2802/A Melody atop a mello T

A Melody atop a mello T
Date of Scene:	06 August 2020
Location:	Roof - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	Caitlin and Siobhan share an impromptu jam session on the roof and Kian gets a taste of Earth music.
Cast of Characters:	Siobhan Smythe, Caitlin Fairchild, Kian

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Siobhan Smythe has posed:
Up on the roof, Siobhan has set up two devices that she very much enjoys. One is a mini-amp that can put out quite a bit of sound despite its portable size, and the other is her convertor that makes it so her electric guitar can put out sounds similar to an acoustic. It's just a trick and not the real thing but she can't afford to have both. Not yet anyway. So, she has set on a small chair with her guitar and she idly plays, smiling as she does.

"At least dere's pretty lights
And dough dere's little variation
It nullifies da night from overkill
Day after day it reappears
Night after night my heartbeat shows da fear
Ghosts appear and fade away
Come back anotter day."

She plays, singing along to her music as she does so, smiling down at the guitar and occasionally looking up at the sky as she plays.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin's brought her cello with her. It's nothing terribly fance or sophisticated; it's lightly used, probably by some high schooler who got into it briefly and decided the cello was not for them before they graduated. But it has a good, deep tone, and she plays with a modest proficiency along with Siobhan's vocals. Her head nods unconsciously rather then tapping a heel to keep time, keeping the instrument firmly pinned between her knees. The chord progerssion is a simple one and meant to add depth to Siobhan's guitar playing, rather than trying to be a voice in and of itself. Her eyes are fixated on the simple sheet music in front of her, a loose array of chords and lyrics.

It's a lovely evening for it, with the air cooling down enough to be comfortable.

Kian has posed:
    There is a dot in the sky moving about lazily.  Looks like a pretty big bird, making lazy figure-8s and occasional swoops.
    Before long, the dot grows larger.  That's a *really* big bird... no, wait.  That's a very average (for his race) sized birdman.
    Kían drops down and under one of the arms of the 'T' and back up again the other side, drops feet-first from the sky, then tucks, does a roll, and snaps his wings out at the last second to brake, and touches down like dismounting a staircase.
    Showoff.
    He tilts his head inquisitively, watching both musicians curiously.  His familiarity with Terran music is virtually nil; this is... interesting.

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
A smile back at Caitlin as they play the break in the song and she honestly never thought to add cello to this. She is enjoying it all the same and then her voice raises just as she watches Kian come in.

"I can't get to sleep!
I tink about the implications
Of diving in toooo deep!
and possibly the complications
Especially at night
I worry over situations
I know will be alright
It's just overkill."

And the song continues as she smiles, lightly strumming at the guitar in the simple music. Finding sheet music for this song was a complication in and of itself but she couldn't help but enjoy the idea of being accompanied. She smiles over at Kian briefly before she continues.

"Day after day it reappears
Night after night my heartbeat shows da fear
Ghosts appear and fade away
Ghosts appear and fade away
Ghosts appear and fade awaaaaayyyyy."

And the song quietly fades out as she finishes and looks back to Caitlin, "Dat was good." She smiles.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"I don't get to play with other people very often," Caitlin admits. She flashes a friendly smile at Kian when he arrives, and waves a free hand at him in greeting. "Hey Kian. Nice landing," she bids the bird man. "We're just doing a little practice."

"I liked that fadeout at the end there," Caitlin tells Siobhan. As they're joined by a third, she sets her cello down on a carpet and the bow goes next to it. She's in jean shorts, a modest pink camisole, and sandals. "You hungry Kian? I made a salad. Butterleaf spinach with a bleu cheese crumble," she offers, and moves to the picnic table bolted to the roof.

Kian has posed:
    "Iss Ear'th music?" Kían asks, peering at the guitar, then at the cello.  "I haff not seen Ear'th music ins-tru-mens before.  Soun's like it iss missin' notes?  Iss differen' from Akiár music."
    He glances over at the picnic table.  "Thank you, no, I... oh.  Iss look good," he says, wandering over towards the food.  "I do not need to eat, but may if I wan'," he says.  "Iss nothing from bir'd in there, yis?"
    He glances back at the musical instruments, intrigued.  "I wass never musical," he offers.

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
A smile at Caitlin and she chuckles, "I was personally skeptical if the cello could do dat song properly but it was quite good." She then looks to the food and grins before shaking her head a little and considering, "I assume food is always nearby to the Titans." She nods her head and then looks over at Kian with a grin, "It is among da many instruments found on Eart'." She chuckles.

"I could attempt to give ya taste of home wit' me music but not unless I 'eard a sample." She shrugs and then looks to Caitlin with a grin, "Certainly glad ye enjoyed yourself. I have not played much wit' utters." She shakes her head and smiles as she casually leans on the table.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
It's good enough for Caitlin; she gets up and dishes Kian up a bowl of food. "I've been trying to come up with some more egg-free recipes," she apologizes to him. "I hope the salad is OK. If there's anything from home you want me to try and come up with, I'll give it my best," she promises the birdman.

