InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Der flipperwurt!"

Xander Wilson (risinghellborn) wrote in halcyon_halls,
@ 2008-09-17 23:40:00

Entry tags:

jaida, xander

Week 18: Tuesday Evening
Who: Xander and Jaida
Where: Music Clubroom
When: Tuesday night starting at 8.

The day had been entertaining, he could say that much at the very least. Much to the annoyance of certain members of the female gender, Xander always did like a little variety in his meals. He knew that sooner or later, the school would growl at him for feeding on the other students, but he really didn’t see any other way around things. Sure, he could always go to the clubs and feed off everyone, but that was far more dangerous of the options. And it wasn’t like the school kept bottled lust around like it did for vampires. So, when left with the choice of feeding off students and breaking the rules, or heading into town and risking upsetting older more powerful supernaturals, Xander picked the easier of the two options.

And he made sure he had been well fed for the evening, just so that hunger wouldn’t distract him. After all, he knew just how hot the muse was, as he shared several classes and a club with her. Even then, he knew he was going to get distracted somewhat, but hopefully it wasn’t going to be too bad. If it was, he had only himself to blame in the long run, as he knew what he was getting into. But, with the fact the song stuck in his head just wouldn’t allow itself to be finished, he figured there was no harm in trying. Worst thing that was going to happen was that he would fail with the song, but then that’d happen whether he risked it or not.

So, long before Jaida was actually supposed to meet him there, Xander was in the music clubroom. He had his laptop setup on the side, as well as a microphone. Sometimes the newest software around made things so much easier. This particular bit would create the sheet music for whatever sounds were playing at the time. It made things so much easier, as he wouldn’t have to remember each and every note and rift he did while he was creating and write it down. Or try to write without playing. That was often even more frustrating.

When Jaida did arrive, he was sitting in the back, his guitar across his lap as his fingers worked the strings. His full attention was on his music, as he strummed out a lively little tune. His eyes were closed, and he wasn’t even paying attention to the computer string, or the time. Nor would he even realize that anyone else had entered the room.

Ads by Project Wonderful! Your ad here, right now: $0

(Post a new comment)

divaboheme
2008-09-19 08:25 am UTC (link)

To say that Jaida was bored as hell was a bit of an understatement. She'd actually gone to classes that day, been the perfect model student and paid attention to whatever boring fucking lecture was being given, and headed back to her room to crash afterwards. As much as she ran around acting like things were the same as they'd been when she'd arrived, there were some big freakin' changes taking place. She was going to get a job, after all, and there was the whole business with Viv - not to mention she'd started working a little bit more on her music. Sure, she'd asked Charlie's opinion on some stuff awhile back, but it had gotten lost amongst all the drama that had followed. If Halcyon was good for one thing, it was providing the perfect melting pot for drama to run rampant. Fuck, she couldn't wait for the next gossip post - it was bound to be chock full of controversial yumminess.

So really, if you were going to be working on music, you needed an instrument that actually worked and Jaida's guitar was currently out of commission - nothing major, a few popped strings and the bridge needed to be secured, that was all. She could take car of the little issues easily, just needed to track down the tools she'd need. The Music Room was, obviously, the best choice - if it didn't have what she'd need, she'd hit Wes up for a few loaners. The guy was in a band, surely he had a little guitar fixer-upper kit.

Climbing out of bed, she got her shit together - packing up her guitar and what other little miscellaneous tools she'd need. A little fluff of that brightly colored hair of hers was perfectly necessary, as was a touch-up to her make-up...you never know who you might run into, after all. Sliding on a pair of boots, she grabbed her keys and headed out. The Music Room wasn't far off and it was definitely easy to find, especially with someone in there strumming loudly on their guitar. Ok, maybe not loudly, but it was echoing down the empty hallway and that definitely made it seem louder than it was.

