WHEN ROME'S IN RUINS ; open, weekly task

[Suiteheart]

[align=center][div style=" background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid black; width: 530px; min-height: 9px; font-family:; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify; padding: 20px"]It had been... some time since Suiteheart had last performed for anyone. The last time she could remember doing anything like this was when she had been with her best friend, Akira. A soft, sad smile had taken control of her lips at the thought. The friends had formed a kickass band, and they had even performed during events for their former Clan. Sorrow tugged on her entire being as she thought back to her best friend in the entire world. Baby blue eyes had more than once travelled skyward in hopes of catching whatever star might represent her soul. And though she wasn't sure which one it was, she figured it was one of the brighter ones.

A little tune tumbled passed her parted lips as she searched through countless rooms for an instrument of any sort. Suiteheart didn't have a preference; she could play most string and percussive instruments. The only thing she wasn't particularly talented at was the piano. She chuckled as she remembered how her former apprentice had sat with her, trying desperately to teach her. She was sure she had lost most of those lessons by now, but she did hope to get a crack at it again some day - not today, but someday.

Petite paws guided her to a closed off room. Seeing as doors had never stopped her before, the white feline opened it and waltzed right in. The scene spread out before her was nothing spectacular. Dust covered most everything in a fine layer. Dirty cups had been left out. Books were strewn here and there, covering topics she couldn't even pronounce. The only thing worth noting was a pocketknife. She let out an agitated sigh, though, as she realized she had no more rooms to dig through in order to find an instrument. The Cosmic General halted for a few heartbeats, still as Starpool, before turning on her heels and rushing out of the Observatory, but not before she could grab that small knife from the room she'd just searched. She recalled a merchant that had taken shelter just outside of their northern borders. Perhaps he was still there.

As luck would have it, the ancient and scrawny feline hadn't moved. He greeted her with a smile, and she returned the favor. Suiteheart then explained her issue, and the merchant nodded, taking in her words. He didn't speak, but he raised an eyebrow. Suite held out the pocketknife, the merchant gently took hold of it, grinned, and conjured up a small ukulele and a book full of sheet music. Suiteheart arched an eyebrow herself, asking if he had any actual guitars, but the man shook his head. Though slightly disappointed, she took what she had been offered. The merchant seemed pleased enough, for as she left, she watched him fiddle happily with the weapon.

Once back inside the Observatory, Suiteheart sat off to one of the side walls. She sat the book of sheet music down, open, so that others might come by and select a tune for her to play. For the meantime, the girl tuned and played a few starting notes on the ukulele. Though it was different from her preferred electric guitar, this was fine enough. The worst part was having to switch from six strings to four. She missed those extra two greatly.

After a few moments of fiddling, sweet music filled the building. It began slowly, as she got a feel for the instrument, but it easily picked up after a measure or two. The tune was not too fast and certainly not too slow. She grinned to herself, happy she'd figured out how to transpose the little song. As the song neared its end, she began to hum. "We aaa-are wild, we are like young volcanoes," she sang lightly, voice not too audible over her strumming. "We aaa-are wild, Americana, exotica. Do you wanna feel a little beautiful baby?" Her voice had tamed itself quite nicely from that of two years ago, but as she wasn't entirely confident in her abilities, she kept her voice quiet. Her playing was what mattered - that was her task.

Once Suiteheart had completed her warm-up song, she called, "Hey, if anyone wants me to play 'em a song, step right up! I've got a whole book of music, so I'm sure we can find something." She plucked at the strings softly as she spoke, and it seemed as if each note that sprung forth was there to back her words up. "If you can't find your music, I know a ton of songs, so just tell it to me. Odds are, I can play it." Suiteheart had an uncanny ability of being able to hear something - a measure, a phrase, hell, even whole songs - once and repeat it perfectly. And she had heard a lot of songs living on behind that music venue in the city.

The feline pushed the book of songs and sheet music out towards the first person to arrive, a smile lighting up her features. [color=#99182C][b]"C'mon, don't be shy!"

[Warringkingdoms]

  [font=trebuchet ms]Rin did not recall knowing how to play any musical instruments. Perhaps she could learn the basics of, say, a piano, where hitting a key slightly off-center wouldn't sour its note- but performing more complex pieces, or playing an instrument where the placement of your claws actually mattered in terms of intonation, was far beyond her current level of dexterity. She didn’t mind that, really. Being able to draw a readable map and write comprehensibly was all she really needed to be able to do with her claws, at least in terms of the arts.

