Business Up Front, Party In The Back [OPEN!]

[poetryinfashion]

WHO: Anyone! 8D But hosted by the Hitachiin Twins and Penelo~
WHAT: Open House Celebration!
WHERE: Eagle's Splendour
WHEN: Day 189 (Oct 2)

Comments

Re: Party Time! - The Showroom

[shewalksindeath]

Sabriel's gaze flickered towards Jade and back to her hands - for a tolerable pianist as she was, it was perhaps a good idea to keep her eyes on the keys as much as possible. But into the keys and slightly towards him she gave a small smile, and resolved her piece like the twinkling of bells.

Lifting her fingers off the keyboard, she could look at him properly, and reply. "That would be lovely," she said politely, with the etiquette of one who had taken classes on manners but the distance of one who hadn't liked it much. Nonetheless, she slide down the bench towards the bass notes, leaving him room at the treble end.

"I'm afraid piano is not my forte," Sabriel told him apologetically. "And I don't know the standard repertoire, even for my world, which I'm sure is different in yours. But I have a knack for improvisational harmony, if you'd still like to give it a try."

Knack, of course, wasn't really the right word, though she did have the innate sense of music that came with being a Charter mage; spell was technically more correct. She could ensure it sounded pleasant, at the very least, with small magics - and most definitely did she intend to use them.

Re: Party Time! - The Showroom

[poetryinfashion]

Kaoru was finally getting to mingle about as he heard Sabriel playing and Jade sat down next to her. He headed in the general direction of the piano, hoping to check in with one of the night's musicians as well as how Sabriel herself was finding the piano.

And then he saw Jade and Kaoru balked considerably. Standing off to the side, facing them both, Kaoru could not contain his shock. "Colonel... Jade... Curtiss... oh my but it's been ages hasn't it!" He shook his head a little and gradually a smile broke out across his face. "I can't believe it... well I can because I see the occasional notes you leave in the journals but wow..." He shook his head again, still smiling.

He turned to Sabriel and remarked, "If he wants to play, please allow him to do so... I can't believe I completely forgot to invite you, Jade! I really need to keep a list for the birthday party... And that you play... that shouldn't come as a surprise either, I guess, but... WOW!"

It really was turning out to be more of a reunion than Kaoru had ever expected.

[walker_dog]

The Dog's hackles had risen a little at the approach of the Colonel, no less so because she could sense the Abhorsen's mild disapproval, but when he appeared to pose no significant threat - and Sabriel acquiesced to his request - she relaxed again.

And then there was a new voice, and a face she recognized from the journals, and the Dog gave a happy yip and wriggled out from beneath the piano bench, assuming her normal size as she did so.

She bounded over to Kaoru, tail wagging enthusiastically, tongue lolling from her panting mouth, and proceeded to bounce on her hind legs, trying to get a solid lick to connect with his face.

No talking, at least. Not yet.

[necroshmancer]

Jade lifted the tails of his coat and sat down next to Sabriel, his fingers hovering over the keys for an instant. "I have to admit my knowledge of music is from a strictly academic standpoint... imagination is not my strong suit." He smiled at her, with that strange smile that didn't quite reach his crimson eyes. "And since imagination is not a virtue that the military cultivates in its men, I will have to rely on you to add a little whimsy to my melody."

He was about to start playing when Kaoru made his way to their side, and he turned towards the young man, nodding politely in acknowledgement. "The reports of my early demise were wildly exagerated", he answered when he saw his surprise, "Although I did get my insides artfully rearranged... which is not nearly as pleasant without healing magic to sort everything out."

Jade tapped the toe of his shoe rythmically a few times, and started to play, his hands flying over the keys as he continued the conversation. "I play very little and very ill", he lied glibly, "And do not worry, Kaoru, we did not feel slighted in the least, as Natalia assumed from the start that it was an invitation for the whole household, in her name. Emperor Peony came as well, he's probably hovering around the refeshments."