She didn't interrupt when she stepped inside, just set her gig bag on one of the workshop tables and moved to the cabinet to track down some strings and a little screwdriver to tighten the bridge. There was nothing worse than somebody breaking your train of thought when you were writing a little piece of music, so she wasn't about to draw attention to herself. And, for once, no smart ass remark came to mind - clearly, she was losing her gift. She'd blame it on the nap, it had put her off her game. Temporarily.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

risinghellborn
2008-09-21 08:44 pm UTC (link)

It had definitely been one of those weeks where things just kept coming and going all week long. And it definitely kept him busy. With the song stuck in his head, if he wasn’t out surfing trying to relax his mind, or busy doing homework. Homework was always a good thing, something he didn’t miss from his old days in college. Didn’t miss it one little bit. But, this was a school, and as a result, he had to put up with it again. But, at least it had been a light week so far. Right up until Friday, which was a good thing for him.

It at least gave him extra time to work on his music, which was what he had been focused upon all week as well. That, and the few women he had agreed to spend time with. A guy had to eat, after all. It had even proven to be a bit fruitful as well. But come Friday, none of those were what had him refreshed and full of energy. No, that was something else all together. He knew he was going to get in trouble for it eventually, but he was enjoying it for the moment. Poor Evelyn, and those very vivid dreams of hers. He enjoyed them quite a bit.

He enjoyed her dreams almost as much as he enjoyed that blush of her cheeks, and the fact that she had avoided even looking at him for the entire duration of the day. Both in class, and in the club as well. Xander knew he was having just the right effect on her, just by that shade in her cheeks. But, he didn’t push the point. He didn’t try to engage her in talk, or even look at her all that often. Nope, let her think everything was on her end, it made the rest all that much easier.

After the club, he sat back and waited as he stretched out his shoulders a bit. When she did finally did approach him, he grinned at her a bit. “Not sleeping well? Nothing to blush about.. it happens from time to time you know..” he said with a chuckle and a shake of his head. “And no, I didn’t finish it, but I’ve got a good chunk of it.” He reached down to a folder that had been to the side of his desk-chair, and held it up toward her. “Bless computers, and their ability to record music.” He winked once at her, even as he did let his gaze wander for a brief moment.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

divaboheme
2008-09-22 08:43 am UTC (link)

Fuck, her memory was definitely starting to go as well - maybe there was something to that whole 'drugs are bad for you spiel.' If she was already forgetting that she'd agreed to meet up and work on some music with Xander, then that was really the only explanation...either that or she'd gone senile overnight. Wasn't looking too good either way. It was mid-restringing of her guitar and it dawned on her, cue the proverbial light bulb overhead, and she raised her head to glance in his direction again - just making sure it really was Xander, since she hadn't paid much attention on the way in. Man, she was really on top of her game today.

Of course, she finished her re-stringing first, cause otherwise she was never gonna fucking get that done and her poor little baby desperately needed it. Once that was done, she tucked all her crap away and decided it was about time she interrupted boy wonder over there. She headed his way, but he beat her to the whole 'breaking the ice' bit. "Nah, sleeping fine. There's just nothing to do around this place in the afternoons but crash for a nap." And, if you were lucky, you got someone to crash with you...or entertain you prior to the nap. J wasn't really one to mind a bedmate, especially if that snuggle bud was Viv, as of late.

Jaida reached out and snagged the music Xander offered up, taking a moment to read over what he'd done. "Looks pretty good so far. That program they've got loaded up on the system here needs a little tweaking, but then it's pretty fucking rad at recording shit." She'd liked it so far, granted she'd had to adjust some of the levels to get it where she liked it. "Looks like your bridge needs a little work, but then I'm guessing that's why you're hanging around a muse, huh?" she winked, taking a seat on the empty stool across from him. Other than a few little weak spots, he actually had started penning a pretty good tune.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

risinghellborn
2008-09-23 04:43 pm UTC (link)

Drugs were bad for you. Very very bad for you. Especially the good ones. If they were tweaking your memory, they were making you do stupid stuff you’d rather forget that you did in the first place. At least, that was how Xander saw it. Not that he didn’t enjoy the occasional taste himself, especially the all too popular recreational drugs, those were just that much more fun, after all. Of course, those were the ones that made you do stupid stuff in the end.

