who could ask for anything more

OLIVER

Within the eye, mysteries of the soul burn deeply beneath the fiery chasms of love

and patiently wait for an awakening

Settling himself into a nice, cozy corner with his coat draped over his shoulders, Oliver had turned a flat plank of wood into a hard surface. Earlier when he tried to get some drawing in he got a bit...distracted. After everything that happened Oliver knew he needed a healthy way to distract himself. What better way than to get some drawing in...or something.

As much as he wanted to learn something new, he remembered the words that a particular man had said to him. That he should worry more about surviving. So, rather than trying to take on a new form of art, Oliver had settled on drawing. It was something quick, easy, and if something were to go wrong, he could chuck it to the side and get to...whatever surviving entailed.

Obviously, Oliver was still very disheveled. There were bags under his eyes and his hair was an absolute mess. Whether it was an attractive mess or not was up to the others, but Oliver wasn't too happy with how he looked. His body ached and at this point, he was missing the cold. To feel anything, the cold of the snow, the heat of the sun, or really anything that wasn't exactly the same. To not be trapped indoors for hours on end.

His drawings had started out with care, but after an hour or so of actually trying, he had started to goof around. He was currently working on a flower with an absurd amount of petals, merely adding more and more as time went on. Clearly, he was sleep deprived, bored, and falling apart a small bit.

BASTIEN

Once he had actually spoken to Rexanna, as horrible as her state was, Bastien felt comforted. At least he knew she still lived and she was being cared for by some of the best people he knew, people who cared for her deeply. He believed she would live and he would see her again. The waiting was still torture, but at least he could settle into it rather than being hit by a new wave of panic every hour.

When his fear had begun to subside, he had had a chance to reflect on how he had entered the temple. He had been angry and scared; looking back he realised he had probably been harsher than he should have been.

With a sigh he had begun to look for Oliver, thinking he had to apologise. The boy was new to Caido, after all. He could not be expected to know everything, to be sure of what to do in something as terrifying as Longnight. Finally, he found Oliver in a corner, a sketchbook in his hands (which made Bastien smile. He always turned to art when he was frustrated or sad. Perhaps they had something in common).

Carefully he approached, nodding a greeting. "Hello, Oliver. I...wanted to apologise for how I spoke to you, when I entered. I was very worried about Rexanna and myself - well, I have found Rexanna is well now, so I can think more clearly. I hope you have not taken it to heart."

You standing beside me
I'm going to push back, push back, push back
With every word and every breath

OLIVER

Within the eye, mysteries of the soul burn deeply beneath the fiery chasms of love

and patiently wait for an awakening

Oliver was deeply engrossed in the disaster of a flower. It looked like a poinsettia if the poinsettia were allowed to grow out of control. It wasn't bad, per say...it just wasn't accurate...or contained.

Whatever it was, Oliver was a bit distracted by it. So distracted he barely noticed the arrival of a particular individual. The only thing that gave it away was the sudden change in light levels, the casting of a shadow over his paper. Looking up at Bastien, Oliver's eyes widened. He was by far the last person Oliver expected to see, especially considering he had been pretty badly injured. Surely, he would've been in bed for much longer than this.

The last thing he expected to come from the last person he expected, wow what a tongue twister, was an...apology? The look on Oliver's face was one of conclusion, but also one of guilt. He still felt pretty bad and to hear Bastien of all people apologize for being mad? Damn.

Setting down the pencil carefully, Oliver played with his hands as he tried to formulate a response. He bit down on his lip nervously before speaking. "You...you really have no need to apologize, Bastien...I mean, you didn't really do anything wrong." Well, he had left, but that's not what Oliver meant. His tone was quiet, but leaked with guilt. Like he still felt bad about the whole thing. It did make Oliver feel better to know that Bastien didn't hate him, but he didn't feel it was right to have Bastien apologize to him. Hopefully nobody would be eavesdropping on their conversation.

