paradisalost | [thread] random encounter of Snark

Entry tags:

lana lang,
zexion

[thread] random encounter of Snark

Who: Lana and Zexion (anyone else who really wants to hop in can as well :D)
What: Random encounter
When: Evening? ish?
Where: Music room
Rating: Pg-13 maybe? language?

Lana didn't think she would ever even be able to express to anyone the joy she felt that she and Miguel had found the music room. She loved her guitar, she really did, but there was something about the feel and sound of a piano that almost transported her somewhere else. In a way she felt like when she played her guitar it was nice but when she was at the piano...well it was magic in its own way.

Lana memorized pieces. She didn't read from sheet music that often which was probably why her theory was pretty rusty. She preferred being able to just zone out and get into playing rather than being encumbered by reading the music at the same time. She let her fingers run away with her this evening by playing Schubert's Impromptu Op. 90 no. 1. Lex had coached her while she learned it so she played it especially nicely. She was very good since she'd been playing for a very long time but Lex was a pianist by birth she had decided. He was a genius. It was one of his favorite pieces, the one she was playing.

((OOC: the song http://download.yousendit.com/A722AAA757CA515E))

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Zexion had stationed himself in a corner of the library again to page through a fresh collection of books. Bird migration patterns, advanced physics, a novel about some man who'd saved a girl from a prison ship. He read through each book quickly, pausing only to sip at the tea he'd brought along. Knowledge, information. The study and accumulation of it all had become a hobby. It served as reasonable stress relief, too: one couldn't be too logically upset while looking over large diagrams of bird shapes.

He was just finishing up a chapter about feathers when the sound of a piano being played nearby caught his ear. At first he dismissed the lively music, but the tune seeped into his focus, keeping his eye wandering away from the book's small print. With a sigh of defeat, he finally stood and wandered away from the library to find the source of the pleasant noise.

A moment later, he leaned in to the music room, peering in the direction of the piano there. Lana. What a surprise to find her seated there. Scratching at the back of his neck, he strolled in, arms crossed over his chest and very quiet.

At this point in the song he could have probably screamed and ran in circles with his arms in the air and she wouldn't have noticed him. Of course when she finished the song he'd get a pretty strange look.
Lana's fingers flew gracefully over the keys. She made it look effortless which was almost shocking given the tiny size of her hands and the stretches that were necessary in certain places in the song. The speed of the playing was a challenge too. It was easy to see why Lex loved it so. It was an ambitious piece.
Lana's eyes were closed through a good portion of her play. She swayed very softly as she played.
The song continued for a couple of minutes. She didn't notice anyone there watching here therefore she didn't feel any reason to quit the song. Lana's eyes opened for the particularly difficult ending to the song. She then closed her eyes and took a deep breath as if absorbing the very last vibrations of the music.

She opened her eyes and looked down then almost comically compared to her last performance plunked one or two keys experimentally before stopping quite suddenly and glancing to her right, her hand still poised with her index finger out to punk another key. She stared at Zexion, clearly very startled and slowly lowered her finger to plunk that last key. She kept her finger pressed down on it, staring awkwardly before she sputtered to life, "Z- Zexion..Hello! I.....Hello...." She blinked rapidly. She hadn't know he was there watching. She wondered how long he'd been there. Playing music for people tended to embarrass her a little but at the moment she was still too shocked to blush.

Oh, if only the schemer was more inclined toward screaming and running in circles with his arms in the air... Instead, he remained silent, perched just a few steps away from where the woman was playing. He'd taken piano lessons as a child, back in that foggy prior existence, but he'd never gotten far with the instrument. Despite the well-rounded schedule his master had tried to enforce, he'd always preferred his books and a lab table, wandering theories and variables over the art of music. But that wasn't to say he didn't enjoy or appreciate a good song.

As she trailed off into those last few notes, Zexion unfolded his arms and clapped lightly in approval for a moment.

"Hello," he replied quietly, reaching down to trace one finger over the keys at the far side of the piano. A slight smirk shifted into his expression and he turned his head to look at her, "Very nice performance."

Lana blinked at him then dropped her hands to the piano with a resounding PLONK!
She finally began to blush, she could feel it which only made her blush more. "I...uh..."

She looked down and wiggled her fingers on the tops of the keys without actually pressing them down. She glanced back up at him, pink in the face, "I didn't ...uh I didn't know you....realize that anyone............" There was a long pause that was accompanied by an incredibly frustrated face at her inability to get any understandable or complete phrases out of her mouth. "...Thanks." She finally managed. She scratched the back of her head and cleared her throat awkwardly, "What..uuh brings you down...here........to the music room?"
She was still a little frustrated with her speech but at least she was getting out sentences now.

