Ninth Link

[colorbymemory]

Characters: Namine, Amaterasu, Zidane
Content: Ammy and Zidane find Nami on the Theatre Deck. Talk of art and other things ensues.
Time: Morning
Warnings: None.
Notes: None


With practically the whole satellite serving as a laser tag arena, Namine hadn’t had high hopes of the theatre deck being quiet. She was pleasantly surprised to find no one else there; maybe they were all sleeping in. Setting the supplies she’d brought with her on the table she’d claimed as “hers,” she set about gathering the other things she’d need.

Finally, with all her crayons, pastels, pencils, and paper set up, she could get to work. Before long, she was so caught up in it that she was only half-aware of her surroundings.

Comments

[yabigfurball]

While Kamiki Village wasn't her real home the way the Celestial Plain was, it was a little bit of a second home for her in the mortal world...she'd definitely spent a lot of time there over the years.

She gave a smile at the question, and just let that serve as her answer. She was still working on it, letting things go slowly so that Namine had time to fill them in. When asked for more colors, she pulled out a tube of blue paint for the river, a dark blue for the distant mountains, and a light brown for the roads.

[colorbymemory]

Ammy's smile elicited one from Namine. She hadn't gotten a definite answer, but maybe the topic of "home" was as complicated for Ammy as it was for her.

She added the colors that had been indicated to her palette, and began painting the other areas of the picture. It was sometimes slow going, since she had to wait for the black ink of the outlines to dry first. Little by the little, though, they filled the paper.

[yabigfurball]

Ammy looked up at Namine for a little bit...it seemed like maybe she had her own thoughts on home, too. Perhaps Namine would talk about it with her. She was fine with either silence or stories, since she was used to just listening to people tell her what they were thinking.

As Namine filled in more that she'd drawn, she went on to add a few more buildings to the village...Kushi's sake mill, Susano's training ground, Mr. Orange's house and Mushi's turnip fields. That just about filled out the picture.

[colorbymemory]

Catching Ammy's look, Namine paused in her work and sat back on her heels. Ammy looked curious, and had proven she could understand what was said to her, even if she couldn't talk. Namine's past wasn't something she liked talking about, but...She sighed and leaned forward to paint more, speaking quietly as she did so.

"Nobodies don't really have homes. We're just remnants--what's left behind after someone loses their heart. We were never meant to exist, so..."

[yabigfurball]

Here, Ammy paused in her painting to give Namine a look of confusion. She'd never heard of anything like that before. How come someone not meant to exist? If you existed, then you did, and that was enough meaning. And at least, Ammy didn't get any feeling of darkness or evil from Namine, so it wasn't a demon thing. So why did she seem to speak of it like that?

[colorbymemory]

"Well, people aren't supposed to lose their hearts to the darkness, right? So anything that results from that was never supposed to be--never supposed to exist. So we don't have a place in any world." Namine's tone was matter-of-fact, but her expression was a little wistful, and her voice quiet.

Then, she gave a slight smile and scritched Ammy's ears. "Still, we can have places we want to go, and people we want to see. No use in giving up, right?" She sounded like she was reminding herself of this fact, but her smile became more genuine when her eyes fell on the picture. "I think I'd like to go there, someday."

[yabigfurball]

Ammy still didn't quite get it...just because something wasn't supposed to happen didn't prevent it from happening, or existing. And more importantly, it was clear that this did have an effect on Namine, one that made her sad. She edged closer to her, wanting to offer comfort but unsure of how to do so.

She smiled a little when Namine gave her ear scritches. She definitely didn't want Namine to feel hopeless!

After a moment of thought, she took up her brush again, grabbed up more paint, and quickly sketched an image of Namine in the middle of the village, by the bridge. If Ammy ever got her powers back, she'd take Namine to see Kamiki Village.

[colorbymemory]

If others had used Ammy's logic, then Namine might have been spared some uneasy moments. No matter what she thought of the situation, though, the fact was that her existence was an accident, and eventually that would have to be rectified.

