I Like the Sound of That

[Beau LaRoux]

Music stores attracted Beau like honey attracted flies. He found himself drawn to them, his feet just sort of naturally heading that way. He'd been at the Kalispell mall just picking up a few things for his new upcoming semester and all, and before he really thought too much about it, his feet had taken him straight to the music store.

This particular one sold CDs and records and such, but it also happened to have a section of musical instruments. Beau sort of meandered through the former for a little while, his fingers playing along the various wrapped items, reminding himself that he needed to pick up a record player at some point. It was the instrument section, however, that fully drew Beau's attention. Soon he found himself looking over new instruments, his fingers practically twitching.

Naturally he couldn't resist much longer. Beau only spent a few seconds looking to make sure that no employees were hanging about. Then he'd had a guitar slung around his shoulder, his fingers dancing along the strings, coaxing a melody out of it, humming to himself as he went. It clashed some with the overhead music, but that didn't bother Beau. Heck, he could play harmony if he wanted, but it was more fun to see what he could do to work around it. Beau probably only had a few moments till the staff came and told him to stop, and he intended to utilize every second of it.

[MaryAnne LaRoux]

What a day, few days in this place and was already ready to go to the mall and do the things a normal teen girl did, Yeah she was so ready to have some shopping time it had been for ever it seemed, yeah she was not huge into it like some girls but hey all girls liked to have fun after all, and shopping just happened to be one of the few things she did not admit to liking but did. So todays goal was going to be to head down to the mall and check it out. From everything she had heard on it the place was pretty decent surely not as big as some she had seen but heck better then nothing. 

She dressed in a pair of boot cut well fitted jeans that actually fit pretty nicely to her body, And a nice beige and white shirt that tied in the back, and had embroidered markings on it. Then her new boots that she ordered not so long ago to bring it all together. Yup she was ready to go to this place and do some shopping plus she sort of wanted to see what she could find to put in her little room, it was a bit bland with just her bed and the stuff that came with the room. That was just not going to cut it. 

After straightening her hair and putting it down with her fingers, she smiled and decided she looked fine and could go out into town, Who knew why she cared about looks but she never really liked going out looking bad, but was not going to get all fancy and dolled up either. Making her way to the Mall was a bit more tricky then she expected she made a few wrong turns and wound up wondering around aimlessly for a while but it was okay she still enjoyed the walk, yeah she probably could have asked some one to give her a ride but na that was not needed a walk was healthy. 

Once in the place she took a few glances around then choose to check out what the music store had to offer, After all music was pretty important, yeah she had plenty of musical supplies and such but hey it never hurt to go take a look. As she walked in she could not help but chuckle a little standing their all goofy and in his own world was her brother. Oh now this could be fun. She slowly snuck up behind him and watched him for a moment before placing her hands over his eyes and speaking. 

"You know the store I bet aint to fond of people just picking up their costly little toys and playing em, not matter how good ya are" 

Smirking a little she let out a soft giggle and let him go before stepping back and waiting for him to turn towards her. He really did grow alot and looked pretty good, she was pretty proud of him. And was some what happy to see him here after all them being in the same place was not something she all the time expected even if they did go to the same area for school he still was busy. 

[Beau LaRoux]

The voice had Beau chuckling, chuckling, but not stopping. His fingers plucked a few more notes before his brain started processing things. It had just started thinking about the tone, the accent, the way she said the words. The voice just happened to be one of those that Beau knew almost as well as his own.

"Sis?" he said aloud, finally raising his head up. He blinked, then turned, seeing that, sure enough, there stood MaryAnne. Beau still couldn't quite be sure, which led to his standing there, looking like three different kinds of idiot, while he blinked and tried to get his brain to process what his eyes were telling him. Looked like her, a little older, since Beau hadn't been home since last Christmas and none of his family had really figured out the whole web-chatting thing.

"What in Sam hill are you doin' here?" he asked. He blinked again, then stepped forward, reaching out to grab the girl and pull her in for a hug. As Beau's fingers brushed his sister's shoulder, however, he felt a very familiar tingle go up his arm. He paused, his eyes going wide. "Oh hell..."

His sister was a mutant.

[MaryAnne LaRoux]

She was not really shocked by his reaction, it was expected honestly, after all he had not seen her in oh well about a year now, so yeah she was a bit older and changed alot. But none the less was still the same as she had been even the last time he had seen her. She offered him a big ol smile and listened to his dumbfounded worlds and could not help but let out a little snicker by the way his reaction was. After all the whole lost for words and dumb look he held on his face was just perfect, could you blame her for letting out a little bit of a snicker?

