Flashback [The Crystal Hall] Time's a'Wastin'

[Kirsi Winterflame]

Timestamp: 2nd of Spring, 508AV

After gracing her with a blank stare, Lyrri's cheerful good humor returned, and she went on to explain about octaves. And sharps and flats? What in the world...?

Kirsi's confusion must have shown on her face, because Lyrri launched into an explanation of those, too. Or at least Kirsi thought it was an explanation. At the end, though, she had to admit that she seemed to have no more clear idea of what the Snowsong girl was talking about than when they had started. Taking a deep breath, she set her flute down in her lap again and looked at the younger girl.

Starting with the most confusing question, she quizzed Lyrri. "If a sharp and a flat are the same thing, then why do they have two different names? And why don't all notes have them?" That made no sense to Kirsi. If a cee sharp was the same as a dee flat, then why bother having both? And how would one tell the difference, then, between the two?

Honestly, she had thought that learning the flute would be difficult, but she had also assumed it would have more to do with blowing into the instrument than with learning two names for one thing, and how many notes one could blow from the instrument. Well, ok, that last one seems important, she acknowledged, pragmatically.

Then Lyrri placed her flute to her lips and blew a single, quiet note. Though hesitant, Kirsi had to admit it sounded much better than her own attempts thus far. Sighing, she picked her flute back up, thoughtfully replaced her fingers over the holes she'd been shown earlier, and took a deep breath. Wincing even before she began, Kirsi blew cautiously into the flute. What resulted was a wounded bird call of a slightly different pitch. Petch!

[Lyrri Snowsong]

Lyrri would have been more exasperated, but the topic at hand made the trouble worthwhile. She smiled apologetically when seeing Kirsi's look of confusion, and gave a calm moment of thought to the question at hand. It was true, there wasn't much of a difference between sharps and flats. You could just use one all your life and be perfectly fine. How do you explain something that doesn't make much sense to begin with?

"Well... Reading music is like... Reading a book," she finally settled, albeit cautiously. "And every author has their own style. You could say whatever you prefer, really, just as you could say 'mad' or 'angry'- but every written work will be different."

"Does that make sense," she asked with a lively and hopeful glance. "I'm sorry if I'm going off on a tangent. Music really is a language in its own right." She grinned; it was confusing at first, but ultimately understanding it was more fun than anything she had ever known.

"... Personally, I like to call them sharps," she added quickly, not exactly one to speak too little. "Because... They seem happier that way!"

After her note, Kirsi tried one of her own.

... It wasn't terrible...

Lyrri smiled sheepishly. "That's not bad, especially since you just started," she looked over the girl, her posture, her fingers, hoping to make the corrections that her teachers had given her so many times. "Try to straighten your back a bit... And oh, this finger needs to be here..." With little concern for personal space, she nudged the girl's shoulders straight, positioned her hands, and lifted her elbow ever-so-slightly. That looked about right!

"Oh! And relax your lower lip. If you smile or anything like that, it won't sound right."

Sitting back with a grin, Lyrri raised her flute once more. Another note, the same pitch, if only a bit softer. It gets tricky again when I remember everything I'm supposed to do...

OOCGyahhhhh I've been gone an entire week! I'm so sorry!! T-T

[Kirsi Winterflame]

Timestamp: 2nd of Spring, 508AV

Happy sharps. Okay. It wasn't the most technical term, Kirsi felt sure, but as long as the basic precept was that sharps of one note were equal to flats of another, she could manage to file it away with the less-pressing concerns.

Lyrri's opinion of her note as being "not terrible" elicited a hearty chuckle. "Oh, you're just being nice. It was awful. But just a bit less awful than the first ones, eh? What am I doing wrong?" The question burst forth containing equal parts exasperation and amusement. Lyrri, thankfully, simply took the question at face value and began correcting her.

Leaning in very close, she prodded Kirsi this way and that, verbally issuing commands. All in all, Kirsi felt very much like a life-sized doll being positioned with no input or control. But Lyrri was the teacher, and Kirsi had to believe that being a Snowsong and being a flute player, she knew what she was doing. Wait. What?

How did she 'relax' her lips?

Rather than ask another question that would undoubtedly test Lyrri's patience, Kirsi soldiered on gamely. Resisting an urge to lean forward - Lyrri had said to sit up straight - she placed the flute carefully to her lips. Taking a breath, she closed her eyes, bracing herself for yet another assault on her ears, and blew lightly into the flute, hoping to at least come closer to the pure tones Lyrri was able to draw from her own instrument.

