(1942-06-29) Riverside Picnic
Riverside Picnic
Summary: Virginia and Lillie have a chat by the riverside. Lillie gets practice; Virginia gets details.
Date: 1942-06-29
Related: Wildflowers and Fried Chicken
Players:
virginia..lucietta..

River Front, Higsi
Thu Jun 29, 1942


The Watauga River flows right along side Watauga Drive. In some places it seems quite deep, in others shallow enough to walk across. The bank slopes gently down toward the river and flattens out before the water, making this an ideal spot for fishing.

Weather:
It is summer. The weather is hot and clear.


<FS3> Lillie rolls Drawing: Great Success.

What a beauty of a late afternoon… the sun, just tipping past it's zenith high in the sky, remains potent nonetheless as it begins to dip toward the horizon. The breeze that sighs across the land on occasion is a lie: it, too, is hot. Stupid breeze of LIES! But if one is either equipped to handle the heat, or straight-up used to it, this shouldn't be problematic. But then you get the 'transplants' to town who come from the East, who have had to deal with things like humidity but nothing quite like this unabashed scorcher of a day. One such seed that has been cast to the wind is Lillie O'Clery.. and with her chores done for the day she is taking a moment to find reprieve. And practice.

Propriety be damned, she's hot. Skirts hiked up over her knees and bunched against her thighs to yet hide anything uncouth, the Empath has her bare feet in the water as she seats herself at the side of one of the shallower bends in the river. Her neck is craned over a pad of paper in her lap, expression focused and rapt with her shock of hair deliberately piled over one certain shoulder. Quick little glances toward a young couple horse-playing in the water give her what she needs to sketch them.. quite masterfully, to boot. She is on a roll!

Virginia's in a rather good mood herself as she comes strolling down the path that leads to the river's edge. A small basket swings from the crook on an elbow and she's humming to herself. While it's hot, the teacher looks proper enough, although she does have her hair pinned up with flowers tucked in the locks. She's adventurous too! Seeing Lillie the humming stops and she calls out gently, "Oh! Lillie! May I come join you?"

Ah.. at least the coolness of the water helps. Even if it's just on her feet! Lillie scribbles and scritches, tilting her head this way and that to adjust her angle.. re-check it… the pair stumble along, the young man hefting up the girl and plodding across the rocks. No matter, Lillie got what she needed… and with a few strokes she changes their features just so, so they become her own original subjects. But thank you for being body models, in a totally non-creepy way! Lillie smiles with pleasure at her results, even has the decency to blush. She is about to figure out the hair of the girl in her artwork, but a familiar voice jolts her out of her romantic reverie—-

Green eyes flit up from the pad and squint for a few seconds, looking to her left and to her right, finally finding the lovely young teacher. Happiness flushes the Empath's features as she straightens herself a bit and waves in greeting, pencil pressed between her fingers like a cigarillo. "Hallo Virginia! Come on over!" She insists, making sure the earth around her is dry enough.

Virginia skips over, basket swinging, "How are you today? Drawing anything fun?" She smiles brightly at the other woman as she sits down, smoothing her skirts before starting to work a shoe off. Feet in the river sounds heavenly! "I made sandwiches, would you like one?" She's very pleased with herself today over something.

<FS3> Lillie rolls Empath: Good Success.

God above, how is this woman still single? Lillie considers this as Virginia flounces over, pleasant as always. This kind nature sends a thrill through the Irish girl's sense, causing it to sway and wave like a charmed snake, raptly picking up on whatever good mojo it can scarf down. This in-turn feeds Lillie and she flushes despite herself, her tanned skin nonetheless carrying the redness. "I'm spying on a couple. Stealing their likeness… trying to practice capturing subjects in motion." She indicates with a nod toward the merry duo who have covered some ground now. "I think I'm doing alright.. though I feel almost apologetic."

As Virginia settles, joining her bare feet with Lillie's in the burbling water, the Empath watches her thoughtfully. One hand reaches over to adjust her sheaf of hair over her shoulder a little bit more, making sure it's covering the sensitive skin. "I sure would. I often forget to eat… you may be rescuing me in the nick of time. How are you handling your summer holidays so far?"