"Good job ya remember me.. thats a shocker after being all big shot here an all.. No time for the little sis no more I guess.. " 

She had to tease him just a little, but she was  a bit shocked by his follow up reaction, she had forgot she had not seen him yet since getting here, and the whole thing with her having powers now as well, It could make a bit of sense why he might be a little on the confused side and not understand why she was here. Well until he touched her, yeah he understood right away after that. 

"Yeah.. Your not the only one I guess with the family gene of being special.. I got here the other day..So how ya been? Been a while since i saw you last.." 

Yeah it was a good time to change topics and try and lighten the mood up a bit, after all having him weirded out was just kind of strange in its own. But no matter what it was still pretty nice to see him, he was a bit bigger and seemed alot more grown up now. But other then that he was the same brother she remembered. 

[Beau LaRoux]

"Ain't likely to forget family any time soon," drawled Beau in response, smirking. The usual response and casual talk helped pull him out of his shock. He'd dreaded something like this happening: MaryAnne getting caught up in all this. Memories of SPECTRE and the bullet he took protecting the school for them popped unbidden in Beau's head. He already had Liz to consider and protect; how was he supposed to deal with having MaryAnne around?

At least she seemed to be taking it better then Beau had. Then again, she'd experienced his getting it, so it wasn't quite as big of a shock as it had been. The family probably wasn't thrilled about sending her off, what with her being the only daughter and all. Hell, their mom had to be furious...

"Bet Mom ain't none to pleased that you ended up here," he said, chuckling and shaking his head. His hands went back to the guitar, plucking a few notes almost absently. Helped to focus on stuff like that, the normal, non-mutant related stuff. "Been doin' alright... in college now an' all..." he was trying to remember how much he'd said in the last emails and calls he'd sent toward the family. He'd surely mentioned Liz, right? Though had he mentioned how far they'd gotten...?

[MaryAnne LaRoux]

She was pretty happy with his little come back, and he still had an twang which was good, this place did not change that at least, Sitting down she looked him over, and could easily tell stuff was on his mind, most likely the fact she was here, and the place having some issues, but she was big enough now she could take care of herself fairly well. But him being a brother and her the youngest and the only sister period she did not really blame him for the worried ways of thinking. 

"Hey now stop being all worried and such, and na they I think were pretty dang happy to see me go, they where not to fond with the fact I was starting to have interest in boys.. Dad especially scared em away pretty good.." 

She smiled and reached over as he played and picked up a little banjo that was to her right, and placed it in her lap as she sat down, and ran a few fingers over the cords before using the tip of her nails to pluck a few strings forming a little tune to mimic the one he was playing. 

"You know, you aint the only one now with some musical tallent, spending last few years playing, and in choir I jus may catch up with you..Especially now with you all wrapped up and such with school and that girl.. which I must meet soon.. Make sure she is good enough for you of course.."

Giving him a little smirk she continued the little song they had going and looked around, the staff shockingly was not seeming to be to concerned with them using their stuff, and now a small little group of people seemed to be paying attention to them, she took notice of that real fast and let out a soft giggle, she truly did not mind.

[Beau LaRoux]

Yeah, this definitely felt normal. So far nobody had burst into flame or done anything of the innumerable things that could happen when you brought mutants into the mix, especially those that had just gotten their abilities and were still working toward figuring out how this whole thing worked. So either MaryAnne had a good handle or...

wait, didn't family end up with similar abilities or something? The Twins both had weird mental things, and their brother did something with powers... so maybe MaryAnne picked up some kinda power thing? Beau made a note to ask later, mostly because MaryAnne had continued right on with the bantering.

"Boys, eh? Well, always did say you were right pretty an' all. Got the LaRoux looks. I ain't gonna have to be chasin' 'em off with a stick or nothin', am I?" Beau ended by raising a brow, though he watched as MaryAnne moved over to pick up a banjo. Didn't surprise Beau that they had such a thing, though he wasn't sure that the employees were gonna be all that thrilled at two people playing around with the instruments.

"Figured you'd keep it up. Kinda necessary, what with bein' a LaRoux an' all," drawled Beau. "though you're so not dodgin' my question," That didn't stop Beau from plucking again, waiting for his sister to settle on a tune before he played along.

