Green Thumb [2430-1-2 Thur 1:00 pm]

[Titus Vere]

It wasn't too far to Persephone's apartment, but Titus accompanied Skye all the same. He wasn't comfortable sending her out alone, especially not through the Top. While reaching the Top was easy enough, staying there was much harder. Police roamed the streets, and anyone who looked or acted as if they didn't belong would quickly have their IDs scanned and be sent back where they belonged.

Skye's ID was as close to authentic as money could buy, and if she was found wandering, they would most likely escort her back to Titus' apartment. But there was always a chance she would run into someone who thought they could take advantage of her confusion or perhaps her fear of authority.

With Titus at her side, no one approached them. It made the trip very quick and gave them ample room to sit on the SkyTrain. Titus enjoyed the view, buildings speeding by underneath and around them as the train hurried along. In some places, the train travelled through buildings rather than waste time circumventing them. Glass tunnels revealed people going to and fro as they shopped or headed back to work after a leisurely lunch.

[Skye Thompson]

The streets of the Top were much more inviting than the ones in the Below, but all the same, Skye was glad Titus had come along with her to Persephone’s home. Everything about this world was new and strange to her, which left her feeling as though she might step off a cliff at any moment, too lost in the dark to see the chasm before it opened under her feet. But Titus and Persephone were there to hold out lanterns for Skye, and in time, teach her how to carry her own light.

The only thing that was already familiar was the people. True, the crowds of the Top were smiling and laughing, and their faces were lit with sunlight rather than dim lamplight, but the feeling of being among the surging mass of humanity was still much the same. And yet, the way people moved was different. In the Below, Skye had been invisible; no one had paid attention to her, and she’s returned the favor. But now, people skirted around her, as though they didn’t quite want to get to close. It made Skye feel uncomfortable, she was rather used to being ignored. Glancing quickly at Titus, she wondered if perhaps it was her company, or his reputation to be more exact, that was earning her the notice of so many people.

Skye wondered how many people knew what she knew. When Titus had first told her, she’d thought it was something of a big secret, but perhaps not. Maybe killing was a respectable job in the Top, something that earned you friends rather than the appreciation of thick-bodied men with deep-seated grudges. But then, it didn’t really matter either way. This was her life now. If people wanted to stare at her then let them look. Although, it was a bit unnerving…

With a sigh of relief, she stepped into the nearly empty train car. But her sigh soon turned to a gasp as the train began to move and Skye’s mouth fell open in awe. “Wow…” she murmured as the buildings flew by below and around her. She looked ahead, and nearly panicked when she saw they were headed straight for one of the towering strucktures, but the impact she was expecting never came. Of course, the tunnel went right through the building! Skye grinned. The wonders of this world never ceased to amaze her.

[Titus Vere]

He smiled a little at her joy. It was as if everything was a joy to Skye, everything brand new and shining. But, then again, everything was brand new and shining to her. The Below had fallen into disrepair centuries ago and no move had been made to clean it up. Only the Top and Middle continued to move forward architecturally.

Their train continued along it's chosen path, and if you watched carefully, you could see other trains on other rails, going here and there across the skyline. They had been built to be hidden from sight, so they wouldn't be a constant distraction. But if you knew where to look, you could always catch a glimpse of them as they sped between buildings, or rose out of the depths.

As they reached their destination, the SkyTrain slowed and finally came to a halt inside the station. Titus stepped off, making sure Skye was behind him. From here, it was simply a short walk with Skye across a few walkways. Titus exited the building and stepped onto the walkway. Glass surrounded the top to prevent anyone from falling, either accidentally or on purpose. The floor underneath, however, was solid. There were some walkways that were transparent all around, but they tended to be avoided. It was unsettling on some primal level to look down and see nothing holding you in place.

[Skye Thompson]

As the train wound it’s way through the skies of Terra, Skye sat gazing around her in awe. Looking down made her feel dizzy, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the buildings rushing by below. The speed of the train was second only to that of the elevator that had brought her to the Top, and it sent adrenalin coursing through her veins. Skye never planned on using that elevator again. In fact she wanted to forget just about everything that had happened before she’d stepped out of the elevator and looked up at the beautiful blue sky shining above her.

As yet another automatic door opened and Skye followed Titus out of the elevator, a smile stretching across her face as she turned it skyward and let the sunlight wash over her skin. Even more than the buildings or the fast-moving train cars, the sky was an awe inspiring sight. It still amazed her just how big her namesake was. And so blue! A color more brilliant than anything she’d ever known. As she followed Titus toward Persephone’s house, Skye felt that her spirits were even higher off the ground than her physical body.

[Titus Vere]

Persephone's apartment was on the top floor of the building. Even to Titus, who had more money than he ever needed, a top-floor apartment was simply out of the question. They were ludicrously expensive, especially if you wanted to keep it a top-floor apartment for longer than a year. Persephone had two fortunes at her disposal, and even more importantly, her mother was a shareholder in Terra's premier northern-western construction company. She would always have first-dibs on any top-floor apartments as long as she lived and the ability to stop any construction happening above her.

