1368/Portrait by the Lake

Portrait by the Lake
Date of Scene:	25 April 2020
Location:	Breakstone Lake
Synopsis:	Piotr works on Dani's portrait by the lake.
Cast of Characters:	Danielle Moonstar, Piotr Rasputin

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Danielle Moonstar has posed:
It's a pleasant day, especially for spring in upstate New York. A blessing even after their pool day. Maybe Ororo's had a hand in things and why not when you can affect things in a limited area? The sun is shining, the air is warm. And Dani Moonstar has, of course, chosen a place out in nature for her portrait.

At least she's not wrangling a mountain lion to be in the piece with her. Would anyone be surprised if she were?

Instead, she's perched on one of the boulders by the lake (either waiting or its the location-of-choice) with one of her hand-made bows across her lap. It's a more rustic long bow, but intricately carved with vines nonetheless.

Her outfit, on the other hand, is a blending of her uniform and her heritage. The black bodysuit that shapes to her body is either definitely from her uniform or inspired by. But the moccasins and leather gloves are not. Nor is the turquoise-studded belt (though she wears that in-uniform, too, and always has). At her left bicep is a leather band with a pair of eagle feathers sewn to it. And Dani's hair is, of course, back in its usual leather-wrapped braids. She usually shows her heritage in a number of ways, but right now its perhaps on display more than ever.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr had most of his stuff moved down by the lake, the only thing he needed to bring with him today was the canvas, which he is setting up on the easel presently, "Sorry for the delay, Boris decided to knock over some paint earlier." He is in a slightly paint-stained t-shirt and jeans, knowing full well that more paint is likely to get more paint on them today, knowing his luck.

Once the canvas is set up on the easel, Piotr sets out his paints and his brushes out. He rummages around in his bag and gets his pencil out and asks, "Ready when you are." Beginning the process once he is given the go-ahead.

Danielle Moonstar has posed:
"I've told you, I'll talk to him if you want me to." Some people can get into peoples' heads. Dani Moonstar can get into the minds of animals. For some reason, while she can only pull on the hopes and fears of people... there's something about animals that just... makes sense. Maybe it's her Cheyenne upbringing and the way of her people to be in touch with nature. The guidance of her father and grandfather to be in tune with the spirits.

Either way, it just works.

Still, she's at least grinning a little as she moves and shifts to her feet. In this moment, a lot of her confidence bleeds out of her and she settles back on her heels. "I..." The end of the bow rests on the rock between her feet. Fingers curl around the shaft, tapping at the wood. "I have no idea how to do this." Pose, she doesn't know how to pose. Someone's feeling self-conscious.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
"I would have brought him, but he would probably wander off and cause trouble, though he probably needs the help," Piotr notes, "He was a feral that I am trying to get to behave like a more... civilized cat," the Russian shrugs.

He sets the pencil down and pokes his head out from behind the easel after not hearing a response besides the "I..", he says with some reassurance, "Just relax and pretend you are getting your picture taken, except this takes longer, but at least you don't have to stand like a statue."

Danielle Moonstar has posed:
"I can always stop by sometime. When you have a kitty whisperer at your disposal, it's much easier," Dani says with a slight smile, though she's still looking at her feet.

There is a glance up when Piotr leans out around the easel and she gives a nod. Then another. "Right, right." A shift of her feet, she straightens. The bow is lifted, but then she thinks better of it. Instead, she plants it in front of her and turns just marginally, staring out across the lake; fingers curled around the bow. It's not a bad pose, really, especially with the breeze pulling at the loose strands of hair around her face.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr nods, "Sounds like a plan!" He smiles and returns to his position and begins sketching, which takes a moment. Once finished he begins getting his palette set up with paints.

"You're doing great," Piotr smiles and says as he begins painting, "Though I am happy at least the weather is agreeable, otherwise this would not be possible, or enjoyable by any measure. Though at least we aren't getting splashed, here."

Danielle Moonstar has posed:
"Nothing wrong with some water," Dani says, chancing a glance over to Piotr. Or the easel, more accurately. "Imagine if we could do this by a waterfall!" The grin can be heard even through her voice. If it has to do with being in the thick of nature, she's probably happy as a clam.

Every so often, she does shift a little. It might be a shuffle of feet or a roll of her shoulders, but now? Well, now she reaches up and scratches at the side of her nose, wrinkling it just a bit. The self-consciousness might be creeping back in. Just a little. Or maybe a lot.

"Why did you decide to start doing this, Piotr? The portraits."

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr is at peace, humming to himself as he resumes painting, occasionally mixing paints and cleaning his brushes. He looks back and ponders, "It could, but I was not ready for that first splash." The Russian snorts in amusement as he continues, "but at least nobody got hurt. Though if you still want that hat, it can probably be arranged."

As he finishes up a portion, Piotr says, "Well, I was looking for ideas and Kitty suggested doing a portait and that spurred me to think about doing them for the whole team, to serve as a reminder for the future of who we are, and that we were people trying to do our best."

