ooc: In college time, it is! And I TRIED to find a portrait of your PB online. Didn't work out so well. Alas, we must use imagination.
You may.
[He offers her an arm and leads her to that same tiny apartment. Inside, on a canvas, she'll find a portrait of herself. She looks...elegant, graceful, pensive, radiant...]
[She looks just as Jehan sees her. Bashfully, he lowers his eyes.]
You may have it, if you like. I could not paint it without you.
((I thought so! Maybe even early for a college student! Ricci as Katrina is sooo hard to find anything of. Iconning is a feat, itself.))
[She takes his arm without hesitation and lets Jehan lead her. She steps into the cozy apartment and Christine is immediately drawn to the canvas. She is breathless. She has been painted for posters for the opera before but she does not recall ever looking so lovely.]
Jehan...Oh, this is magnificent. Leonardo da Vinci would be put to shame.
((I have pockets of icons and I've been dabbling with my own. Unfortunately the lighting in Sleepy Hollow is horrible.))
[Christine thinks it is wonderful. She inspects the piece on the canvas and though she does not touch, she hovers her fingers closer and traces the lines of her face. She turns to him.]
You are far too modest.
[And a hesitation before she will lean to him and kiss his cheek.]
ooc: D'aww, you don't have to!! You're too nice to me...
[He is not so frightened. Merely...gauging what is okay and what is not. She is a widow. And he is uncertain of what she desires in this relationship.]
Would you like another lesson in how to prepare your tea?
((Nonsense! I love playing around with icon making. It helps me procrastinate.))
[She has been married and widowed but there is much Christine is naive to. She has never been properly courted - she does not know how to gauge a relationship herself. Raoul and Erik were so clear about their intentions and their desires. Jehan is harder to read.]
If you are willing to teach me. [And she will follow him, gladly.]
[He nods and goes through everything. The proper pot. The proper water. How to heat it. Different varieties of tea. Different ways to sweeten it. Whether to add milk or not. And when he finishes, he smiles bashfully.]
[Tea is very boring, but Christine is an attentive student and listens to his every word as he prepares tea for them. When he finishes, she just smiles.]
Monsieur Jehan. If you can make the preparation of tea sound so artful I will be truly honored when I can finally convince you to recite to me.
[She has been inspiration before, of course. But never of something like this. The art that Christine inspired for Erik was dark and forbidding. She is curious to know what she has inspired in Jehan.]
[Christine puts her tea down and accepts the book before reading the words on the page. She feels her heart swelling. He has no cause to be mortified. His muse is flattered and close to delighted tears.]
Oh, Jehan...Jehan, this is beautiful.
[She closes the book, cradles it, and she touches the poet's face to coax him to meet her gaze.]
[He flinches when she touches him but gently looks up to gauge her reaction. And when he sees her expression, how grateful she is, how touched she is, he cannot help himself.]
cheerful
Comments
This is...
It is far too much! I do not deserve such a thing!
ooc: I apologize for not getting back to the other thread! Oye, long day at work...
[And when he smiles and blushes, she'll mirror him.]
Oh, it is only a trinket!
[Her blush. He enjoys it too much. When he leans in to take the book, he can't help but kiss her cheek.]
I must repay the favor.
[Her skin burns under his lips and she cannot help but smile.]
Oh, no. Please, Monsieur. I just...I saw it and I thought of you. There should be no repayment for such things.
There will be.
Your portrait is finished. Would you like to see?
I think you will find I will be hardpressed to accept.
May I? I've been rather anxious to see.
You may.
[He offers her an arm and leads her to that same tiny apartment. Inside, on a canvas, she'll find a portrait of herself. She looks...elegant, graceful, pensive, radiant...]
[She looks just as Jehan sees her. Bashfully, he lowers his eyes.]
You may have it, if you like. I could not paint it without you.
[She takes his arm without hesitation and lets Jehan lead her. She steps into the cozy apartment and Christine is immediately drawn to the canvas. She is breathless. She has been painted for posters for the opera before but she does not recall ever looking so lovely.]
Jehan...Oh, this is magnificent. Leonardo da Vinci would be put to shame.
[He chuckles, shaking his head and shoving his hands in his pockets. Da Vinci. Not even close.]
It will serve.
I am glad you like it. It was nice to feel inspired yet again, Mademoiselle.
[Christine thinks it is wonderful. She inspects the piece on the canvas and though she does not touch, she hovers her fingers closer and traces the lines of her face. She turns to him.]
You are far too modest.
[And a hesitation before she will lean to him and kiss his cheek.]
I was honored to be your muse.
[He blushes again, shifting weight on his feet before he moves to the kitchen.]
Tea? I will get you tea.
[Too bold! She's frightened him. She pulls her head back from his cheek and smiles, gently.]
Yes, please?
[He is not so frightened. Merely...gauging what is okay and what is not. She is a widow. And he is uncertain of what she desires in this relationship.]
Would you like another lesson in how to prepare your tea?
[She has been married and widowed but there is much Christine is naive to. She has never been properly courted - she does not know how to gauge a relationship herself. Raoul and Erik were so clear about their intentions and their desires. Jehan is harder to read.]
If you are willing to teach me. [And she will follow him, gladly.]
[He nods and goes through everything. The proper pot. The proper water. How to heat it. Different varieties of tea. Different ways to sweeten it. Whether to add milk or not. And when he finishes, he smiles bashfully.]
Oh dear. I must have bored you all the more.
Monsieur Jehan. If you can make the preparation of tea sound so artful I will be truly honored when I can finally convince you to recite to me.
[He shakes his head and hands her a cup of tea. He won't admit that all of his poetry lately has been about her.]
I find you will be bored to tears.
[She accepts the mug and lets the warmth from the tea warm her fingertips while she smiles.]
I am sure I would not be bored. But I know better than to press the artist so I shall not insist if that is what you want.
...My verses have all been inspired lately by the muse before me.
ooc: Time for a shower, brb!
Me?
[She has been inspiration before, of course. But never of something like this. The art that Christine inspired for Erik was dark and forbidding. She is curious to know what she has inspired in Jehan.]
...May I read it, if you will not read it to me?
((Shower well!))
Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove,
That valleys, groves, hills and fields,
Woods or steepy mountains yields.
And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks
By shallow rivers, to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.
And I will make thee beds of roses,
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;
A gown made of the finest wool,
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fair-lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold;
A belt of straw and ivy buds,
With coral clasps and amber studs;
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me and be my love.
The shepherd swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May morning;
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love.
[The noise he makes should let her know that he's mortified.]
ooc: So didn't write that poem. Christopher Marlowe did.
Oh, Jehan...Jehan, this is beautiful.
[She closes the book, cradles it, and she touches the poet's face to coax him to meet her gaze.]
[He leans in close to kiss her.]
((Sorry for the slow reply. I went to dinner!))
Edited at 2013-02-07 03:23 am (UTC)
...I am so sorry, Mademoiselle Christine.
[But he doesn't pull away. Quite the opposite. Instead, he rests his forehead to hers.]
ooc: It's okay! I'm off to bed but I'll tag when I wake up!