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 Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 5:09 pm
Asmadai really had no good reason for being in the library. Certainly, he could just write in his room, or out in the gardens again. He just didn't want to be in his room, where he kept... well. How could he describe it? They weren't big things- the edge of a black skirt, a familiar hand, the feeling of her gaze- and though he'd always been bothered by them, ever since time fractured, they seemed... Worse. More common, since he had read the note.
If he left the room, though, it went back to normal occurrences- very rarely, in other words. And in the library, the strange apparitions hardly ever showed up at all. He supposed it was a... nonsensical reason to be in there...
He sighed and scribbled down another set of words. At this point, he was almost ready for someone to come in and interrupt him- perhaps not certain blond Norwegians, but someone...
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 5:21 pm
Lai had locked himself in his room in hopes of practicing his cello skills for less than two days. Nothing had come of this time but a faint headache in his temple and a sense of boredom. All of the music he knew he had played and replayed thousands of times and now they were old to him. He craved something new to play and the only way he could think of to get new music was to visit the library and poke around.
Which was why he was just down the hall from the doors that opened to the library room. Lai was thinking about what sort of music he would play and what he would find. Since time was askew, there must be a great collection of music from years after his time. That idea made him giddy and as he approached the doors he had to suppress his urge to fly in and take down a bookcase.
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 5:28 pm
Also as if it were an answer to his wishes, the priest heard footsteps in the hall outside. Asmadai half-stood, planting both hands on the table so he could lean over to look around the set of bookcases between his table and the door. He smiled at the sight of the man walking into the library. "Hello, Lai," said Asmadai, waving with the hand that held the pen.
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 5:51 pm
The open door yielded the sight Lai most wanted to see, the shelves. He shut the door when a voice caught his attention. He turned back and looked to see Asmadai. The Russian waved back politely.
"Hello Father. I hope I am not disturbing you."
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 6:02 pm
"No, not at all." He shut his book and slid the pen into the spiral binding for safekeeping. "Are you looking for anything in particular? I might be able to point it out to you." Probably Lai wanted information on Russia- he thought for sure that most of the LOTUS recruits looked up their countries (or themselves, if they had dreamed of fame and fortune) first. But he had been through this room enough that he knew where to find a little bit of everything- he could be useful enough.
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 6:08 pm
"Ah, good to hear." The Russian smiled and strolled over to the priest, happy to have someone help him out, though the man would not mind getting lost among the tomes.
"In particular? Yes, music sheets. I seem to have found all the music I have memorized dull and would like to borrow and learn something new."
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 6:34 pm
That surprised him a little, but then, hadn't Lai said something about a cello when they met in the garden? It made sense. "Well," said the priest, "Music is generally towards the back. I don't know which area we would find cello music in. I've never looked myself... But I'm sure we could find some." He picked up his notebook and started to walk towards the back corner of the large room.
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 6:44 pm
"Good to have an area where to look. And I do not need strictly cello music per say, I can play just about anything if I set my mind to it."
Lai followed Asmadai, eyes flicking to the shelves and the little plaques that told of what lie there. Another time he would have to venture into them and pull out a couple of books to read.
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 11:44 am
He nodded and pointed out a set of filing cabinets at the back. "That's what we have to contend with," he explained, pulling open the first drawer he found within reach. "Is there any sort of music you would prefer to find?" Asmadai asked because he had come up with a fair sheaf of music- most of it for piano, with a lot of chords, so he didn't know if the Russian would find it useful. "This one, 'Just Forget What I Said', looks like it might translate well..."
Well, it didn't have too many impossible notes. The priest looked it over. "I won't pretend I know anything about what can translate between instruments, either."
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 12:42 pm
Lai nodded as Asmadai pointed out the cabinets. "Good thing they are in one place and organized." The Russian pulled a door open on one of the cabinets and started leafing through. The dating on the sheets interested him greatly, some were leagues after the time from whence he came. At the priest's question Lai shrugged.
"Anything will do. I usually stick to classical, but I think branching out a bit would be nice now and again." Lai looked over to Asmadai's open drawer. "It looks interesting. I have never heard of it before. I am not too knowledgeable on that topic either, but if they can make a piece of music that was strictly for piano play within a symphony, I am positive I can do the same."
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 2:32 pm
"Can cellos play chords," he asked with mild interest as he flipped through a manila folder. "I've never had the opportunity to ask, but I was under the impression that only the guitar, piano, and such instruments could play more than a single note at a time." Nor had he ever really been interested in much other than piano, and that was rather forced by his parents. Music was not really Asmadai's cup of tea, not as much as psychological debate and such things.
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 3:16 pm
"They can. And people seem to think that a lot. It takes practice, but you can learn to play chords on the cello." Lai's tone was off hand only because he was elbow deep in jazz and blues music and he was deeply interested. Momentarily his eyes flicked to the priest.
"Do you play anything Father?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 3:37 pm
"Yes," he said, blinking at some of the strange titles. 'Build God, Then We'll Talk'? It sounded like something from his grandparents' time, and checking the dates, he guessed it was. "Does that genre interest you?" Asmadai flicked a glance at the drawer Lai was looking through. If the other man was interested in one genre and he was looking in the opposite end of the spectrum, it would be no good.
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 3:50 pm
"What do you play?" Lai turned his head while pulling out a manila envelope with a stamp reading '1920s-A through G' on it. He was interested in what instrument Asmadai played, he would be glad to hear of another instrumentalist like himself.
"Many things interest me, Father. I have a wide taste range for various things."
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:05 pm
Unable to avoid it, Asmadai reluctantly said "Piano," and tapped his fingers on the sides of the drawer. "It was considered the height of fashion during my time for one's children to be proficient in a musical instrument," he told Lai dryly.
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