mayfield_logs | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[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.

[Did Charles just show him consideration? Has he fallen into a secret other dimension of Mayfield? What is going on in life today?

Ah.

But after a moment he sees what it is. If he admits it is a sore subject, he's showing weakness; if he doesn't, he's giving Charles permission to continue.]

It seems an odd thing to be interested in, I didn't realise you cared so much.

[IT'S THE TWILIGHT ZONE

or just Charles using his favorite conversational tactic of verbally boxing people into corners.

as for that question... he decides a mostly-truthful answer would be best for the time being, and he gives a little shrug.] I'm just curious. I was in the church with your body, but I couldn't see it at the time and no one spoke of it afterward, so I had no idea what happened.

[Abel hadn't really talked about what happened to his body, for some reason he had assumed... it had just vanished. To hear Charles had been in the church with his corpse was unnerving to say the least.

The only way to make Charles think he was over it and unaffected was to reply as calmly as possible.]

I was decapitated.

[imagine what it had been like from his point of view. ...or his point of smell, as it were.]

I could tell, somewhat. [because poking at corpses is the best way to determine what's going on with them, clearly. he basically has the entire scenario worked out now between Abel's reaction and what Cain had said, coupled with his own knowledge of the carnival.]

[He doesn't want to, thanks. Spending time with a decapitated corpse is not his idea of a party.]

Have you died here before?

[Turnabout is fair, Charles, even if he never actually answered the original question.]

Three times, yes.

[that whole "acting like it doesn't bother you" facade Cain has going on is reflected back in a practiced and near-perfect form in Charles. he had been bothered by it the first time, naturally, which is why he assumes the same of Cain and the carnival. by now? the novelty has worn off, and he views dying as more or less without consequence.]

[It's not the act of dying that's distressing, per se, it's what comes with it. It's a knowledge he failed and lost control of the situation, and it's knowing he hurt his brother in the worst way possible.]

Death shouldn't be like this... temporary.

[a shrug. he never cared much about "dying" in his own world, either.]

Humans should get the most of it while they can. It isn't normal for them to die more than once.

[He doesn't like it, it's unnatural to have to live with your failure this way. Though there is a double standard that he would always want Abel to come back.]

Is it normal for your species to die more than once?

It's not normal for my species to die at all. If you were to count things that could kill a human, though, it would be accurate to say that we're capable of "dying" an infinite number of times.

[only difference being that their hearts pretty much never stop beating, even if they're temporarily put out of commission through head injuries or extreme physical trauma ~~like incendiary bombs~~.]

It isn't the same for a human, who might not get up again after one well placed shot.

Edited (how did i forget the i in "it's"...) 2012-09-22 02:53 (UTC)

[From what he has been told and understands, it's much the same way with what Abel has become now. He might not be entirely invincible, but he can 'die' any number of times and return.]

And yet that's not true here, we can all get up any number of times... again and again.

[he shifts a little, glancing to the front of the stage.] Precisely. Most can't move past the notion that it isn't natural and grow distressed when in reality, they aren't dealing with a true and final death. A mockery of it, certainly, but something that barely possesses a shadow of its true finality.

[it's not that he doesn't understand why a death in Mayfield can be troubling; the exact opposite is true, which is why he's taken up this stance.]