The Music Man (Over and Rewarded)

[Klane]

Time stamp: 34th of Winter
Open to: All

Klane used to be a slave. In that time, which he feels he'd rather forget, he was forced to perform humiliating services. The Kelvic embarrassed himself while cooking, cleaning, and gardening, all of which had, at times, ended in pain. One thing he could do though, was entertain. Whether it be simple illusions, thought up in seconds, to elaborate pieces of music. In fact, his most recent owners would invite over their snotty friends simply to show off his talent. It was interesting actually, his owners and their friends must've had a bad mind for music as Klane was amateur at best. He knew this, but didn't mind the attention if it earned him an extra helping of food, or slightly loosened shackles at night.

Now, he's continued to nurture and grow a passion for music, he can't compose, but he has memorized several songs. He's not much of a singer either, but if it involves a few extra mizas he will juggle while playing that mandolin of his. Klane is sitting on a bedroll, harmonica to one side of him and a crudely labeled tip jar with some change inside in front of the holed right knee of his simple clothing. On his lap sits the Kelvics mandolin as he plays.

His hands run all over the instrument as Klane strums, tune after tune. every now and then he'll make a swift head movement in the direction of the jar for his audience to make note of, but otherwise he is completely consumed in the music. Unlike a master of music, he has to focus hard on each note as it comes to make sure he can hit each note. He bites down a little harder on his lower lip each time a note is missed. He's not a master, but many passing by probably won't notice his few missed notes.

[Kadurro]

It's been an interesting winter, so far, Kadurro thought, nursing a small headache. The head pain was standard fare for him; cheap ale and loud noise rarely go well together, but Kadurro was a fan of both, regardless. Spending his time at The Rearing Stallion, telling tales to customers in exchange for their leftovers, he was on the constant search for people he could confide in, to employ into his grand scheme. As much as I like that tavern, it's starting to look like I won't find the people I'm looking for in there.

As he made his way back towards the place he considered his "sleeping quarters", the sound of music wormed its way into his mind, and as Kadurro arrived at his "bed", only to see that a white-haired man had beaten him there, and was the source of the music. "Can't win all the time," he muttered under his breath. He took a silver-rimmed Miza from his pocket and as the mandolin player finished up a song, he dropped it into his tip jar. "Good show, sir. I'm always a fan of fellow 'starving artists'...Would it be alright if I sat here with you? I mean, I won't take your tips or anything," he said with a laugh, his eyes a subtle mix of topaz and gold. "It's just...well, company is best kept in cold weather." Kadurro didn't use Vantha expressions too often, but sometimes they were a lot more eloquent and understandable than simple speech.

[Klane]

Klane sat quietly for minute, assessing the situation. He hadn't even started his next song. It wasn't that he didn't trust others, he did though, have a deep emotional scar in his very soul from contact with them. The Kelvic looked the fellow 'starving artist,' as the human put it, up and down. He didn't see any reason not to trust the man. "Alright, why not. Besides, the tips aren't good enough tonight anyway." The statement may have been a joke, but the smile on Klane's face wasn't truly sincere. Instead it sat there like a mask, but it was still trying to project a friendliness. Just a friendliness that couldn't yet exist in Klane's mind.

"You got an instrument with you? Maybe some backup would help the cash-flow." Klane added, considering the prospect of help. He moved over a little on the bedroll to make room in case the human didn't wish to sit on the snowy ground.

[Kadurro]

"Thank you," Kadurro said, taking a seat in the snow next to the man. If he noticed that the mandolin player had made room for him on the bedroll, he didn't show it; the smile he had gotten was one of caution, not of happiness, and Kadurro had seen enough smiling over the years to tell the difference. Can't say I blame him, though. Strange man approaches for no obvious reason, and wants to sit with you. Before he had left his Hold, he couldn't understand why anyone wouldn't trust another person; it was the way he had been raised to behave, after all. Travelling with merchants had taught him that people let feelings of malice get the better of them: greed and jealousy, for the most part. So while he could understand why someone would be wary to trust another person, Kadurro didn't believe that there was really anything to fear. If I had wanted to rob you, I would have done it after you were finished playing for the night. If I had wanted to harm you, I wouldn't have said 'hello'. If you had wanted to rob or harm anyone, you wouldn't be performing on the streets, you would be out robbing and harming someone. So, we must both be trustworthy, at least for now, and that's all there is to it.

