Closed Creating Hope

[Gwin]

513 AV, Winter 66 Cerulean Pier As it stretched into the sea near the pier like a long finger, the Cerulean Pier held unusual fascination for the Akvatari. After exploring Zeltiva for a few days, she found herself returning to the water, sitting on the edge and staring out to the obelisks. To her, they were signs of the city itself, the curious bond between its scholarly and marine aspects. Two sides of a coin, two stone columns, yet of the same kind. The pier itself ended a good portion before it should end and rather abruptly. That appeared to be another sign, although Gwin couldn’t quite say of what. She merely liked sitting near the splintered edge, far away not to hurt herself, yet close enough to appreciate the view of destruction. Perhaps Zeltiva had embraced the sea and the sea had bitten like a wild dog. It seemed like something that happened in a city full of sailors and fishers. As the Akvatari rose from the water near the docks, the sun had already sunk below the mountain range in the west. She shook damp blond hair over her back as wings of turquoise glass beat the air rapidly. Soon she sunk upon the Cerulean Pier, casting a strangely shaped shadow upon students and lovers, before settling on the edge. First she wrapped the furry tail around her body to sit more comfortably, then she shook the violin case from her shoulder and opened it on the wooden planks. The act revealed an instrument of light wood, well-crafted and well-tended. Carefully, Gwin took it and began the process of tuning each of the four strings. Her ears recognized wrong sounds with dreamlike certainty and her fingers acted upon that knowledge. After that, she listened to the waves, steps and voices of passers-by. They were already circling around her, giving the musician enough space to practice her craft. Then a melody fell into her lap, she caught it and expressed it through the violin. As her bow moved over the strings and her fingers began their dance on the board, Gwin closed her eyes. The music had no name and no identity, just beauty traveling through the fresh air. It flew up with a few slow notes, soon increasing in intensity. Gwin lost herself in the melody firmly rooted in her mind. It was an Akvatari song, melancholic, yet unusual in its hopeful undertones.

[Fitznemo]

Samael was one such passer-by who, unlike the rest, did not pass by. The shifting notes that danced in the air around him grabbed hold of something deep inside of him that pulled to the fore all the things he had been hiding behind his recent work. He stood still, forcing others to weave around him abruptly as they all phased out of his perception, and stared at the bizarre creature that others ignored.

His filthy hands impulsively recoiled to hold his narrow frame while his sunken, dark, eyes stared on unblinkingly at the steady movement of bow and board. the notes continuing to swirl around him.

[Sinoa]

Sinoa Things of interest were becoming scarce with the cold weather and it was making Sinoa restless and he found himself day dreaming more than usual. Wondering aimlessly along the city in hopes of finding something inspiring, The Pycon's claw like horns suddenly began to twitch eagerly at some form of stimuli nearby. It was the sound of distant music notes that called to the Pycon and they sounded very similar to the music his Akvatari friend Yomphys played. Although this music seemed more lighter than the darker blue that characterized Yomphys's typical playing style, this new music was a turquoise, maybe even a pale green. Maybe Yomphy's was feeling happy about something, could she have grown an extra limb? an extra head perhaps? Sinoa had to find his friend and see what this new change could possibly be. Following the pleasant melody Sinoa eventually spotted the pellucid wings of an Akvatari as the setting sun shone through them. She seemed to have situated herself at the end of a broken pier. As the pycon got closer he noticed that the colour of her wings and hair had changed, sinoa was all to familiar with the changing of form but changing colour was something new. He admired Yomphis's green hair and purple wings and had mixed feelings about the sudden change, especially the wings as they were a similar shade to the lacy dress Sinoa had recently added to his regular winter wardrobe. The Pycon scurried along the wooden planks as silently as he could muster, making his way past a decrepit looking tall folk but stopped abruptly before interrupting the Akvatari's playing. He remained perfectly still with his usual neutral looking face, although on the inside he felt he would burst with anticipation, curiosity and excitement.

[Gwin]

