If brokenness is a work of art
Surely this must be my masterpiece
Truly, there were sights of all kinds to be seen at such an event. No matter which way he looked, something was happening. A couple across the way clearly indulged a little too much in the spiced wine and were being quite affectionate with each other, pressed against one another in the way only intimate lovers could be. A prissy little thing rushed by with the cloying stench of far too much floral perfume only to be followed moments later by a fretting man, and by the whiff of him he’d perhaps grown far too close for someone else for the little woman’s liking. Another fellow, the paint upon his sides smeared and stained, a sweat coating his brow, was busy plucking treats and snacks from the tables and stuffing them unceremoniously away for another time.
Ba’al watched him, perplexed although his expression didn’t show it. It wasn’t his business what this man was doing with all of these snacks, nor did he particularly care... It was only when the stranger’s gaze snapped up and met his own that Ba’al arched a brow, nonplussed.
’You’re scowling’
If he could see him now, Helios would surely be pleased by the way that Ba’al barely managed to avoid rolling his eyes. ‘No shit,’ he wanted to say, but kept his mouth shut for the time being, two-toned eyes simply staring with that same disconcerted look.
’You know they don’t like that.’ ‘They’. The nobles and rich, snooty, posh bastards that ran this ‘party’ and by association, attended it. Ba’al didn’t care much for the Ieshans. They were too concerned with themselves and their propriety and flaunting their wealth and extravagance to care much about the small folk like him, like the orphans skulking the streets, with the hungry mouths and those less fortunate...
With an arched brow and a cocked ear, he spoke. “... I don’t work for them.” The statement was said on a murmur, a faint trace of disdain coating his every word. It wasn’t a lie, and Ba’al didn’t have the energy to care if this stranger cared. He certainly didn’t seem the type to go rattle his tongue to the nearest soldier actually assigned to this mediocre event.
Deciding to take a page out of this stranger’s book and press his nose into business that wasn’t his own, Ba’al cleared his throat and made a vague motion towards the stands of treats and snacks and other assorted tasty goods. “Do you not eat enough that you need to resort to taking food from a party?”
