Amusing muse

<font color='#FFFFFF'>OOC:

Kaeus Irora
1900
Male
Creating Music (A)
Creating Lyrics (A)

Tria 17, 81377 (3)

IC:

A smaller 'dragon sat in the courtyard in the shade of a low tree, the branches spreading in a wide circle and the sunlight printing bars on his body. His light periwinkle shade looked almost white in the pure sunlight, and his midnight blue frock of hair a dark ash. His deep azure eyes scanned the paper that lay on the grass before his indian-style crossed legs, as he tried to make sense of the hurried fret work he'd scribbled down during a random bit of midnight inspiration. At the time, it had seemed an amazing progression, totally original and avant-garde, but now it just seemd like a bunch of dots on a bunch of square grids.

Once he'd understood the basic chords, he leaned back and strummed his guitar idly, resting his head on the tree and closing his eyes as his clawed fingers slid easily up and down the guitar's neck, finding chords, and the other strummed a relaxed but quick rhythm. The tune itself reminded him of a lover running away through the warm wine of sunset, but he could never write lyrics. It just seemed impossible for him to fit the rhymes and the rhythms over and over, verse after verse. After a while he just wanted to break loose and jam on a solo. But he restrained himself for as long as he could, finally loosing himself in the music and humming

OOC:

Sorry it's so short... my friend invited me to the waterpark today and I'd have been an idiot to say no, so I wasn't able to write the post until now, and I'm kinda tired. I promise my posts will be better from now on!</font>

 

<font color='#FFFFFF'>Kaeus had just fallen into the swirling abyss of the music when he was sharply interrupted, a bright light and grappling hook pulling him back up to the surface of the world. Ah, reality... he thought to himself as he looked around. Then he looked straight forward, and found himself looking into the eyes of a young female pendragon of an extremely blue-green hue. Next to her sat a male of pitch black, and extremely groomed. And holding a lute, which Kae recognized fairly quickly as he had played it in his Introduction to Instruments class as a small child.

Responding to the question that had jerked him out of his musical bliss, he spoke timidly, for it was not every day that two strangers came to interrupt his creative process. "My name is... ah... Kaeus."

Then he turned to the male with the lute. The lute was what interested him most, as he had thought for a while that he was the only musician in Janardan. "Do you play that?" Well, of course he did, why else would he be carrying it? But Kae realized this too late, and couldn't recall his question. Silly, silly, he scolded himself, awaiting the reply he already knew in advance.</font>

 

<font color='#FFFFFF'>Kaeus blinked at the stranger named Nurano. So he didn't play, after all. Kae turned his velvet blue eyes to focus instead on Nafel, the musician of the two, who nodded and admitted her music skills. "...I'm a musician here, I hardly ever see another one out here. What's your primary trade? Mine's composing music."

Kae thought for a moment, still recovering from the shock of being intruded on by complete strangers. The intrusion was not altogether unpleasant, but it created an odd feeling in his stomach. He didn't have much training in the conversational arts. "Mine's composing music, too," he told the lute-playing 'dragon, with a hint of pride, but just a hint.

"I'm a Spy by trade," Nurano said, "but my secondary trade is Elemental Magic, as is hers." Then he added with a chuckle, "You look a bit overwhelmed. Do strangers not come up to you and start conversations every day?"

Kaeus smiled. It was always easier to be around someone who had a sense of humor. "Not really," he admitted with a shrug, gaining confidence little by little.

It wouldn't be bad to make some friends, Kae thought to himself. And these two seem very nice...</font>

 

<font color='#FFFFFF'>Kaeus felt slightly put down at Nurano's comment, but he let it roll off of him like drops of water off of a leaf. He didn't want to feel bad, not on a day like this and with other 'dragons like these. He wanted to feel good, not lonely or guilty or depressed. He tried to concentrate on good feelings...

"That's really neat! I hadn't met many other people here outside of my classes, 'cept for Aiolos, Meira, and Kujai. I'm actually going to change my trade order, probably. I want it to be Elemental Magic for primary. I'm... er... Never mind," Nafel said. Kae was puzzled. She was what? He didn't get it. But it would be rude to ask her about it, as she obviously didn't want to go into it. She quickly switched the subject and asked about how long Kae had been attending Janardin, and if she could play his guitar.

