Chapter 69 Part 8 - Beat?
PART VIII - BEAT?
"Woo!" Callie called out, clapping her hands above her head as the music ended. Pixyl blinked, and then clapped along too, but not above her head, and not yelling out. In fact, Callie was the only one cheering on so loudly, a few of the other party attendees looking askance at the little Gnome in the weird, overly-black dress.
"Uh, thanks," Deduxia said, her flow thrown off for a moment as she cast Callie a look. So far, this hadn't really been that kind of event, so the loud cheering felt really out of place. "We'll be back in about fifteen minutes for our last set. See you all soon." Quickly, she signaled Nekini to end the casting on his Group Amplify spell, the invisible magics detangling from the rest of the troupe.
"She seems excited," Nekini said, grinning as he unslung the guitar from around his neck.
"She's a strange one, that's for sure."
"She's a Gnome. We're strange, and we like it that way, dear. Remember when we were young?"
"True. Strange is good. But it's got me wondering …"
"About what?"
"Where is she from? I know she's lost most of her memory, but I've never heard anything like that music she played last night. Certainly not in the capitals, at least. I just can't figure out where she possibly could have learned it."
"North? The Gnomes beyond the mountains, maybe?"
"I've heard that music before, and it's also nothing like what she played."
Nekini shrugged. "Must be from past the western mountains then. Not sure how she would have ended up here, but that must be it. Anyway, I thought it was good."
"Well, yes. It was wonderful, just … odd." Deduxia shrugged and sighed. "Well, at least we learned something new."
"It seems like she might have other things she could show us. Maybe on Firstday we sit down with her again? We aren't leaving until the next morning."
"It's a thought. We could ask her about it, I suppose. I doubt she'll want to share, though. I'm actually surprised she showed us anything last night."
"Who knows, maybe when she comes back from the front lines, we can get her to play with us sometime. Wouldn't that be fun? No matter what, I want to be sure we keep in touch."
"You know, that's the thing I hate about this place," Deduxia said. There was a sudden sadness in her eyes as she sighed heavily. "These people are all going off to war. Some may not come back. And look how close they all are. It's not just for Midsummer, either. They are all truly friends with each other."
"You can't think about it," Nekini said, putting his arms around his wife from behind and kissing the back of her head. "We're here to make their lives joyful right now. The future is not in our control."
Deduxia nodded reluctantly. "I know, I know. I still hate it, though."
"Come on, let's get a drink and we can maybe ask her if she'd be willing to show us more."
"Sure. I should say something, because I love her dress, too. Even though it's so … black!"
"I'm telling you, it still needs a beat," Callie said, "but I'll admit, it was fun."
"Bah," Lena said, waving Callie's critique off. Her hand was a bit floppy though, and the bottle of the hard stuff had been well-tapped. She was still being quite defensive about this world's music this evening, seeming to enjoy the argument, though.
"And you, Pixyl? Did you enjoy dancing?" Vanis asked. It was just the four of them at the table for the moment, Juniper having wandered off somewhere.
The Pixie scrunched up her face. "I'm t-t-too small. I kept getting in the way." It was true. The Pixie had been jostled a few times, and almost knocked down once, needing to take to the air on instinct to keep from falling to the floor. "The m-m-music was nice, though."
"Yeah, sorry about dragging you out there," Callie said. "I got bumped around a bit, too, but not as badly as you did. They need a little-person section on the dance floor or something. It doesn't help that most of the people are half-hammered, too. Maybe we can find Lhawni and the others and commandeer a space?"
"I mostly like watching, anyway," Pixyl said. In truth, she didn't enjoy feeling like she was on display doing something she wasn't an expert at, and she certainly didn't feel she was able to dance, especially like Callie. To look at Callie, it seemed like a lot more jumping around and a lot less actual dancing, or if it was, it was obviously some kind of ridiculous crazy-dancing from Earth. It absolutely wasn't fitting in very well with the rest of the people on the floor. Except for Ambria, that was. For a few minutes, the Faun joined in, bouncing around the same way, before getting distracted by something random and suddenly running off, the twins in pursuit.