[shewalksindeath]

Jade was a much better pianist than she was, that was immediately clear, but Sabriel's competence was such that she could, indeed, keep pace, provide whimsy, and with a touch of magic make their piece sound like a rather extraordinary feat of artistry.

Of course, it was slight cheating, but Sabriel had never been one to follow the rules.

She smiled softly into her fingers, unable to help listening to his conversation; this colonel, far more so than the one she'd met at home, had sass. She liked it.

[poetryinfashion]

"At this rate I'll need to pay you for being a musician this evening as well, Jade," Kaoru noted with a chuckle as the dog licked his face, reminding the boy of Tamaki even more. "All the same I'm glad to hear you're feeling better... hopefully I'll get the chance to say hi to Peony as well."

While Kaoru was more than willing to leave them to their conversation and their playing, he was actually trying to pay close attention to the fingers dancing across the keys. Despite not knowing how to play the piano himself, he'd heard and watched Tamaki-semapi play a number of times... and thus was at least able to distinguish who was playing which notes. This mainly concerned him so that he could gauge Sabriel's abilities to the extent of hiring her on.

Due to her pleasant nature and so-far decent skills, it was looking like a deal already, but best to keep watching for about five minutes or so just to be sure.

After all, it gave him time to scratch near her collar, forgetting for the moment that the dog had told him herself that she could speak, and rather just treating her like any normal dog.

[walker_dog]

Well, that wouldn't do at all - she was Disreputable, after all, and now was just about the right time to prove it. And if she got really lucky, maybe she'd startle a reaction out of that Colonel, as well...

She settled down by Kaoru's feet, body still shaking a bit from the enthusiasm of her continued tail-wagging, but no longer jumping about - in order to allow Kaoru to get a good hold on where he was scratching, of course.

And then, just to remind him that she was no normal dog - though she couldn't deny the fun that came with various reactions to her abnormality - instead of subtly maneuvering herself where she wanted to be scratched, she opened her mouth and asked:

"A little to the left, please - if you wouldn't mind."

[necroshmancer]

"Those who can't dance, play", stated Jade, "The Emperor and I came alone, so we had to find some source of entertainment: he has pastries, I have music."

Jade reached over Sabriel, to casually hit a key, before returning to his end. The dog talked. He played on.

"I had no idea you were a ventriloquist, Kaoru", Jade quipped, nonplussed, as he maneuvered his way through a complicated passage, a small frown on his face as he recalled the notes in his memory. It seemed that this world had sorcerers' rings, just like Auldrant did. They had used them on cheagles, back home, never on dogs, though. Jade could only imagine the horror that would befall him if Peony got his hands on one of those rings for his personal use.

Talking... rappigs.

The battle-hardened Colonel barely repressed a shudder.

[shewalksindeath]

Sabriel couldn't suppress her smirk.

The Disreputable Dog, faithful and good as far as dogs went, definitely lived up to her name in other ways. That canine had sass in droves, too.

She couldn't help wondering what the two men thought she was, for if they weren't from her world, "a being of Charter magic and Free magic" probably wouldn't come immediately to mind.

No matter. She whistled a quiet note, and for a moment it sounded like a fifth, invisible hand had come upon the keyboard, then was gone.

[walker_dog]

As best she could - canine faces were not known for their vast range of emotional expression - the Dog affected a rather insulted look, though the continued frenzied wagging of her tail took something away from the intended effect.

"Hardly," she retorted. "I speak quite well for myself, thank you very much."

It was true, though, that she was hardly Disreputable in behavior - at least, not to the Abhorsen. She had taken Sabriel as her new Mistress in this world, and she displayed nothing but the utmost loyalty to the Abhorsen.

To these others, though - well, that was a different story. Something about the Colonel put her a little on edge - something about the way he carried himself, perhaps, or so easily slid into the Abhorsen's space - but the boy seemed nice enough. He'd taken to scratching her all on his own, after all, no encouragement needed.

