"Hm." Jett stared at the paper, face scrunched in concentration. The dark splotch was supposed to be a building, but the problem was it looked more like a tree. Even to his own eyes, it failed to look anything close to what he knew it to be.
He huffed, abruptly shoving the paper off the little table. It slipped over the edge and floated gently to the floor, where it joined a carpet of discarded drawings. They littered the entire room, turning a once dark and damp cave into a bright swath of pale litter. It was an improvement, he thought, though Raven had made a very peculiar sort of face when he stopped by. It was the kind of face one made when viewing a giant heap of trash.
But Raven said nothing, and only brought another armful of paper. How he managed to procure such a rare commodity was a complete mystery, as Shann Tei was in no condition to be producing any type of paper products, recycled or otherwise. Jett wondered about it for all of seven seconds, before he decided it was more fun to try and draw Raven instead.
Forget drawing a house. A person was more fun anyway.
Grinning to himself, Jett grabbed a clean sheet of paper and bent over it, a small stubb of charcoal blackening his fingers as he dragged it carefully across the page. First, he needed to draw the head, and because Raven was so full of himself, it filled the top half of the page. The oval shape was a bit lopsided, but that was okay. He'd even it out by scribbling some more hair on that side.
As he worked, he ignored everything else. Seb came by and poked his bandaged face through the door, which was no longer locked at this point. He watched Jett engrossed in his drawing for a moment, then quietly slipped away without making a single sound.
Sometime later, another visitor came by. Unlike Seb however, this one lingered, leaning against the door frame with his blue hood pulled low over his face. Raven waited in silence, watching as Jett drew some freaky design. His lips lifted at the corners, though he didn't interrupt.
"Ha!" Jett suddenly slapped the piece of charcoal down on the table. He'd done it! This had to be his best masterpiece yet! Leaning back, he gently picked up the page with blackened fingers, holding it close, then far, tilting it this way and that.
Yep, it's perfect.
A giant head, topped with shaggy hair that was slightly thicker on the one side, and an expression that was something between a scowl and a murderous smile. Though to those who weren't familiar with Raven, it probably came across as just severely constipated. The rest of the body was comically smaller, with one thin arm propped on a hip, and the other outstretched like a tree branch, a crooked knife held in its little hand.
Jett had taken great care to color the bobble-head Raven's clothes black, because he had a black suit, but he'd embellished it with a glorious cape. It was a great cape, and Jett was quite proud of how it turned out. He beamed, unable to contain his pride as he took in his artwork.
"Finished?" A familiar voice drawled from the doorway.
Jett jerked, his knee banging into the underside of the table. His eyes widened once he realized who it was, and he hastily scrambled up from his chair, shoving his drawing behind his back. Suddenly, he felt extremely hesitant about his picture. Maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to show it to Raven. It was kind of embarrassing to be caught drawing him, anyway.
And he'd probably be insulted.
Jett blinked, tilting his head. He considered this last idea. Then he smiled mischievously.
"I drew a picture for you," he said, presenting his drawing. He watched as Raven hesitated, then took the offered page.
And just as Jett had done, he stared at it, tilted it, pulled it in close, tilted it the other way, then held it out at arms length. His lips twitched. "What...is it?"
YOU ARE READING
Raven's Will
AdventureSequel to I AM A FLYER The common people fear and loathe him, yet he's determined to protect them. The military organization that he betrayed calls for his death. And the madman who has begun sending out armies of mechanical warriors to burn the w...