That laugh certainly got rid of some of the tension emanating from the red head, eliciting a brief, timid laughter from Ryu herself which didn't quite match her otherwise tough girl attitude and that same feeling simply recurred as it was Juniper who vocalized the next sexual insinuation. "Actually I was referring to the model shoot." She let that sink in for a moment. "Oh, I've got confidence, alright .. Chatting with you isn't exactly the same as hanging out with a childhood friend, but beyond some initial concerns I'm still sitting here talking about all kinds of stuff .. but the very second there's more than me and someone else, stage fright kicks in and ruins my day, unfortunately, hence I show reluctance in even remotely participating in something as simple as a photography session with our tentacled friend."

Casually tracking the girl rolling through the room she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Maybe I take it too seriously, seeing competition in whatever I do but I'm not at fault, it just happens even for an audience of one. As long as there are two performers I inadvertently end up being compared to someone else and I strongly believe that there are no exceptions to this, my own psyche then handles the rest and it ends up being this completely nonsensical stream of thoughts that I can't shake. As a result the pressure is just .. driving me nuts." It was a common problem to her, over the years it gained less significance considering how little time she spent with people, usually avoiding them to the best of her ability. "Perhaps I could manage if we went there together .. We barely know each other so I'd understand if you wouldn't want to." If that was the case she might have to come up with something else, another course of action that would surprise Aegir though this opportunity suited her just fine.

"Yeah, no tattoos, but I've had my fair share of experience with male and female bodies alike, for the most part just a single limb although I did try my hands at a full body paint once." The other student would be left to wonder as to what she ended up painting, who the male specimen subjected to her skills turned out to be since there were mostly women on the school grounds safe for a small portion of the staff. "I hand finished projects over to my teachers in private so if you're interested in any of my work you might have to ask Miss Krystan if she could help you out. I tend to be a little absentminded at times though generally she keeps a copy or two of my drawn pieces, or photographs much like Aegir's if it's a sculpture that can't be replicated .. that sorta thing."

The next bit alarmed her, the reason of which would be apparent to anyone that knew of her official record. "Safest to say, but not safest to be." The sheer amount of issued demerits had given her more than enough time to contemplate a change of pace as the correctional part of the facility nearly became a second home to her and while she put up a fair amount of resistance they inevitably convinced her to stick to the rules. It was either that and every week she would find herself screaming in pleasure rather than pain or the prefect that broke her down would revel in doing so once more until she behaved. Off the record they might've done whatever they pleased and nobody would dare go up against town hall. "I've got no idea what goes on behind the scenes as much the next guy or what they do with students that dig too deep, but I've been caught in the halls past midnight and had an official stay in the basement. I don't want to imagine what they might do to someone like you .."

It was about time they steered their conversation toward greener pastures, discussing a topic the both of them seemed to have a profound interest in. It'd be interesting to see if her plan about plastering part of the school bore fruit. "That's a lot of ground to cover. A canvas of epic proportions .. Where do you plan on putting it up?" What a shame it'd be to create a masterpiece of such dimensions only to have it removed by the school yet it was a project worth tackling and if Juniper was in need of inspiration she was willing to offer. She had a bag of tricks and whilst realms of Aegir were among them she suggested a classic.

"Now that you've already mentioned Mona Lisa I'm sure you know The Creation Adam. You know, two guys .. one of them God the other one naked near the center of the frame as if that's not the most iconic homoerotic image in existence." She grinned. "I've always found the concept of heaven to be quite inspiring among all things, the foundation wouldn't take long to lay down either which could help if you sought to paint all of it and you'd have a lot of freedom in terms of variety since so few things feel out of place once that's done. Just a suggestion .."

"They won't kill me." Juniper said with a flat look as Ryu made her concerns about the investigator's nightly outings known, "Anything less is immaterial. We can't just sit idle as their cattle . . . what do you think is waiting for us at the end of the ride? I kinda doubt it's a slap on the ass and a bus ticket home. Someone needs to find a way out." she tilted the bottle back and took a deep swallow from the bottle in her hand, "Besides, this pedantic bullshit exercise of maintaining the ruse of a university education just pisses me off. Bad enough the place exists, but siphoning scholastic funds from real schools, blowing grants and donations on top notch facilities to act as little more than a backdrop for atrocity, while we unfortunate few balance the needs of safety against scholastic achievement that'll never see use?" she growled in the back of her throat at the very notion.

Fortunately, more pleasant conversation offered itself up. Something that Rhaine had said had kicked a gear loose and gotten it spinning in her mind. She let her thoughts roam free and wild for a moment and she settled back in her seat.

"It's the west exterior wall of the gym, I figure I'll head that way after midnight so I get the best use out of the light." she said, her thought finally coming to bear fruit, "Though, you know . . . you should come with me." she suggested. She could almost hear the rebuttal screaming through the redhead's mental pathways, she'd just said that she'd suffered the schools tender mercies for such blatant disregard for curfew a moment ago, so she raised a hand to bring her up short.

