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 Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 2:03 pm
Casia Greystone was being taken to get a haircut.
She had rebelled initially, saying that Jane didn't know how to cut hair and it would come out wrong. The siren firmly believed only Anna was capable of cutting her hair right. However, this wouldn't stop her bangs from growing over her eyes and even she had to admit she was getting a sheepdog look about her. So after talking to the guardian and striking a bargain, she was carted off to a hair salon chosen by Jane for its low prices and grudgingly approved by Casia for the fact that it would probably cut her hair better than your average postal worker could. And she had to admit, looking at her reflection furtively in one of the adjoining shop mirrors, it hadn't turned out that badly.
Jane watched the siren peer at herself. "It looks very nice." the woman assured her, but Casia shot her an 'Of course you'd say that' look that suggested the statement hadn't been helpful at all. The guardian quirked an eyebrow at her daughter. "Well, it does." she told her complacently, this time earning a reluctant thanks. Hesitating, the guardian looked at the other shops in the plaza. All of them were like the salon, cheap, somewhat forlorn looking, and empty on the drizzly Sunday afternoon. "Here," she said decisively, hoping to improve the dull day, "We can rent a movie."
Casia stopped trying to find something wrong with her bangs and her eyes lit up hopefully. A movie sounded pretty cool to her. "Well," she said, trying to sound neutral as she followed Jane into the brightly lit rental store, "I guess if you really want to we can."
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Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 2:35 pm
"What movie are we getting?" Thali asked her son as they walked into a movie rental place. The elf, being as well to do as she was, had to admit that she'd never been to this side of town before. Her son was humming 'Light of the Force' from behind her, clearly that meant he wanted to rent a Starwars film. She rolled her eyes. "We've seen all six about a hundred times."
The boy just shrugged. "It's my favorite." He said. "And dad just bought a new tv. So, it'll be the first time we see it, on the big screen."
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Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 3:12 pm
Jane was asking Casia the same question Thali was asking Josh, but unlike Josh, Casia didn't know the answer. She had opened her mouth to say Yellow Submarine, but shut it again soon. That was a movie she'd always associate with Anna. Did she want to ruin that just for a nice evening?
Instead she just shrugged. "You pick." she told her technically-mother, and in a rare bonding effort added, "I trust your judgment." This was true moviewise at least. With nothing to do on weekends after homework and the occasional project, Casia had set herself to watching Jane's musical collection, which she had to admit wasn't bad. The statement was enough to make the guardian look briefly surprised though, and she nodded. "Right."
Despite having let Jane choose, Casia's eyes scanned the aisles. All of a sudden, her gaze locked on two figures. She knew that kid, that was the princely cat from the mall! Glance darting over to Jane, Casia instinctively tried to move a little further away from the guardian. Joshua had never met her, but she still didn't like people seeing the two of them together. It made the whole mom-daughter situation feel less like a bizarre dream that only happened at home and more real. Anyway, though Jane had yet to master many mom skills, being painfully embarrassing in public was one she had down pat.
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Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 6:50 pm
Thali was interested. She'd felt someone looking at them. "Josh, you know her?" She asked, before nodding at the girl in casual greeting. The elf picked up A New Hope (The 30th anniversery extra-special DVD Edition, so boasted by the box). "This good for tonight?" She asked her son.
Joshua nodded at his mother's first question. "That's Casia. We met at the mall." He explained, before going on. His mother loved to do three things at once, maybe it was a girl thing, he didn't know. "That's great. Mom, I'm going to go talk to her." He looked at her for permission, and recieving the sought after nod, he smiled and walked over to the girl.
"Hi! Oh, you got a haircut." He smiled in approval. "It looks nice."
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Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 7:15 pm
Casia groaned inwardly as the kid then proceded to make a beeline for her. Outwardly she gave him a wave. "Hey, Mr. Prince." she trilled, trying to forget who she was with and her embarrassed paranoia that tagged along with that person, "How's life?"
