Klavier grinned as they made their way out of the hallway and into the main area of the restaurant. They'd been on the road for a while without running into a place that would let them perform, so the fact that the owner of the first place they'd tried in this new town had accepted had absolutely made their day. Now, minutes away from getting to start their set, they had to restrain themselves from exploding with giddy energy.

It also had the side effect of distracting them, so that the moment they stepped out into the wider room was also the moment they bumped into another person with enough force that they stumbled backward.

Fortunately, the other person was steadier on their feet, managing to grab Klavier by the arms before they hit the ground. "Are you okay?"

"Ja, I'm-" As they got to their feet, they took notice of the young man (about their age, they'd guess) who still had a light grip on them. Klavier softened their gaze. "I am now."

"Good." There was an expression of genuine concern on his face, just fading down from active distress as he spoke. And maybe it was the angle Klavier was at, but the equally sincere relief he displayed was absolutely breathtaking.

Klavier dropped their voice to a stage whisper. "Although, I think I'm still a little dizzy. You should sit by the stage in case I need someone to catch me again." They gave a hopeful look.

He frowned, mouth slightly open and eyebrows raised. "Are you sure you should be performing then?" A hand went to check their forehead and maybe steady them again. "If you're not feeling well you shouldn't…be…" He stared at them even harder for a second, before his eyes widened. "Oh!" A small laugh as the tension left his body, a hand going up to his mouth to cover the slightly messy smile that was forming. "Oh. I uh, yeah. Maybe I should."

Klavier slid away from the last of his grip, shifting so that they ended up with their hand in his. When he started to pull away from their grip, they paused, looking at him. After a second, he stopped, the flash of emotion that Klavier thought they'd caught fading from his face. Keeping their gaze on him, they slowly drew his hand back towards them, placing a delicate kiss against his fingers through the glove of his hand before letting go. "I'll look forward to it, then."

He pulled the arm to his chest. Ducking his head so his bangs fell in front of his face, he brought a hand up to his mouth again. Although with how flustered he was, the giddy expression was pretty much impossible to hide even then (which, Klavier realized, they were very thankful for).

"Well, I'll go get set up, ja?" With one last look, they turned and started across the room.

"It's Sebastian, by the way," he called out just before they'd made it onto the small stage in the corner, audible but only because the room was mostly empty.

In the glance Klavier threw back to him, a little too far to call back or stop their momentum, they noticed the way he'd perked up, watching them intently. They gave an enthusiastic nod, and an exaggerated wink back.

Sebastian.

Oh, Klavier liked this town.

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It was all Klavier could do to keep from bouncing in their chair as they started their first song. Sure, they'd been playing for themself practically every day, but it had been so long since they'd actually gotten to perform, and that was a completely different atmosphere. Getting to share in the energy with other people, and although they would rarely admit it, the chance to show off a little, was something they could never get enough of.

They meandered their way through the first couple selections, mind not really anywhere, as they'd practiced enough that it was no real effort to call the music forth. It was the closest they could get to a meditative state, mind stopping from jumping around and just…existing in the moment. It was a nice warmup too, getting used to the sound of the space, since they hadn't rehearsed there.

It was probably about fifteen minutes in when they finally looked up properly. They weren't too surprised to see that the room was still mostly empty; it was before the main dinner rush would have been expected. The owner had mentioned that when she'd agreed to take them on for the evening, wanting to save the prime times for a few of the locals who liked to rotate the occasional performance. It wasn't the most ideal, but Klavier could understand, especially in a small town. And besides, the fact of the matter was that they were being allowed to play at all, and even being paid a little.

What really caught their eye, though, was one of the tables a couple dozen feet away and just slightly out of their peripheral vision. That was where Sebastian was seated, currently in conversation with a member of the wait staff. When they left, he seemed to notice the gaze on him and gave a shy wave barely off the surface of the table.

Klavier ended up absolutely fumbling their way through the end of that song, but it was completely worth it. Taking a second to compose themself, they had to suppress a grin when they started up the next one. So far, everything they'd played had been instrumental, again a suggestion from the owner, since the idea was for it to be more of a 'providing ambiance' than 'entertaining' thing, but since she hadn't forbidden it…

The beginning vocals drew the notice of everyone who was there, and in fact kept the attention of most of them for the entirety of the song. They did have a really nice voice – years of practice and vocal training – and this particular song did a good job of showing that off. Not that that was the main reason why they'd picked this particular song. If they'd really had free reign, they might have even gone with one of their own they'd created over the years. But in an effort to keep with the calmer vibe of the other music, they'd gone with the first love song in that feeling they could come up with, and simply poured as much of their own emotion into it as they could.

When the song concluded, there was a smattering of applause, but Klavier could only be bothered with the response of one patron. Chancing a glance over Sebastian's way, they were rewarded with a blush as he attempted to hide behind the collar of his jacket. For a second, they worried they'd overdone it, but then he gave another wave: this time even smaller and under the table where no one else could probably see it, but there nonetheless.

