Living Artwork

It had been a very long time since Ellen had willingly worn a dress before today, she didn't think she could even remember the last time it had happened. Nate had told her he'd like to see her in one though, so he could draw on her legs without getting either one of them in trouble. After their encounter with Bjorgen while Nate had been drawing on her chest, staying out of trouble was something she supposed they'd have to do, but at the same time, there was no way she was going to even attempt to ask him to stop drawing on her. As his canvass, she felt like she had a purpose, like she meant something, and every moment she spent with Nate only made that feeling stronger. Sure, she needed to lose a few pounds before she could be the perfect girl for him, but for now, she was...well, happy.

She and Nate had been meeting up at every possible opportunity since that day, but today, she was planning to impress him. Neva had sent her a pink and white chequered dress, along with a t-shirt she assumed was to be work under it, but today, she wasn't going to wear the extra part. Only the dress, to give Nate more skin to easily draw on. Sure, it was against the rules, technically, but if she wore the new hoodie too, she'd be covered enough. Smiling, she stood in front of the mirror in her dorm, alone of course, and swished the dress around a little. She kept her false hand behind her back, not wanting to spoil the image, and she must have spent a good ten minutes admiring herself. She hadn't done that for a long time either.

Humming softly to herself, she pulled on her thinner hoodie, hiding her prosthetic in the pocket. She was on an upswing, a state of mind she hadn't been in for a very, very long time. If she carried on like this, she might even start to eat something every now and then. Still smiling, she pulled on her trainers (decent shoes were one of the next things she was planning on trying to get hold of), gathered one of her new sketchbooks, her battered old pencilcase, and smiled again as she picked up one of the new sets of permanent markers Neva had sent in. The perfect gift for Nate, the one marker she'd given him must be close to dry by now, and what would be better than having him draw on her in lots of colours?

With her sketchbook and the pen set tucked under her left arm, and the pencilcase held in her real hand, she headed out of the room, with a spring in her step that hadn't been seen in years. Still humming softly to herself, she headed out of the building, into the grounds, and made her way towards today's meeting place. They headed for different parts of the grounds every day, just to make sure the staff weren't waiting for them when they arrived. When she reached the shady spot they'd decided on, she lay down on the grass, crossing her bony legs and settling down to draw while she waited for Nate's arrival. What better thing was there to draw than the thing she'd mentioned in her letter? Saint Crispin the Brave, defending princess Penelope from evil, the way Nate would defend her. Hopefully, he'd be here soon.

If Nate knew the trouble Ellen had gone through for her appearance, his own might have been more carefully looked at. However, he was blissfully ignorant in his green polo and jeans. He didn't look messy or unkempt, but there was a general air of simplicity and nonchalance about him. Combing his hair consisted of running his fingers through it and hoping it didn't stand up to much. He'd stopped by his room to grab the marker he had filched from Ellen at their first meeting, and to brush his teeth. After all, if he was going to be kissing her again, he didn't want his breath to be bad. Not that he got to engage in such pleasant activities often, but he liked to be prepared for anything.

Since they'd been caught, they'd been meeting, but Nate had purposefully kept most of the kissing and things out of their meetings. The kissing had been what distracted him and why he'd not heard the good doctor before they were found. He'd been extra careful since then, but he was on edge today. He couldn't explain why, but something inside of him was buzzing. It was kind of like the anticipation you had on Christmas morning, waiting for it to be time to open presents. He'd been having flashes of fantasies for over a week now, and while the ones that featured Ellen were still relatively innocent, he worried that he might be getting in over his head with a relationship with her. But something about her drew him in, and he couldn't resist.

So he wandered out to their meeting spot for today. It was a beautiful day, if a bit chilly, but with a light windbreaker decorated with the St. Christina's logo, Nate was perfectly comfortable walking on the grounds. He spied several staff members walking about, and made a mental note to pick a different spot for their next meeting. Having staff interrupt in the middle of a piece was beyond annoying. He'd been drawing on what he termed "safe" skin. Her arms, hands, back if he could get to it without exposing to much of her chest. Anything that could be covered with clothes and wouldn't get them in trouble if they were caught again. The last thing he wanted was to get her into trouble, especially when she was being so amazing about letting him draw all over her.

