“Oh well,” I chuckled and produced a sketchbook, then continued Lapia's portrait. “All is good under heaven.”

The sofa was comfortable enough, and the day was just starting.

I can chat with Hanna later, I concluded. Let the woman have regular conversations first.

Someone walked over and sat next to me.

I glanced and saw Lapia with a surprised face.

“Did you see that?” She whispered with a big smile, gesturing at the door.

I nodded. “We'll be having a new girlfriend soon, Lala.”

Her eyes widened and she poked my shoulder. “How did you do it?”

“Whatever do you mean?” I replied with a playful smile.

The Elf arched an eyebrow, then wrapped an arm around my neck. “Tell me, please?” She whispered into my ear, then blew air into it.

Alas, I am a weak woman. Maybe the fate of the world will be threatened by that someday.

“My approach was much gentler than yours,” I pointed out, giving her a knowing look. “I offered advice instead of an invitation... and it succeeded.”

“I see,” she wisely muttered. “I was wondering how to seduce her.”

I sighed. “Maybe that's the difference. Your approach worked on me, but it won't on everyone...”

Her eyes squinted a little. “I'm not an all-knowing woman, unfortunately. What would you say is the difference?”

“Can't really tell,” I replied with a shrug. “For example, I like being on the receiving end of desire. When people verbalize their interest in me, I get a rush out of it. I guess Pokora's not quite like that. Maybe she likes to be more in control?”

“Maybe,” she agreed with a non-committal shrug. “I guess we'll find out.”

I hummed. “I thought you'd be more excited...”

Lapia scoffed. “Oh, I am!” She confirmed. “Just so you know, we Elves have a very strong libido when our cycle approaches.”

“You mentioned that already,” I reminded her, then chuckled, “And I doubt I'll survive when yours comes around.”

She kissed my neck, then ran her tongue to my ear, where she nibbled on my earlobe. “Oh, you will,” she whispered.

I nodded. Keep coloring, Natasha, I told myself. Ignore the tingles in your secret garden.

“I can't wait to eat Pokora up,” she giggled. “That'll be so much fun. Just thinking of what faces she can show makes me super horny.”

Damn... I smiled. “I guess four days in a row weren't enough?” I teased her.

Lapia chuckled, then kissed my neck again. “This and that are different matters. I am satisfied to no end, but just like with food, there's always space for dessert.”

“True,” I agreed wholeheartedly.

“And by dessert, I mean a quick fuck in the bedroom?” She whispered into my ear. “Maybe? A two hour quicky?”

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My face heated up. “Two hours is not quick, though,” I jokingly argued.

“Compared to the regular, it is,” she argued back, nibbling my ear.

I bit my lips. There was no way I could deny that. “Later,” I caved in.

Lapia clenched a fist. “Yes!” She celebrated.

I chuckled and focused on the drawing.

“I'll make you feel really good, sunshine,” she continued her attack, whispering into my ear.

I took a deep, calming breath. “You always do,” I whispered with a smile.

“I bet,” she chuckled and pinched my cheeks, then let me do my thing for a while.

I finished coloring the drawing in about thirty minutes, then showed it to Lapia.

“Wow,” she whispered, taking the sketchbook and giving it a closer look. “You made me look beautiful.”

“That's just how you always look,” I pointed out with a smirk.

Lapia looked at me, raised an eyebrow, and smiled. “That was good,” she giggled.

“Glad you liked it,” I giggled and smooched her.

She hugged me and sighed. “You're amazing, Natasha. I'm lucky to have met you.”

“Same,” I said and kissed her cheek.

Lapia released me and put the sketchbook on the low table in front of us, then laid on my lap, facing me. “Hey, Natasha.”

I brushed her hair and smiled. “Yeah?”

She looked me in the eye. “What made you want to be an artist?”

I thought for a second. “I don't really know, to be honest. It just kind of happened,” I replied with a shrug. “I always liked drawing, and art was interesting to me... so I went with it.”

Her eyebrows knitted and she frowned. “Just like that?”

“Hmm...” I caressed her face and pinched her nose. “The one thing I constantly did through my life was to draw things. When I was young, I always had crayons with me and I drew whatever I saw. Animals, people, activities, buildings, and stuff. I was shit at first, obviously... but I never stopped. I drew my parents, the animals we kept, my brother after he was born, the place we lived in, my neighbors, my friends... you get it. If I saw it, I tried drawing it. When I started school I drew the teachers, my classmates, the boys I liked, and the girls I found pretty. I was drawing even during class. Whenever I had a hard time while studying, I drew the teacher explaining the subject. Whenever I got sad, I drew things that made me happy,” I recalled, then frowned. “When my mom left us, I drew my dad to cheer him up... or tried to, at least. I realized then that not everyone is a good person. Those times were tough, but I kept drawing,” I sighed. “When I hit puberty, I started drawing naked people. I drew a lot back then. Maybe like twenty sketches a day? Something like that,” I chuckled. “When I started dating a boy for the first time, I drew him a lot.” I shook my head and sighed. “After that I had a better grasp on naked people. He was pretty interested in my drawings and liked them a lot, which made me show them to other people. I was good enough to get praise from others, and felt good about it. Naturally, since I didn't pay much attention during class, I didn't have the best of academic performances. So, I decided to focus on art. My boyfriend moved to the capital and we broke up. After that, I started taking art way more seriously and bought books about it. I researched and liked what I found. All the techniques people used for hundreds of years caught my attention and I tried copying them. My dad saw them and sent me to Art School. I did pretty good there, and learned a bunch. Then I met my first girlfriend, who was studying something similar. I don't know why, but she was jealous of my art. That was a mess and we broke up. I then started drawing...” I stopped. I had no clue how to explain the internet. “For other people, and earning money. I graduated Art School and found a job right away. It wasn't the most stimulating job ever, so I resigned after two years and continued drawing for other people. Then I was contacted by a writer and drew a comic. Fortunately it got popular enough to be a mandatory addition to my resume. Then I found a job for a big company as an artist. I made a lot of money by then. A few years later I died,” I finished.

Lapia had been listening in silence. She nodded in understanding. “That's a little sad,” she muttered.

I shrugged. “That world can explode for all I care,” I chuckled. “Life there was a constant compromise between what you want to do and what you have to do. You could say I was immensely lucky I did both. It was a complete shit show.”

The Elf hummed. “But it was fun, right?”

I scoffed. “Hardly.”

“How so?” She inquired.

“Common sense was nailed at the foot of the altar for profit,” I replied, looking into her eyes. I remembered a song that resonated with me back on Earth. “We were trapped in the belly of a horrible machine... and the machine was bleeding to death.”

Lapia stared into my eyes for a few seconds. “Was it that bad?”

I nodded. “For the great majority, it was.”

The Elf took a deep breath, then let out a long sigh.