The Red-Eyed Monster
A Devil Children Short by Kal Ancalas
Author's Note: For once, I don't have an irritatingly long story about how I was forced to play the piano or got attacked by a huge splinter. This was written out of writer's block for Chapter 14.
I apologize for not updating earlier, but I got in a huge fight with my parents (never a good idea) and ended up being "disciplined". Thankfully, spring break is coming soon, so I can promise more frequent updates in the days to come. That, and I had writer's block, so I drew a huge visual aid that shows nearly all the characters. (The link, if you're interested, is at the end of the story.)
The story (which is based on something I read a while back) takes place ten years pre-Revolt, so Tales is 9, Arundale is 8, Iggy is 11, and Arklanser is 13. If you read this, then Chapter 14 (when it comes out) will make a lot more sense. I promise.
Oh yeah, Arundale might be a little OOC in this, but…it works out a lot better for the story, IMO.
Enjoy and review.
-Kal
They say that home is where your heart is.
And Delinia Arklanser couldn't have agreed more.
Time had flown past her like a waterfall; seconds shooting forth like droplets and days melting into one another until they were all part of the huge miasma that made up her life. It had only been three short years since she had left Henesys, but it had felt only a day since she had seen herself among the gardens of Mushroom Park.
Only a day, she thought to herself, as the man in a trim, black suit escorted her through the streets of the archer city.
The only day that ever mattered…
She pushed her duffel bag higher up her shoulder, causing her shirt sleeve to ride upwards and reveal her arm, a jagged scar of black disfiguring the otherwise perfect limb. Hurriedly, she yanked the sleeve back down again, although no one seemed to have taken any notice of it.
Boredom buzzed through the girl's mind as she casually eyed the warm, cheery environment of the town of Henesys. It was a far cry from what she had been used to these past three years. It was hard for her to realize that even though she'd lived in this beautiful paradise for a decade, spending just another fourth of her life away from it had condemned her as an outsider.
"Agent…Jones?" She tugged impatiently at her guardian's sleeve, the bleak color of his suit and glasses contrasting sharply against the calm environment. "Where are we going?"
He did not cast so much as a flickering glance at her as he replied in a calm monotone. "I am acting under General Maestro's orders to escort you to a suitable habitation. The Sector is no longer safe for you."
"Tell me something I don't know." The teen rolled her eyes and brushed a strand of her brightly colored hair out of her eyes. "You still haven't told me where we're going, sir…"
"We've made arrangements." Jones said laconically, and that ended the discussion.
They continued to walk briskly through the peaceful streets of Henesys. Occasional background noises managed to filter themselves through Delinia's ears; the soft hum of insects, the happy shouts of playing children, the whizz of arrows flying through the air.
It was definitely a far cry from the sounds she now wished she could leave behind.
-----
The house of Athena Pierce was, in a word, majestic. Delinia couldn't take her eyes off the ornately-carved tree walls that made up the bowmistress's residence. Everywhere she looked, the beauty of the room seemed to diffuse right through her eyes. The calm beauty of the room made her feel as though she was right in the heart of Sleepywood.
Once more, she was reminded in her heart that returning home wasn't always as easy as one thought it was.
Snippets of conversation reached her ears. "Thank you. …brought the girl…?"
"Yes. General Maestro said…should be slight…from incident…"
"No matter…take care…thank you…Jones."
"Indeed." The world seemed to rush back at her in a blur and she blinked, color swimming through her. She turned to see Agent Jones leave through the door, the last remnants of her past life walking out the door in a standard-issue suit, never to be seen again.
"Delinia." She whirled around to see the bowmistress sedately looking at her. "Welcome back."
"Ah-" Words fumbled around in her throat for a minute as she searched for a reply; finally, she muttered, "Thank you."
"It has been some time since I saw you last." She got up from her seat and crossed the room to stare directly into her student's eyes. "You've…changed."
"I suppose." she replied, the gentle-yet-firm gaze from the almond-eyed elf cutting into her. She shook her head to try and clear her mind; something she had never succeeded at and wished she could do. "Where am I going to live now? Jones never told me anything about-"
Athena held up a hand to stop the girl's quibbling. "You need not worry. I have already found a suitable foster family to take care of you."