With her words, though, Xander chuckled a little toward her and he inclined his head a bit. “Unless you’re in a deluge of clubs, there’s little to do around the school other than to nap.. or get out of school. And being in bed isn’t as much fun if you’re alone, so I was never one for naps. Always hit the beaches and surf till dark. Don’t surf, do you?” He had met quite a number who were either interested, or did surf on the islands, so it was one of those questions that never hurt.

“And yeah, the program does the job right good. Definitely needs to be tweaked, but it works a hell of a lot better than the commercial crap I bought back home. Band was always thinking about getting our hands on one of the professional gigs.. but those things are damn expensive. Was never quite willing to shell out that much cash myself, and the boys always lived at their limit..” So, no buying expensive computer equipment and programs in other words.

“Mamma always told me to use what I had available to me.” He said with a grin at her last words. “What good is knowing a muse if you don’t use her talents.” He winked once at her, before he let his fingers strum his guitar strings once, letting out that short burst of sound. “Doesn’t hurt at all that the muse is damn hot too. Though, is that some sort of requirement for muses? All the ones in books and stories and such are always so rockin’ the looks too.”

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

divaboheme
2008-09-24 08:17 am UTC (link)

Oh yes, drugs were just horrible and only the lowest members of society partook of them. The thought alone would have been enough to have Jaida cracking up. Really, everybody knew that in the course of things you could do to fuck up your body, drugs were high on the list but it didn't seem to stop very many people now did it? Certainly didn't stop her from having a nice little party time every now and then.

An empty bed was less appealing than one you shared with another body, but it wasn't enough to cause her any grief. Sleeping was one of Jaida's favorite things to do, after all, so curling up for a nap wasn't the worst way she could spend her afternoon - and she sure as hell wasn't the type to fill her time with an endless list of extra-curricular clubs. "Don't surf, no," she shook her head, "I'm from Chicago, not a lot of places to learn to surf. The waves in Lake Michigan aren't quite an ideal setting."

The program here wasn't fool proof, but then not many were. Technology was nice and all, but nothing beat the human touch when it came to something like writing music - the program might miss a note here and there, but you'd catch it every time. "Some of the professional shit is worse than the little commercial ones you can pick up yourself." What they had at the school was one of the best programs she'd worked with so far.

She was a pretty damn hot muse, wasn't she? Ha. There was just something about Jaida that people seemed drawn to - if it wasn't the crazy sense of style or the neon shade of her hair, then maybe there was something about people being drawn to the whole muse thing. She could inspire them after all, get those dried up creative juices flowing, maybe there was some weird-ass kind of magnetism or something. Who knew? All of this supernatural shit was so weird anyway. "Might be one of our many attributes....gotta be hot enough to inspire."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

risinghellborn
2008-09-25 10:20 am UTC (link)

It certainly never stopped him from enjoying it now and again either. After all, nearly every drug in the world was designed to affect humans, and he was definitely not that. While it usually took more than his fair share (though not nearly as much as it would take a were or other creature with regeneration), he also knew it wouldn’t drop him down nearly as much as it might someone else out there. One of the nice things about not being human, after all.

“Pity, I bet you’d be rockin’ a bikini as well as those jeans after all. Nothing in the world as inspiring as a hot chick ridin’ a nice long board and cruisin’ down a wave.” Xander couldn’t help but grin as he thought back to the handful of dedicated female surfers he knew. No, there was definitely nothing as inspiring as trying to get their attention on the waves.

“Some of it is, yeah.” He did say with a nod of his head. “And you always do gotta go over them to make sure its not skippin’ a beat here and there when your fingers are strumming faster than the machine is reading. But, some of that professional shit is sweet. But I saw this recording studio setup once.. and damn, they had some sweet shit in there. Fifteen or twenty G’s to set up, and even mom isn’t that rich, but damn it was appealing.”

