Ari ♫ ♪ ♬ (gracenotes) wrote in emillion, |
On the one hand, her mother had left, and that was nothing short of a miracle to be celebrated (in fact, Ari wished wholeheartedly she were drinking today). On the other hand, her mother had left, without seemingly doing anything more sinister than cornering both Aspel and Drake, separately. At least, despite all of the asking around Ari had done, she had not found sign that anything else had happened, and obviously asking her mother was out of the question, which meant all Ari could do was attempt to restrain her paranoia and steer clear of invitations to private parties, well-paid or not… Just in case. Bierfest, however, was decidedly too public and too rowdy to suit her mother’s ideal preferences for an ambush, so Ari found herself relaxing, just a little. In any case, it was a good excuse to spend some time among the rowdy and cheerful crowd with her scheiltholt, her mastery of which had been greatly improved by a year of practice. She had not been lying when she’d gotten rid of Celia a month ago -- she did tend to consider busking excellent practice, and she enjoyed engaging in it herself now and again. She’d gathered a small but rather enthusiastic crowd willing to part with some gil in exchange for a folk song or two. She’d have to finish soon, she supposed -- the instrument case at her feet was close to half full, and it wouldn’t do to look like she was doing too well. One more, she decided, transitioning into one of the ballads she had unearthed in her recent perusal of old scores at her favorite music shop. And once it was done, perhaps she’d go find somewhere to spend the gil it earned her. Of course, it wouldn’t take Aspel long to hear the sound of the instrument, or to - at least on some level - recognize the song. Even if it wasn’t one she knew by heart, the rhythm, and flow of notes, the melody that sprung to life was one she would always recognize in some way. Her region of Kerwon had a particularly distinct sound, and taste to it in everything they did, and this song felt no different from that. With Kerwonian brew in hand, Aspel had meandered over to where the rather lovely sound had emanated from, and… Couldn’t help the warm smile that grew across her lips as she both watched, and listened to the song from a bit back in the crowd. Ari had worked quite hard on her skill with the scheiltholt and it showed. Once more, that warmth that often crept up in her chest from seeing the other woman slowly began to grow, and the smith couldn’t help but simply reveal in her odd admiration for the other woman. When the song finally came to an end Aspel shifted to settle the ale in a manner so that she could join in on the applause before beginning to work her way through the crowd towards the bard. Ari rose from a curtsy to the sound of more coins landing in her instrument case, prepared to make her excuses when she noticed Aspel coming through the crowd. Rather than speaking to the crowd, then, she simply reached out a hand to pull the other woman towards her, greeting her with an affectionate (and perhaps just a bit lengthy) kiss, which prompted more applause, because people were ridiculous. Not that Ari minded. Pulling back, she waved her hand at the crowd, “All right, ladies and gentlemen, the show is over and the singer has earned some well-deserved food and drink. Thank you!” Then, to Aspel, “I’d hoped to run into you here today. How fortuitous that you came along right as I was thinking of finishing up. Hold this?” She offered the instrument so that she might begin the process of transferring the gil to her colorful vest’s many pockets. She had come here prepared for busking, clearly. |