Levi Open Post ((for nexus_crossings))

[tryingitall]

The angel Balthazar spends most of his time at Lucifer's villa these days, to no one's surprise. He hasn't let go of his apartment, though. He's only rearranged it for Levi's comfort. The sleek modern furniture has been replaced with antique reproductions, and the plain walls covered with art that matches the painter's tastes. Levi's very fond of copper, and shades of deep blue. The art studio that used to be dedicated to one small room has now expanded to encompass all but the bed and bathroom of the place. There are shelves of supplies, several paintings in progress, books and references, sculpting supplies, and in one room there is even a workspace dedicated to glass. Nothing bigger than jewelry or small vessels can be made there--there simply isn't enough space, but Levi relishes the opportunity to experiment.

It's weird having a time-share situation with his own body, but he can't deny that he's never had this much encouragement for his art before, neither in the way of supplies provided or financial support. If only Bart could have seen this!

Well, maybe he will, some day.

In the the meantime, even with all the opportunity surrounding him, sometimes when the angel retreats to let him play, all he wants to do is drink coffee and sketch and watch the world go by. That's what he's up to today, sitting on the veranda outside the lobby of the apartment building. It's late afternoon, and he's watching the tawny sky darken over the Nexus, listening to music of various ages and styles and planets drift from open windows in the apartment building above him. He's got an open sketchbook, a pile of charcoal pencils and tortillons he's stuffed into an empty dopp kit bag, and on the table at his elbow is a very foamy caramel-coffee drink, and a half-eaten plate of cheese fries.

It's hard to tell what he's drawing at a glance. It's a subtle swirl of gray, but if you sit with him long enough, a picture may emerge...

Comments

[ginger_firebird]

It's perfectly hypocritical of him to be nosy himself after chiding his catwing, but Mantis only has room at one time to manage one person's manners. For the time being, that someone was going to be little Yaga. The catwing sniffs at the man's hand before pressing his head against it. Then it's straight to sniffing around his feet instead. So many interesting things, so little time!

"Leather and shoes, usually. I think it's to do with how their senses are better than that of humans."

Mantis leans back slightly and lets his head fall slightly to one side. "It would stand to reason that someone in this place would be uniquely creative. That's...charcoal, isn't it? It always looked a bit like chalk to me."

[tryingitall]

Aww! Levi was a city-dweller and a little soft. He's fed stray cats out of his own lunchbox before. This one is clearly a well-kept pet and has wings, but it's the same body language. He scratches behind the ears gently, strokes the back of the neck down to the shoulders, and then just sits still to let his shoes be inspected.

"Well, leather's just animal skin when it comes down to it. And they are predators. Little tiny ones."

"Consistency is similar to dry chalk," he says, and offers Mantis one of the pencils to look at. "It's pretty forgiving to draw with, as long as you control where the smudges happen. Good for sketching. You can block out a lot of space with not too much effort. You draw at all?"

[ginger_firebird]

Yaga is a cat first, but there are some perching and flapping of wings that Mantis is still discovering as the kitten grows into his adult size. Bit like an owl with fur, really. The catwing rubs himself against the man's legs a few times and contents himself to a lay-down between the stranger and Mantis.

"He's stalked a number of things I've worked on at home. I've been doing my part to train him on a harness for when he fully gains the ability to fly."

Mantis takes one of the pencils and runs it between his fingers. It's lighter than the lead filled pencils he's used to. A couple of twitching fingers sends the pencil in a small baton twirl. "Mostly for planning patterns and clothes. I learned to make my own while growing up." He hefts the charcoal pencil much like one might test the weight of a weapon. "Might even have a use for something like this."