May I have this song? (tag: Charlotte Spencer) on Magical Arts Room and Sports

Emrys Lucan

August 30, 2013 1:39 AM

May I have this song? (tag: Charlotte Spencer) by Emrys Lucan

When the Saturday that he and Charlotte were supposed to have their duet came, Emrys woke up excited and strangely nervous. It made sense to be excited- it would be the first person at school who he would have had the chance to hear and to play with, but also, it was weird to him that he should be nervous! He'd played many times before for his grandfather- Grandfather Lucan was the harshest critic in the whole world, Emrys thought, and in addition, he'd oftentimes played for his grandfather's friends as well- the few he did have. Not only that, but he'd been corresponding with Charlotte via owl the whole week leading up to their meeting nearly non-stop. He'd also seen her in classes and in the hallways, so he didn't understand why seeing her now made him feel a little different. He was utterly flumoxxed. Why should he, a now twelve-year-old boy, be feeling weird around a girl? They were just like boys, weren't they? (He wouldn't totally know, given that he'd only ever talked to a few girls, Charlotte being the only one he'd really kept up a correspondence with so far). Well, whatever it was that was bothering him, Emrys tried to shake it off and focus instead on being prepared to play. After using an ironing spell that he'd written home asking his grandmother for, he dressed and went down to Cascade Hall to eat lunch. For some odd reason he felt as though he had to look nice for this duet as Charlotte seemed to be a very put together girl. Upon returning to his dorm, Emrys carefully tightened and applied rosin to his bow. He looked over his violin and carefully tuned it so that he would be all ready when he arrived at the MARS room. Then, he lightly loosened his bow and replaced his violin, chin piece, and rosin into the dark green velvet of his violin case. He did one last check in the mirror, hoping his roommate (who for some reason never spoke to him) didn't catch him and think him to be odd, and left.

He arrived in the room before Charlotte did and therefore had a bit of time to relax. He wasn't late and therefore his lateness could not offend her. He would not appear as if he didn't care and for that he was glad. He opened his case and pulled his instrument out, fingers already itching to play. After loosing his neckline a tad- he always accidentally buttoned his shirts all the way up to the top, an act that did not go unappreciated by his grandfather but always constricted his ability to play comfortably, Emrys raised his bow and began to play. He chose a simple melody, one of his sister's favorites. It was reminiscent of a fairy world- which is why Caelia liked it so much. He let himself get lost again not noticing when Charlotte came in.

After he was done with the song, he turned to see Charlotte. "Hi," he smiled, trying but failing to keep it from going too wide. He couldn't help it, he was excited. This was the first time he had made plans to hang out and Charlotte was his very first friend too. "How are you?"

OOC: Sorry this is so late, work has been really crazy and my co-worker isn't really pulling their weight so I've been having to do twice the work..

10 Emrys Lucan May I have this song? (tag: Charlotte Spencer) 260 Emrys Lucan 1 5

Charlotte Spencer

August 30, 2013 3:05 PM

This one and the ones to come. by Charlotte Spencer

It was either her improved social skills or sheer luck that Charlotte had already managed an acquaintance, a friend, rather, in her first year. Her mum had tried to soften the disappointment before sending her off that she, and everyone else, had thought was sure to come. But she had proved them wrong and was getting ready to meet a friend for a duet date. That is, a duet meeting.

Charlotte was naturally a very proper witch and dressed as such. Straight after lunch she had gone back to her room to dress for their meeting. Today she had even curled her hair, so soft blonde waves fell around her face and down a quarter of her back. She was wearing a blue dress today, one with embroidery and lace. The sheet music was sitting on her vanity and she quickly put it into her bag so she wouldn't forget it. She was nervous, going out and meeting someone like this, since she had never done it before. Friends didn't come easy to Charlotte and she knew her mother would want a letter telling her all about it. She had talked of Emrys Lucan extensively during the holiday. If Charlotte didn't speak much even at home, it was rare she ever spoke about someone other than a family member. She knew she had made her entire household curious as to how this meeting would go. It was time and Charlotte took one last look at herself in her mirror before departing.