Zexion grinned, tilting his head slightly as he watched her fumble over her words. He shrugged a shoulder, walking around behind her to stand on the other side where he'd be able to keep a better eye on the piano, "Sorry if I snuck up on you then. I was in the library and I heard the music..."

He tapped one of the keys, punctuating his sentence with the sound, "I thought I'd come over and see who was busy playing the masterpiece. A pleasant surprise to see you here."

Lana was finally calming herself down enough to appear in a state of relative comfort. She nodded, "Masterpiece indeed. Schubert was a genius. His works don't get as much credit as they should."
She paused for a second then looked over at the music room door. She must have accidentally left it propped. "Oh..I hope I wasn't disturbing. I wouldn't want to interrupt anything important..." She left out a comment about a book called 'The art of Emo' or sometihng. She'd made enough cracks for the time being.....maybe. She wasn't going to be able to let the gay jokes slide, though, she didn't think. Not for their entire visit. She'd probably leave a cleavage crack for later. She could't use all her material in one sitting. It wouldn't be right.

"Quite a few men out there that don't get the credit they should," he mused, making a quick mental note to look up that Schubert fellow, "It leads to all sorts of trouble sometimes."

Zexion shook his head, crossing his arms again as he leaned back, studying the size of the piano. He made a few quick guesses as its length and width before answering, "No, it wasn't disturbing. More like a nice break from the tedium of bird wing studies. I'm not sure why I'm bothering with that, but needless to say it wasn't anything important that was interrupted."

He gave her a brief look, "What about you? Did I interrupt?"

Lana's face took on a distinct appearance of disappointment, "No spatula techniques? Austin would be destroyed."

Lana smirked then shook her head, "No. Not interrupting anything important. You just kind of startled me. I was just tinkering around a bit. I thought maybe if I play a little before I go to sleep it will calm my nerves. I have trouble with this place at night." I don't like being alone. She'd almost said the last part but it would have made her feel a little ridiculous. She was acting like a little girl who was afraid of the dark here and it kind of embarrassed her. She'd written about it a bit in her journal but not to the extent she felt. This place didn't just give her the willies at night. It DISTURBED her. She hated being in her room after sunset. Sleeping with the horses was much nicer. At least she had company then.

"I'm a little surprised to see you out and about actually. I don't run into you very often. Of course I haven't gone about exploring the library yet, maybe I'd run into your more then. I just figured I should probably get to know this place a little better before I disappear into books and never emerge." She laughed lightly. It was true. Lana had always loved to read. She'd probably forget to eat if she went into the library too much.

"Poor Austin," Zexion mumbled with a wry smile, "I'll be sure to pick up a book on spatula techniques next time then. They have a very extensive library. And don't tell Austin, but I do like to cook."

He nodded slowly, flexing his fingers in the leather of his coat, "Sorry for startling you. I was just curious who was playing a piano at this hour. Does it really help?" He had no issues with sleeping in the castle at night if only because he'd been through worse environments. Darker things and the like. At least Paradisa had spawned monsters yet.

"No, I haven't been out much," he took a step back, looking around the music room. He'd never been in there before, "Just between my room, the library, and kitchen lately. You shouldn't worry about the library consuming you, though. It's a well-known fact that I don't do the sharing books thing well and will chase people out if they hang around for too long." He chuckled softly, not meaning a word of it. More company in the library would be nice.

Lana looked surprised when Zexion mentioned that he liked to cook. As did she! She preferred baking, however.
As Zexion spoke Lana began to look intently at his face. She leaned toward him a hair more with every passing moment until when he'd finished she quiet suddenly spun around on the piano stool into a kneeling position, stuck her one hand on his shoulder for balance, and reached up to very quickly, but gently push Zexion's hair out of the way of his eye. She held it there, her face only inches from his, looking intently at his newly revealed eye. "By god! there ARE two of them!"

She remained that way for several spans of time before she sat back a little and let his hair fall. She patted the top/side of his head as if sticking it back in place then sat back the rest of the way with a goofy expression on her face that consisted of her lips being pressed together to try and hold back a laugh and her eyes widening considerably with the effort of doing so.

