>>“Pfft! You and I know that we’re the originals. Anyone who tries that will just be a poser.”

Sarah giggled into her can. Some of the liquid forced out by the air she had blown into it. She clean the small mess up before any of the dark drink could stain her sketch. When she was sure she had cleaned up the mess she had created, she set her drink down so she could work on the finer details of her sketch.

>>“So, Sarah.”

He had her full attention as he called her name. It was an old habit that she couldn't kill.

>>“If you don’t mind me asking, what do you do? Or did you make stalking people in the park and drawing their pictures a full time job?”

"I wish I could do this full time," she smiled. "Unfortunately it doesn't pay the bills. I'm a waitress at a small restaurant for most of my time. Art is my passion though. I would kill for a full time job that let me paint or draw or anything artsy all the time. What about you, Akshay?" she asked as she put some shadows underneath the book.

>> "I wish I could do this full time…Unfortunately it doesn't pay the bills. I'm a waitress at a small restaurant for most of my time. Art is my passion though. I would kill for a full time job that let me paint or draw or anything artsy all the time. What about you, Akshay?"[/color]

He smirked a little.

Her story was almost classic; the passionate artist having to supplement her income by working at a diner in the middle of the city. It was story that had existed throughout the ages. For whatever reason artists always were the types that ended up struggling for whatever they wanted. They gave their blood, sweat, and tears so that they could pursue a world of artistic endeavors.

It was a suffering pain that Akshay knew all too well. He was glad, though, to hear that Sarah was not shaken from the path. Instead she seemed to be holding on fairly well..

Good, the city needed more good artists.

He had just turned to finishing lining his subjects when he heard the question turned upon him. He finished darkening the lines of their bodies before he turned to give her his full attention. After all, it would have been rude if he had kept on without looking at her while he spoke.

“I actually own a little comic store,” he said as he took a sip of his drink. “One Comic to Rule Them All, we have some pretty good stuff if you are interesting in comic books.” he shrugged innocently as he continued. “I also produce a small indie comic book on the side. Seems to be doing rather well.”

It was a hard life, that of an artist. But…it was possible. He was living proof of that.

>>“I actually own a little comic store. One Comic to Rule Them All, we have some pretty good stuff if you are interesting in comic books.”

Now that was a new one. She hadn't heard of the store, but she might have to stop by. She had several cousins who were into comics.

>>“I also produce a small indie comic book on the side. Seems to be doing rather well.”

Sarah smiled. "Sounds like fun. I may stop by some time. What's your comic about?"

She looked up to see that the girl was leaving. Her book was closed and she was putting her flats on. With some quick pencil strokes, Sarah had the pattern of sundress down. She had the pattern down by the time the girl was out of sight. It was a little upsetting, but she needed to finish the sketch.

>> "Sounds like fun. I may stop by some time. What's your comic about?"[/color]

Akshay beamed. He loved to talk anything about his comic book. Maybe she would eventually become a fellow fan of it? He had to admit that he was happy to consider it. Akshay’s little comic was doing quite well by indie standards but it was still not a complete launch success. Instead it had its cult following that people seemed to enjoy.

Now, don’t get Akshay wrong! He loved the fans of his work to pieces and they usually always tended to be the nicest of people. But Akshay needed to make sure that he reached a broader audience before his fans got bored of him and didn’t talk about it anymore. Obviously he wanted his comic to be successful but he knew that it was going to be a lot of work. He couldn’t depend on the fans alone to give him in his numbers, he needed to make connections of his own.

But, for now, he would wow this potential new fan with a most glorious summing of his pride and joy, his comic book.

“Stuff.”

…

…Yeah he was not always the most articulate when it came to talking up his own material. He loved his comic, he wanted it to be a success, but he was also terrified of that. The last thing he wanted was to build up success around it, only to let his fans down by not keeping up with the quality and freshness. So far that has not been an issue, though. And it’s an issue he never wants to have.

“I mean, it is pretty much just a fantasy/horror comic,” he explained, better this time around. “Woman named Slaagathor has to battle all these monsters and creatures in the real world. Actually pretty exciting stuff if you don’t mind a little gore here and there.”

