Astrid wiggled in her seat. It was going to be an awesome day. Ever since she'd found out that Cait, a fellow member of the X-Men played the violin professionally, she'd wanted nothing more than to be able to play with her and possibly learn from her.

And then they would braid each other's hair and talk about wonderful things, and-

She was getting ahead of herself. Astrid composed herself and held her violin more steadily on her lap. Maybe Cait wouldn't want to do those things. She really didn't know the Scottish woman all that well, anyway, so who was to say that she'd go for anything about the situation?

She did, to Astrid's delight, agree to play with her. That much was for certain. So, Astrid sat waiting for her in one of the offices in the top of the hospital that the X-team had rented, plucking at her strings distractedly. It was already tuned, and there were two chairs and two stands set up and ready to go, so all that had to happen was for the redhead to show up.

Astrid just hoped that she would be as in to all the ideas that she had as she was.

Cait had hardly been able to hold in her excitement when Astrid had asked her to play the violin with her. She'd always wanted to hang out with her but had never been able to come up with a reason. Then Astrid had handed her a neatly wrapped excuse. It had taken more self control than she'd thought she had not to hug her then and there.

With work and the missions she was always one, Cait always struggled to find time to just sit and play. She'd have leapt at any chance to, but being able to with Astrid, the thought made her giddy. She just wished her bus hadn't been late as she rushed through the halls of their base, nodding to the others about. This was one appointment she dearly didn't want to be late for. At least she had managed to not leave her violin on the bus. Again.

As she neared the room, she slowed her pace, catching her breath. Giving her materials a once, checking she hadn't lost anything this time, then pushed the door open. "Hi, really sorry about being a wee bit late," she apologised as she walked in, "buses were a nightmare." Finding an empty place to put her various bags and violin case, she turned to Astrid smiling broadly. As always, as soon as she laid eyes on the wings, Caits fingers twitched. They just looked so, fluffy. From the first time she'd seen them, she'd wanted to touch them. Or pet them. 

Blushing slightly, she focused on why she was here, rather than let her thoughts get the best of her. Astrid had already set up everything they'd need. Apparently all that was needed was a certain scotswoman. "I'm so glad you asked to play, Astrid, I've been looking for another fiddle player for ages." Growing up she always loved being able to play with others at school.

Picking up her bag, she pulled out some sheet music and handed it to her. "Is there anything in particular you'd like to play or shall we try something fun first?"

"That is alright," Astrid beamed as she watched Cait walk into the room, her accent thick, even in her excitement. She knew full well how terrible the bus system could be, and didn't blame her for being a smidge late. Sure, Astrid didn't have to use the buses, but with threats walking around, it was generally safer if she didn't shove her mutation in too many people's faces if she didn't have to. Besides, Astrid really hadn't minded waiting.

She followed Cait's line of vision over to her wings and then smiled brightly. People often stared at her wings, but often with expressions of disgust, not of interest. "Would you like to touch them?" she asked her, shifting in her seat a little so the angle would be better for her. Her wings were like any other part of her body, really; she didn't mind if people touched them, but she did like to have warning first.

"I am excited too! This will be a lot of fun," she wiggled with excitement, her wings shaking a little as she did. It wasn't very often that she was able to play with other people that cared as much as she did for the instrument. Sure, she got to play at school, but so many of the other kids were apathetic toward music, and that didn't make for an enjoyable environment.

She took the sheet music that she'd been handed and set her violin down in her lap in order to use both hands. Most of the music was very different from what she typically played, but that made it even more exciting. One of the best parts about music was that anyone from any culture could enjoy it. Plus, it looked like she was going to find out a bit more about Cait, which was a plus.

"Something fun!" Astrid decided and handed the stack of papers back to the woman. There were far too many from her to choose from, so she let Cait pick, figuring that she could make a more informed decision. "Do you have a favourite?'            

Cait nearly lost it when Astrid offered to let her touch her wings. She'd already half reached out towards them before she had to stop herself. "I'd really love to, sweetie, but maybe after we play. Probably best not to get distracted yet." Good to know she just had to ask though, she was definitely going to take Astrid up on that offer. God, they even shook when ever Astrid moved. No, she had to focus on why she was here. Plenty of time for the fluffiness later.