"Just, hear me out. You say you have problems working with other people, right? Can't help but turn it into a competition. It seems to me that what you really need is a team exercise . . . something to help break down that wall and and reinforce that not every relationship has to be adversarial." she rolled her hand over and gestured towards her, "There'd be no audience, and you were just saying how strong your artistic skills are so you'd be at ease with the work . . . heck, if we use your idea, we can split the canvas into two sides and work from the edges inwards until our diversive styles "touch fingers."

She shrugged her shoulders and looked at the other girl with a bemused smirk, trying to think of another way to sweeten the pot.

"I'll bring booze?"

"I have no doubt they'll fix you back up before that happens, of course. I remember having a demon-esque creature dig its claws into my chest, causing a deep gash that was leaking blood and the next day there wasn't even a scratch .. and that happened more than once." Sticking to the rules might be comparable to plunging your head in the sand in order to avoid the pain and suffering you'd receive for breaking them, but Ryu had her fill of punishment by the end of her first year and that marked the end of it. She had her means of escape after these four years, wary of the grim future graduates like her awaited though that detail had eluded her thus far. By the sound of it Juniper didn't know what happened upon graduation either which was unfortunate, being one of the main reasons she'd come here in the first place. "But yeah, you may be right. I never really saw it from your perspective."

Breaking curfew was one thing, but graffiti? Her inner eye could already form a series of vivid images, of what the two of them could achieve, but the other student only got to her at the notion of alcohol. For a moment she wondered how she even got her hands on it, but that'd make things a whole lot easier. "Alright, fine .. but let it be known that I get drunk rather easily so no contest there." It was a bemused comment of sorts as she replied with a smile, not knowing whether booze was actually on the table. "While I question the therapeutic impact in all this I won't turn you down, but please .. try to be on time and don't forget that camera of yours. Wouldn't want our collective effort going to waste without capturing it first."

There was the whole prefect patrol route thing, people they had to avoid though they were more common in the dorms than anywhere else, the only true hurdle on their way safe for any lurking monsters. "Half an hour past midnight, what do you say? Or is that too much? I'm guessing earlier would suffice as well .. anyway. Are you sure you've got enough paint? We're using spray cans, I'm assuming .. so perhaps I could arrange for a couple more before embarking on our little trip. Add some more variety to the mix, you know?"

"Would those be all?", she then asked, pointing at the stack of photographs. It seemed appropriate to leave in good spirits rather than ask more about what she wanted to know here and now as Ryu got up off the bed, straightening in her posture whilst the warmth already made her head spin again. "I'd like to take care of a few things before our little get together such as returning these to him asap and it's not exactly a brief journey to-" His cove, but saying that made her feel as though she were making house calls periodically doing God knows what with Aegir. "Well .. his place."

Juniper smiled slightly when Ryu conceded that she might have a point in regards to the school. There weren't enough delinquents on campus, to her way of thinking, not by half. She had accepted early on that there was little she could do about it . . . the staff was ruthless in stamping out such disruptive behavior, and the more willful the student the more extreme the response. Juniper's own experience with the disciplinary staff had been . . . illuminating. Horrifying, to be sure, and she was far from unscarred, but she suspected that the lessons she'd taken away from the ordeal had perhaps not been the ones that the Headmaster would've preferred. Any soul she could coax back into the fight was a major victory, to her way of thinking . . . though she'd hold off and see if Ryu reverted to form before she patted herself on the back.

"Heh, that's fortunate, since I don't have very much." she chuckled softly. And what she did have was a rather harsh brand of rotgut she'd managed to trade for. It was so much harder to make these little transactions now that Elise had vanished from the student roles, her legacy reduced to stockpiles that had long ago had the choice bits taken by those who'd been supposed to guard them. But still, there were ways . . . wherever there was a need, there was someone willing to supply that need, for a price. That was human nature the world over, "And don't worry, I'll have the camera set up with a wide lens and a tripod. I want to make sure I capture as much of this as possible."

"Half an hour passed midnight is precisely what I was thinking. Getting there much sooner would be difficult, I have a . . . ah . . . a thing." she said waving her hand to indicate she didn't want to talk about it, "around midnight. That'll give me time to retrieve the equipment. I've got a bucket full of spray cans . . . running kinda low on black, so if you could get some that'd be great, but if we're going for that kinda Rennaissance fresco look we shouldn't be using any black anyway." she bent down and opened a drawer on her desk, pulling out a broad manilla folder.

"If you want my advice? Wear a school uniform and something to cover your head, it's about as anonymous as you can get around here. I've got a spare respirator I can bring along, there's plenty of ventilation, but, we're going to be laying down a lot of paint." she said picking up the photos and dropping the whole stack in the envelope for easier transportation, and also so that Rhaine wouldn't attract any attention roaming the halls with them. Apparently this wasn't her first time providing this particular service.

"Well, I guess I should let you clear the decks then." she said, offering the envelope to her with a smile, "I'm looking forward to it. Say "Hi" for me, would you?"