Danielle Moonstar has posed:
There's a quiet laugh. "We were by a pool. You should always be ready for a bit of a splash." Even though she was, you know, surprised by his own cannonball into the pool. Her fault for reading by it, so she doesn't have much room to talk. Dani shifts her feet again, scuffling moccasins a bit against the smooth stone of the boulder's surface.

"You sure she didn't just want an excuse for along time with you?" There's a hint of a grin as the woman with the black hair glances over to the easel again. "A 'draw me like one of your French women' moment as it were?"

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
"That is fair," Piotr says with a laugh, "At least my food was kept dry and I was dressed for the occasion, would have been worse otherwise," he nods, continuing to work. "Hopefully you enjoyed the get-together, It certainly had a good turnout and everyone seemed to have a good time.

When the second comment is made, Piotr thinks for a few moments, "I had not thought of that, as she did not suggest painting her portrait at the time," the large Russian works a little more and pops his head out at the Titanic reference, "I do not understand what you mean by that?" having not seen the film, he is oblivious.

Danielle Moonstar has posed:
"It was a good time," Dani agrees with a flash of a smile. "And yes, I would like a hat. I may not be as strong as you or Rogue or... well, I have no superhuman strength, but as far as -human- strength goes, I am quite strong." And it's true: she's one of those who is at the peak of human skill when it comes to athletics and fighting ability.

When he leans out, she arches an eyebrow. "Women aren't always clear in what they want, sad to say." Not that men are either. It should be 'people aren't clear in what they want.' When he doesn't get the reference, she lets out a sigh. "It's... it's from a movie. Titanic. We could watc-" She stops herself and a flush starts to spread across her cheeks as she begins to remember certain scenes and she clears her throat, looking out across the lake again. "You should watch it with a girl you like."

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
"Nice hats are still nice hats!" Piotr remarks. He resumes painting and says, "Indeed you are," giving another nod.

As Piotr finishes the sky in the portrait, "Oh, that would make sense," he notes as he continues working, "Oh, is that the one about the ship that sinks? Must be tragic." He catches the last bits and then says, "Ah, well, I shall make a note of this!"

Danielle Moonstar has posed:
"It is tragic," Dani affirms, flashing the Russian a smile. "But... the movie isn't all about tragedy. It's about the struggle to make a better life for yourself. About finding yourself. About finding something outside the bubble you live in. And yes, about finding love." She leans a bit on her bow, letting it bend just slightly.

"It's a slightly older movie, but it's a good one to watch with a girl. I promise she'll appreciate it."

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr nods, "That... makes some sense. Kind of how some of the stories I make a make my students readin Russian class," he frowns and then nods, "Thank you for the head's up." He resumes cleaning brushes as he switches up the paints on his palette to work on the next part of the portrait.'

Danielle Moonstar has posed:
"What stories do you make your students read?" Dani shifts, moves one foot to rub at the back of her opposite calf. Itchy! She keeps at this for a moment before giving up and crouching to properly scratch at the bare skin. It's only after a few seconds of doing so that she realizes that she's completely broken her pose. Clearing her throat, she straightens again.

"Sorry, I uh- I had an itch." Thanks, Captain Obvious. She settles back into place. Then shifts her stance again finding (mostly) her original place. There we are.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
"Just a semi-random selection of Russian literature, the problem is that so many of them are too long, so we stick to short stories," Piotr says as he works, not noticing the itch until Dani clears her throat, "Oh, sorry." He pokes his head back out from behind the easel, "Is everything all right?"

Danielle Moonstar has posed:
"Yeah, yeah," Dani says once she's settled back into place. She takes a deep breath and leans back in on her bow. She looks out over the lake, squinting at the setting sun. Dark brown eyes slide back over toward the easel to catch Piotr as he leans out and she offers a small smile.

"Everything's fine, promise. I just broke the pose real bad for a moment to scratch my leg. I'm pretty much the worst model."

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr frowns in concern as he resumes painting, "You are doing fine, unlike photographs, you don't have to sit like statue. I already have sketched you, so I have a sort of base point to work off of, going more for shading and whatnot at this point."

Danielle Moonstar has posed:
"I don't want to risk messing you up," Dani says with a brief, but awkward laugh. She rubs the back of her head, then thinks better of it and drops her arm again. There's a deep breath and an exhale in a sigh. She looks back over towards the easel and what she can see of the man behind it. "Would you believe me if I told you I've never done anything like this before?"

Delivered in a deadpan, of course. She follows that up with: "Honestly, I just... wanted to feel like I was a part of things."

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
"It's all right," Piotr says, trying to be reassuring, "And most haven't, it is not incredibly common anymore, especially with photographers being able to churn out an album's worth in the time it takes me to paint one." He does give a nod, "And that is kind of the point of this, we are all a family, and the family to come needs to see who was part of it previously."

Danielle Moonstar has posed:
"Yeah- I mean..." Dani stops and goes silent as she considers, bites her lip and looks off again across the lake. She reaches with the hand not grasping the bow to check the string -- unable to help herself -- to twang at it lightly. "Ha! Well, you all are the only family I've got, so I suppose it makes sense." She does offer a lopsided smile that he may or may not see if he should lean out around his easel again.

