Sing us a Song, you're the Piano Man

[Maxpphire]

This was one of the many nights he dreaded, the one of many where he just couldn't sleep, and simply didn't feel tired. Luckily for him the buses ran late, or even all night. He never really bothered to check for certain, just that if he needed a bus, there usually was one to grab him within 10 minutes or so no matter what time of day. He never thought anything of it since he lived in this city his whole life, and just figured thats how public transport worked. While out in public, he generally always had some headphones in, a sign as to not be bothered by the world or others. A thing he had noticed is that most of the people of the night 'felt' different from the people of the day. He couldn't exactly put his finger on why and since not everyone felt this way at night, he couldn't just account for it being just the night owls of the world either.

Once arriving to the bar, he made his way down the the lounge area. They knew him by now, they had to have. He came by usually about 3-4 times a week to just play Piano for them in the lounge for a few hours. He never asked them to be paid but would accept tips from the patrons, which likely made it even easier on the bar, or at least his own thoughts of it being one less person for them to have to pay from time to time likely made it easier on the bar. He made his way to the Piano, sat down, removed his headphones, and cracked his knuckles. After he rested his fingers on the keys for a few moments and decided he would warm up with something more simple for him to play but long. He usually played rather complex pieces, but he made them seem easy with how his fingers seem to glide like butter over the piano keys. While playing, he seemed to stare straight ahead of him, not looking at the keys, not looking at any sheet music, just straight ahead, as he tuned out most of the world as he played for anyone who was willing to listen.

[Black Philip]

Drew alternates between first and third person narratives to better fit his Film Noir style. For this more intimate RP I have decided to use 1st. I hope you enjoy.

The White Rabbit is the closest thing I have to church. In the whole city you will not find a more raucous den of thieves, assholes and drunks. It's the kind of joint where if you don't have a weapon they give you one at the door. It's the kind of place where they make the drinks strong, and the vampires come to drink from the wasted humans buying the drinks. Lastly, it's the kind of place where if you want to get into a drunken brawl in the middle of the bar you'll find someone who wants to get into a match with you. I went beyond the looking glass tonight in search of a such a fight. I had some anger to burn off.

I strolled into my favorite watering hole, but all the less than reputable characters I know and love were off that night. Sam wasn't tending bar. Lisa-Joe wasn't introducing a band. I didn't even see that new chick Maria. What a drag. To make matters worse the Brujah were in low supply so I didn't even have a sparing partner. Some mean looking hummies were strutting about, puffing out their chests and flashing some pieces on their belt, but I knew I would kill them if they shot me and so I stayed away. I decided to check out upstairs. I wondered what they had going on up there. The second floor was a lounge during the early hours and transformed into a crazy, slutty dance floor in the later part of the evening. I was here at lounge hours, and heard a piano reverberating through the old wooden stairs that connected the Duplex.

It was interesting music, but this guy was perhaps a bit too skilled for this joint. It's not that the Rabbit wasn't a well run place by any means. I've never seen alcohol guarded and weighed more strictly, and while bar fights were cool, stabbings and shootings were not, and the bar was a designated fists only Elysium. However, this guy was really good. I wondered if a new case had just presented itself to me. What had a dude like this playing in a - and I mean this with love - dump like this? I moved over to the piano, taking off my beanie and leather jacket.

"Hey Bach, can you play Billy Joel?"

My deep baritone cut through the chatter on the floor, a few cheers following my request. I flashed a smile at the guy to let him know I wasn't trying to rag on him.

[Maxpphire]

A small smirk came across his face as the one time he seemed overly confident was when he was playing music. It was his one talent that he knew most others could enjoy, and usually would take requests the few times people had them for him. He usually got more tips that way, but it wasn't really for the tips that he did this, just for the fun and relaxation of it really. The fact that he didn't get stage fright, but rather, stage confidence, was always seen as a bit odd by his music teachers.

