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 Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2010 9:57 pm
If Alois and Leslie were stark contrasts of each other in terms of personality, at least the pair had music to bond over. Of course, Leslie preferred rock and other modern genres of music while Alois preferred classical and various relaxation music. Their musical tastes were just as different as their personalities, but it was still something they could both understand and appreciate even if they didn’t particularly like the other’s brand of music.
Although the duo had yet to know the other well, Alois already knew that it was an achievement to drag along the winged boy to his classical concert. Perhaps he would rather spend all day ogling his precious guitar and eagerly strumming (rather badly, he would like to smugly point out, thank you Brynn) the instrument all day long, but the college student couldn’t just leave the poor lad at home all by himself. Only God knew what sort of disasters would happen if he left Leslie on his own. He seemed to have a knack for sniffing out trouble, which stressed out Alois like no other.
They had arrived at the concert hall for rehearsal, and luckily Leslie managed to entertain himself by harmlessly investigating the entire building without arousing any problems from staff. However, as people began to filter in and seat themselves, Alois nervously wandered the seating area with Leslie, wondering if there was a safe place he could sit and not cause any trouble. Glancing at the clock, he cursed and hastily pushed the indignant child into a seat near the back. “Try to remain quiet and not disturb the people around you, alright?” he instructed before hurrying backstage.
Leslie’s sky blue eyes curiously watched the disappearing back of his guardian before slowly turning to face the wide stage, short legs swinging back and forth as he adjusted into a position easier on his wings. Hmmm.
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Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 7:32 am
Speaking of positions easier on one's wings, Guinevere was faced with the difficult task of finding a position to sit in which her wings would be easier on other people. The blades that jutted out of them were terribly inconvenient in both crowds and at concerts. Were she richer, she would have bought the two seats on either side of her as well and have done with it, but she was a teenager living alone and working for her money, so there was nothing for it. The ticket she did have was a gift, otherwise this concert would be out of the question, or at least incredibly unlikely.
She squirmed in her seat, trying to find a good angle, and in doing so, she caught sight of something interesting nearby. Leaning over (and causing the man next to her to protest as her wings shifted with her body) she hissed "Hello, are you a Herald?"
Guinevere couldn't help how nosy she was, she could only humour it.
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Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 9:56 pm
There was still plenty of time before the concert itself began, so Leslie patiently squirmed in his seat. Given his small size and the chair’s spacious amount of area it was quite uncomfortable for the young Herald to sit still in. Actually, it was doubtful that he could sit still at all. His curious mind was always wandering from one thing to the next; it was pretty difficult to get him to focus on one thing for long—except for guitar and rock music, of course. That would never fail to grab his attention.
A woman’s voice hissed behind him and an intrigued Leslie twisted his torso around to stare at Guinevere. Unlike the previous time he had been asked this question, he nodded his head understandingly. “Mmhm,” he answered, leaning over to proudly flap his guitar-esque wings. “You have sharp wings,” Leslie genially pointed out as he turned around and sat on his knees. A wobbly arm attempted to grasp one of her sharp wings. “Let me touch them,” he demanded in a determined voice.
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Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 7:34 pm
Guinevere feinted to the left, out of Leslie's grasp and incidentally causing more protest from the man next to her- this was not his night. "Children shouldn't play with scissors," she responded tritely. "You know what I'm talking about though. Who told you?" Most of the kids his age she ran into had no idea what a Herald was, which made him unusual. Either the person who was raising him knew what they had stumbled across, or Guinevere's informative lectures were actually getting somewhere. Either way, it was a good sign, the more people knew, the less people freaked out, thrust scissors into a fallen messenger's back, and ran. Guinevere had been there before. It was not good times.
Lost in this train of thought, she was aroused by her neighbour's protests and leaned back again, whispering a hasty "Sorry, sorry!" the man looked affronted, and she blushed. She had been caught up in the moment, not the best thing when she was in an enclosed space with her dangerous physical features.
