[PRP] Hey! Been hoping to find you! (Elijah/Relm) -again ^_^

[Stormbreaker7]

Koen turned around to look to Relm. "Thanks. It comes in handy for practicing music at whatever volume I wish.... that's why these two usually trail in more than they're wanted..." He chuckled and opened the door. He turned on the lights and sighed at the messy room. "They often make a mess without cleaning after themselves too...." He shook his head and walked in more. He waved his hand to invite the rest in.

Ryder walked in next. His face remained emotionless, but his tail swished in a way that made him seem sort of happy to be in the house. He plopped down on a couch and eyed the three others that came in after. "You can stop holding hands now..." He said, calmly, probably wanting to both them all. He leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. Seemingly, he didn't feel like rushing over to his spare keyboard.

Kai moved away from Relm and Elijah while shooting a half glare at Ryder. "Dumb, cat..." He mumbled. He smiled back at Relm and Elijah," I'll get my stuff. Make yourselves home if you can..."

Elijah only half paid attention to the home, too distracted by the mixed up emotions he was having inside. A bunch of music sheets were scattered everywhere with a few soda cans and even a beer bottle here and there around the floor. Someone who had been in the house recently really didn't seem to both to clean up. Elijah resisted to growl at the cat. Part of him wanted to cut Ryder out from consideration already. Disagreements in a band could end up badly, but he let it pass. Perhaps once they talked a bit things would turn out better. He really doubted it... It was the thing on his mind bugging him the least, however. Out of the corner of his eyes he peaked over at Relm. For some reason, he felt almost "shy" to look at her right now. Could something possibly be... going on?  

[Trelweny]

"I bet." Relm said with a smile, the twinkle coming back to her eye. She could not quite see around the fox & cat yet...

At Ryder's comment the girl pulled/dropped her arms from where she had them loped through Elijah's & Kai's. Relm tottered a moment, her legs still bearing the signs of abused muscles but she bore it & tried not to let her wobbliness show. Sometimes... it really sucked being a weak mage with low constitution. Maybe she should take Zell up on that training he was always offering/suggesting. Work out some of those seldom used muscles so next time her legs would not feel like she had just run a marathon.

Next time. Relm thought like maybe Elijah was looking at her as she stepped towards a seat, being careful of the sheet music in particular. She did not dare look to see, afraid of what her eyes might give away. Her smile was in place and Relm shared it as she sank with a childish sort of ease & grace into her seat. "Thanks!" Then she giggled. "We have sort of a pick up after yourself rule at home. Things would be crazy otherwise." Understatement.

Starting to pull her feet up to curl them beneath her Relm thought better of it and simply drew her knees to her chest and held them there with her feet actually in front of the cushion so they would not get anything dirty.  

[Stormbreaker7]

Elijah leaned agaist the wall of the home. After just walking into a new place, he was having a hard time making himself at home right away. He let his eyes wander around as he examined the room he was in. Still, he only seemed half focused.

Koen returned with a tray of compeltely random drinks in one hand -he had no idea what to get for the newer guests- and a keyboard at his other side. Carefully, he placed the tray on a empty spot he had made on the tabe by clearing off some music. The keyboard he dropped on top of the cat. A smirk came onto the fox's face. "Come on, Ryder. You've been bragging. Why don't you show off a bit while I get warmed up." The fox chuckled and swished his tail as he left the room.

The cat hissed queitly and winced in pain. Having a eletronic keyboard on you wasn't exactly a nonpainful experience. He shoved himself upright and examined the instrument to check for damage. His ears folded back after he turned it on only to have it screech at him a bit. Someone had turned the volume up a bit high when he wasn't looking. A grumble escaped Ryder as he began to fix the instrument up. Without looking at Elijah or Relm, he asked,"You have any requests?" The cat still played around with the keyboard to get it the way he liked it.

Elijah walked over to take a seat by Relm. A small smile appeared on his face. "Unless Relm wants to hear something, I'm fine with whatever you wish to try to impress us with." He leaned back in the chair to get himself comfortable. It was like he was some sort of judge or something. Well, it was what he came here to do after all.  

