[Puzzle 017]

[hisapprentice]

[Things in the village continue to move at molasses speeds, ever since the draft ended. Without school to keep him occupied, and with (shock and dismay) a wholly diminished interest in all things puzzle, what with all the sadness and walking on eggshells going on all over the place, he's been...practicing his violin, actually. No one in the house came after him pounding on the door, so it must not be that bad.

It was better, sometimes, than thinking about all the strangers who appeared (from the draft, he learned later) bloody and beaten up, or his friends, coming back with darkness in their eyes.

His plans for this day are tame, and come in two flavors:

In the morning he's at the stables, tending to the horses with the kind of affectionate banter and bounce in his step that he doesn't have many close friends to share with anymore. It's not so bad. Animals are, um, people too. But anyone else there might catch him whistling or seeming to talk to himself.

After lunch (Luke always has a long generous lunch - today he eats at Seventh Heaven) he heads into the school to the music room, balances the open journal on a spare music stand, and pulls his violin and bow out of their case to prepare and tune them.]

So, er. [It doesn't usually bother him to talk to the village but...this is a little different.] You know...I think maybe it's better if I don't say anything first.

[And, after one last, soft check of his pitch, Luke shuts his eyes and starts to play a song whose sheet music he found in the library months ago. It isn't very long, but he goes through it thrice: the first time quietly, too afraid to mess up to really play, and then twice after that. It's a little slow and a little sad but he doesn't feel sad when it's over.]

That's that, then. [Projected confidence or not, he's blushing pretty red on his end of the journal.] I sort of thought, um, that maybe somebody could use a little music.

[[ooc: shh shh pretend it's a violin in the track not a cello...]]

Comments

i had tooooo

[amonglions]

Not bad, kid.

[Booker likes music enough to verbally say so.]

{Voice}

[strikeoflightning]

Thank you for the gift. {What else can she call it? She spent the entirety of the piece leaning against a wall and closing her eyes.} I had forgotten the effect of music.

Voice

[takesyoubytheheart]

[applause!]

Aw, that was great!

[Written]

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

[It's short piece, but very lovely. Ginia closes her eyes as she listens, savoring the music.]

That's a lovely song. Thank you for playing.

[Voice]

[foundafamily]

[He could just wait to say it until Luke gets home, but Firo decides to respond anyway.]

Is that what you've been practicin'? It sounds really good. I mean, as far as I can tell.

[Firo's about as bad with music as he is with puzzles; it's one of the subjects that he won't even pretend to know about.]

[Action]

[niceguypose]

[While at the stables, suddenly Rock Lee.]

Luke-kun! Do you think that I could beat any of these horses in a youthly race?

[Action]

[of_sablier]

[Naturally, the sound of the violin lures Jack down the hall to the music room, where he pauses outside the doorway to listen to the rest of the piece. It's lovely, and he'd like to say so, but he'll save his praise until Luke is finished-- interrupting is rude, after all.

Once Luke reaches the end of the piece, Jack will wait a few moments to allow him to speak over the journals before he enters the room, beaming.]

That was marvelous! You see? I told you that you could do it if you put your mind to it.

[action]

[ofwesternwinds]

[Someone else has recently returned to volunteering at the stables, and it's while gathering his things, he comes across a certain sound. When he looks out, it's a familiar face. Not only that, but he's whistling some sort of tune.]

Not bad. [He smiles.] I hadn't know you could whistle.