damned_institute | Day 57: Music Room (Fourth Shift)

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Day 57: Music Room (Fourth Shift)

While Peter was glad that he had been able to meet not one, but two new patients and give them some advice, he had to admit that he was itching to see a familiar face by now. Actually, it was one in particular that he was looking for, and one that most people who knew him would have been able to guess on the first try. In others words, he hadn't seen Claire all day and he was worried about her.

It was possible that she was tied up with a visitor, which worried him. While he had been through it himself and had come out of it okay despite the fact that he'd had to face both his brother and his mom at different points, he didn't know how Claire would be able to handle it. What if one of her family members showed up? Or a friend of hers?

Even though he was close to Claire, the fact was that he still didn't know that much about her. Where would she go, if given the choice? It seemed like outside would be far too cold to go by choice, so where did that leave him? He hadn't seen her in the Sun Room, so he decided to search the Music Room next. Teenagers were usually interested in music, weren't they? Granted, he didn't even know what Claire liked -- pop, rock, maybe even country?

However, as he walked into the room in question, there was no sign of his niece, which forced a sigh out of him. He figured he'd probably be best off searching elsewhere (maybe the Game Room next?), but decided to pause and give the CD collection a glance over. It was usually too crowded to get a good look at them, but not today. Maybe he could take a walk down memory lane...

[Free!]

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The movie from last shift proved to be quite a classic as Gant recalled. He wasn't too into movie culture himself, but he could recognize some of the greats from back in the day. He actually remembered when the film was first made. Collected several awards, starred Steve McQueen and James Garner. Yeah, a definite classic. Also a definite threat. Someone would have to be blind to not realize that ending was giving the patients a warning. Well, it would take more than that to cow Damon Gant into submission. But he would go along with it for now. He didn't want the military here to think he was scared, but alerting them to his lack of fear was just reckless. He didn't mind playing along, either.

But now that he had a choice of where to go, he was fairly certain he knew where he could get the most enjoyment for the rest of the day. It felt like ages since he had exercised his musical talents. Sadly, the music room wasn't equipped with a full pipe organ, but he supposed the keyboard would do just as well. He would miss the foot pedals, though.

Keying in the correct setting, Gant ran a quick scale. Yeah. It was definitely lacking in something, but he would manage. Turning the volume up to full height, Gant started in on Widor's Toccata, the 5th Organ Symphony Opus 42 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJCt-4VMlms).

It was loud, just as he wanted it, but it also sounded just like random noise without the pedals. There was only one other guy on the other side of the room at the moment, though. He probably wasn't disturbing him too much. Not that Gant really cared if he bothered anyone or not.

Stranger and stranger. Just when Tolten was certain that he had been taken for every surprise, encountered the crowning of bizarre and inexplicable, the strange institute managed to outdo itself.

At least this time, Tolten was able to offer up some input as to what he wanted to do or where he wanted to go. The nurse (or solider, or guard, or whatever it was) was rather like having one of his attendants. In fact, if he tried hard enough, he could pretend that she was. And so with an authority and a presence he didn't entirely feel, the young king had informed her that he wished to repose in the music room, thank you very much.

The woman gave him a mildly amused stare, and began to lead the way. That was when she produced the letter (http://age-of-kings.livejournal.com/1354.html).

"How lucky!" she had said, handing it over. "Already getting mail from home!"

And then she had deposited him outside the music room, leaving him to gape without comprehension at the envelope in his hands. The sheer absurdity of anyone from home sending him a letter....

He opened it as he entered the music room proper, pausing a moment at the sounds issuing forth. Well, it seemed as though there were instruments, that was nice. His eyes were staring at the letter in his hands, however. He was aware that the words were going into his mind, and that they were all perfectly normal words that he understood entirely. They were even in proper sentences that made perfect sense and conveyed complex ideas in a simple to understand manner.

They were also written by what could only be described as a madman attempting to pass themselves off as his teacher, father figure and eventual usurper. The sheer insanity of it was all that kept Tolten from shaking in his slippers or vomiting just inside the music room door.