Blinking, she flashed a brief smile in return. "Thanks." she offered less reluctantly than she had said to Jane. Maybe if a third person thought it was cherry too, it wasn't actually that bad. It hardly looked that different from before, after all.
But the siren's relief was not long lived, as Jane turned around with a DVD. "Hey, how about this? Shakespeare, it's pretty good..." Pausing, she took in the scene in front of her and readjusted her train of thought. "Who's your friend, Casia?" she inquired politely. Figuring it best to get it over with, and that avoiding the encounter had been a long shot anyway, Casia introduced her 'friend'. "This is Josh. Josh, Jane, Jane, Josh. And yeah, that one looks fab!" She nearly tripped over her words. The sooner they took out a movie, the sooner they could beat feet.
However, Jane had other plans. She extended her hand to Josh and said "Nice to meet you," a grin plastered onto her face. "I'm Casia's mom." She noted the siren's little wince at the word and amended it. "Er... Guardian. Caretaker. Thing." Smiling sheepishly, she continued. "Checking out something interesting?" The most embarrassing thing the woman did, thought the siren, was insist on getting to know people. Why couldn't she just let things be?
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Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 8:13 pm
"I'm good, how about you?" Joshua asked, with a slight tilt of his head. He frowned when he noticed his mother walking over. "Um. This is my mom. Mom, this is Casia. The girl I told you about" He introduced. Oh, how he hoped she wouldn't embarrass him. She never had, but he knew how Moms got around girls. He'd seen it on tv. He smiled at Jane, and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you too." He paused and shrugged, "Oh, just Starwars. What about you?"
Thali ruffled her son's hair. "I'm Thali," She said smiling at Jane and Casia in turn. "It's nice to meet you."
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Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 8:35 pm
Casia shrugged. "Getting better, a little better all the time." she quoted automatically. This earned her a frown from Jane, but she felt fiercely justified. If Jane was going to be social when the siren just wanted to get home, she was going to quote the Beatles at people. She turned to Thali and flashed a brief smile. "Groovy."
Jane returned Thali's smile. The guardian was making a concerted effort to be social for Casia's sake. Sirens had to know how to deal with people, but mail carriers didn't, and the woman was flexing manners muscles she didn't even know she had and hoping that something would stick and make it worth the awkward efforts. "Jane Greystone." she replied. "A pleasure to meet you." To Josh she added "We're renting Much Ado About Nothing, the Kenneth Branagh version. Have you seen it?" Casia held her breath, they had almost dodged the danger of embarrassment. Could they just have a quick chat and go? "So you've heard about Casia, hmm?" Jane asked cheerfully.
The siren clenched her teeth and looked at the ground, mortified as she heard Jane's tone of voice and total misunderstanding. No, it appeared they could not.
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Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 9:21 pm
Joshua didn't understand the quote, and just nodded at Casia. His mother listened to the Beatles, sometimes, but mostly they listened to Newsboys. So if Casia had said 'I can hear the Mission Bell', he would have gotten the reference. "Shakespear, right?" The boy asked cheerfully. "I like Midsummer Night's Dream best."
Thali smiled at Casia. "Beatles fan, huh?" She asked with a nod. "Me too." She turned her attention back to Jane. "Pleased to meet you, too." She paused. "Only what my son's told me." She confessed. "Lately he's been so busy with music lessons that he hasn't told me much about his newest friends."
Josh sighed. He hadn't mentioned Casia much, because he didn't consider her a friend. He hoped his mom wouldn't mention his ability.
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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 1:28 pm
Jane grinned, impressed. "Midsummer Night's Dream is a lovely one," she agreed "But when I think of Casia, I think of this one." She waved the DVD aimlessly while the siren tried to pretend she could disappear.
