The roof, Sunday late morning

[future_sandworm]

Perhaps moving into these cabins would be a good thing, Leto thought. Things had been a little too tense between him and his roommate lately, and as to not make it worse, Leto had decided that music practise was better done elsewhere unless he had the room to himself. Playing the baliset still had the ability to soothe his mind, as well as some of the memories within him; especially his father. And while sitting on the edge of the roof wasn't quite like staring out across the desert looking for worms from one of the rocks above Sietch Tabr, the clear view still gave a sense of freedom.

He played a slow melody, his mind wandering between the notes and memories of Dune.

[Open roof, of course.]

Comments

[a-demosthenes.livejournal.com]

It didn't make a lot of sense to get settled into her room when there'd be a shift to cabins anyway, so Valentine, short of just getting her stuff in, resolved instead for a little bit of quiet exploration. She thought she heard the music on her way up toward the roof, and, of course, it was confirmed as soon as she stepped outside. Her head tilted a little at the interesting instrument, but, not wanting to interrupt, she drifted over toward a good spot to sit down, drawing up her legs and listening a little. If the boy playing it didn't want an audience, she figured he shouldn't be playing in a...how had Jaina put it? Non-dorm room public spot.

[future_sandworm]

Leto didn't mind an audience, no. He continued playing and it wasn't until the song was finished that he acknowledged the presence of the girl. With a small smile, he leaned the instrument against his shoulder and said: "Are you one of the new students or have I just failed to notice you before?"

[a-demosthenes.livejournal.com]

"I'm new," Valentine confirmed, her head tilting a little. "That was...interesting." Part of her had felt that pretty might have been a better word, or nice, but she didn't feel enough certainty about either of those things to stick with them. Interesting, at least, was far less objective, and she had no doubt in its applicability.

[future_sandworm]

"Interesting can mean many things," Leto replied, raising an eyebrow. "And welcome to Fandom. I am Leto Atreides."

[a-demosthenes.livejournal.com]

"It can," Valentine agreed. "That's why I chose it. And thanks. I'm Valentine Wiggin."

[future_sandworm]

The smile widened into a grin. "Deliberately vague? Should I interpret that as an insult in disguise, uncertainty of your opinion or merely caution?"

[a-demosthenes.livejournal.com]

Valentine shrugged. "However you interpret it now says more about you than it does me," she said. "So the pressure's off me now." She laced her fingers together, stretching them out in front of them, and then above her head, before settling back in a relaxed, careless way.

[future_sandworm]

"Is it?" Leto looked quite amused. "But then I will have to choose a particular interpretation and stop enquiring for your reason."

[a-demosthenes.livejournal.com]

"Still no pressure to give anything up," Valentine pointed out. "Although I might feel a little more confident in avoiding all this vagueness if I had something more to go off of."

[future_sandworm]

"Why would pressure be needed? That is a rather obvious method, after all." He struck a chord on the baliset. "So, Valentine, where are you from?"

[a-demosthenes.livejournal.com]

"Greensboro, North Carolina," Valentine said, with a simplicity that emphasized how she didn't expect excitement or even recognition, for the most part. "How about yourself, Leto? You and that oversized guitar?"

[future_sandworm]

"It's not a guitar, it's a baliset. And you forgot one piece of information. In Fandom 'where?' is a question for time as well as place." He added: "I'm from the planet of Arrakis, in the year of 21,294 of your chronology."

[a-demosthenes.livejournal.com]

"If I felt the when was important," Valentine shrugged, "I'd have included it. I'm not even entirely sure I feel the where is important, since it doesn't seem like people will recognize most of what the other answers. Arrakis means nothing to me, and won't, as I'll probably be dead by the time it's significant. If it even winds up being significant where I'm from."

[withoutverona]

Romeo climbed up in search of air, pack of cigarettes dangling in one hand. He had quit; it was just a rough week, and one or two doses of nicotine would help.

He listened to the music as he smoked. "That's a pretty song," he observed, leaning somewhat closer to Leto.

[future_sandworm]

"It's from Caladan, my father's home world," Leto replied with a smile as the song came to an end. It had been a while since he spoke to Romeo. "And how has graduation and the influx of new students left you?"

[withoutverona]

"A bit at loose ends, if you want the truth," Romeo admitted. "Most of my friends left on Monday, and I haven't had much to do this week. But it should get less quiet soon, with all of the new students. And you?"

[future_sandworm]

"Looking forward to 'less quiet' too," Leto replied. "I am sorry about your friends leaving." Part of him wanted to mention the continuous disagreement with Arthur, but he decided not to put Romeo in an awkward position.

[withoutverona]

"It seems to be what happens," Romeo said wearily. "You love someone, they go off to save the world." Or else they die. "Yurika should be back tomorrow, at least."

He would put up with the awkwardness for the sake of good gossip, to be honest. "Did you go to the picnic yesterday?"

[future_sandworm]

"Only briefly, to welcome my little sibling," Leto replied. "I had thought I would enjoy the company, but found I preferred solitude. And you?"

[withoutverona]

"About the same," Romeo said, smirking a bit at the coincidence. "I went down, and I talked to my little sister from last term for a while, but it hardly seemed worth meeting people when I leave so soon. How as your new sibling?"

[future_sandworm]

"When are you leaving?" Leto asked. "I hardly had the time to say goodbye to Reno. And my new sibling, Claire, is a pretty girl from Texas." With a few things to hide, apparently.

[withoutverona]

"Not until the end of this term, but it still feels too soon," Romeo told him. If he was being melodramatic about it ... well, this was Romeo.

"Reno left quickly. I knew he would be leaving, and I hardly felt like I got to say goodbye myself." He smiled a little. "I'm sure I'll notice your Claire, if she's pretty."

[future_sandworm]

"Then you have the summer, at least," Leto smiled. "And you would notice Claire, although there are quite a few pretty girls here." Including some pretty and strange.

"With Reno gone, I'm not quite sure how my involvement in the Reserve will go," he confessed.

[withoutverona]

"Half the summer," Romeo corrected. "But it is some time. And this school has never had a shortage of pretty girls."

He raised an eyebrow at Leto's next statement, though, if he were to be honest, he could see that trying to be an equal partner with Arthur would be difficult at best. But he held off on saying that, since it was possible that wasn't what Leto meant at all. "How would you like it to go?" he asked.

[future_sandworm]

"I'm not sure yet, but Arthur and I have quite different approaches, and they seem difficult to combine." Leto felt he was being generous. Clearly they would have less problems if Arthur wasn't so stubborn.