inbox

[cwene]

You have reached Her Most Royal Majesty Nima, by the Grace of the gods, of Eros and the Sea of Samorrah and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Defender of the Faith.

It is common knowledge that the queen enjoys casual correspondence by mail and will answer most letters of substance that come across her desk.

Specify your means of contact in your header!

Comments

Note and package;

[mannersmaketh]

A few days after he receives her handmade note, (he had to find someone that knew where her room was), Eggsy leaves a note of his own and a package by her door.

Regina,
The pleasure was all mine. We'll have to do it again soon.
-Eggsy

Inside a small, red box is a single paper rose. If she pieces it together she'll see that it is a page from a book.

Letter

[angelicreation]

[An envelope sealed with pink wax, the seal from Juri's ring pressed into it, is delivered to Regina's room. Her name is written in a flowing script on the front. Inside she'll find a piece of white cardstock with a short message written upon it in the same hand.

Shh... Can't let everyone know that I might actually be kind. Thank you, Regina.

-Juri

And included inside was a charm bracelet.]

Email 7/1

[angelicreation]

Regina,

Do you have time to meet me and speak in private about what you showed me on the airship? I have an interest in learning more.

-Arisugawa Juri

Re: Email 7/1

[cwene]

Juri,

Of course! I'm sorry I haven't contacted you sooner about fencing, either, it's been quite busy since we've returned, don't you think? Please, let me know what time works best for you. I would be happy to talk with you more.

Yours,
Regina

Email 7/1

[angelicreation]

Regina,

Don't worry about that. You can start anytime you want with fencing. Join me for lunch tomorrow? I'll be outside the building under that tree by the far corner where there's nice shade and few people to bother us.

-Arisugawa Juri

[ooc: log here]

Package

[prideinthefall]

[ A small box arrives on Regina's doorstep wrapped in blue, metallic paper with a simple white ribbon. Inside are a few stacks of ornate, blank paper of varying colors. A tiny card rests on the top. Beneath the paper is a book: Legends of Great Swordsmen Through the Ages.]

Thank you for the dance in Onsra.

- Sephiroth

A small package/letter

[dera314]

[ After he has recovered from choking and furious blushing, he will put together a package of his own. It's a few sheets of paper rolled into a cylinder, tied up with a thin leather string that also holds a small jewelry and two ears of grain. Inside she'll find untitled sheet music and a small note that says: ]

Thank you, Regina.
-Gokudera Hayato

[ Short, because he's like that... oops. ]

letter;

[cwene]

[The response comes with a maid - Maggie- almost immediately. Her handwriting is a little shaky. She's obviously distressed.]

Gokudera,

Who died?

Regina

letter;

[dera314]

[ What is this??? Have a small note back. It could be just filled with question marks but he has managed to scribble a few words in there too: ]

No one.

Why?

-Gokudera

letter;

[cwene]

G-

You sent me sheet music for one. That's only done at a funeral. Who died? What happened?

-R

In person,

[dera314]

[ Because he's not going to try and figure this out in letters, Gina.

Have a knock on your door! ]

[cwene]

[She startles at the knock on her door, because she's certainly not expecting anyone.

Going to it, she throws the six deadbolts, but leaves the wards and the chains. She pulls the door open so she can peer through the crack.]

G-gokudera!

[She closes her door, negating the wards and undoing the chain locks to let him in.]

W-why are y-you h-here?

[dera314]

[ That's a lot of locks and wards, Gina.

He'll draw in a breath and spreads his hands a little awkwardly, hoping that the hallway will stay empty while he's launching into this explanation. ]

Well, you were clearly upset about the fact that I sent you sheet music. It was meant to be a gift. Like you said... after the hunt for friends and lovers. [ Awkward neck rub. ]

You only send music when someone dies?

[cwene]

[It's not like she's paranoid.

As soon as the door is unlocked, she ushers him in, shutting it and doing up most of the locks behind him]

M-music played b-by o-one person, y-yes. M-most of o-our m-music a-are duets, n-not solos.

[She hunches her shoulders, looking a bit mortified that she's ruined his present.]

I'm... I d-didn't mean... I'm s-sorry.

[dera314]

[ He's looking at this process with the locks with arching brows. What are you afraid of??? ]

No, it's... [ He lifts his hands in a placating gesture, then decides to place one of them on her shoulder. ] It's fine. I think, perhaps, we've run into a cultural difference here.

Music is played in funerals in my world as well. But it's mostly a case of certain type of music.

Uh... do you like music though?

[cwene]

[Everything, mostly.

She nods, smiling slightly.]

Yes, it s-seems that way. And, y-yes, I l-like music. W-we only play s-solo pieces at f-funerals. H-hundreds of y-years ago, composers were c-commissioned to write s-songs that reflected a person's life. We don't do that so much anymore. But the sentiment r-remains. M-most of our m-music is f-for two.

