Salvus and homeward

[Drusia]

Okay then. That looks... interesting. I heard they had some different ideas about music in Tsuiraku, but this... this can't be it, can it?

"Uh, I think we can wait for the next set before we join in the dancing," Therese said tentatively. "On the other hand, I think we've found the Chrysalis Industries people..."

"That's... good," I reply slowly. They won't play music like this on their airship... will they? I pause, my eyes widening as I register the other thing Therese just said. I look back at the... the dance floor and watch their movements.

"I'm not sure I can dance like... like that," I tell her. "I'm not sure I can... can just ignore grace and rhythm like... that."

I swallow. Hopefully dancing won't be required - or, at least, not dancing to... to that.

"Maybe we can catch them between sets?" I suggest hopefully. Assuming, of course, that those floaty magical instruments take proper breaks.

-- Desiree

[OOC: OK, not going to bite on the Inspector Clouseau reference, eh?]

**blinks**
The detective guy in the Pink Panther?
Yeah, any reference you made went sailing over my head.
Edit: As in, I had to google Clouseau to know he was from Pink Panther and not Agatha Christi. That's how far over my head it went.

[Jack Rothwell]

Tamina, on the other hand, had a much different reaction to Therese and Desiree when she beheld the shiny, magical floating instruments. The kobold let out a squeal of delight and immediately made a beeline for the dance floor, joining in the waving movements of it's unusual occupants with the grace of a longtime enthusiast.

"Like your clothes!" She greeted the nearest dancer.

[Graybeard]

[OOC:

OOC: OK, not going to bite on the Inspector Clouseau reference, eh?]

**blinks**
The detective guy in the Pink Panther? Yeah, any reference you made went sailing over my head.

Edit: As in, I had to google Clouseau to know he was from Pink Panther and not Agatha Christi. That's how far over my head it went.

Gads, D, you're making me feel old. The moment I had in mind is part of this clip from one of the Pink Panther movies -- skip the weird ad at the beginning, if it shows up when you watch. So moving on:]

"Like your clothes!"

The more-than-slightly-drunk Tsuirakuan beamed beatifically at Tamina. "S'alright, you can have some too!" she gushed, and magic flowed from her fingertips.

What encased Tamina moments later was nothing more than an Illusion, but it was convincing enough. Most of the remaining Salvusites in the room whimpered and slid further back into their chairs, although a few had the good taste to flee the scene at speed, retching, with their hands over their mouths.

Therese simply goggled; she'd used enough disguises in her career not to be quite as affected by the spectacle as most. She turned to Desiree with a fey look. "Well, when in Romiel, do as the Romians do, I guess..."

[OOC: The "fashion" world is pretty much alien to me, including bad (atrocious) taste in clothes as much as good taste, so why doesn't somebody else describe what Tamina's illusionary "outfit" looks like? The image at the top of this page might give you some ideas, but you can probably do "better"...]

[Drusia]

Therese simply goggled; she'd used enough disguises in her career not to be quite as affected by the spectacle as most. She turned to Desiree with a fey look. "Well, when in Romiel, do as the Romians do, I guess..."

"Do we have to?" I ask fearfully. I don't want them to hurt my dress. I like my dress. "Can't we just... wait a little bit and hope they stop soon?"

If it was a real band, I could try to subborn them into playing something I could sing. I'm not as good as my mother, but I could probably pass for an okay vocalist. Certainly better than what is currently being produced. But magical self-playing instruments are harder to negotiate with. I wouldn't even know where to start.

-- Desiree

OOC: I don't think it's an issue of age. I remember the Pink Panther movies being on TV - I just never watched them because they weren't my thing. Remember, I mixed the guy from Pink Panther up with the french detective by Agatha Christie - so clearly I don't know much about either of them.

As to the fashion - I've seen worse.

