Thread: A Vision In Blood (Miss Eleanora and Mr. Quixotic)

The thing was, that since Lyle had to stop himself from being too obvious about staring, he had already been staring enough for Elizabeth to notice it. It wasn't surprising to her, very few men who she encountered didn't seem to take that brief moment to look her over, some more obviously undressing her with their eyes than others. He had to his credit been much less overt and obnoxious about his assessment than many were, which earned him at least something of a point in her book. And he was amusing, which earned him another point. What, you can't picture yourself defending the rich and famous as they browsed high class art galleries like mine? The red haired woman teased. At his comment that that he would have been surprised if she was squeamish, and then continued to describe his distaste for the depictions of bloody and brutal scenes Elizabeth was fortunately turned away from him, as for a brief instant her expression was far less pleasant. Her opinion of him in that particular moment fell somewhat, but this was a subject that she was particularly comfortable with discussing. After all it was her passion, in more way than one. The things you see in the here and now are fleeting and ephemeral. Everything fades and everything changes. Art can be a way to immortalize a moment or a scene. She continued to speak. Just as it can immortalize the good, so too can it immortalize the bad. Everything deserves to be preserved in some capacity. Just like the men she captured in her works, had she not created the masterpieces that unbeknownst to Lyle were mere stories above his head, they would have eventually faded and been lost to time. As her own voice trailed off and she had returned she was able to see her own work spread out upon the table. At least, pale reflections of the wonder that was her work. These were quickly produced print outs, nothing compared to the pure vibrant wonders that she had crafted. This was a moment where Elizabeth did not have to feign shock and disgust at the sight in front of her. Lyle would almost certainly take it to be disgust at the subject matter and revulsion at the horrific sight. But, in truth it was more rooted in her sadness at how her masterpieces were so lacking in the medium he had presented them in. My word... She raised a hand to cover her mouth in a somewhat antiquated gesture. The news truly did not do them justice. This was the tricky part. She needed to be insightful, but not too much, to give this agent enough to keep him interested in what she had to say, but not appear as if she had knowledge she shouldn't. To be honest, it was a bit of a thrill, knowing that she had to tread so carefully here in this moment. Elizabeth let him meet her gaze, raising her eyes up from the spread of print outs upon the table. Well the first thing I can tell you is that whoever this 'artist' is, he has varied tastes, and there looks to be some symbolism to the works. She leaned over a bit and with a hand pointed to the first portrait, the most normal of them. This one is the outlier, the others are all fantastical in some way, demons here, a wizard, a blood-soaked ruler, and a classic hero. She paused then taking a long moment to consider, or at least appearing to consider. She already was pretty sure what she would say next. It's possible that the killer was working at random and these concepts were simply things in his mind. But it is also possible that there is some connection, something about each victim that would lead to them being depicted this way. And if there is something about the victim that gave rise to the portrayal, then he must have known his victims. Elizabeth trailed off then, her gaze intensely running over the images before her. Eventually she raised her gaze up once more, meeting Lyle's once more and returning his smile. She was most curious how he would take the breadcrumbs she was leaving, where he would go with them, and what might come of it. I think that the closer to the original, the better I will be able to pick things out that could be helpful. She gestured back to the copies on the counter. These are far less detailed, courtesy of being copies of copies I expect which isn't uncommon.