The Strumming of the Strings (Semi-closed)

[Thorn Hawk]

"So yeah, meet me by the firepit in a few moments. I'll bring an acoustic." Val's voice chirped over the coms. Thorn nodded, even though she couldn't see him and placed the device in his back pocket. After all, he wasn't doing anything at the moment other than just flying around to waste some time before his patrol, so why not spend it learning how to play guitar? Thorn had tried picking up a musical instrument before, and failed miserably at it, deciding that it was his innate inability to play which kept him from making or playing music rather than just going along with it. He could keep a beat as well as any of them, and was a pretty good dancer in regards to both Saint Joe's and Bloodvine if Prom was any indication. But hey, maybe Val would be able to help him learn a new skill. Dropping from the precipice of the building he was on, Thorn unfurled his wings and caught the air, lifting him up and around a corner to head towards the school campus.

He got there fairly quickly, beating Val to the firepit and electing to sit with his back to the seemingly ever-burning fire, wings stretched out to warm up. He was only there maybe about 5 minutes or so when Val arrived, wearing her short white T shirt and baggy slacks; a light brown acoustic guitar slung over her back. He smiled as she sat down in front of him, taking her guitar off from about her shoulders which caused the scales on her arm to catch some of the firelight. It was odd...he and Val got off to a good start and Thorn certainly enjoyed spending time with her. There was something about having another person who was kinda part reptile that made him feel more accepted in a strange way.

"So....how do I use this thing?" Mike asked her, after being handed the guitar.

"Well, first hold it like this...you're right handed right?" Val asked, looking at Mike as he nodded quickly. "Cool. Now, holding it like this, all you really need to know at first is the six different strings. The one up here..." She said, pointing to the string closest to Mike's head while the guitar neck was pointing towards his left shoulder, "This is the low E string. Below that is the A, then the D, G, B and then the high E string." Thorn nodded and held out his right thumb. From the tip, a fat and dull spike began to grow, like a rudimentary pick. Val grinned at him when she saw this and shuffled backwards slightly to let him play around with the six different strings.

"It doesn't seem so bad..." Thorn said at first as the guitar strings vibrated under his hand.

Val nodded again. "Yep! Just remember EADGBE!" Thorn gave her a quirked eyebrow in response and chuckled.

"Right, so what are these things here?" He asked, indicating the sections on the neck.

"Those are the frets. They let you change the pitch on the string. So if you use the low E and hold it down on this fret..." She said, reaching over and holding down in the correct area....wait...did she just brush his hand on purpose? "You get a G sound."

Thorn nodded a moment, twisting his mouth to the side. "But wait, why can't you just use the fourth string as the G? That is the G right?"

Val smiled brightly at him. "Yeah, you can, but you get a different tone. It's really up to you and the song that you're playing to find out which specific tone you want. Hey....mind if I show off a bit?" She asked, holding out a hand for the guitar. Thorn nodded and handed it to her carefully, as if he was afraid of breaking it. "Mind if I grab the pick too?" Thorn blinked a moment and then grinned, letting the spine/pick drop from his thumb. He handed it over to her and sat back, listening as she started to play a rather intense rock song. "I love this song...just gets repetitive in parts."

"Don't Fear the Reaper, right?" Val nodded and continued to play. While Thorn sat back and listened...wow she was good....he thought about how he could pay her back for this. He was one of those guys who always wanted to do something for someone if they did something for him. Well...what was Thorn good at? Eh, he was good at dancing, flying, and whumping baddies...but not much else really. There were a few subjects in school that he did OK at, but he was more of a guy of action. Wait...Val said she flew right?

"Hey Val, why don't I pay you back for the lessons with some good flying spots? I know some great areas in Skyway, the Falls, and Overbrook." Val frowned and stopped her song.

"I can't fly anymore..." She said, trailing off a bit at the end of the sentence. Damn...Thorn had forgotten that she can't fly now that the Snake Spirit was out of her.

"Well, why don't I just take you? Just means you gotta hold on." Thorn asked suddenly. "I don't mind flying with someone holding on." Val's face seemed to light up and her skin seemed to darken slightly.

"Sure!" She said, a bit too excited than Thorn would have expected. He smiled back, her energy was contagious.

"That sounds great! Where would you like to go?"

[QueenCobra]

Val looked at the winged god before her and giggled. She wish she could give "guitar lessons" to all the cute boys here.

She showed off, of course, because playing guitar seems to be the only thing she's good at...

"Hey Val, why don't I pay you back for the lessons with some good flying spots? I know some great areas in Skyway, the Falls, and Overbrook."

She started blushing prefusely... the thought of Mike carrying her like a damsel in distress in his big, strong arms... it pretty much just melted her.

"I'd love to... but i can't fly anymore..." Hook, line, and sinker...

"Well, why don't I just take you? Just means you gotta hold on."

Val nodded and responded she'd love to!

"How about we fly over Founder's Falls? It's really pretty there!"

[Thorn Hawk]

They had gotten off of the Green Line which overlooked the Red River district of the Falls, which, aside from the occasional glimpses of Circle of Thorns practitioners getting whumped by a hero on patrol, looked very nice. Mike, dressed in his flying gear of leather jacket, slightly baggy pants tucked into buckled boots and belted gloves, stood up next to the railing of the train station.

"Alright Val...I'm gonna take you above the Liberty Town district and then to William's Square, where the RISU campus in the Falls is. From there, we'll head to the Gaspee. The buildings are tight in there, so I'm gonna go slowly at first and wind in through between the buildings. After that, I'll show you a special spot of mine in Hutchinson Park. Val looked back at him and was positively shining.

"That sounds awesome!" She said, seemingly anxious to get off the ground. Mike chuckled and held out one arm.

"Alright, just hold on and trust me. I won't drop ya." He said, placing one arm behind Val's shoulder and his other below her knees. Her arms immediately leapt up around his neck, her scales cool against Thorn's sun-heated skin. Making sure he had a good stance, he spread his wings out and began to run towards the ledge of the train ramp. This was the tricky part of flying with another person, the takeoff. Thorn managed to build enough momentum to catch the wind under his wings and rocket into the air, beating with powerful strokes and lifting him to an already impressive 10 stories in height. From there, he began to fly over Liberty Town, skimming over the tops of the skyscrapers, giving them both an excellent view of the city.