Beautiful Soul

Karma hadn't planned to stop on her way out of Hogsmeade, but as she passed the music store, something caught her eye in a window, and she had go inside.

Now, an hour later, she sat on the floor in the back of the store, strumming the navy blue wooden acoustic guitar, moving her fingers in an instinctual dance along the neck, testing each sound as she strummed. The shop keeper left her alone, and she began humming, tying the chords and strums together to make music.

She'd never even picked up a guitar before.

She didn't want to put this one down, now. The problem was, if she used the remaining money Ciar had sent her on this guitar, and its case, she wouldn't have any to pay for a way to get to Russia.

This was seeming like less and less of a problem.

She could just walk. It wouldn't tire her out that much. She'd probably just pull someone aside and compel them to take her to Russia. Then make her way from there.

Feliks stuffed his art supplies into his bag quickly before anyone - Namly Alek or Maks - saw them- as he slipped back into the music store.

The older two boys were talking ot some of thier band mates in the back of the store, doing one thing or another. Taking no notice of him - as usual. He wasn't even sure why he had been dragged along. One would think at sixteen he wouldn't need to be babysat by his older siblings.

But then again, maybe this was there - and Dad's - idea of quality time.

Shouldering his bag higher, not noticing that his sketch pad was still sticking out, he began to wander around the store. After a moment he noticed a rather attractive young thing looking at a guitar.

He smirked.

"Nice choice darling," his English being hindered slightly by his heavy accent, "But I bet you don't know a thing about playing it."

Karma glanced up at the boy, a sheepish smile flashing across her face. He wasn't that bad looking, really, but he was definately older than her, maybe by a year or two. Her fingers paused. "I can learn." She said decidedly. "Or am I to assume you know what you're talking about, and let you show me how its done?" She smirked before returning her eyes to the guitar. "I think I'll name it 'Lleve'." She decided. "For rain."

While letting a note ring, she patted the spot beside her on the floor, her hair falling slightly into her eyes. She didn't know this kid, but a little kindness probably wouldn't hurt anyone... and if he turned out to be a dick, shed just have to put him in his place. She stopped playing and offered the guitar to him. "Would you like to play?"

Feliks smirked and sat down beside her, his long legs streching out infront of him, blocking off peoples path but he honsetly didn't care.

"Well, Darling, I suppose I could teach you a thing or two," he consided with a shrug, and a smirk, "But you know... nothing in life is free."

He smiled slowly as she offered him the instrument. He took it holding it lightly in his hand. He let his figures trail over the strings before reaching up to tune it. Smiling slightly to himself, he closed his eyes and began to pull at the strings softly, letitng out soft melodic tune. As he got further into his song he began to hum along, finally slipping into singing softly under his breath.

"So long, I've been looking too hard, I've been waiting too long/Sometimes I don't know what I will find, I only know it's a matter of time."

Karma shrugged. "Never claimed I was broke." She countered easily. She watched him tune the instrument with calculating eyes. She hadn't even noticed it was out of whack. At least she could tell he knew what he was doing now.

She hugged her knees to her chest and listened, watching the boy beside her. His voice was... nice. Slowly... softly, she sang along, trying her best to harmonize, though her voice stayed softer than his. "It feels so right, so warm and true/I need to know if you feel it too..." She hummed softly. "Baby, I'm wrong... Won't you tell me if I'm coming on too strong?"

He looked up sharply as he hear her voice join in his. He flashed her a small suprised smile, but didn't stop playing. He was a professional after all, even if he didn't bother playing it much. Her voice was decent, though softer than his. He nodded his head at her once, before ducking it once more and going back to his song.

"This heart of mine has been hurt before, this time I wanna be sure ," he pause half a second running his fingers along the strings a little quicker.

"I've been waiting for a girl like you to come into my life ."

Karma grinned back a bit before looking away from him, resting her chin on her knees and focusing forward. She was still a bit self-concious about her voice. She never sang around anyone. It was... something she didn't share. Not with anyone but Arsen.