She did not have a fingerprint scanner, but a retinal scanner instead. They were much easier to program and had access to the global database. Titus scanned his eye, making note to check and make sure Skye's retinas weren't listed anywhere. Considering she was from the Below, this was a safe guess.

The door opened and Persephone appeared, radiant as ever. He kissed her on the cheek and stepped aside to let her embrace Skye. Titus was glad they'd hit it off so well. He wasn't very good with emotional openness or heart to hearts. But Persephone had always felt so much more than Titus, her emotions running quick beneath her skin.

"We're on time, I trust?" He said, already knowing the answer, but wanting to be polite.

[Persephone Ruspoli]

Persephone had everything ready and was simply killing time in her studio. After spending time with Skye yesterday, she had come home and almost immediately started creating. A clay monstrosity was dominating her studio floor, strange branching arms coming out of it and the beginnings of faces appearing on the 'trunk' of the sculpture. She wasn't sure exactly where she was going with it, but sometimes it was best to see where you hands led you. You could always go back later and start new with a clear picture in your mind.

The door chimed and Persephone quickly washed her hands, sliding her smock off and hanging it on a hook, and kicking off her shoes once she hit the boundary between the workspace floor and her wonderful lush carpet. Perse quickly crossed the distance between her and the door and opened it, beaming at Titus and Skye.

Titus kissed her on the cheeks, and then she turned her attention to Skye, pulling her into a tight hug. "Yes, you're punctual as ever." She assured Titus.

[Skye Thompson]

She knew which building was Persephone’s before they reached it, recognizing the strange green rooftop. As they approached the door, Titus held his eye up to a scanner. Skye stared. All these security measures baffled her. In the below, security consisted of having a weapon on you. Besides, what did you need to protect yourself from when everyone around you was just like you? Why would rich people want to steal from other rich people?

The door opened and Persephone stood smiling on the threshold. Titus leaned forward and kissed Persephone’s cheek, as Skye looked on in surprise. Was there something between them? Something more than friendship that she hadn’t picked up on yesterday? But these thoughts were quickly forgotten as Persephone gathered Skye into her arms. Skye smiled and relaxed into the hug, wrapping her arms around her friend in turn. She felt a wonderful sense of warmth and well being. Persephone would never hurt her, never threaten her, never force her to do things she didn’t want to do. She was safe here, as safe as any person could be.

[Persephone Ruspoli]

"Come on in!" Persephone ushered them inside, "Just kick your shoes off and make yourself at home."

Her apartment was an open loft, similar to Titus' place, but the layout and the space were utilized much differently. Her studio took up much of the right half of the apartment, a square of hard tile surrounded by a sea of carpet. In the corner was a blackroom, completely closed off from the rest of the room and windowless. Cameras were set up in the studio, and a large 3D projector hung from the ceiling, ready to bring footage to life the moment she wished.

On the other half of the apartment was her kitchen and living room, merged together in what was a deliberate attempt to challenge perceptions of what a kitchen and living room were. Or at least, it had been when Persephone had first designed the apartment. She had since grown annoyed with how inconvenient it was to have the appliances clustered in the middle of the kitchen, surrounded by countertops and four couches. As well, it turned out Persephone hated cooking and preferred to have food delivered instead. It still looked interesting at least, and made a great conversation piece at parties.

In the bottom left corner, directly across from them, was Perse's bedroom, and beside it, a set of stairs leading up to the roof and her garden. The place was decorated in bold colours, pinks and oranges and yellows, the plain white carpet soothing to the eye after staring too long as the bright walls.

"Would either of you like something to drink?" She asked, already knowing Titus would likely ask for a white wine if he was staying, or nothing if he was not.

[Skye Thompson]

Persephone’s apartment was beautiful. The bright colors on the walls seemed warm and cheerful to Skye, though she wasn’t sure that was how they had originally been intended. The thick white carpet looked more comfortable than any carpet had a right to be, and it gave Skye the urge to lie down on the ground and fall asleep. But what really drew her attention was the studio. Since she was a little girl, Skye had always loved to draw. It was a passion and a talent, and one of the few things about herself she was proud of. Persephone’s workspace called to her, and she stared hungrily at it for a long moment, before her feet began to move of their own accord, carrying her to the boundary between tile and carpet.

She stood and studied the large sculpture that stood there with awe, a feeling that was now becoming almost constant to her. Enthralled, she let her eyes run up and down the clay piece, taking in every detail. She reached out a hand, and her fingertips just brushed the surface of the object. It was wet. She had never worked with clay before. In the Below it was hard enough to get plastic sheets and pencils to draw with, let alone other artistic materials. But, Skye realized with a thrill of excitement, that had changed now.

