From the prompt: "Silent strains of music..."
"A Day and a Night in the City"
Tobias sat on the street corner swaddled in rags, face streaked with grime, hands cold. He kept the violin tucked firmly under his chin, hands loose but steady on the bow, fingers trilling the strings expertly. He eased into The Devil�s Trill Sonata, ever his favorite song, and played it as loud as he dared, a smile curving his lips.
Businessmen and women in smart, pressed suits passed quickly, some tossing coins into the boy�s open violin case. He�d smile and call out a �thank-you� for every ring of a flung coin but continue on playing. He slid into Pachelbel�s Canon in D when a shadow fell over him, offering a reprieve from the harsh city sunlight.
�You play well on a wonderful violin,� the man said. �I�ve been hard-pressed to find someone as good as you for my orchestra.� He leaned forwards on his cane. �Where did you get that violin?�
�It was a gift.� Tobias kept on playing.
The little girl tugged on the man�s sleeve, hands working fast. The man signed back, then patted her on the head.
�Jane wanted to know what you sounded like,� the man told Tobias.
�I�m flattered that you think my playing sounds heavenly,� Tobias answered.
Before the man could ask, he said, �I make it a point to know all the important languages.� He set down the violin and the bow, signing to the girl. �Would you like to hear me play?�
She nodded eagerly. The man seemed doubtful, but Jane leapt forwards when Tobias beckoned.
He cupped his hands over her ears and �shifted her into her self, DNA unaffected by an infant illness.
She stepped back when he released her, eyes locked on him.
He lifted the violin and began to play, gaze meeting hers. She began to sway slightly to the music, entranced.
The old man gaped as the little girl opened he mouth to sing, matching Tobias note for note.
A small crowd gathered, but Tobias didn�t acknowledge the sudden rain of coins, just kept on playing. When the song ended, amidst a burst of applause, the little girl leapt forwards and drew Tobias into a tight hug.
�Thank you,� she whispered.
�You�re welcome,� he whispered back.
She pulled away and went back to her grandfather, slipping her hand into his.
Tobias waved a farewell and lifted his violin again.
(Smart move, champ,) Gabriel told him sarcastically. (You�ll be all over the news or something now. How is that being discrete?)
(In someone else�s body, I�m always discrete,) Tobias answered. He smiled up at an old woman and switched to a jaunty tune, a jig she�d probably danced to in her youth.
When night fell, the small blond violinist was gone from the street corner, all signs of his former presence burning in a fire-bin. Tobias crouched in the shadows, waiting, eyes slit-thin against the darkness. Target would be in range any moment now.
He saw the man sauntering down the sidewalk, whistling an airy tune. Tobias grinned, feral. He could already smell the blood.
And he leapt. The man went down with a cry, and Tobias sank his jaws into the soft, white throat and hung on, heady, intoxicated by blood, oblivious to beating fists, bent on stilling the thrashing body beneath him.
He didn�t really care about discretion now.
�It�s a wolf!�
�A wolf is attacking that man!�
Tobias jerked his head, the blood ceasing its flow, and he stepped back.
Mission accomplished.
He trotted back into the shadows, licking his lips, and paused by his violin.
He reared up on his hind legs and �shifted into a human boy.
A good and a bad. A day and a night in the city.
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© Agent Duo 2004