Her heart leapt in her chest, but only for a split second, as she knew they could never replace the figures she once knew. "Where are they? Who are they? Can I see them?" she asked, questions spilling from her mouth like a fountain.
Athena shook her head and chuckled. "They will be coming soon from archery practice. In the meantime, I suspect that you can get acquainted with some of the neighborhood children. Perhaps they are willing to befriend you."
She said it in a perfectly kind and normal air, but Arklanser had to wonder privately if Athena even knew the implications of what she was saying. True friends were scarce to come by in this day and age, but even more so if you were an orphan banished from the home you once thought you had.
Her mental soliloquy was interrupted by an excited squeal and she felt something crash into her, a cannonball of white and orange-brown curls.
"What the-"
"This is Natalia, my niece." Athena put a hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter as Delinia staggered to her feet, eyeing the girl that had just crashed excitedly into her. "I think you two should get along very well."
"I…"
"Sorry, I'm really sorry!" the girl called Natalia said, blushing furiously. "It's just that I really haven't had anyone to play with these days, and when auntie said that a new girl was coming over…" She wrung her hands and stared at the new arrival. "What's your name?"
"My name is Delinia Arklanser." she said with as much composure as she could after getting run over by a hyperactive eight-year-old. "And you would be?"
"I'm Natalia Arundale." She smiled brightly at Arklanser. "You seem really nice! I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun together!"
Arklanser tried to smile, although her face wouldn't allow it. "Do…you have any siblings or such?" she asked, as casually as she could.
"Oh…well, I have a…brother." Natalia murmured, her face falling a little. "He's actually my stepbrother, if you must know. He's a little creepy sometimes, but I'm sure you'll like him!" She turned to face the stairs. "Get down here, Iggy!!" she bellowed.
There was an annoyed shout of "I'm coming, Natalia! And stop calling me Iggy!"
Arklanser's eyes flickered to the stairs to see a rather tall, dark-haired boy, about a year or two older than Natalia, walking down the steps. Looking at him, she tried to suppress an inward gasp; unlike his cheerful stepsister, Iggy was just…well, it was hard to describe.
"Creepy" would have been a good word, but more than that, Arklanser supposed, he was inwardly suffering, somehow. She recognized the look on his face, the expression that one has after experiencing something viciously traumatic.
It was her own.
"Hey!" Natalia's voice cut through the air and brought Arklanser back to her senses. "Don't be shy, Iggy. Say hi."
"Hi." Iggy said, rather grudgingly, before turning away. Even though his eyes met hers for only a precious second, it was as though a beam of understanding shot between them. However, when she looked back at him, he had already turned his back on her.
"I won't be able to go with you for a while, Natalia. The de-" He shot a glance at Arklanser before correcting himself. "-I mean, I have to take my medicine today. Maybe I'll join you later." He stalked off into the next room.
"What was that about?"
Natalia shrugged and bit her lip. "Oh, Iggy has a rare disease of some sort."
"I could tell." she muttered, wrinkling her nose.
"Yeah, well, he has to take some kind of icky medicine every day. It's really troublesome, but he can't help it…" She threw a glance in the direction that Iggy had gone off in before she returned her gaze to her new 'friend'. "Well, we don't need him anyway. Come on! I'll introduce you to my other friend! He's really nice!"
"I should hope so." Arklanser muttered to herself as Natalia dragged her out of the room.
-----
The two girls dashed into the busy streets of Henesys as Natalia continued to wax eloquently about her other friend and how "he's not a jerk, like Iggy." It was all Delinia could do to keep herself from 'accidentally' letting go of the girl's hand and letting her wander about the town herself- but then again, she couldn't help but admire Natalia's determination to be a friend to someone she had barely met.
Maybe she's used to this sort of thing, Arklanser thought. Perhaps she's already used to people like Iggy showing up at her doorstep. Who knows, I might even become her stepsister.
She winced as Natalia yanked her abruptly down a side path. If I'm unlucky.
"He lives just down this street!" Arundale called excitedly, even though Delinia was only arm's length away from her. "This is his house!" she said, letting go of her companion's hand and ringing the doorbell so much that Arklanser wondered if the residents hadn't already been driven insane by the incessant ringing.
However, the door opened to reveal a trim young woman with amber hair in her late teens. She looked somewhat sickly, as though she had an illness of some sort, but otherwise seemed perfectly normal. "Oh, Natalia, is that you?" She gave her a weak smile.
