Completed A Dark Hallway with a New Torch (Kysanthe, Flashback)

[Vaas]

A quiet hush descended across the hall as the Enpharian dancers took the stage, Vaas couldn't see a thing, but he can tell by the audience uncomfortably shifting in their sets and a occasional nervous coughs. Vaas can tell the dance must be enticing to say the least. Vaas overhears a couple giggling to each other later into the dance. Vaas hears a man's voice say jokingly to the woman next to him, “Do you wish I had two more hands, honey?” Vaas hears the woman giggle and says to her significant other, “Only if you look like him, dear.” The man laughs and continues watching the performance. Vaas raises an eyebrow wondering what the Enpharian really looked like. Were they humans with four arms or could they have more than four arms? Could theses people be born with a odd amount of arms like three or five? From the woman reaction how attractive are the Enpharian really? This is something he will have to ask Krysanthe after the performance.

As Vaas sits there waiting for the music and the dancing to end, Vaas realizes he might of revealed his backup plan to Krysanthe if his situation with the Valintar goes goes south tommarrow. He bites his lip and starts to wonder if she thinks him a coward for actually leaving the safety of Wind Reach. He really doesn't want to leave the Inarta, but if he is assigned to the Dek caste. He is really not sure if he will survive because he is way to opinionated for his own good. Vaas never really saw himself as a person of manual labor like cleaning or let alone being anyone's servant. He frowns to himself and shakes his head thinking it is stupid to think about this during a performance. He listens for any reaction to the performance from Krysanthe, but from her silence she must be caught under the dancers' spell. He smiles to himself wondering if she is mooning over the attractive male Enpharian dancer. He won't bring it up knowing what he knows last night. She gets really uncomfortable with certain situations. She can't control. He figures he will have to bring it up when they are older and more comfortable with themselves.

Vaas listens to the music play and notices the next song must be a love song since the music started to switch from a vigorous rhythm to a more soothing and sensual melody. He smiles to himself and leans back in his chair. He tries to picture in his head a couple dancing to the music. In his inner mind, he pictures the couple dancing close to each other. Their movements are in sync with each other. Both dancers trying to let their bodies meld into each other. He closes his eyes and tries to envision them dance under the touch light in his hallway. The dancers with four arms dance in his hallway in his mind until the performance ends. He is jarred from his imagination by the sounds of loud applause to the performers. Vaas stands up and congratulates them with a loud applause of his own.

Vaas decides to take the opportunity to stand up and stretch. He can hear the crowd start to make their way to the exits. He can hear by their reaction that most people seem to enjoy their show tonight. He turns to Krysanthe and says to her with a grin,“I hope you had fun Krysanthe. Shall we make our way out or should we hold off until the crowd thins out a little. If you want, I can walk you home. I figure it could be a good opportunity to get to know each other once again.”

[Krysanthe]

Amazing. Astounding. Moving. Unreal. To call it a dance was practically an understatement. Krys was astounded by the performance. Sure, many of her fellow Inartan’s couldn’t get past the fact that these creatures had multiple arms, and judging by the initial looks that the dancers themselves gave the audience at the beginning of the performance, perhaps they weren’t too fond of the red-headed race in return. But Krys, well, she loved it. She loved them! Their dance was incredibly acrobatic. Their poses and pantomimed movements painted a vivid picture of a story. It was a beautiful story. A sad story, yet somehow happy just the same. They moved as individuals yet at the same time moved as one. Krys thought that the arms would get in the way, that they would be awkward and strange, but they weren’t. They were wondrous. Their movements were smooth, creating magnificent forms. It was quite the show. The kind of show even a woman who was not a frequent attendee of concerts such as this could appreciate. Soon enough, the show was done and the dancers disappeared. The audience gives a standing ovation, hooting and hollering, perhaps more interested than what Krys had initially assumed. She joins the crowd, clapping wordlessly at Vaas’s side. He stretched a bit as the crowd made their way to the exits. The shift of such a massive amount of people almost made Krys feel sea sick. She had never been one for groups. “I’d like to wait out the crowd, if that’s alright.” She smiled, remaining standing, watching the crowd slowly dissipate. She didn’t make any comments on accepting or rejecting his offer to walk her home. After a moment, she commented casually “So… That was some show.”

