it's a brand new day and the sun is high (Ricio)

[Astley Pyatt]

At this point in summer, most of Astley's sketches were of sunlit still lifes and the occasional animal at the pond. As much as she loved koi and desk supplies, she was getting a little sick of drawing them. So she had decided now was a good time to get in some quick gesture drawing and mostly-memory portraits. She'd pulled on something presentable, packed her messenger bag with a few different mediums and a hefty sketchbook, slipped out of the dorms, and made her way to the Pilot Ridge Field Day.

Now she sat, sketchbook in hand, feeling only slightly creepy for tucking herself between two food stalls to watch the crowd. Her hand was smeared with graphite (her chosen medium at the moment), but she didn't really care. Drawing was nice, and it was keeping her mind off of the whole 'alone in a social setting' anxiety. She flipped to a new page, finding a new subject in the crowd, and studied the woman's face as she passed by, beginning to sketch it down on paper as the woman moved on completely unaware. Astley attempted to get the features right, but pursed her lips. No, no, was it more of an almond-shaped eye? Or oval? Maybe the brows were a little too arched. This was hard, drawing from memory, but it kept her occupied, chewing her lip as she attempted an accurate representation.

[Ricio Miller]

Last year, Ricio had discovered the Community Field Day by accident. Meaning, he had been sleeping at the lake and had woken up to find it being set up around him. The whole day had been a complete blast. He had sat near the food stands stuffing himself full of cotton candy, hot dogs, and funnel cake. He'd also broken out his guitar and made enough tips to play a few of the games. He didn't win anything, but it had been fun to spend money on something just for fun.

So he had waited patiently for the next one to come around. It wasn't that hard, since Ricio was a pretty patient guy. And it helped that he never kept track of the days and weeks. Still, he'd gotten excited when he saw the posters start to go up around town letting everyone know it was coming.

He'd spent the morning watching them set up. He'd watch the kids playing the games set up (even wondered for a moment what it would be like to have one of his own). At one point he'd caught a few of the grown-ups joining in the fun at the Sack Races.

But now it was time to eat.

Not that Ricio was a total glutton when it came to sweets, but he was never one to turn away free food and there was just so much of it around today. And he wanted a bit of everything. He had a cotton candy in one hand and was headed to check out the snow cones when he spotted a girl sitting almost hidden to the side. Her back was to him and as he approached, he saw that the was sketching. He was so pleased to see someone doing something he was so familiar with. It wasn't everyday he noticed someone other than himself sitting to the side of a crowd with a sketchpad in hand.

Quietly, he sneaked up so that he could see her sketchbook. The shapes of a woman's face where appearing on the page and Ricio could tell this was more than just a casual hobby for the girl. She had experience. "Hey kid," he said. "That's pretty good."

[Astley Pyatt]

Astley paused. That whole eye issue was still bugging her. She doodled a bit down the lines of the sketch, and rummaged around in her bag for whatever marker she'd left in there, adding just a little dot of color. Nah, that was the best she could do. This whole memory thing was hard - she had a feeling she was probably making things up, but she didn't mind all that much.

"Thanks-" the word was murmured in response before she realized she'd said it, and she looked up in surprise. Huh? Ah- he was behind her. Of course he must be, to be looking at her unfinished sketch. She turned, not too worried, due to the activity of the fair, but slightly uneasy, but she relaxed a bit to find a relatively young man with a stick of cotton candy in his hand. Okay, he might be a little, erm, dirty, but he seemed harmless enough. She didn't give it nearly as much thought as she usually would, her mind preoccupied with her art.

She looked back to her sketch, still not thrilled with it. "Eh, the eyes are annoying me," she admitted, quietly, tapping her pencil impatiently against the side of her sketchbook. Maybe she could try again, make them a little less bushbaby. And this time she wouldn't try to do it all from memory. It was called artistic license, right?

[Ricio Miller]

Ricio laughed at himself as the girl turned around to find him standing there. He supposed it was an odd angle to approach someone from, but truth be told he had been more interesting in seeing the sketch pad than he had in making conversation. Ricio was an artist first. Relationships generally came in second.

Ricio was a tad dirty, and very overdressed for the warm day they were having, but he didn't see that as any reason to keep his distance. He never judged a book by it's cover and just assumed that no one else really did either.

He leaned down a little to get a good look at the sketch. "It's hard to draw life-like without a still model," he agreed. "I always had a problem with noses." He laughed a little, remembering when he'd explained to a college art professor that it was perfectly reasonable to hide the bottom half of each of his drawings' faces behind something.

"But you have a great start here," he said, pointing to what the girl had drawn so far. " He smiled down at her, it really was great to see such a young person taking the time to really look at the world. He often worried that the young people of today were forgetting what their fellow man looked like, and what would that mean for future artists?

[Astley Pyatt]

Astley barely noticed that he was overdressed. She was usually underdressed, just because she liked skirts and sleeveless tops, so her mind had become accustomed to others wearing far more than her, and it didn't register with her anymore.

