"Hnn..." Fingers ran through hair despite the slightly messy bun it was tied in. Trying to neatly tie up hair and tidy up didn't solve anyone's stress. Not most people, anyway. Maybe it helped a little bit-- looking good was one less worry over the head. Who wanted to go outside looking like dirty trash like some homebody. Still! The main concern wasn't solved.
As in...
No, not what was in the air of the town making his senses alert-- that was true from the beginning. And who cared about (most of) these fools?
Instead, it was this: why couldn't he do anything right lately?!
An old being like himself, one of grace and respect, yet Nu had such bad luck lately! He failed both times trying to help someone, and his artist who normally used him as a model was far too busy with other matters to be with him, even for a simple dinner... Linner? What did people call those things? In between lunch and dinner? English wasn't his first language-- neither was stupid batty person English (slang)!
Click click click, the nails of one hand tapped against a coffee cup while his head was held by the other, leaning against it with his fingers laced through the hair. His eyes appeared to lazily glance over passerbyers-- smiling politely at occasional moments-- but mostly at the small details of nature around them.
He took a sip of his coffee, still holding it against his lips, teeth slightly grazing the opening. He'd taken a pleasant seat outside the cafe, dressed comfortably in black ankle length palazzo pants and a flowy white button up, silky and regal like himself-- with a coat because he wasn't stupid and it was winter. His attention fell upon some kid who appeared to be drawing or writing in a notebook near him while peeking looks around his direction. Was the kid staring at him? Or someone around him?
Another person who left the cafe and was passing bumped into the kid, knocking his notebook down, and of course, Nu's eyes naturally fell to the page...
(And it was porn.)
@open
Luka was taking notes.
The man sitting close to him had on a fabulous coat that looked hideously expensive, but Luka had some ideas. Being a drag queen, he was accustomed to making his own outfits using cheaper and more affordable fabrics since—well—he wasn't rolling in dough. There were no sugar daddies around either, more was the pity. Luka was not above dating an older man if he could line his pockets with cash, and he was only attractive for a LITTLE while anyway. He ought to cash in on his good looks while he could!
So there he was, trying surreptitiously to sketch the coat and making notes on what materials he could use to emulate the design. He already sort of had an idea for how to make it, which was half the work done already! About half-way through the planning stage, he became so absorbed that he didn't see someone headed his way. They were blind too, because they rammed into Luka's arm, causing him to fling his notebook.
"AH!" He shrieked, diving for the notebook, but the man whose outerwear he'd been sneakily sketching was already looking his way. Luka looked up and made eye contact with him, then offered a quick, if guilty, smile while slowly pulling the notebook towards himself.
(And it was porn.)
"Huh?"
Wow, such a dramatic reaction (he was one to talk), what was he drawing to be screeching like that? Nu had his eyes on the page regardless of such a noise, not bothered by the embarrassment or whatever the sound meant in plain language. He saw what the guy was drawing before it was snatched up, but that made him even more curious.
His coat, that was it?
And this boy made a sound like a banshee because he was caught drawing someone's coat??
Oh really now, the kid may well have been drawing him bare, and Nu did that for a part of his living! Modeling naked that was, he was pretty, so why be the artist when you can be the art?
Nu quirked an eyebrow, lowering his gaze to the shielded notebook. One corner of his lips curled upward and remained this way even as he lowered the cup from his lips and their eyes met. He shifted from running his fingers through his hair to cupping his cheek with them, chin in palm. The tapping against the cup stopped.
"Interested in fashion?"
"Or... Drawing something odd behind there?"
Dramatic was his middle name! Did Luka ever do anything without injecting at least a little bit of histrionics in there? Not a chance! His mom used to say that he was born for the spotlight when he was younger. If anybody had a camera, he wanted to be in front of it. If someone was recording, he was somewhere in the scene, dipping in and out in the background.
Then as he grew older, that flair for dramatics and need for attention became undesirable. Boys weren't supposed to act that way or talk that way. Boys were supposed to like hockey and lumberjacking and tough manly pursuits, instead of acting and singing and dancing. Even when Luka tried to 'tone it down,' though, he couldn't manage it. People saw through him.
