[Backdated PRP] Lil Harpers (Sammy, Jolie)

[Thaliawen]

Harpers always seemed full to the brim with news, and it seemed, stories about their children qualified. Jolie had found it increasingly difficult to study somewhere without everything she did being reported to someone. Urgh. Couldn’t they leave her be? It was her first turn into her apprenticeship... Why couldn’t they let it be? She was going to mess up some of the time, yeah. But not most of the time. It wasn’t anything worth telling her parents about.

So she’d stayed in the dining hall after dinner had been served, hoping that the crowd would make her less interesting as she wrote. She had a tune in her head, but the words hadn’t come. She needed quiet. She needed someone to play the tune, so she could hear it aloud.

But how?  

[Prism Shine]

It was a shuffling day, one that had Samorakel eager to get a bit away from everything. His bandages were mostly gone, only a light wrapping around his throat -- the tender, pinking scar crept out, but he just couldn’t take the heavy bandages on his face any more. Yet he still wasn’t quite allowed to talk, for fear that his throat might still be damaged. His vocal assessment would be once he no longer needed bandages. So it left quite a large amount of boring free time to be had.

But the day was starting to wind down. After dinner had been served, Samorakel had gone to grab his guitar and shuffle back to play for anyone that had lingered back. Yet there’s someone, another apprentice that he doesn’t quite recognize--but he has been spending a lot of time with healers. Maybe.. Maybe he could make a new friend..?

Sam gently makes his way over, gently rapping his knuckle on the table to gain her attention and waved once he did so. He points to his guitar in his hands, and plucks a note, his eyebrows raising like he would for a question--hoping she might not mind him playing a bit.

Thaliawen

 

[Thaliawen]

Jolie looked up at the sound, almost startling when her eyes met those of another apprentice. She waved. She didn’t think she’d seen him before. Oh...Was he injured? He had his neck wrapped. Had he just escaped the healers? Jolie could sympathize. Healers were always difficult to get away from...

She watched him, pausing and smiling as he plucked a note. “Go ahead,” she said. She wondered what song he’d play.  

[Prism Shine]

There’s a moment where Samorakel winced, wanting to apologize for startling her--but part of him is afraid to speak after all the warnings the healers had scared into him. He rubs at the bandages on his neck nervously, shrugging once he notices her gaze on them. They.. certainly stuck out a bit. Gently, he points to himself, then makes a line with his hands--which promptly swats down. Doing his best to mime--”I fell.” Then pointing to his neck.

But her smile has him perking up. She wouldn’t mind? Gently, he settles down on a seat nearby, starting to pluck at a few chords idly--until they smooth out into a melody. Something that has his nodding along to the tune, even if he peeked up at the other apprentice now and again to judge her reaction.

Thaliawen

 

[Thaliawen]

Oh... “I’m glad you weren’t more hurt!” Jolie said, once she’d understood the signing. It must have been a big fall, for him to be hurt so badly... Poor kid.

She quickly took out a piece of paper and scrawled our a set of notes as he played. He was talented! Was this her chance? To find the right words for the tune she’d created? “Can you play this?” She asked, after he’d finished. “I wrote it, but I can’t write down words for it when I play it. We could write it together, if you’d like.” And maybe become friends.  

[Prism Shine]

His eyes kept flickering up as he played, head still bobbing as his fingers picked and strummed. The melody was soothing for him, and once he picked a note wrong Samorakel’s eyes hastily glanced back down to watch his fingers. But the melody eventually drifted off, fingers laying on the fretboard to stop the gentle echo of notes.

Eyebrows raised as he looked the sheet over, scanning the notes as his head tilted back and forth before nodding. It was certainly good, looking very fluid. His fingers gently picked at the first few notes, starting and stopping to make sure he was getting the key right before he started to play. A bit slower than the written tempo, making sure he got the notes and keys right for a first run. But once he reached the end, Sam’s eyes shyly glanced up, looking for feedback on his playing their music--hoping he hadn’t botched her music that badly.  

[Thaliawen]

Hearing her song aloud for the first time without her having played it caused Jolie to pause. She began to smile. It wasn't as terrible as it had sounded before--maybe she could write lyrics for it. Maybe... She took out a piece of parchment and began to scribble words. After a moment, she crossed out the first line furiously, and continued. She scribbled out a few more lines before looking up at Samorakel.

"You're really talented," she said. "Are you specialized yet?"  

[Prism Shine]

Okay. She was smiling. Obviously he hadn’t ruined what she had heard if she was looking that warm about it. Yet Samorakel continued to gently strum, eyes flitting from the paper to watch the girl scribble and write. But the question catches him off guard, and his fingers abruptly stop the melody with an odd twang. The compliment had his face instantly flooding with warmth, and he rubbed at the back of his neck a bit awkwardly. Specialized? Samorakel thinks about it for a moment, before a gentle shrug of his shoulders.

He points at his guitar and gives a thumbs up, before he glances around. A tapestry of a more favous harper weaving was hanging in the hall, and he points at the selection of other instruments, back at himself, and finally a thumbs down. He was good at the guitar, though any other instrument never clicked.

Samorakel gently tapped the paper in front of him that had her written melody and smiled, nodding. But her melody was good!

Shards and shells, he hated this talking ban.  

[Thaliawen]

He was truly very talented, Jolie was impressed. She gave him a bit of a smile. She wished he could speak so she could understand him better. "I think you made it even better," she said. "Thank you."