Meeting of the Tall People

Posted on Sat Aug 3rd, 2024 @ 19:57 by Penny Gardner & Alastair Temple

Chapter: Besieged
Location: Corridor > Music Room
Timeline: 31st January 1993
3043 words - 6.1 OF Standard Post Measure

Penny walked through the corridors, with a look of confusion on her face. She had found in the short time she had been here that it was easy to get turned around. No corridor looked exactly the same but there were often similarities and the place was big enough she often found herself needing to double back.

“Okay so I know they said the music room was around here somewhere.” She had set out on a mission this morning. At some point, in a few terms time, she had been hoping to stage a musical. In order to do that she would need to find and befriend the music teacher. He would be able to give her a broad understanding of the level of musical talent currently present in the student body, but musical were often labour intensive and time consuming, so having a teacher buddy would be essential to pulling it off.

Plus she had always found a natural sympathy with other teachers in the arts, so even without her long term plans, it would be worth doing. They would likely share rehearsal and performance space and Penny wanted to offer her technical assistance in terms of lighting. Every good gig only benefitted from a flashy moment or two.

Turning another corner she saw the back of a dark figure. Anyone else she might have described as lingering, but whoever this was, the adjective looming seemed to fit better. “Ah excuse me!” Penny called out, bright and friendly. “I’m looking for the music room, but seem to have gotten a bit lost! Could you help?”

The dark presence - though that was not difficult to achieve in the castle's dramatic, dim lighting - turned around at the voice. A warm smile from the tall music teacher with the opulent facial hair that looked like it took way too much time and care to look this nonchalant. Pressed black pants over heavy leather boots with way too many buckles, a rich vinaceous button-up shirt under black brocade vest, with a black bow tie finishing the ensemble. The man looked like he stepped out of a stage production of The Importance of Being Earnest.

"Well, I just happen to be on my way there, so you're welcome to walk with me, miss ... ?"

Penny gave the stranger a bright smile. "Oh that's great, yes perfect. I'm Miss Gardner, the new Drama teacher. You can call me Penny though when there are no kids about." She offered her hand. "I like your waist coat." Penny herself was dressed more to sink into the background than standout. She wore simple black trousers that were easy to move in and a grey turtleneck, with a beat up old pair of character shoes. That feeling of perhaps being a bit out of her depth in the opulent surroundings was compounded lightly by being confronted by someone who looked like he effortlessly belonged in a castle. "Have you been here long?"

"Well met, Penny," the tall man's rich, warm baritone rumbled, as he extended a strong, warm hand in greet. "Alastair Temple, but you can call me Al," he added with a smile, still believing it to be a very clever joke, that reference to a famous Paul Simon song from the 80s. "I've only been here a few months, but long enough to settle in and find my way. Though the castle layout still throws me for a loop, from time to time," he mused, motioning in the way he was heading, in that classic 'this way, after you' gesture.

"Al." Penny repeats and shook his hand with a warm smile. "If you'll be my bodyguard, I'll can be your long lost pal." She said without missing a beat. Then some dots seemed to connect in her head. "Oh wait Temple? Mr. Temple! You are who I was hoping to speak to, you are the Music Teacher here right?" She withdrew her hand and then followed his gesture, ash she did she wrapped her arms around her middle. She was a tall broad woman, statuesque and inclined to draw attention for that reason alone, but her body language almost seemed to try and diminish that presence.

"The one and only," It was not an uncommon thing for Al to be recognized, but being recognized for being the music teacher at Avalon was a new one for him. Still, he took it in stride, even as he appreciated how, with someone as tall as Penny was, he didn't have to slow down and measure his own stride to the other. Something that was all too common with the shorter people around him. He couldn't help but notice though that she seemed to be built sturdier than he was, relatively broad in the shoulders, whereas he was just a bit towards the more lanky side. "What did you need me for, then?" he asked, curiosity in his voice.

"Well, really I just wanted to introduce myself and see if we could be friends." Penny huffed a small laugh, it sounded almost juvenile out loud so she felt compelled to explain a little more. "I figured we would be sharing performance spaces and such, maybe even working on shows together if that was something you were open to, so I just wanted to offer my help if you ever needed it. And I hoped I could count on you in return." Penny gave him a quick glance, seeing how her suggestions was landing. "I can be a bit of a wizz with a lighting rig too, so if you want the kids to have the full rockstar experience you know who to call."