Ryu nodded in response to the point in time of their second meeting that day, she didn't believe that Juniper would leave her hanging and whilst creating a mural this size was challenging, it might give them some time to relax and talk. "It'd be great if you brought that respirator along, I can take care of the rest myself."

She blinked, a tad perplexed when faced with such an unusual request though Aegir might be considered a mutual friend. "Um .. yes, of course. I will. It's been a pleasure finally meeting you, Juni." Casually grasping the encased pictures she swept across her desk one last time in case she'd forgotten to insert any of the photos by chance, but upon noting they were all in the envelope Ryu bowed ever so slightly, smiling in relief as she turned to leave the student to her own affairs, her hand already on the doorknob. "I look forward to seeing you again." She turned it with a flick of her wrist as the door flung open, a distant "Later!" tossed into the room before closing it with restrained force in order not to slam it shut.

Left with many things to do Ryu headed straight to the classrooms, the art department specifically, making arrangements for the spray cans stored here with one of the teachers by refering them to Miss Krystan for any volunteer work the red head could do in exchange. Safe for that day she never truly had much to do, so once that was crossed off the list she used the sunny afternoon to carry the goods over to her room, the less students in the halls the better. Getting to Aegir afterward ate up quite a portion of her day seeing how he was nowhere near the dormitories although she refrained from staying with him any longer than she had to, handing him the envelope whilst telling him of the encounter with Juniper and their plans, calmly apologizing for the rush before taking her leave.

Minutes past midnight she'd done it all, red locks weaved into braids that wouldn't pester her all that much as she tucked them underneath a generic, black hood, the cloth set upon her head would hopefully make it a little more difficult to discern her identity. Clad in a regular school uniform she gathered a pale, ochre duffle bag from the drama club that she wasn't even a part of, so making any sense of it unless they got caught would at least require some kind of effort from the staff.

Wandering the hallways and down the staircase toward artistic freedom she wished for different pairs of shoes, there were hiking boots in her posession that caused less noise than these facility provided ones and with the echo of footsteps it'd be an easy feat to be heard, but they had to be inconspicuous in looks so there wasn't much to do there. Luckily she reached the gym unscathed, moving through the shadows whenever possible though the full moon that'd be their blessing also proved to be a burden to their stealthy act. Rounding the last corner she wondered if Juniper was already here, a few minutes prior to their arranged meeting Ryu turned up rather early by comparison.

"Indeed, glad to meet you face to face." Juniper responded as Ryu paused slightly when she made her request. She supposed it might seem a little odd, as she'd just taken the time to explain that her relationship with Aegir was primarily one of exchanges. Contacts had to be maintained though, and it was far and away easier to foster a bit of good will than it was to have to continually bribe someone. Even something as small as a gentle reminder that you were thinking of them through a mutual acquaintance could make one feel valued.

"Take care!" she added raising a hand and dropped her fingers in a small wave goodbye. It was quickly becoming her favorite term of departure here on the island. With so many slinking, slathering, soaring, shapechanging, mindbending creatures lurking just out of sight, "Be careful" seemed like good advice in general, and it was certainly more uplifting than "I hope you don't attract anything's attention today."

She blinked closed firmly behind Ryu with a rattle, dialing up the volume on her music again. Smirking slightly, she twirled around in her chair and tucked her hands behind her head, propping her feet up on the corner of the bed so recently occupied by her guess. Well now, that was taken care of! Which project to resume next? Her unguided attempts as meditation seemed as good a place as any, breath control and a better sense of self awareness seemed like skills that would only become more crucial the longer she was trapped here . . .

-- -- --

Glazed eyes slowly turned to regard the balefully glowing digital clock on the corner of her desk. The time, 12:10, shone brightly as Juniper shifted slightly against the sheets, her breath still coming in deep and ragged breaths as sweat clung to her bare curves. There was a damp spot on her pillow where she'd bitten down hard into the soft material to muffle her wanton moans, and she licked her lips slowly to clear them away as she pulled herself into a sitting position. Her room mate was buried under her blankets, turned away from her to stare at the wall . . . Juniper didn't believe for a moment that she'd slept through it. Not Eve. She was too tightly wound, too aware of her surroundings. So, instead, she simply had to ignore it when Juniper played out that scene of desperate need, night, after night, after night. The two of them . . . hadn't quite hit it off.

Juniper slid out of the bed on unsteady legs, as she did each night. There was no time for a proper shower, it had taken her longer than usual tonight to relieve the mounting tension that greeted her at the start of each day, and she didn't want to leave Ryu waiting. Instead, she wet a cloth and, standing silently in the dark, quickly scrubbed her body down, leaving each curve with a slight sheen that caught the starlight outside her window before she tossed the cloth in the hamper. The stifling heat in their room air dried her quickly as she grabbed her uniform for the day and pulled it over her head, eschewing her usual use of leggings or accessories to seem like any other student. Opening the closet, she grabbed a drab navy blue poncho, the sort openly available to every student from the commissary to help contend with the tropical rains that often graced the island and a pair of black gloves before she fit the respirator over her face.

