RP:When All We Have are Memories
This is a Bard's Guild RP.
Part of the Dissonance Theory Arc
Summary: Brennia welcomes Khitti into the Bard's guild, they vent a little about the loss of loved ones, play a little relaxing music and enjoy the beautiful Goth Garden.
The Goth Garden
In an effort to bring a little bit of Vailkrin to Cenril, a gothic-themed garden has been created next to the Ginger Snapped Bakery. Three-fourths of the garden is surrounded by a wrought iron fence, that includes a gate, with a dark stone foundation and fence posts. Pieces of charcoal grey slate is used for pathing, that of which has been laid in a square around the outskirts of the garden, next to the fence, as well as creating an odd looking cross in the middle, so that one might observe all sides of the half circle-shaped flower beds and make their way to the small fountain and seating area in the middle. Each flower bed is lined and raised by the same stone that makes up the fence and the flowers within them are in varying shades of dark red and purple hues, the majority of them so dark in color that they look black. In the northwest corner flower box, belladonna, hellebore, lobelia, calla lilies, and violas are all planted together; northeast holds hollyhock, pansies, petunias, tulips, roses and bat flowers; and the southwest is occupied by hyacinth, irises, lilies, orchids, peonies, and geraniums. The last corner, in the southeast, is dedicated to flowers whose colors don’t quite fit the theme, but the fact that they bloom only at night does. Black jasmine, moonflowers, phlox, daturas, and wisteria all reside together, the wisteria hanging from a stand-alone trellis so that its vines can climb as high as possible. Finally, in the middle of the entire garden lies not only a fountain made of obsidian, but several wrought iron table and chair sets for anyone to sit in and take in the garden. The fountain itself is rather large for one situated on a pedestal, though the base has been made wide enough to accommodate for its size. Two seemingly human figures--lovers most likely--are embraced in a dance position, one set of hands intertwined, while the man’s other rests against the woman’s back, pulling her forward as she wraps her right leg around his left and balances herself with an arm around his neck. Each curve of her body is expertly sculpted, from everything to her long wavy hair to the long dress she wears, the slit on both sides of the dress allowing for it to look as if it’s flowing in the air as they dance. The man’s own appearance is no different than his partner’s, the creases in his shirt carved to resemble real fabric and his slicked back hair chiseled just so. Both dancers are adorned with skull masks and the sculpture itself is aptly named ‘The Dance Macabre’.
Khitti || Today and the next few days, Khitti and Brand were staying at the apartment above the bakery, rather than the Tranquility. Unfortunately, Brand was late and still dealing with things on the ship before he took his few days’ leave and Khitti was left to dwell on the problems that’s arisen with the Warrior’s Guild and the Mage’s Guild. She’d tried hard to stay indoors, to keep the problems bottled up in the apartment, but she needed a serious breath of fresh air. Not to be deterred from her research on things pertaining to Lionel, she hauled all the books and notebooks downstairs and into the garden, as well as her violin, so that she could work outside. The redhead can’t manage to get herself going though, once she finally got down there and got settled. The stress was practically radiating off of her, to the point that some of the customers in the garden seemed concerned. Eventually, Khitti sighed heavily and dug into her violin case. The instrument was tuned a little and soon the bow met with the strings. The sounds that emanated from it were somber, slow, each note dedicated to an ounce of the emotion she felt. It’d been so long since she played the song she’d written for her sister Lydia and now that Lionel was gone too, it felt only right to play it again. Clair de Lune, as the song was called, had been imprinted onto the music reel of her sister’s music box, though it hadn’t sounded as sad then. Now, with her sister’s enchanted violin, the melody plucked at the heartstrings of all in the garden, those in the bakery, and others that passed by on the road outside. The same violin had been used to soothe the dead at times in Frostmaw, and while Khitti was no longer dead, it did not soothe her now.
