From: wantsthesky	Date: January 17th, 2011 01:13 am (UTC)		(Link)

Regardless of the day Colby got up early, so Sunday was no different. She'd been up since about eight-thirty, which in itself was sleeping in for her back home. Throughout the day, she'd gone back and forth from the dorm to various locations on campus, keeping herself busy with... whatever she could. She'd gone for a walk around the gardens, gone skateboarding around the campus in general...

On some of her trips back to the dorm, she'd noticed one of her classmates relaxing in the common room with a guitar. She hadn't wanted to disturb him, noticing the headphones, and besides she'd had other things she could do. But now she was running out of outdoor activities she hadn't already done and she was beginning to get restless.

Upon entering the common room, she noticed his headphones were no longer in his ears and decided 'what the hell'. She needed something else to do or else she'd go mad.

"Hey!" Colby plopped herself onto a couch across from him. "What happened?" She jerked her chin at his arm and guitar.

	From: cantspell	Date: January 17th, 2011 02:12 am (UTC)		(Link)

The sound of the guitar string whipping back to lash Ciaran's arm had disturbed Iskra, who was now sitting upright and alert with her paws on his legs. She made a soft little sound and nuzzled his kneecap.

Ciaran rubbed his arm and then reached down to give Iskra's ear a scritch but stopped halfway as a blonde girl helped herself to a seat across from him and began talking at him.

Both feline and human stared at the girl for a few seconds as though they were trying to weigh up whether this was a person they liked or not. Neither seemed to reach a proper conclusion; Iskra contented herself with finding a more comfortable position to lie in as Ciaran worked on a response to the girl's question.

"Nothing," he shrugged. "My string broke. Someone had it wound too tightly."

	From: wantsthesky	Date: January 17th, 2011 03:02 am (UTC)		(Link)

Colby stared back at him during those moments of silence, waiting for him to answer. It was the way she was, stare someone down. Whether or not it was a good thing or a bad thing, well it depended on the situation.

When he finally did respond, she made a face in sympathy. "That sucks." Colby adjusted her position on the couch, making herself more comfortable and pulling her legs up under her. "I hate it when things of mine break. Can you fix it?"

	From: cantspell	Date: January 17th, 2011 05:09 pm (UTC)		(Link)

"Fix it?" He gave the girl a funny look. "No. You...don't fix guitar strings. You take them off and replace them with new ones." And then make sure some thick Irish bastard doesn't adjust your pegs.

"I've got some in my room. I'll sort it out later." He wasn't going to take it off without a pair of pliers and those were up in his room along with a pack of strings he'd bought before the Christmas break.

Ciaran unplugged his headphones and put his guitar on the floor, leaning it against the sofa arm.

The girl was still sat there and now he had nothing to get back to doing. Fuck.

"I'm Ciaran. I think we have a class together."

	From: wantsthesky	Date: January 18th, 2011 12:10 am (UTC)		(Link)

"Oh. Well, yeah, I guess that makes sense." She smiled at him. "I mean, you wouldn't just stick something back together and expect it to be fixed."

Colby drummed her fingers against her leg. She really did hate sitting completely still.

"Yeah, and you're in Herbology club too, right? I'm Colby. Nice to meet you officially." She gave him a friendly grin.

	From: cantspell	Date: January 18th, 2011 05:54 pm (UTC)		(Link)

Ciaran gave a shrug. "Well if you stuck it back together you still wouldn't be able to use it. It fucks up your sound and the vibrations would make it break again. I've used magic before, but it still doesn't sound the same."

He smiled back a little at Colby. "Yeah. Weren't you stood near that girl who passed out when we were repotting mandrakes?"

	From: wantsthesky	Date: January 18th, 2011 11:53 pm (UTC)		(Link)

"Yeah, I think I get you. There are just some things you can't stick back together and expect to be like new."

Colby's grin widened as she laughed a little at the memory. "Yep, that was me! Surprised the hell outta me too, because I hadn't even been paying attention and then bam! Someone's falling on me."

	From: cantspell	Date: January 20th, 2011 01:16 am (UTC)		(Link)

"Probably because they're not new. Strings get played, they get worn, but they're still okay to use."

Or at least for a while, but why bother with that detail? Colby didn't know anything about guitars.

...what did she know about? She wasn't a cheerleader, was she?

"She should've had something over her ears. I mean, that's lower academy stuff. Nobody even thinks about touching them without making sure they can't hear anything."

	From: wantsthesky	Date: January 20th, 2011 05:37 am (UTC)		(Link)

"Makes sense. It's the same for wheels. They get the wear and tear, and then eventually you gotta replace 'em. 'Course, then you have to break those ones in and that's always annoying. Or an engine."

It was easier to relate it to something she actually had experience with in her mind.

"Well hopefully she wasn't a Sonnier, 'cause I think that'd just be sad then. But maybe her earmuffs just weren't on right, or they were busted somehow."