Music : The notes were flowing so slowly that Gwin filled each and every one with vibrato, peace and a pale hint of hope. After a few moments she picked up the pace, yet kept to the peaceful and friendly theme, inviting and intriguing passers-by. Her play wasn’t perfect. Sometimes her fingers missed the right spot by an inch, sometimes her bow wavered on the strings, but she never lost focus. The melody she played was ripe with feeling and the way she played it communicated all that to listeners. Gwin hadn’t picked up the violin to improve her technique, instead she desired to express what had accumulated in her chest after several bells in Zeltiva. It was a place of peaceful learning and trade and she appreciated that, although it had its rules and its masses of faceless people like every large settlement. The melody was flowing like a steady stream carving its way through stone, thus added to the constant noise of the tides licking at the pier under her tail. It could’ve continued like that into misty eternity, but with time Gwin brought the bow down more firmly and decisively. The basic theme grew larger and more intense, climbing a hill before dropping and fading. As her bow hovered above the strings, the last echoes were swallowed by the white noise around her. She dropped her instrument and, blinking, looked around. In front of her stood a young human, arms wrapped around thin frame and a strange expression in his dark eyes. Those dark colors contrasted with his deathly pale skin in a frightening way. Gwin drank in his appearance and the aura he carried with him, but wasn’t sure whether to flee or to engage that curious creature in conversation. Finally, she took a deep breath. Why not talk to him if he’d listened to her music? Perhaps he hid a story behind his narrow frame, the spark to begin a new song with. Besides, he looked uneasy. “Hello there… Has my music upset or disturbed you in any way? You don’t look too good. If the piece I chose wasn’t to your taste, I apologize.” Her voice was as transparent as her green wings, barely strong enough to reach the listener’s ears, and carrying a faint trace of sadness. Large eyes caught the lights of sun and water as her gaze fell to the floor of the pier. Although she briefly noticed the tiny clay creature, she didn’t really recognize the breathing life in its body. As long as it stood still and harmless, she didn’t address it. Perhaps it had stood there before she’d settled down and unpacked her violin, Gwin didn’t remember.

[Fitznemo]

The off notes and quiver of the bow were not heard by Samael, the tone and emotion of the piece smoothing out the imperfections. There and then, at that place and time, no master of the art could ever have sounded better. He was there, in that stream, in that city, in that depth of feeling that had faded in him. He was there at the summit before the gentle fall, the release from the tide that had threatened to drown him.

Samael felt the passage of the final notes as they wound there way through him and away into the depths. He drew in a slow shuddering breath as the world around him began to filter back in and silence the whisper of a voice inside him with the meaningless tones and rhythms of the crowds.

Dark eyes in sunken sockets darted about, running a swift appraisal of the entity before them, until now very little of the source of the sound had been noticed. They flicked from the soft blond waves that flowed like a sea of liquid gold to the wings upon her back, there they followed black veins like a river in winter, splitting into tributaries away from the source and out to snake and surround lush green hills and meadows. Then on to the tip of flippers that followed a firm and solid tail furred in algae green before finally being drawn up again to eyes, eyes of crystal green like morning mist over the vale.

His dry throat added a graveled croak to his words that came at a frail pace, almost as if afraid that simply saying them would cause them to wilt and die
"...Not at all... Not in the slightest" His hands idly came together before him where they began to pick at dried clay that still held firm in places "..It was simply... more beautiful than I've come to expect of things."

[Cassius Cruz]

After being formally inducted into the University, Cassius had made note to explore more of the city. Coming upon an old, decrepit dock that appeared to have fallen into disuse, the mixed blood decided to take an opportunity to meditate on his recent decisions. The half blood had risked much in his abandonment of the seas, and he needed to put his mind at ease after taking in everything that life on the shore offered him.

Taking a seat at the edge of the dock, Cassius closed his eyes, emptied his mind, and bade Laviku to give him assurance and guidance for the tasks ahead. As he sat there, crosslegged and eyes closed in nirvana, the gentle sound of the crashing waves was pierced by some sort of instrument. Exiting his trance, Cassius looked around, hunting for the source of the longing tune. After a moment, he was rewarded with the sight of a young Aktavari, only three docks away from himself, playing a longing melody on a violin.

A lifelong music lover, Cassius watched as the woman played on, even attracting a small crowd to her side. A sickly man and a Pycon seemed to be her most devout listeners, the two of them staring in awe until the end of the tune. Cassius chuckled as the Aktavari opened her eyes and was slightly shocked at the small gathering before her. She was with her music as he was with his meditation; she exited this world for the embrace of another. Where Cassius' was a world of philosophy and pondering of thoughts, this woman's was a world entirely different, perhaps even unknowable to the listener.

Appreciating the obvious talent before him, and seeing that the musician was conversing with her listeners, the aspiring reimancer stood and walked over to the small herd to formally offer his praise. Seeing that the woman was still conversing with the sickly young man, and that she hadn't even seemed to have noticed the Pycon, Cassius politely waited his turn to speak up.

[Sinoa]

