See the remnants of my memory. The past is not dead. It's not even past.

[digophelia]

CHARACTERS: Alice and open!
DATE: February 20th
WARNINGS: Vague mentions of mental illness, but if it exceeds to anything problematic, I'll apply warnings in the subject line. And that depends on who approaches her!
SUMMARY: After getting back into Oska, Alice tries to unwind. Maybe hijinks? Shin kicking? And practicing the lute!


Living Quarters

[ Alice can't really recall the last time she slept well since arriving to Oska.

She undoubtedly lost track of days, again -- not really much of a surprise. The last thing she remembers is fainting. Of course, she doesn't recall where or how it happened, other than she was ill, she could barely think straight. Naturally, the hallucinations progressed, they became worse. Yet, Papyrus' reminders that she wasn't dreaming kept her grounded and stable.

Eventually, Alice emerges from a bedroom, of the sort, unaware of the fact she had been out for nearly two days. As with anyone else, when they're tired, they're disoriented. Alice, more so, still huddled in a dirty cloak she had in the "false reality".

False reality?

Well, Alice had gone back to her own, in the time she had been asleep. ]

Remind me the next time I decide to sleep that long to at least drink tea.

[ Alice says mostly to herself, but... anyone else passing by may overhear her. Or see her awkwardly stumble through, nearly stubbing her toe. She's allowed to whine, just this once, leaning down to rub her leg. Caffeine or something to that affect would be a great thing right now. ]

Ow! Blasted- what is this?

[ Spoilers: coffee table. ]

Library

[ Once Alice is more coherent (and sound of mind), she's nearly spent half of her time in the library, with the lute sitting beside her. Fortunately, for her, she's found a book on sheet music once again and is looking through a book on the lute and how to play, amongst other things.

Amongst other things meaning that Alice has almost walled herself up around a small pile of books on music and stories. This is actually a pretty cool corner and every so often, she gets a small glare from a librarian. She will put these books back, don't worry.

Maybe.

If she ever moves. ]

I'm beginning to think she doesn't really like me all that much.

[ But as Alice thumbs through the book, she glances down at the lute and back to what she's reading. ]

The notes take time to adjust to, but I remember what an "A" note sounds like on a piano. It almost sounds... higher on this instrument. Thank goodness I found a diagram.

[ That's a lot of strings, though. ]

Courtyard

[ As time goes on, Alice has sweet-talked the librarian into letting her borrow a book after her little book fortress and finds a spot in the courtyard to practice. Instrument in hand, book in her side, she's been slowly practicing picking the strings, getting her fingers used to the rifts and notes, and seems... relatively content. The notes are slow and they take time. So, every so often, one may hear the same strings being plucked over and over again, or the same five notes of a song being played, over and over.

Hey, once she masters it, it won't sound that bad. ]

Comments

[naturallywavy]

<sub>[ It looks funny, Gintoki gathers. The Amanto had brought all sorts of weird instruments to Japan, but it looks like a shamisen was the first thing that came to mind.

Gintoki reaches out to pluck lightly at one string of it before putting his eyes on Alice. ]</sub>

You know what they say.. one man's crap is.. another man's crap.
_{[ ok.. ]}

You're learning how to play for children, aren't you?

[digophelia]

Don't pull on the strings, you'll pull them out.

[ Alice lightly scolds him, even goes far to bat a hand away, cradling the lute to her chest protectively. At his question, Alice quizzically tilts her head. ]

Play for children?

[ Sheepishly, she shakes her head, lightly swinging her legs on the ledge. ]

Oh, no, not at all; I wanted to learn how to play it because I thought it would be fun. I used to play the piano, you see.

[naturallywavy]

_{[ Gintoki can respect people playing instruments. He can't really play anything, and so: ]}

I don't play with anything besides my d—
_{[ hold it, Gintoki. Just hold it. Let's change the subject. He forces out a cough, mainly cause he has learned and he knows he'll get scolded if he goes on with his sentence. ]}

Oii, oii, that's good, though. I'm trying to practice, but it takes effort..
_{[ look at him practicing like a real samurai..!! amazing. ]}

[digophelia]

[ Poor Alice, she has no idea what he was going to refer to. She's too innocent to realize that there's a dirty undertone to that. ]

So you used to play an instrument, too?

[ She's still talking about music and notes, all those good things her mother would scold her for not being so vested into as a child. ]

Of course it takes effort, but the more you practice, the better you'll be, and you'll still remember it, years from now.

[naturallywavy]

_{[ h.. how can he resist this set up and brig the dirty topic back.
He can't. ]}

I still do... when I'm feeling lonely. It's an odd instrument, shaped like a golden rod, but I'm proud of it. _{[ gintoki please.. don't.. please drop this dirty joke.. ]}

That's the same concept when playing a D..
The more I practice, the better my performance is.. and I do remember it.. years from now. I started when I was about 12, but it's stuck with me ever since I touched it.

_{[ NO ]}

[digophelia]

[ She listens and, of course, is still lost to what he means. For all she knows, he's talking about a flute-like instrument. Alice lets her fingers strum a few notes -- he did mention what she thinks is the "D" note.

Why would you play such deep notes? ]

I see.

[ Not... really. ]

You didn't strike me as the musical type.

[naturallywavy]

Aaa? No? Well, I can't really do it in front of anyone. It's just kinda my own thing.

_{[ Moving .. on? ]}

I didn't come out here for practicing anything like that. Just trying to prepare for our next mission.
_{[ Chantes' mission was more than what he was expecting, so he isn't going to let that happen again. ]}