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 Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 2:36 pm
who Mark and Vesna
where Von Helson Park on the outskirts of Durem
when Mid-afternoon in early September.
weather Slightly overcast, and a bit chilly, leaving the park less crowded than usual.
_________________________
Today, Vesna's job was to hold the bags.
Lorenzo had gotten an emergency call about something lurking in Von Helson Park, and his job was to figure out what kind of undead thing it was, extract them, and find them the proper care. With very few leads to go on, he had managed to research and prepare for a few different possibilities, but that meant he had needed to bring supplies for a few different scenarios- and Vesna had volunteered to be his friendly neighborhood pack mule, seizing the opportunity to sort-of spend some questionably-quality bonding time with her not-quite-parent. Having identified the problem, Lorenzo had asked her to pass him the appropriate bag, which she did, and now her only job was to camp out near the other two backpacks and wait.
She had come prepared for this, and brought a bag of her own. The clouds overhead made her too nervous to pull out her 3DS in case of rain, and anyway, she couldn't remember when she last charged it, so she was strumming on her ukelele to pass the time. The walkie talkie that Lorenzo was holding the partner to sat next to her in case of emergencies.
She didn't really have an agenda in mind, so she was just strumming the childrens' TV themes that were so popular with the kids she babysat. She wasn't good enough to draw much attention from the few passersby that were out and about today, except for the kids who might recognize a song they liked, but her appearance drew plenty of attention anyway- frei were weird, and as a frei with a magical glamor, she was (situationally) one of the weirder ones. Today, while playing kids' songs, she could only imagine that for the people who stopped and looked, she might look more like their favorite cartoon characters than anything else- albeit, just a floating torso.
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Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 5:01 pm
Early September always tended to be a busy time in Mark’s line of work. There was something about those last couple of days before the kids were rushed off to school that had every parent in Durem, Barton, and Gambino rushing to make last minute birthday party celebrations. While this often meant more money flow -- of which Mark was incredibly grateful given the necessity of purchasing furniture for his soon to be born Raevan, on which he had spent most of his savings for the past year -- it also tended to mean that the locations of these parties were last minute decisions. As was the case today, where a mother and father had decided to host their child’s party in small, modest little restaurant that overlooked the park. All fine and good, if not for the fact that parking was incredibly limited and Mark drove a van that generally needed a bit more wiggle room than the tightly cramped spots would allow.
It had been a blessing that the children had all been in their early teens, and therefor more interested in Mark’s ability to play for them and their parents some fun songs with which to dance to as opposed his usual birthday party act. The guitar on his back and harmonica in his pocket had been more than enough in terms of equipment, which saved him having to lug the heavier items around on a cart. After his last struggle with park pathways he really rather avoid the unnecessary exertion.
It was a shame that Chittery was still on medical leave, he would have loved the company as he walked down what seemed to be deserted pathways. The weather was an understandable deterrent from regular park activity. So were the rumors that there was an perturbed spirit running around making a fuss. He hadn’t seen much in the form of another human being since he had started his trek. However, he did hear someone. At first it had been faint, but as he drew closer the familiar strumming of an amateur ukulele player hit his ears and he found himself humming along to the beat of some familiar little ditty from a popular children’s cartoon.
A kid, or early teenager with siblings, his mind supplied him, shaping what he expected to see based on the skill level of the player and the songs he or she played even before he actually caught a glimpse of the Frei. It reminded him of a girl he had once known, who would sit very much like this child was now with her guitar, strumming away for hours in the park adjacent to their home until the orphanage staff would realize she was missing and go to fetch her. The image in his mind’s eye was shockingly accurate, the profile of the Frei matching that of his childhood companion so perfectly he found himself wondering if Gaia’s latent magics had somehow sent him backwards in time and several hundred mile away. But no, the path he was on had not changed.
Which meant it must have been the girl. Or his mind. Or both. Blinking, his steps slowed, becoming more wary as he pondering the nature of the child. She could be the spirit. The being that rumors said was haunting this place. Or…
...she could be a Raevan. Yeah, definitely a Raevan.
The gravel crunched under his feet as he finally reached a point where he could make out the Rune and ribbon that fluttered underneath the girl. The face and torso were exact matches to the girl from his childhood, right down to the red ribbon tied hastily within her hair, but everything else was unmistakably Raevan. Huh. It wasn’t the first Raevan he had met without their guardian being present but it was still kind of surprising to just see one sitting -- floating? -- in the park at random.
