Play - open

[Dylan Alexander]

[OOC: This is what Dylan is attempting to play]

It was pretty early in the morning as Dylan stumbled into the music room, his eyes a little bleary as he rubbed sleep from his sleep. He yawned as he dropped on to the piano bench with a sigh.

It would probably take awhile before anybody came in for any lessons so he flexed his fingers and started to play a familiar tune. For the first few bars, he just hummed the song.

But into the second chorus, he started vocalising the song, his fingers flying across the keys. It was a good song, one he had been searching on Youtube for forever. Finding it, he had dedicated his free time practicing it. Not that he actually had anything but free time. What with music lessons only happening every other day and swimming only comes after school, he had a lot of time to himself.

He leaned his head a little on the top of the piano as he played and sang, not a care in the world except his sleepiness. He yawned once more as he played on.

[Scout Castien]

When the woman was passing through the halls of the school, she was in a bit of a daze. It was quiet, and she rather liked the quiet. It meant nobody was about, which meant no errant emotions. She could just feel her own heart, nothing else. Uncomplicated. Of course, who would have expected that to last? Yet the intrusion in the silence wasn't unwelcome, nor was it expected- it was... "Piano?"

Curiosity brought the twenty-year-old to the doorway of the music room, leaning against the doorframe as the man began to sing- and he sang a song she recognized. She was an avid youtuber, and couldn't help but softly hum along as he sang, smiling. Wow, he actually has talent. He's pretty good. Besides that, there were waves of lazy relaxation and contentment coming from him, and that was the sort of emotion she always welcomed sharing in.

As the last chords were played, she lifted a hand to rap her knuckles gently against the wood. Offering a shy smile, she tilted her head to the side. "Thatwas really good. I'm more of a fan of the classical pieces, but...that was very relaxing. Soothing. I'm Scout, by the way. Can I come in?" He might be surprised by her age, might not. She knew she wasn't the only student over eighteen, but that didn't mean she wasn't self-conscious about it. She'd graduated the high school part early but was ridiculously behind with her powers. Thank you, logic?

[Dylan Alexander]

The knock startled Dylan into banging his head a little on the piano just as his hand slammed down the keys, creating a rather bizarre and loud sound that seemed to echo in the empty room.

Rubbing the sore spot, the shadow manipulator culled his shadows when they seemed to envelop him at the false sign of danger. He turned to where the knock had come from to find a pretty redhead standing by the door way. She didn't look young enough to be a student, nor old enough to be staff.

That worried Dylan because he didn't know how to address her.

"Th...thanks." He stammered with a little smile. He stood up when she introduced herself. "Dylan. Um, sure. Come on in. You're a little early for class though. And...you don't seem to have an instrument with you." He noted before gesturing for her to take a seat. "It doesn't matter, really. Everyone's welcome to join." Brought up in a household that cherished manners, Dylan didn't sit down until the girl did.

"Do you...play anything?"

[Scout Castien]

The woman's pale olive irises widened as the shadows moved around the man, though she couldn't say the surprise was completely her own. She'd surprised him, and she could feel that- as well as a tint of nervousness. Why would he be nervous? Huh, maybe he hadn't wanted anyone to hear him, but she wasn't sure why that would be. He was in the music room, after all, a place with great acoustics, if she remembered correctly. But then again, music was an academic, and she hadn't been taking those for three years now.

"I'm sorry I startled you," she murmured, stepping in as he said that she was welcome to take a seat. A slight blush colored her cheeks as he noted she held no instrument and seemed to assume she was here for a class, but she grabbed a chair nevertheless, one near the piano bench. Her head was ducked slightly, more from shyness and his own residual nerves seeping into her than anything else. "I'm...not a student. I mean, I am, but not academically. I graduated academics three years ago. I just came here to get an appointment set up for the Doc, and I heard your music...so I wanted to see who was playing so beautifully."

It wasn't meant as flattery, it was simply her honest opinion. She smiled once more as he asked if she played an instrument, finally lifting her head a bit more to tap at her throat. "Vocal chords, nothing more. I've always wanted to learn piano, but never got past the basics. If you have class soon, I can leave...I shouldn't have disturbed you like this."

[Dylan Alexander]

The apology had Dylan shaking his head as he pushed his glasses up his nose with a small grin. His shadows at bay, he sat a little bit away from the redhead so he could view her properly without having to move too much. "It's really no problem." He responded, ignoring the throbbing in his head. It was going to swell soon enough. Hopefully not noticeable under the thick of his hair. Some times, he wished he could bring his beanie everywhere. "I shouldn't be sleeping on the job either." He pointed out sheepishly.

