SoulCoil

It hadn't been too long after he had gotten his keyboard back. But that feline Revenant.... He couldn't exactly get it off his mind. Good thing he had his instrument. It always worked at clearing his head. Yawen wasn't near him; he had told her to go home, but he sincerely doubted that she actually did. Not that it bothered him much.

He sat down on the bench in the south side of the park. Unzipping his case, he took out the keyboard and placed it atop of his lap. Then he flipped the switch. There was a classic piano mode—he always liked it better than the synthesizers that were on by default. It also gave him access to play one of his more favorite songs.

He inahled deeply, then began to play.

It was like he was in a different world when he was playing songs. Everything else became muffled noise; no distractions, no unwanted conversations, nothing. It was a good warmup. Though he had wanted to practice a piece he always had trouble with.

As he got to the final notes, he glanced at his bag beside him. One corner of a sheet of paper could be seen sticking out of it. Maybe today was the day he could finally complete the first part of it without screwing up like he always did.

8 minutes. An 8 minute song.

There were doubts, but it wasn't impossible.

It was always lovely, coming through this park. It didn't matter the weather.

The elderly woman rounded the corner about halfway into the boy's song and, smiling, made her way to a bench nearby. "How nice to see the youth committing time to a craft," she murmured to the birds.

Sparrows and pidgeons responded to the crinkling of the paper bag in her hand, though a deep clucking followed her words. "Hm. Oh yes, devotion to one's art, that was a thing my old Roy appreciated dearly."

She scootched herself onto the bench, reached into the bag, and tossed a fistfull of seed and bread crusts onto the path.

A massive, headless rooster stepped as though to perch on the bench beside her but it creaked dangerously under his weight. Instead, he fluffed his chest feathers and settled onto the ground behind her. His neck still remained over the bench back; if he had a head he would have easily been able to reach anything on the bench proper.

Even without one, it seemed he could affect his surroundings. The gray mist eking from his throat drifted forward slightly and a lock of the woman's hair was tucked back behind her ear. Then it seemed that he was preoccupied with preening himself.

He had noticed the older woman sit down on the nearby bench, though he ultimately disregarded her. That is, until, what took her place next to her, immediately caught his attention. He could feel the uncomfortable, damp air around the Revenant, along with the gray mist slowly pouring from the fowl's throat. Kai took care to pretend the massive rooster didn't exist. Instead, he studied the older woman next to it. Every single detail of her face he burned into his mind.

After a few moments, he reached over, pulling out the sheet music from his case. Might as well preoccupy—well, make himself seem that he was preoccupied. He quickly skimmed through the notes on the page twice. Then he placed it on the very edge of his keyboard. His fingers hovered over the keys for a little while, hesitating.

Eventually, he began to play once more. The first minute of the song, he had it down. Though upon getting to the second minute, he fumbled with the keys. He could feel a frown tugging at his lips as he sighed, wondering if he should try it again.

As he played, there was general quiet. Only the soft coos and clucking of the rooster could be heard, and the occasional outbursts of small birds fluttering and squabbling over food.

When the boy stopped, the rooster straightened. It gave the sense of being watched intently as it clucked a bit louder in his direction. Curious, or perhaps.

The woman only glanced briefly at the boy before throwing another handful down for the birds.

"Now, now, no need to be disheartened, dear. Pick up again a little before where you left off and slow it down. Get it under your fingers and the speed will come."

Great. Now the rooster gave the impression that it knew it was being watched. Or at least, Kai thought it was. Either way, he kept pretending that the rooster didn't exist. He knew that his facade was convincing. His gaze went from the keys to the woman, who had spoken to him. It took him a moment, but he nodded slightly in response to her words.

He then pressed the keys slowly, creating the melody once more. Eventually he got back into it, playing the part in a slower tempo. He didn't mess up this time, and he slowly but surely picked up his speed.

By the end of the song, he slowed down, fading out. Then he finally stopped playing altogether. That was better than he had expected.

The rooster warbled softly when the boy returned to his piece. When the last note faded, the big bird gave a series of low but loud cries, almost as though proud of something.

"Yes, good work, dear." The woman added, scattering another small handful of seed to the birds. "Keep that up and you'll know that song like the back of your own hand."

Then she paused, finally squinting up at the boy. She adjusted her shawl and waggled her finger. She was stern-faced at first, but it didn't last long. "Don't you let mistakes get you discouraged, kiddo. Persistence is the key to success, or so I'm told. Take it from an old bird - I didn't get to be this age by throwing in the towel when things didn't work out. No sir."

Her tiny eyes glittered and her smile was missing a few teeth. She should be endearing, but that giant rooster really put a damper on that.

