Callan wasn't sure how to answer her question. "Do you mean why did I stop, or why did I start?" Callan asked in return, as he slowly rose up to make the tea for her. He opened the door to the kitchen in the studio, where Eurea had been waiting, she could sense something was off about her master, Callan offered a weak smile, there wasn't much she'd be able to do about it to console him.

Callan leaned into the desk by the kettle, filled it with water, clicked on the pot to set it to heat up.

Just rote actions to keep him busy and not try to concern himself with feeling anything, he had felt worse, this was nothing in comparison. It was a mishap, she didn't mean anything by it. She couldn't have known anything about the experience, yet she still did her best for him.

Teabags in the cups, gently pour, let steep for three minutes.

She could sense he was a failure, that was why she stopped. She could sense the desperation, that was why she stopped. He was a recusant, a predator, he shouldn't have dated someone so young. Was he attracted to her because of misspent youth? Did he try to capture the feeling of being young, because he was reclaiming something stolen by him from his daughter?

Don't say that. It took physical force to withhold himself from hammering his head into the counter.

Sugar, milk, small spoon, stir. Black tea in halogen yellow light, slowly blanching from the color of the milk until it was a muted brown. A cretin with two legs walks back returns to the sofa, where Elinor huddled herself into a warm corner. I did this to her. If only he could paint the shades of his failures so vividly into his guitar, as how it felt in his mind.

Callan gently placed a cup for her, just warm enough to cut back the air conditioning, not hot enough to burn the touch. "Here you go dear." He said, sitting himself down beside her. He needed to be the adult here, but words failed him at the moment. Perhaps silence suited the feeling better, as he sipped his tea, his eyes downcast on the ground. He probably looked pathetic, that was because he was.

All the neon lights and interviews, all the praise and accolades, all the radio hits, and here he was a self pitying mess because a girl rejected him. He sipped his drink, before turning towards Elly. "I'm sorry love, I think I got hit hard by an emotion bomb on the other room." He began. His eyes wandered.

While the emotions were fresh. He turned towards Elinor.

"Would you like to hear some music?"

Elinor Anderson

[attr="class","complanet"]

Callan chuckled, taking a sip of his tea before placing it down. He wrapped a hand around her to give her access to his chest as he leaned his cheek against her hair. "It's a bad habit of mine, one I haven't been able to kick." He replied. He'd like to thing most people were like that, but he had his doubts. Regardless, with her snug against him, he found it difficult to get up and grab his guitar. "I'll be back one sec."

He said, slowly getting up and moving over to one of the sides. A set of guitars lined the wall, each one a decent range. They were rentals, for use in production. Callan didn't bring his own Stratocaster today, but he'd be able to make any guitar work and sing the way he wanted it to. He took down the Ibanez PIA from the rack, finished in its immaculate light blue and gold finish, he'd always loved these guitars, but he was much more accustomed to his own. His Strat had been with him since his teens, he had no intention of swapping it around.

Callan moved back tosit next to Elinor, scooting close before. This one did not need to be plugged into an amp, producing its own power. He tuned it, carefully switching the guitar's chords to be able to fit the piece of music. "I was originally going to play some of the songs from the album but, I figured we could listen to something gentler first."

Callan pressed his fingers against the chords, a calm washed over him. His thumb pressed against the E string, the coarse fibers dug into well weathered, but still dextrous, fingertips. It was like the pages of a library unfolded in his head, thousands upon thousands of riffs constatnly vying for his attention. Happy, sad, melancholic, abyssal, technical, gentle, simple, pop, metal, rock, funk, blues, jazz-- his mind raced through the maze of neurons, it didn't take too long, as he began to pick, weaving an emotion into music.

[player]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/798740629588672583/976441465871949844/I_Play_Merry_Christmas_Mr._Lawrence.mp3[/player]

While he was never particularly into orchestra, he did sometimes pick bits and pieces from compositions. Since Elinor was into classical, he picked something that could have just been easily as been played on piano. "This is from one of my favorite movie soundtracks. I've never actually seen the movie though." He smiled, "What type of classical music do you typically enjoy listening to?"

Elinor Anderson

[attr="class","complanet"]

Callan bowed his head, well as much as he could when seated, grinning, as she clapped. "Far too kind, Lady Elinor." He chuckled, as he rested the Ibanezdown gently against his lap, listening to her taste in songs. "Oh, I've not listened to it before, let me look it up."

Callan scooched himself to grab his phone, opened Youtube, and found Vivaldi, Four Seasons... only it was about 49 minutes long. "Hmm... maybe just the Winter part." Callan replied, placing it down on the table, and hit play. He gently leaned onto Elinor's head as the music played.

The power of the electric violin cut through so immediately and viscerally, that he had a hard time believing that Vivaldi wasn't a born metalhead. Whoever this man was, his composition was beautiful, and already he could feel his fingers tap invisibly against the strings as he listened. "It's like a violent snowstorm." He commented, as he continued to listen.

By the time it ended, Callan found himself inspired. "That was wonderful." He said, "I study a lot of musical theory, but I suppose I never paid much attention to Vivaldi. But I might start listening to more classical." Callan tuned his guitar, counted to four in his head, and let his fingers shred the guitar in place of a violin.

[player]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/798740629588672583/977201253023113256/Vivaldi_-_Winter_The_Four_Seasons_Guitar_Version.mp3[/player]

As he finished, Callan rested his hand for a moment. "I love it, there's so much there that you can't find in modern music." Even if the building blocks were the same, there was something so much more complex about it that he wanted to bring into the industry. It wasn't just about becoming popular, it was about giving the world something more than just mainstream hits.

Callan paused, "Would you like to listen to some of my own songs?" He asked, "I have this one coming up for release soon."

