Ed
Everything was quiet, everyone was fast asleep. The hallways fell silent as the new day began to chirp outside the concrete windows of the facility. How free they were, Dae-hyun thought, the morning birds. They sat there, perched on the trees soaked in deep blue and welcoming purple, free to fly and sing as they pleased. 

The boy was sat, stationary against the plush seat of a piano. He had noticed it inside the music room on his first day when he walked best he could around the facility. A sense of longing pulled him towards the instrument. Jet lagged and unable to sleep, when else would be a better time to play a melody? He wondered how long he would go before getting caught by staff, and hoped no one would care enough to interrupt him. 

So now, at five in the morning, while others slept, Dae-hyuns long hands pressed down the white and black keys. Making a sound echo out the door and off the walls of the empty room. The song that played, the song that rung through the air in soft melancholy notes, was the *Raindrop Waltz No.1 in B Minor.* A familiar composition for Dae-hyun, slightly modified to his own liking, played over and over again. Never seeming to mess up, or hit the wrong chords, as if he had played it for hours prior. 

His cane rested against the body of the piano. A deep midnight blue, matching the hoodie pulled over his torso. It was sturdy, and within arms reach, but at the piano Dae-hyun didn't need to think of his injury. 

Simply closing his eyes, he let his hands guide the melody through the silent morning.
Jeanette
Danica rubbed a groggy pressure from around her eyes, her tiredness weighing down her temples like sluggish boulders. Just because she woke up so early every morning didn't mean she had to like it. She believed firmly that if you only ever did what you wanted, you would get nothing done at all. The world would keep spinning, and she would keep moving no matter what. She was still allowed to be pissy about it, though. 

Chocolate protein bar moved tacky between her teeth, a slight graininess in the finer mush. The taste meshed oddly with the minty tang of toothpaste, but she hated the way her tongue tasted enough to always brush her teeth first thing. She'd just do it again after her shower when she got back. This whole routine was something she'd finally settled into at the cradle, and just about all hell breaking loose would be the only thing able to stop her. She may very well be a paranormal monster who nobody liked, but hey, she sure could stick to a routine. Being liked didn't get her trophies. 

She walked in pounding steps, moving through the cool concrete building like a stalker movie on mute, the dark blue sky painting the world an indigo blanket. She rounded down stairs from her place on the second floor, passing around to the western side to head out through one of the foot-traffic gates in the fence. The large windows, numerous in their groups, gave her a view at the courtyard and town outside, the streetlights like sequins. She'd done this walk more times than she cared to count, but a soft rock in the boot of her path quickly caught her attention as she moved half-mindedly. It wasn't any physical obstruction, or something odd she could see, but she heard it.

_ _
Faint, ghostly, and haunting, the at first muffled but then clear frantic pounds of hammers on strings sung as a piano's heartbeats, flying through the air as honeyed-wine in late October storms. It felt wildly undead in its beration of melody, the almost Victorian mourning dance of the deceased, pearl-white in ballrooms of lavish silk and cold marble. Danica could imagine herself dancing with the spectors. Despite herself, the tune brought deviation to her path, footsteps carrying her quietly to the slightly open music room door. Whoever was playing must have not known. Through the crack she saw the face of the maestro, though she couldn't place him.
Ed
The boy kept his eyes semi closed, soft eyelashes framing his tired eyes, as they fixated on the keys below his fingers. The fast beats faded into a softer tune, the same melody but slower. He seemed to be improvising a lot, right there on the spot, yet nothing sounded out of place. It all flowed into a breathtaking melody, just as captivating as the bird song outside. He was putting every ounce of emotion he could into each note, and that was obvious. The beat of the piano pounded alongside the boy's heart as each key was struck. 

A looming presence by the door made no affect on Dae-hyun. The boy had heard the approaching steps, registered them as someone on the other side of the wall, but did not bother to look up. A part of him wondered if the sound was part of his imagination, a trick of his many years playing concerts. Being up on that stage made him feel both alone and alive, invigorating and unmatched. He missed moments such as those, but moments such as these would fill the void until he could return home.

Dae-hyun felt a dull throb begin to kiss his finger tips, a familiar sensation that had grown second nature from all his hours practicing. He wasn't making any efforts towards improving, so there was no use in continuing. 