Brennia had been walking along with her guard, Thedez, who is in his human form (strong looking dude with well kempt beard), but something drew her nearer to this beautifully dark looking garden. "Reminds me of Vailkrin… well, the beautiful parts of it," her time in Vailkrin was mostly confined to the safety of the rooms in the Hanging Corpse. She had been instructed to stay close to the new healing center in Cenril that doubles as an academy for those willing to learn the healing ways, but she's also been instructed to go on some walks and there are only so many times you can circle around the same hallways. "Bre," the guard warns the tattooed avian, who looks right at home with her black as night wings and inked up caramel skin, with no avail. The once poised height, curvaceous and dewy woman isn't looking so vibrant these days. Thedez relents and walks next to her hand keeps his hand on the bard's elbow for support, but as they are stopped at the fountain and Brennia's mouth falls agape at the expertly chiseled sculpture at the fountain, the sound of a violin drifts beautifully on the air. Brennia can be mostly recognizable these days, she can't seem to put the weight back on, her eyes look quite tired and she looks a little pale. The long chestnut locks are woven in a fishtail braid off to one of her shoulders and the sweater she wears hangs off one body tattooed shoulder, but one thing that remains is that bright smile that beams warmth and pokes dimples in her cheeks. Solid teal optics search the area to follow the sound as tears well up in the rims of her eyelids due to the emotions that she is allowing the melody to convey. Oversized and bunched up sleeves at her hands raise to clasp together in the middle of her chest as the avian practically holds her breath until the song is completed.
Khitti || Somewhere along the way, Khitti’s playing faltered, to the point that she lost her place in the song and instead of a full finish, the bow squeaked as she dragged it across the strings and halted in her playing entirely. Sighing heavily, Khitti set the violin on top of her books, olive-green eyes studying the antique instruments black neck and accents littered amongst the stark white body. At some point, she finally got off her butt and opened the door to the bakery and called to her head waitress, “Victoria! Can you go grab me a bottle?” She threw the apartment’s keys up over to her, the other woman knowing exactly what Khitti wanted: whiskey. Khitti turned to wander back to her table when she finally spied Brennia and her guard standing there. “Oh, uh. Hi.” There’s vague recognition and it’s clearly written on her face. If Dominic was here though, she’d know. He’d absolutely scream ‘chicken’ at the top of his tiny lungs at her.
Brennia is beginning to recognize the woman more and more as pupiless eyes take in certain features of the woman, "I know you," that smoky alto timbre sounds a little weak, but she presses on as if nothing is amiss. "I believe the first time we met, you were this big," her chord knit sweater covered arms curve out around her own middle some (but not too much! No fat jokes here, kaythanksbye) to indicate when Khitti had been pregnant. "I had whisked you away from the danger of Kahran's forces and then next I saw you with an adorable little one who called me a chicken," a short raspy giggle bubbles up at the memory. "The name is Brennia," she pulls her hand out from the cover of her sleeve and holds it out in her greeting. "That was beautiful playing… how have you been?" Asking for a bottle, becoming frustrated with your muse and unable to finish a song - Brennia can more than relate.
Khitti blinked a few times at the avian, “That was you?!” She wasn’t upset by it of course, just surprised that her kid’s beloved bird lady was the same one that had saved, well, both of them. Even if Dominic hadn’t been born yet. She crossed the garden, closing the gap between the two of them, her hand joining with Brennia’s briefly to shake it, a nod offered to Thedez. “Khitti.” The redhead smirked a little, “And my kid’s Dominic. He’s got this obsession with chickens that I don’t think he’s gonna outgrow. Which is totally fine, I’m just happy he’s got things he enjoys.” Things that aren’t setting various pieces of furniture on fire with either type of magic he inherited from his parents. “Thank you… and I’m… alright.” That’s a lie. If it wasn’t obvious by her music, then it was obvious by the look on her face as the corners of her mouth tilted downward into a frown. Victoria finally arrived while the two were speaking, the bottle of whiskey and a few glasses set down on the table in any available space she can find. Khitti motioned to the table, offering up two of the other chairs to both newcomers as she went to remove her books and piled them up on the stone beside her own chair. “Sorry, I’ve been doing research. Do you want any?” She was talking about the alcohol, of course. “I wrote that song for my sister, a long time ago before I lost her. I might have just lost another sibling… and it sort of felt right but… It hurts to think about right now,” Khitti said at length, after she’d poured herself a glass, and one for each of them if they’d wanted it, and took a long drink.
