Don't Make a Mess ((Winter 1914))

[victoriousscarf]

Mac chuckled. "Fair enough. Just a little surprised was all." He took another sip of the coffee, almost done with the cup.

[qualapec]

"They're one of my more benign hobbies." He tilted his head and smiled, staring fondly at his bookshelves with his head at an odd angle. "Some of them are actually quite good for popcorn."

[victoriousscarf]

Mac nodded, finishing the last of his coffee. "Most cats need their hobbies," he said. "And it helps ta have at least a couple that won't 'et you turned in with the police." He smiled faintly as he said that.

[qualapec]

"Isn't that the truth?" Brachen tilted the last of his cup back like a shot glass until it was emptied. "I also like painting." Where had that even come from? Normally, he wasn't one for forfeiting information on his own.

[victoriousscarf]

Setting down the cup, Mac raised a brow. "Paintin'? Really?" Hopefully not with blood, he didn't add. He almost wouldn't put it past the other, but also didn't think it would do well as a joke. "What medium?"

[qualapec]

"Oil and charcoal...mostly." Brachen coughed lightly into a paw. "The piece over the dresser is one of mine. Most of the others are sketches. I, ah, like anatomy."

[victoriousscarf]

Mac glanced over at the indicated piece, considering it. He tilted his head to one side as he did so, before turning back to the other. "It's pretty good," he said, dropping the compliment rather casually.

[qualapec]

"Thank you," Brachen replied. "Yes, my teacher said I had great talent but needed to, ah, what was the word she used? 'Adjust the subject matter'? Yeah. I think that was it." He may not have painted in blood, but his paintings often involved a lot of red. Fortunately, the current painting was one of his more normal pieces.

[victoriousscarf]

Rolling a shoulder, Mac glanced back over at the painting in question. "Well, everycat has their own tastes, so if you're goin' ta paint, might as well be some subject matter you care about. Even if it might be slightly disturbin' ta others."

[qualapec]

Brachen laughed. "Dismembered corpses? Even I doubt that it's...healthy for me." His eyes brightened. "Although if you wanted I could show you my sketchbook!"

[victoriousscarf]

For a long second Mac blinked, having not fully expected the dismembered corpses bit. He shrugged though, noticing how excited the other looked at the prospect. "Sure."

[qualapec]

To his credit, Brachen made an effort to keep from looking too happy as he bounced over to his bookshelf and pulled out his leatherbound sketchbook, it had an embellishment of Da Vinci's Cat on the cover. He handed it to the other cat. He would completely understand if his little apprentice didn't like it, but he was honestly happy just to share it with someone.

[victoriousscarf]

Mac hesitated for a moment before accepting the book, looking over the cover before opening it. He flipped through it, blinking at a couple and flipping past several rather quickly. "Well, I can't say I'd want any of these for my wall," he said, turning to book to consider another one. "But... they are rather well done." He was just glad he hadn't eaten anything recently was all.

[qualapec]

Brachen grinned- not something vile or bloodthirsty, but he was genuinely warmed by the compliment. "That's understandable. My tastes are not..." he laughed, "You know what my tastes are like, but it's always nice to hear that someone thinks they're good." Wistfully, he shoved his paws into his pockets and stared at the ceiling. "What about your legal hobbies?"

[victoriousscarf]

Mac glanced up from where he was pursuing the pictures before he looked back down and closed the book. "Well, you have plenty of actual talent for drawin'..." he said and paused again at the question. "I... I haven't had much time lately," he said, a paw running across the cover of the sketchbook as he frowned down at it, thinking. "Tryin' ta carry two jobs and all that," he shrugged. "Stopped readin' a while ago, never really picked anything up ta replace it."