[h3][color=lightblue]TEAM RUTABAGA[/color][/h3]

Telio returned Fiametta's smile when she approached him with the drawing. It was a kind gesture, and he certainly hadn't expected a noble such as her to dig through the mud for his belongings, but the truth was that he didn't want to see it anymore. The drawing was ruined, unintentionally vandalized by his teammate, and nothing was going to change that. If he kept it, he would just become bitter every time he saw it. Alex seemed to get the point, so Telio didn't want that dark cloud hanging over them as they continued on their journey. 

"Thank you," he said, "but I think it would be best if I left that one behind." However, as he spoke he saw a genuine concern in her eyes, as if [i]she[/i] had been the one hurt by the vandalization. He sighed. "How about this: if you like it, then you keep it. If a connoisseur appreciates one of my works, then far be it from me to deem it lesser." 

It was rare when somebody appreciated the effort and soul that an artist put into a work rather than the physical results of that effort and soul. As successful as he was, Telio was no stranger to public scrutiny. He remembered reading a review of his atlas that called it "a confused hodge-podge of scribbles that doesn't know if it is a map or a picture book." He had learned to take such criticism in stride, but when your very soul resides in every piece, it's hard not to care what others think. Thus, accepting a work that even the artist rejected was a kindness that perhaps neither of them would explicitly understand.

[@Turboshitter]