[Trelweny]

She could not help it: Relm pressed her head into her legs and laughed against her knees at the fox's words & actions. Not to mention Ryder's reactions. Her green eyes were bright with the entertainment and she rocked lightly a little upon her seat as she watched the keyboardist get prepared with an un-faked interest. It was always interesting to see another artist at work. Even if he was a bit of a p***k.

Okay... probably a LOT of a p***k.

She could feel her chest beat where it pressed against her thighs as Elijah sat beside her and could not keep from smiling at him. It was quick, for she was turning her head with a wink to Kai before leaning her cheek on her knee while looking at Ryder. "Uh-uh. I think I'll return the favor and let you sweat picking one yourself." She was smiling and though there was more than a hint of teasing precociousness, it was also just fun. Besides... she was winking again.

Shrug. "Seriously though, I don't know what style you prefer -even after the concert tonight. Just something that you like. So your favorite, if you have one."  

[Stormbreaker7]

After finishing off tinkering with the keyboard, Ryder shut his eyes and thought for a moment. "I'm in the mood for jazz..." He said. He opened one eye to look over at Elijah and Relm, wondering if they could handle that "taste" of music. "Bebop jazz to be more precise.... It's better with more than one instrument, but it's a style of music made of some solos here and there..." He smirked and put his hands into position. He made up his mind. The cat began to wirl away on the keys, knowing where everyone of them was as if it were second nature. The notes were quick and bouncy. The mood slightly changed every once in a while, as if the music were telling a story. The story soon came to an end when Ryder decided it was enough. "There, happy?" He said and turned the keyboard off.

Elijah listened through it all. He felt disappointed, but not because Ryder was bad. No, it was the opposite. Ryder was brilliant at the piano. Elijah might of not of done a lot with jazz, but the cat's style was nie. Why did someone with such an attitude have to have talent. "Eh... pretty good.." He said, trying to smile.  

[Trelweny]

Green eyes lit up. Jazz. Relm pulled her knees tighter to her chest expectantly, light brown curls bobbing as she nodded her head to the choice. Perhaps an odd choice for a keyboard... she usually thought of saxophones for Jazz, even though she knew better. Many of the artists in Trelweny's collection that fit into the Jazz genre used other instruments and enough straight piano. Relm found it happy music, and considering the attitude Ryder had been showing was quite surprised and a little delighted that he could be in the mood for something she found so happy.

Her head bobbed more as the music started, bright green eyes closing so that she could simply enjoy the performance. Through small slits she could see the cat anthro's fingers move effortlessly upon the keys. It was all she could do not to reach for her brush, to paint the images in her mind of the story she was being told through the music. If one looked, he would see the fingers of her hand twitch & her arm flick lightly as she kept from reaching for her pocket were her brush resided. As the music finished she sighed... a sigh that though she did not know it mirrored her friend's disappointment. "Yes." The artist said with soft & sad happiness. Her voice had sort of a dreamy quality to it. "If only you were as beautiful as your art..."

The kid with a mouth was back... and for once Relm did not fully realize she had said it. Still as usual when she said something like that, it was nothing but the cold hard truth. She feared... that were she to 'paint' Ryder as he was, without his music, it would not be something she would care to see.  

[Stormbreaker7]

Ryder smirked at Relm's comment. He chuckled in amusement. The cat looked like he could be silently purring in amusement. "Ah... I was starting to wonder if you felt bitter about me. Honestly... no one is nice enough to let what I said pass without some signs of annoyance." His finger turned the keyboard off and he rested his hand on the instrument as he looked over at Relm. "Jazz is music all about emotion. Well, all music has emotion, but jazz tends to bring out the best of it in my opinion. It can show the true emotions of people, tell stories, show someone’s true color, you know? Hiding what something really is when it's beautiful should be a crime."

Ryder leaned back on the couch and tilted his head. "I don't think you know me well enough to say I'm not as beautiful, even if you are probably right." He snickered and brushed his bangs out of the way. Relm's comment hadn't bothered him at all. He took it all almost disturbingly well. It was almost if he was happy to hear an honest opinion about himself.