"Where's Rysdale, Laura?" Natalia asked the woman.
"Well, I don't really know. He went off toward the hunting grounds this morning and hasn't come back, so…" She cast a glance towards said grounds. "You can look for him there. I'm sure he'll be pleased to see you…"
"All right! Thanks, Laura!" Natalia yanked Delinia off of her feet and sped off towards the west gates of Henesys.
Lauranthalas Tales smiled to herself as she watched the trail of dust fly up into the air. What her brother must be going through, associating himself with girls like that…Well, knowing she was the niece of the great Athena Pierce, she reasoned she would grow up sooner or later.
She winced as she saw Natalia trip over a piece of rubble and crash into the ground, Arklanser toppling behind her. Hopefully sooner.
-----
Rysdale turned out to be another boy, not much older than Natalia, with the same shade of amber hair that Delinia had observed on the woman. As it turned out, she was his older sister.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance." Rysdale said calmly, before shooting another snail with his crossbow. Arklanser managed a faint smile; at least there was one person around here who wasn't affected by Natalia's super-driven personality.
"So, er…" Natalia leaned against a haystack, Arklanser doing the same. "We really haven't been formally introduced. Delinia, this is Rysdale Tales. Rysdale, this is Delinia Arklanser. She came here all the way from-"
"Omega Sector." Arklanser replied calmly, not keen on letting the girl run rampantly on. "But I was born in Henesys. I lived here until I was about ten."
"Ten?" Natalia's gaze sharpened. "How old are you?"
Arklanser cracked her knuckles. "Turned thirteen last week."
"Wow, you're old!" Natalia giggled, kneading her hands together. "I'm almost nine…"
"Yeah, who would have guessed?" Rysdale muttered, rolling his eyes. "I'm a year older than her."
"Are you an archer too, Delinia?" Natalia asked, wide-eyed.
"Uh…yeah, I am." She unzipped her duffel bag and took something out- it was a Battle Bow. Casually, she nocked an arrow to the frame of the bow, pulled back the string, and released the arrow. It arced gracefully through the air before there was the familiar noise of some monster's internal organs suddenly becoming external.
"Wow, you're really good!" Natalia said excitedly. "I'm only level 15 myself…but auntie says I'm getting there!" She took out her own weapon, a slim metal Composite Bow, and dashed into the fields, shouting death to a small group of snails.
Rysdale rolled his eyes as she zipped away. "Sorry about that. She's really…well, energetic, if you get my point."
"I can tell." Delinia sighed. "I don't remember seeing her when I first lived here. Was she always a resident of this city?"
"No." Rysdale casually fitted a bolt to his crossbow and let it fly, impaling a slime. "She was born in El Nath. For some reason, her mother- Athena's sister- brought her here to Henesys when she was 5. She's been living here ever since."
"So that would explain the 'auntie' part." Delinia mused. "Why was she sent here in the first place?"
"I never asked." Rysdale shrugged. "Maybe she was depleting Ossyria's sugar supply."
Delinia laughed, but it was a dull sound that faded quickly. Somehow, there was something different about Natalia that wasn't quite…human. She seemed like an animal- an energetic, bright creature that spewed forth energy every second.
Perhaps there's something different about her…just like Iggy.
Keen to stop thinking about her new 'friends', Delinia turned casually to Rysdale. "I met your sister. She's really nice…"
"Yeah, she is." Rysdale casually twirled a crossbow bolt in the palm of his hand.
"Where are your parents?" she asked.
The bolt snapped with a loud splintering sound- startled, Delinia leapt back a little to see shreds of wood running through the boy's fingers.
"My apologies." He bowed his head slightly. "It's just that…my parents died a couple years back."
"Oh." she murmured gently. "What…happened?"
He turned away from her. "We went to El Nath for vacation about three years ago. There was an avalanche, and…" He trailed off.
Regret welled up inside of her. "Oh, I'm sorry. I…" She looked away from him. "If you must know, my parents are gone as well. They were killed in an accident at Omega Sector. I was sent to live here as a result…"
His expression softened. "Ah, I see."
"Are…" Arklanser gently rolled her tongue inside her mouth. "Are Natalia's parents still alive?"