The Abhorsen's whistle pulled another soft hum from the Dog - and a tiny, sympathetic peal from the bells, safely tucked away beneath the bench. A peal from the Dog's own bell, meant, perhaps, to get feet to moving - tapping with the beat, or even dancing.

[necroshmancer]

"Dogs do not talk in my world, but cheagles do", Jade retorted, nonplussed, "And believe me, cheagles never have anything useful to say, so speech is wasted on them."

He paused for a short while to finish the last strands of the melody.

"They are fire breathers, though, which can come in handy. But for some reason, my companions trusted the animal more than me when it came to incinerating obstacles in our path." Jade actually sounds peeved. "I am perfectly capable of being subtle and restrained if the situation calls for it!"

To underscore that sentiment, he started playing a light waltz, but his foot, which rested a bit too heavily on the pedal at times, seemed to hint at the opposite.

[shewalksindeath]

"I'd trust the Dog with all sorts of things," Sabriel said blithely, finishing the piece with him. "She's no... cheagle."

She slid off the bench, leaving the colonel his space to do whatever it was he was going to do to that poor piano. Knowing little about someone in Rivelata meant caution was definitely necessary, and for the millionth time, Sabriel cursed her own ignorance - if she knew more, she could do something productive, rather than just clear out.

Yes, Jade. Definitely subtle.

She made a quick, unconscious crowd scan, then drew her attention back to the boy, the dog, and the not-so-restrained colonel.

[walker_dog]

As she seemed to have stunned the boy into silence, the Dog padded over to the Abhorsen, nudging one hand with her nose gratefully.

Nothing useful to say, indeed, she thought scathingly, a low growl rumbling from deep in her throat as she watched the Colonel continue. And it didn't help matters that now that she and the Abhorsen both had walked away from the piano, the Colonel was now left with unattended bells.

"To say that something does not exist simply because you have never encountered it before is a very narrow way of thinking, wouldn't you say?" she asked rather pointedly, resting her body against Sabriel's leg. "Perhaps this is why your companions trusted these...cheagles more - a wider world view."

[necroshmancer]

"I have never said that they do not exist. A number of animals, any of them, really, could talk the way the cheagles do, with the use of the sorceror's ring. Even rappigs, although I am positive I do not wish to hear what they have to say."

He shrugged, moving on from the waltz to a more somber piece.

"If my worldview was as narrow as you believe it to be, I would have been surprised upon hearing you talk. I was merely intrigued."

He reached over to hit a note and continued: "But since you took my charmingly self-deprecating humour seriously, the answer to your puzzle is that not only is it a waste of ressources to have the greatest fonist in the Empire burning away some debris, but cheagles also make rather 'cute' sounds as they breathe fire. I may be many things, but I am definitely not cute."

He briefly checked to make sure Peony was out of sight, as that conversation had the potential to become quite embarassing if his friend decided to tease him.

[shewalksindeath]

Of course, Sabriel would not leave her bells alone, and though she'd allowed the colonel space, there was only so far she could justify moving.

Still, the colonel had moved fairly quickly from appearing sassy to raising Sabriel's heckles in defense of the Dog.

"Saying it's charming far reduces the chances of it actually being that way," she snipped lightly. "Though I have to agree with you about the 'cute' statement."

An eyebrow raised, and without her intending it, one side of her mouth, too.

[walker_dog]

With a grateful lick to Sabriel's hand for the defense, the Dog let her own mouth quirk up into the closest canine approximation of a grin.

"Ah, but you assumed", she pointed out. "And you continue to do so. I think that by 'sorceror's ring' you mean my collar - but you would be incorrect in your assumptions that it enables me to speak. I speak entirely of my own will and power - the collar is simply another part of me. It serves a very different purpose, indeed."

She was not, however, so talkative as to reveal that purpose, not with the Abhorsen using so much subtle magic here in her music, nor with the bells so close by. And judging by what this man had already revealed, he himself was a mage of some kind - the Dog shuddered to think what he might be able to do if he discovered her collar was a wellspring of Magic.