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Niccolo was uncomfortable, Amduscias could tell. Every time the thunder sounded, his nerves rose. When it rumbled, he shifted, and when it crashed, he almost jumped away from the desk.
Amduscias watched the quill in his human's hand, twitching but not writing anything. Letters, it was now, it seemed. He'd put away the musical scores he'd been working on -- couldn't focus on the music with all that noise, he'd said -- and tried to shift to writing letters.
That tension in his breathing... what he really wanted to do was play the violin. To just relax, and let himself play, to drown out the sound of the thunder with his Cannone, or even, possibly, to let it inspire him.
But he'd stopped playing over an hour ago. He'd used up enough songs for the night.
Amduscias wondered if he should feel guilty.
shhh...sh-sh shh...sh sh shhhh....
He smiled. Niccolo was thinking of a melody. Amduscias didn't know exactly what it was, but the was his hand moved, brushing a rhythm into the air with the feather quill...
The devil smiled. It reminded him of a song... a very ancient song, in a language older than Rome. He began to sing, softly, gazing out the window at the rain.
He didn't watch Niccolo, but the sound of his human's breath told him that he had calmed a bit.
The devil went on singing. He heard the sound of the quill against paper... and of the paper being moved aside, and another sheet started.
Amduscias smiled as he continued to sing, getting to his favorite part in the melody, feeling it run through his body, floating up and down the waves of the notes. He did turn his gaze to Niccolo. He watched his human's silhouette in the candlelight, watched his shoulders relax. Did the love in his voice reach him? Not bubbling over, not enough to bother him, but... just enough to soothe him, without letting him notice.
He watched those lovely curls, wishing he could run his fingers through them. He couldn't, he knew, not now, but that was fine. He ran his voice through them instead.
A crash of thunder.
Niccolo shifted, but he didn't stop writing.
Amduscias smiled. Cute.
It had only been a few months since they'd left Genoa. Niccolo had written late replies to some portion of the letters of requests for his performances, letters that Costa had been keeping from them, and that the teacher had finally handed over in lieu of an apology for denouncing his student. He'd had no idea how to respond to such formal letters, but he had Armando's guidance from his prior experience as a butler to help him figure it out. Amduscias could advise him as well -- the devil had more experience with more kinds of royal and noble courts than any mere human -- and if Niccolo didn't want his advice directly, Amduscias could find other ways to help him.
Yes... he was guiding his human to a bright future.
Lost in those thoughts, he finished his song... and suddenly, Niccolo tensed again. After a beat, he spoke. "... why did you stop?"
Amduscias smiled. "Hmm? The song finished, that's all." His voice was all sweetness.
Niccolo didn't respond. His quill scratched the paper, just a bit. Just a bit.
The devil wondered if he should speak again, if he dared to. He decided he did. "Do you want me to keep singing?"
"N-no, of course not. What--" Niccolo started and stopped. "I just-- I don't know what you mean."
"Ah, of course," Amduscias said. He leaned back on the bed, silent. Smiling softly.
A few moments passed. The thunder growled, then sounded again. Crashed. Niccolo jumped. Then he shifted. You didn't see that.
Of course, I didn't, Amduscias thought. Cute.
He let a few more moments pass before he began to sing again. When he did, it was as if Niccolo had been holding his breath, and finally let it out. After a few deep breaths, he began to write again.
How sweet, how lovely... Amduscias knew that his human would never admit to liking the devil's singing, but he didn't need to admit it. He wouldn't be much of a devil if he couldn't tell that, would he?
Years and years later, on the last night of his life, Niccolo would remember...