Closed Sing With Me [Kovac]

[Enria]

44th Summer 513AV

After a long day’s work at the Hydroponic Gardens, Enria was bathing in the Tisuma baths; she needed to unwind and relax after a busy day but more importantly she needed to clean off all the dirt she was caked in. She had discarded her dirty clothes down the laundry chute and made her way to the miner’s pool to wash off the dirt that stuck to her face and arms. Her shoulder muscles ached and protested at any slight movement she made but Enria needed to wash the dirt off as if that would wash away the stress off the day with it. She padded into the pool and slowly washed off all the dirt with the metal spoon; the cold water only seemed to tighten Enria’s aching muscles. She couldn’t wait to get into the salt pool which she felt would do her the world of good.

It was as she scraped off mud from her arms, she realised just how empty the baths were. Enria looked around to see less than a handful of people pottering around. Why is practically no one here? Enria thought. The baths were constantly bustling with people and noise; but today it was unusually quiet. Maybe the baths were normally this quiet at this time of day. Enria had to admit bathing in the late afternoon was odd even for her; as she never usually bathed at this time, she usually bathed early in the morning or late at night. But today she came straight from working to here, as if she couldn’t wait to wash off the day.

By the time she had made it to the salt pools, there were only two people there; two males which looked so similar that Enria was sure they were brothers. Once they spotted her, they began to speak in hushed tones as if they were trying to shun her. She sighed and kept to the opposite side of the pool to the pair. They clearly didn’t want her to hear what they were talking about and Enria was use to keeping herself to herself when she needed to.

But something irked her by the quietness of the baths; it was odd to hear almost silence in a place that, in her eyes, radiated noise. Perhaps she wasn’t use to finding quiet here? The water washed over her and Enria lowered herself in the pool; the salt water bathing her shoulder muscles which had begun to loosen themselves. Before Enria closed her eyes in an attempt to relax after a hard day's work, she had noticed the pair leaving. Enria looked around the room, in an attempt to spot more people, but she was on her own for the time being.

She turned away from the entrance of the pool, as if it served a reminder of how alone she was. Part of her feeling foolish for being so irrational; why was she so upset at being on her own? She often relished time alone with her thoughts; but today, she wanted nothing more than to be around people. A thick and heavy silence began to settle around her, occasionally broken by Enria’s movements in the water. It began to feel uncomfortable rather than relaxing, so in the end Enria began to sing in an attempt to bring noise back to the silence. Sometimes she had to break off to hum the parts she couldn’t remember but, other than, that it was working to comfort her.

“Down in the cherry grove…” Enria broke off into a hum; she could never remember what came after that line. “…you use to sing to me.”

A short noise alerted her that she was not on her own. Enria jumped a little and she could feel her heart pounding. Seriously what are you so scared of? Someone brandishing a cloth! Her thoughts scoffed. She turned around to see a familiar face; she bit her lip and cast her eyes to the water. She was embarrassed - as her rosy cheeks would no doubt show - that she had been singing and someone had heard. Enria never liked singing in front of people; it always made her feel jittery and sick. She felt the sudden urge to dive under the water and hope he’d disappear but it was unlikely she’d get her wish. Enria suddenly began to miss the silence; she had earlier wanted to be rid of.

[Kovac]

Kovac had spent much of the day out at the Bent Arrow, testing out a new batch of arrows and overseeing a couple students. The sun was exceptionally warm, but the view from the range's plateau was always remarkable and a welcome break from the other practice ranges buried in Skyinarta's walls. After the long session, the Avora's skin was coated in a sheen of sweat, the dust of the rocky location sticking to his bared arms and torso.

Making his ways to the baths, Kovac stripped off his boots and bryda, tucking them in appropriate shelves in the outer changing room. The only others around were a pair of Inartan brothers drying off and dressing after a bath, and the ever present Chiet attendant idly folding towels at the end of a far bench. Nodding to the men, Kovac stepped into the bathing chamber, bypassing the miner's pool. He was not that dirty. He came to the glassworker's pool, noting the eerie emptiness of the cavern. A familiar nude Chiet attendant appeared, taking up her position near the wall, as silent as a stalking falcon. She nodded and smiled slightly, but waited for any further direction. The hunter was not ready for any personal attention at the moment, still wearing the grit of the range, but perhaps later he would request that she clean up his neck with a razor.

