RP:Pain and Poulenc
Summary:Odhranos, in his sorrow over separating with Artia, travels to Schezerade, and in the late of the night, attempts to channel his warring emotions into song. Brennia overhears his playing and comes to comfort her friend.
Note The piece Odhranos is playing is a piece from Clarinet Sonata by Francis Poulenc, II Romanza. I would highly recommend listening to this piece to feel the atmosphere of the RP.
Smyth College of Bardic Arts
Odhranos | Deep shadows swathed the main hall of the castle, which was unnaturally silent given the life, energy and music that filled the space during the daytime. For once, however, the students had retired for the night and the slightly rippling twilight gaze of Hollow's moons was the only sign of movement in the silent hall. That is until, the pristine silence was broken by the echoing of boot heels, pacing slowly across the polished stone floor. Emerging from the deepest shadows like a wraith, Odhranos strode into the centre of the hall, his crystalline violin in one hand and the bow held loosely in the other. When the mage reached the centerpoint of the room, he stopped, and for a brief moment, the silence seeped back into the room. With a quiet sigh that seemed to roll around the room heavily, the mage lifted the violin to his chin and set the bow on the strings. Silver moonlight shone through the crystal of the instrument, refracting shattered fragments of light around the hall, creating an almost ethereal aura to the scene. With the faintest of whispers from the fabric of his robes, the mage began to play, a high quavering note that held for what seemed like an eternity, ever so high and ever so quiet.
Brennia was shut up in her office which sits on the second floor of the grand main hall in the back of the oval shaped space. She's been busy going through applications and entry essays as she's been hosting tours every week since she got back from the play tour. About double the amount of students are eager to attend and she's had to dig a bit deeper into her benefactor’s pockets, but her ears pick up a beautiful note being rung throughout her hall and it brought goosebumps to her skin. She needs to hear it more and desire takes better judgment of her as her bare feet took her from her hard work at her desk. The short hallway in the professor’s office was dark, which surprised her as she didn't realize it was so late at night. Suddenly she felt the exhaustion in her eyes when she looked back into her office which was now well lit with the firefly lights which hover below the ceiling. She didn't have time to wonder how she had missed that when her bare feet take her out of the offices and to the banister of the balcony which overlooks the first floor of the main hall. Liberty blues stare down at Odhranos in the silence they share and she dare not even breath for she wanted to not stop hearing him play in this moment.
Odhranos eased the bow across the strings with a feather-light touch, as the note rose, then fell, all the while soft and quiet. A moment of silence rang out through the hall, before a pained grimace crossed the mage's face, ans he set the bow back to the strings with force. Loud, angry passionate notes, brazenly howling their rage before chasing eachother down a scale and quietening once again. The mage's face relaxed again and he straightened his back as he teased a soft slow, yet sombre and eerie tune from the instrument, the abrupt moment of passion so quickly passed.
Brennia was caressing the marble rail of the banister until the passionate notes pull on her anger and her hands wrapped around the stone with a squeeze. The Bard’s confidence has been secretly lacking lately and she's a little tired from the day’s events so her inner strength is a bit compromised in this moment. She felt the sting in her tired eyes and she pulled her hands back from the banister as if were hot and burned her because the notes of Odhranos’ tune are working not only on the strings below his bow, but her heart as well. Usually she is much more composed than this when a soft gasp escapes her and in fear of being spotted she places a hand over her mouth while she shifted herself behind a marble column which was next to her. Becoming wrapped up in the melody while wiping her tears from her cheeks she nearly forgot who was playing such a melody, but why. Worry distracts her sorrow for now, worry for her friend and why was he so angry or sad, but she was still hiding in the shadow of the column and dared not disrupt him… She'll wait.
Odhranos's tune continued, simple, and eerie for it's simplicity, as if devoid of emotion other than quiet sorrow, but there was an almost imperceptible swell in the music, which suddenly roared into passionate life, as note after note flared into a lightning fast scale, plateauing momentarily before launching full fury into another, a pained grimace on the mage's face as twin trails of tears marked his cheeks, glinting in the moonlight. The raw outburst abated somewhat, before with a loud twang, one of the strings broke and lashed the mage's face, scoring a cut across his cheek. Startled, the mage stumbled back silently, before dropping to his knees, his instrument placed less than gently at his side before Odhranos covered his face, his shoulders heaving with repressed emotion.
Brennia heard the string break with a wince of her own and right when she peers around the column she can see, yes from this distance - Avian, that there were tears before the wound. Not waiting another second her bare feet were quick on the cold marble floors and dropping two steps at a time down one of the staircases which hug the curved walls. On her way she made sure to wipe away her own emotion in order to be there for him and once she reached him she knelt down next to the man. “Welcome back… want to talk about it?” The question comes with that usual sultry alto timbre with an added warmth and in such silence he can pick up on a slight rasp while a tentative hand reaches out in attempts to rest on his shoulder for comfort. Her free hand extends to gently raise his face and meet her gaze in order to inspect the wound he just inflicted on himself. Her heart was still pounding with how he just made her feel and her hurried response, but this side of him she never seen before and all she wanted to do was pull him into a hug.
