Evelyn King's Story

More small talk? Well, I ain't gonna complain, I suppose-- Gabriel figured there wasn't much wrong with getting to know the folks they'd be sharing a studio with. And anyway, Gabrielle liked meeting people! Unless those people were assholes. Actually, even then, she liked meetin' 'em, since that meant she got to put an asshole in their place, and that was always nice. Hell, Vivi, their newest addition to the revolving door of various faces and names that was Gabrielle's band, was here 'cause Gabrielle had dragged the previous bassist out of their rehearsal space by the ear for, you guessed it, bein' an asshole. Puttin' assholes in their places was easily in her top five hobbies. She wasn't sure what the other four were, but that was definitely up there.

Then again, she wasn't sure how that was relevant to this at all. Nobody here was an asshole. Except K. K was totally an asshole. But the tolerable type, y'know? Not too bad. Way too uptight for his own good, but that wasn't no business of Gabrielle's. Dude could play and didn't start shit, that was enough for her.

Wait, this still wasn't relevant to anything, was it? Dammit, every fucking time she was stuck trading little bits of small talk with somebody, her brain went to every conceivable place. Like the other day, she'd been in the middle of chatting a bit with the lady bagging her groceries, and right then and there, Gabrielle had totally solved the issue of the unified field theory. No no, seriously, bear with her on this one. So you know that whole thing about putting the cat in the box and then the cat's both dead and alive or whatever? Which is actually morbid as hell for a 'thought experiment', if you really think about it, physicists are some pretty fucked up folks--

... goddammit.

Reluctantly but firmly, Gabrielle forced herself to stick with what was going on around her, which was always difficult when she wasn't actually moving or doing anything. She listened as Oliver, the guitarist, talked about their band name, mentioned something about a video game (Gabrielle didn't know much about those except that playing them turned you into some sort of psychopath), and then asked her how long her band had been together. She proudly puffed her chest out, grinning, and answered, "Band's been a thing for nearly two years now." Then, deflating somewhat, she paused, and then added, "Though, this lineup..." She rubbed at her chin thoughtfully, and then finished, "One or two months, I reckon."







Farah hadn't been lying when she'd said she knew when to hang back and let things play out; with Vivi having headed into his band's little nook of the studio (and the other guitarist having followed suite-- kinda amused her that two so reticent folks had ended up in a band with two so... totally not reticent folks), she was left to herself. She watched the others exchange animated words-- the tall burly dude was chatting with the short burly lady, and the drummer of the other band was doing much the same with the other two members of Azmodan (Azmodanians? Azmodanese? Azmodanites?).

Actually, the drummer didn't look all that enthused with the conversation. I mean, Farah'd gathered by now that he wasn't much more of a social dynamo than that bassist, Vivi, but she sure got the notion that he preferred to be doing something else, and she could guess what that was.

She stepped up to where he stood beside the vocalist, a little detached from the conversation the other man was having with the other band's drummer. "Want to head back in?" she suggested, nodding her head vaguely towards their room of the studio. "Maybe get a head start on some of these basslines I've got for your drum parts."





Vivi gave a start as she heard somebody step into the studio after her-- she really didn't need to look, it was hardly up in the air who had decided to detach themselves from the conversations in the hallway to come here, but still, she glanced over to find Kai walking in. He didn't waste much time before setting to taking stock of the studio, so Vivi turned away again, setting her bass down against one corner of the room before moving towards where her set-up had been... well, set up. There was a chair, a stool really, in front of where her stuff was, so she plopped down on it and dug around in her pocket for her phone.

Call her spoiled, but hey, she sure did love being able to scour the whole of the internet from the palm of her hand. Mostly she used it to check up on her blogs, see if there were any new comments, any new arguments to be had, though she probably shoulda known better; she was way too easily drawn into the dreaded 'internet argument', and it tended to ruin her mood for hours at a time. Not exactly something she needed to deal with now, in the studio, but fortunately, there was nobody looking for a fight this time. She flicked through some new comments, replied to a couple, and then shoved her phone back into her pocket to wait for Gabrielle and Evie to get finished with chatting.

She frowned. I'm gonna be waiting a while.

"No, there aren't very many of us." Evelyn started, then seemed to think about it. There probably were a lot of female drummers, she just hadn't seen very many in popular bands. "I haven't met them, at least." She added. As she beheld the man in front of her she noticed that he looked toward the members of her own band. Two of them had left and it wouldn't strike her as surprising if Vivi came off as awkward and shy. Which he was. Contemplating on commenting on it, Evie stood and watched the rest of the gathering talk to each other. Quietly she decided not to say anything about Vivi. She figured that Gavriel might want a chance to get his own impression from each member, instead of hearing her talk about them. "Anyway," Evie put a hand on Gavriel's shoulder and flashed Daisuke and Farah a grin as they turned and walked into the room they'd come from. "I'm sure we'll get to talk later, I better report for duty." She finished with a wink and a wave of her hand, turning around and heading for the room Vivi and Kai were in. Only the Gods would know when Gabrielle would join them.