"I've been attending this school all my life, but it's my first time here in the courtyard," he answered to the first question. He had avoided this place, wishing to avoid contact with others. This was the first year he'd been brave enough to venture out here during his lunch break. In answer to the second question, he began, "Um..." but found he didn't much want to let anyone touch his guitar. It was his special thing, like a blankie but more useful and much more beautiful. It was really a beautiful intstrument, twelve-stringed and with pearl inlays marking the frets. But against everything that he wanted, he decided to let her see it. He wanted friends. He needed friends. So he'd try to be nice, just this once.

He carefully held out the guitar to her, a slightly pained expression on his visage that he tried to hide with a smile.</font>

 

<font color='#FFFFFF'>OOC: Haha. I like the last paragraph... (: I'm very silly.

IC:
Nafel took the guitar silently, looked it over for a few moments, then handed it back. An audible sigh of relief escaped Kaeus's maw when he realized that nothing had happened to his baby. He understood now that Nafel knew how to handle these instruments, even if for some reason she did want to switch her major.

Nurano spoke up then. "You've lived here your entire life? Are you related to one of the teachers?" Kae wanted to slap himself for giving an inaccurate answer. He tried to correct himself. "Well, not all my life... All my schooling life. Like... since I was 9, I think."

"It's a beautiful instrument," Nafel spoke next. "Where did you get it? I've never seen that type of work on a guitar before."

"A friend of mine, Christian Martin, made it for me," Kae answered. "He's apprenticed to a master guitar maker, Johann Staufer. The pearl was totally his idea, though, and he's been selling so many instruments that he's thinking of quiting his apprenticeship and starting his own company. He wants to call it the Martin Guitar Company."</font>

 

<font color='#FFFFFF'>"My family?" He asked, to make sure he had heard right. He wasn't exactly sure why they were on the subject of family. At first, the conversation had been about music, then trades, then how long they'd been attending the school, now families. It was an odd conversation to be taking place between three pendragons on their break from classes, but it was better than no conversation, Kae supposed. "My whole family lives on Ajita. My mother is a classical guitarist who writes music on commision. She wanted to have me trained as a classical guitarist, so she sent me here at a very early age. But I hate classical guitar," he admitted with a sigh.

He looked over at Nafel, who was looking slightly forlorn. Kaeus didn't want to ask her about her family; based on the way she'd been commanding the conversation, he assumed that if she hushed up when one subject rolled around, she didn't want to talk about it. Kae wondered if her family was mad at her, or she hadn't seen them in a long time, or maybe even if they were no longer living.

He looked to Nurano for some clue, giving the spy-by-trade a questioning sort of look to signal his confusion. What's up? he asked silently, though he doubted anyone could hear it because he did not possess the skill of telepathy.</font>

 

<font color='#FFFFFF'>"A... a dance tune?" Kae asked the spy, slightly amazed. He knew a few, as did anyone who'd picked up a guitar, but he was unaccustomed to playing them in public. They were just practice for him, to work on his fingerings, paw positions and picking. He had never played for anyone to dance to... he'd never even been to a dance, and didn't know how to move his feet. He was always slightly embarassed to admit it when he recieved the occasional hatch-day-party invitation, and to politely decline with some excuse about sudden illness. Social events would be better off without him, the lonely guy in the corner pondering why he'd even dragged himself there.

"I know a few..." he admitted after this train of thought. Turning to Nafel, he asked, "Do you know 'The Merry Traveler'? It's that upbeat waltz in C sharp minor, my least favorite key. Seven sharps," he added, and for effect he gave a slightly contrived shudder. "It's fancy on a lute, with some simple chords in the guitar to keep the melody straight. If you don't know it, it would be easy enough to pick up, I think."</font>

 

<font color='#F9DAE9'>OOC: I just realized I really great piece that everyone knows for two string instruments would have been Greensleeves! I love Greensleeves. I just recently found out that it's a Christmas-time song, but I still have no idea why. Oh well. And I've never heard of Banish Misfortune... I'm not really into that Celtic stuff. I listen to alternative rock and I play mostly romance-period pieces. On the piano, that is. I have no idea how to play the guitar. On the piano I kick much, much ass, though. I can fly up and down my sixteen octave C# major scales (two octaves up, two octaves contrary and the two octaves back, two octaves up and then back down two octaves, two octaves contrary and the two octaves back, then two octaves down).

