Heart's Music [Maria]

[Deleted]

Ryker had taken the opportunity to sneak away from the pet rescue and spend the day busking. The streets of town were one of his favorite places to be, especially when playing music. The area was large and spacious, the sounds echoing beautifully off the walls and buildings and people. He always made sure to hang around just a little before dinner when all the couples came in.

Ryker was anything but average in his state of clothing, and he was usually one to stand out amongst the jeans and shirts of some of the other campers. Growing up with the Romani overseas, he wore loose clothes that were usually bright and flashy, matching his usually cheery personality. Wrapped in a loose yellow tunic embroidered with silver, he had loose fitting black pants on, once again decorated at the cuffs and pockets. His neck was encircled by his usual leather necklace, multicolored beads and silver carvings hanging off the many layers.The bracelets around his arm jingled with every movement. Usually he wasn't one to dress up extremely flashy, but today the sun had been shining and he'd woken up in a positive mood. Besides, it helped bring in money.

Reaching into his tunic, he reverently pulled out a hand carved wooden flute. He turned it around with pianists fingers, delicate and slim before lifting it to his slips and starting to play. The tune was sad, soft and lilting as Ryk weaved together a tale of loss and joy and the wonderful wildness of nature. His eye slipped shut in delight as he let go and played and played, with no one to watch him. 

He peeked his good eye open as footsteps neared him again, lifting his head as his mouth twisted into an automatic, fake smile at whoever was passing by. The music stopped and he let out the softest sigh before breathing in again, iceberg green eye twinkling with reserved welcome. "Hey now stranger, can't spare a humble busker a few coins?"

[Maria Ramirez]

Jogging her usual round around the park in the downtown area, Maria kept her earplugs in and her focus on the road before her. There was really no reason for her to stop anywhere. She didn't have any classes until tomorrow, and she didn't have anything to do back at the academy. She had the entire day off, which was odd these days. She'd probably end up getting wasted and sleep with some random person lurking around the club district. She usually did anyways.

Maria's life was an endless circle of studying, working and partying. It was actually rather sad, having such little purpose to her life, but she was content. As long as she was having fun, that was all that mattered, right? She didn't need love, because love meant getting your heart broken, and that, that was surely something the latina didn't need.

And maybe she was just a little bit afraid of putting herself in a vulnerable position.

Slowing down her pace, Maria pulled her hair down from the pony tail and shook her head, letting her dark locks flow free before they settled like a spiral of curls down her back. Sighing, her attention was dragged towards a sound - someone playing music. A flute? She was sure she recognized the sound it made, though she was mostly used to drums, guitars and the piano. Either way, it was still beautiful enough to make her follow the sound.

Holding her breath, Maria could immediately sense the power of a mutant nearby, and it seemed to come from the same direction as the music. She kept going until she spotted the one holding the flute and cocked her head to the side, an amused grin playing on her lips. Well, wasn't he a cute street artist?

His words only had her amused grin growing wider and she wrapped her arms behind her back, trying to recognize the aura of his ability while speaking, ''You must be the first person I've seen with the ability to fly, whom prefer to sit on the ground instead,'' she said silently and grinned.

Ah yes, winged flight. That was a power she had never appreciated to mimic. It hurt like a bitch.

[Deleted]

Placing the flute in his lap, Ryker smiled quizzically up at his strange guest. She wasn't giving him any money. Was he being too subtle? No, no, perhaps she was poor. Well, it had been rude of him to ask. Then again, he did sleep on a pile of blankets with the dogs. How could you get lower?

He stilled, eyebrows drawing together as she spoke. Screw the money, how the hell did she know something like that, and she said it so incredibly casually too. If she knew, then she had to be a mutant too, didn't she? Well she wasn't screaming, it was a start, clearly he was missing something here. 

"My, my, aren't you a clever little sparrow?" he mused, with a smile in place but caution in his tone. It didn't do to go around spilling the secrets of others. "Besides, it's not the ground but the people on it. What's the point of playing my music to the clouds when I can get paid for it down here?" Ryk informed her, standing up. Dusting off his clothes, he slid the flute back into the folds of his shirt. He was definitely done for the day.