Kai and Vivi were both in there, and it was a stark contrast to what had just been going on. Silent as the grave. Vivi had just put her phone back in her pocket as Evie came in and Kai was fiddling about with something and looked around the room. For a moment she just stood there and looked at the two of them, hating how awkward this silence was. "We're not forbidden to talk to one another, you guys know that right?" She attempted in a typically Evie sort of manner. "Even though it can be hard to get a word in when Gabby starts." And just as the words had left her mouth, she froze and went pale. "Don't ever tell her I called her Gabby."

---

He had done his very best. His very, absolute best. Still, he found it difficult to keep up with this phenomenon that was Gabrielle. This force of nature. When she finally landed and answered his question, he nodded and smiled. "I see." Oliver smiled. "Which is the newest member then? It seems like you and... Evie, was it? It seems like you have known each other for a little while longer than the rest." Given that they had only been a band for a few months, it might be hard to pick out the newest member. Azmodan wasn't the original lineup either, so he could kind of relate to how it was. Now he was just as excited to hear them play as he was to get working on his own stuff.

He wasn't at all sure how he was supposed to react to the statement about their previous guitarist. Oliver didn't know Gabrielle well enough to know if she was joking or not. He may never get to know her that well. Perhaps no one ever would. As he was given room to think he made a mental note to always prepare himself for a conversation with Gabrielle. One had to do that in order to keep up. Even thinking about that had cost him valuable time in which he should have listened, but the woman in front of him had trailed off for a brief moment. Oliver raised an eyebrow, surprised. Partially by the fact that she had paused, but also by the fact that he too had not really noticed people leaving them. This prompted Oliver to look at his watch just to keep track of time. He wanted to know if he was now suddenly busy. It wasn't so bad. Thankfully, they had been reasonable and gathered at the studio early.

Oliver blinked and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think we've been abandoned." He said and shrugged. Seemingly, the rest of the respective groups were ready to start working and that only inspired him to get going as well. Farah seemed very nice and he looked forward to working with her. Before rushing off, Gabrielle slapped him on the back. "Likewise!" Was what Oliver managed to get out. The slap had moved him. Physically. Gabrielle had fucking slapped him on the back and he'd moved from it. He wasn't used to that. Especially not from women, so he stood there for a few moments looking confused before snapping out of it. Oliver then turned around, shaking his head but still wondering about this thing that was Gabrielle. He stepped into their part of the studio and began taking out a guitar of its case. "Did someone say 'jam'?" He asked with a smile.

---

I'm going to figure this man out sometime. She thought to herself and sighed almost inaudibly. Kai wasn't easy to get close to and that was the first thing Evie wanted to get. She wanted the best for everyone else than herself. Still, he was the only one who got to say anything to her before Gabrielle slammed the door open. Evie's eyes had just fixed themselves on Vivi's and it had seemed that the bassist was about to say something. Evie visibly flinched where she stood. "Fuck's sake, Gabrielle." Her British accent filled the room. "You're going to be the death of me someday, do you know that?" She had been so busy getting her heart rate under control that she'd forgotten to laugh at the frontwoman's joke. "I could do with something fast, if you're game." Evelyn took her seat behind the drums and twirled on the chair a few times, shaking her hands to warm them up and straightening her back.

She looked at her bandmates and smiled, waiting for everyone to get ready. She figured that jamming a track or two would be good, just go get the juices flowing. When everyone had found their instrument, she nodded and counted them in.

How it felt to be back in the studio, jamming again, was indescribable. It only confirmed Oliver in his belief that playing music was what he was born to do. And it was so exciting having someone new in the band, playing with them. He was impressed. Farah was good. She fit in well. That was his first impression. He was sure that their time in the studio could produce something good. But that was Oliver for you. Optimistic and willing to work. When they stopped playing he set his guitar down and set his amplifier on standby to let the tubes cool. "Well..." His voice filled the room as the cymbals died. There was a smile plastered on his face. "That wasn't half bad." Oliver's face revealed that that was an understatement. Sense of time was lost, but that didn't bother him. It had been spent in a good way. He looked around at Dai, Farah and Gavriel. "What do you think?" It was an open question and he genuinely wanted to know what everyone thought. If they were all up for it, drinks didn't sound so bad. He was sure at least Gavriel would want to go.