"Certainly," He said and moved into one of his personal favorites, The Longest Time, since he didn't get a specific song request. After doing the intro twice, when the verse hit he began to sang along with it as well. He played in a pitch that complimented his smooth, soft, and velvety singing voice seemed to range between and Alto and Tenor depending on what part of the song was being sung. A lot of Billy Joel songs were easy to him, particularly Piano Man, which is usually the big request that he gets, but he tries to avoid it only because it's so simple and easy for him to do now, that he wants a bit more of a challenge at this point. He almost choose "The Downeaster Alexa" but almost feel as if the tone of the song was a little too depressing for what he was throwing down tonight. After the song was over, he looked at the man, it was definitely one of those people who felt different from most found during the day. His Blue with white swirled and speckled irises gazes nearly piercing almost as if he was looking right though Drew, however, Dreki's smile would indicate no harm.

"Any other requests?" He asked Drew wondering what else was to be thrown at him. Given his extensive list of what he listens to, he can play nearly anything he gets requested and not often is he thrown for a loop.

[Black Philip]

So Piano Man did know the hits. I listened, less impressed with his skill than who he was. The Rabbit seemed like the wrong crowd for this dude, and so it made me all the more curious how he ended up here, where he came from, and what his deal was. He smelt like a blood bag, but there was something else in there. It smelt like.... brimstone? I wasn't sure but I knew it was not human. Well, Piano Man just made my night, and I didn't even have to fight him. I threw a five into the ice bucket the bar had given him to collect tips. Now that he was playing the hits a few more people came to listen and threw in a few bucks too.

"I got one more request," I answered. "Play Tiny Dancer," I said. I love that song, but in the meantime, I'd be studying everything about him. I was looking for body language, vocal cadence, special abilities, or anything that would give me a clue who Piano Man really was. Afterwords, I was going to try and get him to chat with me over by the bar. I could smell a case buried in those piano playing fingers.

[Maxpphire]

After he had played a few other requests from the crowd, ranging from Glass Animals to even Mindless Self Indulgence of all things did for sure show he had the talent to play just about anything. Although he did assume with that suggestion that the person was trying to throw him off, there was at least always someone who would try to throw him a curveball. With each song he seemed to sing along in his own tone that matched with how he was playing, with seemingly calming renditions of those songs. It seemed like a livelier night than most as he normally didn't get too many requests in a row. After the last request was over with, he did take up Drew's request of Tiny Dancer, singing along as well.

While he played he had perfect posture, his hands gliding over the keys with ease. If anything it's clear he's been playing the Piano for a long time and knows a lot of music. An oddity however, is that he did not once look down at the keys. Most piano players use their eyes and look down from time to time if not concentrated on the keys themselves as they play. He seemed to concentrate to anything that directly faced him such as the wall, or sometimes even closing his eyes, never once looking down. Sometimes he lightly swayed with the music and his singing, as if to dance a little. His talent of playing the piano seemed to be that of his own, nothing would stand out except for maybe his talent at it. His body language seemed welcoming yet professional when interacting with others to get song requests.

[Black Philip]

I took in all the details and was most curious why he never looked down at the keys as he played. Was he blind? That would explain it. I couldn't be sure just by watching him play, but I'd seen plenty of Stevie Wonder videos on Youtube and he never looked down either. More importantly, this kid did not seem to grasp what bar he was in. People were into what he was doing but he stuck out like a sore thumb in this place. It's as if he walked in off the street and never once looked at where he was, except for finding the piano of course. He seemed almost like he was dreaming all of this, including me. I was put off he took the other requests before mine - as mine was for sure said first and I was bringing him other listeners - but hey to each their own. I started to grow bored with Piano Man, as he didn't seem to have much interest in me at the moment. I tipped another five for the song and walked away singing along, although a full octave deeper than the song was normally sung. I walked up to the bartender and ordered a special Manhattan - which was code for red stuff - and slurped up a helping as soon as the glass came.

I turned back to face the upstairs from the bar, stairs leading down to the biker bar at the opposite end of the room, and saw several of the strippers, men, women and everything else one might want, stretching, getting ready to take their polls. The night was about to switch over to the slutty part and I wondered if Piano Man would stay and boogie, or go search for the next place to play. Either way, if he wanted to chat he'd need to come to me.

