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Cale isn’t certain what possessed him to decide to recreate an acoustic guitar from Earth. He had gotten Ron to send the blueprints and specifications that he had written down from his records to a skilled craftsman. He had then promptly forgotten about the event and turned his focus back to the energetic kids who were trying to show him Raon’s newest writings.
Two weeks passed and he now had a beautiful guitar in front of him. It was surprisingly well made, a near-perfect copy of the ones back at Earth if not for the differences in the minor cosmetic details. He carefully tests the strings, frowning when the note comes out discordant. He pulls the instrument into his lap and sits up, fiddling with the tuners.
The kids come up to him, curious at the noise and the strange something their human is holding. “Human what’s this?” questions Raon, floating in the air next to Cale’s arm while the kittens use his knees to push onto their hind paws for a better look. He offers them a warm glance before nodding to the table. “Take a seat, ill show you in a second,” he says and the kids comply happily. They all turn to look at him with big curious eyes and Cale almost laughs at the cute antics.
He tests the last string and plucks the strings individually before strumming a C chord to test the tuning before nodding.
The kids’ eyes grew rounder and Cale closed his eyes to avoid the sight before thinking back to the songs he had in his records. ‘This one seems alright’ he thought briefly before starting to pick out the notes and chords of the song.
Raon watched quietly, fascinated. He had seen a lot in his years of freedom but he had never seen an instrument like this before, nor had he ever seen his human play before! Hong and On were having similar thoughts, despite their longer exposure to the world, they too had never seen this instrument before, nor had they heard this song.
Cale opened his mouth and started to sing along to the lyrics of the song.
“Look at the stars
Look how they shine for you
And everything you do”
Raon gasped, suddenly remembering that night that his human had brought him out of that cave and he had seen the night sky for the first time. He had never forgotten it and as he listened, the emotions of that night came rushing back. On hopped over her brothers to Raon’s other side to comfort him as they kept watching their guardian play music for them.
“Yeah, they were all yellow
I came along
I wrote a song for you”
The kittens exchanged looks, had Cale really written this song for Raon? It would be just like him to quietly do something like that for their little brother and the thought left them warm and happy even as Raon watched with fascination.
“And all the things you do
And it was called ‘Yellow’”
By now, the various beast people who were there on the estate and near the home had realized that there was music being played, and a song being sung by the young master. Lock and Beacrox watched as the wolf kids ran ahead to follow the sound, the two older men exchanged glances before following quickly.
In a different place, Choi Han, Mary and Tasha exchanged wide-eyed glances before rushing off to follow the sound.
“So then I took my turn
Oh, what a thing to have done
And it was all yellow”
The groups congregated outside the door, running into Ron who was already standing by the slightly ajar entrance. Tasha set up a recording device to record the song as they all quietened to hear it better. Somehow, Cale managed to not hear any of the slight ruckus happening outside his door and stayed blissfully unaware of the extra audience.
“your skin, oh yeah, your skin and bones
(Ooh) turn into something beautiful
(Ah) and you know, you know I love you so
You know I love you so”
Choi Han’s brows furrowed as he tried to remember where he had heard this song before. His memory of his life on Earth wasnt the clearest so it took him a moment before he remembered the song from Jung Soo’s memories. He closed his eyes, bobbing his head along to the strangely nostalgic music.
“I swam across
I jumped across for you
Oh, what a thing to do
'Cause you were all yellow
I drew a line
I drew a line for you”
Tasha was grinning as she listened, making a mental note to send a copy of the recording to her nephew. She thought he might appreciate seeing his sworn brother’s apparently hidden talents.
Oh, what a thing to do
And it was all yellow
and your skin, oh yeah, your skin and bones
(Ooh) turn into something beautiful
(Ah) and you know, for you, I'd bleed myself dry”
The humor left their faces, too many clear memories of Cale coughing out blood having replaced the calming air they had been basking in. Inside the room, the kids were thinking something similar and Raon was almost vibrating with the effort to hold back his protest. He didnt want his human to bleed at all, he would destroy the world if he did that.
“For you, I'd bleed myself dry”
Hong pressed closer to Raon’s side, his ears flattened to his head. He didnt like to think of that ever happening. Cale was their human, their parent, and the three of them would definitely protect him so he wouldnt have to bleed like that.
“It's true
Look how they shine for you
Look how they shine for you
Look how they shine for...
Look how they shine for you
Look how they shine for you
Look how they shine
Look at the stars
Look how they shine for you
And all the things that you do”
Cale opened his eyes and looked to the kids who were all still staring at him. He offered him a slight questining smile and they scrambled off the table and onto his lap. He placed the guitar on the table they had just vacated to make room.
Raon placed his chubby paws on Cale’s shoulder with a frown. “Human you arent allowed to bleed at all! Or else ill destroy the world!” he exclaimed and Cale sighed fondly at the vicious but familiar words. He patted the dragon before repeating the gesture to the two kittens.
“Of course,” he soothed and the kids seemed to settle down at his agreement. Hong patted his arm to get his attention. “Did you really write the song for Raon?” he questioned and Cale was confused before he remembered the lyrics of the song. He hadnt actually written the song since it was from earth but he couldnt really say that to the children, only Raon knew of the other dimension after all. He just patted them on the head again and then moved to stand up.
“Lets go sit in the sun” he said, walking over to the window seat that had been specially built for him on Countess Violan’s orders.
Outside the door, the collection of people shared awed glances. Ron looked more amused and a little surprised while Choi Han was ecstatic to hear music from earth once again. They slowly all backed away from the door and left to return to their various jobs and activities.
(Tasha did end up sending the recording to Alberu, before it ended up doing rounds within the vast group of Cale’s allies and friends)