who ariel & zatanna! what meeting up after a show when 3/6; wednesday night, 10pmish where era art bar and lounge warnings naivete?
It had been a long day of class combined with preparation for her show. She’d been singing for several hours now, so her voice was feeling a bit hoarse. Ariel was booked all week around town, a fact that was beginning to seep into her studies ever so slightly. Planning a schedule wisely hadn’t been her strongest suit. Sebastian would have shaken her in exasperation if he saw what she was up against, but she made it work through sheer determination.
And a whole lot of sleep deprivation.
After the show, the crew tried to encourage her to go home early. She would be back there not long after classes the following day. In fact, her backpack was in the employee’s area with some music theory homework that was due by Friday. She would think about that Thursday night, naturally.
So, giggling the concern off, she assured the nice janitor that she would be fine and carried on tidying up on stage. She’d been playing the piano that night, a recent addition to her shows since she’d begun studying properly. Sitting down at it, she began spraying down the keys. Flecks of her aquamarine nail polish seemed to have chipped off on it. “Oopsy,” she laughed quietly to herself, then glanced toward the crowd as it thinned out for closing.
That’s right! Zatanna had come to see her, hadn’t she? Standing quickly, she shielded her eyes from the sole stage light still illuminating the piano and squinted in search of her friend.
It had been a thrilling show, hadn’t it? Every performer could indulge in a little bit of razzle dazzle, enjoying it, taking in another’s brilliant act - and Zee had enjoyed Ariel’s performance, knowing that the familiar thrill of electricity skittering up one’s spine, the feel under the hot lights, that was why, they did what they did. Not to mention the appreciation of the applause.
And really, she was kind of curious about taking piano lessons too. Maybe that could be a thing.
Her smile was simple, curved upward, and she made her way to the stage in a slink while wearing her scarlet-hued wrap dress, which fit her nicely. She had wanted to wear something fitting for an evening out, enjoying the entertainment. “You were great,” a certain husky voice praised the redhead, coming around to take the side steps up to join her. “Maybe someday we should think of combining talents, what do you say?” She gave a playful wink, of glittery lashes.
Sharing her knowledge with others would be a joy to Ariel. She was just becoming an adept piano player, and so played it in limited amounts on stage. Much better than she gave herself credit, she opted to play to her own strengths for fear of letting others down with so much as one misstroke. Regardless of that, she had a strong, sweet voice that she hoped conveyed all the dreams in her heart. Sounded silly, didn’t it? Very little about Ariel was anything less.
Straightening at the sound of her friend’s voice, Ariel clasped her hands together before her in excitement. “There you are!” She beamed, then hurried to Zee to give her--well, a hug! Ariel was awfully affectionate with everyone. As soon as she pulled back, she was already nodding eagerly. “Oh, could we?”
Although she didn’t think terribly highly of herself, she would never turn down the chance to sing with her friend! Especially with the sort of shows Zee put on--it would be amazing!
“Your shows are wonderful,” she praised, sincerity dripping. Ariel was always forthright and honest to all.
Except her father.
“And thank you,” she remembered to say, distributing her gratitude equally. “For coming to see me, too!”
The hug was returned easily, Zatanna also being a warm and affectionate person - for the most part. Her dream self was an enigma, a mystery cloaked in the occult and all things arcane, but she’d also been through far more bullshit than Zee had in this life. She’d seen things and done things - maybe after more time passed, it would all balance out and become even. That was just the way things worked.
“We could,” she agreed, affectionately tucking back a piece of Ariel’s bright red hair, fussing a little, but she just couldn’t help her familial feelings. The girl was the sweetest and kindest person but she still had a lot to learn about the darker side of the moon, so to speak. Zee wasn’t that cynical but, again, it was all about balance. “I’ve got my own act now, and I do shows all over the place. I bet we could incorporate some singing into it.”
She sat on the piano bench, tucking one knee over the other. “I’ll even show you a few things too. Since I’ve been wanting to ask about piano lessons, if you’re taking students,” a broad, stage-bright grin at that, and she had always wanted to learn something musical. But it just never seemed to come to fruition.
So far as Ariel was concerned, there was no dark side of the moon. She was painfully naive, though was just aware enough of as much to surround herself with amazing people like Zee. The people she counted on as her friends could do no wrong in her eyes. While Ariel was kindhearted and thoughtful in her own right, she did have a subdued rebellious streak. Her father was the only one who had witnessed as much, and she preferred it that way.
She was already beginning to look at Zee like an older sister, something of a habit of hers. Might have been because she had six of them that barely spoke to her anymore, but regardless of whether the plethora of A-named girls acknowledged Ariel’s existence, she would have been the exact same way.
The more Zee spoke of collaborating, the wider her eyes grew. Practically bouncing on the balls of her feet, she couldn’t help but to smile. “I would love that!” Following her to the bench, Ariel occupied the empty space that remained. “Exchanging lessons--what’s not to love? I’m not as good at piano as you are at what you do, but… I’ll do my best!”
“I could always pay you in food too,” Zatanna offered, eyes dancing. “Mostly I just think you need to come over for dinner one night. Or a few nights.” She cooked a lot more often now that Raven was living with her, and plus she had her terrible chef of a boyfriend to feed too. When Grayson actually remembered to eat, that is. When he wasn’t working himself to death.
She let a hand flutter down along the keys, turning to face the ivories in order to tickle them. “Show me a scale real quick or something! Or chords. I think I know a few beginning notes of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star?” To demonstrate, she banged out the actual twinkle, twinkle part - but it was slow and hesitating. That was also all she got right too.