[MaryAnne LaRoux]

She smirked at him with his last statement about avoiding his question, Of course she was not going to, then again it did not mean she would give him such a forward response, It would just be no fun if she did that now would it? she had to tease the tiger once in a while. Plus she figured he would get a good laugh out of it. After all being the only girl she did learn to take pretty good care of herself when it came to dealing with her brothers. 

"Me avoid a question from my big brother? Naw that jus aint gonna happen now, But Ya'll do got to come to the realization that i aint no longer just a little girl an well, boys will be part of my life. So If I got to kick ya'lls butt so I can at least have a date once in mah life then so be it." 

Giving him a little smirk she laughed a little and turned her attention back to the Banjo it really was a unique little instrument, had its very own sound nothing like any others, but then again all of em where pretty unique in the way of sound. Her favorite though being the violin and piano. 

"So looks like we are gathering a little bit of a group in here? Maybe should try and not draw to much attention i suppose." 

Her eyes lifted and looked up at a few people standing around just looking at them, and she rolled her eyes and decided to clear the room a bit, even though Beau might not approve.

"Ya'll ain't like ya never seen two people sit and talk while playing a little music, so go on an get up on out of here.. Thank you kindly." 

Her town was not so sweet and cute as normal, but actually was a bit harsh, she learned that tone from her momma and growing up with all brothers she had to learn to speak up to em as well. So it was kind of handy, and it seemed to work as the people just stared a moment longer then walked away including a few of the staff members. 

[Beau LaRoux]

Beau raised the brows again as MaryAnne challenged his pointing out the question and all. "Didn't say you couldn't date. was jus' sayin' that I might have to chase off a few of 'em. Got rough sorts 'round here, an' I wanna make sure the good kind are datin' my sister an' all." Plus, Beau had a feeling that if he didn't keep an eye out for MaryAnne, they'd have a "family ass-kicking" come this Thanksgiving, and Beau's ass would be the recipient.

"You'll have to play with me an' Liz sometime," said Beau, nodding. He figured the tune his sister played, at least more or less, and followed suit, his fingers moving. "Surprised you picked the banjo. Ain't really a delicate instrument an' all." Beau said this with a wide grin. MaryAnne hadn't been delicate since she'd come into the world hollering and kicking like every LaRoux did.

Beau had to chuckle, all too pleased in hearing the drawl coming out of someone else's mouth. True, his family layered in on a tad thicker than was strictly necessary, but both his and MaryAnne's voice had that almost honeyed quality that people loved almost too much. Practice and performance, that. "We ain't got long till the staff..." said Beau, looking up to see a few gathered there, looking at them. Beau smiled and raised a hand. "Howdy."

[MaryAnne LaRoux]

"Oh so since I am a girl, I need to play a more fragile item? Maybe Piano? Dun you dare think for a moment just cause you are bigger then me I wont kick you Butt Beau.. growing up with Ya'll a girl learns to take a boy down Dun you forget that." 

She smirked and lifting her right hand for a moment gave him a quick little flick with her index finger to the forehead. Yeah she was surely not the type to be fragile and delicate. It was just not in her nature,Though she could still be girly when she wanted to be so dont let the tough side of her scare any one away. But when it came down to it she was a country girl and that was just the way it was. 

"So you and Liz play together huh? I would love to do that one day with you guys, just gotta make sure you can still keep up first" 

Yeah she was on a bend for picking on Beau and teasing him now, all about just giving him hell, but hey what else where little sister good for. Smirking a little she began to pluck at the cords a bit faster, picking the tune's speed up drastically. She had no issue with playing a Banjo it was one of her favorites after all, and one she learned from family. Now she just had to see if Beau still could keep up or not. 

[Beau LaRoux]

The flick caused Beau to wince in an exaggerated manner. Though he knew full well that MaryAnne could handle herself. The two youngest LaRouxs had often been put on the same team for family sports and all that, so they'd learned to be tough. "That supposed to be some kinda aspersion on my instrument choices?" he asked. He'd happened to master piano and guitar, though he could of course pick up a few instruments, just like she could. Nearly every LaRoux could do piano, but they'd spread out the rest of them, what with wanting to play with one another and all.

The conversation didn't stop fingers from putting music into the air. Beau nodded, chuckling at the challenge. "I ain't stopped playin' in months, an' I got three years on ya, if you remember," Beau winked and let his fingers move a little faster. He knew well enough that he couldn't completely keep up: banjos were just by nature a faster instrument. Besides, they'd sound like crap if he did. Instead, Beau played a counter-melody, going a little slower but letting the guitar move through and around the frenetic banjo playing.

