Gathered Age [Jami + Denskith]

On one of the few days remaining before classes resumed at last, Denskith found himself dusting off the unused instruments in the back storage room. It had taken him half a semester to even realize that there was a storage room, and another quarter to finally give the place a good look. Only now was he cleaning it.

He coughed a little at the rising dust with every step. The place really was in neglect-- his fault completely. He should have cared for the instruments-- instruments he never planned on using-- instruments that other STUDENTS may use, though, which wasn't right in the first place. He knew he needed to start incorporating the tools into his class; he just didn't know where to begin. That, and there was Richard's music. Ah, Richard's music. The man turned his head hopefully towards the door; perhaps he could just take one last peek at it--

No. NO! He had spent the last two days taking that 'one last peek!' It was so beautiful, though-- the melody was enchanting, the rifts in-between just genius-- the counter melodies-- the few solis--! He could look at it forever. He couldn't, though. He had to do something else, something productive-- and, that's why he was here. To get away from the addictive music while still doing his job.

With great effort, Denskith managed to turn away. With even greater effort, he began. No one was around, right? Meaning, no one would hear.

"Dust resting on the many instruments and otherwise in this room, levitate just three inches above your appropriate objects . . ."

And, each and every dust particle did just that-- with strain on Denskith himself. Again, he realized how out of shape he was with his power. There was a time when he used it at every hour on anything, but now? Now, such a medium-leveled task was almost beyond him. It was humiliating-- and, he wasn't going to take it anymore. He was going to keep the dust levitated as long as he could. Call it needed exercise.

After days in the isolation of her room Jami had plenty of time to think...or not think. Empty wine bottles were stored next to her bed and barely anything in the room had been used that was meant for a hobby. Eat, wash, drink sleep. Of course the bottles ran out and Jami could no longer, not think. There had to be something she could do to distract herself in the New Year. Music. That was the perfect therapy. Music would always find it's way to her, and it would never turn her away.

The fairy didn't rush. She took her sweet time learning to move more than the space of her room. Her body felt a bit stiff but the walk to the Music rooms felt great by the end. Looking into Music room one Jami shook her head, moving to the second room. Walking over to the piano her fingers gently stroked the keys. She was just about to press a chord when a singers voice seemed to be giving commands. Whirling around she tired to find the source. Upon looking into the closet her eyes widened seeing Denskith and a whole lot of floating dust. "Professor?"

There was a distraction though. All those instruments stored away, waiting to become a band once more. Bits and pieces of things laying about, and boxes. It was amazing to see everything all in the small room. Jami being a singer wasn't sure what most of it was but it all seemed to call to her.

At the utterance of the single word, Denskith literally jolted up a good foot into the air, the dust crashing down with, well, a resounding crash, exploding into the air, filling that same air, and causing the poor man in the middle to have an anti-climatic coughing fit. He would worry about the mess later-- the teacher turned in mixed shock and horror towards the girl-- student-- monster-- INTERRUPTION, the speaker of that single word.

In retrospect, he should have locked the door. But, who would want to see him? Besides Ndale, of course-- didn't exactly want to see him-- music lover, though-- lover-- mistletoe--! His face flushed at the still vivid memory. Don't think about it-- not now! Not in the middle of answering a question!

"H-h-how may I help you?" he managed to stammer out, forming a shaky lop-sided grin while his fingers fiddled up and down the pressed seams of his pants. He had only answered with his own question-- smooth. He had to be nice. Nice-- SHE SAW, THOUGH! She saw his powers in use and how he used them and, well, EVERYTHING! SHE COULD HAVE BEEN HURT! Using his powers in the castle was a bad idea in the first place; he should have never done it, never, never, never . . .

Her arms raised quickly to cover her face as the clouds of dust flew everywhere. After a few seconds she peeked, unsure of what had just happened. It was hard to see all those things now the air was in a grey haze. As the man stuttered, Jami bit her lip. Startling him hadn't been good, had it. "Um. I was just coming to practice... That was amazing." The fairy hadn't been sure that the professor had been doing, but he seemed to be upset she had walked in on it.