He then grinned a bit as he tilted his head and looked her over again, and he couldn’t help but smile. “I can’t argue that.. too much. Though, I think that is pretty much how it works. Just like how all of my people seem to be high in the looks department as well. I suspect most people just wouldn’t be quite as tempted by an unattractive Succubus and all that fun shit.”

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

divaboheme
2008-09-29 08:30 am UTC (link)

If there was one thing Jaida had learned to envy in all the various species that were at Halcyon with her, it was that whole tolerance to drugs and alcohol bit. Sure, it took more to get that nice buzz going, but there was something about knowing a little powder wasn't going to take you out so easily that would have been nice. The whole 'change' didn't really seem like a fair trade when she thought about it, so maybe she'd just stick with her lameass little-to-no-tolerance that came with being nearly human. Oh well.

"I don't need waves to rock a bikini," she winked playfully, her attention back on the sheet music he'd handed over - it really did look pretty good so far. Of course, a little muse magic always made things better.

Jaida nodded, agreeing silently to the whole double-checking thing. Technology was still a close second to the old fashioned way of doing things - if it wasn't so much easier, she was betting most musicians worth their salt wouldn't mess with the stuff. Course, if you were super loaded, you could probably afford some flawless program that wouldn't miss a beat no matter how fast you played - it was understandable that no school, not even Halcyon, would be able to get their hands on shit like that.

If there was anything she was used to, it was getting that once...ok, sometimes twice-over, from both sexes, so when Xander took another look, she barely noticed. "Probably is. Most people wouldn't want to hang out with a muse for the time it can take to get those juices going if the muse wasn't hot as hell." Plus, she was pretty sure that looks played a part in inspiring folks - made sense to her. "You're doing pretty good on your own here," she nodded to the sheet music, handing it back over to him.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

risinghellborn
2008-10-04 12:24 pm UTC (link)

Well, to be honest, as far as demons went, Xander was as close to being human as they got. Of course, he wasn’t at all human, so he was still superior to the average human when it came to tolerance against such things. Much to the annoyance of his band back in Los Angeles, who never could understand just why he could out-drink them when he was half the size of a couple of them.

“Oh, this is definitely true. But I’m biased.” Xander said with a grin and a tilt of his head. “The beaches of Los Angeles are full of hot girls and their rockin’ ‘kini’s, but not many of them hit the waves. They all hang out on the beach and think it makes them look cooler or some bullshit like that. It’s quite amusing sometimes to watch them freak out if they even get a drop of water on them, which always made me question why they’d go to the beach in the first place if they were afraid to get wet.”

“I can see that.” Xander said after a moment of thought before he nodded his head once. “No one really wants to hang out with some ugly chick. Though, I can see it from time to time..” He pursed his lips together as he thought about it before he grinned a little bit. “Better that you are then. Makes things simplier, yes?” He then winked back at her.

As he took the sheet, he gave her a soft smile. “Thanks. I hate writing music. What sounds good in my head, doesn’t always sound good when played. And once I start… I gotta do the whole blasted thing. So.. I’m sure I’ll be working on this for a few weeks still if nothing else. Even if nothing comes of it. Damn stuck ideas and all that crap.”

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

divaboheme
2008-10-07 09:32 am UTC (link)

Jaida's tolerance had been hard earned, though it still didn't touch that of the truly supernatural kids. Demons, vamps, weres....fuck, they were part of a very small number of folks that could drink her under the table. It was a strange thing for the little party animal and she wasn't exactly a fan. Not much she could do about it, though, well unless she went out and got munched on by a vamp or something. Getting all fangy didn't quite seem like the best trade off, though. Oh well.