"Well, I hope the music settles a bit for the end," Vanis said. "I promised Juniper I would dance with her. It's simply that the music needs to be appropriate." He gestured to the sash across his chest as if to explain. "Otherwise, you may need to take my place again, Lena."
"That's fine," Lena said, shrugging. "We both had fun."
"Quite honestly," Vanis continued with a sigh, "it would be nice to simply step away from this table for a while. All night long people have wanted to come and 'talk to the Prince'. It's become quite exhausting."
"So just leave," Callie suggested. "Go outside for some air or something. Take Juniper for a walk in the moonlight."
"I tried! That just made things worse. Even more people thought it might be a good time to chat, and we were practically mobbed. Politely, of course, but still overmuch. Juniper felt quite pressed, and that's why she isn't here. She said there were too many bodies and not enough trees. She'll be back soon. At least staying at the table is keeping the number of people vying for my attention at once more manageable. I sometimes feel what I need is a disguise, just so I can have some time to enjoy social events as a normal person."
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"Like in your Prelude story?" Lena said. "That might work. Put you in some dirty, smelly clothes and rub some mud on your face. Nobody would want to talk to you then." Vanis started to respond, but Lena continued. "I mean, you'd still have that noble stick up your arse, but it would probably work."
At that, Vanis broke down in laughter. It wasn't even that funny, really, but obviously he was relishing the moment to simply let his guard down with his friends, after all the formalness of the night. "My father would like you," he finally said after catching his breath.
"Really? You're joking, right?"
"Not at all. It can get quite exhausting when everyone is trying to earn your favor, or at least not offend. Someone that isn't afraid to speak their mind is a surprising scarcity for a king."
"Well, okay then. I'll look forward to telling him off some day." Lena shrugged, tipped back her drink and shot Vanis a grin. "I'll make sure to mention it was your idea."
As Lena and Vanis bantered, Callie saw Tazrok walking in through the entrance, along with Jesca. Vanis had said the Ogre, like Juniper, was feeling a little claustrophobic with all the people around, and Jesca probably needed to get away from the constant whispers that seemed to always be close to her. They'd actually been gone for quite a while, though, and both seemed to have weighty expressions on their face, as if something was troubling them. The expressions only lasted for a moment, though. Someone called out Tazrok's name and he turned bright and smiling. Jesca not quite so much, but she made an effort. The thing was, Callie could tell it was fake, on both of them. Then she heard a whisper of someone saying 'Mimarnae'.
That was the problem, and Callie could tell it was becoming a source of increasing anxiety for Jesca. With all the visitors, the word that she was a Beastmaster fell onto unfamiliar ears, and almost exponentially the chatter of who Jesca might be increased. It was all said in hushed whispers, but Callie was able to hear a lot of it, and if she could hear it, Jesca could as well. Her friend was already having a confidence problem, and having more and more people gossiping that she was a reborn prophet wasn't helping in the slightest.
It had also occurred to Callie, although she hadn't said anything to Jesca lest it add to her anxiety, that when the visitors left, word was going to start to spread amongst other Beastkin about who and what Jesca was. So far, she'd been largely insulated from the rest of the world here at the camp, since the only people leaving were the deliveries to and from Meadowglade every few days. While Callie was sure Thorn would keep Jesca here for the extended session, it would be silly to send her away without more time spent on her Beastmaster side, that was only going to help for so long. Things could get quite complicated once she arrived at the front, assuming she was even allowed to go to the front. They might consider her too valuable to risk!
"Callie!" a voice called. Turning, Callie saw Deduxia moving towards her, arms already rising like giant pincers into an aggressive hugging position. "I love your dress, and those shoes!" The distance was quickly closed and the breath was almost squeezed out of Callie as the Gnome-hug commenced.
"Where did you get this?" the Bard asked, releasing the gasping Callie again. "It's so original!"
"I had the camp's Brownies make it for me." Callie spread her arms and then twirled in place. "They did a great job, right?"