Virginia leans over and looks down at Lillie's sketch, "Ohhh! That's so good! I wish I had a talent like that!" It's not too much of a damper though, she keeps smiling as she turns to start digging into her basket, "Apologetic? For what?" Out come a ham salad sandwich and it's handed over before she gets one for herself. Toes in the river, she sighs happily, "I adore it. I get to catch up on so many things." Her feet kick gently on the water, not enough to splash.

"And yet there are a great many talents that I, too, wish I had. Your ability to nurture the minds of so many children, that is talent." Lillie smiles kindly as Virginia looks at her scribble before digging into her basket for noms. My, but the other young lady seems pleased with herself! By sight, and by sense! Lillie's lashes flutter as she turns to a fresh page, considering.

"Apologetic for drawing them without their knowing. It's like I'm stealing." She admits with a mischievous glimmer. A gracious smile and nod of thanks to the ham sandwich before she bites into it happily. Lillie so loves ham~

"What of you? Pardon my observation but you remind me of a pretty little cat that stole the canary. You seem happy. Any other exciting happenings now that you're free for a couple of months?" Lillie can't help but ask, enjoying the prospect of learning about someone else's life for a change and not being wrapped up in her own experiences. "What sorts of things are you catching up on?"

Virginia's nose wrinkles briefly. It's not that she dislikes teaching, but…it's not very glamorous. "Ah…is that considered rude in the art world?" An amused chuckle, "They shouldn't be flaunting their happiness then, if they don't want people to notice!" Long eyelashes flutter when she blinks, cheeks going a little pinker, "Me?" She shrugs, biting into her own food and swallowing before replying, "I am happy, the weather is beautiful and I'm getting to wander the town and see so much of it!" She turns to look at the river, "Did you know there's talk of a monster? Can you even believe that?"

"A.. good point, actually." Lillie tilts her head, tapping her bottom lip with the eraser of the pencil. "I'm sure they would be happy to see somebody capturing their moment. It's still taking some getting used to." She doesn't go on to describe why she is practicing so fervently. She flits back at her earlier work, freezes at one particular piece that she feels shouldn't be visible to the world. Gah, she thought that was in the other book! Hastily she covers up the sketch of dozing Clyde with a clump of other pages. Whew.

"I'm glad you're having a look around.. that you have the time for yourself. A lady needs that." Lillie chimes, finishing off her portion of sandwich with a few hearty bites. She startles then at mention of a 'monster', forgetting herself and leaning forward.. hair sliding away to reveal a sort of.. remnant of irritation on her shoulder. Is it a rash from an allergic reaction? Not quite. It's whisker-burn. c.c;;

"A monster…? Oh, do you mean the creature that was eating the trees by the old church?"

Did Virginia see the sketch? She doesn't say anything, and that happy mood is just constant. She's kicking her feet and eating, a small shrug, "I heard, and mind you, this was at Woolworths, so who knows where it started, that whatever was eating the trees came from the mountains. That there could be more of them!" She sounds excited for that possibility.

Wait wut… Lillie flicks some crumbs off of her skirts and considers. "Woolworths…?" She asks gently, still feeling much of the other young lady's happiness but derailed briefly by this talk of.. a… wait. Oh.. OH. Virginia heard about the rumors at Woolworths! Christ, her imagination is just wild lately. "I think I might know what this thing… could be.. I finished my schooling in Boston. But I need to speak with my friend again who actually saw it, maybe get him to describe it again. I'd like to draw it and maybe…" A shrug, and she smiles shyly. "Got anymore of those sandwiches? God almighty that was tasty."

Still a bit red, Lillie yet notes the young teacher's happiness. "Any prospects on the horizon? Lucky young men? Quite a few come home for the summer to see their kin, I do believe… so there may yet be some interesting faces." She nudges. She does recall Virginia's longing for companionship, or at least an honest good-natured date!

Virginia's eyes widen "Who say it? Do you think they would describe it to me?" She bounces slightly as she sits. "From what they were saying it came down from the mountain, there was talk of a hunting party even." She shakes her head, "No…but I do have some carrot sticks and a apple I sliced up if you would like some?" She turns and starts digging in the basket again, a different romance novel can be seen briefly. "Me? oh…no. Seems no one is interested in a school teacher…Here we go!" Out come the other foods. "I finally met your Walker boy. What a cutie!"

