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Eloquent Conversationalist
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 Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 9:00 pm
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Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 9:26 pm
"The power of the all mighty shuffle button."
~Naomi~  
Granted, every artists she liked usually all sang the same song, just in their own way. Like that “Last year, I gave you my heart, but the very next day, you gave it away...” God, how many times had she heard THAT one!? At least Hilary Duff had made up some new ones, but even those were getting well, old.
Sighing softly and finally just going back to her normal music, the fox girl started browsing on her lap top in hopes of finding some newer songs.
Giving up after about an hour, Naomi glanced at the time and decided she had had enough for tonight. She had a couple of new songs to listen to, at least. One of which was a very intense instrumental one that could also be listened to all year round; a nice bonus. “Maybe Petra could come up with something new and sing it, then Vic and I can play the instruments...I wouldn't mind playing the drums, haven’t touched those in a while. I hope I’m not too rusty...” Naomi said out loud to her stuffed toy fox, which was laying peacefully on her bed and starring at her with empty black eyes. Maybe one day Naomi would try a simple spell to bring her plushy to life. Why not? As a child, she always wished for him to just wake up and play with her. Talk to her, just be there for her, you know? And now, she could actually make that happen...
Still, she couldn't help but be worried that he might get lonely, being in her room all alone when she would be gone to class, plus they weren't really allowed to have pets...But he was a toy...
Oh well, maybe one day, but for now, she had some homework to get too and a certain Christmas song to put on repeat for god knows how long~
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Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 10:22 pm
"Only a Hippopotamus Will Do"
Danni Rinaldi The holidays were a time for family. Such a simple idea had been pounded into her head since before she could remember. Holidays were for family, no matter how much your family hated you. In years past, it had always been about formal dinners and listening to the conversation going on around her. It had been sitting on the floor in front of the fire, listening to the quiet rustle of paper as her father had read the paper in his chair. It had been –before she’d sobered up- putting a bit too much liquor in the eggnog. It had been the one time each year when she’d been allowed to touch the piano.
Her eyes shut, her face relatively peaceful, Danni sat on the gleaming back bench at the piano, her fingers moving quickly, competently over the keys. The notes rang out through the open, airy house, echoing in the air and filling the empty rooms. She’d often wondered what one man needed with so many rooms.
After all, this Christmas was different from others. She was still with family, as was tradition. But rather than spending it with her parents, her siblings…She was spending it with her fiancée. Merely thinking about it had her fingers fumbling a bit, hitting a sour note before she took a breath, deliberately relaxed herself and let her fingers move as they pleased over the keys. On one of those fingers, on her right index finger, was a thin silver band dominated by a shining blue sapphire. Only in her darkest hours did she acknowledge it as an engagement ring. Most of the time the ring was kept buried securely in the back of her sock drawer, deep in exile. She wore it now only because the man she was to call her husband insisted upon it.
Suddenly and abruptly conscious of it, the song she’d been playing cut off, her hands moving to fold in her lap as she stared with some bewilderment out the window. If she looked hard enough, she could just spot the top of the Eiffel Tower in the distance. It was too far away to hear the Christmas carols that would be playing on the streets, coming out of shop windows and being sung by enthusiastic carolers. But she knew it would be there. There was always music at Christmas, no matter was continent you were on.
Christmas in Paris…She felt no joy at the thought, nor any discontent. There really was nothing to feel at the moment. She was here, in the home of a man she hadn’t known for more than a handful of weeks. A man she was to wed following her graduation. He was, technically, family, beyond being her fiancé. A distant cousin on her mother’s side, according to her reports. She supposed the marriage would be a fine way to strengthen the family. It was a good business decision. Thinking of it like a simple business transaction helped keep her from going insane.
“You’ve stopped playing, chérie.” His voice, smooth as fresh cream and very, very French, had her turning her head quickly, staring at the doorway. He was always sneaking about, startling her. She was beginning to think he enjoyed it. He stood in his bare feet leaning casually against the doorjamb, a glass of wine in his hand, his dress shirt unbuttoned halfway down his chest and his hair left down to brush his shoulders. Henri always preferred to relax when he was at home. And, as he always did, he watched her, his eyes steady and warm. She never knew what to do when he looked at her like that.