Klavier could barely contain themself as they felt their heart swell, and now they definitely were bouncing in their seat. That energy carried over to the next few songs, back to instrumental but more upbeat. It helped that every once in a while, they'd catch sight of Sebastian watching from the corner of their eye.

Eventually they mellowed back out to the calm ambiance, playing in a half-present state. As the next hour and a half, about, progressed, they found themself being increasingly more distracted as the place started to fill up for dinner time proper, and as a result spent most of the time playing with their eyes closed. Even so, by the time they'd finished and made their way to a back office to check in with the owner, the usual post-performance shaky excitement was still there. After getting their pay and a not-quite-committal remark on allowing them back, they half-stumbled back into the main area.

That rush had faded a bit by the time they'd circled the place twice, finally plonking down at the bar. They'd thought they'd seen him at the end, but it seemed that either that had been incorrect, or Sebastian had disappeared since then. It wasn't enough to sour their spirits, though. The amount of interaction they'd gotten with him had been more than they might have expected at the beginning, not to mention he hadn't exactly said anything about meeting later. Besides, Klavier didn't even know why he'd left. It was sad, but not the end of the world.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was warm, especially now that it was packed, and the food was good, all of it leaving Klavier swathed in a residual haze of comfort as they walked back to their car. It was probably that feeling, in part, that compelled them to drive past the edge of town and over to an area they'd passed on the way in. They sighed as the road made its way to parallel the coast, the sound of the ocean against the cliffs clear with only the engine as a competing sound. Eventually, they pulled around a few trees, parking so their car was just obscured from the road while only a few dozen feet from the cliff side.

The sun was just setting as they settled near the edge on a blanket they'd pulled from the back seat, the light and color creating a gorgeous effect on the water. They sat watching for a bit, got up and brought their guitar back, and stayed there until it was fully dark, drinking in the scenery and idly plucking out whatever notes came to hand.

Eventually though, they found their head getting heavy, and decided it would be best to turn in for the night. And while they usually tended to stay in a hotel or the like, with the late spring warmth keeping the nights comfortable and the way they could already see a dazzling array of stars coming into the night, Klavier decided tonight seemed a good one for camping out. Setting up the tent they kept in the trunk was a practiced effort, taking less time than it did to change and undo their hair and makeup from the evening. Before settling inside, they took one final look out onto the landscape, given some shadow and depth by the light of the partial moon.

They sighed contentedly. Now this was the kind of place they could get used to.

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Sometime in the night, Klavier was awoken by the thick sound of wood snapping. Pushing themself up on their arms so their upper torso was up off the ground, they turned their head to listen for any other noises. And then, after a second, something shifted in the pattern of waves crashing, the rhythm slowly taking the shape of something reminiscent of…heavy breathing? Klavier shook their head. Just the fact that they were half-asleep.

They'd just lain down again when there was a thud of something against metal. Now, they froze. That was definitely something. The thing was, Klavier had no idea what it was. It hadn't been that windy, so it was probably some sort of animal? Not that they could remember now, half in their sleeping bag and keeping as still as possible to hear any more clues, exactly what was supposed to live in this area. And while they could just stay in here, sitting in the dark was getting less appealing by the second. Especially since they could swear that the sound of the sea was getting louder again.

The time it took to open the side of the tent was maddening as they slipped the zipper down bit by bit in the effort not to make even the slightest noise, hands trembling. When it was finally all the way undone (they were not taking chances with leaning on it and accidentally forcing it to open more and making noise), they stuck their head out, peering in the direction of the sound.

At first, they couldn't make anything out, just the outline of their car against the greater darkness of the trees behind. But as their eyes adjusted, Klavier realized that there was a shape on the ground near the cliff. They couldn't make out anything more, only realizing why when the thing shifted. It was translucent, and as it extended part of its form to the air above their car, almost as if it were leaning over it to inspect this foreign object, part of it caught the moonlight and refracted it out almost like glitter. But instead of points of light, Klavier saw it as a pattern of fluffy specks.

Right. Slowly, they leaned back into the tent to retrieve their glasses case, thankful they'd decided to bring it over instead of assuming they'd go right to contacts in the morning. They pried it open with both hands, keeping an eye on the shape, which seemed to be keeping put and not paying attention to them for the time being. If they could keep it that way, that would be-

And of course, the moment they took the glasses out and their hands off the case, it snapped shut with a solid tunk.

There was a loud noise, this slightly more animate than the ones from before but still clearly from the same source, and the being was moving toward them in a dazzling display of light.

Klavier instantly tripped over themself in their effort to get up while still half-encased in tent and sleeping bag. There was a sound like the creaking of a tree in heavy winds, and a rush of air over their head as they scrambled free. They started for the car, but then the thing was flowing around from behind them, body seeming to stretch around in an arc to cut off their route. Skidding, they turned around and bolted.