"This...well, this can't exist," he mumbled to himself. He looked up, trying to push it away. Suddenly, he felt reality sort of shift and thin. He felt like he was in a waking dream, and he looked upon the music room with distant eyes. There was the source of the noise, a white haired man attempting to coax music from one of the saddest looking little pianos Tolten had ever seen.

Letter held loosely in one hand, he crossed the distance between door and man-at-piano. Even the instruments weren't right here. For the moment uncaring of how rude and uncouth he was being, Tolten simply stood, looking down at the piano thing as the man played, a look of incomprehension and loss evident on his features.

It was a little hard to get into the groove of the music when it wasn't the full, vibrant sound of a stationary pipe organ, so large the pipes took up the entire wall. Music like that just filled the air with energy. The sounds coming from the small speakers on the keyboard were just pathetic. It almost wasn't worth it. Almost. Not luxurious, certainly, but at least it helped Gant relax a bit. He missed the days just pounding out deafening melodies on his pipe organ in the office. People always complained, but he didn't much care to listen. They just didn't appreciate true art.

After a while, Gant realized that someone had entered the room and actually walked towards him. How very odd. Normally, his peons at the precinct were pretty keen to walk in the other direction when he was playing. Perhaps he had finally attracted the right sort of person, someone who understood high art in all its grandeur. There wasn't much that was grand about the keyboard, but perhaps this fellow at least had a head for finer things.

Refusing to let up on his playing, Gant turned his head to the side and grinned. He had to speak loudly to be heard over the keyboard, but not as loud as he might have with a real pipe organ. Good thing the Chief didn't mind speaking loudly even under normal circumstances. "Thought some tunes would lighten up the place. Fond of music there, kid?"

The letter still held in Tolten's hand but willingly ignored now, the young king watched the man's fingers moving over the keys. He was both fascinating and bothered by the little piano instrument that made such twanging sounds.

And then he realized he was being spoken to.

"Yes..." he responded in his lilting accent, nodding slowly. "I quite enjoy music. I took lessons as a small child, and my mother played the harp." At least, he thought it was the harp. She had played something, he could remember that much. She would play and sing him lullabies. But perhaps he was simply getting confused, as he played string instruments and Her Majesty favored the harp.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you," he went on. "But today has been very strange and a small bit of normal familiarity...." he gave a weak smile as he trailed off. Tolten's head still felt light and strange, and he couldn't shake this sense of being in a dream. "Er...what manner of instrument is this? I've never seen a piano or an organ quite like it...."

Hmm, an Englishman, no doubt about it. There weren't too many with that sort of accent around these parts. How interesting...

Gant had to focus a bit to listen and keep up his playing, but he found the music hadn't left him. He had excellent muscle memory when it came to his favorite old tunes. Listening was what took most of the energy. He didn't like listening much, but sometimes it was expected to form stronger bonds of companionship, which could often lead to more useful alliances.

Gant had to approve of the woman who instilled music in her child at a young age. He was sure to go far in life with an extra skill up his sleeve, and there was always room for people with a mind for music. He nodded to show he was still listening.

"No, not a problem at all! Not even a little one!" Gant chuckled, though his mind was whirling in curiosity. Second day in a row the Chief had run into someone with a slightly more dated view of the world, though not recognizing an electrical instrument was definitely much more acceptable than not recognizing an honest to goodness grocery store. Maybe the kid's parents were old fashioned and kept him sheltered from electrical instruments. Or else, he really wasn't from modern times, like Gant was slowly beginning to accept from some of the patient body. Well, putting that matter aside for now, Gant focused on the question at hand and answered gamely.

"It's an electric keyboard," he began, slowing the speed of his playing down just a smidge. "It synthesizes music and can play just about any instrument's sound imaginable. And it plays some sounds that aren't necessarily instruments either, but that's kiddy stuff. Personally, I like the old fashioned piano and organ much better."

Kid seemed a bit spacey right now. Probably was a little overwhelmed, if his fascination with the keyboard was any indication. What better way to ground someone than a polite introduction? "Name's Gant, by the way. Damon Gant."

He was glad that he wasn't interrupting. Tolten hated bumbling or putting his foot in his mouth, though he did so too often. He listened to the explanation of the instrument, recognizing that word, 'electric'. He understood now that that was the power that lit and ran the building and it's mechanics. It was, as far as he could tell, remarkably similar to magical energy.

