Elarinya: *Sits at the very piano she had auditioned on, a hand sitting atop the folded down stand - her right hand, scarred from the dog encounter that had left her collarless and frightened beyond comprehension. In the dying light came equally darkening thoughts, for certain events like the escaped dog had cause the Burmese to pause in thought and wonder. Was she cursed perhaps? Things always seemed to turn out badly when she got involved, the only exception having been her audition - and even that hadn't gone without snags. That black cat sheh ad encoutnered at the ruins, the pair she had chatted with before the human's home, that bi-eyed leader Tempo . . . All involved with some trouble she had caused. Now two of them were imprisoned, caught by the humans at the lab. Patch and Natsuki? She had no clue . . . She bit her lip, trying to force her damaged hand into a fist and failing*

Daekyun:* It felt like forever since the young hybrid had encountered the university… ages since he had inevitably lost his voice, and his sight. Through the colors he saw that outlined a person as they moved Dae had become somewhat of a artist, though he would never show his work to anyone… in fear they would laugh. He was searching for inspiration today, but so far finding nothing in the brilliant spring morning. He gave a dramatic sigh and walked tow here he saw the brilliant flaring lights of the koi a distance away… where inevitably the piano was placed. (Unknown to the kit, for it was an inanimate object) Dae was more on the depressed side because the lack of inspiration… despite how great the day was. Daekyun couldn’t really find much inspiration he could see was hard to come by.*

Elarinya: *sighs quietly to herself, unaware that another had wandered by the koi pond for her bakc was turned to him at the time* You can't just sit here, Ella . . . It's too cold to be doing nothing. *She wasn't much in the mood for playing any particular piece and merely put her nigh frozen fingers upon the ivories and just played. No set melody would be found until some half-accepted chord resonance would be found in that meshed "song", and for now she found herself in some sort of unresolved format. Normal, syncopated, normal, syncopated, the right and left hand working block chords. It was almost melancholic; suitable*

Daekyun: *starts at the sound of piano flowing… glancing around nervously and trying to make due with his limited eyesight. It was coming from close… but who was making such a… morose tune? Friend or Foe? He stopped, going very silent and closed his eyes behind his blindfold. He couldn’t call out, so Dae silently wandered over to a bench and waited for whoever to take notice or ignore him… that was for the best, once they addressed him he was sure he would be able to ‘see’ them better. Or at least over the swirls of color coming off the koi*

Elarinya: *But she was caught up in the music and still was unaware, for soon her mind had been enveloped by the nonsense song, the fabrication of notes that somehow matched her flow of thought - or perhaps she no longer was thinking? Her fingers moved of their own accord which of course produced rather flawed music (one could only rely on muscle memory for so long!), but she kept pushing forward regardless. To herself she muttered* Stretch . . . c'mon, make an octave . . . *Her right hand trembled with the effort, and one forceful tug against the skin later she was forced to stop, cursing under her breath as she cradled her now throbbing right hand* Damn it all . . . !

Daekyun: *Jumped at the sudden stop of music and then rather out of the blue exclamation. Not being musically talented himself he didn’t understand what it was that went wrong… and then there was the fact that he didn’t know about her damaged hand. He turned his face in her direction, looking directly at the female, making her out better now that the music wasn’t distorting his view of her. Seeing the cradled hand he shook his head, feeling… sympathy? Knowing? Before he knew it Dae had made his way over to the female, and settled down next to her, silent… wanting to say something, but not able to. He tilted his head downward, and took her hand from her, lightly massaging it… and distantly hoping he wasn’t doing something horribly stupid. *

Elarinya: *Her mood had sedated her, yes, but even then Ella's skittish nature elicited a small yelp at the "sudden" appearance of the young boy - oh, how nighttimes doubled her paranoia these days, like that dog was going to one day find her!* H-Hello? *His hands were a little warmer than hers but not by much, and she attempted to politely worm her hand out of his* Oh, were you listening in?