"I…" Rysdale sighed. "I think her father was killed some time ago. She said her mother was still alive, but I think their relationship was severed when she was sent here. I don't know why."
"Oh." She ran a hand through her crimson hair, flashing brightly in the sunlight. "And Iggy?"
"His parents were murdered a month ago." Rysdale said darkly. "It was all over the news. Natalia convinced Athena to adopt him somehow, which is a testament to her begging abilities." He rolled his eyes. "Have you met Iggy? I can't think of any person in their right mind who would want to adopt him…"
"Perhaps." she muttered, but inwardly sympathizing with him. If anyone knew my story…I doubt they'd want to adopt me either.
She shook her head, and at that moment, Natalia came running back. "Hey, Rysdale! Since Delinia's new here, I thought it would be a good idea if we had a slumber party to know each other better! Just me, you, Delinia, and Iggy! Won't that be fun?"
Rysdale put on a forced smile. "Yes, Natalia. Really…fun." He shot a quick glance at Arklanser before muttering, "I'll…go get ready, then," walking off the field.
"So, how about it, Delinia? Wanna come?" Natalia eagerly asked.
"Um…" Beads of sweat trickled down Arklanser's neck. "I'd love to, Natalia, but I'm not sure what my parents would-"
"Don't worry, I already asked them in advance, and they said yes! They thought it would be a good opportunity for you to meet new friends!" Arundale squealed, squeezing her friend's hands. "I'll see you there, then!" She raced off at top speed towards Athena's house, obviously ecstatic.
Delinia swore and kicked the ground angrily with her foot. Of all the things she had expected to do upon her return to Henesys, spending a night at Athena's house with her hyperactive niece was not high on her list.
But then again…she really couldn't blame her. For someone whose mother had deserted her at such a young age, she just wanted to make friends…which was only natural for someone like her.
She exhaled deeply, the taste of the warm spring air lingering in her mouth.
Perhaps…this could be fun after all.
-----
However, after three hours of what seemed like mindless running, screaming, and rambunctious children, Delinia had to admit that tripping over Natalia twelve times, having her bowstring break three times in a row, and having hot chocolate accidentally poured over her was not quite as fun as it was meant to be.
"Sorry! I'm really sorry!" Natalia squealed, as Delinia scrubbed at her sopping clothes with a paper towel. "It's just that I was so excited, and…"
"Next time, you might not want to drink half the pot of hot chocolate before you pour it, Natalia," Rysdale muttered, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, shut up." she pouted.
"Any other suggestions on what we should do?" Iggy muttered.
"Well-" Natalia's face suddenly lit up; Arklanser saw Rysdale and Iggy wince slightly. "I know! Auntie says we can sleep outside if we want to! Let's build a campfire and roast marshmallows!" Even as she said this, she rushed inside, no doubt about to pester Athena with requests for sleeping bags and marshmallows.
"Oh, spare me." Delinia muttered, wringing her sticky, chocolate-stained hair out.
"Come on, Delinia." She looked up to see Rysdale looking at her. "Natalia might be a little annoying at times, but she just tries her best. You'll learn to live with her."
There was an excited squeal, a sudden thud, and Delinia suddenly found herself peppered with what looked like half a bag of marshmallows.
"I'm so sorry!"
-----
Delinia quietly ate her marshmallow as Natalia, Rysdale, and Iggy chatted quietly around the campfire. Somehow, she felt like the babysitter assigned to a group of children- she was definitely the oldest of them all by a longshot, and yet they all looked up to her. They seemed to hold her as a mother figure of some sort, especially Natalia, who seemed to hold her in great esteem. Rysdale and Iggy rarely spoke to her, usually limiting themselves to glances, but it was obvious that they seemed to hold an almost filial respect for her.
She could have done worse.
Thoroughly tired after the events of the day, Delinia would have liked nothing better than to crawl into her sleeping bag and rest for the night, but Natalia, fueled up by half a pot of hot chocolate and countless roasted marshmallows, wouldn't have any of it.
"What should we do next?" she asked eagerly.
"Well, I'm about ready to tuck in, if you ask me…" Rysdale said, with a fake yawn.
"Oh, but it's so early!" she replied, which was saying something, as the crescent moon was already high in the shimmering sky. "Let's let Delinia decide! What do you want to do?" She smiled amicably.
