Love in Color

    Wake has been busy, and only recently returned to Eas. Her whirlwind tour of Yamato-this time for music-has ended here, where it began. With the dust of the journey still on her, she stands in front of the lake. It is midnight and a sky full of stars is perfectly mirrored on a water surface untroubled by the least breath of wind.

    The Baroness looks tired. Certainly she rarely lets it show, but she's been moving endlessly since the Palace Landers launched their treacherous attack. Since the attack on Eas, she only pushes herself harder. The presence of support from the Dukedom, while appreciated, makes her uncomfortable at the same time. One can keep 'friends' too close, after all.

    But what is on her mind now is music. A melancholy song from a world that she no longer is certain was ever real. But her love for the woman she knew from that place she knows is real. Yet it feels far away, somehow, especially after having time to share with Tae for a brief birthday party. The dull pain brought to focus by a moment of purest bliss becomes something far more powerful.

"You have a knack for finding inspiring views, that's for certain." And it doesn't take long for Wake to be at rest for the Nightmare Bard and her musical instructor to be at her side. While her methods were often on the mischevious and unorthadox side, she also allowed Wake to have her space in her travels, so she could find and feel things for herself rather than just get the impressions from a professional. But now was the time to be closer to those you cared for, as she leaned over to give the woman a quick peck on the cheek. "Happy birthday."

    Wake's calm smile slides into place easily enough. It's now simply a reflex, a mask that is so potent it even can overpower her real mood as she draws it on. At least, when the emotions aren't too powerful.

    "Thank you, Kauchemar," she replies gently. "Even now, birthdays are still a happy thing that can be celebrated."

    She looks from the water to her dear friend and lets the mask slip. At least a little. There's a tug at the corner of her left eye, it seems, where tension and sorrow are allowed to be expressed. For the moment.


        "Getting your dreams
        it's strange, but it seems
        can be a little, well, complicated,"

she sings in soft, small voice.

"There is always time for birthdays. It's important to still have good times for ourselves, less the weight of the world's needs crush us otherwise." The mask can slip a little. Kauchemar is typically a good read on people anyways, she would probably notice sooner or later. But right now it's reminding her friend not to worry about those concerns, at least for tonight. "And Tae outdid herself with the food, as usual. Your girlfriend is definitely a keeper." She bobs her head with the light singing, then flicks some stray mane out of her face with a lazy swat of her fingers. "You've done exceptionally well with your pursuit of the art of song. Not that I'm surprised, you've had great influence in that department as well."

    Wake smiles warmly, "I had a good teacher. Your methods were inspiring." She notes, "I'm not sure what my favorite part was. I am certain that going forward, I will never think that there is a soothing song to calm charging orcs. Nor, for the record, wasps, scorpions, or anything else that I might come across. Or perhaps I am just out of tune?"

    Comedy aside, there's a sense of a storm building inside the Baroness this night, though. The calm, such as it is, serves as little more than a fine cloth draped over sharp edges.

    "What are your dreams, Kauchemar?" she asks abruptly.

"It's all about knowing your audience... And that in this world song can resonate more deeply than words. The scorpions starting to clack their pinchers like maracas was amusing though." She gives the whole matter a wave of her hand. "There is no such thing as out of tune, my dear. Just sometimes the tune you think you want isn't the one the rest of the world wants to hear." Then taps a finger across her chin. "Does it count as out of tune if it's intentionally meant to sound 'bad' to be an annoying deterent..."

"Mostly prophetic menageries that would put acid fever dreams to sha -- oh, you mean metaphorically." Kauchemar rolls her eyes a bit at herself. Maybe not the best time for that kind of joking. "Other than one day we'll be over and past this stupid war forced upon us by ignorant otherworlders? My dreams were made when I finally published my own piece of music that wasn't just a remix and reverb of something existing. I haven't quite moved on to a new one yet." She shrugs. "I should probably get on that, but you know. Most of my time has been spent helping others find their dreams right now, and I am honestly quite fine that."

    "A dreamer empowering other dreams to come to pass," murmurs Wake. "That sounds like a healthy thing to do. When your next dream comes, we will be ready for it." She impulsively takes hold of Kauchemar's arm and hugs it, nuzzling her cheek at her friend's shoulder.

    "I already have even more things I want to do, of course. I begin to wonder if being my friend is a blessing or simply a pain in the ass, though. I'm never done with anything! Even I'm tired of it at times. Do you think you could work some of your DJ magic in the ampitheater when we throw the postwar party against which all future celebrations will be measured forever?"

"It's both, my dear," Kauchemar replies with one of her wry smirks. "Most definitely both. Not that I am complaining. And definitely. Especially once my amplifying staff is complete. It'll be a party to never forget, while we forget about having to drudge through this time in our lives. But keep looking forward I say... and only look back when there's something to learn from it."

