Brian Campo (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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birthright_rpg2013-12-14 12:12 pm
brian_campo) wrote in birthright_rpg2013-12-14 12:12 pm
Sidewalk Musicians
Around the time of the holidays, it was common to come across musicians on the city sidewalks. They brought guitars, harmonicas, violins, any instrument small enough to be hauled outdoors and played for tourists, who tossed cash and coin into upturned hats or plush, upholstered cases. Tonight, a clever trio of flutists had stationed themselves near a hot chocolate street vendor, where people enjoying their drinks might be tempted to sit and listen for a while.
Brian sat on a low, concrete wall and listened. His butt was cold and numb. His hands warmed themselves on a Styrofoam cup. It was his work break, and he was claustrophobic enough to take this short walk from Tracks and listen. He knew one of the musicians, a girl named Kacy who was in the music program at UNLV.
He blew on his chapping hands and turned his head to watch the oncoming foot traffic. His coat was pulled up around his neck, but he hadn’t brought a hat and his ears were freezing. The steam from the hot chocolate made his nose threaten to run. He was thinking about getting another tattoo, and his mind drifted to that idea.
[Thread: Open to Anyone]
Brian sat on a low, concrete wall and listened. His butt was cold and numb. His hands warmed themselves on a Styrofoam cup. It was his work break, and he was claustrophobic enough to take this short walk from Tracks and listen. He knew one of the musicians, a girl named Kacy who was in the music program at UNLV.
He blew on his chapping hands and turned his head to watch the oncoming foot traffic. His coat was pulled up around his neck, but he hadn’t brought a hat and his ears were freezing. The steam from the hot chocolate made his nose threaten to run. He was thinking about getting another tattoo, and his mind drifted to that idea.
[Thread: Open to Anyone]
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Julianna had made a small effort to decorate her apartment for the season, putting up a tiny tree in a corner. Some kind of social event for residents had been organized; she'd gotten a notice on her door about it. She was still debating on whether or not to go.
The night air was surprisingly chilly, and the Watcher pulled her seasonal coat tighter around her. She had matching gloves and a scarf around her neck. A bag of small purchases sat near her left foot, leaving her hands free to hold the cup of hot chocolate she'd bought. She had always enjoyed music, even if she lacked any talent for it herself.
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He caught her eye.
"Alright, I'm not just gonna sit here and be an asshole," he muttered to himself. He got up and started weaving past the people, including a pair of identically dressed twins in green pea coats. Ever since The Shining, twins had given him the creeps.
"Hey," he said, raising his cup to her as he approached.
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Brian's approach wasn't quite the surprise it might have been a few weeks ago. If he didn't run away when vampires appeared, there must be more to him than met the eye. She lifted her own drink in an answering salute as he got closer.
"Hello, Brian," she said with a reserved smile. "Taking a bit of air and enjoying the Yuletide music, I see."
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He left off with a shrug. Since the spot next to her was unoccupied, he sat down, wondering if Valerie gave her the news about the vampire.
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When Brian took the seat next to her, Julianna took the opportunity to examine him surreptitiously. He seemed none the worse for wear after his encounter. She wondered what he'd told the hospital workers.
"I'm glad to see you're well," she said, turning her attention back to the source of the music. The trio had just finished one piece, and they were conferring among themselves while keeping their hands warm in their coat pockets. The sound of coins hitting the hard plastic of an instrument case could be heard over the murmuring of the spectators.
The next song began. The Watcher looked down briefly to make sure her bag was still there. She'd only purchased a few things, small items for her teaching assistant and some of her other colleagues, but in a crowd things could be pilfered. "You could have ended up in much worse straits."
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He pulled his collar up higher and slumped into it. When his bandmates asked about the wrist and the giant bruise on his forehead, he said he got mugged. It was a humiliating explanation, but there wasn’t any mistaking the finger-shaped bruises on his arm, and claiming he fell down the stairs was ‘after-school special’ transparent.
“I’m learning self-defense,” he said. “Did Valerie say anything about it?” He searched her face for recognition, a sign that the truth about his abilities had come out in conversation. It wasn’t like Valerie to tell secrets, but maybe it was different with Julianna, who already understood things. It hit him that Julianna might know things about telekinesis, specifically. Brian’s chest started the burn with the impulse to ask, and his knee bounced in place.
He kept himself in check.
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Julianna took a sip of her hot chocolate, momentarily regretting that there was no whipped cream on the surface, but the vendor's brisk business meant she'd run out. Brian expression was either curious or inquiring or both. She looked at his suddenly jittery knee with something like amusement.
