41

You had brought a trunk of your art materials so you'd have the option to sketch out some impromptu paintings whilst navigating about the room. You're quite glad to have them now.

"You see, Brute is surprisingly comfortable with a brush," you say as you drape a smock around the placid beast's neck. "I think it comes from being born in the brush…."

You continue your patter as you set up two easels and canvases; one regular sized, one in miniature. "Now, who should be the first of our subjects?"

You summon a giggling volunteer from the Gramercy's party. While she sits on a stool, you look down at Brute and flash a hand signal. Please be paying attention, you think fervently. Brute grabs its brush and starts to chew it. This display gets the audience laughing for now, but makes you quite nervous for the performance to come. You had signaled for the beast to go interact with your blushing model. Either it's distracted or you simply didn't invest enough time in its training, or the relationship overall. Nothing to be done now, you're afraid.

Onward