Deciding it would be rude not to introduce himself, Mark came to a stop in front of Vesna, smile upon his face even as he tried to look past the strange similarities she bore to his past acquaintance. “You’ve got to have some dedication to be practicing out here in an empty park.” Was that too creepy? Was it creepy just randomly talking to a young girl like this? It was times like these that he wished he had some kind of button that said ‘Lab 305 Guardian to be’ printed out on it. Just so that he didn’t come across as such a weirdo.
“Sorry, if I’m interrupting you or something. I just noticed you were a Raevan and thought I’d say hello since I’m expecting a Raevan myself soon and the more friends the merrier right? I’m Mark.” That was better. A bit less awkward now that she actually knew why he was talking to her. The words were a bit rambled off to fix his earlier mistake but at least he wasn't coming across as a random creeper trying to hit on her.”That being said, I uh, noticed you’re a bit outta tune there.” Returning to the ukulele, since it was a bit of common ground between them, Mark shifted a bit to pull out his harmonica from his pocket. ”You need me to drop you a reference pitch?”
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Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 5:52 pm
Vesna startled, causing (yet another) discordant note to ring out as her hand slipped. She looked up to see who was talking to her, and grinned brightly even before he explained himself, patting her ukelele. "I dunno about dedication," she deflected. "I'm just passing the time while my d- guardian finishes his work." She dutifully glanced down at the bags at her feet and the walkie talkie, but the walkie talkie was silent, and the bags had not walked off while she was engrossed in playing.
When Mark explained he was from Lab 305, her eyes lit up. "Yeah?? I think so, too! I'm Vesna, nice to meet you, Mark!" Fumbling around in her bag, she pulled out her cell phone. "You should take my number, then when your raevan is born, I can call them and be like 'hey, happy birthday!' Oh!" Diving back into her bag, she pulled out a card, and thrust it at him. "And I babysit now, so I can do that, too. My rates are competitive! Plus, the card has my phone number on it already. I'm very experienced in babysitting non-traditional babies. And I might not look like it, but I'm, like, a year old now, so I'm not a baby anymore, you know. Although I don't really think I'm an adult yet or anything either, but I'm sure I'll grow a stomach any day now." The business card was decidedly hand-drawn, but clearly only the best supplies had been used- Vesna's sparkliest gel pens and fruitiest scented markers.
She laughed, embarrassed at his comment about her playing. "I'm not super surprised that I'm out of tune. I'm not super good at, like, remembering to practice. Do you play, too? Forget about the reference pitch, you should play with me!
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2017 3:36 pm
Vesna’s slip up didn’t go unnoticed. The active decision to refer to Lorenzo as her guardian over calling him her dad was a curious one. Up until this point Mark had been under the impression that most Guardian and Raevan relationships were reminiscent of a parent and child but in hindsight it made sense that not every pair off shared the same dynamic. “Still, you could have brought a book or a gameboy. Or just sat here with your phone out. The fact that you chose to bring your instrument is at least something, right?” Smiling, he followed her line of sight to the bags filled with all sorts of unfamiliar items. Whoever her guardian was, he must have had an interesting line of work if it required… whatever that stuff was.
The girls excitement over their shared philosophy was incredibly endearing. In fact, Vesna herself seemed to radiate a bubbly, happy energy that was just innately likable. It was difficult not to find himself smiling amusedly as a glittery, fruity smelling business card was being thrust under his nose. The brightly colored piece of paper was adorable and the fact she had gone to the effort of making it proved she was serious about her business. What a good kid.
“Babysitting, huh? Do Raevan’s need to be babysat?” Pocketing the card, Mark’s eyebrows raised as she went on a little tangent about her age. A year old, that’s what she said. It was hard to tell just how old Raevan’s were based on appearance alone, and Mark had little to no idea how much time it took for a Raevan to properly learn to speak or reach a level of independence where they could be left alone. A human one year old would still be in diapers. Vesna was already running her own business. Would his Raevan be like her when he or she reached a year old? In a way it felt a little disappointing to skip past that infantile stage but at the same time it was a relief. Kids tended to be a bit more fun when they were old enough to actually have it themselves.
Realizing he hadn’t given her an answer to her phone request, he quickly pushed himself out of his observations. “Oh! And, uh, sure! Just give me a moment to pull my phone out of my bag.” The guitar bag shifted on his shoulders, sliding down to settle against his leg as he unzipped the top most pouch, juggling the harmonica in his hand as he did so. The object he pulled out didn’t look like a phone at all. In fact, if he hadn’t just said what he was getting it might have come across as bizarre that a jelly doughnut had been stored in his guitar case. However, upon turning it so the sprinkled side was facing down the truth behind the device was revealed. “Here you go.” He offered.
