The rattle of glass clanked through the bar, buzzing with the gruff voices of the men of Alvadas drinking the day away, chattering with small talk. Someone stood out from the crowd, someone young and despondent, leaning over the counter and staring at a glass of rum which he turned in his fingers. Numia, despite her position on the floor and her lack of climbing ability, could see just how sad this person was. She desperately wanted him to change, to see something else in his life and see things brighter.
Entirely unnoticed by the patrons, she walked closer to the base of the stool the man was sitting on. "Human, human!" she shouted above the noise of the crowd. The boy, not much older than a teen, slowly turned his head to look for the source of the noise. His ragged, tired eyes couldn't seem to spot the owner of the voice. "Down here!" Numia said again with a squeak. Finally, his eyes glanced downward and met hers.
He was taken aback by surprise. "A Pycon?" the boy said aloud with a questioning tone. Then, he brought the glass to his lips and kicked it back in one swig, emptying it and feeling the buzz almost immediately. The scent of alcohol wafted down to her as he breathed. "What do you want with a failure like me?" he asked, a clear arch in his eyebrows alluding to his curiosity.
"Why are you so sad?" Numia asked, removing her hood to expose her batty face and ears.
The boy fell silent for a moment before his mouth began to move again. "Such a big question for someone so small... Well, if you must know, I like to sing. But I'm apprenticed to a maskmaker. My father said he won't support me if I quit." He gazed down at the empty glass, a mask of his own forming upon his face. "I'll just have to keep at it, then--but I'm not very good at the trade so far."
Numia scratched her chin, thinking about a solution. She knew it couldn't be the end for the joy of this person. And, well, she really wanted to hear him sing now. She was curious. Then, through the mists of her mind came an idea. "Sing!" She exclaimed.
"What?"
"Sing for the people in this bar!" She said, conveying as much encouragement as she could in her voice. "If you're good at it, you can busk on the streets and earn enough to rent rooms at an inn if your father kicks you out!" She balled her hands into fists and danced with a giddy smile that nobody could see. "Do you know any songs?" She asked.
The proposition from the Pycon was a surprise to the human, a tingling sensation running up his nose as he straightened up, taken aback by the offer and glancing worriedly at the Pycon. Then, a man on a stool next to him chimed in. "Yeah, sing. It'd be good entertainment for the evening, wouldn't it?"
A mug shot up into the air from across the room. "Aye!" the shout boomed across the room.
The boy's cheeks were flush now. He was embarrassed, nervous even. "But I--" he stammered. "I can't possibly..."
"Nonsense!" Numia shouted. "Get up on that stage and perform! Change your life around and do something YOU want to do!" She extended a spindly arm from beneath her cloak and pointed at the raised platform in the corner of the bar.
"Maybe you're right..." he said, finally tearing down the wall in his mind standing against the idea. "Yeah..." he nodded. "That could work, maybe... It's risky." he shot a smile at Numia, who bowed to mask her glee.
"The name's Mulcimer!" he shouted for all to see as he hopped off his chair and jogged briskly to the stage.
"And I'm no taciturn sot!" he bellowed, jumping right in with a stoic tune that seemed to bounce off the walls of the bar. "Feeling, at best, one with the rest, sing one of shallow, to the hallow!" Mulcimer managed to turn every head in the bar by now, and Numia was transfixed upon his voice. "Greet me, my friends ... the best are among you, and life, is, short!" His tune alternated between octaves and pitch fluently, creating a song that pulled at the heart strings of almost everyone around.
The song continued for some time, and he only made one mistake in his lengthy solo. He sang very well, Numia surmised, but she could tell he could use some work on his breathing technique. Numia was sure someone else would tell him about it, but as the performance wound down she was set on congratulating him.
"That was amazing!" Numia shouted as the crowd cheered and toasted to his honor. She was about to say more, but she was interrupted by the sultry voice of the bartender of this joint.
"Hey, you're welcome to sing here anytime the stage is empty. I'll even pay you if yer attracting a crowd. You're good, kid. An' don't let your daddy hold ya back!" the bartender nodded at the end of his encouragement and then returned to serving drinks and wiping down glasses.
Mulcimer, meanwhile, was euphoric. His lifelong dream was finally coming to fruition, and he had this Pycon to thank. "What's your name, Pycon? I have to thank you somehow. It wouldn't be right to me if I didn't."
"Numia!" she piped up, but her next rebuttal dismissed his thanks. "All I ever wanted was to hear you sing. I should be thanking YOU! That was a wonderful song. And congratulations on your first gig! You really deserved it!" Like usual, Numia was brimming with joy and admiration. She actually wished she could sing like him, and began to wonder what it would be like to sing in such a way that people admired her as much as she admired Mulcimer.
"Well, if you say so Numia. But still, thank you. I never would have done this on my own. I'm going to go tell my pops before it gets late. It's not gonna be fun, I imagine, but I've got enough coin to last me a few days out on the streets." He nodded at her, and she waved at him.
"Good luck!" Numia shouted as she ran after Mulcimer who shot out the door of the tavern.
At the doorway, he paused to say one more goodbye to not just her, but everyone else. "I bid you all farewell, lads!" Then he ducked out into the sunlight as Numia chased after him.
Mulcimer, with the vigor of youth, skipped across the street and began humming as Numia watched, a rattle in every note that seemed to change those who hustled and bustled through the busy streets of Alvadas. To her, it was the best goodbye she could have asked for. Overhead the sky turned green with butterflies, which coalesced into vines that began to lunge towards the rooftops. Numia was bristling with excitement at this point, and she pulled her fiddle out from over her shoulder while fishing out the bow.