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Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2010 8:06 pm
He frowned, annoyed at his failed attempt to grab the older girl’s wings. “I’ll be fine, I promise!” Leslie insisted, stumbling onto his feet so that he could extend his reach even farther. His face twisted into an expression of intense concentration, he poked his tongue out as he clawed for the shining metal. “A boy I met,” he replied distractedly. When he found his arms to be too short in length, he gave a frustrated puff before plopping back onto his knees. “Alois and me were at the park and I played soccer with me. He said stuff about Heralds too, then Alois explained it better.”
The house lights dimmed and Leslie looked up at the ceiling. “Alois’ concert must be starting,” he noted, though he made no move to properly settle in his seat. Why? Alois had told him to not disturb the performance, but that didn’t mean he had to act proper proper the entire time! Just as long as those around him weren’t super annoyed with his antics.
As the conductor stiffly walked out, the audience politely applauded.
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Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 8:11 pm
Guinevere continued to squirm out of his reach, attempting to reach out and put her hand on his head to keep him back. "They're sharper than they look, that isn't smart! Didn't your parents ever teach you not to grab a lady?" Finally, he stopped, and Guinevere relaxed, settling back down in her chair. "That's better. What did the boy look like?" she asked, curious to know who it was. Maybe she knew them.
Pausing, she added, "Who's Alois? Your parent?" She had never heard of him, but she wanted to know where he found out about Heralds too. Maybe he was another researcher, she hoped. She had met plenty of guardians, but hardly any colleagues.
"Wait, is he in this concert?" It would make sense. Leslie's wings looked like a guitar a bit, this person he was talking about would be a musician. However, that made his being a Herald researcher a little less likely, and she couldn't help but feel disappointed.
A moment later, Leslie's actual words got through to her, and she blushed deeply, turning her head back to the stage and clapping furiously to make up for the time she had been distracted. She had got her ticket as a gift, she was determined not to get distracted during this concert, no matter how interesting other Heralds were!
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Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2010 8:08 pm
Leslie shook his head in a wide, exaggerated sweep. “No, because I haven’t tried to grab a lady ‘till now. In Alois’ sight, anyways,” he answered truthfully, his large light blue eyes staring back at Guin. He nodded his head, his movements similar to a bobble head doll. “Yeah, I think so, because I live with Alois and Alois protects me and stuff that parents do for their kids,” he informed her in a matter-of-fact tone.
Continuing to face the older Herald, he comfortably settled on balancing on his knees with his arms draped over the chair. A few adults threw the child skeptical looks, but paid little attention to the boy so long as he remained relatively quiet. “Umm. The other kid had brown hair and weird paper wings,” he eventually answered, though he shouldn’t be talking considering that his wings were based on a steampunk guitar. Another nod of his head. “Alois is playing the violin. He’s in the front row in the second chair. Alois says that second chair means he’s good, but not the best.” He crinkled his nose as he slowly dug out the information that the man had mercilessly thrown at him.
The conductor bowed, briefly reciting a few words before turning to face the numerous musicians seated onstage. Although the second chair violinist appeared as stoic as the rest, those in the front row could perhaps notice his gaze peering into the shadowed audience, most likely searching for Leslie.
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Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 8:06 am
"I should hope not," Guinevere replied. "It's terribly rude." Alois did sound like he was Leslie's parent, which made the situation a bit easier to piece together. "Yes, that sounds like a father to me. Good clever you for having one." Some people found fathers more difficult to come by, and though Guinevere had one, he had a tendency not to stick around. At any rate, his job was far less savoury than classical musician.
"Oh, Niven?" she exclaimed, getting hushes from the people sitting next to her. Face flushing, she lowered her voice and said, "I know Niven very well, he's awfully nice." She didn't rise to the weird comment. Weird could be said about most Heralds, herself included.
