Spider Riders Fan Fiction ❯ Buguese's Test ❯ Art Lesson ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Buguese quickly decided to go about his business, which he soon discovered really wasn't much. If Lord Mantid didn't have anything for him to do then his only real duty was standing around. Buguese tended to contemplate about things when he stood around and now was no different. His subject a the moment was where the heck Aqune got such an idea from. It just wasn't like her. She never seemed to have a problem with obeying him before. Well… except when it came to Hunter.

“Fine!” decided Buguese. “I'll have to focus on figuring out Aqune later. I just remembered that I still must clean my dartboard.” He angrily sulked into the room where he kept it and clasped his hand around a dart. He tugged, but had quite a bit of difficulty pulling it out. “I suppose I shouldn't have shoved these in so hard,” he admitted. “Argh! I don't have the time to do this all by myself. Oh, Aqune!”

“What would you like?” Aqune asked once she arrived.

“I need you to help me pull out these darts that I jammed into the wall,” said Buguese. “Um… uh… please?”

“See, Buguese. You asked nicely, so I'll help you,” replied Aqune. She then went to pull on one. “These really are tight!” she shouted. “I guess I'll have to try a different method.” Aqune summoned the Oracle's power and the darts fell right out. She stared blankly at the image that was revealed underneath. “You drew that?” she asked.

“Of course I did, my dear,” said Buguese. “It's not like I have a camera, but even if I did, I wouldn't waste film on Hunter Steele!”

“So that's who it's supposed to be,” responded Aqune. “I guess if I squint a little, it does look like him.”

“You don't like it?!” Buguese asked, dejected.

“It's not that,” said Aqune. “It's just that the drawing's a little… well it's bad! I'm sorry Master.

“Why?! Why?!” yelled Buguese. “I have failed at drawing. Worst of all, there's a shortage of paper in our world now that the trees no longer grow. The Oracle will pay!”

“Relax, please,” Aqune consoled. “We're not that short on paper. I can help you draw another one. It can be compensation for asking me so nicely to help you with your dartboard. I'll be right back with paper and pencils.”

Aqune did intend to bring Buguese the drawing supplies, but she had another stop to make on the way. She needed to speak with Grasshop. It wasn't too difficult to find him.

“Grasshop,” she began. “If you have the time, I need you to do a favor for me.”

“Me? Of course I can do it. I can do anything for you. With my brilliant mind, if something has to be made, it will be done quickly and efficiently. Of course, I am an elite Insector, one of the Big Four. I…”

“Alright already!” yelled Aqune. “Sorry Grasshop. I'm just pressed for time. Here's what I need.” She whispered something to Grasshop quickly. Soon after, Aqune returned.

“Ah! You're back,” said Buguese. “Wonderful. Now we can make a new dartboard. I'm sure your art will be beautiful, as you are.”

“Alright,” said Aqune, not quite sure how to respond. “Now let's start off by figuring out how to make this to scale. In your initial drawing, one eye was much bigger than the other.”

“I never knew drawing took so much precision,” commented Buguese.

Aqune nodded. “It's like… um… serving Mantid,” decided Aqune. “It takes effort and focus. However, it also takes compassion. If you don't put care and patience into your drawing it will look like that awful picture of Hunter you had earlier.”

“I see,” said Buguese. “This is intriguing,” he thought to himself. “I still can't see why Aqune came up with this scheme, but I'm certainly enjoying all this extra time with her.”

“Remember, Master. I told you to focus!” Aqune yelled. “His head isn't supposed to be triangular.”