"I'll go next door if I bothered you." Jami started to back out but then stopped. "Actually. Do you mind if I help clean up?" Her eyes showed indifference, but inside she very much hoped her teacher would ask for her assistance. She made a step forward back into the room making her way through the still unsettled dust to the piano.

A raise of the hand--? Alarm rushed through the teacher; was she hurt? Surely dust couldn't cause damage-- but, by that same logic, words could not kill-- HARM. Use the word 'harm'-- what difference did that make? Kill, harm, it was all blood on his hands. Blood that he would NOT have happen again. Never again . . .

'Amazing.' What really was amazing was how she was this close to having her heart stopped. Next door wouldn't cut it-- ideally, everyone would evacuate the teachers' wing and leave him be for several hours. Since that was clearly not going to be the case, though, he had no other choice but to accept her help. It was best to keep an eye on her rather than THINK she's gone and get hurt in the process.

"Not at all," he managed with a strained grin, picking up a bin of small washcloths he had brought with him in case his commands didn't work. Not that they usually failed, but it was good to be prepared-- more like he was prepared for not using them at all-- POINT WAS, they were there and at both of their disposals. Safe, too. Without another word, the teacher began wiping down the bell of a nearby tuba, forcing himself not to hum all the while.

The fairy had no clue of all the turmoil inside her teacher's head, and she smiled a bit as he responded. This was good. Something to do, and maybe he would help her with singing later if she asked. There was no doubt he was a great singer himself. "Do you mind me asking how you did that before? It was, interesting," Jami wasn't sure what powers he had, but she had a feeling they were something she had never heard of before.

Moving over to the case next to the piano she opened it. Inside was a score and sheet music for a band of sorts. She lifted the paper out carefully, and held it away as dust fell off the pages. It hadn't been sued in a long time. Gently brushing off the first page she smiled seeing all the pars coming together to create something that was surly beautiful. Placing it back into the box she turned to Denskith. "I have an Idea, maybe we should organize it and then clean it. I doubt everything in here is actually useful." Then again the amount of dust in the stage room seemed deadly. Maybe he could do that dust trick again.

'Interesting' was one word for it; others options included 'dangerous,' 'haphazard,' 'reckless,' 'menace to society'-- that was three words-- he needed more to express just how MUCH of a menace it was-- still more than one-- REGARDLESS . . . He didn't know just what the student was expecting from such explanation. Did she want to command, as well? Not that she could actually do it-- who knew that for sure, though? Shae had a similar talent-- TALENT?-- skill? No, that wasn't the right word, either. 'Side-effect.' There.

All the while, the teacher was polishing the same spot over and over, completely unaware of the girl's second prompting.

He couldn't tell her; there was too much risk in harming her. On the other hand, knowledge was supposed power, and her KNOWING how much of a risk she put herself in might make her more careful in the future. Or, she would blab about it to all of the other students. The gossip would spread like fire-- Kayla-- stop doing that to yourself!-- like theoretical gossip does. It spreads, it multiplies, it grows three heads and spews fire-- STOP. Would the girl tell? THAT was the real question here. . . .

He peered over towards the student, wariness clear but not noticing such lost composure in the slightest. Looking her up and down-- hoodie, jeans and all-- she didn't seem like a bad student-- but, most seemed innocent enough, like Ndale. NDALE. His stare lingered, face blushing furiously and still not having a clue in the slightest what to do--!

There was no answers. Raising a brow Jami went over to the piano and sat on top of it, watching her teacher deal with his internal battles. It was strange for sure, but Jami didn't really know what to do about the situation. After so long she lost interest though, and went back to looking through the boxes. After even longer she stopped working and shook her head. "You're thinking to much. It isn't healthy. I get sick when I think too much." It had happened to her recently as well, and in front of humans. Being reckless like that had been a mistake. Did he make a lot of mistakes like she had done?

