Twenty-third Link

[colorbymemory]

Characters: Namine, Amaterasu, Chibiterasu
Content: Field trip to the Louvre
Location: The Louvre. Paris, France. Circa the 1990's.
Time of Day: Early afternoon.
Warnings: Artwork.

Namine hadn’t thought she’d use the time machine. With the exception of Kaldur, Aqua, and Twilight Sparkle’s expeditions to find good books, most of the others seemed to use it for adventures. While she enjoyed hearing their stories after they got back (even if she worried), she was usually well content to wait for them while they were gone.

That was before she’d found about something called an art museum. She hadn’t known that people on this world collected art to display, simply because it was pretty. Some of the pictures in the book had seemed interesting, and a museum seemed safe enough from how she’d heard that sort of place described. The worst was that it might be crowded, and the snacks far too expensive.

Still it seemed best to have some company, and Amaterasu seemed like the one who would most enjoy this sort of excursion. Taking her without asking Chibi along as well seemed cruel, though, so she’d decided to see about getting all three of them there.

The main problem was that, from what she could tell, animals weren’t allowed in museums. Finally, she’d gotten some help finding information about something called a “therapy dog.” Amaterasu had seemed amused at the idea of playing the part of one, with Chibi along as her puppy training for the same kind of work.

That settled, it was time to go. At first, they’d see if all three of them could go through with her carrying Chibi. If that didn’t work, Amaterasu would wait while she went back for Chibi.

Comments

[yabigfurball]

This definitely looks like it used to be a palace! Ammy remarked. It was somewhat comforting to see that the people here thought so highly of art that they treated it this well, and allowed people to come in and see it. The glass pyramid was definitely an interesting addition...she'd never seen anything like that before, even in the Moon Tribe's strange constructs.

If that's the entrance, let's start over there.

She nodded, and stuck very close to Namine and Chibi...with crowds this big, it'd be very easy for them to get separated. At least by remaining this close together, no one would question her and Chibi being 'therapy dogs.'

[littlesun]

Chibi walked close to Namine and his mother; the vest was probably going to be a lot more helpful than they thought, since it would make them stand out in a crowd. He kept his head high and his ears perked up; everyone always talked about him looking alert when he did that. Well, sometimes people did. When they weren't giving him nicknames.

We'll have to be careful not to get lost. This would be fun, but he didn't want to have to hunt for his mom and Namine in a place this big.

[colorbymemory]

The thought of art being treated as so valuable that it was put in what used to be a palace, but still shared with people, was a nice one. The pyramid stood out against the old-fashioned building enough that it wouldn't be missed as a meeting point or potential entrance. Namine made a note of that. "If we do get separated, why don't we meet at the pyramid?"

Not that getting separated seemed to be a major issue. Amaterasu and Chibi were keeping close by her, and their vests stood out enough that to make them easily noticeable. Getting lost was another issue entirely, though, and very possible. The building was larger than any she'd ever seen, and that impression didn't diminish when they'd gotten inside.

Thankfully, the guards were understanding and let them through without much fuss. That taken care of, Nami took out the directory they'd been given and spread the map so they could all see. "Where do we want to go first?"

It all looked interesting, but she'd rather see the paintings first. The Mona Lisa was supposed to be famous.

[yabigfurball]

Ammy barked once at Namine in acknowledgement. The pyramid would be easy to find again, so that seemed a good place to go. Yes, let's use that as a base.

Although the guards did let them through, they definitely were getting a lot of strange looks from the other people there. Even if they were able to pass themselves off as helper dogs, not that many domestic dogs looked like white wolves. As long as they kept up the charade, they should be okay.

Ammy glanced over at the map that Namine had obtained...there were a whole lot of sections here. She wasn't sure what was famous and what wasn't, but she was interested in seeing the paintings. Now that she had all of her brushes again, it was no problem to pause time and draw a small circle around the painting section of the map with her own ink.

Let's try here first.

[littlesun]

Chibi found himself a bit distracted by all the people; they were all so different, even from the people he'd met on the satellite. He was used enough to odd looks that they weren't too bad, and it didn't seem like anyone could see his or his mom's markings.