As she explained her status, Dylan's eyes widened behind his glasses before he nodded in understanding. A blush crept up his cheeks unknowingly when she complimented, unwittingly or otherwise. "I was lucky my powers are more dormant than anything. It's pretty useless so I didn't have much trouble passing my training." He shrugged, purposely not drawing attention to her honest opinion.

"Oh please don't leave." He said in a rush without realising the implications of what he had just said. "My class doesn't start until after school hours. And half the time none of them come. And really, you're welcome to join the class. You're not required to pay for it so..." he shrugged and smiled at her.

"Would you like to at least learn to play by ear?" He offered before chuckling. "It's actually considered cheating in some cases but that's how I learned when I was a kid. I was only taught properly during my college years." Dylan explained with a small, rather proud nod. He turned to Scout and tilted his head towards the piano before patting the part of the bench beside him.

[Scout Castien]

A soft laugh from the woman as he said he shouldn't be sleeping on the job, but it only reminded her that this was a teacher. Meaning...one-on-one time might not look the best. But...he didn't teach any of her lessons. Would it really be so bad to stay? As long as she did her best to remember that he was a teacher, not just another cute guy. At mention of his powers, she found herself wondering just what his powers were. After all, she'd noticed the shadows moving, but that could be any number of things. She'd learned a while ago to not make any assumptions about others' powers- she had been completely off-base more than once.

"Long night, I take it?" It was a teasing question, not meant to be serious in the least. And as far as the testing went...she sighed. "I don't know if mine's controllable, but I'm still trying. I'm an empath, and it gets a bit....overwhelming." More than a bit, but she didn't want to seem completely incompetent. She did have a secondary power, but she was doing fine controlling it, so it wasn't what held her back.

She flushed slightly as he hurriedly asked her not to go, but that didn't mean she'd be leaving. If his classes really didn't start until the afternoon, why was he here? Probably to see if anyone wanted lessons, and, well, it seemed he was fully willing to give them. She looked to the spot he indicated, a bit uneasy about sitting so close, but then again....it really couldn't hurt. Besides, she'd always wanted to learn. He was offering the perfect opportunity. "Hm. I'm no fan of cheating, but I think I can make an exception." With a gentle smile on her face, she moved to slide into the seat beside him, running light fingers across a few keys. "Wow...it's been so long since I've even touched a piano..."

[Dylan Alexander]

Completely unaware of how Scout viewed him, Dylan just smiled a little uneasily just by being in the same room as another person. Another female person. It was funny how he had grown up in front of an audience and he had since then been so fine performing in front of hundreds of people. But put him in a room with girls or just one, really, and he gets flustered and forget which hand goes on which wrist.

Blinking when the redhead seemed to ask him something, Dylan tried to focus before laughing and nodding a little. "More like long week. My dad is sort of refurbishing my apartment. So I'm basically living with about seven people in a one bedroom apartment. It's been hectic so far to say the least." He rubbed the back of his head and chuckled. "So you...uh...get everything I'm feeling right now then." He laughed a little, sensing his shadows creeping up around him like a shield. He cooled them down and smiled at her.

"Sorry. My shadows are sort of protective over me." He wasn't sure how much information he should even give out, seeing that he was already babbling like a moron. "I mean they won't do squat if I'm being attacked other than hide me away. I mean I'm not complaining. I kinda like that they're useless sort of. They won't harm someone else." He beamed.

Once she was sitting down, Dylan made space for her and adjusted his glasses on his nose once more. He laughed shortly at her response. "Well, it's not cheating perse. I mean...some people think it's a rare gift. But it does take a lot longer for us to read music if we started just by ear. But I don't bother anymore. I love playing so I just listen to something and play. Like, have you tried playing Chopsticks? It's probably the easiest thing to play by ear."

[Scout Castien]

The redhead wished she could help with his unease, she really did. Unfortunately, her emotional powers could only do so much. If he was truly panicking, for example, she could at least calm him then- and that usually helped the person to gain a better grasp on their emotions and calm down a bit more. But unease was a gentle emotion, as she called it, and she could do nothing about it.

She cringed at the idea of being in close quarters with so many people. "Oh, gosh. No wonder you're so tired. The worst I have to worry about is my dogs taking my bed over." She laughed softly before nodding. "I do. It's why I'm here so early- avoiding the crowds. A lot of people, a lot of emotions...it can be overwhelming."