"Sure, we can be friends," Al replied easily. He didn't have many friends - friendly acquaintances, sure. Even friendly working relations with his colleagues. Friends? Not really, not since the accident two years ago. The walk to the music room wasn't very far, and soon enough he opened the door for her to show her in. The space was like most other classrooms a repurposed room that had once been used for something entirely different, and showed its age in every aspect and detail. Various benches and chairs were arranged for the students, a desk at the front for Al, of course. And then there were the instruments, ranging from a weathered, aged piano to several electronic keyboards, a drum kit, several guitar amps without an instrument attached, an acoustic guitar or two. Off to the side were two wooden cabinets with various small instruments.

Though the thing Penny would likely note was the lighting in the room. It was basic, but moody. Something that just enough thought had gone in to to make it functional and bright enough for students to read and write, but not too bright. 'Good enough for purpose', at best. "I'm sure we'll be working together on many things. Drama and music go together like - well, two things that go together very well. Plus, I've got some of my own projects that I'd more than likely want to pick your brain over some time."

Penny looked around the music room with a great curiosity, eye lingering on the piano and a few other of the instruments. "This is great, do the other teachers ever come in and use stuff after classes?" What she wanted to do was ask if she could come in here and play, but she was a secret musician. Someone who played just for herself and never in front of others, not out of false modesty, but because she had never really devoted the time it takes to become truly good at it. "Do you play all of these yourself?"

Her fingers itched to mess with the lighting, but she wasn't sure if this was something that Al had set for a specific reason. The moodiness was good, but with a few angled spots here and there, a couple of coloured gels, he could have moodiness and possibly a little more functionality without it becoming overwhelming. Something to discuss another time, no one loved a newbie who came and immediately started changing things. "What projects? I'd be more than happy to help with those. Like you say, music and drama are naturally aligned. They only make each other better when they work well together."

"I can play most of these, yes - I'm decent at keys and drums, I can get a melody out of a flute and a xylophone. But my heart - and most of my skill - lies with the guitar. I played lead guitar in a metal band, we were quite popular. Toured Europe and the US a few times. Sold a few million albums," he motioned to a shadowy corner where several gold albums were on display. Out of the way, not drawing attention, but there for those who cared.

"I'm writing an album, it's doom metal. Uhm - slow, heavy, melodic. Melancholy. With classical influences, layered harmonies, a violin. All about atmosphere. One of the crazy ideas I'm toying with is for a sort of band lore. Like all the members are Victorian era musicians who died, were buried in contemporary Victorian gothic outfits - kind of like what I'm wearing - but in the modern day climbed out of their graves, picked up modern instruments and started playing," Alastair explained. He couldn't help but feel a tiny bit silly as he did - this idea was so cheesy. "Our costumes would be Victorian gothic but weathered, dusty, torn and worn. We'd have zombie like make-up on. And I was wondering, what would a drama teacher think of this idea?"

"That sounds honestly like a lot of fun. I think it's a great idea, and the more invested you are in a concept like that the further it will carry your audience." Penny grinned as Al explained it all. "I liked that it is playful and dramatic. Have you thought about the staging at all? I would seriously consider investing in a fog machine. Audiences are good at recognising symbols and it helps suspense. Nothing says Victorian graveyard like fog. In fact there are lots of things you could do to stretch your concept. Trap doors to have you literally rise from death. Even... although this might be a step too far for most musicians, painting your instruments to match the rest of your aesthetic?" Penny clearly found the idea exciting and fun, her face lit up with the chance to brainstorm.

"That's all far future potential, at best," Al raised his hands defensively, shaking his head. "Way too early to think about that. The music is still in early stages, no guarantee we'll even get signed and produced. Let alone promotional material made, photographs and the like - that's when the costuming starts becoming relevant. No saying whether we'll ever perform live on a stage, or record a music video," Beat. "I'd like to though, and your ideas sound like good fun. My personal signature guitar already fits the aesthetic, I'm sure we can come up with a great many fun ideas if we ever get that far. If."

"Ahh I see, well I have complete faith you will get there if you want to. And it doesn't surprise me your guitar already fits the aesthetic... uhm please take this as a compliment, but frankly you already fit the aesthetic." She gave him a small teasing smile, the first sign she was starting to relax a little. "So that's the plan huh? To write the album first and then see how far you can take it?"

