[color=silver] [sub][h1][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/tWLOyH4.png[/img][/center][center][color=black][b]A K A I A[/b][/color][/center][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5333243][center][color=bca346][b]A K A I A [/b][/color][/center][/url][/h1][/sub] [center][sub]The Crow's Nest · Evening Collaboration with: [@Daxam] and [@Medili][/sub] [color=white][sub]___________________________________________________________________________________________[/sub][/color][/center] Vincent had just finished belting out a song about being ‘halfway there’ and ‘living on a prayer’. Halfway where? He didn’t know. Was he off-key? He couldn’t remember ever hearing the song, so on top of being dreadfully off-key, most of the song was also mumbled to the cadence of the melody. Did he care? Of course not, since he was having a blast. Regardless of how one might perceive Vincent’s karaoke performance, Cerise was cheering him on, a big smile on her face. After all, the karaoke night would have turned into a quiet dessert-eating night if it wasn’t for Vincent. As far as Cerise was concerned, karaoke wasn’t really about being good at it anyways. [color=DE3163]“Hehe, keep it up Vincent.”[/color] she said cheerfully when Akaia suddenly called out to her. [color=bca346]“Share!”[/color] The Sidhe had entered the room shortly after Ajax had his peek, finally giving in to the curiosity that was the sound of music. Inside, she found Vincent and Cerise there waiting, with one on the mic and the other listening… or being forced to. Of course with little else to do in the now, there wasn't much of a choice. Still, seeing two of the commune finding comfort where they could brought some small amount of joy to the her and whatever confusion or troubles were hanging over her like a cloud was quickly forgotten. There was comfort to be found here for Akaia as well and she was already pulling her into a hug. [color=DE3163]“Oh, ‘Kaia! Great, you’re finally here.”[/color] As Akaia squeezed her from behind, Cerise accompanied her words with a return hug in kind, beaming at Akaia. Vincent overheard as well and turned to see the two holding each other. He grinned and held out the microphone as he said, [color=orange]“Be my guest. I just finished up, anyway!”[/color] Akaia looked at him confused. She tried to line up what Vincent had said to something or anything that made sense but was failing miserably. It was Cerise, however, who laughed, quickly realizing that Vincent seemed to have misunderstood Akaia’s words as a request for the mic. She decided to play along with it. [color=DE3163]“How about it, ‘Kaia? You wanna try singing?”[/color] Akaia turned to Cerise, still confused. [color=bca346]“A-are you sure?”[/color] She asked. [color=DE3163]“Of course! Go for it, ‘Kaia! I’m sure it’ll be fun. Right, Vincent?”[/color] Cerise nodded at Vincent as she said so. [color=orange]“I had a blast and you heard how good my singing is,”[/color] He said with a laugh as he placed the microphone into Akaia’s hand. He then flopped down onto the couch next to Cerise, his hands laced behind his head as he added, [color=orange]“If I can have that much fun with my god-awful singing, then I’m sure you’ll have a great time, since I’m sure you can’t be any worse at it than me!”[/color] A smile lit up Akaia's face and she nodded excitedly at Vincent. An opportunity had just presented itself and one that she'd been waiting specifically for for some time. [color=bca346]"Okay!"[/color] She exclaimed as she swung around the chair. Licorice, sensing his perch was soon to forget his existence, hopped off of Akaia's shoulder and onto the couch to find somewhere safer to rest. He shuffled closer to the two and found a spot in a crook between two seat cushions on the other side of Cerise. He received a head pat for his troubles. As Akaia began shuffling through the available songs looking for a specific one, she paused momentarily and turned to Cerise as well. [color=bca346]"Close your eyes!"[/color] [color=DE3163]“Close my eyes?"[/color] Cerise gave her a nod and a playful giggle. [color=de3163]"Okay then. My, I wonder what song it is you’re going to pick~”[/color] She didn't have to wait long. The [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMcWldfg28s]song[/url] started quiet with light percussion and guitar and a few seconds later was joined by Akaia. [color=bca346]"Shaaaaare-eeee.... Share-ee baby! Shaaaaare-eeee.... Share-ee baby! Shaaaaaaaaaaaaare-eee baaaaaby..."[/color] As she sang, she began hopping to the rhythm, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet and turning to face Cerise. In the Sidhe's pale eyes, there was some visible embarrassment. The acknowledgement that there was no comparison to her voice and the one she was trying to match, but perfect emulation was out of the question. For the past few years, the girl on the couch had been coaching Akaia to use her own voice, not just in speech but also in song. They'd spent many an evening together at the piano practicing, both for the joy Cerise found at the keys and also for the lessons learned by Akaia. Of those lessons, one was significantly more eye opening than the others: Singing and speaking were not the same. At least for her, one was significantly more difficult, [i]but[/i] it was also yet another form of communication and she was ever looking for more ways to do just that. It was for this reason she took to it and another reason why she was so determined to practice. Long ago, Akaia had determined that she was going to use her own voice around Cerise and that meant now, in front of her best friend and another face she'd only just barely met. She knew despite practice that she was far from any degree of skilled and whatever was coming out of her mouth would be rather tone-deaf. However, it wouldn't be enough to drown out the joy that overwhelmed her from being able to be herself around Cerise. The smile across her lips that constantly threatened to turn into a giggle and the happiness in her eyes was enough to bury whatever embarrassment she felt. She turned to the screen again when she began forgetting the lyrics, the force behind her song dropping when she had to read. The bounce in her step however never left. [color=bca346]"Whyyy dooon't yoou come oooout, to my twist party... where the bright moon shines... we'll dance the night away, I'm gonna make you mi-Aah!"[/color] Akaia's arm flinched violently as if she were recoiling from pain and the mic fell out of her hand. Looking down at her palm, she noticed that despite the pain feeling very real, there were no cuts or lesions. All that remained was a persistent tingling under the skin and a cloud hanging over her she thought had left her that tasted of frustration and annoyance. She turned to look at the door. [/color]