Juniper moved through the halls swiftly and quietly. This was all part of her nightly routine at this point, few of the Prefects were still up and about this late at night after. They had their own duties to attend to during the day, and those who were without morning classes had fallen into a dull and predictable routine, when their own "projects" didn't keep them busy through the night at any rate. No, in Juniper's mind the only thing she had to fear discovering her was one of the school's other patrons . . . and then, generally only the ones who were not already deep in some unfortunate thing, settling in for a long night. There was always the risk, always a reason to be wary, but Juniper had decided that it was just one of those things that was out of her hands and to play the cards that she was dealt. But she could play them quickly.

When Ryu turned the corner, Juniper was nowhere to be seen. At first it seemed that the intrepid reporter was going to be late to her own party. But then a shape on the ground caught her attention, a round, deep bucket that looked like it had been swiped from the cafeteria was sitting on the ground, and sure enough, inside were a series of vivid aerosol paint cans, and sitting atop it was a broad respirator with a plastic face shield to protect the wearer's eyes. Had she managed to get herself snatched already? There was a light rustle from the bushes.

A piece of the night seemed to shift and move back and forth slightly behind the treeline, hunched and low, rocking back and forth slightly just beyond the brush. It moved a little closer, until the light caught it's wrinkly, rubbery form. Then, it picked it's head up . . . revealing an obscured human face with a pair of light brown eyes. Juniper raised her hand to give the little wave once again and went back to setting up her camera, apparently playing with the timer.

An unusual silence embraced the student in the middle of the night, the well endowed figure of hers lit up by the full moon that night as she slowly made her way along their remarkable canvas, the faint echo of her steps a displeasing reminder of just how exposed she truly was. In case her eyes hadn't adjusted to the remaining darkness she skimmed along the brick wall, smooth fingertips lazily traced along the rough surface whilst her main focus remained on finding Juniper out in this sinister place, only stopping in her tracks as the shape of a round object came into view. Upon closer inspection Ryu took note of the spray cans inside in addition to the requested respirator, setting down the dufflebag beside it before tugging on the zipper there, revealing her own collection of paint. They'd have an abundant variety of colors and a decent amount of each one at that, even black which they weren't likely to use.

Ryu might've been reckless, but she wasn't foolish. If the cans were here then Juniper couldn't be far off and considering the time of their meeting she couldn't have been here all too long. Perhaps she got caught, perhaps abducted by one of the less desirable creatures of the island, but these rash assumptions could lead to unwise decisions. For the moment she got to work on preparing herself for their upcoming session, fiddling with the respirator to see how it fit as she briefly recalled the last time graffiti was on her schedule. Back in the days of a rebellious teenager she revelled in the comfort of a desert scarf, but like a majority of her wardrobe she hadn't taken it here for various reasons, mainly because of the tropic climate.

The woods were a danger of varying potency, the sound coming from that direction drawing her attention toward someone or something lurking near the edge of the treeline. Ryu didn't move, kneeling beside their goods whilst cautiously eyeing the movement with growing interest for if it turned out to be a monster then chances were it hadn't seen her yet. It might've been on its way to the dorms for a midnight snack of nubile bodies for their hungry manhood, giving her a slight chance to avoid contact via the unexpectancy of finding someone out here. Still, as the gloomy shape became more and more apparant the girl breathed out a relieved sigh, dressed in a grotesque assortment of clothes Juniper greeted her with a wave to which Ryu merely raised a hand in return.

The otherwise feisty red head glanced at her with a certain sense of indifference, the lively red of her eyes almost devoid of life due to the fact she hadn't slept before coming here that night .. among other things, that is. To Ryu, Juniper was the pinnacle of human interaction that day if not the highlight of her entire week.

Nights were often lonely. Roommates were assigned to another room either upon request to get together with their friends or simply stuffed in there with quiet Miss Tanaka when the administration had to make certain adjustments to various rooms before their reassignment. She was alone, sometimes weeks at a time unless someone or something came to visit, Aegir and Ishtar being the most notable guests in her rather isolated corner of the world to sate quite literally any hunger and thirst, be it love, sex, or both at a time. Today she merely stayed awake thanks to the inevitable excitement of breaking the rules, struggling with a slightly depressive streak and her extremely personal fear of the dark on her way to Juniper despite barely knowing the girl.

Ryu got back up, letting the student do whatever she had to do in order for them to get started as her gaze swept across the brick wall once again, wondering if time spent here was worth the risk. The other woman surely seemed to think so and whilst the adventurous journalist dared to move on levels way beyond her pay grade, she didn't exactly feel confident in her ability to break the rules to such an extent.

There was another quick rustle as Juniper cleared the first line of brush with a hop, her cover flapping behind her as she landed smoothly and jogged over. Perhaps somewhat irritably given her own choice to forgo such niceties, Ryu noted that Juniper had elected to wear a pair of running shoes to their rendezvous. As Juni saw it, in the event that they were detected, she'd risk compromising her identity a great deal more getting caught than she ever would from someone recognizing the make of her shoes when she was on the move.