With the phone issue taken care of, the matter of music and playing it returned. “Oh no! Heh, I think I must said it wrong. I meant, like, your uku is out of tune. I’m not sure if you’re aware but sometimes you need to adjust your instrument in order to get the sounds to come out right. Your playing is pretty good-” his lips quirked, his expression turning a little playful, “especially for someone who doesn’t practice a lot. As for me? I do! I play a lot of instruments actually!” Beaming with just a hint of pride, the man took a seat next to the girl, careful not to jostle any of the bags of unknown stuff. The harmonica he had been holding earlier was brought to his lips and with a bit of flourish produced a short little ditty to confirm his skill.
“I’ve got some time to kill. Sure, why not? You play lead and I’ll back you up with the harmonica.” It wasn’t every day that he got to have a duet with a new friend. Sure, Chittery was going to be grouchy over Mark getting home a little late but the monkey wasn’t going to starve and Vesna’s enthusiasm was too hard to deny. He wasn’t going to bust out the guitar though. Vesna was headliner after all and the larger instrument would probably drown out the girls ukulele. So harmonica it was.
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2017 4:06 pm
Vesna scrunched up her face. "Gameboy...? Isn't that, like, crazy old? I brought my 3DS, but I thiiink I forgot to charge it last night." She patted her ukelele thoughtfully. "I play my ukelele a lot when I babysit though, so I guess I do practice. I just don't really think of that kinda thing as practicing.
She saw Mark's eyes trail over to Lorenzo's bags. "I can't letcha peek in them," she told him gravely. "It's all top secret. And worse- it's boring." Any romantic notions she had about necromancy had dried up long ago. Actual necromancers, as she knew them, were about as dull and dry as anybody she had ever met, Yuri's company excluded. She was much happier to indulge in talking about her own profession.
"Some raevans need babysitting because they start out as kids," she affirmed. "Or maybe some of 'em look like teens or adults but act like kids? It depends on the raevan. I don't really get it, but I bet all kinds of factors are involved. I started out as a teenager. My guardian doesn't really think I'm gonna change much, because my soul was, like, an undead girl, which is kinda gross, but I like being a teen so far." She tilted her head. "What's your raevan's soul? Do you know yet? How about their essence? Mine's false reflection, but that's also way less cool than it sounds. Like, it's just a puddle of weird water."
She took his phone, and put in her contact info. "Cool phone case!" she enthused. "Mine's pink. Do you like phone charms?? I have a bunch of cool ones!" She handed his phone back to him and propped her ukelele up again, nodding at his offer to help her tune it. "I don't really know how to tune it," she admitted. "Or, like, how to tell that it needs tuning. My guardian plays the violin, so he tried to explain, but I didn't really get it." Her eyes widened when he pulled out his harmonica and played, and she laughed. "Hey, you're really good! We should play something cool, then. Mmmmm.... what songs do you like?
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2017 5:12 pm
“Guess you’re still too young to be into retro.” Mark teased. “A 3DS is just a more updated version of the Gameboy. A pocket nintendo system. Sometimes I just lump them all together into one collective term of Gameboy since it’s easier for old guys like me to remember.” Waving his hand in a dismissive gesture he turned to face the girl a little better. “No, no. As long as you’re playing you’re practicing. In fact, it’s better you don’t consider it practicing, since practicing tends to make it out to be a chore while thinking of it playing makes you think of fun.” He tapped his temple, offering the girl a playful wink. “It’s all about how your mind perceives it.”
The man’s expression shifted, impulse causing him to fake offense at being denied a peek into the mystery bags. “Now that’s just cruel! You can’t say it’s a top secret and then say whatever is inside is boring! It just messes with my head!” Truthfully, he didn’t particularly mind not being able to see inside the bags. They clearly belonged to her guardian and weren’t any of Mark’s business. It was hard not to mess around a little, however, though from the smile on his face he hoped it was clear that was all he was doing. He didn’t want her to feel bad or get upset.
The talk shifted to Raevan’s and the information was drunk in readily. Vesna was incredibly helpful, even if she didn’t realize how important what she was telling Mark was. Every little bit helped him figure out what to expect from his own Raevan. Helped him prepare. The soul of an undead humanoid was theorized not to grow much. Made sense. Though, what on earth had prompted her guardian to choose an undead girl’s soul to begin with? Did he just go into a graveyard, pick a random spirit and shove it into the soul bottle? Was that even legal? Oh well, it was in the past. Whoever Vesna’s soul had come from didn’t matter. It was the girl he was speaking to now that deserved his attention.