A chuckle at her compliment, followed by a nod. "Well, yeah. Thanks. I just - I enjoy this look. I think the idea comes from that to begin with. Also, as this project is a bit of a rebirth for me and my music," He then turned more serious, folding his arms over each other and leaning against one of the benches. "That's just how the music industry works. I write some music, record a demo with whatever recording equipment I can get my hands on, present the demo to a record label, they decide whether to sign us or not. If they do, I find actual proper session musician for the drums as I know I'm not really good enough myself, rent a proper recording studio and record the album. Then the master tapes are sent to a producer who mixes them, while we set about designing the album art. That's where the costumes can come in to play, if we decide to include band photos. After that, if the studio deems fit to have some promotional material for the album, that's where proper photoshoots, on location, with props and smoke and everything start happening." he explained with a soft, knowing smile. It seems he'd been in that life.

"Well when you are ready, if you need a hand..." At that Penny raised her own hands, she didn't really need to use her hands to bend the light the way she did, but it helped with concentration a little. It looked almost like she was conducting, but there was no sound at all. As her hands moved the lights dimmed a little, shifting in colour as she tried out a few different shades before settling on a cold green-tinged blue. The the light shifted in the room, focusing until Al would find himself in a spot light, dramatic shadow thrown out from him in four directions across the floor like an X. "Feel free to give me a shout." Then she dropped the manipulation, the light returning to normal in the room in a blink. Once again she simply looked like the slightly frumpy, normal teacher once more.

"Well, that answers that question I had but wasn't going to ask," Al laughed, seemingly impressed, looking at the lights as they shifted and formed, then glancing over where their source would be if they were natural lights. "That is - ... well, wondrous. And has a lot of potential," A smile. Then a smirk, as the lighting in the room wavered, then dimmed slightly, becoming a bit colder. Shadows quivered, then expanded, closing in on the two tall teachers, almost like tendrils reaching out for them - for just a moment, as Al stopped his concentration and the room turned back to normal.

"Oh!" Penny looked surprised for a moment, a burst of blue bioluminescence pulsing from her visible skin in response to the shadow tendrils before she got control of herself. Then she burst out laughing. "Shadow manipulation?" She asked, wanting to check, although she didn't know if there was a proper word for it. "How perfect, hmmm... I wonder if I could amplify that with the right light source?" She looked at some of the shadows in the room thoughtfully. Her powers weren't that useful outside of a theatre honestly, or at least she had never had the chance to try and play with them differently. Now though she had a whole host of things she wanted to test. Brighter lights made clearer shadows, but she could also shift light into a non-visible spectrum. Would Al be able to manipulate that kind of darkness?

"Yeah, it, uh - ... Only just started manifesting a little while ago. I think something got knocked loose in my brain, removing a block? I'm no biologist, I wouldn't know," A shrug. "I'm still practicing it, training it. Trying to find out its limits. It's not very powerful, actual light just overpowers it. Mostly I'm just trying to figure out a use for it. But it's fun, as secondary abilities go," he explained.

"Well if you want to play sometime and test the limits I could give you some light to fight. I'd find it helpful to see how far I can stretch too." She then wrinkled her nose in confusion. "Secondary abilities?" She was reminded again how much hiding away in the country had prevented her from learning.

A nod. "My main ability is that I can change into a large bird, an oversized raven, at will. It takes a lot of energy though, so I don't just do it whenever," He pushed off the bench he was leaning against and wandered over towards one of the electronic keyboards, switching it on. "But yeah, that's the one that manifested when I went into puberty. A shock for my school and parents, to be sure."

"I'll bet it was quite the shock, although that settles it. In my head Al is now short for Allen Poe." She said with a grin. Then seeing Al move to the keyboard she suddenly realised how much of his time she had taken. "Ah I should leave you to your work, thank you for being so welcoming. I look forward to working together, and really, if you need anything, you know where my office is." She then huffed a self-deprecating laugh. "Or at least I hope you do because I'm still learning, so I am not sure I could tell you where it was. But seriously, thanks for your time."

"You're very welcome, and you're always welcome here," Al agreed with a nod. He heaved a sigh, turning his concentration to the keyboard, then started trying some chords, moving them into a sequence. Phrygian scale, which was basically a natural minor scale with the second degree lowered a half step. This was a common scale in metal, especially the moody kind, as it had a melancholy feel to it, and a subtle sense wrong-ness. He was trying out chord progressions for his new music, the drama teacher getting a rare glimpse into the creative process of a musician. "It was very nice to meet you, Penny." he added with a smile.

Penny headed towards the door with a slight extra spring in her step, feeling already a little better for having met a friendly face. "In that case I will try to find my way back here for sure. Nice to meet you Al." She then stepped out into the corridor, looked left and right before biting her lip. "Ah library was... uhm... that way?" She picked a direction and just started walking.