His eyes were intensely curious as he stared at the girl, attempting to figure her out. 'Do you have a name, sparrow?"

[Maria Ramirez]

Sparrow? Well, that was a new one, and probably one of the nicest nicknames people had ever used for her. Usually, they were a lot more crude and less...Birdy. Grinning, Maria watched him in silence, only offering him a victorious smile and a pair of dark eyes. Now, now, she couldn't start spilling the beans and give away her secret so easily, could she? ''Ah, I see,'' she nodded in agreement, ''I agree, that would surely be a shame. With such a gift and all.'' her nasal voice said.

''I do-'' she began and rested her hand on her hip as she popped it out, casually flicking her hair over her shoulder, ''-Do you?'' She had to admit, this was turning out to be a lot more amusing than she had expected it to be. From the looks of it, anyways. Then again, she was far too quick to judge a book by its cover. It was a flaw of hers.

She continued to watch the man with amusement glowing from her face. Usually, people seemed to be rather freaked out when she pointed out their power. He wasn't. It was rather refreshing, and it made her wonder just how much fun it could bring her.

''What color are they? Your wings, I mean.''

[Deleted]

"A gift?" Ryker repeated and then laughed. "It's a hobby, nothing more, nothing less. I'm only as good as a street busker aught to be." Running a hand through his messy hair -something he had forgotten to address that morning- Ryk shook his head in bemusement.

"So you're not only talented, you're witty too, huh?" he edged with a crooked grin. Shoving his hands into his pockets Ryker shrugged. "Well this might come as a shock, so ready yourself, but I do in fact have a name."

When the conversation once again turned to a rather sensitive matter Ryker lifted his head, scanning the crowds. It never hurt to be cautious, but his visitor clearly had less inhibitions about it than he, it was something new. Probably because it was not her own secrets she was spilling.

Holding up a finger he wagged it back and forth. "Uh-uh, a fact for a fact. I'll spill my beans if you spill yours. Now, little sparrow, you didn't offer my any money; was my playing that bad?" he teased, holding out a hand as if expecting to be paid. In reality he could care less, he had enough to get by.

"In the least, could you shout me some lunch? We could continue this interesting conversation of ours, of course."

[Maria Ramirez]

''I don't know. I've always considered a musical heart a gift,'' she said as a matter of factly before shrugging. ''It doesn't really matter where you do it, as long as you do it, and it makes you happy, you know? Music isn't meant to be something that make others like you or make others happy - it's supposed to be something that makes you happy. And that is a gift.''

Well, she was deeper than she thought. Damn.

Grinning, Maria put her hand to her mouth, opening it wide and feigning a shocked expression, ''Nooo, it can't be!'' she said before grinning again, ''You continue to shock me, sir. I'm in total awe,''

She followed his fingers with her eyes, unable to keep the ever growing amused grin off of her face, and then, she sighed, as if defeated, ''All right, all right,'' she said, lifting her hands in the air, as if defensive, ''You got me there.'' she grinned, ''But no, you're not that terrible an artist. You have a terrible eye however. As you can see,'' she gestured towards her sports wear, ''I'm out for a run, and the entire point of exercising would be ruined if I brought money. You know, the ever temptation of spending money and such, it's a horrible habit, I know,'' Cocking her head to the side, she smirked, ''Though, I have a feeling you'll live to see another day without it,''

''That depends,'' she said, her eyebrow furrowed, ''You'd have to be willing to walk me home first, so I can change, and of course, get my wallet so I can pay. Hey, someone has to be the man in this relationship.'' she said with a wink.

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Her views were different than his own, and Ryk found this incredibly intriguing. Perhaps she simply had a more selfish personality, or he was too meek in his entertainment. The man shrugged, "Well you see, I don't play to make myself happy, I only play for others. It's why I busk. I mean, if I could make myself happy with music I would," he admitted with a half shrug. "But I haven't been happy in a very long time."

Ryker bowed a few times before surfacing, holding his hands up as if to withhold applause. "Thank you, thank you. I try." He grinned with mirth, accepting the female's sense of humour and enjoying it incredibly.