[Jack Rothwell]

The outfit that encased the dancing humanoid was indeed a visual migraine; a rainbow wrap of material that circled the kobold's body to taper off halfway down the thigh, coupled with multicoloured braids in her headfur of every shade from vomit-green to luminous yellow, and a necklace of uneven-sized purple rocks as the finishing clashing touch. Tamina, oblivious to the... unfavourable reactions, was thrilled with the illusion and gave a hearty cheer of thanks to the sorcerous who'd cast it. Her spirits lifted, the humanoid was cutting loose, although what effect the twisting streaks of garish colour were doing to the unfortunate onlookers was no concern of hers.

"Most fun I've had since we got here!" She said to the Tsuirakuan, and meant it.

OOC I could almost visualise Desiree and Tamina having a dance-off in this scene. /OOC

[Graybeard]

As if reading Desiree's thoughts (which it was quite possible that he had been doing), one of the Tsuirakuans disengaged from the body-part Brownian motion and traipsed over to where she and Therese were standing.

"Ah! Karaoke! Good! You be next!" he said enthusiastically, and snapped his fingers. A small, magically-glowing songbird materialized in midair and settled on Desiree's shoulder as Therese goggled.

"You hum," the Tsuirakuan said , "and bird learn music so band can play. You gonna be great!" A momentary cone of Damping enveloped Desiree, Therese and the bird as the dancers, including Tamina, continued their gyrations.

[Drusia]

"Ah! Karaoke! Good! You be next!" he said enthusiastically, and snapped his fingers. A small, magically-glowing songbird materialized in midair and settled on Desiree's shoulder as Therese goggled.

"You hum," the Tsuirakuan said , "and bird learn music so band can play. You gonna be great!" A momentary cone of Damping enveloped Desiree, Therese and the bird as the dancers, including Tamina, continued their gyrations.

Ep! That was unexpected. Not just the bird but the random Rinkai words woven in to his speech. At least the meaning was clear enough - he wants me to teach the band a song so I can sing.

I wonder, is that what happened before? Someone - clearly tonedeaf - hummed this... thing to the bird and that's what they're dancing to?

I pull out a chair, sit down, and address the little bird. "Okay, so, first off, the piano should sound like this - " One at a time, I go through each part. I provide time signatures, cues, and coordination - I'm guessing that no one has ever bothered to coordinate the different instruments to one another before - and ask the bird to sing a few parts back to me so that I can check to see if they're correct and demonstrate the timing with other parts. I don't want this to end up a mishmash. "We start in F minor, then in the second verse we move to E-flat mixolydian, then modulate into A-flat major." I hope the bird understands all that.

"The song is written for a mezzo soprano, so it's just a bit low for me," I confide to Therese. "And... well, it really isn't meant to be danced to, technically. It's from an opera. But, I mean, we used to dance to it sometimes back home. My mother is really good at it - her voice is a tad lower than mine, a proper mezzo soprano, so she can hit the low bits better. And she's better at belting the later sections; my voice is a little thin for it."

I'm just stalling now. I can't think of anything else to tell the bird, and I'm not sure how to get that man's attention again, so instead I turn to the bird and say "I'm ready."

Just like that the cone thingy vanishes and all the instruments go quiet. I swallow hard, stand up, smooth my dress (I really wish I had time to change into something a bit more performancy) and walk over to the 'band'.

I nod to the piano, and it begins. I swallow again as the first stanza begins, and wait for the end of the second measure. And then, I begin. Strings come in with me - the other instruments not until later. I hope the bird gets all the cues right.

"The snow glows white on the mountain tonight..."

-- Desiree

OOC: If you're gonna steal a song, steal the best song I always say. If you'd like to hear it, click the youtube link below.

Me? I have the official soundtrack on CD and mp3.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moSFlvxnbgk&feature=kp

[Graybeard]

[OOC: Gonna have to mix real-world analogies into the in-universe action, but I think the idea will be clear...]

The Tsuirakuans stopped dancing and listened politely as Desiree sang. The reaction of the Salvusites was a bit more, one might say, genuine; they too listened, but as the song proceeded, some started to nod their heads, and there were smiles in the back of the room. A few even moved a few millimeters away from the walls they'd been adhering to like plaster and started keeping time, with bobbing heads and tapping toes.

