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Post by faust on May 10, 2017 8:19:32 GMT
It was very early in the morning the sun was barely out yet, however this was the best time for him to move around and be active. At this time the sunlight wasn't strong enough to cause sun burns so he didn't have to stick to shaded areas or using a sun umbrella to block out the rays, the lack of people walking around this time of day also helped a lot. For him this was the perfect time of the day. With that in mind he found himself ready to do something that he hadn't done in a long time, at least not since he had moved here, painting.
The very act of painting calmed him down and allowed him to relax out in the open. As he made his way out to Miyashita park Christoph had high hopes for painting today, it was going to be a somewhat cloudy day with fair weather, this should keep most people away from the park. Upon arriving at the park Christoph set up his easel under a tree and started to paint slowly the scenery around him. While he could have done this in a rather fast manor and be done with it in a matter of a few minuets he decided that he wanted to take some time and slowly work on it. Without even knowing it several hours had passed as he worked on it. With that much time passed people had came and went to the park, but he continued to work, his mask on the ground next to different tubes of paint half opened and used. However for all the paint that seemed to be spread all around the ground and on his palette there was a lack of paint on his own white clothing.
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Post by Hiroyo Oda on May 10, 2017 21:08:40 GMT
Early morning was a wonderful time to run. The park was clear of slow walkers and kids running around without regard of who they were getting in the way of. It was calm, peaceful. Sleepy birdsong was interspersed with footsteps as she jogged around the park, her sneakers pounding away the pavement beneath her. It was calming, soothing in a way. This early in the day she didn't have to worry about appearances, didn't have to worry about running into someone she use to know from way back when. It was nice.
That didn't stop her from paying extra attention to the foreigner painting under a tree! He had been there when she first arrived and it looked like for all intents and purposes he'd be there when she left. She kept sneaking peeks at his painting as she ran. She couldn't see much, her loops were all along the concrete path. But that was fine!
Hiroyo never faltered from her running routine. It was for the sake of her climbing so there was no way she was going to cheat or take an easy way out! She stubbornly kept to the last of her routine and was pleased to see at the end that the foreigner was still there. She slowed her steps to a walk and finally stepped off the pavement. Her breathing was fast and labored so she stretched her arms up and folded her hands behind her head, her thumbs slipping under band of her cap as she angled her path to intersect with the tree.
Ah, but how to communicate with the painter? Did they speak Japanese? It wasn't always a given he'd be fluent or comfortable with it, maybe she should try English instead? She wasn't the best at it, but she could certainly try.
"Ah, good, good morning!" She smiled widely at him, hoping her body language would fill the gaps in her terrible English. "What are you paint today?"
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Post by faust on May 12, 2017 3:03:37 GMT
Christoph had been so engrossed with his own work that he hadn't even noticed that someone had walked up to him and was looking at what he was working on. This actually happened more often than not and by now he would have assumed that he was use to such encounters however just like the very first time it happened to him the moment he heard the sounds of her words his entire body stopped moving. The words that they were speaking, he didn't understand the meaning, however he did know that they were English. Growing up where he did there were always tourists asking and talking to the locals, it made identifying the language easy however sadly this is one of the many languages he didn't speak.
Not looking at the speaker yet he spoke out in French without thinking, still use to responding to people in that language. “Désolé, je ne comprends pas.” He slowly lowered his paint brush down onto his pallet, at the same time he looked down at the ground for his mask not wanting to face this person directly without it on his face. He could only hope that for now this person hadn't seen his face just yet. Slowly as his fingers touched the edges of it he frantically grabbed it in between his fingers and placed it on his face. Using both hands to cover it as well, his entire body was still shaking wondering what was going to happen next as he slowly turned to see who had spoken to him.
It turned out to be a female, she was sweating and wearing what looked like workout clothing. Had she been running just a little while ago ? Or doing some other sort of workout? It seemed likely however based on what he knew he couldn't ask nor did he know why she spoke to him in the first place. This would be a difficult situation to get out of even more difficult than normal given the language barrier.
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Post by Hiroyo Oda on May 13, 2017 1:42:53 GMT
Hiroyo caught sight of his pause and took a half-step back, her smile turning apologetic. She hadn't meant to startle him that badly! Sure she was being rather rude by approaching like this, but she didn't mean to make a poor impression.
...then again she had just gotten done with her running. While he was busy reaching down for his mask she turned her head towards her armpit and attempted to catch a whiff on the sly. She personally didn't think she smelled too terrible but then she reminded herself she was use to the kind of smells one was exposed to in a gym.
Her arms dropped to hang loosely at her sides as he talked, a puzzled look on her face. She didn't know that language! It definitely wasn't English and since he hadn't replied in the language she had spoken to him in, did that mean he didn't speak English?