With a regarding eye he looked his mysterious stranger up and down critically. He really had made a bad choice, or at least in terms of payment. Otherwise he'd made a damn good pick, if it wasn't too bad of him to think. "Ah yes. Is this your fight against humanities 'consumer driven lives' then, dear? Quite brave of you, I say. I however, can't outrun a snail." Admitting this was relatively easy. Mainly because it was a lie. No, he wasn't an incredible runner, but he wasn't unfit. Seriously, he walked five dogs a day, on average.

While she seemed more or less content to continue the game, her list of demands was tiring Ryk, and hey hadn't even begun. Before she had finished he was shaking his head. "No, no, no, most definitely not. I'm exhausted just listening to you sparrow." he informed her, flicking his braceleted wrists in a pause motion. "Just write me an IOU, ok? I'll pay for food, don't think you're getting out of it." Looping his arm over her shoulders quite comfortable Ryker began steering her through the crowd.

"Oh yes, for the sake of me not coming off perhaps as creepy than I already am, call me Ryker. Can't have some nameless retard touching you now, eh?"

[Maria Ramirez]

''That's sad,'' she pointed out with a frown. A little pathetic actually, but hey. Whatever kept his boat floating. She was in no position to question it and as long as he was having fun - though, his idea of fun seemed to be the most selfless sprout of nonsense she had ever heard. Then again, she was also insanely selfish. A flaw she had learned to live with.

''Mm, I wish,'' she began with a snicker, shaking her head ever so slightly, ''But, I'm not selfless enough - or care enough to fight anyone's battles, I'm afraid. I have quite enough with my own.'' she said, the smile never once dropping from her lips. She was proud of this. Okay, she pretended to be proud of her selfish nature. It was better that way, to make people think you were a bad person. They never expected you to do good things, and in turn, never got disappointed when you didn't. It was a s simple as that. And she had learned to live with it too. Keep people at a distance, and keep 'em guessing.

Her eyes drifted to his hand which was now coiled over her shoulder like a poisonous snake. If it hadn't been for the fact that she was used to the attention and used to such carefree... Touching, maybe she would have felt uncomfortable, or slightly offended by his words. But, she didn't and she wasn't. Yet another lovely trait of hers; She rarely ever cared much about the gestures others made, and she never took them for more than what she could see, ''Aww, darn. And here I was hoping I could be on top. Sheesh, keep crushing my dreams, will you?'' she said and winked, laughing playfully before shaking her head, ''Very well.''

Letting him steer her around, she turned her head towards him and pursed her lips, ''Sorry, but that doesn't really change anything. You'll still be that creepy bird boy I met in the park, whom just randomly decided to steer me away.'' she said with a cocky smirk before huffing, ''But all right, I'll play along. Just this once, mind you. I'm Maria.''

Well, hey. It wasn't like sharing her name would come back to bite her in the ass or anything.

[Deleted]

"Well not really," Ryker argued with an easy laugh. "It's all about perspective, you see." he assured her. It was relatively easy to pretend to be happy, just as easy not to be. In the end it just seemed more considerate to not press misery onto others, and since laughter came so easily to him it seemed ridiculous to push away a good thing. Why not use it?

Removing his arm from around, Ryk instead looped them behind his head and continued to walk. "I don't think it's selfishness. Life is all about self preservation, isn't it? Maybe you just have a strong sense of self than me." While he didn't believe in a truly altruistic act, he didn't believe in an entirely selfish one either.

"Fear not, my mysterious little sparrow, we wont be eating behind a dumpster." he assured her with a chuckle. No, he knew exactly where he was going, and when the little cafe appeared in view he gestured to it with over-exaggerated dramatics. "Behold, Panache, home of crepes both savory and sweet. And don't worry, if you feel fancy eating, the calories don't exist." Ryker assured his guest with a laugh, walking towards the quaint place cheerfully. They're 'Death by Chocolate' was literally to die for, and he needed a sugar hit.

Pulling the door open, he gestured lightly for her to enter. "After you, Miss Maria."

