Artist and the Athlete

1

The sun rose over the quiet French village, beams of warm late autumn light pooling wherever they fell as the town slowly awoke, people of the village greeting each other with melodic glee and beginning the daily cycle of gossip.

Voices buzzed around every corner, following a tall, blue-haired boy as he walked from his overgrown studio to a local art supply boutique.

"He's a very strange boy"

"There's just something off about him"

"Do you think he's... Y'know"

Yusuke walked past a woman doing an exaggerated limp wrist, not that he noticed, too focused on getting to the art supply store.

He pushed open the door and walked in, paying no mind to the kindly old man who sat behind the counter. Yusuke Perused the store, grabbing things as he went. A new canvas, some fresh paint, a new brush.

He placed his new items on the counter, the old man who owned the place looking up at the blue-haired boy.

"A new canvas already, Yusuke? Have you finished with the last three already?"

Yusuke looked out the front window, avoiding the question for a moment before answering truthfully. "No, in fact, I haven't started on them," he admitted, avoiding eye contact with the man.

The shop owner smiled kindly at him before pushing the supplies back across the counter.

"Just this once, boy, you can take them. But I want a landscape in return, you understand me?"

Yusuke's eyes lit up at the offer of free art supplies. And he nodded, agreeing to paint a landscape before gathering his supplies and heading back to his cottage.

He gathered his paints and brushes and easel, and took out once more to the town square, setting up a quiet, secluded place to paint his newest masterpiece.

If only he knew where to start.

He sketched what was in front of him, taking graphite to canvas to capture the details. Then he looked at it from a different angle and scraped his eraser over the stretched fabric, ridding the canvas of the sketch before starting over.

He repeated this process, erasing sections of the outline and sketching them until they fit his vision.

Little did the tall artist know, that behind him, watching his every move, was Gastkechi, the most prolific hunter in the village.

"Beau, why are you in the square, painting, when you could be joining me in the woods!" he raised the scope of his rifle to his eye, aiming at the canvas that was now home to a myriad of colours and pigments.

"Gastkechi, I've told you before, hunting is not my strong suit. There are many others in the village you could ask to join you," Yusuke huffed, turning back to his now-completed painting and removing it from the easel.

"Now if you'll excuse me,"

Gastkechi stepped back in Yusuke's way.

"Beau, I can promise you, a hunting trip will be good for you!" he hoisted his rifle back onto his shoulder, "the whole town has suspicions about you,"

Yusuke pushed his way past Gastkechi, cradling his painting so as not to damage it as he brought it back to the art supply store.

"Let them be suspicious, and stay out of my way"

He paraded his way back to the art supply ship and handed his painting over to the owner, who beamed with Fatherly pride as he accepted the beautiful landscape.

"Thank you, Beau, now, be off home before the sun goes down," the owner urged, waving him out the door and into the now-setting sun.

Yusuke walked past the climbing ivy and into his small, dishevelled cabin, canvases strewn about, half-finished sketches, paint splattered across the hardwood floor.

Yusuke clambered past the mess and into his unmade bed, the final rays of sunlight hitting the walls of the cabin as he drifted off to sleep.