Pearleane leaned in as her eyes scanned the paper and the drawing that adorned it. Her lips parted in awe, [i]”Wow!”[/i] she exclaimed, [i]”That looks amazing, you’re a natural.”[/i] she complimented, nodding her head rapidly. [i]”Do you have any more? Can you draw me?”[/i] the girl asked with no filter. Ah, the artist’s worst question ‘Can you draw me?’. Pearleane’s puppy eyes gleamed as she looked at Caelum. --- Caelum could be noticed sitting up just a bit straighter, her chin just a bit higher, her confidence boosted by the compliments. “Why, thank you.” She replied politely. “And no, I do not have more. I always start a new sketchbook at the beginning of every school year. This is my very first drawing.” She turned her eye to the girl, true, some artists might be intimidated or annoyed by random requests, but Caelum was not one of these. She was unashamed of her talents and eager to put them to use. She flipped the page, her answer was obvious, and gingerly lifted the gray pencil in her left hand, and kept the other two at the ready between the knuckles of her right. “I would love to.” She studied her subject for some time before she touched the pencil to the page. Pearleane was a beautiful subject, that was the easy part, for even a beautiful subject could be botched upon the page. The shine in her curls, the curve of her noise, the details on her dress, these were easy to interpret, but how to framer her on the page, the background, and the rules of composition all needed to be taken into consideration. Sure, it was just a sketch, and sometimes Caelum would relax and draw experimentally. But her father had taught her the adage she adhered to “Practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect”. Besides, this was a commission, she wanted to do her best. “You can keep looking at me… but turn your cheek a little to the left.” ---- [i]”Oh I see.”[/i] Pearleane commented upon Caelum’s lack of drawings in her sketchbook. It made sense after the girl informed her that it was brand new. Pearl was impressed by the girl’s ‘first’ drawing and hope that the two would at least be able to have some courses together so that Pearleane could see what the girl was working on next. Giddy with excitement, the young woman sat up straight in her chair, sucking her tummy in slightly and making a bit of a smolder towards Caelum. Her eyes squinted slightly as to appear mysterious. Nodding to Caelum’s instructions, Pearl turned her cheek slightly to the left. [i]”Is this alright?”[/i] the girl asked, grinning as the girl started the drawing process. ---- Caelum would be quiet and focused upon her work for the remainder of the journey. After the initial sketch and outline were done, Caelum would say. “You can move around a bit now, I have the outline started.” her memory would do the rest, and when needed, Caelum would re-pose the girl to her original position. Caelum found herself impressed by the girls focus. Most kids who wanted their drawings done were excited at first, stone still for the first thirty seconds… then could no longer handle the task of modeling. Caelum was quiet and focused, her mind was full of the girl’s image. Looping curls, round lips, a button nose, all these things manifested at the tip of her pencil. She was so engrossed in her project that she was startled to feel the train slowing down. She looked out the window, and saw a thick dark forest give way to a quaint little village. Then she looked at her drawing, and with a few delicate strokes of her pencil, the portrait was finished. “What do you think?” She passed the sketchbook into Pearleane’s hands ---- Pearleane wouldn't admit it out loud, but sitting still for the journey had been her toughest task yet. Wanting to make a good impression to Caelum, Pearl kept still for the most part. Her young, bright eyes sometimes glancing over to see if she could sneak a peek at the sketch so far. When Caelum would let her take a break Pearleane found refuge taking a candy out of her small purse and chomping it happily as she watched the girl’s pencil dance around the crisp paper. It was practically hypnotic. Going back to her original position several times, the process was daunting but Pearleane knew the outcome would be worth it. The scenery outside flourished into something new as Caelum then handed the book to Pearleane. Gazing down, her lips parted in both awe and appreciation. She had captured an unrecognizable creature of beauty on the page. The detail in the work was done with such precision and care, that one would think the two had been friends for years. [i]”Wow, Caelum.”[/i] was the only thing Pearleane could muster out as she looked from the page up to the talented girl sitting across from her. The train had came to a stop marking the arrival to Hogwarts. Handing the book back to Caelum, Pearleane smiled, [i]”I don’t want it.”[/i] the girl spoke, bluntly. She had not meant it to sound so rude, but the flush of red in her cheeks arose as she corrected herself, [i]”N-n-not that I don’t want it.”[/i] she started, [i]”I just want you to keep it so that it will be safe, and so that you’ll have something to remember me by.”[/i] the girl nodded, grabbing what belongings she had in the car with her and standing up. [i]”I guess this is our stop.”[/i] she commented, hoping the girl had plans to walk with her out of the train as well.