[Vaas]

Vaas can tell by the volume of crowd the amphitheater must be starting to clear out rather quickly. Suddenly, Vaas feels a cold breeze come down into the concert hall, and he wraps his arms around himself and starts to shiver. Even if it is mid spring, the night winds coming down from the top of the volcano can still chill a person to the bone. Vaas rubs his arms and thinking it would be great if the Inarta customs and norms would include men wearing shirts. This will definitely will be brought up if he makes it to the caste Avora. He smiles to himself thinking this conspiracy must of been started by some boy crazy woman elder that started this absurd fashion trend for the men. He reaches down into his backpack and pulls out his wool scarf and wraps it around his neck. He gives Krysanthe a weak smile, “Sorry... I am kind of a freeze baby. I have a extra scarf if your also cold.” He rubs his hands together and responds to her statement about the show.

Vaas smiles when Krysanthe is the one starting the conversation. He nods in agreement and says, “The Enpharian music was spectacular. I am curious on some of the instruments. They were using during the show. I never heard them before. The flutes the Enpharian were playing made a sound I never heard before, but all the flutes I know don't come close to ever capturing that sound. I might have to go Abnatep sometime and learn how to play that particular flute. They were playing.” Vaas stops starts envisioning playing the flute with multiple hands. He laughs to himself and says to her with a grin, “Picture this Krysanthe. If I had four hands like the Enpharian, I wonder how hard it would be playing a flute. I would be either amazing, or all my twenty fingers would get all tangled at once trying find the holes.” Strange thoughts for a strange individuals, Vaas' vision was funnier in his head, but Vaas still laughs at it despite himself. He kneels down, grabs his back pack from under the chair, and picks up his staff.

When he stands up from grabbing his things, Vaas takes a drink of water and says to her with giggle, “The dancing must have been amazing too. From what I heard from the audience around us. The dances were definitely exotic and vivid from some of reactions people next to me.” Honestly, Vaas has a bad habit on eavesdropping on other people conversation. Even though he is blind, his hearing over the course of his life to the place of his eyes. That mostly likely the reason, he has a ear and love for music and peoples voices. Curious on her thoughts on the concert, he asks with a warm smile, “So, what was your thoughts on the show?”

[Krysanthe]

Krysanthe watched Vaas as he plastered his arms to himself and started to shiver. Krys never really got cold. She had a scarf for a while but sold it long ago. She just never used it. It might have been because her vinati had a turtle neck, or it might simply have been that she had a high tolerance for low temperatures. Plus, men of the volcano never wore shirts. Krysanthe didn’t see what the big deal was. Was it a macho thing, freezing their bare backs off? Why couldn’t they just get over themselves and put on a shirt? Then again, that would be like asking a woman to cover her stomach. It just didn’t happen. Still, she turned down the scarf offer. Flutes? There is more than one kind? Krys always thought that a flute was a flute. A ‘different kind’ was a different instrument, not just a different form of the same instrument. All in all, she had no idea what Vaas was talking about. She really had no reference point. The flutes they were using were a different sound than normal flutes? What did normal flutes sound like, then? She tried to ease her mind and attempted some sor of chuckle at Vaas’s image of twenty fingers unable to play a flute. That was another thing Krys hadn’t thought of. Was the orchestra all Enpharian? She didn’t bother looking. Was that why their flutes sounded different? Did they sound different at all, or was Vaas just over thinking it? No, of course they did. Vaas knows music. Then again, he was always talking down about himself, and he was blind. There was only so much he could do. Krys mentally slapped herself. Sometimes she just wished she would stop thinking. Good. He changed the subject. Well, sort of. The dancing? The people next to him? Were they talking? She hadn’t noticed. Normally she was far more observant, but today she was intent to watch the concert. She pretty much tuned out any comments from the surrounding audience members. “It was amazing.” Krys stated with a smile. She rethought her statement, following it up with “Unexpected. Different. A little unnatural. Nothing like I have ever seen. But amazing.”

[Vaas]

Hearing silence accept for a few scattered voices, Vaas tightens his scarf. Krysanthe described the dance as unexpected, unnatural, and amazing. With these words as description, he figure the dance was hauntingly beautiful with dance moves few Inartan would rarely get to see. Vaas turns to direction Krysanthe voice and says to her,”Thank you. Even if I can't see the dance, I love hearing other peoples reaction to it.” He turns to the direction of the exit and says to her, “I think it cleared out enough. We should leave before the cleaning crews kick us out?” He flashes her a silly grin and makes his way to the exit. Having been to enough concerts and performances, Vaas has memorized the layout of the amphitheater fairly well. Suddenly he realizing the night is almost over, and the anxiety starts to build up in the pit of his stomach. Tomorrow is judgment day for the young musician, and this realization started to once again sour his cheery mood as he makes his way to the door.