Brennia smiles again as a short raspy giggle bubbles up, "yes… It's been a long couple years." The warm, welcoming smile remains, "ah, yes, Khitti. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." When the woman offers up that she is alright unconvincingly, Brennia's expression shifts slightly to that of an understanding and knowing one, "yeah? Me too," she visibly doesn't look alright and her reply is meant to be sarcastic. "Research?" She looks over to Thedez, the naga in his human form, as she attempts a joke, "Thedez will partake. Oh, I'm being rude. Khitti, this is my bodyguard, Thedez," he doesn't say much, like - ever. With a nod he accepts some whiskey, but Brennia politely declines because people who just had surgery for a second time and a new organ shouldn't go rushing to ruin it so soon! Thedez helps Brennia relax into the chair and then he drapes a throw blanket over her legging clad bottom half. "Your sister… What was her name?" The avian is painfully familiar with the loss of a sibling and she pulls up the sleeve to her right arm to expose the inside of her forearm, showing Khitti. Brennia is covered in an intricate tattoo pattern that even accents around her hairline, but on the inside of her forearm, the shape shifts and blends beautifully to what looks like one half of a royal family crest, "his name was Des'Mond Smyth De Vere the fifth and he had the other half of our family crest on the inside of his right arm. My brother would have made a dutiful and beloved leader," after pulling her sleeve back down and even though that warm soft smile remains, there is a deep understanding in her gaze.
Khitti || “I can have Victoria get you something else, if you’d like,” Khitti said as Brennia declined. “I swear I’m not -always- drinking. Things just call for it now, unfortunately.” A lot of things called for it now. More than she really cared to admit but… her alcoholism was an outlet for her stress and emotions that she wasn’t ready to give up just yet. “Her name was Lydia. She was my twin. She died not long after our fourteenth birthday. It’s… all a very long story. She may have looked like me, but our personalities were very different. She was the much more feminine one out of the two of us--my mother’s favorite.” Khitti rolled her eyes and took another drink. She purposefully passed over the question of her research and listened to Brennia’s own tale, olive-green eyes looking over her tattoos as she spoke. Khitti had her own on her right and left wrists and left forearm, but it was nothing like Brennia’s. “I’m sorry. I imagine he was a very strong person if you think that.” Khitti, on the other hand, did not feel like a strong person right now, with the capability to lead. “The research is on things pertaining to my brother, Lionel.” Adopted brother, but it’s not like that mattered. “His past here in Lithrydel. The things he did and places he went. As per usual with the Warrior’s Guild, even though Kahran is no longer living, other things have cropped up in his place, whether it’s his doing or not. Lionel’s just… disappeared. He literally faded out of existence in front of me and someone else. In a completely separate place and time days before this, the same thing happened to him while he was with another person. Now the whole of the Warrior’s Guild is on my shoulders. It’s different from how I run things in the Devout’s Guild. The Warrior’s Guild is a literal army. I was hoping that playing my violin would help me focus, but its magic doesn’t seem to soothe me like it does spirits.”
Brennia halfway shrugs, "that's okay. I'm content to sit in this beautiful garden and just take it all in for a moment." Again, Bre was all too familiar with the drinking for she's been there as well and with complete acceptance, she genuinely says, "I know." As Khitti describes her sister, she sets her gaze on the statue of the fountain before them and when she is finished for now, the bard offers, "I always feel a little better when I talk of him. We cannot forget them and I think that is the true magic they left behind, our memories of them." The avian simply sits and listens to Khitt, "new mother, worried sister, leader of one guild, acting leader of another, bakery owner," Brennia wasn't entirely certain, but it wasn't hard to put together the pieces. "You've got so much on your shoulders while wearing all those hats and I am hoping that wherever Lionel is, that he's okay," then she holds her hand out to Thedez who is giving a long suffering look, but she's serving looks right back. "Don't you look at me in that tone of voice. My Kalimba, please, kind sir," with a sigh, he relents and fishes a small instrument from the bag he'd been carrying to give to the bard. Bre might be weak, but she's stubborn for sure when it comes to helping other people in her own way. "Let's just take a moment," gripping the Kalimba with both hands and softly stroking her thumb tips over the little keys. This simple instrument and tune works as a sort of reset for her sometimes; it's simple, lovely and optimistic in it's own solemn way. Brennia softly hums along, nothing too strenuous and laces a tiny bit of her bard magic to help with relaxation that should help calm that prickly feeling anxiety gives someone if the listener allows it. The melody isn't overly long and ends in a pleasantly tapering decrescendo.
Khitti nodded in understanding as Brennia spoke of her brother again, her line of sight falling to the table when all of the positions she held were brought up. There were even more things than that. The Mage’s Guild, the bakery, the Sound of Sirens, the Necromancer’s Guild. It’s a wonder she even had time to be a mother and a wife. There was a hint of a smile when the avian and her guard clearly had the same sort of arguments she had with her sister, or nowadays with Brand, but it faded again. As instructed, she listened to Brennia’s music, her attention on it and the kalimba as the avian’s thumbs ran across the keys. In the same way that Khitti’s music soothed the undead or stirred her concert-goer’s souls with excitement, Brennia’s song and bard magic brought a little peace to Khitti’s mind. She always had the tendency to catastrophize things, even if they were indeed bad. But, maybe things would be different this time. Maybe she’d actually be okay with leading the guild until they found Lionel? There was still a seed or two of doubt keeping their growing roots firm in Khitti’s mind, but for now it was just the song. When it ended, Khitti offered another smile to Bre. “That was beautiful. I don’t think I’ve seen an instrument like that before. I never learned another instrument beyond the violin--self-teaching that was hard enough,” she said, her smile shifting to more of a smirk.