OOCNo worries! Welcome back!

[Lyrri Snowsong]

"I'm not just nice," she said with a grand laugh. "I'm honest!"

Lyrri listened intently as her new friend tried a note of her own; the improvement could be heard immediately. She gave a green-eyed smile and nodded excitedly. It wasn't perfect, but neither was the Snowsong's. The instrument wasn't something you could take up within the hour, but Kirsi seemed far faster than most. "That sounded good," she commended the Winterflame as the small smile stretched into a wide grin. "You're a natural!"

"If you keep practicing, maybe you'll even be able to take me on," she winked. "Oh! And just one thing. Your face should be like... This."

She closed her eyes and showed Kirsi a wide, slightly parted frown. It was exaggerated at best; at worst, it made no sense whatsoever; and right in between was the expression of a pouting fish. But maybe it would help. After a moment's pause, Lyrri once again broke into laughter. "It won't sound as ridiculous as it may look!"

"You should come with me to see Parrsni sometime," she began with a friendly air. "Much as I hate to admit it, I'm not any sort of teacher compared to him." She looked again at her flute; what should she teach next? Where to go...

Bah, she wanted to carve!

With an excitable if impatient bounce, she looked to Kirsi again. "If I show you a few more notes, will you show me how to carve this thing?"

OOCBah, still~ But thank you. And sorry if I'm a little off today.

[Kirsi Winterflame]

Timestamp: 2nd of Spring, 508AV

Kirsi eyed the younger girl with skepticism; the expression she demonstrated looked too ridiculous to be genuine. How in the world was she supposed to concentrate on the notes if she knew her face looked like that? She gave it only half an effort as Lyrri laughed, assuring her that the sound would be better than the appearance.

"If you say so," Kirsi said doubtfully, before giving the expression a fully focused effort. "Like 'dis?" The words came out a bit distorted, as Kirsi tried to speak without disrupting her 'flute-face'.

"You should come with me to see Parrsni sometime...I'm not any sort of teacher compared to him."

"Well, you're doing alright so far," Kirsi reassured her instructor. "But who is Parrsni?" She wasn't about to turn down any potential teachers - if Lyrri was willing to introduce them, and vouch for her if need be, Kirsi was definitely interested in furthering her musical education.

"If I show you a few more notes, will you show me how to carve this thing?"

Kirsi couldn't help but laugh at the other girl's enthusiasm; of course she did seem to lose patience with the teaching side of things, but Kirsi felt like she had enough to practice with for awhile, at least. So she nodded in acquiescence. "Tell you what - we can work out some of the carving now, and maybe you can show me some more with the flute afterwards? The carving stuff can get a bit tiring for your hands at first, and we may want a break in a bit."

Setting her flute down, Kirsi rooted around in her pack for a minute, unearthing a bit of charcoal and a clean sheet of practice paper, which she offered to Lyrri. "First, you'll want to draw your design out on paper. I've been just sort of free-carving my flute, but I don't recommend starting out that way. Actually, I probably shouldn't be doing it myself; if I start to go wrong with it, I could end up with an instrument I never want to look at, let alone practice on." A chuckle accompanied the words, though the possibility of her messing up the flute was a worry; Kirsi just didn't have a hard and fast design in mind for her flute, and found that the swirling lines came easily to her hands without benefit of pre-planning.

[Lyrri Snowsong]

The girl's laugh grew even louder at Kirsi's imitation; perhaps she had gone a bit overboard. She gave another enthusiastic nod, thick braid flouncing about behind her, and repeated the fish-face once more before leaning back and glancing out at the mildly-busy hall.

"Parrsni is a Snowsong," she explained with cheerful flecks of violet. "He works with wood for a living- he loves to carve, too!- but he's also very good on the flute. He taught me most of what I know."

She grinned, giving Kirsi yet another dose of her near-unbearable cheer. "He's a friendly sort of person. I think you'd get along great!"

"Tell you what- we can work out some of the carving now, and maybe you can show me more with the flute afterwards?"

At this, Lyrri bolted back up, electric green currents intermingling with and striking against the violet. The ever-present grin was once again in full force; it seemed that this girl's emotions ranged from content to frighteningly happy. "It's a deal!"

She clutched her own plain instrument and drew it up to her face quickly. And then it dawned on her.

I still have no idea what to do...

