flickerflash | [Accidental Video]

[Accidental Video]

[Katie's been living in the woods for the last few weeks; it shows in the tangles of her dirty hair and the thinness of her face. Not that anyone can see those right now, because right now, Katie is slinking through the forest toward the northern edge of the village as a grubby kitten. She hasn't gone into the village since she found Helios for the second time. There doesn't seem much point, and it's easier, that way, to fight the nervosa without the creature unwittingly involving the more sensitive villagers into nightmares. Mostly, she can keep the upper hand.

Some nights are a little worse than others. She's let it go on too long.

Katie is so tired. And worried. And sick of being away from human contact, and wondering why she should bother trying to avoid them anyway.

And hungry.

She's trying to ignore that last part.

It's very easy to let herself into a house full of pirates, because she is a ninja. Eternally at war with you lot, she is. It's just a matter of scaling the side of house #6 and opening her own private door through the brick wall. It swings shut behind her, no harm done.

This was Brook's room. He's no longer here, of course, just like Sigmund and Edward and Svala, all gone. Katie is so, so tired of people leaving. Brook left twice. It's not very fair. She wonders what she would do if she saw him on the street again today. He rather deserves to be hurt just as much, she thinks. (But that's not fair either, and really the only reason she's snuck into his room like this is she misses him. Brook was her first friend here. He carried an orchestra with him wherever he walked. It was marvellous...)

Jack's still here.

Jack hasn't left. But if she stays in the attic, he'll get involved, and not in a good way. And Norrington-- well. If she stays, she'll kill him. Or he'll kill her. That's the way of such conflict. It feels like a betrayal, really. She's just not sure who's doing the betraying. (And then, of course, these are silly notions altogether, and some days she wonders what on earth she's thinking. Today is not one of those days.)

Katie-the-kitten winds her way around the legs of Brook's bed (is it still too short for him?) and through the adjoining door into the music room. All the instruments are still here. No skeleton, but you know. These were precious to him.

Maybe she should break them.

She changes, human hands reaching out for the guitar. She could smash it on the ground, lots of little pieces, spell out welcome home in chips of wood and warping strings. From there, she knows, she won't stop. Sanji would be so disappointed. But he wouldn't hurt her, would he? Because Sanji's--

Sanji feeds her fish all the time, and he knows her. And he didn't run away. He's still here.

It's not fair. She's not being fair.

Her hand hovers over the neck of the guitar, and then fingers close gently and she pulls the instrument into her lap instead as she sits down.

She knows how to play. She had a guitar at home. Still has, in the attic. It's a child's guitar, nothing like this one. This one's a little too big for her to handle properly. She plays, anyway. Bink's Sake, for Brook; he taught her to play it, but she's heard it since the very day she arrived in Luceti. Maybe when she's done, she can just pretend he congratulates her on a job well done.

She doesn't intend to be overheard. But her much-battered journal is at hand, and in taking the guitar she's let it fall to the floor. At least it won't pick up her image. Just the music.]

[Accidental Video]

[The journal switches on to show...nothing. Well. Some carpet and what might be a music stand by a window, and a whole pile of sheet music off to one side. Nobody is visible, but someone can be heard tuning a guitar. It hasn't been played in a while. Poor thing.

When the guitarist switches to playing, it's clumsily picked out by rusty fingers, but the music itself is probably highly recognisable by a handful of people. The piece gets more fluid the longer she plays, until a couple of minutes into the song, when her fretwork first slows, and then trails off completely.

When she starts again, it's this piece instead, played through to the end.]

...twice more. [The voice is young and distant and distinctly Irish, and she giggles.] D'you think he'd come?

[And she starts playing again. Faster.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[The song drifting down from the music music room is so faint that at first Vivi doesn't notice it. It's not until she begins unconsciously humming "Bink's Sake" that she realizes something prompted it. She stops, listening carefully, and sure enough, she can catch snatches of song, muffled, but unquestionably there. This was a common enough occurrence when Brook was still with them, but he'd gone home what seems so long ago now.]

[An excited flutter of hope stirs in her chest, and she turns to the stairs, cocking her head to listen. Yes, the music is definitely coming from up there. It must be the music room. She mounts the stairs quickly, not quite running up them. It's a little louder up here; she can see the music room's door is open just a crack, though the soundproofing in the room still swallows much of the sound. Doubt retreats, and Vivi feels certain she knows who she'll find as her hand slips over the door knob. She's already calling his name as she pulls open the door.] Brook-sa--!

[Oh. No. The sight that greets her couldn't be more different from an eight-foot skeleton with an afro: a little girl, and one it takes Vivi a moment to recognize after having her hopes pulled out from under her like that.]

O-oh. Katie-chan. I didn't...

[Katie's hand stills on the strings as the door is pulled open, and for a moment she's glad that she's not facing Vivi. Perhaps she can forestall grown up questions about the grubbiness of her face.

But ah... you thought she was someone else, didn't you?]

So sorry to disappoint.

No, I'm sorry! I just didn't realize you were here...

[A quick glance over the room confirms what Vivi had already thought--no one in here but Katie. She supposes one of the others must have let her in earlier.]

That's all right. I'm sure if you'd like to leave again, you can close the door and pretend I'm a skeleton.

Don't be silly, Katie-chan. It's nice to see you, even if it was a surprise.