"You were about to die and I was being so pushy, I should've trusted Ezra's gut...and I'm sorry for that." The blonde shook his head and looked Bastien in the eye. He truly felt as though Bastien had every right to be mad at that moment. "I understand you worrying about Rexanna...if I had a spouse I'd be just as worried as you. I'm glad she's well...and you seem pretty well too." He was sincere when he spoke. Oliver was glad to see Bastien well and to know his wife was fine as well. That it hadn't been to late to rescue him, despite all his pushing of asking more questions.

"I'm sorry for not trusting you when you answered the first questions...I hope that you can forgive me doing that." All Oliver wanted was to ensure that Bastien really was who he was claiming to be. He didn't know how the monsters worked and didn't know if it were possible to take on the persona of another.

BASTIEN

Oliver seemed surprised to see him. Bastien had not really realised how affected by the whole thing Oliver had been; he had not really considered the man once he'd gotten inside until he knew Rexanna was alive. Perhaps he was more intimidating when he yelled than he thought. (Really, he just did not think how Oliver did. He wasn't dead, so it had all worked out fine, so there's nothing to feel poor about).

"Rexanna is..." He had said well, but that wasn't really close to the truth. "Alive, at least. I am doing much better than her, unfortunately - if I could I would take on all of her injuries." Bastien was far more concerned with that than with laying the blame anywhere for his almost-failed entrance.

He waved his hand to signal his forgiveness again. "Tell me how you are handling this. I see you are drawing...is it helping? This is my second time doing one of these Longnights...I suspect next year I may even feel used to it."

You standing beside me
I'm going to push back, push back, push back
With every word and every breath

OLIVER

Within the eye, mysteries of the soul burn deeply beneath the fiery chasms of love

and patiently wait for an awakening

The way Oliver felt towards Bastien was...complicated, to say the least. He wanted to be around him. The man had such a radiant personality that just drew the young blonde towards him. He had been so welcoming and opening to different ideas. It made Oliver want to befriend him. desire to get to know more about Bastien. He still had that desire, but it was shaded by what had happened before. He worried that Bastien wouldn't continue to show him the same respect, the same kindness.

Luckily, Bastien seemed quick to continue on with life, almost ignoring everything that happened between the two. It felt...somewhat nice. Oliver did want to talk about what happened eventually, but it was always a good sign that the other didn't hold any grudges. It gave Oliver hope for their possible future.

What happened to Rexanna didn't sound good. Oliver knew better than to push for more information, especially when he hardly knew either of them. So instead, he gave the other man a sympathetic look and spoke in a calm voice. "If there's anything you need me to do...anything at all to help you two out, please let me know." He was genuine in his offer, maybe a bit eager to help the two out. Oliver wanted to show that he was a good person, despite the door incident.

Bastien moved on to asking him questions about the sketchpad. Looking down at his drawing his face darkened. Of course Bastien had to see that drawing. Not even one of the ones he actually put effort into! Looking back up at the other man, he nodded before speaking up. "Yeah, it's kind of helping." Oliver was unsure of himself, and it reflected in his tone and facial expressions. He seemed like he wasn't entirely sure what he was saying, nor if he believed it.

"It's....weird. I have so much energy, I feel like I could run forever," He paused and fiddled with his pencil a small bit. "But I also feel tired." Oliver couldn't tel, but his emotions had been drained. It was such an unfamiliar way of being, Oliver had no idea how to explain it or what it even meant.

"Drawing is fun though. It gives me a way to, you know, do stuff? I don't know. I've been trying to practice drawing different things...like I tried to draw people, but I didn't exactly do super great." He let out a nervous laugh. Then again, he had also been super distracted and maybe that's why he hadn't been able to draw as well as he would've hoped. "I...I like drawing stuff though. Art feels relaxing. I wish I had things to draw, really."

Then he remembered that Bastien may have his own tips. Maybe he had a nice LongNight before everything went to shit. "What do you normally do during LongNight? If you want to draw, you can borrow my book." Hopefully the other man wouldn't ask to see his figure drawing because...ouch. That'd be something Oliver wasn't ready to explain in full detail. Hopefully he'd be able to practice drawing humans a bit more, that way he'd have other examples.

BASTIEN

"Ah...well...that is kind of you, but unless you could teleport Rexanna over here or heal her, there is little you can do." Bastien shrugged, a little helplessly. It was a joke but there was just a tiny bit of hope; after all he had been in Caido for a year and in that time he had seen magic and miracles like he'd never imagined possible in Venice.

