That was not the first time Alecto had said something along those lines - that it was Josh's preferences that mattered, rather than Alecto's, despite Alecto being the customer in this situation. For all that they'd become more familiar over the past few weeks, there were still so many things Josh didn't fully understand about his eccentric and inspiring host's expectations for the work he'd been engaged to create. But he does know that there's something within him that's turning the question over internally, that has a vision for what he eventually wanted to produce. He can hear the patience and encouragement in Alecto's tone, but the unspoken weight of expectation still presses down heavily on him.

"I just...don't understand what you're getting out of this," he says, quietly, glancing up again between Alecto and the page and setting down his chalk. "Surely there are other painters - more skilled than I am - you could engage for this."