Ryder looked over at the door as it opened. A sigh of relief came from him. "Finally, Koen. I was wondering when I would get a break. What took you so long?" As if he were on fire, Ryder jumped off his seat with his keyboard safely at hand. He glanced back at Relm and Elijah before making his way out of the room.

Koen watched Ryder leave. "You only just finished, Ryder... and by bass string were broken anyway. It needed-" Koen stopped what he was going to say as Ryder shut the door behind him. The cat really was in a hurry to leave. "Honestly you over react, Ryder..." Koen mumbled as he shook his head at Ryder's childish actions. Attached by a strap on his back was a black bass. "Kai's not back... I guess you want to hear me play now...?"

Elijah watched Ryder walk off too, thinking over what he said about jazz music. It was true that music showed a lot of emotion, it was a very important part in music, but was jazz really that special? As a guitarist, Elijah couldn't really try out jazz music. The guitar wasn't made of jazz, so he couldn't help but envy Ryder for being able to try a bit of that genre of music. It made Elijah even considers picking up another instrument, just to try it out. Sure, he could always hear jazz if he wanted to, but playing it would be a whole other story.

Honestly, Elijah couldn't figure Ryder out. The first time they had slightly insulted him and the cat responded better than when they had been nice to them. Even so, Elijah couldn't help, but feel the cat was still taunting them, Relm in particular. It was driving him crazy too. He nodded in response to Koen. "Yeah, your turn. Go ahead and play what you want."  

[Trelweny]

hmm? Could he have actually put one over on her and maybe not be as bad as Relm suspected. Green eyes opened to watch the cat anthro as he spoke, the artist actually looking like she was paying full attention. Except for a jerking of her her dominant arm as the hand twitched for her brush. "Bitter?" She murmured softly with a chuckle of her own, her head very lightly shaking. A smile was lighting in her eyes. This felt too much like a dare. Was it he or his attitude that was the ugly thing. She itched to 'paint' him... really 'paint' Ryder to find out. If only Elijah already new of her skills that way! Damn! It was not something that worked as well on memory. Even with her photographic memories. It wasn't the same when she used that aspect of her magical gift.

Yet she was smiling, the artist's eyes alight at two things in particular the cat had said: 'hiding what something really is when it's beautiful should be a crime'... and that she was right. That he was not upset by her words... THAT just confounded her. Made her blink inside. Hell, if he wants me to insult him to be happy I can definitely oblige! Anything comes of this I've NO problem putting the high and mighty in his place with a battle of wits!

And somehow through all of that... Ryder managed to get out before the usually mouthy pictomancer got another word in edgewise. What the hell?

That puzzled her more than it should have. Not that Ryder hightailed it from the room, but that he did so before she had her tongue around any decent comeback. Dammit! Grr... Relm made a small face like the crinkling on her nose with a slight purse of her lips at that irritation before sighing and shrugging her shoulders. Maybe better that way. This was really Elijah's ballpark anyway. A small bit of her bottom lip slipped into her mouth to be caught lightly between her teeth. What use was she here, really? Even with the small training... the slight music knowledge Trelweny instilled upon her (which Relm would be hard to get to admit how avidly she was soaking that up these last 3 days) her opinion here was really... well not needed. That in itself was not a thought the self confident pictomancer liked at all. Her gaze flicked to Elijah, perceptive green eyes going over his face. An almost delicate motion that the little actress would have cringed to know how it might look to others. Barely a moment, wondering at his thoughts and if she had done the right thing setting up this 'date' to search out potential bandmates. Now was not the time to think on that, so with a small laugh she turned a warm smile to the fox anthro. "uh-huh. Whenever you're ready."  

[Stormbreaker7]

Elijah smiled a bit as the fox played something he was a bit more familliar with. He was able to recognize the song right away. 'Through the Fire and Flames' by Dragonforce. It was a great song to play for both guitar and the bass. Since he knew the song, it was eaiser to catch any mistakes the fox would make on such a hard piece to play. The dog was pleased to hear little. I think we found ourselves a bass player...

The notes on the song were quick and it took a lot of concentration for one to master the piece, Elijah knew this well. The song could give someone a headache if they tried to get it perfect on the first run through. The very fact the fox could play the song at all was impressive enough to Elijah. His eyes looked over at Relm as he wondered what she thought. He smiled and nodded his head. They would definitly need to see if this guy would be interested later.

