The feeling of cold steel within his hands. He'd long since discarded the gloves, there was no use in damaging them during the cleanup. The soft patter of droplets hitting the floor sounded behind him. It was almost soothing, rhythmic in nature along with the water stained red before him. With a soft hum, he sat the blade aside and turned.
The form before him in the table a work of art... At least in his eyes, he was well aware of what others thought of his work. Stepping closer to the table, he allowed his eyes to slip over the molded flesh and bone. He'd been working on this one for awhile, though it was tedious to find the...perfect...specimen. It had turned out to be a young model no one in the end would miss.
How could he resist? The beauty had already been there, but he'd seen beyond superficial surfaces to something deeper. A hand moving to ghost along the side of the piece, he was careful not to touch if even for a moment. Now in perfection, he was afraid of damaging it. All the while red spilled out over the table like a cloth of its own design. Darkening and thickening as it was left still, it continued to seep and drip over the edges. Now /this/ was art.
Turning from the form, he made his way over to the counter, where his camera sat patiently. Already he could feel the itch for more. The desire to create and the push to share such art with the world. Picking up the camera, he turned back and lifted it to his eye. For a moment things were a blur, before he used his free hand to adjust the lens. Slowly the work came into focus, there upon the table before him, the mass of flesh, bone and blood.
It took his breath away, a smile coming to his lips. It didn't take long for him to press down upon the button and there was a flash of light. Shifting a step to the side, he kneeled just slightly to get a different angle, before another flash was made and picture taken. It was perfect and yet...imperfect. Almost as soon as the smile had graced his features, it was gone... A frown replacing it that deepened steadily.
Lowering the camera, he turned away and nearly tossed it onto the counter once more, before turning to a table where a scattered mess of papers lay before him. Headlines and black and white photos met his gaze. A gruesome tale painted of a serial killer at large, people missing and horrifying works found upon display. Yet not a single hint of his work within a single photo. He knew what they were calling him, a monster, a madman...nothing more than a deranged killer.
A spark of anger and hands moved, hooking under the edge of table, before it was suddenly upturned to its side. Papers were thrown up into the air, fluttering around him, one in particular catching his eye as it drifted down to land at his feet. Kneeling down, he'd pick up the invitation. He'd been approached formally by a group inviting him for a ...project of sorts. Originally he'd seen no interest in it, brushing it off without a second glance and yet now...
They'd been interested in his 'artistic views' ...of course he was well aware of what views those were. He had plenty of other works, those less...perfect in his eyes and more normal in others. Those he'd won awards and praise for...those he'd become famous and well known for in the public eye. Tilting his head slightly, another smile creeped onto his lips. So...they desired artistic views...
His eyes shifted to the table once more, the work he'd been patient with and had seen through to fruition. He was finished with it and could do as before, let others see...and yet... He was growing bored of this, even more so of the reactions of others. He craved more, much more...perhaps this Union could provide that. Tilting his head a bit, he lowered his eye once more to the card before him. Yes...he would never know unless he looked into it and as of now, he had little worth remaining here for...
He let the paper slip from his fingers, watching it flutter to the ground below. Well then... there was his answer, there was his decision. He needed to finish up here and take care of a few things, but once he had... he could begin looking into this new path he'd seen before him. Turning back to his camera, he picked it up with a new vigor and went back to his pursuit of the perfect photo of his newest piece. One thought lingered in his mind, one thought alone...
Watch out Union... He's coming.