"Hey! You made it! I half expected you to back out!" she said lowly, coming to an abrupt halt and turning around, "And you're wearing the mask, perfect! Pose for the camera!" she said, leaning forward and flashing a pair of "V"s back at the treeline. Well . . . she certainly seemed . . . chipper. And indeed she was. Even beyond the uplifting chemical high of her brief romp, this was the kind of thing that Juniper lived for on a level. Skulking about in forbidden places, the thrill of nearly being caught in her nerves, turning over hidden truths through persistence and experimentation. How many times had this school and it's "guests" manipulated, twisted, and tore at her will and perceptions? This was an opportunity to express her frustrations, and strike back in her own little way. And she had a partner, how long had it been since that had happened? Not since the bad old days.

"Okay!" she nodded, though there was no flash from the bushes, "I just need to go get the ladder, and we can get this show on the road." she smiled behind her mask, the twinkle in her eyes plainly visible due to the fact that her own respirator lacked a face shield as she turned her head to look over at Ryu, "So, do you want to be Goddess or Woman?" she smirked a bit, pointing at the top corner of one roof and the bottom corner along the ground from the opposite side. Then she blinked seeing the lackluster expression behind the redhead's mask.

"Hey, are you gonna be okay for this?"

"I said I'd be here, didn't I?" In contrast to what they were about to do, Juniper almost seemed a tad too thrilled which might've helped in easing the red head's concerns. Striking a pose she placed a hand on her hips, the other matching the ones of her partner whilst smirking softly and facing the camera although Ryu wasn't entirely sure whether the picture had been taken or not until she gave it her 'Okay'.

They really were going to cover it all if not most of their canvas, the mention of a ladder made that clear as if the student decided to play on all her fears at once without even knowing about them. Ryu brought a hand up, palm facing away in a rejecting gesture before shaking her head, nearly letting out a hissed sigh. "I'll stick with the bottom, thanks." For someone who became agitated when faced with heights barely beyond her own size, ten to twenty feet weren't something to poke a stick at though the wording of her response might get the meaning across to Juniper.

"Ah ..", she paused, noting that her expression must've matched her mood if folks were pointing it out, lighting up a bit in response. "It's nothing, forget about it. I just .. don't get opportunities like this anymore." None ever since they broke her down, for that matter. "Gotta take a moment to get fired up, is all. Once I'm in the mood we're gonna give this babe a treatment it won't forget anytime soon.", she said, enthusiastically patting the brick wall. With a little more swing to it, she swept up a spray can from the bucket upon spotting a color that'd make for the perfect base for what she had in mind. A darker shade of green that once dried almost looked like black, destined for portions of landscape farthest from the viewer though naturally more details would follow.

While merely assuming the role of the woman, Ryu already knew that the person she drew inspiration from was in fact a goddess in her eyes. Of all people she was going to paint her beloved. With a bit of a smirk she stepped back, placing down the pieces before her inner eye as she looked back at Juniper, waiting for her to bring the ladder. "How much quality time are we going to spend here, anyway?"

"Heh, leaving the hard part for me, huh?" Juniper said with a grin, "I figured you being so accomplished you'd want the chance to show off. Fortunately, the notion that, in our limited time frame, you'd want to focus on fully realizing a single figure had actually occurred to me, so I came prepared." she said, shifting her hands under the poncho for a moment until she came up with a measuring tape in one hand and a roll of masking tape in the other.

"Okay, lemme think . . . I figure we've got about five hours before the Prefects start their morning patrols, and while there are other guards out there they don't tend to come this far out. Really, aside from sneaking a smoke in the morning, there's not much reason to be over here." she looked a bit wistfully at the wall, "Much as I'd love to give it the full treatment I think it'd just be an indistinct jumble of fleshy blobs over on my side. Hell, the original isn't that big. So, let's talk dimensions . . ." she chewed her bottom lip for a second, trying to remember her art history "Mmn, the original was basically nineteen by nine, right? There are two of us, and we have the benefits of technology, satire, and not having to paint the thing upside down onto a cieling. I think we can tastefully double that." she looked up the wall, "Wait, shit, the windows. Forgot to take those into account. Mmn . . . half again as big, then. Thirty by thirteen and a half." she nodded a bit though the math wasn't perfect.

She offered Ryu one end of the measuring tape and ran out until she got the proper proper distance, laying down a quick "L of tape to mark the border. Leaving the tape on the ground, she marked the center line for the piece, and then she moved over to where Ryu was to place another corner there. Moving to about the 1/3rd point of the marked off canvas, she measured half way up the height she'd selected and stuck a tiny square of tape to the wall.