Koen finally came to the end of the piece. "That song is tiring after a while... I like it though..." He said and sighed as he put the bass down. He gave his audience a smile. "I hope that satisfied you on my part. I don't get people to watch me very much besides Ryder and Kai."  

[Trelweny]

That was the problem with not being as 'up' on the music scene as the boys were... Relm simply could not know enough to notice mistakes. Not unless they were nearly blatantly obvious. Now if they were to do art then she would be a better judge on her own. Still she knew enough to tell that quick notes like that must be hard to manage, and Koen made them sound good.

As the fox finished Relm smiled. Grinned rather. "A rare treat then? That was fun." There was a bounce to her alto voice though not enough to make it an exclamation. A flick of her eyes caught Eljah's toward her & her forehead ruby glowed softly. So a thumbs-up for Koen, huh? A thought -something she had not really thought of yet. Or if she had it had not stayed long. What if Elijah wanted one or another in the band? These were friends... it would be hard to break them up. Or deal with them in Ryder's case?

And what of Kai? Ryder had commented that the red panda could not play, but he seemed the most enthusiastic. Hmm.... this band building was seeming to become harder than she first thought.

Especially as she felt the pull of evening, sitting still like this, and was resisting the lure to lean back beside her friend and cuddle into the warmth that was sure to greet her there.

Well... at least the thought woke her up a little bit more as she fought any show that it had been.  

[Stormbreaker7]

Speaking of Kai, he came into the room with a guitar at hand. He grinned happily until he saw the disapproving look that Koen was giving him. "What? Ah come on! I know I need more practice with this thing, but I like it better so far... And I'm really getting the hang of it." His ears folded back as Koen continued to give him the look.

"You were more impressive when you played the drums. You'll be a bad finishing act for these two. You know that's not the way we work here..." Keen mumbled. He shook his head and sighed. "I knew we should have made you go first since you're so determined to play those things..." The fox put his own instrument to the side and folded his arms as he stared at Kai expectantly. "Well, your choice I suppose. Don't whine to me if you don't clean up well after Ryder and I. Ryder was on his game tonight too..."

Elijah watched the two discuss things. He was too distracted by the fact that Koen was a potentially good option for their band to really consider how difficult it would be to split them up. Those issues would matter later, right? He grinned at the mention of the drums. "You didn't mention that before... I'd like to see drum playing." There wasn't any need for an extra guitar player at the moment anyway. Elijah hoped he had that covered enough.

"I've seen some pretty good drummers in my day. I wonder if you'll be one of them," He added to encourage the red panda. If he was any good as the drummer in his last band, he might have something to work with. Now that things seemed to be going somewhere, Elijah felt a bit jacked up, even if he was able to keep himself calm enough to sit still. So far, this 'secret' audition was going well.  

[Trelweny]

Relm arched a brow at the sight of the guitar. Was her memory deluding her, or had he not been complaining about the strings on his bass when she & Elijah had overheard & slipped into their conversation. the mouthy girl bit her tongue, letting the two friends argue the matter. What they said only lifted her brow further.

Pulling one hand away from where it was wrapped around her legs Relm held it up in universal 'wait' gesture. "Hold on... let me get this straight... bass, guitar, and drums? I was under the impression good instruments cost a pretty penny but on top of baffling me how you'd pay for all of them, how do you get good at any if you jump from one to another? Seems pretty fickle to me."

Damn it. She was getting hot. She should have taken off her jacket when she arrive. Now the pictomancer was thinking about how it might distract Kai from performing his best if she took it off now. She also did not want him to think at that moment she might be flirting with him. To many damn variables. Better to just deal with it. Last thing she wanted was to hear any complaints that she had distracted him.

At least being hot was keeping her away from the temptation of leaning back and possibly snuggling into Elijah. That would be even more warm. No matter how inviting that warmth might be.

Thankfully her mind caught that train of thought in time to clamp down on her blush before it started. Her cheeks only warmed a little, no color showing. Purposefully she flicked her ruby fae wings as delicately as she could in an attempt to cool off.