Jami piled the boxes she found music in and put the by the door. Turning to look back at the room, is seemed the dust had finally settled. Sneezing she looked back at the door. Oh no. Her allergies. Jami frowned at herself. She hadn't had a sneeze attack for so long she had almost forgotten about the annoyance. Anyhow she kept on working. "If you're having trouble with something maybe you should sing or play something. Music makes me feel better, that's why I came here." In a way she seemed to be reassuring herself, but she did want it to be for her troubled teacher.

Seeming to example her words Jami started singing "Think of Me" from the Phantom of the Opera. One of her favorites. She got through the first verse before sneezing again but then she went on again, suddenly stopping. "This song is kind of a duet. Isn't it?"

He followed her every step in a daze, not actually seeing her but following regardless. She shouldn't be here. She shouldn't be here, and he needed to get her away from him. ALL of them away from him-- it was foolhardy of him to think he was capable to teach anywhere, especially here. Every member of the student body was at risk so long as he was here. He needed to get away, needed to go far, far away-- but, where? Not back to Windor, surely; he would be too ashamed. Where, then? Where could a MONSTER like him go--

Music. The lyrics flowed through his ears, snapping himself out of all indecision. Music . . . It took away all worries, all thoughts, all feelings. It was a horrible thing for him to sing--! and yet, he was drawn to it like flies to fire. Like flies to something else. Something else entirely.

She sneezed-- that wasn't good, leaving a song unsung like that! Without thinking, he took up the next verse, easily settling into her same range:
"We never said our love was evergreen
Or as unchanging as the sea.
But, if you can still remember
Stop and think of me--!"

He cut himself off, eyes wide in horror. He did . . . He did NOT just do that, right? He did not just sing mezzo soprano in front of a student-- he loved the range, he loved all ranges, but this was bad, really, REALLY, bad, regardless. He shouldn't sing like that in front of a student-- NEVER in front of a student! Richard was bad enough!

He had not listened to her again had he? At first as the girl heard the voice her eyes widened. Man this guy had a range... maybe he was a counter tenor or something. Now that would be amazing, she hadn't met one of them before. Her own range was a bit dull. A mezzo Soprano could go high and low, but nothing extreme. But oh, she loved singing high.

Then suddenly He stopped. What? Why did he stop? How could he, that beautiful voice! Jami just couldn't believe it, which was strange because she wouldn't really care. Thinking of him and his voice Jami seemed to freeze. Literally she couldn't move. In once case she would love to say what the heck! She couldn't though because the only thing she could think of was about her teacher. Her head felt numb, and she started moving.

Raising her hands stiffly to her head she let them turn pure white as she fought what ever was going wrong with her. What the heck was this? "Professor what's going on?" It was truly puzzling but she didn't seem to need her helping hands any more. Her head still felt numb as she pulled her hands away from her head though.

Looking at him she tried to look calm, which she was, and hide some of her confusion. "My body seems to be fighting something. Does it have to do with what you did earlier?"

The teacher watched in horror as his student changed colors, from a healthy glow of the skin to a sickly version of porcelain. Fragile, weak. Dead-- STIFF, there was a difference. 'Stiff' limited motions but retained a pulse. 'Dead'-- don't think about it, DON'T THINK ABOUT IT-- had no pulse. Absent of life. Devoid of it all, never to breathe another lovely breath again-- DON'T THINK ABOUT IT, WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T-- she was so scared. He had seen it all before, and yet couldn't do a thing about it. He was helpless-- DON'T-- useless-- focus on her WORDS, on the PRESENT. Do something in the NOW! He managed to peer out of his whirling thoughts:

A question-- just like last time. A twinge of fear she tries to hide but can't, a twinge of fear he hears with a dread like no other. She was fighting, though. That . . . That was good, at least. She was resisting him. Good.