"Alright, that's about where the near-touch should be." she said, glancing over at Ryu, "I'll leave you to get started, shouldn't take more than five, ten minutes tops for me to get back." Juniper said, tucking the measuring tape back under her covering though she dropped the masking tape into the bucket so that it could be used to mark off areas as needed." then, she ducked her head a bit and moved around the corner of the building at a quick dash.

"Makes me wonder what else you got under that coat." She kept that thought to herself in case these jokes were going to bother her, assisting Juniper in marking the boundaries of their canvas. She might've been overthinking their circumstances, but for all Ryu knew the other girl was just being thorough.

"You got it, but don't be long.", she grinned behind that mask. "Can't do all the work for you if all I've got are five hours at best." Even as she was leaving, right before the woman rounded the corner the sound of Ryu applying the first bit of paint reached her ears, the only indication she would get before leaving for the ladder. Part of her figured she might get caught, but in time she'd know whether her partner was successful in retrieving it without any incident.

Ryu wanted this to be a token of remembrance whether it was removed or not and thus got to work on the mural immediately upon Juniper's departure. While she wasn't going to add it to her resume, it had to be worthwhile for the competitive red head to be satisfied. An exact copy of their chosen piece of art had the potential be a bit tedious, so she planned on adding a couple details that'd set them apart aside from opposite genders. Maybe she'd ask for a copy once the pictures were processed, until then her focus remained on getting the job done.

Within minutes she laid down various curvy lines contrasting with one another, imitating the landscape behind the not yet visible blue sapphire of a woman in distinct shades. From extremely dark on the outer edge over a mix of ochre and asparagus down to a compelling, soft tone of mantis near the tape at the bottom they stretched from vaguely seven and a half feet above the ground toward the lower horizontal line of their canvas in rough, uneven arcs, the farthest connecting with the approximate middle of the nether border though prior to this she'd used the tape to mark these spots. Toying with less colorful tints among the brighter ones Ryu attempted to cause a feel of depth and clarity when looking at the patches of the barely lopsided plane the woman of her dreams would reside on.

Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't in which case it wasn't as much of a loss as she feared, getting a more confident grasp on how the paint dispersed from the can when her index finger applied pressure. Where she played with this method were small stains of paint, smooth transitions here and there whilst few other spots hadn't turned out nearly as well. Thankfully those were for testing purposes only, drying in time for another layer that'd cover them up again sometime later that night.

As things were she figured that whilst her main focus would be the blue haired beauty of her lover, the terrain would demand perhaps half, if not an entire hour of the five hour timeframe. The dusky fragments of her foundation might meddle with the lighter skin parts and what little cloth there would be eventually which could consume precious minutes, but if that were the case she would simply have to adjust. Those were just estimates of course, all she had to go on were comparably tiny pieces made with brushes though if she took longer than an hour to procure the desired effect she'd have to move on with the centerpiece.

For the moment she was working on the outer section of the supporting scenery, filling out the empty space between the still indistinct, jagged mountains and rather smooth plateau closer to the corner. Lighting effects and such had yet to be added and whilst in what little time she spent here Ryu swiftly put up a decent amount of paint on the wall, a lot of things were still missing.

"If you ask me nicely, maybe I'll tell you what I haven't got under here." Juniper wiggled her eyebrows suggestively with a chuckle as she tucked the items back out of sight. Maybe she was taking the set-up a little too seriously, after all they were basically freestyling it out here. Of course, that was just the thing, Juniper was used to planning her work so that she could work the plan. When she went off script she did some truly crazy things . . . like hurling herself off of a cliff confident that she could make the gap to the trees before she hit the ground. Fortunately, so far tonight everything seemed to be on an even keel.

The route to the storage shed was more exposed than she would've liked, but there was nothing for it. It was set up to be close to the fields so that the sports equipment would be nearby when needed. She focused more on speed than stealth, her pace only slowing enough for her to keep an eye out as she reached the small, squat building and circled around to the back. Sure enough, there was the ladder, just where she'd seen it last. It was too big to fit in the shed, so the school had mounted a pair of hooks along the rear wall and hung it up out in the open, confident that between it's metal construction and the overhang that reached over it that it would endure the elements. Juniper smiled a bit to herself, it was always nice when the school made it easy for her, and reclaimed the ladder making her way back to their canvas.

A soft metallic rattle announced her return, the ladder braced against her back as she made her return. She blinked slightly, it seemed like Ryu was making good time so far, then she smirked to herself. Her impulsive decision to include the girl might just work out for the best. Still, she didn't have time to admire her technique, not if she was going to get this done in time. So, she propped up the ladder and climbed halfway, reaching under her coat again to pull out a pair of folded over pages. The first was a copy of the Creation of Adam that she'd printed off as a kind of color reference, the second however was a series of sketches she'd done herself was practice for for the night's work, figuring out the arrangement of characters and the identities to pull from.

