strangetrip | [EP] Progress (OTA, Corbie or Curnen)

It was almost December, but the day was still more than warm enough to spend outdoors. So two girls were out in the sunshine, one fair, one dark, aware and amused with each other’s efforts but not particularly paying attention to each other.

Curnen’s fingers were starting to remember what to do with a guitar, though they were still incapable of being fancy. Sitting on the lawn with Rob’s guitar in her lap, she played anything that came to mind. Her sixth fingers were a bit lost, but it did sound like music at least. It would be some time yet before she could really play again, though that didn’t bother her much. If it meant she was scraping herself back together, becoming a Tufa again, it didn’t matter. And besides, the singing was always the best part. She wasn’t sure why this song, since there was no wind and rain, but in many versions of this same song there were two girls colored rather like the two of them.

There were two sisters came walkin' down the stream
Oh the wind and rain
The one behind pushed the other one in
Cryin' oh the dreadful wind and rain

Johnny gave the youngest a gay gold ring
Oh the wind and rain
Didn't give the oldest one anything
Cryin' oh the dreadful wind and rain

Corbie meanwhile was busy setting things on fire again, but this was different fire. Or at least it was for her. She and Regina had been practicing creating fire and putting it out. She set a circle of protection around a small stone, using what she understood of Cabaline theory to keep the spell literally grounded. And then she proceeded to do her best to destroy the shit out of that rock by throwing fireballs at it. It gave her something to aim at, gave her more than one thing to practice at a time. She was getting better at aiming and her ward was holding.

She stopped only to take the ward down and set another one, larger this time, on her knees in the road with a piece of chalk.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"It's more than I could do. Maybe 'music has charms to soothe the savage breast,' but singing at somebody isn't going to make me the Pied Piper." Curnen had magic in her music, and Coby couldn't help glancing over at her where she was playing. "And Ward is just my name, not anything I do."

"Corbie," the girl offered in turn. She straightened up. "I'm a wizard."

He grinned, eyes bright. "Nice to meet you, Corbie. I'm Coby. I'm a musician. Not nearly as exciting as a wizard, but..."

Musicians. Corbie had had a few of those. They had such clever hands. "What do you play?"

"Guitar and piano mostly." Especially now, when those were the only instruments Coby'd had with him when he showed up. He sent up a quick thanks to Anael's God he had that much. "But I can play a lot of things a little bit when I get the chance."

Corbie grinned. "Caroline conscripted you into service playing here yet?"

He had to laugh. "She does have a reputation for that. I've played a couple of sets, probably will 'cause I like being sane. But I haven't given her a chance to make it a regular scheduled thing yet. Maybe for check-in days or something."

"I'll have to come listen, then, if I'm not on duty waiting for new people." She missed music. Corbie hadn't really noticed before she left Bernatha how much it had become a background piece of her life. Granted, with sailors and soldiers looking for a good time it was mostly bawdy drinking songs--she knew a lot of those--but all the same.

"You should. Or you could drop by sometime. Or both. Both is good. I'm in 182. Looks like a Barbie Dream House on hormones, but the balcony's nice." He wouldn't hold it against her if she heard an older guy inviting her back to his place and noped right out of the idea from the start. The invitation was genuine though, same as it would've been to anybody else, with only as much subtext as she might be interested in.

Corbie's initial impression wasn't of any danger, but the options were appreciated all the same. She did have to smile at the description though. "I got no clue what that even means, but I may come by and find out."

He could've explained. There was plenty of pink around for comparison of degrees of pank. But it really was better, where better probably meant way worse, to see for herself. He winked. "Any time."

Coby hummed without really thinking about it, and sang a soft, "Every little thing she does is magic," before he caught himself doing it and made himself stop.

Corbie caught it and started to laugh. "Not really. I'm still pretty new at the whole thing."

"Don't ruin the moment," Coby teased, smiling brighter because she'd caught him and laughed. "You do magic. And that's really cool."

"I also live to find little ways to be contrary," Corbie assured him, crossing her arms as though this were a serious threat and not a bit of silliness.

It was true, though.

"Oooh, a troublemaker. I like it." Coby believed her, through the silliness. He liked that too.

"Got the kind of face nobody'd suspect," she simpered, making her eyes as big as she could. "Be a waste not to."

"Careful with those, pretty." Coby put a hand to his heart. "There's only so much a mere man can take."

Corbie dropped the chalk and got to her feet, sauntering forward. Her smile was sweet and impish. "Aw, now what do you think little ol' me could do?"

Coby laughed, warm and wicked to go with her grin. "I think... finding out will be a whole lot of fun."

Corbie's eyebrow arched. "Oh do you? Well..." She looked at him as though considering this idea carefully. "It might be, at that."

"Yeah?" Coby let her look. "Fun enough you might want to play hooky from magic practice? Or should I get comfy, watch you not burn up a rock?"

"Rock'll be there." Corbie's face was all innocence. "What'd you have in mind?"

Using the back of a finger, Coby brushed a loose curl away from Corbie's face. "Oh, I don't know. There's all kinds of ways to get to know somebody. The best ones usually mean in trouble of some kind. I'm sure we could come up with something."

It was a light brush of a touch, and Corbie leaned into it all the same. "I dunno. Getting into trouble around here with so few people and so little to do..."

"Oooh, you want something to do," Coby responded, playfully suggestive. "I don't know..."

Re: for Corbie

st_rikingblueeyes - 2017-12-07 04:56 (UTC) - Expand

st_rummer - 2017-12-07 19:54 (UTC) - Expand

st_rikingblueeyes - 2017-12-07 21:39 (UTC) - Expand

st_rummer - 2018-02-01 20:57 (UTC) - Expand