>>"Stuff."

Sarah giggled a little. The simple word wasn't what she expected. If anything it was the farthest reply she thought she'd get.

>>“I mean, it is pretty much just a fantasy/horror comic. Woman named Slaagathor has to battle all these monsters and creatures in the real world. Actually pretty exciting stuff if you don’t mind a little gore here and there.”

It definitely sounded like something a few of her cousins would like. She decided she would have to pick up it up for a Christmas gift or something of the sort. It would make her life easier. She wouldn't have to figure out which books they didn't have.

"Real life gore is something that needs to be cut down. Comic gore," she smiled wickedly, "can be whatever it wants."

She took a sip of her soda and just sat for a moment. Her pencil and sketchpad were forgotten, though still placed on her lap. She was simply enjoying the day. She had good company on a not-quite-so perfect temperatured day. Her usual days in the park were lonely and with nothing to occupy her except drawing. Instead she was having a nice conversation with someone who was not a complete stranger.

"If only all days were as peaceful as this one," she sighed.

>> "Real life gore is something that needs to be cut down. Comic gore,… can be whatever it wants."[/color]

He grinned. Yup, this girl had the potential to be his new best friend! In all honesty he was in agreement with her. Real life gore was never something that should be appreciated or sought after. Comic gore, well, it had its place in the comic world. It may not seem like it but it was true. Comics were a reflection of the real world, a place where things and situations were done in an over the top manner. What was the point of going over the top when the real world was so much scarier?

He chuckled though and nodded in agreement with her. Taking another swig of his drink, he set it aside as he returned to his drawing. His couple were gone already but thankfully he had gotten a lot of the drawing done before they disappeared.

A sigh fell from his lips, though, as the weariness from the hot day began to settle down upon his shoulders. With his drawing nearing completion, he knew that he could take a well-deserved break. Besides, it was far too warm to keep on the way he was. Instead he just sighed and lounged back against the tree, basking in the shade of the towering behemoth.

>> "If only all days were as peaceful as this one,"[/color]

He smirked. If only indeed. He knew far too well how quickly days can descend into madness. Too many times, especially recently, his life had been thrown into a loop because seeming normal days descended into chaos. Mutant slugs, bank robberies, criminals running wild, yesh, it was safe the say that Akshay was an authority on things ruining a good day.

But this day…this day seemed pretty darn nice. Good drawings, good company, a nice cool drink; what more could anyone ask for?

“Trust me, if only,” he chuckled. “Peaceful days are good for soul. We could all use a healthy dose more of ‘em.” he smirked as he glanced to her. “I take it that means you’ve had some stressful, non-peaceful days recently?”

>>“...I take it that means you’ve had some stressful, non-peaceful days recently?”

Sarah contemplated what she should tell him. Since she arrived in New York it seemed as if something crazy happened every week. She met so many people though.

"New York City is a change," she told him. "I've had an... interesting time since I got here that's for sure. Police have been called a few times."

With a sigh, she tried to relax her shoulders. They had tensed up in remembrance of her times in New York. She hadn't been in the city for too long, not even half a year. However, it felt like she had lived at least three lifetimes.

It had been hard for her to move. Even harder for her to settle into a routine. Especially since it seemed her routine was being interrupted by so many different situations. If she knew that her life in NYC would be so exciting, she may not have decided to come.

'I probably would any way,'[/color] she thought. She knew she'd give her life here a chance, even if she was told about all the things she would do.

"What about you? Stressful days a-plenty?"

>> "New York City is a change…I've had an... interesting time since I got here that's for sure. Police have been called a few times."[/color]

He probably shouldn’t have…but Akshay couldn’t help himself; he began to laugh. It was a not a mocking laugh in any way but instead it was the laughter of understanding. He knew exactly where she was coming from with that. Too many times he had to call the police. It was something that people got used to after living here for so long. Akshay was lucky, when he moved here he was only 12 years old so he had time to get used to the city, as well as its mutant inhabitants.