Just in time, the Winterflame had a plan. "First, you'll want to draw your design out on paper." She went on to explain the dangers of free-hand. Lyrri nodded with a chuckle, the green flashing through her eyes just barely concealing a pale orange dose of worry; planning it out first wouldn't necessarily prevent her from ruining the heirloom...

"Well... Okay!" She straightened up and put on a determined, albeit comical, face, never one to put off a daunting task. One would think she was going to war; in her mind, she probably was; the Battle of the Flute-Carver!

"Ah... Do you have some paper I could borrow?"

[Kirsi Winterflame]

"Parrsni sounds great - you're lucky to have a teacher that you like so much." It was a soft hint, perhaps, but Kirsi didn't feel comfortable being too overt. Yet. For now, it was enough that Lyrri had shown her the basics and given her a name. Maybe, if things didn't naturally lead that way, Kirsi could look up this Parrsni on her own?

For now, though, Lyrri seemed overjoyed at the prospect of carving her flute. Kirsi couldn't help but smile back - the girl's excitement was proving to be contagious. But when she asked for paper - the paper that Kirsi had already offered her, Kirsi let out a chuckle. "I sure do. Here you go," she smiled indulgently at the younger girl.

It was refreshing to show someone a new skill that they were so eager and enthusiastic to learn. It certainly brought a new life to what Kirsi had privately considered to be one of the more tedious aspects. Sketching out your design could often be time-consuming and involved; it was not uncommon for her to use three or even four sketches as comparison before deciding on a design. At least, with abstract, you didn't need to be concerned with realistic proportion or appearance. It was really all about what appealed to the artist - or to the person for whom the project was intended. Since Lyrri was carving her own flute, a design that she liked on paper would be perfect. Provided it was simple. Oh! She should probably tell the other girl that.

"Something to keep in mind is that you have limited space with which to work. You probably want a design no wider than this," and she held her fingers apart at a width of about two inches. "Its going to wrap around the body of the instrument, but a flute's body really doesn't have much surface area. You want to make your lines really count, really mean something. No wasted frills. Get a picture in your mind of what you want, and put it on paper. And then we'll see about simplifying it; I can help you figure out which lines are key to your design and which ones are unnecessary."

While the other girl drew, Kirsi could continue scratching her linework into her own flute - it was nearing completion, as far as she was concerned, and she was excited to have the finished product ready to use. Knowing that it was illogical, a small part of her brain still felt that, if she had a beautiful instrument, the sounds that came from it would also be beautiful.

[Lyrri Snowsong]

"I'll introduce you sometime, if you like," Lyrri said companionably, somewhat sensing Kirsi's little suggestion. And there's no reason Parrsni might not take on a new "student," so to speak. He still allowed the Snowsong girl to come by his workshop at any time of the day; surely he and the Winterflame would get along great!

She stopped bouncing only long enough to realize that this was the second time Kirsi had offered up the paper. She stared at it for a moment, face frozen in embarrassed disbelief. "Oh..." then, suddenly, she was again as happy as ever. "Hooray! Thank you!" She snatched up the paper and resumed her bouncing. She had become used to those indulgent looks; in her opinion, it meant she was doing just fine. Merrily she looked at the blank sheet; then at the flute; then the sheet again. Another rush of excitement: It's going to be so pretty!

Well, maybe not... But who was she kidding? She was the Great Lyrri! It would be- almost- just as great!

"Something to keep in mind is that you have limited space with which to work." Kirsi held her fingers about two inches apart; Lyrri nodded slowly as she further explained. Make your lines mean something.

Lyrri stared for another moment, as if trying to draw an image in her mind. Then, nodding once more- this time, more determined- she looked back at her friend. "Do you have-" Oh- of course she did. Lyrri showed an orange tint of embarrassment once again, but this one was far more carefree. "Charcoal, please?"

Without another moment's hesitation, she began to draw, holding her head mere inches from the paper as she sweated over wiggling, childish lines. She wasn't exactly an artist... She held her tongue out just past her teeth, as if it might help her focus, and pressed the soft pigment into her work just short of hard enough to tear it. Even with her lack of skill, she thought- hoped- that she could make her feelings known. Think of home... Avanthal...

A myriad of colors floated in her eyes, Morwen's Lights flashing all at once. She continued to work for a long while, shoving the charcoal around only to smudge it away angrily and begin anew in another place. Crudely rendered bears could be made out in the abandoned pictures, accompanied by the occasional tall pine. Lyrri grumbled periodically, squinting and judging and scribbling in a perfect circle of discontent.