So here he was, far from home, creating a racket in public—attention-grabbing Luka. He took the notebook back and set it back down onto his table, brushing the dirt off from where it had landed on the ground. "Fashion, definitely," he smiled over at the stranger. "I make my own clothes, and your coat gave me some ideas. But, like, staring at strangers is kind of creepy, so. I'm Luka, by the way. Single, if you're wondering." The next grin came with a wink—somebody had to bite if he cast the line enough times, right, and anyway Luka wasn't shy about broadcasting his intentions.
This way nobody was left in the dark.
Not that anyone ever questioned his orientation, since it was flamingly, glaringly obvious...
Nu's gaze followed the notebook and he smiled back as it returned to the stranger who had simply been drawing his coat-- as far as they admitted. Admittedly, boring a discovery for Nu.
So he was just drawing the coat Nu wore? Well, this was a small town and the artistic types were everywhere here-- it fit with the town environment more than a big city to him. Traditional arts did, anyway, and making clothing likely went under the category. He never made clothing, so it was foreign territory to him. The extra information piqued his interest, lucky for this one, it seemed. How would he replicate a coat like this, Nu wondered.
And how bold of him to slip his information in there like a little fox.
Oh really? He stared back, scrutinizing, although it may not have been blatantly so with the soft little smile he kept playing at his lips.
"You can call me Xiu."
Nu wasn't the type to be prejudiced, as that was the foolish way to figure others out, so he didn't have any guess of what to expect from this one. What he was getting turned out to be more amusing than anything, so far.
"I liked your drawing, do you have others in there you'd be willing to show? I've never had the patience for making things." he admitted with a grin, not at all ashamed of it. Everyone had their talents.
His happened to be music and sitting still, naked, while people drew him.
And occasionally attracting a bevy of creatures on accident, but that was different.
Hm. A noncommittal response. Luka didn't press further since the information was already out there and this guy could do with it whatever he wanted. If he was interested, he knew Luka was single. If he wasn't, he still knew Luka was single so hey—nobody came out on the losing end of things at all! In Luka's experience, it never hurt to try.
"Oh. Xiu." He probably butchered that with his white ass inability to pronounce Asian-sounding names. "Nice to meet you." His smile was pleasant, though, to offset the butchering of Xiu's name. Hopefully that wasn't a problem because he didn't think it was going to get better from here. But then Xiu asked about his drawings and complimented him and of course an attention whore like Luka would preen!
"I've got tons! Here, look, these are the outfits I was planning." His chair scraped as he dragged it over to Xiu's table so that he could show off his drawings. A lot of them were terribly flamboyant overdone costumes, but a few were also for every-day wear. Not that he could afford to make all of them, but he could dream! "I do a show you know, at the gay bar downtown. A drag show. You should come by some time, check us out!"
Kid gave it a good try, but he should be happy to have any of Nu's attention at all, let alone held it. That was a feat in and of itself, since he was picky in who he allowed to spend time with him.
What? People shouldn't just befriend any old fool on the street!
He snickered at the attempt, covering it with a cough which hopefully wasn't obvious. Nu was a good actor, but he wasn't horribly concerned about other people's views of him... As long as he was fine then who cared if he offended anyone, or looked funny to them. Only children cared how they looked to others! To be fair, his name must have been difficult for people who didn't know anything of the language, or so he'd concluded after years alive.
And Xiu was only part of his name he used as a nickname, too, oh dear. At least he'd grown used to it... along with tsking and walking away from people who were blatantly rude like some dirty Neanderthals.
You tried, I suppose? "Close enough." he smiled.
My my, he must have said the right words, because Luka scooted not-so-gracefully over to his table and the notebook was no longer hidden. Well, he did ask, so, he luckily received. Nu examined the drawings, smiling to himself as he noted the personality exuding from the costumes fit well with the character Luka also exuded. Like a peacock showing his tail to attract a mate (or maybe anyone, as Luka didn't seem shy of attention-- rather, the opposite) with his dramatic flare and colors. Those of course attracted Nu's eyes, however, the simple daily wear caught his eye.
Hm, the kid had some creativity in him.