This encounter was turning out to be more difficult than she had planned but she'd be damned if she gave up now! She just had to try something else.
"Do you speak Japanese?" She asked, slowing her speech down to what would have been taken as an insulting pace to another native speaker. She was a little sad she hadn't caught more than a glimpse of the side of his face before he put the mask on. It raised so many questions with its existence alone!
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Post by faust on May 19, 2017 0:00:48 GMT
She had responded back to his words in Japanese, while his mask didn't allow for her to see it he had a soft smile under it. Usually when someone didn't understand him they either got angry at him or simply walked away saying something dirty or rude. He did understand what she was saying, and he did appreciate the fact that she was speaking slow so he could pick up on what she was trying to say. So now the only question he had was should he talk back to her and respond, if he did he would be risking a conversation, that thought scared him. However at the same time it would be rude of him to ignore someone's simple question.
Slowly he spoke back to her “Yes I do speak a little.” This way he wasn't being rude to this girl that decided to come over and talk to him, but at the same time he wasn't going full out with a conversation. He knew very well that he couldn't handle that if she tried to do that. With that said he slowly returned back to his painting, it was almost done, however it still lacked a human element to it as it was simply just the park early in the morning without any traces of life in it. He had mixed feelings at the moment, he wanted to continue talking to her, on the other hand he was worried about doing so. Thinking that she would eventually find out he's a freak.
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Post by Hiroyo Oda on May 19, 2017 22:29:23 GMT
Aha! A shared language! Hiroyo’s scheme to add a foreigner to her friendpool wasn’t doomed to crash and burn at the start! She just had to not scare him off by being too forward or confuse him by speaking too rapidly. Easy peasy! She did have to wonder what was up with the mask, but hey this close to him she could peek and see what he was painting!
True to her thoughts she shuffled a little closer, her hands clasped behind her back. “I saw you painting while I ran.” She began, keeping that slow speed from before. He didn't seem like the talkative type but she decided that was clearly just because he felt out of place! That was okay, she would chatter away about nothing important to put him at ease. Maybe that would encourage him to open up! If not then, well, no harm done right?
“You must be dedicated to come here so early in the morning! Normally I only see the regulars so it is exciting to meet someone new! Mostly it's just joggers,” she gestured to herself with a grin and did a quick jogging in place pantomime. “and dog walkers! If you don't mind, what are you painting?”
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Post by faust on May 30, 2017 19:36:38 GMT
It seemed that his wish did come true, this strange girl that had been jogging did continue to talk to him. He wasn't going to say it, however he was happy to have someone to talk to, even if he was shy and distant about speaking. She made a comment about him being here so early and how there weren't that many people in the park. He shook his head at that and muttered out a simple sentence. “It's easier this way.” There was so much more he wanted to tell her about why he was out at this time, but he just couldn't get the words out of his mouth to do so.
Going onto the real question that she asked about what he was painting. If she simply looked over his shoulder she could see what he had been painting. Softly Christoph spoke “it's the park.” He was still very nervous about talking with stranger. Slowly he started to turn to face the girl with his mask still on. Shaking his head he turned back to the painting to finish off the painting. While he wasn't as afraid as before he still couldn't face her. This was all his own fault all of his insecurities kept him from being able to simply talk normally to this rather cheerful and kind girl.
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Post by Hiroyo Oda on Jul 28, 2017 10:23:49 GMT
(sorry for the delay! Life got a bit unmanageable for a while there.)
Hiroyo likes to think she's made a pretty valiant effort at meeting someone new today! They're not really in the friend category yet, even she isn't so pushy as to declare that they are, but they're at least having a conversation!
"Aaah, I think get what you mean. In the evenings sometimes there's groups camped all over taking the best view spots! This early you don't have to compete with the teenager hordes that roam around or crowds bugging you about your art!" She grinned like a Cheshire cat, was that because she realized the hypocrisy in her comment or because she had 'figured out' his reason for being there? She continued to chatter on unphased, her voice slipping out of careful pronunciation she had been doing to something closer to her usual talking style. "I'm that way with the gym. I mean, on one hand it's fun to be around a bunch of people doing the same thing I am, but at the same time I don't want to compete for spots on the climbing wall."
She quieted down completely as he slowly turned to look at her, the skin across the back of her neck prickling with the unease. Even she could tell the whole mask thing was a little creepy, especially during times like this. 'Maybe he's secretly a spirit,' she thought, biting her lower lip to stop from...well, she wasn't sure what expression her face wanted to make exactly. "I suppose that makes sense. Having your subject right in front of your eyes makes it easier to get all the details, right?" At least she'd slowed her speaking rate again! She considered trying to look over his shoulder again. Then again, with the way he had turned to face her and decided maybe not.
It was kinda cool to meet a foreigner, she didn't want to piss him off!
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