Spring 5, 514 AV
Key Notes
The dorms still felt foreign and strange to Gwin, the winged Akvatari used to open spaces with only the sheer force of wind, earth and fire as limit. After registering for classes, a fellow student had shown her to her room and explained the rules. That woke such a deep dislike in her that she returned to the sea for the night. The following day was the same. The third came with heavy winds that forced her indoors. When she stopped practicing to look outside for a moment, she noticed it was already dark and simply curled up on top of the blankets in the dorm bed.
The next morning her turquoise wings carried Gwin through the West Wing towards the music room known as Key Notes. Entering the room at the appointed time of two bells after sunrise, she found a red-haired human woman sitting cross-legged on a table and playing the flute. Its metal was glistening in the light coming in through the open window. Gwin was instantly drawn to the elusive and mysterious sound. Its voice was high-pitched like her violin, only sweeter.
With a mere whisper of wings, she settled on the floor, finding it appropriate not to put herself on the same level as her teacher, and opened the small instrument case she’d bought in town. The content, however, came in pieces of polished metal. No matter how she looked at it, she didn’t know how to put her flute together. So she leaned back and listened to the music that went on and on in serpentines and somersaults.
After a while, the melody was abruptly cut short. Gwin almost jumped, instead her fingers twitched and her gaze met the woman’s blue eyes. “Are you the new student?” The Akvatari nodded in polite greeting and answer to the question.
The woman slid down from the table to shut the door and inspect Gwin with narrowed eyes. Then she gave a bright smile. “Welcome. I’m Niamh, your instructor. I’ll teach you the basics of how to play the flute in thirty chime lessons and I expect you to work hard and practice on your own too. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” Gwin disliked the decisive tone she was lectured in, but for the sake of simplicity, she’d go along with whatever Niamh said. If her teaching methods collided with the Akvatari’s concepts of freedom and creativity, the rules wouldn’t apply anyway.
“Good. Shall we begin?” Before Gwin had a chance to answer, the redhead sat down in front of her and took the small case to examine the new flute. Gwin tilted her head – curiosity about an expert opinion ruled out her dislike of Niamh’s manners.
The dorms still felt foreign and strange to Gwin, the winged Akvatari used to open spaces with only the sheer force of wind, earth and fire as limit. After registering for classes, a fellow student had shown her to her room and explained the rules. That woke such a deep dislike in her that she returned to the sea for the night. The following day was the same. The third came with heavy winds that forced her indoors. When she stopped practicing to look outside for a moment, she noticed it was already dark and simply curled up on top of the blankets in the dorm bed.
The next morning her turquoise wings carried Gwin through the West Wing towards the music room known as Key Notes. Entering the room at the appointed time of two bells after sunrise, she found a red-haired human woman sitting cross-legged on a table and playing the flute. Its metal was glistening in the light coming in through the open window. Gwin was instantly drawn to the elusive and mysterious sound. Its voice was high-pitched like her violin, only sweeter.
With a mere whisper of wings, she settled on the floor, finding it appropriate not to put herself on the same level as her teacher, and opened the small instrument case she’d bought in town. The content, however, came in pieces of polished metal. No matter how she looked at it, she didn’t know how to put her flute together. So she leaned back and listened to the music that went on and on in serpentines and somersaults.
After a while, the melody was abruptly cut short. Gwin almost jumped, instead her fingers twitched and her gaze met the woman’s blue eyes. “Are you the new student?” The Akvatari nodded in polite greeting and answer to the question.
The woman slid down from the table to shut the door and inspect Gwin with narrowed eyes. Then she gave a bright smile. “Welcome. I’m Niamh, your instructor. I’ll teach you the basics of how to play the flute in thirty chime lessons and I expect you to work hard and practice on your own too. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” Gwin disliked the decisive tone she was lectured in, but for the sake of simplicity, she’d go along with whatever Niamh said. If her teaching methods collided with the Akvatari’s concepts of freedom and creativity, the rules wouldn’t apply anyway.
“Good. Shall we begin?” Before Gwin had a chance to answer, the redhead sat down in front of her and took the small case to examine the new flute. Gwin tilted her head – curiosity about an expert opinion ruled out her dislike of Niamh’s manners.