[Maxpphire]

He figured it was time for a break, particularly now that the strippers were all getting ready to take to their routines. He didn't want to interrupt any of them with his Piano playing, it would probably be almost too relaxing for what they normally all danced to anyhow. He stretched as he got up from the Piano and sighed to himself. He still didn't feel tired, and was hoping that the Piano playing for a bit would relax him enough to feel tired but alas it seems as if it didn't.

"I wonder if I will get any sleep tonight." He mumbled to himself as he walked up to and sat down at the bar itself. While walking up to it, people moved out of his way pretty easily. The intense gaze his eyes normally gave off made a lot of people uncomfortable as it is. Before when he used his walking cane, people normally moved out of the way to not impede him, nowadays, it was to keep off of his glare. He asked the Bartender for a water and quickly got one, he had work the next day so alcohol tonight would be a bad idea. After a few sips, he turned his back away for a moment while he went to pull his phone from his pocket. The bartender seemed to have been across the room at the other side bar counter from Dreki helping out other customers who were there. Someone seemed to quickly walk by him, and since his and seemingly everyone's back was turned, slipped something into his cup of water, but walked away also as if he was just walking by so Dreki took no mind of that person either.

After a moment, Dreki managed to get his phone out of his pocket, put an earbud in his left ear as he seemed to be doing something on his phone without actually looking at it. If someone looked closely enough it seemed to be a word document of sorts he was typing on.

[Black Philip]

Piano Man kept giving everyone a certain look, and boy did they make way for him to pass. It was intriguing for sure, and I made note of it on a receipt I had, using the bar's pen to jot down the way his eyes looked. He was for sure blind, but in a way I'd never seen before. Human, but not and now blind but not. Who was this guy? He hadn't really paid me much mind, and considering that he had a headphone in and was focused on something he didn't exactly scream come talk to me. I rose and was honestly about to call my investigation of Piano Man a wrap but then I saw something out of the corner of my brown eye. Some new fanger garbage, who is obviously not a regular, just dropped something in Piano Man's drink. What an asshole. I didn't want to think if this was for a feed or something far more sinister. Lucky for me, he was a young little shithead, and I manged to grab him by the scruff of his collar.

"Manuel, this one dropped something in Billy Joe's drink," I informed the bartender. Manuel was a solid dude. He wouldn't ever let shit like this fly. I wondered how he'd even gotten it in there, but he did. I turned over the perp to the Anarchs, who looked like they were taking the guy downstairs for questioning. Piano Man was sitting there with a fresh drink of... water? I walked up to him.

"Buy you something stronger," I offered, claiming the seat next to him. "It's my thank you present for Tiny Dancer."

[Maxpphire]

"Maybe some other day, I have work in the morning and alcohol just makes it difficult for me to get around" He smiled as he turned to face Drew, "I appreciate the offer. In the meantime why don't I buy you one? I heard what you mentioned to the bartender and I appreciate that even more." He had taken his headphone out of his ear and by that point Manuel would have replaced the tainted water he had. He took a sip of the fresh cup and placed his phone down in front of him, the lock screen would have been whatever basic background the phone came with.

"Also, a little surprised you didn't suggest something from David Bowie's Discography. Most people who enjoy music from the 80s usually request something from him as well. Mostly Space Oddity, but if not given a song I default to Life on Mars, which is a much better song in my opinion anyway." He explained, not shying away from a little conversation while he hung out at the bar. He kept his cup in his hand, while he doubt something like that would happen a second time, after all, this isn't his first time coming to this bar, he just felt a little more comfortable doing so right now.

[Black Philip]

I have made it a habit to never trust people who don't drink. Don't get me wrong. I don't think alcohol is the solution to all of life's problems, but does it does solve a lot of them. I was happy to get a free drink though, and I had Manuel make sure it was one of my variety. Hopefully, Piano Man didn't have a keen sense of smell the way some blind people had. If so, I'd probably just act ignorant. On the other hand, humans who didn't know about vampires weren't normally let in, but considering how of place he was I didn't want to take any chances with breaking the masquerade. Supernatural government was pretty relaxed in the central district, but that was one offense I knew I'd get punished for.

He also needed to get his era's better. Space Oddity was clearly a 60's tune. I decided to ease in the correction without trying to sound like a dick. Trouble is, I often try not to sound like a dick, but rarely succeed.