Daekyun: * Immediately when she tried to take her hand away he allowed her to, Dae was never one to force something on someone. It was merely his gesture to show he understood. Dae raised his shoulder to her question, keeping his face downward, hiding the blindfold behind his hair. He couldn’t speak… but what really was difficult… was trying to make it so people understood he couldn’t speak. His face flushed, and he had to resist turning around and running… it was difficult, but instead he brought his knees up to his chin and looked at the ivory keys. Anywhere but at her… even if he couldn’t see*

Elarinya: Um . . . *ponders his silence, clutching her right hand to her breast in a natural and unconscious movement. A stranger would usually make her more wary, yet the boy's posture seemed so forlorn she could hardly see danger in it.* I've never seen you around before. Are you living here at the University too?

Daekyun: *shakes his head, but then shrugs his shoulders. He spent enough time here to technically be living here… but he spent his nights and still considered the Ruins home. He gestured to the building a bit away, crumpled and burnt looking in the distance. Even if it was decrepit he still loved living there… spending his time there. Tugging lightly at the bag on his side he pulled out a sketchbook, clasping his hand tightly over the pages, hiding the pictures tucked inside. She didn’t need to see those to get why he was here.*

Elarinya: *follows his gesture with her eyes and nods in understanding* Oh, The Ruins? They work in tandem with the university, don't they? *Uncomfortable memories arise from her one night there, and she rubs the back of her neck* I went there once. Bad luck just follows me too, though . . . Hmm? *blinks as he pulls out a sketchbook, and the thought occurs to her* Can you . . . speak? Or see? *The seeing part probably defeated the whole purpose of pulling out a drawing pad, though . . .*

Daekyun: *sighs, a barely audible sound… and shook his head no. He could do neither. His brother and siblings were lucky in his eyes, yes Bae couldn’t see, but he had his voice, Same with Moon. If he could laugh he would, but it would be a bitter spiteful sound. She had bad luck? She should follow them around for a few days and see what it was like, relying on others so much, being pathetic. He could never have what his siblings did, he could never love like they did either. Instead he looked up, flashing the blindfold from behind his hair and gave her his best smile. No matter the circumstances, he should at least be polite.*

Elarinya: I suppose not then . . . Ack, that sounded rude. *rubs her neck more, returning the smile somewhat; her pensive and somber mood persisted, even if it was subtle* Forgive me. I'm Elarinya, a new student here. *But what to talk to a blind and mute free collar about, especialyl one that couldn't tell her his name? It was quite the lessons in socializing.* So . . . as you can see, I play piano. Not usually something as bad as what you heard, I promise. My hand's been acting up, that's all. *Down-sizing the scars on her right hand, hoping he hadn't felt them in the brief seconds it had been held* So, ah . . . Do you come and visit often?

Daekyun: *the reminisce of the smile quirked the side of his lips as he flipped open the back of the sketch book, where he often wrote for those that didn’t know sign language like Alice had taught him. Written there were brief things, the more frequently asked… such as ‘name= daekyun’ ‘parents are Tempo and jiyong masters of the ruins, Alice is my godmother’ but he flipped to the front of that back page and scribbled down something to the female. ‘It was good to me… but what happened to your hand?’ Before handing her the sketchpad and hoping he was right to trust her not to flip through it. He was embarrassed.*

Elarinya: *blinks as he merely hands it to her, surprised at his willingness to trust; she knew all too well how a person could be sensitive about their objects, their talents . . . She read over them quickly, growing a little cold when she read that Tempo was one of his parents* 'Oh God . . . Then I, I . . .' *This had to be one of the kids that had been rescued fro mthe Laboratory! She had only recently heard of the rescue after the establishment of the Open Arms program at the University, and it had only worsened her guilt and fears about the unnamed stranger and Tempo's individual captures: both of which she had the bad luck of witnessing and, in the violinist's case, creating* O-Oh . . . Nice to meet you, Daekyun. I just got it a little scratched, that's all. They've healed. *hands him the sketchpad back*

