Clair de Lune

23. Nightmares

Something shook the building, a sound familiar and daunting to me. I whimpered quietly as thunder tore open the skies above my head, sending fear and adrenaline through my system. It hadn't helped that I'd just awoken out of a nightmare and seen the catastrophe of an end to my old home once more. The building rumbled again and I plugged my ears in an attempt to cast the sound out of my thoughts; it worked for approximately five seconds before thunder struck again and I bolted upright, throwing my blanket from me and landing on the cold concrete. It had to be at least two, if not later, and everyone else in the room was fast asleep. I heard a sound across the way and looked to see Osiris shifting in her blanket, clearly caught up in her own nightmares. That must have been what was causing the thunder outside.

I wandered down the hall to the front room, finding that some of the TV's were on to create a small amount of light. A small flash reflected in the corner of my eye and I saw the piano in the small niche, pristine and primarily dust-free. I took a few steps forward and sat down at the bench slowly, my fingers trembling slightly as I ran them over the keys. He'd always wanted to play in a thunderstorm, I thought as I tentatively pressed down on the ivory button. A note rang out in the small space and I began to string together the notes of a shaky Clair de Lune, feeling my heart tremble in my chest just as my fingers did. Eventually I began to shake so hard that I pulled my hands away to wipe at the rush of tears that had overflowed down my face and were now leaking down my cheeks. I could taste the hot salt and the sorrow I felt. My body felt hollow, nothing but a shell of what I used to be.

"Those right there are the wails of the heartbroken."

I snapped up suddenly, finding Murmur standing in the doorway, shirtless once again. I scrambled to try and recompose myself, wiping at my eyes to dry them and pretend I hadn't broken down. Thunder crackled above us again and I choked on a sob, resorting to simply hiding my face in my hands in an effort to appear fine. A hand rested on my back supportively and I leaned into it gratefully.

"I-I'm sorry I woke you, I can't stand-"

"The thunder. It's a little annoying, if you ask me." Murmur chuckled gently, reaching out and caressing the keys with more skilled fingers than I.

"You really are the demon of music," I whispered, a small smile tugging up on my lips, "think you could teach me?"

"I don't know if I could teach you, but I do know I could play any song in the world you wanted me to." He smirked.

"Clair de Lune?" I asked quietly, and the tempo shifted, turning into the song I knew and loved. It plucked on my heartstrings and elicited silent tears, along with something I hadn't known before: blue fire. It burned close to me, reflecting the pure sadness I felt echoing through my hollow bones.

"What meaning does this song have to you?" He asked gently, looking over at me. His eyes seemed to glow in the firelight.

"It's my favorite one." I reached up, clutching the tassel in my hand. There was something strange about the way he played, almost like it was too perfect. There was no flair or personality; it was just like reading off of sheet music.

Murmur didn't bat an eye at my flames and instead pulled his hands away from the keys, his focus shifting entirely to me. I felt myself ease back into the normal range of emotions and the fire settled, leaving us in the pale light of the televisions once again.

"Who did you lose?"

"How is it that easy to tell I lost someone?" I laughed darkly, wiping at my face again. "He was my everything, my moon and my stars, my stormy seas and sunny skies. I killed him in the fire I created that burned my house and my family to the ground. He was a savant, a musical-fucking-prodigy. He'd play every morning to wake me up and make sure I had a good start to my day."

"Was he as good as me?" Murmur teased, and I laughed a bit more brightly.

"No, but he had a different way of playing. A new note or a different tempo, he always made it his own and it all turned out so different," my smile grew slightly as I remembered the good things about him, "he was taller, with jade green eyes and chocolate hair that curled every which way and never fell into place. He'd wear button ups and sweaters in public and stash stolen band shirts in his closet that he found at goodwill," I took a deep breath, feeling something tug on my heart once more, "I know I sound like some lovestruck teenager but he was all I had at that house of horrors."

"Didn't you say you were raised Christian?" He raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"No, but I did say I knew who you were, so I guess you could've figured it out from that." I chuckled. "I was forced to go to church every Sunday and recite Hail Mary's when I was in trouble. I know the Bible cover to cover, and I know your real name."

At that he paused, turning his head to look at me with a blank expression. It's like he was just waiting for me to continue, and I was unsure of if I should.

"Matthias," I smiled tentatively, "that was your name before you were cast out of heaven."

"I haven't heard that name in a very, very long time." The smile returned to his face, his fingers brushing the keys again before he began playing a different song. "I'd prefer to go by Murmur though, and keep this between us."

"I don't have a problem with that." I smiled. "My real name is Agnes."

"Which name do you prefer?"

"Either works for me. Hellfire and Agnes both sound pretty bad, but Hellfire is more intimidating out in the field. When I think of Agnes, I think of a quiet little girl who has no idea what to do in this big, big world."

"I think they both sound lovely." Murmur smiled at me, and I smiled back.

The music seemed to be what bonded him and I. We sat there for maybe an hour, him playing a song of my choice every time he finished one. He even knew more popular tunes from times closer to my own, and he lured me out of my shell, bringing me to sing. We ended up laughing, with him commending my impression of a dying goose when the notes got too high. Through our laughter we yawned, realizing the thunder had died down and that it might be time to return to bed again.

Murmur slung an arm over my shoulders like a big brother might do to his little sister, holding me protectively while he escorted me back to bed. I gave him a short hug and he ruffled my hair before falling over into his cot. I chuckled to myself quietly as I climbed back into my blankets, pulling up the crocheted one from home close to me. I rolled over and my eyes landed on Necro's sleeping form.

His hands were lying beside his face, hiding it from my prying eyes. It felt strange to look at him like this, innocently and tiredly. Necro's eyes began to flicker on the inside of his eyelids and I was led to believe he was having a nightmare. I was tempted to get up and wake him but I didn't want to risk waking up everyone else as well. His hand twitched and before I could take it into account, Necro bolted upright, gripping the sides of his bed with fear. All of my worry culminated into my effort to try and rouse him, but before I could even get out of bed, he let out a whisper that made me freeze.

"Don't take me away from her...!" He whispered, his voice raspy and harsh and full of fear. "Don't take her away..."

He relaxed and dropped back onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling blankly before closing his eyes again and rolling onto his other side. With wide eyes I rolled away, putting together a few pieces about the boy.

Necro died, that we can already guess from what Osiris described about her brother. Now he was trying desperately to regain his memory from his past life, and what I had just witnessed was a part of it. The genuine fear in his voice made my heart squeeze sadly, and I knew he had someone before all of this started. I wanted to know more about him, so much more, but until he regained his memory we'd never know a thing about before. I felt like I wanted to know more than he did.