“So I did. Was there something you wanted me to play?" His lips twitched a bit at her formal tone, but he walked across the room, perched on the stool beside the piano. Rather than fidget as she would have liked to, she kept her eyes locked defiantly on his, waiting for his reply.
“It’s been quite a while since I’ve heard you sing. Do you know any Christmas carols?” He didn’t miss the long-suffering look that flashed over her face, nor the small, resigned sigh, though she hid both behind an indifferent mask quick enough. He could all but see her mind working as she decided whether or not to go along with his request, saw by the slight shrug in her shoulders that she’d decided it would be easier to cooperate.
Much as Henri suspected, Danni took a moment to resign herself to singing for a bit. It wasn’t as though she didn’t enjoy it. Singing had long been a secret joy, the piano as well. Undoubtedly, had she voiced such things, her mother would have seen to it that she never touched a piano key again, so she most often kept silent. If there was one good thing about Henri, though, it was that he didn’t go running and tattling to her mother. She supposed he deserved a song or two for that.
In her head she ran through all the songs she’d learned as a child. There were dozens, the notes engrained in her memory, her hands itching to play, to remember. Finally she settled on a tune, one of the first she’d learned. Just another little secret joy.
Her fingers brushed over the keys, finding the correct notes, lying still on top of them for a moment. She took a breath, centered herself. And then, making herself forget Henri was perched on the stool beside her, she closed her eyes, and began to play.
Henri could only blink in blank puzzlement as Danni played the first bars of the song, her fingers moving comfortably over the keys. He’d been expecting ‘Silent Night’ or ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,’ perhaps even ‘Santa Baby.’ But this…He didn’t even know-
“I want a hippopotamus for Christmas,
Only a hippopotamus will do.
Don’t want a doll,
No dinky tinker toy,
I want a hippopotamus to play with and enjoy~”
For a long, long moment, Henri simply stared, his eyes blinking rather rapidly as he listened to the ridiculous lyrics and tried to imagine the straight-faced Isadora singing them with apparent enthusiasm. There was just a hint of a smile on her face, but her eyes were closed again instead of looking at him. And, as she broke into the next ridiculous verse, he wondered what exactly she was thinking of as she sang about hippos…And then he wondered, just for a moment, if she was hinting at something. If so, she was going to be rather disappointed.
Trusting muscle memory as her fingers moved over the keys, Danni went back in time a bit. Rather than eighteen, she was four years old again, perched on her father’s lap in the den. Her mother was off shopping with Lia, otherwise there never would have been such foolishness allowed to occur. Patient, so patient, he’d put his hands over hers on the shining keys of the grand piano, slowly picking out the notes. She’d heard the song on a child’s Christmas video, had fallen in love with it. And so he’d taught her. That kind, patient man that was her father had taken the time to teach her a song about a hippopotamus.
There had been a time when music had been a bonding activity. A quiet joy she had shared with her father when there had been no one else to see, to hear. How many times, she wondered vaguely as her voice rang out, clear and strong as it sang the childish lyrics. How many times had he pulled her up onto his lap to pick out notes on the piano? How many times had he bounced her on his knee and sang ridiculous songs of hippos and flying reindeer and missing front teeth? Many times. Too many to count. But it had been a long time. A long, long time since she’d felt his hands over hers, since he’d shared that love of music with her. Because it had been so long, she decided that the memories of it would be her Christmas gift to herself.
Turning her attention back to the music, her fingers grew livelier on the keys, her lips curving into a full smile. She’d always been fond of this song.
“I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
No crocodiles or rhinoceroseses
I only like hippopotamuseses
And hippopotamuses like me too!”
On the last verse, the last note, she let her voice and the music ring out, her eyes opening to lock on Henri’s once more. His eyes laughed into hers, bright with appreciation. Rather than grow awkward at his steady gaze, her smile turned into a brief smirk as she pushed away from the piano, got to her feet.
“That’s enough for now, yes? I’m hungry.” Without ceremony she strode with some purpose out of the room, her mind already locked on the possibility of digging up a can of Hawaiian Punch without Henri’s snobby butler noticing. It was always a small victory. She couldn’t know that behind her, Henri stayed perched on the stool, wondering, contemplating, and debating whether or not to mention that his butler had found her junk food stash.