"They did!" Deduxia agreed. She grabbed and pushed Callie to arm's length, and was scanning her up and down, turning her a little bit each time. She then ran her finger along the cloth necklace. "This is quite lovely, too."
"Aww, thanks. And your dress is amazing!" Callie didn't spin the other Gnome around, but did take a moment to drink in the vibrant collage. "Tie-dye and bright colors are so you!"
"It is quite lovely, Callie" Nekini said, interrupting the mutual gushing club and closing in for his own slightly-less-aggressive hug. "Oh, these match the bracelet we made!" he exclaimed, noticing the little earrings, and tapping one of the dangles with his finger.
"We?"
"Pixyl was having trouble with weaving it, so we worked on it together."
"Thanks again f-f-for the help," the Pixie said.
Callie held up the bracelet, running her finger along the wire-like woven strands. "Well, I absolutely love it, so thank you so much for all the help you gave her." She grinned, and then instinctively hugged Nekini again.
"Are you, by chance, open to a musical request?" Vanis asked.
Deduxia's eyes went wide, before she nodded. "Of … of course, Your ..."
Vanis held up his hand, cutting her off. "No need for formality," he said. He really wanted a bit of a break from being 'The Prince' for a while, but also knew it was unlikely to happen until after the holiday was over. "But I do have a very simple request. I promised Juniper a dance, but it needs to be something of … let's say … 'appropriate tempo.'" He gestured to the sash.
"He means that he wants a slow dance," Callie clarified.
Deduxia furrowed her brow. "Maybe. Does Set 8 have a slower dance song?"
"I believe so. If not, we'll add something. We can signal you when we're about to start. Would that suit your needs?"
"That would be perfect," Vanis said, bowing his head just slightly.
"I'll go find Juniper when they start playing so she's back in time," Lena said. "That way you won't get mobbed outside again."
"Hey! Are you two taking music requeshts?" a Dwarf asked, butting into the conversation. He was obviously more than just a wee bit tipsy.
"Uh …" Nekini said, pushing the Dwarf's heavy arm off his shoulder.
"Halc!" Callie snapped. "Two steps back! You don't crowd people like that, especially when you're drunk. We've talked about this and you know better!" The Paladin Halc had come a long way since the verbal beatdown Callie had given him a lifetime ago, but he sometimes missed the concept of 'personal space'. In fact, it seemed a common Dwarven thing. Ultimately, though, he'd turned into a pretty good guy the few times he'd been her Guardian, when fighting together against training Demons. He and his brethren could just be a bit much socially, sometimes. Immediately, he took two steps. "Oh, shorry," he mumbled, actually sincere in the apology.
"That's better!"
"We have our music all planned out," Deduxia said. She made her voice firm and icy as she looked up. "And we don't know many Dwarven songs, either."
"No! No! Not you. You should let Callie play shomething. We like her music a lot, eshpecially that Rainbow Shong. She shings good, too."
"I'm not going to play or sing, Halc," Callie said crossly, her hands on her hips. She gestured to the two Bards. "They are working, and they and the rest of the group don't need me getting in their way. Besides, that song is totally not right for this celebration."
"Aww," Halc groaned in disappointment, immediately echoed by six Dwarves that had taken up equally hopeful positions behind him.
"Seriously," Callie said, looking imploringly at Deduxia and Nekini. "You guys have a set and your show is already planned out. I'd just get in the way. Especially tonight."
Nekini looked back at the Dwarves, all with smiling, hopeful expressions. He glanced at his wife next, seeing the tiniest shrug of her shoulders. "I suppose we could fit you in if you know something fitting."
A ripple of a drunk cheer went up among the seven Dwarves, but Callie groaned.
"You were complaining about the lack of 'beat'. So how about you show us what you mean?" Lena said, tossing back another shot and then shooting Callie an evil grin.
"Beat?" Nekini asked.
"Lena!" Callie growled, opening her eyes wide in shocked horror to glare at her housemate. She was going to make it seem like she was insulting the other Gnomes and the band. "The music is great!"
"Beat?" Nekini asked again.