A quick look around the area had Sarah reconsidering what she was doing. The young woman was in need of some quick money for a christmas gifts and decided to do what she could to make it herself. Asking for a raise was out of the question when her boss had to fire three people to keep the place running. Instead she took a portable easel, paper, some watercolors, and a few pieces of charcoal to the park.

When she had first arrived she had been shocked that street artists used the park to create pictures for tourists. The idea seemed silly to do, but she soon found the merit. Her art wasn't doing too well in the City, but the few times she painted in the park, a few people asked her if she would sell whatever she had been working on. She had sold a few of the pieces, but now she was hoping to sell several.

The thought of not being able to send presents to her family stops her from leaving however. The brunette quickly found a blank area near the edge of the park and set her things up. She had one of her papers that she had painted the prices on taped to the back of her easel. After taking out a paper for fun, she started to sketch the area around her.

It was a decent day outside, and a relatively uneventful week for the blond haired mutant as she made her way through the park. She was dressed in her typical boots and skirt, but today her skirt was black with green flames down the side. It was one she finished sewing a while ago, and it seemed to help her blend in a bit more. Her normal fishnets were replaced with black leggings, but the combat boots were the same silver buckled footwear she loved. With a jacket covering her arms and wrapped hands, and her hair pulled back in pigtails, there was just enough of her that looked Tses to help her deal with the little changes. She hated changing for anyone, but with the anti-mutant tensions and her track record of destroying property, she needed something a bit more covert.

Under the trees, the day seemed too bright compared to her normal nighttime haunts. She had picked a few pockets along the way, got some spare change and was bored, looking for something to entertain herself. In the distance, she saw a figure perched near an easel, with art supplies, armed and ready to sell. Tses almost felt a smile cross her face. She couldn't imagine trying to make her money drawing. She couldn't draw a stick figure.

Shoving her hands in her jacket pockets, she felt abnormally charitable today, and strode over towards the girl, walking softly, she came up behind her and hovered watching her sketch. "Get much luck with art here in the city?" She spoke up, halfway hoping to startle the girl and halfway hoping not to.

>>"Get much luck with art here in the city?"

Sarah gasped and her pencil made a long dark mark across the page of her sketch book. She turned to look behind her and saw a very covered up woman. The amount of skin covered could be due to the cold weather, but Sarah also knew that more and more mutants were covering up with the tensions at a high. A smile stretched across her lips as she realized the other woman had asked a question.

"Art in this city is hard to sell. I was hoping for some luck with tourists, but no bites so far," she answered as she placed her ruined sketch on the ground.

The brunette pushed a free strand of her hair away from her face. She wasn't sure what to make of the other woman, but she was bored and conversation would be nice.

"Got any better idea for a failing artist?" she laughed.

Tses chuckled to herself, and put her hands behind her head. "My suggestions would probably not be within your line of work. I'd stick with the drawings if I were you; there's always a few bills to go around, without someone ruining your art that is." She couldn't spit out a sorry, she wasn't quite that nice. But she did feel a little bad, even if she didn't say it.

"At least you're not so bad at it. Half the people trying to pick up tourists around here can't draw stick figures. Heck, some of them I could out draw, and I am definitely no artist." She chuckled and imagined the last time she tried to draw. She tried making a cat and it looked like someone stabbed a stick figure in the head with a ninja star.

Sarah nodded at the other woman's response. She also allowed for such a vague answer. She had enoug experience at the resturant that she let people say what they wanted. She wouldn't push someone she didn't know.

>>"At least you're not so bad at it. Half the people trying to pick up tourists around here can't draw stick figures. Heck, some of them I could out draw, and I am definitely no artist."

Sarah let out a laugh at that. She herself had seen some pretty poor artists in the parks. She hoped she would have better luck than them. However, she had noticed that the quicker people got more customers.

"I think a two year old could beat some of them. Maybe even my brother, and he can't draw a straight line to save his life." Sarah looked at the slightly empty area. "You can sit down if you want. I don't think anyone will mind."

Tses shifted from foot to foot, taken aback by the offer to sit. She contemplated leaving, but she was bored and it could be interesting to watch the girl work. She shrugged and plopped down, stretching her legs out in front of her and glancing around the park.

There were a few groups strolling around, but they stayed closely clumped together, whether it was human with human, or human with dog. Poodles, dobermans; animals always seemed popular in the city. Secretly, Tses longed to see someone walking their cat, just to make things interesting. That would almost get a smile from her. "You tried drawing any pets? I know some of the animal people are nuts about having art of their animals." She found herself suggesting. It must be the new skirt. She was being nicer than normal now.

Sarah smiled at the now sitting woman. A few groups of people moved by but no one came close enough to be considered someone interested. The fact she wasn't doing too well worried the brunette.

>>"You tried drawing any pets? I know some of the animal people are nuts about having art of their animals."

Sarah laughed. "I actually started drawing the few pets we had, so I'm pretty good. I just haven't found anyone who wants it done. That or they're really covert."

She moved so she was facing the blonde instead of the easel. She really was bored if she didn't care if someone came up or not.

"What kind of pets are we talking about?" she asked.

There were several exotic animals she had heard about before. While dogs were the common talked about, she had heard of things she had had to look up later. She still wasn't sure what a few of them were.

Tses blinked, surprised the girl seemed interested in talking to her. The last person she 'talked' to had been Ty, and the boy just refused to be turned off by her prickly nature. The other encounters she had resulted in something getting destroyed, or someone getting shot... Sometimes, both at once. She picked at her gloves in discomfort, uncertain how to talk with the other girl. She felt like a cactus in an ocean. She was drowning from the second she sat down.