---

"Fuck. Yes. Gabrielle!" The excitement still pulsed through her veins, and the suggestion her singer had put forth was perfect. Evelyn had made sure to say her full name though, and not use one of her many nicknames for the woman. For the briefest of moments, a sad expression appeared on her face at the thought of Gabrielle never getting to hear all those wonderful nicknames. She snapped out of it quickly and re-entered the conversation. "Aw, you're not coming Vivi?" Being Evelyn King, she wanted them all to go out and have fun. "The borgs won't go anywhere." She added, glancing at Gabrielle, suppressing a laugh. She put her drumsticks on the snare drum and disabled the snare. "What about you, Kai?" Whether he wanted to go or not, she wasn't sure. At all. Actually, she leaned towards him not wanting to go. It would be an eventful evening with Gabrielle, as it always was.

Well, this was nothing if not different.

Of course, Farah had known this job would be quite a departure from her usual fare-- no fusion, no prog-rock, no jazz, certainly no death metal. She'd made a point of trying to venture out of her comfort zone time and again throughout her professional career, but straight up heavy metal was unfamiliar territory. She wasn't exactly averse to it, for what it was worth, though there was a very distinct feel to the music that she wasn't quite accustomed to. Perhaps that bled through in the bass lines she'd come up with for this practise-- perhaps they brought too much of that jazz swing into the mix, or came in with too much of the hard-hitting aggression of her work with technical death metal groups.

I'll continue to review those lines, she figured silently. If nothing else, today was enlightening-- listening to the rough tracks that had been sent to her had been enough to get an idea of the music and even write up some rough tracks of her own, but actually playing the music along with the band, that was what it took to really know what the music needed, what she needed to contribute. She had a better idea of that now.

At least the others seemed content. "What do you think?" the burly guitarist queried, looking not only at Farah but at the other two as well, and she gave a placid smile. "I certainly have a clearer picture of the music and where the bass ought to fit into it now," she answered, although only after the other two had offered their thoughts. Drinks, on the other hand, were a whole other matter; nothing against the lot of them, of course, but Farah was here to work with them, not drink with them, so she was already set on politely declining when, wouldn't you know it, yet another new face showed up. She might have feared that yet another band had booked this studio-- two was odd but workable, three was pushing it-- but it quickly became apparent this woman was more of a... a friend of the band, she supposed. Farah merely hung back and let the woman and the band exchange a few words until the pale man, the singer, saw fit to draw her in by way of introduction.

"Farah, this is Akira," he explained. "She's Daisuke's sister. Akira, this is Farah. She's playing bass for us now." The woman cast a friendly smile her way, and Farah answered in kind as she held out a hand-- a standard greeting, one that had taken a little getting used to but had since become second nature. "Charmed," she drawled, before glancing up at the rest of the band. "Now then, I think I ought to head back to my hotel room-- see what I should tweak in light of this little jam. If we're about finished here... ?" She trailed off, letting the question imply itself.







There was little in the way of implications happening in the other band's studio space, however-- Gabrielle Santamaria did not traffic in implications, not when she could simply let the whole world know, thoroughly and unequivocally, just what she was thinking. And in fact, she did just that, as she reared her head back and gave a hearty, rasping laugh. "Tryin' to get this guy to do anything social!" She gave another chuckle, shaking her head ruefully as she reached over to where she'd left her jacket slung over a nearby chair. She shrugged it on, and added, "I admire your optimism, E, but it's a lost cause. It's like tryin' to get Vivi off that phone of his for more than a minute-- you might as well just lop his hands off!"

Vivi gave a weak chuckle-- y'know, the sort of chuckle that says 'I'm pretty sure that was a joke, but I actually couldn't put it past you to do that, so please be a merciful deity?'-- and said, "Well, uh, please don't do that. I need 'em to drive back home. And play bass."

"Aw," Gabrielle waved a hand in dismissal. "Nonsense. You'd just have to learn to play slap bass with your stumps." She shooed the bassist on out, and then turned back to Evie, still all grins and laughter. "Guess it's just me 'n you, E!" She reached a frighteningly strong arm out to latch around Evie's shoulders in what would have been a friendly gesture if not for the fact that it was a hair away from being a chokehold. "I know this real great bar around-- well, actually, I don't know any bars 'round these parts. We'll just have to find one!"