"I've been waiting for a boy like you and a love that will sur-"

"What have we here?"

Karma looked upward, and found herself looking at a boy she'd never seen before. He was older... older than the one next to her, at any rate, and she didn't like the way he looked at her. It was almost... indecent.

Straightening her spine, Karma raised an eyebrow at him, cocking her head to the side slightly as another, even older one, came out behind him. What was it with guys travelling in packs?

"Who's this tasty little treat?"

Karma's eyebrow was more into her hairline now, but her slight amusement completely disappeared when the closest one grabbed her arm and yanked her to her feet. She regained her balance easily, and raised an eyebrow.

"The name's Karma." She said, not sounding impressed. "And I suggest you let go of me."

Feliks playing started with an abrupt off key note as he glowered up at his brothers. He had actually been having a decent time.

So of course they would come and ruin it. Setting the instrument down carefully, he may not have had respect for somethings but instruments - just like his art, he respected that.

"Maks," he growled as he he pulled himself to his feet, his height pulling him eye level with the older boy. "You want to at least act like Ma taught you some mannors." His eyes flashed as he meantioned his mother, knowing that it would have the same pull that it had on him. To some extent.

He knew they had cared for her as much as he did. She was a good woman.

Maks smirked, but let go, "You were a little pitchy there, Little Fe, just so you know. You should work on that."

Karma rolled her wrist, smiling. "Aw, boys, don't have a disagreement over little old me." With a grin, she turned and punched the one who'd grabbed her in the nose, holding back most of her strength so she only fractured the guys nose. "By the way, the next time you raise your hand to me, will be the last time you have hands." She said cheerfully, stepping back when he reached for her again. "Don't you listen?" She slapped his hand aside, using just enough strength to break the bones she came in contact with. The boy started to fluently curse. "I told you not to touch me!" She chastised. She took no notice of the other boy, and instead turned back to the one she'd played guitar with.

"Do these goons belong to you?"

Feliks let out a surprise laugh as her fist made contact with Maks nose. The older boy swore loudly, but because he was Maks, didn't learn his lesson, and grabbed for her again. He didn't even bother to hide the grin as she snapped the hand.

It was about time Maks got what was coming to him.

Eventually wipping the grin off his face, he shrugged and shook his head, "Never seen them in my life."

To pull emphasise his point, he turned to go, but only got a few feet before Aleks calls brought him back.

"You forgot your bag loser," the older boy called out after pleas to help his brother didn't work. "What's this thing haning out of it anyways - Fe you aren't wasting your time on those foolish doodles are you?"

Growling Feliks turned around stomping back to grab his back and the discovered sketch pad out of his brothers hands, "Thats just something I took of some loser, not that its any of your buisness - why don't you focus on fixing Maks nose before the owner kicks you two out for his moaning."

Turning on his heal he started to walk again before stopping to smirk at the girl.

"You coming, or staying, darling?"

Karma smiled innocently at the boy she'd punched. "Aw, don't tell me a girl's punch hurt you that much, did it hun?" She grabbed his nose and twisted, pulling a whimper from the boy. "Toughen up, will ya?"

Turning from him to watch the other two, quite sastified by the older boy's tears, she grinned, nodding at the boy. "Coming, of course." She said, stopping to stoop down and grab the guitar by its neck. Sliding it into the nearest case, she shrugged it over one shoulder, throwing her bag of galleons in the direction of the counter. The store keeper caught it with a disapproving glare in their direction, and she blew him a kiss, effectively distracting him as she stepped out into the sunlight with the boy.

"Hey." She said suddenly, after they'd walked on for a while. "I don't know your name."

Feliks smirked, shouldering his bag, and holding his sketch book rather protectively under his elbow. He supposed he should put it away but that seemed like more effort than he wanted to bother with.

He didn't feel the need to fill the silence as the wondered along.

"Feliks," he nodded his head. "Feliks Chmerkovskiy."