"Uh, I actually don't really know. I don't have any pets but you could always try making some samples or something to show what you can do." She had seen similar artists do that, and they always seemed to be busy. Well, she'd stolen from artists who did that, because they seemed to be making that much more money.

She pointed to the price sign and shrugged, distracting herself from thoughts of stealing. She had enough money for today, and she was trying to work on her social skills now. "Sometimes people need to see what they can get before they know they want it." She commented, and held up the girl's ruined sketch. "While this one is nice, they already see a lot of trees around here and it could help showing them something else they may want a picture of."

>>"Uh, I actually don't really know. I don't have any pets but you could always try making some samples or something to show what you can do."

Sarah nodded. It made sense. She wasn't actually sure why she hadn't already made samples in the first place. The idea should have been one of the first to come to mind when she decided to come to the park. Sarah's attention was brought back to the other woman when she continued talking. The taking of her sketchpad had been strange, but the words made more sense.

>>"While this one is nice, they already see a lot of trees around here and it could help showing them something else they may want a picture of."

Sarah laughed. "You're right. I guess I'm so used to drawing what I see I didn't think about it like that."

The brunette looked around for something that might give her some insperation to draw something people in New York didn't see a lot.

After nothing came to mind, she turned back to the blonde. "Could I draw you? Free of charge of course," she laughed.

"Can I draw you?" The question seemed innocent enough, but Tses looked like a deer in the headlights. She was never the type of person who felt comfortable with her looks, and it was apparent by the way she dressed and the way she moved. She could handle fist fights, and bullets, and cops and stealing. But having a picture of herself? That made her stomach queasy.

"I don't know...." Tses said, fidgeting nervously. "I'm definitely not a model, and I don't know if having a picture of me would help you with anything. I break mirrors." Tses tried to joke to hide her discomfort, and tucked her legs under her, picking at the grass with her fingers and watching people pass by. "Plus, with the type of luck I have, a picture of me would get you mugged or something. I attract bad luck like a magnet." Everyone I'm around seems to have something blown up at them or shot at them. My track record isn't so great. Tses thought, blowing a loose hair out of her face.

After her question was asked, Sarah could feel the woman become uncomfortable. She would have taken back the question if she felt it would hurt more than help.

Sarah didn't like the way the other woman was commenting about herself. It didn't sit well with her. She knew that some people had low opinions of their appearance, but it never sat well with her.

>>"Plus, with the type of luck I have, a picture of me would get you mugged or something. I attract bad luck like a magnet."

"Nonsense! Besides, a picture alone usually doesn't get you mugged. Besides, I can defend myself well enough. You won't have to do anything. I'll do it while we talk," Sarah insisted.

She hoped she wasn't being too forward, but now that it was said, she wanted to change the view this woman had of herself. If she denied again, the brunette would let it go. She just had to try.

The blond haired mutant glanced at the artist, and pursed her lips into a line. It wasn't a frown, it wasn't a smile, it wasn't much of anything. She didn't know how she felt about this, and her personality was having a conflicting moment. Part of her wanted to just leave, and ignore this whole 'be social' thing altogether. But the thought of sitting in her apartment by herself and sewing a skirt, or cooking some noodles just seemed... boring.

Most people read books, or did other things to keep themselves occupied. Tses didn't have any hobbies, and now that her work had slowed she didn't know what to do to keep herself busy. She wandered the city, but there was only so far she could go. At least if she sat here, and let the girl draw her she could be busy for a little longer.

"Maybe you can try if you want..." Tses felt the worlds come out, but they seemed to come from someone else. Perhaps the stress of the past few weeks had drained her to the point resisting people's kindness was just too exhausting. She had to let her guard down at times, and what harm could the sketchbook cause? "I don't really know what to talk about though. I'm really not exactly your uh, more charismatic person."

Sarah waited patiently as the blonde woman made her decision. The idea to spend some time drawing someone new was exciting to the brunette. Sarah hadn't found a new model in a few months. It felt like forever before she heard a reply.

>>"Maybe you can try if you want..."

A grin slowly spread across the twenty-three year old's face. She hoped she could change the other woman's opinion with a well drawn likeness. The only problem would be if her hands didn't cooperate.

>>"I don't really know what to talk about though. I'm really not exactly your uh, more charismatic person."

Sarah laughed. "I don't really care. My brother says I can talk enough for six people. Though Mutter says I know when talking is needed and when it isn't," she chattered as she picked up the sketchpad and started a quick rough sketch of the woman. "I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself! I'm Sarah."

Tses wiggled slightly as she got comfortable, and fiddled with the wraps on her hands as she tried to figure out what to do. She'd never let someone draw her before, and it was certainly something new for her to try. As the girl spoke, she wondered if she was in over her head. Then again, everyone she encountered seemed to make her feel that way lately. Well, unless they were fighting or blowing things up. She could handle those situations.

"My name is Tses." she said, and forced herself to remember her manners. "Nice to meet you..." There, she was polite this time, plus she hadn't used her ferocious mutant powers to terrify anyone today. You could say she was on her very best behavior.

The brunette replied with a bright smile. She quickly looked for a feature of Tses's to start the drawing with. While she usually began with the eyes, the idea didn't seem to work in the brunette's mind. Instead, she began a slightly darker second sketch of her clothes. She hoped the human feature would come to her as she worked.

"Do you have anything planned for the holidays, Tses? Any family to visit, or visit you?"

She didn't want to sound like she was prying, but it was the season for such conversations. Holiday plans came up often even when in the check-out line buying some simple thing. Sarah couldn't count how many times she had been asked about her holiday plans. Not even if she tried.