Tomorrow is the day everything will change for the young yasi. Vaas already seeing his fate close in around him. And his fate will be decided by the voice of the Valintar. In school, Vaas was never treated like a normal student, and he never given the same opportunities as the other students. He was never taught how to use a bow, and he was never taught the procedures for glassblowing. The two major skills most Inartan children are expose too early in their education. Normally students would choose between the two skills to see where their interests lied. The archery teachers told Vaas what was the use in shooting a bow if you can't see the targets, and the glassblowing teachers told him it was way to dangerous for the other children and him to learn glassblowing. They were right of course, but it still hurt not getting the opportunities to try. Luckily Selia exposed him to music at a early age, and he took up the flute. In school, he joined the yasi choir and there he learned how to sing. Honestly, music wasn't Vaas' first choice. He wanted to pursue his childhood dream. He wanted to become the first blind Endal, and prove to the his peers, they were all wrong in labeling him worthless. It wasn't the teachers who called him worthless. It was his peers and the bullies that thought him as a easy target. Honestly, Vaas only accepted Selia tutelage of the flute because at the time, Vaas thought music was the only way to keep himself out of the Dek caste. Today, music has turned into his outlet for escape from the harsh reality of his world.

Once again Vaas starts playing with the pinion. He received the night before, but this time his anxiety has taken the best of him, and he stops right before the door to the amphitheater. Listening to the sound of her footsteps, he doesn't turn to face her, but he asks none the less, “Krysanthe, would you still be my friend if I was made a Dek tomorrow?” Vaas frowns at the simplicity of his question, and in his reality, he thought this was a valid question to ask her. Feeling nausea fill his stomach, he nervously starts spinning the pinion in between his fingers, and he waits for her response.

[Krysanthe]

Krys nodded, feeling a pang of sadness for Vaas that he would never be able to see dance. He wouldn’t be able to see the sky. Or the trees. Or the birds. Nothing. Just darkness. And that was sad. Still, Vaas seemed happy being blind. More happy that Krys was with her sight, and that meant a lot. She followed Vaas with a dry sort of chuckle, bordering on a pity laugh. She wasn’t much of a laugher, but she would try if it meant making a friend. Vaas’s grin faded, shifting gradually into a rather troubled expression. Sad, worried, nervous, perhaps even scared. She wanted to ask what was wrong, but just as they reached the exit, he stopped, voicing his concern. Her first thought after he asked his question was something along the lines of: Still be my friend. Still. What? Yay! I made a friend! Mission: accomplished. Ha! Take that, society! Of course then she realized what his question actually was. If he was made a dek tomorrow. Oh, so that’s what this is all about. Judgment day is a frightening one. It doesn’t matter who you are. There will always be uncertainty and fear, which explains much of Vaas’s behavior this evening. Krys wished she had an excuse for all her ramblings other than the fact that she is just not good at talking. Oh, right, she was supposed to answer a question. After a long pause of simply thinking, Krysanthe ended up spouting out the first thing that came into her mind. “Of course, Vaas. Caste doesn’t matter to me. You’ll still be you and I’ll still be me, and I mean, unless you’re planning on completely uprooting your personality if that happens, then I definitely plan on staying friends.” Alright, so it was a little rambly, but better than it could have been. Her explanation was simple, and she hoped it would be clear. Krys knew that the Caste system was efficient and helpful to maintain a healthy society in the colorful world of Wind Reach, but she thought it was sickening the way lower castes were treated. After all, they were all vital to the survival of Wind Reach. People just shouldn’t have the right to abuse the less capable. It wasn’t their fault they were disabled or not as smart or not as fast or not as good with their hands. Well, most of the time. You always had those slackers who wound up in the Dek caste just because they did’t try. Perhaps they deserved the abuse. No, no one deserved the abuse! Krys tried to shut up her thoughts. She always ended up confusing herself. She focused her attention on Vaas, not moving until he did.

[Vaas]

After hearing what Krysanthe said and by the look on his face if Vaas could see right now. Her would give her a big hug at this second, but he decides against the hug because she might panic and bolt afterwords. Vaas wipes the tears from his eyes and smiles at her. Ever since the nursery where he first met Krysanthe. Vaas made very few friends among his peers. Most students were either to involved in their studies of choice and had no time for friends, or they were aspiring to be Endal, and they were already getting the smug sense of superiority over the rest of the class. Vaas fell into neither group. Nobody wanted to hang out with a blind recluse, so he was a loner throughout school. This was part of the reason he was going to leave Wind Reach because he felt like he didn't have much of role to play in the city. Vaas' Inartan pride refuse to allow him to become a Dek. Foreigners compared being a Dek to being a slave. They weren't to far from the truth though even if the Inartan refused to acknowledge this reality. Since Krysanthe still wants him as a friend, Vaas has a reason to stay in Wind Reach. He wouldn't want to leave her all alone that just wouldn't be right.