"I do love me some Bowie," I began. "But if you want 80's Bowie you gotta play shit like Let's Dance and Ashes to Ashes. Ya know? The whole 'Scary Monsters and Super Creeps' era, where he wore the clown suit."

My drink came and I scarfed it down as  I waited for Piano Man's thoughts about eighties Bowie. Meanwhile I watched him to learn any more I could about his condition, and what allowed him to move without a cane or a dog.

[Maxpphire]

"Oh I'm aware of what his 80s hits are, not many request that Era from him however. Jut he's usually attached to those who like Elton John, Billy Joel, and other artists who can have a 70s feel to their music sometimes, even if he did start out in 66 with his music getting recognized, it had gotten a feel for the 70s before the 70s really arrived with certain tracks of his. It seems as if everyone just knows Space Oddity and nothing else sometimes. It's a shame really, he has a lot of good stuff and has done a lot more the how music has developed over the year than most people realize," He explained a bit, not expecting someone to point out that Space Oddity wasn't an 80s hit, "Figured I would give them a different song of his thats not only better, but still invokes the feeling of traveling the mystery that is space." And it was with that last thing he spoke where the scent of Drew's Drink caught him a bit off guard and threw him for a loop. The look on his face would have a mild perplexity to it, it didn't quite smell like an alcoholic drink but one that smelt metallic, it was a vague scent he normally smelt around this place, but now talking to someone who was drinking such a thing, made it more noticeable as a drink here for sure and not quite just a generic small of the bar.

Something seemed to click in his mind, he knew Vampire DNA was an option in the facility in ways of them discussing the pros and cons of what DNA they could try and use to give him his sight back and make him even a little bit more strong, he was also aware of the myths that everyone was in regards to what media showed to be a vampire, but he didn't actually think much of them being common or too terribly real, until now. He figured that was just the name the facility gave that DNA as a way to describe what it can help or harm with. From perplexed, to a realization, to sudden calmness. Drew had that 'off' feeling he noticed more often with people at nighttime than at daytime. He wondered something but wondered how to appropriately go about asking it.

"You know what? I can call off tomorrow, I rarely use sicks days anyway, is your offer for a drink still on the table?" He seemed to change his mind, he knew he was about to be more bold than he usually is with this man, and didn't want his nerves to get in the way of this, "By the way, I'm Dreki, whats your name?" Introducing himself seemed to be a good start on what to do next. Figured if an exchange of information was going to happen then knowing eachothers names would be a great start. He seemed to put a headphone in one ear of his as he quickly shot off an email on his phone, then removed it, putting both that and his phone in his pocket.

[Black Philip]

So, I learned a few things. First, Piano Man was a bit defensive about my music comment. I could respect it though. It was like when some yahoo with a camera and a leather jacket took pictures of a cheating spouse once and called it PI work. Wait. My last paycheck was that. I need more exciting cases. PI work is only as exciting as the case is, and currently I was in an ocean of boring. The second thing I learned was Piano Man had a name, Dreki. Odd. I've never heard it before, and I wanted to write it down, but didn't have anything available Oh well. Lucky I was the right kind of drunk. You know, the kind where you actually remember better because you're afraid of forgetting. Dreki, Dreki Dreki.

"I'm Drew," I replied to Piano Man AKA Dreki. I extended my hand to him, artificially warm from my last two drinks.

I feign mortality pretty well, so Dreki would even hear a fake pulse if his Daredevil powers were paying attention. Wait, if he's Daredevil than I'm.... Okay enough of that mental fuckery. I gave him my paw to shake to see if he'd take it. After all, he's blind right? He shouldn't be able to tell I extended a hand to him. If he took it that was a clue. I bought him whatever drink he wanted, noting the sudden change, and connecting to the arrival of my drink. It was the only factor that had changed, and his conversation didn't seem dependent on if we drank. "And if we're talking 70's Bowie I'm a fan of the Berlin series. Lodger is my fave, even though people like Heroes and Low better."

[Maxpphire]

"Nice to meet you." He said and took the handshake, he seemed a little unsure about it at first but took it with some mild hesitation. His hearing for sure was not good enough to pick up on others pulses, particularly not in a loud room, but he wasn't hesitant because he perceived Drew to possibly be a vampire. He was hesitant because sometimes telling what people's movements are, was difficult for him. They did just introduce themselves so it made sense that Drew was looking for a handshake.