[Vivi can't help but notice Katie still hasn't turned to face her, but she leaves it unremarked.] I didn't realize you knew how to play the guitar.

Brook taught me. [It's the easiest and simplest lie she can tell; she'd been learning for a few months back home.] I played the violin at home, but we decided the guitar suited me best.

Did you come to practice, then? [She's still a little perplexed as to why Katie's here seemingly alone.] You sound very nice. I never learned the guitar myself. Or the violin, for that matter.

Yes, just to practice. Brook said I should help myself whenever I wanted. Though I suppose he meant while he was still here, in the end. Is it okay?

Of course it's okay. I think Brook-san would be glad to know you're still practicing.

Then whatever makes him glad. [She strums another chord softly on the guitar. No offense, Vivi, but she's kind of hoping you'll leave. There's only so long she figures she can hide how grubby she really is.]

Mm. [The fact that Katie is still keeping her back to Vivi is pretty hard to miss, and the girl strikes her as...oddly brusque.]

Katie-chan... [Her voice is careful, though not overtly concerned just yet.] Is everything all right?

Why wouldn't it be? I'm just enjoying the music.

[Yeah, no, she's not so sure she buys that. Still, she wonders if maybe she's just interrupting--Brook was good friends with Katie, if she remembers correctly. This might just be a private sort of thing for Katie.]

Ah. I'll just leave you to your practice then. [Vivi begins to retreat from the room again, taking a few small steps back toward the door. Before she reaches the doorframe, however, she pauses.]

Since you're here, would you like something to eat? I could fix you a plate... [She seems to remember Katie's a fan of fish, and she thinks there might be a little leftover in the fridge.]

Oh...

[She should say no to that, actually. But before she can her stomach gives a rebellious little growl.

She lifts a hand to wipe the dirt from her cheek a little.] ...if you wouldn't mind?

Of course I don't mind! [Vivi smiles warmly, hoping Katie might finally turn to face her.] It'll be just a little while to heat things up, but I'll be back soon.

[She'll pause just a moment more, in case Katie has more to say, and then she heads down to the kitchen.]

Okay.

[She doesn't turn to face Vivi, no. But while Vivi's gone, she wipes her face furiously, trying to return it to some semblance of clean. She can't do much about her tangled hair or the leanness of her face, but at least she looks somewhat more presentable.

So when Vivi comes back, she'll have moved fractionally to face the door. Hi. |D]

[It's a good ten minutes or so before Vivi returns, but when she does, she's carrying a plate of trout and wild rice (both warmed up in the oven), a brownie on the side for dessert, and a large glass of milk. She's relieved to see the door still ajar; with no free hands, it's much easier just to nudge it further open with her foot. Oh, and look who decided to be less anti-social.]

Here you are, Katie-chan! [She holds out the plate for Katie, taking in the general state of her as she does so. The girl may not look untidy enough to be alarming, but coupled with the earlier things Vivi had noted, it's enough to make her feeling of uneasy concern stronger.]

[Whereas Katie smiles and does her best not to look like a starving orphan, even if her stomach growls even more traitorously at the sight of that food. She's already put the guitar back on its stand, and holds both hands out for the plate.]

Thank you. [Then she hesitates, glancing at the musical instruments.] Should I...eat somewhere else?

If you'd like, but I don't think it should be a problem if you eat in here, as long as you're careful. [Fish and rice aren't terribly messy foods, after all. Vivi can't help but notice Katie's hands are a bit on the grubby side as she holds them out, though.]

Maybe you should wash up first. [The suggestion is mild, but there's a faint but noticeable line of worry showing on Vivi's brow. She points over her shoulder.] There's a bathroom down the hall.

Oh, is there? [She stands obediently.] Should I come downstairs and eat there afterwards, then? We could do it properly that way.

If that's what you'd like to do. [Vivi had kind of assumed Katie would feel more comfortable in the privacy of the music room, but obviously there's no problem if she'd prefer to eat at the table.] I'll leave it up to you.

[She's been spotted and has to clean up. There doesn't seem much point in locking herself away.

...besides, Katie does like Vivi. She can't not like someone with blue hair.]

I have excellent table manners. I'll meet you there.

[And she heads for the bathroom.]

All right then.

[Vivi nods acknowledgement and follows Katie out the door, heading for the stairs. Once she's safely made it downstairs, she set Katie's plate and the glass of milk down at the kitchen table. Then, as she waits for the girl to appear, she fetches herself a brownie and some milk as well. She'd eaten earlier with the crew, but a snack won't hurt.]

[By the time Katie comes down, she has scrubbed her face and hands clean and borrowed a hairbrush from the bathroom to at least get some of the tangles out of her hair. Then she heads down for the kitchen cautiously, eyeing the table in a way that seems to suggest she might be worried Vivi is having second thoughts or something.]

Here I am.

[Vivi smiles brightly from her place at the table, motioning for Katie to come and sit. The girl is looking noticeably more presentable now, but the relative gauntness of her face and the state of her clothes stand out even more as a result. This is clearly the result of more than just a day or two's hard playing outside. It's not a topic she'll broach yet, though; if Vivi's line of thinking is right, Katie must be hungry, and she doesn't want to risk making her skittish before she gets a hot meal in her.]

Go ahead, Katie-chan. Is it still warm enough? I can stick it back in the oven if it's cooled down too much.

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]