"Lots of stupid chicks out there," J shrugged. It was true though. She didn't get those kind of chicks either. Some of them were just stupid, spending all their time trying to get the attention of some guy. Lame. She'd never understand why it was such a big deal to have some dude hanging around all the time. Talk about cramping your style. Geez.

"Definitely." Being hot really did make things a ton easier. Being a chick gave her a leg up most of the time anyway, the only better thing was to be a good looking chick - it was like kyptonite for most people. They just couldn't resist. Made the whole muse thing a hell of a lot easier, too. Nobody wanted an ugly chick hanging around for hours on end while they tried to piece together some music, but most of em didn't mind some little flame-haired hottie filling their time. It was totally a plus.

"Yeah, it can be kind of a pain getting down what you hear onto paper. Seems to be the curse that you gotta get it down, too." Once there was a tune in her head, she had to get it down before she lost it. Getting stuck in that zone could be a sucky thing - sometimes you worked for days straight though, making sure you didn't forget what you'd stumbled across. "Stuck ideas happen to be my specialty," Jaida joked, "wanna see if I can loosen em up for you?" It was her 'thing' after all.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

risinghellborn
2008-10-08 01:58 am UTC (link)

“This is true. Far too many.” Xander said with a smirk and a shake of his head. “And you can never figure out who the smart ones are before hand. ‘Cause even the ones that actually are smart… still turn out to be dumb broads. And there’s nothing worse than a smart babe who turns out to be a stupid chick in the end. Makes you feel like you wasted all that time on them.” Of course, it also depended on what you wanted out of them in the first place.

He chuckled a bit as he tilted is head slightly. “Oh, I can think of a few things I wouldn’t mind having a hot muse loosen up for me.” He said with a grin as he let his fingers strum his guitar once and the sound echo throughout the room for a moment. “But yeah, its still totally annoying as hell. I mean, seriously, why not just let yourself get past it.. no, brains gotta be irritating and force you to focus on something.

“Still haven’t shown me how good your playing is…” He tilted his head slightly, before he grinned at her again. Then, he closed his eyes and his fingers positioned themselves on his guitar. A moment later, he was playing. But not just any song. What he ended up playing was the song he had been working on. It would be a lively, upbeat guitar riff, though there would be parts where the guitar quieted a little that would obviously be where words should have been included. But, less than a minute after he started, it would end. It was still a work in progress, after all.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

divaboheme
2008-10-13 11:38 am UTC (link)

Jaida hauled over a stool and settled in next to him, hauling her guitar back out of its gig bag and setting it to rest in her lap. "Oh, I'm sure you can think of plenty things I can do for you, period." Hell, there were a few things she could thing of that a muse could do for her if she could ever find one. Fucking school had vamps and weres galore, but she hadn't seen another muse so far. And if there was one on campus, she'd yet to meet them. "Preaching to the choir on that one. What fucking good is this whole ability if I can't inspire myself?" It sure would be a major upside to this whole muse crap.

"Playing isn't bad, learning as I do with this thing," she nodded towards the guitar in her lap. "Piano/keyboard is more my thing." She was pretty sure it had to be like freaking Illinois state law for every children's home to have a piano of some kind, in some condition. It'd been easy enough to learn how to play after you banged around on the thing for awhile. Guitars were a lot harder to come by, not to mention keep around once you found em. They were prime items for theft - let em out of your sight and chances were somebody would be cashing them in to add to their crack fund later.

The song really did sound pretty good so far. The length was still an issue, but it was a work in progress so that bit made sense. All she needed to do was turn on this whole musey thing of hers and see if she could get those creative juices of his flowing. It was what she did, after all, and it wasn't like it was hard. Settling the guitar into a more playable position in her lap, she raised her hand to give it a strum. "I'm sure we can figure something out. I am a muse, after all," she grinned, those brightly dyed eyebrows wiggling playfully.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

risinghellborn
2008-10-15 05:21 pm UTC (link)

He laughed a bit and he shrugged his shoulders a little. “Fate, I guess. Whole thing about Muses from the books I’ve read is that they’re there to inspire others. Its their role. We’ve all got one, after all. Though, I’ve never quite figured out just what mine is.” He grinned at the thought, before he arched a brow slightly. Jaida got a smirk for her first words though. “Those are dangerous words, babe. After all, I’m an Incubus, and you are hot. Most of the things I would think of wouldn’t have anything to do with being a Muse.”

