Sidewalk Musicians

[brian_campo]

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.

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[brian_campo]

He shook his head. "Nothing." The telekinetic pushed his sleeve higher on his wrist and scratched near the opening of the splint. "I just want to get it right. It's a lot. It's not like learning Tae Kwon Do, I can't just... y'know, go to the gym and sign up."

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?"

[st_clare]

She smiled back, the expression tolerant. This was part of the job she liked, people who wanted to know more asking questions. It wasn't a breach of anything when her encounter with the musician was an accident.

"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?"

[brian_campo]

He nodded. "Stop doing it by accident, start doing it better on purpose." The little rock got stuck in his boot tread. Brian bent to pick it out. "I don't know what Valerie told you about the redhead. The uh," he glanced over his shoulder, "Y'know, the one I had trouble with, but there's something off about her." His brown eyes flicked between the pebble and the Watcher. He bounced it in his palm. "I know I don't have a lot of experience with this stuff. As far as I know, I've only come in contact with three others like her, but there's this word I keep thinking when I replay what happened. Feral. Now a lack of a conscience. Like a sadist."

[st_clare]

"Sadism stands out as a defining characteristic for that kind of individual. Some might be worse than others, and perhaps some can even curb their impulses, but it's impossible to grow a conscience. The best case scenario indicates amorality."

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."

[brian_campo]

She hadn't taken the information on the redhead the way he hoped. Julianna was the resident expert, so he didn't push, but he couldn't shake the idea -- whether he was right or wrong -- that the redhead was probably worse, or at least more calculating, than the average vampire. If all of them walked around thinking like the serrated edge of a knife all the time, the world wouldn't still be standing.

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."

[st_clare]

Had she helped? Brian seemed like such a gentle soul, either because of his introversion or the uncertain origin of his new talents. If she was discreet about how she ascertained the nature of his abilities, she might be able to give Valerie some additional guidelines for meditation. Helping the Slayer with her new friend might help cement their fledgling relationship.

"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.