Kai glanced up, giving a nod to the woman as he listened to her words. There was a few moments of silence as he thought about them. They were familiar; he soon realized that his parents had said something like that to him in the past. The faintest hints of a smile had appeared on his expression.

This woman could pass as his grandmother. He vaguely remembered her funeral a few years back. Dark. Dreary. Though strangely, he didn't think much on her death. Eventually, he snapped back to reality and looked directly at the woman.

"....I understand. Thank you miss." He fell silent and soon brought his attention back to his keyboard again. Then he pressed the keys in a seemingly random order, making up his own melody from the top of his head.

"Missus, dear. Mrs. Emesse," she corrected, gently. "Though, I'm glad to help." She nodded, returning her attention to the small birds now hopping along near her toes. She reached for more seed and crumbs and frowned, coming up mostly empty handed. "Oh. Odd..."

The birds pressed closer when she crinkled and rattled the paper bag, scattering the last of its contents. Their pecks and chirps almost drowned out the rooster's unintellible chatter.

It fluffed its feathers again, settling into a quiet rhythm as the boy formed a melody. A counterpoint formed whenever a melodic theme might repeat, improvised to fit where it could.

"Ho, my old Roy would have loved this..." Emesse murmured to herself. Then, slightly louder: "What is your name, dear?"

There was a pause in his song as he listened to her. He only gave the slightest nod of acknowledgement, then turned his attention back to the keys. It only took a moment for him to get into his playing again. Kai almost didn't hear the lady—now introduced as Emesse—but he managed to catch her next question. Stopping his playing, he looked up once more.

"I'm Kai." Without another word, he went back to playing his tune.

There wasn't any reason to not give out his name—he already took precautions when it came to this competition. But something about this woman.... It threw him off a bit. There were three possibilities in his mind; she wasn't aware of the game, she disregarded her Revenant, or she just chose not to actively participate.

Three ways to get yourself killed.

Kai sighed slightly. He was only really here to just focus on practicing. And all of these thoughts didn't help this cause.

"Hmm, a handsome name. It was good to meet you, Kai. Perhaps our paths will cross again. Stay well!"

With a small grunt, she crumpled the paper bag and shuffled off the bench. Sparrows scattered and the pidgeons doddered away from her feet, determined to catch anything that may have fallen in the cracks and too stubborn to fly off.

As Emesse stretched, the rooster stood and did the same. She shuffled off, he bowed to the boy and followed alongside clucking contentedly.

"And you too, missus."

He didn't know why, but that comment about his name made him let out a little chuckle. Kai glanced up and watched Emesse get to her feet and stretch, but her only kept his eyes on her. Even so, he caught a glimpse of the rooster Revenant bow to him.

When they went off, Kai watched until they were out of sight. He decided to stay around for a little longer and get more practice in. There was still time to kill.

((Hey, do you mind if I jump in on this scene? If not, lemme know and I'll delete.))

Enri found himself meandering through this park on the way back towards his apartment. With all the care he'd taken to stay away from the place, and the length of time between his last check-in, it seemed the time to stop by. Make sure the landlord hadn't gathered all his things and put them on auction. Or simply thrown them out.

Sure, Enrique Ramirez was up on his rent and all repairs and bills - he'd never been one to fall behind while away - but it didn't hurt to be careful. Some landlords were nosy and got upset when a place sat empty, regardless of a tenant's timely pay. If a body wasn't in a property, putting a new body in it made them money. Doubly so if the current tenant didn't know.

It wasn't uncommon for musicians to practice along this stretch, so Enri almost passed through without a second glance. And his second glance was a true double-take.

"Oh, hello again. Fancy seeing you here..." Spotting the Yamaha in the familiar stranger's lap, Enri smiled. "Nice keys. What style do you usually play?"

Then he blinked and swatted his own forehead. "Ah, sorry. Where are my manners! I'm Enrique." He held out a hand to shake. "Thanks for helping me out the other night."

((It's no problem, you can jump right in!))

He was too busy trying not to screw up his keywork, he didn't even notice the man from before (almost) walk right past him. Only when he spoke did he pause and glance up. Expression rather neutral, he observed silently him for a moment or two. Then he glanced down at his keyboard, then back up to the familiar stranger who had now introduced himself and had extended a hand towards Kai. If he had to be honest, that little voice in his head told him not to shake his hand.

Though he grapsed it anyways. "I mostly play classical. Sometimes it's synths or whatever else is on here." Kai informed, letting go of his hand. "....And it's Kai. It wasn't any problem. Hope you got your watch fixed."

With that, he turned his attention back to the keyboard, resuming his rather solemn, haunting melody.

Enri nodded, holding up the wrist bearing his watch. "Good as new!"