[Maria Ramirez]

''Maybe so,'' Maria said with a chuckle. Well, she wasn't one to judge on opinion as she knew all too well that hers was usually a lot different from others. With her casual way of living and all. But then again, she was also a hypocrite, and tended to judge them anyways. She was very stubborn, and perhaps a little ignorant.

Pushing her bottom lip out, Maria chewed on the inside of her lip before responding, nodding slowly as she walked, ''In some ways, yes. But choosing your own self preservation over other's is a selfish act, is it not? When your own needs and happiness means more than other's.'' Mind you, Maria was in no way ashamed of her selfish behavior. She had learned to look out for number one and that was what she always went for. Herself, and everything about her would always rise above the needs other people seemed to have.

Then again, she hid all forms of insecurities and doubts behind a facade of fake confidence and self-adoration. She would never admit to hating anything about herself and rather wore her bad sides with a proud smile. Which would be considered a bad thing in some people's eyes.

Grinning, Maria let her eyes drift to the sky before they flickered over the clouds and rested at the ground below. ''I'll take your word for it then,'' she said. Either way, even if it wasn't true, she had been in worse places than hanging by a dumpster. It couldn't really be that bad, could it? Cocking her head to the side, Maria had to admit that his choice of eating locale wasn't as shabby as she would have imagined. In fact, he had quite the good taste. ''Not bad,'' she admitted, giving him somewhat of a wink, ''Not bad at all. Considered me impressed.''

Ah, a gentleman. The best sort of men in Maria's opinion. As much as she adored the typical bad boy with charms and a mischievous undertone of alluring darkness, she too appreciated when a man took the time to act gentle. She was a stern believer that one shouldn't underestimate said allure of the darkness, and that all heart, even the purest kinds would find themselves attracted to it at one point, ''Thank you,'' she chirped as she strolled into the cafe, her hands neatly placed behind her back as she took her time to gaze around.

It was beautiful. Even the latina had to admit that.

[Deleted]

"It's evolution. When you think of it that way, it's harder to feel bad," Ryk informed her with a wink, as if imparting some great secret upon her. In fact, there wasn't much sense about it. Well, he did believe in 'self preservation' it was the key to life, even if others weren't willing to accept it. He was, quite openly in fact.

He was almost anxious as she gave his choice of venue a once over. Almost. He liked crepes, whether she did or not was of second consequence. Besides, who didn't love crepes? Even demons had to, he was sure of it. "Impressed? Oh careful sparrow, you'll inflate my ego if you keep that up," he joked in an almost purring tone as Maria walking in. Watching he carefully, he waited until she was inside before doing one back step away from the door, there were two women and a man behind him waiting to go in. With a careful eye he watched those that were walking by, quickly slipping his hand into the coat pocket of the last man, fishing his wallet out quietly. Well, she couldn't seriously expect him to pay with the meager coin he'd earned today? Besides, he'd done it in a matter of seconds, and subtly enough. He could return it later.

Pocketing the wallet he finally entered the store and indicated a corner booth. "Will that do for my lady?"

[Maria Ramirez]

She had to admit that he did serve a valid point, though it was much easier - for her own sake - to rather think she was a horrible person instead of thinking of it as evolution. But there clearly was no point in pushing the matter further along the railroad, ''Maybe.'' she said finally, a mischievous smirk forming on her lips.

''Is that even possible?'' she asked and sent a wink his way before once more turning her gaze towards the locale, ''But yes, I suppose you could say so.'' she laughed. Okay, she had to admit this was so much better than what she had expected. She had almost thought he didn't joke about the dumpster comment, but clearly, even the bird had taste.

Too busy studying the area around her, Maria didn't pay much attention to the flute player until he suddenly spoke again. Nodding, she offered him a smile before resting her hands behind her back, walking towards the booth he had picked out, ''It will, my Sire,'' Okay, so maybe his charm was a little more enjoyable than what she had anticipated. And hey, he had insisted for her to join him - well, he didn't leave her much choice. But she was in no position to decline, after all.

Sitting down, Maria tossed her hand over her shoulder before pursing her lips, ''So, since you clearly do this a lot, what should I order?''