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Who: Cain Knightlord and Charles Fei-Ong
What: Killing two birds with one stone IE some concert practice with a side of detective work
Where: High school auditorium
When: Backdated to the week before the event
Warnings: N/A

[guess who's shown up at the designated meeting spot way before the actual meeting time? this guy! surprising, considering how rare it is for him to even manage being punctual. the stage of the auditorium was cluttered with bits and bobs from drama practice and mediocre music classes though, so of course he had to take it upon himself to make the stage presentable. even if it's only a recital round, and not even a dress recital at that, everything must be in perfect working order.

so here he'll be waiting, already tuning his own ~~stolen~~ borrowed violin up at one of two stands that have been placed in the very front and center of the stage. it's not exactly as grand as he's used to, but it'll do for now.]

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This Friday night, correct? [he pauses and flips between two pages for a moment before continuing on.] I don't wish to risk waiting too long and running into any hold ups.

[like the town going batshit again, that would definitely be problematic]

[What a shame the town is a douchebag and will be going batshit before they get the chance.]

This Friday, right. We could lay on a buffet for before, it could entice a few more people to make the effort to come.

[mayfield is always impeccably timed to leave them high and dry...]

Ah, yes. The time-tested lure of free food. [he doesn't look or sound enthusiastic at all, surprise surprise.] I'd normally say that anyone not interested in attending the concert for the music alone out to be banned from entering, but that could eliminate a vast majority of the town.

[He's such an elitist.]

Perhaps free food will be what brings them, but they could be converted to lovers of music.

We can only hope. [he doesn't sound hopeful, that's for sure... but he busies himself with repositioning his stand and then turning to ruffle through a bag he had brought along which is filled with sheet music.]

Let's have one more practice round before we take our break, then.

[Taking a break, that doesn't seem like Charles. Okay, it does, the shotapire is stupidly lazy, but he would have expected a burst of work and then go simply leave.

Why break with Cain, it was almost as though he wanted to spend time with him. Oho, you devil, he knew Charles likes him anyway.]

Alright, which piece?

[HEY laziness is close to godliness or something like that right??

but yes that's exactly what he's doing here, trying to spend more time with Cain since he just likes him so very much]

"Nearer, My God, to Thee" will be fine. I've managed to find an adaptation that isn't quite so horrendous as the original. [take your sheet music heathen!!]

[He knew it. From now on they will be bffs, frolicking through life hand-in-hand.

He takes the music and sets it up on the stand, readying his violin.]

After four. One, two, three, and--

[it was a friendship destined for great things from the start, clearly.

BUT YES he begins the piece on beat, managing especially well with this song since he's actually had a fair amount of practice with it. he even manages to keep his face from wrinkling up like he just stuffed an entire lemon wedge in his mouth! actually, he looks pretty smug... probably because he's now thinking to himself something along the lines of hah we're so good we really do make the acoustics work.]

[Cain already knew they were that good, Charles had centuries of practise behind him and Cain was a perfectionist who refused to quit until he had every note exact.

The music fills the hall... why do two such fails make such glorious music? Oh well, at least when the last note dies away they can be insufferably smug together.]

[the insufferable smugness levels in this building right now are probably high enough to suffocate any normal living creature...

as it is, when the piece comes to an end, he tucks his violin gently beneath his arm and lifts his chin a little. there's definitely pride in his own skills, of course, but this is also one of those rare moments when he'd boast about Cain's as well.]

Not bad, not bad.

[He knows that 'not bad' from Charles, is as good as some kind of royal endorsement of his playing skills.

He sets his own violin aside and takes a seat on the edge of the raised stage area.]

Will I be playing the piano in the concert as well, or are we sticking to strings?

[he flips his sheet music back over and raises to his toes for a moment, making a thoughtful noise.]

I like the idea of a strings-only concert, but adding a piano might bring more depth to some of the music. Perhaps we could do a little of both. There are some songs that are more suited to being violin alone, you know?

