First Floor Rec Room, Sunday Afternoon

[glacial_queen]

After talking magic and healing and herbs with Merlin and Lady Ghanima, Karla decided to hunt down that piano Ender had mentioned. Ever since her talk with Leto on the roof, she'd found herself missing her music lessons. The piano reminded her of home, of good times, when the only things she'd had to worry about was whether her parents had heard her sassing the Steward and if she could talk her tutor out of giving her chores for not doing her homework.

She sat down at the piano and checked the tuning. Still good, which was a relief, as it had been years since she'd last tried to tune a piano with Craft. And she hadn't been good at it then, either. Starting with warm-up exercises, Karla just let her fingers move across the keys, trying to remind them what playing felt like. In the beginning, she was fairly dreadful, as her fingers stumbled over themselves and she had to prod her brain into remembering what she was supposed to be doing. But eventually muscle memory--and regular memory--came back, and her playing evened out. She was no master pianist by any stretch of the imagination, but she could play with a minimum of missed notes. And what she lacked in technical skill, she made up for with a genuine love for the activity. Eventually, she called in the sheet music she'd bought at Groovy Tunes yesterday and began practicing some of the songs in the book, singing along once she was comfortable with the music.

...Yes, and thanks, for the trouble you took from her eyes
I thought it was there for good so I never tried...*

Kaeleer didn't have any special day set aside to honor one's parents. Still, even if Karla had known it was Father's Day, she wouldn't have done anything differently. She had bonded with her mother over Craft and being a Queen. She had bonded with her father over horses and pianos.

[mostly establishy, but open to people who don't mind SP. Song is "Famous Blue Raincoat" by Leonard Cohen, one of my dad's favorite songs--though Karla's playing the Jonathan Coulton version because I prefer it.]

Comments

[a-demosthenes.livejournal.com]

The sound of piano and voice had drifted out of the rec room enough that Valentine had caught it in the air and her curiosity lead her to the source of it. She hung by the door at first, head tilted at Karla at the keys, unsure if she should interrupt or not. The other girl did seem fairly involved in her playing, but she doubted if it was enough that Karla wouldn't notice her there. She decided to just wait and see, anyway.

[glacial_queen]

Karla looked up when she heard noise in the doorway. Glancing up, she noticed Valentine in the doorway. She smiled. "Hey," she said. "Come on in."

[a-demosthenes.livejournal.com]

"Hey," Valentine smiled back, taking up Karla's offer and drifting in. "You're not so bad at that."

[glacial_queen]

Karla smiled a bit. "Thanks. I used to play a lot when I was little. Regular lessons and all that. Haven't played for a few years, thought I'd try it out. I'm glad you came down now, though. Things were a little more discordant when I was remembering what my fingers were supposed to be doing. I think I sounded more like I was tormenting a badger than playing the piano."

Not the Karla knew what a tormented badger sounded like. But it called up a decent image.

[a-demosthenes.livejournal.com]

Valentine couldn't say anything regarding badgers, but she did know a thing or two about tormenting squirrels. She could probably make a few educated guesses based on that, though.

"Maybe a little lower next time," she suggested, "with a few sharp spikes into the high range. If that's what you're going for."

[glacial_queen]

"Well, as much fun as it might be to have everyone think that's what I'm doing, I think I'll stick to music. For a little bit anyway," she said, laughing. "Until I get bored."

She played a few more bars. "I somehow missed your last name--and your relation to Ender--until radio the other day."

[a-demosthenes.livejournal.com]

Valentine had to smirk a little at that. "One of my and Turtle's broadcasts or a different one?"

[glacial_queen]

"I think it was one of yours, actually," Karla said, trying to remember. "I think it was one of the ones I didn't get angry listening to."

[a-demosthenes.livejournal.com]

Valentine chuckled a little at that. "I'll take it as a compliment that my broadcasts don't seem to get you upset. That happens a lot for you, though? Really?"

[glacial_queen]

"I'm thinking of creating a 'To Hex' list specifically for radio broadcasters," Karla muttered. "Vice-Principal Deadpool tops the list."

[a-demosthenes.livejournal.com]

With a slight cough, Valentine covered her mouth to hide a small grin. "I'm not sure," she offered, "hexing would do anything more than exacerbate the problem in the long run, though."

[glacial_queen]

"You underestimate the power of spite," Karla said, grinning. "It would make me feel better, if nothing else."

[a-demosthenes.livejournal.com]

"I'm not sure 'hexing' is exactly on the list of 'healthy ways to improve your mood,' though," Valentine said with a laugh.

Because Valentine Wiggin was a shining beacon of healthy herself.

[robinthefrog.livejournal.com]

Robin heard piano music and made a beeline for it.

He listened quietly, not wanting to interrupt.

[glacial_queen]

"Hi Robin," Karla said after she finished a verse. "Haven't seen you in a while."

[robinthefrog.livejournal.com]

"I've been around. I like your playing."

[glacial_queen]

"Thanks. You must have missed earlier when I was warming up and abusing the piano mercilessly."

[robinthefrog.livejournal.com]

"My timing is often impeccable." Robin agreed, giggling.

[glacial_queen]

"Is that so?" Karla asked, raising an amused eyebrow. "Didn't you say something about liking music? Or playing an instrument?"

[robinthefrog.livejournal.com]

"Oh yeah! I play the banjo, and the guitar, and I sing."

[glacial_queen]

"We should play together sometime, once I learn songs from your world," Karla offered, grinning. "I know Leto also plays an instrument. Maybe we could start a very odd band!"

[robinthefrog.livejournal.com]

"That's a great idea!" Robin agreed, bouncing excitedly. "I've been thinking of maybe doing that."

[glacial_queen]

Karla laughed. "Any song you think I should learn first?"

[robinthefrog.livejournal.com]

"Hmm, well, do you know much about the genres of music?"

[glacial_queen]

"From this world?" Karla asked with a laugh. "Nothing, I'm afraid."