[She hums thoughtfully, taking in his story. The girl is hardly surprised: he seemed driven by honor and heroism at every turn. Did he ever see how good that made him? Could he ever see that? Neither of those traits are in abundance where she's from; there's only fear and malevolent power. Stories of heroes are rare, she remembers.]
I wanted to make music when I was little. I mean, I didn't know back then what it meant, but I just wanted to make noise. [She chuckles softly, shaking her head.] I ran around in diapers grabbing wooden spoons and banging on every metal surface in sight, I was a nightmare. I got older, I learned how to play more instruments, how to read music, I could even put together songs and take them apart. It was easy for me. I could see the strands of beats in my mind the way you'd see them vibrating on a screen. Stupid, I know, but that's what I saw.
[A beat. The memories of her ignoring her mother and arguing with her over her future surfaced in her mind's eye. Those became more frequent when she became older, but luckily Sam knew how to smooth things over.] Mom didn't want me to do that, though. She wanted me to be like her, taking over her place editing the magazine. Dad wanted my brother to be a doctor like him. [Her voice drops low as she straightens her back, clearly an imitation of her father.] "Son," he said, "you need to go out there and save lives." My brother was damn good at science and medical stuff, too, but you know what that shit did? He enlisted. He said, "Dad, you told me go save lives, and here I am, saving lives." Dad was pretty pissed but everyone thought he was so brave to enlist, so they couldn't do anything about it unless they wanted to look like assholes to the rest of the world. I'm pretty sure they had us just to continue their legacies. They must've not liked us being rebels like we were.
[She takes a breath. That part came easy. The rest... sometimes it was easier, sometimes it was harder.]
Then I got this. [Holding up a hand, she lights the tip of her finger with a little dancing flame.] No one knew about it for a long time, except for Sam. When my parents found out, it all went to shit. Becoming a rockstar musician was out of the question. I would have to learn how to fight if my parents turned me in. You're lucky you got what you wanted, d'Artagnan.
no subject
I wanted to make music when I was little. I mean, I didn't know back then what it meant, but I just wanted to make noise. [She chuckles softly, shaking her head.] I ran around in diapers grabbing wooden spoons and banging on every metal surface in sight, I was a nightmare. I got older, I learned how to play more instruments, how to read music, I could even put together songs and take them apart. It was easy for me. I could see the strands of beats in my mind the way you'd see them vibrating on a screen. Stupid, I know, but that's what I saw.
[A beat. The memories of her ignoring her mother and arguing with her over her future surfaced in her mind's eye. Those became more frequent when she became older, but luckily Sam knew how to smooth things over.] Mom didn't want me to do that, though. She wanted me to be like her, taking over her place editing the magazine. Dad wanted my brother to be a doctor like him. [Her voice drops low as she straightens her back, clearly an imitation of her father.] "Son," he said, "you need to go out there and save lives." My brother was damn good at science and medical stuff, too, but you know what that shit did? He enlisted. He said, "Dad, you told me go save lives, and here I am, saving lives." Dad was pretty pissed but everyone thought he was so brave to enlist, so they couldn't do anything about it unless they wanted to look like assholes to the rest of the world. I'm pretty sure they had us just to continue their legacies. They must've not liked us being rebels like we were.
[She takes a breath. That part came easy. The rest... sometimes it was easier, sometimes it was harder.]
Then I got this. [Holding up a hand, she lights the tip of her finger with a little dancing flame.] No one knew about it for a long time, except for Sam. When my parents found out, it all went to shit. Becoming a rockstar musician was out of the question. I would have to learn how to fight if my parents turned me in. You're lucky you got what you wanted, d'Artagnan.