"I did wonder how you managed to be so fortunate," she continued lightly. "According to Valerie, your assailant has had a long time to hone her skills. It's a general rule of thumb that the longer someone's been at something, the more proficient they become at it."
That was the closest she could come to saying she knew it was a vampire that had attacked Brian while they were in public. He really looked like he had a question to ask, though.
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Brian sniffed and broke eye contact. He stared at the red bow tied to Kacy’s flute. The musician’s fingers blurred at the keys as she navigated a difficult run, and his own hands twitched. “The thing is, if I’m good enough, it won’t matter. She won’t get her hands on me.” He gave the ground a lopsided smile. “They say the best defense is a good offense. Maybe it’s just staying out of arm’s reach.”
He reached for his cup and gulped. The beverage had cooled off and now it was granular.
He scratched his ear with his shoulder.
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He hadn't answered her question directly, but given their surroundings it wasn't exactly the best environment for it. Still, there were clues to be mined in what Brian had said, provided one was paying attention. And Julianna had always prided herself on being attentive.
"That's what distance weapons are for," she murmured. "Firearms wouldn't be of much use, obviously. What kind of self-defense are you learning? Is Valerie assisting you, or are you planning to be self-taught?"
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He noticed that his leg had continued its rhythmic jump and stopped it.
“I hope I’m good for her.” It was a right-angle turn in the conversation.
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He wasn't going to tell her, at least not right now, so Julianna let it go. She didn't have to constantly ferret out information, no matter how curious she was. Around them, the crowd shifted and murmured.
"And breathing exercises can assist with meditation. Relaxation is key to clearing your mind so you can focus."
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He needed an on-off switch, and he needed to be a better judge of when to let it out – at the piano – and when to hold it in – telekinesis, Valerie – so he didn’t wreck everything.
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He seemed troubled, but it wasn't her place to press him to talk. For no other reason than Valerie might consider it to be meddling. If he wanted to share, he could. But she could at least ask a leading question.
"Why do you have to un-teach yourself?"
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Brian stared across the plaza at a woman in a knit cap. His mouth twisted.
“Cars land on people.”
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"Ah, I see."
And she actually believed she was beginning to. Like Slayerhood, certain talents could lie dormant for years, with the bearer being entirely unaware of them until they suddenly manifested. Being male, Brian was not an obvious candidate to turn out to be a demon hunter. Julianna looked down at the toes of her shoes.
"The mind's a powerful muscle, Brian." She was still looking down, but her voice would still be audible to him. "The things it's capable of can either be great or terrible, depending on your intentions. As far as I can tell, your intentions are benign. So what's troubling you?"
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After a minute, he gave her a self-deprecating smile and his nose wrinkled.
"I'm not very patient."
He stood up because his ass had gone numb. Brian rolled a pebble under his shoe. "Do you know how this stuff happens? I mean, did I live too close to a power line or something?"
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"Unfortunately, the causes of 'this stuff' have never been determined," Julianna informed Brian, looking up to make eye contact. "There are theories that say it's emotion-based, brought on by stress or when someone feels threatened. Others claim that it's purely mental, part of the untapped potential of human intelligence. I'm not sure how much validity the latter idea has. If everyone had the ability to do certain things, the world would be a much different place."
She looked over his shoulder at the trio of flute players, then looked at his face again. "Is that what the meditation is going to help with, learning to tamp it down?"
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Julianna was watching the pebble rise from Brian's palm, then land back in his hand. The number of people around them would make it difficult for him to demonstrate his abilities, and if he hadn't learned to control it yet, he'd need a much quieter environment for such a thing. Perhaps some other time, then.
"Valerie indicated that you were attacked to get an emotional response from her," she said. "I told her that she was wise not to be too quick to react. It sounds as if you defended yourself perfectly well, no matter how inadvertently."
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Brian nodded his listening to the rest of it, but he kept hanging up on that first part, so much that he didn't notice the compliment she had given him. Probably best, since he wouldn't have known how to react, anyway.
"I just hope I didn't make it worse."
Brian picked up his trash.
"I'm gonna head out," he said, pointing over his shoulder. The flutists were packing up their instruments and he wanted to catch up with Kacy. "But um," he lifted his hands in a wave, "Good talk."
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"Good night, Brian," Julianna said, picking up her shopping bag. She should consult her books tonight, see if she could discover anything about this vampire. Knowledge was power, especially in battle. Some vampires did stand out from the norm, either because of longevity or because of who they'd killed. The only reason she hadn't told the musician that was because she didn't want to alarm him. Besides, research gave her something to do.
The Watcher departed, pausing long enough to throe her empty cup into a trash barrel on the sidewalk. Christmas was nearly here. The only thing missing was snow.