It got better when Thali got her Beatles reference and she looked up again tentatively, nodding. But her relief was short lived, because Jane was soon off again. "Music lessons?" the guardian asked, hoping to help the siren bond a little, "Casia loves music. Casia, why don't you show them your singing? I bet Thali'd like to hear a Beatles song, hm?" Casia had been so busy with music that she stayed afterschool every day to practice, and it was worrying her caretaker. The only people she had seen the siren talk to were in passing or people she had forced her to talk to besides one boy who had once been with her afterschool. Jane doubted that the issue with the siren was that she wasn't telling her mother about her new friends, rather she was afraid it was that the siren didn't have any.
Casia looked desperately up at Jane, but the siren in her couldn't resist the chance to show off no matter how embarrassing the situation was. Someone was asking her to sing, which gave her reason enough to want to. She looked over at Josh. She felt the same way as he did, even if neither was aware of it. They were too different to be friends, and it made her think...
"She saiiiid, I know what it's like to be dead...
I know what it is to be sad.
And she's making me feel like I've never been born.
I saiiiid, who put all those things in your head,
Things that make me feel that I'm mad.
And you're making me feel like I've never been born.
As she drew out the notes, she felt the music. The song reminded her of how different she felt from Josh. He was a prince, yeah, but she was no princess. They saw things so differently, just meeting Josh made her feel so cynical in comparison, so much like a siren. She could feel this song whenever she was around him, bouncing in her mind.
"She said, you don't understand what I said,
I said, no, no, no, you're wrong,
When I was a boyyyyy, everything was ri-ight,
Everything was ri-ight...
I saiiiid, even though you know what you know,
I know that I'm rea-dy to leave,
'Cause you're making me feel like I've never been born."
Everything seemed like it was still right for Josh, and Casia found with surprise that she didn't resent it much. It was hard to resent him, he was polite no matter how she acted, and even if neither of them could understand the other, she didn't feel like she'd be herself if she was more like him. If her life still had everything right in it, she couldn't imagine what she'd be like now.
"She said, you don't understand what I said.
I said, no, no, no, you're wrong,
When I was a boyyyy, everything was ri-ight,
Everything was ri-ight.
She saiiiiid,
I know what it's like to be dead,
I know what it is to be sad,
I know that it's like to be dead."
The siren stopped. It was true, she had been through a lot of hairy stuff and sometimes she felt only half alive. She would love to feel like Josh acted like he felt, wonderful. But she was a siren, the odds were stacked against her even if she had never been pushed around to all those homes. And she was surprised to find she didn't totally mind that. She looked at Jane, who shot her an eyebrow quirk. Why...?
Oh. Well, it wasn't exactly the most cheerful song she could have chosen, she supposed.
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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 2:07 pm
Heh. Show off. Joshua thought as he listened to the song. He knew he wouldn't be able to show them his musical ability-- last time he'd tried, his parents had ended up asleep. He wasn't looking forward to that happening again.
But Thali's eyes were giving him all the signals he needed. She felt the need to show off. She wanted to brag. She was a proud mother, and loved telling others how 'wonderful' her children were; when they weren't causing trouble, that is. "Joshua was born humming," She explained. "Before his cabbage opened, my husband found it humming. So we signed him up for music lessons, he's done well ever since."
Joshua was relieved when she didn't say anything about his abilities. He hoped she never would.
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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 2:18 pm
Casia felt a little crestfallen at the lack of compliments, but it hadn't really been the sort of song that would get compliments in pleasant conversation, she supposed. Instead she listened to Thali half-interestedly, Josh sang too? She hadn't known that. She eyed the princely boy, what did he sound like?
If Casia was just half interested, Jane made up for it. "Oh, a singer!" she exclaimed delightedly. "He and Casia should sing together sometime, don't you think?" The siren needed friends and Jane was determined to make some for her whether she liked it or not. Casia flapped her wings in alarm and said "Oh, not if he's not cool with that, it'd be a hassle!" and other such excuses. But considering she really was curious about his singing and the had been forced to listen to her, she added "You wanna croon us a ditty or something, though? It's cool if you don't." She might as well offer.