He spotted a flash of pink at their meeting spot and frowned slightly. Perhaps someone was already there. That would suck. Slowly, his feet making the noise of a small elephant, he approached the spot and stopped dead.

Ellen was wearing a dress.

Nate swallowed hard. She'd listened to something he'd said. Followed a request he'd made. A sense of power welled up within him that he didn't understand. Dark brown eyes grew turbulent with desire as he looked over the amount of skin exposed to him. Most boys wouldn't have thought twice about a girl in a dress, but this was Ellen, and the fact that she'd worn it to meet him meant that she'd done it for him. He was completely overwhelmed and he simply stared at her, his mouth slightly agape.

A bird chirping broke the frozen tableau his body had become and he rushed over to her, admiring the way the dress looked next to her skin. Yes, she was painfully thin, but she was still beautiful. Without saying a word, he pushed her onto her back and leaned down to capture her lips in a deep kiss. He didn't pause to ask permission or to make sure she was ready, no, he simply took. It was long moments before he broke the kiss to suck in greedy gulps of precious oxygen, and even then, his eyes burned with the want to do something more than he had.

It wasn't sex he wanted from Ellen right now....he wanted her surrender. He wanted her to accept whatever he could think up to do to her, without complain and without tears or fear. As those thoughts ran like a freight train into his brain, he fell backwards into the grass, sudden fear racing over his face.

"Oh god, Ellen, I'm sorry, I didn't hurt you did I? I don't know what came over me, I just... you were.....in a dress.....so pretty.....and I just....." Nate's babbling filled the air between them. He was terrified that he'd hurt her, when all she'd been to him was nice and sweet. Now she wouldn't want to see him again, and the thought brought an almost physical pain to his chest. He stared at her, hoping that she wasn't upset or angry with him, and wished that he could do the last few minutes all over again. He'd be suave and confident, and compliment her, and then commence with the drawing. He wouldn't attack her like a ravening beast hungry for their next meal.

Nate's appearance didn't bother Ellen much. She'd wanted to put the effort in for him, to try and show him how much he meant to her, he didn't need to show her the same thing. She already knew he loved her, why else would he be marking her so much, with his own name no less? She knew why he was sticking to the parts of her body he'd been working on lately, even if she didn't like it, but maybe he'd get more adventurous again now she'd got herself all dressed up for him. Maybe he'd want to do more than draw too, she certainly hoped so. A dress would make everything so much easier too, even if that was part of the reason she didn't like to wear them in the first place. For Nate though, it was different.

She heard his stomping as he approached, and though she smiled, she kept her head down for the moment. Let him think he'd surprised her, maybe he'd do something romantic when he got here. That would be fun, maybe it would even lead into what she wanted today, other than the drawing. She wanted sex, it was a long time since she'd wanted that, even longer since she'd acted on it, and here she was, hoping Nate would too. He was a teenage boy though, of course he would! That was all they thought about, if you listened to the gossip, and while Nate was different to the others, he was still a boy. Hopefully, in that respect, he wasn't too different.

What she got though, was not what she was expecting. It was far, far better, much closer to what she wanted. Her eyes wide with surprise, she barely had the time to start to return the kiss before he broke it off. If this was what wearing a dress made him do, she didn't think she'd ever wear anything else! Well, once she'd got some more anyway. Leaving her things on the floor, the blonde sat up slowly, smiling at him as he babbled and shuffling herself closer to him. For the moment, she didn't reply, she simply put her hand on his cheek, closed her eyes and leaned in for another kiss. She till wasn't a very good kisser, not like him, but it was the thought that counted, right? He hadn't hurt her, and what better way was there to show him?

When the kiss eventually broke, she opened her eyes again, smiling and moving her hand to undo the zip of her hoodie. "I'm fine Nate." she said, her voice quiet, as always. "You didn't hurt me, it's fine." she continued as she peeled off her pink hoodie, dropping it onto the grass behind her, not seeming to mind that her prosthetic was on show, nor that his previous artworks were clearly visible on her arms. The ink he'd put onto her chest had faded away though, but there was plenty of time for him to redraw it. "if that's how you say hello when i wear a dress, I don't think I'll ever wear anything else." she continued, leaning in for another kiss. "Would you like that?" she whispered once that too broke. "I love you Nate, I would do anything for you. Anything at all." she continued, her hand now moving to hitch up the hem of her dress. not too much, just enough to show a bit more thigh, as her eyes locked on to his. Did boys even like their girls to be as submissive as she was feeling right now? She certainly hoped so...