Sinoa The Akvatari's playing was sounding less and less like the musical stylings of Yomphis, while Sinoa had trouble telling people apart it wasn't as hard for him to notice small nuances in sound. Their method of playing and overall feeling was just too different to be coming from the same person. Sinoa was still a little unsure at least until the Akvatrai stopped playing and didn't even register the pycons presence. If this was really Yomphis she would have at the very least given Sinoa a friendly scowl or snear. Another thing that tipped Sinoa off was how polite and apologetic her iterations with the sickly looking tall folk were, Yomphis had far too much pride to ever care if someone liked her music or not. The realization that this was not his friend Yomphis was a little sad to Sinoa but he was still very happy to meet new people, especially other musicians. After the sickly looking Tall Folk responded humbly, sinoa took his opportunity to compliment the Akvatai's playing as well. "yes I agree with the sickly eyed tall folk, you played very wonderfully" replied sinoa in a voice uncharacteristically low for some one his size. "I'm a musician myself, but I play the flute" Sinoa said proudly before turning in the direction of the sickly looking tall folk "Do you play any instruments as well?" asked sinoa hopefully before immediately asking him another question "also is your skin made of porcelain or are you made of stoneware? I can't seem to tell, I'm mostly stoneware but with a bit of Terra cotta highlights from my mother." Sinoa quickly noticed another spectator had arrived and quickly spun around to greet him. "oh! hello I didn't notice you before, I'll ask you the same question do you play any instruments and what clay are you made from?" It then dawned on Sinoa that he hadn't had the decency to ask any of there names. "oh I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself to any of you, my name is Sinoa what is your names?" Sinoa said enthusiastically while contorting his face awkwardly in a sad attempt at smiling. Occsorry If I'm ruining the overall mood of this thread. If you want I'll try to be less silly, but I make no guarantees. "

[Cassius Cruz]

OOCHah, I don't mind personally. I think you're playing the part of the rambunctious Pycon quite well!

The first to recover the sudden verbal onslaught that had stunned all three of the larger beings, Cassius let a smile take his face. Taking a knee to bring himself closer to eye level with the Pycon, he inspected the tiny man of clay.

"I hardly believed my first interaction with a Zeltivan would be this low to the ground. But to answer your questions, I don't play an instrument, I am not made of clay, and my name is Cassius. Well met, Sinoa." Cassius shook the Pycon's hand, his enormous calloused hand truly exaggerating the diminutive stature of the clay musician.

Rising to his feet before Sinoa could launch another word barrage, he looked to the pale man and the violin player with continued mirth. "And well met to you all as well. I heard the music from farther down the way, and I couldn't help but complement its musician. May I ask your names? I'm sure the Pycon would still like to know as well."

[Gwin]

OOCNo problem, Sinoa, it's exciting to have so many different characters in a thread! Cassius, it'd be nice if you could stick to posting order though, otherwise people could get left out. Gwin tilted her head in mild curiosity as the thin human’s voice came out like a frog’s croak. He still seemed sick to her, but perhaps that was his usual way of existence? She couldn’t pinpoint his condition beyond that, although she found herself drawn to his appearance. Like a broken toy, he stood before her, hanging on to life beyond health and beauty. The tragedy of that concept held a fascination for the Akvatari and caused her to listen to his words with careful attention. “Music tends to escape expectations and create something entirely new. It works with moods and feelings. You can’t predict how you’ll feel a chime from now, right?” She sighed. “Expressing it makes the burden lighter, if only a little and for a short time span.” As she spoke to the sickly man, more people stopped near them, perhaps hoping for another performance or interested in conversing with the musician. Gwin felt a little uneasy, having the undivided attention of so many strangers, but now she had settled into the place with her instrument. Next a tall man stepped forward, with tanned skin, a strange hair style and short beard. He reminded her of something, although his eyes didn’t appear right for some reason. Before Gwin could follow that hunch, however, another voice piped up. Looking down, she noticed a creature who seemed to have hopped out of tales and myths. It appeared like a clay statue if it didn’t move which is why she’d missed it until that moment. While it had a humanoid torso, it also featured pincers on its head and stood on arms with hands. No feet or even a tail. And it was speaking. What was it? Despite her confusion, Gwin found it most polite to answer its questions before asking hers. “Thank you. The flute is a beautiful instrument too. Maybe we could play together sometime.” Her gaze flickered up to the tall man who addressed the clay creature and bent down in an attempt to shake its hand. Perhaps a round of introductions wasn’t so out of place. “I’m Gwin. Well met, Sinoa and Cassius. What brings you all to Zeltiva?” A hint of sadness crept into her voice as she spoke. The city she’d decided to visit after a long time of isolation proved to be livelier than she’d expected… Surely the ocean would be more beautiful if the city were a quieter spot to observe it from. But it couldn’t be helped.

[Fitznemo]

'Expressing it makes the burden lighter' something about those words rooted themselves deep in Samael, though he couldn't fathom why, he was about to question it when a small garden ornament he hadn't noticed interrupted him.

"..an Instrument? ..no..no I never learned really... I used to be good at singing...once" His face twinged slightly at this and he glanced aside for the space of a breath "...and no, I'm not porcelain at all, ...I'm skin and bone, though porcelain would be easier"

The conversation swirled around him for a few partially confusing moments as introductions were exchanged and Samael decided that he had best give his own.

"...I am Samael Fitznemo, a physiquer. I've recently returned home from... a journey" Little of what he felt at that time reached his face but the most observant may have spotted the faint twitch of the eye and the slight down turn of the mouth. He clasped his hands and listened to the rest.