He pokes his face at the map and nods; that seems good to him. It looked like they had to head upstairs past some things, though; that would be a nice way to see part of the museum on the way.

It looks like that whole side is all paintings; wow...

Chibi looked around them; the flow of people seemed to be heading for the stairs as well, so it wasn't hard to find. He perked up his ears. It looks like that's the closest way up.

[colorbymemory]

Namine did her bet to ignore the odd looks she was receiving for not only having two unusual dogs with her, but also speaking with them. That said, not all of them indicated the others thought she was odd. Some where indulgent, or curious. There were more than a few children who had seemed eager to try to pet Amaterasu or Chibi, only to be pulled away by the adults with them.

The sudden appearance of a circle on her map was surprising, but then she remembered Amaterasu's abilities. So it looked like they agreed on where to go first. The path there would take them past a few other things that might be interesting as well.

They also seemed to have the same idea as many of their fellow visitors. Being careful to make sure that the others were keeping up with her, she moved into the crowd going up the stairs.

[yabigfurball]

Now that they'd settled on where to go, they made their way up the stairs together, sticking as close together as possible through the crowds of people.

At last, they found the first section of paintings...it looked like everything was divided up into what kinds of paintings there were, whether by what time they were made or what style they were done in. Amaterasu was also surprised to see that many of the paintings were hiding behind glass cases. What was the purpose of those?

Can you see all right? While she was asking both Chibi and Namine, she hoped that Namine could understand her well enough without actually being able to understand her.

[littlesun]

Chibi tried to peer his way up past all the people. Thankfully having two of them there seemed to make people give them more space, but he still couldn't quite see everything. I can't see too well. He wasn't sure Namine should pick him up, though, if they wanted to keep pretending.

[colorbymemory]

It took them a few minutes to make it up the stairs and to their destination, but it was worth it. Namine was a bit disappointed that they couldn't get quite as close as she might like, and the glass cases caused issues with glare from the ceiling lights. That aside, she could still see reasonably well by trying to move closer to the front of the crowd.

While she only heard Amaterasu's question as a concerned whine, she could guess what it was about. She reached down to offer some reassuring ear scritches. "Don't worry, I can see just fine."

Looking down when Chibi yipped, she realized he was probably having trouble seeing. Deciding she could claim to want to keep him from getting lost, she picked him up so he could have a better view.

[yabigfurball]

Seeing around the crowds was a challenge, but Namine at least reassured her that she could. And now that Namine had picked him up, Chibi should be able to see, too. The paintings were all very lovely, but so different from what Ammy and Chibi were used to. It looked like they didn't use strong inks at all.

There was a guard eyeing them...likely didn't like the idea of animals anywhere near the art. Ammy just gave him a bit of an eye back. None of them were going to alter the art, thank you very much.

[littlesun]

Chibi nuzzled at Namine thankfully. Now that he could see properly he could tell that the paintings weren't done with proper inks at all. That was kind of disappointing, but it was always good to see what sorts of different and new things other people were coming up with.

It was neat to watch the people, too; some people looked at a picture and tried to dive back into the crowd right away, and then other people tried to read all the display descriptions. Most people seemed pretty happy just to drift by, though.

[colorbymemory]

The people who had done these paintings hadn't used the ink Amaterasu and Chibi were used to. The paint was thicker, and sometimes if you looked closely enough you could see the brush strokes. Namine liked both styles of painting, but it was understandable that the others might be surprised.

Following Amaterasu's gaze, she noticed the guard and gave a small nod before looking back at the paintings. Hopefully he'd leave them alone if they were quiet and made it clear they weren't hurting anything. Unfortunately, that might mean avoiding getting close enough to read about the artwork. Too bad, since she would have been interested, but they couldn't risk causing trouble. After getting a good look, she went to join the crowd of drifters.

[yabigfurball]

Namine's smile to the guard probably helped a little bit more than Ammy's stare back, since he moved on and left them alone, at least for now.

They looked at some of the paintings in this wing for awhile, and they were all nice, but Ammy was also eager to see what else was in this museum. It was pretty big, after all, and maybe there were other styles of paintings that she'd never seen before.