She came closer to the almost comically panicking male and kissed him. Though she was unskilled, or rather, untrained, in the finer aspects of kissing, the point was still made. She wasn't afraid of him, and she wasn't running away. Those were important aspects in the relationship, because it meant that she trusted him. And if she trusted him, then she'd allow him liberties that he might not otherwise get. This girl wasn't like Ronin or Rhien, she would have to be cultivated, like a garden or a fine wine. Of course, Nate had little talent and even less patience for cultivation. No, he was a bit more inclined to incidents like the previous encounters with Ronin and Rhien. All passion, no substance. This whole situation with Ellen was making his head spin around.

She began to strip and he couldn't help but watch. The sight of bare skin here was a rarity, even with the relaxed clothing rules that were now in place. It was a tease when the hoodie came off and so much of her was exposed. Nate knew he was staring, and he knew that he should be listening. But beyond her reassurance, he didn't hear anything until she kissed him again. He let her control the kiss, only sliding a hand up and down her arm lightly. Soon enough he could take advantage of all that bare skin, but then she was talking again, and asking if he'd like something. Having no idea what she was asking, he nodded anyway, it couldn't be bad if she was kissing him, right?

And then she dropped her bombshell. Nate froze, rather like the cliched deer in the headlights. Those three words had been said. And so soon. The hitching of the dress went unnoticed as his brown eyes simply stared. What was she thinking? How could she have said those words so quickly? Did she even know what they meant? To him, those three words were the most important thing someone could say in a romantic relationship context. They were akin to engagement. He'd never told anyone he loved them, not even Rachael, because it was so important. How was he going to even be able to explain what it meant to him that she said that, and why he couldn't say it back? He knew he cared, he liked her and she was important, but he was far to young to commit to get married. There would be plenty of time for that later. Once they were off of this horrid little island and free to live their lives again.

Unable to say much, or even think much as his brain pretty much imploded on itself with all of the thoughts that were running through his head, Nate leaned forward and kissed Ellen. His hand came up to slide along her jaw and let his fingers tangle in her hair as the kiss went on and on. Slowly, he leaned forward, pushing her back to the ground, looming over her, their lips still connected. The kiss continued, until finally several long minutes later, it finally broke. Nate panted, looking down into Ellen's face and then smiled. There was something about this that was perfect. Something about this whole situation that made sense. Except, they were going to get caught. Out here, on the grounds was the safest place, and yet the easiest place to get caught. He had to either do this in a hurry, or not do it at all, and wait for a better opportunity. And if he was going to do this, with Ellen, who loved him, he was going to wait, because he wanted to take his time.

He nudged her nose with his, and then sat back, helping her to sit up and took out a marker. Anything he was going to say was going to be easier if he wasn't looking into those trusting blue eyes that stared at him with such emotion. "Don't move." His voice was a tad gravelly, and his tone abrupt, but it made sense when the marker moved towards her and began to draw a path that started just behind her ear and meandered down her neck. He was taking a chance, being so obvious with the drawing, but the girl had just said she loved him. He needed to do something to acknowledge that.

The black lines bloomed on her skin with careful precision, turning her flesh into his canvas. He wasn't the artist she was, he worked with patterns and abstract designs rather than actual figures. The pattern repeated on both sides of her neck and down over the upper part of her chest, just beneath the collarbone. He peeked up at her and then shoved the straps of her dress down, baring her chest to him and boldly writing his name in block letters across the tops of her breasts. There was no hiding the name in intricate curlicues or attempting to disguise what the letters were. No, it was a bold statement. NATHANIAL spread out across the pale skin.

He looked around, and not seeing any staff members nearby, smiled, then looked back at her, taking in the sight of his name on her skin. He tugged her dress back up, hiding his name, keeping it their secret, and then put the cap on the marker and lifted his gaze to hers. He had to say something, he couldn't just ignore what she'd said.

"Thank you. I like you. A lot. But I can't say what you did. It's a major commitment to me, and it isn't one I'm ready for. But that...." He put his hand over where his name was. "That means that you are mine. It means you don't let anyone touch you, and the marks I leave stay on you." He wondered where the words were coming from. They were strong and harsh, and unlike him. But they welled up, and he knew they were right. It was just something that made sense, and he had to make sure that Ellen understood that.