He slipped into the pool, the water luke warm, the stony floor beneath his feet coated with a thin layer of sand. Kovac dipped a few times beneath the water, letting it rinse the grit from his olive-hued flesh. Surfacing again, he noted the lyrical sound echoing softly off of the large cavern's walls, between the rippling sound of the water around him. Singing. The absence of bathers, and the quietness of the Chiets attendants, let the sound come to his ears clearly. The voice was feminine, pleasant, and well able to carry a melody.

Stepping out of the second pool, Kovac stepped down to the salt pool. It was then that he saw the source of the music, a woman sunk to her shoulders in the warm water, her back towards him. She turned towards the newcomer, and Kovac recognized Enria. He gave her a wide grin, the only thing he wore, as shameless as any full-blooded Inartan. The crimson flush that suddenly rose in the redhead's cheeks indicated her singing was meant for her alone.

"Hi Enria." Kovac greeted the young woman before stepping into the pool as well, picking up a sponge and moving a respectable distance from his new friend. The warm salt water felt wonderful. The Avora dipped the sponge into the water until it was soaked, then lifted it to his skin, scrubbing the back of his neck and over his shoulders. " I didn't know you sang, at least not that well! I wish you hadn't stopped."

x

[Enria]

He greeted her and joined her in the pool which Enria wished to sink into and disappear. Her cheeks flaring a hot red, she fought the urge to use her hands to cover them. Instead, she tried to Enria tried to distract herself by creating ripples of water with her hands. She wondered if it was too late to slip out and hide, possibly forever. But knowing her luck, she’d slip and fall over on her way out.

Enria sighed, she was overthinking this. After all, He had complimented her on her singing and didn’t want her to stop so that must have meant that he liked what he heard. But whenever Enria felt pressured to sing, she felt her voice clam up. In fact, she could feel her voice starting to go dry now. Enria had only ever sung in front of three people; she sung to her mother one hazy day in the Cherry Grove, after her mother taught her the song, once to her father to show him she could like a proud toddler showing off a drawing and the last one to her friend Kitchi because Kitchi was so easy for Enria to be around that she barely thought twice about singing. She’d sung more times to her friend and to herself than she ever had to anyone else. But it was always the same old song she sung, she didn’t know any others, it was the only song she knew by heart; though even now, she missed a few words out. She couldn’t remember the song clearly and it saddened her every time, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

“I don’t really sing.” Enria clarified. It was the truth, she barely sung. She loved music and the way it made her feel. But at the same time, she had a crippling fear that if she sung something bad would happen; whether that be, her damaging her voice or being ridiculed for being such a terrible singer. Enria knew she wasn’t the best singer, not by a long shot. “I haven’t sung in years.” She elaborated.

Enria hadn’t sung since she had first gotten to the Yasiry, where her fear of performing in front of others grew and festered inside of her like a weed. She had sung to herself to calm the flutter of nerves at being a new arrival; when she was little, singing was the only way in which Enria could steady her nerves. But upon singing the first few lines of the song, she was met with laughter by a few girls. Ashamed and embarrassed, Enria resigned herself to only sing for herself or for those she trusted.

She wanted to scold herself for being foolish enough to sing here but she had felt so alone and the silence had felt so suffocating that it was almost as if the song poured out of mouth. She should have expected that someone could have come along and heard her. She looked at Kovac and gave him a small smile; she had meet him only once before, and he seemed nice enough then. She wondered if Kovac sung or whether he just simply enjoyed music.

“Do you sing, Kovac?” Enria asked.

[Kovac]

Kovac lowered himself into the water up to his neck and the stood again. He saw the flush in the woman's cheeks and knew it was not from the warm water. He smiled as she averted her gaze, suddenly preoccupied with the ripples she created with her finger tips across the pool's surface. Enria's shyness was endearing, though at the revelation that she did not really sing, Kovac raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Its a shame, you sing very well, Enria. Not really fair to keep that voice from the rest of us." He flashed her a smile, trying to catch her golden gaze. He sunk again into the water, this time submerging himself completely before coming up again. "Maybe you are just a bit timid about singing in front of others?" He guessed. "Tell you what, you can sing just for me anytime!" Kovac gave Enria a grin and a wink.

