[color=#DC143C]"So what brings you abouts, my man? I got sticky fingers"”[/color] JJ asked, giving his own answer as he finished and discarded his cigarette 

       [color=#DC143C]”Some,”[/color] Aksel followed where he gestured—the vocalist. [color=#DC143C]”Not so much…”[/color] JJ nodded. He clearly understood Aksel’s reason for choosing to sing along. 

       [color=#DC143C]"We got a lot going on here, though,”[/color] JJ gestured to the other painters. Not all of them were doing so. Everyone seemed to be either enjoying the company of others or otherwise peaceful. No one was really at odds with any other. [color=#DC143C]“So, let's see where it leads."[/color]

	Aksel nodded while looking from person to person, ending back at his new [i]Kamerat[/i] whose grin was fading.

	 [color=#DC143C]"Til the man comes back around…"[/color]

	Aksel’s own soft smile inverted. His brow furrowed a little, eyes narrowing slightly. He knew exactly what JJ meant. His forgotten fury that led to the deed that got him here flickering to the forefront at those words.

[color=#DC143C]"I'm just here doing time, like the rest of us."[/color]

	Aksel knew that feeling—the resignation. Another reminder of what had led him here.

	[color=#3366CC]“I know just what you mean…”[/color] Aksel said, voice barely above a whisper. He scanned the scene, hoping to hold onto what he’d felt before it slipped away—leaving only rumination in its place.

	He remembered that he could have swore his keen ears had heard someone singing along in French before JJ arrived. Looking in that direction, he saw a girl calmly painting a bench. She had the still beauty of a raven on a snow drift, and a voice that didn’t try to be heard, but lingered all the same.

	[color=#3366CC]“Have you met[/color] [color=00746b][i]her[/i][/color] [color=#3366CC]yet?”[/color] he said quietly, his gaze still on the girl.

	He finally looked away.

	[color=#3366CC]“She seems like she’s on her own, too...”[/color]

	Aksel met JJ’s eyes, then returned to the girl. Her soft, melancholic vibe echoed in his own expression.