"Though it'd almost make sense if we had an album of photographs, too. All candid stuff. Someone should have brought a camera to the pool party." She blows an errant bit of hair out of her face. "Maybe we should tell everyone to start taking photos when we get together. We all always have our phones anyway."

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
As Piotr looks over for a reference he sees Dani looking over the lake, "Is something wrong?" the voice betraying some concern. He mixes some paint on the palette while he speaks further, "Well, we are glad to have you. Most of my family is over here, and I have added more to it, and for that I am thankful."

The idea of photographs gets a nod from the Russian giant, "Indeed, that would be a good project, you should start it! I have a couple I could donate, and we can start an album of sorts!" He gives a wide grin.

Danielle Moonstar has posed:
"Oh, uhm. Nothing's wrong. Not really." Dani is lying, but it depends on how prescient Piotr is of such things. Would he pick up on it? He's known her for five years, but they haven't been -close- really. They've just studied together, trained together, lived- okay, maybe he would pick up on it.

But she moves right on past it. Of course she does. No sense lingering when you're lying about personal things! "I'd really like that. I don't have enough photos of my parents or my grandfather. I... I would hate to not have enough of all you. Let's do this. Let's start collecting photos for an album."

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr is oblivious, but he is not /that/ oblivious. "Are you certain?" He says, not wanting to pry too much, and not wanting to press more than she would be comfortable with. He keeps painting if she says nothing and says, "Very well, I can help spread the word that you are starting a group album.

Danielle Moonstar has posed:
There's silence for a long time. She might be considering not answering. Or pretending that she didn't hear him, even! But in the end, she just leans a little more on the bow. It bends, curving steadily, but if anyone's going to know how much it can take: it's Dani.

Or maybe Hawkeye.

"You all are my only family, truly. And... I've lost so much. I am scared sometimes, Piotr, of losing you, too. All of you. And I don't want to go through that again." Letting that go, she puts on a smile. It's a forced smile, so it's a small smile. "Thanks. I'll spread the word, too. I think folks might really enjoy it." Beat. "I hope they do, at least."

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr frowns and sets his brush down and says, "I crossed an ocean to find my sister and I would do that for any one of us." He gives a warm smile, "Someone messes with one of us, they mess with all of us. And I will gladly throw anyone who tries such a thing to the moon." He picks up his brush and resumes painting.

Danielle Moonstar has posed:
Really, Dani can't help but give a small smile at that. Just a bit. It's not quite a laugh, but there's a small shake of her shoulders and she stands up just a bit straighter, shoulders back. "Piotr, I am very proud to have a friend who would throw someone to the moon for me." She leans, just-so, to try to look around that easel toward him. Her expression softens, corners of her eyes crinkling. "Thank you. Really."

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr is humming quietly as he keeps painting, focusing for the moment on the art, but he takes a moment to smile and says, "It is no problem. It is what I would do, because I know so many of you would do the same, or something similar."

Danielle Moonstar has posed:
"We would," Dani says, firm in her conviction. There's a moment's pause before she continues, in a softer voice. "I would."

She shifts, rolling her shoulders, arching her back. Not an uncommon motion for someone who's been standing in one place for a while! "After we're done here, you wanna grab a bite? I'm getting hungry." As if she has to ask.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr nods, confidently, "That I do not doubt." He begins cleaning his brush, "Well, the good news is that I am nearly done with what I can do for now." The Russian nods and says, "Food sounds good. What are you thinking?"

Danielle Moonstar has posed:
When he begins cleaning his brush, Dani lets out a sigh of relief and hops down from the rock, going into a series of stretches. She lets out a groan as her back pops with the last one. "That's almost as bad as some of the exercises the Professor puts us through. You sure this isn't secretly a training session?" There's a hint of a grin offered up with that.

"We could go into town to Burger Joint or just raid the kitchen. Your choice."

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr begins taking down his stuff and packing it up, he says, "Kitchen is fine," he keeps working on it. The mention of a training session gets a laugh, "I mean, I get to practice my portrait skills, and you get training in patience?" The Russian smiles and once everything is packed up he asks, "Mind helping carry these up there, just trying to avoid a second trip."

Danielle Moonstar has posed:
"Not at all. I'd probably feel bad if you were carrying everything and I just had my bow." Dani slings the latter across her shoulder and moves over to help gather things up. Chances are, she might not feel -too- bad. He is big, buff Russian after all.

"We'll get things put away, I'll-" she is in a bodysuit after all. Appropriate uniform attire maybe, but not quite meant for going down to the kitchen for an evening snack. "get changed." As they walk, she considers and decides: "We should start a movie night. What do you think?"

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
"Thank you," Piotr nods and hefts most of it, leaving behind the easel, "That is sensible, I will see you there." The thought of a movie night gets a few moments of thought, "This should work, Dinosaurs turned out well, so a further expansion should be good."