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"Yo, what's all this paint for, Ralsei? Gonna make your walls blood red?" Susie asks, nudging one of the myriad paint cans tucked into the corner with her foot.
"Well, I've been looking for ways to express myself, and art is a window into your feelings, right?"
Susie looks over to the other side of the room, her expression turning puzzled. "Uh, I think the window's over there."
Ralsei laughs. "I suppose a better way to put it is that art reflects all sorts of things about you. Your thoughts, your mood, your innermost desires..." He's placed more importance on all three of those things lately, thanks to encouragement from Kris and Susie. "I'd... like to see what I'm capable of creatively."
"Ohhh, I gotcha,” Susie says, smiling in understanding. "Don't think I've ever painted anything myself. What about you, Kris?"
Kris flatly states that they don't remember, and Ralsei suddenly has an idea.
"In that case, we could all make some art together! It doesn't have to be a painting, either. We can draw or make whatever we want." It’s an activity Ralsei wants to do of his own free will and not to please others, of course, but there's nothing saying he can't involve his friends in the fun voluntarily.
Susie looks enthusiastic. "Aw hell yeah! Still have some time before the Festival, so may as well, right?"
Kris gives a small nod in agreement, and Susie playfully elbows them, telling them not to get too excited.
Ralsei feels sincere excitement himself. “I’m glad you’re both on board! I’ll go grab some supplies, and then we can get started.”
Truthfully, Ralsei doesn’t have to go far to actually get what he needs, but it keeps things simple to walk out and then walk back in with the canvases and drawing materials a short time later.
Ralsei finds Kris trying to shimmy the lid off a paint can with their sword, their tongue stuck out of the side of their mouth like it requires intense concentration. Susie’s knelt down next to them, observing their work with great interest.
“Yeah, I think you were right, Kris. We’re gonna need something more precise than a sword.” Kris backs away, and Susie stands up. She cracks her knuckles, then her neck. “Now it’s my turn,” Susie proclaims.
Susie proceeds to pull out her ax and whack the paint can with it.
Ralsei rushes over to stop her from hitting the can again, shouting, “I don’t think that’ll be necessary!” in the kindest yet loudest way he can muster.
“You sure? ‘Cuz I think one more oughta-“
Instead of letting her finish, Ralsei hastily deploys the canvases in a circle, then comes back to Susie. “Why don’t you try using your claws, Susie?” he suggests. He could easily open the cans with a flick of his wrist, but this is an opportunity to let Susie figure things out for herself.
Susie glances at her hand. “Alright, I guess I could try that. We're sticking your horns in there if it doesn't work, though.” She puts her axe away, much to Ralsei’s relief (and Kris’ disappointment?), and then inserts one of her claws underneath the paint can's lid. Susie fiddles with it a bit, and the lid pops off without much resistance. "Oh damn, that was actually pretty easy," Susie comments, seeming pleased with herself. "Not that I doubted myself or anything, heh."
Ralsei claps a few times to congratulate her. "Good job, Susie! Would you mind opening the rest for me, please?"
"Sure.”
While Susie is busy with that, Ralsei decides to talk with Kris. “Have you decided what you’d like to make, Kris? I’d be happy to offer some suggestions!”
Kris suddenly starts coughing, though Ralsei thinks he can hear “Draw Berdley’s peak male physique” rasped out between them.
“Um, do you need something to drink, Kris?” Ralsei asks.
Kris shakes their head in a way that can only be described as aggressive resignation.
“Okay,” is all Ralsei can really think of as a response to that. “W-Well, if you’re going to draw Berdly, I’m sure he’d be very flattered by the thought,” Ralsei hastily continues, trying his best not to make things awkward for Kris. "I'll give you some space so you can get started, so just ask if you need any help, okay?"
Staring blankly at their canvas, Kris sighs.
Ah, of course. Ralsei almost forgot. "If you're having trouble, you can always try closing your eyes, too."
He turns around to check on Susie, and Ralsei is chuffed to hear the sound of pencil strokes coming from behind him. Kris' circumstances are... unique, so it's important to make sure they're able to participate and not feel excluded.
"All done, Susie?"
Susie pauses, having just popped the lid off the last paint can. "Oh, uh, yeah. That's all of 'em, I think," she answers in an oddly nervous tone.
