Tses tried not to fidget at the question, and thoughts rushed through her head as she tried to remember what she usually did around this time of year. Plans for the holiday.....Well, last year I broke into a department store and sat in the electronics section playing video games on their big screens until the cops caught me and I had to scramble my way out... Oh, the year before I was trying to climb into an air vent on Christmas, which really doesn't work like you'd assume... and the year before that I was homeless trying to find a place to live on the streets.... Plans for the holidays? Maybe this year I could do a combination of them all...

In the end, she just gave a little shake of her head, and tried not to look socially incapable. "No, not really. I don't have any family around so I just will probably hang out at home and watch television re-runs or something." She made a note to try and get a television. That would make the lie more believable.

Sarah let the blonde think as she started to give the clothes a person in them. She decided to just let her hand move, as she usually did after getting into a rythum.

>>"No, not really. I don't have any family around so I just will probably hang out at home and watch television re-runs or something."

A pout formed on the artist's lips. She never really liked to hear about people spending the holidays alone. Some made sense, like her being thousands of miles away with no money. She didn't know what Tses's excuse was, but it was probably personal. She wouldn't pry.

"Sounds like me this year. Since my family don't live near and all, I'm probably going to be at home all day. Hey, maybe we'll run into each other Christmas Day," she laughed at the irony of the idea.

"Who knows, maybe you'll make enough money in the park to go visit them. Worth trying at least, isn't it?" Tses said, giving a little shrug of her shoulders. the longer she sat the more she longed to get up and readjust, but she'd seen enough artists work to know moving was usually frowned upon. Instead, she contented herself watching the people walking past. A tiny yorkie tugged on the leash it's owner held, nearly knocking the sunglasses off the blond haired diva's head. She stumbled on her high-heels and readjusted her perfectly manicured hands to hold her designer purse. It was the biggest cliche she had ever seen, and almost made her laugh out loud. She brought her gaze back to the girl, and shrugged.

"And maybe I'll spot you around. Who knows? I never know what I'll be up to during the holidays. Christmas is just another day to me." The comment was nonchalant and she really didn't care one way or the other where she was. Although, with things going ok with Ty, she wondered if she'd have someone to hang out with this holiday after all.

>>"Who knows, maybe you'll make enough money in the park to go visit them. Worth trying at least, isn't it?"

Sarah nodded. "Maybe, though I doubt it. Not this late in the season at least."

The young woman concentrated on getting Tses's features perfect before she moved on to give her a three-dimensional look. Sarah also wanted to put some emotion in her stance, but wasn't sure what would suit the blonde.

>>"And maybe I'll spot you around. Who knows? I never know what I'll be up to during the holidays. Christmas is just another day to me."

Sarah laid her pencil down and looked at Tses. "I'm not sure if I should hug you or if I should drag you to my family one year."

Sarah was being completely serious with the options given. She wasn't sure which of the two she should subject the blonde to. The idea of someone being so carefree about something that made her entire family, both German and Native American, come together.

At the girl's comment, Tses laughed a little. It wasn't a mean laugh; she was honestly just amused with the girl's reaction. To her, not celebrating Christmas didn't feel like such a big deal. But maybe to everyone else it was a bit odd. She had watched more than one eccentric holiday shopper in full mistletoe and jingle-bell garb wandering the sidewalks outside her apartment, and even the occasional antler wearing car. She never caught the bug though. She didn't even know if she knew what day it was on, honestly.

"I don't need either, really. I've just always kind of been independent, and I've seen how Christmas seemed to work for other people. Stressful shopping, chaoting stores, emotional breakdowns... Heck, Christmas just seems to be the season for stress..." She shrugged a little, and glanced down at her jacket for a second. Then again, she had just met this punk kid who seemed to have worked his way into her stubborn heart. She felt herself unwillingly talking a little more. "Who knows though, maybe this year will be different for me. I've been hanging out with someone and he may be more of a Christmas person than I am." Part of her wondered if he would be. That would defiantly mix things up for her, in a nice way.

>>"I don't need either, really. I've just always kind of been independent, and I've seen how Christmas seemed to work for other people. Stressful shopping, chaoting stores, emotional breakdowns... Heck, Christmas just seems to be the season for stress..."

Sarah listened carefully. She did know what it was like to be independent from others. However, she was very close with her family members. She did know that there were other types of people, so she really shouldn't have reacted the way she had.

>>"Who knows though, maybe this year will be different for me. I've been hanging out with someone and he may be more of a Christmas person than I am."

"Sounds like we're both going to be doing things differently compared to before," Sarah laughed lightly.

She turned back to the drawing as she laughed. Knowing that the other woman would possibly be with someone made her relax a little. She figured her maternal instincts had kicked in. It was common with things that disturbed her.

"I'm almost done."

