He hums thoughtfully. "Good to...try things, yes?" he asks Deka.

"Mmhmm. You want to?"

"I...think so?" One says, a little uncertainly, pauses for a moment, and then nods sharply. "Yes, yes I do."

"Okay." She gives him a little scritch behind the ears. "Show your fire, or no?"

"...Probably no," he decides quietly. "I- people might try- Prefer not to."

"All right."

    "Are you two whispering about something interesting, over there?" the elf asks, not looking up from her canvas.

"One might - sit for you, if you want."

    "Oh, wonderful. Let me just get this bit of iridescence down first."

One presses back into Deka, although it doesn't seem to be scared so much as taking strength from Deka's presence so that he's ready to do the sitting.

She'll hold him as close as he likes.

It takes a couple of minutes for the painter to be done. "Okay. I'm assuming you've never done this before?"

One shakes his head. "Ah- no. Sorry?"

"Hey, there's a first time for everything, yeah? Anyway, the most important part is holding still, it doesn't do me much good if I get halfway through drawing something and you move and we can't get the pose back. And what that means is that if I ask you to sit a certain way and it feels bad, even a little, I need you to tell me right away, so I don't waste time trying to draw you like that. I might ask you to hold on for a minute if I'm almost done, but I at least need to know to hurry. Make sense?"

He nods through her explanation. "I- yes," he says aloud when she asks. "Yes."

"Good. And, I like to label my paintings - I won't put your name on it if you don't want me to, but I'd like at least your species, if that's all right."

He nods. "Ah- red panda? I think?" He looks at Deka for confirmation. "But I- don't think I'm normal for that?"

"Yeah, a wizard made him."

    "Ah, all right then. Any special abilities you want to show off, with that? I can pay extra for that kind of thing, depending on what it is."

He considers the question, and then shakes his head.

"Okay. Three silver all right, same as these two?"

"Yes. That- that's fine. Thank you."

"All right. Your friend can come with you if you want, as long as she's not wiggly. Start by just sitting comfortably, I want to get your colors down first."

It's not hard work, and Deka is able to stay with him the whole time; it turns out to be handy to have her there when the artist wants to see him standing, from the back, and is curious about whether he can sit on Deka's shoulder. She does want to touch him a few times - once to see if his fur is differently colored away from the tips anywhere, and another time to get a closer look at his feet - but she's just as gentle and appreciative as she was with the griffons.

He follows her instructions well, and does his best to let her know if a position is too uncomfortable, although forgets a couple of times and just endures it. He...can probably sit on Deka's shoulders, although it might be a little awkward now that he's a bit bigger, and he doesn't want to hurt Deka trying? He stays calm through the touch, reminding himself that Deka and the griffons wouldn't let him get hurt, and he's allowed to tell her to stop (and quashing his instinct to hide behind Deka when she does want to touch him). He chirps a little in response to her appreciation, but doesn't actually know what to do with it.

She doesn't push on the shoulder pose, and notices on her own when he's having trouble with something, more often than not, and tells him to shift. And Deka pets him between positions, and it's a little scary, sure, but ultimately not bad at all aside from that.

After a while she wants to go back to her work with the griffons, and then she expects to want him to sit for her for just a little longer at the end, when she's had a chance to look over her drawings with fresher eyes. "I'll give you two silver now if you want, and you can come back in an hour or two for the rest, it seems like you could use a break."

"I- yes. It's- I don't mind. It's just- new?"

"Mmhmm. It's all right, I can tell you were doing your best." She goes over to a cabinet by the kitchen and gets out the coins for him. "And if you decide not to come back, I can make do with what I've got, it's all right. I would like you back, mind, there's some details I want to get, but I can make something up if you're done for the day."

He nods slowly, as he takes the coins. "I- I'll try, but I- don't want to- say I will. And not?"

"That's a good instinct." She starts leading them back to the door. "There's a sitting area two stories rootward and a bridge to the east that you might like, if you want to stay close."

One nods, but looks to Deka to see how she's doing.