Vaas stands up straight and he leans on his staff. He gives her a grin and says with a giggle, “I have a business proposition for you in the future. When you become a Avora Glassblower, would you be interested in bringing into your services a Dek named Vaas. He might be blind, but he has a strong back and a will of wind eagle. Yes, the down sides to him is that he likes to talk and talk and talk, but....” He points his finger at her to illustrate his point, and he continues his joke, “When you have a bad night at the glass melting shop this Dek can set your heart at ease. With reflexes of alley cat...” He pulls out his wooden flute, twirls it in his fingers, and he brings it to his lips. He laughs at himself and continues being a idiot, “This Dek with reflexes of a cat will turn into a music man just for your amusement.” Still twirling the flute in his hand, he gives her a extravagant bow and says without looking at her, “So will you accept my offer, Lady Krysanthe?”

When she answers his stupid question, Vaas stands up and says in a more serious manner, “Thanks for saying those kind words, Krysanthe. It is nice to hear. I don't have to face this alone. Tomorrow when your off of work, I will tell you how the meeting with the Valintar went.” He tilts his head and gives her some friendly advice, “Krysanthe, if I ever embarrass you to much, or if I start talking, and I don't seem to stop anytime soon. Just slug me in the arm or just tell me to shut up OK. I won't be offended or upset OK since we are friends now.”

[Krysanthe]

Krysanthe gave Vaas an incredibly obscure expression, grateful he wouldn't see it, or he might rethink the whole 'friendship' thing. Her eyebrows were raised and slightly gathered. Her eyes were slightly squinted, both confused and a little disturbed, and her lip slightly raised in an expression that read more clearly than anything else: What the petch? So he was crying. Okay. So it was apparantly a big deal to him. What just happened? Did she just inadvertantly help him make some big life decision? Eh, all in a days work. Krys would have rolled her eyes at herself if she wasn't so taken off guard by his little closing act. A business proposition. Really? Business? As if Vaas could be serious about something. Right, of couuurse. When she becomes an Avora glassworker. Right. Yeah. No. Will of a Wind Eagle? Really? He went with THAT metaphore? If there is one thing he got right, it's the talking. She glanced around. Krysanthe quickly became convinced that the few people that were left were staring. If there was one thing that she really detested, it was attention. ... A cat? A music man? Lady Krysanthe? "I... um... Yeah, if that ever happens." Krys felt the need to say something, all though all in all, she as at a loss. At this point, she had backed up at least three steps. She wasn't entirely ready to turn and run. She wasn't completely rude like that. That beings said, Vaas was getting very close to crossing that line of discomfort, which she has stretched considerably in the events of the past few days. Of course then he flipped some mental switch and became all serious. Krys didn't say anything at first, mulling the information over. After a moment, she nodded her head, her expression flattening, if not with a bit of a grin. Without warning, she took her hand, formed a fist, and jabbed Vaas in the arm. It wasn't violent, nothing that would hurt him, but it was enough to get the message across. She wondered how red her face must be. She felt like the temperature had risen ten degrees in this place since Vaas started talking. Feeling as though the notion of preferring silence wasn't enough to conclude the evening, she stated simply, "Well then I'll see you tomorrow, Vaas." Her voice was pleasant, although the embarrassment was clear. Still, everyone has that one friend that is just so ridiculous that they embarrass them at least once per encounter. She'd laugh about it later. She didn't have anything else to say, so instead she would wait the appropriate amount of time for some sort of counter-closing, and then turn tail and head back to her room. She really didn't need an escort, and quite frankly, she didn't want to risk being so embarrassed again. Oh Krys.. She thought in silence. What did you get yourself into?

[Sphinx]

Thread Award! Character Name: Vaas Skills: Playing Musical Instrument (Flute) +2, Socialising +3, Falconry +1, Observation +1 Lore: Cleaning a Flute, Song: Happy Little Arrow in Flight, Song: Hunter ans Eagle Caught in Storm, Meeting Krysanthe, Song: Little Sparrow Lost in the Wind, Attending a Concert, People Are Torches in Long Hallways, Eypharians: Physiology, Identification: Another Type of Flute Character Name: Krysanthe Skills: Glassworking +1, Socialising +3, Observation +2, Lore: Practise Makes Perfect, Song: Happy Little Arrow in Flight, Meeting Vaas, Song: Little Sparrow Lost in the Wind, Awkward in Company, Attending a Concert, Vaas' Sight, Eypharians: Physiology Notes: In my head, I imagined Krysanthe with a horrified expression on her face while Vaas stands there all proud with his hand on his chest, singing his loudest. It was a funny visual. If you have questions, concerns, or comments about my grading, please don't be afraid to PM me.