melody's cabin (sfw)

[enchanting_melody]

*after kurapika falls asleep in his own cabin, melody takes her leave to give him some privacy. she intends to return to the music room to vent some of her feelings into the piano, but freezes in place when the next door she passes has her own name on it. she opens it up and finds herself in an elegant bedroom open to a balcony overlooking a peaceful spring field, not unlike the one she conjures with her flute. gasping in delight, she runs to the balcony and clings to the railing, breathing in the fresh spring air with a peaceful smile.*

what a wonderful place!

ooc: feel free to come visit melody here any time!

Comments

[galacticgroovin]

Pitou leaves Gons room. Feeling refreshed after spending time with him and resting. She debates going back to her room but figures she doesn’t want to sleep more. So she ventured down the hall.

Her attention was quickly grabbed by a door sitting open. Out of curiosity she takes a peek inside. Only one person stood inside. A short female with brown hair. The rest of the room was pleasant and nature like. She didn’t think it could have a balcony in such a way.

[enchanting_melody]

*melody hears someone entering behind her and swings around, blinking in surprise when she sees a tall woman peering inside.*

oh! my apologies, i must have left the door open in my excitement.

[galacticgroovin]

Pitou nods. I was curious. I thought perhaps a new room has opened. She looks at the door seeing that it reads melody.

This must be your cabin. I’m pitou. She says happily. Most of her thoughts still locked on Gon.

[enchanting_melody]

*melody walks back toward the door to greet her, but stops once she gets closer and notices the cat ears peeking out of her curly hair, her mouth dropping open in surprise. she appears to have a tail, too, and her heartbeat doesn't sound very human either, running at a resting rate twice faster. the contrast of her external calmness and the chaotic drumming inside her unnerves melody, but she gulps down her reservations and responds politely as always.*

i suppose it is! that's my name on the door, melody.

[galacticgroovin]

Melody? I suppose had I not seen you in here, I may have suspected this might have been some kind of music room.

Her ears wiggle curiously as she observes the room. I didn’t think the airship could summon something like this for a bedroom. It’s a much nicer view than the window in mine.

[enchanting_melody]

**

the first room i discovered here was a music room! but this one seems to have been made just for me.

*she begins to wander the room, dragging her hand along the painted moulding. it's all so detailed and exactly to her taste, as if drawn from her imagination.*

my friend's room was a replica of his old home, which was destroyed long ago.

*she steps out on the balcony again, looking out on the field she's conjured so many times.*

this place seems to be very powerful... it can even access our imaginations and memories.

[galacticgroovin]

”Imagination? Perhaps that’s why some things aren’t the same in mine.”

My own is more like a replica of a room in the palace where I come from. It’s not completely accurate however.

It’s enough to remind me of home however.

[enchanting_melody]

a palace? *she gasps, then chuckles.* i don’t come from anywhere nearly as opulent. this place must have been made from my dreams.

*she beckons for the woman to join her at the balcony, feeling rude for leaving her at the door so long when they’re engaging in such cordial conversation.*

isn’t it beautiful?

[galacticgroovin]

Pitou enters the room joining her at the balcony. The spring air pleasant on her face. The field of flowers unlike any she had ever seen! Her eyes widening in delight!

It is..It’s…I’ve never seen anything like it. The area around the palace is…more like a desert and before there..it was a lot of thick forests. Nothing that was so open but colorful..

She was half tempted to jump off the balcony and roll around in the plants.

[enchanting_melody]

*melody smiles as she hears the woman's already-rapid heartbeat patter with joy at the sight of her precious spring field, and she finds herself just a delighted that it's come to life in this way, finally more than just an illusion of her ability.*

i find that a breezy field is the most peaceful place that can be! i'm glad you get to experience one now.

[galacticgroovin]

I don’t think I would call it my most peaceful. Her mind drifting to her fight with the white haired man before coming round to time spent with Gon.

Gon certainly takes the top spot for best excitement and comfort. Feeling him is the best experience.

This might be my top three. But it’s definitely the best to look at.

[enchanting_melody]

*melody chuckles at her ranking.* well, i’m glad you have your own ways of relaxing, too.

*she moves over to the beautiful piano in the corner of the bedroom and sits down, uncovering the keys.*

i like to play music to relax. can you play any instruments?

[galacticgroovin]

She shakes her head. I cannot. I’m not as…musically inclined as one of my fellow royal guard.

Always playing the violin. It was always the same song so it got rather boring to be honest. She leans on the railing tilting her head back.

Sometimes I try to sleep and can still hear it.

[scarlet_chains]

*Kurapika takes Pairo by the hand and leads him out of his own room and into the hallway again.*

We'll visit Melody first. She's right next door, after all!

*Stopping outside the neighbouring room with Melody's name on the door, he knocks a couple of times and calls out to his friend.*

Are you there, Melody? It's me, Kurapika.

[enchanting_melody]

*melody is sitting on her couch, reading one of the books from the music room when she hears the knock on her door. there’s two sets of heartbeats outside it, one familiar and one not; getting to her feet, she wonders who her friend has brought to visit her.*

coming, kurapika!