It was used for practically the same things, at least.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, nodding. "It runs on a current! It's not really a proper piano at all. Well, I suppose I oughtn't say that, it isn't an improper instrument.... Though that must make it rather difficult to keep in tune..." Laughing nervously, Tolten began mentally kicking himself. Delightful. Clearly insanity for him was simply babbling like...like an idiot.

"You'll have to excuse me. I'm having an odd day." Which was an understatement, and something he found himself repeating far too often. "And once more, I've forgotten my manners! I swear, this isn't like me! I'm Tolten, Mr. Gant. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Tolten needn't have worried about being inconsiderate around Gant. Brash was what Gant was all about. People who stood up for themselves went far in the world! But kids that were willing to be unassuming and make themselves useful were always welcome.

A current. That was one way to think of it. "I wouldn't call it a proper piano either. Definitely lacks the warm sounds of a true piano. But as for tuning, that's all pre-programmed." How did he explain this? If the kid really didn't know anything about electronics, then he probably shouldn't use too much technology lingo. Though Gant wasn't too tech savvy himself. "I guess you could say it's impossible for it to fall out of tune."

He wanted to show off the instrument's capabilities a bit, so he ceased in his playing altogether and started fiddling with the numberpad. Now, what digits did he need to change it to play the harp? That would likely leave a good impression on him.

What a polite kid. More needed to learn to follow his example. But maybe he should make the kid sweat it out a little, just to keep him in line a bit. Quieting, Gant turned his stare to Tolten, looking over the rims of his clear, institute-issued glasses. And he stood there quietly for a minute, just blinking. Then, without warning, Gant let loose a chuckle and grinned again, clasping his hands together in front of him. "Really, it's no problem at all! Good to meet you too, lad!"

Admittedly, as pleasant as it was to talk to who he had come to consider friends - even if Venom's surliness was catching - what he had really been waiting for was the final shift of the day where he could look for his fiancée. The list of options for their final shift surprised him, though he remembered the day always seemed to work when visitors were present. (And, silently, he was thankful that he went another visitor day without having to see one of his own.) What if Emmett, freshly brainwashed, came back to urge him to come home?

He wouldn't be able to handle it. Edward knew that, and he was avoiding it for as long as he could.

They keyboard was occupied to his great annoyance, but he would just have to take it when it was free again. Bella wasn't in the room, but there was a chance she might still come in. If too much time passed with no sign of her, he could move to another room. For now, he simply took a seat and placed his fingers on his knees, silently playing a familiar song that he had written not too long ago but had not played in ages.

[For Bella.]

Bella, admittedly, had a lot to think about. As much as she enjoyed meeting with Lunge (who, oddly enough, considering she didn't know him all that well, was like a strange father figure to her, especially in the absence of her own and Carlisle.) she had a lot to think about. So, apparently, Landel was out somewhere with that Marc person. Of course such information happened when she was asleep; not that she'd really put the information to good use, since there wasn't much she could do when it came to ... doing anything worth finding out the truth, but still. She had a feeling Edward already knew, since Edward always knew everything.

Speaking of, she had to find him, since they had agreed to meet. Of course, Bella didn't mind this in the slightest; she hadn't seem him in what felt like forever, and he must have worried about her when she slept (seeing as he had left that message on the bulletin for her, after all.) so she'd have to see him and tell him she was fine.

Plus, she wanted to know how he was doing as well. Last she had seen him, his arm was still in that cast -

Passing the music room, the teenager caught a quick glance of a familiar messy head of hair and instantly stopped. Without a second thought, she moved into the room, once again brushing her hair over the bandages on her neck to hide the things (him more than anyone did she want to hide the injury from, especially since she knew how Edward felt about it and the monster that wore his face.) from sight.

Bella smiled warmly down at her fiancé as she neared him, moving to sit in a seat by his side. She was still well aware of the fact that the soldiers were lingering, and she still remembered their meeting in the Cafeteria. The soldier who had broke them up was not happy with their meeting, and she knew better than to force it now, even though there was nothing she wanted more in the world then to reach out and touch him. "Hi," she greeted rather dully, despite the fact that her warm smile had turned rather giddy. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you'd pick the music room on a free day, but I digress."