"It's hard to draw life-like without a still model. I always had a problem with noses."

His laugh was very open and honest, and Astley found herself liking the stranger for no particular reason. Maybe just because they had something in common. She always related better to artists than regular people. Though that thought made her feel bad for assuming there was that much of a difference between the two. In any case, she smiled back at him as he complimented her work.

"Thank you." She blushed a little, pleased with herself. For some reason compliments held more weight if they were from artists instead of classmates or friends. "I took lessons from pretty young, but I haven't had much portrait or figure drawing lately," she added. It was a lot easier to talk about this stuff than about personal things, and she found her usual new person jitters were put at bay for the moment as long as those topics hadn't come up.

"Do you have work for sale at the fair?" She asked, curious. She'd seen a couple of tents of artwork, but not much. The field day seemed a little more yum-centric.

[Ricio Miller]

Ricio was pleased when she returned his smile. His own grew even wider. "No need to thank me," he continued. "I give compliments when they're deserved." His guess was confirmed when she told him about taking lessons from a young age.

"Well, like I said, still models are better. I always try to find someone who's already sitting and sketch out the basic shapes while I can before they take off again." Parks or the lake were a great place for him to do just that. Of course, sometimes people got creeped out when he sat and stared at them for too long, but usually he had time to get a half-way decent sketch down even then.

He laughed at her question, but then wished he had the forethought to consider that option. "No," he answered. "Maybe next year." Ricio had never been very good at making plans and sticking to them. He tended to live day by and that was how he liked it. Still, it would have been nice to make some extra cash. He was sure his brother had a few things stashed away of his that he could have sold here.

"I'm Ricio, by the way," he said, extending his cotton-candy free hand. "I don't recall seeing any art tents yet. I got sucked in by the sweets first."

[Astley Pyatt]

She still wanted to thank him. His compliments gave her a huge boost of confidence, and she felt quite proud of herself for deserving them.

"Well, like I said, still models are better. I always try to find someone who's already sitting and sketch out the basic shapes while I can before they take off again."

Astley nodded - she'd prefer working with models too, but being that close just staring at someone for an extended amount of time made her highly uncomfortable. She was better in an art setting, but still not that good.

His laugh was charming, and it brought a renewed smile to her lips. "I'd love to see your work." She wasn't lying, either, she really did wonder what this fellow might work in - was he working in graphite? acrylic? watercolor? Or was he a sculptor or graffiti artist? She was curious.

"I'm Ricio, by the way. I don't recall seeing any art tents yet. I got sucked in by the sweets first."

Astley moved her sketchbook into her left hand and took his extended hand in hers, warmly, "Astley," she introduced herself, happily. "And I certainly don't blame you. The food here is pretty amazing." She'd recognized several stalls from the daily farmer's market - including the delicious dairy farmers who'd supplied the highly nomable cheese curds that had barely lasted two days the last time she'd bought them. Not to mention cotton candy, funnel cakes, and all of that delicious fried food on a stick. Classic.

[Ricio Miller]

"You might have seen some already," Ricio said, returning the girl's smile. It really was quite contagious. "I do a little here and there. Last week I put a chalk pond near the library in town." He shrugged a little, as if to say that it was no big deal. If she had seen it, then great. And he really was getting a little proud of his ability to make a 2D sidewalk drawing look like it was 3D from certain angles. But he wouldn't be upset if she hadn't. It wasn't like he had a gallery he could invite people to. Although he had sold some of his painting to various small businesses and such around town, he had trouble keeping in track of it all, so he had no clue how to point people in the right direction. Unless he told them to stop by his brother's guest room where his stuff was stored.

"Yeah," Ricio said, his eyes alight with child-like enthusiasm. "And free. Did you help yourself to any yet? I was considering a snow cone next."

[Astley Pyatt]

Astley's eyes widened with a bit of childish glee, "That was you?" She hadn't seen the drawing in person, unfortunately, but someone had posted pictures on their facebook and they had launched a flurry of internet searches on Astley's part. It had taken Astley years to grasp her own perspective (foreshortening, and all that), and something like that chalk piece must be ridiculously difficult. "How do you even-? Do you print out a reference picture that's been distorted? Do you use a grid system or something? I could never understand how someone can draw something that is so oddly proportioned straight on, but at the right angle comes off as something-" She cut herself off. "Sorry. I'm babbling." She apologized, wincing with embarrassment (though it was far less severe than it could've been - it didn't even brown the paper her hands were resting on, her temperature currently strictly under control).