Pulling out a flat pencil, she started sketching out the most basic of forms against the wall, having one figure stretched out over fifteen or so feet wasn't something she wanted to try and eyeball, to say nothing of the people bearing it aloft. Juniper couldn't quite keep a smirk from her lips as she sketched in in the curve of the waist sweeping into the hip. If she was to create the image of an immaculate being, there really was only one model of comparison for her. Oh, Eve was certainly gorgeous, with her skin like soft cream, her long flaxen hair, and those infuriatingly smug and knowing eyes, she'd have been a good model to replace Adam, perhaps. Heather, however, was . . . transcendent, Juniper didn't have any other words for it. Completely devoid of flaw, even when she'd been mentally vacant it had been hard to ignore her radiant presence or her near-luminescent eyes.

"You know, I don't think I asked before." Juniper said, shaking the can to stir the mixture so that it'd lay more evenly, "What'd you sign up to learn here, originally? Hoping to go pro with the art thing?" she asked. A little conversation would help pass the time . . . so long as she wasn't distracting her partner. Juniper took her first real stroke of the piece, a long sweeping curve of pale pink.

"Huh?" Roused from her entranced state Ryu halted in her actions for a moment. Funnily enough nobody had ever asked her anything of the sort, probably because her acquaintances knew there wasn't much to gain from someone as simple as the red head in terms of academics. All she could do was sneer before commenting. "Art? So .. what, you don't think I've got the knack for computer engineering?" Obviously it was supposed to be a joke, the grin behind that mask evidence of it though Juniper couldn't see it.

"Ah, hell. Who am I kidding ..", she added swiftly before eyeing the portion she'd been working on a second ago. "As I said, turning something I like into a career would ruin the passion I've had for it." For the sake of providing a rather lengthy answer Ryu was willing to elaborate a little more than within her otherwise awfully brief conversations. "I've only gotten started here because my dad wanted me to pursue further education .. He made a few calls, called in some favors, that sorta thing .. and then I was here. I'm guessing if not for my looks they'd never have accepted a straight D student, anyway."

Picking up a faint, almost sandy shade of yellow she shook the can briefly before applying the faintest layer upon the darker, outer edge of the scenery. She might've not been planning as far ahead as Juniper, drawing the outlines and such, but Ryu made an effort to make up for it in talent and swiftness. "Originally I was trying to better myself and graduate with a major in Mechanic Engineering, just for the heck of it, but it seems my give 'em hell attitude didn't help much in that endeavor."

She smirked at that. "You might've figured by now that it didn't work out, so I tried putting as many courses into Art and PE as I could while still being able to graduate with the slightest of effort .. I might be lazy, but I just can't picture myself spending over fourty years working in a lab or for a coorporation where I'm just a number and not a name."

At least with Aegir and Ishtar she had two compelling arguments not to care any more about college education than she did at the time. What she needed to learn, she'd learn, one way or another. Of course Juniper wasn't obligated to know every little detail and while Ryu hinted at it, she never fully explained the matter. "But hey, there's always a light at the end of the tunnel. In a sense my continuous failure in meeting my own expectations has gotten me something I've always wanted .. Ah, but there's something I'd like to know about you, too."

In a sense they were playing a game of quid pro quo the entire time and while she assumed she'd get a response to the same question from Juni getting rid of the elephant in the room was long overdue. Ryu even stopped working on her side entirely as she looked up at the other student. "Why even do this?", she asked, gesturing at their canvas with outstretched arms. "I mean, I'm not saying I think your efforts aren't sound, but what point is there in trying to expose how this place functions?"

Juniper took a moment. Ah, yes, the redhead had said that, hadn't she? Bad girl, letting a few paint fumes make you lose track of the details. Still, Juniper had asked because the redhead didn't really seem to excel at any other scholastic activity from what she'd noted in the records. Ryu's own take on events seemed to bear that observation out though, rather than refute it. Hmn.

"I can understand not wanting to turn your hobby into a career," she said, a rough outline of her work in place as she began to fill in large blocks of color, building up swiftly now that she had her guidelines down, "But shouldn't you pick something you at least have an interest in? I mean, if you do turn it into a career it's still something you've got wake up and do every day." she took her time with short burst as she reached a point where two shapes began to overlap, "Sports medicine or something like that, where your clientele is small enough that you get to know them by name, and if your current curriculum is anything indication you've certainly an interest in sports if not medicine."

"Heh, you're really going to drop a line like that and just leave it hanging?" Juniper asked, turning away from the wall for a moment to shrug, "Okay, fair's fair, but I'm coming back to that point." At least, that was what she said. After Ryu asked her question, however, Juniper was quiet for a full minute, focusing on the wall in front of her. It's not that it was so hard a question to answer, quite the opposite, she had too many answers, she was trying to cut through to the heart of the matter.

"Frankly, I'm surprised I'm the only one looking." she said finally, hopping down from the ladder, to pick up a new color from the bucket, "I mean, really. We have proof of the extraterrestrial, of the paranormal, of so many things relegated to the realms of myth or madness. It's not as though the creatures avoid inquisitive minds, there are scientists and story tellers alike in the ten percent . . . so why am I alone out here?" she looked at the color in her hand and tossed it into the air, flipping end over end, before she caught it again.

