[Action]

[corruptedsouls]

[Tobias has been feeling a little creative lately. How? Well... he filled his side of his dorm with pictures of his family -- Grell, Espio, Marco, and even some of Whitebeard, after getting the description from Marco again -- and now he's working on the people around Garden.

If you walk through the Quad, you might feel the teen's eyes on you as you walk past. Anyone who comes into view is being drawn in the sketchbook he has, a quick little pencil drawing that none the less is enough for him to remember them by. Of course, he only knows a few people around here, so most of the drawings go unlabeled.

He's immensely absorbed in this, paying attention to little else but the paper and his current subject.]

Comments

[grollschwert]

[But it just so happens that someone else is on a direct collision course, concentrating on something else...]

[espio]

[Sneak. Sneak. SneaksneakFLOMP.

Hi Tobias. There's a lizard on you.

Specifically, Espio has wrapped his arms around Toby from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder and looking at the sketches.]

Hey.

[corruptedsouls]

[The fact that Tobias is sitting isn't really helping matters, meaning that it probably isn't all that difficult to trip right over and fall right on top of him.

...Eh?]

[corruptedsouls]

[Whoa, hey, that kind of surprised him. Tobias smiles brightly at the voice, though he's a little annoyed that Espio isn't in sight. Ah, well!

The most recent sketch hasn't quite become recognizable yet.]

Hi, Espio.

[rewritethis]

[Without warning, a gloved hand clamps down on the top of the sketchbook and attempts to bend it back - not gently, but with enough restraint to suggest that the goal is a better view of the page rather than lasting damage.

And, well, okay, with some warning. This person's footsteps aren't particularly discreet, and as his tone of voice will probably give away, neither is the rest of him.]

What's this?

[corruptedsouls]

[Whoa, hey, Ed, watch where you grab! Tobias nearly jerks the sketchbook back (not in an attempt to hide it, but more a death grip and a jerk of surprise), blinking a little for a moment or two before answering.]

A drawing.

[Said drawing, while not quite finished -- even in its sketchiness -- is fairly recognizable as Ed himself. This kid's pretty good with a pencil.]

[espio]

Not going out to the lake?

[He's been spending a lot of his time, now he's back and well away from any kind of ice field, down by the lake hunting bugs.]

[corruptedsouls]

I drew it a couple days ago and I went swimming before that.

[rewritethis]

[He eyes it for a second or two before letting the page go just as abruptly as he grabbed it.]

Sheesh, you think? [Sure, it's a good likeness, and the kid obviously couldn't have picked a cooler-looking subject, but that's not nearly enough to soften his expression.] But why that? What's the big idea?

[corruptedsouls]

[Good job, Ed, you're making him cringe. He's still not all that skilled in dealing with shortintimidating people.]

I don't want to forget about Garden or anyone here again.

[espio]

Ah, gotcha.

I... can't swim.

[He's actually slightly embarassed by this, but nobody ever bothered to teach him when he was a kid and despite asking once on the bbs, kind of felt it might be a bit too late to learn.

He presses a little into Toby's back, hugging a bit tighter for a moment, before releasing him and shifting himself to sit next to him.]

Never learned, and not sure if I can - I kind of sink like a rock in water.

[corruptedsouls]

Do you want me to teach you how?

[Technically, it should've been far too late for Toby to learn to actually socialize, but there you go. He goes back to sketching, glancing up at his subject some distance away.]

I still really like swimming, so I don't mind.

[rewritethis]

[Well, that was the idea. But the kid's answer does give him pause, however briefly - it's kind of a weird thing to be hit with when expecting something along the lines of "I was bored" or "you're dressed funny".

He frowns.] And what, you think that's likely?

[corruptedsouls]

...It's already happened once.

[espio]

[Espio resists the urge to be a complete and total distraction. Must not be clingy. Must. Not. Be. Clingy.]

Eh, really?

[Sounds a little surprised but while he doesn't smile - it's Espio, smiles are few and far between - seems pretty happy with the suggestion.]

We can give it a shot.

[corruptedsouls]

Okay!

[It's cool, Espio, Tobias will smile enough for the two of you.]

Should we go start tomorrow?

[rewritethis]

[Okay, okay, he'll relent. For now. He straightens up, giving the kid a little more space.]

You must've been trying. Have you seen this place?

[espio]

Sure. I'm not doing anything, unless I end up hauled of to Trabia again. Which I'd better not be.

[corruptedsouls]

Yeah. I was here for a while before I got sent home, then when I came back everything was mixed up and didn't match and I don't know why...

[He's a bit too nervous to go back to sketching with Ed still talking to him, though, so he'll just hold it against his chest like a little kid with a doll.]

[corruptedsouls]

What's wrong with Trabia?

[Genuine question!]

[grollschwert]

[And trip she does. However, she picks herself back up very quickly. It doesn't even seem to have bothered her at all; in a level tone she says:]

Pardon me. I'm sorry for that.

[It then occurs to her that she's never seen this person before, but was now really the time to be meeting people?]

[espio]

...oh, you don't remember...

Way back, the Garden crashed in Trabia and got raided by monsters. You got into trouble, so I tried to fight and help you, but... because I'm cold-blooded, I don't deal with the cold very well.

I kept fighting, but I was really ill after.

It's a bit better at the moment because I have a warm-blooded form as well now, but even with that I can't handle the cold.

[corruptedsouls]

It's okay.

[He doesn't seem to mind too much, bizarrely enough. He just picks his sketchbook back up and starts looking for his pencil.]

[corruptedsouls]

[Tobias frowns, looking down at the sketchbook at that. No, he really doesn't remember... and that bothers him.]

Oh. I guess that would be really bad...

[espio]

I've ended up on two missions to Trabia last month, thanks to Marco and that SeeD exam thing. I've had enough of snow and ice.

[Happens to glance up and notices Tobias' expression. He clearly doesn't remember it at all... but he's more interested in reassuring him than explaining everything. So he leans against him again.]

It was ages ago. Don't worry about it.