Flashback Foreign Music

[Xiani]

She closed her eyes as the girl played, enjoying the way each note flowed into the next. Smiling at the melody, Xiani feels it begin to seep through her bones, as if the music was imbued with so much more than notes. Slowly, elegantly, she rises to her feet and takes a step back. When she transitioned into the second song, something within Xiani came alive and her eyes snapped open. She spun and landed with one foot back, wings opened and stretched behind her. Her body began a furious, yet still elegant dance with the music. At the end of each count, she would beat her wings in a way that made a solid bass thump, causing the fire to dance with her. Her body gyrates and writhes with the longer notes, her long, sleek arms painting designs in the air as she manipulates her hands to follow the music. After a moment, she realizes the music has faded and that her dancing had slowed, so she stops abruptly, locking her hands behind her back. Unsure as to whether or not an apology is necessary, she waits for the girl to speak first.

[Inessa]

Inessa spared herself a chuckle as her music came to a brief halt, watching the winged girl dance. She was surprisingly lithe, though the musician figured such was to be expected from an aviary race. Raising a hand to wave at the girl, slight laughter carried her voice. "Go on, don't fret about it. I'll keep playing." She began with a slow song, the tune dramatic and sad. There was a rhythm Xiani could follow, though it demanded she take her time with the motions if she wanted to follow it. Inessa made sure to keep the same steady beat, letting the other woman feel the music and dance as she wished.

[Xiani]

Despite herself, Xiani felt a smile tug at her lips as the woman began to play again. It took a moment for her blood to lose the tempo of the last song, and slow to the pace of the present one. Xiani felt her eyes droop ever so slightly as she allowed the music to flood her, coaxing out an entirely different part of her being. With this dance, she kept her feet on the ground, sliding on her toes from one position to the other in a way that gave one the impression that she was floating. Her wings fell back slightly, giving her a woeful appearance and her arms moved in slow but dramatic sweeps. In her mind, she experienced the bitter pain of being sent out on her own, away from all that she had ever known, into a world she did not understand, searching for that which she did not know. She collapsed to her knees, then onto her side, reaching slowly towards the cave's ceiling and what lies beyond, wings draped across her. Rolling slowly back onto her knees, she pulls herself together, in a stance that is almost prayerlike before rising gently to her feet, as if lifted by a gentle breeze. From there, she resumes the sad pattern of slow circles and long, dragging steps.

[Inessa]

Slowly, Inessa's song began to pick up in speed. While it wasn't as fast as what she was playing before, it was starting to obtain a good, solid, stead beat. The sound's almost rustic as she strums all the strings together instead of playing only one specific one at a time. Instead of staying perfectly alongside the music, Inessa's humming begins to come into its own tune, rising and falling completely separate from the lute. Her head bopped to her own song, as she watched the dancing Xiani. She smiled brightly, and kept on playing.

[Xiani]

A hopeful light touched Xiani's face as the music picked up once more. She began to leap and spin quickly, tucking her wings close around her as she spun, then flaring them for an abrupt halt. She brought a leg up so that it was parallel with her body and rose to her toe, spinning quickly before leaping again and landing on the foot that was once raised. In the air, her hands and wings create a pattern that causes the flame to dance rhythmically, and the speed at which she leaps and turns ruffles her fur and hair. Feeling a rush that brought renewed confidence to her entire being, she leapt and flipped over her head without placing her hands on the ground or using her wings - something she had never done before. The sheer accomplishment of that causes her to laugh, a sound that carries a melody all it's own as it wavers between the spectrums of sound. "This is so wonderful!" She cries, spinning in a circle. "And you, you are wonderful," she smiles and briefly considers how useful such a talented slave would be, before deciding that not only would it slow her down, it would be a shame to steal away such talent.

[Inessa]

Inessa's singing was interrupted by her chuckle, a soft red hue crossing her cheeks. The Zith's seductive tone certainly didn't help keep her from being flattered. Pink crept into her otherwise yellow eyes. "You've my thanks, miss. And you dance quite wonderfully yourself." She continued with the steady rhythm, though she no longer sung alongside her lute. Instead, she tried to simply chat, humor evident in her happy voice. "Do you want me to go on? Faster or slower? Or shall we stop?" Her eyes had been following the dance of the Zith woman this entire time, though it didn't cause her to lose track of her music. The twirls and twists. The way she seemed lighter than a feather as she appeared to float in the air. Regardless of whether or not such was the truth, she couldn't help but admire what she thought to be a greatly skilled dancer. Even if Xiani didn't have the training, she certainly had the spirit, and that was good enough for Inessa to enjoy.

[Xiani]

"I would not mind dancing more," Xiani says quietly, smiling gently. "But my body has found itself worn and tired from the day's events." She looks around before returning her eyes to the girl, realizing that her eyes change colors the way that the elder-slave's did. "Do you mind if I share your shelter for the remainder of the night... day? I cannot tell time with this awful weather," she sighs and shakes her head, deciding then and there that even if there is some wealth of knowledge in Avanthal, she will not pursue it. No amount of possibility is worth risking her life. No. Once she has rested, she will ride the headwind... now tailwind, South.

[Inessa]

"The night. Don't worry, you'll get used to it if you stay up here long enough." Inessa's song slowed down significantly, though she still idly plucked at the strings, occasionally trying out a quick chord. Nothing too substantial though. "You can stay if you wish. If you're cold, you can sit next to me. Body heat tends to help," she said, as she tuned one of her strings, looking down at the instrument. "What brings you around here, anyway? You don't exactly look equipped for the weather." She'd look into the other woman's eyes as she asked this, head tilting to the side with her inquiry.

[Xiani]

Slightly unsure, Xiani walks around the fire and sits upon the bear pelt she had pushed over earlier. She spends a moment searching for words, frowning slightly, unsure as to whether or not to share such private details with a stranger. Finally, she relaxes and loosens her wings. "In my colony, we value strength and usefulness above all else. So... when a youngling becomes and... adult, we send them out into the world to learn something that would be useful for the colony or do something very brave... something that would make them worthy of being a Dark-flier." She looks into the fire for a moment, enjoying it's warmth and the continued music. "What brings you out into this cold? Don't you have a nest to return to?" She shakes her head and corrects herself, "I mean home. Do you not have one?"

[Inessa]

Inessa adjusted slightly on the ground, shifting so she might sit cross legged. This only interrupted her music briefly - she got back to it quick enough. "I do have a home. Avanthal, within the Snowsong Hold. My... ah. The Snowsongs are my family, so to speak. I suppose you would refer to it as a colony, wouldn't you?" She frowned slightly, looking down at her lute. "The only thing my people want me to do is... well. Get married. Ah..." She paused once more, pursing her lips in thought. "I suppose you would call that 'finding a mate', wouldn't you? Someone of the opposite gender I would spend the rest of my life with."