An Untitled Piece.

by Lyca

2; Bad Reputation Part 2

Octavia gaped at the pristine building as they drove closer. It was almost castle-like in its size and beauty. Beautiful white marble walls were laced with a richly coloured jade trim, and stately gardens tied it all together, along with the equally pristine marble fence.

As they approached the gates, Octavia found herself imagining how it would be to live in such an estate. She pictured herself strolling along through the gardens along with an enormously adorable giant malamute puppy.

She vaguely noticed the man waving them through as she found her mind wandering. Her imaginary puppy was romping through a flower bed, wobbling after a small chipmunk. Octavia would laugh at the antics, her hand delicately wraping itself around another's, leaning into h-

The bike stopped suddenly and the raven haired teenager found herself in a large garage. She gingerly took her arms from around Vinyl's waist and slid off the automobile as the blue haired girl shook her hair out of her face. Removing the helmet and windbreaker, she once again started to fuss with her hair, combing it with her fingers.

"Awright, Tavi," the rough voice practically shouted in her ear. "You can either wait here, or come with me." She decided to choose the latter, and proceeded to trail the shorter teen after she had put the bike away.

They went up a few flights of stairs, then quickly walked down an empty corridor, and Octavia soon found herself completely lost after multiple twists and turns. They were getting deeper into the heart of the mansion it seemed, as the only real light source was the many chandeliers above their heads.

---

Vinyl lead Octavia around the house, avoiding anywhere that would have given away the fact that she was the daughter of some of the world's most renowned music producers. Soon they were at the familiar hallway, littered with neon lights and glowsticks.

She played with the polce tape as she walked, rearanging some of it to suit her liking. Glancing behind her, the blue haired girl witnessed the puzzled look of her new friend as she gazed around at all of the glowing signs, many of which were quite elaborately made.

This hallway was solely illuminated by the signs, the overhead lights hanging forgotten above. here and there could be seen a handprint glowing resolutely on the dark walls, still shining quite brightly in accordance with their age. Some of them were from a long time ago, tiny in comparison to the more recent ones.

There were even a few of a considerably larger size, and as Valarie traced her hand over one of these, she felt a pang of loss. It had been nearly half a year since she had heard from her big brother, and despite all the news about him, and how well his career was going, she still worried.

It was a few minutes before she came back to reality, quickly continuing down the dark hallway towards her room. Once there, she held open the door for Octavia and walked in afterwards, gently shutting the girl's gaping mouth with a finger.

"Ah ah ah, no gawking," she chided, chuckling to herself. We'd best get out of here ASAP, before little miss prissy pants starts drooling. She glanced at her board and did a double take. Five spaces above hers, she saw it. Number 8; Sophia Philharmonica.

A memory came flooding back to her, catching her completely off guard.

A small girl, perhaps around eleven, was grumbling behind her mother, bored out of her mind. She didn't want to be here at this garden party, and even though she had wormed her way out of wearing a dress, the formal suit she had on was constricting her windpipe. Her hair was brushed down so that it lay flowing over her shoulders, and Valarie kept trying to mess it up, but to no avail. Her meany mom had placed a holding spell on it, knowing that the first chance the child got, she would ruin its neatness. She adjusted her glasses and looked up at the conversation between her mom and a taller lady with a nice smile. Her smile was nicer than Valarie's mother could have ever smiled.

The lady looked down at her, bright blue eyes swimming with laughter, and said in a beautiful voice, "My, don't you look dashing. I have daughters about your age, would you like to meet one?" The small girl perked up at the mention of kids to play with, nodding eagerly.

"Octavia Melody Philharmonica, stop pestering the ensemble and come say hi," her sweet voice rang out across the garden, signalling over a cute little girl with long black hair like her mom's and curios purple eyes.

"But Mother, I wasn't pestering them, I was simply asking them if I could try out their instruments," she protested, crossing her arms in front of herself. She then glanced over at Valarie and smiled. "I like your eyes, but those glasses simply do not suit you."

The child lifted an eyebrow, blue bangs falling neatly over one of her ruby eyes. "Yeah, well that dress doesn't suit you," she responded, looking down at the poofy scarlet dress with gold trimming. "You shouldn't wear something so poofy. And instead of red, it should be gray and pink, to bring out how cute you are."

The girl blushed, looking away. "I'm Octavia, and you are..?"

Vinyl smiled a wide goofy grin as she fixed her red rimmed glasses once more. "You can call me Val. Val Staccato."

The blue haired teenager glanced around quickly before spotting her target. With a practiced flicker of magic, she pushed it backwards to slip between her dresser and wall. She then used said magic to open her drawers and take out some more acceptable clothes.

From the corner of her eye she noticed the other's curious gaze and grinned sheepishly, ruffling up her hair. "I uh...I don't think your parents would want you getting a ride home from from a delinquent, so I'm just gonna get changed real quick."

With that, Vinyl slipped into the bathroom and disappeared from sight. Locking the door, she sighed. "That was a close one..."

---

Octavia was left to wait, and she found herself sitting down on the large bed, marveling at the luxurious silk sheets of a deep blue color. Needless to say, she had not expected this. She glanced up at the large board showing the rankings of the most popular musicians, pleased to see that her mother was still holding her place in the top ten.

Before long, the pure comfiness of the bed was too much for the young musician, and she gave in to temptation. She quietly laid back, so that she could rest easily on the mattress while her legs still dangled over the edge. Letting a sigh escape her slightly parted lips, Octavia closed her eyes.

However, after only a few seconds, her amethyst orbs shot open, now staring at a large german shepard's face. The dog proceeded to lather the shocked teenager with its tongue, and she instantly relaxed. She even let out a laugh as she scratched the beast's ruff, eliciting a low rumble much like a purr from its throat.

Tavi giggled like a child, hugging the dog to her. She hardly even noticed when the two toned teen slipped back out of the bathroom, adjusting her secret agent like glasses.

"Stand down, Seven," Vinyl chuckled, lifting the 160 pound puppy off of her new friend. She absently pet her head as she reached her right arm down and helped the taller girl to stand. "Heh, sorry about that. Seven here usually isn't so forward with her affection. Especially to new people."

The shepard placed a paw on the hand petting her and thumped her tail. It was just too much. Octavia kneeled down to resume her affections unto the animal, smiling as it again let out its purr-like rumble. "Oh, don't be sorry. Dogs and I get along rather well, so it comes as no real surprise to me that this cutie here is so happy."

As she looked up, a small frown greeted her from the DJ's face. She looked down at the collar adorning the darkly colored dog's neck and read the tag.

Guard dog 7; Interior IF FOUND DO NOT PANIC

"She's...an attack dog, isn't she?" the raven haired player asked as she slowly stood up. Vinyl nodded, and adjusted her sunglasses once again.

"But unfortunately, she's not getting her afternoon treat today." She signalled the dog away. "If you had been a robber or a murderer, we wouldn't have wanted her to be affectionate, now would we?"

The blue haired girl smiled as she brushed Octavia off. They then proceeded back down to the garage, where Vinyl led the teenager towards The Nissan GT-R.

"Motorcycles and parents tend not to mix," Vinyl explained, holding the passenger side door open for her. "Which is why we're driving this little number."

As soon as the two toned girl slid into the driver's side and started the silver car, they were off. Out the ornate gates of the property, where Octavia now noticed several other large dogs walking around. Back onto the larger backroads, and headed towards her home.