His chest puffed out when the girl asked him about his own soon-to-be Raevan charge. “I do know, I actually sent them off the other day! The soul is a stoat, which you might know as an ermine. They’re these cute little weasel like critters. It’s the animal on the background of my phone.” He informed with a great deal of enthusiasm. “The Fel Essence is the Mabinogi Branch. It was this interesting branch that sung songs in what I think was ancient celtic. I’m not really sure what to expect from it but the guy who sent me the letter when I got the case, Zayne, I think, said it was alright to open the jar and listen to it. Made for a real nice lullaby. As for your Essence, I dunno, a weird puddle of water sounds pretty cool to me.”
It also explained why Vesna looked like someone from his past. While the exact nature of how the appearance was chosen was a mystery to him that he didn’t feel right to ask about, the name of the Fel Essence offered a few different options. Regardless, at least he had a basic idea now as to why she looked the way she did.
The phone was passed over and Vesna’s information was added without incident or difficulty. Trust a teenager to know how to use a phone without it being explained to her. “Thanks! My boss thinks I’m an idiot for having it but I like the reactions the kids I work with make when they see it.” Chuckling, he typed out a quick text message to the girl’s number so that she could get his information as well before returning it to the pocket in his guitar case. “I do like charms! I can’t have them though. I have a ‘pet’ monkey who likes to steal them from my phone, even to the point where he’ll break my phone to get them. We have a bunch of them hanging up in my apartment as decorations though.”
“Yeah, tuning can be a little hard to understand when you’re just getting started and don’t really recognize exactly what an ‘in tune’ instrument sounds like compared to an ‘out of tune’ instrument. After our jam session I’ll tune it for you if you want. Might help you if you can hear the difference as we go.” He offered, before tapping his chin with his harmonica as he thought about the songs they could play. “Hmm, well you were playing some songs from kids cartoons so how about the Steven Universe theme for starters? I’m not sure what you’re into but if you have an idea I’m open. I generally just like playing whatever is fun or suits my mood.”
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2017 10:48 pm
Vesna whipped out her phone as soon as Mark said "stoat" and was already googling. When the search result came up, she squealed. "That's so cute!!" she exclaimed. "I bet they're gonna be so soft!" She sobered up a bit and added, "I wouldn't really be able to sacrifice something that cute to science, though." She knew a lot of the Lab guardians had sacrificed living things to make their respective raevans, and, being Lorenzo's ward, it sometimes weighed on her mind. She already felt weird enough about being a raevan, herself, and according to Lorenzo, she had actually had a choice in the matter.
She bit her lip thoughtfully as Mark explained his raevan's essence. "I think I've read something about the Mabinogi?? Wasn't there, like, a cauldron that raised the dead? I think Lorenzo had a book that mentioned it- Oh! Lorenzo is my guardian's name. He's a necromancer, so he's got all kinds of stuff like that. I read a lot of his mythology books, because they're less boring than the other ones."
Her eyes widened. "You have a pet monkey?? Why do you have so many cute animals hanging around, huh?? Are you a pet groomer? My friend's dad does that, too! And he lets me pet the animals. Lorenzo resurrects a lot of animals, too, but undead animals aren't as cute."
She flashed him a thumbs up at his song choice. "I love Steven Universe!" she affirmed. "I memorized all the songs. My favorite character is Steven, but I like Lapis too, because she's all watery and mirror-y like me. I wish she was less of a bummer sometimes, though." She grimaced. "Liiiike, I'm an undead girl, so I guess I've been through a lot, but I don't wanna be all sad about it, you know?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2017 10:02 pm
He wasn’t even surprised really. Vesna’s decision to search up what a stoat on her own phone was exactly what Mark would have done had he been in her shoes. The squealing though? Not so much. “Yeah, they’re pretty cute and the fur is really fluffy. They’re hunted a lot for their white fur, which has been used to make capes for royalty for a long time.” A slight wave of guilt passed through her features at the mention of the sacrifice before it was chased down and shrugged off. “I mean, I can understand that. I just kind of looked at it like I was providing for my family, you know? Like how people used to hunt rabbits for their fur and their meat even though they’re cute? Something like that.” It was a lot harder trying to explain his mindset to Vesna than he would have thought. Hopefully, his willingness to kill the stoat wouldn’t play against the nice little friendship they seemed to have going here. ”If it makes you feel any better, the stoat I got the soul from was a jerk.”
Cracking a smile, his eyes lit up as Vesna mentioned having seen the term Mabinogi in on of her guardian’s books. “Yeah! I haven’t gotten a chance to pick up an actual copy from the library yet but I think what you're talking about is in the second branch! Oh man! I’m actually super excited to hear that somebody else knows about what it is!” It was then that the girl’s guardian’s profession finally registered in his brain, the man’s brown eyes going wide as it finally clicked into place why Lorenzo would choose a dead girl as the soul for his Raevan. ”I take it from your constant use of boring that necromancers aren’t what fiction make them out to be, huh?” He questioned with a hint of sympathy.
