Pleasant Melody (Open)

[Jericho]

If one were to walk by the music room or even entered the hallway that connected the music room to the rest of the tower. A soft melody was playing; floating on invisible music notes through the otherwise oddly silent tower, filling the hallway adjacent to the music room with the lovely melody. Sitting centered on the black piano stool –which was well taken care of- was none other than Joseph Wilson. Pale fingers danced across the keys keeping the melody flowing as he got lost in the beautiful sound he was creating. A smile graced the man’s lips as he continued to play.

The blonde was completely oblivious to the world outside the music he was making and his eyes were sliding shut just enjoying the gentle song as his fingers danced easily feeling the tiny vibrations as they pressed down the sleek glossy keys. Keeping the melody flowing.

All around the room were instruments each greatly taken care of by the man who used this room and its instruments more than anyone else on the Titans did. Jericho hadn’t expected anyone to be around. He had figured they were all off doing their own thing. Either training, out and about in the city of San Francisco or off saving someone, like he should be doing but he hadn’t heard anything that required his attention. Not even so much as a cat stuck in a tree. It was silent, dull day. But that suited Jericho just fine.

The sound suddenly stilled completely, he had been meaning to finish the song quietly so that it faded into silence but when he heard something behind him, his hands just stopped playing completely, making the song stop abruptly instead of how he had wanted to end it and he opened his eyes and twisted his head around to look over his shoulder, a small smile on his lips, although he was disappointed with how the song had come to an abrupt halt, none of these emotions showed on his face or in his eyes. His hands dropped from the keys and he reached over beside him, his nimble fingers grasping the pad of paper with a pen shoved into the small spiral cord that kept the paper together. Who knows when he would need it because not many from the Titans -new and old- hadn't bothered to learn sign language, except for the letter J. It was sort of depressing to know that not many of his teammates and friends were adamant about learning to communicate with him through his own language and not through a pen and paper.

He stared back at the other, waiting for them to speak to say what they wanted from him.

[lorena]

Who’s playing music…I know it can’t be Kid Devil, or Red Robin…and certainly not Beast Boy or Raven… The words mused through the head of a young Latina woman as she found her way through the halls of the Titans Tower, she wasn’t quite sure of her way around here and she was still getting used to it. That wasn’t entirely true; she’d not wanted to get to know her teammates or this place. She hadn’t even wanted to be part of it, but at Aquaman, Arthur’s beheading she was here.

The music notes had her pausing, in her light steps, complete barefoot in the hallway as she listened. She let the notes travel through her whole body and she allowed her body to relax for the first time in a while and it was never easy for her to relax not when you felt like the there was an anaconda around your neck and slowly squeezing a little tighter the longer you stayed above the water. She didn’t like it, and she couldn’t be out more than an hour, any longer than that and things weren’t good. The first time she’d passed out had been terrifying and there was a little nagging fear that always counted down every second until the hour was up in the back of her mind.

Lorena didn’t want to get to know her teammates but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t observing them or the way they interacted with each other or how they talked. She merely kept to herself, silent and observant. Red had attempted to talk with her, to have some sort of conversation with her and she’d blown him off, not said a word and walked away, not something he was greatly thrilled with, but she wasn’t here because she wanted to be here, she was here because she’d been told that made this different. She wasn’t going to build any sort of attachment to these people, this team. They didn’t need her nor understand her like her people did. Luckily she was close enough that if need be she could be there. A running leap from the cliffs would take her low enough that getting to the ocean was easy enough and made it so she could get to her people if they could get word to her and often times they managed to do just that, but most things had been quiet lately on all fronts.

As she peered into the room where the music was coming from, she frowned, feeling as though she was spying and prying, but she’d been curious. Another small step and she was in the doorway. She looked at the man’s back curious more then anything as to who he was, she didn’t know him and rarely had any interaction with him, but she’d worked to know who everyone was, but this one, she knew very little accept that his name was Joseph Wilson and he went by Jericho and he didn’t speak, relying on a pen and paper and sign language but she could tell no one had bothered to learn the language and that had her frowning in disgust at the so blatant disrespect.