  The soft melody of a ukulele in the distance, however, did strike a chord with her, drawing her into the Observatory. Watching Suiteheart playing as naturally as if the instrument was an extension of her mind, Rin found herself humming along, as if she knew the tune vibrating off of the strings by heart. She did not recall where she could have heard this song, but the progression, the notes, the words were all innately familiar. ”We aaaaaare wild,” she murmured in time with Suiteheart’s voice, albeit even more softly, to allow the true performer to shine. ”Americana exotica, do you wanna feel a little beautiful, baby, yeah?”

  She could not recall her former home, but in that moment, she felt like she was back there- back where she belonged.

  Or had she belonged?

  Blinking, her eyes focused back in on Suiteheart. ”Brava,” Rin said aloud, with a nod of acknowledgement. ”You’re... really good at this.” Cripes, this was awkward. Clearing her throat, she added, ”Ah, I’m guessing you know Panic! At the Disco? Maybe play ‘The Ballad of Mona Lisa?’”

[Margaery]

[color=#b14767] ❁  ❁  ❁

It had been such a long time since Margaery had heard her wife sing. Music had always come easy to Suiteheart, bestowed upon her like some gift from above. The chocolate point could sing but not nearly as passionately as Suite did. She was made to perform, made for the stage, made to receive the roaring affections of an audience... she had the absolute soul of a rocker. She supposed that they couldn't be more different in that sense. Not with Margaery's affinity for the more calculating aspects of life- the things that needed to be analyzed, if you will. Suite was a creator whereas Margaery was not. She had never minded that difference though, not when she knew that opposites tended to attract.

Speaking of attract, she was instantly attracted to the familiar tone of her wife's voice, this time paired with a delicate, happy-sounding instrument. A ukulele. Her dark gray eyes would fall upon Suite with a sort of endearing appreciation that she was sure could be detected through their bond. For a while, she had been convinced that she would never experience her wife singing, performing, ever again, losing the fae once more to the bitter clutches of fate and irony. She was lucky... so incredibly lucky.

Margaery's attention was momentarily piqued by Rin and quizzically, she sent a glance in the other girl's direction as she began to sing along. She knew the song too? Interesting. Her gaze would linger for but a moment before turning to Suiteheart, a smile tugging on the corners of her lips just as her wife finished and subsequently informed them of song requests.

Oh, how she would kill to hear her wife perform every one of her favorite songs right here and right now. Rin beat her to it though and Margaery knew it would be selfish to ask for more than one when surely more of her clanmates had songs they wished to hear. That meant she needed to pick just one... okay, that was doable. 

After a few seconds of contemplative thought, she had her song. [color=#b14767]"Human," She offered, her smile not once wavering, [color=#b14767]"Of Monsters and Men."

[Character Graveyard.]

LUNAFREYA N.F.

✯ — take these broken wings and learn to fly

space

Singing had been the Starstruck Guardian's favorite habits as a young child, as her mother had passed the habit to Luna. The fae didn't sing that often even though she had the urge to.

The pregnant female had approached, upon hearing Suiteheart singing and with a smile, she took a seat. "You have a nice voice, Suite. Would you happen to ever hear of Florence + The Machine?"

space

✯ — Luna. The Ascedants. Easy. — ✯

#psychosocial.

[BASTILLEPAW]

AND I'M JUST A DEAD MAN WALKING TONIGHT

The rising thrum of Suite's voice was unmistakable, and it brought a sour taste to Bastille's mouth. He had zero intentions of requesting a damned song -- he knew that she could sing the French lullabies he remembered, was almost positive of it -- and he had zero intentions in approaching her, period. Just remembering how vividly she could remind him of his mother made him bitter and angry, his skin tight, and she was clearly not his mother. His mother would never turn on him so viciously, and he was voiding Suiteheart like the goddamn plague, irritated by the very sound of her singing in the distance.

So, he headed in the opposite direction, intent on finding a fucking drink.

