11043/Six strings, many more moods.

Six strings, many more moods.
Date of Scene:	11 February 2020
Location:	Classroom - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Music can say what words never could, as Tatum catches Bean in the music room late at night. Peace through music...
Cast of Characters:	Samuel Morgan, Deadzone

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Samuel Morgan has posed:
    There is a time and a place for anything. The time, right now, is so late it's early again, and everyone in the Mansion should be asleep. At least, the students are deemed to be asleep, given that lights out for even the older ones was quite a few hours ago. But not everyone finds sleep as easy to come by, and for some this time of night is a welcome time to do what needs doing, without too many other people around to disturb.

    The place is the music classroom, which nobody has any reason to be using at this time of night. And yet someone is. The lights are on, some of the equipment is on, and music is seeping gently through the soundproofed door.

    Guitar strings vibrate as Bean's fingers find them, curtailed over the frets, forming sounds that form notes, that form melodies which in turn forms music...

Deadzone has posed:
Tatum walks the halls of the mansion, touching things that on the last world she was on were destroyed. So many different versions of the same place, the same people. It gets confusing. It is the stuff of nightmares.
And so, Tatum is wandering, trying to come to terms with the fact that people she loved are alive here that were dead on worlds she has passed. Or is that past? See? Confusing.
And then... there are the soft strains of guitar. Tatum closes her eyes and smiles, listening, heading towards the music room. Music is a balm for the soul, perfect for her at the moment. She knocks softly on the music room door.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    The music, such as it is, comes to a stop at the knock. Paws can be heard padding behind the door, followed by a soft 'whurf' that seems to acknowledge a certain something... a sound, or a scent. But the canine behind the door approves of whomever is trying to enter, and so the mystery guitar player opens the door.

    Revealing Bean, looking like he had about two hours of sleep and isn't counting on any more. A well loved and clearly second hand Yamaha guitar hangs from its strap around his neck, and he takes a step back to make room. "oh, hey. C'mon in. Was I making too much noise?"

Deadzone has posed:
Hearing the soft woof on the other side of the door, Tatum smiles. There are not many canines on the grounds, so the sound of one greatly narrows down the list of people that might be in the room. The goth smiles to Samuel and shakes her head when asked about the noise. "Not at all. I couldn't sleep and was slowly heading in this direction anyway."
She starts to enter the room and looks over in the corner and smiles. "Hello Baby. Did you miss me? I know, I know. I've been gone a long time. I'm sorry." She heads over to the cello, the Stradavari that looks... well, it's simply amazing. The details on the places that are usually just plain and boring on most instruments are so intricate. She caresses the cello, stroking the curves like one might a lover, her forehead resting on the scroll of the pegboard. She then seems to rememeber that there was someone else in the room and looks up with a blush. "Sorry. She's rather important to me."
"Would you like to play together?"

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    The door is very firmly closed again, and Bear lays himself across the opening like the world's most amiable draft excluder. Curiously, the Shepherd is sporting a pair of mutt muffs. Either someone doesn't think much of their own ability, or Bear has very sensitive hearing indeed.

    "I'm not that great a player. Only started a few weeks ago, the music teacher wanted me to find out more music that I liked, Miss Pryde gave me a guitar for my birthday, and... well, I've been practicing a song." Bean, unlike many an aspiring guitar player, seems to be entirely aware of his limitations ... or perhaps a bit too much so. "Would you... like to hear it? Tell me how it sounds?"

Deadzone has posed:
Tatum smiles as Bean explains. She, rather than grabbing her cello, goes over to pick up one of the guitars that are used for the students to use. She approaches the student and sits herself down, getting comfy and settling the guitar on her lap. "I would love to here it. And if you like, I could help. I mean, after all that education, it's probably a good thing I get to use it to help others now and again.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Bean doesn't sit. In fact, he stands quite precisely, as if his position in the room is important. Considering there are drum machines and even a synth nearby... perhaps it is... "If you know the song, feel free to play along. It's British punk..."

    The song starts, pick strumming, a rhythm that requires an up-strum every other bar. The Yamaha seems perfectly suited for it, very mellow, the sound fairly rich. When Bean starts to sing, it's in a voice laden with emotion.

