Solo Rainy day blues (Part 1)

[Adal Karelyn]

40th of Spring, 522 A.V.

Adal didn’t often go out for breakfast, she had plenty of food at home, but this morning she simply had to get out of the house. Drooly had been acting odd lately. He seemed reluctant to follow her commands and when he did acquiesce he was hard to keep at her side where she needed him. It was altogether disconcerting, an while he wasn’t necessarily as aggressive at home, he was withdrawn, avoiding her whenever possible which was quite unlike him. Whatever was bothering him, she got the distinct impression that he was sad about it, maybe even depressed so she’d decided to go out to get him a few treats before stopping by this shop that smelled of delicious fresh bread.

Moving to Surya plaza turned out to be a fortuitous decision for her given this current change in circumstances as it was easier to navigate on her own if she didn’t have to leave the plaza. Often it didn’t require much more than a simple question and a kind word from a stranger to get her set on the right path if she got turned around, which was fairly often in those first long tendays on her own. She wasn’t at all used to traveling without an escort, so travel with her walking staff was slow, and patient while she used her other senses the best she could to orient herself in the plaza.

The easiest trip of course was Tain’s studio, for it was one she made nearly everyday, and it was not far from her apartments. She practically had the steps memorized by this point, but still would always hesitate outside of the entrance and listen in for the familiar smells and sounds. Stumbling upon places like this bakery however were always new and unexpected experiences. Spontaneous choices that were a refreshing change of pace from the monotony of her last few days. An she needed to get her mind off of what was ailing Drooly, at least for a little while. She just had to hope that the Shinya had this problem well in hand, and were actively working on a solution.

Just then Adal heard someone walk up to where she was seated, setting down a saucer and cup, then a plate which Adal then felt for slowly across the table with her fingertips, hesitating when her fingertips touched the ceramic.

“Thank you.” Adal said quietly.

“No problem sweetie, will you be needing anything else?” The woman asked in a warm tone, gently brushing against the back of Adal’s hand. Shaking her head, Adal smiled.

“No, this all smells perfect, thank you.” Adal said, and when she heard the woman walk away, she felt the outline of her little saucer before working her fingertips around the steaming cup of tea that had been brought to her table. Grasping it delicately by the handle, she picked it up from the saucer and slowly brought it before her lips, gently blowing across the top of the cup as she noticed someone humming from a nearby table. It was a pleasant enough tune she thought as she took a slow sip from her cup before setting the cup back down.

Then sliding here fingers across the table, she found her plate and walked her way over to berry tart she had ordered. It was fresh and still piping hot so she gave it a moment and relaxed back in her chair, enjoying for several moment the tune this woman was humming along to. Finally, when she’d worked up the courage, she turned in her seat towards where the sound was coming from.

“I’m sorry if I interrupted anything, but what is that you’re humming? It sounds lovely.” Adal asked, feeling a warmth spreading across her cheeks as she brushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

“Oh its a song I am working on. Have you been to the opera?” The woman asked.

“No, I haven’t, but I could give it a try. When are you going to be there?” Adal asked.

“Well, no promises as to quality, but I will be opening the performance three days from now. You can hear my song then with the instruments to accompany it.” The woman replied.

“Count me in. It really is a lovely tune, thank you so much for your time.” Adal said, smiling as she started to shift to turn back to her table.

“Thank you for the interest, I’ll see you then.” The woman said, then made a noise in the back of her throat as Adal completed the turn back towards her table. She’d always found that an almost hilarious turn of phrase, but she kept her humor to herself for now, not wanting to embarrass the woman who had been so kind to answer her question. That was not always the case. Some Lhatvians, not all, but some liked to pretend like she was talking to someone else and thus avoid talking to her altogether. She tried not to think about why that was too much, but lately, it was getting harder and harder to avoid such speculation, especially with Drooly no longer able to comfort her.

WC - 863

[Adal Karelyn]

Later when she left the shop, she found herself humming that same tone, although it wasn’t quite the same as the one she heard from the woman’s lips. She’d never gone to listen to anyone sing before. Her mother used to sing for her, fairly often when she was a young child when that was the only way to calm her down. Perhaps thats why it had managed to strike such a cord with her, comforting her slightly in her time of need.

When Adal opened the door to her apartment, she found it to be disturbingly quiet, but only for a moment before a low pitch growl reverberated throughout the room. Hesitating, Adal almost took a step back outside of the apartment, and wavered in the threshold, trying to tell exactly where Drooly was.

“Its okay Drooly. Its just me, Adal. I brought you a treat.” She said softly, fishing out a bone with a few scraps still on it and then tossing it gingerly into the room. It bounced, but she didn’t hear Drooly move towards it. He just kept growling, filling up the room with his ire.

“Oh Drooly. You know its just me. I was just here this morning. Hmmm?” Adal said, and finally the growls died down somewhat as Adal took another cautious step inside.

“See Drooly everything is all right, okay. Mhm, just finnnee.” Adal said, and then started humming that tune from earlier under her breath. “Dun, dun, dah, um eh se la. De da ma ce fo lu ra.” Filling the quiet apartment with her humming until finally the growls completely dissipated. Carefully, Adal closed the door behind her before navigating across the room with her walking staff till she got to her bed. Promptly she sat down on the edge of it where she sat quietly for several long chimes while she listened to Drooly slowly get up to check on the bone while she hummed to herself on the edge of the bed.

