◙ 01

[mortalcoiling.livejournal.com]

[today, there is someone raiding the music room, and the sounds of their exploits are caught over the forgotten grimoire nearby. There is the wooden clatter of instruments from the cabinets being taken out, set down, moved around, put back. And then, amongst the busy sounds, the occasional pause and peal of a few expertly plucked chords. Just experimentally playing with the instruments as he finds them--testing the sound, comparing them to one another, inspecting the exotically foreign forms of each one.

Whether he's looking for a specific instrument in particular, or just exploring the tower's library of stringed instruments, Coil's going to be at it for a while]

Comments

[maintenir.livejournal.com]

[ There's no silent sneaking going on here; these footfalls are far too heavy to go unnoticed, even despite what occasional sound Coil's instrumental experiences are providing. For a moment, sie watches him, before turning to one of the instruments, testing it. It's not nearly as expertly as Coil, but...it's a start. If one could even call it that. ]

[mortalcoiling.livejournal.com]

[oh hey there, silent buddy. Coil pauses in his experimentation when he notices that he has company, and just watches for a minute.

Time to play the miming game-- he points to the instruments questioningly. Do you play?]

[maintenir.livejournal.com]

[ Headshake. Today, sie has the grimoire on hand, as well as a writing utensil! Which sie now takes out, as if to show Coil that they can communicate better now. ]

[mortalcoiling.livejournal.com]

[oh! Excellent. He raises his brow approvingly, until-- wait. He goes to bring out his own grimoire, but realizes that he doesn't have it on him. Oops. Time to... lamely look around for where he'd left it.

Finally, he spots it over where he'd set it aside near the cabinet, and goes to retrieve it. ...And then stops with a frown as he picks it up, noticing that he'd left it open this whole time. Great.]

[maintenir.livejournal.com]

[ Good thing they didn't say anything too bad-- or anything at all. ]

[mortalcoiling.livejournal.com]

[he'll just bring that back over, writing something in it as he goes. Then he motions for the other to check their grimoire. Magic books are so convenient]

'What is your name?'

[maintenir.livejournal.com]

[ It is pretty neat, if not a bit strange at first. ]

Maintainer.

[mortalcoiling.livejournal.com]

[that's... a little weird. But, he'll give it a shot, using it in a filter so the whole tower can't read their communications]

[filtered to Maintainer]

My name is Coil.

filtered;

[maintenir.livejournal.com]

Coil. Like a machine part?

[birdmetaphor.livejournal.com]

[hovers around and leans in the doorway. that is all. C:]

[mortalcoiling.livejournal.com]

[he's pretty absorbed in what he's doing; he doesn't notice Robin at all yet. he's got several instruments laid out on the floor now, lined up as he apparently decides which ones make the cut and which ones don't. So far, they all seem to be in the general family of lap-harp.

After replacing one of them into the cabinet, he pulls out a new one, props it on his hip, and runs his fingers along the strings--first silently along their length, and then brushing across them to make it sing him a note.

This one has a tinny sound to it, with a shallow musical depth. It would fit in well with some Eastern cultures of Earth, but it just makes Coil pull a face.

--This one gets put back in the cabinet. :\]

[birdmetaphor.livejournal.com]

[oh, man. he'll continue to watch; he wants to see if Coil ever settles on one.]

[mortalcoiling.livejournal.com]

[he's being dumb and has his blind side to the door at the moment, so he doesn't notice Robin even as he stoops down to take a more critical look at the instruments he has currently collected together. They're all quite different from one another--different shapes, different materials, different strings.

Kneeling there, with a miniature-harp buffet laid out in front of him, he's going to run through and sample them all one more time, this time picking short tunes on each one. A couple more get narrowed out of the group as their layouts end up just not making enough sense to him, but... he's stuck on the ones that are left over after that.]

[birdmetaphor.livejournal.com]

[...oh, he can't be this patient.]

You keep up like that, and it'll be years before you pick one.

[mortalcoiling.livejournal.com]

[sorry, Robin, Coil's a little on the painstakingly methodical side.

And he's so wrapped up in his thoughts that Robin manages to give him a small heart attack when he speaks up. At the voice, Coil jumps automatically up to his feet and whirls enough to be able to actually see the door.

First there is the visible silent self-rebuke for leaving his blind side facing the entrance, and then the awkward glance down at the instruments all over the floor. Um.]

[birdmetaphor.livejournal.com]

[he just smiles and gestures at him in that "shoo, shoo, keep doing what you were doing" sort of way.]

Don't stop on my account. I won't think anything of it, I swear.

[mortalcoiling.livejournal.com]

[...a-awkward. He fidgets with his hands for a minute, keeping his gaze over on the instruments while he debates.

Then, all at once like Robin somehow helped--or pressured--him toward a decision, he sets into motion and busies himself with putting all of the instruments away, save for one. He's apparently narrowed it down]

[forourqueen.livejournal.com]

[Busy stalking the halls exploring the place, Gabriel stops as he hears the ruckus. Disappearing into the shadows, the zombie sneaks to the music room to watch.]

[mortalcoiling.livejournal.com]

[the one-eyed boy seems to be systematically working his way through the lap-harp type instruments. Setting ones that he likes--for whatever factors he's judging on--out in a collection on the floor, while those that don't make the cut are returned to the cabinet.

By how focused and intent he seems, this is a very serious decision]

[forourqueen.livejournal.com]

[That was... odd. Keeping himself covered by the shadows, the Forsaken moves closer.

It was weird to see someone look so serious when it came to music.]

[mortalcoiling.livejournal.com]

[though he strums each one and compares them, there's almost something about his search that seems to be more than just about how each instrument sounds, as he closely inspects the form of each one-- running his fingers along the strings, pressing on them to test their tensile strength]

[forourqueen.livejournal.com]

[He stays where he is, a bit away from Coil to not break stealth with his... odor.

Considering how the boy touched the strings, this was more than just some bored plinkering for tones. It was interesting enough for the rogue to stay; Gabriel liked to know things about people... it gave him an edge.]

[mortalcoiling.livejournal.com]

[something, though... something is picking at the corner of Coil's attention. It's hard to put his finger on exactly what it could be, and there is a slight betraying hesitation in the way he reaches for the next instrument.

Something is bringing up the thought of graveyards. Something reminds him of...


He's being set on edge a little, now. Pausing in what he's doing to glance around]

[forourqueen.livejournal.com]

[Gabriel backs away a bit, closer to a corner. The fact that he didn't need to breathe made his movements even quieter, but the earthy, moldy scent of rotted, dry flesh and embalming fluid pretty much weighed that up.

Keeping back, he decides to wait until the strange boy's tension lessened again.]

[mortalcoiling.livejournal.com]

[it takes longer than it should for the boy to calm down again. It's as if he can feel the undead creature's presence on his skin, and it makes his fingers flex with the anxious want for a weapon.

So then, it may be a little odd that the boy's next action would be to pull over the nearest instrument and hastily begin to detach one of its strings]