[Persephone Ruspoli]

She watched Skye approach the sculpture. That seemed fitting, since the sculpture was Skye, or at least, the emotions Skye had evoked in Persephone. Of course, even at the finished stage, it wouldn't resemble Skye and Persephone would need to explain it out in the placard if she wanted anybody else to know, and she hated doing that. The fact that it was Skye was something only Persephone would know, maybe Skye and possibly Titus if he figured it out for himself.

Perse decided to forget about the drinks, since they could bring it up if they really wanted something, and headed into the studio, slipping on her work-shoes. "What do you think?" She asked Skye, circling the statue, "I'm not anywhere near done, and I'm going to have to decide how to cast this nightmare when I'm done, but I'm on my way."

[Titus Vere]

Titus really could use a glass of white wine, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to drink too much around Skye. While he was busy erasing her real background, he'd done as much research as he could on it. She had been a bartender for a while, forced to by her biological father. The man was only alive because Titus hadn't yet decided if he should kill him, or if it would be a good experience for Skye. Until then, he would try to go light on the alcohol.

Instead, he watched from the edge of the carpeting as the two girls looked at Perse' latest statue. He wasn't terribly impressed with it. It was all raw emotion so far, zero planning. But that would come later, in the second or third version if the first didn't work out. And then, maybe he'd see something he liked in it. But this was still a little too... unspecific for him. He liked emotions in art, but refined emotions. Pure rage. Pure hate. Pure sorrow. All untainted by any other emotion.

It was best not to ask her what this one was supposed to be. She wouldn't tell him anyway, not until it was finished or until he solved it for himself. "Are you planning on having faces all along the length?"

[Persephone Ruspoli]

"I haven't decided yet." She answered, which was more or less true. There would be more faces, but the entire length? No, likely not. She had other ideas for the bottom half of the statue and depending on extravagant she went, she might have to create it separately.

Persephone tended to cast in either fiber or another polymer. Once in a while, she got to cast in metal, but it was hard to do that. There were regulations about the wasteful use of metal and statues were on the list of 'wasteful' objects. But once in a while, with a particularly good statue, you could get the restrictions temporarily lifted. Getting hold of the metal was no problem at all, thanks to her father's business, but because of the headaches associated with it, she tended to stick to other materials.

"There's going to be more of these." She said, reaching up to lightly brush her fingertips over the branching arms. "And maybe some feet on the bottom, if it doesn't look too ridiculous."

[Skye Thompson]

With a start, Skye heard Persephone’s voice and realized she had come up behind her. She watched as Persephone circled the statue. “I-it’s- I love it! It’s so…” she trailed off, not sure what to say. ‘Beautiful’ just didn’t quite seem like the right adjective. “It’s really interesting.” She finally said after a long pause. Skye was searching herself, trying to find a name for the emotion Persephone’s artwork made her feel. But somehow, she just didn’t know what that name might be, how to describe something that was only a feeling.

Titus’ voice brought her out of her reverie. Skye looked at him as he spoke, and then turned back to Persephone, curious to hear her answer to the question. She wasn’t surprised by such an answer, and quickly turned her attention back to the statue. Every so gently, Skye let her fingertips brush first forehead, then the eyes, then the nose, and finally the lips and chin of one of the faces, lost in thought.

[Persephone Ruspoli]

It was clear that Skye was having trouble finding the words. That was probably a bigger compliment than the most detailed break-down anyone could do of her piece. Inarticulacy wasn't exactly what Persephone was looking for, but that was as much of an emotional reaction as any. And an emotional reaction was exactly what her art was about.

Perse smiled as Skye ran her fingers over the face. There was something wonderful about seeing another person interact with her work instead of just staring at it. Titus kept his distance, as he always did, judging it from afar. Skye was experiencing it in a much different, more personal way.

"I'm still deciding if I should define the bodies more. I think I like it better as a quagmire." She grinned, running a finger along the seam where the arms melted into the rest of the piece, "Emotions are always tangled up in so many things, and they should be too."

[Skye Thompson]

It was a relief to realize that Persephone wasn’t insulted by her feeble attempts at an explanation, and Skye let out a breath she wasn’t aware she’d been holding. “Yes,” she murmured, letting her hand drop from the chin of the face she was touching. “I think you’re right. Emotions are always so complicated and confusing… this really shows that.” Recently, Skye felt as if her own emotions might knock her off her feet.

She reflected for the hundredth time how lucky she was to be here. How lucky she was to know people like Persephone and Titus. But then, luck had nothing to do with it. It was all about choices. She had chosen to ask Titus for passage to the Top, and he had chosen to give it to her. That had been a reckless decision on her part, but what had come of it was by far worth the risk. It had also been a reckless choice to let herself go to pieces in front of Persephone the first time they had met. But Persephone had turned out to be kind and understanding, and their friendship had blossomed. Perhaps, Skye thought with a small smile, she should try being reckless more often.