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Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 11:33 pm
"Solo"
[Petra] 
Rubbing his temples, Gerwald moved from the piano. “Passable, but still not perfect. All of you need to practice your parts a few more times, but remember the night before drink a lot of tea and rest your voice. No straining them. If any one of you shows up on performance day hoarse or without a voice at all, I will not be pleased," he said, pacing. Petra stiffened. Poor Gerry was wound up all tight from the stress.
The class was dismissed and the students filed out slowly, complaining about the extra work or yawning. Only Petra lingered, remembering her promise to Gerwald.
“Um, Gerry, do you want to practice the solo now? You look a bit tired,” she asked, wanting to rest her hand on Gerwald’s shoulder. He was leaning on the piano, eyes shut tight. The students were not the only ones who had been losing sleep lately. The teachers were overworked as well. They just tried harder not to show it.
“Yes, we should probably at least give it one quick run through.” He ran a hand through his hair, sighing heavily. Petra stood at the ready, leaving her things at her feet on the floor. Taking his place back behind the piano, Gerwald rearranged the sheet music in front of him. Finding the song he and Petra had chosen together, he looked to the vampire to be sure she was ready. “Do you have your music with you?”
She looked at him with a slightly panicked expression. “I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten to bring it. I know the song though so…”
“Come, stand by me while you sing so you can look at my music. I’ll hear you better over here anyway.”
Petra shuffled quickly around to the other side of the piano. They shared a quick look, that of singer and accompaniment, and Gerwald’s fingers started to press on the ivory keys. The sweet sounds of the well-tuned instrument filled the room, giving Petra a moment to breathe as he worked his way through the introduction. She closed her eyes, counting the beats until she was meant to jump in with the vocals.
She worked through to the chorus without trouble, voice raising with confidence as she sang. Each high note was hit flawlessly. ”Believe in what your heart is saying, hear the melody that's playing. There's no time to waste, there’s so much to celebrate.” Petra closed her eyes, feeling her way through the song. It wasn’t just about believing in Christmas or Santa, to her it was about the hope of each new year, each new day that came. With a smile fully grown on her face, she got through the rest of the song, lifting her voice happily as she came around to the chorus again. “Believe in what you feel inside, give your dreams the wings to fly! You have everything you need, if you just believe.” Sighing with relief as she finished the song, Petra turned back to Gerwald.
“You’ve been practicing,” he stated, clearly impressed. She nodded with much enthusiasm. “Well, good. Work a bit more on making those long high notes a little crisper. I know you can make them sound effortless with just a little more work.” Petra nodded, making a mental reminder to practice more with Vik later that night. She started to collect her stuff from the floor, tossing a scarf around her neck and her bag over her shoulder. As Petra turned to go, Gerwald stopped her for a moment longer.
“Before you go,” he said, “just remember to breathe. You’re going to be magnificent, Petra.”
She beamed back at him and nodded. “Thanks, Gerry. I’ll see you tomorrow!”
Scurrying out of the room she ran into Viktor, who had met her just outside as promised. They took hands while walking together, something that had become almost routine for the two of them. It was just more comforting this way, knowing he was right there next to her at all times. Even if their grip loosened or the connection was just between a finger or two, it was nice to keep that gentle touch.
“I heard song from hallway. Sounded very lovely,” he said, giving her hand a tiny squeeze.
“Thank you,” Petra said, squeezing his back. “Mind if we practice a little more tonight though?”
“Not at all!” Vik brought himself a little closer so they gently bumped shoulders as they walked together.“Always I have time for you.”Her grin only grew as she leaned into his shoulder as well. It made it easier to believe in the future when she had her friends. When she had Gerwald to support her and Vik to walk beside her. With Naomi as her one woman cheering squad and her other friends behind her as well. She sang quietly once more as they neared the Byzantium dorms. “ If you just believe…”
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Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 11:42 pm
"Who says Caroling can't be fun?"
Arik "Better not pout
Better not cry
Better not struggle
I'm goin' in dry..."
"Santa Claus is coming to town!!!"