“Mother tried to get me to learn the piano. Proper for our place in society and bullshit like that. She was rightly pissed when I starting pushing to learn the guitar on her. I think the only reason she relented was it kept me out of more trouble when I was growing up. Seems I’m like my father and have this talent for getting into trouble, and she didn’t want me getting into more than I was already.” Not that he was complaining, it got him what he wanted after all. Nor could she really complain much, as he actually could make a living off it if he chose. Something most piano players couldn’t say.

“Let’s see what you got then, Miss Muse.” He said as he motioned toward her guitar. “Start something, and lets see if I can keep up or figure out how to compliment it..” wouldn’t really be too much different than the jam sessions he and the boys used to have. Someone would just start playing and the others would see who could top it.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

divaboheme
2008-10-23 12:59 pm UTC (link)

"Yeah, well fate's a cruel bitch." Seriously, what good what this whole 'gift' if she couldn't use it on herself? What a load of crap. She was definitely going to have to figure out a way to make some money off of this little ability of hers cause a 9 to 5 job just wasn't going to cut it for her - had to be something she could think of. Call herself a 'creative consultant' and just inspire the hell out of people. Ha. Good lord, there were enough people working in the music industry that could use a little help, she'd be loaded in no time. That was an idea definitely worth adding to her list of job possibilities. Course, Xander distracted her rather quickly and she couldn't help but chuckle at his response, "S'ok, people's thoughts tend to get dirty around me pretty easily."

"Pianos were the easiest thing for me to get my hands on as a kid - kinda learned by default." Now, years later, she preferred the guitar seeing as it was easier to lug around on all the moving she tended to do. The piano was still her first love, maybe she'd have the cash to get one someday. Only time would really tell.

"Now that almost sounds like a challenge," she teased, moving to lift her guitar from it's gig bag. Like all things that belonged to Jaida, it was bright colored - purple this time, with a bit of scrawling artwork etched around the instrument's natural curves. It looked well-loved and definitely well-traveled. She took a moment to make sure the strings had held their places, that everything was still in tune before she set to playing, fingers strumming across the strings as she waited for Xander to join in.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

risinghellborn
2008-10-24 11:35 pm UTC (link)

“Oh, you have no idea.” Xander said with a chuckle and a laugh. “You inspire others but not yourself. Big whiney moment there.” He grinned at her. “Try being a demon without any real powers. We’re good at seducing people… big fucking whoop. Any mortal with any charm whatsoever can do that. But that’s our lot in life, being the big bad seductive types.” He shook his head a little bit. “And of course, thoughts get dirty around you… hot bod like that.. I’d be surprised if you didn’t have half the skill trying to crawl under your skirt.”

“I think there was some sorta cosmic law that says kids need to learn something big like the piano to start. They even tried with me.” He shook his head a little bit. “Never could get into the feel of it… I like to be able to move around when I play. Perhaps, one of the very reasons I didn’t get fully into the drums. Sitting down and playing.. not quite as much fun as being able to prance around a music stage.”

“Oh, it is a challenge.” He gave her a wide grin as he waited for her to start. He knew this was one contest that he was easily going to have in his favor. After all, it was something that he had to be creative with, on the instrument that he was the best at. And he was sitting next to a muse that inspired creativity. Once she started though, his fingers began to move on his own strings. At first, the sounds would get disjointed and not mesh with hers. But as his ears picked out the spots where the tones fought instead of meshed, he began to change his style. It wouldn’t take long before he was playing the shadow to her music.

(Reply to this) (Parent)