Rehearsal [Piper]

[Elric Vlarintos]

Sometimes it was painful to look back and see what a complete ass you have been. Elric had to deal with the fact that he was insensitive to a problem that he was not even aware that Piper had, even though there had been plenty of hints. She had become his friend and dragged him back into the world of social interactions, and Elric offered little more than harsh judgments and trouble.

So he had issues referring to their relationship as a friendship now, but in some ways that was just fine. He had a great deal of responsibilities on his shoulders, more than he felt comfortable with, and having people close to him would just be an excuse for Naelona or Anolean to get irked with him.

Some things could be done under the pretense of duty, however. Looking back, Elric felt like asking Piper to dance at the ball had been a step in the right direction before he managed to slide back five or six steps. Treating her like a normal person might even be what she needed to not feel so haunted by her past.

Elric wouldn't really know how to fix that though. If he did, then he might not be so stern now.

An invitation to come to the music room and work on a project together seemed to be a pleasant exercise. Piano and violin seemed to go well together, after all. Elric couldn't sing very well, but that would not be much of an issue in an instrumental piece.

Elric was sitting on a stool and tuning the violin he customarily used. Once he was confident that everything about the instrument was in order and he had tested the strings he started into Vivaldi's Winter in order to guarantee that everything was in order. Perhaps it was a little ambitious, but he had been practicing this piece in his spare time for a couple months.

He was sufficiently distracted so that he was not watching the door when it opened.

[Piper Wren]

Piper had finally been allowed out of the hospital after a few weeks of bedrest and being carefully watched, it was still a couple of weeks yet until she could have her stitches removed though. Much to her discomfort but it was preferable to having a gaping wound in her ribs, there would be a nasty scar there as a permenant memento from Iugo...She pushed that thought to the back of her mind for the most part, no sense in giving Iugo power over her in his absence. The invitation to work on a project with Elric was an unexpected one, she hadn't seen much of him since her release from the hospital.

She hadn't seen much of anyone come to think of it really.

It would be nice though to return to the piano for a while, she missed playing it, it was an act that she found very calming even during her worst moments. Piper had made her own quiet way to the music room, encountering no one else but it was what she heard when she reached the music room's door. The first haunting notes of Vivaldi's Winter, she leaned against the wall outside and closed her eyes for a moment. Enjoying the smooth violin drifting through the air...yes, it would be nice to engage in some music.

They didn't need to talk much, not that Elric probably wanted to...Piper opened the door and stepped inside, gently closing it behind her. Elric did not seem to have noticed that she had entered so she seated herself carefully on the chair beside the door, just listening to him.

[Elric Vlarintos]

The piece always felt both fast paced and somber, which is why Elric supposed he liked it so much. It was not something he would consider trying to perform in front of an audience. That would simply be too much pressure all at once. Elric played for himself and only really for himself. It was a lot of study and practice considering that he never really intended to take it anywhere.

It seemed fitting that all the practice would go to trying to cheer someone else up. Or, at the very least, helping them get over their own pain for a short moment.

The end of the first movement was a little shakey, but Elric managed to get through with what he felt was a satisfactory performance. That was also where he chose to stop. It was a little too vigorous for him to consider a warm up exercise, but it was going to be something of an opening act today.

When he took pause he finally noted that Piper had walked in. She probably had heard a greater portion of the piece. No sense being bashful about it, he supposed. It still was a little embarrassing, though.

"Good to see you have arrived," he offered as a quiet greeting while setting down the violin and its bow for the moment. He did not really know how to break the ice with her today. It had been awkward enough coming up with the idea to ask if she wanted to do this in the first place.

[Piper Wren]

Piper listened quietly to Elric's playing, saying nothing to interrupt his concentration and simply enjoying the moment. There were not many like that, were you could just sit back and enjoy something for what it was...At least not here. Even if some sections of the first movement were a little shakey Piper didn't mind, she enjoyed it none the less. When Elric finally put down the bow and violin and acknowledged her presence, Piper recieved the impression that he was somewhat embaressed that she had witnessed him playing.

"Good to see you have arrived,"

"It's good to see you, Elric."

The young woman attempted a small smile but it only just cracked the surface, she got up from her seat and wandered over to the piano. Seating herself infront of it, adjusting the height level of the stool. It gave her a couple of moments quiet to think about what to do next, the somewhat easy chat they used to be able to achieve was somewhat strained now. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all? Once the stool was at the right height she finally turned back to Elric.

"Well...what was it you wanted me here to work on?"

A fair enough question, Elric hadn't exactly specified what it was he wanted her there for aside from playing the piano. It would be interesting to see what he had in mind...

[Elric Vlarintos]

Elric found his lips were drawn tight as he tried to find the easiest way to just speak normally about his idea. He supposed it had just been a very vague initial suggestion. The entire idea seemed like it was just rubbish that was not very well thought out, but she was here anyways.

