Closed Songs in the Dark (Roxa)

Alea goes out for a midnight stroll, and someone takes exception to her singing.

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Built high in the massive branches of Taldera's bloodwood forest, The Spires is a city crafted by the peaceful and scholarly Jamoura. Considered a haven for scholars and sages Mizahar-wide, The Spires is a mecca of philosophy and science that draws people from far and wide with its promise of deeper thinking and higher reasoning.

Songs in the Dark (Roxa)

Postby Alea Davenport on March 9th, 2013, 2:26 pm

9th Spring, 513, midnight

Alea had awoken in the middle of the night to the sensation of her cat walking on her face. When she had sufficiently woken up, the cat pounced onto the sill of one of the round windows next to Alea's bed. It took a few moments of blinking the sleep out of her eyes, but it became apparent that Tom wanted to be let out. She could not imagine why he did not just go downstairs and go out through the open doorway, but since he had already irrevocably woken her up, she sighed and pulled the glass covering out off the window. As Tom scampered through, she set the window aside, leaving it open in case the cat wanted to come back.

She could tell it was Spring when the breeze coming through the window didn't automatically freeze her nose off. She sighed, knowing she would never be able to get back to sleep now, even with her fluffy crystal spider curled up on her bed. She decided to go for a walk, realizing that she hadn't gone chasing after Tom in the middle of the night since Avanthal. Spurning her furs in favor of an old wool cloak, she got dressed quickly and strolled downstairs and out of her house.

The Spires was quiet at this hour, ever quieter than usual. It felt almost relaxingly private. Almost safe. Of course, here and there, there was a Jamoura guard, making sure everything was safe, but this was the Spires, possibly the safest place she had ever been.

Her wandering feet took her to the outer petals, and she eventually wound up on a path to... she couldn't remember its name, but it was the one with all the musical instruments. She found her way to the amphitheater, a big open space designed, as far as she knew, for performing. The meandered up to the stage and sat, to sleepy to think very hard, but unable to fall asleep. Somehow, her mind wandered to a Vani song she had learned a few seasons ago. She hadn't thought about it for almost as long, and the words were almost completely faded from her memory, but she thought she remembered the tune.

She began humming, somewhere in the middle, because for some reason she could never remember how songs began. Every so often, she remembered a word or phrase, and her clumsy tongue tripped over the lyrical language. She repeated the parts of the song she could remember, her mind recalling more bits and pieces as the song went on. Unbeknownst to Alea, several of the notes were wrong, having gone flat over too many lazy repetitions. She shifted keys several times without realizing. Her singing was also soft and breathy, and she often had to interrupt a phrase to pull more air into her lungs. Still, she was enjoying herself, especially since there was no one around to judge.
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Alea Davenport
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Songs in the Dark (Roxa)

Postby Roxa on March 9th, 2013, 7:41 pm

Roxa sighed quietly as she stepped from her room in Grath's Rest, a cloak pulled tightly about her body. While it wasn't horribly cold, it wasn't exactly pleasant either. The dark haired woman couldn't sleep again, memories of her past haunting her dreams. That man, the watchtowers had changed eight times since she last laid eyes upon him, and still, he would leave her alone.

"That bastard," she muttered, shaking her head in frustration. It wasn't a frequent thing, that he invaded her thoughts like this, but oft enough to cause an annoyance. It never set her mood right, and after tossing and turning for several bells Roxanne decided she would take a nice little evening stroll to try and clear her mind. She nodded in a quiet greeting to those up at this bell, sitting around enjoying the sweet, unique taste of Grath's Special. She'd taken quite a fancy to it, the aromatic honey truly a delight to enjoy. At this chime, however, a drink wasn't going to do it. She'd end up stumbling back up to her room, inebriated but still unhappy.