"Hunky Dory and Heroes would probably be my two favorite 70s albums of his. My mom helped with my love of music a bit would would describe what the album art looked like to albums I listened to a lot. With Heroes she did put me in the same pose that David Bowie holds on the cover for me to better understand it, so I think the reason why I enjoy that one is mostly because of the album art and that memories tied to it." He explained quickly finishing his first drink of Bourbon Whiskey. He ordered and paid for his second drink which now he seemed to be taking much slower. The white outlines that surrounded people and objects in his vision slowly began to behave more like sound visualizers that didn't match up with anything.

"You know I don't usually do this, normally if I'm going out for drinks I request a different type of intimacy, but if you're up for it I wouldn't mind playing a game of 20 questions. You can ask me anything and I will respond truthfully, in return I'll ask you something and request that you are also truthful." He explained, knowing if he was right about his realization there was no way of him even protecting himself. He wasn't physically strong at all, and Drew seemed to be, however given earlier that Drew likely saved him from some improper fate there was a mild sense of trust there. Plus vampires likely had powers in general that he just couldn't compete with. He was aware of the risk but felt as if this would help him understand his powers a bit better. He's had the damned things for 10 years and still didn't know what everything he could do meant.

"Also do you know if the bar itself has a more private area we could relax in and ask eachother these questions. I will warn you know mine will get increasingly personal as the game goes on." He mentioned in a low and quiet voice with a serious one and look. He took a sip of his bourbon hoping that Drew would be up for this, that and if there was somewhere more private they could talk, even if it was on the god damned roof he didn't care.

[Black Philip]

So he liked Heroes. Typical. Then again, he was the musician, so maybe I should give it another listen. I also noticed he took the handshake, but couldn't tell if it was just luck or had he seen my hand. The information about his mom and his blindess growing up was interesting, and helped humanize him a bit for me. I mean, don't get me wrong. I wasn't ready to adopt him, but it felt more personal than some of the other stuff he'd told me up to this point. I should've responded by giving him something personal back, but I don't really like to share, especially with strangers. Emotions make things complicated so I'm always down for keeping it simple.

You know I don't usually so this...

Famous last words said by many a boy I've taken to bed, and like I said, Piano Man, I mean Dreki, was pretty easy on the eyes. But then he went on and added that he wanted to play a game of twenty questions. I had to admit, it threw me off, and I was glad he couldn't see my expression or read my thoughts like vamps. I ordered another drink too, as I considered his request. Then he made it even more complicated and wanted privacy. Well we weren't going to get that here. I had a dangerous thought.

"Why don't we go back to my place," I proposed. "I mean, it's not far, private, and I got plenty of booze. I'll play your game, but we aren't going to find privacy here.

Why did I just invite a mortal to my apartment? I mean... Zeph hadn't even seen it yet. Still, I wanted him to come with me. I knew I wasn't going to feed on him. I was plenty full, but as to rest of the night, who knows what'll happen.

[Maxpphire]

He was a little surprised at the offer of going back to Drew's place but smiled. Who knows, maybe the night would end like a usual night of drinking for him, or at worst he make an ally of somekind. He finished up his second drink and seemed to look around the room, he could still tell where object were roughly, so as long as he was with someone, navigating outside shouldn't be too hard.

"Sure, as a warning though is that I am a bit tipsy." He started to explain "I can still navigate rooms without that big of a deal, but outside might be more troublesome. Try to let me keep up with you, ok?"

What he kept out of his tone was nervousness. Sure following a suspected vampire back to their place for privacy probably wasn't the smartest of ideas, but he's done worse in the past. He didn't feel like Drew would force himself upon him or mug him, given his actions tonight. Although given his limited way of seeing, Drew did seem like he had a nice body, however he wasn't about to ask to feel his face to see how handsome he was, at least, not yet anyway. He felt his pockets and had everything.

"Ready to go whenever you are." He seemed not terribly worried. Maybe it was the alcohol giving him all this confidence, he knew this could end poorly but was taking a chance.