Finally noticing that he was looking at her she let the frown drop from her face, not wanting to appear so rude, she knew how she came off, she came off as an ice queen, a bitch other times. She raised her hand and signed to him without opening her mouth to speak, she’d gone out of her way to learn it, it hadn’t taken too long, but some of the words were choppy but she didn’t practice with anyone merely from the symbols and letters she’d seen in the book she had late at night.

<Don’t stop because of me.> She frowned slightly moving her fingers a bit better to hopefully have the right length between her fingers before she said the wrong thing and that could be very offensive. <I heard music and came to see who was playing.> As she let it hang there she opened her mouth and spoke now as she said the next few words. She'd heard the abrupt way the song had ended and knew at least that it wasn't supposed to just stop like that.

“You play very well,” as she let the words hang there she took a small breath it was more like holding your breath for an hour more than anything, and not freaking out when your lungs didn’t expand and didn’t take in the air. She crossed her arms defensively over her chest there really was no real reason she’d come here, he’d just caught her attention and she’d gone out of her way, another thing she didn’t do, Red was starting to wear off on her it would seem and she wasn’t sure how she felt about this whole thing, she wasn’t supposed to build any connection at all and now she was doing this.

[Jericho]

Joey carefully rose from the piano, walked around the bench and over to the young dark haired woman dressed in blue, stopping a respectable distance away. He kept the smile on his lips as his eyes gave the woman a quick once over before going straight back to her face, avoiding eye contact while making it seem like he was still looking at her directly. Who is she again? he couldn’t help thinking trying to place her face with a name he couldn’t remember ever hearing, he must not have been present when she had be introduced to the team. He had seen her around and had heard some things from his other teammates. Bad things that he himself wasn’t about to believe unless he saw for himself and even then he doubted he would be any less kind to her than he was to everyone. He heard that the young woman could be a bitch and an ice queen, all words from mouths that didn’t even try to see past what was on the surface or how one portrayed oneself. They judge too quickly. was the thought that crept into his mind. It wasn’t a putdown to any of his teammates or any one person it was just simply how he saw things.

Catching the movement of her hands his green eyes left her face studying her hesitant hands and the sign language she was using. Her signing was choppy and hesitant; she lacked confidence in her own hands. It took him a moment to realize what she saying to him. She was obviously not very good at it, like she didn’t practice it with anyone… and that was what hindered her and made her signs choppy and a bit hard to understand and grasp without having to think on what she was signing to him. She needed more practice. He hadn’t known anyone other than himself and perhaps a few others had bothered to learn sign language, nonetheless become fluent in it. She was one of those few it seemed. Still if she practiced at sign language with another person she would get better and quicker than she would if she tried to learn on her own.

He placed the notepad under his arm, at the crock of his elbow and raised his hands. He was curious if she understood sign language better than she could sign it. Oh well here went nothing. His hands moving easily yet slowly –for her benefit- into the signs he knew by heart forming words of <Thank you….> he signed his brow crinkling slight as a small frown replaced the smile. Who was she again? His hands had trailed off in uncertainty. <I’m sorry, who are you? I’ve seen you around but I never met you formally.> he started up in sign language again, keeping the speed slow and watching her face to see if he needed to switch to the pad of paper that was under his arm. After a slight debate he decided to switch for the paper and pen, he took the paper pad and started writing ignoring the fact that it could be seen as rude. Before he flipped the pad around to show her what he had written. Please don’t take this the wrong way but you need more practice. he wasn’t trying to be rude or anything but it was truth, she did need to practice more at sign language. He hoped she wouldn’t take it the wrong way, because the last thing he wanted to do was anger her.

He waited for a moment before he started writing again. Well now you know who was playing. he wrote before starting on another line. You may already know this, but I am Joseph Wilson and I am pleased to meet you. he finished writing and once again flipped the pad of paper around so that the dark haired woman could read it as he took a step or two toward and held out the hand that wasn't holding the pad of paper for a handshake and a more formal meeting and introduction.