Persona in the Playground- Unchained Melody (Social Link Thread)

[Morbis Meh]

The soft dim glow of the candles radiated throughout the room, gently illuminating the outline of the lone russian figure sitting at the massive piano. True it may be old fashioned or even exceptionally cliche but even Levi despite his gruff exterior had a slight romantic side. He caressed the black Steinway lovingly, tracing his fingers over its delicate features. It was the final gift his mother had arranged for him, a custom Grand Piano made in Germany that he received when he was 15. She had been dead long before that but she had commisioned it to be built nonetheless. She was his first teacher and her love of music rubbed off on her son. After her death Levi, only 7 at the time, was allowed to continue the piano only because his father deemed it a worthy hobby but his instructors were cold and relentless in their teaching. His mothers dream was for him to be a pianst or a composer, she herself had done so before marrying Levi's father. He had comtenplated honouring her wish but deep down he knew he would never be satisfied, he would always picture the smug satisfaction his father would radiate knowing his son could not live up to his own legacy.

Levi could feel the black rage within his heart rising but he clenched his jaw and purged himself of the emotion. This was a sacred place and time for him, his only sanctuary from the world a place where he could shrug off the facade he wrapped tightly around himself. This piano symbolized the only warmth Levi had ever felt during his childhood so he clung to it whenever he could. He always believed that whenever he played this particular piano that his mother would immediately begin listening, whereever she was and cross over to join him for a brief time. He remembered her last days, all she wanted was to listen to him play for her. Levi could tell that she was in a great deal of pain and the music brought a tiny shred of relief so he would play for hours on end and sometimes would faint immediately afterwards from exertion. In particular he recalled the exact piece he was playing for her during her passing; Nocturne Op.9 No. 2 by Chopin (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvxS_bJ0yOU).

Slowly he moved his hands down towards the keys, inhaling deeply before delicately pressing down on the keys. His mother always said one never played the piece but simply allowed the piece to be played through him and to be such a vessel one had to void themselves of thought and emotion. He could no longer feel his hands moving, it honestly felt like he was watching the entire thing from within his own body. Morana would even remain silent during this time, especially for this piece, sensing that breaking the silence would violate an unspoken pact between the two. The notes drifted on the air tenderly, breaking the silence of the room and gradually emanating outside of the room into the empty hall.

[nersxe]

Truth be told, Kennen isn't actually that sure how he ended up here.

(To tell rather more of the truth, he feels as if he's been called. He'd wandered, unsure but restless, until he came... here. Wherever here is.)

The piano music is nice, he guesses. It sure sounds complicated, and Levi - he knows it's Levi - seems like he's really into it. He waits in the back while the Russian giant plays, able to be seen if Levi bothers to look, but not in his line of sight if he's too lost in the music to care.

[Morbis Meh]

As the door to the room opens, Levi does not notice, he is too caught up in the moment to care but that didn't mean Kennen avoided Morana's detection. As the Russian plays the final notes to the piece, savoring its final remnants, he slowly drifted into melancholy.

You have a guest my love...

It took only a moment for Levi to snap out of the current mood and delve into one that was more menacing. A dark part of the Russians mind cried out at the culprit condemning them for defiling the sanctity of the moment and screaming for their blood. A shadow falls over his face giving him a sinister appearance and his breathing increases ever so slightly but that is only for a brief instant as his logical part of the brain quells the protest of the other.

He takes a moment to collect his thoughts and to lock up his emotions before turning around. Levi is somehow not surprised to see the odd figure of Kennen watching silently. A slight smile crosses the large man's lips "So I see Sherlock has sleuthed his way to here, I apologize for my lack of manners in offering a proper welcome but I tend to get caught up when playing. I hope you enjoyed the piece, it was my mother's favorite."

[nersxe]

For a few seconds, Kennen thinks maybe he's gonna have to tango with the Russian. He's got that crazy in his eyes (and yeah, maybe Kennen knows that crazy a little too well), but then it fades, and he's back to the guy Kennen fought alongside not too long ago.

Caught off-guard by the reference to Levi's mother in the past tense, Kennen mumbles awkwardly, "yeah, I'm sure your ma had good taste." He rolls one shoulder. "Dunno, though, I'm not really a music person. They taught me Chopsticks back in the day with everybody else, but I didn't look into it."

[Morbis Meh]

Levi chuckles "What a pity, music is a very carthartic hobby, I believe you could benefit from it. As for my mothers tastes they are a bit outdated for my own, it is true that the classical works of the 'Masters' are beautiful but they just don't do it for me. Pull up a chair." Despite the pleasant tone of his voice, the last part was issued more like an order instead of an invitation.

He waits briefly for Kennen to pull up next to him but only does so for a short time before beginning to furiously pound the keys playing his own rendition of 'Question!' by System of a Down. "Sing along if you know the words.... He soons increases the pace and intensity of the music and starts to sing along with his play which is oddly not too bad considering his thick accent.

[nersxe]

"I guess," Kennen shrugs, taking the offered seat without a second thought. "Like I said, never looked into it. I've got, uh, 'cathartic' hobbies of my own, y'know?"

He listens to the song, tilting his head, but his eyes are on Levi. Kennen figures it has to take a lot of coordination to sing and play at the same time (though maybe not; he does a couple things at once all the time), and the Russian seems to have all his attention taken up by the definitely-not-classical song and the words that go with it.