Ralsei wonders what could be the matter, until he notices multicolored blotches on Susie's hands and the floor around her. "It's alright if you got a little paint on yourself, Susie. In hindsight, I should've brought smocks for everyone."
"...I might have also, gotten some paint. On my mouth. And in it, too. By accident."
Smiling patiently, Ralsei asks, "Did you try to eat the paint?"
"No!" Susie barks, looking back to reveal red stains all over her snout. "Well, maybe a little, BUT ONLY 'CUZ THE PEOPLE AT THE HARDWARE STORE ARE A BUNCHA GODDAMN LIARS! They say they'll give you paint samples, and then hand you some $#@!&^ piece of paper instead of the real thing." Susie licks the rest of the paint off her lips. "Maybe I wanted an actual paint sample," she finishes.
Ignoring her foul language, Ralsei giggles and reassures Susie with, "I understand. There's plenty of, um, 'samples' to go around, so you can have as much as you like!"
As soon as she hears that, Susie doesn't waste any time in chugging the rest of the red paint, letting it waterfall into her mouth. She exhales contentedly upon finishing, then crushing the paint can and tossing it away like it's a soda can. "Damn, that hit the spot. Almost as good as the church juice."
Ralsei subsequently has to explain to Kris that drinking paint would not, in fact, be a healthy thing for them to do as a human (the paint was only available in Susie Safe™ quality.) Their puppy-dog eyes almost sway Ralsei, but he holds firm, and they go back to drawing with a noticeable pout.
Susie, energized both by her red-flavored treat and not wanting to be outdone by Kris and Ralsei, then gets to work on her own piece. Paint flies in all directions as her paintbrush turns into a whirlwind of brutal rainbow fury.
That leaves Ralsei standing in front of his canvas, contemplating what he wants to do. There's an outline of something in his mind, but he isn't quite sure how the others will react to it. Ralsei's supposed to be the Prince, isn't he?
That's his role, and as nice as doing what he wants for a change has been, Ralsei understands it won't make much difference overall. He doesn't have the naive hope of Susie, or the unyielding determination of Kris. A Ralsei is a Ralsei, and Ralsei has to follow the path the Prophecy laid out for him, whether he likes it or not.
But as Ralsei watches his friends smile and have fun despite the grim events of yesterday, he feels something smoldering in his chest. Things don't have to be set in stone... at least not completely, right? If Ralsei prays hard enough and does everything else he's supposed to, maybe indulging himself on just this one thing won't cause a catastrophe.
It's not like what he wants to draw will ever happen, anyway, so what harm can come from it?
Steeling their resolve, Ralsei draws one line, then another, and then another. Those lines start to take the shape of frills on a dress, elegant and fluffy all over. Ralsei keeps going, each impassioned movement of their arm spurring on the next.
Ralsei gets so engrossed in their work that they almost miss Kris and Susie pausing to watch them. Just a few days ago, Ralsei would've insisted they were nothing without the other heroes, merely a servant designed to make the Lightners happy and to be discarded if they couldn't fulfill that purpose. Now, though, they see something more in the future, something brighter.
A future that might let Ralsei be themself, and nobody but themself, standing shoulder to shoulder with their closest friends.
They have to remember not to get too ahead of themselves, of course. The Prophecy is as immutable as it is omnipresent, and Ralsei's role is woven into its fabric just as tightly as every other aspect. But the hope from before, however fantastical or foolish, comforts them as they put on the finishing touches.
At last, Ralsei's piece is complete. They drop their paintbrush, wiping off the beads of sweat that accumulated on their forehead.
"...You good, Ralsei? You look kinda pissed."
"Oh! I..."
Ralsei blushes furiously. They really must've gotten carried away, as they didn't realize they'd been scowling.
Susie lets out a raspy chuckle. "Gotta be a damn good painting if you were so locked in. Lemme see it!"
"Uh, I can't! Not yet!" Ralsei quickly insists, physically blocking the canvas with their body. Susie stops in her tracks. "I'd, er, like to see your and Kris' pieces first, if that's okay with you!"
"Alright, alright, chill. I'm not gonna look," Susie says to Ralsei's relief, hands held placatingly in the air. "I guess I'll show you guys mine first. Then we'll do Kris', and yours'll be last."