She looked over at Kirsi's carefree swirls, so lovely in their simplicity. A childish frown afflicted her friendly face. "I don't think I get how this works."

[Kirsi Winterflame]

"I don't think I get how this works."

Kirsi could see that the other girl was struggling. But how to make it easier? Before you could carve, you had to know what you wanted to carve. It wasn't necessary that you be able to draw it, though, she realized. It was a thought that she wished had come to her earlier; it was never good to start out a new pastime on a sour note.

She paused for a mental chuckle at her own joke, biting her lip to keep from grinning. Flute. Sour note. Back to business.

"Its difficult; I should have realized it might get a bit frustrating. You don't need to draw it well - it looks like you have a basic idea of what you want? That's a," Kirsi paused, considering a moment before making a guess, "bear, right? And trees?" Looking up at Lyrri for confirmation, she continued. "If you have the idea, I can try to draw it for you?"

A niggling little voice in her head would not keep silent. If she can't draw it, how can she carve it? But Kirsi ruthlessly silenced it. One problem at a time, thank you. Besides, if the design was as bare bones as it appeared, Kirsi could carve it for her. The Snowsong had already helped her with her flute, and offered an introduction to her own instructor. A carving on a flute was little enough in the way of repayment, as far as Kirsi was concerned.

Kirsi plucked a fresh sheet of paper from her pack and drew two parallel lines, approximately a flute's diameter apart. As a template, it was rough, but better than nothing. Comparing her paper to Lyrri's, Kirsi roughly sketched in a bear at the bottom, a few inverted 'v' shapes at the top as abstract pine trees, trunks stretching downward until they nearly touched the bear. Intermixed, a few star-like flecks; Lyrri's design hadn't indicated it, but what was Avanthal without Morwen's Lights in the sky?

"Something like this, perhaps?" Holding her page up for the girl to see, she went on reassuringly, "Your drawing will get better the more you practice; I used to try to put too much detail into my own designs and had to really focus on simplifying things. It helps, if you are looking at something, to sort of squint. The details will go all fuzzy, and you can see what the most basic shape should be." It was a clumsy explanation, at best, but not something she was accustomed to putting into words. So she pointed out the window, to Morwen's Palace. "Try it; squint and see if you can't find just the basic shapes of the palace?"

[Lyrri Snowsong]

OOCOh. Oh wow. I've been gone for so long. T-T

Okay. Okay. So I just hit intercession, and don't have quite as much of a giant load of stress on top of me. So I'm gonna try and be more active. Okay? :<

Life is haaaaaaaaaaaaaard-

Kirsi offered some comfort; it was slightly dampened by her guessing, but still encouraged Lyrri to breath a calming sigh. She chuckled uncomfortably. "Go for it," she conceded quickly, handing back the bit of charcoal.

Just as quickly, Lyrri was focused raptly on her friend's work; it already made much more sense than the musician's crude scribbling ever could. She smiled; just the thought was enough to make her happy and fill her with increasing nostalgia. The addition of Morwen's Lights perfected the wintry scene. If the Snowsong was ever homesick, she need only look at the carving...

Lyrri jumped slightly, coming out of her reverie as Kirsi held up the drawing; her eyes were a mix of pale-orange embarrassment and fluttering green anticipation as the Winterflame explained her methods. It sounded a bit strange, but she supposed it made sense. She listened intently to Kirsi's words, her mind flitting from one thought to the next but always oddly intense.

"Try it; squint and see if you can't find just the basic shapes of the palace?"

Lyrri shifted uncomfortably, then straightened with a firm nod. She could do this, right? Of course she could! Now consumed by an eager grin, she whipped her head in the direction of Morwen's palace.

Well, maybe she couldn't...

It was blurry, that was sure enough. But what did Kirsi mean, basic shapes? It was still the palace to her. She could just barely find the outline of the building against the sky, but even that was somehow morphed in a way that was not to the Snowsong's taste. As she squinted more, she saw buildings as little blocky chunks... some triangles here and there, and maybe that was some sort of circle... She could even make out a door if she tried. But that couldn't be right.

Sighing, aggravated, she flipped over the paper she had used and took back the charcoal. She made up the boxy houses with crude, dark lines, then the much larger block that ought to represent the palace; a mockingly terrible half-circle, wriggling and harsh, sat atop the block, followed by an ugly, disconnected triangle or two. Lyrri shrugged, either pretending it wasn't so bad or pretending not to care, and handing the piece of paper over to her artistic friend. "How's that?"