Kids sure did love the monkey. “Technically, he isn’t mine, he’s my boss’s. I’m just his caretaker and the guy who brings him around for work.” Chuckling, but shaking his head, he continued, “I’m a children’s entertainer actually. Chittery, the monkey, is the only animal I actually have contact with on a regular basis. The stoat I had to go looking for. Maybe next time you’ll get to meet him. I’m willing to bet he’s nothing like the animals your friend’s dad lets you pet or the undead ones your guardian brings back.” Chittery certainly was a character. Smart, a little bit of an a**hole, not to mention very curious. Those first few days after his Raevan got home were going to be very, very interesting.
“Oh man! Me too! I have to watch it online since I’m never at home when it’s on though. That’s the problem with being an adult and liking a cartoon I guess.” Mark bemoaned with a slight huff before perking up. “I love Steven too! I like most of the cast now that I think of it. With the exception of that one guy, the conspiracy theorist, Renaldo I think his name is? He gives me weird vibes.” Letting out an over exaggerated shiver, his smile lingered for a moment before turning into something a bit more contemplative. “I don’t like to feel sad. It sucks and there are million other feelings I think I can be feeling that are more enjoyable, but some people like to wallow in their misery. Or have an illness where they can’t escape it.”
Idly, he brought his harmonica to his lips, playing out the starting tunes to the Steven Universe opening. He really had no business preaching to Vesna about life philosophies so any further commentary he might have made about sadness and regret was kept to himself in favor of initiating the musical duet.
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Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2017 12:45 am
"Not really," Vesna said chipperly. "Lorenzo says you can't judge peoples' right to live or die based on the kind of person they are. But I get that all this stuff is pretty complicated, because, duh." she said, gesturing down at her own body. "Still, maybe you should, like, thank the stoat or something, 'cause it's kinda gonna be living with you now, right? Sort of." She didn't seem to be too comfortable telling an adult what to do, though, so she cleared her throat and seized on the distraction of playing music, strumming the intro to the Steven Universe theme with the relative ease of someone familiar with the chords.
"Ronaldo is creepy," she agreed. "I don't know, though... I don't like Jasper very much. She makes me kinda anxious." She furrowed her brow. "I don't really like talking about things I don't like, though! I guess that ties in to what we were talking about." She laughed. "Like, I guess it just feels bad to be around people who always feel bad. I wanna make people feel good. And, like, my guardian deals with clients every day who have it kind of rough, but if you think about it, they all liked life so much, or had people who loved them so much that they wanted to keep on living even after they died. And you can kinda say the same thing about my soul, I guess, so, like, even the boring necromancy stuff can be kind of heartwarming. If you squint real hard."
She considered Mark's profession. "I guess you don't have to think too hard to be heartwarming in your line of work, though, huh?" She pouted. "It feels like everyone elses' guardians have way cooler jobs than Lorenzo's! Although, I will say that he has resurrected all kinds of animals. Including monkeys! Pretty much, the weirder the pet, the more likely someone's gonna want it to stick around after the, uh, final curtain. To borrow a term from the entertainment world."
She finished strumming the theme song and asked, "What other Steven songs are your favorites? I like that one that goes liiiike... Why don't you let yourself just be somewhere different? Why don't you let yourself just be wherever you are?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 1:31 pm
The girl, or perhaps her guardian, had a point. The stoat had been an a**hole but that alone hadn’t meant it deserved death. It was difficult, however, for him not to hold some lingering resentment towards the creature. Chittery had been the one to shove his hand into the creature's den but the fight that had broken out between the two had the potential to be avoided had it merely retreated into its den after the initial bite. Vesna had a point, but it would be hard to reconcile with the soul itself. Not that it was even possible at this point. The soul had already been sent out along with the Essence.
So instead of responding to her words, he chose instead to respond to the girl’s discomfort. “Hey, that’s a pretty wise thing to say. You’re a smart kid Vesna.” Which was the truth. The girl certainly did seem to be a bit wiser than he had initially expected of a one year old Frei. Perhaps her Guardian’s words, as boring as they may have been, stuck with her. Or perhaps she was just naturally wise on her own. Regardless, he offered her a smile to ease the anxiety that may have come from stating such a forward suggestion to the adult human before joining in with her playing.