"Karma." She said, shrugging. "Karma Black." She smirked. "Nice to meet you, Liks."

Her eyes caught on one of her favorite spots, a small hill behind some shops, shaded by a tree, and she took his hand and pulled him toward there, not thinking much of the action. She dropped his hand once they got there, and slipped out of the guitar, sitting and pulling it carefully out of its case. She smiled and strummed once. It sounded much better tuned.

She hummed, peeking around him at the sketchbook. "What's in there?" She asked curiously. "Can I see?"

"Liks?" he raised his eyebrows smirked, and shook his head. "Nice to meet you too Black."

He smirked a little more as she grabbed his hand, but besides that look, he did not say anything. He wasn't stupid - despite what people would say - he could tell when someone was just being friendly and when they were coming on to you.

Feliks smiled as she strummed across the guitar; it was beautiful instrument. It really was.

He was about to comment on it, when she commented on his book. He shifted in his seat, his shoulders hunching slightly.

"Its not anything really," he mumbled gruffly, trying to play it off as if he didn't actually care. "Just some... doodles." He grimanced as he repeated Alek's words, but the part of him that feared rejection couldn't bare to verbalize the importance the drawings actually had to him.

Karma rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, you should be able to come up with a better nickname then that." She teased. "That's just my last name."

She cocked her head to the side, and lifted her guitar off herself and toward him. "How bout we trade, then?" She asked. "You're much better at guitar anyway, and I wanna see them." She noted the gruffness of his tone, but ignored it in favor of the sketchbook itself. "Come on, don't be a loser."

Feliks smirked and inclined his head, "I'm just weighing out the options - wouldn't want to give a nickname to hastily. Got to let the ideas ruminate a bit."

The young boy rolled his eyes, and took the instrument. He relinquished the book slightly hesitatinly while trying to appear like it was no big deal at all. Too aleiviate his nerves as the girl held what basically amounted to his dreams in her hands, he set himself up with the guitiare again, and just began to strum the strings in a random order, not playing a song he knew, and yet still managing to make some sort of tune.

Karma raised an eyebrow. "Right." She said, obviously just believing that he hadn't thought of anything yet.

She took the sketchbook gingerly, slowly opening to the first page. Her eyes swept the art work there, before she turned the page, her expression impassive. She listened as he played, but just kept flipping through, until she was halfway threw the whole book, and had come across a blank page. She cocked her head to the side and flipped back in the other direction, the pages running together.

"It isn't fair, you know." She said, looking over at him. A smile split her face like the morning sun. "You being awesome at both drawing and music. It's like an unfair advantage." She opened to her favorite and showed it to him. "Look at the detail here! It's unreal!" She shook her head. "If this is only your doodles... I'd actually pay money for your work." she mused, grinning. "Which is weird, you know? I barely pay money for anything."

Feliks glanced at her, his expression blank to keep the fact that he was more nervous than he'd ever felt in his life locked deep in a secret. No one outside of his family had ever seen his drawings, and no one outside of his mother had ever encouraged him.

So when she said that she'd actually pay him for his work, stunned would be an understatement. His fingers spotted their playing for a moment.

"You're just saying that," he grumbled for once seeming defensless, and weak - how he usually always felt. "Thank you, but... I'm not good enough for that... though - I want to be, someday; its impossibly but..." he shrugged and kept playing before he stopped and really glanced at the drawing she had pointed out.

A smile pulled at his lips before he could stop himself.

"My Ma," he said softly, tilting his head to look at the drawing more closely. He had spent painstaking hours on that one, searchign every memory, and looking at every photo ot get it right. "I still think that ones missing.... something."

Karma shook her head and gently shook the sketchbook. "This is talent." She countered. "It may be raw talent, but its still talent." She cocked her head to the side, and her gaze on the picture softened. "Your mom?" She asked softly. She pulled the picture closer to herself, bringing her knees to her chest. It was almost that time again. The time near when her mother had...