All Sarah had left to do was give a little emotion to the drawing. An idea hit her and forced her to change the posture a little and give some shadows and highlights in certain areas. Once she was done, she found that the Tses on her paper was very wistful.

"There. What do you think?"

As the girl finished her drawing, Tses took a second to study her. Artists were always interesting when they worked, and Sarah seemed to be no exception. She seemed to tilt her head a certain way when she was thinking, and bit her lip before making important changes. She had a nice smile, and seemed to genuinely be interested in whether or not Tses had someone to hang out with on Christmas. The blond haired mutant wasn't use to people like that. Most people she met could care less whether she was on her own during the holidays or not. She doubted Sarah would be this kind if she knew Tses better. But it was still a different change.

As the girl started finishing up the drawing, then held it up, Tses felt surprised. It looked... like her. Although, in Tses's opinion the girl on the paper seemed prettier, which was probably just the artistic touches. It was like photographs: sometimes they just turned out better than you felt you really looked. Her bangs seemed to hang a certain way around her face, and her eyes in the picture had a soft nature to them, almost hopeful, in a way. Wistful... she settled unknowingly on the same word Sarah had thought to describe it. She looked wistful.

"That's not half bad. You actually are good at drawing." Tses said with a smile and chuckled. "Which is good, because now I don't have to lie to you and tell you that you are." After studying it for a few seconds, she noticed the lady with the yorkie had stopped at a bench not too far away, and she pointed over to her, making sure she did it in a way that didn't look rude.

"Ok, now that you've had a warm up practice.... see that lady, with the dog? The yorkie with the little fur sweater. Ask her if you can draw it. Don't tell her you'll charge her or anything; I bet you anything, when you're done, she'll give you something for it. I know these type of people. Trust me. Flattery is everything."

>>"That's not half bad. You actually are good at drawing. Which is good, because now I don't have to lie to you and tell you that you are."

Sarah smiled at the compliment. She was glad that Tses felt she could be honest, though the idea that someone would lie about that worried her slightly. However, the truth made her smile. The vague movement of Tses's hand.

>>"Ok, now that you've had a warm up practice.... see that lady, with the dog? The yorkie with the little fur sweater. Ask her if you can draw it. Don't tell her you'll charge her or anything; I bet you anything, when you're done, she'll give you something for it. I know these type of people. Trust me. Flattery is everything."

The brunette looked over at the woman and her dog. The idea seemed alright. She nodded to herself to try and collect her nerve to go talk to the woman. Against popular belief, she didn't like talking to people on the spot. However, if she didn't, she wouldn't have as many friends.

"Alright. I'll be back when I'm done I guess," Sarah said. She hoped the blonde would still be there when she returned.

She slid her finger along the underside of the picture of Tses. Once she was had the picture of the blonde out of the sketchpad, she handed the portrait. Then she headed over to the woman with the dog.

After introducing herself, asking if she could sketch the small dog, and getting her answer in the positive, Sarah started at sketch the animal. It was harder than she thought considering the animal didn't want to stay still for her. However, she had dealt with crazy parrots before. It wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Tses glanced down at the drawing, and felt odd staring at the picture of herself. The soft lines shaped a face she hardly knew, considering she rarely glanced in the mirror at herself. She had mixed emotions with it. In a way, she didn't feel like it was accurate, and artistically 'cleaned up'. The girl in the picture had a wild sort of beauty to her, and Tses didn't relate to that. She was something else. Rough around the edges, tough maybe. She felt strong, but she never felt pretty. She didn't relate to this drawing besides the slightly wistful emotions on the face. It didn't matter in the end, she guessed. It was just a picture.

Forcing herself to look away, she watched the exchange between the woman with the yorkie and Sarah. The lady seemed excited to have her precious puppy drawn, and the dog seemed just excited to exist on the planet. With a tiny nose, black beady eyes and a tail that refused to stop wagging, the wiggly animal would have been challenging for Sarah to handle. But secretly, she had faith in the girl. If she could convince Tses to sit for her, she could probably handle a pocket dog.

While it was the perfect opportunity for her to get away, for now she didn't have anything better to do, and she felt like sitting and watching for awhile. It was a decent day, she was being social, plus she still got to watch people walk past and make fun of the min her head. Guy with pants that don't fit. Girl who should never wear a tube top with that figure... dog wearing a shirt bigger than the tube top last girl was wearing.... She mentally ticked off each person, and felt a snarky smile cross her mouth. People were oblivious sometimes...

Then again, she couldn't appreciate her own looks, so maybe she was oblivious as well.

After a bit, it seemed like they were finishing up, and she watched out of the corner of her eye to see what the end result would be. The yorkie woman had fished in her wallet a bit earlier, and in her mind, Tses debated how much Sarah would get. She guessed between twenty and 50 depending on how cute the dog seemed to be at the end. The woman certainly could afford it, based on the brand new high heels she'd taken into the park for the evening. She was rooting for her new acquaintance, although she wouldn't admit it.