"That was . . ." Compose yourself, THINK before you speak. That was the mistake last time-- just bounding into the music without a care for the actual words--! He was so stupid, stupid-- she's still waiting for a response-- "--something you shouldn't have seen," he admitted with strain, eyes glued onto the ground. "And, yes, it was, but . . . I ask of you to not tell this to anyone. Please."

He could just command her silence-- NO. No more commands. Not now, at least. Her safety was the highest concern right now, something he was not going to risk. He had commanded humans before-- but, he didn't want to risk it all the same. Maybe back in Windor, but not now. He . . . He lacked the control he had back then.

Staring at Denskith Jami's eyebrows furrowed. What was up with him. "Sure, I won't say." Jami frowned as she stood to work again. Humming her songs this time, seeing something had been weird when her teacher had sung. Summoning her wings she faced away from the boxes and let them move quickly, blowing off the top layer of dust. It had been strange that feeling in her. What happened and why did her body want to attack it?

Her head still felt numb but it was getting easier to think and move. Jami started sorting through thing, summoning and sending her wings away as she needed to clear dust. She didn't really pay much mind to Denskith now for she was focused on her task. She mumbled ideas to her self about how cool it would be to put the instruments out and set up a band area. How cool would that be if there next lesson has to do with being in a concert band of sorts. Jami would love to learn an instrument.

Jami found one case she thought was cool looking and opened it. Inside was a shiny metallic instrument, brass. It had a long hand, was it a trombone? Jami was pretty sure it was. It looked so cool. Pulling it out she observed it, and tried figuring out how to put it together. She tried to make a sound out of it but nothing happened. She had no clue how brass worked. Looking over to her teacher once more she gave him a curious look. "I still want to know what happened. What is your power?"

She agreed, just like that-- without a full explanation of the danger or why he wanted to keep it a secret in the first place? It seemed impossible-- it was impossible to content someone just like that. Just like that, without a command or bargain or anything of true value. Not that commands had an actual value, but . . . It was amazing, to say the least. Near-magical. He scolded himself for thinking such things, though; magic could be real, for all he knew. Deamons existed, vampires and werewolves existed, so why not--

And then, the wings. It was rude to stare, but it was impossible not to-- that is, he could if he really, really tried, but after such a panic, he had hardly the energy for such an attempt. They were quite beautiful-- awe-striking? Awe-striking. That was it. And yet, a ever-conscious fear flared up in his chest, screaming out a single word: monster. She was one, too. They all were-- him included-- don't think about it, whatever you do--!

The student's words went one ear and out the other, as they say; it was the glint of the trombone that finally caught his eye, watching with confusion as she blew into the instrument. Did she not know how to buzz? Still in a daze, he attempted to take it out of her hands, fiddling with the slide as she spoke her questions at long last. He should have known-- it could never be 'just like that.' Not anything good, anyways. She deserved an explanation now, but could he give it to her?

It was a tricky question, akin to the ever-common one at Windor: "what is your serum?" One had three options. The simplest was to tell the truth; the most complicated was to lie; and the wisest was to say nothing at all. He chose the third whenever possible under good advice. When someone actually saw the power, though . . . there was no choice but the first.

He inhaled deeply, considering each word with care.
"I . . . I can control things with my voice," he barely managed. "But, I cannot restrict it. The power apparently does not allow it. It can be . . . all encompassing."

He let his words settle in.

Jami didn't resist as the trombone was taken form her. She didn't need it since should couldn't make a sound from it. Watching him think she didn't interrupt this time. when he finally spoke Jami listened carefully, looking straight at the teacher. An uncontrollable power. That sounded familiar.

"I see. I use to get possessed by a demon when I got angry, and I couldn't control her. I finally got rid of her, I am better off too. I'm sure it's hard for you." Jami looked calm giving him a weak smile. poor fellow. His word choice had to be so careful didn't it. It seemed like something that would drive her mad if she had it.

