Trouble with a capital 'M' (Kiyr, Open)

[Kyrie Blaze]

Draw? Sure. Sketch war maps and tactical plans, but...that wasn't what the little girl was asking.

"Well, sure...but I'm not terribly good."

Decent enough to draw flowers or a rabbit. His skill would probably diminish after that. Stick people and whatnot.


The blonde smiled at her sounding out the Titan's name.

"Maybe you can ask my sister, too, just in case Einrik and I are too busy. But you should ask her after you meet her, okay?"

Not that she thought Arianna would mind, terribly...or even at all. But it was about polite courtesy and respecting other people.

"So, Maddie, should we give our cloths to the ship and go find this first art wall?"

[Your Mom~]

"Well you can draw with me and it will be fun I wont say mean things about your drawing Im sure it will be so pretty too!" Maddie reassured Einrik in only a way a child could. When Kiyr suggested they go find the art wall, it was as if her birthday had come early!

"YESYESYESYESPLEASE!" She jumped up and down on her little sandaled feet, causing the beat up light-up soles to blink frantically.

[Kyrie Blaze]

Einrik gave the girl a lopsided smile, feeling both awkward and embarrassed that he should need to receive ego-buffing praise from this little girl on his drawing capabilities. He chuckled, though, and shook his mohawked head.


Kyrie laughed quietly, the girl's enthusiasm and open joy being both refreshing and contagious. She would take the cloth from Maddie and hold both in one hand before offering her free one to the girl.

"Okay~ Come on, then. Off to find the first wall..!"

Because she had said Maddie would be the first one to draw on the first wall, after all. She would swing her arm lightly if the kid wasn't already doing so in her excitement as they made their way from the lounge and back into the hall, though she lightly tossed the cloths into a receptacle in the wall.


Einrik followed along, almost placidly, behind them. He was pretty much content to let Kiyr have kid-duties.

[Your Mom~]

"Yeahh!!" She gladly took Kiyr's hand and skipped along, through partway down the hall she stopped suddenly, causing the young woman's arm to jerk if she was still holding onto Maddie's hand.

"What about my crayons! I only have the pink oneeee~" And having only pink just wouldn't do! She needed her whole Crayola 64 set (granted, a very beat up, most of them broken, and probably missing a couple questionably-64 set) that she had left in the mess hall where August was snoozing.

[Kyrie Blaze]

Many of the people on the ship wouldn't have art supplies--so there was a surprise at each art wall in the form of...well. Ceres had done a good job in setting it up and Maddie would see when she got there.

But, for a child so obviously attached to her own super special set of crayons, nothing short of going to get them would currently suffice.

"Hmm, okay~ Did you leave them in the mess hall..? That was where I saw you streak out of when I first chased you."

And it was likely time to face the music with August. Though Kiyr didn't really know he had fallen asleep; if he was still sleeping when they got there, then she would probably tell him to go rest some place more comfortable.

Like his own bed.

[Your Mom~]

Being unaware of such a prize at the walls and focused on needing to get her own crayons back, Maddie gleefully nodded and led Kiyr and Einrik to the mess hall. It was mostly empty at this in-between-meals hour, and it was clear where Maddie had disappeared from. One of the tables was completely covered in pieces of half-colored paper and crayns strewn about (even one or two on the floor). Snoring at the next table over with his feet propped up, arms crossed, and chin tucked into his chest....was August.

[Kyrie Blaze]

Kiyr took one scanning look at the table and sleeping man, then looked down at Maddie with an eyebrow dubiously rising.

"Maddie I think you are a sneak. And I think we have just a little more tidying up to do. You gather your crayons and I will wake August. Einrik? Please help Maddie. I am sure it will go faster with three people working."

Hopefully that would waylay any whines from Maddie. Kyrie would release the girl's hand and calmly walk over to the snoozing man before lightly clasping his shoulder. Her blue eyes glinted with concern, amusement, and just a touch of reproach.

[Your Mom~]

Cue another long sigh frmo the little girl. Clean up was always the worst part! "Okayyy..." She crawled under the table to pick up the wayward crayons and pieces of paper that had escaped the table top.

At the shoulder clasp, the soldier jolted awake with a snort and a sleepy-slurred "I dinna do it!" After a couple of breaths to let his heart beat return to normal, he noted who the hand belonged to. "Ohhey Kiyr, was just resting my eyes..." His gaze fell to Maddie, who was cleaning up her things. Everything appeared to be in order.

[Kyrie Blaze]

Einrik stared a moment, then got down on his hands and knees as well, snatching papers and crayons, considering his hands could hold more. Wow, kid sure was enthusiastic about "making a mess". Even a creative mess. He half-smiled, half-winced and continued to pick things up, but not without a bump to the back of his head on the underside of the table!

