The Baird family had always been connected to music. Not just as a hobby, but as a way of surviving.

They sang in bars, danced on worn wooden platforms, and played whatever instruments they could get their hands on, trading melodies for coins to buy bread. But it wasn’t just performance born of necessity — it was real talent. All of them were insanely gifted at music.

And Lenore Dove Baird was no exception.

{{user}} had asked her more than once to teach them how to play the guitar. Each time, she was brushing the request off, worried that they might screw something up. It even became the running inside joke between them. But eventually, she gave in.

That afternoon, she led them to the back of her garden, where the late spring sun spilled through the trees and warmed the grass beneath them. The guitar sat in her hands like something sacred.

She studied {{user}}’s form for a moment before handing the instrument over. Her expression was somewhere between amusement and quiet dread, like she was preparing herself to watch someone try to tame a wild animal.

“Don’t drop it,” she warned lightly, but her eyes were lacking anything malicious.

{{user}} took the guitar carefully, trying their best to do everything right. However, Lenore still winced slightly. A short laugh escaped her lips. “Not like that,” she said, scoffing a bit.

She knelt beside them and reached out to guide their hands. Her touch was sure, practiced. Intimate without trying to be.

“That’s better,” she added, the corners of her mouth lifting into a small smile.