    ~I see you sparkle in the mud, like a little diamond in the rough~
    ~Ready for the cut, ready for the cut~

    ~And you could go either way, potentially two-faced~
    ~Both sides battling for a place~

Deadzone has posed:
Tatum hears the song and starts to smirk. If she knows it? She's almost insulted that Bean thought she might not. She does start playing, but instead of the strumming that Samuel is doing, her fingers pick at the strings in a harmony to the main melody that the boy sings.
As the two continue to play, Tate gets a distant look on her face and a slow, sweet smile. She slips the shoulder strap over her head and begins to stand just before the chorus, finally strumming along to add to the depth of it, now singing in harmony.

    ~Stand and say I am. The Lion and the Lamb, I am~
    ~Part of the plan, I am. The Lion and the Lamb!~

    ~I am the Lion and the Lamb!~
    ~The Lion and the Lamb!~
    ~The Lion and the Lamb!~

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    The chorus, when it hits, is accompanied with drums... yes, the drum machine seems to switch itself on and play along without anyone touching the controls. Bean's eyes open, and the look he gives Tatum is one of complete surprise, before it's supplanted by a grin, belting out the chorus with a vehemence that seems to hint to quite a bit of underlying emotion.

    ~Stand and say I AM! The lion and the lamb I AM~
    ~Part of the plan I AM, the lion and the lamb~

    ~I AM~
    ~The lion and the lamb, the lion and the lamb~
    ~The lion and the lamb~

    The furious guitar mellows again, Bean's face now set in something closer to grief.

    ~Your glamour fades so quick, soars up like a rocket~
    ~Down like a stick, down like a stick~

    ~Welll be strong when the need it~
    ~Be weak when they waaant it~
    ~If you want to FIT.~

Deadzone has posed:
Tate just lets herself get lost in the music. Playing a piece that she knew when she was a younger and more innocent young woman. She remembers the cynic that she used to be with the chip on her shoulder and can't help but smile. The young Tatum had been so bitter and angry. Punk, with it's anger had definitely called to her. She remembers actually playing this piece on her cello while she was in Juilliard.

As she plays, her feelings of nostalgia and warmth at the memories starts to spread to the room. It's a subtle happiness that just can't be denied even though it may be in contradiction to the song. One can't help but think of a time in their life that things were simpler and feel a bittersweet moment of wishing one could be there again.

Tatum doesn't join in on the chorus, letting Samuel be the focus, and only joins in to harmonize for the chorus and do the finger picking when the song calls for it.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    This is the part where the song has always fallen flat for Bean, the bit he has to skip, or improvise, because a solo is not something he feels happy doing. It requires putting yourself into the spotlight for a moment, and when the light shines on you hard enough, the shadows deepen. His fingers always fail to move fast enough, cramping up at the mere thought.

    Now, as he looks into the far corner of the room, as he's wont to do when the song is about to fail, he sees... sees the room, the other room, with the piano. The piano the man who called himself his father played, so passionately. The torrent of music that filled the evenings, the happy evenings, of an early childhood. By themselves, his fingers begin to pick out the sequence. Elaboration upon elaboration, the phrase hanging and returning, until the solo is done ... and Bean takes a split second to realise exactly where he is. Looking directly at Tatum now, eyes practically glowing.

    ~See you sparkle in the mud.~
    ~Diamond in the rough.~
    ~Ready for the cut.~

    ~Some stay dull~
    ~Some stay blunt~
    ~But you will shiiiiiine~

    ~And say I AM~
    ~The Lion and the lamb, I am~
    ~Part of the plan I am!~
    ~The Lion and the Lamb!~

Deadzone has posed:
The plain looking goth, in her black hoodie and jeans, with zero make-up making her look kind of washed out and bland, smiles to Bean. She wonders where he went for a bit there, having noticed the distant look on his face. Mind you, she often goes other places when she plays too. And so, she is simply happy for the young man as they play.

As the song comes to an end, she sighs with contentment. The feelings of nostalgia fade as the notes do, bringing both players back to the here and now. "That was wonderful. You're doing great. You're a little raw and rough, but you said you have been practicing for only a couple months? Just keep working at it and you'll be great!"

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Weeks, it's... been a bit busy for me." Bean clarifies, running a hand through his hair... the hair that is getting slightly longer every day, and which by now is dipping below his ears. It's the typical hair cut of someone who has had to cut their hair short for most of their life, and are now letting it grow out of almost sheer rebellion. He sits, blinking just once.