"But, I guess that doesn't really answer your question, does it?" she paused a bit and looked straight up, passed the gym, at the clear night sky, "I guess . . . I don't really see any other options. I had plans for my life, you know? Things I wanted to do, people I wanted to make amends to. Now I'm here, and all that's gone horribly off the rails, I'll never be the reporter I wanted to be . . . just an investigator, or a trouble maker, or something's pet." she bit that last word off with venom.

"Once upon a time, one of them asked me a question. What would I do if I couldn't even comprehend the nature of my cage?" she took a moment and pointed up, "It's a good question. Nothing here makes sense, even the stars . . . the curfew is early enough that we should never really see them, but breaking the rules, out here, like this? None of the constellations are up there. That's . . . I don't even know." she shook her head, "So, I can look, and hope that in achieving understanding I'll gain the insight needed to slip my leash, or I could let the mystery drive me crazy and sit back to let these things train and mold me as they see fit."

"I'm really disinclined to let them have it that easy. Blame a well documented problem with authority." she climbed up the ladder again using shades of dark brown to start filling in the deep shadows of the figures bearing aloft the divine personage she'd laid down some of the basics for.

"So, come on. What is it that you've found that you wanted for so long? It'd be refreshing to hear of something positive coming out of this place, rather than the nightmare factory I usually turn up."

It'd have been impossible to explain how any career choice didn't matter, that she already had plans for the future upon graduating though even Ryu didn't know the exact details herself. For a moment she simply seemed to ignore the suggestion whilst actually putting some thought into it before shrugging, a smile behind that mask. "I'll think about it."

Being a sophomore Ryu could've thrown Juniper a bone as to why she was all alone, though undoubtedly she would figure it out on her own if she got around as much as the red head thought she would. Some broke down, she assumed, carved in by either monsters or the staff themselves. Seeing the basement and their rather obscure affiliation with the platform out in the sea which supposedly was some sort of laboraty, it'd make sense that they took care of the more determined women themselves to ensure a continuing level of secrecy.

Then again, when even angels attempt to shape you into a perfectly compliant pet there wasn't much need for such extreme measures. Ryu had her fair share of those that tried to train, sometimes claim her and she wasn't even halfway through the four years she was going to spend in this hell hole. "Don't know, honestly.", she replied calmly, selecting another color now that the outer layer was pretty much complete.

Merely saying how sorry she felt for Juniper wouldn't cut it, so Ryu kept working on the terrain part in silence until she could offer something with a little more substance. "I could tell you a few things, but I don't know how reliable my sources are so if you wanna ignore them, that's fine."

"You might've come to the same conclusion already, but .. I don't think we're on earth anymore. We might've arrived here on a regular seaplane or rather something that looked exactly like one, but for some reason everybody on my trip here fell asleep during the flight, not to mention the cargo that went missing inexplicably which just happened to be everything that is considered contraband although nobody could've accessed our luggage along the way." Filling in the blanks she switched to another can, a lighter shade of green to fill in one of the inner layers. "One of the creatures I've come across told me that he wished he would've been able to have his way with me back on earth .. that might just be a misunderstanding on my part but that's the first time I noticed something about this school wasn't quite ordinary, aside from the monsters, that is."

"Make of it whatever you feel like, could just be food for thought for all I know." Part of her prefered to keep things short, she wasn't much of an extrovert to begin with and didn't want to bother the one looking into the subject with false truths.

There was hesitation on her part, the two of them barely knew each other and revealing such personal details put her at a certain unease even if they exchanged answer for answer. "I'll tell you, but I expect something from you in return .. Don't tell anyone else .. Ever."

Fine tuning around the edges in this manner wasn't as easy as it seemed, not for someone with little experience in graffiti though Ryu looked up at the other woman for a moment to see how she did it. There was no telling what Juniper thought about relationships among the student body seeing how they were usually frowned upon by straight women, but she decided to share anyway. "I found love .. or hope, I suppose."

For a moment she remained silent, letting it sink in. "There's this one girl .. We've first met in an introductory session in book club, but it wasn't until later in our first year that we even got around to studying together. I imagine that would've been the only thing keeping us together until then if it hadn't been for the intervention of a certain abomination, so in a sense I'd have to thank him for that."

She took a deep breath before proceeding, keeping the name of her lover a secret in case Juniper and Ishtar ever met. "We got caught up in a couple of sticky situations, lived through nightmares that we could do nothing about no matter how hard we tried .. Sometimes bad things just happen to good people and we were no exception, but in the very least something like that welds you together in ways you can't imagine unless you've experienced it yourself. So .. between the hell the school and monsters put me through, I always have a piece of heaven waiting for me back in the dorms .. and that's the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me."

"If I ever had the freedom to choose a normal life over this, I'd always choose to live through the same torment again up to the very second I'm standing here, talking to you. That's how much she means to me." All along Ryu was busy putting down the basics and finishing up with them, having partially finished the landscape section of her side. "Why, what gets you through the day?"