Goodbyes

[Emilian Sota]

Emilian's eyes narrowed again at them, their actions aggravating him to no end, and he nearly said something, until he felt Adara move. He looked down at her and tried to soften his eyes, she had done nothing wrong. He still couldn't get the image of those marks out of his mind. His thoughts were running down dangerous paths and it only made him realize that, no matter how much he told himself it didn't bother him, he still wasn't completely comfortable with the two of them.

[Adara Snow]

Adara looked back up at Emilian, and though he didn't look as upset as he felt, she couldn't quite let herself relax. There was something bothering him, and if it wasn't something she had done... Her gaze shifted from Emilian to Michael and Dare, finally coming out of her own thoughts enough to see that they were entirely lost to theirs. Was that why Emilian was upset? Because Michael was ignoring him? She didn't see enough to make any other connection, so she brought her eyes up to Emilian again, silently questioning.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael grinned, "That's a good thing." He planned on keeping it that way, Emilian didn't even need to know that there were others. He was fine with it being kept completely unsaid. "He's pissed," he added, mouthing the words instead of actual sounds. Emilian was silent, not to mention that Michael could easily feel it in the air to his back. He raised an eyebrow in a question to Dare.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare gave a light shrug. He had no clue how to back out of what he'd gotten into. He could've figured that Emilian would be annoyed, but pissed was another issue entirely. Especially if it was focused on him. At this point, he didn't think just letting go of Michael's hand would do it, and he didn't want to let go, anyway. Dare took a breath while he thought, then shifted back into his seat, though he kept his hand wrapped around Michael's and his gaze away from the couch. He cleared his throat, recalling and dismissing their previous conversation, and jumped on the next thing that occurred to him. "I could probably get you two portraits before you go, if I work on it," he offered. He had his sketchbook, at least.

[Emilian Sota]

Emilian didn't immediately reply, his mind distracted by trying to think up a way to explain to Adara without just flat out telling her exactly what had happened. When Dare's words finally sunk in, he turned his head slightly, after giving Adara a look that said he'd tell her later. He very nearly told Dare to shove off, but caught himself in time to keep the words from leaving his lips. "If Adara's willing," he said, looking back at her.

[Adara Snow]

Adara's eyes widened slightly, then sparked with eager interest as she turned her gaze toward Dare. "I am willing," she said, without pause. She wanted something to remember Emilian by, and even more, she wanted him to have an image of her, as much of a reminder as possible, to make it easier for him. She didn't want to admit her fears of his...addiction, for lack of a better word, overcoming their relationship while they were absent from one another. Still, it would be stupid to ignore them.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael watched Dare's face for a few more seconds before letting the urge to look back at Emilian and Adara take over and he turned his head to see them. The tension seemed to have lessened slightly, if only because Adara seemed so eager for it to happen. He tightened his hand around Dare's and flicked his eyes back towards him.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare took Adara's acceptance and ran with it. He let out a long breath, inhaled, then started talking. "I can get started whenever you're ready. I've got everything I need, I've done studies of both of you, so if I got a master sketch of each of you today, I could work on a finished project for each of you, and get it to you before you go. It wouldn't be a large piece, but it'd be good, I swear." Maybe promising perfection would help things. It was worth a try.

[Emilian Sota]

"I've not seen a bad piece from you yet," Emilian said, looking up at Dare. Even if Dare wasn't his favorite person in the world, he couldn't deny that his work was good. He almost wanted to just push Michael and Dare out and relax, though he knew that if he postponed it, there was no way the pieces would get done in time.

[Adara Snow]

Adara had only seen drawings of herself, and as she had little interest in seeing herself, and as she had been thinking mostly of Emilian at the time, she had paid less attention than she likely should have. She was eager to see what Dare could do with Emilian, eager to have something she could take back to the dormitory with her, since she was being forced to return alone. "I am ready now," Adara said, then looked aside at Emilian, still unsure what he would want. She hoped that Dare could take care of that decision himself, or that Emilian had said something helpful to him.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

While Michael didn't really want to spend more time with Emilian than he needed to at the moment, he realized that it was very likely the last time he would see him in a while, and the only time that Dare would get the chance, so he didn't say anything against it. He let his thumb move lightly against Dare's skin as he watched him. He knew how excited Dare was about the whole thing, and so he wasn't going to give himself any chance to turn it down.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

"All right," Dare said, his lips curving. He was excited, and drawing was a far better way to focus the remnants of his nervous energy than prodding Emilian's sore spot. "Let's get started, then. Who first? I'd say Adara, since she'll be around; I can always take longer on Emilian's portrait if I need to." He'd offer to draw both of them, but at the moment, it seemed like divide-and-conquer could be a way to cut the tension. Dare nearly grimaced at the thought that followed. If Emilian took off, and if he brought Michael with him...Dare looked back at Michael somewhat apologetically.

[Emilian Sota]

Emilian nodded in agreement, "Start with her, and I'll let you decide how to sit her, since you're the one with the talent." While he could recognize something he liked when he saw it, he wasn't good at making a decision on what he wanted, or on figuring out what would be good on parchment. "Do you want me here?" he asked, looking up at Dare before glancing down at Adara.

[Adara Snow]

"I always want you here, Emilian," Adara said softly, reassuring him now that he had begun to calm. "I think I might find you distracting, though," she added, her voice lowering further. With his leaving only a few days away, she wanted nothing more than to be with him, and part of her worried that she wouldn't be able to cooperate with Dare for the portrait if she were constantly exchanging glances with Emilian.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael tensed at the thought of being alone with Emilian, but forced himself to relax so that hopefully Dare wouldn't catch on. He highly doubted that he would be that lucky, though, so he gave a small shrug to say that he would be fine. When he looked up at Emilian, his chest and neck burned, as though each mark was trying to be visible through the fabric of his shirt.