Talking Over Music Who: Terry and Alex When: 4:00pm Where: The piano in the lounge
After dealing with Erin, leaving the note up for volunteers on hunting and guarding the hotel, and then talking to Megan, Terry felt the need to take some time to himself. Or, to at least relax if it were at all possible. He found his was to the piano in the lounge and settled in, shifting until he was comfortable on the piano bench. He sighed, scooted forward slightly and reached out to touch the keys lightly, almost afraid to hear the sound. He'd spent time tuning the strings a few days ago when he'd been awake in the middle of the night, so he knew they were good, but... He hadn't actually played anything in weeks. It was almost surreal, sitting down to play just for the fun of it.
At first, Terry wasn't sure what he wanted to play, his fingers wandering up and down the keys, pressing them in at random, just listening to the notes. Eventually though, he picked out a chord or two he liked, ones that sounded good to his mood, and he began to really play. Terry weaved in and out of a song he knew, changing the chords and toying with the tune just because he could. There was no one listening to him, not that he could see, and the creative license he took with the music felt right. It was freeing, something he could do just for himself.
After spending a day and a half holed up in his room, Alex decided that perhaps he should venture out and explore the hotel a bit. And find something suitable to eat, he was absolutely starving. He had found the kitchen, along with a note about hunting and guard duty, so he pulled out his pen and wrote in his contribution. There were several names down already, mostly men from the looks of it, which was somewhat comforting. Either there weren't very many women in the hotel or most of them hadn't signed it. Alex sighed at the latter and went into the kitchen, thankful that it was pretty well stocked.
After his hunger was satiated, Alex made his way down the hall and found the Dining Hall which housed a very well-to-do bar. He could really use a drink after all that had happened. He ignored the liquor on the shelves, deciding to go for something milder like beer, if he could find something suitable to his tastes. "Oh thank God," he said with a small smile as he pulled out a bottle of Guinness and popped the cap off. His head quirked while he took the first drink, someone was playing a piano. He left the dining hall, Guinness in hand, out to the hall so he could track down the source of the music.
It wasn't long before he located the lounge and he saw a man sitting at said piano. He thought that he recognized the tune at first, but then the man changed it and made it his own. Alex moved tentatively into the lounge, not wanting to bother the pianist as the music was already soothing his nerves which had been pretty well shot over the past... twelve days was it? God he didn't know and frankly, right now, he didn't care so much anymore. He found a chair near the piano and sat down, taking another drink from the bottle and just basking in the comfort of the other man's fingers dancing along the keys. Perhaps he should introduce himself, so it wouldn't seem so odd that he was just sitting here and listening, but he was in a whole other world now so the thought completely slipped his mind.
Terry's fingers paused, almost tripping when the realization hit him that there was another person in the lounge area. He hadn't expected company, almost as though he'd considered himself set outside of reality. It was a naive thought, but he hadn't been able to stop it from coming up. He hadn't really been paying attention when he'd lost himself to his music, just allowing his breathing to even out and his fingers to soothe the worries in his chest. He continued to play, thought it was somewhat subdued in comparison to moments prior.
"Hi," he greeted, shifting forward, toward the keys as his fingers found a different set of chords, softer music coming up now as his focus split. "I don't think we've met..." Terry knew that they hadn't, but wasn't sure how else to broach the subject.
"Sorry," Alex said and got out of the chair to move to the piano, leaning his elbows on it. "I didn't mean to interrupt, I was just listening to you play. Well that's obvious isn't it?" he added with a slight chuckle. "We haven't met, no. I haven't really met anyone actually, except for the person who let us in. I've been sort of hiding in my room the past day and a half."
He took a sip of his beer and looked down at his hands, listening for a moment with his eyes closed. "I haven't heard or played in awhile and my nerves are pretty well shot. Music helps calm me, makes me feel safe." The only time he really felt safe was with his dad but that was gone now and he was going to have to find new ways to make that happen.
Terry nodded, a knowing look in his eyes as Alex explained that of course they wouldn't know each other. He was fully aware of it, but neglected to comment, finding it an unnecessary effort. He continued to play instead, just letting his fingers drift along the notes he wanted, feeling it out without consciously carrying any identifiable tune. "Music does have that effect on people, doesn't it?" Terry looked down at his hands, pausing in what he was doing to take in a breath. He started to play again, though, shifting his weight slightly to the side. "I haven't heard any kind of music at all in what feels like centuries... I figured it'd be a good stress reliever, just... doing this for a few hours." Looking up into Alex's face, he said, "My name's Terry, by the way. I was elected leader recently, so... in case you need anything, you can come and find me. There's also Joyce to watch out for, and Landon. They're sort of like... my second and third in command, I guess." He laughed. "I don't know how much you know about our group so far... but I'm assuming not much...?"