Brennia strategically places it on the table between them, meaning to 'forget' it here whenever she does leave, "it's one of the many instruments for the bard's guild members. I find it is a lot like a tiny piano and the piano is my first true love as sad as that may sound. Discovering my gifts through the piano has pulled me from a very dark time in my life. I am glad I was able to offer even a small moment of peace, Khitti. You're never alone in this fight and you may have many burdens, but it is okay to share the weight. It took me a long while and a lost chance at love to realize that," oof, Niall. "Whenever you get a moment to breathe and your muse calls out to you, I invite you to come to the bard's guild headquarters, or the Bard's college up in Schezerade. The bard's guild doesn't have any ranks to climb, only separate areas of expertise. We are quite laid back and a lot of us aim to help others through the power of song, sort of like what he just did here for eachother. It's not rewarding work in material things, but in spirit… it is quite rich." The woman, though sickly, doesn't look a day over twenty six, but her eyes and words give a hint to a much older soul than what can be seen.
Khitti was none the wiser to Brennia’s strategic planning, her full attention on the other woman’s words now. “The piano is certainly lovely,” she said briefly, allowing Bre to continue. “I have actually spoken to Alvina about joining the guild before, honestly. But it was such a long time ago at this point. I had originally intended to find you but…” Khitti had heard of the goings-on in Schezerade, though she’d never been there herself. It was hard not to hear of the things Kahran had done, whether she’d been directly involved in it or not. “It doesn’t matter now though,” Khitti said with a faint smile and a shake of her head. “You’re here now and I’d certainly like to meet with you at either place.” She carefully took in Brennia’s appearance again, the sickliness was not lost on her. “It seems you have some healing to do too. Though it appears to be physical as opposed to my mental. Are you staying nearby? You should rest. You can come back here anytime you want though of course. I’m sure the customers in the bakery won’t mind a bit of music.” Perhaps she could play there too from time to time. When she was in a better frame of mind, her violin had always been the thing she’d leaned on in times like this. Until she met Brand anyway.
Brennia smiles fondly at the mention of Alvina, "yes. A true friend that one," the pause isn't lost on her so she filled in the blanks, "I was nowhere to be found and once I was found, I had to start cleaning Schezerade up… many hats." The bard winks to the other. "Yes, the new healer's guild academy here in Cenril and nothing some rest won't fix," probably not, but who knows. "We'd best get going before my guild leader, Emilia, gets irate with me for leaving the facility." Thedez takes the blanket after setting his half drunk whiskey glass down and helps Brennia up from her chair, "consider yourself joined, but stop by anyway and you can pick out which area you feel you would fit in. I'll probably shuffle by tomorrow on my daily walk, I am confined here in Cenril for another week, but I don't mind one bit, it means I get to see Zahrani and the Isran Collective some more." For once her cheeks flushed a faint pink color as her and Thedez began to meander their way through the garden, "I'll be seeing you Khitti." Softly calling over her shoulder with a wave.
Khitti smirked, “Oh I’m well acquainted with Emilia. I’m the one that created that new hand for her! And I need to meet up with her soon also… Something about a mutual guild member getting cross-training with you all.” She wasn’t quite sure if she was ready for a talk about Joan. She hardly knew her, but there had been some issues here and there with others. “I will come find you soon then, Brennia. It was nice to finally meet you!” She let the two head off, a slight frown replacing the smile she’d had for the tattooed woman. While she did not know of her ailment, something had clearly happened between when Khitti had last seen her a year ago in Larket. Khitti did her best to push her worry for the avian out of her mind. She was definitely in good hands with Emilia and the rest of the healers. It wasn’t until she turned around to pick up her glass again that she noticed Brennia had left the kalimba. “Oh Bre--!” But, the two were already gone, blending in with the rest of the evening crowd. Khitti sighed, picked up the instrument and pressed the keys. It wouldn’t be long before she’d start trying to imitate the woman’s song. Maybe it would be something else to help Brand with his PTSD and nightmares...