"Well, second chair is still good," she assured him, eyeing Leslie's guardian. "Are you going to wave at him?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2010 10:15 pm
Leslie clapped his hands together, careful to press them together softly and lightly so as not to disturb those around him. “Yay. I have a dad,” he said in a monotone, his face blank to match. The Herald didn’t think of Alois as a father, per say. Alois was just Alois. He cooked bland, simple meals for the winged boy when he grew tired of the constant microwave meals or heaps of take out food. He always scolded Leslie whenever he inconvenienced people. He always seemed to be looking out for Leslie, always. But Alois still didn’t feel like a father. At least he was someone dear.
“Yeah, Niven,” he repeated, snapping his head to the side, amused with the new viewing angle.
Finally turning around to face the stage, Leslie answered, “I could, but Alois wouldn’t wave back. He’s really quiet and serious.” Regardless, he raised his stubby arm in the air and waved at the man, who gave him a sharp, reprimanding look.
Then the concert began, the woman next to Alois playing a slow melody before the rest of the symphony joined in with rehearsed harmony.
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Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 8:31 am
"Well, some people don't have any fathers," Guinevere pointed out, a girl still somewhat sore that her own father had left her and then come back bringing more problems than a there were bananas in a bunch. "You're lucky to have one!"
Guinevere saw the look Alois gave him when he waved and winced. "Is he nice to you, your father?" she asked carefully. She was always concerned with the welfare of other Heralds, a sort of vigilante social worker for the supernatural. "Do you like him?"
But by then the concert began and Guinevere hushed herself. They could talk after it had finished.
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Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 9:46 pm
“And some don’t have mommies, like me,” Leslie replied matter-of-factly. “I think if you’re fine with yourself it doesn’t matter if you have a mommy or a daddy.” Although poorly worded, there was truth behind the young child’s answer, much to one’s pleasant surprise. It wouldn’t have particularly mattered if the Herald lacked both parents. So long as he still possessed the freedom to be his forward, curious self he would always keep marching on.
Although he did not carne his neck to look at Guinevere, the pause before his answer was filled with confused curiosity. “Yeah, he’s nice, but kinda serious. Alois doesn’t like to smile a lot. He doesn’t talk a lot either, but he’s still nice,” he eventually answered, his gaze admiringly focused on his guardian as the college student coolly played his violin. “I want to play as cool as that, someday,” he said softly.
For most of the concert, he surprisingly remained quiet.
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 11:11 pm
After the concert, Guinevere applauded politely, but her thoughts were elsewhere. Getting up, she moved into the aisle so the other audience members could leave and looked for the other Herald. Realizing she didn't know his name, she called, "Herald?" somewhat sheepishly. He was so short was the problem, how was she supposed to see him in this roomfull of adults? Standing against the wall, she waited for the crowd to thin a little. Since his guardian was a part of the orchestra, he probably wouldn't leave right away.
At least he seemed to like his guardian, she thought as she waited. it was a good sign, but she did want to meet this 'Alois' to make sure the other Herald was okay. She worried easily, and Leslie seemed awfully independent for his age, which could be a good thing or a cry for help.
She shook her head. She was probably overthinking it, and at any rate, she could see him now that the aisle was emptier. Catching up to the younger Herald, she stuck out her hand and said, "By the way, I'm Guinevere. Who are you?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2010 6:19 pm
Unlike most of the audience, Leslie did not clap after the performance was over and the curtains glided shut. The house lights came back on so that everyone could hurriedly enter the lobby in hopes of conversing with the talented musicians or scurry home before the night turned chilly. Leslie did neither. He hopped out of his seat and entered the aisle, but trailed over to the stage and against the flow of people.
At least it did not take long for the aisle to clear, but Leslie was startled to find that the girl from before had patiently stayed to talk with him again. “It’s Leslie,” he answered after a brief pause.
A head of dark magenta hair popped up from behind the curtains. “Leslie?” Alois called out, quietly shuffling down the stairs as he carried his violin case on his back. He cautiously eyed the older girl, particularly her sharp, shining wings.
“Ah, Alois,” Leslie said, waving an arm to gesture his guardian over. “This is Guin.” Leave it to the boy to immediately shorten the name for his convenience.
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