Capturing the Heart of Things

Temp Desc

Kita
Tolbana - The Dragon's Breath

It isn't often that Kita leaves Tolbana these days, especially after the rumors of what had happened when facing the 10th floor bloss monster. She had been one of those captured by it's strange effects, and that is enough to have left her more quiet than normal.

At the moment, the young woman has taken refuge at the bath house. She is dressed in a simple robe, sitting at one end of the baths, her sketchbook laid out in front of her. Strangely, she still is wearing black gloves, even underneath the bathing robe. It would be considered highly unusual for an Onsen.

The Imp seems, as usual, somewhat lost in her own world when she works. It isn't the all-encompassing effect of a strange mood, but simply her dedicated focus to her craft.
Jazuhanzu
Tolbana - The Dragon's Breath

Jazz had, of course, reached out over chim to Kita. Let her know she was looking for her. They'd made prior arrangements to talk about art and that is, literally, the only reason she'd be caught dead in any kind of bath house in Tolbana, or anywhere for that matter. This is not her scene.

Not her scene at all, no matter how perfectly normal it is for most anyone in Japan.

The water-hating-Undine arrives in the bathhouse and proceeds to, fully dressed, make her way to stand near enough to Kita.

There is a gentle, wee clearing of her throat.
Kita
Tolbana - The Dragon's Breath

At the distinct throat-clearing, Kita looks up, her stormy blue eyes peering out from behind her glasses. She slowly pushes them back up onto her nose, then offers a soft smile to Jazuhanzu, looking them over with a bit of amusement. "Little overdressed for the occassion, aren't we?" She asks, the hint of teasing in her voice.

"It's fine. Come, take a seat." In her lap, there is a drawing which looks ti be depicting the boss monster on the 10th floor, or that is the best guess as it is described. Some sort of monstrous samurai, yet Kita seems to have drawn it fuzzy around the edges, with a distortion there.

"You wanted to talk about art? Was there something specific you had in mind?"
Jazuhanzu
Tolbana - The Dragon's Breath

"Mn, am I? I suppose if one isn't intending to bathe here, they could still dress the part."

Jazz shrugs her shoulders, allowing her hair to waft either side of her in a delay from the motion before again settling over her shoulders, ends weaving around her twitching tentacles.

She reaches into her coat pocket and produces a small scroll case, unfurling something from within to show her. It's one of Jazz's maps of the area around Tolbana that she's explored herself. It's ... impressively done, of course, accurate without being properly topagraphical. More planimetric, but with small representations of interesting landmarks she saw along the way. It's ... dry, despite some pretends towards prettying it up. A fringe of a border, half-drawn around it before the idea was abandoned, an unfinished effort to indicate the presence of a small ruined building, a shrine over there.

Once she's sure Kita's had enough of a moment to examine it, she puts it back in the scrollcase and pockets it away.

"I never used to think about too many people seeing my work. Now I have to look towrds something ... longer lasting. I need to develop skills I never ... bothered with before. The world is changing. We're changing it. I need to capture what we're going to lose before it's gone forever -- the Yamato of now. Not just what it looks like, in the map, but how it *feels*. A lot to convey, in a very small space. I need to learn how."
Kita
Tolbana - The Dragon's Breath

Kita's eyes look over the map, over some familiar locations. As someone who rarely leaves Scale Emblem's territory, this is the best example that Jazuhanzu can offer her, since it shows her attempts to capture places that are near and dear to the Imp. Her tail twitches along her legs once as she murmurs, "I see."

Then, as Jazz is putting away the scroll, Kita flips her sketchbook to a new page, taking a pencil to it. "Art really boils down to two things. Seeing things, and capturing them. You've clearly got the seeing things part down. The other part, not so much."

She starts to rough out a sketch of one of the landmarks Jazuhanzu had tried to draw, a rock formation. "The most simple way to start is shapes. Everything in the world can be broken down into basic shapes." She draws out the rock in squares and triangles, "Once you have the structure, you can fill in the details." She begins to do just that.

Pausing, though, she looks up, "This is the hardest part. It's something that only comes with time, practice, and a conscious effort to really look beyond just the visual. It's not just about capturing it exactly as it is, but also about capturing the heart of something. What does looking at this rock formation make you feel? The dark shadows, the crevaces, the empty bird nest that sits on this outcropping?"

Kita taps her pencil on the page.
Jazuhanzu
Tolbana - The Dragon's Breath

"The weight of time," murmurs Jazz, thoughtfully, "the weathered surface has seen countless seasons, the transitory nest not even one."