    Wake laughs in response. "I can understand that. It's just this drive, this hope that we can do something truly inspiring here. So much of my life before I was trying to make a difference, but in the end I fell far short of the mark my ambitions set. Here, though.. here we can do so much more good for people! Not to even get into the fact that what we can do seems so awesome in and of itself."

    She nods her agreement to looking forward. "I do try my best. Some memories teach a lot of valuable lessons, that is for certain. But the present is offering some very nice company, too." She pivots so easily, with a subtle shift in her posture, from serious to flirtatious.

"Lemme put that in a manner more suitable of a Muse... Learn from Yesterday to Live for Tomorrow." But it's the same sentiment in general. "Life only stops when we stop trying... And now I'm just starting to sound cheesy." Though sometimes cheesy is accurate. She slips an arm over Wake's shoulders. "But no, definitely no complaints about the company. We all have our own views on things, but we are in this together. Of our own desire and accord rather than enforced upon. That will be the strength that ultimately sees us through to the end."

    "Awww, but I like it when you wax philosophical with me!" She snuggles up into the embrace for good measure. It just feels really comfortable. "I have been thinking about music so much lately, and it lends itself to these kind of thoughts. I have done my best to not let Tae know too much about what I'm working on, too. I want it to be a bit of a surprise."

    She studies Kauchemar's face intently. "I've also been thinking of many things besides, honestly. I keep wondering just how I want to carry myself in this world and tweaking it here and there. Everyone else seems so comfortable in their own skin. And here I am, wanting to make a piano and a guitar."

"That means the music is doing what it does best. It's a language and experience all in itself." Kauchemar rubs her chin with the other hand. " From what I understand guitars are not impossible but you'll need to find the right person to make one. I don't think Landers know the right details, since it's beyond their time period. There's certainly some out there. You know me, I mostly use my voice, that's why I'm getting a staff that I can use as a mic and projector."

    "If I can get a guitar, I can accompany Taeyeon when she finally performs in Eas! The big day. Plus we always wanted to have a musical wedding where we perform for the guests. I mean, in the real world marriage was kind of impossible in Japan, but.. well, anyway!"

    She laughs that off. "A piano would be so amazing. It's such a versatile instrument. Honestly, it's just the start, though. Piano, guitar, and.. saxophone. I want to immerse myself in music, now that it's clear I can actually become good at it here."

    She flicks her left wrist and a spray of light leaps into the sky above the lake, like a small aurora. "And make for one amazing light show, too!"

Kauchemar raises her own hand and in a similar gesture sets off several flashes crackling overhead of her own. Though it's obvious hers are sparks of electricity rather than elemental light. "You already had the appreciation for it. You're just gaining the proper means of expressing it for yourself, and not just vicariously through the performance of others... Not that I think either Tae or myself complained, heh."

    Wake grins playfully and notes, "Yes, Tae loves it when I make her sing." She even blushes at bit at that comment, herself. Sometimes innuendo hits back! "But more seriously, I'm still not really at the skill level where I could share the stage with you and Tae. I plan on continuing my education, though. Again, when the time is right. I've gone and got myself a bunch of new responsibilities-which I love-and they are about to once again claim my attention."

    She tilts her head at the lightning and notes, "I wonder just what kind of music one can coax out of the various elements? Air for thunder, certainly.."

"You've taken the first steps on what will hopefully be a lifelong journey. Everything has it's own song, if you learn how to listen." Kauchemar tried very hard to not lose it at the double meaning, but a snicker still escaped before she made herself move on without focusing on it. "The babble of a brook, the roar of the waves. Wind through the leaves. Branches rattling against the side of the house. Everything."

    "The sigh of a lover," Wake says, and then sighs dramatically. "But you are right. Listening and being in the moment is of great value, and one can never know just when a new.. instrument will reveal itself." She's probably being inappropriate again with that suggestion.

    "Speaking of which.. I want to try something. The last lesson of the night! Well, at least the last one out here in plain view!" She slides out of Kauchemar's embrace with another sigh.

It is a night of double meanings it would seem. Kauchemar just smiles lazily. They've played the roll of teacher and student with each other, both ways, several times now so it wasn't like it was a very tense situation. "You are such a tease sometimes. But yes, if something has inspired you, grab the moment. Live the moment. Express the moment!" She lets the woman slip out from under her arm, curious to see what's gotten into Wake this time. For all she could lecture on musical theory and structure it is better for Wake to try her own experiences.

    Wake has become more and more flirtatious as of late. Kauchemar has no doubt noticed that through the course of their lessons. The Baroness would give credit for that to having more time with people she cares as of late. Especially since her birthday celebration.