She wondered if there was any credit to music being able to tame the beast to those old folk sayings, and laid back on her bed, musing about just that while she listened to Drooly crunch away on his bone. Eventually, she even managed to put herself past his odd behavior, at least for a moment as she found herself speculating just what this song would be like before remembering something that her mom used to sing to her.

“Go my child. Tarry not,
for the ways are dark and crowded.”

“Hold on tight. Make sure you fight,
If the they should get too close.”

Hearing the sound of her own voice singing the song broke her from the spell as she struggled to recollect the rest. She remembered it being such a lovely song, but it had been many years since she last heard it and hearing it in her own unpracticed attempt was enough to distract her from remembering the rest. While she had trouble remembering all of the words, she kind of liked singing.

WC - 510

[Adal Karelyn]

It was kind of nice hearing something fill up their small little room, even if it was just her voice. Even Drooly didn’t seem to mind as he was intently munching away on his bone now as if nothing at all was amiss. Which was saying something because Adal could hear a storm brewing outside, the same one she smelled coming on earlier, only now it was accompanied by distant cracks, and a light patter of rain on her windowsill that she knew wouldn’t take long to grow in intensity. Perhaps that was the reason that all of the animals were on edge this season, for the weather certainly hadn’t been great. It really hadn’t been the same for several years now, and this year was no different with frequent heavy storms washing over the peaks keeping her cooped inside more often than not. Oh well, maybe Drooly would like it if she kept singing.

“Would you like that Drooly? If I kept singing?” Adal asked, and when she didn’t get a negative answer out of her dog, she smiled to herself as she made herself comfortable across the top of her bed. “Alright, well here it goes.”


“Where have the worthy gone? Is there not a Shinya, to take away my pain. Late at night, I toss and I turn, dreaming of fair Iowan. I shall hold out for Iowan till the end of the night. I pray he be hale and whole, and swift returned to my door.” She began softly gradually gaining in tempo as she became more comfortable with the words that came to her from a mixture of songs she had heard throughout the years. Her rendition left much to be desired, but alone with only Drooly to hear her, she felt confident enough to sing her heart out to herself if only to comfort them both through the storm that was approaching. Sitting up in her bed, she repeated the refrain while twisting her hands back and forth in a mock dance. Part of her wanted to dance right then and there, but after having worked so hard to earn this uneasy peace with Drooly, she wasn’t willing to sacrifice that just yet so she stayed on her bed.

She repeated those same lines several more times, changing the words occasionally to others that blended together better in her ear, though occasionally switching back just to compare them as her mind puzzled out her next lines. This was actually kind of fun she realized, which was good because her hands were tired as she’d spent the wee hours of this morning sculpting so her fingers desperately needed a break. Plus, unless she was sculpting objects which got kind of boring after a while, she needed a person present which was kind of hard to do now that Drooly had gotten so ornery.

That said, singing had a way of really drying out her throat so she did actually have to get off her bed in order to grab a drink of water, though Drooly at least didn’t seem the least bit perturbed as he was busily munching away at his bone in the far corner of the room. After having taken a much needed pull from her waterskin, she brought it back to the bed with her where she set up to practice a little more singing.

WC - 563

[Adal Karelyn]

“I need a Shinya, true to his word with a wit as bright as the light.” Adal continued, clutching her blankets and holding them just under her chin as she shifted to the edge of the bed. “Charging on an Okomo, and clad in leather and steel. I shall answer only the one who brings me something real.” Adal sang, standing up, and doing a little spin before catching herself giggling against the wall. Drooly chuffed from his spot in the corner, but Adal paid him no mind as she dropped the blankets giggling as she rolled against the wall till she felt the wood of the door against her back.

“Could I but wield a sword of my own, I would not require his strength. I need a Shinya! I will wait for him until the end of the night. Oh Iowan, where have you gone. I wish you could be here before first light.” Adal sang, leaning back on the door as she did, then stumbling backwards as it opened up as she fell on her butt in the pouring rain. Briefly chuckling to herself, she continued quietly as she brushed off the back of her dress, feeling a certain slickness to it that hadn’t been there before.

“Oh my Iowan. Where are you now, are you healthy, hearty and whole? I need you now, rush on back, before its too late for us both.” She sang, and perhaps because of the loudness of the downpour, she didn’t feel embarrassed about raising her voice as she did, working her way through the words, and playing with how she enunciated the syllables. She know this must all seem rather silly to anyone who was nearby, but part of her felt it was high time she stopped carrying so much about what strangers thought about her, and simply enjoy her circumstances. As the rain continued to pour on her, soaking through her clothes and plastering her hair against her body, Adal felt the need to do a little twirl as she inclined her face towards the downpour, smiling against it and reveling in the cleanness of it all.

This was the most alive she had felt in days, perhaps even all season as she reveled in the sheer freedom of it. Repeating the words over to herself, she listened to her voice as she sang and thought about how she could make it sound a little more pleasing, but alas she didn’t have much to go on in that regard. Perhaps someday soon she would start attending a few more operas, if only to hear how it was properly done. For now though, she drew on her mother’s memory and that was enough for her. It brought her back to a much happier time in her life, a warm memory to hold onto with the ill of this present season was currently being washed off of her in the rain.

“Oh Iowan, I spend my nights thinking of you. Clad all in leather, the night your cloak, and the dawn the blade at your side. Oh what beauty pray tell you tonight when you’re at my bedside.” She sang as she felt her way along back to her doorway, but hesitated to walk inside just yet as the rain poured off of her in rivulets, her dress clinging to her as snuggly as any undergarment she had ever wore. Smiling, shook off her head brusquely before heading in through the door.

WC - 581