Looking next to the case she found a smaller box and opened it finding all sorts of mouth pieces. She put it back and had a look around. "We should start organizing this better. Do you have any ideas?" Maybe if he was listening now, she could get something done. Distract him from what ever he was thinking about, because it was obviously holding him back.

Her words were supposed to be comforting-- that, he knew. They weren't, though. She did not 'see' his power, and that was the whole point. The deamon . . . Its existence did not surprise him, but his eyes widened at the idea of possession-- and then, went back to calm when he realized the tense. Past. This was all behind her, all not her problem anymore, so when she gave him that smile, he couldn't take it as anything but horrid pity. He wasn't looking for pity, especially in a student-- he wanted understanding.

As the student found a box of mouthpieces-- perfect! he snatched one from the box and wiped it down with his shirt-- the teacher flexed the trombone slid back and forth, rolling her words in his head to be polite, if anything else. She probably had a point-- maybe-- maybe-- in those words, but he couldn't find it. He honestly didn't want to.

Denskith slid the mouthpiece in, always wary for it to get jammed in, and tested a buzz on his mouth. It felt funny; he hadn't played an instrument since college, and even then for only a few semesters. Still, he attempted, managing a few clear note before giving up. It sounded all right, but he knew better players, much better players. The trombone would play better in their hands. He smiled sadly and always half-way.

"None," he admitted. The distractions were simply not working.

Jami smiled as the teacher got sound to come out of the instrument. It sounded fine to her but she knew to always expect there was someone better. None, no ideas... Well she personally felt she had done quite a bit of work and wanted a short break. Getting up she sat on the piano bench and started to play singular notes to a melody in her mind. One she always played with, but it resembled something the teacher probably would have never heard. It was an old Fairy song that came from her history. It was originally meant for a male lead and female harmony. She used her second hand to add in the harmony as it went on.

She smiled and looked at Denskith. "It's the notes to a duet, composed by a fairy back long ago. It's performed for spiritual gatherings, but we don't have those much nowadays. It's still pretty to me though." She didn't know all the words unfortunately...but maybe it could work to her advantage.... "If there aren't any words to it, could I teach it to you?" Jami played the starting pitch of the song.

The song itself started with the male singing in his middle to low range, then heading towards his higher range, in which the woman's voice would join in, and then they would break apart. The female would start to harmonize above the Males melody.

(i'll see if i can create something for you to ref off XD i have some ideas I did it! Here)

He put the instrument away in its proper casing, polishing the bell one last time before locking the lid shut. It was then that the piano's notes were heard-- resounding, clear, and near-breathtaking. All music had that effect on him, but it was such an odd key, such an odd way to put each note together. Just being foreign, though, did not create the song's drawing power. The tune was hypnotic.

No lyrics-- which meant no question. Leaving the case without thought, the teacher bounded from his unproductive work, standing just behind the student. Not beside on the bench, though, because it would be too, erm, odd, with his legs and his diaphram and-- but, this was music-- and, music did no harm, especially when lacking words. He was nearly bouncing up and down, his foot already tapping the supposed beat. Slow and smooth, gentle and graceful . . .

"Yes!" was the grinned response, resting his hands on her shoulders without any thought. He was hardly thinking anymore. Just like last time, he was aware of Jami's attempts for distraction-- but now, they were working almost too well. He couldn't harm the student-- no, no! They were just going to sing, just the two of them, a duet of all things, and it was going to be so much fun--!

(( Love the sheet music-- and, so does Denskith. XD ))

Jami started playing the male's part, singing over it with the females part, clearly and with her best tone. Using an Ah vowel seemed to fit best. "There are words but I don't think we should use them, no matter how simple... right?" She gave a small smile, trying to show her effort of trying to understand him. It made the girl feel important that Denskith wanted to learn her song. Like she was actually good for something, which was something she had been struggling with in her thoughts recently.