Zexion didn't notice her intent gaze right away, and it wasn't until she was leaning in toward him that he realized something was amiss. He froze in place as her hand fell on his shoulder, blinking at the face so close to his own. Too close. What was she doing? Was she-... no, couldn't be. He half considered the idea of reaching down into his coat pocket, taking out a sheet of paper, and having that something to use as an illusion in case her actions were a part of some bizarre attack. But no, no... people being that close usually meant they had something else in mind. Maybe-...

His thoughts trailed off as she pushed the hair out of his face and he blinked again, squinting as the light met his usually covered eye. His mouth fell open and pure confusion colored his face. He managed one syllable of a question, "Wha-?" before she announced her findings.

Zexion stared at her for a moment, just staring until she eventually patted his hair back down. The flush spread over his cheeks and he finally smirked, leaning forward to get a better look at her highly amused expression. He spoke slowly, taking care to pronounce each word right next to her lips, "I'm sorry to disappoint if you were expecting otherwise." And with that he backed up, turning his attention to the piano again.

"Anything else you can play on this?"

Lana was internally congratulating herself for making Zexion blush when quite suddenly his face was RIGHT next to hers...again. Hadn't they just abandoned this position? What was he doing? Why would he..? Lana blushed more easily than Zexion so she was already a little pink around the edges. When he drew back Lana raised a brow and gave him one of her 'looks' that couldn't QUITE be placed as if she wasn't still blushing a little and made a brief snorting noise. "An eyepatch would have been pretty cool," she said in a tone that was almost offended.

She then gave Zexion a little smirk at his question, turning around and setting her fingers on the keys, "You'd be surprised what I can do.." She didn't reall explain the comment as she was, in true Lana form, trying to get a reaction out of Zexion.

She began to play very quietly and casually a pretty melody as if she wasn't really thinking about it and her mind was somewhere else. She glanced up at Zexion. "As for you not coming out much...maybe you should 'come out' a little less often, hm?"
She raised her brows and once again had to concentrate on not laughing. She turned her attention to the little tune she was playing to do so, glancing up at Zexion for a reaction at intervals.

"That would have been very unoriginal," Zexion replied with a smile, enjoying his small victory of having momentarily turned the tables on her. He glanced from Lana's face to the far wall and back again, "One of my older associates has an eyepatch. I may never understand why everyone is so fascinated with it, though."

He laughed softly at the next remark, reaching out to trail a finger over her shoulder just to mirror her suggestiveness. Two could play at that game, "I doubt that. You seem like a very talented woman."

The music soon distracted him and he dropped his hand back to his side, trying to figure where he'd heard the melody before. It seemed a little familiar. He was almost too busy searching through his memories to hear her voice. When Lana's comment clicked with him a second later, he couldn't help but twitch, "Oh, cruel."

Lana's attitude had faltered slightly at the touch. She'd expected him to be a little uncomfortable but apparently. She'd given him a little smirk but nothing more.

She was surprised how he was seeming to get lost in the music. The piece wasn't anything serious, she was just kind of ...absently playing it out. It took him a moment to register her comment about his 'coming' out but there, finally was the reaction she'd been questing for for the last few minutes. The twitch was quite visible and she grinned at him, faltering slightly in her song because of her intense amusement. "What? I'm not the one who said you were gay. You were. What are you going to do when Chizuru finds out otherwise. She and Tatsuki seem....sensitive...no that's not necessarily the word. Touchy. Touchy is a good one."

Zexion only smirked at her words, suffering the discomfort to remain as collected as possible. He forced a thin smile but kept his gaze to the piano keys, "What makes you so sure I'm not? You try living with ten other men, one boy, and one very antisocial female for years. Even before the Organization, it was five other men and a king, also decidedly male."

He hesitated, seeming to realize he'd probably said too much. The whole subject was an awkward one and likely a mistake on his part to have ever mentioned it. Feeling the heat burn through his face again, he added a short correction, "Which isn't to say I'm gay. It's just a possibility. Options."

Zexion motioned to the piano at that. Distractions were always beneficial, "I've heard a song something like that one before."

Lana raised her brows at him, her smile barely being contained. She then gave up on keeping a straight face and laughed, "You mentioned my cleavage the moment you met me, Zex. You're not gay. If you're anything but straight then you've gotta be into both genders but you're certainly...not gay." She snorted, "Not that I don't thoroughly enjoy teasing you about it." Lana turned back to the piano and started to play again. "If you're bisexual I kind of envy you, though. Best of both worlds, and all. It'd be a lot easier to find a date if you had more than one gender option."

