[The Amphitheater] To Act a Song (Stefan)

by **Alia Beaudouin** on February 11th, 2014, 12:57 pm

,

Throwing a man overboard because he wasn't good enough? That seemed like quite a harsh chastisement, especially if the man was a hard working member of the crew. Then again, he might have just been dead weight.

Stephan's story about his mandolin explained a lot, though. Mandolins were expensive, and that was why Alia didn't own one herself. Maybe she could get one at a instrument store of some kind. Actually, she might ask Stephan if he'd like to come once she had the funds. She had some mizas saved up, and a place that sold mandolins was bound to sell strings. Alia remembered one of the other actors mentioning something about a music store down near the bazaar. Maybe Stephan could come with her.

Alia barely registered what Stephan was going to do when he momentarily jogged off towards the tree the pages of her script had caught in. It was only when he began climbing the base of the tree that she realized what he was doing. At first Alia was bemused, thinking he wouldn't have the bravery to climb all the way up to where one page was caught, but he surprised her, climbing slowly but surely towards the lines. Alia allowed herself to laugh quietly when Stephan's face twisted in determination at retrieving those pages.

Picking up his fallen cloak so it wouldn't get covered in snow, Alia didn't even see the branch Stephan slipped on, only heard his swears and the crash as he hit the ground. Letting out a gasp and running to help the fallen man, Alia tried to help him up, but it was obvious the man was in pain and she didn't want to cause any more for him.

Kneeling next to him, even though her Bryda would in no way insulate against the snow, Alia offered a look of concern towards Stephan, though he seemed to be in high spirits, considering his accident. Laughing softly at his joke, Alia shook her head.

"I don't think you deserved that much at all. You were trying to get something for me, and that was quite nice of you, though pretty stupid." Alia cracked a smile, even though she was worried that a fall like that could hurt for quite a few days, if not more.

Handing him his cloak again, she prayed silently to no god in particular that neither of them would get frostbite, and that Stephan's injury wouldn't be too serious. Once she was sure Stephan was OK, Alia picked up the small pile of pages that had fallen nearby.

The first and seventh pages of the script were missing, but Alia didn't want Stephan climbing any more trees, so she said nothing about it. He had already fallen once.

Looking over the snow-covered pages, Alia smiled at one part, that was surprisingly relevant to the situation at hand. She read it out, projecting her voice as the stage master had reminded her so many times already.
"And then thy champion did fall, from skies above, carrying his great knowledge down on cloud-burnt wings." Alia laughed softly, "So are you a fallen champion, then?"

Although the lines of the play were long and overused, Alia liked the story quite a bit. The few lines she had gotten a hang on were enjoyable to repeat. She imitated an overly stereotypical actor-like voice, switching a few phrases around.
"And then Stephan did fall, from the iced trees above, fractions of story clutched tight in his frozen hands."

OOCCongrats on fifty posts!

by **Stefan** on February 14th, 2014, 5:46 am

“A fallen champion?” he laughed quite a bit, before being interrupted by the pain on his back “Oh, I’m not a champion at all... just a musician and a lover, lass” Stefan smiled as he caressed Alia’s chin seductively.

He smiled at her as he sat down slowly, putting on his cloak again. “But somebody should write a play about me, that would be interesting... and I’ll watch it any time of the day!” he said jokingly “Of course, I would watch any play if you’re there.”

He said sincerely, as he actually liked the idea of watching a play, but as always, one couldn’t be really sure if he was joking or not. He was fond of that kind of things, but didn’t have any chance for going lately, and in fact, he didn’t remember the last time he had a good book. It was truly sad. He needed time to relax.

“Well, let’s be fair... I’m not an acrobat either!” he laughed again, hiding the pain on his back, now begging on the inside to get quick to his house, light the heart and sleep the pain off. “Guess that a snowy tree isn’t like a mast after all... who would have know?”

His jokes at his situation didn’t manage to hide the fact that he was in pain. He tried to change the subject just to hide it, but it was useless.

“Petch... bloody void...” he muttered under his breath “Well, I’m not an actor, after all...” even though everything, he was still cheery, but it was hard to keep the appearances. He looked at Alia in the eye and smiled “Don’t worry, lass. I’ve been worse before. In fact... continue your play! It seems really interesting. Don’t mind me.” He winked at her, shivering slightly.

by **Alia Beaudouin** on February 17th, 2014, 1:32 am

Alia wondered if she could help in any way, as she felt partly responsible for Stefan's untimely fall. Maybe let him lean on her? Offer him a hand? There was no doubt he was going to need a doctor, it was just a matter of when.