Oliver wasn't exactly surprised by the suggestion Gavriel came with. Not that he constantly thought that way about his bandmate, but it would be just like him to be the first to suggest they go out for drinks. And Oliver agreed. But before he could voice his willingness to come along, someone interrupted them. It was good timing though and he had a good feeling with the band. He looked over to find Kira standing in the door and a bright smile appeared on his face. They were talking about her sketches and Oliver reminded himself to ask about that later. Firstly, he wanted to wrap her in a big hug. Gavriel kindly introduced Kira to their new bassist and he was again glad to find Farah so polite and kind. He'd set down his guitar and run his fingers through his hair before he approached. "Kira!" He said in his deep voice, smiling. "It's been much too long." And then his much larger frame wrapped the smaller girl into a tight hug.

He didn't hear Farah's full sentence behind him, but understood that she wasn't coming with them for drinks. He released Kira and let a hand rest on her shoulder as he turned to the bassist. "Well, if you'd like to come along another time, the offer remains." Oliver said. He could understand if she felt like staying home instead of coming with them. "Anyway, Kira. How have you been?"



Evelyn shrugged and tilted her head slightly, pouting at Kai. She wished that he would come along with them and have some fun, but he really seemed like that was something he would never do. Evelyn decided to leave him alone and stop pestering him since she kind of got the message from the body language. She merely chuckled at Gabrielle's comment about cutting Vivi's hands off. It was insane, but it was Gabrielle. What followed was actually pretty funny though, up until Evelyn got that mental picture in her head. Stumps. Instantly she decided that she hated that word.
When Gabrielle wrapped her arm around her, she tried not to flinch, but failed. When it was clear she wasn't in danger, she relaxed a little and nodded. "I'm sure we can sniff up some alcohol, mate." She sounded certain, figuring that they would find plenty of bars around.

"Hey, do you think the other band's going out too? There's one or two of them in there I think are up for some drinking..." The words were more a case of Evelyn thinking out loud, but now she had said it and so expected an answer. It had been a long time since she last got drunk. Part of her wanted to get drunk and do something stupid, but another part didn't. They had to work, after all.

He watched the ongoing exchange of looks and words but remained silent for the time himself. Being Oliver, he was confident that they would be drinking beers and having fun with Farah as well, and have her rightly included in their little gang. When he finally realised that their new bassist actually wouldn’t be joining them on this trip to the bar, he nodded as if he accepted it under protest, but still didn’t say anything to the woman.

“Same.” Oliver said to Kira instead. “Well, probably not as busy as you. Our scales don’t quite match I suppose, but compared to my usual workload, I’ve been quite busy.” He elaborated. He was happy that she was there appreciated it very much. He did care very much for this girl. She was sweet and happy and a wonderful person to talk to. Qualities that all carried a lot of weight with Oliver. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Farah leaving and waved. “We were talking about going out on the town and have a few drinks,” He trailed off and smirked playfully, shrugging. He figured that Kira knew just as well as the rest of them that they didn’t always just settle with a few. “Will you come along? I think we’re going for food first and foremost. I’m starving.” All the time they could steal from Kira, they would steal.

---

Evelyn King was not at all done pouting. Because she hadn’t really realised what was going on by now. She really looked forward to going out with Gabrielle. She was fucking batshit crazy, yes, but she was always good fun. It did require someone of considerable stature to tackle this woman, should the need arise and she got out of hand. As fun as she was to go out with, just as unpredictable was she. “Well I’ll be fucked.” She said, accent clear as she flashed Kai a wide smile. “You are persuadable… I’ll keep that in mind.” Evie added, smirking. Persuading Vivi to join them would be a much more difficult task, one that Evie wasn’t sure she was up for. But fuck if that’s going to keep me from trying!
When Gabrielle remarked that Evie might be scared of drinking with her alone, she shrugged and nodded as if that was logic for any man. “Of course, I mean. I know how you get when you drink tequila.” The look that appeared on her face spoke volumes. “Naked and violent.” With a shake of her head and a shudder she pushed that memory out of her head. It wasn’t disgust as much as it was a sheer mental shock to recall that memory. A moment later she heard Gabrielle’s voice again. From the other end of the hall. She had gone into Azmodan’s part of the studio and was in the process of asking them to join them as Evie crept up behind her, footsteps feather light compared to the woman in front of her. She said nothing but merely looked at Azmodan sweetly, hoping they weren’t too shocked by her entrance.

---

It was like the noise the washer makes when it speeds up. Oliver wasn’t at all prepared for Gabrielle. Again. He finally caught up after the initial shock of the door being blasted open. “Christ, I thought S.W.A.T was here.” He let out and exhaled deeply. When he finally figured out what the woman had said, Evie had snuck up behind her and peeked over her shoulder. Oliver nodded politely in greeting and then re-focused on Gabrielle. “As a matter of fact, we’ve talked about going out too.” He waved his hand in a gesture that put the question and the decision to his bandmates. “What do you guys say? Dinner and then some drinks?”