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Post by Sevyrn on Aug 20, 2020 10:25:06 GMT -6
Five Years Ago
It seemed that taking an art class was one of the best choices that Sevyrn could have ever made - at nineteen years old she was just making a life for herself, and ached to pour her passion in to the arts. It had only made sense - and somehow once being there it made even more sense. She didn't know what to think of him - the teacher up at the front of the class, paint spattered on his dress shirt like it was something casual, made to be messed up. Maybe it was that warm, welcoming smile of his or maybe it was the way she'd been able to feel his breath hot on her neck when he had come over to check on how the newbie had been doing, but Sevyrn was utterly entranced by this man. Ryden - she remembered his name from the first moment that he spoke it. 1
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Post by Sevyrn on Aug 20, 2020 10:25:25 GMT -6
"You're pretty good for a new face," the man said to her as she stood at her easel, making easy work of the task at hand - a sunset over the hills. She couldn't say that it was anything amazing, he was probably simply trying to work her up and make her feel good about herself, but even knowing that she couldn't fight the effect his words had on her. Pride welled inside of her at the first time someone else had praised her, a beaming grin lit up her face - "Thank you," she spoke softly, nervous - her voice wavered as she managed to get out even those two little words and it had to be obvious that his watchful eyes left her feeling nervous as all hell. Their gazes met and the instant they did she pulled away, broke her line of sight from his soft face, and turned back to her work.
2
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Post by Sevyrn on Aug 20, 2020 10:25:50 GMT -6
"I don't think I've seen your face before."
Oh how Sevyrn was both thrilled and unnerved by the fact that he lingered around her, so close that she could feel his body heat on her own skin. Was it inappropriate? Was it inappropriate for her to be liking this so much? A ball formed deep in her throat, keeping her from speaking for moments until she finally shook out a quick nod. "You're right, this is my first time here," she admitted as she did everything that she could to pour her focus in to her paintbrush. She had to look, though - she couldn't talk to someone and not even look at them. Their eyes met once more and she was surprised by the startling shade of deep blue that she was met with. You can't stare, she chided herself internally as she forced herself to break back in to reality. 'Hot for teacher' was not a route that she wanted to go down - the man probably had a wife.
3
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Post by Sevyrn on Aug 20, 2020 10:26:09 GMT -6
"You're very good for a beginner." Was that his hand on her back? Sevyrn felt a spark jolt down her spine as a hand came in contact with her body, feeling so close to her skin that it was like the loose top she wore didn't even matter. How was she supposed to concentrate now? Was he trying to fluster her, make her screw up? It honestly seemed that way, even though Ryden probably had meant well. He was a friendly man - a little too comfortable with strangers, though. What if it meant that she wasn't crazy, though? If that soft touch meant that he was as attracted to her as she was him? The thought of that was enough to set her on fire - her body, but also her cheeks. She hid her face as it turned deep red, hoping the man wouldn't notice the way she was acting.
4
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Post by Sevyrn on Aug 20, 2020 10:26:28 GMT -6
"I'm not new, actually," she corrected in a soft voice, pouring all of her attention in to her canvas. It was hard to write with someone over her shoulder, even harder when they were a professional that was likely going to find a flaw in her work - not that she couldn't handle critique - and even harder so when that person was so close that they were touching her. Her paintbrush trembled in her fingers as she painted orange hues on to the background, carefully blending them with the deep red above.
"Well... I'm new here. It's my first time here. But I've been painting for a few years now. I really wanted to give a professional class a shot, see if I can get any better." What was that? She'd managed to get out a single full sentence, let alone multiple? Sevyrn was surprised by her own capabilities in that moment.
5 (Sevyrn +1)
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Post by Sevyrn on Aug 20, 2020 13:41:06 GMT -6
"I think that you made the right choice," Ryden said, Sevyrn almost let out a gasp as his fingertips left that sweet spot on her lower back. Her head tilted towards him, her still long hair swaying to the side as she offered the man a gentle smile. Praise from the man who was supposed to be teaching her meant a lot - it meant he saw good in what she was doing and he was the first person to ever see good in her artwork. Of course, it wasn't like she often shared her designs - until today she had been very protective of everything that she had ever made. Despite the array of sketchbooks scattered around her place, making it clear she was fond of her artistic talent... none of them had really been looked at before.
"I think that I did too," she said in return, in that same soft voice.
6
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Post by Sevyrn on Aug 20, 2020 14:28:15 GMT -6
He was off... just like that. Flitting about from student to student, never seeming to linger too long on any of them just he just had her - Sevyrn would never admit how closely she watched him after that first encounter. Time somehow both dragged along and moved way too fast over the next hour, only to leave her with her first finished work of art as a proper art student - and as Ryden had said earlier it had turned out rather well. It seemed that she had picked the right level of class - for her skill level, if not for the company it brought. Brought up by a strange sudden level of confidence, the woman lingered as the rest of the students cleared out, taking her sweet time to pack up in hopes that she migth get a chance to talk to the man once again.
Luck was in her favour in another way, though - it seemed that she wasn't the only one who wanted a word with Ryden, so her lingering didn't stand out.
7
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Post by Sevyrn on Aug 20, 2020 14:57:31 GMT -6
She lingered until she was the last one left, leaned against Ryden's desk with a sweet smile on her face and a confidence that was a striking change compared to her nervousness when he had first approached her earlier on. "Thank you," she said with a sweet smile, leaning in close and praying that she had got the right message in the first place. If not, she would at least come off as friendly. "I really enjoyed the class, I'm glad that I showed up."