The redhead turned the tables on him, inquiring of his own ability to sing. "No, I don't sing, don't have a voice anyone wants to hear. I play the lute." He added, mimicking the act of strumming with his hands. "Thats my voice."

x

[Enria]

OOC :

Sorry for the delay, and the fact that it's short!

Her shoulders slightly shrugged at his compliment, almost as if she were shrugging it off. She was never good with accepting compliments, she never knew what to do; would thanking suffice or would that seem too arrogant if she didn’t repay the favour? Enria had stopped creating the ripples in her hand, sighed and rolled her eyes. There was a perfectly good reason, in Enria’s mind, on why she didn’t sing. It seemed that he was good at guessing though, as he seemed to hit the nail on the head; Enria loathed performing in front of people and scoffed when Kovac suggested just singing for him! If she couldn’t sing when he joined her in the Baths than what made him think she could sing for him another time? Besides what would Kitchi think, or Strig for that matter? She’d hate it if they got the wrong impression. Though for all Enria knew he could have been joking.

Enria had learnt that he didn’t sing, but he did play an instrument. Though Enria had no idea what a lute looked like; she only ever spared musicians a passing glance whenever she came across them, instead she paid more attention to the people she was talking to or dancing to really watch a musician hard at work. She shot Kovac a smile when he said that his lute was his voice; she’d never really thought about having music of any kind being some kind of ‘voice’.

“I suppose everyone deserves a voice.” Enria said in a hushed tone, unsure whether it was to herself or to him. “What’s a lute?” She asked after a short pause.

[Kovac]

Enria was visibly uncomfortable discussing singing, or more specifically, her singing. Idle shrugs, rolling eyes, the subtle sigh. Kovac found it a bit of a shame that the young Inartan woman was so averse to sharing her beautiful voice. It was not a common trait among the Inartans, shyness. Mostly brash and outspoken, the people of Wind Reach actually new little shame as a whole, a trait Kovac had taken on from his Inartan father. But he was reminded that at one time, he too kept his music to himself. However, his reasons had been more selfish than shyness.

"A lute?"Kovac asked, eyebrows raised in disbelief. His hand lifted to squeegie across his head, forcing water out of his hair. She didn't know what a lute was. Kovac didn't know how close Enria was with Strig, but someone needed to get this girl out more. She was a beautiful crimson-headed flower that needed to open. "It is a stringed instrument. You play it by strumming or plucking the strings with a plectrum." The Avora mimed a demonstration, one hand out as if holding the neck, the other mimicking a strumming movement. "I will have to show you sometime. It has a great rich sound."

Kovac would love to get Enria alone....to hear her sing. He could play his lute and she could sing. But convincing the girl would prove to be a challenge, the attractive Chiet was a hard nut to crack. "I will make you a deal Enria. I will play for you, if you sing with me. No one else has to hear, you can pick the place. We can go right now...if you dare." The Avora shot the Chiet a charming grin.

x

[Enria]

She looked at Kovac, who seemed surprised at her lack of knowledge on musical instruments; she began to wonder if everyone knew what a lute was and if she was out of the loop. She’d be the first to admit that she barely paid attention to the musicians whenever she heard them play; instead she’d lose herself in her company for that night or the music itself. After he explained what a lute was, Enria tried to match it to some of the instruments she had seen. But, in her opinion, she couldn’t seem to match the description to the instruments she’s come across. She watched as Kovac mimed how to play it and let out a little giggle, he looked funny pretending to play an instrument. But the action did seem familiar to her; she’d seen other musicians make the same strumming movement like Kovac was doing.

“Looks like you need a better instrument, seen as that one doesn’t make a sound.” She pointed to him and gave him a cheeky wink to indicate she was joking.