Delinia was ready to respond with "Screw you, I want to go to sleep too," but as she stared into the girl's smiling face, she realized that she just couldn't. Conceding defeat, she leaned against her sleeping bag. "Well, I don't know…" Suddenly, a smile crept across her face. "Would you like to hear a story?"
"A story?" Natalia asked, wide-eyed, while Rysdale and Iggy looked up in interest.
"Yeah. A story. Especially…" Her eyes flickered back and forth among the children. "…A ghost story."
"Well, anything that'll help me sleep better…" Rysdale muttered, brushing some hair out of his eyes.
"Oh, you won't." Delinia smiled. "My parents used to tell me this story all the time. And…" She paused for effect, her words sinking into the children's heads. "It's a true story."
Rysdale and Iggy paused; however, Natalia only seemed more excited than ever. "That sounds great, Delinia! Could you tell us, please?"
Delinia laughed. "Well, if you really want to…" She brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
"Oh, I won't." Natalia promised, leaning forward eagerly, while Rysdale and Iggy appeared to be somewhat interested as well.
"Very well, then…" Delinia folded her arms across her chest. "They say that long ago, before Omega Sector was built, the land surrounding the base of Eos Tower was a beautiful forest. Untouched by man's hand, it was a paradise; trees everywhere one looked, animals playing in the shade, and a majestic mountain in the distance. It was truly a wondrous sight."
She paused, all three eyeing her eagerly.
"It seems that when the city of Ludibrium grew too crowded, the humans had to find someplace to live," she continued, "so the valley at the bottom of the tower came into question. The humans settled in and quickly became accustomed to life there. A great foresting industry was born from the great trees that populated the valley. A village quickly sprung up, and from the wealth of the trees the people were all happy. There was nothing more anyone could want."
Delinia watched her audience with a bit of smug pleasure; Natalia was fixated on the tale, images of the forest town already beginning to spring up in her mind, while Rysdale and Iggy merely listened with quiet content.
"One day, however, the woodcutters returned with no wood, but horrible stories. They said that a monster, with vicious fangs, claws, and piercing red eyes, who could roar like a volcano, lived on the mountain, where the tallest trees grew. They were all frightened to bits, these horribly brave, strong, men, and they swore never to go into the mountains again.
"The town, however, was in no position to benefit from this. With no woodcutters, and no wood, the prosperity of the town would surely disappear, and the townsfolk were in agrument about what to do. Some considered braving the monster to fetch wood anyway; some decided to move out of the village; and yet still others considered sitting at home and praying for a miracle.
"It seemed all was lost for the town when suddenly a stranger arrived; a magician, clad entirely in black, came to town. He seemed to know something about the monster in the mountain, though when the villagers asked him for help, he merely replied, 'You must sacrifice the purest maiden in your city to the monster; then, and only then, will its vicious hunger be appeased."
"The townsfolk were in an uproar over the news, but there was nothing that could be done. The poor victim, a young girl, was chosen to be sacrificed and plucked from her family's bosom. She was told that the next day, she would die, to be fed to the monster that dwelled in the hills. Her family pleaded piteously with the village elders to let her go, but their decision was already made. The girl would die the next morning.
"The next morning, just as planned, a group of hunters led the girl to the mountain and forced her up the slopes. As it so happened, a snowstorm was passing over the region, and the party was obscured by a blizzard of white snow and cold wind. Seizing this opportunity, the girl managed to break free of her captors. However, there was no way of escape, as she did not know her way. She could only hope and pray that the gods would be merciful to her.
"She staggered through the snowstorm, her clothes shredded and torn. She was freezing and wanted nothing more than to return home to her family. It was growing darker and colder by the second and the wind was cutting her sharply. In desperation, she sought out the only shelter she could- a small opening in the face of the mountain, just big enough for a person to squeeze through."
Delinia took a minute to read the expressions around the fire before continuing; Natalia was spellbound, and Rysdale and Iggy, although they were trying not to show it, were clearly interested as well. Smiling to herself, she went on, her face eerily illuminated by the fire.
"She crawled inside the cave, shivering, and proceeded to look around for something to eat or something to keep her warm. She found something- something soft, and furry. She touched it. And then…"
The silence around the fire was almost religious as she spoke.