    "How did you know that song? First time I heard it, it... it felt like it could have been written about me."

Deadzone has posed:
Sitting herself back down, Tatum wonders how to answer the question. "I, back on the world I came from originally, was... not really a nice person. I was very angry. I had a chip on my shoulder about a mile wide. It was actually coming to Xaviers that helped. Not at first. I fought. I fought hard. Mr. Summers and I butt heads almost daily. But the teachers here... or there... you get the idea. They stuck with me. They out stubborned me, which is saying a lot. And eventually... I let go of the hate. But, during my angry "I hate the world" phase, I listened to a lot of punk. It's good angry music. And TV... He has integrity. Alone on the stage, gray hair and wrinkles, and he plays with more integrity and heart then some people half his age."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Sitting now, Bean unslings the guitar as if he's taking a rifle off his shoulder. Almost exactly like that, in fact, and he handles the instrument much the same. Leaning the neck against his shoulder, he slouches forwards, arms folded over the frets. "Anger... at the world, at something in particular, at the wrong things entirely. In my case it was anger at the people I was told to be angry at. Didn't question it, it was... anyway, years ago now. Indoctrination sucks."

    Fingers pluck at the strings as he talks, a nonsensical accompaniment to the words. "My anger was gone by the time the school came to get me from the Scorpion Pit. Two years in a concrete box do that. It comes back, from time to time, like this beast inside that I can't control. Nothing to focus it on, nothing that's worth being angry at at any rate. Guess that all sounds familiar, huh?"

Deadzone has posed:
"I was angry at everything. When I found out what had been done to me and why... and by who. It gave me a target. The teachers here tried there best to save me from what I did next. I mean, sure, it ended up right in the end, but killing people changes you on a deep level." She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, saddened by her past life, a million years away. She finally nods her head. "Yeah. It sounds so familiar. It's what I tap into whenever I have to fight now. It can make me brutal. But in the end, every world I've been in needed that brutality. Except this one. Maybe it's why I'm so glad to be back here."

She starts to pluck the strings of the guitar on her lap. It's a soft piece, lyrical and relaxing. When she starts singing the words, her voice is average at best, but there is emotion there, so much so that you can feel it yourself. A sense of peace and relaxation. Calm and contentment. One could easily fall asleep to the piece.

    ~Good night, baby. Sleep tight my love~
    ~May the stars watch over you from above~

    ~Tomorrow I'm working. What would I do?~
    ~I'd be lost and lonely if not for you~

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "I think, on this world, I may have brutality covered..." Yes. Killing changes you on a very fundamental level. Bean knows that, knows it very well. The blood on his hands would never wash off, even if he was the only one who could see it most of the time. But before he can add to the sentiment, the guitar starts, and he leans back in his seat to listen.

    Bear, having kept himself to himself until now, traipses closer and hops onto Bean's lap without the least hesitation, laying across it with his head on the teenager's shoulder. Those arms now move to encompass the German Shepherd, a soft smile on Bean's face.

    It's alright for now.

    Alright for now...

    With a soft breath, the troubled teenager falls asleep, hugging his furry friend.

    It's alright for now.

Deadzone has posed:
Finding out that her music had a power that she didn't know it had... at first it had upset her. Did this mean that her music wasn't as good as she had thought it was? Had it always been her power that made her music special. But, after some soul searching, she came to realize that it didn't matter. The power of her music, whether in her fingers or in her heart still came from her. When she played, people felt what she felt. She truly had the ability to let music soothe the savage breast.

As Samuel falls asleep there in the chair with his emotional therapy dog in his lap, Tatum stands and lifts the guitar off of her shoulder. She gives Bear a couple of loving pets. "You are a good boy," she tells him. "You protect him and keep his dreams sweet." She then looks to the boy. "Sleep well, Bean. It's alright for now. We're alright for now." She puts the guitar away and turns down the lights as she leaves. Not all of them in case Samuel wakes up, but enough to keep the room dim. She puts the Do Not Disturb sign on the door, reserved for when classes are in session and leaves to head to sleep herself. Helping someone else get a little peace oddly enough, or perhaps not so oddly, helped her find that same peace for herself.