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Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 1:25 am
"Christmas with the Sabels"
Cajus Dag Fritz A lonely satyr boy of about the age of twelve sat in a room surrounded by humans unknown to him. They were relatives of the Sabels come to visit in a huge mass. He still hadn't grown to fully trust the Sabels yet, only capable of speaking English for a couple of months now. The only person he even let near him at all was Mrs. Sabel and Lucy Sabel when she wasn't being loud or overly attentive to him.
This was the first time he'd ever seen so many humans in one place, and especially in the home he was taking up residence. It frightened him, to say the least, and he sat in the corner of the room avoiding their looks and stares. It was strange, not something he would question, but there was a large fir tree in the corner of the room as well. It was topped from head to toe in glimmering string and brightly colored orbs. This became his little secret hideout for the past week or so it'd been up, since he could trust a tree way better than he could ever trust a human.
Perched back behind the large tree on his haunches, he hid away from the Sabel get together. On the tree he found pieces of curved, striped candy that he picked at and ate while sitting in his boredom. "Candies don't grow on fir trees, that's pine cones. Why put a treat like that on a tree?" He questioned silently to himself, making sure to use his English he'd been working so very hard on the last several months. In the distance he heard muttering among loud conversation. Murmuring meant secrets or that you were talking about someone behind their back. Or at least, that's how they did it in the movies he'd watched on the picture box.
"Why do you insist on keeping that....that thing around Olivia! It's nothing but pure evil, just look at it! How could you keep it in the house during Christmas even?" He couldn't see them, but he could tell it was an older male. Cajus could feel the heat rising to his face and his tail whipped behind him, thumping on the floor each time it hit. Used to hearing things like that made him cry, but he was too toughened to it now. Now it just made him angry.
"That thing has a name Uncle Gregor. This is my home and I'm free to have whatever stay here whenever I want. Cajus is a part of my home now, and I'm not going to let you call him evil." Mrs. Sabel was having none of the man's rude behavior, but Cajus still remained bothered regardless. Why did people constantly call him evil? He'd never done anything to anybody except be ripped from his home and thrust into a new and unfamiliar world. He should honestly be calling everyone else evil, they did this to him.
Cajus stopped listening now and contented himself with another candy stick. The large swarm of humans left the room he was in to go eat by the smell of it. He smelled a poor animal being roasted all day, and it had all but turned his stomach at the thought of it. As he sat there Mrs. Sabel came behind the tree with a plate to offer to Cajus.
"Merry Christmas Cajus, are you hungry?" He wasn't about to deny food, not from Mrs. Sabel, never in his wildest dreams. Carefully he took the plate from her to find on it an assortment of things he liked. There was corn, beans, potatoes, yams, and a warm fluffy roll. The other thing he took from her was a saucer with cookies and a glass of milk. "Thank you Mrs. Sabel. Merry Crystalmouse." Christmas was a word Mrs. Sabel had forgotten to teach Cajus, but she smiled at his gesture anyway.
He was left alone to eat for a bit, listening to all the humans tell tall tales and jokes that lacked much thought behind them. They sounded so happy at this get together for the Crystalmouse, how come he and his family never celebrated it? "Note to self, when you find home again, tell Mom and Dad about the Crystalmouse celebrations. I know Dad will use any excuse he can to play his pipes and drink." He laughed at the thought of his family, though it caused his chest to ache.
The humans moved back into the room he was in, all settling in a chair of some kind set up throughout the room. Their bellies must have been full and tuckered them out, thank Pan. While the room was only full of tired conversation, Mrs. Sabel tutted over to the tree again to see Cajus, a little Lucy Sabel at her side.
"Cajus, remember those Christmas carols we practiced together the past two weeks? Why don't you show everyone just how good you've gotten?" Mrs. Sabel preened sweetly to him, Lucy smiling at him brightly. "Caj sing Caj sing!" She was loud enough for the entire room to hear, and Cajus could hear some grumbles and questioning words at the suggestion.
He sat there quietly looking down, not sure if he should or not. "It'd really make Lucy happy if you did Cajus, and I can't deny it wouldn't make me happy either. Don't let these people ruin the first Sabel Christmas with the Fritz family, okay?" To deny Mrs. Sabel at this point would be futile, so Cajus then moved to get up and walk out from behind the tree.
