Marshall & Sage
“Yeah,” Sage said, and the subject matter was enough to uplift his spirits a tiny bit. Plus, it was a distraction. He wasn’t sure if Marsh was really interested, but it was better than standing there, feeling the world cave in all around him. “Mostly the guitar and piano, but also the drums. I taught lessons for a while, but… I need to get back into it. I had a band for a while, where I sang lead. My friends think I’m decent.” Unfortunately, things had fallen apart when he’d gone missing for six months. He’d yet to get the band back together, in large part because he felt so uninspired musically. But they knew he was back, at least. The music lessons would be harder to restart. He couldn’t explain to people where he’d been and there was no good explanation for disappearing when the truth wasn’t an option. Most people didn’t understand.
"You taught music?" Marsh said with a smile. "That's impressive, you must be more than decent then, not just a pick up a guitar at the party kinda guy." He couldn't help but notice all the past tense in Sage's words, that he wasn't teaching now, that he didn't have a band now, it only strengthened that worry that he would end up like the guy in Limpopo, cheerfully bidding everyone good night and then found hanged in the morning. "What happened to your band?" he asked. "Irreparable damage or think you'll get back together?" He stepped up to the bar and waited to get the bartender's attention, not wanting much more than a glass of water with all the tastes warring in his mouth.
Sage liked to think his gift with music was more than just a party trick, but he’d never made it big so that was what it sometimes felt like. The difference was that it wasn’t just something he pulled out to show off. Music was in his head all the time, either beats, melodies, or lyrics. Well, almost all the time. Lately, it had been quieter than usual, which was terrifying in itself. Nothing came together the way he wanted it to, but occasionally there were words, strung together without a tune, that might someday be made into something, if they weren’t too dark. Sage stepped up to the bar, eyes scanning the room for Jacob before he ordered himself another drink, something he probably didn’t need. “I was gone for a while,” he said softly. “And things have been different since I got back. They don’t really understand what happened, and I don’t know how to explain it to them. I’m sure we’ll figure it out eventually, but… I dunno.”
Marsh watched him intently, debating whether to ask if Sage was talking about a 'Point Pleasant Thing' at the risk of sounding crazy. He'd known so many people in town who seemed to downplay or straight up forget about the strange things that happened and at this point he rarely bothered trying to talk about the supernatural with anyone he knew. Sage's words were so vague and the fact it was hard to understand made it oh so tempting to ask but he was probably already pushing his luck just talking to the guy and if Sage was suicidal, he didn't want to scare him off. "You'll figure it out," he said instead, ignoring that urge squeezing his innards. "Do you still take students? I always wanted to learn to play guitar but the only guy who taught locally back before I moved away was such a dick." It wasn't a complete lie, he had wanted to learn a lot of things and the teacher had been a dick but it was more of an attempt to reach out. Maybe if Sage made a promise to do something, he was less likely to kill himself - if he even was suicidal. It made Marsh wish that it was okay to ask about such things outright but society just wasn't that advanced.