After all, he had been really nice to Alia, even after she had more than brashly yelled at him over a lost script... Which he had then attempted to retrieve. Smiling softly as he touched her chin, Alia shyly pushed his arm away, a sudden wave of embarrassment rolled over her. She appreciated the gesture greatly, but embarrassment turned the mood awkward.

As Stefan continued, An idea crossed her mind. Stefan mentioned writing a play about himself, maybe Alia could somehow come up with a script somewhat involving him? It was ambitious, Alia had just begun acting less than a season before, she really didn't have the skill to write any plays yet. Then again, where was the harm? It wasn't as if Stefan worked as an actor, he couldn't judge her acting too much, could he?

Offering Stefan a hand to get him to the benches without pain, Alia was just stepping onto the stage when a thought occurred to her. The scene she had left off of was a two-person part, maybe Stefan could read a few lines? Then again, as she had thought earlier, Stefan wasn't an actor. Leaving the male part of the script on the bench anyway, Alia climbed back onto the stage, shuffling her papers and checking if they were all there.

Of course, one or two of the pages were missing, and more than half of the lines were torn or smudged from snow, but Alia had memorized most of the first act already, so there shouldn't be a problem. Anyways, Stefan had retrieved them, and it wasn't as if Alia was going to make that gesture seem pointless.

Clearing her throat, Alia began where she left off,
"I don't know what went wrong! It was just supposed to scare him! Messed with the wrong man, he did!" Pointing to the script which contained the interrogator's part, Alia smiled, dropping out of character, "If you'd like to play the male part, be my guest. It would help with practice."

by **Stefan** on February 18th, 2014, 3:48 am

Stefan, sitting down in the snowy bench, considered Alia’s proposal, and smiled.

“You know what, lass? Why the void no?” he snickered and tried to stand up, just to get slowly at the side of Alia. His back was still killing him, but he ignored it.

He stood firm, clearing his throat, waiting to speak his lines after Alia.

”It wasn't supposed to happen, the arrow flew, my finger slipped, it wasn't my fault. I tried to save him. I did try!” she said in a frantic tone, which indeed convinced Stefan. By the gods, she was a good actress. He should definitely see that play.

“So...” he said, and then murmured while reading his lines “You admit, you murdered that man?” Stefan spoke in loud, overly dramatic tone. It almost made Alia snicker, as it was hard to tell if he was joking or no.

”I don't know what went wrong! It was just supposed to scare him! Messed with the wrong man, he did!”

“You are working for someone? Who?” he said putting some emphasis in the last part.

”No, you don't understand, for the love of Leth, you don’t get it!” Alia replied, this time she seemed truly afraid, and even repentant, at least to him.

“And what, miss, do I not get? You are a cold blooded shyke of a murderer.” Stefan said, but quick reading at the last part, he snickered and repeated it, but with the annoyed tone that the actor was supposed to use. He did as if he punched a table, like the script said; but he didn’t manage to hide a small grunt of pain. “Don’t worry, continue, lass.”

“Petching scum. A hand gives you a crumb and you bite it for more.” Alia said with a disgusted tone, and then did as if she spat on the floor. It was odd; not the spit, but the fact that the lines didn’t have correlation... he didn’t dared to ask, as he didn’t wanted to interrupt.

“You are guilty of murder, thus punishable by death. You will be hung tomorrow morning, at daybreak.” Stefan said in the most solemn tone he could utter, but he sounded more like a clown that an interrogator.

“If I die, my secrets die with me.” Alia yelled at him, as angry as angry could be.

“Then I suppose your secrets will remain just that: secrets. Scene ends. ” He said smiling to her, but then a sudden realization hit him. “I... I wasn’t supposed to say that last part, wasn't I?”

by **Alia Beaudouin** on February 20th, 2014, 1:41 am

Alia laughed as Stefan read the scene closing. It was good to practice, and for once, Alia could rehearse with a partner, but without the pressure of a crowd, whether it be the other actors during rehearsals, or during the actual show.

"No, you weren't supposed to read that. That was pretty good, though, for someone who has never acted before."

It was true, sure, Stefan had botched a line and read another one with the wrong emotion, but in the end, the small mistakes didn't outshine the scene, and he had definitely helped Alia stick the lines. It was much easier to act a two person scene when there was really two people.

Taking a shallow bow to the invisible audience, Alia offered her arm to Stefan to help him get off the stage, all the while wondering why he had come in the first place. After all, he didn't seem to be an actor, and shows had long since ended. Then again, he might have been new to Riverfall and simply lost. It wasn't as if Alia could judge, she still got lost, a season after arriving.

