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Will was always happy to try and help people out.
Whether it was to check in on Maria back at the Grand Triad, guiding Strohl in the right direction to help find his hometown and help his people, or talking down Brigitte from doing anything too rash (even if that didn’t turn out as planned, he was still glad that he did it), he was always happy to help where he could. It was a good quality of a king, after all, and it always felt nice. However, he also had to help people with problems he didn’t expect them to have.
This particular encounter happened when Will was cooped up on the gauntlet runner on the way to get a chalice in an underground tomb. He, unusually, had little to do. He had cooked all the meals he could, read the 3 books on his shelf (he promised himself that he would get more), and all his allies were either resting, like Heimsay, or out of his sight doing other things, like Strohl and Hulkenberg. Even Gallica was asleep, not able to comfort him with her words for once. And although Will loved hearing Neuras be excited about his runner, there were only so many machining facts he could take before he would drift off to sleep. Given that, he would simply have to make do with other exciting activities like washing clothes or planting plants. Fun.
Accepting his fate, Will pushed himself out of bed and stretched his limbs, then started walking along the runners' halls. The runner had quickly become very comforting to explore, despite its instability at times. The sound of its feet hitting the ground, the rumbling of its engine, the…
Singing?
That’s strange. Will hadn't heard any sort of music on board before. Did Neuras install something that played back music? No, he certainly would’ve talked non stop about it if he did. And it wasn’t coming from where he talked to everyone. But what else could be making such a noise? Perhaps a loose pipe has learned how to make perfect pitch.
Intrigued (and happy to have something to do), Will quickly followed the noise. It wasn’t the easiest thing to do, as whatever was making the noise was rather quiet. But eventually, he found the source. It was coming from the back deck, almost muffled by the runner's legs. He quietly moved up the latter to try to listen to the voice a bit better.
The voice was Hulkenberg.
Will's breath quickly caught in his throat. He didn’t want to disturb her, that could throw her off her practice. But at the same time… she sounded pretty good. Quiet, and a lot less confident than her normal self, but good. He almost wanted to tell her she was doing a good job, but that might interrupt her work and… well, be awkward. Will settled for leaning up against the hatch by the back deck, his legs loosely pushing against the latter to support him. She seemed to have stopped singing music for a quick second, the rustling of papers heard from behind the door.
“Hmm… tis’ seems to be an important exercise. I see…” Hulkenberg whispers, the sound of her pacing behind the hatch breaking a very tense silence. She then takes a deep breath. “Do… oh, I just need to practice those lower notes… no, no, I must continue. Do, Re, Mi…”
Hulkenberg gets more timid as she practices her scale, causing Will to lean in just a bit more and try to listen. The creaking of the hatch is heard by Hulkenberg, causing her to stop for just a second before continuing, her pacing getting nearer and nearer to the hatch.
“Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, TI-“ A voice crack in her practice causes Hulkenberg to quickly cover her mouth and Will to lean back more in shock. Unfortunately for him, the hatch was quite loose. A small ‘oof’ comes from him as he lands on his back and faces an embarrassed Hulkenberg, causing both to blush.
“Sor-“ Will quickly began, but was just as quickly interrupted by Hulkenberg picking him up and setting him upright.
“Sorry, commander!” She quickly stutters out as she takes a step back. “You must have thought an animal was dying with what was coming from the deck…” Her less than confident response, especially compared to how she usually tackles problems, didn’t sit right with Will.
“No, that’s not it, I promise!” Will says. “You… actually sounded really good. I just tried to lean up against the hatch so I could hear you so I didn’t interrupt you, and… well…” he gestures to the floor. Hulkenberg goes silent for a second, the blush on her face slowly spreading to her ears. Finally, she speaks.
“Well… tis’ a great compliment, commander.” She says, bowing her head. “I thank you for not wanting to interrupt me. But now that you are here…” She walks over to the back hatch and shut it, this time locking it to make sure they wouldn’t be interrupted. “Would you kindly lend me your assistance and help me practice? You’ve helped me greatly with my other tasks.”
“I’d be happy to!” Will says, walking over near the bath where Hulkenberg placed her books, sitting down next to them and grabbing them. All of them have sheet music in them, with some basic exercises to go along with them. “How do you want me to help?”
“Simply give me some random exercises to do.” Hulkenburg responds, walking over to sit next to him. “And give some advice on what I lack.”
With a nod, Will starts to help her the best he can. With his equal levels of inexperience, he can’t elevate her too much. But with his guidance, she eventually starts to hit her scales a lot more consistently. Her singing gradually becomes more confident, her voice louder.
Eventually, nightfall comes near, and the runner slows down for the night. As the runner's legs get quieter, Hulkenberg stands up.
“I believe that should be enough for today.” Hulkenberg bows again as she faces Will. “Thank you again for your help.”
“No problem! You can always come to me again if you want some help.” He gives the books back to Hulkenberg with a smile. “If you don’t mind me asking… have you always liked singing?”
“Oh?” She puts her hand to her face to ponder. “Well, such singers like Junah intrigue me. But this also lets me improve myself beyond my fighting abilities. Tis’ the origin of magic, it simply must be improved upon!” She says, looking proud of herself. “And all of those singer's look so confidence… I can only hope to build up to it.”
“You’re selling yourself short, you’re already confident.”
“Tis’ a great flattery, commander. But I can’t even confront my old training partner when I need to. I also can’t…” She looks down at Will before quickly looking away, the blush returning again. “Never mind. Tis’ a silly thought. But with enough singing, I’m sure I can become a better version of myself.”
“I see!” Will puts a hand on her shoulder, his grin growing larger as she looks back at him. “Well, I’ll help you with that. I’m sure you’ll be able to tell your old partner off soon. Along with… whatever else you need to do.”
Their eyes meet for a moment, before quickly looking away from each other, blushing more heavily. The tension is broken as the runner screeches to a halt, causing both to go downstairs to the front deck to join the others. As they sat there chatting, Will could feel the connection with her go up again.
But for some reason, this time, it felt just a bit different.