1. Good evening, Marianne. What are you up to?
  2. Um, I found this in the mess hall.
  3. Oh! That's...
  4. It was at your seat, so I wondered if it maybe [cdb]belonged to you, or if...
  5. Actually, it is mine. Thank you.
  6. It's not a very good painting, is it? I mean, the use of [cdb]color and composition are all wrong...
  7. Oh. I think it's wonderful! The pegasus looks as [cdb]though she's about to take flight at any moment.
  8. You really think so? Well, that's good to hear.
  9. Um, so did you paint this, Ignatz?
  10. What? I, um...
  11. Haha...ha. I guess you've found me out.
  12. The brush strokes are soft, yet it has a true sense of [cdb]movement. I think it's beautiful.
  13. Well, I was hoping to combine the pegasi's gentle [cdb]nature and powerful wings in a single image.
  14. This was more of a test to see what poses and focal [cdb]points would be most effective for...
  15. Oh! I'm sorry! I got a bit carried away there.
  16. Hehe! It's all right. Though I honestly had no idea [cdb]you liked pegasi so much.
  17. They don't allow men to ride them, so I don't tend to [cdb]hear too much praise for them.
  18. But they're so kind—and so powerful when they fly! They truly are the most magnificent creatures!
  19. You seem to like them just as much as I do, Marianne.
  20. I've never seen you smile like this before.
  21. Oh! Ah, I... Er, I wasn't, uh...
  22. Don't worry—I'm just as bashful about it as you are.
  23. Say, here's an idea. Would you mind if I watched you [cdb]spend some time with a pegasus?
  24. I promise to keep a good distance so as not to put it in [cdb]too much of a sour mood.
  25. I certainly don't mind, but why?
  26. Well, if I ever want to paint one that I'm happy with, I need to observe it up close. Or as close as it will [cdb]let me get, at any rate.
  27. Oh, what a wonderful idea!
  28. I'll bring Ingrid as well—she loves nothing better than [cdb]spending her afternoons grooming a pegasus.
  29. To be honest, I'd resigned myself to the idea that a [cdb]male painter could never do one justice.
  30. But hearing your kind words has given me the [cdb]courage to try my hand at it again.
  31. So, thank you for that.
  32. I'm happy to help. Truly I am.