[He's in a daze as he makes his way around the halls, doing his best to avoid people and generally sticking to less crowded areas. The thought of reaching out to some of his closest friends had occurred and been just as quickly dismissed, his stomach knotting with anxiety at the thought. After everything he'd told both of them about Lan Wangji, however little he's shared, how can he explain to them why the presence of the man he cares about so much has left him feeling hollowed out and raw?
So he wanders and smiles at the friends he passes, waving off any offers of activity, and managing a convincing smile.
It's the sound of music that catches his attention and has him turning down a different hall than he'd meant. He's heard people play the piano by now, but not often enough for the beauty of it to have worn off. Maybe it never will, music is like that.
Despite the fact that the music room is obviously occupied by whoever is playing, he finds himself drawn to the song, slipping into the room to rest against a wall, and listening in silence. He's sure the man had seen him, but he doesn't interrupt his playing, allowing the music to help soothe his flustered thoughts and center him in the moment.]
[Even with the turmoil swirling in his mind, it's easy to summon a slight smile at the offer and the stranger's easy smile, and though the translator means he doesn't get the full breadth of that accent, he gets enough of it to find his lips curling up even more.]
I'm afraid from what I understand, I'm several centuries short of that, but I've been here long enough to pick up a few things from...[He pauses, trying to remember exacts, and then shrugs.] Later.
[And then] You're wonderfully skilled. Have you been playing for a very long time?
That's kind of you, sure my Ma'd be glad to hear all her hard work paid off over the years. She turned me onto it from the time I was knee-high to a grasshopper.
（ he makes a gesture, a swipe through the air at about thigh-length, indicating the supposed height of this knee-high-grasshopper-child. ）
Used to play in Church, too, an' they never thought so poorly of me they chased me out.
（ agathine had a passel of protestant churches an' a sole catholic one, but that was where his family was every sunday from the early hours to mid-afternoon. ）
[His smile softens even more and he can't help but laugh.]
Knee-high to a grasshopper. [The idiom is a self-explanatory one and he find himself delighted with it. Knee-high to a grasshopper. It certainly paints the picture it's meant to.]
Church is...a place of religious worship? [He hasn't heard the word before and the translator makes it sound something like that.] I'm sure the spirits of those listening were all very soothed by your playing. [He steps closer to the piano, slipping into a bow and rising with a smile.] My name is Wei Wuxian. You must be one of the new arrivals.
（ fella got it right, so he don't feel much need to explain, just nods on in an encouragin' sense, and when he introduces himself, gene holds out a hand. ）
Eugene Hicks, but most folks call me Gene. Right pleasure to meet you, Wei Wuxian.
（ he hits those inflections pitch-perfect, an obvious care taken with the pronunciation of the unfamiliar name. ）
Gene. [He says with a nod, and his lips pull up at Gene's perfect pronunciation. It doesn't offend him when people get it wrong, but he's always delighted when they don't. He steps towards the piano and placed a hand on the side.]
We don't have pianos where I'm from. We have many stringed instruments and drums, and flutes of all kinds, but nothing quite like this. I still find myself captivated whenever I hear someone play.
（ with a mischievous grin, gene flips the top of the piano up an' gestures the other man closer to show off the long wires arrayed out, anchored on the pinblock. ）
If'n you wanna get technical about it, a piano's a stringed instrument, too.
（ entirely not the point, which he recognizes in full, but it's more fun to take it this way. ）
An' yeah, she was. （ past tense — but it isn't somethin' said with pain. it's clear in all he does that he loves an' adores her fiercely, that everything he is was hers first, but her loss didn't leave him in ruin, neither. ） Leagues better than me, though. Never met an instrument couldn't sing beneath her hands, my Ma.
[The point or not, Wei Wuxian immediately moves closer, taking a deep look inside and even reaching in to brush his fingers along what parts of the instrument he can reach. He can see now how it all comes together, and it's fascinating. There's an obvious joy in his eyes to have discovered more about how it works and when he steps back and looks back up at Gene, some of the melancholy he'd entered the room with has vanished.]
What an amazing woman. And here you are, spreading her legacy across the universe. [He reaches into his own robes and pulls a bamboo flute out, holding it up for Gene to see.] I was never very good at anything with strings, but I've been playing this for long enough to be alright.
（ his smile goes soft at the edges, gently fond at the man's reaction. ）
Yeah? Will you play somethin' for me if I ask real sweet?