At the end, Kennen shifts a bit in his seat. "Didn't know you spoke English." A thought hits him. "Or is it just that song? My aunt's kinda like that; doesn't know a word of German but loves G-pop."

[Morbis Meh]

Levi finishes the song and lets out a big sigh "When you come from a household like mine you learn it is in best interest to do things all way or not at all. I speak english fluently because it is the preferred language of the sciences, Russian because it is my mother tongue, Polish because it was my Mother's original language and Japanese because I was shipped off to this...place."

The Russian slides his chair over "Now you try." He gestures towards the piano and gives a basic explanation of the keys and how they correspond to different notes. He demonstrates a simple scale in two octaves then moves to one while expecting Kennen to play the other.

[nersxe]

"Sounds like a pain," Kennen comments, before getting distracted by the instruction. (He doesn't mention he speaks English and Japanese fluently. It just doesn't seem relevant, in the face of that.)

He gamely takes Levi's place, frowning down at the piano. The scale comes haltingly at first, but he gets it eventually. It doesn't flow nearly as smooth from his fingers as it does from Levi's, but he's got more than enough stubbornness to work at it until it goes as well as a beginner's efforts can be expected to.

[Morbis Meh]

Levi actually laughs heartily "Believe me when I say you don't even know half of it." He waits patiently as Kennen works on the scale, playing alongside him as a teaching aid.

"Good, tomorrow we try something more challenging. I even bring stick so you don't pick up bad habit." He gives a sharks smile so Kennen couldn't tell if he was joking or dead serious. "Maybe now we try one of your hobbies, it is what friends do is it not?"

[nersxe]

"Uh," Kennen mentally flails for a few seconds, then coughs, regaining his equilibrium. "I dunno if I'm up for the BDSM stuff so fast. Maybe buy me dinner first, yeah?" His smirk is only at half power, but the blush fighting to emerge is at full strength.

"Hobbies?" He furrows his brow. Rubbing the back of his neck, Kennen admits, "I don't really think I have any 'hobbies'. I screw around in the park sometimes, throw knives and all that." He nods to himself, then looks back to Levi. "I guess that's a hobby. You wanna learn to throw knives?"

[Morbis Meh]

Levi is confused at the first remark, maybe some facet of British humor that is lost in translation "The stick would be for your hands and if I am giving you free lessons wouldn't you be the one buying me dinner?"

He listens to the counter offer with a smirk "Why not, though you really should endeavor to pick up a hobby that is less likely to get you arrested. Maybe crocheting or knitting?"

[nersxe]

Kennen snorts. "You learn knives, I learn piano. Fair trade, y'know?" He cracks a smile. "I would have thought you'd offer to be all gentleman-like and take me out."

"If I tried to pick up crocheting, I'd be more likely to get arrested, not less. I can't imagine the headlines for that. 'Dashing teen found at crime scene with bloody crocheting needles'." He jokes, standing and stretching his arms over his head. "C'mon, there's a good place not too far from here."

Kennen leads Levi to a secluded spot in a local overgrown park, pulling out a throwing knife from his school jacket and taking up a throwing position. "You gotta stand like this, yeah? Keep your balance on your toes, and your wrist straight. You snap your wrist like on the shows and the thing's gonna go everywhere but where you want it."

[Morbis Meh]

Levi quietly listens to the tiny man then proceeds to emulate the stance as instructed. Taking a knife the big russian first tests its weight in his hand then makes a quick calculation where to hold it. He picks a target and adjusts his distance based on a mathmatical assumption. Putting his left foot forward Levi raises his right arm so the knife is above his shoulder by at least half a foot. In one fluid motion the russian brings his right leg foward as he moves his arm forward. When his arm reaches the approximate level of his target he released the knife. It darts out of his hand and moves towards the target with surprising accuracy but the dull thud makes Levi cringe. The pommel of the knife hit the target and caused it to bounce off of the tree.

He waits for a moment and turns to Kennen "Would you happen to know technique for no spin throwing? It would be much easier to do calculations in head if I didn't have to worry about knife rotation.

[nersxe]

Kennen shakes his head, trotting forward to retrieve the knife. "No-spin's no good. You got to be in so close you may as well stab whatever it is, else the knife is gonna spin." He snorts. "Guess you'll just have to work that brain of yours a little harder, eh?"

He comes back, and hands the knife to Levi once more. "Besides, you've got a bit of wiggle room either way. It doesn't matter if you get the tip exactly on; it'll stick - or hurt the bugger - if you get it kind of at an angle."

[Morbis Meh]

Levi looks dully at Kennen "Stabbing is generally more advisable in combat since throwing would mean you are disarming yourself and potentially be arming you adversary. As for calculations it is only a slight change in distance to get the proper position of the knife in its rotational cycle." He takes the knife and holds it so the knife point is upwards and slightly towards the target "This is the optimal position of a blade making contact with a target, with enough force it will create a larger point of entry and increase the trauma of the wound."

Noting the position he last stood Levi moves to steps back and repeats the motion again but this time uses much more force. The knife zooms towards the tree which is soon followed by a loud crack. A dark smile crosses the lips of the big man as he looks at his work; the knife, on target, burried to the hilt in the tree. "Much better, maybe now we can grab dinner like you previously mentioned. If you insist I can cover the bill."