She leaned into Ammy and kept up the scritches until the wolf started painting again. Namine smiled to see the latest addition to the picture.

"Well, at least I can visit it this way. Thank you."

She gets the paints to color herself in.

[yabigfurball]

Ammy watched as Namine went to get extra paints, and began filling in her hair with golden yellow and her dress with white. Ammy tried to give her a reassuring look...one that said if she was ever able, she'd make it more than just visiting in a painting. But, if circumstances prevented it, at least Namine could be a part of this art.

[colorbymemory]

Namine sat back on her heels, looked at the finished painting, then smiled at Ammy. Between the two of them, they'd managed to create something beautiful. Now to decide who kept it, or to share it by putting it up on the wall here.

Before she could say something about that, she got an idea. Taking a clean sheet of paper, she used her pastels to create a drawing of the mansion in Twilight Town, with her and Ammy sitting in the front yard.

"There. Now you can visit me, too."

[yabigfurball]

Ammy was pretty happy with the result, too...and she didn't mind Namine keeping it, or of her hanging it up somewhere on the deck. She was used to giving her art away more than anything, since that was often just the purpose of making it in the first place.

She watched as Namine quickly sketched out another picture...this one of what looked like a very nice, expensive house. Perhaps this was the closest thing Namine had to home. And once Namine added her there too, Ammy got the sense that was the case.

Ammy barked once, smiling and wagging her tail. It did look like a nice place to visit!

[colorbymemory]

The mansion was definitely the better of the two places Namine had been. Not a home, nor even in the world she'd appeared in, but better by far than Castle Oblivion.

Ammy seemed approve of the picture, so Namine smiled, rolled it up, and set it on her back. "There. You can keep it." Picking up the other picture, she held it up to the wall. "What do you think of putting this here?"

[yabigfurball]

Ammy didn't feel the need to keep it, but since Namine was giving it to her anyway, she didn't see the need to refuse a nice gift. She could show it to Perry and Chibi, too.

She cocked her head at the other picture, and nodded in agreement. This satellite could always use more art on the walls, with out drab the place was without it.

[colorbymemory]

Namine wasn't used to being able to give gifts, so this was a nice new experience for her. Fortunately, most everyone she'd tried it with so far was willing to accept what she offered.

Once Ammy had nodded agreement, she went hunting for pushpins so she could put it up on the wall. Thank goodness there were generous amounts of corkboard on the walls here.

Once finished, she stepped back to check her work. "What do you think?"

[yabigfurball]

Ammy watched as Namine took the painting and pinned it up to the wall. It was kind of strange that they made material you could tack things onto so easily, but Ammy just chalked it up to more human ingenuity. It did brighten up the side of the deck a bit.

She barked once in reply, then looked down at the remaining paints and paper...it was a great start, but it just meant that they'd have to add even more to the walls later down the line. They certainly had the time and materials.

[colorbymemory]

Namine would have put more pictures up on the walls, but she didn't have many she considered good enough to display. It was nice to see some color in the big room, though--maybe she should put up more.

Noticing Ammy looking down at the paper and paints, she smiled. "Do you want to do another?"

[yabigfurball]

Ammy admired the painting, then barked once at Namine. She was fine with doing another painting, if Namine wanted to. But they had plenty of time in the future, too.

[colorbymemory]

Namine smiled and scritched Ammy's ears. "If we're going to be here a while, we might not want to paint everything today. Maybe we can do this again some other time."

[yabigfurball]

Ammy nodded. That sounded good to her...she had to get these supplies back to her and Chibi's "den," and maybe she should spend some time thinking up what they would paint next. It was definitely interesting having someone color in her own usual inks.

[colorbymemory]

Namine began packing things up, helping Ammy get the supplies she needed onto her back so she could carry them. Today had been fun, but it was good to have things to look forward to. She could work on her own ideas for drawings; maybe if she described an idea, Ammy could outline it and then she could fill it in.