Ellen was a little surprised by his reaction to her statement, at least, right up until he kissed her. She didn't think he noticed what she was doing with her dress until then, she was almost afraid she'd scared him off, but then, this wasn't the first time she'd told him. She'd said it in their first meeting here on the island, under the trees where Bjorgen had found them. They'd escaped punishment for that, and she was sure the same would happen here, no matter what went on between them. She certainly hoped so, judging by the way this kiss went on, he must feel the same way about her. She could only hope he'd want to go as far as her today. Right now, she felt like she needed it, more than anything else.

When he sat back, she panted a little, smiling and gently hitching her dress up still further. He wanted to draw now though, and she was fine with that, her eyes closing as he exposed her to the world, imagining what would happen if they were caught right now. A soft gasp escaped her lips as he wrote on her, her smile only growing as the ink spread across her skin. The drawing on her neck would be easily visible, unless she kept her hoodie done up, but she didn't care in the slightest. She loved him, belonged to him even, why should she care if other people could see that too? She didn't even care anymore if the two of them got caught, only that she kept him happy.

"I understand." she replied softly as he spoke. Whatever he said, she was convinced he loved her just as much as she him, there wasn't much that would convince her otherwise. "I'm yours, for you to do whatever you want with." she continued, hitching her dress up to show just a glimpse of her underwear, the smile on her face turning a little nervous. "Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it. I love you Nate. You own me now." she added, her voice softer than usual. Almost as an afterthought, she glanced around for her things, leaning over and grabbing the pack of markers, before turning her attention back to him. "I got you these." she whispered, shuffling closer to him, her dress riding further up. "I thought you might like to draw on me in more colours." she added, setting them down on the grass beside him.

Not even attempting to look around for staff, she moved her hand back to her clothes, hooking her thumb into the waistband of her underwear and starting to pull them down. "Please." she whispered, sounding increasingly nervous. She wanted this, needed it even, in whatever form he'd give it. She hadn't felt like this in years, and certainly never for someone she cared about as much as him. "Show me how much I mean to you." she whispered again, pulling them further down. She hoped he was rough, she wanted bruises to go with the pattens. Something to make sure she'd feel this for days, and that she'd remember it for a lifetime. "I love you."

She agreed to his terms, and something inside of him felt triumphant. Brown eyes met her blue as she continued to talk, her hand moving to hike up the dress more, exposing all of her leg to the hip. The glimpse of white he got before she moved stirred him, and his breath came faster, his chest tightened and he found swallowing difficult. He just watched her, and the hem of that dress climb further up her body, exposing the cutest hint of rounded cheeks before she sat back down with the new markers. What was that? Oh, she’d brought him colors. That was thoughtful. He wondered how she’d managed to get a hold of them. Surely it was a commodity in short supply around here.

Nate blinked as she started to pull the underwear down. It was oddly erotic, watching the unadorned white cotton slide down over her painfully frail thigh and expose her pale flesh. He wouldn’t have thought plain cotton would make him think of sex, but sure enough, he was ready and raring to go. Luckily, it was just his body engaged at this point, and not his brain, because he was a bit afraid of what he might come up with in his current state with Ellen offering herself up on a platter for him. Her words filled his brain and he gave a small sigh. She wasn’t willing to wait, which meant that it was pretty much now, and if they got caught…Well, he’d worry about that when it happened. Right now, he had a girl stripping herself for him. He wasn’t strong enough to resist that temptation.

Nate took one last look around, they were in a slight dip, and there were trees all around, he didn’t immediately spot any cameras, so they might get lucky. Pushing that out of his head, he turned back to Ellen, a hand rising to cover hers, to take over the task of getting clothing out of the way in preparation for the second act of their play. He wasn’t going to ask if she was sure, her begging told him that. He didn’t know how experienced she was, so he was going to have to be a bit careful at first. He pulled her underwear down and off, his blunt nails scraping accidentally against her skin. Her dress was next to go, leaving her mostly exposed except for the dark ink of his name and her bra. He left her like that long enough to pull his polo over his head and then came back and kissed her.