Sense said to leave it at that - this one's Revenant could be nearby and Enri wasn't sure he was of a mind to ignore it if it appeared. With everything that had happened today, he was drained. It seemed obvious that this guy - Kai - didn't want company, given how focused he was on his playing.

And yet, something about that melody... Enri wanted to hear the end.

If there were room on the bench, he'd settle onto it with a "hope you don't mind." If not, he'd choose one near enough to hear, and near enough to talk. After a short length, Enri offered another question.

"You ever play jazz or, heh - pardon my asking - pop?"

Kai simply just kept on playing. For now he would just disregard the guy and focus on what he was really here to do. The spot next to him on the bench was big enough for him to sit down in, and when he took it, Kai mentally sighed. Did he really have to make himself comfortable like that?

I do mind.

But no words came from his mouth. There was really no point.

At the next question, Kai took a moment to think on it. His fingers never slowed down. "I did jazz a long while back. Sometimes I do pop songs, if someone requests."

Enri nodded, but left the conversation at that.

Then he smiled, glad for Kai's concentration. Or, rather, how pointed that concentration was. It gave the man a little extra time to people-watch and try to pick up on the pianist's tells.

His own body language, though, just said tired, tired, tired. Please stop trying to chat; give up, pack it in, and go home. Made hiding the curiosity impossible for Enri, so he didn't even try. Just made sure it wasn't all directed at Kai, was all. People passing, folk playing or chatting (or napping) on the hill... Dogwalkers, even someone out walking their cat, of all things.

People-watching was just something he was good at. He'd always been curious about others. It's what got him so far in staying employed and alive. Not by keeping him out of trouble, since he couldn't seem to find a lick of sense in that regard. No, sir.

Enri's curiosity paid him back with tips and tricks, appreciated gestures, and blackmail from time to time.

Kai's song, though, drew Enri back from his thoughts. This guy was pretty good. "You improvving? Or composing?"

A silly question, on the one hand, but the thing pressing on Enri's mind. For now.

Most of the time, he never liked when people would hang around him when he was playing piano. Today felt slightly different. He tuned out his feelings of unease, and his outward appearance was calm (and even maybe a bit eerie in a sense). The reason for it was mostly unknown to both himself and others.

From the corner of his eye, he could see that someone was indeed walking their cat. Huh. Strange. At that moment, the image of him walking Yawen came to mind. It almost made him crack the slightest chuckle. But he kept his usual bland expression as he played.

Another question had eventually come his way. Again, without looking up, Kai had answered, "Improv."

His fingers slowed ever so slightly. He had in mind to stop the song in about.... thirty seconds or so. Then maybe write it down. He hoped that he brought his blank sheets with him to put down the notes. And a pen too.

"Hm," Enri, offered, impressed by the answer. Either one was a unique skill, but to play by ear without a destination in mind was his favorite of the two. Especially after a long day of working.

He turned slightly to scan Kai's face, then completed the turn to drape an arm behind the bench and watch happenings in the rear. Nothing particularly interesting - part of the road could be seen and the meandering of folk entering and leaving the park dominated that area. Occasionally, street performer would pass (or maybe they were just a dedicated hobbyist, practicing).

Enri chuckled as the music continued. "You don't strike me as the sort to be interested in doing that professionally, or improvving with a group. But you'd probably make a good name for yourself if you tried."

Finally he faced forward and stretched - muscle tone surprising from such a lean individual. When he relaxed again, he'd nod. "That sort of stuff isn't for everyone, though."

He didn't respond right away, as he pushed down the last few notes of the song. The only thing that he did was stare at the keyboard for a moment before stretching out his fingers and reaching for the inside of his case, pulling out a blank sheet with a familiar lined format. Then he reached into his pockets. There had been a ballpoint pen in his back pocket of his jeans.

"You're right about that." Kai finally remarked.

Never once did he look up. That was mostly because he usually got into things like this. Before he started writing on the paper, he took a few moments to recall the notes he had used, then he began drawing the notes out. C. F. A. C....

His disinterest in conversation definitely came off as slightly rude, but he didn't care too much.

For once, Enri wasn't annoyed by the lack of attempted conversation. On a day like this? It was good enough that Kai let him linger. So Enri only smiled at Kai's dry response.

Enri draped his arms over the back of the bench and listened to the scratching of pen on paper.

At some point, he glanced down to read a section of Kai's musical notation and hummed the notes as he went. Maybe a line and a half? But that was over quickly and Enri gave a soft huff when he was done. Not, it seemed, out of irritation, but due to a clipped chuckle.

Either way, Enri shook his head and got to his feet. "Well, I think I've hung around long enough. Thanks for humoring my interruptions, Kai. If we don't cross paths again, just know it was still a pleasure to meet."

Then a lazy wave and Enri wandered south towards the park exit.