ago? She kept her expression the same, but was now reminded of another piece of art that she had done. Her uncle had said if it wasn't meant for him, he was keeping it for himself, and she suspected it was up somewhere in that new house. A cave with a golden chariot before it, ivy growing around the opening and wildflowers scattered around. She couldn't shake the thought, considering she'd been talking about Hades only a short time before, and decided to use that. As the shape of the throne rested in the shadow opening of the cave, she began to also draw in a man, a king, sitting tall and formal within it, though no features showed through. A woman was drawn next to him, standing by his side, her hand a top his shoulder. "You're living in a house with a newly married couple. That can make a lot of people feel pretty lonely..."
"Yea, but I've seen so little of her husband that I don't think it would really affect me enough. I've only really had a conversation with him once, and it was awhile after we all were holed up in the place." In the kitchen, no less, and it was not a planned meeting. "Place is big enough for us to live there and never see each other if we wanted to."
Yeah, that sounded like Hades. "He must be fairly rich..." She couldn't help it. While nothing in the picture was exactly any one person, a bit of coloring was done to give features to the figures in mouth of the cave. They hinted at the old face of Persephone and Hades, the rulers of the underworld. Straightening, she looked down at the work, then up at the photographer, before stepping back out of the way. "Let me guess, he drives some flashy car and is always on his phone."
She nodded. "When I see him, yea." Wait. Mallory quirked an eyebrow. "Why, you know him?"
Mel shook her head, despite the idea that she might. "Just sounds like a typical business man thing. A hundred different high tech toys." She shrugged. Briefly, she eyed the girl. Hmm... Bending down, she started to draw once more.
"Usually business men don't meander around playing a DS. Other tech toys, yes, but..." She trailed off and shrugged, watching the artist as she worked. Mallory was still slightly amazed. The best she could do was stick figures, however amusing they might be.
Sometimes stick figure art didn't get enough credit. Then again, Mel had been drawing long enough to get far past the stick figure stage. "Depends on if they are a geeky business man or not. I'm sure some of them would." The latest addition hadn't gotten very far before Mel glanced up at the girl again. She considered for a moment before straightening. "Close your eyes." She had an idea.
Mallory looked at the other woman curiously for a second, but soon acquiesed and shut her eyes. "He could be the geeky sort. Despite the fact I live with him, I know very little about him." Come to think of it, she knew very little of both of them personally.
"Keep them closed..." Mel mentioned, waiting to make sure she did so before going back to the art. There was something she wanted to try with the woman, but it would work better if she could do it just the right way. "Some people don't have a lot to share about themselves. Or don't realize that they do. Maybe he has a deeply hidden inner nerd."
The brief sight of Dante's 'inner nerd' just couldn't help but bring a short roll of giggles out of her. Of course, that could be atributed to the fact that her eyes were still closed, as instructed, and it was quiet easy for goofy mental images to form.
Hearing the sound, Mel glanced up briefly, then back to the work. "Not the inner nerd type?"
Mallory blindly snickered. "Still might be. My strange mind just matched him up with the stereotypical nerd image. Glasses, hair gel, pocket protector..."
There was a pause, as Mel had much of the same image. Probably best not to share that thought with Hades. "Some geek gadget and the answer to questions you didn't think there was ever an answer for?" The sketch was coming along quickly, and would only take a few moments more.
"Pretty much," she said with a small nod and, using her hands to feel their way around the camera's neck strap, placed the camera around her neck so that was free to stick her hands in her pockets. All without opening her eyes, though she was now getting eager to see what Mel was doing this whole time. "It'd be like an episode of Beauty and the Geek, though."
"Never watched it. It seems like something only entertaining if the beauty is almost painfully dense." Then it'd just be painful. Maybe she would need to skim around for it someday. She wondered if Nick would be up for it.
"Never watched it, either. Just kept seeing commercials for it." But, considering the rest of the things on TV, it was probably painful. Reality television just worked that way.