He could lay her back on the grass, and the ground would soak up the trails of blood that spilled, it would make the grass grow greener and thicker. After all, hadn’t you seen cemetery grass, it was always so green and fertile, humans were simply the best fertilizer. The cuts would bloom against her skin, and she would simply beg for more.

Nate broke the kiss, panting, eyes squeezed shut as he tried to shake off the thoughts. He didn’t want to hurt her, but just the thought of it was making him even more ready. He tried to distract himself, letting his hands wander down over her skin, caressing and squeezing, learning her hot spots. He was gentle, deliberately concentrating on not hurting her. Their lips met again, and Nate relaxed as his thoughts were of the more normal 17-year-old male variety.

Plain white cotton wasn't what she wanted to show him, but it was all Ellen had. She'd been at Hadley too long, kept away from any hope of actually getting herself anything nice, but maybe on the island that would change. Maybe here she'd be able to go shopping for herself at last, in a real store, like the one Na-Ri had told her existed. Even if she couldn't, she had friends on the outside now, she'd get stuff thrown over the fence if that was what it came to. One way or the other, she would get herself some decent clothes at last, no matter what it took, and she could only hope Nate would respond to them the same way he had to her dress today.

Nate said nothing, and that was fine with her. As his names scraped against her skin, a quiet gasp escaped her lips, the longing for this clear on her face. As he took off his shirt, she removed her own bra, throwing it away with the rest of her clothes, wherever they'd got to. If he told her to, she'd never wear any of it again, and damn the consequences. Somewhere in her mind, she almost hoped he did, but that thought was drowned out by the passion and the longing for him. Their lips met, with more passion than ever before, from her at least. She wanted this, she needed this, more than anything else. More than that, she wanted to really feel it, and to still be feeling it in a few days.

~Fadeout~

Somewhere along the line, she'd begged him to go harder, and he'd obliged. her nails had dug into his back, but the things he'd done to her...she'd got exactly what she wanted. Panting, she lay on the grass, staring at Nate, a broad, bright smile on her face. She was in no hurry to dress though, she wanted the marks he'd left on her pale skin to have their time in the sun too. Who knew? if they kept this up, she might even get some colour in her cheeks! "I love you Nate." she breathed, looking over at him, wondering just what would happen if the two of them coulf get themselves bumped to better wards. There was a pet store in town, maybe he could really put her on a leash, like so many of the drawings showed.

She begged him to go harder, and although he didn't know why, he'd obliged. It frightened him, how easily he'd given in to her demands. Although, to be fair, his normal fantasies hadn't come in, or at least, he hadn't noticed it. He even liked how rough she'd gotten with him. It was something he'd have to think about, ruminate on, in the days to come. Right now, he lay in the grass beside Ellen, trying to even out his breathing and bring his body back under his complete control.

As Ellen spoke, he smiled to her, lacing her fingers with his. He could see red marks on her skin, but given what they'd just finished doing, it made sense, so they didn't worry him. He was pretty sure he'd been careful enough to not hurt her. He hoped he'd not hurt her, if he had, Nate wasn't sure what he was going to do. Hiding away in a dark corner wouldn't necessarily work in this case, given how well every inch of the facility was covered with cameras. It was rather surprising that no one had come up on them yet. Not that Nate wasn't counting his lucky stars on that one.

Slowly, he sat up and reached for the underwear and jeans he'd discarded somewhere along the way. The skin of his back felt tight and a bit warmer in some areas. Ellen must have really scratched him up. Nate sighed softly and pulled on the clothing, then looked over at his naked girlfriend. He supposed they really were a couple now. Would the staff even allow that? Two Ward A patients? Nate knew it didn't matter, he'd find a way to meet with Ellen and refresh the drawings he made on her skin. He saw her as his, and that meant that she was going to be covered in his artwork. Even if his talents didn't match hers in the slightest.

"Ellen, you need to get dressed." His voice came out a bit gruff, and honestly he didn't want her to get dressed. What he wanted to do was sit and watch her, and then take out one of those new colored markers and connect all the fading blemishes on her skin from their lovemaking. He wondered why the drawing helped, but maybe it wasn't the drawing, it was simply her perfect acceptance of it all. Yet another thing to wonder about.

