Artistry (ApplePoisoneer)

"Oh," she put a hand to her mouth, covering the smile that grew there. "actually, no one has ever asked before. I do like this form though. That's why I've stuck with it as long as I have. It's very functional and the other Pearls...." She started to ramble, but caught herself. Homeworld was something she wouldn't talk about, hardly with anyone. Though the thought of being appreciated for the beauty of her form made her want to rub it in the face of every Pearl on her former planetary home.

"Nevermind. " She waved the thought off. "I'd love to pose for you."
 
"Hm?" he seemed a little intrigued by her remark, thinking it odd when she stopped herself from divulging too much info. Something personal, no doubt. David decided not to dwell on it, or press Pearl on it. "I'm glad to hear it." With that he spent some time setting things up, getting into a position in which the light was favourable. For this instance he brought a few paints out, and a thin well-made brush.

"Alright well ah... feel free to pick a position you find comfortable, and I'll do my best to do you justice," David explained. Already a sort of youthful eagerness was welling inside him. This'd be something other artists would kill for...
 
"Well, alright." Pearl sat straight up and lifted her head, looking just above his eyes. This was a pose that she'd seen used in the most exquisite portraits in museums throughout history, and assumed it was standard fair for artists to work from. She couldn't help feeling a little silly, sitting while someone painted her. After all, this is why humans invented the camera. But she supposed there was much in interpretation that the camera could not capture.
 
A simple pose, he supposed, but one that gave him a good deal of room to work with. And so he set to work, taking down details by first outlining her form, and then steadily filling in her details through a mixture of paint and shade, until he was slowly detailing her beauty. As he did this, David spoke to her. "I have to admit, I'm pretty flattered you agreed to this. I mean... well you're quite beautiful, and I just hope I can do you justice."
 
She waved the compliment away, a little color coming to her cheek again. "You flatter me by asking. I'm sure it will be wonderful when it's finished. I like the things I've gotten to see."

It had been so long since anyone had told her she was beautiful. When she'd first come to Earth, she'd railed against it, wishing to be regarded more as capable, versitile and intelligent than fashionable. But now that things were more... relaxed? Perhaps that wasn't the right wordd... more subdued? At any rate, she'd forgotten how nice it felt to be valued physically as well as mentally.
 
David made small talk while he worked away, filling in the details of Peal and her background, until he felt he had done her quite a service. He turned the portrait toward her and gave her a modest smile as she surveyed the portrait in how it captured her prettiness, the pale and slim curves of her body. A slight radiance had been depicted in the gem of her forehead, adding a healthy glow to her attractive features.

It was not entirely finished, still needing some background detail filled in, but the subject herself had been scribed to the canvas. David smiled, somewhat embarrassed, and looked to his muse. "How uh... how is it?"
 
"Oh, see! I knew it would be lovely." She stood and leaned in a little to examine the piece. "It's so strange to see a painted image of myself. I mean, I'm not... well, I'm not important." Rather than being self-deprecating, Pearl stated it as if it were a fact. And although she'd had a hand in the salvation of Earth, she still felt in her heart that all the credit ought to go to Rose.
 
"Come on, no need to be modest. I mean, you appeared in like every history book I ever read as a kid, you're totally important," he assured her. "Even if that weren't the case, you look fantastic. I mean... most human girls would kill to look so flawless," he said, managing a wry smile at the attractive alien. After a moment he finished up drying his brush and set it on the end of the pallet. "Ah... well um... I should hope you like it. I still have some things to finish, and then I'll gladly let you take it to your temple if you want."
 
"Well, I did help. But it was mostly..." She smiled fondly, reminiscing. "It was mostly thanks to Rose Quartz." Pearl's thoughts fell back to Earth "And, if you finish the portrait and want to keep it for your collection, then you should hang on to it. I can't guarantee I can keep it safe from Amethyst's goofing around."
 
He shrugged "Think nothing of it. If I'm being totally honest, I'd actually like to paint you again in the future." He settled a hand on hers, and gave it a mild comforting squeeze. An alien warrior with self-esteem issues... odd, David thought. But it was sweet in it's own way. He moved to stand. "I know you don't eat anything but... do you drink anything? Or is there anything I can do for you?" He was getting a little thirsty at this stage himself.
 
"I don't typically drink anything either, but thank you." She thought a moment about the feel of his hand on hers. But before she could dwell on it for too long, it occured to her to suggest, "but you should eat and drink as much as you need to. Don't worry about me."

She liked the idea of being painted again, or more concisely, she liked the idea of sitting here while David worked. It was facinating to watch him concentrate.
 
"Well, I have to admit it's a new one. But if you guys don't eat..." he shrugged. Then again David had been in Beach City long enough to see Amethyst out-eat most people he knew, so perhaps it was Pearl specifically who had an issue with food. He headed to the kitchen briefly and returned moments later with a chilled soda in his hands. "You know this uh... well, maybe I'm being a little forward, but spending some more time with you could be nice. I wouldn't uh... well I don't know if I'd call it a date or anything, but any chance to spend time with you would be welcome. I bet there's a lot of fascinating things you can tell me about history."
 
She giggled a little nervously. "A date? I don't think I'd call it a date either. But if it's historical trivia you're looking for, then I'm your gem!" She smoothed away her laughter by brushing the non-existant wringles from her clothing. Another nervous habbit. Again, the trail of questions patterned its way through her mind; What was she doing here? And what did she hope the outcome would be? Why did she always have to overthink things? And, shockingly enough, why couldn't she play more like Amethyst sometimes? The thought made her shudder a little.
 
