fandomhighdorms | The Roof | Saturday Afternoon

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The Roof | Saturday Afternoon

It was a nice enough day out that Nina, after a few detours, dragged herself, a picnic basket full of food, a few books, and a soft, thick and fluffy blanket up onto the roof.

Dahanain was there too, since it had seemed... like a bad idea to not bring him with. He'd agreed with her, like he knew something she didn't, which drove her a little bit mad but, like, from what he'd said that was just how it was supposed to be.

So Nina, and her daemon danger noodle (aka a blue Malayan coral snake) were hanging out on the roof.

"If you, like, get eaten by a plant I'm not helping you," she warned when Dahanain made to slither off the blanket in the direction of the greenhouse.

"You're just salty I'm not spilling all of my secrets," Dahanain said with a flick of his tail.

"Too right," Nina said, turning back to her book.

"You wouldn't either."

"Also true!!!!!!!!" Nina conceded.

After all, she liked doing her best to keep secrets from herself.

[Open as a roof is, naturally!]

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Dahanain preened, coiling so that she could get a better look at him in all of his majesty.

"You're only going to encourage him," Nina complained, with a laugh. "He's already taken over my mirror!!!!!!!!!!"

"I deserve it more than you," he said loftily. "And you can buy another."

"You should just get several mirrors," Astrid suggested, "and then you could appreciate your scales from different angles, all at once."

"Always the artists' eye with this one," Bodil cooed fondly.

"And then maybe you could at least spare one for poor Nina," Astrid added with a faint chuckle.

"My reflection is reflection enough for both of us," Dahanain insisted, though he looked speculatively at Astrid. "You're an artist?"

Astrid shrugged. "I dabble."

But she wasn't going to be able to get away with that with Bodil there, who laughed, flapping her wings a little, spreading her feathers again.

"She's actually quite good," Bodil informed him, and then gave Astrid an imploring look. "I told you to bring your sketchbook. You should get it, and show them."

"No, it's fine," Astrid said. "We're already here."

"Or you could draw Dahanain, it sounds like he might like that."

"I would love that, dear ladies," he said rapturously. "Shall I pose? How would you like me?"

Nina laughed.

"I mean, like, if you don't mind," she said to Astrid, apologetically.

Astrid was passing a look between the three of them as of she'd not only been betrayed, but also out-nukbered and banged-up on, but she was smiling faintly when she sighed and pushed herself back up to her feet.

Honestly, she was kind of hoping she might get the chance.

"Okay, okay," she said, "I'll be right back."

And Bodil fluttered back up to her shoulder to go with her, and they may have taken their time.

"I brought some of my oil pastels, too," Astrid announced as she settled back down, lifting the small box, "to better capture your color as well."

"See????????" Nina said placidly. "I, like, told you they'd be back?????????"

"You took forever!" Dahanain protested. "I thought you'd forgotten about me! We were just about to go looking for you!"

They had not been just about to go looking for them. Nina looked thoroughly settled on the roof.

"Sorry," Astrid said, as she opened the box and opened her drawing book in her lap. "We would never forget about you. Bodil just got distracted by the way the light was falling through the window on a book on my nightstand."

To be fair, though, it was very striking.

"Am I doing your portrait solo,Dahanain, or will it be with Nina, too?"

"Oh, solo," he said loftily, slithering off of Nina with alacrity. "That way she'll always remember I'm around!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Nina laughed.

"And also because no one gets to paint me when I'm not looking my best!!!!!!!!!!!!"

She still looked good, since she was Nina and wouldn't leave her room without looking good, but it was a casual, comfy sort of good.

"You always look great, Nina," said Astrid, and not just to placate her, it was pretty true, but, then again, Astrid hadn't exactly ever paid much attention to that sort of thing. Most days she just ran a brush through her hair and made sure the clothes she were putting on were clean before she did. "But a solo portrait sounds great. Whenever you're ready, Dahanain, I can get started on your pose."

Appearances were everything, Astrid! Everything!

"I was born ready," Dahanain proclaimed, even as Nina shifted so she could watch the proceedings. "How should I pose? Curled up? Elevated? Oh, I could do an infinity symbol!"

"I think," said Astrid, a pencil now poised and ready and her attention fully on the snake and considering where they were and how the lighting was hitting, "mostly curled with your head elevated would be the best way to really show the variance in color in your scales, and would really create some interesting lines, I think..."

"Make sure," he commanded, "to get my good side."

Nina mouthed 'I'm sorry' in Astrid's direction as her snake coiled in and about himself, his red tail trailing against the ground as the coils of electric blue stripes wound up and over each other, before he raised his head and struck what was obviously meant to be a heroic sort of pose.

She didn't laugh at him but only because he was so earnest about it all.

"They're all your good side, darling," said Astrid, who couldn't help herself, grinning over at Nina and shaking her head a little to that mouthed apology, because, really, she didn't mind at all, and she got to sketching and making marks and shadows to remind herself where best to put certain colors, her attention almost entirely going to looking between snake and sketch, barely even noticing the curtain of hair falling down over her work as if to narrow in that focus all that more.

And while this was happening, Bodil fluttered up to a higher perch for the time being, to get to appreciate a different angle, a bird's eye view, as it was, and coo with contentment over Astrid getting to be so wholly absorbed in what she liked best.

Nina fell silent as Astrid worked (though she did take a few pictures of Dahanain with her phone before putting it away) and, seeing as her snake was content to be admired and drawn and staying out of trouble.........

She went back to her book.

And, after a while, after Astrid had the preliminary sketch done, she stopped a moment to turn the book toward the snake so he could see.

"How do you like it so far?" she asked. "Before I start adding color?"

And it was the sort of drawing where, if it weren't for her confidence in colouring it, she would have left it as is, as a striking black and white sketch already bringing a lot to the table.

But she knew she could capture those shining scales even more beautifully.

“My,” Dahanain crooned to the picture, “aren’t you the most handsome of lads to have ever existed?”

Nina smiled.

“He loves it,” she said, “it’s already gorgeous, Astrid!!!!!!!!!!”

Astrid had to laugh at that response, while Bodil, confident in her safety at the moment on her higher perch, simply cooed out, "Did you need some time alone with the picture before we continue, Dahanain?"

“I,” he said with a certain grave sort of dignity, “know where you sleep, Bodil. And I can get under doors. We tested that this morning.”

Because of course Nina would.

He dipped his head agreeably to Astrid. “You may continue.”

Nina was just going to giggle.

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The Roof | Saturday Afternoon

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