A tanned hand came up to slide through the dark hair atop his head and another sigh filled the air. There was a lot to think about. Normally, the sex was quick, simple, anonymous, so there wasn't this whole introspective thing, but with Ellen, it was somehow different. Everything was different with her, and he couldn't decide if he liked it or not. Brown eyes watched her as she pulled on her clothes and he frowned. Once again, her frailness struck him, and he wanted to do something about it. Nate wondered if she'd listen if he told her to eat more.

What the hell, it was worth a try. "Ellen, you need to eat more. I'm afraid I'm going to break you. Also, I'd love to see you in dresses more, you are so pretty and girlie in them." It was a crappy way to address it, but Nate had never been known for finesse. He was far more direct. He tied his shoe and tucked in his shirt, then began to gather up the markers and her sketchbook that had been scattered by their activities. "Will you draw me another picture?"

"Do I have to?" Ellen asked, smiling up at him and raising her hand, tracing it along his chest, shirt or not. It wasn't a real protest though, she was soon reaching for her discarded underwear too, pulling it on and smiling at him some more. She was his now, someone actually cared about her, and she couldn't describe how good that made her feel. Somehow, Nate had looked past everything she hated about herself and found something that, despite what he said, she thought he loved. She didn't know how he'd done it, and she wasn't going to ask, what mattered was that he had. She hadn't felt this good about herself for a very, very long time, it was almost enough to let her forget the multitude of problems she felt she had.

Pulling her dress back on, she listened as he continued, her eyes closing. he wanted her to eat more? But...With her eyes still closed, she placed a hand over her stomach, looking a little nervous. "Are you sure?" she whispered, unsure if she'd be able to do that for him. She'd try of course, she wanted to make him happy after all, but why did he want her to get fatter? "I don't think you're gonna break me." she continued, her voice still barely above a whisper, "I'm a whale. I've been trying to lose a couple of pounds so...so I look better for you." she added, looking down. She's messed up on that, all she wanted to do was look her best though, he'd appreciate that, she hoped.

"This is the only dress I have, but I'll try and dress girly for you as much as I can." she continued, raising her head again. She'd talk to Tara Anne about makeup, and she'd see about ordering some more dresses from the catalogues, but nothing in those had the summery look of the one she wore now, the one that had excited Nate so much when he'd first seen it. "Is there anything else I should do when my dress is in the laundry and I still want to look pretty for you?" she asked, pulling her shoes and socks back on and looking around for her sketchbook. Whatever he wanted, she'd do, regardless of the rules or of how she might be perceived by the other kids. She was his, and she wanted to show it.

Gently rubbing her fingers over the shapes he'd drawn, tracing the line down from behind her ear to her chest,s he smiled again, before retrieving her hoodie, and not putting it back on. not yet, while it was just the two of them, she wanted him to be able to see her, flaws and all. "Of course." she replied, her voice louder again as she set her sketchbook in her lap and opened her pencilcase. "What would you like me to draw?" she asked, flipping past a few pages of drawings, some of her fursona, some of other things, until she found a fresh white sheet for his drawing. Whatever he wanted from her, she'd do it, without any hesitation, she just hoped he'd like it.

"I'm afraid so." He favored her with an indulgent smile. As much as he wanted to take in her bare skin, he didn't want to deal with security if they found her in such a state. Not to mention the small inside voice that was telling him no one else deserved to look upon his property. Although Ellen was thinking of love and all that came with it, Nate was a bit more practical in his thoughts. Since he'd slept with her, she was his to take care of. Ellen had given herself to him, and as much as she felt he was her gift, she was, in his eyes, his gift. The feel of her hand on his body brought him from his thoughts and he lifted the slender appendage and placed a kiss on her palm.

Once she was dressed, he leaned forward, curling a finger beneath her chin and kissing her lightly. "Don't worry so much, Ellen. I don't think you're a whale. I think you are far more like a skeleton. Please, just try to eat for me. If you can't, its fine, but please try." He skated his lips against hers again and thought about her other question of what to wear. "You can wear anything you like, you will always be pretty to me." It was an evasion, but one that was genuine. Nate didn't care what Ellen wore as long as he could find a way to move it out of the way to get to her skin and be able to draw on it. He was far more interested in drawing on her and making sure that his thoughts didn't get the better of him. Like most teenage boys, he simply liked a pretty girl in a dress. Naturally, Ellen, in a dress had just made him explode.

