The Chained Watcher

Tango's Question

~~~

So Grian might have been right.

He'd tried to think of a better thing to use his question for, but he kept going back to the blatant weirdness surrounding the blind music guy. Grian was right, he had to ask about it.

Spotting the avian bobbing his head to music while going through one of the barrels that double as a subtle chest monster, he approached, wondering momentarily what music he was listening to. With the angle he was approaching from, Grian spotted him, waving with a smile and pulling off the headphones.

(Hey, monotonous tasks are made so much better with music. I hate doing chores, but if I've got a good playlist on I can get so much done.)

"Oh hey Tango, need me for something?"

"Yeah, unfortunately. I want to use my question."

Grian snapped his fingers, pointing a finger gun at him. "Ah, is it the thing that was bothering you that you wouldn't tell me?"

Tango groaned. "Yes..." Grian laughed and sat on a barrel, resting his chin on his hand. He grinned expectantly, waiting for the question to be asked. "So I've been wondering about this for a while now, but... Back when we met that musician in the tourist town..."

He trailed off, watching Grian's expression shift from amused to alert. Now he has his full attention on the question, and that's honestly what affirmed Tango's decision to use his question on this. If it wasn't important, Grian wouldn't have stopped grinning. Lilac eyes search his, as if searching for answers or knowledge.

Making sure to pay attention to Grian's expression, he continued. "The musician talked about songs and tunes for all of us, but for some reason he seemed wary of you. I could probably ask why he was wary of you instead of anyone else, but the thing that's been bothering me is what he said about instruments." Grian stills, though not in that unsettling way from when they saw the Watcher fighting. "What did he mean when he said your instruments were different?"

Silence weighs in the air, and he can almost feel the internal conflict as Grian decided whether or not to answer. Normally Tango wouldn't have any doubts on whether Grian would give an answer, but he seems genuinely uncertain if he's willing to answer this.

"I... It might mean other things for different people, but when he was talking about me, 'instruments' referred to..." Grian visibly braced himself before finishing. "Well, it referred to species. Do with that what you will."

Without waiting for a response, Grian swiftly walked away, escaping the conversation like an undergeared player fleeing an unexpected raid. It's like he doesn't want to see what Tango's reaction will be, and that worries him more than he'd like to admit.

Taking a seat on the barrel Grian had been sitting on, he started sorting through his thoughts.

Grian definitely didn't want to answer that question, that much is for sure. He practically ran away after giving the bare minimum answer, but... Just what he'd given is quite big already. If the instruments the blind musician talked about were related to species, then he's really not gonna like where his thoughts are going to inevitably go.

He'd tried so hard to push away his niggling suspicion regarding the violet feather, but at this point it would be dumb to continue ignoring those thoughts. Time to face the music. Time to see where these theories take him.

Taking a deep breath, Tango stares up at the ceiling while letting his mind wander down the paths he had previously barred it from. Starting with that feather.

Mentally pasting the color of the feather over his recollection of Grian's wings, he couldn't help a shiver as he recalled how oddly Grian had acted when they'd spotted a fight in the distance between a Watcher and a Listener. There's no way all Grian did was watch, not when he had that calculating look in his eyes.