He listened to Oliver talk about his drawing with a far-off smile, longing for the days when he had had troubles small enough to get rid of them in a sketchbook, drawing in a window seat overlooking the docks. There had been plenty of visitors down below on the streets who had made good unknowing subjects for his pencil and the study had always helped to calm him.

Now he felt he'd just end up drawing what he felt, which surely wouldn't help him forget it at all. "However you draw people is how you are meant to draw them right now. They will look good to many viewers, I promise you." Bastien smiled, meaning it. He had never thought much to putting down ones own art.

"Well...last Longnight I was working in the Rathskeller, but now...I do not know entirely what I will do. But I will not take away your book; an artist's sketchbook can be his most treasured place to keep secrets, after all." He did wish he'd brought something for himself, though. "Are you here with anyone? This sort of time is always much better with friends or a lover, someone to help you through."

You standing beside me
I'm going to push back, push back, push back
With every word and every breath

OLIVER

Within the eye, mysteries of the soul burn deeply beneath the fiery chasms of love

and patiently wait for an awakening

That's too bad. Oliver genuinely wanted to help, but yet again his lack of medicine and knowledge had become a barrier. "Well...if you think of anything, let me know. I could even just help around with doing chores or doing errands. Anything to make things easier for you two." Or really anything at all to show Bastien he was a good person and still wanted to be in his guild.

When bastien rejected the offer of the sketchbook, Oliver was surprised. He hasn't really looked at the book all that deeply yet. But maybe it could become something special to him. A place where he could draw anything, no matter how illogical it was. It made him feel even better that Bastien wasn't judging him for still learning. It made him feel nice and warm inside, despite what happened between the two before. It also reminded Oliver of why he had grown fond of the other. Why he was highly considering joining his guild. "Thank you...someday I'll show you some of my work...something that's not plants or flowers or vines. I like drawing those, sure, but something feels missing."{/] There was something yanking at him. It felt so close and yet so far away. \n\nHis happiness had started to dwindle at the following question. Oliver was reminded of one of the less happier emotions he had been feeling. Loneliness. His voice grew quiet and lacked his normal upbeat attitude. [say}"I originally came here alone...I don't know too many people here. I have met up with a couple of people since arriving...I don't know if I would call them friends, but I know they can be nice to be around. I was happy to see them here and safe." And he certainly hadn't forgotten about the other part. Lovers.

"No uh....lovers exactly. Nobody I've been serious with." Should he go into any detail? Maybe not. Bastien probably wouldn't be interested in his confliction emotions towards a particular Ascended.

BASTIEN

"No chores to do - our home is wrapped up and pristine, and I am hoping to find it still that way when we return..." With everything that had happened, the studio and his and Rexanna's house had become very much a background priority. For all he cared it could be burned the ground as long as Rexanna was still alive and eventually, well. Buildings could be remade.

Flowers had never been his particular subject of choice, but it was hardly an uncommon one. "Draw what it is makes you feel alive. Especially at a time like this. The goal does not need to be to make something beautiful. Sometimes, you draw simply to let some of your worried soul out." This advice easily rolled off his tongue, the sort of thing he'd said hundreds of times to students over the years.

Nobody I've been serious with. The first hints of a smile played around Bastien's lips. Oliver was having fun, hm? There was nothing wrong with that, of course - Bastien could hardly chastise anyone for sleeping around. "And who is it that isn't serious?" A bit of gossip could always make him feel better.

You standing beside me
I'm going to push back, push back, push back
With every word and every breath

OLIVER

Within the eye, mysteries of the soul burn deeply beneath the fiery chasms of love

and patiently wait for an awakening

Looks like there wasn't anything that Oliver could necessarily offer to do. Bastien did seem too bothered by it, luckily. It's too bad that Oliver hadn't quite found his special talent. He heard of all of the different positions and jobs that had been filled by those living in Caido. They could offer specific services, but him? Unfortunately, he had yet to discover what exactly he was good at. It was hard for him, because he felt like there was something that he should be doing, a thing that he could do in life. "If you need help, you can find me at Loren's manor." Surely, Bastien knew who Loren was.