He couldn't help his smile when she drew her hands over the lines he'd drawn earlier. He liked seeing all the black on her skin, marking it as his, and his alone. He settled down beside her, toying with the markers she'd gotten him, and fighting an urge to use up all the red ink right this very instant. He wanted to cover her in red ink, to see if it would work as well as the black had. Using the images he would draw as a basic template for what might and might not work. Nate blinked and cut off that train of thought immediately. That way was bad.

"Draw us, as you see us." Likely it was an odd request, but Nate wanted to get into this girl's head a bit more. He still didn't know much about her, for while they talked a lot, they also spent a lot of time in silence. Ellen was shy, and Nate was simply terrified of saying to much and scaring her. But now, everything was different, and he needed to know about her so he could look after her. A gift such as Ellen deserved to be cherished. "If you can talk while you draw, can you tell me why you're here?" It was a touchy subject, but Nate felt that it was time to find out.

As Nate spoke about her weight, Ellen squirmed, a soft whimper escaping her lips. "What do you mean?" she asked, her voice quiet again. "I'm huge, I..." she whimpered again, closing her eyes and taking a breath, before she moved herself into his lap and lay her head against his chest. "Do you really mean it?" she whispered, her eyes staying closed. She wasn't sure if she believed him or not, was he just being nice to her for the sake of it? "I'll try." she whispered, though she was planning on talking to Neva first, if that was even possible anymore. Ward A really was a horrible place to be.

"I'll try and get some more dresses and things. I have a pink skirt somewhere too, I'll try and find that." she replied as he spoke about clothes, leaning up to peck him on the lips again. He'd liked this one, so she'd have to try her best to get as many as possible, just for him. With him, her confidence was higher than it had been in years, she actually felt able to dress like this, not vulnerable at all. She wasn't even feeling as awful about her weight as she had in the past, just...unsure of things nowadays. Nate was having a huge effect on her, she could only hope he'd want to keep her around for a long time yet.

Shifting out of his lap again, she lay down on the grass , thinking for a moment about what to draw. Tapping her pencil against her lip, she looked over at him, then down at the page. A small smile formed again as she figured it out, and without a word for the moment, she began to draw. She'd do them both as mouse-people, but with only ears, tails and whiskers to set them apart from people, just as she usually drew herself. Looking over to him again, she smiled. He'd be half sitting, stretched out on the ground, and she'd be on his lap, wearing a dress far shorter and far lower cut than anything she ever thought she'd have for real, her skin covered in the markings, from head to toe. Not only that, but she'd draw a collar on herself, and a leash held tightly in his hand.

She paused at the question, but soon resumed drawing, her eyes on the page. "I'm here because..." she began, hoping he wouldn't hate her for what she was about to tell him, "I'm here because I have borderline disorder. I don't really understand it, there are a lot of problems it gives me." she continued, reaching for her discarded hoodie with her false hand, and moving it closer to her. She didn't put it on though, not yet at least. She wasn't planning on telling him about the things people had done to her over the years though, that was almost guaranteed to scare him off, and she couldn't let that happen.

Yes, he really meant it. He wanted Ellen to be as healthy as possible. For some reason, he didn't want her to get sick, and it made sense to him that she'd have to eat so that she wouldn't. Although she was obviously uncomfortable with the demands he was making, he was oddly confident that she would obey him. It was something that puzzled him, but he supposed that it was simply because he felt something for this girl. And since he cared, he wanted her around. That made sense, right?

He smiled at her small kiss, and although he wanted to hold her in place, he let her slip from his lap with a small pout. Dark eyes watched her as she got comfortable and began to draw. There was something really adorable about the intense concentration she showed when working on her art. Once he'd finished gathering up all the markers, he sat just behind her, angling his head to see the picture being formed on the page from her imagination. One of his hands came up, and ran lightly through the blond tresses that tumbled around her shoulders. Ellen's hair was very pretty and he liked the way it slipped through his fingers.

Nathanial's eyes widened as the drawing continued to take shape. It wasn't the mouse avatars, that he could understand, but the positions were blatant, and likely to get her in trouble. And that was before he noticed the dress, and the collar and leash. Oh hell, what did Ellen think was going to happen with them. He eased back, unaware until that moment that he'd leaned forward to get a better look at the drawing. What was he going to say to her about it? He wasn't even sure what it all meant. Ellen knew more than he did in this case.