As he did so, all the talking stopped. All eyes were on him, judging him, being amazed at how strangely he looked. His ears tucked down and he stopped in his tracks. He stared at them with wide eyes, getting instant stage fright. Without noticing it, little Lucy had slipped her tiny hand into his, causing him to jump. He didn't pull away, but it wasn't something he expected.
"I'll sing with Caj, okay?" Cajus nodded weakly, and stepped forward towards the center of the room, hooves oddly silent because of the carpeted floor. Mrs. Sabel pressed play on a stereo and Cajus heard the familiar music to "First Noel." Together, he and Lucy stood in front of their audience and began to sing.
"The first noel the angels did say
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;
In fields where they lay keeping their sheep
On a cold winter's night that was so deep."
He sang alone for the introduction part, Lucy coming in to help with the chorus, which was all she knew.
"Noel, Noel
Noel, Noel
Born is the king of Israel."
As Cajus began to sing the next part, which was a full choral ensemble, he was disrupted by the entire room joining in to sing the choir.
"The shepards looked up and saw a bright star
Shining in the east, beyond them far,
And to the earth it gave, it gave a great light,
And so it continued, through day and through night." He went on to finish the rest of the song, the people of the room helping him along throughout the song. As Cajus looked around the room into the eyes of all of the people, their eyes grew soft with kindness. It must be the magic of the Crystalmouse. In the corner standing near the door to the kitchen, Mrs. Sabel had tears streaming down her face.
Once the song was finished, the whole crowd erupted in applause, amazed by the talented young boy. It never occurred to their minds that such a creature could be capable of such talent. Beside him, little Lucy was giggling and latched onto his waist in a hug, but this time he didn't lurch away from her like in the past.
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Later that evening after everyone had left back to their homes for the night, Cajus sat with the Sabels in their living room. Everyone was winding down for the evening, and were making it a group effort to set up pallets on the floor. In the past it had always been one, but this year it would be two.
"Thanks for staying down here with Lucy to wait on Santa with her. It means a lot." Cajus nodded in response as he situated his pallet with several warm blankets and a nice big fluffy pillow.
"It's no problem, I want to stay up anyway and meet this Mr. Claws. I want to thank him for bringing presents to everybody allllll around the world in one night. That's a lot of work for one guy, and he does it when everyone is asleep so no one can even thank him properly!" Cajus was very determined about this, and it made both Mr. and Mrs. Sabel smile. Both him and Lucy were given lots of cookies and warm milk before going to bed, they'd be out like a light in no time.
Lucy had tucked away into her pallet, and the Sabels were saying their good nights and heading up off to bed. As Mrs. Sabel turned off the light, Cajus was near to her and leaned in to wrap his arms around her in a hug.
"Thank you Mrs. Sabel, you made my first Crystalmouse a really good one." Mrs. Sabel smiled and hugged the boy back, pretending not to notice the bit of moisture in his eyes.
"You aren't the only one Cajus, for the first time in eight years everyone didn't leave this place hating each other. I think you helped with that."
Cajus then moved away back to his bedding and sat down next to Lucy.
"Good night Mama, I love you!"
There was a spot of silence, before it was broken by the weak voice of the satyr. "Good night, I love you Ma- Mrs. Sabel."
"Good night, and I love you both." Mrs. Sabel moved quickly away from the door and up to her bedroom, a tear streaming down her cheek.
Cajus and Lucy each laid on their pallets, Lucy explaining to Cajus how Christmas worked. He was just glad for the company, and for the first night in a long time he didn't fall asleep homesick.
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Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 7:14 pm
"The Language of Seduction"
Asmodeous Luxuria At this very moment, a certain prince of lust was amusing himself by showing off his knowledge of the technology located in his office. Sure, it was minimal, but it was more than he had known at the start of the school year. Genocide had pretty much gotten sick of him moping around the office once he'd gotten bored reading everyone's files. He had some juicy dirt on many of the students and faculty here, but as of yet they hadn't given him a reason to use it yet. Perhaps he should make one?
Nonetheless, back to playing with this fingfangled contraption that absorbed the attention of millions of humans the world over. So far he'd yet to even breach the massive portal of the world wide web, and was content with tinkering with the little odds and ends on the desktop. Genocide had no interest in hovering over the Prince's shoulders, but fortunately Antony had no qualms assisting him with clicking and investigating new applications.