Her voice turned soft then, and she looked down for a moment before looking up at him through her eyelashes. "I missed you."

And just like that, the rest of the room was swathed in gray. Except for her. That was simply how it worked. His easy, crooked smile rose to his lips when she sat next to him, and he flopped a hand over on his leg for her to take if she chose to. Yes, the last time they had been together during the day hadn't ended on a very good note, but. That was Edward. The risk-taker.

"I was waiting for you," he said honestly, though he really meant all day instead of the last few minutes. "I feel like I'm always missing you." There was to be no ease in their relationship when the sun was in the sky. He did not mean to think most of what they had was based on the physical, but it certainly helped - the way when they came together, he would lean down to kiss her or trail his fingers up her arm. None of that happened anymore. None of it had happened in weeks. Every night some new injury or new horror would occur, and push him even further away. The only silver lining for the moment was his collarbone was almost healed completely; he was only leaving it in the sling for now to insure that it had set correctly.

"I got you something last night. It might not be exactly something you wanted, but I thought it would help." If only he could have brought some sample of his haul to show her as an example. Even a lonely little can of peaches would have been excellent. "I found the pantry and did a little raiding. I didn't think this new pink gruel would be very appetizing, even to your tastes." His smile turned into a grin with his light teasing. He leaned a little closer to her to get a slow breath of her scent, which immediately hit his senses all over.

As usual, the moment Edward reached a hand out to her, she took it and entwined her fingers with his own. Sure, she could feel the glaring glare of one of the "nurses" (who she remembered was the one who had split them up before, she was pretty sure,) but she tried to ignore it. It was none of his business, anyway.

"Well, I'd hope you were," the teenager told him with a quirk of an eyebrow. "You were the one who wanted to meet here. Not that I have a problem with seeing you, obviously, but if you had left me waiting I would have not been very happy. I hate being stood up, after all." Not that she had ... ever had that problem. She never really went on dates that much; the only time she went out with someone who wasn't Edward was with Jake and Mike, and that had only been because they were all going on a group outing and the rest of the group ditched at the last moment. However, Edward was always on time whenever they were supposed to meet; actually, most of the time, he was early.

At the vampire's second comment, Bella gave him a warm smile, leaning closely to him, trying to make it look like she was going to whisper something to him - but really, she just wanted to get closer. "I know the feeling," she told him softly, albeit a little sadly. It felt like now her whole life consisted of waiting; waiting for the next shift, waiting for the sun to set, waiting for their wedding, waiting so she could become a vampire. Waiting, waiting, waiting. She hated it. A part of her wanted to say "fuck it" and just crawl into his lap and see what her punishment was.

However, she remained in her seat.

"Got me something?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. Whenever Edward mentioned those three words, she became suspicious, mostly because he knew how much she hated getting gifts. However, at the continued mention of food -

Bella's eyes widened, a small fear bubble pushing itself into her throat. What was in that food, she could only imagine. However, he was right about the pink cat vomit, and the teenager found herself relaxing, letting out a nervous laugh. "I actually forced myself to eat that crap today, you know. Thankfully, Elena came and turned my attention away from it before I ... got sick off of it."

But. She would take the food, regardless. If Edward spent all that time getting something for her ... she would eat it. Just like how she had gotten the blood for him, after all. "Thank you," she told him in a soft voice, giving him a small smile. "I hope you didn't run into any trouble last night because of it."

When he leaned close, Bella couldn't help herself, and drew her head closer to his, bonking him lightly on the forehead with her own. They couldn't kiss, but ... well. It was good enough. For now.

It wasn't hard to notice that she was unnerved by the news, even with her hand in his. He may have trouble reading her sometimes, but now... well, he knew her reasoning. He didn't think it was a very legitimate fear, but it wasn't his call to make. He wasn't the one who was forced to eat human food without possibility of substitutes. Edward attempted to soothe her with his thumb, brushing it over the back of her hand in slow circles.

He couldn't imagine hitting their foreheads together felt very nice to her, but he smiled at it anyway. It was a good enough kiss for now.