Elinor Anderson

[attr="class","complanet"]

Callan didn't show it, but his breath relaxed significantly once he realized Elinor didn't mind the sound of the electric guitar. It was a harsh instrument, especially when one intentionally distorted the instrument for effect, but it was something that still represented a big portion of his life. As he eased into the performance and ended his impromptu rendition.

Callan turned towards her, looking into her eyes, "Okay... well..." His voice was slightly rattled with trepidation. What if she didn't like it? He was a metal head, that was for sure, he wanted this to be accessible to others, he wanted to make the public love the music that he loved. And this track, these riffs, were parts of his soul that he poured out into the world, waiting for judgment, and Elinor would be the first to listen to it. "This is a little bit different from orchestra."

Right... no excuses, no words, he wanted a raw reaction, painful or no.

Callan connected his phone over to the audio system within the room, it would cover them entirely as if it were a concert. Hopefully the colume would be enough to offset his guitar. "Let me know what you think?" He chuckled, "This one is called Synergy, it's a song Adrian and I worked on, I think it's one of our best." The system played a set of eight blips, as Callan readied his fingers.

And he let it shred.

[player]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/798740629588672583/977594484294565948/Dance_Gavin_Dance_-_Synergy_-_Cover_By_Mike_Smith_with_TAB.mp3[/player]

Callan was enthralled in the music, completely lost in it. The angry, vicious, yet highly technical guitar riffs that changed up over time. The playing wasn't perfect, given that he hadn't had enough practice for a live session yet, but missed notes were barely there, the music was a torrent of aggression and melody. For Callan, it was cathartic, he was ripping his fingers into the groove Adrian's screams, as if his partner were just there in front of him. As the last few screams by Adrian's vocals finished, Callan exhaled a breath. The music sloowly washed out of him.

He sucked in a breath as he turned towards Elinor. "How'd you find it Elly?"

Elinor Anderson | Synergy - Dance Gavin Dance | Cover - Mikerisms

[attr="class","complanet"]

Callan nodded, he had expected that she wouldn't be particularly into metal. "Yeah I imagine it's definitely one of the genres that are more of an acquired taste." Callan smiled. It was something he was used to, he was grateful for it.

"The screams are pretty hard to deal with for the average music listener I imagine, but I personally think of it just like an instrument. It's a nice way to express anger, hatred, frustration, all these pent up emotions inside of us that don't have a pretty way of coming out."

Callan pauses, "It's the appeal of metal for a lot of people, I think. For me though, since I come from the perspective of making the music, I just think of it like spicy food, most people don't enjoy spice by itself, but if it's well made with decent spices and seasoning, those who enjoy spicy food will love it." Callan took a sip of his tea before continuing, "I think that Adrian's vocals are balanced out by the screaming, since it makes the sung parts all the sweeter."

Callan paused, "Hmm... how about a different song then? I think you should be familiar with this one."

[player]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/798740629588672583/978504139820638228/How_to_play_Happy_Birthday.mp3[/player]

"Happy birthday dear." He smiled. As if on queue, Eurea, his Gardevoir, walked into the studio, a small cake with layers of cream and chocolate sponge, topped with cherries and a single candle. It placed the cake between the sets of tea, as it clapped politely. Callan gently kissed her forehead, "Hope the cake is to your liking, I'm sure it's not as good as the ones you've had at home."

The candle blazed its lone vigil, waiting to be blown out.

Elinor Anderson | Happy Birthday! | Cover - Ichika Nito

[attr="class","complanet"]

The way her eyes lit up, the way she teared with joy, that was everything he wanted and more. There was nothing that he could say that could express it, only that there was a lump in his throat, as if he could feel some momentous thing he had done for her. Even if it was just a song, and a cake, what she looked like in his eyes was as if she had been saved from something.

Callan embraced her, eagerly, fully, placing the guitar to the side as she hugged him, as he wrapped tight against her. Callan pressed his lips to hers as his arms squeezed tight behind her, pulling her bare chest to his body while wrapping her back tight with the makeshift blanket that was his jacket. He hummed in pleasure as he took in her smell and her taste again, gently licking against her lower lip as she gently pullled away. He looked luridly into her eyes as she spoke. Tears gently flecked against her eyes, Callan used a thumb to wipe it away, as hemoved to stroke her hair.

"Oh... I followed you on Social Media, I had a hunch." He smiled. "I... didn't expect you to be this happy though... I'd have thought you would have had a better birthday. I'm very glad about it." He gnetly pulled her into his chest wrapping his arms around her to allow her to rest there. He wanted to stay like that for eternity.

Elinor Anderson | Happy Birthday! | Cover - Ichika Nito

[attr="class","complanet"]

A great wave of euphoria rushed through him as he squeezed her tight against his chest. And along with it, a tinge of sadness, now that he had heard her story.

"No child deserves to not have something to celebrate every year." He whispers. He couldn't fathom it, how could a parent not celebrate the one reminder that their child was with them? How could they not celebrate their greatest gift to the world?

"Now I'm curious what the top birthday is." He replied, smiling as he brushed against her strawberry blonde locks. "But I'm sure, there's always next year, and more memories to make."

Callan smelled her scent, pulling her into his gaze, as his fingers locked against her hair. It was building inside him again, he felt his heart pulse into his lungs, the blood flowing into his head as he brushed his lip against hers, and removing the jacket form her back to expose her lithe body to him.

He hadn't the opportunity before to actually look at her fully, this time, he sucked her in, his eyes trailed down her neck and against her petite curves. Rough, calloused fingers rolled up towards her hips, then waist, then against her chest, as his thumb teased against the hardening spots. "I want you." He whispered. As he began to kiss down her neck, sucking in her smell. "Let's make this your number one birthday."

Elinor Anderson