"I'm glad that you showed up to.... I don't think that I ever caught your name, though?" Ryden cocked an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair with his hands clasped loosely together in his lap and a lopsided smile on his face. He looked open, receptive - like he was an easy-going person and someone she could enjoy getting along with.
"Sevyrn," she replied. "Sev, if you want. Most people just call me that."
8
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Post by Sevyrn on Aug 20, 2020 20:24:41 GMT -6
"How old are you, anyways? You look young, but you have a talent I wouldn't expect. It's quite the combination." Ryden sounded genuine in his remarks, and in that moment Sevyrn wished that she had brought one of her sketchbooks so that she could show off some of her drawings - while she had come to grow better at painting over the last couple years it was still a relatively new art to her. If Ryden wished to see her best, he would want to see her pencil sketches. She must have done at least one of every creature that she had, more for several.
"I'm nineteen, actually," she admitted. The look on his face told Sevyrn that he was surprised by that answer - why? There was no way that he could have been yet another person to look at her and see the body of a twelve year old boy.
9
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Post by Sevyrn on Aug 20, 2020 21:04:08 GMT -6
"Really?" He questioned, his posture tightening and closing up. What could that even mean? What had he expected? "And how long have you been painting, Sevyrn?" A chill shot down her spine as he spoke his name, dripping in sweetness like honey on lips. Whatever interest he had seemed to have faded after hearing how young she was, but that didn't mean that Sevyrn was anything less than entranced by him.
"About two and a half years," she said, pursed her lips together and for some reason waited for the then you're not doing as good as I thought you were that was never going to come. "I've been drawing all my life, though. That's what I'm best at."
"Then you should bring some of your drawings to the next class, Sevyrn. I would love to see them sometime, if that's where your true talent lays." How in the world was she supposed to say no to that when she already desperately sought his approval of them?
10
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Post by Sevyrn on Oct 10, 2020 2:02:15 GMT -6
Four and a Half Years Ago
"I didn't think that I was ever going to see you again," a voice spoke from behind her, familiar enough to draw Sevyrn's gaze to the person that stood near her. She had left her art classes behind two months ago now, struggling to show up knowing that she had only kept going for one person. "Ryden." She sounded shocked, as shocked as the man behind her had been to see her sitting at a table in a quaint little cafe, sketchbook open in front of her - but no drink. He had just walked in and caught sight of the profile of her face before she had turned her head, eyes intensely focused on the task at hand. "I wasn't expecting to see you either." She sounded nervous - in the 'schoolgirl with a crush on her teacher' kind of way. But this wasn't her teacher any more and there was nothing to be ashamed of, they were simply acquaintances who happened upon each other in the wild. She wanted to ask him to sit with here, a visceral desire within her chest, but she forced herself not to - don't seem so eager, Sevyrn. 11
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Post by Sevyrn on Oct 10, 2020 2:02:44 GMT -6
"Do you come here often?" His voice was silky soft, sweet as sugar - she couldn't help but smile just from hearing it once again.
"Once in a while," Sevyrn confirmed, a voice in her head making her question what she was doing here at all now. "A change of scenery is nice once in a while."
There was a pause in the conversation, a lul of quiet awkwardness that was broken by the man before her pointing towards the counter. "Do you mind if I buy us some drinks?" He asked, having noticed the empty chair across the table from Sev - she was here alone, it seemed.
"That… would be really nice of you, actually. Thank you." Sevyrn was surprised by the offer, but wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Who knew - maybe she had been lucky and had caught his eye the same way he had hers.
12
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Post by Sevyrn on Oct 10, 2020 2:03:07 GMT -6
And then she remembered his strange reaction when he had found out that she was nineteen - would her being twenty now make any difference? He was what - twenty-four, twenty-five? Maybe the big 2-0 was a line marker for someone well in to their adult years. That would be understandable - reasonable. Age was but a number, but when thst number veered so dangerously close to childhood… Hell, she wouldn't even want to be with an eighteen year old and she'd just broken past the barrier of her twenties.
He returned with two drinks, one for himself and one for her, and then settled in to the chair across the table from her. "You don't mind, do you?" He asked after the fact, no malice in his tone - he truly hoped to mean well to this girl, someone whose sight he had missed over the last couple months since she last came to one of his classes.
Sevyrn shook her head, offered the man a sweet smile and spoke in a soft voice - "not at all."
13
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Post by Sevyrn on Oct 10, 2020 2:06:11 GMT -6
Perhaps it was a good thing she had left her attempt at art school behind - this meeting would have been of questionable morality if she had still been being taught by him. Now, though? Now the world offered her the freedom to pursue… other interests - much less innocent ones.
The conversation stayed soft, casual - not daring to dive too deep. In a way it felt like a 'first date' get to know you - and in a way it was. Sevyrn didn't dare to get her hopes up about that feeling, though.
He was a farmer's boy, born two days away from the city only to leave as a teenager and make his way here - she had no outside adventures to speak of, having only ventured out of the city's limits to visit her parents' families. Both had picked up art as a child, her taking to drawing while he had found beauty in the colours of paints.
14
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Post by Sevyrn on Oct 10, 2020 2:06:38 GMT -6
And they both liked coffee - they both really liked coffee. After finishing the first cup Sevyrn got up to grab them a second, and only once both of them had finished that did they finally dare to stop.
"I can walk you home, if you want." The sun had set by the time that they had packed up, beautiful orange and purple hues already turned to deep nearly black blue. The offer was genuine, harmless - he hoped that she would take him up on it, would feel better if she did as he was why she was out so late, but if she said no then so be it… Ryden knew there was a decent chance that she would happen across him here one day, and he would at least ask her to see him again before they parted.
"I'd like that, actually. Thank you." Sevyrn would have been lying if she tried to claim that she wanted him to go.
15
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