"Very nice," the Tsuirakuan said when Desiree finished. "Now we dance to!" The bird lifted off from Desiree's shoulder and joined the "band," perching on a thing that looked half saxophone, half metallic, crazed octopus (or possibly tentacle monster). It then bellowed, in a most un-bird-like tone, "ONE! TWO! THREE!" and the band began to play.

What followed bore approximately the same resemblance to Desiree's singing as this performance bears to this one, or it would have if Jimi Hendrix had been playing the octosaxophone rather than a guitar and the sound track of a high-speed auto crash had been thrown in for good measure. The Tsuirakuans' faces lit up, and they immediately resumed their writhing as the Salvusites retreated to the walls, most covering their ears.

"Ah! Great song!" the Tsuirakuan said as soon as the din was over; well, after allowing a couple of seconds for the reverberation to stop and the Tsuirakuans to stop applauding. He turned to Therese. "Now you sing!" The bird flew onto Therese's shoulder with an expectant look.

Therese gulped and moved closer to Desiree. "This isn't something we'd normally dance to in Refuge-Nouveau," she whispered to Desiree, "but I'm frankly scared of what they'd do to it if I did hum any of our dance music. It's just a folk song of my people -- a quiet one. I just wish I had my guitar." The only thing in the magical band that looked like a guitar, however, seemed ... unsuitable for the purpose. (She had no idea that a giant, shambling slime mold could even play a guitar.) She gulped again and began to sing, in a soft, modulated contralto voice.

"There were three men came out of the West
Their fortunes for to try.
And these three men made a solemn vow:
John Barleycorn must die..."

[OOC: Heads up, JR; Tamina is going to get her "opportunity" as well. Incidentally, this scene evokes probably the most memorable moment of my recently-concluded professional career. I'll try to write it up next time, and spoiler it as it has nothing to do with what Desiree, Tamina and Therese are doing, but it might be interesting... or not.]

[Drusia]

"... the cold never bothered me anyway."

I take a moment to catch my breath as the last few instruments fade away. Not as good as my mother could sing it, but I think I did all right. And at least I've stopped them from making that awful --

"Very nice," the Tsuirakuan said when Desiree finished. "Now we dance to!" The bird lifted off from Desiree's shoulder and joined the "band," perching on a thing that looked half saxophone, half metallic, crazed octopus (or possibly tentacle monster). It then bellowed, in a most un-bird-like tone, "ONE! TWO! THREE!" and the band began to play.

I could cry. After all that work to get everything properly coordinated, and they just throw in a bunch of extra instruments - at least, I'm pretty sure those are instruments - and ruin the whole thing. The saddest part is I can nearly hear an interesting - good even - variation on the song in there. If only they could keep everything in a proper tempo and rhythm.

"Ah! Great song!" the Tsuirakuan said as soon as the din was over; well, after allowing a couple of seconds for the reverberation to stop and the Tsuirakuans to stop applauding. He turned to Therese. "Now you sing!" The bird flew onto Therese's shoulder with an expectant look.

"This isn't something we'd normally dance to in Refuge-Nouveau," she whispered to Desiree, "but I'm frankly scared of what they'd do to it if I did hum any of our dance music. It's just a folk song of my people -- a quiet one. I just wish I had my guitar." She gulped again and began to sing, in a soft, modulated contralto voice.

Oh. I, um, wasn't expecting that. I didn't even know Therese could sing, much less well. Her song is much folksier than mine, but then I was trying to appeal to a Tsuirakuan asthetic whereas Therese is just... singing. Oh, they're probably going to follow her nice song with some awful crashing version of their own. She was probably wise to limit her selection to a ballad rather than a dance piece.

Do they ask everyone who walks in to sing? I'm feeling a lot less honored all of a sudden. Eh. When Therese's song is over, maybe she'll get a drink with me? I imagine we'll both need it.

-- Desiree

[Graybeard]

Therese cringed as the Tsuirakuan "band" mistreated her song in exactly the same way as they had abused Desiree's, with precisely the same results for the listeners, whether Salvusite or Tsuirakuan. When the carnage was done, the Tsuirakuan turned to Tamina with a big smile on his face. "Ah! Catgirl! You sing too! One big happy party!"

Therese whimpered.