Once Sarah was done with the picture of the Yorkie, the owner went for her wallet. The brunette made a weak attempt to decline the offer of money, but the woman insisted. Sarah decided it was best not to argue.

She slipped the two twenties into her back pocket before taking her leave. When she turned she was happy to see that Tses was still sitting at her "station". The fact made the young woman smile.

"Well, I got forty," she stated nonchalantly, though the smile on her lips showed her excitement. "I probably never would have gotten that much if it weren't for you, so thank you."

Sarah's smile widen when she saw the woman with the dog waved at her as she left. They seemed to be catching up with another dog walker. The two talked for a moment before splitting ways.

"You weren't bored waiting here were you?"

As the dog lady walked away, Tses saw the bills pass into Sarah's hand, and she almost smiled a bit. $40 was nothing to sneeze at, especially when it was for a sketch of a tiny purse puppy. She smiled a bit to the girl, and shrugged her shoulder at the thanks. "It's not a big deal. I've seen people, know how they act. You sit and watch long enough you pick up a few things." It was ironic in a way, though. She had never really made money legally before, and here she was helping someone do it. Originally, she had considered just pilfering a pocket and sneaking it to the girl somehow. But she suspected Sarah would only appreciate Tses's help if she felt they earned it and deserved what they received.

"Besides, I only have ideas. You have talent to make stuff happen. That's the important piece to making things work." It was a rare compliment, and if Sarah knew Tses, she would have been flattered by it. She chuckled at the bored question, and shook her head.

"Nah, I do this a lot. I don't have much to entertain myself right now, so people are my entertainment. I've seen dogs wear more than people in this park. Seeing silly stuff like that makes me feel better about myself." Tses smirked, and straightened her jacket. A wind was starting to blow, and she hung on to her picture to make sure it didn't flutter away.

>>"It's not a big deal. I've seen people, know how they act. You sit and watch long enough you pick up a few things... Besides, I only have ideas. You have talent to make stuff happen. That's the important piece to making things work."

Sarah smiled at the words spoken by the blonde. Then Tses answered her question.

>>"Nah, I do this a lot. I don't have much to entertain myself right now, so people are my entertainment. I've seen dogs wear more than people in this park. Seeing silly stuff like that makes me feel better about myself."

The brunette laughed at the knowledge. A harsh gust of wind shocked her though.

"Feel like the temperature is dropping. Wanna get a coffee or something? There's a nice cafe at the end of the walk, if you're interested," she offered. She really wanted to get out of the wind before her things blew away.

"Feel like the temperature is dropping. Wanna get a coffee or something? There's a nice cafe at the end of the walk, if you're interested,"[/i]

The invitation surprised Tses, and she raised an eyebrow a little bit. To be honest, the only time she ever went into a coffee shop was to try to get something to eat or swipe a wallet. She wasn't social enough to just sit and 'hang out' with someone, and her first instinct was just to say no. But she stopped herself. Maybe it was her good mood, or maybe she liked the fact she was doing something positive for once. Either way, she found herself shrugging nonchalantly and saying, "Sure, why not?"

At least she had enough money today to afford it. Plus, it would be interesting to hang out with someone who wasn't a slightly lovesick puppy, or trying to kill her. Maybe for once she could just pretend she was 'normal'.

Maybe the wistful expression Sarah caught in the picture was deeper in her than she thought.

She stood, and brushed herself off, straightening her skirt and waiting for Sarah to point the direction. Inwardly, she tried to remember if she'd ever even tried coffee. She didn't think she had, and wondered if she would like it or not.

>>"Sure, why not?"

Sarah grinned and gathered her things. Luckily her easel was able to fold into a rather small object of wood. This object soon went into her art bag, along with her sketchpad and pencils. Once she was ready, and was sure Tses was as well, she headed towards the cafe.

Once they arrived, she headed to the counter and gave her order, a caramel mocha.

"Go ahead and order," she told Tses, "I'll pay."

The blonde was nice enough to accompany her and she didn't want her to feel like she needed to pay for a drink Sarah had offered in the first place. Besides, Sarah hated carrying bills larger than tens. It would be good to break one of her twenties.

Tses probably should have helped Sarah carry some of her stuff, but there was a limit to her social tact at times. As they walked, she just made sure the piece of paper didn't get away, uncertain if she should fold it and put it in her pocket. She debated all the way to the coffee shop, and when Sarah made her order, she skimmed the long list of different drinks.

"I'll have to be honest with you. I've never actually had coffee, so I have no idea what'll taste good..." Tses said, mind running through different names and trying to pick one out. She considered just going for a smoothie.

For now, she didn't protest much against Sarah's offer to buy the drink. She planned on trying to sneak the girl some money before she left anyway. Besides, the girl could use it more than she could, and Tses was just as good at putting money places as she was at taking it away.