"I believe I neglected to introduce myself haven't I?" Alex quirked his head and narrowed his eyes slightly as he tried to recall whether he had or not. He hadn't. "I'm Alex and you have no idea how nice it is to meet you Terry. I had been dreading that the place would be overrun with women... It's not, is it?" He asked, a little anxious. Right, like that didn't sound odd at all. He might as well explain. "I have a bit of a problem with women you see," he began after a nervous sigh. "I have something called Gynophobia, which I'm sure you can figure out what it is. I don't know what to do about it, I mean I had been seeing a shrink and it's a lot better than it used to be but..." he hesitated and took a deep breath before continuing. "If they even come near me I begin to get really nervous, touching sometimes makes me have a panic attack. So you can understand my dilemma yeah? A hotel could both be possibly therapeutic, perhaps the close quarters could get me out of it, but it could also become a downright mess as well. You know?"
"Yeah, I think so," Terry agreed, not recalling a name being offered either. He was glad to hear it though, and glad to have what appeared to be a promising conversation with someone that seemed relatively normal despite it all. So far they were getting along alright... perhaps out of a common love of music? "No," he said, shaking his head with a tiny and curious smile. Brows drawn together, Terry listened to him explain why he'd asked about the hotel being run over with women. "Well," he started after Alex had finished, "I suppose we can take it one step at a time, then. I mean... it's something you can't really avoid having to work with now, seeing as the population is so... limited. I'm sorry you have to go through that, but..." Terry looked down at the piano, pressing in a few keys absently. "At least you won't be alone... I mean, if you want to talk. I think it might be good for you, to try and at least... interact if you can bring yourself around to it. You can always come and find me if you need to. I'm not the greatest at dealing with women either, though I'll admit my problems are a little different from yours." Terry smiled a bit, reaching up to tuck back a stray lock of hair in his face.
"It certainly hasn't been easy, that's for sure," Alex said and looked down at his hands again as they gripped his beer bottle a little tighter than usual. It was frustrating not to be able to get past what had happened and get on with his life, whatever was left of it now. "I had to stay in a hospital for awhile because I couldn't even look at a woman without becoming hysterical. It took awhile before I was able to even talk to one again but that's something at least. He told me to talk to them as much as I can and I will say it has helped a lot but I'm still afraid to let them get close, like I'm expecting to get hurt again. I can't convince myself that I won't." He shrugged and looked back at Terry. "I appreciate the offer mate, I really do. I don't suppose there's a chance you could spread the word about it? I don't think I can outright tell them myself. It was awkward enough with that one in the group I arrived in, she probably thinks I'm mad."
"Okay," Terry answered, looking over Alex as the other man stopped his explanation. "Yeah, I can pass it along if you really want me to." He nodded, sighing down at the piano. "How are you adjusting otherwise? Is there anything you need help with...? Anything you can't find? There's a clothing stockpile in the laundry room, sorted out by sizes and gender, and there are spare towels hanging around as well if you need them. The laundry room has become fairly ineffective otherwise, considering the power in the hotel is out."
"It would probably help," Alex said with a slight nod. "That way I don't... freak anyone out or anything over something that can be prevented." He took a drink of his beer as he thought about Terry's inquiry, his mind going over "ordinary" items that he could use in his research. "This may seem like an odd request but I am kind of in need of a magnifying glass and perhaps dentistry tools, like a pick or something. Or anything equivalent really, I'm going to have a look around later. I sort of came across something the day we arrived, made out of bone, and right off the top of my head I can't think of where it came from. So I brought it with me to try and figure it out. I am a forensic anthropologist," he added as an explanation. "Or was rather. Not that it really matters now."
Terry made a bit of a curious face at the odd request, shrugging a little helplessly in response. "I'm not sure where you might find something like that, but we don't really have anything along those lines in the hotel... not that I'm aware of, anyway. You might be able to pick something up the next time we have an outing to look for supplies. Or maybe someone has something of use in their room...?" He sighed and closed the lid over the piano keys, turning to face Alex better, an elbow rested on the wooden shelf.
"That's alright," Alex said with a small smile. "I wasn't exactly expecting anything like that to be here. Let me know when you go on an outing and I'll tag along to see if I can pick something like that up, I'm sure I can find something around here that would be decent until then." His eyebrows arched a little when Terry closed the lid, indicating that he was done. "Do you mind if I play for a bit? I've been itching for days."
"Sure, that works," Terry answered, standing up to step away from the piano. He sighed and then yawned, stretching his back out as he leaned back on his heels. "Go ahead, Alex. I have some other things to do today anyway, so... maybe I'll just catch you around, then?" He offered the other man a soft smile and held his hand out for a quick goodbye shake.