Rainbow Road
'This song isn't right!' Stal exploded, kicking his microphone stand so that it fell to the floor with a loud clatter.
'It never is according to you,' Arc muttered, quietly enough that the frontman – who was very obviously not in a good mood tonight – wouldn't hear him. He looked up, briefly exchanging glances with Loch across the room. Loch rolled her eyes tiredly; none of them were going to get any sleep unless Stal gave up soon.
'Goddammit,' the singer grunted, striding to the door and letting himself out. They could hear his thumping footsteps all the way along the corridor.
'Well,' Arc sighed, laying his drumsticks down, 'I guess that means we're done for the night.'
'Thank god,' said Loch, unslinging her electric guitar from over her shoulder and putting it back in its case. Arc walked past her, giving a nod of farewell before he left the room after Stal. 'Are you two going as well?' she added, eyeing the bassist and keyboard player behind her.
'I am,' said Gray, his voice quiet and calm as always. 'I want to sleep, but I should probably go and find Stal first... make sure he doesn't do anything stupid...' Shaking his head, he let himself out of the room, leaving Loch and Pyre by themselves.
Loch waited until she had finished putting her guitar back in its case before turning to see what Pyre was up to. She hated to admit it, but being alone with the eccentric keyboard player wasn't something she'd been hoping for. It wasn't that she was scared of him. People, no matter how odd, had never scared Loch. She just wasn't quite sure how to interact with him.
Despite her stalling, she looked up in time to watch Pyre switching off his keyboard and standing up. He yawned hugely, his gaze roving around the room before settling on her as if he'd only just noticed she was there.
'Hey,' he said, 'your house isn't near here, is it?'
She shook her head. 'It's about a mile south from here. I usually take the bus, but...' She glanced at the clock on the wall and nearly sighed. It was past eleven PM. 'The buses won't be running at this time. Maybe I'll take a taxi...'
'Why not walk?'
'I would, but... it's nearly midnight. And I hear way too many news reports about people getting mugged or killed in these parts of town.' She hated to confess that she was worried, but it was a rational fear. In a city like this, even being able to transform into a dragon didn't necessarily mean you were safe, not when the people attacking you could do the same thing.
Pyre hummed and nodded slowly to himself as though coming to a decision. 'Well then, I'll walk you back,' he said cheerfully. 'It'll be safe that way!'
Loch eyed his tall, skinny frame and four-inch heels that surely must be impossible to run in. Well, what choice do I have? At least if we're together, we can protect each other if someone attacks us. Much safer than walking home separately.
'Sure,' she replied, not voicing any of her doubts. With her electric guitar now safely put away, she slung it over her back and started walking for the door, Pyre following close behind.
It was just beginning to rain when they set foot outside. Loch brushed her damp fringe out of her eyes. After taking a moment to get her bearings (she still wasn't too familiar with this place) she started to walk briskly in the direction of her house. Pyre fell into step beside her, seeming to have no trouble walking in his heeled boots despite her concerns.
He didn't talk, and nor did she. Maybe he sensed that she had no idea what to talk about, and was kind enough not to try and force a conversation that was likely to go nowhere. Loch's mind was spinning. She really wanted to say something. She hated silences, especially awkward ones. And while Pyre seemed comfortable enough with it, she herself felt like she might explode from the tension if she didn't speak up soon.
They were nearly halfway back to her house when he suddenly spoke.
'We should try writing some songs without Stal,' he said thoughtfully.
Loch glanced at him, then kept walking, brushing her too-long fringe out of her eyes again. 'What, without telling him?'
'Yeah. I mean, he gets really upset if his songs don't turn out perfect, doesn't he? And we're probably never going to finish this album, unless somebody other than Stal steps in...'
'So... you think we should write a song on our own? Me, you, Arc and Gray?'
'Sure, if everyone wants to.'
Loch considered. It was a surprisingly good idea – Stal was making slow progress finishing his own songs and while she wasn't much of a songwriter, she could probably write something faster than him. Then she backtracked; Pyre hadn't actually mentioned who was going to be writing the lyrics. 'Who's going to do it?' she asked.
'Do what?'
'The lyrics.'
'Any of us could. You can, if you have any cool ideas. Or we could just forget lyrics and make an instrumental song instead.'
They lapsed into silence. Loch was thinking hard, trying to remember if she had seen or heard anything lately that could serve as inspiration for a song. Apart from practising music with the rest of the band and watching Stal fall apart over his perfectionism, the only thing she had done was play some Mario Kart.
I could steal one of the racetrack names for a song title. Which one, though? Which one is the coolest? Then she smiled to herself. Rainbow Road, obviously.
'OK, Pyre,' she said, looking up at him. 'I have an idea for something. Can you meet me at my place tomorrow evening? I'll ask the others to come too. And don't tell Stal anything.'
He nodded immediately. 'Sure, I'll be there. What are you planning?'
'Nothing big. Just a little song idea that's probably going to really annoy Stal...'