"You're very creative. These look like they would take some expensive material, or do you use alternatives?" He looked up from the sketches and at Luka beside him. "Drag, hm? I've never been to a show before, but I won't say no to an invite." he grinned. Old as he may be, yes, Nu had never gone to a drag show. If anything, he was used to being the one on display-- in all sorts of contexts-- not the other way around.
See, he needed more friends like these—people who understood fashion, recognized talent when they saw it and weren't stingy with compliments. He definitely did not need rude, uncouth troglodytes like that Wesley Carter out at the Carter ranch! Luka was obviously pleased that Xiu liked his drawings and sketches and preened slightly.
"Thank you! Well I'm not rich, so I try to find fabrics that can achieve similar effects. You can do a lot if you use a little imagination. I'm what you call a diva on a dime!" He liked that term better than... er... broke ass queen. Which he was, but he didn't have to sit there and suffer being called something unflattering!
"I really think you'd like it, if you like good music and positivity and people just... living life and having a good time, you know? Here, I'll give you a ticket." He reached into his back pocket for his wallet—it was a faded leather fold that he inherited from his grandfather—and pulled out a ticket. "Yes, I carry these with me. You never know when you might meet a fan!" Luka's laugh was light-hearted and unashamed.
What? People who were given tickets up front were more likely to attend! (And he got tickets for free to pass out anyway.)
The kid looked like he was absolutely beaming every time Nu gave the slightest compliment. Did he spend all his time with people who called his sketches... boujee trash or something along those lines? (If that was the right term-- people had such strange vernacular!) True, his simple comments were big coming from Nu, who could be quite critical, but Luka wouldn't know him to know this.
Well, it was beneficial to be so simple.
He hummed thoughtfully, nodding slowly with a warm-- but still amused, because how could someone not be by such a character-- smile. "I'm not very creative, so I could never even think of how to make clothing, let alone formulate sketched ideas for them. My friend is the artist, not me." His coat wasn't even his own purchase-- a gift from said friend for modeling for him so frequently. Nu did buy nicer clothing, although not many that cost as much as this coat must have.
"That so? It does sound fun-- Oh?" Nu's brow raised as he accepted the ticket, although caught off-guard by how Luka had any with him. Hm, prepared. Nu waved it in the air, the corner of his lips curling into a delicate grin, "Thank you, I'll certainly come now." He was curious before, but a little more inclined to go when he already had a ticket. Plus, he'd already shown interest, and considering Luka was so eager, he certainly wouldn't decline. That would be absolutely acidulous after getting his hopes up!
"Actually, I can buy you a coat on another day if you'd like?-- for the free ticket." he tilted his head and gazed sideways at Luka, gauging his reaction.
Nu didn't mind helping a creative kid out.
"Yaaaass! I'll be looking for you!" Luka was grinning from ear to ear, pleased that he'd roped--er... convinced--someone into coming to the show. One more butt in a seat, one more space filled up! A show without an audience was no fun, after all! Luckily there was a small but loyal group of LGBTQ supporters in town who made it to practically every show.
Luka was tucking his wallet away when Xiu made the offer of a new coat. He looked up, surprised. "Oh. What?" He was taken aback--that seemed like a completely unfair exchange. A ticket for an expensive coat? No way! Quickly he shook his head. "Oh no, I couldn't possibly!" That would be taking advantage! Luka wasn't the kind of person to take any freebie--it didn't feel right accepting something like this!
Plus, a small part of him was suspicious that Xiu might have some ulterior motive. After all, nobody just gave expensive things away, not without some kind of exchange! Of course he didn't SAY that, but he THOUGHT it.
"But thank you anyway! That's so generous of you!"
Glad he made someone so pleased simply for agreeing to go to a show-- which he was given a ticket to-- Nu laughed gaily, finding him sweet if not a bit funny. It wouldn't be a big deal for him at all. There was the experience of something new he had known about for ages yet never experienced, and making some kid's day as a bonus.
"I'll give you a nice little wave to make sure you notice me~."
Nu quietly watched his reaction, looking innocently puzzled. "Ah." He chuckled after thinking about his offer a bit more carefully. "Sorry, that must have sounded strange." he smiled apologetically, waving his hand in the air.
