The (Abridged) Absence of Complete Dark

Chapter 3

Today, band practice was being held at Gracia's place: a ground-level apartment in a two-flat building, in which her upstairs neighbors were barely ever home. Yidarica had never asked why, but based on a conversation that she'd overheard Gracia have with one of the other band members, she didn't know either. Her running theory was that this was their retreat home, and their permanent home was somewhere else. It would make sense, but the idea of having enough money to be able to have something like that was astounding.

It was also on the other side of town, which meant a Comtran ride was in order.

Today was yet another lovely day, with even less clouds than the previous day; while temperatures were similar, the lack of clouds meant that there was less refuge from the heat of the sun, so it felt comparably hotter than yesterday. These kinds of days always made Yidarica think of how much she loved bright, sunny days, but hated the inherent heat of them. She would always hope that someday, magic or science– or both, even– would someday conceive a way for humans to expel excess heat without the gross feeling of sweating. She was also aware that not many people would consider that necessary, which explained why no one seemed to be working on it yet.

As Yidarica sat in the cable car, holding her bass guitar upright, her arms securely around it, she wondered what today would have in store. Not just at practice– although she obviously wondered that too– but the entire day. She wondered if she'd still have the energy to do laundry and cook dinner today, or if she'd need to choose between the two as always. It had been a while since she had gotten one of those days where she'd suddenly get the strength to do multiple tasks, so that meant she was due for one soon... right?

Needless to say, because of her inability to regularly keep a perfectly clean house, practice was never held at Yidarica's. Well, that and the multiple flights of stairs. She couldn't in good conscience ask her friends to get a drum set up those stairs, and that was before considering the issue of her neighbors complaining. She knew for a fact that those crotchety people on the first floor would have a lot to say about the amount of noise that band practice created.

Stepping off at the station closest to Gracia's place of residence, Yidarica hadn't walked far before she crossed paths with the guitarist of the band, Walchelin; as usual, his long brown hair was tied up into a bun to keep it out of his face, his guitar was securely strapped to his back, and he was holding a basket with some type of food inside. Today, he was dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans, both of the dark blue variety. There was a dark gray shirt underneath his blue one, which appeared to be plain.

"Fancy seeing you here," he said, when Yidarica had ventured close enough to hear him speak. "Would it be an imposition if I requested your company for this walk?"

"I could think of no better way to spend the afternoon," replied Yidarica, as they set off.

Yidarica's overall sentiment of Walchelin was that she liked him, but she could also admit that arriving to that conclusion was based more on vibes than anything else. He was always kind and gentle, his speaking voice being that kind of soft, nurturing tone one would typically expect of a primary school teacher, which was fitting since that was what he did for a living. Even so, and even after being in a band with him for almost two years now, she didn't feel as close to him as she expected to. She figured this was why she could never be completely sure that he liked her. She was always open to the opportunity to get to know him better, but the opportunity never seemed to present itself; they never spoke to each other outside of the band's group chat, and never spent time together unless (at the very least) Gracia was present. She was sure that, if asked, Walchelin would happily agree to a friendly outing together... but there was always the chance that he wouldn't, and she wouldn't want to make him uncomfortable by proposing something he wouldn't want to do.