Her answer drew his brain away from the thoughts of the mice in her drawing and he frowned as brown eyes turned upwards to the sky. He leaned back on his hands, unconsciously mimicking the posture of his furry avatar. He had no idea what borderline disorder was, but she seemed fairly functional to him, minus the not eating part. "That's not going to cause problems with us, right?" Nate spoke softly, wondering what kind of issues she had that were related to the diagnosis. He knew that his diagnosis cause a multitude of issues. Nate knew that he was doing better though, the thoughts were mostly under control, and he could get through most of a day without worry now.

"Ellen, why did you draw that with a collar and leash?" was his next question as he adjusted his position and caught sight of the picture again. He truly didn't understand, and while it wasn't unpleasant, it was different enough to jar him, and he wanted to know what it was all about. "What does it.... represent?" His last word was hesitant, and slightly off his normal tone. It showed his level of confusion to her without saying anything more. Nathanial had never been exposed to any of this, at least not within the framework of a relationship. Anything he'd found on his own had pretty much been ignored. It just wasn't his schtick.

Ellen was at least reasonably sure she wasn't going to get in trouble for the drawing. It was nothing compared so what she'd used to do in the past, much, much healthier than a drawing of herself, as a human, being murdered brutally in all manner of ways. This was progress, leash and skimpy clothing or not. Those were pretty common in her drawings anyway, at least she'd kept her mouse avatar's clothes on this time, skimpy though they might be. Glancing up to him a couple of times, she kept at it, kicking her shoes off again and bending her knees, crossing her ankles as she swung her legs. It might be a little on the childish side, but she didn't really care.

"I don't think so." she replied quietly, trying not to sound too nervous. "I...I might get a little bit, um, clingy, but that's all, I promise." she continued, keeping her eyes on the page. She didn't really understand her condition properly, but right now she just wanted Nate not to be scared off. If she had to stretch what little she knew to cover that, then so be it. She needed him, he was helping her so much, she'd be lost without him. Though she had no idea if she was helping him anything like as much, she doubted it. How could she? he was so much better off than she was, he didn't need her help.

"Why not?" she replied with a smile as he spoke again, looking up at him for a moment, then back to the page again. "It doesn't represent anything." she continued, giving a small shrug as she continued drawing, shading in detail and working to fill out the basic start she'd made. "I...It's something I'd...like to try, that's all." she continued, by now sounding embarrassed. She didn't know why, but she thought it might be fun. Her masochistic side was showing again, not that she really understood her own sexuality. "I...was drawing how I wanted us to be." she added, looking down to the page, sounding ever more embarrassed. "Um...would you like me to draw how you want to see us?" she asked, quietly. Hopefully, his fantasy wouldn't be incompatible with hers.

Her answer did nothing to soothe the fears that were rising up to choke him. And he didn't know why the fear was there. What she was drawing was simply a way their relationship could work, although it wouldn't be something that happened while they were here. There's no way the staff would allow it. Current situation notwithstanding. Nate was pretty certain that opportunities to repeat today would be few and far between. Today was an anomaly, and he knew it. Now he just had to get his fear under control and figure out what it was that Ellen wanted and what, if anything, he was able to give to her to assist in giving it to her.

Did he want to tell her what he saw in his head? No, that would be far to disturbing. She'd be likely to run away, and he wasn't ready for her to not be there just yet. He needed more time to determine their possible relationship and future. His head shook slowly, before his words emerged from frowning lips. "No, I'm not sure what I want yet. I'm just trying to figure out your vision. It's not something I've seen before, and I guess I didn't realize that people....did that."

He hated how naive and stupidly innocent he sounded. He'd almost always been with the cool kids. Cool kids never sounded uncertain or innocent, they were the front runners, the trend setters. Now he was here, at St Christina's and he wasn't anything except a scared teenager wondering how to get off this island and rejoin the real world. That seemed to be the generalized theme here though. Most of the kids wanted out of here, and they didn't want anyone to stand in their way.

"How do you know about it? What can you tell me?" As much as he hated sounding stupid, there was knowledge here that he needed to tap. Ellen wanted this, and he wanted to be able to give her something she wanted, since she was keeping his worst thoughts at bay. It was a gift, even if she didn't know she was giving it, and he wanted to give her something as equally precious and important.