"This coat was actually a gift, so it probably wouldn't be worth as much, but I wanted to offer something nice to a fellow artist. I used to just be a model, so I know what it's like to need to watch your spending." Not to mention other tasteless jobs, but those were all in the past. The artists he modeled for now were kind, rather than the disgusting fools he had to deal with previously.
Really, how he ever dealt with that trash was a testament to his patience. Times have changed for figure drawing models at least, hm?
"I hope I didn't come off rude?"
(He's not a creep pimp he swears!)
(Totally a pimp, calling it now.)
"Oh no! No no not at all!" Luka held out a hand and waved it to show that he wasn't offended by what was unmistakably a kind gesture. Really, he just didn't want it to get weird or awkward. Taking things from strangers just seemed wrong. He wasn't dying of hunger or thirst, so there was no need for hand-outs. Plus he'd just landed a job at the new cafe in town, so he felt like he could manage!
"Wait did you say you're a model? Oh my god, I'm meeting a real model!" He was a little star-struck maybe. Luka, he had a thing for famous people. He couldn't remember seeing Xiu's face in any of the fashion magazines but he might have been a runway model or something! "What're you doing here in Hazleton? I don't imagine there's a ton of jobs for you here..."
(RIP his classy music teaching profession. And he's more likely to be the one pimped instead of the pimp. Ha! :booty:)
Nu smiled in relief, not wanting to have come off wrong. True, he didn't care so much what people thought of him, but if his intentions were misinterpreted that was a problem, especially when he was trying to be helpful!
Ah, right... people normally think of magazines or runway fashion when they think of modeling, don't they? A normal conclusion to make, to be fair, however...
His lips twitched as he looked away briefly, before tilting his head in the way he did when deciding how to word a particular response, and returned his gaze to Luka.
"Ah... I should clarify-- an art model. I pose for artists who need a model to draw or paint, either in a classroom or individual's studio. It's not nearly as fancy as those models in magazines." Sitting naked for hours while people stared at his figure wasn't a negative experience, if he said so himself. Except when it was cold, but Nu could deal with a little chill just fine. He was a professional, after all.
"My main occupation is teaching music and music history classes at the school here and my studio on the weekends, actually. I still wouldn't have a lot to do here if it were just my art modeling though, so you aren't wrong there."
"Ohhh! THAT kind of model!" The actually artsy kind, instead of a runway or magazine model. Yes, okay, that would explain why Luka hadn't seen his face before. He kept up with the fashion scene almost religiously so he knew all the hot models. (Plus they were hot models, so why the hell wouldn't he keep up with them—and all of their shirtless photo shoots?)
"That sounds like such an interesting life," he mused as he leaned an elbow on the table and propped his chin up in the palm of his hand. "You're so... immersed in the art world." Sounded like Xiu did a bit of everything, really. Art, model, music, history. Traditionally arts-related things, definitely.
Meanwhile, Luka was bumming around the place doing... a bit of everything himself. Protesting those horrid ranchers, working part-time at the gay bar downtown where he also did drag shows, working at the new cafe that just opened up... His life wasn't nearly as dedicated, he thought, but it wasn't a bad old time either. Plus he was young—there was plenty of time to find himself and to carve out a niche for himself out here.
Usually, people looked at him peculiarly for his job. Either they question whether the work still exists, or didn't believe in it in the first place. How exactly the great artists around the world would have gotten by without using models eventually, he didn't know. Maybe they naively thought artists were all geniuses who never once in their life would need a model to reference what they wanted, and pulled the image straight from the depths of their mind.
Silly a thought, but Nu wouldn't blame them, as most non-artists also resorted to the typical 'I could never draw!' as if it didn't take hours of practice, even for those with talent right from the beginning. It was merely a matter of effort and persistence to always improve.
Nu smiled softly while observing Luka. "It certainly keeps me busy while entertained at the same time, luckily..." He knew some people were trapped in mundane, repetitive jobs they hated or became numb to. Repetition wasn't innately negative-- teaching had a certain scheduled plan, same days and hours-- but if one didn't try to change up the way they went through those activities, he could imagine suffering would set in. There were also people stuck in places they hated purely for the money, whether they needed it or were slipping under the societal pressure to excel by making as much money as possible. Realistically, excelling in life meant finding a purpose, not earning billions while hating every moment of it.
