Much like anyone else Lydia had a wide array of outlets and extra-curricular activities she participated in. One's life couldn't be all work and no play could it? At least, it was something she worked on sometimes... Dueling had been an outlet she had been participating in for a few months now, and one she enjoyed. In a way it opened up a different world to her, meeting so many different people and making new friends. But dueling wasn't her life. She'd seen that happen to others and that wasn't a road she wanted to tread upon. Sometimes she desired to look elsewhere for ways to spend her time, and often found solace in socializing, walks, gardening (attempts!) hot springs, swimming- such simple mundane things.

Then there was The Undertown.

Her visits there had been so infrequent as of late; a fact that weighed heavily upon her. There were so many she had grown to care about there, yet she had been terribly neglectful of them. Von had told her it was normal... natural... The 'surface-dwellers' had the whole world, why confine themselves to such a dismal place? But she never saw Undertown that way. There was something uniquely beautiful and magnetic about this place to her. There were things she felt the residents missed out on for sure, and the very fact many of the children there had never even set foot upon the surface, or seen the sun, or felt grass beneath their bare feet... Something about the fact they missed out on those seemingly small things tore at Lydia.

Perhaps it wasn't such a bad trade, given the state of the city at times...

It was the children Lydia often kept the company of when she visited Undertown, when she wasn't hanging around Von. There was a unique sort of comfort she got in their presence, or the presence of any child, as of late. Sometimes there was the underlying feeling of awkwardness when she was around them, particularly with a child she did not know, but the elf wasn't nearly as helpless with them as she once was. She had always liked children, of course, but it wasn't until recently she felt a deeper connection with them, more fiercely protective of them. Of Silas. Perhaps a maternal nature finally rearing its head?

It was with a group of children she currently kept the company of. They had all gathered in one of the dimly lit tunnels surrounding the town to do a bit of artwork on the walls- a common pastime in Undertown. Surrounded by children hard at work on their masterpieces and errant bits of chalk and pastels, Lydia worked right along with them, uncaring of the colorful stains on her clothing and smudges on her cheek. Not an artist herself, her work wasn't particularly impressive- a simple piece, generic in nature was her addition to the walls. A house, a tree, the sun, a cloud...

"Miss Lydia?"

Hearing a familiar voice behind her the colored chalk in hand was dropped to the pile at her side as Lydia turned to better regard the source- Katyana, one of the oldest children in the group at almost ten years old. Lithe and long limbed she had brown eyes, wavy auburn hair and a round, pale face lightly dusted with freckles. Her appearance reminded Lydia quite a bit of Lirssa, though personality-wise she was much milder and meeker. Perhaps in a few years...

"Yeah...?" Regarding the girl with a bright smile it took her a few moments to notice the thick papers Katyana clutched closely to herself.

Katyana moved to her knees to better regard the sitting elf then extended the papers, which were in fact pictures, to offer them to her. "I've been workin' on these and now and want you to have 'em." Straight and to the point as usual, her voice was soft, barely audible at times.

Pale blues widened in surprise as Lydia carefully took the offered pictures to look over. Most were done in chalks and pastels, others in crayon and color pencil. A wide variety of objects and scenes were depicted in an eclectic manner. Colorful flowers, entwining vines and ivies, animals, abstract shapes and designs and a.. blue sun? Lydia paused to regard that particular picture. It was colorful, bright, and beautiful in her eyes, even if it wasn't quite 'right', especially with the sun (more oval than round) colored a peculiar shade of blue. It was understandable though, given the fact that Katyana had never been out of Undertown. She was one of the children who had never been on the surface to see the sun, the sky, stars, the moon... she had likely seen pictures, but a picture can't really capture it all now can it?

With no small amount of care Lydia set the pictures aside before turning back to the girl. "I don't know what to say... they're so beautiful." Quietly spoken, she leaned forward and embraced her in a gentle hug. "Thank you Katyana." She paused, hesitating in her next words, but finally spoke them as she squeezed the girl a little tighter.

"Someday I'll take you up there... let you see it all for yourself... Promise."