“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Cae sat across the Astronomy room from her subject. She was wearing a loose t-shirt had cut up and re-sewn to fit her thin form, she slit holes in the back to create the shape of wings. Otherwise she only wore black tights, while her sandals lay beside her chair (she liked to paint barefoot). Her pink hair was loose and a bit unruly, there were bits of paint spattered about it like confetti, a blue smudge on her cheek as well, a blue that was nearly the same shade as her own eyes. 

She tickled the Painting-Richard’s brow with her brush, [i]that[/i] Richard squirmed uncomfortably. “Perhaps you should relax.” She set down her brush and crossed the room. 

As she stepped away from her canvas she wondered if [i]that Richard[/i] missed her when she was gone… Or [i]this[/i] Richard…

When she drew near him she reached out to touch his worried brow with her fingers. When the scowl softened she said “Perhaps we need a break.” 

[i] ‘Put down that book… and look at me the way I look at you… [/i]

Inner beauty was discussed much in her art classes and amongst her artistic friends. However, Cae was raised by a plastic surgeon on Madison Avenue, the concept was lost on her. She was always lauded for her technical abilities, but sometimes was criticized for her work being ‘soulless’ or ‘superficial’. Baffled, Cae would walk away from class with anger in her stomach and a sub-par grade, completely baffled.

Until Richard came along. He was handsome, she had always noticed that. Then when she tried to paint him she found herself at a loss. 

She she could not capture his likeness with her own two hands, try as she might, over and over again, there was always something missing, something not quite right in her painting.

‘[i]What does he have that I can not see?[/i]’

So, she did what any good artist should do and observed her subject. She saw that he was more than handsome, he showed bravery and stood up to Hale, he showed intellect as he lead the experimental club, he was kind to befriend Adelfonsus and River… 

Richard was beautiful [i]inside[/i] and out.

She understood what ‘inner beauty’ meant when she looked into Richard’s blue eyes, a shade of blue that nearly matched her own. Though, Cae imagined that when he looked upon her, they [i]lightened[/i] ever so slightly.

She smiled at him, she was now confident that she and her magic paintbrush could capture [i]all[/i] of him. 

“Perhaps it is the stress.” She was referring to his spell-troubles with a shrug. “Or do you have trouble keeping your focus today?” she tilted her head to one side. “I would hate for you to vanish anyhow…”