Ballad for the soul [CLOSED]

[Dlight]

Truth be told, Dlight knew little about actual violin compared to what he knew about music in general. What he was very good at though, was observing others emotions. After a lifetime of hunting and tracking, it was good to be able to predict how your prey would react. If he'd seen Cecile as he flew through the night sky so many years ago, Dlight would have snatched her away in a second. The nervousness was clear for all to see, but he said nothing of it, waiting for her to begin playing.

The young girl withdrew her violin from it's case and held it, readying to play. Dlight carefully looked over how she positioned the violin against her shoulder, taking it her stance and where she held her bow. Once she began playing, it was clear that she was trying to grasp hold of exactly what she was trying to play, but then the song fleshed out more and adopted a solemn tone. Dlight remained quiet, a mix of emotions on his face. He wondered if the girl would continue to play slowly or if the song would pick up and become happy.

Without words it was harder to tell what the song was about, but the sounds of violin was beautiful to his ears and Dlight was content with that. When her bow began to move faster the Zith was delighted, feeling that she'd found meaning in what she had created. When Cecile finished her piece, Dlight looked to her and gave a small smile. He often found it hard to smile under Syna, but the girl deserved it, anyone did that performed violin for him.

"Well done, Cecile. That was really nice, the only thing I can say that needs to be worked on is you need to think about the direction of your music once you begin playing. The second your bow begins to move, put yourself in the place of that bow and really understand the meaning of what your playing." Not wanting the girl to think she had done bad, Dlight added in, "I feel you did that once you became more comfortable with performing for us. That was truly enjoyable."

[Niahara Erskine]

Ara enjoyed the song Cecile had chosen. It was comforting, wrapping around one's soul and soothing it. Even though it was solemn, it was not rigid and it seemed fitting with their surroundings. Clearly the girl knew more about the violin than Ara because her song was more flowing than her own pieces. At the end Ara smiled brightly and clapped her hands. "It was beautiful. I'm no expert, but to me it seemed like you really liked the song you played. I hope we can practice together sometime."

[Jaelyn Baroth]

Jaelyn was silent as Cecile played, and as the music moved along her eyes drifted close. She'd been asked to be a judge, and so she was doing her best to listen and try to notice differences between Cecile's and Ara's playing. Her eyes remained closed for a few breaths after Cecile stopped playing, and then slowly she opened them and smiled at Cecile.

"Thank you Cecile, that was very good," she turned her smile to Ara for a moment, "You are both very good. I do not think I can offer anything in the way of suggestions for improvement though," she paused for a moment, and then glanced at Dlight, "Are we to decide on a winner now, or should we have Ara play again for us?"

[Mekotsu Hellborn]

As she walked holding her horses reigns as he walked behind her, she became bored of just wandering. Her eagle flew above but low, screeching softly, making others looking up it him. Thunder kept his head down, as respect for Mekotsu, he kept he head below her shoulders. She looked up at her eagle as his direction suddenly shifted and he called to her. Jumping on top of her horse quickly, she grabbed the reigns and kicked the large horses side. He galloped off as she guided him, following the bird. As she went along, she started to her an instrument playing. She didn't hear them to much being in the forest most of the time. Her eagle landed on the stone wall near the garden. She slowed her horse and hopped off and started to walk toward the music. Seeing the people staring at someone playing an instrument she hadn't seen before. Her horse stayed behind her as she walked, his nose pressing against her back for security. As the music stopped, she saw everyone clap and cheer, so she did as well. "That was wonderful, may i ask what you're playing?"

[Cecile Xyhura]

Cecile was happy to hear a positive response, despite the rough beginning. The others seemed to enjoy her piece, although she couldn't be quite sure if they said the truth, but it didn't matter much anyway. "Thank you, i'll work on that," She said to Dlight's comment, and while she hoped Jaelyn would have provided a more helpful response, she was grateful for her compliment as well.

