"So much shit going on it's getting hard to keep up..." Tsiriu said to himself, sitting on a stump deep in the woods behind his school. He had his acoustic guitar in his hand, and was going through a song he had written for someone special to him that had died recently, trying to save his life. "Why? Why'd you do that? You could have followed me down to the ground!" he yelled, talking to himself as he played.

Karrah was walking on her way back home from school, practically skipping with joy, finals were over and she was completely free from now on, albeit she was only fifteen and still a freshman, she was glad to have passed the year quite successfully. She had her iPod out and was listening to System of a Down when her iPod slipped out of her hand, and fell. The weight of the player was too much for the pressure put on the plug of her headphones and it popped out. The music stopped.

She heard a little ways away a person playing a guitar, after a moment or two she heard a voice coming from the general direction of the guitar playing yell 'Why? Why'd you do that? You could have followed me down to the ground!' then she heard the music stop and the sound of footsteps walking away.

"Spying huh? That's not too nice. You never know who's a better spy then you." a voice came from the trees above.

Karrah jumped, she hadn't heard the person come up behind her she turned tentatively around and...

"Look up."

She did so, and jumped slightly when she did "What're you doing so far in the woods?" Tsiriu said after jumping off the branch, leaving his guitar in the tree.

"I-I was just walking home, it was a sunny day so i decided to walk home the long way, and i was listening to my iPod when i dropped it and heard somebody playing a guitar"

"Alright. What did you hear?" Tsiriu said.

"I heard only a few moments of it, some guitar playing that'd take me another year to get close to being that good, and since I'm assuming that's your guitar up there and you were just playing, you yell something about somebody not going to the ground with you" she replied a little warily

"Shit..." Tsiriu said, looking down. "I'll make you a deal kid. You keep quiet about this entire meeting and I'll give you lessons. Sound good?" he added, looking her in the eyes.

She stared at him shocked, she'd wanted guitar lessons for so long but her parents had never bothered to spend the money to get them, "For guitar lessons? Of course. But one condition, don't call me kid, i can't be more than a few months younger than you" she answered back with the sort of tone she used when she was arguing with her parents.

"Then whaddya want me to call you? And quit the parent argument tone." Tsiriu queried

"First of all, my name's Karrah, Karrah Serian, yours?" she asked of him meanwhile sticking the pick she always carried in her pocket into her mouth and chewed on the tip

"Tsiriu. That's all I remember. Lived alone for longer then I can remember. Now, before we begin, I need to see if you'll understand the lessons I give you. I'm gonna play that song you heard and I'm gonna ask you what you heard in it afterwards. Understand?" Tsiriu stated, getting his guitar.

"Yeah," she replied, wondering how they were going to have lessons without her having a guitar, she shrugged inwardly and watched as Tsiriu climbed and jumped cat-like up the tree to where his guitar rested peacefully between two branches

"Not bad climbing Karrah. Here's the song." Tsiriu said, closing his eyes. He began playing what would have sounded like a happier song, but to one's who played, knew otherwise. The song was, in truth, one of the most sorrowful ever written. Even though it was an instrumental, it was like Tsiriu was singing through the guitar. His mind blanked out, the memories playing back in his head. A single tear fell from his eye, the song now sounding sorrowful. Lasting for thirteen long minutes, Tsiriu opened his eyes. "The question is, what emotion did you hear thirty seconds in?" Tsiriu asked, his face dark.

"I heard..." she paused for a moment as she thought. "I heard happiness, but in that happiness there seemed a knowledge that it was too good to last very long, and then..." she couldn't finish as she noticed the true sorrow in Tsiriu's eyes and she stood transfixed, just as she had done when he was playing.

"Well Karrah?" Tsiriu said, his voice deeper then it was before, taking his normal tone for when he talked to those he didn't trust.

"Um..." she started, wondering what he meant

"Is that all, just happiness?" he clarified, loosing hope in her.

"Hell no," she replied indignantly, "you said the thirty seconds in, nowhere past that."

Tsiriu sighs.

"There was so much sorrow in that, that was one of the saddest songs I've ever played, it seemed happy in the beginning. But then, after that thirty seconds, it all got really dark and sad, did you write that song?"

"Yes, I did write that song. And I'll give you lessons. I haven't seen someone with as much promise as you since her..." Tsiriu's voice trails off. "That song was called The Heart's Flame. It took me an hour to write it. It was the only song I've ever written without a guitar in my hands. Not many musicians can even write that much and be satisfied with it. Alright, your lessons start tomorrow. Meet me here at this time and I'll show you where you will get your lessons. Perhaps we could be friends?" Tsiriu said, pushing the memories back.

