Tuning and Talking (OPEN)

[Rouge Ako]

The moon was full tonight, casting a cool blue glow over the towers and slanted roofs of Beacon Academy, lights trickled off slowly from the windows of the dorm rooms, indicating that the students are off to bed to catch whatever rest they can before their next day in becoming a huntsmen or huntress. The sounds of singing birds and insects provided a soothing serenade for the students on the lower floors, but the students who lived at the top floors were treated to the sound of silence, that is until a faint strum broke it. Currently on the north rooftop was a scarlet haired student adorned in white and red pajamas decorated with little Grimm playing a variety of instruments, humming certain notes while a strum of a guitar answered in the same note. Rouge Ako sat comfortably on the safety railing that surrounded the edge and had his legs dangling over the side and possibly worrying the few who are able to see him from ground level. In his hands was his acoustic guitar which desperately called for a tuning session after staring down Rouge as he studied in his dorm, in fact the last time he played was almost two months ago and this knowledge practically impeded his study hour and forced him to take matters in his own hands. Most of the time when it came to tuning his instruments he would accomplish doing so in his dorm room, during reasonable hours, but with everyone falling to sleep and not needing another upset visitor knocking on his door Rouge took it outside.

A soft melody came to mind as he strummed along the strings with calloused fingers, stopping to adjust the tightness of the string every so often. He mentally was reprimanding himself for letting this happen and he knows he should take a few hours every two to three weeks to make sure everything was in working order. He did so with his violin and even his electric guitar, and he knew the reason for the lack of attentiveness was because Rouge hasn't been recently inspire to play any music with it, that is until recently. When he strummed the last chord of the chorus his ears shriveled at the warped note that came to play, what was supposed to be a G Flat, the note sounded like a B or F. Upon inspection of the string, the student saw the string beginning to fray, which brought to light why his tuning has been off for the past hour or so. Rouge laid the guitar down on the railing and immediately glass hoops gripped it tightly and secured it from falling before he turned and jumped off the rail onto the solid ground of the rooftop. He maneuvered his way towards the corner where an open case laid in wait and revealing several strings, some sheet music with scribbles and scratched notes, and as well as a clear bag filled with an assortment of picks of various colors, shapes, and sizes. "I have extras laying about somewhere, I just bought several bags of each string just a few months ago." Rouge quietly spoke to the empty roof. He knew it was either in the case or in his dorm, and he certainly wast going to grab it and comeback, so his search continued until he reached into one of the many pouches that decorated the interior and felt the familiar metallic object in his fingers. Pulling out several cords nicely packaged away in a bag, Rouge felt an odd sense of triumph in a short amount of time. So much so that he brought the bag out at proudly displayed it over his head. ”Perfect.”

[Hyacinth Bordeaux]

Cinth wasn’t sure what she’d find wandering up to the rooftops at such an hour, but it certainly wasn’t another student. With an acoustic guitar. Another student. With another acoustic guitar. From her spot still hidden in the stairwell, peering through the window in the roof access door, Cinth nearly laughed at the coincidence of such a meeting. Of course, she rationalized, it probably wasn’t that odd of a coincidence, there were few other nearby places one could go if they wanted to play without disturbing their dorm neighbors. But still. There was another student. With another acoustic guitar. And here she was. Standing on the goddamn staircase. With a goddamn acoustic guitar.

The guitar in her hand was a sleek, dark purple 12 string acoustic with a design imitating crushed velvet that she mat or may not have splurged for on a whim. She had only acquired the new instrument a few days ago, and hadn’t gotten a chance until now to try it out, though from what she had played in the store, the quality of the instrument was worth the price. This was the first time since leaving Mistral that she had her hands on a twelve string guitar, and, several months out of practice, Cinth had sought somewhere quiet and secluded to freshen up.

But now there was another student. With another acoustic guitar. On the same fucking roof.

Figures.

Fixing a show-ready smile on her face, Cinth shook off her initial bout of surprise and pushed the door open with a dramatic flare.

“What is this, an impromptu band session?” She announced herself with a light, lilting laugh. Her long snow leopard tail swayed back and forth behind her, arching delicately above her head in a soft curve. She padded across the rough concrete of the roof barefoot, dressed in a large black shirt that hung off one shoulder with a smattering of made up constellations across the front of it in a dull white, and a charcoal grey leggings that cut off short, capris style. She thanked every possible higher being she could think of that she had remembered to put her mask on, on the off chance she ran into anyone, and tied a ribbon around her upper right arm. Nothing dangerous or incriminating on show tonight.

“So do you always prance around with spare strings, or do you only do that little victory pose of yours when you think no one’s watching?” Her tone stayed playful as she leaned up against the railing by the other guitar, which she could now see was secured to the railing by some type of hard light dust or something. Huh, neat. She set her guitar next to her as she cocked her head questioningly at the boy, a silver guitar pick dance across the backs of her knuckles.