Plus, he didn't want to end up breaking any strings or get his fingers to start bleeding over a guitar that wasn't his.

[MaryAnne LaRoux]

"Well ain't that good, Im glad your busy life has not changed you. Haha, you still the same which makes me happy. Feels like it has been ages since we did anything like this, heck I dont remember the leas time I sat down and played with any one except maybe mom or dad once in a while, rest of Ya'll just kinda seem so busy now.." 

She shrugged and then stopped the music and placed the Banjo back down and placed it gently on the stand she had grabbed it from. It seemed the staff did not mind them playing at all either as they gave a bit of a frown when she stopped, Which really just made her smile a little bit. After all it was a good feeling period to be able to play with Beau. 

"So we should grab something to eat? Its been a while so catching up would be pretty nice, plus I miss getting to spend time with you, kinda was not the same when you left ya know? " 

She smiled and pushed herself up from the floor, and looked around then turned to the staff who was still kind of frowning. They looked so upset now it was abit funny actually to see but, it was way better then if they where all grumps and mad they touched the instruments. That would just be lame of em.

"Thank ya'll for letting us play for a little while, it was really nice. " 

[Beau LaRoux]

"It's called bein' an adult, sis, an' it bites," replied Beau, chuckling a little. Though he couldn't say for certain how much of what he did qualified as being an "adult." Certainly the work he did for college and all was at least approaching adulthood, and he'd argue that what he had with Liz might be more or less on those lines. Though most of his life did seem to be playing and parties anymore... which he was perfectly okay with.

MaryAnne decided when they stopped, and that suited Beau fine. He played a few more notes after she did, still giving the staff a half a look as he did so. Soon enough he was nodding and setting the guitar to the side, massaging his fingers and working them a bit.

"Somethin' to eat sounds grand," he replied, nodding to his sister. He looked around at the crowd, grinning bashfully. "If ya'll want some more, I play on the regular at the various bars an' all," he nodded and gave the crowd another little wave before moving over to his sister. Beau paused for a moment, long enough to motion for her to follow, before continuing on, figuring that since he knew the area, he should do the lead. Plus, he wanted to get out of there before the staff decided that maybe they weren't so keen about two random, albeit talented, people picking up random instruments and just playing away.

[MaryAnne LaRoux]

"Lead the way, I figure you know this place far more then I do after all, It has been a while that you have been coming to this place I am sure of that."

Laughing a little she waved good bye to the people at the store and followed Beau on out of the shop. Her eyes trailed to the stores around her, oh yeah she still needed to do a little shopping as well for her room, dang oh well though this was far more fun then shopping was. 

"So you play at a few bars and stuff around here? You really have been getting better then I do suppose.. Hmph all with out me being around now that is just a shame.. And getting yourself a sweet little girl friend, and not even bringing her around for us to meet.. " 

She had to tease him a little bit, after all baby sisters where perfect for picking on their brothers. If they didnt then heck the world might just stop and the way human kind worked would cease to exist, Well okay maybe that isnt true but hey it was a pretty close to being a fact that sisters and older brothers had a unique relationship. 

"So what kinda food ya think we should get? It all smell good and seems to look good." 

[Beau LaRoux]

Beau had already begun leading the way after all, so he barely needed the permission. They'd already started moving, and he was still struggling to really wrap his mind around it: his sister, here at Bellefonte. There was just so much to unpack there. She'd be training soon, working with who knows. Hopefully someone like Guy, who struck Beau as being decent enough... no, MaryAnne probably had a power like his, since he didn't feel all that different 'round here...

"Huh?" said Beau, looking back at MaryAnne. He chuckled. "Been like that for a while now. Was about to land a record deal when all this mess started, remember?" he gestured around and then looked forward. "An' ain't like some of the family ain't met her afore. We jus' got all formal an' all this year. Figured I'd bring her home with me at Christmas."

Though this was the first time Beau had spoken those thoughts aloud. He'd always assumed it, of course. They'd finally formalized their relationship, after all, so taking her to meet his family just made sense. But it made it real. It also, somehow, reminded him that his sister...

was hungry and wanted food. "Kinda depends on what you're lookin' for,' he said, looking at the various signs as they drew near the food court. "They got some decent tex-mex, an' the pretzels ain't too bad. Chinese ain't the best though, an' I wouldn't go no where near the pizza..."