Putting a Spin On It

Writers: Eimi, Leigh M-F.
Date Posted: 9th July 2017

Characters: Kaiafel, Firelloa
Description: Kaiafel observes an Apprentice Harper's class
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 12, day 17 of Turn 8
Notes: Mentioned: A'kua, U'kaiah (not by name),
Note: Sung to the tune of Frank Turner's "The Ballad of Me and My Friends."

Word was there would be some other kids coming in to see what the singing classes were all about. Firelloa was looking forward to it, since she wanted to see what those other kids thought. Today, students had been asked to bring in someone else's compositions if possible, and put their own spin on it. If they didn't have musically-inclined relatives, they could trade with fellow apprentices. Firelloa thought it was going to be a fun exercise, so she hoped everyone would enjoy it and learn something new.

Kaiafel walked into the music room and looked around, not sure where he was supposed to sit. He had been looking forward to seeing life as a Harper apprentice. After all, his father had been a Harper! But his father had been an archivist, so this was a side of the craft Kaiafel had never given much thought to. So they were just going to sing? Didn't _everyone_ sing?

Once everyone had gathered, the two Harpers in charge clapped their hands for attention. "All right, everyone, we'll be starting in a moment," the first, a compact lady named Pria, called out. "Welcome to the apprentices-to-be who are shadowing us today. We hope you enjoy yourselves and learn something interesting."

"We'll be starting with some vocal exercises," the second, a handsome, dark-skinned man named Rellos followed up. "For those who don't know it, listen first and then join in. Ready? Deep breaths, everyone, through the gut- that's it, you've all been practicing," he said with relish. "Now, low to high: 'Mama made me mash some mango jam.'"

Yes, they were silly phrases, but the practice behind them worked. Firelloa and Nariise, who had joined her just before class, sang as clearly as possible through the prescribed ranges.

"Mama-meme-mah-mah-ja..." Kaiafel tried to mutter along, but he couldn't figure out what they were saying! It all sounded like nonsense to him. **When do we get to play with the instruments...** he wondered.

After a good round of exercises, perhaps just ten minutes, Rellos nodded his approval. "Nicely done, all of you. I'd say we're ready."

"If you non-apprentices weren't by chance told," Pria took up, "today our apprentices will be sharing compositions they either traded compositions with their fellow students, or borrowed them musically-inclined relatives. You'll see how we put original touches on someone else's work."

This confused Kaiafel. "Excuse me," he said, holding up his hand. "But my teacher is a Harper, and he said you aren't supposed to use someone else's work." At least, that was what he had been told when his teacher discovered he had copied his report about whersport from a book in the Record rooms.

Pria motioned to Kaiafel with a nod. "Your teacher had an excellent point, but he forgot the other part of that statement," she said. "You're not supposed to use someone else's work _without their permission._ All of us here got permission from our fellow apprentices or our relatives to use their work. No one is claiming credit; we're just borrowing the compositions."

"So who'd like to go first?" Rellos asked.

Firelloa bounced to her feet. "Me!" she said excitedly, taking a spot on the floor in front of everyone's seats. "I borrowed this song from my brother. He makes weird stuff, but I still like it. He sings this one with hope, but I thought I could see how it sounds if I sing it wistfully."

Kaiafel's brow furrowed in thought. **Wistfully...** The was a word he didn't know. **Carefully... Full of care. Mindfully... Use your mind fully. Playfully... Do something full of playfulness. Wistfully... Do something with a lot of wist? What is a wist?**

Firelloa drew a slow breath, then crossed her arms like she was hugging herself and started pacing in front of her fellow attendees, singing in an almost melancholy way. Everything in her body language spoke of melancholy, and her clear voice was full of longing. "Everybody's got themselves a plan,
And everyone thinks they'll be a big man, including the girls.
The harpers who lack the friends to form a band
Are singer-songwriters; the rest of us are teachers
Or official troupe choreographers.

And tonight, I'm playing another big Gather show,
So I'm sending out my flit with notes to everyone I know,
And quite a few I don't whose lives still found their way into my own;
But they might come along anyway,
You never really know.

None of this is going anywhere, and pretty soon we'll all be old,
And no one left alive will really care
About our glory days when we chased our goals,
But if you're all about the destination,
Then take a dragon-flight!

We're going nowhere slowly, but we're seeing all the sights.
And it's definitely not going well,
But we'll have all the best stories to tell.
Yes, it's definitely not going well,
But we'll have all the best stories to tell."

**Ok, wistfully means depressing,** Kaiafel decided, though he did think the song was pretty. He couldn't figure out exactly what the song meant, but it was sad. Something about old Harpers with no friends, and one of them had a flit, and they rode a dragon to go sight-seeing... And they were sad about it. **A flit _and_ a dragon ride? I wouldn't be sad about that…**

"Very well done, Firelloa," Pria said. "Excellent breath control, and the emotion you were trying to convey came across very clearly."

"I agree," Rellos added, "but I'm also afraid you're still not projecting your voice far enough. You need to practice that more. Don't lose confidence in how you sound when you have to project, all right?"

The girl nodded a little guiltily. She had been neglecting that part because Rellos was right. "Thank you both," she said, and sat back down, her elbow accidentally bumping Kaiafel. "Oh, sorry," she apologized as another volunteer was called.

"That's ok," he whispered, scooting over to give her room to get by. "I liked your song. It was pretty."

Firelloa beamed at him. "Thanks, but it's not my song. My brother composed it. I'll tell him you liked it; he'll be pleasantly surprised. His stuff is weird, so he doesn't think it would appeal to lots of people." She held out her hand for a wrist-clasp. "I'm Firelloa. It's nice to meet you."

"Well, met," the boy said formally, as his Da had always instilled in him the importance of respect. "I'm Kaiafel. I'm not a Harper. But my Da is."

"Have you decided if you want to be a Harper? Or is this class going to help you choose?"

"I'm going to be a dragonrider," Kaiafel said with unwavering confidence. "But the Harper wants us to visit different crafts to help us decide if we want to apprentice too."

Firelloa decided not to tell the boy what the odds of Impression might be, what with everyone and their uncle wanting to fight Thread, it seemed. She hoped Kaiafel even sort of knew what he might be getting into. "Are you having fun yet?" she asked instead with a teasing tone.

"Yeah, I guess so," he shrugged. "I mean, the singing's pretty nice but it started out weird."

The girl stifled a giggle, not wanting to interrupt the next person singing. "Vocal warmups are supposed to be weird," she informed him. "It helps us loosen up and enunciate."

"Yeah, enunciating is important," Kaiafel agreed. He really didn't understand the difference between enunciating and just talking, but whenever students in class gave a report or presentation, his Harper always said that, so it was probably true.

"Oh, my friend Nariise is up next; we can talk more when she's done,," Firelloa said, and turned her attention to the front.

Last updated on the July 21st 2017

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Putting a Spin On It