Entertaining the Masses [Open]

[Thelxiepeia Doxiadis]

A deep, sad melody drifted through the streets and alleys of Demens. The music picked up tempo, layering upon itself. Suddenly, it stopped. The echoes bounced around, creating new sounds in the process.

Lexi stood in the middle of a square. Her eyes were closed, focusing on the music. She was barely clothed in a black dress that left nothing to the imagination, wings folded neatly against her back. A violin rested against her shoulder, bow held mere centimeters above the strings. The violin was hand crafted, gut strings carefully formed from previous victims.

Lexi opened her eyes a crack. As she hoped, a crowd had begun to assemble, waiting for more, wanting to hear more. Lexi was not one to deny her fans. She lowered the bow and began to play again. Lexi laced each bow stroke with her own special blend of emotional enticement: begin with a taste of curiosity, add a hint of carefree attitude, sprinkle on some awe, and top it all off with a dash of desire.

Today’s concert wasn’t exactly about finding a meal or a toy. Were one to appear, well…This was more for Lexi’s ego. She loved attention, to the point where she almost needed it. She scanned the diverse crowd. A rich man dressed in fancy clothing would be sure to donate some coins to her. A beggar would not be missed was he to suddenly disappear. A young couple out for a mid day stroll were slowly losing interest in each other, focusing on Lexi instead. Lexi took them all in, basking in their adoration.

She finished her song, letting the applause wash over her. Lexi beamed at the crowd and began to play again. This time, the music was fast paced, exciting, meant to energize the crowd. There was a good mix today, but something was missing. There was always at least one in every crowd, a being or beings who stuck out above all the rest for whatever reason. Lexi just had to be patient and wait for them to appear.

[shou]

Shou was some way away when he heard the first notes of Lexi's violin. He had stopped in mid step to strain his ears, trying to take in as much of the sound as possible. Although he preferred wind instruments he had to admit that the violin was masterfully manipulated by whoever it was. Shou did not take very long to pin point the location of the player and disappeared from the nearly empty street only to reappear moments later in the busy square.

The sudden materialization of a tall man dressed in complicated robes did not go unnoticed. A couple of people jumped to the side and one particular bystander looked as if she saw a ghost, Shou simply ignored this as it was some time after he became used to this sort of reaction. After straightening his clothes which were not mussed and fixing his hair which had no strand out of place, strangely, the first thing he saw was a grass stain on one of the near by listener's shoulder. Stepping lightly away with a small look of disdain, he set his gaze on the nearly naked woman standing in the center, who looked all too happy to be there.

An eyebrow that was raised sharply was his initial reaction. A woman should be covered with far more cloth than that, he mused to himself, even though his second thought was that she wasn't exactly human looking. The wings and the feet were a dead give away, even for Shou.

After his first bout of fashion criticism he crossed his arms and relaxed causing his long white sleeves to ripple. He particularly liked the next song, it matched his boundless energy and only added to his restless nature causing the light breeze that was running though to pick up it's pace ever so slightly.

[Thelxiepeia Doxiadis]

Lexi felt a shift in the crowd. Her eyes fell on the tall, oddly dressed man who seemed to have appeared from no where. His entrance caused some of the beings to change their focus away from Lexi, which was obviously unacceptable. She increased the tempo and intensity of the music and before long, had the crowd back where she wanted.

There was no doubt in Lexi’s mind; this man was the one she had been waiting for. The game was now to figure out why. She finished her song with an abrupt draw and paused, allowing the audience to praise her. She bowed to each side of the square, watching the man out of the corner of her eye.

“Not a hair out of place, meticulous in his appearance, obviously older than he appears.” Lexi drew her bow across the strings, silencing the crowd. Lexi had learned her next song in the mists. The human who taught her called it a “Sabre Dance” or something of the sort.

She began to play a slow, lilting melody. Lexi took a step towards the crowd, which parted obligingly. She continued to play, walking slowly. She grinned to the closest audience member and suddenly changed tempo. Her fingers and bow flew across the strings. Lexi began to spin, dress billowing thanks to the movement and wind. She wove through the crowd, who occasionally danced along.