Stepping outside, Roxa took a deep breath, smiling as she did so. The songstress never grew tired of scent of the massive forest. It's smell was in such stark contrast to the salt water that was all so common in her mountain home of Lhavit. With thoughts of home, of her adventures, and of him, in her mind, Roxa began her stroll, one that would go on for much longer than intended. Lost in contemplation, before she'd even realized what had happened, she'd found herself out of The Petal of Endless Enoch to a place in The Spires which, naturally, spoke to her on a deep, personal level.

The Petal of Fabled Crescendo. Music, stringed instruments much like her mother plays, and a beautiful amphitheater for putting on performances for all to enjoy. This wasn't the first time she'd been here. It wouldn't be the last, for it appeared that her legs would carry her there of their own volition.

As she approached the brilliant feat of engineering, the novice archaeologist paused in her step whilst a peculiar sound violated her ears. That tune, it was one she learned during her two seasons in Avanthal. An ode to the beauties of a winter in the frozen city. A beautiful, song in it's own accord.

But whoever was singing it should be arrested for murder.

The woman's voice was quiet enough, and a generally unobservant Roxa wouldn't have even noticed. The thing was, an amphitheater was built to carry sound in the area, and that caused her voice to be picked up on by the singer's ears. That singing had to stop. Her ears, her spirit, and her soul couldn't take it any further. No one had called Roxa anything but dramatic, after all.

Roxa quickened her pace, scanning the structure for the cruel person who would torture her ears and and assault the lovely song in such a way. Being the only person on a large stage made her easy to spot.

"Stop it. Stop. It!" Roxa cried out, making her way down to where she sat. "What are you doing?" Her inquired dripped with pure confusion, the Lhavitian's bluntness quickly rushing to the forefront. "You're doing everything wrong. The key, the pace, the lyrics. You need to practice a lot more. And not at a place for beautiful performances." Roxa reached the considerably shorter woman, looking down at her with crossed arms. Perhaps it was too forward to attack a stranger in that way, but it could be partially blamed on culture. In Lhavit, if you couldn't do something well, you did something else. It was bred into her to believe so. "You need to project more. And stand up, too. It's...It's all wrong." Some were cut out for music, some were not. Roxa had her thoughts on the matter already.
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Songs in the Dark (Roxa)

Postby Alea Davenport on March 11th, 2013, 10:44 pm

Alea was at first startled by the loud woman demanding she stop singing. But that quickly turned to anger. (There was a brief period of hurt between the two feelings, but anger overtook it so quickly it is hardly worth mentioning.) With every word of the stranger's rant, Alea wanted to punch her in the face harder. Or claw her eyes out. Or, if she could reach it, rip out her smug, superior tongue.

She closed her eyes and took a deep, if hissing, breath. She had decided to try NOT attacking on sight. Kinu, her meditation instructor, had suggested she attempt other methods of dealing with her anger. Lucky for Alea, he hadn't specified what those methods were, other than not inflicting physical harm.

Still, it was hard. Even when that... that Tikita finally shut up and it was Alea's turn to speak, she found her fist kept balling up, and her arm kept twitching in the newcomer's general direction. Finally, she yelled, "What the petch is wrong with you? No one said you had to listen! I'm not bothering anyone, at least not anyone who has any reason to be here at this hour. You can't make me stop singing just because YOU don't like it! What do YOU know about it anyway?"

Alea was certainly projecting now, and standing, her arms balled into fists at her sides. She wasn't sure yelling was working as an alternative to violence. It would depend what effect the yelling had; she would have to wait and see.
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Songs in the Dark (Roxa)

Postby Capricious on April 9th, 2013, 9:40 pm

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Alea Davenport

Award
Skill XP Earned Lore Earned
Singing 1 • Taking Advantage of a Peaceful Night to Walk
• Spring is Here!
• Attempting and Failing to Use Calming Techniques
• Musical Training: Apparently I Need It


As Roxa is retired, I will not be grading for her. I wish this thread has been continued, but it was still a good one as it is!

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out. :)

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