Dismissively Relm waved her hand, her smile just as friendly as it had been to show she meant no ill-will. Really... it could be tough keeping her smart-@$$ comments to herself. "You should play what you're best at, but I'm game to hear you play them all. Maybe you need someone to pick which you should stick to for you."

Not intended as flirting, Relm did intentionally leave that open for interpretation. Kai seemed to respond well when he thought she was interested. She knew how it worked, even if she knew little of herself being interested. And that only showing recently...

Relm stuffed such thoughts and feelings deep away. Again. Espers! Didn't she have more control than this?

"Go ahead. Play what you will. I'm ready." Big smile.  

[Stormbreaker7]

Elijah blinked and frowned. Relm brought up a nice point. Three? He could understand two, but three did seem sort of difficult. He forgot about the whole conversation before. "That is an awful lot..." He mumbled. The way the fox talked, Kai might be the weakest link of the trio. He crossed his arms and sat up a bit more in his seat. He was now starting to find it hard to keep still after sitting down in the seat he was in for a while. He glanced over at Relm for a moment out of the corner of his eye, just to see how she was doing. Watching people bicker wasn't exactly entertaining at the moment.

"Well.. Uh... I play that a little to. Koen is right, though. Drums tend to be my main thing. I don't have the hang of strings much... I just want to get much out playing instruments as I can," He explained. His ears folded back. "And.. yeah... expensive..." He stopped for a moment since he didn't seem to want to get into the money issue. Even he realized it seemed a bit fickle with all the instruments he took up. "Eh, I'll just show you the drums...You're probably right Relm" He said with a grin. The red panda went off to get his equipment and to put his other instrument away.

"Strange... He's always been so stubborn about his ever changing preference of music," Koen commented and smiled slightly. "Should have figured a pretty face could change that..." He mumbled and chuckled.  

[Trelweny]

No, watching people bicker was rarely entertaining. Well... unless she had intentionally caused said bickering. That was another matter entirely. In all... Relm was not surprised about the reaction to her mentioning monetary issues. From what she had gathered, there were lots of struggling musicians out there. Came with the territory of being an artist.

Her biggest problem was flooding the market, between her 'sisters' & her. So they tended to prefer single big ticket sales when they could.

Of course that did not include their personal pet projects.


Relm's grin fell into a warm laughter. "Of course I'm right." Light & teasing Relm hugged her knees closer and rocked a bit more, her eyes glittering playfully as she flashed a quick grin to Elijah before she did not dare keep it up. She was not a feminist -not by far the way they were today. Sure, she thought no one should be held back because of their gender or anything else ridiculous if they had the skills and abilities to do it, but at the same time she loved seeing just how a female could use her gender to her advantage. A large mint green ear cupped and turned trying to catch the rest of what Koen mumbled, suspecting he said what she thought he did though Relm couldn't be 100% sure. Still, it made her smile. With humility she shrugged her shoulders. "Sometimes it's just easier to hear something like that from a stranger than a friend." Wink. She could not admit to having heard him when she had not, but she could let the fox know she suspected the cause... and would not be upset where that the case. It was the way the world turned. Nothing wrong with that.  

[Stormbreaker7]

Elijah smiled at Relm's laughter, now reassured that Relm was enjoying herself despite the annoying little details that kept popping up. He couldn't help, but wonder how long they would all get along if these three did end up joining. He knew for one thing he wouldn't be able to handle Ryder's actions towards Relm for too long just to have a guy who could play the piano around.

After hearing Koen's comment he couldn't help, but raise an eyebrow. He didn't catch it all perfectly, but he could guess where the fox was going with his statement. Kai did seem to have an attraction for Relm. It probably would have bothered him more if he thought Kai had a chance. Wait, why would that bother me at all? Yes, yes if he kept denying it there wouldn't be a problem...

Koen, who hadn't thought much about what he said, looked back at Relm with a confused look. Did I say something out loud that I shouldn't of? He smiled at Relm and decided not to question her.

Kai set up his drum set which didn't take too long. He was pretty used to setting it up by now. Unlike the other two, he jumped right into playing. He wasn't half bad either.

(( I don't know too much about the drums so I'm having a hard time describing it. XD; ))