IC:
"Yes, that's the one," he replied to Nafel after listening to her snatch of song. She had the skills, all right. Kae didn't see why anyone would want to quit the business of music, but he couldn't see into the girl's mind.

The periwinkle pendragon watched the quick exchange between Nafel and Nurano. They seemed so happy just to be around each other. He was glad for them, and wished for once that he could be happy around others. Or that special one other, if he ever met her. For a moment he remembered the golden-haired 'dragon in the drawing Ninevah had done for him, but he put her out of his thoughts quickly as he knew she was just a work of fiction.

Nafel turned to grin at Kae, and he smiled back. "After we play Merry Traveler, how 'bout... Banish Misfortune? Key of G Major, and either lute or guitar can play melody."

"I've never heard that one," Kaeus admitted after listening to the few bars she strummed for him. But G major is a good key. I can play it if you yell out the chords," he said told her with a joking smile on his face. "So Merry, then Misfortune. Sounds like an interesting set to me. Ah one, two, one two three four," he said in rhythm, before plunging into the accompaniment to Merry Traveler's melody.</font>

 

<font color='#F9DAE9'>OOC: This is only my seventh year of piano, but I've been studying like a mad person. I'm one of those people with the old asian lady teacher who practices for two hours a day. I played recorder for a year in third grade, but that was just because the school shoved them in all the third-graders' mouths. I still remember my old elementary school music teacher pointing at the poster on the markerboard and saying "Now to play G you put this finger here..."

IC:
Kaeus was delighted with the music. With two parts the simple tune was gorgeous! Nafel was talented to the point where she could make seasoned concert-goers drop to their knees, and the things she did to the melody sounded fabulous. Duets were a lot of fun, he decided. Perhaps he and Nafel could play together more often...

They finished Traveler and came up to the piece he'd never heard, Banish Misfortune. G major, he thought to himself. How hard could it be? As Nafel called out chord names, Kae found that his reflexes were quite fast and he was more than able to keep up. He caught on after a while and didn't need the chords from the lutist, and she went off on little trills to show off to the heads that were turned their way. Kae was just beginning to notice the eyes on them, and it made him feel slightly uneasy.

Kae looked over at the turquoise pendragon and found her waiting for him to call the next title. He thought quickly, Transitions... go to the relative minor or just the minor, or to the fifth? The second is interesting too... Oh I don't know. When in doubt, Kaeus often chose to delegate. Calling out to Nurano, he asked, "Is there anything you'd like to hear?"</font>

 

<font color='#FF66CC'>OOC: Fush. Piano pieces are meant to stay on the piano. Like... Debussy's famous Deux Arabesques. You take either one and try to put it on recorder, not only would you need three mouths, three recorders and six hands, but it would not sound as good without the dynamic and tone quality thet you can only get on piano and string instruments that are bowed. Pshah! I'm very protective of my piano. *hssss*

IC:

Kaeus was now completely aware of the eyes on them. And it was not at all a pleasant feeling. He looked around him and all he could see were eyes watching, boring into his soul, scouring his conscience for anything he was trying to keep secret, trying to keep to himself. All watching. All waiting for a mistake, waiting to embarass him, waiting to make him feel worse than he had ever felt before... all those 'dragons... all those eyes... all those mistakes... all those secrets...

Kae vaguely heard Nafel in the distance calling out "I Lost My Love to a Sailor," but he was almost completely oblivious to the real world. All he could see around him was darkness and eyes and all he could hear was laughing and crying, so when she moved on to the next piece he continued to play Banish Misfortune and the discord sounded all throughout the courtyard. The clashing of two distinctly dfferent chords was even enough to bring him to his senses, and his bowed head was raised with a jerk, his eyes wide in surprise. Looking around, he saw that there were only twenty or so students watching them, not the hoardes he had been imagining, and most of them were watching over the tops of books or as a distraction from the afternoon's homework. He also realized that he'd stopped playing.

Quickly picking up his place in the familiar folk song, he felt so embarassed that he knew everyone would be able to see him blushing underneath his periwinkle blue pelage. Quietly he said to Nafel, <font color="#3366FF">"I'm sorry,"</font> as he played along with her melody.</font>