Her gaze flickered to the fluxuating shadows with interest as he explained that they were protective over him. "Can you...feel them? I know that sounds strange, but for you, they're living things. Do you experience them differently?" There was honest curiosity in her tone- shadow manipulation interested her, and it wasn't the first time she'd ever seen someone able to do it, but she'd never asked much about that sort of power. She tended to keep to herself.

"Chopsticks was actually the first thing I learned," Scout admitted with a smile. "I've never been able to read music, even when I was in chorus when I was younger. It all just looks so confusing to me, so I've gone by ear for singing." The fingers of her left hand skimmed lightly over a few keys, though she didn't press down on any of them. "I never thought much about instruments, learning them, I mean. I'm a huge fan of music, especially classical pieces, but aside from the few simple pieces I learned on piano, I never thought of learning much else. I mean, what with being unable to read music, it didn't seem possible to me, to learn something more complex."

[Dylan Alexander]

"You have dogs? What kind?" Dylan asked, perking up instantly. The only pet he was able to take care of in his tiny apartment was his pet terrapin, Chuckles. He did like dogs, especially the big ones.

"Ah...sorry for my...this." He gestured towards himself with a small chuckle. "Not used to being with just one person in the room. Especially girls. Well, at least girls that aren't my friends. Not to say you're not my friend. I mean I'm not trying to suggest we're friends but..." he stopped talking and chuckled nervously, berating himself silently for babbling. The redhead probably thought he was a spaz.

He looked down at his shadows when he saw her looking at them and grinned. "It's a part of me. Like...sweat." He rolled his eyes for coming up with the lamest explanation. "I mean...it's an involuntary feeling mostly. I mean, I know when they're covering me and it's kind of like a tickle that you get used to." He nodded, finally satisfied with what was coming out of his mouth.

"I figured. That's the easiest one and I think everybody learned how to play that one first. There's another one that's fairly easy to play. If you can pick it up by ear then we can try playing it together." Dylan smiled before playing it.

[Scout Castien]

When Dylan asked about her dogs, Scout couldn't help but begin to beam. Asche and Roxie were her babies. She absolutely adored her dogs. "Well, Asche is a three-year-old Irish Setter, and Roxie is a year-and-a-half-old Pit Bull. They're both under the impression they're about the size of Chihuahas," she added with a grin. Yeah, they were the kind of big dogs who believed they fit perfectly in your lap.

She giggled softly at his rambling. "No, it's okay. I understand." He was a bit awkward, wasn't he? But it was more endearing than anything else. "But hey, hopefully I can change your mind about considering me a friend before I leave." She didn't have many friends, because of what she saw as her 'issue'. Earning a new one would be great.

As he began to explain how the shadows felt, she slowly nodded. Yeah, that kind of made sense. You had to have some sensation of something to control it, right? And everything you could experience had a specific sensation. Kind of like emotions, for her. They could be gentle waves, or crashing swells that consumed her.

The new song brought a light of recognition to her eyes. "Heart and Soul..." For a moment, she watched his hands moving, before peeking up at him once more. He was more relaxed when he was playing, she'd know that even if she wasn't an empath. Once he'd played through the song once, she lifted her hands, tilting her head slightly. "May I?" She wanted to try. It was a simple enough song, the issue would be finding the right keys- and she wasn't sure she remembered them correctly.

[Dylan Alexander]

Dylan laughed at her description of her dogs, wondering what it would be like to have had one growing up. "That's adorable." He chuckled, grinning widely. "I like big dogs. The way they would just knock you over when they're excited. It's cute."

His cheeks heated up at her giggle as he looked away with a little smile. He was really not conducting himself well, was he? "That sounds nice." He stated with a crooked grin. He had a few close friends who were girls so hopefully he wouldn't try to mess this up. Although, his other girl friends had been his friends since he was a kid. He had time to develop the rapport. So who knows. He might probably screw this up without meaning to.

Dylan's smile widened when Scout recognised the song. "Yeah! Next to Chopsticks, this is my favourite childhood tune. I can also play it on my guitar." If there was anything Dylan wasn't afraid of admitting publicly, it was the ease in which he could play different instruments.

"Oh of course!" Dylan scooted away a little so she could hit the right keys. "So you want to start with this key first." He pressed the key and let her do the rest.

[Scout Castien]

With a slight roll of her eyes, she continued to grin. "Oh, it's better when you're trying to relax and one of 'em tries to ninja-snuggle into your lap, as though you won't notice." She said it with a lot of affection in her tone. Roxie did that a lot, especially when Scout was reading. Poking her head under the book, squirming her way in quite ungracefully.

