[PRP][Noctis & Dysme] - The Music

[Melomar]

In the town square that day Dysme found themself in the midst of a local festival. It was a small affair, and it seemed that not many residents would even know of its existence. But for those who did, or those who might have stumbled upon it, there was a visual treat to behold. A troupe of taurs, in similar flowing and gauzy attire, danced and jingled as they moved. Gold glittered from their clothing, displaying rolling coins, hinting at tiny singing bells and revealing the larger, hushed ones. The sound was titillating, the tempo starting out slow, bodies smoothly moving at first, but as it picked up, they sped up, This process was almost unnoticeable, until suddenly one would realize their heart's hurry and lung's rush along with the dance's crescendo, until it reached its peak and the dancers "fell" into a folded position upon the cobbled square.

The dancers took a break for a while, to replenish liquids and to cool off. In the warmth of the afternoon it certainly was needed. But they weren't done. They would be here until the last rays of the sun melted away. Dysme loved the dance. It made them happy and peaceful. They would never want to give this feeling up, and would seem may never need to. After all, what could possibly take that away from them? Well...

Dysme exchanged some words with other dancers then glanced around at the crowd, sipping at some juice in a softly glinting metal cup. The night-blue taur noticed that most of the crowd was milling about-- good! They should stay! But a few were watching the dancers, still. Interesting.

Soon their break was over and Dysme went with the other dancers to start their next dance.  

[SpaceDadDisapproves]

Noctis found himself following the dusty road he'd been travelling upon into a town that appeared to be having some sort of a festival going on. Curiosity piqued, he made his way further into town in the direction of the sounds of music, his lute slung safely over his shoulder to rest across his back as he walked. He soon found himself jostled forward and found himself amongst a milling crowd of other folk that appeared to all be watching a troupe of dancers perform. Noctis watched as the troupe danced, then broke off to get refreshments.

He makes his way to a less populated space, not wanting to disturb the dancing troupe and their minstrels, nor wanting to pull their gathered crowd away if he could help it, then gently slides the lute around into his arms, sits on a stump, and starts to pluck out a variety of notes before seeming to settle on something light-hearted and festive to play. He closes his eyes as he plays, tuning out everything around him but the music. If he sang, he did not know that he did so, nor would he remember the words as he loses himself in the song.

Melomar

 

[Melomar]

It was on their next break that Dysme realized they had been hearing a stringed instrument play that was not from the troupe. They waved good-by to everyone before following their ears toward the sound. It was the thin, thready tune of a lute, it would turn out, and the centaur behind it seemed to be in his own little world. This put a smile on Dysme's face. They decided not to disturb him, and instead sat down in the grass quietly listening while watching the ebb and flow of the crowd nearby.

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[SpaceDadDisapproves]

Melomar

When Noctis was finally drawn from his 'zone' as he liked to call it, he soon found himself blinking in slow surprise at the fact that he had an audience seated in front of him. He blinks again, recognizing the one in front of him as one of the dancers from the troupe and gave a small apologetic smile. "Sorry. I didn't mean to disturb anyone or distract you. I also didn't realize I had an audience." He ponders for a moment, before slowly extending a hand in the others direction. "I'm Noctis."  

[Melomar]

The smile on Dysme's face faltered when they realized the music had stopped. Unsure of what his reaction might be made them wary, but he seemed friendly enough. Dysme took the offered hand and gripped it comfortably. "I am Dysme.

"No one was disturbed. I was dancing earlier and when we were done for the day, I followed the tune to you. I hope you didn't mind the company." Dysme's grin this time was bright. "You are very good. You could perform, you know." Dysme would have liked to dance to that music, too. But they kept that to themselves for now. How forward that would seem to a stranger!

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[SpaceDadDisapproves]

Melomar

"Dysme. That's an interesting name." He says, carefully shifting his lute to rest back over his back. Noctis finds himself giving a genuinely happy smile as the other spoke of his playing. "That is very kind of you to say about my playing." He tilts his head slightly, pondering a moment when the other speaks of him performing. "Do you really think so? I feel that a performance from me would be rather boring to others without some form of accompaniement, be it other musicians or someone wishing to dance while I played." He'd found himself rather enjoying watching the troupe's performance himself.  

[Melomar]

"It means, 'sunset.'" Accompaniment, huh? It was true, the troupe relied on music to dance, and the music needed someone to act out their story. It made sense that he would feel the same. Dysme smiled warmly. "Play a tune and I will dance. Let's see if we are on the same wavelength." It should become obvious right away if their styles were compatible. Dysme loved interpretive dance, though, so they were not worried for a negative result.