"I like it best when sung freely. Sheet music my be restricting, so i never wrote it down. I love changing the tempo when it feels right." She played the first four beats of the melody what seemed pretty in time but then retarded the next four a bit. It would be fun to see how they extended the piece. It may have been created long ago, but they could always re-arrange it. The idea of singing was much more appealing than organizing anyway, and it was what she had come down to the Music room to do in the first place.

Acting on her thoughts Jami played the two voices at once trying to figure out a possible third part, but her voice couldn't go low enough for the sound she wanted, which resulted in a light pout. "Maybe you can give me some proper singing lessons while I am here. " Better ask sooner then later.

(thank you!)

Denskith quickly caught on to the male singing voice, sliding into the lower register with practiced ease. He didn't pause in the song to give a proper responce, instead adopting the 'ah' and continuing along. He listened to her spoken words, of course, as a teacher always should when a student relates to them so personally-- music was always personal-- but he didn't dare respond, simply continuing the simple, odd melody. The retardando was taken with stride, it only seeming natural to slow down and . . . eventually speed up.

Music lessons. His heart nearly skipped a beat.
"Of course!" he responded giddly once hitting a measure of rest, using his time carefully to set next to her on the bench. He rested his fingers upon the upper third, taking up the chord after a few beats. He wasn't a pianist, but the melody was easy enough to figure out after a stumble or two. The man aimed a hand gently on her shoulder, wanting to straighten her back a little. He dropped out of the song-- such a pity-- students came first!-- music students came first-- true-- but continued playing the piano with his unscarred hand, making corrections as the melody repeated yet again.

"You should straighten your back for better air." He chose each word carefully, carefully. Gently, genially. "I recommend you open your mouth more in an O as well-- the shape usually provides better, clearer notes." His hand lingered on the shoulder.

Jami moved to give him more room and listened as he figured out some chords. When he stated singing she closed her eyes. The sound felt good, and her mind seemed to react well to it, calming her and creating that feeling of biting into chocolate on a bad day.

The little song of her people was done for now. Jami smiled straightening her back. Jami had hear about using an O sound before, it would sound nicer and cover up any insecurities ah would reveal. The fairy nodded, standing up to she could also further improve her posture and airflow.

"Could you teach me something now? Maybe we could find a vocalists sheet music in all this band stuff." She gave a smile. Fun, this was actually getting fun. A deep breath, and a feeling of hope. that was what the girl had needed, and the Music teacher had helped her achieve it.

Jami closed her eyes and leaned on the piano slightly overwhelmed by the feeling of guilt and misery falling off her shoulders, like a bird learning to fly. It was going to get better, there was no doubt. Even if she couldn't make everything better she could make something else better. Something good to every bad thing. Yes, and as she worked she would try her best to slowly fix her mistakes , and fix things that were broken.

He mourned for the lost music but rejoiced in the acceptance of the corrections. The smile won over both feelings, though, a warm satisfaction rolling over Denskith. No matter the student or the accomplishment, one should feel satisfied at the end of each rehearsal. And, she wanted more. His smile only grew, if that was even possible. The grin was bursting on the edges of his face as-is.

A song-- and, he knew just the one.
"No need-- um: I believe there is no current need for a search," the teacher hastily spilled out, half-skipping towards his desk. Richard's music, Richard's music-- the draw was a song in itself! A siren song-- but, there was no need to think such things when there was music to be sung, was there? No. No, there wasn't. The man physically shook such thoughts from his mind, arriving at the desk and turning towards the fated drawer . . . and then, back to Jami. Ah, yes.

"Could you turn around and perhaps cover your ears?" he requested sheepishly. "I have some possible music but it is, ah, supposedly hidden for security reasons." The best security he could offer: an unpickable lock with a destroyed key. He was nervous about opening such a place, though, with someone else present. What if a note slipped?