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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 2:38 pm
"That would be nice," Thali said, nodding at Jane. Joshua needed a friend with singing ability. They'd make a cute duet, the elf thought with a nod. Joshua frowned slightly at Casia's request, and looked up at his mother. She nodded at him. "Just be careful what you sing." She warned. The boy nodded, and looked at the siren. "Sure, I'll sing." He said. He picked a song with the least emotion he knew of. Stay Strong, by the Newsboys. If any emotion, it was hope. Joshua had a nice, boy's tenor. It wasn't a breathy, sloppy tenor. It was a well practiced singing voice.
You're in the moment now
A bitter root
A wandering eye and then
The ties that bind start wearing thin, thin
You're in the moment now,
When all that you've been blessed with
Is not enough
Here's where the ground gets loose
Here's where the devils call your bluff
Stay Strong
You are not lost
Come on and fix your eyes ahead
There's a new dawn to light our day, our day
You've gotta stay strong
You and I run for the prize that lies ahead
We've come too far to lose our way, our way.
We've seen the tragic flaws
The tortured souls
The saints with feet of clay
Here's where sin becomes cliche
We've come through wilderness and watched
The cloud by day
The burning sky into dawn
Have you forgotten who you are?
Did you forget whose trip you're on?
Stay Strong
You are not lost
Come on and fix your eyes ahead
There's a new dawn to light our day, our day
You've gotta stay strong
You and I run for the prize that lies ahead
We've come too far to lose our way, our way.
He paused at the second chorus, and looked at his mother. When the elf signaled for him to continue, he frowned and shook his head. The song was too long, and this wasn't really the place to be singing.
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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 3:43 pm
If she wasn't too big on the boy, Casia found the music enchanting, and she focused, really focused on his singing, a half smile creeping over her face. His voice was good, but there was an undercurrent in the words, a strange feeling filling her, sort of like what she had felt the first time she had sung after Anna left. When he stopped, she grinned at him. "That," she informed him, "Was golden." Still, though her smile and tone were sincere, some part of her was uneasy. What was that? The niggling siren instincts in the back of her head were sending her signals, something that had just happened was strange.
Whatever it was, Jane didn't seem to notice, so for the moment Casia assumed she was just being paranoid again. It had been a good song, she was just overthinking things. Shaking her head slightly, she looked back at Jane, who was clapping with all the signs of having thoroughly enjoyed it. "Brilliant!" she told him sincerely. "I really think you and Casia would sing well together."
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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 7:00 pm
Joshua was pleased. This was the first time he'd been praised for his singing, well, by someone other than his music teacher or his parents. "I'm glad you liked it." He said pleasantly. He really was relieved--they weren't sleeping. He smiled at the adult.
"Thank you," he said, "Maybe we'll have music class together, then we could do a duet or something?" He suggested, looking back at Casia. "Or maybe you could drop by my house sometime, if it's okay with Mom." He looked at his mother, who nodded.
"Joshua's friends are always welcome." She said, with a warm smile. "I'd like to hear you two sing."
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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 7:15 pm
Casia shrugged. "I'm cool with whatever." she told him carelessly. It was true, she didn't have much to do afterschool and during music class a duet would be fine with her. Singing with someone talented as Josh would be nice, she had never had the chance to sing with anyone for a project before.
Speaking of projects, she was suddenly struck with inspiration. "Hey, one of my friends is putting on a sock puppet story with me." she informed him eagerly. The project was what had been keeping her occupied for a few days now. "It's all about fairies and the Beatles and Blue Meanies and stuff. We're going to sing, too. You can help us with it if you want." She had misgivings about letting someone else in on hers and Nataya's project, but they did need at least one male voice considering most of the characters were boys, and he could sing well, which only helped. "It'd be cool if you could."
Jane looked relieved that Casia was planning things and getting together with people. "Our house is open too, of course." she added generously, and remembering the untidy scatterings of books, CDs, and records all over the place, added "If you don't mind a mess." In the woman's mind, her collection of words was neatly categorized. In real life it was different.
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