Bastien continued to show what a good person he was, the parts of him that made Oliver desire to be around him more, to befriend him and get closer. He didn't judge others for what they drew. It was a great way to think and it made Oliver feel better about what he was drawing. "I'll take your word for it. I've been...trying to draw more of a couple of things. Like...the Luxere. I tried drawing one of them from memory, but it kinda looks more like a dog or a horse thing." He let out a small laugh, glancing down at the book. He sounded hopeful, like he wanted to do better, but also like he was making fun of himself a bit. Oliver knew he wasn't the best artist, not by a longshot, but it simply felt natural to have a pencil in his hand and a paper before him.

But, of course, things would drift away from art. Oliver wasn't one to necessarily shy away from being honest about certain things. While he was blushing, he wasn't afraid of being honest with Bastien. The man did ask him, showing he wasn't the sort to judge for those types of things. Plus, he seemed to have moved on past their prior meeting, showing that things were looking up for the two. The only thing stopping Oliver from telling Bastien more was the other person's permission.

Did Amun feel comfortable with Oliver telling Bastien? Oliver thought things over. Back when they had painted the mural, Amun had greeted him very openly. Anyone could've looked at that and immediately known something had happened. Plus, their first meeting hadn't exactly been private. Amun had showed no issue with flirting with him in broad daylight. Surely, he wouldn't be too mad?

Taking a deep breath, Oliver tried to ignore the fact that he was indeed blushing. Might as well be honest? "We....it really isn't anything major, really. His name is...Amun. I wouldn't call us friends or anything like that..." He tried to sound confident, but due to the large amounts of pauses and slowness of his speech, he was clearly very new to actually talking openly about this sort of thing. "I don't even know what we are." He didn't sound hurt, just very confused.

BASTIEN

Bastien in fact did not know who Loren was, but the only 'manor' he knew of was the Launceleyn one; the thought of that building and the Queen that had once resided in caused his lip to curl for a moment. At least that wasn't still happening during all of this, he supposed - but did that mean the boy was some relative of hers?

He laughed at Oliver's description of his attempt to draw the Luxere. "Well, that can happen. You need to spend the time to study and eventually your mind will catch up. We all have our failures, but only you can judge what they are." Bastien remembered in his training years many lopsided doodles of faces and buildings; it had taken a long time for his skill to develop to where he was now.

"Ohh, Amun. A member of my Sanctuary. He seems to be a rather..." Bastien searched for a polite word, unsure if 'slutty' would go down wrong with Oliver. "...free man. Eager to give his love to a few - but many would have said the same of me once, until I met my Rexanna..." And Bastien had still had plenty of sex with other people since then. "You should talk to him if you are so unsure."

You standing beside me
I'm going to push back, push back, push back
With every word and every breath

OLIVER

Within the eye, mysteries of the soul burn deeply beneath the fiery chasms of love

and patiently wait for an awakening

Oliver nodded and flipped to a particular page of his book. Inside it was an attempt at drawing a mouse. A couple of them were half complete and looked a bit more like they were made of clay. However, one was decently finished and didn't look too bad. There was still room for improvement, clearly, but it was better than the other attempts in certain aspects. "Yeah...I've found that having visual models helps me out a whole lot. Like, trying to draw a luxere from memory is surprisingly hard. I couldn't get the head proportions correct, not at all." It was more of a side comment than Oliver actually asking for models. Once LongNight ended, he'd try to find things he could use. Maybe he could practice birds by asking Sunjata to model for him.

"I want to improve, so badly...do more than just flowers." Maybe someday he'd be able to visit Bastien at his guild in order to learn from others, for now he wasn't entirely sure if the offer was even on the table anymore. He assumed it wasn't.

Of course Bastien knew who Amun was. Oliver wasn't sure if it was a good thing that Bastien belonged to his...Sanctuary? Olvier had no idea what that was, but he absolutely heard the pause in Bastien's speech. He didn't take it too hard, he had learned by then that Amun flirted with many people of different types. Wincing, Oliver shook his head. "It...isn't that simple. I know I want to befriend him..." And continue to get my blood sucked by him...