"I'm glad you ate something. I just thought it might be a good alternative. I won't force you to eat it if you are still afraid." He might insistently urge her to, though. He wasn't making promises against that. Even if he didn't say anything, he had noticed she was getting thinner in the places that showed it.

"Either way, I'll keep it in my room until you're ready." There wasn't an ulterior motive for doing so. Honest. "By the way, how is Elena? I haven't met her myself, but she seems good... from Stefan's point of view, at least. I admit, I was thoroughly surprised to find someone else in your position."

The circles did rather well at calming her down, and she leaned back in her seat, letting out a soft sigh. "It is a good alternative," she said with a smile. "Especially because what they're giving us is so disgusting. I mean, I'm ... sure I'll be fine." After all, she did eat that mush today, and so far she hadn't ... died in any way, shape or form. So, that was always a plus.

Unless that happened later on. Then she would be not very happy.

"Well, I'll come to your room tonight, then, so you don't have to carry it around with your bad arm," Bella shrugged. "I don't mind. As long as you don't freak out about me going to your room, I mean. Since, you know, I'll be fine and all."

"And Elena is ... nice," she said simply, relaxing. "... I mean, we are in the same situations. And we know what it's like to deal with stubborn vampires," she gave him a playful grin. "And she doesn't make me uncomfortable, even though she also knows I'm from a book, I mean. We're already friends, if that's what you were wondering."

She wouldn't dare mention her bringing up the idea of the Chapel to Elena. He would absolutely lose it.

"So," she quickly continued, changing the subject. "How was your day?"

"I can't really stop you, can I?" He shrugged one shoulder to answer his own rhetorical question. He wasn't yet ready to argue that he was rather sure his bones had mended. He could simply show her later. He had to be realistic, anyway. Her journey to his room - and vice versa - was a relatively short journey, and neither had ever had a hint of being attacked. They were probably the safest hallways in the institute.

That was all he could really ask for.

"You say stubborn like you don't love it," he matched her grin with his own, squeezing her hand briefly. He was definitely glad for Elena's presence, especially if the girl seemed as accepting as Bella said. Like Stefan, he wasn't very much able to provide Bella the feminine mind he was sure she craved, especially when there was no one like Alice or Angela. Even then, neither of them could provide a feeling of camaraderie to someone who was in love with a vampire (while being human. Alice had the former in spades.) "I'm glad, though. It's entertaining to see you becoming a social animal." And this grin was more of a plea for her not to hit him. He wouldn't have blamed her if she had.

"My day was rather uneventful. I'm afraid Venom is angry with me, but I can't say I'm very surprised. I think he suffers from a choleric temperament."

After the cold of the previous shift, Gren decided it would be a good idea to come in and warm up. He didn't know quite how long he'd continue to feel okay, and there was no point in pushing himself.

He'd thought about catching whatever ancient movie they were playing in the Sun Room, but when he walked in and saw what it actually was, he decided that would be a distinctly bad idea. The last thing he needed was a war movie, however old it might have been. So he pushed on through to the music room, knowing he'd be able to find something to occupy himself with.

Gant was on the keyboard when he walked in, so he paused a moment to listen, and then moved towards the back where they kept the ancient audio equipment. Someone else was already there, looking through the selection. Maybe he'd be able to offer some advice? None of the stuff on hand looked the least bit familiar to Gren.

"Do you know if any of this is any good?" He gestured at the music collection. To be honest, he wasn't even sure he knew how to use the equipment on hand.

[Hope Peter doesn't mind a music dork from the future pestering him. ;) ]

[Not at all!]

Luckily for Peter, the CDs were pretty well organized by genre. He decided to search through the pop section first -- not because it was his favorite type of music, but because it tended to be the most memorable due to the sheer amount of radio play. One of the first things he found and recognized was one of the Spice Girls' albums. That had obviously never been his thing, but he remembered how the girls in his class had been obsessed.

Soon after that, however, a blaring noise came from the other side of the room and he realized that a strange man was playing on the keyboard. Peter wished that he could have been a bit quieter about it, but if anything it just spurred him to find a good CD and get some headphones on pronto.