"And I'm still learning the cello, so thanks for being patient with me," Caitlin tells Siobhan. In truth, she's quite good for someone who's been at it barely a year or two-- enough for a casual concert like theirs, certainly. "I just learned by watching YouTube so I know I'm not much of a musician. The chord notes really helped, I don't think I could have played through that song by ear."

Kian has posed:
    "I am... I do not know how to des-cribe my worl's food.  House con-trol took care of cooking," Kían explains to Caitlin.  "If I fin' some-thin' that taste like home food, I will tell you, yis?"  He takes a bite of the salad, finds it delicious, and takes another bite.
    Chew.  Swallow.  "Iss good!"
    He regards Siobhan curiously.  "I don' know if I can ex-plain our music.  I am not musical.  I coul' show hyu mind to mind, if hyu like.  It hass... more notes?  Eart' music soun's like it iss missing some."  He shrugs, and takes another forkful of salad.

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
A smile and then she nods her head, "Perhaps but...I'm worried dat if I open my mind up to ye, dat you might find sometin' you won't like." She shakes her head with a sigh and shrugs, "Sorry." She then nods her head, "Maybe after I figure tings out more." She then looks over at Caitlin and smiles before she shrugs and nods her head, "I don't know what to tink of all of dis but I am tinkin' I might like stickin' around here."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"I think that you could do a lot worse than staying around the Tower," Caitlin agrees with Siobhan. "I was on my own for a year or two. I hated it. I can't imagine life without the Titans anymore. Even when we were broken up, we were still family. All my best friends are in the Titans at this point. It's nice having... I'unno. Community. Family," she amends, a beat later.

"Y'know Kian, your English is coming along really well," Caitlin tells the bird with an approving smile. "You're getting better every day. Is there anything we can do to help? More dictionaries or learning programs?" she offers, tentatively.

Kian has posed:
    "It iss very weir' here, but I haf come to like it," Kían says.  "I do not under-stan' everythin' that hap-pens here, but I haf come to like it."  He chuckles softly.  "Gods only know what that means about me.  Either I am crazy, or this worl' is not as crazy as I thin'.  Either way, iss bet-ter than hwere I was before."
    He smiles shyly at Caitlin.  "I haf kep' some of the tem-porary gif' that Gar't gave me.  Eng-lis is make more sense now.  Iss not make comp-lete sense, but iss bet-ter."

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
A smile over at Kian and she chuckles a little before smiling over to Caitlin. She shrugs, "It isn't just about dat." She states simply enough, "I am worried a bit more about what my future might mean if I keep ignorin' who I am and I can't trust myself without people I can trust." She nods her head as she looks down at her hands before shrugging and lookin' up, "It only makes sense." She nods her head before she looks over at the city and then shakes her head, "And I can't keep ignorin' de problems I see."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"Gift or not, you've got a rare talent," Caitlin bids Siobhan. "If you can't suppress it, you might as well turn it to some constructive ends, right?"

She starts packing up her cello in the soft case and slings it over her shoulder. "Anyway, Kian, you help yourself to as much salad as you like. Put the leftovers in the fridge when youre' done? I have to get home and get some sleep, it's a work day tomorrow." She makes a face. "Maybe someday we'll get some financier who adds another zero to our stipends, but I can't keep a condo on the allowance we get."

She lifts a hand to bid the other two farewell. "See y'all later," she says, and heads to the stairwell.

Kian has posed:
    Kían waves to Caitlin, and refills his salad bowl.  It's good, whatever it is.  He tilts his head at Siobhan.  "I don' know," he finally says.  "On my worl' every-one iss telepath.  Trus' iss... iss not anythin' to haff to thin' about.  I don' haff to thin' about if I trus' someone or not."
    He reflects a moment.  "I trus' everyone here," he says.  "Iss good people.  Iss weir' people, but iss good people.  I don' know hwat to say about this planet's prob-lems.  Mos' of them do not make sense to me.  They don' hap-pen on my worl'."

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
A smile and she nods her head before she considers those words, "Yeah, well, here we gotta gain it over time." She chuckles, "And I don't trust myself." She nods to him, "So, for now, I'll just have to learn to trust ye and de others." She shrugs, "But also until den, I can't do that telepat' ting wit' ya." She shakes her haed, "I'd hate to indirectly hurt ya becuase I can't stop what is in me." She then considers and walks over to collect her guitar and items, "For now, I tink it'd be wise for me to get some rest as well."

Kian has posed:
    "I under-stan'," Kían says easily.  "I haff lear'n Ear't people don' like the min'-touch.  It iss only way that makes sense hwy Ear't iss the way it iss, can not see each other's min's, yis?  An' I ap-preciate hyour con-cern.  There are unusual min's I haff touch al-ready.  I will not make you con-tac' mine.  It woul' be wrong."
    He glances up at the sky.  "An' I have more prac-tice to do.  I hope you fin' your trus' here soon.  Iss good people."  He nods once.  "Iss very good people."