Idol meets Other (Elata and Kylana)

[ElataDiscordia]

Lise hurried back to her apartment from a visit to the landlord to request a lock change for her door. Of course, she expected it to happen after she was gone... She would have to come up with an alternate way of locking the door until then. Stupid people stealing keys.

The young woman's tangled brown hair flopped as she stepped briskly, looking down. It was a shock that her heavy glasses didn't fall right off her face. A thin figure wore cute clothes-- capris and a frilly tank top.

Boots protected her feet from the rough ground, and a large leather coat protected her from the unseasonably cold wind.

[Kylana]

Erik shuffled back toward the front steps of the building, balancing two paper bags of groceries and bracing himself against the wind. He had holed himself up in his apartment for days and had finally run out of anything remotely edible.

He had merely thrown on an old pair of jeans, sneakers and a hoodie before heading out -- checking the weather first hadn't really crossed his mind -- and he could feel his nose and ears turning red.

A sudden gust blew his hair all over his face, and he stopped momentarily in attempt to shake the black mop out of his eyes.

[ElataDiscordia]

Looking up, the girl noticed someone standing in front of the building's door. "H-here, let me g-get that." she offered, hurrying forward and opening the door. He looked like he had quite the load. This girl looked like the stereotypical nerd from a highschool. No seeming regard for physical hygene, an overdose of shyness, and huge glasses didn't help that.

Quietly, she held the door for him. The glasses distorted her eyes to the point they couldn't be made out. They could be any color hidden under those things. A gust of wind blew her jacket open, revealing her frilly, thin tank top and capris. "Eek...!"

[Kylana]

He peered around one of the grocery bags to find a rather thin girl propping the door open. "Thanks, that's the nicest thing anyone's done for me around here... I take that back, it's THE only nice thing. You must be just visiting." He gave a half-hearted laugh, not even really finding himself too funny.

She yelped, and he nearly dropped his cargo. "Are you... ah, I see I'm not the only one not prepared for the weather." He moved his body to hold the door open. "In or out?"

[ElataDiscordia]

"I-in... I live here..." she responded, entering quickly behind him. "I... I was told it was w-warm...!" she complained, lower lip jutting out and trembling some. Her small shoulders trembled with shivers as her body tried to warm itself. Cheeks red from the cold, the girl rubbed her arms through her coat's sleeves. "Uh... W-what room is yours? I l-live on the top floor, so I c-could help you c-carry some of your s-stuff... T-the elevator's out a-again."

[Kylana]

"Again?" He sighed, though he wasn't really surprised. "You sure? Thanks, I'll definitely owe you one. I'm up in 3C."

He handed her the lighter of the two bags, feeling a little guilty that he was letting a girl help him carry anything. The grocery store was just so far away and he didn't want to admit how sore his arms had become... he wasn't exactly the "lift weights in his spare time" sort of guy.

Walking with her to the stairwell with the burnt-out EXIT sign, he backed into the door to hold it open for her. "After you."

[ElataDiscordia]

Entering the room, she looked around. "W-where would you l-like me to p-put it?" she asked, looking back at him. Through the wall, in another apartment, one of Coona's songs could be heard. She was at her peak, and it was estimated that with her easygoing style, she wouldn't manage to become hated for a while... At least, in this economy. Her songs were about hope and dreams, though tuned more for older teens and adults.

[Kylana]

"Um, sorry about the mess..." He pushed a pile of papers aside and set down his bag. "Wherever you can find a free spot, really." He hadn't planned on having guests so the mess was more than a little embarrassing. Canvases leaned against the walls, waiting to be primed, and dirty paint-stained rags littered the floor amongst used plates and empty soda cans.

"I think they've had that song on repeat... it was playing when I left, too. I can't tell if it's catchy or if I've just heard it too many times now. Either way, it's better than a lot of things you can hear in this place." He shrugged, pulling out a six-pack of cheap soda. "Can I get you something to drink? It's the least I can do. Sorry I don't have anything nicer to offer..."

[ElataDiscordia]

"I-it's ok." She smiled and set the groceries down next to his bag. "Um, do you have any juice? Anything with a-alcohol does bad things for me." She couldn't help but blush and puff her chest up a little at hearing that one of her neighbors liked one of her songs... not that she'd ever have the courage to say that. "I d-don't mind the mess... M-my apartment's p-pretty bad too-" She cut off, finally realizing what some of the clutter was. "Y-you paint?" she asked, interest in her voice.

[Kylana]

"Well, let's see..." He cracked open the fridge and rummaged through what was mostly just condiment bottles. He found a bottle of purple liquid and pulled it out, inspecting the back label. "This is... juice-ish, does that count?"

"I doubt your apartment's anything like this, though. I can't even remember the last time I've even left it before today. And yep, I at least try to... it's not really paying much though, as you can see." He gestured at the rather shabby accommodations. "I guess there's time to be famous after you're dead though, right? All the cool kids are doing it." He frowned slightly. Way to sound emo, man.

[ElataDiscordia]

"Y-yeah... As long as it isn't a-alcohol or c-coffee..." she said, trying to joke. At his comment about fame, she looked away, then laughed some. "I know a p-place looking f-for artists to s-show..." she commented. "M-maybe you can sell s-some there and get some c-commissions." she suggested, trying to be helpful.

[Kylana]

"I don't know what it is, but it doesn't seem to be either of those." He leaned over to hand her the bottle, then popped open one of the soda cans and downed half of it.

"Really? That'd be awesome... I don't know how well they'd do, but it's worth a shot."

((Off to bed -- I'll post again in the morning))

[ElataDiscordia]

"T-there's only one way to f-find out..." she answered. "I-I'll call them up... W-what kind of p-paintings do you d-do?" she asked, tilting her head. She looked at the bottle and opened it to sniff in an attempt to figure it out.

[Kylana]

"Well, I have to do boring stuff like painting people's kids or dogs or whatever sometimes to bring cash in, but what I like doing is this..." He stepped over random debris on the floor to get to a corner set up with a storage rack. He pulled out a few to show her, pieces of dark faerie tales on canvas. Scared girls running from monsters, that sort of thing. They weren't fantastic, as he was self-taught and lacked some technical knowledge, but they were the works of someone who put a great deal of himself into them.

He wouldn't normally show these to someone, but it had been awhile since anyone had even acted interested in his craft. This girl had been genuinely nice so far, as far as he could tell. "So, think I'd have a shot?"

[ElataDiscordia]

The girl leaned in close to each painting. "I like t-them." she said with a grin. "M-maybe do the foreground last, so that it can o-overlap the background... t-that would get r-rid of some of the c-canvas I see a-around the edges..." she suggested with a nod. "I-if it's n-no problem, I-I mean."

Quickly, she backed up. "S-sorry if that was i-insulting... I d-do think that y-you'll m-manage j-just fine f-for a show, t-though..."