After completing a circuit of the square, Lexi came to a halt directly behind Shou and ended the song. “Enjoying the show?” she asked just loud enough for him to hear over the applause.

[shou]

When the tempo increased, so did Shou's amusement, but it only ended in disappointment when Lexi stepped playing abruptly. He would have liked it better if it had gone on for longer but he shrugged it off. Lexi seemed no stranger to attention, from where he stood he could see that she practically glowed with the praise the audience gave her. If he were ever in her place, well, there was no possible way that he would be in her place.

Shou continued to watch, wondering if she was going to play again. The moment he began to think about something else Lexi raised her bow, drawing back his attention again. The next song wasn't as exciting, it was played beautifully but Shou definitely liked the last one better. He watched her walk at first, the path opening for her like the wind constantly opened paths for him. Then he closed his eyes, taking in the melody it changed to, this was more of his style. He smiled lightly in approval, failing to notice the people around him begin to dance.

He regretted closing his eyes soon enough. From behind heard a voice, was she talking to him or was she directing that question at someone else? He thought of flying away but that would be what was called rude and cowardice which was looked down upon by the majority of people he lived amongst, he would definitely be neither. When he met new people he usually had no idea what to do, this time was no exception.

Grudgingly, he slowly turned to face to woman, opening his eyes a crack and giving a hint of a smile. He did not have the slightest clue what he was doing but from an outsider's point of view it would have looked incredibly graceful and poised. He still did not know if she was talking to him or not but decided to say something any way. Even if she wasn't talking to him it would look as if he was praising her.
"That was a marvelous performance," Shou nodded his head to her in acknowledgment. "Especially towards the end."

[Thelxiepeia Doxiadis]

Lexi gave Shou a warm smile. She was still having trouble getting a read on the man, if he was a man. After all, who knew what those elaborate garments hid. His movements were very graceful and calculated which Lexi approved of.

“Why thank you sir.” Lexi gave the man a courteous half bow. Without taking her eyes from Shou, she turned the pegs on the violin. For whatever reason, the next song she was going to play sounded better slightly out of tune. “Hopefully you’ll enjoy this one too.”

One mystery Lexi had never been able to solve was what the difference between a fiddle and a violin was. A man who insisted on being called a fiddler had taught her the next couple songs she was going to play. She drew two quick notes then burst into another fast paced melody. The crowd cheered and Lexi began to dance again.

She twirled around Shou, stopping again in front of him. “Care for a dance sir? Only a couple songs left…” Lexi was positive the answer would be a polite ‘no.’ Regardless, she wanted to test the man. Lexi began to dance in place, bobbing back and forth in time to the music.

[shou]

He watched Lexi twirl around in time to the tune. Dancing was not something he was too familiar with and not something he was very good at either. When she stopped in front of him and asked for a dance he nearly flew away. 'Dance? How?' He moved his eyes from side to side to see how the others were doing it. There was a bunch of spinning and stepping that he tried to absorb as quickly as possible before turning back to Lexi.

"A dance," He said slowly. He was still considering his options. "Would be lovely."
Shou nearly hit himself. 'What just happened?!' Whatever his inner dialogue was, it was carefully hidden by a gracious smile and a courtly bow. When he rose he tried to collect himself, however not being able to lie was a set back.
"But I am afraid that I would not make a good partner. I haven't danced in a very long time." Inwardly, he smiled to himself. That was a good excuse.

[Thelxiepeia Doxiadis]

Wait, what? Lexi was so surprised by Shou’s answer that she almost missed a note, She beamed at Shou, wondering if she had underestimated the man. “All the more reason to start dancing now.” Lexi unfolded her wings slightly and made some broad, sweeping gestures with them. “Everyone is having a good time, no one cares if they know how to dance or not.” She hoped that would reassure Shou a little. He was turning out to be an interesting specimen, it would be a shame to frighten him away this early in the game.