（ music has always been so much of his heart an' soul. everyone in his family had a gift for somethin' — john made robbie somethin' like a guitar out of old coffee tins an' wood an' wire not long after their pa had that minin' accident, an' he's got letters in his footlocker back home that detail the practice he'd been doin' on the real thing. can't wait until you're home, robbie wrote excitedly, but he hears it in reggie's voice as the man read it to him aloud — we'll damn near have a whole band. an' he'd looked forward to it, even though their plans went sideways after al lost an arm an' couldn't play the fiddle their ma hauled outta london just after the great war. gene ain't never met an instrument he didn't like nor a song he couldn't find somethin' to enjoy, an' the prospect of a new instrument seems to delight him. ）
That seems more than fair. [Wei Wuxian smiles, and doesn't wait for the aforementioned request. The song Gene had played on the Piano was gift enough for him to return the favor. He pauses for a moment to consider what to play, and then lifts the dizi to his lips when he's made his choice.
The song he chooses is a sweet yearning tune that he'd picked up in Yiling, a popular local song about a traveler's wanderlust. He isn't sure if it was originally from Yiling, but it brings him back to his time there nonetheless, and the bittersweet memories always bleed into his playing.
When he finishes the song, he lowers his flute and smiles softly at Gene.]
（ haunting, is the word for it. gene finds himself takin' a seat back on that piano bench, expression solemn as he listens. he takes in every note, enraptured by the sweet melody until the fella's done. he's smilin', then, just a touch. ）
Sure did. Ain't ever heard anythin' quite like that, gorgeous sound. Like somethin' from a dream.
[He raises a finger to rub self consciously at his nose and his cheeks take on a pleased flush, not used to receiving such high praise for his playing. Then again, music was the last thing people associated his flute with back home.]
It's a beautiful instrument, isn't it? I can teach you if you'd like. Not now, I don't have an extra, but it's not so hard!
[His eyes track to the piano and then back to the harmonica and he nods, smiling warmly. As much as he'd love to be able to play that piano, the harmonica makes such an interesting sound, and it's closer to what he already knows.]
It's a deal. It shouldn't take me long to get a hold of another dizi. I'll let you know when I do.
[Exhaling quietly, Wei Wuxian resigns himself to heading back to his room. He's feeling much calmer now than he was before, and this is a music room. Of all the places in the station to go to avoid Lan Wangji, this probably isn't the best one.]
...I should be getting back to my room. I've got some things to take care of. Do you want to meet here again on another day, Gene?
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Action
Date: 2022-10-03 03:43 am (UTC)So he wanders and smiles at the friends he passes, waving off any offers of activity, and managing a convincing smile.
It's the sound of music that catches his attention and has him turning down a different hall than he'd meant. He's heard people play the piano by now, but not often enough for the beauty of it to have worn off. Maybe it never will, music is like that.
Despite the fact that the music room is obviously occupied by whoever is playing, he finds himself drawn to the song, slipping into the room to rest against a wall, and listening in silence. He's sure the man had seen him, but he doesn't interrupt his playing, allowing the music to help soothe his flustered thoughts and center him in the moment.]
no subject
Date: 2022-10-03 11:04 pm (UTC)I do take requests, if'n you happen to know anything from the 1930s on Earth.
（ he gives him a bit of a smile, crooked a one corner. boy howdy, fella, how about that accent. ）
Or you can hum a few bars, an' I'll fake the rest.
no subject
Date: 2022-10-08 04:25 am (UTC)I'm afraid from what I understand, I'm several centuries short of that, but I've been here long enough to pick up a few things from...[He pauses, trying to remember exacts, and then shrugs.] Later.
[And then] You're wonderfully skilled. Have you been playing for a very long time?
no subject
Date: 2022-10-08 04:15 pm (UTC)（ he makes a gesture, a swipe through the air at about thigh-length, indicating the supposed height of this knee-high-grasshopper-child. ）
Used to play in Church, too, an' they never thought so poorly of me they chased me out.
（ agathine had a passel of protestant churches an' a sole catholic one, but that was where his family was every sunday from the early hours to mid-afternoon. ）
no subject
Date: 2022-10-08 08:29 pm (UTC)Knee-high to a grasshopper. [The idiom is a self-explanatory one and he find himself delighted with it. Knee-high to a grasshopper. It certainly paints the picture it's meant to.]