"Let me see your art supplies." She said softly, her eyes staying lowered. "I think I know what it is." Her voice had softened sadly. She missed her mother.

Hesitantly, he reached into his bag again, and tossed her a small pencil case he kept all his penicls, earsers, and other materal in.

Feliks began to play again, plucking away as a smile grew on his face.

"Yeah," he repeated slowly, eyes glazing over for a moment at memories before he noticed she had gotten slightly quieter, more... "She died you know... Ma - when I was eight."

He shrugged and focused on his music again for a long moment. Humming some song to himself as he played along before looking at her again.

"I've tried to draw her lots of times since... that ones the best, but they are always..." he shook his head.

They were never the real thing.

Karma took the art supplies silently, opening the pencil case and running her hands through the many supplies, searching for the right thing. Pulling out the yellow colored pencil, she set to work, gently shading one side of the woman on the paper.

It took a few moments, but slowly, almost silently, she whispered it. "My mum died when I was five." Her voice grew bitter, but stayed light. "Had to bury her on my own."

She'd deserved better than the mound of dirt and heavy stone that proclaimed 'Mom' in childish writing, but it was all she got, and it was all she'd ever had.

She paused in her drawing, switching from the yellow pencil to the black one, and lightly shading on the oppisite side. Slowly, the woman on the page turned lightly more realistic, due to her slight shading. She was careful to leave barely any imprint, the focus of the drawing still Felik's, still his style and still his vision... just... more three-demensional.

As she shaded, she'd shifted into sitting crisscross, her short hair slightly falling into her eyes. She glanced over at Liks, before holding up the sketchbook.

"I fear I've ruined it." She said, sounding slightly scared. She didn't really think it was worse, but this was his mother. He could have wanted her a special kind of way and... it really wasn't her place.

"What do you think?" She asked cautiously.

"No one should have to do that," he said softly, as he let his fingers roam the instrument, his tune becoming sader more melencholly as his mood shifted towards that direction. The words of his song, as they drifted into one he knew, and seemed to fit the moment came softly to his lips.

"You say you feel so empty. That our house just ain't a home," he sung quietly, more of a murmur than actually singing, "I'm always somewhere else, and you're always there alone."

He turned to look at what she'd done as she spoke. He tilted his head as he looked at her shading. He nodded his head, smiling slightly.

"Better," he said softly. "I don't think it can every be perfect; but better."

Karma nodded, her face staying emotionless, though the corners of her mouth had a slight downward turn. "House elf helped." She murmured. "Wasn't that bad."

She took a deep breath, then gently laid the sketchbook between them, closing it with the soft sound of moving paper. She closed her eyes and laid backward, relaxing against the grass. For once, her defenses were completely gone, and her guard was nearly nonexistant.

Karma Black was vulnerable.

"Never can be perfect." She said.

Feliks nodded and kept humming, singing every few moments when he decided he liked the words.

"Cause me and the boys will be playing, all night," he sang the last line, holding out the final note until his fingers had finished the tune. He let the notes from the guatir ring in the air and die, before repeating softly, "all night."

He sat there for a moment, letting the silence ring out, before he finally glanced back at the girl. Feliks gave a little shrug and rolled his shoulders.

"I suppose nothing is perfect," He added as he continued to look at her. He squinted his eyes and tilted his head. The way the sun was leaning down and the grass...

Slowly he picked up the sketch book, and pulled his favourite sketching pencil out. Not even bothering to ask or tell her as he started to draw. He didn't like to tell people when he was drawing them. Then they began to pose, behave less natural, and it was harder for him to get a better drawing out of them.

Karma sighed, relaxing further. She peeked out at him from under her eyelashes, trying to see why he'd stopped singing. Noting that he was drawing, she grinned, humming under her breath but remaining motionless, closing her eyes again.

"We're the new face of failure..." She sang, her voice still soft, but not as self-concious as it had been before. "Prettier and younger but not any better off... Bulletproof loneliness... at best... at best... "