The experience of despising a job enough to feel disgust towards it, Nu related to more than he cared to think about, however it was somberly true how at least some money was needed to live in this world.
This was also a time long past, anyway.
Having briefly trailed off without noticing, the smile which had slipped returned. "Arts are lovely, so I tried my best to get involved as much as I could the second I got the chances to."
"Is doing drag not interesting? Or is that only part time?" he didn't know what kind of money drag queens made either; was it a lot? He raised his brows somewhat and furrowed them, loose strands of hair falling from his bun while he kept his head tilted.
"Drag? It's so much fun, but I'm not going to do that full time. It's more like a hobby."
Luka had a lot of hobbies, certainly. His 'meat is murder' campaign, feuding with ranchers' sons, drag, his book club, his activities promoting LGBT rights... He dabbled a little in everything but he couldn't see himself focusing on any one activity. Not for the rest of his life.
The problem with Luka was that he was sort of scattered. There was no end goal for him, now that he had given up his dreams of making it on Broadway. Luka thought that was what he wanted—it was what he left home for—but then he got stuck here and his dreams faded. Part of him wished that he hadn't given up, though. Part of him still longed for the spotlight... but realistically he wasn't passionate enough for it. He had only been passionate in the moment, when the thought first seized him.
That was probably also why he couldn't hold down a steady job, either. Working part-time was about as good as it got for Luka. He needed money for rent, food, clothes. Money was a necessary evil even in a small town like this. He sighed and then shrugged. "I guess I just haven't found myself yet," Luka declared dramatically. Well, he was only twenty. What was the hurry?
Hmm a hobby? Well, there wasn't anything wrong with that. Drag sounded like a lot of setup as far as all the make-up and clothing and preparations for shows, so maybe it was too much for some people to choose as a full-time occupation.
Nu smiled. "You don't look like you're very old, so I'm sure you'll find what calls to you if you try enough." Tomorrow or even the next moment held no guarantees, but his own determination was furthered by this uncertainty. All the more reason to keep reaching, putting out your hand, grasping at what you desire in the yearning to finding yourself. If one job didn't seem to fit, to light your soul on fire, then on to the next, until the spark lit and ignited that passion everyone had deep inside them.
How long had it taken Nu? He couldn't be certain. Most likely years after his parents' death... once he realized there were things he could do to help ease the sting or distract him from the memory...
For a moment, his gaze slid to the floor, caught up in his thoughts before shifting position so his elbows were on the table, hands clasped together, chin gently leaning against them.
"What do you have interest in?"
"I find that's a good place to start." he mused.
"Oh, too many things. Way too many things!" Luka sighed; that was the problem with him. He was tugged in too many directions. There was so much that he wanted to do, so many things he wanted to try. The world was big and wide and Luka had seen only a tiny, tiny fraction of it. He wanted to travel, to experience things, to be touched by beautiful scenery.
Instead he had settled here in the middle of nowhere, striking up a childish rivalry with ranchers.
Luka glanced down at his own hand, expecting to see the gold ring that his grandmother had given him before he left. She was the only one who understood him. And she told him to chase his dreams, too, no matter how grand they were. Try, try, try, she said, and he wouldn't have any regrets even if he failed.
But the ring—it was gone.
He stood up suddenly with a cry of alarm. "My ring!" Luka glanced all about him frantically, searching the ground for a sparkle. It was an old-fashioned thing of yellow gold, with a ruby set in the middle. It wasn't a large gem, either, so it wasn't worth much but it had immeasurable sentimental value. Luka grasped his hair in frustration; he didn't see the ring anywhere.
"I have to—I need to find—" he began grabbing his notebook, his sketches, his bag. "Oh my god. Oh my god." He was freaking out. If he lost the ring, he could never live with himself! That was the only thing he couldn't live without! Babbling some nonsensical explanation in his panic, he hoisted the bag over his shoulder, mind whirring over where he last saw it or had it. Was it this morning? He stopped by the Carter ranch again and then he headed to the cafe straight after. It had to be at the ranch, if it wasn't here!
"I'm-I'm sorry, I have to go!" Luka turned, grabbed Xiu's hand and shook it up and down. "I have to go. Oh my god. I'm SUCH an idiot! I'll-I'll see you around!"