Eventually he came across an icon with a musical note on it, and it instantly perked his interest. Once the application was opened he saw there were some pictures of musicians and instruments and other things he didn't understand.
"Antony, what is this?" He demanded expectantly, eagerly searching out knowledge to pass the time away.
Antony adjusted the glasses perched on his nose and peered closely at the monitor. "It would appear to be a program for playing music, sire. You can take discs with music on them and put them into the tower to upload them on this program and play them at your leisure." The plucky little demon replied with an all knowing grin on his face.
Asmodeous pursed his lips to ponder. "I had someone buy CDs for me once, didn't I? Someone told me there were players for those all over the place, but I noticed there wasn't one here and never bothered with it."
Antony straightened up his back from being hunched over Asmodeous's shoulder and pattered over to a drawer full of several odds and ends that one could find in the vicinity of Asmodeous's place of residence. One never knew when the Demon Lord would request a certain item, and no one wanted to be that one to tell him it was no where to be found.
"Here your highness, we have these CDs.""Let's try out one for now. Bring it over here and show me how to put it in this tower thing." Antony grabbed the first CD on top of the pile and showed the demon how to go about putting it into the disc drive, then uploading it onto the computer program.
When they finally opened it to look and see what the CD was, both instinctively lurched back with a disgusted expression.
"Christmas music? What in the seven hells is THIS doing in my things?" He asked with a slight growl, almost embarrassed to have this in his presence.
"I think you only gave the specific orders of finding something in Italian, and whoever picked them up must have not paid attention to the type of music. Shall I delete it?" Antony asked him questioningly, almost about to click on the button to remove the songs of their antithesis.
"Hmmm, nah, we can worry about that another time. I want more music on here." Antony wasn't about to tell him it would only take a second to remove it. You do something the first time Asmodeous says it, and you don't give him the opportunity to say it again unless you wanted to regret it almost immediately.
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By the time Antony left his side that day to go take a nap they had uploaded about fifteen CDs all together. He'd enjoyed listening to majority of them, though he still passed over the Christmas CD every time he passed it, that is until the room was empty except for himself. Asmodeous didn't anyone else hearing him listening to Christmas carols, even if they were in another language. He was a demon, and all things Christmas were supposed to be detested by him. Music was just a different case entirely, if it was good music it was good music, it could be about pink ponies for all he cared.
Now learning how to click on things by himself, he pressed the play button for the first song to come up on the album. He made sure the volume was turned down low where no one could hear it unless they were in the room with him.
Reclining back in his chair, he closed his eyes and listened in sweet serenity to the beautiful voice of a male lead singing along with a boy choir, Italy being known for its famous boy choirs. He paid no mind to the message behind the words, and appreciate the lyrical art for what it was.
After the CD finished, he remained reclining there in his computer chair drifting in and out of a state of pure bliss. While he sat there, he found himself singing a few verses from a particular song "Astro del Ciel" or as an American would call it, "Silent Night."
"Astro del ciel, Pargol divin, mite Agnello Redentor!
Tu che i Vati da lungi sognar, tu che angeliche voci nunziar,
luce dona alle genti, pace infondi nei cuor!
luce dona alle genti, pace infondi nei cuor!"
Not remembering the entire song he just repeated that verse over and over again to himself, a grin plastered to his face. Exhaling a long sigh, his eyes fluttered open with that dreamy look on his face. That is, until he locked eyes with a young student standing just across his desk.
Immediately he erected himself and leaned forward in his chair, losing his cool a bit in the way he reacted to the surprise. Asmodeous noticed that she took a step back as he moved forward, but made no move to mention anything of it.
"How long have you been standing there? You do know it's impolite to enter a room without knocking first," He voiced in a grumble, but allowed himself to ease back down in his chair as he calmed himself from the surprise. Apparently she noticed this change in his demeanor as well because she appeared to be less tense now.
"N-not very long at all. I noticed your door was opened. That's all." She sputtered over her words, but eventually her voice evened out. Petra was still fairly incapable of meeting his entrancing gaze though.
"Is there something you needed by any chance?" His voice was impatient now, having his first experience using the computer end in just a totally embarrassing fashion. Just wonderful.