"Ugh! Gods be d--" Shit. The kid. Right. No swearing, then.


Kyrie tilted her head.

"I can tell, August. It was long enough for a merry chase down the hall and a brief stint of hide-and-go-seek...with an extra special interlude of flower drawing and wall cleaning."

She wasn't angry, though. More...filling in August on what Maddie had been up to. But before he could turn to scold the girl, Kiyr shook her head and continued, thankful Einrik hadn't said what he was going to.

"I want you to go rest in your room. I am taking Maddie to go draw on some art walls I have had Ceres and her children set up. After that we will go see my sister, so...you should get a decent nap in."

Rambunctious children could be so draining.

[Your Mom~]

August rubbed the back of his neck, feeling sheepish. "'Been working overnights last couple days." He yawned, not protesting Kiyr's directions. "Thanks Kiyr, I owe ya one." He got up from his seat, albeit a bit stiffly, as the chairs weren't comfortable in the slightest. He ruffled Maddie's head as she climbed up from under the table with no problem at all. She giggled as August ruffled her hair, and she climbed up on the chair to put her crayons back in the box.

Maddie finished putting her crayons away as Augusat walked out of the room toward his bunk. "Ok Kiwi, Im ready!"

[Kyrie Blaze]

Einrik migrated to work on the top of the table, stacking and gathering and bundling the papers with a tolerant sigh before he was finished. Not really knowing what else to do, he picked them up to hold on to them for the young girl.


Kyrie smiled.

"Enjoy your sleep. Take better care of yourself or I may have to get Youichi involved."

The edges of her eyes crinkled in amusement before she turned back at the exuberant chirp of the girl. The blonde couldn't help but smile and offer her hand again.

"Good. Thank you for all your hard work, Maddie, and not complaining. That was very mature and respectful." She praised, softly, before leading them out into the hall again, gently swinging her arms. She turned the opposite way from where they had originally come from and continued to stroll towards some lights that started to flicker and then held steadily up the wall at their approach.

[Your Mom~]

Her expression fluttered between a nose wrinkle and a smile. On one hand Kiyr was complimenting her, but on the other she was using big grow up words and Maddie wasn't grown up! Ewwww!!!

"I can't wait to color on the art wall!" However, the girl had a one track mind right now. She skipped along holding Kiyr's hand with her crayons in the other hand. "Can all my friends draw on it too? And Eyenick? And you too Kiwi you should draw! We could make a flower and a pony and a star and a rainbow and a house and a space ship and.." This continued for several minutes until they drew close to their destination.

[Kyrie Blaze]

Poor Maddie would have to get used to it! But still, it would be few and far between that the little girl would get that kind of praise. Even Kiyr was content to stick with compliments closer to her age.

She chuckled quietly at the child's rambling.

"Of course, Maddie~ These art walls are for everyone." She would point to the lights, dramatising a small gasp. "Look, what is that? Do you see it?"

Maddie would see a wall that was outlined in lights ahead, with a small sign that stated it was an "Art Wall". Beside the lights on both sides were small touch screens...with a variety of artistic mediums displayed and a dispenser and receptacle. Obviously after a person was done with what they were using, they were to put it into the latter so the ship could digest the leftover materials.

[Your Mom~]

Maddies endless list dimmed to an "ooohhh..." as she caught sight of the most AMAZING THING SHE HAD EVER SEEN IN HER LIFE. She dropped her crayons and Kiyrs hand in her excitement, running up to the walls and pressing her little hands against the white wall.

"This is the best thing everrrrr~! How does it work? What's that?!" She pointed to the screen, mesmerized.

[Kyrie Blaze]

Kyrie laughed quietly at Maddie's awe and bent to pick up the girl's well-loved crayons to give to Einrik. Einrik, who was all-too-happy to hold them as it kept his hands busy.

"Well, the wall is just that. You can sketch, draw, colour, paint. The screen is so that even if you do not have crayons or paintbrushes, you can select what you need at that time."

The blonde slid the screen down so Maddie could see. The platform was simple and straightforward. There were buttons for pencils, ink, paint, tools like paintbrushes and rulers, crayons, and more. Kyrie would gesture to the crayon button.

"Press that."

Once Maddie did, an array of crayons would light up the screen, with arrows denoting that there were other pages and colours to choose from. She would nod for the girl to select one...

...there would be a 'plunk' as the coloured crayon Maddie pressed thunked down into the dispenser.

"And then you stick it in this one when you are done with that colour. You have to help keep the area around the art wall you use clean, okay?"