But as she readied herself to play, the pang of her motivation began to fade. This would not be a duet, but like always, a solo. Her chest rose and with a heave she drew the first note. Long and drawn out, as if calling for the other to turn around and meet her music word for note. She turned in place, mind on Mulcimer as she followed her first note with a second. This one was quicker and with a jolt and a spark to it that caused one of the female humans around to turn her head in search of the origin of this noise.
And as Numia let go, she entered the realm within her mind that melodies sailed through. Like a musical score, the illusions above imitated her vivid mind and played on her sensibilities as her fingers danced through the fingerboard of her fiddle, recalling the lyrics to Mulcimer's song. Shallow... A pause from the fiery brush of instrumentation, it shifted to something quick and cheerful all the same. ...to the hallowed. Numia by no means sounded anything decent. Outside her mind, the chorus of grunts and mournful howls from her would-be audience was a sight to behold, but it wasn't a sight she paid any heed.
And so she continued, a shadow passing o'er head as she hung to the wall, sharing her music with all. And when a pair of doves meandered from the alley ahead into her path, she played them on, trying to narrate their tune. She skipped forward with a flourish, and they took flight to the vines above, narrated by a quick stroke for each flap of their wings. And from vine to vine, feathers began to spread. No birds in sight, feathered vines began to shed.
Up and down, her bow carried on. She tried to be soft, but something was wrong. She couldn't match the tune of every feather that landed, and there were too many that sang together. Numia felt drowned out by the visual stimulation, so her music faltered and came to a stop as she paused to watch. How could she compete with art so neat?
And then the words from a delighted tone seemed to bounce about around her. "Keep playing!" they chorused, all at once! At first, she paused. She was happy to be admired, but could words pull her out of this mire? Why yes, they could. It was cheer, not jeer, that made her bow veer. She experimented and played, a bounce to her bow that alluded to her soul. Her gait zigged and zagged thoughtfully, truly elated that her music was appreciated.
And in all the world, it was the happiest she had ever been.
The vines parted to sky, the feathers blown asunder. The world yielded to make way for her to take the stage. However, the stage was empty. In her enthusiasm, there was not a single creature within her gaze. She turned on a fret, looking for ears to hear her at her best. There was only one person, a young boy with eyes of green. Numia exuded a batty grin, and continued to twiddle her fiddle as much as before. The boy was paying attention to her, listening to her play.
She was nearing the end of her song, so tired was she. Her playing grew quicker in anticipation to reach a finish, and end with a wish. Oh how she hoped this boy enjoyed it, the song from within that made use of her boundless joy. And with two long strokes, she ended her song with jaunty tune. She spun in a circle on her feet as she played the final note, causing the sound to whirl and ween. Truthfully an awful sound to many, she could tell by the smile of the boy in front of her that he still enjoyed watching her play.
After her finish, the boy cheered her on. "Bravo, bravo!" He clapped, thunderously. Numia bowed to him, her spindly arms holding her violin and bow high. "Such enthusiasm for song is a rare gem, what is your name?" He asked, sitting on the pavement in front of her.
"Name? My name is Numia!" she piped up.
The boy seemed pleased with her answer, but he had some advice to impart upon her craft as well. "I want you to know something Numia ... no matter where you are, no matter the hour or if nobody that you can see is around, someone is listening to you play! And it was kind of you to help that young singer. He will surely go on to help others as you have, and that is something I find admirable." The words came as a surprise to her.
"Is that so? That's wonderful! I'll strive to make a difference as long as I can." She could hardly contain herself. She would remember this day for as long as she lived, she knew she would. After her words, the boy seemed to fall silent as if puzzling something over in his mind. Finally, the silence broke in an artful way when the boy spoke.
"I have a gift to give you," he said.
A gift? Gifts are wonderful! That's how I received this violin, after all. "Amazing!" She said. "What kind of gift?" Numia asked a lot of questions, her curious mind pulling her forward at all times.
"A very special one that I'm sure you will cherish as much as I will!" Leaning forward with his index finger outstretched, he touched her small chest and she could feel something changing within her as a bright white light flashed in front of her eyes. "I am Rhaus," the boy continued. "I give you this gift so that I will always be able to listen to the sound of your music, and so that you can hear in some small way what I hear with every heartbeat. Through this bond, all you come across may yet share in your joy."
The finger retreated, and Numia could feel a very special bond with the boy. She could tell he was far greater than he let on now, and she was in awe of him, silent. "Now, Numia." He continued, "open your mind and hear of the world around you!" She could do that much, so she closed her eyes and began to listen ... sound rushed into her conscious, and within that instant, she could hear more than she ever had. At first, it was overwhelming, but as she focused she began to pick out individual different sounds. Even the stones beneath her feet vibrated with unique frequencies that were new to her mind, and it was absolutely astonishing to her.
"This is ... there is no better gift you could have given me!" She exclaimed. Gratefulness poured from her as she opened her eyes. But the boy, no, Rhaus, wasn't there. It was true, he felt further away, yet near. It was hard for her to explain. But she felt like he could still hear her, so she continued to talk. "I will cherish this gift, my new friend! And I will play to you with all of the joy I can!" And with that, she positioned her fiddle and her bow and began to play a new tune that to her became a journey to lands unknown.
![[Verified by Astator]](./images/checkmark.png "[Verified by Astator]")