His deep dark gaze rose, meeting the figure in his peripheral vision. Entirely expecting no one to be there, he felt a jolt of surprise and embarrassment shock his body once met with the stranger. She stood, a looming presence peering over the frame of the door. Blonde hair fell in wispy strokes around her face, like morning fog on a winters morning. Her cheeks were a tinted rose, and heavy eyebrows remained focused. A gaze that Dae-hyun felt in his soul. He noted how beautiful her eyes were. Even from here he could see the tones of blue, and greys. The tone of calm storm clouds against a misty evening sky.
_ _

The sudden appearance of a person, even despite all of Dae-hyun's concert experience, made his fingers slip. An ugly, out of key, sound rang out as he missed a note. He pressed a few more random keys out of embarrassment to fill the sudden silence, before wincing in disappointment.

He turned to fully look at the stranger, she still hadn't said anything. 

"Ah..." Dae-hyun hated talking first. "I wasn't expecting anyone to be up." He fiddled with the keys, making no noise, he needed something to do with his hands. "Im sorry if I bothered you?" He was unsure whether he should be apologetic. Dae-hyun surely didn't feel sorry.
Jeanette
The music was captivating. With their face turned downwards, it was hard for Danica to make out many features about who she was seeing. The low light didn't help either. She supposed in many ways, it was the biggest compliment that she was too taken away by the music to really process the boy. She'd always wished people would be so captivated by her art that they wouldn't even notice her. The unnamed artist was ever the envy of beauty. At least she felt so. It felt invigorating to see someone so engulfed in themselves. It was the best state one could be in. 

Her feet stayed planted lightly beneath her, a polite silence in her pose and a firm focus in her eyes. The gravely-fresh scent of cool concrete hung delicately in the air. Concrete and chocolate, really. 

In one moment, Danica was simply watching, a fly on the wall of the beautifully skilled pianist for a ball of ghosts, and then the moment ended, punctuated by a few sour notes. She blinked at the abruptness, and a mild frown fell to her brow. No song lasted forever, but they all deserve good finishes. Oh well. So is life. 

"Most aren't."

Danicas voice came cool and low, a granite peppering of soft rasping grumbles pronouncing her syllables. She seemed cool and collected, almost unbothered, hovering just on the other side of the door that was now more ajar than ever. Maybe she was some trick of the eye he'd never see again. Maybe he was some trick of the eye, though, he certainly didn't seem it. Danica could be sure of that. 

This boy was alive. Tired, but alive. He hunched, but he breathed. He sighed, and he shifted, clearly nervous, a flush of blood to his sun-kissed face betraying his embarrassment. His eyes were deep, meaningful, thoughtful. Being rather across the room from each other, many finer details were lost. His face made him look kind, at least internally. Danica still couldn't place him. Someone new. She noted the cane. 

"No. It's fine."

_ _
She compulsively checked her watch. She was running late. Danica looked him in the eyes and gave him a nod. 

"Bye."

Without another word, she turned and was on her way. She'd need to find that boy again soon. He deserved a proper compliment.
Ed
Dae-hyun was taken aback by her voice. A low tone that spoke few words, but dripped with a certain confidence. She spoke with the voice of someone who knew themselves, or knew nothing at all. He couldn't tell. The sounds were cold, sending shivers through his spine with each short syllable. She looked how deep chords on a piano would sound, elegantly reserved and somehow mysterious. Framed with the chill of a winters eve, her presence softer than fresh snow. 

Before he could process her any longer, she turned and faded down the hallway. Her sure foot steps carried her away, almost like a figment of the boy's dreams. Had he imagined her? Had he longed so much for an audience that he had made his own? He couldn't place anything together, but something about the incident kept him still and silent, the buzz of quiet heavy in his ears.

A part of him wanted to get up and chase after her, ask her for her name. Question her about her hobbies, where she was from, what her interests where. Who was she? Would he see her again? His mind swarmed with questions. The whole situation was strange, and captivating at the same time. The less Dae-hyun knew, the more he wanted to learn. A silent curse over his leg, and how it stopped him from getting up. He hoped she would appear again, and prayed that she was real. 

With a few stunned blinks, Dae-hyun let his mouth curl into a soft smile. His eyes fell back shut in a comfortable manner, as he reached his hands back over the keys. A new melody had begun, very slow, in a higher key. It sounded happier, yet still hauntingly unknown. The new keys pressed echoes into the hallway.

Dae-hyun could only hope she was listening.