Odhranos looked up startled as Brennia knelt beside him, the mage hadn't known she was there, such was he wrapped up in his own troubles. When she reached for his shoulder, his face crumpled and the mage fell into Brennia's arms, his face pressed against her shoulder as he sobbed. After a moment or two, the mage's cries lessened, and he sat up, wiping his tears away, flinching when his fingertips brushes the open wound that now left a red smear across his cheek. Trying to speak, the mage coughed out in a weak and fragile voice, "Why does it hurt so much if you do the right thing?" Odh coughed weakly, kneading his eyes in an attempt to tidy himself up, which he gave up quickly. He met Brennia's eyes and sniffled unhappily. "I'm sorry to burden you with my troubles. I... I just needed a way to... express feelings that I couldn't make go away."
Brennia wrapped her arms and velvety wings around Odhranos, encasing him in his most favorite scent which may only make matters worse, but this was how she comforted her friends. He was really breaking her heart and she answers his question first, “sometimes the right thing is the hardest thing, but it makes you stronger for it.” Her nimble fingers caressed through the mage’s hair while his head rested on her shoulder, but once he pulled away she pulls a handkerchief from between her wings and starts helping him clean his face up. “No need to apologize, Odhranos… That is what music is for.” A silence rested between them, allowing him some peace, while those liberty blues tried to find his own gaze and she watched as his tears leaked down to his fresh wound, way to add salt to injury - literally. Handing him the handkerchief so he may take over from there and she stands now while a hand extends down to him to help him up, “oh Odhranos, what happened?” Genuine concern could be detected in her gentle timbre and she would lead him towards the kitchen in the back of the castle if he allows, “let's get you a drink.”
Odhranos quietly accepted Brennia's hug, and breathed in the cool crisp scent of water running over stone with hitching coughs and sighs. He allowed her to wipe away the tears and blood and then gratefully accepted her hand when she helped him to his feet. Dabbing gently at the wound, Odh was led without protest into the castle's kitchens, where he gratefully accepted a glass of still iced water. After a few tentative sips, the mage's composure had recovered somewhat. "Artia and I... had a talk. Given the circumstances and Artia's recent siring, we decided... it was best to part ways." The mage rested his head in his hands and sighed heavily. "Even though I know it was the right thing to do, and it was better to end it on good terms now than have it come to a bitter end later... it still hurts. It feels like a wound that won't heal." The mage sighed again and rested his head against the cool stone countertop.
Brennia did slide a chilled crystal mug his way of water, but also a couple of mugs of his favorite hard cider with a cinnamon stick procured from a pitcher of it that was in the larder. A slight frown pulls at her plump lips as she offers him a stool which was at the seating area of the island in the kitchen. She sighs softly while taking a seat next to him that was scooted a little closer to him so she play place a conforming hand on his back. If he was the one who ended things and he's in this shape she even can't imagine how Artia is feeling at this moment. She makes a mental note to check on her next, after she calms Odhranos down a bit and makes certain he's a little better at least. Her comforting hand gently rubs up and down his back while her free hand sips from her own mug of hard cider while a tattooed leg crosses over the other under the tight fit of her knee length pencil skirt which a silky blue blouse is tucked into. It seems that she was dressed for her current profession as she was giving tours earlier today and she would be wearing heels as well, but she had kicked them off ages ago within the confines of her office when she was working. “Sometimes you just have to do what is right. I sense the both of you have changed and this is through no fault of either of you.” She keeps her kind words short as she didn't want to bore him, but she understood this heartache. “Drink up. You are more than welcome to spend a night here, more of you need to. The castle will be quiet over the next week until I have another open house so take the time you need. There's a hot springs next door and an array of gardens on campus if you need a little vacation.” In attempts to meet his gaze she would smile at Odhranos with that smile that pokes dimples in her cheeks and warms the coldest of hearts, “but I'll also be here for you.”
Odhranos placed the empty mug of water aside and slid the cider into it's place, taking a genteel sip while running his finger through the trail of water left behind on the countertop. He appreciated Brennia's words, and a small grateful smile showed for a brief moment. "I shan't stay long, the world doesnt rest for a broken heart, and I have business that can't be left go by the wayside. But thank you." The mage tried again to smile, and a semblance of the bright cheery smile returned. "I think... I might play some more. Then rest. Something calming." The mage quaffed a mouthful of cider before standing up from the table. "Thank you, Brennia. For offering me hospitality time and time again. Thank you." The mage strode to the door, then looked back. "Care to listen?"
Brennia brings their cider with them. A night of music and venting lies before the pair as she answers, “of course!” With an eagerness her footsteps pad on after him.