Catching his blush, she ducked her head, hiding her own. "I just...don't have many friends," she explained. Or, any, really. She got fairly lonely. Oh, it was great, having Asche and Roxie, and she wouldn't give them up for the world, but she couldn't do with them what she could do with other humans. Going from being one of the most popular girls at her school to self-induced social isolation was hard, even though it had been six years now. She still missed all of it, the normalcy.

As she shifted slightly to better reach the keys, she paused for a moment, running through the tune in her head. Right, not hard at all. It had taken her a bit to learn to play Chopsticks without mistakes, and it had been quite a while since she'd played. Around seven years, actually.

The first few keys were easy enough, which made her relax a bit, smiling. She was taking it slow, though not ridiculously slow- but the moment she made a mistake, she ended up blushing, starting over once more. To help herself try to shake off the nerves, she asked, "How many instruments do you play?" Another mistake. "Crap." She laughed. "I'll get it. Eventually. It's been a while." Maybe she should just stick to singing.

[Dylan Alexander]

Dylan heard the affection in Scout's voice and smiled. Nobody who owned dogs would ever deny the fact that as much as they can be little rascals, they brought more joy than grief. "But that's the best part!" Dylan enthused with a grin. "As much as terrapins are fun to take care of, you can't have them being all affectionate over you. My Chuckles would just laze around doing nothing." He laughed quietly at the thought of his pet terrapin.

"Oh...neither do I. I get awkward around people way too often. Like...I only have one best friend and...three other friends that I occasionally hang out with." He shrugged, not at all unfamiliar with Scout's predicament when it came to friends. Of course, he didn't know about her having been popular before.

Her little mistakes made Dylan smile encouragingly at her in intervals. "You're doing great. And...um, I dunno...seven I think? The flute is the worst though so I'll just stick to six." He chuckled. "The upright bass, the acoustic guitar, piano, violin, harmonica and a little bit of the saxophone." He prattled on.

"You're welcome to join my class if you wanted. After school. I'm always up for new students."

[Scout Castien]

"I love them. They're probably who I'm closest to. Must sound pretty sad, huh?" She laughed a bit uneasily, self-consciously. She joked, but it was true. Her empath skills extended to all living forms, and she often clung to her dogs for stability. Calm, more often than not. Happy. They could help her center herself, prevent breakdowns. Not that many people knew about those. Not even her parents anymore. Only the Doc. Of course, her mind was pulled back on track when he mentioned terrapins. "Terra...what now?" Yeah, she'd never heard of them.

She smiled when he said he was awkward. Well, yeah, maybe he was a little bit awkward, but it wasn't in a bad way. "But you're a good person. Or, from what I can tell, you are. Even if you are a little bit awkward," she joked. "It's just...I mean, I would've guessed you were the type to have a lot of friends, is all. Not that it's bad that...I'll stop." She blushed, realizing she'd gotten a bit of foot-in-mouth for a moment.

His admittance to proficiency with six different instruments made her eyes widen. Holy crow, six? "Wow. That's....absolutely amazing." She did look a bit uncomfortable at the idea of attending an actual class, though. She ducked her head, trying to choose her words carefully. "I don't do well....in groups. It's- I used to. But the empathy power, it makes being around more than a couple of people really overwhelming. I don't think I'd do well in another class, even if I want to."

[Dylan Alexander]

Her self-deprecating comment made Dylan shake his head. "No way. I tell Chuckles everything I don't tell anybody else. He knows me better than anybody else." He replied before laughing at Scout's little blunder. "Terrapin. Chuckles is my baby terrapin. Little...tortoise. I don't know why they're called terrapins but it's such a cute name for mini tortoises." Dylan realised he must sound very weird and pathetic. But hey, Scout was the one who wanted him as a friend so he might as pull out all the stops, right?

When Scout complimented him, Dylan's cheeks heated up. "Thanks." He looked down at the piano keys and just started to press random keys. He chuckled quietly when Scout started to babble. The shadow manipulator didn't take offense at all. He wished he had a lot of friends. Well...he did. Sort of. But none that he could just call up and ask to hang out with. He only had Adam for that. But he was a trainer so it definitely put a damper on their down time.

"Eh, it's nothing, really. Most of them I play only by ear. I've only ever really learned the violin and the piano properly." Dylan rarely accepted compliments about himself. He never knows what to do with himself when people spoke highly of something he did.

"Well..." he pursed his lips briefly as he figured out what to do to help Scout out. "I could offer you one on one sessions. If you don't mind always being bombarded with my awkwardness." He chuckled, rubbing his forehead out of nerves. "Only if you actually want to that is. I'm not trying to be pushy." He laughed nervously.