Daekyun: *tilts his head forward at the new sound in her voice. He had gotten good at noticing the different emotions of speech patterns. Taking the sketch pad back gingerly he wrote something else, his quick sloppy handwriting nearly decipherable on the pad ‘What’s wrong?’ pausing a bit… he debated his next statement, it sounding far too blunt even in his own mind. ‘You don’t need to lie, those wounds weren’t from scratches… I’ve been through a lot too and I find that scars… they help make someone who they are. The wounds are just a brushstroke on a canvas of who we are, telling it to all.’*

Elarinya: *reads his words with a little smile, though her face flushed with embarassment at how easily he saw through her lie* Guess those heightened senses are true . . . I had a minor run in with a human's pet dog a while back. No big deal now, just trying to make my hand flexible again. *Again, she was trying to play it down, for in her mind Ella wanted to make the problem as minor as possible.* After all, a pianist can't stop practicing for any reason other than a broken bone, right? This canvas, following your metaphor, ought to be - is - clean. I don't have much else going for me, so I can't afford to not play.

Daekyun: *he hated it when people said they hand nothing going for them… he knew what it was really like. With a sad smile he shook his head. Quickly he scribbled down ‘your music is beautiful, your voice is beautiful, you ARE going somewhere in your life, if you would just let it move.’ So it was blunt, he even felt it was blunt… but really, her life was moving forward and it would leave her behind if she kept that mindsetting. What Dae didn’t really consider was that he was a hypocrite. He hastily wrote, ‘I could never compose something as beautiful as what you just did, and if it was truly your worst… then I envy your talent.’

Elarinya: *She's taken aback by the bluntness of his rather strong compliments, and frankly she's glad he can't at least see her, now reduced to looking to the piano like it was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world. Ella attempted to recompose herself long enough to speak, trying to keep professional* You are very generous in your compliments, Daekyun, but my talent is still unrefined. Thank you, though. But what about you? *Perhaps diverting the conversation would do her flustered self well* How has Open Arms been for you an your siblings?

Daekyun: *Dae winced inwardly, shrugging a shoulder lightly, and writing out how exactly everything was for him. ‘I’m… well doing it to pass time I suppose. Studying under Gwin is … amazing, but not being able to see her demonstrations, or speak and ask questions it’s hard. She doesn’t really stand still long enough to read something someone has written you know? Though I’m glad she’s happier now, now that she’s with Remi… even if they don’t know it yet. I just… I feel pathetic sometimes, being in a room full of artists and not being able to see what I’ve made.’*

Elarinya: But you have the confidence to know what you write, no? Isn't that closely related to painting in a sense? *Maybe? She was grasping at straws almost, for she knew very little of the practice of artistry and media in that area* Besides, I'm sure Gwin understands that you're not a Picasso, just like I'm no Beethoven or Bach or Mozart or schubert or - *pauses, shakes head* Sorry. But you get my point, yes?

Dae: *shrugs again but gives her a weak smile. 'Your music is beautiful though... surely you can hear that? I don't know... what my art looks like' Shaking his head softly Dae turned his back on her, lifting up his blindfold and wiping at his eyes... then turned back around, it slightly crooked, but covering what scared most people. He offered his hand to her again, willing her to place her right hand in it, He was too forward last time... he knew that much, but Dae knew a thing or two about scars and damaged muscles.*

Elarinya: Well, sometimes I wonder if artists can see their own work, because modern art these days doesn't impress me. Like random splotches and unconcerned doodles to me. If you have the aspirations, I'm sure your art would make you famous nonetheless. *Hpoefully that sounded like a compliment; she was bad at those. At Dae's insistence Ella pauses, then hesitantly offers her hand again, wondering why he would want it. That brief glimpse of a pair of milky whites . . . Filmy cataracs that indeed made her shiver slightly. she hated to compare it to the few horror movies she had see nthat employed them, but the images were compared nonetheless*