"You were singing that song, in Latin," he started, but he was unsure where he should go with that thought. "And, well, I thought we could rehearse-"

Elric shifted nervously from one leg to the next and then back again. Mentally he kicked himself forward. "I thought we could try playing it together with our respective instruments." Now was that so hard?

At the very least, Elric had the foresight to try and find some sheet music and get a little practice into the song so he was not entering the challenge completely blind. Perhaps, in this case, deaf would have been the more suitable term. Regardless, trying did not always imply success.

That is what necessitated working with Piper. There was no big performance that they were working towards. This was simply for recreation. It seemed that recreation was something sorely lacking in his life and Piper's as well.

"So, what do you think?"

[Piper Wren]

"You were singing that song, in Latin, And, well, I thought we could rehearse-I thought we could try playing it together with our respective instruments."

Piper tilted her head slightly and had to think back a way, she knew several latin songs but the only one she remembered ever playing here was 'Lilium'. It was a calming piece to play and she sang it once in choir when she was around 14. She shifted on the stool to face the piano once again and played the first sixteen bars of music but without singing to it.

The memory of the last time she was here struck her, Iugo forcing her to play and his unleashed anger when she refused to sing for him. Piper's shoulders visibly tensed when she thought back to it, she had refused to sing for Iugo because she believed she had the power to make such a choice. But her 'insolence' as Iugo had called it had almost gotten her killed. Her hands hovered over the keys but did not touch them...it took a moment before she realised that she had drifted off and forced herself to relax.

"Does that sound familiar? I know a few latin pieces but this is the one I know best..."

She glanced over at Elric, she appreciated his effort to try and treat her like she was just like everyone else, doing something just for fun for a change. Perhaps that meant they could both hope for more of that in the future.

[Elric Vlarintos]

In truth, there was not much for Elric to remember musically. He had been paying attention more so to the lyrics. Lilium. The word meant lily, and there was certainly a lot of symbolism tied into that particular choice of a flower. Whereas roses symbolized love, lilies were floral representations of purity and innocence.

Roses also had thorns where lilies did not. If you could not come up with pages of symbolism with everything there, then you were not thinking hard enough.

"That sounds right," Elric admitted finally. He had doubted that there was really a wide range of songs to pick from, but the one she had offered him a sample of had depth and familiarity.

Elric lifted the bow up to the strings on his violin and took a deep breath. He attempted to recreate the notes Piper had played on the piano by ear. It was a trying process, and he had to stop and try again a couple of times. He looked to Piper for some guidance on his progress. To Elric it seemed that he was picking it up very quickly considering his lack of experience with the tune and his equal lack of sheets.

"Seems like I'm the one who is going to need the practice, huh?" It was something quite different to play the violin when compared to playing the piano. "Can I hear that part one more time?"

[Piper Wren]

Piper listened to Elric's attempt at mimicing her song and playing by ear, it was mostly right but a couple of notes were slightly off. She found herself wishing for her extensive collection of sheet music she had once owned. Mostly she played by memory but it was useful when teaching someone else. She pondered for a moment and got up from the piano stool, wandering over to a low bookshelf in the corner and flicking through one. There were a couple of blank pages in the back which she tore out, she had a pencil in her pocket thankfully.

This was where she was in her element. She drew bars on the paper and humming the notes to herself as she filled in the first sixteen of them. Pausing every so often to hum play what she had written by playing it to check it was all accurate.

"It's pretty simple to follow, four beats to a bar, played sharp."

She played through the first few bars slowly, giving Elric a chance to take in the notes, rather than singing the lyrics she sounded out the notes whilst she played. "C,C sharp, A sustained, B, A, D, D flat."

Doing this would probably surprised Elric, Piper for once in her time here sounded sure of herself whilst focusing on this. This was where she was at her most comfortable and willing to work on this. "Try again, I'll play it so you can follow."

[Elric Vlarintos]

It seemed so very peculiar, but Piper was of much greater talent in the realms of music than Elric. Elric could read a sheet of music easily enough, but he would not have been able to write it out except from memory, if one should have asked him to do so.

Seeing it on paper made it easier to imagine the sounds in his mind. He suddenly was able to sense the depth of the steps between each of the notes. Elric was ready to test the piece aloud and confident that the mistakes now would be nothing more than the product of his own skill level rather than his ignorance of the song.

He was very grateful to have Piper here to take the lead.

Elric's eyes focused onto the strings as his fingers found their proper place and the bow danced back and forth. It had been a long time since Elric had watched another violinist play, but he recalled how entrancing both the fingers and the bow could be if you were just watching and not listening. There was something hypnotic about their movements.

Immediately, Elric was able to tell the difference as he listened to what he was playing. His pacing might still require some work, but he had Piper's leading to aid him in that endeavor.

The song seemed sorrowful and uplifting at the same time. Violins were good instruments for conveying emotion, if Elric was allowed to say so.

"That sounded much better," Elric admitted aloud once the pair of them had reached the end. "You're very good at that, you know."