♪ The Second Measure ♪

[elegantvirtuoso]

[There seems to be a melody coming from one of the tea rooms on the first floor, carrying out to the hallway and as far as the sound is willing to travel. It seems Austria is simply unable to contain his mixed feelings on various subjects anymore, and rather than put them into words, he has taken to the nearest available piano

Comments

Music attracts snakes.

[laconic_serpent]

[He stops in to listen while leaning against the wall. A man of very few words. Vicious will not say anything until after Austria is done playing. However he doesn't seem annoyed by the music.]

.....

Oh my, snakes in the tearoom!

[elegantvirtuoso]

[Austria does not say a word until the very last note is played, at which time he breathes deeply, and notices the presence of another person in the room. Not recognizing him, he raises an eyebrow and is immediately on guard.]

May I help you?

Re: Better than on your plane? D:

[laconic_serpent]

[Vicious lit up a cigarette not particularly caring if Austria cared for the smoke, on his shoulder a large black crow sat as if there was nothing odd about it's presence.]

Simply listening. I wasn't aware anyone here knew how to play.

I suppose that's true! XD

[elegantvirtuoso]

[He does not, though he is not inclined to mention it as of yet. He does give the bird a suspicious glance, but he allows that to slide as well.]

Indeed. Is musical knowledge and appreciation uncommon in Wonderland then?

[recoilles]

[Eve pokes her head into the room, the music drawing her to it.]

Sonata No. 24 in F sharp major...?

[elegantvirtuoso]

[Austria pauses at the nearest possible opportunity, as it seems he really is capable of hearing others while playing. He then turns his attention to Eve by the door.]

That is correct. You are familiar with the piece?

[recoilles]

[She nods, stepping into the room.]

Yes, I have heard it on the radio a few times...

[elegantvirtuoso]

[Austria wasn't wholly familiar with the music played over radios, simply because he heard most of his music live and static-free. Though Ö1 did have intriguing cultural programs once in a while, but he digresses. Still, Eve's presence is welcomed as "not an annoyance".]

I see. The piece is also known as À Thérèse, as it was written by Beethoven for a student of his named Thérèse von Brunsvik.

[donotstab]

[Normally, Masada wouldn't be caught anywhere out of his room due to pure baseless paranoia, but as soon as Madotsuki suggested he look for Alice... well, he wasn't one to argue with Madotsuki. So here he was, wandering aimlessly about the mansion.

Of course, as soon as he heard the distant sounds of piano, he headed straight for the source. Halfway through the piece, Austria may or may not notice an odd-looking man in black standing beside him. Staring.]

[elegantvirtuoso]

[At first, Austria did not notice Masada's presence at all. However, glances up and notices someone is suddenly standing right beside him, he is startled out of his "musical trance", so to speak. Austria composes himself again rather quickly and looks at the man.]

...Hello?

[donotstab]

[He stares for a moment longer, looking a little sad that he stopped playing so suddenly bawwww.]

Why did you stop?

[elegantvirtuoso]

[Austria seems a bit puzzled by this strange person at first, and stares back at him. But then, at a loss of anything else to say, he turns back to the piano.]

Right. ...Sorry.

[And then he resumes the piece from where he left off.]

[blackestscales]

[Passing by in the hallway, and then stops. Glances idly in, raising an eyebrow. He stands in the doorway for a better view and to hear better, arms crossed. Okay, so you humans can be good for some things...]

[elegantvirtuoso]

[Good to know it, Alecto. Austria halts his piece and turns around, however. He felt a bit as though he was being watched, and as though he needed to know who was there. After that other fellow had startled him, he could not help this feeling. Upon seeing that someone was there, the paranoia ceased entirely.]

You can come in, you know. You don't need to lurk in the doorway if you don't want to.

[blackestscales]

[Growls, lightly, looking away. Pride makes him stay exactly where he is.]

I do want to. If you're so easily distracted, you're a failure as a musician.

[elegantvirtuoso]

[Austria's eyebrow twitches, but he is well aware of his own accomplishments. Rather than being unprofessional and darting across the room to hurt this man despite any urges to, Austria remains calm and adjusts his glasses.]

And if I am truly a failure as a musician, I cannot imagine why you would desire to listen in the first place.

[He then turns back to the piano and continues the piece from exactly the moment he left off.]

[idkmybfftony]

[Nosy American is nosy. He hears music on his way back from the 'kitchen', and peeks his head in, slurping on soda through a straw in the process. He does stop to watch briefly. ...Huh.

He creeps in a little closer. After all, he had to figure out if that was really him playing.. or just the radio.]

[elegantvirtuoso]

[See this face? This is the face Austria would make if he knew America had wondered whether his music was genuinely coming from him or some staticy old radio.

That slurping is rather distracting (but Austria being Austria, he never misses a single note). Finally though, he can't take it stops and turns and is somehow not at all surprised to see who it is.]

Ah. Hello, America.

[idkmybfftony]

Hey, Austria! [He's already close enough, peering at the piano as if he's never seen one before, totally oblivious to the fact that he's being obnoxious.]

Wow, that was really cool! How do you do that? [He'll poke a key on the piano, just because he can.]

[elegantvirtuoso]

[America, you are very, very obnoxious. When the key is pressed, a note sounds out loudly in the room. Nevertheless, Austria tries to rationally answer America.]

When a key is pressed, a small hammer strikes a string within the piano, and depending on the length of the string it will create a different sound.

[Austria presses a key on the opposite end of the piano, and it predictably makes a sound on the opposite end of the scale.]