From.. the mountain..? Lillie's head tilts again at that, and she looks well-and-truly puzzled. She reckons those Walker boys will have had the first sniff on whatever saw fit to 'stand out' on their mountain. Something doesn't make sense, but who is she to contest it? She spins her pencil in deft fingers briefly and taps it on the corner of a page. "Please don't put yourself out, or go hungry on account of my eating your lunch. It's my foolishness for not eating enough while I was working." She admits ruefully, but if… Virginia insists…!

Lillie's appetite is considerable, lately.

"Now, I wouldn't go that far—-" This catches her between the eyes. 'Cutie'..? Walker? That's not exactly the adjective that she would use for… oh…. oh. Lillie looks stricken very briefly, as her swift mind assembles the details. "Do you mean a one Jesse Walker?" She asks gently, imploringly. Then, a soft smile. "He is no longer mine. But cute, for certain.. sweet as sugar. But we were not meant to be."

Virginia does insist! It's almost like she packed a lunch for two, but forgot to have a partner! Lucky for Lillie! The teacher's head tilts, frowning slightly, "Oh…I am so sorry…I didn't know." Slight embarrassment rolls off of her now, "I didn't mean to upset you." She reaches over to gently touch the back of Lillie's hand in support. "Let's change the subject."

Feeling the embarrassment, Lillie turns her hand upright to give Virginia's a quick squeeze, tapping the top of her hand with her other pencil-wielding one. "No no, it's okay. You didn't know." She smiles kindly, "I really am alright. It.. it's done. I would like to think that meeting one as kind as yourself will have done him a service. It really, truly is alright." Lillie admits, not quite ready to go into the full depth of it all.. but feeling a variety of things: regret for what she had done to young Walker, though not for the present circumstance. Intrigue.. is he back in town? Worry: what if she encounters him..? But also.. resolve… she is ready to do so.

Munching a carrot stick, Lillie looks thoughtfully to Virginia.. not looking upset in the least. "I can always say, in full esteem, that Jesse was sweet. Did you make acquaintance?"

Virginia's smile is slightly forced, but she nods. "Well…I am glad that you're ok." She takes a deep breath and takes an apple slice for herself, "He was playing music on the corner downtown. He seemed nice enough, I didn't stay very long, he pointed out my lunch was getting cold, I left to eat it."

"I am fine," Lillie offers, though the guilt is still there. She will not burden Virginia with such, not at this point. Not on so beautiful a day with the mood so high. Used to gauging reactions, she can see those slight nuances in Virginia's smile that points to discomfort and she wants to assuage all of it. "We had some.. differences.. that may have been approached and dealt with in a way that wasn't the best.. but it was inevitable. I wish him nothing but goodness.. he could do with some kind friends. Between our falling out and the problems that the Walkers deal with simply by reputation…" The Empath trails off, pressing her lead to the pristine expanse of the page. "May I draw you? I.. a-ah… really need to practice. I'm chasing down a job that relies on my work so every bit helps." She asks shyly.

Regarding what Virginia found Jesse doing, Lillie smiles fondly. "Aye, sounds like him. I'm glad he's playing again. Was it a guitar, or a fiddle?"

Virginia nods softly, "As I told him, I have hear the rumors, And I am sure they are only partially true." Was she teasing Jesse? "Oh!" Virginia blinks and the moves her free hand to smooth her hair, "Oh course, I wish I had done my hair nicer, then!" She scoots slightly to face Lillie more, "How should I sit? What should I do?" That excitement spikes again.

<FS3> Lillie rolls Drawing: Good Success.

"Be you. I can work with it, make your hair appear anyway you see fit." Lillie chimes, eyes bright and expression sweet as she swallows down her last bite of carrot. Virginia's posture and likeness are a guideline, though she preserves much more of the young woman's features with this go in comparison to how she 'obscured' the couple from before. She needs to refine her lines more, but it's a hasty sketch so the teacher needn't hold the pose long. But when Lillie gets the gist down, a peek shall reveal that the subject is very much indeed Virginia… complete with perfect hair that is blossoming with many wildflowers. Pencil scritches, Lillie's green eyes flit back and forth between paper and model in the span of seconds.

She hopes, hopes, hopes she can make it. So much is at stake now, with her work at the diner coming to a close in a week.

She has turned Virginia into a sort of faerie; beautifully done. There is hope yet.

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