She reaches over to have a better look at it. "It captures something singular. Yes, I can grasp that." She closes her eyes a moment. "I don't have a lot of talent, but I'd like to not embarass myself when I put things together and people look at it a year, two years, three years from now. Or longer. Years, decades, centuries..." She grimaces. Yes, she heard about the old man's words. It's clear she doesn't much love the thought of them.
Kita
Tolbana - The Dragon's Breath

"That's one of the myths of art. That only those with great talent will ever be good at it." Kita shakes her head, reaching up to draw a few strands of white hair back behind one Impish ear. "Sure, there are some people who talent certainly helps, but this..." Kita taps the pencil on the page again. "I've been drawing every day since I was six."

Looking up, she offers, "Every day, if I'm not completely busy with something else, I pick something I want to get better at, and I draw that. It's all about practice."

She tilts her head, tail twitching again, "Before you go on your next journey, buy a blank book, or a lot of paper or parchment. Take the chance to draw anything and everything. People, locations, things. First just to get used to the process of drawing, but then try to really focus on what makes that thing unique. That's how you really grasp emotion, feeling."

Kita explains, "Even for me, there are things I aspire to that I haven't reached yet. I've seen artwork of the Alv, and frankly... it's beyond what I can do. At least for now. But we keep working at it, every day, to get a little better."
Jazuhanzu
Tolbana - The Dragon's Breath

Jazz observes the tail as it twitches for a moment. Her tentacles twitching in sympathetic reaction, a reminder of her own less than human features.

She does nod, though. "I am planning to be part of an expedition. Plenty of new things to draw, new horizons to capture," she offers, eyes going downcast a moment.

"I'll do that. I'm not expecting miracles. I just need ... something."
Kita
Tolbana - The Dragon's Breath

"Well, consider that your first assignment then." Kita offers what is likely intended as a supportive smile. "Get a book, and document your expedition. Multiple sketches of anything that catches your eye. They don't have to be masterpieces, the idea is just to capture forms and feeling."

She motions with her hand, "Bring it to me when you get back, and we can look over it together. I'll offer up pointers and where you can make improvements."

Then, softer, she adds, "In some ways, I envy you, getting out to see more of the world. But... I've never really been the adventurous type, even before becoming an Adventurer." The Imp laughs. "Stay safe out there. If you run into anything exhibiting one of those strange powers... steer clear if you can. It's... not pleasant." She rubs at her, brows drawing inward.
Jazuhanzu
Tolbana - The Dragon's Breath

"Did you just give me homework?" says Jazz, a note of wryness entering her voice. "God, it's been years since someone I gave homework, let alone had any myself. Way to make me feel old, Kita."

She squints at her for a long moment, hesitating and then asking, "... are you okay?"
Kita
Tolbana - The Dragon's Breath

"I think I did." Kita chuckles softly, though she doesn't seem bothered by it. "If I was still in the real world, I'd be the one getting the homework. I've missed a year of university now." She shakes her head, the silver rings in her ears jingling. "Ahh well."

When Jazz asks her if she's alright, though, Kita hestiates. "I think so. The monster up on the 10th floor hit me with some kind of power. I think the others have called it Data Drain." Her brows knit slightly. "I caught a glimpse of something. A memory, I think, but now it's gone. I can remember what lead up to it, but there's a hole there."

After explaining, her stormy eyes look to Jazuhanzu, "That's why I'm saying to be careful. These glitched monsters, they can mess with us in worse ways than just death."
Jazuhanzu
Tolbana - The Dragon's Breath

Jazz looks down in thought for a moment. "... yeah, I heard Merek go on about that 'data drain' thing. Don't like the sound of it, never seen it." She looks at the bath and then back at Kita.

"That must feel ... frustrating."
Kita
Tolbana - The Dragon's Breath

"Confusing more than anything else." Kita replies. "Luckily, we're stuck for the time being. Unless we find a way to utilize a similar power, ourselves, there's no way we're getting past that boss." There is a small smirk on her features, perhaps knowing all too well that the other Alliances would likely see this as a boon.

"Anyway, I wish you well on your journey. I just hope it leads you back safe at the end."
Jazuhanzu
Tolbana - The Dragon's Breath

"Mmn. So that's the design. Required branching out of content..."

Jazz blinks her eyes slowly. "... right. I should let you get to it. I'll see myself out," she adds, then casually turns to go so just that. "Thanks, Kita."