Looking at the drawing, the muse decided that she was done. She'd added in a woman, laying on her side at the feet of the throned man, a flowing dress around her. Her eyes closed and features only faintly that of the woman she was speaking with. There was something more that she thought should be there, a missing piece, but she couldn't place what it was... Straightening, she walked over to her. "I'm going to touch you to position you for the best view of this," Mel warned, not wanting to touch her and get herself punched for the action. "Trust me?"
Oh, yay! Time to see!
Mallory nodded and braced herself so that she wouldn't jump at the contact. "Go for it."
Nodding as well, Mel touched her arms and guided her to where she'd get the full effect of everything with the new addition of the woman as the 'shock' factor. Going to her toes, she peered over the others shoulder to see what she was most likely to see and wrapped Mallory's hands around her camera, bringing it up to her eyes as well. She did a last check of the work before resting her hands on the mortals shoulder, preparing to give a small bubble of inspiration the moment her eyes opened and whispering by her ear, "Open your eyes..."
And she did. If it weren't for the unexpected burst of the idea of how to use this for a perfect shot, she probably would have stood there and stared much as she did over the image of Cerberus. After getting the shots she wanted (which included moving around a bit to use the light of the sun to her advantage as best she could), she came to stand back in the position Mel had placed her in.
"Where did she come from," Mallory breathed as she tilted her head to the side, as if the image was going to change if she did it. The sense of 'been there, done that' was a little awkward.
As the snaps were shot off, Mel simply stepped back and watched her as she worked. Hopefully the images would end up seen by her uncle, as a clue that maybe he should take a look at this woman more closely. Close by, she was able to hear the breathed question, and answered in her own soft voice, hands now shoved into her pockets. "You. It's your nightmare."
Huh. "Well, that makes sense." Leave it to her to miss the completely obvious. She turned to the other woman with a smile. "You've probably heard this before, but you do amazing work."
Mel shrugged. "A lot of practice. But thanks." There was a nod to the camera. "Think I'm going to be able to see any of your work?"
"Not in a show or anything, but," Mallory set the camera back down against herself pulled around the camera's carrying case that she had slung around her shoulder. From the side pocket she pulled out a small handful of photos, ranging shots here in the park to pictures of people who apparently didn't know they were being photographed at the time, such as Dahlia. All seemed to have some sort of feeling or odd focus, but they were what she had on her.
Tilting her head, the muse glanced at the photos, going through the selection. She recognized Dahlia, but there was no visible reaction to show it. As she finished, she offered them back. There was talent, something Mel could work with if the woman wanted to go to that end. "Nice. Any chance seeing the ones you took today?"
Mallory nodded and took the photos back. They were okay, in her opinion, her best work was at home in her portfolio. "If I know where to drop them off or send them," she said with a small smile. "I'll probably have them developed in a few days."
For a moment, she considered what information to give, and decided on another course of action. "Why don't we meet in a week, at like a cafe or deli or something?" Public place would work well for things. Maybe she could give the girl another extra push of inspiration before she left.
She nodded. "That would work. What about at the cafe down the street," Mallory pointed in the direction. It was a place she'd been to a few times before and liked it well enough. Good spot for chit chat.
Mel glance din the direction pointed, and nodded. "Sounds good to me. Two o'clock? One week?" That's be enough time for the pictures to be developed, and late enough in the day that there wouldn't be huge crowds around.
One week at two. Mallory pulled a small notepad from her back pocket, flipped through it, and nodded. "Works for me." Man, she had to talk someone into getting her one of those handy pocket planners.
Or she could be like Mel and have almost no life that required planning. "Good." There was a small smirk, and she offered her hand. "See you in a week then?"
And that was not a life she could have while maintaining classes and work. "Sure thing," she said and politely took Mel's hand.
Giving the hand a firm shake, Mel sent another bit of inspiration to the woman. Let today be a good day for art; she'd rather see it used by this woman then a number of others. Nodding, she released the hand. "I'll see you in a week then Mallory." Stepping back, she gave a command for Shadow, the dog standing, stretching, and trotting over next to her as she prepared to leave.
Summary: Mel is out in the park, being Mel with her art. It catches the attention of Mallory and the two begin to talk. Art, conversation, inspiration, and promises to meet again follow after.