[and then there's That Pause. you know, the kind of pause where someone's clearly thinking about something and likely thinking of some way to bring it up, but doesn't actually say anything.]

[Oh Charles, still as subtle as a brick.

Cain heard The Pause loud and clear, and he was fairly sure that he didn't want to discuss anything that came after it. Though at least now he was forearmed to deflect to something else.]

I would definitely say adding a piano may help break the flow a little and help keep the audience alert.

[at least he dropped the clunky metaphoric clues this time...! but being subtle as a brick also means he has as much tact as a brick; Cain should know by now to be prepared for him totally not reading the atmosphere and bowling ahead with blunt questions any time now]

If the audience needs to be kept alert in the first place, we wouldn't be doing excellent jobs as musicians, would we? I do agree that changing the pace would be a wise idea, though. Let's throw a few piano and violin duets into the middle and perhaps one toward the end. [is he walking a little closer to where Cain is sitting on the stage edge? yep.]

[Wait. Why is Charles getting closer? What is this? He looks up and watches the shotapire approaching him... isn't this the grump who usually hates people invading his personal space?]

Alright, agreed. We should alternate between instruments as well, to display our full potential.

[Or show off, whatever.]

[it's a bit of a side effect of being a creature that hunts, you know! cornering prey is one of those automatic instincts that just kind of comes naturally.]

That's a lovely idea. [he's totally game for any chance to show off okay] Perhaps we should just have two piano pieces, then? One in the middle and one toward the end. Which place would you prefer to take?

[It's so sad that one of the only times they get along, is when they're trying to show off...]

I quite enjoy Chopin's Nocturne in C# Minor.

[ah, the unfortunate side-effects of being egotistical brats.]

That's a good choice. [he stops his approach far enough away to still maintain some sort of personal bubble and looks toward the ceiling thoughtfully.] I believe it would be more suited for the middle.

Definitely.

I think the evening should end on an up-tempo note, something that people recognise even if they're not music fans.

[Yes, stay over there, good shotapire.]

Hm. Up-tempo isn't something I'm entirely certain of, but it would be best to end it with something that's familiar to a majority of the audience. [a pause] Without it being terrible, of course. [just automatically assuming most of the audience has terrible taste like the nice person he is...]

I'll let you decide on the actual piece, you're the maestro.

[He'll let Charles have control over the arrangements to seem generous, while really masking his inferior knowledge.]

Of course, tailoring the performance is something I can manage with ease. I'll give you a rough draft of the program before I make it final.

[THERE'S THAT PAUSE AGAIN wow he really isn't subtle at all, is he. he folds his hands behind his back and leans forward just a little, looking at the stage lights overhead like he's trying to figure out a delicate way to word this.]

Was that your first time dying, then? [nope nevermind.]

[WHAT CHARLES? No really, what? That came out of nowhere like a baseball bat to the face, and he is left staring in mute surprise for a moment.

If he wanted to catch Cain off guard and see through the mask of smiles, he succeeded. There's bitterness there, anger and fear, before it's all covered up again.

Quick, time for deflection!]

You only hit one flat note, Charles. It wasn't pleasant to listen to, but I wouldn't compare it to dying... you're being overdramatic, I'm sure you'll get up to standard by the concert.

[wow... he actually hadn't expected this tactic to succeed, in all honesty, and he looks equally surprised for a fraction of a second. it's rare to see genuine emotion in Cain, he's beginning to realise (with the help of more aware people like Ciel, of course), and that kind of negativity is almost strange to see.

and then he looks miffed for a second because nobody insults his well-practiced skills as a musician, even if he also recognizes it for what it is. he scoffs quietly, straightening his posture again even though his hands remain clasped behind him.]

My playing is never anything less than perfection, which we both know. [SO... ARROGANT.... and then for something completely unexpected ~~and not to be trusted~~:] If it's still a sore topic, I'll leave it be for now.