The song broke and they carried on the conversation in a much lighter tone. “Not a fan of the…” he paused, mind searching for the line that the internet commonly used to refer to the character, “big buff cheeto-puff? I don’t blame you. She’s not on my top ten list either.” Idly running his fingers over the cool metallic surface of the harmonica, he let out a hum in agreement to Vesna’s sentiments, eyes staring off into the distance as he caught sight of a mother and her young son walking down a path a little further down. Their steps hurried because they did not want to linger in a park supposedly haunted by a nasty spirit. “I think, what you’re guardian does for people is very noble. Sometimes people or pets are taken from us far too early. It’s nice to know that there are people out there capable of giving them back to us. Albeit not in the exact same way they left us.”
What kind of life would he have led if there had been a Lorenzo to bring his parents back? It was a question he didn’t dare to dwell on. Another what if among a never ending list.
“Are you kidding?” He blurted, eyes returning to Vesna as she brought up his own profession. “I’d hardly call what I do heartwarming. I’m more there to give the parents a break and keep the kids from pestering them about cake. I suppose every now and then I leave a kid absolutely floored by a performance but generally the wonder and joy they feel when I perform is fleeting. It’s fun though. I like making kids smile.” Shaking his head, he let out a smooth sounding laugh, more a single huff than a series of actual chuckles. “You have that right! I think my boss would offer up my soul if it meant he could bring Chittery back if the animal ever died.”
Still breathing out that awkward laugh, he released a contemplative noise as his mind scans through the lists of songs he knows from the show. “That’s the one from the episode where Steven, Saddie and Lars are on that island right? I like that one too. It’s a great one to play on the uku too.” Laughing a more natural sounding laugh now, he mused a bit longer. “I think the ‘Stronger Than You’ is still my favorite song. It’s just, I don’t know, fun? But if we’re talking about songs that speak to us on an emotional level I really dig ‘Here Comes a Thought’.”
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Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2017 4:48 pm
Vesna laughed and shook her head. "No! I think that doing things people enjoy is way more important! Even if it doesn't really stick in their minds, you know? Not everyone can just be fun to be around, like, professionally. And I don't know, I think people take serious jobs too, uh, seriously." She furrowed her brow. "Like when I was born, or reborn, or whatever, everyone around me just treated me like I was super fragile and they were always stressed out about me doing things that could be dangerous. I had to fight for my right to have fun!" She flexed theatrically. "Sometimes you get so caught up in serious business that you forget to enjoy yourself, and I think that's the worst."
She nodded as the conversation veered back to Steven Universe. "I started out playing that one and the theme song, because they were easier for me to figure out. I mostly play things by ear when I'm picking them up from TV. Stronger Than You is really good, though!" she agreed, "The intro is like, bam!" Further explanation of what 'bam' meant exactly was not forthcoming.
"Everyone likes Here Comes A Thought, right?" Vesna asked. "Although I feel like the episode it was in was kind of scary. Steven Universe isn't really my favorite show, because of stuff like that. I like the goofier episodes a little better. I mostly watch anime and stuff, though... But I watch The Candlelit Shadows with my guardian. he says it's because of the undead representation with that one actor, but I thiiink it's just because it's his favorite soap opera."
She tilted her head. "What other songs do you like to play? I don't really know what kinds of songs are good to play on the harmonica. I learned the ukelele for, like, therapy, I guess. My guardian says that undead people need practice using their fingers and such, although I've always been pret-ty good at it, I think. But, you know, since most of the people I know who play are undead, they're not really big on the, uh, wind instruments."
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Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2017 7:51 pm
It was hard not to let out an amused laugh at Vesna’s choice of words, but his head nodded in agreement to her observations. It was indeed true, that those with serious professions tended to take themselves and their work a bit too seriously at times. It was part of the reason why Mark knew he would never excel in a more professional setting. “Yeah, I get what you mean. There needs to be someone who can bring in a bit of cheer. Otherwise the world is just full of serious people who don’t know how to smile or relax. Which, you’re right, would be the total worst.” Oh what a dreadful day it would be if the world suddenly lost its ability to have fun.
At least there would always be music, right?
His attention was quickly nabbed by Vesna’s admission towards her style of learning music, a surge of excitement washing through him that had him perking up a little bit. “Woah, hey! You too? I learned most of what I know through ear! Sheet music just clutters up my apartment. Or get’s shredded up by a bored Chittery.” Another chuckle, another grin. “That’s actually really impressive. You would be surprised how many people have difficulty with picking things up by ear. Good on you!”
Thankfully, Mark knew exactly what she meant by bam!, his head nodding eagerly in agreement. “Yeah! It’s got a real nice opening hook to it, really just pulls you right in.” The conversation fell back into Steven Universe once more and Mark found himself nodding along in agreement once again. “It’s a good song but the message and the episode were pretty heavy. I can understand that it might have not have been your cup of tea. Wasn’t mine the first way th-” his words caught in his throat, eyes growing wide as he tried to hide back a small, childish snigger. “Wait, you’re guardian watches a soap opera and is trying to justify it by saying it’s for the representation?” It was such a goofy excuse! Why not just admit you enjoy watching the soap opera for what it was?“Sorry, I don’t mean to laugh, but that’s definitely a first.”
