ArchivedLogs:Listen

Listen
Dramatis Personae Nick, Shane	2016-02-04 "{/We're/ here to listen to each other.}"
Location <XS> Boathouse
Perpetually filled with the quiet background noise of the lapping tide, the boathouse is a cozy escape from the mansion proper. The few boats docked here are small, but suffice for sails around the lake (or, in the case of the one swift powerboat, a speedy motor around it) -- posted signs by them remind users of the regulations required for their use. Tucked away in the back half of the boathouse are living quarters, small and spartan and snug, with a kitchen, bathroom, small sitting area, and a bedroom fit for two. There's music coming from the boathouse. Soft, mellow, quiet violin strains filling the room -- which is somewhat warmer and muggier than usual, in here. Likely this is owing to the presence of the many enormous fish tanks that are crowding all the walls, the fry in them still tiny as they flit around their vast enclosures. Aside from the myriad growing fish, the boathouse is currently only occupied by one much larger fish, blue and dressed in black corduroys, crimson v-neck sweater over a cream henley, violin tucked under his chin. X-jacket and violin case discarded on an overturned crate that once held fish food, his messenger bag propped against it. There's a soft clack of claws on the front steps, and a moment later Nick steps inside. Over his thick winter pelt, he wears only a camo jacket over a black shirt with the Green Lantern symbol on the chest and blue jeans. He carries an olive drab military surplus satchel across his back, and smells faintly of damp fur. His nose twitches and his ears swivel as he enters, and he offers Shane a sharp tick of a nod as he heads for the kitchenette to poke around the coffee shelf. The music continues, even as Shane swivels sharply towards the door. His gills flare out, eyes narrowing, though his posture relaxes momentarily once Nick enters. There's a small twitch of his nose, too, dark eyes following Nick's path towards the kitchen. The music stops sometime after Nick has started poking around at the coffee, Shane lowering his instrument to his side. "They run out up at the big house?" "Hm?" Nick cocks his head, freezing in the act of lifting a coffee can. "Nah. Just prefer to grab a cup here, if I'm out anyway. Also, thought I'd check on the fish." He fits a filter to the basket of the coffee machine and pries the lid easily from the can with the talon of his index finger. "You want some? Coffee I mean." "{Lyric helped me start a couple new tanks. Bluegill and yellow perch -- woah. Kind of starting a rainbow up in here.}" Shane's Vietnamese is lazily amused as his bow swishes through the air, pointing out the new arrivals. "{Hopefully add some catfish later on.}" He drops the bow back to his side. "{I'm not sure if fish like music but I figured it couldn't hurt.} Coffee'd be great. How was your walk?" Nick's ears press down, and his black lips curl back in a wide, wolfish grin. "{Got any rainbow trout up in here?}" He dumps a couple of generous scoops of coffee into the basket and fills the reservoir, switching the machine on. He wanders back into the main room, peering into the fish tanks. "{It was nice. Quiet.} I think if I had to sit through one more class today my head was gonna explode." He stops and looks back at Shane. "{I like your music. What were you playing?}" "{Thankfully, no, we've avoided having them introduced around here much, in some places further upstate the fucking bullshit Fish and Wildlife service introducing them has really fucked up the native --}" Shane cuts himself off with a dip of his head, a quick quirk of his mouth. "{... right, no, sorry, that /would/ finish the colour scheme really quick though.}" He moves over to the crate, pushes his jacket aside so that he can tuck his violin back into its case. His fingers flex afterward with a small wince, the thin webbing between them flapping oddly loose. "{Oh. Uh. I dunno. Doesn't have a name yet. Still working on it.} Are classes /shitty/ or just -- normal-shitty? Wait, you don't mean /really/ explode, do you?" He's eying Nick with a certain concern. Nick's grin quirks up higher on one side. "{Sorry, I know it's important stuff. Can I help?}" Amber eyes open wide. "{Wow, you wrote that?} Sweet. Mine are kinda crap." His eyes snap down to Shane's hands at the wince. "{That's been hurt forever. What's stopping it healing up?}" He walks to the next tank, stoops and presses his wet black nose to it. The slightly heavier breath he exhales fogs up the outside of the glass. "Just normal shitty, I guess. Just need to suck it up and...actually do homework." "{With break coming up Lyric's going to be off-campus though the weekend, you want to come down and feed them regular that'd be great.} What do you write? Can I hear?" Shane snaps his case closed, curling his fingers into fists after. "{Oh. Uh. It does heal. Like. Every day. I just keep opening them back... up.} Anyway, homework's overrated. You should take my Pa's classes, he's morally opposed to it." "{Yeah, sure, can do.}" Nick bobs his head, straightening up. "Been writing a song. Well. Kinda just a collection of chords right now. I'll play it for you sometime. {Would sing it but haven't got the lyrics worked out right, and it sounds even dumber if I hum it.}" He turns around and studies Shane's hands, furry eyebrows furrowed. "{Why do you do that?} He cocks his head slightly. "Taking sex ed with him this term, but I get plenty of homework from the classes he /doesn't/ teach." Shane's cheeks darken, a small flutter to his gills. "{School. Two years of keyboard is mandatory.}" His shrug is quick, nonchalant. "What sort of a song? Do you play anything? That's neat. /Obviously/ the solution is you just need to take --" His brows wrinkle together. "Only sex ed. And cooking! What else do you need to know in life, honestly." Nick's ears flatten back and his teeth clench, his growl low, brief and only just barely audible. "{So you find a way to play or else, huh?}" He takes a few steps closer and perches himself on the edge of a chair. "It's...about how people don't listen to each other. {I started learning guitar in the fall. Not too great at it but it's enough to hear what I write, you know.}" His tail wags, quick and low. "Wanted to take baking, but only had so much room on my schedule. Next term, maybe." "{Last thing I need is to give them a reason --}" Shane's jaw clenches, but relaxes again shortly. The side of his mouth twitches up, teeth baring in half a crooked smile at the description of the song. "Bet if you come by our place more often you'll learn just hanging around him. -- That song aimed at anything in particular?" "{They hardly need a reason, I bet.}" Nick says this quietly. His ears slowly perk back up at the suggestion. "{I mean...that'd be nice. If it isn't a bother.}" He cocks his head and considers for a moment. "{It's aimed at...a lot of things. About how adults don't listen to kids. How /nobody/ listens to freaks.}" His tongue darts out to wet his nose. "{But also just...how people take communication for granted and end up not really communicating at all.}" "{Isn't that the truth.}" Shane stands up, pulling on his jacket. "{It's not any kind of bother, dude, you've seen our place. Pa's always cooking for an army anyway. And it's not like we're short on space.}" He sling his bag back over his shoulder, picking up his violin case. "{OK, mostly the truth. /We're/ here to listen to each other.}"