The Silver Lining

Chapter 3

"You're looking awfully chipper?" Rali noted watching her drama prone brother bounce around the dorm cleaning up, which Raven, NEVER did. It frankly concerned Rali.

Astra was out at an internship for the afternoon leaving their little dorm to Rali and Raven.

"Why?"

"Am I not allowed to be happy?" Raven mocked hurt, "You wound me--" Setting his body back dramatically and following through with a motion that made him look like he was about to break his back, not that Rali would have complained if he did have an unfortunate little accident like that.

"Oh stop being dramatic. I thought theatre was your minor, not major." Rali retorted, her gaze rolling over to her bedroom door where her door handle was newly polished, "You better not have touched my room--"

Raven mimicked her eye roll, "Oh relax. I didn't touch your 'precious' pencils, I did rummage through your sketchbooks--"

"WHY?!"

Raven shot her a glare to respond to her interruption, " I was about to say before someone rudely interrupted me. RALI." He accused before moving on, "I needed money, there was none in there because as much as I'd love for you to be an idiot, you're not--"

"Well both of us can't be the stupid twin." Rali huffed and had to force down the grin that tried to fight her when Raven gasped a little, unable to argue with that. Rali gave herself a mental high-five, stars Rali loved poking fun of her brother.

"I don't understand why you didn't go into an art major, I mean, your sketches are incredible, they're so realistic and...beautiful..." Raven gushed, if Rali hadn't been irritated at him, she might have blushed, Raven had always encouraged her art, but he didn't seem to realize...

"I don't want to draw for a living, I love sketching sure, but doing it as a job seems... boring. I like sketching what I like to sketch, I don't really care about getting paid for it." Rali explained with a heavy sigh, her breath leaving without her consent and her brother pouted shifting his weight and crossing his arms and staring at her with a puppy-dog gaze which Rali would attest, she had never fallen for!

"But do you have to be a magic officer? I mean, seriously, what good does it serve to break up fights in a high school?" Raven argued, "I get that you want to help people, but, I mean, something like that just seems...boring."

"I know you don't get it Raven." Rali admitted, "But I want to learn how to use magic," Rali hadn't gotten to use magic much, it just wasn't a skill most schools taught, and Rali's wasn't different but she had gotten lucky and somehow got her hands on a magic book. Though Rali didn't think the book taught her much about magic, Rali had been able to figure out her element and she knew simple spells by the time she got to collage.

Rali had signed up for Magic Study in order to get properly trained in magic. And it had helped, the studies were about the history sure, but it taught her techniques and skills to use her element and power properly. Milkway had also been a huge help to her, the man was a genius when it came to magic, he taught her advanced skills with her element, he taught her how to increase power, he gave her a book about a similar kind of magic to her own. And Rali had learned so much in the last few months than she had in her entire life from just one man.

"I really want to use magic..."

Raven let out a heavy sigh, "I know, but if you ever need extra cash, people would pay hundreds for your sketches, they're amazing."

Rali sighed and brushed him off as she went into her room, as Raven said: her pencils hadn't been touched and were as organized as ever. Raliset her bag down and saw her sketchbooks put back more organized than before, proof that Raven had at least tried to clean up. Rali's fingers danced over the spines before pulling a few out, her fingers brushed through the pages, flipping over pages and reviewing the works she spent such time on.

One of Rali's favorites was a detailed sketch bust-up of a girl with big round eyes, a subtle, bright grin, a soft jaw, and a lot of long hair, two strands falling in front of her body. Rali adored the sketch because she hadn't had a reference for it. Usually Rali would see someone in public, take a quick photo of them, and sketch it trying to refine details, but for this sketch, Rali hadn't had any reference, she just woke up and sketched the girl with side swept bangs and long hair.

Rali had liked it so much Rali had attempted to draw her full body, but most of what she drew just felt...wrong...The side swept long hair girl always reminded Rali of innocence... She had such a youthful face...

Rali hesitated before grabbing a pencil and a new sheet of paper, most times Rali drew girls and women she had a reference, she knew their body type, but...

Rali pulled away and glanced at her quick sketch, instead of referring to what the majority of women looked like, she had just let her pencil guide her, and the sketch wasn't awful... Maybe it was because Rali had drawn it just as she had drawn her original one, but this one... seemed alright.

Rali went back and refined it and smiled at her work, drawing her pencil away from the newest of her works, and possibly her favorite of all time.