It was very unfortunate that ladies could not hide their hands in their pockets like men and that she had no instrument to bring with her. She had the sheet music for the song, but she had put it in her bag so she wouldn't wring it. If only she played something like a flute or a violin like Emrys she could have something to keep her hands from fiddling. She was all right until she reached the MARS room, and then felt a surge of anxiety and nervousness. What if he didn't show? If she opened this door and he wasn't there, she would be crushed.

But their correspondence through the course of the week strengthened her resolve and she opened the door to a sweet melody. Emrys was already there and she smiled, relieved. She was punctual, but it pleased her that he was even earlier than she. She went to the piano, seeing as he hadn't noticed her yet, and sat there awkwardly, wondering if she should join in with a melody she did not know. Instead, she took the sheet music she had chosen out of her bag and smoothed the parchments out. She had one for violin and one for piano. It was lucky that her favourite composer was a musician who wrote music for both the violin and piano. She thanked him silently for leading to this friendship, though he had passed on a very long time ago.

Emrys finished and Charlotte smiled. She ought to have clapped, but she was too shy to make such a noise in such a quiet room. It seemed so much quieter now that he was finished. He was smiling very widely; that was a good sign. "I'm very well," she answered, "thank you for asking. And yourself?" After he had answered, she continued, a tad awkwardly, "Thank you for setting this meeting up. I was glad to have received the invitation."

OOC: It's all right! Unfortunate about your co-worker, but I hope everything works out in your favour.

40 Charlotte Spencer This one and the ones to come. 265 Charlotte Spencer 0 5

Emrys Lucan

September 06, 2013 3:13 AM

I'm flattered. by Emrys Lucan

Emrys was glad to know that Charlotte was doing well. He was too, he was really happy to have found a friend who also appreciated music, especially one thata would win his grandfather's approval. Emrys thought it odd that before he had gone away to school he had disliked everything about his grandfather and had tried to rebel against everything he stood for. But now that he had gone away and was not around his grandfather's overbearing attitude, he found himself realizing that he was not actually a bad man even though he was a but chauvinistic. "I'm doing well too," Emrys replied, pushing his confusing thoughts away from his mind. He was hanging out with a really cool girl about to play music. He didn't want to think about his up and down relationship with the family patriarch. "I was glad you accepted the invitation," he answered.

Emrys didn't know how to continue the conversation as he felt slightly awkward, and he didn't want to make Charlotte feel as though he didn't want to talk to her. In fact, it was the opposite, but he wasn't entirely sure what topic to start. And then it hit him. "So which piece did you decide to bring for us to play?" He questioned, hoping that they could talk about it (whether he had heard of it or not). As he waited for her response, he noticed that her hair looked a little different from the last time he'd seen her- he wasn't in Alarden for nothing, he prided himself on his photographic memory and ability to remember details well. Not sure how talking to girls really worked though, he refrained from mentioning it lest Charlotte think he was either creepy or too forward.

After Charlotte answered, Emrys nodded his head. "I don't think I've heard of that particular piece, but I'm always game to learn something new! Where did you first hear it, out of curiosity?" Emrys internally cringed at his lame question. He felt so awkward and out of place talking with Charlotte. The letter writing had been fine as he'd had time to think while writing it because he'd been writing slowly so that he could be proud of his penmanship. It wasn't that he was slow, he just didn't really know how to talk to kids his own age. He had thought he'd been doing pretty well with his dorm mate, Emery, at the Welcoming Feast way back at the beginning of the year but apparently not seeing as Emery hadn't spoken to him since. He'd obviously done well enough his first time with Charlotte and over their letter correspondence that she wanted to actually hang out with him again. It boosted his confidence, it really did. This practice was good for him.

10 Emrys Lucan I'm flattered. 260 Emrys Lucan 0 5

Charlotte Spencer

September 08, 2013 2:08 PM

Opportunities like these don't come often. by Charlotte Spencer

There was a moment of tense silence in which Charlotte waited for Emrys to continue the conversation. She hated awkward silences between topics and envied the way her brother seemed so capable of easily keeping the conversation flowing. It was a skill she had yet to learn and perhaps never would. Seeing their current situation, in the MARS room with the sheet music in Charlotte's hands, talking about the music seemed like a safe way to go and Emrys went down that path.