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[SpaceDadDisapproves]

Melomar

"That's interesting..." He thinks for a second after hearing what Dysme means, then chuckles and smirks the smallest bit. "Mine means 'night' or 'of the night.' Isn't this a coincidence?" He chuckles softly again, then nods as the other requests that he play a tune. Bringing his lute back up in front of him, he thinks for a moment again before starting to play a very lively, jaunty tune for the other.  

[Melomar]

Dysme registered a level of surprise as well. What a coincidence that they were both named after the time of day. Presumably he would have been born around that time, as had Dysme. "Sometimes The Fates like to joke around." Still, there were few coincidences in this world. "Curious, indeed," they said.

Dysme listened to the tune for a couple of beats before joining in. It had a speedy tempo, but Dysme nimbly kept up with Noctis' fingers, as if theirs were deer hooves. The bells they wore added a cheerful lilt, and with a chuckle Dysme added a fancy clap to the mix. The sound drew some curious ears and before long there was an audience. Dysme smiled warmly at Noctis. What a fun game.

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[SpaceDadDisapproves]

Melomar

Noctis managed to keep himself from tuning everything out this time, wanting to see how the other danced to his tune. Occassionally, he would alter the tune just slightly, making it a beat or two slower, just to see how quick Dysme was to catch on and change their dance steps to match. Noctis found himself rather amazed at how well the other danced, then seems to finally notice the every growing crowd that gathered to watch them. He finally brings his tune to a close, standing and bowing to Dysme and the audience. "Well, that was certainly a surprise. You kept up very well, Dysme." He says with a slightly mischevious smirk at the other.  

[Melomar]

Oh, Noctis was a playful musician, indeed. He changed up the tune, possibly to test Dysme's skill level and natural sense of rhythm. To say they did not make a mistake would be giving Dysme too much credit, but when they did miss a beat, a flourish allowed them to skip another beat and join right back into the tune. Noctis probably saw it each time but the audience would likely be caught up in the show. For these two, however, a game it was and Dysme had a great time.

When it was done, Dysme was winded! They grinned at Noctis and bowed with him to their applauding audience. "I can dance best when the music is so beautiful and engaging! Did you write it?" Dysme knew enough about composition that many a bard kept the notes memorized, and nothing was literally "written." Even with that meager knowledge, it was still fascinating to them to learn as much as possible about music.

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[SpaceDadDisapproves]

Melomar

Noctis glances over at Dysme out of the corner of his eye as the pair bow to their audience, a small smirk crossing his face as he saw that he had at least winded Dysme with his playing. Standing back up from his bow, he thinks over the others statement and question for a moment before giving a small nod. "I.. ah... I am glad you find it beautiful and engaging, Dysme. Yeah, I wrote it myself during my wanderings. It isn't really complete just yet, but I'm sure the ending to it will come to me soon." He tilts his head to the side slightly in curiosity before speaking again. "So do you come up with your own dance moves and steps then too?"  

[Melomar]

Dysme smiled at Noctis. "I am certain that you will find a perfect ending for it, Noctis." They thought about his question. "Dance steps sometimes come naturally, like this time. Then extra moves come to me while I'm dancing. Other times is is completely choreographed, like when I'm with the dance troupe. Did you see us dancing earlier? That was rehearsed. We worked with the musicians to get everything just right."

SpaceDadDisapproves

Sorry for the wait!

 

[SpaceDadDisapproves]

"Thank you. I do hope to one day figure out an ending for it." Noctis listens as the other explains. "It sounds like you have fun. Yes, I saw at least the end of the dancing earlier. I'm sad I missed the entire show, but perhaps I can catch it another time."

Melomar

I'm sorry. My rp muse is being his usual pissy antisocial self and hiding.

 

[Melomar]

Dysme was confident that Noctis would complete the song. It was not something that should be scrapped, as their happy audience had shown earlier. Any music and dancing that encourages others to dance, let alone congregate, was great music. Simple as that.

As for the troupe, "We are playing again over the next couple of days. The routine will be about the same but we always change things up a bit to keep it more interesting. Like what you did when you were playing. That sort of thing is improvised though, so the performance is never quite the same. The audience loves that."

Dysme sat down on the grass, feeling their body slow down from its exertion. It was nice feeling, so warm. "Ah!" Dysme had a sudden thought. They turned to Noctis and said, "Why don't you play during my troupe's break? I'll dance to your song."

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