Deciding to move over to the alternative rock section, Peter was once again interrupted, but this time by another patient. He paused and glanced over at the man, noting the length of his hair and his pale skin. Still, he was being perfectly polite so there was no reason not to stop and explain, even if he had been in the middle of something. If the guy was asking about the music, that probably meant that he either wasn't from Earth or wasn't used to this time period. It was strange, how Peter could come to that conclusion so easily.

"It sort of depends," he started. "What kind of music do you like?" It wasn't the best selection, but it did have a decent range of genres and that was better than nothing.

Gren looked over the equipment again and decided that, yes, it was probably going to take him a bit to work out how to use everything. They hadn't even gone digital yet. It gave him half a mind to complain to someone. ...not that it would do any good.

"Usually jazz or classical," he replied. "I think most of this collection is probably before my time."

It was nice that the guy had paused to help him out. Maybe that was just the nature of the place--they were all in this together, after all. "Sorry if I interrupted you. I'm Gren, by the way." Introductions never hurt.

Before his time? That explained the confusion, then. It sounded like the guy was from the future, or from some planet that used more advanced technologies. It was all a little too close to some of those sci-fi shows for Peter to believe it, and yet he did anyway. It was kind of amazing, the things he'd believe these days.

"All right, let's find the classical section," he responded with a smile as he moved down the room in search of a section with that title. He figured that was going to be easier to find than jazz, and so it was a good place to start.

Though he paused when the man spoke up again, offering his name. "Oh, it's fine. I was just having a look around. Nice to meet you, Gren," he said, offering his hand even as his eyes scanned for a sign reading Classical. "I'm Peter."

"Likewise, Peter. And thanks for the help, I appreciate it."

He leaned in to look at some of the labels himself, not recognizing most of the titles he was seeing. Not surprising, really. He could only imagine how much stuff had been lost to time and the gate accident destroying so much of Earth. Maybe he'd set aside time to listen to more of it, at some point, just to get an idea of what used to be out there.

Today, though, he just wanted something familiar.

With introductions out of the way, it didn't take Peter too long to find the section that he'd been looking for. He started to look through the selection, trying to pick out something that was well-known. Granted, if this guy was from the future then he might not recognize any of it, but...

"Hey, how about some Beethoven?" It was his fifth symphony, one of those ones that everyone had heard. "This is universally known around this time." Not that he was certain about what year they were in at this point, but if anything they had just gone into the past a few years. Not much changed in that amount of time.

He opened the CD case and pulled out the disc, wandering over to a CD player so that he could pop that open and place it inside. "You just put the CD in like this and then fit the headphones over your ears. Press the play button and you're good to go." He moved away so that Gren could take a shot at it, seeing how the player was on a cord that prevented it from being moved too far from the counter it was on.

"Sure, that sounds fine." That one had definitely not been lost to time, as it were. And it had been awhile since he'd listened to any. Going from dead to this place had really cut down on his music appreciation time.

He watched as Peter got the disc out and put it in the machine--well, that wasn't very complicated at all, was it? Not a format he was used to for music, but as far as technology went, it all made a kind of sense. It did make him wonder what the quality was going to be like.

He picked up the headphones and fitted them on before reaching over and hitting the button. Sure enough, the music started up, a little quietly, but still enough to be heard over Gant's playing. "Not so hard after all. Thanks," he commented with a smile.

"Sure thing," Peter replied with a nod, glad to be able to help someone, even if it was relatively trivial. The man seemed legitimately happy to be able to listen to what he'd picked out. Sometimes it was the little things that meant the most, after all.

Still, he realized that music was very often a private thing, especially when it was being listened to on headphones. He didn't want to talk to the man when he was trying to appreciate the music, and so he made sure to wander off and continue his browsing from before. He didn't know if their conversation was over there or if Gren would have some more questions for him in a short while, but it seemed fine either way.

He had to admit that the noise coming from the keyboard was starting to get a bit tiring, and so he quickly started to search for a CD of his own.

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Day 57: Music Room (Fourth Shift)

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Super late to this! I am so sorry! orz

No worries, it happens! :D

<3 I appreciate your understanding~

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