[A faint flush stains her cheeks, and she gives him a smile that's reminiscent of the hunt, the woods.]

Or m-more. D-do you play the piano?

[dera314]

[ That is a fascinating piece of culture that Gokudera never considered at all. Musical history. It must be different. What kind of genius composers would this world have? What would a person think of Beethoven if they'd hear him the first time?

He blinks, considering this. Then looks up at her curiously and immediately looks away again with a hint of color upon his cheeks. Then back at her with a small but very genuine smile. ]

Yes. I do. I played the piano before I could walk properly. My mother was a very skilled pianist.

Do you play any instrument?

[cwene]

[She nods.]

P-piano, too. A bit of the h-harp. I can p-pick at a violin, but n-not v-very well.

[She holds out a hand to him.]

W-would you l-like to play with me? [A flush darkens her cheeks.] A d-duet? [That doesn't help.] A-at the p-piano, I m-mean. [Not that she'd say no to any other kind of duet.]

[dera314]

[ He'll take her hand without any hesitance. It's been years since he's played with anyone. His sister can handle the piano as well, but they rarely see eye to eye about anything. ]

I would like that, [ he says simply. It's not like he would have any kind of objections to a duet of any sort with her after all. ]

[cwene]

[She tugs him toward her door, picking up the sheet music he gave her as they go.]

I-it's been a l-little while. I'll b-be rusty.

[They're in the music room less than ten minutes later. Regina goes rifling through the seat to find a duet that's simple enough for them to sight read, pulling out something at last.] D-does this look e-easy enough? [She passes the music to him as she settles at the bench, fingers fluttering lightly over the keys.

It's been... at least a year. But she can still read the music well enough. Thinks she can manage to play well enough.]

[dera314]

Yes, [ Gokudera responds easily, looking through the notes. There probably are some differences but the idea is inherently the same. He might have to ask about a few markings eventually but generally speaking, he really is very good at this. It's something he should have picked up as a profession much rather than being a mobster. But one doesn't get to choose a lot of things in their lives.

He reads the notes, following the melody easily with a hum under his breath as he takes a seat at the piano, picking the lower end and leaving enough space for her to take a seat beside him. ]

What kind of music do you like? [ he asks conversationally as he sets the sheet music on the rack and finds a few scales with his fingers just to warm it up. ]

[cwene]

[She arranges the music so it will turn easily for them - there's a coda in the middle of a repeated section, and the coda itself is on the fourth page.]

Bhadi. Prayer songs. But... s-swing music. Jazz. I l-like m-music with spirit, and th-then some s-slower songs. Ballads.

[She inclines her head toward the music, fingering the basic melody.]

Th-this is a sad l-love song. About t-two women who loved the same witch b-but didn't love each other. R-ready?

[dera314]

[ He nods to her, thinking that they should go dancing one day. If he only could convince her to leave the manor. For now, he decides not to mention the jazz clubs in the city, though. Just because it seems to upset her. ]

Really? Did the witch love them, though? [ he asks as he squints at the time signature at the start of the notes before counting the one empty bar for them under his breath before his fingers are set on the keys, to give it a rhythm and speed. ]

[cwene]

[Her fingers glide over the keys, deftly pulling the melody from the piano string's. In terms of notes, the song isn't challenging. There aren't fast trills or snarling sixteenth notes layered together to navigate. The complexity in the song comes in how the melody dips and glides from high to mid to low range, as if three voices are singing different parts - two quarrelsome, one mournful.]

She loved them b-both, v-very much. B-but because they h-hated each other, they w-wanted her to ch-choose. They p-pushed and p-pushed, always demanding.

[She speaks in time with the music, the tone of her voice following the melody.]

They a-asked her to s-say which g-gave her m-more power. W-which was the b-better lover. Sh-she could not s-stand it, s-so she th-threw herself from a l-lighthouse.

[dera314]

[ Gokudera doesn't find it hard to keep up, except for a few mishits here and there when his muscle memory would urge him to go elsewhere with the notes. But for the most part they're in time and harmony. It's not quite what he's used to but makes up for that by being fascinating, layered with her voice following the melody and creating an interesting piece of emotional landscape that he readily immerses himself in.

That's what music is about, for him, a way to express what comes from inside. It's a bizarre case of almost voyeuristic display to tap into a portrayal of another person's emotional expression to find his own way of feeling what is said through the music and hold it out for anyone caring to listen to tear into. Gokudera is too earnest to hide what the music does to him, his brows furrowing when the melody hits a minor chord, his face smoothing out when the harmony tilts more into major chords. ]

What a tragedy, [ he says quietly and while most people would feel no connection to just the bare bones of a story, his voice is genuinely sad, tapping into the music that tells a richer story. ] What happened to the two after?