[align=center]BASTILLEPRISONER — ASTRAL SERAPH — TAGS

[Suiteheart]

[align=center][div style=" background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid black; width: 530px; min-height: 9px; font-family:; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify; padding: 20px"][this reply is so long, and it's one in the morning so i did not proofread ripp]

When Rin stepped forward, a smile bloomed on her maw. Suiteheart liked Warringkingdoms a great deal. The other female exhibited the same temperature and air that her best friend, Akira, had. She felt almost drawn to Rin, and she was glad for their blossoming friendship. She moved her head as if to greet the other girl, and when Rin began singing along, the smile she possessed was fourteen-karats.

"Rin! I didn't know you could sing!" Suite beamed after the song finished. She flushed a bit at Rin's compliment, for she wasn't too used to receiving praise regarding her musical talents. "Oh, thanks! I used to live behind this big music venue. I learned how to play and sing there." Those had arguably been some of the most interesting moments in her life. If she tried hard enough, she could still feel the drumbeats in her chest and the roar of the crowds in her ears. "Hell yeah, I can play some Panic!, and you oughta sing while I play." Before the other femme could object, she had began to play.

The song began slow, delicate, and somewhat repetitive at first before shifting into something almost dark and inviting. "She paints her fingers with a close precision, he starts to notice empty bottles of gin, and takes a moment to assess the sins she's paid for," she began, smiling at Rin, hoping the black and white feline would sing as well. She found herself chuckling a bit as she strummed the song, which had now gained a more rock-line tune (she wished she had her electric guitar to demonstrate the true wonder of this song).

As the chorus rolled around, her voice picked up again. "Give me a siiign, I want to beliiiiieve-" she paused momentarily in her singing, but continued playing the ukulele. "Whoa-oooo-oa, Mona Lisa, you're guaranteed ta run this town, Whoa-oooo-oa, Mona Lisa, I'd pay to see you frooown!" Her voice lifted at the end, as she held out the word 'frown.' She continued playing, striking two of the same notes in a bold way, eyeing Rin, hoping she'd pick up the words.

"But she'd have nothing left to sell 'im," she hummed, adding her voice to Rin's. A few heartbeats passed as a small instrumental took place, but then, the chorus returned. Suiteheart happily sang that. As the chorus concluded, her strumming grew softer, slower, delicate. "Mona Lisa, wear me out, pleased to please ya, Mona Lisa, wear me out," she sang, holding out the end of each lyric line just a hair. Her words, like her playing, were soft. Her playing did not cease in that delicate fashion, even as she returned to the chorus. However, once the first chorus finished up, the second chorus arrived, bringing with it that rock-like sound.

She sang the last few lines of the song quite loudly, in time with Rin and the music. After holding out the word 'believe,' for a handful of seconds, she ended the song by slowing the tempo, adding, "There's nothing wrong with just a taste of what you've paid for."

Suiteheart, admittedly, hadn't noticed her wife approach. She had gotten lost in the music, lost in the idea of being able to sing with someone again. She, like Warringkingdoms, felt a home. And after so much had been stolen from her, she deserved it. Didn't she? "Oh, that's a good one, babe," she meowed, nodding. "Sing for me?"

Like she had done Rin, Suite began to play without waiting for a 'yes,' or 'no.' She strummed the ukulele slowly but with purpose. She hummed the tune lightly as she went about playing, baby blue eyes rising from the small instrument to gaze at her wife. She found herself grinning again, and she was ready to hear her wife's beautiful singing voice. She would help Margaery begin, so she sang, "When the words, weight heavy on the heart, I am lost, and lead only by the stars." The words were breathy, and there were distinct pauses between each few words. The tone of the song were somehow beautifully sad and haunting - it was what Suite liked most about it.

"Cage me like an animal, a crown with gems and gold, feed me like a cannibal, chase the neon throne," she sang, adding her voice to the chorus. In the original version of this song, two voices sang it, so if Margaery did indeed sing, then it would be perfect. In addition, by now, the intensity of the music had grown; it was more powerful, more demanding.

After a few measures of playing, it died back down to sound more like the beginning of the song. The grinned softly as she played, stealing glances at Margaery every several seconds. She hoped her wife felt just as happy as she. As the chorus rolled in once more, the song swelled, growing stronger. "Breathe in, breathe out, let the human in, breath in, breathe out, and let it in," she sang, gently, "plants awoke, and they slowly grow, beneath the skin, so breathe in, breathe out, let the human in."