As she stepped carefully down the steps of the semicircle stage, Alia whistled the song she had played on Stefan’s mandolin. It was quite catchy, though it was probably only sticking in her head because Alia had wrote it herself.

As she helped Stefan onto a bench, Alia had an idea. Sure, she couldn’t write a play on the fly, but maybe she could write a song. Pointing towards Stefan’s old mandolin and quickly planning a few makeshift tunes in her head, Alia smiled softly.
[b]”Do you mind if I borrow that again?”

OOCNote towards anyone reading: I PM'd Stefan the script I imagine Alia was to preform, and gave him permission to mention Alia saying the lines.

by **Stefan** on February 21st, 2014, 9:02 am

Stefan smiled at Alia’s kind words, though he knew he screwed up most of the play. He wasn’t an actor, and he knew it: he was barely a clown, but what Alia said helped him feel better about it. It was almost worth getting hit in the back. Almost.

He tired to bow too, but he was unable to, so he simply bowed his head and smiled, as in a looking at a small crowd.

“Well, that was entertaining... I have to see that play, seems really interesting... but a bit cliché is you ask me“He sighed. “The typical plots about murder are bad, killers and thieves must be punished, jam is better than jelly... it’s simply too typical. But that’s just my opinion.”

He stopped talking as he listened to the song that Alia was whistling. It was the song that she had played early... it was really nice. If he could remember it, he needed to play learn it. It could make for an interesting piece.

Of course, he needed to reach his house first... more than ever, he needed to, but the request from Alia surprised him. He smiled at her “You know, lass? One more song will not do me any harm... but only one, even though I love how you play. After that, I need to return to my home... is a small cottage, near the brothel.” That last part was on purpose. He just wanted to see Alia’s reaction, just for a laugh.

by **Alia Beaudouin** on March 4th, 2014, 1:26 am

As she took the mandolin in her hands, Alia immediately began to play an simple, upbeat rhythm, happy to sing a marginally less serious song than the ones she usually sang.
Clearing her throat, Alia began her song, barely making it up as she went. It was by far one of her worse songs she had written, but in the moment, the words seemed right, the entire song was supposed to be a joke, after all.

”Atop the mast,
Sail he did
From across the sea.

Upon the sand, he stood strong,
Tall and mighty proud,

Not to be known by any mortal
The gods had a surprise
As the man climbed his mast, the winter pulled him down.

Pity, I did see him fall,
But his humour was intact
Quite comical was the man who stood upon the sand,

Stefan Teagan.”

Laughing the second she finished the short tune, Alia smiled at Stefan. ”Not one of my best, is it?” She strummed another note, looking shyly down at the mandolin, she hated singing songs without revision, even ones that had no real point to them, as this one was.

Moving her sight to the ground and realizing how stupid the song sounded, Alia shrugged, Stefan had asked for an act not a song. Alia decided to act as if the whole thing was a joke as she handed the mandolin back to Stefan. She had sung quite enough for one day, and acting was the whole reason she was there.

Attempting to stop herself thinking about the song, Alia distracted herself with thoughts about all the different ways Stefan could have broken, sprained, or otherwise hurt himself by falling from such a height. She was truthfully worried about him, so as she gave him her hand to help him climb down from the stage, she thought up an idea.

Of course she wasn’t comfortable about the fact that the man lived quite closely to a brothel, and even worse, knew about it, but Stefan seemed like quite a nice person, and since she had caused his injury in the first place, it was only right to help him home. ”Would you like me to help you walk home? That is, assuming you don't have a horse. With your back like this, I can imagine it’ll be quite troubling to walk all the way home without support, and I can practice the lines of what I’ve memorized while we walk…”

Where was she going with this? Offering to help a near stranger home? She had to practice her lines, that was the whole point.. Though, maybe she could somehow catch up on the script once she arrived at home. Acting was the whole point in her being there, and she didn't expect to derail herself from rehearsing.

by **Stefan** on March 11th, 2014, 4:30 am

Stefan blinked a couple of times, as in disbelief, looking at Alia; and then, almost instantly, started laughing loudly. It was not a slight chuckle, like the ones he often did, but it was a loud laughter, and wasn’t hampered even though the fact that his back was killing him.

“Lass...” he said, whipping a tear off his face “That was glorious! I don’t even care that it hurts when I laugh!” he said heartily and animated, really amused by the improvised song, and then noticed her face, and smiled at her, touching her chin “Don’t look so down. Some of the best songs came by improvising, and let me tell you, I really enjoyed that. I almost forgot about the pain on my back... almost...”

