Lois and Temper.

Original characters of mine. (Temper has gone through name changes out the frIZame. Tempest. Havoc. Now Temper. I had to compromise. Lois's pet name for him HAD to be 'Tim'. And Tempest woulda never worked. Because it didn't coincide with the plotline. Oh, the nit-pickyness of me! Lord have mercy...

Lois has also undergone name changes. I wanted to honor my great grandmother. So her name is now Lois Mozelle. 'Moe-zell'.)

But that's besides the point! This is an illustration! I read a poem written by my friend titled: My Last Love Poem. It reminded me of Lois and Temper. A lot.

"The tears from my eyes can't express the pain
I feel when I realize that it's all just the same.
I thought love was a person
Who you give your heart and soul
But love is just a state of mind
We create all on our own.

You give the name of lover
To the person you are with
Who can make you feel so wonderful
Like a special gift

You feel like that person is irreplaceable
But in truth it'd be the same
If you were with someone else
Who took away your pain.

So devotion to a person always ends in tears
Whether they leave you after a few weeks, months, or years.
Because it's not them that's special
But only how you feel
That's why there is no such thing as a love that's real."

I guess you could say they have a bitter/sweet relationship.

Lydia's poetry: [link]oetry=true (Weird DA linkage...)

Last but not least, a snippet inspired by the poem:

Lois carried Temper through the murky waters. Her shoes brimmed with mud. She held Temper tight, terrified for his life - and terrified the current would steal him away if her grip failed...

...as it was apt to do under the high-stress circumstances.

Lois curled her fingers around Temper’s uniform. He wasn’t going anywhere without her.

The night was ruthless. It teased Lois with its mysterious sounds, implicating her doom. The shadows cast by the light of the moon tortured what progress she made. They played risqué with Lois’s fear and bred fictitious monsters.

“Tem, I’m afraid.”

There wasn’t any sense in speaking to a man that never regarded her concern even when he was conscious.

Lois spied a bank. It was more debris than not. The tree what grew there ensnared the flotsam and jetsam with its roots. Unearthed, the sheer thickness of which were equal to that of Temper himself. Lois hadn’t the mind to consider what sort of animals might be calling this mess their home. As long as she could wake Temper, she knew everything would be alright.

Maybe.

Lois pulled Temper into the mud, on his back. She knelt beside him. “Tem,” she ordered in her most authoritative voice. “Wake up. I need you.” When he failed to respond, she hammered his chest. “I said I need you!" Lois pried open his eyes for him. “Temper!”

Temper made a funny noise. He sputtered some nonsense about killing this-and-that. Lois sighed with relief. She loosed his eyelids and allowed Temper to lift them on his own. Albeit groggily.

“Thank God.” Lois wiped the mud off of Temper’s face, meticulous.

“Stop touching me,” he growled.

Lois scoffed at him. She knew he didn’t mean a single word he said. Mostly because he didn’t reinforce them. “You could say thank you. I just saved your life, you know.”

“A life for a life."

Lois bristled. “I didn’t save you just because you saved me, Tem.” She stroked his cheek. Like she was petting him. “I saved you because, as crazy as it sounds, I actually care about-“

“Stop touching me,” Temper interrupted. He wasn’t impressed with Lois’s inability to obey. His deadly eyes flashed a warning from behind his inky lashes. So very keen and demanding. Like always.

(I hope you like your picture, Lydia! Cheers!)

Next:

Photoshop.
2 layers.
Dedicated to God.