Waving off his laughter, Mark did his best to carry on without appearing like he was judging the girl’s Guardian for his strange inability to own up to his enjoyment of television serial dramas. “Anime is pretty great! The music tends to be pretty good too. I’ve played my fair share of anime openings while I was growing up.” Tapping his harmonica against his knee, he tried to think of one that lent itself well to the harmonica but in the end it was a bit difficult.
“If I’m being perfectly truthful with you, I actually tend to lean more towards my guitar or my own ukulele when it comes to just playing around for the sake of making music. The harmonica is more something I bust out when the guitar is too big to carry around and I forgot my uku at home, or to add a bit of accompaniment to the music of a new friend.” He winked at her playfully before his eyes glanced towards his guitar. “I play a lot of things on my guitar though. Covers. Some original stuff. Sometimes I just make sounds because I like the way the strings feel against my fingers. Sometimes I sing along too. It really depends on the mood I’m in and the company I’m keeping.”
[Can you tell I struggled to just get this out? I dunno why this was so hard to write. ]
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Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2017 3:22 pm
The praise for her sharp ear made Vesna smile a grin she couldn't quite repress. A bit smugly, she said, "I didn't know that. I've always been pretty good at it, i just thought everyone could do it! Although maybe it's just because of my soul." This afterthought dampened her spirits slightly, but she consoled herself with, "Still, at least I don't have to deal with all that sheet music! Like, first you have to find it, then you have to get good at reading it, and it's like, ughhhhh."
Vesna laughed too when Mark remarked on Lorenzo's soap opera woes. "I guess it wouldn't sound that weird if you knew him. My guardian's, like, way into undead rights and stuff. I'm undead-ish, and I'm more like, 'Cool, I guess?' But I know other undead people are into it, too," she said with the dutiful resignation of a teenager who had been Lectured About This Many Times. "Anyway, he makes a big fuss about being a Very Serious Necromancer, but he knits sweaters with dancing skeletons on them. He's kind of uncool."
"Who's kind of uncool?"
Vesna startled and whipped around, gaze alighting on her guardian in question, coming out of the brush a little ways away with a canopic jar tucked under his arm. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Mark, and put on a professional smile, tucking his walkie talkie under his other arm and awkwardly extending his hand. "Lorenzo Fisch, rank three licensed necromancer," he introduced. "Apologies for my appearance. I was dressed for a day in the woods." This was somewhat true, but there was still something distinctly unusual about necromancer outdoor gear. There was a cape made of waterproof black canvas, for starters. "May I ask how you know my ward?"
"We just met now!" Vesna said. "He plays a whole bunch of instruments!" And then, realizing how the situation must look from a guardian's point of view, she added, "He's a Lab 305 candidate, too."
Lorenzo's smile became a fraction more genuine. "Ah, really? What a stroke of good luck, then. I apologize, I would give you my card, but I, ah..." He shifted the canopic jar very slightly by way of illustration.
"I already gave him my card," reassured Vesna.
"Well, I offer a discount on all resurrections and consultations to Lab 305 guardians, so if you find you have trouble with an undead soul..." Lorenzo began.
"He already got one!" Vesna intervened. "A really cute one."
"Well then, I look forward to meeting your really cute charge." Lorenzo decided. "I would, of course, offer to stay and chat, but unfortunately, I need to conclude my business. Perhaps some other day?"
"Wait!" said Vesna. "Can we finish up our jam session?"
"How many jams are left?" Lorenzo asked cautiously, adjusting the canopic jar slightly.
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Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 5:49 pm
The childish level of smugness that rose from Mark’s words of praise was exactly that. Childish. Which was perfectly fine considering the fact that Vesna was little more than a child. Mark’s mouth tilted into a muted smile, his eyes filled with a glimmer of amusement. “Well, technically it’s possible for most people to do it. It just doesn’t come as naturally and takes a bit more effort.” Shifting in his seat a little bit, Mark continued to idly tap the harmonica against his leg as he pondered.
It was possible it could be a uniquely Vesna thing, but it was also possible that there was some influence from her soul. Mark didn’t really know too much about what had gone into creating the girl ‘sitting’ beside him so he didn’t think he could really be trusted to comment on the matter. Instead, he merely shrugged the idea off and moved on just as Vesna did.