Charlotte looked down at the music in her hands as if she had forgotten which piece she had brought. "Wind in the Willows," she told him before looking up. It would be convenient if he knew it, but she didn't expect him to. It wasn't one of Blodwyn's popular pieces, but it was one of her mother's favourites. Emrys's question was a bit unexpected, and she felt a bit embarrassed at having to explain herself. "It was on the wireless," she said, "and my mother loved it. My mother and I listen to the classical station when my dad isn't using it." Dad liked to listen to the news or have the younger children listen to funny programs after dinner.

It hadn't taken much to find the sheet music for this song. Charlotte's mother had made it her goal to have her eldest daughter learn how to play the song though they lacked a violinist. That would be solved now, it seemed, though Cassie would never be able to hear it for herself.

Now that she had answered his question, she thought they ought to begin. That was why they were here, anyway, and she couldn't think of anything else to talk about. "Shall we begin, then?" she asked, still a tad embarrassed, and handed over his part. "I've never played it with someone else before; it'll be new for both of us." She smiled at him before removing her coat and hanging it on the convenient coat rack at the entrance to the room. She wished she had done it when she first came in, but it was too late now. She returned to the piano and began her Hanon exercises to warm up her fingers. The walk to MARS had been awfully cold from that ugly painting of the zombie, but she had made it without freezing her bum.

Once she had warmed up enough, she looked over at Emrys. "Are you ready?" she asked. "We can play it on our own for a bit, if you'd like. That way we can get used to the notes." He could, anyway; Charlotte could just sit and enjoy listening to him practise. "What would you like to do?" Wizards were supposed to be the decision makers so she would acquiesce to whatever he liked. Deciding whether or not to play together to begin with was not such a big decision anyhow.

40 Charlotte Spencer Opportunities like these don't come often. 265 Charlotte Spencer 0 5

Emrys Lucan

September 18, 2013 1:43 AM

Wise words from a wise girl. by Emrys Lucan

OOC: Sorry for the long wait- my email decided to sort this into spam so I didn't get an alert... Awkward... And now, without further ado, my response:

BIC:

Emrys smiled at Charlotte encouragingly as he waited for her to answer which piece she had brought, and wondered why she hadn’t taken off her coat yet. Perhaps she was waiting for him to help her remove it like his grandfather had taught him young wizards must do for young witches. He wondered if he should ask her if she would like his assistance but before he could ask, she answered his previous question. He hadn’t heard of ‘Wind in the Willows’ before so he asked where she’d heard it. He liked that she seemed to have learned it for her mother as he had learned so much about Camelot for his.

“My mother listens to our wireless all the time,” Emrys said. “But she likes to flip between stations until she can find old, old pieces like from the days of King Arthur’s court. So I originally started learning medieval pieces for her.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Then I just started to enjoy them myself so I continued.”

The medieval themed music was the one portion of his mother’s teachings that he wasn’t trying to bury in himself. If he played a medieval tune other students would think it was because he was a musician, not because he was obsessed with another time. He wanted to ask more about the relationship between her and her mother but figured it would be rude to do so, so he accepted her idea of beginning to play. He watched as she removed her coat, making his earlier dilemma as to whether to help her with her coat or not disappear. He listened while she did her piano exercises and felt himself getting warm as her fingers went up and down the keyboard. He had always enjoyed the sound of the piano but had never found the time to play.

“Maybe I should run through it just once as I’ve never played it before,” Emrys acquiesced though he did really want to hear her play it too as her warm-ups had sounded quite lovely. “Perhaps you can play it once through first though? So that I have an idea as to how it is supposed to sound?” He did hope his question wasn’t too forward and that she would agree, but if she seemed hesitant then he wouldn’t force her. His grandfather had taught him that while wizards were the decision makers they should never force a witch to do anything she didn’t want to do, and that belief had been well installed into his head.

10 Emrys Lucan Wise words from a wise girl. 260 Emrys Lucan 0 5