Fun, fun she could do. She'd squirreled out plenty of sheet music for pop songs over the years and she loved playing them but a favourite? That was hard. There were ones she always came back to, especially when at work. "Ooo that's a tough question," she started smiling warmly, "there's so many I just love playing it'd be hard to pick just one." Quickly scanning some of the music she had brought with her, one stood out. Smiling at the title, she set it up on one of the music stands. "This one is just so enjoyable to play, I think this would be a great starting point." The songs name was just so fitting to the mood it caused. "You familiar with much Pharrell Williams."

Slowly opening up her violin case and taking out her instrument, she gave it a quick check for tuning. Sighing at how out tune an adventure on the New York buses had managed to make it, she quickly re-tuned it. She also made a mental note to have it checked out at a music shop, it's strings had been slipping a bit too much lately. Maybe the next time they played, she'd bring her electric violin, see if Astrid had tried one before.

Softly closing the case again, she stood up and stretched, loosening her muscles. Playing while tense was just the worst. Peeling her jumper off and laying it over the back of her chair, she looked back at the excited young lady sitting across from her. "Right, I think we're ready," she began, a big grin on her face. "Have you done any warm ups or would you like to do them together?"

"Alright," Astrid nodded and smiled. Shiny things and fluffy things could be very distracting - that was a fact that she knew full well. She did, after all, have one of those things on her back at any given moment. Luckily for her, she'd grown accustomed to having them there, so she didn't find them as distracting as other people. Otherwise she would have never gotten anything done.

Cait set out a song on the music stands, and it immediately registered with the young girl. 'Happy', by Pharrell Williams had always been one of her favourite songs. The lyrics were so wonderful, and it had such an amazing beat. It still amazed her that anyone could dislike the song or be annoyed by it. It was like being annoyed by sunshine! Impossible!

"Of course!" Astrid grinned excitedly. She ran her fingers along the page, giving the notes a quick glance over before they played them. It was going to be so fun. "I love this song! It is so happy and lovely. Do you play it often?"

She picked up her violin and rested it under her chin, plucking out a few notes distractedly. "I did a few warmups before you arrived, but we can always do more. Maybe some arpeggios and scales? Do you have a favourite key?"

Astrid had always been partial to E flat major. It was such a joyful key. 

Caits smile broadened when Astrid recognised the music. Playing something you both enjoyed was a truly great experience, one she was glad to share with someone so obviously excited about it. "I thought you might like it and yes I get to play it fairly often. It always gets a good response when I'm working. No one can be grumpy when they hear it."

"Someones prepared. Were you excited to play with me or something?" she teased lightly. She completely ignored the fact that she was probably the more excited of the pair. Cait had always wanted a little sister, someone she could be giggly and girly with, and a cute little sister with fluffy wings? What monster could say no.

"Its always a good way to start, I don't know how many times dad had to remind me that you have to start at the basics." That was one set of lectures she got a lot. As for a favourite? "Mines probably A major. Its pretty much the most common scale used in fiddle music and its one of the first I learned." Her first few years of lessons would always be precious to her. 

"If you could lead actually, It should give me a good idea of your skill." It had nothing to do with wanting to see how her fluffy wings would move as she played. At all. 

"Oh, and just say when you think we're all warmed up. I can't wait to begin playing with you."

"Maybe a little bit," Astrid admitted, feeling her regular-coloured face grow flushed. She had actually been very excited to play with Cait. She seemed so cool and happy, and when Astrid had found out that she played the violin, she'd been over the moon. Then, when she'd found out that she would actually get to play with her, her excitement levels were nearly uncontainable. She'd bounced around her apartment for a good few hours after she'd received the news.

Astrid nodded and grinned. "A major is lovely. Let us start with that, yes?" She hummed to herself, matching pitch with the notes that came from the strings that she slid her bow along.

She played a scale, a scale in thirds, and then an arpeggio before switching up to the next major key. From there, she repeated her pattern, expecting Cait to join in whenever she was ready.

Once they had played the warm up in five keys, Astrid stopped playing and looked at Cait. "I think that we are ready to start playing. Do you?"

She was eager to start playing the song that the woman had picked. 

Letting Astrid start, Cait followed her direction. She wanted a better idea of her technical skill, and having her take the reins made concentrating on that easier. She was glad of the warm up though, her stress already melting away with the simple exercises. Cait would never complain about her work, she loved it really, but being able to just play for fun. That was what she loved the most. Being able to share that with someone else so passionate about music made everything that much better.

As they warmed up, she kept Astrid in the corner of her eye. Music was so important to her and she was so happy seeing other people equally as passionate. 

