010 Omens of Crusnik

[kinship]

[A: Elementary School (OPEN)]

[What is that sound floating out over the playground at lunch? It's piano music, just basic tunes being repeated over and over again from the open window of the music room. Cain has retired there to study the books that Charles gave him, tireless in his pursuit of being the very best at whatever task was set to him.

Every time he makes a mistake, he repeats that part of the piece over and over again until it's flawless. Anyone at all is free to hear his attempts or tell him to shut up.]

[B: Around Town (OPEN)]

[Tis the season, and all that... It's Cain's first Christmas where he'll actually get to celebrate, instead of watching all the colonists exchange presents while never being part of it himself. He's been saving all the pocket money that his drone not!mother had been giving him (until she got replaced yesterday), as well as the money he got for doing odd-jobs for his friends. So now he's out and about shopping for gifts.

Do you work in any of the stores? Then this blond haired boy might just be peering over the counter with a bright smile. Are you wandering down the street aimlessly? Feel free to bump into Cain as he carries a stack of boxes too high to see over... because clearly that's just asking for trouble.]

[C: Phone (OPEN)]

[Did you order a rousing pep talk by a ten year old today, Mayfield? No... shame, because it's coming anyway.]

Christmas is coming soon... Maybe you celebrate something else in your world, or maybe you don't celebrate anything at all, but here... I think they'll have Christmas. I don't know if anything will happen, but...

Even if it does, and even if it hurts us, we can't let it break us. We have to keep our eyes forward, and we have to stick together. As long as we look out for each other, then we can change the future to whatever we want.

[D: Home (Locked to Housemates)]

[It seemed like he was the first one home, which was a little odd after the drone!Esther housewife who had always been there to welcome him in and tell him to do his homework before dinner. Which, consequently, led to the thought that there was no dinner... Astha didn't seem the type to make a meal for the family based on what he had seen, Rachel had already shown she believed cooking beneath her, and he didn't want to die so Abel was out.

Therefore, whenever anyone else gets home, they might find the youngest non-drone member of the household stood on a chair by the stove. He's pouring over one of the recipes Esther had left behind, not being allowed to go and find any more of his own, and is carefully adding things to a big bubbling pot.]

Comments

[kinship]

It's very soothing, versatile. I like it.

But then again, it's the only one I've ever tried.

[encored]

Would you like to learn others? [though honestly, there is a tiny part of him hoping that he says no, because it is frustrating as all getout to see a ten year old develop musical skills faster than he had been able to over all the decades he had to practise.]

I've only extensively studied a few Western instruments, but if I were to ever find any from my homeland here I could show you one of those as well.

[kinship]

Perhaps in time, but I would like to perfect the piano first. There's no point starting something, only to abandon it in pursuit of something else.

[He is a fast learner, but it'll be a good few months at least before he's anything close to mastering the instrument.]

[encored]

[he shrugs a shoulder in a nonchalant manner that barely betrays the mild relief he feels, and sets the book back on its stand.]

Fair enough. You may feel differently after weeks upon weeks of hearing the same sort of sound, but it isn't as though there's a lack of time to study multiple things here.

[kinship]

What other instruments would you recommend, if I did start another?

[Maybe he will, just to troll you.]

[encored]

[terrible terrible]

For you, the flute. You've enough breath to spare. [it's hard to tell if he's teasing or not...]

[kinship]

[He chuckles, not seeming to take offence even if it was serious. Two can play at this game.]

Then you must play the flute too, hm?

[encored]

[he seems more surprised by the retort than offended, arching a brow.]

A tongue to match your wit, I see. [just going to quietly file this away for later...] But no, I don't.

[kinship]

[He is still smiling politely, he hadn't meant it as more than a tease.]

What instruments do you play, Mr. Charles?

[encored]

[sad but true, even teasing jabs can be enough to make him defensive sometimes...

but this doesn't seem to be one of them, and he invites himself to take a seat on the bench edge before answering.]

I've tried out several in my time [an understatement] but my favorites are the piano, violin and đàn nhị. The first two are the ones I play with greatest frequency.

[kinship]

I'm afraid I've not heard of đàn nhị, what sort of instrument is that?

[He wonders if he is being ignorant of something which should be common in his world, or if this is unique to Charles.]

[encored]

[he doesn't seem surprised by the lack of knowledge in the least, and raises his hands to show the length of the instrument.]

It's a two-stringed instrument from the country of my birth, Vietnam. You play it vertically, closer in position to a cello than a violin.

[kinship]

[Vietnam? He doesn't know much about the country, other than the usual history lessons.]

You favour strings, then? With the violin as well, I mean.

[encored]

I do tend to enjoy them, yes. They pose a bit more of a challenge than other instruments because the precision of notes and clarity of sound depend entirely upon the player, and not just the tuning.

[kinship]

[His eyes light up with interest at that, the challenge and the precision both tempt him.]

Perhaps I'd like to try a stringed instrument next, it would be good to get diversity after the piano.

[encored]

That was my reasoning. You'll find them to be suitably different, enough to keep you entertained even if some things might carry over from the piano.

[considering how easily bored he is at times, that's saying a lot. granted he's always had more patience when it comes to music, and there's a certain fondness in the way he speaks about the topic.]

[kinship]

[Suitably entertained? This wasn't the first time Charles had mentioned being bored...]

Do you find it hard to create more entertainment for yourself, given your long lifespan?

[encored]

At times, yes. It seems easy to run out of new things to try. [being awake every hour of every day and in roughly the same location all of the time certainly doesn't help much...]

Here as well, but that's understandable given the size of the town.

[kinship]

But you will never run out of new people to meet, Mr. Charles.

[He smiles, looking over at the other boy with keen interest.]

How can you be bored with so many worlds and lives to learn about?

[encored]

It can grow tedious living with the knowledge that those worlds and lives will have never mattered to you at all once you leave this town, you know?

[he sounds pretty nonchalant about it, though. after a small pause, he adds:] Just Charles is fine.

[kinship]

All knowledge becomes obsolete in time, it doesn't make it useless for the time you spent learning it.

[Computers would always upgrade, language would evolve.]

And if you insist, Just Charles.

[encored]

One could say that, but it feels like walking in circles nonetheless.

[...well that manages to get something of a smile from him, small and short-lived as it is.] I can see that the familial resemblance between you and the cake idiot is quite strong.

[kinship]

He does take after me in all the best ways.

[Sagely nod.]

[encored]

Don't tell me the horrid, voracious appetite is a shared trait as well.

[kinship]

You know, not that I think about it, I am feeling pretty hungry...