Dae: *takes her hand gently in his own, very softly. He pressed his thumbs into the flesh and quietly worked at the tense muscles the way he sometimes did with his daddy. He shook his head again, silently denying her exclamation while focusing on her old wound. Dae closed his eyes behind his blindfold feeling her shiver in the hand and becoming more distant from her because of it. His chance, at even friendship was ruined in his opinion, she had seen. She had seen what made him so disgusting even to himself. The lack of voice was one thing... but the lack of eyesight, the color his eyes remained... He couldn't bring back the color his eyes should be... but he could work on his voice. Dae let her hand go, hoping his deep massage had helped it, and hastily wrote 'im sorry...' before standing up himself*

Elarinya: *The movement was surprisingly relaxing, more intimate even than what was her norm. Ella was the type of cat that didn't enjoy being touched by others for some odd reason, the invasion of privacy too much for her manner most of the time. But then, she had been quite sheltered and with little interaction amongst others of her kind, held by an elderly owner who gave more kind smiles and laughed as his form of affection than petting her. Yet the massage was kin on her muscles and, flexing the fingers, Ella found that they moved just the slightest bit easier; they tingled even from the added warmth.* How did you . . . W-Wait! *He was leaving? She turned about in the stool to face him, hugging her coat tighter to ward off the cold* How d-did you do that?

Dae: *gives a small smile, it curving the side of his lips, writing down quickly 'practice.' Dae didn't want to extend his welcome.. he shifted from foot to foot, looking toward the ground. 'I don't want to scare you... anymore then I have.' He wrote a bit sloppily on his knee, giving her a pained smile while she read and picked up his bag sitting next to her. Her playing was beautiful... he hoped she at least believed that from their talk, if you could call it that.*

Elarinya: *It took her a moment to decipher the words this time, at which point she sighed quietly* Listen . . . I'm naturally easy to frighten; even my own shadow can scare me when the darkness draws long. Please don't take offense, Daekyun, if that is why you're leaving. *Ack, her and her luck at it again, she thought bitterly*

Dae: *tilts his head to the side, a smile light on his lips. He managed to half sit, rubbing his thumbs over the sketch pad nervously trying to think about how to fix this awkward situation. 'I am too... especially around new people.' he wrote, biting on his lip and giving a soundless laugh. He had to be careful... silent hysterical laughter seemed to look like a seizure. ' I Don't want to say something or do something that scares you... or upsets you in anyway. Your the first female I haven't completely shut down around.' He didn't know why it was, it just was. She was hurt... like she was, so he felt more comfortable around her? *

Elarinya: Things happen, people get upset or scared and the like. It's natural. Taking off at any uncomfortable encounter wouldn't help anyone, I think, because not everyone is pleaseable. But you don't have much to worry from someone like me, I promise. *offers him an encouraging smile, even if he can't see it* The only thing that upsets me is someone or somethign being out of tune or people playing . . . what's it called? That song where one people does these basic chords while the other plays the melody, all in C major . . . Ah, nevermind. Point being you don't have to worry so much, alright? I would hate to alienate someone as gentle as you seem to be.

Dae: *sadly smiles and taps the pen on his chin, trying to explain... trying to think of how exactly to respond to something like that complement. Gentle... heh. 'this is kind of a .... its not you its me, thing. I cant... really explain. But... I would like to hear you play when your feeling better.' Dae shifted again, giving a weak smile and lowering his gaze. 'perhaps... I will come visit sometime?'*

Elarinya: Preferably not when it's getting dark? *chuckles a bit* Or sneaking up on me like that? Then again, my mind was on the music as it was, so half of that was my fault anyway. But sure, come visit again some time, Daekyun. Maybe I can teach you a little bit when you do.