She played a few more notes of the song then stopped, "Really? I'm not even sure what it's from. My friend Lois gave me the sheet music one day and asked me to play it for her. I thought that it was really nice so I kept the music and learned it."

Zexion hunched over slightly and shook his head, crossing one arm over his middle while resting the other elbow on that slant. His fingers toyed at the corner of his mouth for a moment before curling under into a loose fist. He should have known the conversation would turn to that subject. If only he'd come better prepared to argue it, "I only mentioned it to prove a point to Dilan. Just because one happens to notice a woman's chest doesn't mean one's... not..." He trailed off into grumbles, unsure which side he was supposed to be taking.

"Yes, I got that impression," he smirked and turned to look at some of the other instruments set up in the room. If Demyx ever showed up, he'd never get any peaceful reading done in the library.

"Bi-..." Zexion twitched again, coughing up the rest of the word in surprise. He finally laughed, resuming his focus on the music, "Curious. I'm not sure of the name for it, but it sounds familiar."

Lana had a very 'I really haven't changed my opinion at all' expression on her face and she just smiled and gave only a very unconvinced, "mmhmm," in response to his argument.

Lana then switched the music that she was playing to something that sounded slightly darker, "This was also part of that particular set of music she gave me. Maybe it'll help you recall where you heard it."

She played it for a little while without speaking before glancing up at him, "Zexion, what's the 'Organization?'"

{{ooc: And enter the Organization music XD I'm such a spaz. http://youtube.com/watch?v=Mo0cOs88Fs8 ))

Zexion nodded, stepping back to grab a nearby stool. He pulled it over toward the piano and took a seat, settling in to listen to the music. The tune was familiar, hauntingly so, but he couldn't quite place where it came from.

He didn't answer her question right away, waiting instead for the song to play through once.

"The Organization," he replied at last, his tone soft, "Organization XIII. It's a group of incomplete people known as Nobodies. Those without hearts."

Lana played patiently, waiting for his reply. It was an oddly paced song but it wasn't difficult and it was rather fun to play. She liked sharps.

The song barely faltered when he explained what the Organization was. Organization XIII.. people with no hearts? Sora had mentioned something like that before. She'd joked with him that if she lost hers she'd be sure to notice...that the whole blood pumping thing was necessary to the whole living thing.

She continued through the song again, almost completing it once more before she spoke again. "And you...are or were part of this Organization so..?"

Zexion pursed his lips, whistling a few low notes in tune with the song. He settled his hands in his lap, nodding once. There was no point in keeping the answer secret. Just simple facts he'd lived with all the many years, "I am a part of the Organization so I am a Nobody and have no heart."

He drew in a slow breath, reaching out to try a few of the piano keys, "I guess it's debatable now. Something changed when I arrived here at the castle. A lot of things changed. I still have to examine the details later."

Lana stopped playing and turned to look at him. Her eyes drifted down to his chest and she reached out slowly as if she was going to touch it. "...Physically?" She then stopped moving her hand when it was about four or five inches from him. Her eyes went back to his but her hand stayed poised in the air.

She just looked at him like that, a questioning expression on her face. It was unclear whether her questioning look was in reference to the question she'd just asked out loud or asking permission to feel where his heart beat should be.

Zexion studied her expression, aware of what seemed like an unspoken request mixed in with the question. At first he was amused by that motion, but quickly enough his expression turned serious. He sighed and shook his head, offering her a bland smirk. The answer was too easy and there could be no harm in granting that permission if she really wanted proof on the matter.

Keeping an eye on her gaze, he scooted forward to the edge of the stool, closer to her outstretched hand.

"Metaphysically," he explained quietly, shifting to keep his balance, "It's something like taking the soul out of the body, except it's the heart's version of a soul. The process does have some affect on the remaining organ, but the physical aspects are intact. Just hollow, lacking emotions and purposes."

Lana set her fingers gingerly against his chest then laid her hand flat, looking at her hand intently. She appeared completely fascinated by the subject. She closed her eyes until she felt the first thump of his heart. She then opened them and looked up at him while he talked. He seemed sad...not that she could blame him..if he didn't think he had a soul.

After a moment of silence after he spoke she pulled her hand back and curled up on the piano bench, resting her hands in her lap. "But...you SEEM like you have a soul...You're certainly not ...empty. The ghosts here in the castle are empty. They're cold. You're not like them."
She tilted her head a little. She was honestly puzzled. He had emotions certainly enough, she'd made him blush and laugh and she'd seen him look sad and angry.