Finally ending his chuckling, he sighed as he rested back against the tree and just looked out over the park. Today really was far quieter than he was normally used to. He hoped, indeed, that it would last.

>> "What about you? Stressful days a-plenty?"[/color]

“You could say that,” he laughed.

Of course he had to snerk. Stressful was really the only way to describe most of his days. Sure he was an easy-going, loving guy, but there were more days than most in which he was just exhausted with everything that the world threw at him.

“Aside from the normal stress of running a business and having a competing business constantly harassing me,” he said as he took another sip of his soda, “My life has been throwing me one interesting loop after another. I’ve gotten pulled into bank robberies, been mentally controlled by mutant slugs, attacked by vampires and once a fleshly golem-like man, met a goddess that wanted to sleep with me…” he looked thoughtful as he tapped his chin. He quickly shrugged though. “And that is just THIS year.”

Still, though, after retelling all of that, he could only shake his head and smirk at the memories. Many were terrifying, others were funny, but they all formed together to create the mosaic of his life. He was thankfully that these experiences helped shaped him into the person that he was.

Heavenly he sighed as he continued to look out ahead. “Thank god my girlfriend keeps me sane,” he said with a warm smile. “Did I mention she’s a werewolf?”

And, of course, all of this was said with only the utmost truth behind his words. After all, who could make all this up?

Sarah giggled at the list of things that had happened to the man beside her. It was a long list in all honestly. Her's was about the same length and she had only a few months. She was a little worried about what would happen for the rest of the year. The idea of worse things happening scared the brunette.

>>“Thank god my girlfriend keeps me sane. Did I mention she’s a werewolf?”

When she caught sight of Akshay's smile, she felt herself grin. The man was obviously in love. She had seen the same smile on many of the men in her family. Each only smiled like that when thinking or talking about a woman, or in one or two cases, a man.

"I do believe this is the first I'm hearing of her. She sounds absolutely amazing though," she commented with a wide grin. "That is, if she can keep someone sane in the mayhem that is New York, she has to be."

There was a moment where Sarah thought to ask what he meant by 'werewolf' but it passed. She had met so many different people the idea that someone could be a werewolf didn't phase her much. The woman would have to be either completely crazy or extremely calm, at least in her mind.

>> "I do believe this is the first I'm hearing of her. She sounds absolutely amazing though…That is, if she can keep someone sane in the mayhem that is New York, she has to be."[/color]

Akshay chuckled. Sarah definitely had a point; for anyone to keep sanity in this world they needed to be exceptionally extraordinary. And, in all honesty, that described Emerald perfectly. She was hard, tough as a nails, but she had this gentleness that Akshay loved to witness. He was sure that few people, if any, actually saw that side of her. To him, it was definitely what kept him going.

He chuckled a bit though, thinking about his girlfriend. She was extremely sweet, but she would never let that side of her be shown to anyone. She was tough, a fighter, a killer if need be, and she always put her own life on the line for people that she never met. To him, Emerald was the true face of the city and she knew what it took to survive.

That was how she kept him sane. She imparted her knowledge of the city to him so he knew what it took to live a happy life.

He shrugged and nodded as he turned to reply to Sarah.

“She really is,” he beamed. He then took a sip, leaning back against the tree and grinned at her. “What about you? Anyone catch your fancy in this crazy town, if you don’t mind me asking?”

>>“What about you? Anyone catch your fancy in this crazy town, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Sarah shook her head. "I don't mind. I actually broke up with my previous boyfriend before I came here." She hoped he would ignore the fact she hadn't really answered the question. She didn't really know how to answer it.

The brunette smiled weakly at the memories. That break up wasn't something she liked to remember. The man she had been with wasn't happy about her moving to New York City. When he had found out she was, he threw a fit. It wasn't a pleasant evening. It took three more weeks of fighting for Sarah to get the nerve to stop the relationship.

"How did you meet your lady love? If you don't mind telling me." She hoped it wasn't too intrusive of a question. She had just wanted to get the topic off of her for a moment. She needed to compose herself.