Re: [misha & jude: the capital]
[Homes, they were new things to the boy weaving 'tween folks like being near them was good as breathing. Misha, he didn't shy away any from the bump of strangers' shoulders, and he smiled real easy at folks as they passed. This, folks, it wasn't new. Even in the brief time he'd spend in New York, it was like this for him. But, there hadn't been home. Home had been couches and asylums, and even Damian's daddy's house wasn't his. The place in the Capital, that felt like home to Misha, and it was a real new sensation, though he reckoned he might need to give it up soon. But, for now, he was enjoying every little bit of it he could, and he was enjoying sharing it too.]
I don't miss it so much. I like playing over composing. I like strings and how they sing, making them sing, and I'm not real fond of playing still, and pianos require sitting mostly. I spent the better part of a year in New York 'fore here, and I was on stage there and in musicals, and that's what I really love. I reckon I'm more of a performer than a musician. [He appreciated the buskers in the same way someone might regard art on the walls of that museum they'd left behind. Performing, it was art in its own way, even if some folks didn't consider it as serious as real music being played in tuxedos with tails.]
I'm glad to hear you been better. [He looked over at Jude, listening as the boy talked 'bout living alone.] You hate it just like Oliver does. I ain't sure why you both insist on doing something you don't like real well, but I hope you do come to like it. I think I'd hate living alone. I never done it, and it seems real lonely to me. [He made another turn in the direction of the Piano Bar.] What made a difference how? I ain't sure what you're asking, and I do have a tendency to talk real plain, even when things ain't pretty. I tried being someone I wasn't for half a year recently, and it made me real unhappy. [He shook his head.] I ain't inclined to do that again, to mute living that way. Being here- [He motioned 'round them.] It's too meaningful and beautiful to go wasting it on dulling.