Snow cone? "I dunno..." Hot and cold foods could be kinda weird for her. Sometimes, if she ate ice cream, her body would try to match it's temperature and it just wouldn't melt. And other times it melted just by touching a metal spoon she was holding. It wasn't very consistent. She wasn't sure what temperature her body was currently running on - though she trusted it was somewhere around average, since he hadn't screamed or sizzled when they'd shook hands - so she wasn't entirely sure what to expect from a cold treat. Well, it couldn't hurt. (Lie: it could, it totally could, and she knew it, she just had to be careful about it.) "Sure, why not." She shrugged, letting her anxiety take the back seat for today.

[Ricio Miller]

Ricio's face lit up as the girl took off talking about his drawing. Although she was speaking a bit fast for him to catch it all, he understood that it was mostly good. And there's nothing better for an artists than someone who loves his work. "It takes a bit of practice," Ricio said, shrugging again. He was better at showing someone how to do something than trying to explain it to them. He always got lost in giving instructions and usually the person he was giving them to ended up worst off than when they started. "Maybe you could join me one day?"

Ricio raised an eyebrow at her hesitation. Did everyone love snow cones? Maybe she didn't know what one was. Of course, Ricio missed out on the hot and cold of foods. But he enjoyed the sweetness and the crunch of the ice. Besides his throat was getting a little dry from all of the cotton candy.

"Have you ever had one before?" Ricio asked as he led the way to where they were handing out the icy treats.

[Astley Pyatt]

"Maybe you could join me one day?"

"Really?!" Her eyes were wide and bright, practically glowing with happiness at the offer. "That would be so..." she couldn't find the right words to describe her glee. "...cool!" Lame. Totally lame. But it didn't really matter, because she just got an offer to play a part in an artistic piece that not only made a huge impact on a town (everyone loved a super cool optical illusion, right?), but also challenged her technical skills. It was a win-win, as far as she was concerned. And cool. It really was cool.

Snow cones, on the other hand, were cold. And Astley would be embarrassed if they made her cold too. Her face was concerned as he voiced his next question.

"Have you ever had one before?"

At that, Astley smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, I have..." Should she tell him? Well, it was Pilot Ridge, it wasn't like metas were uncommon. They made up the majority of the population here, probably, what with Hammel's students and its alumni. "It's just - well - I have this kinda weird meta thing, and sometimes it acts up around things like ice cream or hot soup."

That was the vaguest way she could mention it, really, and it sounded incredibly silly to her own ears. Besides, she didn't want to go into it too much. She was still hoping that she was only being paranoid - after all, it hadn't happened to her at all in the past 6 months. She'd even managed to make milkshakes with River the other day without getting all chilly (though River made her happy, which tended to overcome the food-related temperature stuff - or, at least, that was how it seemed, she still didn't fully understand it).

[Ricio Miller]

Ricio laughed at her child-like glee. It was such a nice thing to see in another person, especially when it was because of art. If only other people would let themselves abandon themselves to happy moments, there would surly be less problems in the world. "Of course," Ricio said. He meant it, but since planning wasn't really his thing who knew when this adventure would actually come about. Probably if Astley was lucky enough to walk by him one day when he was in the middle of doing it.

Ricio nodded his head along with he explanation. Of course, she was a meta. Although Ricio had been living in Pilot Ridge for a few years now, he was still surprised by the meta population. It had gotten to be that most kids between 11 and 18 were somehow connected to the school. Well, kids who were just wandering around on their own usually. "Understandable," he said. "Wanna try some caramel corn instead?"

He could always grab a snow cone later, he had no plans for leaving the fair anytime soon. Not with so much free food and people watching.

He rubbed his beard, trying to think of a way to bring up his questions. Of course he was curious about her power being that it seemed to be similar to his own. "So..." he said. "Do you reverse temperatures...or something?"

It was interesting. Although Ricio didn't really think about his own ability, he supposed he was more of a temperature stabilize. Still he was curious about the girl. And perhaps a little envious, if she could still feel hot and cold and also manipulate it. Though Ricio wouldn't change his ability for anything, he sometimes missed being able to feel a cool splash of water. Or the warmth in another person's hand.

[Astley Pyatt]

Yes, caramel corn, Astley was all for that. She nodded, happily.

"So... Do you reverse temperatures...or something?"

Astley's head shifted at an angle slightly. She wasn't really sure how to describe her ability. "Um... well, it's more like... I don't know, I'm still getting used to it." Lame; she'd had it for two and a half years, and she still didn't get it. "My body kinda shifts temperature a lot. Like if it's cold my body gets cold, or sometimes hot... I just kinda run on my own constantly fluctuating temperature." She tried to put together the words to explain it, but it was hard to do that simply.

"Most of the time I just sort of take on the ambient temperature, or compensate for it, so I'm never really sure what it actually is. And then sometimes, if I'm not paying attention to it, some emotions can kind of shift it without me realizing. Like if I'm scared I end up freezing, and if I'm mad I end up really hot..." Was she even making sense? "And then my body can compensate for different things, so snow cones... I mean, I'd probably end up either keeping it from melting or making it melt a lot faster. I just try to avoid extreme temperatures if I can."