"Suddenly, she saw a pair of piercing red eyes through the darkness. Swiftly, she screamed and ran, as fast as she could. However, it wasn't enough. The monster caught her at the entrance of the cave; with her last breath, she let out a frantic, desperate scream."
There was a yelp from Natalia as she narrated this part of the story; both boys were slightly disturbed as well. She went on.
"Later that night, the villagers were rejoicing in their victory over the monster. They thought that they were safe from its clutches forever, and that life could go on.
"However, that night, when the villagers looked up to see the moon, it wasn't there. It was obscured by a great, dark cloud. It was a remnant from the previous blizzard that had covered the mountain.
"The village was shrouded in darkness." Delinia lowered her voice to achieve a more haunting effect. "Snow was beginning to fall, covering the town in a blanket of white. The townsfolk were confused, as snow usually didn't fall this time of year. They knew something was wrong. Very wrong."
The silence had grown to a fever pitch- almost too eerily, a gust of wind suddenly swept across the plains, causing the flame to illuminate Arklanser's face for a split second.
"Through the whirling blizzard, they could see a pair of red eyes, glaring furiously at them- and then suddenly, the monster appeared. It was gigantic, the size of ten men, with crimson flames covering its body like fur, gigantic claws sharper than swords, and above all, its vicious, bloodred pupils, able to paralyze even the stoutest of men. That night, the entire village was destroyed underneath the beast's flaming claws and teeth. Not one soul escaped its wrath that fateful eve…"
Her voice faded into the wind and seemed to level off, perfecting the illusion. "After its rampage was done, the great monster turned around and disappeared into the mountains, never to be seen again. They say that the monster still lurks there, waiting to exact its revenge on the ones that took its life, and it is said that if you ever venture near the mountains and see a pair of glowing red eyes, it is a sure sign of impending disaster."
She then brushed her hair out of her face and lay calmly against her sleeping bag. "Of course, it is only a story."
Both Rysdale and Iggy seemed frozen for a second until the former finally shook his head, grumbling. "I don't know why the hell I agreed to listen to that…"
"Yeah." There was the noise of sleeping bags opening, and then the gentle sound of snores resonated across the landscape. Sighing to herself, Arklanser smiled and lay back against the soft cushion of her sleeping bag, watching the fire contentedly.
"Delinia?" Her eyes flew open- she hadn't thought that Natalia might still be awake. She shook her head and got a good look at the girl in front of her, sitting there excitedly.
"That was…amazing, Delinia." Natalia uttered breathlessly. "You made it sound so…real. So haunting." She cast a nervous glance around the landscape. "Was…that really a true story?"
"Actually…" She glanced at the sleeping figures of Rysdale and Iggy. "Aside from a few fragmented details, I made the whole thing up on the spot." She grinned rather roguishly. "I think it started out as a rather light-hearted warning to the children not to venture outside the boundaries of Omega Sector."
Natalia exhaled in relief. "Then…it wasn't true, was it? None of it really happened?"
"Well…" Delinia slowly lifted her eyes at an angle to meet hers, and Natalia restrained a gasp as the firelight reflected vividly off of her crimson pupils. "It's said that every legend has a seed of truth at its core." Her smile widened ever so slightly.
"Do…you really think so?" Natalia murmured, her eyes wide.
Delinia shrugged, running a hand through her crimson locks. "It was just a bedtime story meant to serve as a warning, Natalia. Nothing more." She smiled at the girl, running her hand reassuringly through her hair as well. "You should really get some sleep now. It's rather late."
"Of…of course. Good night, Delinia." Arklanser watched quietly as Natalia scampered away from her and crawled into her own sleeping bag, quickly zipping herself up and falling into the depths of dreamland.
Delinia's eyes lingered over the sleeping figure of the girl as she quietly slumbered. She heard a slight movement, a muffled sound from Natalia, and glanced at her balefully. Perhaps she should have apologized to her for such a scare…but it was far too entertaining to stop.
She turned her red eyes back to the dying flames and watched.
Review, or I'll sic eight-year-old Natalia on you.
The link to the art I did above is here: w w w . i 1 2 1 . p h o t o b u c k e t . c o m / a l b u m s / o 2 4 0 / I D o o d l e O n N a p k i n s / M a g n u m O p u s . j p g. Have fun laughing at my lack of artistic ability.
-Kal