“I like food!” Ariel gushed, obviously accepting that trade off the bat. Then, she shrank back just a little. “But, you don’t have to pay me at all, Zee, really! I’m just happy to help you! I wouldn’t say no to coming over though!” Dinner parties were fun to her, something she wished she had time to do more often. She didn’t eat much between classes and gigs, it was no wonder Ariel was a skinny little waif-like thing.
Positioning her hands in accordance with a higher scale, Ariel nodded at the request. “Okay! Oh!” Giggling at the display appreciatively. “That’s a great start! It took me forever to figure out where those notes were at first! My first instructor saw I had trouble learning the notes by letter, so she taught me this way…”
Demonstrating the basic scales up and down slowly, Ariel cued each note with, “Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do,” accordingly. “Like that! Reading music is really hard! I tend to play by ear, maybe because I sing so much? Anyway… can you try?” She showed her one more time for good measure, then reached over to situate Zee’s hands properly on Middle C. “Slowly!”
Her fingers flexed, pretty and manicured, since she worked with her hands a lot - the nails tipped in crimson red. But Zee wasn’t doing anything like pulling a rabbit from her hat right now, simply learning a new trick or two. A musical one. “Then you’ll just have to come over, we’ll call it that,” she insisted in a purr, before plunking the keys the way Ariel had showed her, starting at Middle C. The scale went upward, and she sang the notes to match - she had kind of a contralto sort of voice, meant more for the back of bars and the smoky haze of jazz clubs, but she could at least carry a tune.
“How was that?”
Reading music she sort of knew how to do. But Zatanna was probably in the same boat. She probably just had a better ear that she needed to hone, for the skills to be sharp.
She took to it like a pro in Ariel’s eyes. With a gasp of approval, she applauded the effort immediately. If anyone ever needed the ultimate pep talker, they’d find one in Ariel. She had enough enthusiasm to go around and then some. That she could help her friend do so much as a simple scale made her night that much better, and she’d gotten invited over for dinner.
“Perfect!” She gushed. “And your voice, Zee!! It’s so nice! Can we sing together?” She asked in a child’s pleading tone to their mother, a bit of it put on. Sometimes Ariel knew exactly what she was doing, Ursula hadn’t been a terrible influence since she’d moved in with her. It was only that most of it went well over her head.
“Do you have a piano at home?” She asked, settling down.
Well, how could Zee resist such adorable sweetness? “Sure,” she chuckled, settling on the bench beside Ariel, making sure they both had room to play and croon. Or rather, Ariel would probably be doing most of the playing. Zatanna could at least attempt to harmonize well enough. “What should we sing? And I don’t have a piano at home, however...”
It really wouldn’t be difficult to get one. She might have to work a little magic, but that wouldn’t be a bad thing, would it? So very rarely did she use that otherworldly, arcane connection for her own personal benefit.
“I can probably come across one and put it in really soon. Maybe a cute baby grand.” Her house wasn’t huge, she’d have to make do.
The night just got better and better! She was practically bouncing on her edge of the bench. Ariel settled her hands on the keys, then darted a look over at her friend. “Do you like Etta James, Zee?” She was out of date on many things, but not music and literature. She couldn’t keep her nose out of books or ears without headphones. Her tastes were a bit old since she’d only recently acquired a computer, but that was alright with Ariel.
“They’re so expensive!” Ariel lamented. “I wish I had room for one! My Aunt says she used to have one, but sold it before I moved in with her… You could?” Slow to the draw, Ariel leaned toward Zee, practically enrapt. “If you go looking for one, I’ll go with you! I could help!” She’d been try to help pay for it, such was her way. “You’re really determined to learn how to play, Zee!”
“I do, she’s a classic,” Zee grinned. “How about ‘At Last’?” That one was pretty famous. Used in a lot of movies and on television shows, so she was at least fairly certain that she knew the words. Or could simply hum where she didn’t? It’d be fun either way.
Another quick scale, up and down the 88 keys - just giving them another brief tickle - and she nodded, her electric blue eyes nearly lit up from within at the prospects. “I couldn’t think of anyone better to help me look for a piano,” she said honestly. “That way when you come over, you could teach me some things and then stay a little so I can feed you.” Not that Ariel was all skin and bones (she had a lovely silhouette), but Zee would feel better knowing she’d at least cooked something healthy for a friend.
“Good choice!” Ariel beamed. She didn’t have quite the voice to match the likes of the great Etta James, but she loved her music. There was such a rich texture to her voice that Ariel knew her voice lacked, but she tried to make up for it in heart. “I really like that one!”
Setting her hands back down on ivories, she idly tapped out Fur Elise as she listened to Zee. It was wonderful plan, and she counted her lucky stars to have made a friend in Zee. Unable to resist displaying her appreciation, she leaned over and hugged her tightly one more time. “I hope I can repay your kindness somehow with more than just teaching you piano, Zee! I’d really like to come visit and eat your friend--everything! Thank you, really!”
Zatanna probably didn’t have the voice either (but who did, really? Besides Etta James herself) but she would give it her best shot. “Oh, teaching me piano’s a good start, don’t worry too much,” she laughed, returning the hug, giving the girl a gentle squeeze after slipping an arm around her. The magician was just glad that someone was interested in her vegetarian, spicy, often Middle Eastern-themed cooking. She liked making things for Raven but her niece didn’t often make her preferences known (besides waffles). So the enthusiasm on Ariel’s end was appreciated.
“Here, now let’s see. Sing with me, sugarbee.”
She’d been singing all night, but it was a good way to wind down. No pressure here, just some good clean fun.