#well that happened

Rhai'li hummed along with the music being played. He’d heard Kaoru practicing enough times now to be able to recognize the tune, and even if he wasn’t so good at carrying the same tune himself, at least he had enthusiasm. He’d been told that a lot: he might not have much of one thing, but he made up for it with enthusiasm.

“Are there words to this song?” Rhai'li asked, walking over and crouching down to where Kaoru knelt behind his funny instrument. It didn’t look like any other instrument Rhai'li had ever seen, with what seemed like way too many strings and like it should be too big to be played by one person. And the long, floor-sweeping sleeves Kaoru favored! How did he manage it without getting those all tangled up?

Clearly, it must be easier to play than it seemed.

“Not that I am aware,” Kaoru replied softly, not looking up from his practice.

“We could add some,” Rhai'li offered, bouncing back up to his feet. “Some kind of tragic romance - two lovers, torn apart by fate, only to find themselves reunited when– whoa!” He’d been pacing the area, enraptured by his own silly ideas, but caught himselfon Kaoru’s carefully draped sleeves.

Rhai'li pinwheeled his arms like a demented piece of magitek, but there was nothing to save him from faceplanting directly into the bizarre-but-pretty instrument.

Dizzy and a little numb, Rhai'li sat up in a pile of splintered wood, snapped strings, and streaks of his own blood. He looked up at Kaoru, taking in his horrified and upset face, and smiled. “You’ve got really pretty eyes. You should make more eye contact with people, you know?”