She was about to leave the central area when yet another newcomer arrived. Was this a gathering of some sort she was unaware of? The new woman clapped along with the others. She was pale with long black hair and long eyelashes to match. She carried a bow and quiver and dressed fairly simply. She arrived asking what she was playing, to which she answered, "Do you mean the song? I heard it on the street at a young age and never actually learned it's name. If you don't mind me asking, who are you?" After she spoke, it occurred to her that she said 'may I ask what you're playing' instead of 'what you were'. Was it possible she didn't know what a violin was? She kept quiet and hoped one of the others would answer that.

[Mekotsu Hellborn]

Smiling at the strangers, she noticed she had gained the attention quickly, as she knew she would. She approached her and bowed slightly, showing respect for the wonderful composer. The eagle flew over and sat next to the girl and twitched his head around looking at her. Mekotsu looked at the eagle and chuckled slightly, apparently her beloved pet liked the sound of this odd wooden piece. "They call me Mekotsu, those who truly know me normally call me Meko. And, i was wondering what that thing is you're playing. My pet seems to have taken a liking to you." After her bow she backed up a little trying to give the stranger space. "May i ask who you are? And i'm sorry that I intruded on your little gathering."

[Dlight]

"Ara should perform, if she still wishes to. I'm sure we would all enjoy it." Dlight was about to sit down to rest his legs when suddenly a new voice cut in, "That was wonderful, may I ask what you're playing?" He turned to face the new member of their small group, unconsciously backing up at the sudden appearance of the woman. She stood slightly taller than other women, her lips stained a deep red that almost looked to be artificial yet something about her told him that it was natural. Dlight remained quiet throughout the exchange between Cecile and the newcomer, his eyes looking over her the whole time, examining and waiting.

His mind worked to figure out her race. Mekotsu certainly wasn't Inarta so the eagle didn't quite make sense, but her arms seemed to be far too stable for her to simply be a resident. Without a doubt she belonged in the wilderness, though. He could smell it, see it. Perhaps Symenestra, but even then... She seemed far too comfortable in Syna's light.

Dlight looked to Cecile and then back to Mekotsu, and shortly after the black haired woman's question, he finally spoke. "Violin," He answered her simply, his black eyes narrowing as he locked eyes with the woman yet his voice not unfriendly, "that is what she plays."

[Niahara Erskine]

Ara turned towards Dlight hearing his comment. Play another song? Which one? She felt something tugging at the back of her mind, reminding her of a time that has long passed when she was small and carefree. It also reminded her of the first song she learned to play, but haven't played since. 'I could..." she trailed off as she saw another newcomer enter the Stone Gardens. As of lately they seemed oddly populated and Ara wondered why was that. An eagle soared in the sky as its mistress stopped in front of them. The newcomer had a wild beauty surround her from the red lips that almost seemed coated with blood to the dark hair that fell on her pale frame. At the back of Ara's mind, in the shadows someone screamed caution. "It's not actually a gathering and you haven't intruded at all." Ara smiled kindly, though cautiously.

[Jaelyn Baroth]

Like the others Jaelyn's attention was quickly caught by the arrival of the woman, but unlike the others a faint frown touched Jaelyn's lips. She had never seen anyone bring a horse or other animal into the Stone Garden, and the thought of what the animals could inadvertently do to the clean white memorial stones did not sit well with her.

Still, she did her best to be polite, waiting for the woman to introduce herself and the others to speak before she cleared her throat to try and gather everyone's attention, "Perhaps, before we continue further, we should move somewhere else?" she gave a small smile and gestured to the group gathered, "We are becoming a rather good sized group, and I would like to not disturb others who come to the Stone Garden to mourn or for quite. Perhaps we could go to the courtyard? There is plenty of space there, and we will still have the open sky above us."

She sincerely hoped the group would agree with her. She would rather not ask Mekotsu to leave, but she did not feel comfortable with a horse standing in the Stone Garden.

[Cecile Xyhura]

The newcomer, Mekotsu, had quickly attracted much attention from the rest of the group. When asked who she was she smiled and said, "I'm Cecile, nice to meet you," holding her hand out for a handshake after she had put her violin away. The others greeted her as well, but Dlight seemed somewhat wary of her.

She had hoped to hear another song from Ara, and she hoped she wouldn't be bothered by the group of five, which was quite large for a group of this sort. She was very glad to hear Jaelyn's request to move elsewhere and agreed almost instantly when she heard it.