"Friends?" Karrah tried to remember what it was like having friends. Ever since she got her guitar, she'd gotten more and more interested in music and playing than in her social life, but then the memories came flooding back, and biting down hard for a second on the guitar pick, she finally spoke. "Yeah sure, it's been a while since I have had a friend,"

"Really? Good, it's my first time I've come to trust people after ten longs years. This should work out well then. We can relearn together." Tsiriu said.

"Heh, yeah, there's one way of putting it," she replied laughing slightly

"Alright, it's getting late. Your parents are probly worried Karrah. Get home." Tsiriu said, sitting back down on the stump.

"What about you?" she asked suddenly curious about her new found 'friend' "Why aren't you at home?"

"I, I am. My home is a little deeper into the woods." Tsiriu said hesitantly.

She looked at him inquiringly. "Hey, look, if you need a place to stay, I'd be more than happy to let you stay at my place, our house is too big for me, my parents, and my little brother anyway" she said hoping to gain some trust with him

"Don't worry Karrah. I've lived on my own like this for as longer then I remember. I built it myself, rebuilding it when my skills had improved enough to make it noticeably more comfortable. I've got everything I need. I've even rigged up the nearby river for power. I'm living quite comfortably, almost like I'm living in a dorm. I'd like to visit though, if that's alright. I'll show you my home tomorrow before your first lesson. Sound good?" Tsiriu said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

She tensed very, very slightly, when he touched her shoulder. She hadn't remembered what it had been like to have somebody care like that; her parents were always too busy and her little brother didn't like her much anyway. "Sounds perfect. By the way, my parents won't be home, at least, not for another two hours or so, so I'll cook dinner, don't worry, I'm not like a bad cook or anything." she replied happily

"Ok. Forgive me if I seem a little nervous, I'm not exactly the trusting type. I'm nervous about simply trusting you enough with showing you where I live. So if I seem a little untrusting, don't be alarmed, ok Karrah?" Tsiriu queried. Noticing her shudder, he withdrew his hand quickly. He didn't even know why he did that, he just, did.

"Okay, I know what your saying, I've done the same thing, I just suddenly stopped caring whether I was hurt or not, I just became numb to it i guess," she said starting to walk towards her home, plugging her iPod in she extended an earphone towards Tsiriu "wanna listen? Its system of a down,"

"Sure, but plug these earphones in. I've played with them a bit, making them like speakers if you flip this switch."

Tsiriu flipped the switch, and the music started coming out like a large speaker.

Karrah got really wide-eyed and she felt a slight burst of excitement come out. "Oh my god, that's awesome!" she exclaimed and without meaning to, without even thinking about it, she jumped towards Tsiriu and hugged him

Tsiriu's arms flew around Karrah from the impact, and they just stayed there, like they wanted to. Blushing slightly, Tsiriu gently pushed her away, looking away himself.

Karrah blushed furiously and looked away, thinking all the while to herself why did you do that? IDIOT! "Sorry," she said while her face burned, she turned back to turn up the music but she found that he was smiling at her, and she continued to blush.

"It, it's alright. Don't call yourself an idiot Karrah. I didn't exactly stop you after all. Come on; let's get going to your place." Tsiriu said quietly, his voice almost at a whisper. Anyone could tell he hadn't done things like that too much.

"Okay" she said still feeling like a fool then her favorite song came on, and she started to hum the lyrics to herself, slightly forgetting that she was in different company.

Tsiriu started outright singing, albeit quietly. He took out his guitar and put the strap on it. Playing along to the song, he began to sing a little bit louder. He was great with the guitar, but he was just as bad at singing as he was good at the guitar. For the first time in a long, long time, he was actually having fun. His life was pretty much about survival, getting food and harvesting water, treating it, making the generator better, sparring with the gang groups that came his way, weight training at the local gym, stuff like that. All the while though, his heart and mind ached. His mind because of the knowledge he had acquired through his life, most of which people his age should not know about for another few decades. They rounded a corner when he decided, cautiously, to let his subconscious take over just a tiny bit, and his hand crept up to Karrah's slowly, grasping it so gently she didn't realize it. In her head, he could see them both on that very road; only their hands were openly clasped. The music was playing a bit louder as well.

Tsiriu: Well, this is my first 2-author project, not sure about Lifelessness. I think it's turned out well so far, whaddya you guys think? If you want to see more of my writing, here's the link:

Tsiriu's Profile

Savinglifelessness: Here's my profile too!

Lifelessness' Profile

Both: Btw, when we answer reviews, Tsiriu will be T and Lifelessness will be L, just to cut down space and typing time.