There was a pause in singing as Suiteheart played on her ukelele. There was almost a pleading air to the notes. The song was coming to and end, the final chorus upon them. Her playing slowly faded into softness as Margaery sang. "If I could only let go."

Once that song was completed, she noticed Lunafreya's arrival. She smiled at the winged serval, nodding at her inquiry. "Yeah, of course I know FATM," she said, choosing the abbreviate the name of the band for time's sake (and because grassina had already written so much). She opened her mouth to ask what song Luna would like when her eyes caught Bastille's.

For a fleeting moment, hope sprouted in her chest. She thought he might wander this way, quietly, listening to her playing. But he didn't. He turned, disgusted look in his frozen eyes. Something inside of her sank, but outwardly, she was fine. Happy. Glad. Joyful.

[color=#99182C][b]"What song would you like, Luna?"

[Warringkingdoms]

  [font=trebuchet ms]Suite’s exclamation temporarily made Rin very glad that she was covered in fur, as the warmth spreading across her face would have been plain to see otherwise. ”Ah, you flatter me,” she muttered, looking down at her paws. Maybe she should’ve been softer, but at least Suite seemed to have enjoyed hearing her.

  ...So much so that she wanted to hear more, apparently? Biting her lip, Rin nodded, quickly running through the first verse in her head. Some way or another, she remembered how it went. ”She paints her fingers with a close precision,” she began, her voice low but firm. ”He starts to notice empty bottles of gin, and takes a moment to assess the sin she’s paid for.” Had she ever sang in public like this before? Despite knowing the words, the act in and of itself felt unfamiliar.

  Yet, her confidence was growing bit by bit, helped by Suite’s grin and the steady chord progression. ”A lonely speaker in a conversation, her words are swimming through his ears again- there’s nothing wrong with just a taste of what you paid for,” she continued more loudly, lifting her head and projecting towards their small audience. ”Say what you me-e-ean, tell me I’m ri-i-ight, and let the sun rain down on me! Give me a si-i-ign, I want to beli-ieve!” She held out the last note as long as she could, lifting at the end, just as she remembered.

  After taking a breath, she segued into the next line. ”Whoa-oa-oa-oa-oa, Mona Lisa! You’re guaranteed to run this town! Whoa-oa-oa-oa-oa, Mona Lisa, I’d pay to see you fro-own!” she sang, holding out the last note along with Suite in what sounded, at least to her, like perfect harmony. Without even thinking about it, Rin went onto the second verse- not even realizing that she was temporarily singing solo. ”He senses something, call it desperation, another dollar, another day, and if she had the proper words to say, she would tell him.” She leaned in towards Suiteheart, and added in time with her, ”But she had nothing left to sell him.”

  Following the second chorus, she let the last line ring, then murmured along, ”Mona Lisa, wear me out... pleased to please ya... Mona Lisa, wear me out.” As she repeated the pre-chorus in that same, soft tone, she noticed Bastille padding by, then leaving in apparent irritation. She was going to have to do something about that, she could tell that much.

  With renewed intensity, she sang out, ”Say what I mean, tell me I’m ri-ight, and let the sun rain down on me! Give me a sign, I wanna beli-i-i-ieve!” She maintained the note along with Suiteheart, only dropping off after running out of breath. Having taken a moment to breathe, she finished, ”There’s nothing wrong with just a taste of what you paid for.”

  With a soft smile, Rin stepped back and sat down, listening to the next song. She wouldn’t have thought singing in public was something she was capable of, and yet here she was. It was, admittedly, nice to have a connection to her clanmates beyond just being clanmates, even if it was just through liking the same bands.

[Character Graveyard.]

LUNAFREYA N.F.

✯ — take these broken wings and learn to fly

space

Luna would turn her attention away from Suite and onto Rin as the female began to sing. It seemed most of her Clanmates could sing, though nobody really sung that often. Luna would smile in Rin's direction and she clapped both of her front paws when she had finished singing.

"Could you possibly sing Dog Days?" Luna asked Suite after she had stopped clapping for Rin.

space

✯ — Luna. The Ascedants. Easy. — ✯

#psychosocial.