THE GRYPHON'S STOLEN COURAGE: CHAPTER 2
It wasn't long before the news of a new member began to spring its way throughout the band and its fans. The Hatter explained that it was the first time the keytarist ever joined a band; but after a bit of convincing, the anonymous musician was arriving from Wonderland that night of their rehearsals. Rumors arised as the clock neared the hour of arrival.
Thackery watched broken-heartedly as Alice and Tarrant warmed up by the keyboard with Absolem's fingers climbing up the keys. Their faces seemed to light up as their voices intertwined into perfect harmony. Thackery envied them, especially Tarrant who now held the heart of the female soloist.
"It's almost 6 o'clock." a voice declared, making the rabbit jump out of his thoughts.
Mallymkun was leaning against one of the support beams upstage, guitar strapped across his shoulder. Thackery nodded silently as he turned to tune the strings of his bass absent mindlessly. The mouse watched him curiously but from the giggles coming from the keyboard, it didn't take him long to understand.
"Oh." the guitarist mouthed silently and strolled towards a frustrated rabbit who plucked a key in detests.
"You're going to get over it in time." Mallymkun said softly, afraid his voice might get caught in the stage's acoustics.
"And how long will that be?" the rabbit asked desperately. He looked towards the mouse; eye's exhausted from inner turmoil and heart ache.
It hurt The Dormouse to see Thackery in this state of mind. It was probably the first time he had ever seen the optimistic hare put himself in such a dark place. The mouse sighed and placed a hand on the bass player's shoulder.
"That's up to you." The mouse stated.
And with that, he turned and left.
Thackery stared after him, contemplating the mouse's advice. Dumbfounded, he placed his bass on one of the stands and took a seat on one of the amplifiers. He crossed his stripped panted legs, his arms, and quietly retreated to his thoughts.
Just except it already, The Hare commanded himself.
He groaned and placed his face in his hands. This wasn't going to be easy. He had always fantasized about the day Alice would say those three special words to him with such sincerity; nothing would make him happier. He peeked through his hands only to be greeted with the unwelcoming sight of the two leads giving each other a peck on each other's lips. That small peck of affection had the rabbit shelter his eyes once more.
As the rabbit fell deeper into his depression, he felt a tap of the shoulder followed by a small, quiet 'Excuse me?' Thackery lifted his head.
Standing there, expression of concern on her face was a girl. Not any normal girl that Thackery had seen before; she was different.
Golden streaks shimmered against her, thick, dark, brown hair that was let loose to hang over her shoulders. From what the rabbit could discover, there hanged a lightly browned feather with two small green beads attached. What he also noticed were two small horns that peeked out from the top of her head. She sported a trench coat on top of a dark brown tank top and plaited skinny jeans that hugged her legs in perfect fit. She stood at what seemed to be only 4, 9" however her black buckled boots appeared to play a part adding at least a foot to her height. Her copper eyes struck the bass player, leaving him frozen.
It was peculiar. In just an instant, The Hare found himself in a much lighter mood.
The unknown girl stood there with guitar case in hand, her body language showing signs of awkwardness as a silence formed. Its manifestation broke.
"Um," she spoke quietly, her eyes wandering the stage as she watched it getting set up. They finally made their way back to the rabbit. "I am looking for Tarrant?" she stated questioningly.
Dejection filled back into his chest, and with a sigh, pointed toward the keyboard upstage. The girl followed his direction, and spotted The Hatter conversing with Absolem. With a barely audible 'thank you', she walked away.
Thackery let out another sigh and hitched on his base. As he adjusted the strap, from the corner of his eye he could see Tarrant and the mystery girl chatter. As The Hatter chatted away, she only nodded. If she did say anything it was hard to hear, but from what it looked like, hesitation was amidst; Tarrant seemed to make a lot of rebuttals till finally it was settled. From the expression on the girl's face, she didn't seem confident.
A couple minutes later The Hatter offered his arm to her who shyly took and let him lead her center stage.
"Everyone, I am pleased to introduce Amari, your new band mate!" Tarrant announced.
The band had circled around the newcomer, who shrunk behind her host. Alice, who had scurried in excitement to Amari's other side let out a small giggle.
"Come on!" the singer teased pulling at her arm gently, "We don't bite."
"Much." The Cheshire cat added, grinning wickedly.
Amari began to retreat a couple of paces and the Dormouse whacked the cat in the shoulder.
"What? I was kidding!" Cheshire hissed back at the mouse. Mallymkun only rolled his eyes.
Thackery stood silently in the circle, trying to get quick glimpses of the young musician. Alice had locked arms with Amari, keeping her out in the open for the rest to meet her. Slowly one by one, each member introduced themselves. The drummer gave her a small wink which made the young girl blush softly but coward a little bit next to Alice. Tarrant gave him a glare as the cat sauntered back stage. The hare had never seen anyone shyer than himself, but for some reason when he introduced himself, she timidly stretched out her hand to shake hands. It took the rabbit off guard, but took her hand welcoming.
In that quick instance when their hands touched, Thackey began to feel that 'light' feeling again. Their eyes met for a quick second till Amari quickly drew back her hand. Thackey gave a quick little nod to Tarrant and made his way back to his bass guitar. As he walked away he could hear Alice's voice jingle in joy as she lead her new girlfriend to the dressing rooms. When the Hare made it to his little corner, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"She seems to have taken a liking to you." The Hatter professed.
Thackery looked back at The Hatter, his arms crossed across his chest, a smile played on his lips.
"What do you mean?" the Hare asked innocently.
"Oh don't pull that crap on me dude." Tarrant joked. "I saw it!"
"Saw what? You're not making sense." Thackery retorted.
"Oh I'm not making sense? Yeah, okay, sure."
Fed up with the Hatter's riddles, he pouted and turned back his attention to his bass. From behind he could hear the cocky Hatter snicker. But as the snickering died, Thackery found that he was actually more pleased than frustrated. Holding up his bass with one hand, he glimpsed down at his free one. He could still feel bit of a tingling sensation where she had grasped it. Her hands seemed to 'fit' into his; sort of like it was meant to. He felt his smile grow a bit larger and returned back to his bass. Maybe the Dormouse was right. He'll probably get over it.