Once they'd finished, she could see her feathered companions eagerness to start playing, not that she could blame her, she was just as anxious to start. "I think we are Astrid. Why don't we play through it once together to start with, then we can try with the harmony after?" Generally she prefer running a song through at least before getting into harmonies. Having the timing and flow of the song in her head to begin with just felt right.

"This, is going to be so much fun," she said, grinning at the young woman standing opposite her. Stepping back slightly to give them both room to move, she counted down before launching into the song. She was glad of her choice, the songs name itself fit perfectly. It never failed to lift her mood and make her happy.

This was going to be a good day, she could feel it.

Astrid nodded, excited that she'd been given the go-ahead to start playing. She flipped through the pages quickly, trying to identify if there would be any tricky passages or key changes. For the most part, it looked like smooth sailing, so she figured that she'd be alright.

She tapped her bare foot on the ground, counting them in to a count of four. That was the nice thing about pop songs. You could always assume that they were in four-four. 

After the count in and a wait of five and a half beats, Astrid started the song. She expected that Cait would follow along with her in unison. Her fingers moved along the strings, keeping the syncopated rhythm moving along with the rise and fall of her foot. 

She was glad that the song was in A flat major since she wasn't sure if she would be able to focus on a crazy key signature on top of the funny rhythms. It didn't exactly help that it seemed to be missing the tenor and bass parts, either.

Luckily, she had Cait to follow along with. Her playing leant slightly on the older woman, using her notes and rhythms as a guide for what to play. They moved through the piece somewhat easily after getting used to what they were playing and soon came up to the bridge, where there was a descant.

Astrid took the lower part, which was easier to play and more in line with the previous rhythms and notes. The descant would soar above her part in long, slurred notes. She expected that Cait would be able to play it well.

As she played, she felt that same comfortable calm draping over her, easing away all her worries. Losing herself in the music was why she did this and why she put up with the stress of band work. All the late night gigs and tense phone calls proved to be well worth it when they could play for a crowd. Or play for a particularly excitable feathered companion.

Astrid was easily following the music, taking Caits cues for the rhythm and timing. Her ability to shift her playing from subtle cues was impressive, especially given the young woman's age. Even without the other parts accompanying them, the music was sounding beautiful, a hard feat with only a pair of violins. Cait loved the instrument, but its range was, limited, compared to some other stringed instruments. Few instruments, however, could produce such pure and amazing sounds, at least in her mind.

As they neared the descant, she was curious to see how Astrid would react and when she opted for the lower part, she happily took its opposite. Having both the parts playing together and giving the song even more life, she let the sounds take her, her body moving along with the music, dancing in that strange way violinists do as they play.

Few things in the world could ever compare to this feeling, she thought as she played. Everything she did, even join up with the X's was because of this. The world could be cold and nasty and cruel. Someone had to put some beauty back in. What better way than with music?

All of that could wait though, right now she wanted to just lose herself in the playing. 

The song ended in a unison tonic note, and Astrid held it out a little longer than she needed to, enjoying the sound of the two violins playing together in tune. After a while, she lowered her bow and instrument and set them in her lap.

"That was very fun," she smiled at Cait. "you are a wonderful player. Do you want to do some more or do something else?"

She leant over to peek at what Cait had for them to play and eyed the different scores. There were some interesting ones, many of which she had never heard of. She realised that she really wouldn't mind playing any of them. Playing with Cait was enough of a treat in and of itself, so the song really didn't matter to her.

"Oh! You can touch my wings now if you'd like!" she offered after a minute of realisation. She had seemed very interested in them earlier, so she made it easy for the woman to accept without having to feel awkward about it. "They look very pretty in the light when they are crystal, too."

Cait barely wanted to last the final note go and she got the feeling the young woman playing with her felt the same but every song has to end. Letting the room fall silent, she lowered her instrument, glad to have started with something so light to play. She even forgot for a second she wasn't alone, jumping slightly at comment. 

"Thank you Astrid, and it was a pleasure to play with you as well. Your lessons have obviously paid off, you were great." Returning the smile with one just as big, "I'd love to play something else. Why don't you pick the next one?" She was curious to see what Astrid would pick, and why.

Letting her see the various sheets she'd brought with her, she was lost again watching the wings move. They were beautiful. Cait couldn't imagine how comfy they'd be to sleep wrapped up in, your own little fluffy cocoon. This time though, when Astrid offered her a chance to touch them, she couldn't restrain herself.