    Wake focuses on the water, then on her own heartbeat. It takes a moment to tap into just what she is feeling, and what song best expresses it. Flirtatious as she may be, there's a melancholy that tends to come over her at birthdays, though only a very small group is aware of it.

    She considers explaining her mood, letting Kauchemar know why she feels this way. How this day is bound forever to the death of the first woman she ever loved. But there's no need for that explanation. Instead, her voice gently opens in song. It's a song Tae wrote in Korean, but the translation is understood as:

        With a clear color, you seeped into me
        A love light
        filled up our times together
        When we colored each other

        The love that was clear in my heart

        The color is fading
        I'm walking in the darkness alone
        Our memories that were so clear
        are now just a faded black-and-white picture

To have such joyous and sorrowful occasions forever entwined in one's personal thought-space. That is a burden hard to bear. But she doesn't need to explain. Or not explain it in words. Honestly the music does a better job at getting such notions across than words ever would.

While she mainly uses her voice in combat Kauchemar does know her fair share of instruments to play. And while it's a far cry from a guitar the lute she produces does enable her to play along, picking up on the song with surprising ease. Though she's only playing along, not wanting to overshadow Wake's emotional performance.

    Just as the accompaniment is added, Wake reaches out, her hands lifting just slightly as light rises around her in streamers that start so vibrantly and as she sings, change with the mood of the song.
        You become so far away
        Like a dream I can't wake up from
        You remain in my heart,
        I miss you again

        The love that was like a picturesque landscape

        In my heart, colored so brightly was
        Me and you
        Smudged with tears, color
        spreading like it's wet with tears

        The color is fading
        I'm walking in the darkness alone
        Our memories that were so clear
        Are now just a faded black-and-white picture

        Now we're faded

    And with that last word, the last note, the light gently drifts into darkness. Wake doesn't turn back to face Kauchemar, but the forward curve of the spine, the way her hands raise to cover her bowed face tell as much as any facial expression could of what she's feeling at this moment.

The song comes to it's conclusion, as does the playalong from the bard. Kauchemar sets her instrument down, and walks over. But all she does is just puts a hand comfortingly on the woman's shoulder. There are times when no words are needed to be spoken, even she knows that. Emotions are meant to be felt, they only eat one away from the inside when kept to yourself for too long. She doesn't need to say anything to get that point across, just letting Wake does as she needs to get through the moment.

    Wake turns to Kauchemar and quickly buries her face against her friends chest. She has lived with long enough now to know how the pain works, how it feels. Wake's hug is a tight one, with something akin to desperation in the fierceness of it.

    The sobs that come are intense, and the tears are not held back. There are only a few people in this world that Wake trusts enough to share her pain with. Kauchemar just happens to the second person Wake's allowed to see her like this. Ever.

    When the tears shift from a torrent to a trickle, Wake at last can speak, "I.. needed that. It's the time of year. It hurts, but I never want it to stop. I love many people dearly, and my heart is her last home, too. I will never stop loving her."

Kauchemar goes from shoulder clasp to wrapping her arm entirely around the Wake's shoulder as she presses against her for comfort. "Nor would she want you to." To some it would be weird to hear such a soft, comforting tone come from the equine of darkness. But someone as close to her as Wake is would know it's genuine. "But as she loved you, I believe she would be happy that you've found new joys in your life. Not to replace her, but to continue on with the memories of your time together. That is what she would of wanted."

    "I try to focus on what we had together. Brief, dangerous meetings. Secret kisses and promises of someday, somehow getting her free. It was an impossible love, but it burned all the brighter for it," explains Wake.

    She doesn't pull away as the tears stop. She feels safe and warm where she is. Home can be found in surprising places.

    "I'm sure they would have gotten along well, had my lovers met. I'm lucky to have met them. I'm lucky to have met you, as well. You are so important to me, and I feel like I don't always show just how much I care or even how exactly I feel."

"Those closest to us do not need to be told repeatedly. We know. Words are not necessary... Especially now that you've learned to speak the true language of emotion. Quite well, for the short amount of time we've worked on it I might add." There is no need to let go so Kauchemar doesn't. "That was beautiful. Such a blend of pleasure and sorrow. Love, loss and treasuring the time you had. I dare say Tae will be quite pleased when she learns of the new skill you've found, in part inspired by her."

    "I take comfort that you know, then," Wake says gently. She closes her eyes and hums softly. It's a gentle tune, sounding almost like a lullaby. It's one of those strings of gentle notes that tend to sound familiar, whether it's been heard quite this way before or not.

    She whispers, "It's late, and it's time we find our beds." But for a while longer, she makes no move to go. It's just the two of them under the stars, sharing a moment of clarity and nearness on a gentle summer's eve. Eventually, though, the shores will be left lonely once more as warm beds call.