They didn't know exactly how long they ran, propelled by the sound of the water even above their own breathing and crashing progress through the forest. The next time Klavier was really aware of anything beyond making sure they didn't run into anything was when they finally tripped over what was probably a branch and went stumbling into a bush.

There was a moment of panic as they realized they'd dropped their glasses, until some hurried fumbling retrieved them. As Klavier placed them on their face for the first time this evening, they also realized that the sounds of their pursuit had faded away. Of course, it was anyone's guess if that meant they'd lost it, or if it was simply that it had paused somewhere right near them.

Well, since they seemed to have the time, Klavier took a minute to catch their breath again. Then, since nothing had eaten or mauled them yet, they cautiously reached forward and pried apart the branches in front of them to peer out. Nothing. With exaggerated care, they poked their head out and checked all around. Not a single shadow out of place, and certainly no glittering. Just to be completely sure, they slid their glasses down their nose and looked around with them off. Still nothing. Breathing a sigh of relief, they sat back down.

And then it started raining.

"Of course," they muttered to themself. It seemed like this town really wasn't interested in doling things out in half-measures. Getting to their feet, they looked around. Klavier faintly remembered that they'd originally run towards town, starting off parallel to the road, so if they went this way…

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"And what, the monster just disappeared?" The officer leaned back at his desk, chuckling. "Look, uh…"

"Klavier."

"Gesundheit. Look, kid. It sounds to me like someone was just having a little too much fun last night, and perhaps got a bit carried away with whatever they were consuming." He gave them a look over his sunglasses, tone one of someone who's already made up their mind and sees everyone else's agreement with them as an inevitability. "Now, from what I hear, you were camping out in an off-limits area. I'm willing to let that go, though, seeing as you're not from around here." Getting up, he gestured towards another desk. "I can arrange you to get a ride back to your car. But I find you out there again and it's going to be trouble, understood? That area's not exactly known for having the most stable ground; it's not safe."

Klavier's attempts at protesting were waved off, and they soon found themself standing there listening to him explain the situation to another officer. It turned out, however, that it would be a while before that officer would be ready, and they were instructed to come back in about an hour and a half.

Sighing heavily, they pulled the towel they'd been given tighter over their shoulders. The tile was still cold against their feet, but at least they weren't dripping anymore. And at least they had a ride back, rather than having to spend who knows how long walking, they tried to console themself, to little help.

This town sucked.

"Uh, excuse me, pal?" A large man in a green trenchcoat stepped up next to them. Leaning down to their level, he whispered. "Listen, I heard what you were saying before, and," he fumbled around in his pockets for a minute before producing a card. "there's a friend of mine who might be able to help you out."

Taking the card, Klavier stared at it for a minute before looking up at him. "Danke. I- I'll see about that."

"No problem, pal! But, uh," he went back to a whisper again. "Keep it between the two of us, if you can? I'm not really supposed to advertise. Competing business, you know?"

Well, at least there was someone helpful here. They nodded, slipping the card into the drier one of their sleeves as they made their way towards the door. Since they had the time and not much else to do, exploring this new option seemed at least slightly more reasonable than anything else.

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"…Wait, it glittered?" The young woman shifted how she was sitting on the desk, lying across it with her head hanging down the side so she could watch them.

"Well, the light certainly bounced around like it does if you shine a light on something covered with it." Klavier shrugged. "It was hard to tell, since I couldn't see well." Propping their head up with one hand that was leaning against the arm of their chair, Klavier watched her scribble something down with such a serious expression of intent that they were just as worried by it as they had been by the police officer's bored disbelief.

She flipped to the next page in her notebook. "Weird glitter blob thing, apparently into cars or something. Gotcha. What else?"

They'd just gotten a bit further into the story when the front door opened. "Kay, we still have those files from the theft case from last month, right?" The newcomer barely even paused in taking off his jacket as he took in the scene in front of him.

"Of course. We're a serious and professional PI duo, aren't we?" she said, kicking a leg into the air as she rolled off the desk.

Had Klavier had the mental space to think about it, they would have been grateful to the exchange for giving them the time to process the situation. At the moment, they were a bit more occupied with how much their mind and heart had begun racing.

Sebastian. Klavier had hoped they'd see each other again, but this soon, and under such circumstances, weren't exactly what they'd been picturing.

He turned to them, a hesitant smile. "Sorry for interrupting." To Kay, "I'll be back to help in a minute." As he turned to walk towards the other side of the room, something clicked in Klavier's mind.

There was no air of recognition in any of his actions. And, after a moment of panic, that made sense, they thought. Last evening, they'd been reasonably dressed up, makeup and hair done up as well. Compared to them sitting here in a t-shirt and sweatpants, large-frame glasses, completely disheveled, wet and muddy and probably covered in leaves, they honestly couldn't say they would even recognize themself after last night's events.

That didn't stop Klavier from internally screaming as they realized it, though.