There was a bit of a break in the crowds as they moved on, and she took the opportunity to move on towards another section. After a little bit, she turned around...were Chibi and Namine still behind her?

[littlesun]

Chibi looked around, only to realize that he'd lost his mother and Namine. Everywhere around him was a sea of unfamiliar legs. He lifted his head to sniff the air; there were a lot of different scents from all the people, but at least his mother wasn't hard to find.

He wound his way through the crowd and trotted up to his mother. Where is Namine?

[colorbymemory]

Namine hadn't intended to lose sight of Amaterasu and Chibi. She'd just set Chibi down to walk to the next room. The crowd was growing larger, though, and more difficult to maneuver in. As much as she'd tried to keep close, she hadn't been able to, and now she was trying to see if they were at least in the same room before going back to their meeting place.

One would think they'd be easier to see. Maybe someone would notice them and raise a fuss. While that wouldn't be good, it would at least give her an idea of where they were.

[yabigfurball]

After a little bit, Chibi did manage to find his way to her...but Namine wasn't with him.

I don't know...I thought she was right behind me. Shoot. She had hoped that they wouldn't get lost this quickly. She glanced all over the crowd. Surely they could find her again, right?

Maybe I should slow time and see if we can work through the crowd back to her?

[littlesun]

Chibi sniffed at the air. It was hard, but he thought he could tell the direction Namine was in at least.

If I can see her, I can guide her to us. It's a special thing I learned. Can you tell where she is?

[colorbymemory]

Namine was trying to find the others without straying too far. They were probably looking for her, too, so it wouldn't be good to confuse things by going far from where they'd last seen her. At least, that's what she'd heard.

Though there was the added problem of trying not to look lost or as if she was looking for someone. She didn't want to attract the attention of strangers, however kindly meant.

[yabigfurball]

Ammy put her nose to the air. There were a whole lot of unfamiliar smells here, which at least made it a bit easier to pick out Namine from everyone and everything else. Finally, she stopped turning around when she felt like she had a good sense of where she was.

I think she's back that way. I don't know how to guide people with the brush. It seemed Chibi had picked up a few abilities that she'd never learned from the brush gods.

[littlesun]

Chibi concentrated on pulling his brush out. No one seemed to notice, which was good - it would be difficult if someone saw what was going on here. He drew a line out to Namine; it would look to her like a vivid red line on the floor, leading straight through the crowd to them.

There.

[colorbymemory]

Well, that was unusual. Namine hadn't noticed a red line on the floor before, and nobody else seemed to notice it. It lead to wear she noticed a small crowd forming--something to investigate.

Following it, she found Amatersu and Chibi. Ignoring the crowd, she smiled and knelt down to pet them. "There you are."

[yabigfurball]

Ammy could see the red line as well, having the same brush powers as Chibi...minus this particular power, of course. She waited as the crowd moved around them...surely Namine would find that and follow it, right?

And she did! Ammy smiled and wagged her tail as Namine knelt down to pet them both. It was good to have them all together again. That's quite the useful brush!

[littlesun]

Chibi bumped his head against Namine's hand and wagged his tail at her. It felt good to use his powers again to help people out.

Yeah, it's super nice when you're working with partners.

[colorbymemory]

The crowd thinned, most everyone seeming satisfied that the owner of the two dogs had been found. Namine overheard cautions to be careful in the future, some of which seemed not so kindly meant. At the moment, though, she was mostly focused on her two companions.

After offering some final pettings, she stood. "Shall we try the next room?"

The guard was frowning again, so it was probably best to move on.

[yabigfurball]

Ammy's main partner throughout her journey had been Issun, and since he rode on her head anyway, she didn't have to much keep track of him. But if Chibi had many partners as he'd indicated, a brush to guide them along dangerous paths would be useful.

And while this path was less dangerous for Namine, it was still useful. At least the crowd was dispersing now, although the guard was still giving them an eye. She nodded to Namine...now was a good time to move on.

Ahead, it looked like they could go into an area with a lot of sculptures from here. Considering she'd never done sculpture before, this would be interesting.