She refolded her wings and began to dance in place again. “Feel the flow of the music. Imagine its like the wind.” Lexi slowed her pace, moving a little slower so as to be less imposing. She danced up next to Shou and stood on the tips of her talons. “The key is to just relax and let go. It gets easier after that.” she softly whispered in his ear.

Lexi drew three quick notes on the violin and changed the song, the tempo slowing only by a fraction. She laughed and spun back to face Shou again, giving him an expectant, yet friendly look.

[shou]

Shou listened closely whilst wondering if there was anyway he could get out of this mess he created for himself. When Lexi spread her wings, he took his eyes from them and looked around. It was true that the people around him looked to be having a good time, all he could see were smiles and laughs, this made him a little more confident, but only a little. Looking back at Lexi he saw that her wings were refolded and that she was dancing in front of him.

"Feel the flow of the music. Imagine its like the wind." She said, so he tried. The flow of the music? Like the the wind? He could definitely feel the wind. It was a light breeze flowing towards the inn, but the flow of the music took him a little longer to grasp. Lexi changed the pace of the song again so reluctantly he took two steps forward to what he thought was the beat of the song.

Only after Lexi gave him that friendly look did he feel some control return to him, relaxing slightly. At first he danced awkwardly, like a puppet held by strings. Then he felt a bit more confident, attempting a daring turn and a twist. Shou thought that it was at least a century since he last danced to anything. He was not as good as he once was but he now danced freely albeit the couple of stumbling moves.

[Thelxiepeia Doxiadis]

Lexi would have applauded if she had free hands. Instead, she beamed at Shou. “See? You’re a natural!” Lexi took a quick glance around her. The crowd continued to dance, but most of their eyes were still on her. “Lets turn some heads.”

Lexi twirled around Shou, watching his movements. He was a little stiff still, but managed to make it appear graceful. When she was in front of him again, she bowed. “See if you can follow me.”

At first, Lexi danced in place, giving Shou a moment to react. Then she began to move to her left. She faced Shou, not moving her upper body. Her legs and talons were a blur of up and down motion. Every three steps, she would kick out an alternating talon. After a couple feet, she reversed direction, returning to her initial spot. Finally, she spun in place,

Lexit tilted her head a little, still concentrating on Shou. “Simple, no? The key is to time your steps to the music.” Lexi took a step towards Shou, motioning for him to do the same. “The dance ends when we cannot move forward.” Lexi took a step to the left, pausing to see if Shou would follow.

[shou]

Shou was quickly becoming accustomed to dancing but he doubted his ability to turn any heads with his amount of skill. He followed Lexi with his eyes until she came back in front of him, then he bowed in return, it was only good manners after all. For a moment he stopped dancing to watch Lexi. He observed her move left then take a couple of steps that took him a while to comprehend then watched her come back to her original position.

He was more uncertain about this that he was at dancing in the first place. Unlike most people Shou does not learn something new every day. Today, he was about to learn two things. 'There's a first time for everything...' He reassured himself, taking a step forward like Lexi asked.

'At this pace it shouldn't take too long to not move forward. Shou felt better at this and hoped that he would not make too much of a fool of himself. Keeping in time to the music he took a step to the right which was Lexi's left and tried his best to keep up.

[Thelxiepeia Doxiadis]

Lexi finished a back and forth circuit and spun in place. She took a step forward, smiling at Shou. “Excellent! If you can keep the pace, take a look around.” While the two had been making the first line, Lexi had been infusing the song with more desire and awe. Only a handful of the crowd was still dancing. The rest had formed a circle around Lexi and Shou, clapping in beat with the music.

“Only two steps left. Shall we increase the tempo?” Without waiting for a reply, Lexi did just that. She let out a laugh and continued the dance. A minute and a half later, Lexi and Shou were a step apart. Lexi spun, and stepped forward, timing the end of the song with her talon hitting the ground. After a moment of silence, the crowd broke into applause.