Zexion smirked at that, watching her reaction. He was a little thankful for his own heartbeat: it was too easy to imagine how awkward the situation would have been if it he hadn't had one, "The body's soul was always there. It's what kept us from being just like the ghosts. We had memories of what it was like to feel emotions, but without the metaphysical heart, we couldn't experience anything new."

"And right now," he added, straightening up and checking his hood ties, "Well, I don't really know yet. Like I said, something has changed. It's almost like I was given my heart back, but if that were true, I'd be more like Dilan right now. So maybe I'm imagining all of this or I do have a heart and it's just not mine."

Lana moved into a crosslegged position and leaned forward with her elbows resting on her knees and propping her chin on her hands. She puzzled over his statement. More like Dilan? Why was he so different from Dilan? She didn't really know that much about either of them...though at this point she knew a lot more about Zexion than she did Dilan. She and Dilan had never had this deep of a conversation and in all reality she was shocked that Zexion was telling her this much. In fact she was almost surprised he was here ~~putting up with~~ talking to her at all. She was kind of mean to him...

"What do you mean more like Dilan? What's so different about the two of you?" She asked.

Zexion wasn't sure why he was bothering with all the conversation. It was a pleasant break from the books he'd been leaning over for hours and Lana was the first one he'd run across that was willing to just sit and talk. Even if the topic of discussion had included number of eyes and certain preferences.

"Dilan is apparently from the past. In his future back on our home world, he was destined to lose his heart along with myself and four others. His name changed to Xaldin. He was... different then," he turned to face the piano, trying a few of the notes of that darker song she'd played, "Much different from the Dilan here. Xaldin wasn't kind or gentle. He didn't have the ability to be. Maybe it's luck that Dilan showed up instead of him. Dilan seems to have made quite the impression..."

He grinned, slowly working his way through the melody, "With you ladies."

Lana nodded as she listened then looked at him oddly, "Has he really? He kind of seems sort of antisocial to me...you know..not out of disinclination to like people but he doesn't seem particularly outgoing...." She trailed off, realizing what he was referring too. She rolled her eyes and laughed, "..oh I see...geez, you go out on one date with a guy..." She laughed. "Unless you're referring to other 'ladies' Dilan and I are just friends." I think. For now? I don't even freakin know.

She shook her head, changing the subject, "So does that mean you have two names too.....Oh!" She said coming to a realization, "Is that why most people call Lae Axel? Is he a ... a Nobody too?"

Zexion shrugged, turning away from the piano and slowly getting to his feet, "He has. Maybe the future Xaldin will arrive here someday and you'll get a chance to see the differences for yourself." He stepped back, smirking again, "Sure, sure. The other women, as well. Dilan seems to be on very good terms with them. Must be a certain charm, hm?"

He laughed softly, nodding to her next complete question, "That's right. There are several Nobodies here, Axel included."

Lana crossed her hands on the side of the piano and set her chin on top of them making it look almost like she was peeking over the edge of it at Zexion. "I don't think I want to meet Xaldin..." she said quietly.
She quirked a brow, "Well you have a certain charm about you as well but you don't seem to be on good terms with a terribly large amount of people..." She didn't say it in a way that was teasing or unkind. It was more of a puzzled tone. As if she really didn't understand why someone wouldn't get along with Zexion. She didn't see anything wrong with him, he was just a little...rough around the edges.

She sat up again and, putting her hand in front of her mouth yawned largely enough that there was a small squeak that emitted from her at the end of said yawn. She was tired. She'd barely slept in days. Whenever her caffiene wore off she crashed pretty quickly into exhaustion. She was on the downward slope.
She'd noticed Zexion hadn't answered her question about his other name. Maybe it was something that bothered him. She might ask again another time.

Zexion only nodded at that and turned to face the door. He couldn't blame Lana for not wanting to meet the Nobody. The whole situation would be a mess if the lancer ever showed up. He nodded once, hooking his hands into his coat pockets.

"I can't be on good terms with everyone," he answered simply, not bothering with the explanation why.

He glanced over his shoulder just in time to witness her yawn. Exhaustion hadn't caught up with him yet, and he was sure he could manage another few hours at the library. He could sympathize with the feeling, though. Walking back toward the exit, he lifted a hand in a partial wave, "You should get some sleep, Lana."

Lana managed to grunt and say the words "Stable" and "Soon" and phrase "Night, Zex" before yawning again, waving as she did so. She put her fingers back on the keys of the piano and began to play a gentle nocturn.

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[thread] random encounter of Snark

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