No need for a search? He had some already? Well maybe that was his next lesson? Another song? Well a head start wouldn't be cheating if that was the case right? Ah he asked her the question Jami nodded, assuming he somehow needed to command it to appear. She placed her hands over her ears, pressing into them cutting off sound. Of course doing this wouldn't block out sound completely, since some waves can move through her skin tissues, and she'd feel vibrations of lower notes, but it would hopefully due. There was no reason to risk hurting her ears by numbing them.

Distracting herself further the girl audited a tune in her head to focus on instead of her teachers beautiful tone. Quickly her thoughts strayed to that of Owen. How strange. One could think so much in such a small amount of time. Words whipped through her head and she looked up realizing she had started to sway a bit. Being lost in thought was not good right now. Not uncovering her ears she spoke softly, knowing the instinct when you can't hear was to yell. A comfort, hearing yourself. "Is it done?"

Turned around, ears covered up . . . Of course, if he had any skill remaining, the command would go to the lock and lock alone. If he had any skill remaining, the dust would have held itself up forever-- don't think about thatt now, of all times!

The teacher stood directly in front of the desk drawer, kneeling down more than a little for a direct aim. Don't think about Jami. Don't think about the student body, how they were all monsters, how HE was a monster-- none of that. There was only the lock. Focus on it and it alone . . . Heh. He was going right back to the basics, wasn't he? Focus on the moving the chess piece square by painful square.

"Lock that contains the precious music gifted," he began, his voice reaching up to the higher register once more, "raise your third inner point up, then the first, then the fourth, sixth, and fifth, all in a gentle and orderly fashion and only rising up until all points-- including the second, which should rise last-- are level and the tunnel for the original key that is not my voice is cleared. Stay that way until further instructed . . ."

And so, it was done. Maybe he wasn't as out of practice as he was-- no, this was probably just a fluke. He still had a lot of work to do and he was slightly out of breath and-- no matter, the music was available to him now. The teacher slid the fated drawer open, resting his hands upon the wonderous sheet music at long, long last. It didn't feel like two days since he had looked upon it, or two hours, or however long it actually was; it felt like forever ago. His eyes ran through the bars once more, a grin growing on his face--!

He didn't hear the girl's question.

Jami boredly had a look around, When would he be done? Didn't he want to sing and help her? Even if he wasn't done Jami was quickly getting bored. Of course she thought again of Owen, it was always were they seemed to go a some point. Other than that though she started addicting a melody and she smiled when she liked it. what if she wrote him a song?

Looking over at a pile in the back of the room, she saw a container of colorful tubes. Boom wackers? Those were fun. Next to it on the ground was a crippled looking recorder. Feeling bad for it she lightly nudged it with her feet, keeping her hands on her ears. It was cool looking, and had some engravings on it. Smiling she noted she should come back for it when she had free hands.

It took a while to snap out of his trance-- it was amazing that he snapped out of it in the first place, but that wasn't an accomplishment he should be proud of. Instead, his fingers traced down the last page-- and, he realized his place. The girl! The girl was still here, of course! His face reddened horribly, quickly returning the music to its first page-- one last, quick look-- for another half-hour?-- it wouldn't last that long-- skim it-- savor it-- no, no, he had a lesson to teach! And, teach it, he would! But first, apologies.

"I am so, SO sorry!" He finally emerged from the back of his desk, returning, erm, back to awaiting student. She was still here? Most would have left!-- and, had. Ooooh, he could even FEEL his face burning! "I was just looking over the music for just a quick bit, but when I finally realized the time--!" He stopped himself; he really had no 'good' excuse. He just needed to take a deep, DEEEEP breath, and try to move on. And, he did just that. It felt good to fill his lungs out entirely, for once-- but, he had to exhale most of it out before he began. It was simply too much air for a normal lesson, a normal conversation, even. Battlefields, yes; classrooms, no. He was happy that he retained the capacity, though-- and, here he went, thinking again in tangents. Stop that!

"Shall we begin?" he asked with a nervous smile, holding up the precious, precious music with both hands. "There's supposively a lovely soprano part in here-- or, would you rather sing alto? Either would work, I think."