Lexi stared into Shou's eyes for a second before stepping back, She spread her wings and addressed the crowd. “Thank you, thank you. Lets hear a round of applause for my partner.” Lexi made a sweeping gesture toward Shou. “I’ll be back next week. Until then, if you’d like to leave a token of appreciation, please feel free to place it my violin case. Have a wonderful rest of the day.”

With those words, the spell Lexi had place on the crowd began to dissipate. Many of them tossed shiny objects into her violin case as they left the square. Lexi turned back to Shou and said, “Thank you for the dance and forgive my manners. Thelxiepeia Doxiadis at your service. Please call me Lexi though.” She gave Shou a quick bow. “How do you feel, Mr…”

[shou]

Obediently Shou looked around while he was dancing. He saw the circle around them and the people clapping. To be polite he smiled in return, but if Shou was a sarcastic person he would have mumbled something along the lines of, 'Excellent, more attention.' Even theough the extra attention unnerved him he enjoyed the dance.

“Only two steps left. Shall we increase the tempo?” This time he was sure to say 'no thank you' but Lexi didn't give him time to reply so he shut his mouth and concentrated on keeping up. Somehow, he had made it to the end of he song, he did not even notice until the people began to applaud. Finally, stepping back he bowed at the audience making the loose ends of his robes sweep about. He was happy, content and felt energized by this new experience so he turned back to Lexi with a glowing smile.

"Please, just call me Shou," He said with a bow. "I don't have as many names as most people do."
Again, Shou fixed his hair and robes, even though they were not at all messy. Now that he wasn't focusing on dancing, the surrounding air resumed it's light pulling and tugging at his physical form causing some of his edges to blur and distort. Ignoring it Shou continued.
"Thank you for giving me such a fun dance. I would very much like to learn more next week." By now Shou was brimming with energy, his long sleeves were rippling with it. It was not a major change from before but it certainly could be seen.

[Thelxiepeia Doxiadis]

“Happy to meet you Shou. And it was my pleasure. Next week I’m thinking about doing a wind ensemble. Probably not as fast paced as today.” Lexi returned to her violin case and withdrew a small knapsack from it. She sifted through the gifts, mentally calculating their value and placing them in the sack. When the case was empty, Lexi placed the violin and bow inside, snapping the latches shut.

Lexi stood and turned back to Shou. “Perhaps you would care to join me for a meal or drink? Not sure about you, but I worked up quite the appetite…” Now that she was alone with Shou, it was time to figure out why he stuck out. For reasons unknown, Lexi felt like Shou could be of use to her, rather than as a meal that is. Perhaps she could even learn how he managed to make his clothing ripple and blur despite a lack of wind. That would certainly help her draw attention to herself.

[shou]

Shou patiently watched Lexi pack her things. He was pleased to hear that next week was a wind ensemble and did not mind it not being as fast paced if he was going to dance to it. As far as Shou knew, he was not sure if a wind spirit was able to become hungry or thirsty. As long as there was air around him he was content, but he consumes food and drink when he wants to. However, what happens to that food is a mystery of its own.

"I'd love to join you." This time he was sure of what he was saying. Shou swept his arm towards the inn and stepped to the side letting Lexi lead the way. Though not completely comfortable, he felt that he was beginning to warm up to her, maybe even make a new friend.
"Shall we go?"

[Thelxiepeia Doxiadis]

“Outstanding. I wouldn’t have taken ‘no’ for an answer.” Lexi smiled although she meant the statement literally. She nodded approvingly to Shou when he politely stepped aside. “Quite the gentleman.”

When the two reached the Inn, Lexi pushed the door open, holding it for Shou. “Pick a table, any table. I’m a V.I.P. here.” She had gained this status through her performances and by fighting back should anyone question her right to a table. Lexi absently shook the sack of shiny objects. “Food and drinks are on me tonight, Shou. Lets party!”


(( Shall we start a new thread in the Inn or just continue on in this thread?))

[shou]

((Start a new one. schoolofdreams.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=demensinn&thread=470 ))