they will shake their heads and wag their fingers
by daybreak we'll be gone
"Maintaining it is an easy duty, though often a...sticky one. I've learnt a lot about the lives of the Ascended in Caido." Bastien said diplomatically, not revealing too much. He actually didn't mind the job; he'd never been shy about that kind of thing, and it was nice to provide some kind of positive service for his people.As for anything else for payment...Bastien shrugged. "I often do paintings just for the joy of it, so payment is...not high on my mind. If I think of something, I'll let you know, but...consider it a gift. Congratulations on your new enterprise." It was hardly going to take him a long time - portraits of beautiful women were a common request, one he was very well practiced in, and the size was smaller than he usually worked.
Painting the smile on her lips into the picture, just the slightest upward curve on the edges of her mouth, he smiled along with her. "Very lucky, I'm sure. Do you have a partner?" He'd known plenty of whores with happy marriages, so didn't consider it a contradiction.
The war did, indeed, suck all joy out of a conversation, but with it about to do that to their lives, it felt odd to ignore it. Still, he nodded, seeing that the topic upset her: "My apologies. It is on my mind - between you and I, I may be in some way in charge of this place soon, and the pressures of the future weigh heavily. I envy you your smaller world."
BASTIEN