Kris agrees to her proposal without a word by coming over to Susie's canvas. Ralsei follows, and they're rather astonished by what they see.
It's a smattering of all the friendly Darkners they've recruited, with Susie, Kris, Noelle, and Ralsei positioned in the center. Ralsei and Kris flank Susie, while Noelle is being bridal carried by her, a large heart with "S + N" placed above the two of them.
Ralsei also notices a small effigy of the Knight in one of the canvas' corners, splayed out on the ground in an awkward pose while the Old Man whacks it with his hammer and Lancer runs it over with his bike. The "Old Man and Lancer are kooler" caption accompanying it gets progressively more squashed as the text approaches the edge of the painting surface, Ralsei notes. Poor Susie must've run out of room.
The brushwork is very messy overall, yet Ralsei can tell how much care and effort was put into rendering all of Susie's loved ones. Their heart hurts a bit.
"It's okay if you're jealous. I think I might be the next Picarto," Susie boasts.
"Do you mean the next Picasso?" Ralsei helpfully corrects.
Susie rewards them by repeating what they said in an exaggerated and nerdy voice.
Ralsei imagines Susie stealing their glasses again to complete the joke, and the visual elicits a small laugh from them. "I find the Cubist movement fascinating, and I'd love to learn more about it when I have the chance."
"Cubist? Reminds me of that square candy they always give out on Halloween." Susie's mouth visibly starts to water. "Ya think they'll have some at the Festival? I gotta get Noelle to try it."
Susie mentioning the Festival reminds everyone they need to hurry up, so they all move on to Kris' canvas.
"Alright, let's see it," Susie insists. Kris turns the canvas, but in the direction of the room's entrance instead of Susie and Ralsei. It's almost like they're showing it to someone else. "Wrong way, dumbass!" Susie scolds.
Not commenting on that, Ralsei goes over to look at the drawing. "Ah, so you did end up settling on - annnnnnd you drew Berdley's nipples as fists."
Susie perks up. "Oh #$&^, nipple fists?!" She darts over to see for herself, and what follows is almost three straight minutes of Susie intermittently wheezing with laughter and shaking Kris by their shoulders in approval.
It's... certainly art. Yes, out of all the drawings Ralsei has seen, this is definitely one of them.
That is the beginning and end of Ralsei's commentary.
For their part, Kris simply makes a peace sign at... someone, and refuses to elaborate.
"Oh man... Ralsei, you, huff better... follow that one up with... huff something really good..." Susie gasps out, still reeling from her fit earlier.
Ah, right. Ralsei promised to show them, so no backing out now. Taking a deep breath, Ralsei nods. "Okay. Just... promise you'll keep an open mind, please." Ralsei averts their eyes. "I poured a lot of myself into it."
Perhaps sensing their worry, Susie gives them a friendly pat on the back. It's a bit much, given how strong she is, but Ralsei appreciates the gesture nonetheless. Kris stares at Ralsei in a decidedly non-judgemental way, which also helps.
"Hey, I bet it's great." Without hesitating, Susie decides to verify her assumption, and Kris follows.
It's a bit difficult to gauge either of their reactions. Ralsei isn't afraid of rejection, they know and trust their friends enough to discard that possibility, but there's a very real possibility the intended message might not come through.
"So, erm... what do you two think?"
Susie scratches at her chin, staring intently. "I think it's missing something."
"And, er, what might that be?"
Instead of answering, Susie picks up the paintbrush and makes a few very deliberate lines.
"Yeahhhh, there we go." Susie turns to Ralsei, giving them a satisfied smirk. "Can't have a princess without a tiara, right?"
Ralsei could cry, they really could. "I suppose I forgot to include that detail," they say quietly, almost overcome by sheer happiness. "Do you think I would look good in a tiara?"
"Duh. I mean, you'd still look like a nerd, but hey." Susie plants a comforting hand between their horns. "Any Ralsei is good Ralsei, if you ask me."
Kris adds that, in their own words, Ralsei look very pretty.
Ralsei takes off their glasses, trying to discreetly wipe away the wetness in their eyes. "Kris, Susie. You're both so, so kind. Thank you."
Perhaps, with time, Ralsei can become the version of themself they've always wanted to be.
She’ll await that day eagerly.