Stefan took his mandolin and strapped it to his back, then got up from the bench, taking Alia’s arm. “Shall we go off? I feel that I could get lost if I get on my own, and honestly, that’s the last thing I want right now.”

Taking Alia by the arm, they both departed from the Amphitheatre, now with the sun long gone, and the moon taking his place on the sky. The cool air hit the both of them, making them shiver, but thankfully Alia had her winter clothing; Stefan only had his cloak, which barely contained the cold. “I hate the cold...” he started to say “I only get out because I can’t stand being in my house for so long... I need to get out! And also, I don’t have any winter clothing because, well... I simply get lost, and can’t seem to find the clothes shop, either.” He said with a light chuckle, laughing at his own luck.

“Of course, we can practice if you want...” he continued “But please, let’s get going... I honestly need some rest. Maybe after that, my back will be better in the morning...” he sighed, thinking that he sounded like an old man, but then continued. “Alia, thank you for your help... it is odd that one helps an stranger... but thank you anyway.” He smiled at her, and gave her a small kiss on the cheek before continuing.

by **Alia Beaudouin** on March 20th, 2014, 5:04 pm

Alia's face immediately lifted as she heard Stefan's laugh, and quite a loud one it was. Stefan's laugh seemed nearly contagious, at least when he laughed like this, and Alia found herself laughing along up until Stefan stood up, sporting the idea that they should leave soon.

Alia agreed, assuming that they were both quite cold, though it was probably worse on Stefan, as Alia had her Katinu, and though it was probably only a bit warmer than his cloak, a small bit of warmth made a difference in this weather. For a moment she considered giving the man her coat, but it wouldn't make much of a difference, plus he would most likely refuse. She smiled softly as the man took her arm, opening her mouth to comment on the cold, but swallowing her words at the last second, instead turning her gaze to the sky.

As Stefan continued on about his bad luck with getting lost, Alia wondered if she could help him somehow find a sort of clothing shop, she had gotten nearly all of her stuff from the Bazaar, and technically that wasn't meant for clothing, but really, what didn't the Bazaar sell? Though, granted, it was much harder to find anything when everything looked the same. That was what winter did, cloaked the land in its cold blanket of sameness.

The girl shook her head hurriedly when Stefan offered to stay and practice. It was kind of him to ask, but she didn't want to trouble him. She could go over her lines in her head, just to make sure she remembered all of them, there was no need to hold him up.

"It's not a problem, I'd like to help where I can, after all, I did sort-of cause your fall." She paused for a moment, pondering her words. "I'd love to see you again some time. Maybe later in the season, or maybe so far as Spring? Your back should be healed by then, and in the warmer weathers, there'd be less ice to slip you up should you attempt to scale another tree."

Alia didn't wait for a response, she didn't need one. With her luck of meeting people in strange ways, she would probably end up seeing him again. If all else fails, she could invite him to a show at the Amphitheater. He seemed interested in acting, or, at least Alia's acting, so maybe he would enjoy a real show. She was so engulfed with plans for the future, she nearly missed Stefan's actions as he leaned in closer.

Her cheeks turned a bright pink as Stefan pecked her cheek with a quick kiss, humbled by the approach, but appreciating it none the less. She hoped the cold would mask her face, but looked to the ground afterwards anyways. Alia couldn't quite find any words to describe the moment, so several ticks of silence followed the embrace.

Soon after they began walking away from the Amphitheater, Alia realized that the sun had somehow become the moon during their practice, though it seemed neither of the pair had noticed. Alia shivered at the cold air brought by the rising night, wishing for the sun to again climb up from the horizon. If the weather hadn't been quite as bad, or the snow not falling quite as hard, it might have been an enjoyable walk, but unfortunately, it ended up being quite the opposite, with the wind biting harshly at both of them.

After several chimes of wrong turns and Alia admitting many times that she had no idea where they were, the pair arrived at Stefan's home, right next to the brothel, just as he had said. Alia avoided the place nonetheless, and bid farewell to Stefan at his doorway, returning home to her script long after Leth's light took hold of the sky.

by **Shijara** on May 23rd, 2014, 10:43 pm

Alia Beaudouin

The Good Stuff :

Stefan

The Good Stuff :

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and I'll be happy to discuss it with you. Keep writing!

Skill	XP
Acting	+3
Socialization	+3
Instrument: Mandolin	+2
Singing	+2
Acrobatics	+1
Flirting	+1
Observation	+1

Completed [The Amphitheater] To Act a Song (Stefan)