Church is...a place of religious worship? [He hasn't heard the word before and the translator makes it sound something like that.] I'm sure the spirits of those listening were all very soothed by your playing. [He steps closer to the piano, slipping into a bow and rising with a smile.] My name is Wei Wuxian. You must be one of the new arrivals.
no subject
Date: 2022-10-08 11:28 pm (UTC)（ fella got it right, so he don't feel much need to explain, just nods on in an encouragin' sense, and when he introduces himself, gene holds out a hand. ）
Eugene Hicks, but most folks call me Gene. Right pleasure to meet you, Wei Wuxian.
（ he hits those inflections pitch-perfect, an obvious care taken with the pronunciation of the unfamiliar name. ）
no subject
Date: 2022-10-09 12:04 am (UTC)We don't have pianos where I'm from. We have many stringed instruments and drums, and flutes of all kinds, but nothing quite like this. I still find myself captivated whenever I hear someone play.
Your mother was a very good teacher. [He grins.]
no subject
Date: 2022-10-09 08:27 pm (UTC)If'n you wanna get technical about it, a piano's a stringed instrument, too.
（ entirely not the point, which he recognizes in full, but it's more fun to take it this way. ）
An' yeah, she was. （ past tense — but it isn't somethin' said with pain. it's clear in all he does that he loves an' adores her fiercely, that everything he is was hers first, but her loss didn't leave him in ruin, neither. ） Leagues better than me, though. Never met an instrument couldn't sing beneath her hands, my Ma.
no subject
Date: 2022-10-10 03:43 am (UTC)What an amazing woman. And here you are, spreading her legacy across the universe. [He reaches into his own robes and pulls a bamboo flute out, holding it up for Gene to see.] I was never very good at anything with strings, but I've been playing this for long enough to be alright.
no subject
Date: 2022-10-10 02:27 pm (UTC)Yeah? Will you play somethin' for me if I ask real sweet?
（ music has always been so much of his heart an' soul. everyone in his family had a gift for somethin' — john made robbie somethin' like a guitar out of old coffee tins an' wood an' wire not long after their pa had that minin' accident, an' he's got letters in his footlocker back home that detail the practice he'd been doin' on the real thing. can't wait until you're home, robbie wrote excitedly, but he hears it in reggie's voice as the man read it to him aloud — we'll damn near have a whole band. an' he'd looked forward to it, even though their plans went sideways after al lost an arm an' couldn't play the fiddle their ma hauled outta london just after the great war. gene ain't never met an instrument he didn't like nor a song he couldn't find somethin' to enjoy, an' the prospect of a new instrument seems to delight him. ）
no subject
Date: 2022-10-11 06:06 am (UTC)The song he chooses is a sweet yearning tune that he'd picked up in Yiling, a popular local song about a traveler's wanderlust. He isn't sure if it was originally from Yiling, but it brings him back to his time there nonetheless, and the bittersweet memories always bleed into his playing.
When he finishes the song, he lowers his flute and smiles softly at Gene.]
Did it live up to your expectations?
no subject
Date: 2022-10-12 09:53 pm (UTC)Sure did. Ain't ever heard anythin' quite like that, gorgeous sound. Like somethin' from a dream.
no subject
Date: 2022-10-15 02:14 am (UTC)It's a beautiful instrument, isn't it? I can teach you if you'd like. Not now, I don't have an extra, but it's not so hard!
no subject
Date: 2022-10-17 04:57 pm (UTC)Only if I get to teach you piano. Or the harmonica — we got our options.
（ he pulls the little instrument out of his breast pocket, waggles it about an' then hammers a few seconds of bluesy refrain into it. ）
Little less fingerin' than your fine flute, though.
（ this is not an innuendo, he is a polite young man from a respectable house!!! ）
no subject
Date: 2022-10-23 05:39 pm (UTC)It's a deal. It shouldn't take me long to get a hold of another dizi. I'll let you know when I do.
[Exhaling quietly, Wei Wuxian resigns himself to heading back to his room. He's feeling much calmer now than he was before, and this is a music room. Of all the places in the station to go to avoid Lan Wangji, this probably isn't the best one.]
...I should be getting back to my room. I've got some things to take care of. Do you want to meet here again on another day, Gene?
no subject
Date: 2022-10-24 02:15 pm (UTC)（ he gives the fella a companionable nod, an' leaves him to it. ）