"Only if you're sure. I wouldn't want to pressure you, or make you feel uncomfortable. Or hurt you." Not that she could stop herself now, already reaching out with one hand.

Moving over her seated companion, she could hardly believe she had this chance. Since she'd first joined the team she had wanted to do this. Now here they were, sitting in front of her and she had full permission to touch them. "Promise you'll say if you want me to stop?" Cait didn't really know how Astrids' wings worked, or how tough they were. She certainly didn't want to explain to Becca how she'd managed to hurt her daughters wings in what was meant to be a music session.

"You are not hurting me," Astrid smiled as she felt Cait stroke her wings. People often assumed that they were sensitive, but that really wasn't the case. If it were, she would have a lot more trouble when she bumped them into things. That happened a lot.

The stroking was actually very nice - like having someone play with her hair. She closed her eyes for a minute and stayed still, feeling entirely more relaxed. Shifting her wings could be straining on her muscles, so it was nice to have some time to relax on a regular basis.

After a few seconds, she shifted ever so slightly in her seat so that she could see the sheet music that Cait had brought with her, but not deter the woman from continuing to stroke her wings. It felt so nice, and she really didn't want her to stop.

Meanwhile, Seraph shuffled through the pile of sheet music. After going through a few pages, she stumbled on one that looked more than suitable. It was called the Flower Duet. Made for two violins to play in harmony, and it seemed like it would sound like pure sunshine. Who wouldn't want that?

"May we do this one, please?" Astrid turned around and handed the music to Cait.

Oh my god, oh my god, they were so fluffy! With Astrids' reassurance that she wasn't about to cause damage, all sense of holding back was gone. Gently stroking the feathers and marveling at the feel of them she started drifting off into a dreamlike state. They were just so soft!

It was such a strange feeling. In her mind it made logical sense that they felt like feathers, they even looked like feathers, but it was just so odd to be seeing and feeling them coming out of someones back. Being this up close to them, she couldn't help but marvel at how such fine things could make a person fly. They could even turn into crystal! That was so cool.

So deep in her own little word, Cait hadn't even noticed Astrid going through the music she'd brought, so when the young woman suddenly turned around, she got quite a shock. "Hmm, what sorry?" Taking the sheet being offered to her, her brain started to function again. "Oh, yes of course we can. It's a lovely piece, perfect for the two of us to play."

It was fascinating to see the choices Astrid made in terms of music. If Cait was guessing right, she was taking into consideration not just the song itself, but how it would sound when played with someone else. She could only imagine how popular a band with a literal angel on a violin would be.

Maybe with the right dress, and some well placed lighting, she could dominate an entire music hall. She was certainly skilled enough and would only get better with time. It may be hard to bring up with Becca, but it might be worth asking about considering such things for Astrid's future.

That very awkward conversation could wait though, they had some more playing to do. Picking her violin back up, she set the music onto the stand and shook the last remnants of fluffiness from her head. "Well then, shall we continue?"

Astrid grinned at Cait's response. She seemed to almost be lost in touching Astrid's wings, which, was understandable, but still very funny. The girl stifled a snicker and held her hand in front of her face. Sometimes it was interesting to realise that adults weren't as grown up as they seemed.

They were going to play her piece, though! That made her smile even wider. She was so very excited to play that song. It was about something pretty, and it was made for two violins. It was so perfect. So, so perfect. 

She wondered silently if she would be able to convince Cait to make flower crowns with her afterwards... but that was a thought for a different time. That time was for music!

"We shall!" Astrid responded gleefully. It was so nice to be on the same page as someone else. Especially someone that was as happy, if not happier than she was. As much as she loved the rest of the team, it was occasionally a little bit draining to be around so much negativity. And, as much as she was confident that one day, she would be able to make Agnes smile, she and Combatant just didn't click like she and Cait did. 

If someone had told her that one day, she would meet a woman with bright red hair who loved hugs and was never unhappy, she probably wouldn't have believed them. That was before she had met Cait, though. Before all the glitter.

Astrid raised her violin and rested it under her chin, her eyes scanning the sheet music.  After a second, she used her foot to tap out two bars of three/four counting and whispered the counting quietly under her breath. The first note was a quarter rest, so she waited until the second tap of her foot. Once again, she took the lower part, letting Cait take charge with the higher part; the melody.