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The high pitched whine of a violin cut through the quiet morning. It sounded.. rough, to say the least.
"Verdammt.." Cecilia mumbled.
Her metal fingers slid along the strings, fumbling a note's pitch by just a few centimetres. Sure, the silicone skin helped, but it didn't make it any easier.
"Why are there no frets?" She groaned. "Like, why does the big one have the frets, but this stupid little thing doesn't?!"
She sighed. It was just a stupid instrument. She could do this easily.
She settled back into position. The violin nestled beneath her chin, ten o'clock angle, violin bow straight in the middle, pinky near the nut.
A metronome ticked endlessly beside her, shaped like one of her Otomos. A small dent was visible on its leg.
"Just one more try.."
The slow, high pitched wail of the violin filled her room once more.
Just as she reached the bridge, her finger slipped.
She stopped.
"Again."
She settled back into position. The violin let out its familiar whine.
She stopped. Too flat.
Back in position. Violin whined.
She stopped again. She thought that was a quaver but nope, it was a semi quaver.
Her eye twitched.
"Again."
And it went on and on for hours. She made some progress, but it was never perfect. Too fast. Too slow. Too flat. Too high. Too sharp. Too soft. She just couldn't get it right.
Throwing the violin sounded more tempting by the minute. Her fingers hurt thanks to whatever pain sensors her creators had so graciously blessed her with. Maybe she shouldn't have picked such a hard song. Maybe she should just-
"Gi murin~!"
Her door burst open. An orange gremlin jumped in without concern, holding a white pastry box and a thermos of something balanced on her tail.
Cecilia rolled her eyes. She set the violin and its bow onto her lap. "Haven't you heard of knocking?"
"Waste of time," Gigi waved her off with a free hand. "Anyways, I've got cream puffs!"
"Uh huh. Sure." Cecilia monotoned. "With what money?"
"Hey, those BL books were a very financially responsible decision!" Gigi scoffed, before dissolving into giggles. "But really, gotcha some cream puffs and tea." She shook the flask before handing it to Cecilia, who accepted it with a nod.
The sun inched closer towards the horizon. It was still sunny out but definitely somewhere late in the afternoon. Had she really lost track of time?
She leaned back in her chair with a sigh. Warm tea curled out of the flask, warming up her face. Gigi lay sprawled along her own chair, quietly devouring a cream puff.
Everything was quiet for a bit. She'd had enough noise from that stupid violin for a lifetime. It was.. actually kinda peaceful.
"Sooo," Gigi hummed. A little bit of cream was stuck on the corner of her mouth. "What song have you been practicing?"
Cecilia tilted her head side to side, eyes drifting upwards. "Just some old piece of music I found. Have you heard of Brahms?"
"Uhh, some old music guy? Sorry, can't remember." Gigi leaned forward, head tilted. "Is your violin thing from him?"
Cecilia's eyes lit up. "Yes! He was a famous German composer and he also happened to have some violin pieces, so I wanted to try my hand at it."
"Ooh, sounds nice." Gigi grinned. "Did he go 'Bawk Bach?'"
"No, he was busy doing Bach-flips on the piano."
Gigi burst out laughing, and Cecilia followed with kettle like giggles.
"But really, you've been at it for hours," Gigi said. "Play me a live version? I wanna hear it."
Cecilia raised a brow. "Hmm? I guess I could." She traced her fingers over the violin's strings. "It's probably gonna sound terrible though."
"Well, I haven't heard the full one yet, so you gotta show it to me."
Cecilia sighed. She picked up the violin and bow. Everything fell into its usual position, but there was a nervousness in her gears now. Someone was actually watching this time.
She took a deep breath.
The familiar whine of the violin filled the room again, this time a little softer, more hesitant. Her bow slid gracefully across the strings as her fingers found the notes.
But then it stopped.
Cecilia sighed sharply, but to Gigi nothing sounded wrong.
"Wait wait, let me try again," Cecilia muttered. "It was a little too flat there."
Gigi shrugged. "I didn't hear anything wrong, but go ahead."
Cecilia returned to her position. The violin dug into her shoulder a little more this time. The sound of music filled the room again.
Cecilia stopped midway through again.
"Sorry, it was a half a beat too early," she said. Her grip on the bow tightened. "I can try again."
Gigi raised an eyebrow. She stood up and moved a little closer, settling back down on Cecilia's right armrest.
"Hey, Cece," she said softly. "Just play the song? Even if you mess something up."
Cecilia looked up at her. "I mean, it'll sound bad."
"I just wanna hear you play."
Cecilia pursed her lips. "Fine."
She settled back into position, this time adjusting her elbow a little to make space for Gigi.
The same old sound filled the room once more. Her fingers danced along the strings, the bow sliding without pause. Every mistake she made, her eye twitched, but she still kept playing.
Gigi hummed along beside her, bobbing her head back and forth. Her eyes were closed for once, just... listening.
The last note faded as Cecilia lowered the instrument. She sighed, shaking her head.
"I messed up so many notes," she mumbled, almost to herself. "I really need to practice this some more."
Gigi opened her eyes, still humming a little. She didn't say anything. She just sat there with an unreadable smile on her face, looking vaguely smug.
Cecilia settled the violin back into her lap. She leaned to the side, resting her head on Gigi's flank. "Hey, Gigi," she started softly. "Can I ask a question?"
"Yeah?" Gigi hummed back.
"Honestly, do you think it sounded nice?"
"It was very, very good." Gigi said instantly, not a hint of hesitation in her voice. "It sounded like you were trying."
"I..." Cecilia looked back down to her lap. "Thanks, Gigi."
Gigi patted her shoulder, grinning ear to ear. "No problem! Now, one more song?"
Cecilia sighed, but there was a tiny smile on her face. "Sure."