Trailing off, Oliver seemed to space off a small bit, a bit in his own thoughts. "It's fine though, it doesn't bother me too much." Whether that was truthful or not was up for debate. "What is this sanctuary you mentioned?"

BASTIEN

Bastien peeked at the page Oliver flipped over too, tilting his head this way and that as he considered the drawings. Hardly his favourites he'd seen, but a promising start. The most important thing, after all, was that he was drawing, which would lead to only good things.

"If you want to improve you will, though it will likely be a bumpy road." He'd had more than one punched-through canvas in his history, or nights spent drinking and whining about the abilities of his hands rather than working on improving his work. "It is the oldest and most tired advice but the most true: Just keep going."

Befriend seemed rather like a euphemism, but Bastien left it be for now, happier to talk about his Sanctuary. "Ah. It is what I call my guild. You see, where I came from in Venice, I operated an organisation called The Artist's Sanctuary - which gave free art training to those who needed it, as well as shelter and community. In return for a portion of their commission when they began to make a name." Nowadays, when he'd had time away from the constraints of money to reflect, he'd wondered if that had been the best way to do it...but hindsight was 20/20, after all.

You standing beside me
I'm going to push back, push back, push back
With every word and every breath

OLIVER

Within the eye, mysteries of the soul burn deeply beneath the fiery chasms of love

and patiently wait for an awakening

Bastien was right and Oliver knew it. Learning to draw wasn't going to be easy, not in the slightest. Seeing others draw incredible things sometimes looked easy, but Oliver had realized by now how challenging it was to draw...really anything. Comparing his art to others always felt bad, but he tried to keep his head up. Drawing brought him a sense of peace and calmness that was welcomed with open arms. Nodding in agreement, Oliver spoke in a calm voice, glancing down at the mice he had drawn. "Yeah, I have no plans of stopping anytime soon." Until he ran out of space in his sketchbook, then he'd have to wait until he could get ahold of another. "Only downside is that I'm starting back at square one almost. Any skill I once had is probably just lost, along with all my other memories." He was frustrated, both with himself and with the general idea. He had no idea if he once was great at drawing or why he was so drawn to it.


Oliver's feelings towards Amun were complex, but then again, weren't all his feelings complex? He wasn't sure how to feel towards really anyone, Amun just had new angles that others didn't. He too was happy to change the subject, not ready just yet to face those ideas.

Hearing of the Sanctuary was great. To know that Bastien had always been a kind person was absolutely reassuring. It brought a smile to Oliver's face. There was so much to address and well, they did have plenty of time. With deep interest reflecting from his eyes, Oliver looked up at Bastien. "That's incredible...I'm so glad that you were able to bring that to Venice." Oliver may remember nothing but he was almost positive that he wasn't from Venice or anywhere in Italy from that matter. Oh shit I know what Venice is. He'd have to ask about that later, for all he knew maybe he came from the same world as Bastien.

"I'm glad that you were able to keep it up somewhat here. What do you do at your guild currently? There was obviously far more he wanted to ask of Bastien. He wanted to learn more about where he came from, eager to see if maybe, just possibly, it'd help him remember his own world. Who knows, maybe they came from the exact same time, merely from different locations.

BASTIEN

"Lost memories? Odd, that seems to be a plague of sorts here." Bastien put a hand to his chin as he thought about it, glad he had not fallen victim to that specific misfortune. His memories made him who he was, taught him how to be. That it seemed to be a common thing was a worry to him.

As much as the Sanctuary did have altruistic elements to it, it had mostly at least at first been motivated by a need for fame and the building of a hedonistic community. That it had ended up helping so many young artists was a happy effect for sure, but it had not been the original intention. Still, Bastien only smiled. "I can only hope someone continued it in my absence."

What do you do at your guild? was a big question. "Anything creative our members want to do, really...paint, draw, sing. After Longnight I intend to organise more performances and exhibitions. Overall I am trying to bring the joy of art to this...often dreary place."

You standing beside me
I'm going to push back, push back, push back
With every word and every breath