"No. To be honest sir, I came in because I heard singing. You have a very nice voice Mr. Luxuria." She seemed uncertain whether she should have said what she had.
Being himself as usual, Asmodeous naturally appreciated any compliment that was thrown his way. "Well, thank you my dear. It's nice to have someone compliment my singing voice from time to time," he replied to her smugly with a crooked smirk.
"That language...was that Italian you were singing in? We've sung a song or two in Italian in choir, it's a beautiful language." Her voice was soft and innocent, fluttering into his ears gently and helping to keep the serene wave that had washed over his body.
Now he leaned forward in his chair, his eyes half closed as he looked across the desk at her. "Good to know people still have an appreciation for the magnificent language."
Silence settled between them, but Asmodeous never broke his gaze at her, wondering just what would be her move from there. Suddenly, her voice bubbled forth through the quiet and surprised him.
"Would it be okay if I sang a bit with you? It might take the things that are bothering me off my mind...." Her voice became softer and softer with each syllable, and Asmodeous leaned in even closer to catch the end of her question. Smiling his devilishly charming smile, he reclined back in his chair and rolled it over to the side so she could come stand next to him.
"It would be my pleasure dear." He still didn't actually know her name, but what's in a name when you can duet? Pulling out the original CD case inside there was a sleeve with lyrics to the songs. "The song is titled "Astro del Ciel." I'm going to click play now, okay?" She nodded in response and he did exactly as he said he would.
He smiled all the while as he listened to her struggle with the pronunciations, to which he would then turn to her and gaze into her eyes as he over exaggerated his lip movements to guide her. Asmodeous couldn't help but see the heat rush to her face as she turned the same color as her hair. What was even better though, was that while she so focused on singing the words correctly, she didn't pay that much mind to him when he scooted in closer and pressed his leg up against hers. Perhaps that would make all this embarrassment into a success?
He'd have to remember to not let Antony delete this Christmas CD later either.
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Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 8:03 pm
"Earworm"
Ialo Enlil “Really? Now you’re just being mean,” Ialo murmured to his computer. It started the day after Thanksgiving – the Christmas music and other wintery carols began sneaking into his internet radio stations. First it was a piano rendition Carol of the Bells that almost slipped by unnoticed on a classical binge. Then, no matter where he went in the school building, he could hear other students humming carols. He couldn’t figure out who was the worst offender - all his friends seemed equally guilty of celebrating this obnoxious holiday. Now, less than two weeks away, the constant Christmas music was just unbearable and inescapable. Defeated, Ialo closed his laptop and fell back onto his bed. Silence was better than listening to Jingle Bells one more time. He felt like he just might go insane, and there was still some time to go… “Auuugh….” The white-haired boy reached for a pillow and smothered it over this face. Maybe it would somehow physically remove the earworms from his head if he tried enough, or at least suffocate him with its soft pillowy goodness. When nothing happened after about thirty seconds, Ialo rolled over in disappointment, his blanket tangling up between his bare legs and his hair became severely ruffled from tactile abuse. What he wouldn’t give to just sleep through the next few weeks! Someone could wake him up at New Years. “I don’t liiiiike Christmas musiiiiiic,” he whined. And why not? They’re such happy songs, and they only come around once a year.But they’re so annoying, they keep playing the same songs over and over, and some of them aren’t even that good!Well, are there any other songs?Ialo rolled around again, thinking, eventually cocooning himself in his blanket, sheets, and stray wires. There was a clatter of his laptop sliding off the edge of his bed. Certainly not the first time it happened, and it wouldn’t be the last time he dropped it either. Churchy songs, I guess.Those are lovely songs. The pipe organ is a majestic instrument.Of musical torture. Mushy-gushy songs, all of them.Alright, fine. Winter songs then. Songs about snow and snow, and more snow.Acceptable. Barely.I hate talking to you like this.I hate talking to myself like this too, self.Through the walls, he could Toshi attempting to yowl along to Silent Night. With a strangled noise somewhere between a muffled scream of rage and a despairing wail, Ialo slowly slid off his bed, his pale feet sticking up in the air as a blue tail flicked around anxiously. He had no choice to mumble along, the song now stuck in his head for the next several hours. “I hate you; I hate you so much…”The correct lyrics are in fact, as follows….
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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