driftfleet | [ and now it's done. ]

Who: Belthazar and you!
Broadcast: Yes
Action: The Iskaulit.
When: At a very reasonable time of morning

[video;]

[The piano's actually been built for a few weeks-- since before Winn fell asleep, actually-- but his coma left Belth needing to finish putting things together as well as the final touches. The rest has been simply... tuning. He's glad he has an ear for music, but finding a decent tuning fork was surprisingly difficult. And then, of course, he had to paint and polish the damn thing. That took another couple of weeks...

But it's done now, and he's managed to teach himself a very basic melody for the purpose of this broadcast. He turns the communicator so it can sweep over the piano in its entirety. There are a few things that set it as alien, such as the shape and the expanded number of keys, but it's recognizable enough.]

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you... the Fleet's first piano! The book called it a harpsinterian, though it's obviously related. It even has the pedals I remember from the-- I'm rambling. [Ahem.] This was made possible because of Winn's ingenuity so you may direct your thanks to him. I merely provided the materials.

[He plays his few arpeggios without any mistakes. He's been up all night getting this perfect, and he lets out an audible sigh when he's done.]

A friend told me that she longed to hear her loved one play the piano again, and that was the main reason I started this project. But music doesn't belong to just one person. That's why it's on the Iskaulit for anyone to enjoy. I hope to spend some time getting to know it from the player's chair rather than bending over it... and I wish to hear the Fleet filled with music again.

Also, if it's not much of a bother-- Nightingale? I would love to see you and Opal both, so that I may hear this playing you gushed so much about.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

There's little chance that I can wholly convey my gratitude. [Kaworu's had absolutely zero part in any of this, but he's already 500% invested. And, while he's mellow on a surface level, it might be clear that his joy will be unbridled if he lets it burst up and out of him.] It would be good to play it, when I have the opportunity.

[Shinji's secondhand electric keyboard, purchased at an interplanetary pawn shop, has been very wonderful for Kaworu... but the chance to play at a real piano, seat and pedals and everything else, sounds miraculous.]

[Belth isn't very good at reading people, so he'll just take his word for it. He's eager to believe in some appearances, anyway. Ones that aren't in a court setting...]

It's here, waiting for you, anytime. All I ask is that you leave it the way you found it.

I'd even be happy to help maintain it, if you care to have a hand. [This is equal parts genial generosity and the absolute delight he finds in minding a piano.]

Oh, yes, please. They don't have these on Azeroth, so I tell you, tuning this according to some dusty ancient alien manual was a project in itself. Do you know how many copper plates I had to trade for a tuning fork?

Too many.

[Kaworu's laughter is pleasant and warm and even has a shade of relief to it.] I have some experience, so I will check in from time to time to make sure things are still in order.

Thank you.

[He doesn't know this other teen, but he seems nice.]

What was your name? I don't remember if we've spoken... I'm Belthazar, a cook on the Blue Fish.

I'm Kaworu Nagisa, and it's good to meet you, for this first time. [He's pacific and full of good cheer, but despite all this earnest friendliness...] I tend to orbit my own interests, and I end up missing out on speaking with some wonderful people. So I'm glad we're talking today. My own ship is the Vanquish, although I'm not a particularly responsible crewmember.

Well, I cannot fault you for that. I am much the same way. And yet it is easier to speak to people over this than it is in person... I always fumble over my words.

[And he gets flustered at like, everything.]

Ah! You're on Clay's ship.

A buffer is safer, isn't it? [Not for Kaworu himself, but he's got some experience with observing social anxiety.

The line of his brow draws into something mild and just a little rueful. He's still smiling, though, since he usually does.] Clay is my captain. I haven't always served him well, but he's very nice.

[His eyes shift to the side, shying away from contact.]

... Yes. People are not always kind to-- that is, on my world, they were not kind to those of my station.

[This man seems incapable of frowning. Belthazar has a feeling things are bad when the frowning starts.]

He is very nice. Too nice, I think... but his eyes light up like anything when stars are involved.

[The avoidance of eye contact isn't anything new for Kaworu; he knows a thing or two about speaking with an injured heart. And also...

Well, he pauses, here, taking a mellow breath. His smile hasn't left, exactly, but there's a grimness to it, a rueful curve. He's particularly gentle when he speaks again, trying not to tread on sprouts coming out of the ground.] When unkindness is directed toward something intrinsic to a person, that person might wonder if their existence alone necessitates that unkindness. They might believe, then, that it does. And so others are therefore approached with caution, if at all—safety from harm, ideally, but also the fear that one's presence is an intrusion deserving of criticism.

[A barer pause, this time, while he closes his eyes. His smile regains its softness.]

How scary, and difficult too. If someone feels like that, it will take time to learn a better safety.

[... All things in Kaworu's mind are driven by his heart, and all things in Kaworu's heart wind back to a single individual. What he's just told Belth could have been a speech meant for that other boy, not to mention the edgeless fondness in his voice and face. But of course, this other mention takes Kaworu's heart further into its infatuation... Honestly, sometimes he can't shut up about this stuff. Times like this he really does seem fifteen...

...] That's very true of the Captain. Sometime I love does that same thing, so I know it must be good.

[Those are very elegant and gentle words coming from someone who looks about Belthazar's age. He's quiet as he takes them in aside from the softest noise of surprise. The elf's eyes close halfway, obscuring some of their green glow. A true sign of guilt... and that Kaworu's hit home.

There was a time where he refused to talk to anyone. Once he would throw furniture and break things simply because of a bad day, but now he trusts a little more. He hasn't been hurt since he began to.]

... It seems silly, but I still flinch when someone touches me. [He twists a bit of hair around his fingers, half-obscuring his mouth.] I was untouchable for so long.

Whoever it is you care about is fortunate to have someone who understands them.

[Nothing stirs in Kaworu's expression, while he listens. He remains like a swath of silk, smooth and quiet in its adorning. Then, when he opens his mouth to speak again, he sounds very patient—tender, even. A clean, white gauze.]

It doesn't seem silly to me. Touch is overwhelming just by itself. When you go a long time without it, touch becomes disruptive. It is denied its wondrous comfort, exchanged instead for the spike of an alarm. [His smile lifts. It's not exuberant, still very gentle, but there's something encouraging and more than that. Commiserating, maybe.] Yeah, it's alarming. But it can get better with time.

[By the way, he doesn't accept compliments. Instead:] Caring may not be all that much, in the scheme of things. But I am glad to do it.

[ and now it's done. ]

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