*she pulls open the door and comes face to face with a small boy her height, dressed in the unmistakable garb of the kurta clan. her eyes go round with shock, recognizing the pattern on his front immediately from what she’d seen of kurapika’s memories of the kurta massacre, now burned into hers as well. she’d just seen kurapika cradling this very boy’s mutilated body, and yet here he stands, perfectly intact and alive. she doesn’t know what to say, so shocked her lips can only tremble.*

oh, my…!

[phantom_memory]

*pairo hears the door open and greets kurapika’s friend with uncertainty.*

h-hello!

*he can’t make out her expression, but she sounds quite shocked to see him. he supposes that makes sense, considering she’s probably never met a kurta other than kurapika before. he looks up at his friend for guidance, gripping his hand.*

[scarlet_chains]

*Melody's shock is not surprising, considering what she saw in the memory room not long ago. Kurapika feels a stab of guilt for causing it, having not considered giving her a proper warning - he had just been so excited for her to meet Pairo. He tries conveying his emotions through his eyes - a mix of bewilderment, acceptance, sadness and joy at the situation, but he knows that Melody will be able to read him with her ears instead of her eyes. His eyes narrow just slightly as a warning for her not to give anything away, but greets her amicably in his next breath.*

I'd like you to meet Pairo. He's my childhood friend I grew up together with.

*The words are mostly for Pairo's sake, so he can follow their interaction. He squeezes the young boy's hand back.*

Do you mind if we come in for a bit?

[enchanting_melody]

*a flurry of emotions flutter across kurapika's features, but his heart tells her everything she needs to know. its beat reverberates with relief and happiness but is holding something back, a dam of sorrow that he's not yet ready to let break. she understands at once that pairo does not know what happened to him, or rather, would have happened to him if he hadn't come to the airship when he did, and kurapika intends to keep it that way, at least for now. so she must follow his lead, and pretend. her lips press into a bittersweet smile as she takes up the boy's hands.*

it's an unparalleled pleasure to meet you, pairo. please, step inside.

*the room behind her door is made up of a combined bedroom and seating area, furnished with a bed, couch, armchair, coffee table, and piano, all open to a balcony overlooking a field in spring, just like her song. she motions them over to the couch, taking up the armchair opposite.*

[phantom_memory]

*a pair of small, calloused hands take his, and pairo smiles at the warm welcome, entering with the woman's lead. she guides him all the way to a couch, which he hops up onto, finding it just right for his (and her) size. kurapika's legs may be a bit long for it, he thinks with a chuckle.*

it's nice to meet you too, melody! kurapika told me you're his friend, too!

[scarlet_chains]

*Kurapika watches the two of them interact, a meeting that should have been impossible. He has never imagined a scenario like this, but now that it's happening he wishes the moment could last forever. He sees how gently Melody guides Pairo over to the couch, and how Pairo happily greets her. Knowing Melody, she probably caught on rather quickly that Pairo can't see very well. He sits down in the armchair (it's lower than a regular chair, making his knees stick up a little) and sighs contentedly, feeling at ease in the calm and pleasant atmosphere of Melody's cabin.*

What were you up to before we arrived? I hope we didn't interrupt anything.

[enchanting_melody]

*melody smiles between the two of them, hearing the swell of kurapika’s heartbeat as he watches them interact and sharing in his unfiltered joy, just happy to see him so happy after so recently seeing him at his worst.*

no, not at all! i was just reading. the music room has some interesting books on music theory that i’ve been borrowing.

*she turns to pairo, whose glassy-eyed look has made it clear that his vision is impaired from the moment she saw him and he didn’t quite see her.*

i’ve been friends with kurapika for a long time now, but not nearly as long as you! we met in yorknew city when we started working for the same boss.

[phantom_memory]

*pairo’s eyes widen with wonder and joyful awe at the news that kurapika had traveled so far to meet her, his imagination immediately running wild in its attempt to envision him amongst the streets and skyscrapers of the outside world he’d only studied about.*

wow, yorknew city, really?! kurapika, what did you think of the big city?

*he’s on the edge of his seat? eager to hear more about their travels.*

[scarlet_chains]

*Kurapika hesitates for a moment, thinking about what to say. He doesn't want to divulge too much of the nature of his work, but saying too little can seem suspicious too. There hadn't exactly been a lot of time for sightseeing in Yorknew. I was too busy trying and failing to avenge you. He can't let on how hard his time in Yorknew was for him.*

Well, I was busy working, so I didn't actually get to see as much of the city as I would have liked otherwise. But it's a huge city, with more people than you could imagine. The lights at night were truly dazzling.

*His heart gives a sad little flop at having to cover up the truth with empty words, but he will protect Pairo from the truth with his whole body if he has to.*

[enchanting_melody]

*it pains melody to hear kurapika tiptoeing around the truth, his heart beating an uneven tempo of guilt and determination as he does his best to protect his young friend from the pain of his own death. melody hates lying, but even she understands that it is necessary in a situation like this.*

it’s true, we were very busy.

*she backs him up, then comes up with her own way to bend the truth into something satisfying for him.*

though i do remember getting to spend an evening on a rooftop with kurapika, looking out at all those lovely lights together.

[phantom_memory]

wow! i wish i could…

*the now-distant memory of the night sky full of stars twinkling in his uninjured eyes comes to mind. from their description, he can only imagine that what they saw was hundreds of times bigger and brighter than that, and he longs for the chance to see something like it one day… if he is ever able to see more than a blur again. ducking his head, he stammers:*

…um, i wish i could have been there, too.