It was simple logic, at best, but it had sufficed for the last four years, and it would probably suffice for the next four years. At the mention of an instrument, Kadurro pulled a small violin from his pack. "You lead and I'll follow. Oh, and before I forget," he added, extending a handshake. "I'm Kadurro."

[Klane]

Klane thought of just ignoring the hand and beginning to play, but he decided to be polite. He extended his hand as well, accepting the gesture, "My names Klane." The Kelvic didn't feel fear now, it was replaced by a pang of nervousness. He didn't totally trust this man yet, but felt the need for some kind of companionship. At least, that was his excuse for it. "Let's play then!"

Klane began off with a slow, simple song. He wanted to see how well this Kadurro fellow could play. He didn't want the music to sound any worse than it already did just because he was playing with someone below his meager skill level. At the same time he didn't want to loose the company. If he plays as well or better than me, I'll just continue as I have. If not, we'll stay simple.

[Kadurro]

Listening carefully to Klane's playing, Kadurro held his violin in position. That'll do. Once he had found the beat, he began to play slow, long notes to accompany Klane's mandolin. Playing backup wasn't common with his instrument, but it wasn't impossible, and he had done it a few times before. Kadurro was relieved that the song Klane decided to play wasn't too complex; it allowed him to play whole notes in harmony to a song that he didn't know, and the slow tempo made it easier to focus on drawing the bow for each note without achieving the dreaded squelch of a misplay. There's nothing quite like making music with strangers. Even if they've never met before, as their instruments make music together, it's as if they're already the best of companions. A woman walked past, tossing a few copper Mizas into the tip jar. Kadurro gave a nod her way as he played; whether she even glanced back after walking by was impossible to know. Yes, he thought to himself, gently drawing the bow across the fragile strings of his final reminder of the life he used to have. 'Company is best kept in cold weather' indeed.

[Klane]

Klane was sort of enjoying himself. Music was a finer thing in life for him, and playing with two people at once was a new experience. A meaningful one at that. It was like combining two ingredients to make a tasty meal that is better than each ingredient could be on it's own. Yes, in Klane's mind he was, and he raised his eyebrows as he thought this, an ingredient. Unfortunately, all good things must pass, and as such, so did the song.

"Well, that wasn't too bad. Would you like to lead this time, Kadurro," The Kelvic added the man's name as a second thought to try and add respect and acknowledgement to the statement. He didn't smile, nor show much emotion, but deep inside, very deep, beyond the walls built of mistrust in his consciousness he was having a good time.

[Kadurro]

Shifting around to find a more comfortable sitting position, Kadurro took a moment to think about what song to play. "Alright, then," he replied to Klane. "A pleasant little tune, born from the heart of the northern aurora."

The song he started to play was both cheerful and simple. The beauty of the song was that aside from the eight quarter notes that made up the chorus, there were no written notes; each Vantha who learned to play this song was guided by their own emotions. Playing alone, the song was a simple piece of music, but when played in a mass of strings during celebrations, the tune would take on a fantastic, almost eerie nature, as inspiring as the northern lights themselves.

Kadurro's version of the song was easy enough to follow, and while showcasing no particular skill with his use of simple notes and a basic tempo, he poured his heart and soul into making sure that any notes he may have misplayed simply appeared to be part of the song in the first place.

[Klane]

Simple enough, Klane noted to himself as he began to follow the tune. It was simple, and while he enjoyed playing it, he could not put so much of himself into the notes as Kadurro could. The lack of emotion that the song was meant to be playing in prevented it from pulling off its inspiring nature. It was still pleasant, not great, but nice and simple. It was, well, basic. Altogether the characteristics of the song began to lull Klane to a sleep. He shook himself out of it before he feel in the middle of a performance. He thought lazily that he should maybe get some sleep once the song was over, but canceled the idea for the fact that there was more money to be squeezed from passing by people. Money that you're going to need to survive, the young Kelvic reminded himself before returning his full focus to the song.

[Kadurro]

Kadurro ended the song with a pleasant finale. He couldn't help but smirk as he watched the weight of exhaustion play with Klane's face, taunting him with the idea of sleep. "Well, I believe that's all for me. You should probably turn in as well," he said with a chuckle. "Music doesn't sound the same when you're tired." Kadurro stood up and stretched, and put his violin away. "It's been a real treat, Klane. We'll have to do this again some time, if we happen to meet like this again." He pulled out four more silver-rimmed Mizas, and dropped them into Klane's tip jar. "For the good company," Kadurro said, and then he began walking down the street, looking for a nice place to call home for the night.