"Well, it'd just be nice to get to know you a little better," he said. From what he'd gathered thus far, it seemed that Pearl was a little lacking in self confidence. It was strange, from what he understood she was a warrior par excellence and had done magnificently in combat, yet... well she would downplay herself whenever he'd compliment her. Strange. David leaned against the wall and smiled faintly "I guess I'm a bit of a dork like that. But I'm sure you're used to people clamouring to learn more history from you."
 
"Well, I figured I had to stop banging rocks and pillaging villages at some point," he joked. No doubt she'd seen some rather unfortunate parts of human history, but it was good to know it hadn't coloured her perceptions too bad. David made his way back over toward the slender woman, eyes flicking up and down her body. Graceful and beautiful... small wonder he'd be so eager to paint her. "Anything I can do for you while you're here? This might come as a shock, but I've never hosted an alien in my home before."
 
"Boy, are you behind the times." She laughed, folding her hands in her lap and relaxing on the sofa. "I can't think of anything that I really need at the moment, but thank you." She glanced out the window, it was quite dark already and she wondered if Steven had already gone to bed. Her eyes flittered to David, and she decided perhaps she could stay a little longer.
 
David hummed at that and then proceeded to take a seat beside the pale figure. Not so close as to invade her space, but close enough that she could likely feel the warmth of his body. "You know, that boy that lives with you, Steven... he's a pretty smart kid. Nice too. I'm a little surprised, for as crazy as his life must be he comes across like a regular kid. Seems like you've done good work raising him," he mused. "By the way do your friends know you're here? I'd... prefer it if they didn't blow up my wall searching for you."
 
Pearl chuckled, resting her fingers delicately in front of her lips. "They do, and they won't." She seemed to be lingering on the thought of Steven, and her hand in raising him. Admittedly, it wasn't as active a role as she would have liked, but she knew the human side of him needed Greg. "Steven is... He's a wonderful boy. There's so much of his mother in him, which... makes sense, all things considered. His father is there too, but the good points outweigh the bad. He's really figuring out who he is." She smiled fondly.
 
"Well that's normal for most kids. Though, most kids don't have magical powers. Well, I did, but that's different," he jested. Couldn't have been easy, David reckoned, but then again he didn't know just how hard it had been for the gems. What with losing their leader and all. Eventually he settled a hand on Pearl's shoulder as a gesture of comfort. "I mean, if he's got someone as graceful and smart as you on hand, then he's in good hands."
 
Pearl shivered a little at the hand on her shoulder, starting to recoil, but stopping herself mid-way. It had been so long since anyone had touched her in a non-confrontational way that she'd almost forgotten what it felt like. Sure, sometimes Steven would give her a hug, but it wasn't the kind of lingering touch she associated with the shoulder.

She rested her hand over David's, her slim fingers almost half the size of his own. "I think, between Garnet, Amethyst and myself, we've... made some progress." She stopped a moment and thought about what he said earlier. "What did you say about having magical powers?" She asked, not catching the joke.
 
"It was a joke Pearl," he added, giving her a wry smile. He supposed an alien concept of humor was different to his own, that or she'd never really heard a lot of sarcasm. Either way his hand returned to his knee, and the young artist watched her closely. "You're too hard on yourself," David assured her. "I'm sure he'll be great."

Heck, Steven had seemed pretty nice for as long as David had known him.
 
"Oh? Oh! A joke!" She laughed, more at herself for not getting it right away than the joke itself. "That's funny. Sorry, sometimes I miss those more subtle ones." She thought of Steven's knock-knock jokes and puns and snickered a little. Subtle, they were not. Neither were Amethyst's visual gags, though sometimes they were funny too. She squeezed his hand gently, smiling fondly and glancing into his eyes before looking away. "Thank you. For all of this."
 
"Heh... well, I guess I've always been a friendly sort..." Though, friendly with an alien samurai was a new one. Not that he was going to complain with how things were going now.

Still, she did look radiant in this instant... so beautiful, smart and sweet... perhaps he was feeling confident from what he had done so far, and wanted to push is luck just a tad. "You know I uh... I dunno if you're available, or... even if your race has relationships in the human sense, but... if you wanted to, or um. What I mean is, if you wanted to go on a date with me I would uh.... I'd be pretty honoured by it."
 
"A date? Well... I... I'm..." Rose was gone. She was never coming back. True, she had gotten a wonderful Steven, he was no replacement. And even before she'd disappeared completely, Rose had, indeed, put some distance between herself and her faithful Pearl. A Greg-shaped amount of space.

A kind of rebellious passion welled inside Pearl. For the very first time, it Occurred to her that maybe she could do what she wanted, rather than thinking about what it meant to others, or what her responsability was to the planet. Then, it died, and was replaced by at least half the old worry. However, a new boldness comingled with that worry.

"If we were. to... If we were to start seeing eachother, you should be aware that my first duty is to the planet. Yourself included, but on a... well on a grander scale. I'll still have to destroy other fragments, andthat may mean breaking an engagement or two." She folded her hands in her lap and looked down at her feet. "I know that's a lot to expect, and I would understand if you wanted to find another human that... well that could always be with you."
 
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