“I hated it. But people tend to see you as more professional if you have it sitting there in front of you. The ukulele is a pretty casual instrument but if you ever decide to pick up something that is a bit more ‘refined’,” his fingers moved in a quotation mark gesture, eyes rolling at the idea of any instrument being considered more refined or elegant than another, “like the violin or the piano,” he shuddered, expression contorting to show his dislike at the aforementioned keyed instrument, “then you might want to pick up how to read sheet music. Otherwise, screw it. It isn’t like you intend to become the next Mozart.” He laughed, only for his expression to shift as he remembered something. “I will say though. Sometimes, it’s worth it, if only for the amusing stuff you see written down on some sheet music.” He didn’t elaborate but the implication was easy enough to understand.
When Vesna moved on to speak about her guardian, Mark listened intently, curious and a bit surprised by the concepts she was sharing. For a guy like Mark, who really had such limited interaction with magic and those whose lives were influenced by it, the notion of undead rights was a foreign yet novel concept. It made sense, at least somewhat, that there would be a need for that kind of thing but it was the first time he had ever really given it a thought. “Huh, that’s kind of neat I guess? At least he has something he’s really passionate about?” Mark offered, only to let out a laugh that Vesna’s comment painted in his mind. If only he knew what Lorenzo looked like! As it stood, he needed to conjure up his own idea of what her guardian looked like within his mind for that brief second.
Only to look up when Lorenzo’s voice cut into the conversation and made the whole image so much better.
It wasn’t that Lorenzo was a particularly unpleasant looking individual, but man, seeing the guy decked out in his weird necromancer garb made it really hard for Mark to take the guy seriously. It was as if he had suddenly stepped into the middle of some fantasy novel adaptation. But given the company he had been keeping, it seemed Mark was the one who was out of place here, not Lorenzo, and the newspaper haired man was quick to move past the man’s appearance.
Not the whole ‘rank three necromancer’ thing though. Standing up, Mark reached out with the hand not holding his harmonica to accept the offered hand in a hearty handshake. “Mark Howitzer, level seventeen bard.” His lips cracked into a bright, playful grin, and while Lorenzo didn’t smile he did catch the way his eyes hinted towards that being due to actual effort and not a failed joke. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve had to wear my fair share of eye catchers in my line of work too.” Pulling his hand back, Mark opened his mouth to explain what he was doing speaking to Vesna when the girl cut him off and took care of it for him.
“I wouldn’t say candidate. More like…” He paused, contemplating his words, “guardian in waiting? And oh, yeah, no, it’s fine. As she said, she already gave me her card and exchanged cell numbers. I can give you mine and my companies if you would like though? Just need to pull it out from my case.” Jerking his thumb towards the guitar case currently nestled beside the bench, Mark continued to smile as he watched as Vesna once more answered Lorenzo’s questions for him, the mention of resurrections caused him to pause briefly.
No. It wasn’t possible. Not after all these years. Don’t even stop to consider it.
“You and me both, man! I’ve got all sorts of butterflies.” He remarked, only to frown softly when Lorenzo seemed to cut the conversation short. Not that he blamed him really. The man looked tired and was covered in dirt. Not to mention he probably had to deal with whatever was currently inside that jar in his arms. It sucked, but maybe it would be better to continue things another time.
“We hadn’t really decided yet. I mean, if you really need to go I guess we can cut it short. Though, at least let me show her how to tune her uku up?” The expression that Mark gave the other man was nothing short of a pout, his eyes glancing towards Vesna in a silent exchange encouraging her to mirror his actions should they wish to continue their fun a little longer.
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Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 6:04 pm
Vesna picked up on Mark's cue and put on her most persuasive pout, although Lorenzo had proven himself to be pretty much immune to that kind of thing in the year-and-change that she had spent living with him. But in this case, the pout wasn't necessary.
"If you can teach Vesna something she bothers listening to, then by all means," said Lorenzo, sitting himself down and putting the jar next to him. "Are you a music teacher, by any chance?"
"Hey!" Vesna defended. "I listen. Just not to boring stuff." She opened her mouth to answer Lorenzo's question for Marked yet again, but perked up as she was suddenly struck with a thought. "Oooo, do you teach music?? Maybe we could play together again sometime! I have money from babysitting, or, like, I could babysit your raevan..."
"What if they come out looking like you or Eden or Yuri?" Lorenzo asked archly.
"Well, I'm still more grown up than I was when I was born," Vesna pointed out. "Although if they look like Yuri, maybe that'll be a problem..." She didn't know if she could put someone who looked like they had been lifting weights their whole life in time out.
"It's true that we haven't had much time to play lately," Lorenzo mused. "Maybe lessons wouldn't be a bad idea if you can find a teacher you like- even if that teacher isn't your new friend, here."
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