Though now that she thought about it, she was curious to hear what the lute sounded like. She wanted to hear what kind of noise came from it; whether it would be loud and brash or quiet and reserved. Enria had toyed with the idea of learning to play an instrument a while back but had never made the leap of faith. Maybe if he offered to play for her, she could see if playing an instrument was a worthwhile hobby to pursue. As if reading her mind, Kovac turned to her, “"I will have to show you sometime. It has a great rich sound."

“That would be nice.” Enria answered. She dipped deeper into the water so she could wash her hair before sitting up in the water once more. As she gathered her hair and began to give it a loose braid, so it would stay out of her face, she noticed that Kovac seemed to have a glint in his eyes; almost as if he was planning something.

"I will make you a deal Enria. I will play for you, if you sing with me. No one else has to hear, you can pick the place. We can go right now...if you dare."

He shot her a wide and cunning grin that Enria merely shook her head at and rolled her eyes. She was use to the direct and forward nature, it was like all Inartans. But it was something about this that caused Enria’s heart to leap into her mouth; she began to feel like a rabbit caught headlights. She began to fret over her voice once more. Could she trade with him just like that? What if she clammed up, again? It wouldn’t be the first time. But it was something about the offer to hear the rich notes of the lute that enticed her.

“Shouldn’t you buy me a drink first?” Enria joked, to make light of her flutter of nerves and indecisiveness at the offer. “Besides, what would Kit and Strig think?”

[Kovac]

Kovac knew Enria was not always as shy as she appeared, the night out with the others proved that, and her teasing comment about him playing the air lute was more like her. But the Avora hunter's sudden offer, or dare, caught the inartan girl off guard, and Kovac could see it in the slight widening of her amber eyes and subtle drop of her jaw. It was the singing. Enria truly was shy about her voice. But Kovac was a bit of a scoundrel, and he would not let the talented singer keep her gift to herself.

The woman recovered, though, joking about buying her a drink before any such musical meeting took place. "Deal, a bottle of wine for the both of us." Kovac quipped, disarming her first excuse. Then Enria offered the lame excuse that somehow the two of them hanging out would upset Strig and Kitchi.

Pfft. "Who cares what they think? Kitchi is a friend, I have lots of friends, you are one of them too." While this was true, some of his friends were...closer than others. Kit was not one of those as of yet. "I know Strig is not from Wind Reach, is he like the outsiders? Does he own you and insist you not fraternize with other men?" The question was delivered with a lopsided smile to indicate he was taunting the young singer.

x

[Enria]

At Kovac’s sudden offer of a drink, Enria had realised she had back herself into a corner. She had offered him an excuse, although in hindsight a poor one at that; and now that he had disarmed that, there seemed to be no excuse she could offer that would deter him. “I think I’m at least worth two.” She smirked and flashed him a wink. Enria could feel her heart skipping around inside her. The mere thought of singing seemed to send her into a flutter, so why was she backing herself into that particular corner when every fibre of her being was telling her to run away from it?

Kovac scoffed at mere mention of Kit and Strig, while Enria shot an incredulous a look him. She raised an eyebrow at the mention that he was friends with Kit; Enria thought they were a little closer than that. But she kept quiet, she didn’t want to say anything that could jinx the two of them, after all Enria thought they made a lovely couple. Besides, she seemed pretty sure that Kit would ‘kill’ her if she said anything embarrassing.

“I know Strig is not from Wind Reach, is he like the outsiders? Does he own you and insist you not fraternize with other men?” He grinned at her. But it was something that he said that irked her a little. She turned away from him, her shoulders slightly raised, and used her fingers to play with the water once more.

“He’s an Isur.” She clarified. “Besides, I’m not an object. No one owns me.” She huffed. “I just don’t really sing.”

She turned to face him again and gazed at him intently. How could she make him understand just how scared she was of singing? How could she explain how every time she stepped in front of a crowd that her heart would start pounding inside her ribcage, how her palms become sweaty, how she felt dizzy and how she could feel every single pair of eyes on her; and she was frightened that if she did something wrong, she would hear and feel a wave of laughter crash over her.

“Have you ever been afraid of something?” She asked him, after a brief pause. Maybe if she related her own fears to one of his, he might see why she didn’t sing.