Week 6 Catchall with Sanji

[fragileprophet]

[Hi Ion's going to be roughly attached to Sanji at the hip whenever he gets the chance to be.]

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[fragileprophet]

I promised you a concert.

[And he doesn't intend on letting the opportunity slip between his fingers.]

...you seem like you could use an uplifting song or two right now.

[His smile as easy as ever, he leads the way to the Music Hall.]

[concasse]

[...]

Alright.

[No comment, really, just a quiet acceptance as Sanji trails after Ion to the Music Hall]

The... the harp, was it? Is that what you know how to play?

[Damn, he can't remember the instrument]

[fragileprophet]

The harp, the harpsichord, and a couple others with passing proficiency...but the harp is my favorite.

[It doesn't take them too long to get there, even though Ion probably seems a little tired just by walking all the way there (Great). It's fine though, because he can sit down with the harp.]

It slipped my mind for a little while. But, ah, are there any kind of songs you like in particular?

[concasse]

[Sanji is just pleased that he correctly held onto that tiny detail, and once Ion is seated, Sanji will find himself a chair, scooting it close to the other boy.]

... Why not gimme something from your world?

[Something unfamiliar, that can't hurt him.]

[fragileprophet]

[Can't it, though? So, I've looked for harp covers for Abyss songs before and have come up with nothing so we're going to do some nice Pretending. Anyway this is fittingly close and at least has some harp in it, so that's what we're going with to start.]

This one always made me feel peaceful.

[His eyes close halfway as his fingers find their place against the strings. It's not surprising that he chose something so melodic and almost spiritual, somehow. They don't need words, but it's easy to talk while he plays, at least.]

[concasse]

[Spiritual... is a word for it, Sanji thinks, and without speaking for a while, lets the tranquility of the music wash over him.

Pirates and sailors? They're a superstitious bunch, but mostly lack reverence for anything that isn't their lady sea. And their songs are more loud, bombastic, clapping and stomping so hard the wood of the ship creaks with them.

He's never really heard music like this before.]

It's beautiful...

[fragileprophet]

I'm glad you like it. Most of the songs I know are hymns from the Church.

[As the song ends, he transitions into a collection of incomplete (since Plot, not that it makes it sound less beautiful) hymns, without the accompanying vocals.]

Regardless of belief, they've always held a sort of nostalgia for me. When I feel like I've lost control of the things around me, this sort of music makes it a little easier to find the ground beneath one's feet.

[concasse]

Oh? Maybe that's why it sounds foreign to me.

[A smirk, a light joke. Sanji shakes his head]

You'd think after a couple of weeks here I wouldn't feel like a fish outta water, but...

[He misses the rhythm of the ocean, he supposes]

[fragileprophet]

You must be really homesick.

[Okay "grounded" was a bad term to use with a pirate, he's picking up on that now, and it makes him smile sheepishly, but. It makes him pause, still.]

I can't recall any sounds about the ocean. Most of the time I've spent on ships, they were battleships, and I was stuck inside.

[Sometimes kidnapped! Not important.]

I'd like to play something that would feel a bit more nostalgic for you, if I could think of something. Perhaps that way, I could give you some peace of mind.

[concasse]

No.

[firmly]

... You know what's gonna happen to me, so I'd like to leave the past where it is.

[Nostalgia will... only damage him.]

[fragileprophet]

...Right.

[Oh. Ion's fingers hit a wrong chord, the music disrupted. He stills the strings...and has to say it.]

I'm sorry.

[He feels a knot forming in his throat, and looks from Sanji to the instrument.]

Something else, then.

[concasse]

Oi now, none of that.

[His voice is pleasant, uninjured. There's a certain pride in what he says next]

I had a good life, y'know? Got to meet my crew, came close to fulfilling my dreams...

There's no regrets on my end, so don't mourn for me.

[fragileprophet]

...could I ask you something?

[Sanji doesn't seem to have any regrets--both indicated by his voice as well as his words, but still, a thought nags at him.]

[concasse]

Yeah.

[Resting his arms on his knees]

What's up?

[fragileprophet]

If you had one wish, right now--catches aside--knowing what you know about yourself and with everything else that's happened...how would you use it?

[He plucks a few soft strings.]

On yourself? On someone else from home? On someone else here? On more information about the war and how to win it?

[concasse]

[No hesitation]

How to win the war.

[...]

We don't belong here, and me using the wish for someone else might be a lost cause if we get stuck here indefinitely.

[fragileprophet]

[There’s a pause, and then Ion laughs under his breath.]

I see.

[He smiles softly, but the look brightens.]

You’re a lot smarter than I am.

1/2

[concasse]

Heh.

Intelligence has got nothing to do with it. That's just what I want the most.

If someone told me that my wish would just cause pain... I'd still want it, no matter what.

[concasse]

Now.

... What did you do?

[fragileprophet]

[Detective Sanji, on the case.]

Oh, don’t worry. If was just a thought. I don’t have any wishes to spend.

[He pauses, leaning back in his seat.]

It’s just interesting the different way that we all think. I wonder if the Crafters took this into consideration when they chose us, and gave us the titles and roles that they did.

[concasse]

Probably. They seem to have a very good grasp on how we'll act in certain situations.

[...]

You asked me what I would do with a wish. What about you?

[fragileprophet]

Use it on someone else.

[He doesn’t need to think about it, either.]

Someone who might be hurting.

[His smile turns shy.]

Not very logical. I hadn’t even thought that it might amount to nothing, to make a wish like that.

[concasse]

No, that's a fine wish.

I think of it this way -- you need people who are willing to make those small wishes, and those who want the big shit. Covers all bases.

Me wanting everyone to get the best ending possible won't mean shit if they're battered and broken at the war's end, y'know?

[fragileprophet]

[Ion nods, and some of his apparent sadnsss fades from his smile.]

I’d like it if, at the end of all this, we can be sure that we have something happy waiting.

[concasse]

Of course we will. That's what we're working for, after all.

[Of course by "we" Sanji means "everyone except me", but...]