♛ 04 - Plucking

[wishmadeinfire.livejournal.com]

[If you're walking through the garden, one might hear the faint plucking tunes of a stringed instrument (sounding like this), an upbeat tempo that at the same time would have been at home in a more formal occasion for a polite dance, but fit the atmosphere of the garden well if one was out for a simple stroll. 

And if one followed the sounds, they'd find Ashura seated in a small area on a large pillow, a stringed instrument in his lap, fingers plucking along with a sure familiarity, though they lacked some of the smoother grace of one who played such a thing for a profession. And sitting beside him, forgotten as he concentrated on his playing, was his journal and a feather pen, so the music was free to float through the magic system. Whoops.]

If you can, meet me in the gardens some time this afternoon, or later this evening in the library. Just let me know when you can make it.

[ooc: Journal and actiony! Taking a nice relaxing break after the big fights. Whee]

Comments

I lurves the xxxHolic x3

[wishmadeinfire.livejournal.com]

Well - what is the 'Orient'? You likened my music to it, after all.

[i-barnabas.livejournal.com]

It's an area of my world-including the country of China, which I mentioned. It's particularly known for tea, silk, and spices. Your music reminded me of some I heard while there.

[wishmadeinfire.livejournal.com]

Oh, it sounds lovely. And what of England and France?

[i-barnabas.livejournal.com]

England is not terribly different from where I'm from; my own country split from them in the eighteenth century. They drink a bit more tea, perhaps, and speak slightly differently, but the cultures are not totally alien.

France is rather different. They speak a beautiful language there. It's known as the language of love, actually. The French are also well known for their excellent food.

[Laughs] I'm afraid I sound a bit like a tour book, but it is difficult to condense so much information down to what you might be interested in.

[wishmadeinfire.livejournal.com]

Haha, no it's all right. It's quite informative, even so, and it sounds quite interesting ~!

So, you have lived a long time then? You sound as if you have seen many changes in these countries.

[i-barnabas.livejournal.com]

[Oh, you are too perceptive, my friend. So, he's going to lie to you again. But he wasn't expecting that question so you may notice a slight pause before he answers.]

No longer then most men. And I hope to live a great deal longer. [He laughs] I've always had a fondness for history. Some have accused me of being overly enchanted with the past.

[wishmadeinfire.livejournal.com]

You'll have to explain what your version of 'most men' is. Age lengths differ greatly through the worlds.

CURSE YOU INCONSISTENT CANON TIMELINE! *Is going to be vague on Barnabas's age*

[i-barnabas.livejournal.com]

Really?

Well, I myself I am in my late thirties. But in my world, it is not uncommon to live into one's eighties.

[Well, he *was* in his late thirties pre-vamping...in 1795.]

Hahahah xD

[wishmadeinfire.livejournal.com]

Oh? You all die so young....

[i-barnabas.livejournal.com]

[That surprises him.]

Really? How long do people live in your world?

The human lifespan has actually increased over the centuries. It used to be far shorter.

[wishmadeinfire.livejournal.com]

The title 'elder' is bestowed when one reaches 800. Middle age is about 500. I'm currently still viewed as a young adult.

[i-barnabas.livejournal.com]

That's quite a long time. Or, so it seems to me. I suppose these things are all relative.

You must have seen a lot of change within your lifetime.

[wishmadeinfire.livejournal.com]

In some ways. In others, not so much.

[i-barnabas.livejournal.com]

Oh?

[wishmadeinfire.livejournal.com]

Heh. War doesn't change to much in the way it's done over the course of years.

[i-barnabas.livejournal.com]

I assume you're speaking of- [a pause. Ashura didn't seem to be human, per se, but he couldn't come up with a better phrase.]- human nature and not of technology.

Yes, time has scarcely affected people's tendency to hurt each other.

[wishmadeinfire.livejournal.com]

Human nature, yes, though to be honest in the years I've live the way we fight hasn't changed much either - steel and magic. All that's changed is the faces of the soldiers on the field.

[i-barnabas.livejournal.com]

In my world within two hundred years people have gone from muskets, single shot weapons, to machine guns which can kill many men with scarcely a pause.

People are very good at finding more efficient ways of hurting each other. That's another thing that will probably never change.

[wishmadeinfire.livejournal.com]

Finding the solution is the hard part. And even then, going through with it is even harder.

[i-barnabas.livejournal.com]

Sometimes there is no solution. People are what they are. Perhaps destruction is simply in our nature and that cannot be changed.

[wishmadeinfire.livejournal.com]

Perhaps, though in my case we did know the cause, if no longer understood the reasons.

[i-barnabas.livejournal.com]

Forgive me if I have caused offense. I didn't mean to imply that you, personally, were destructive. I was thinking in the abstract.
[Lies. He was totally thinking of himself.]

I tend to get rather carried away with philosophizing on occasion.

[wishmadeinfire.livejournal.com]

Oh, no, I took no offense, I was just making an observation about myself - or rather the war.

I find it charming, the philosophizing.

[i-barnabas.livejournal.com]

[Chuckles] I'm glad it doesn't irritate you; it does tend to have that affect on some people.

[wishmadeinfire.livejournal.com]

Sometimes it's nice to have a friendly argument-discussion.