A Bodyguard In Waiting (Finn)

The Jewel of the Northlands

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Rickter
Posts: 915
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2020 8:10 pm
Title: Dabu
Character Sheet: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=578
Plot Notes: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=815
Character Secrets: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=761
Letters: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=105&t=816

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At the greeting the stranger introduced himself as Finn, willing to give the idea of playing together a go as well, only so long as the barmaid herself didn't seem to mind. "Oh don't worry! Rien loves it when travelers play here, says it helps keeps the mood for business." The ginger remarked over the counter as she finished pouring more drinks, handing them out to those who needed refills, including Rickter's since he suspected the two would likely be here for a bit. Telion of course beamed both to Margo and to Finn, pleased to have a new partner to play and even compose with.

"Great! I'm excited to get started!" She chimed happily before looking at Finn curiously, surprised by the inquiry as to what the instrument in her possession was. "Oh this? It's a ukulele, they're like the lute and guitar only smaller." She explained warmly with a thoughtful look in her eyes, curious about the other set of questions the fellow bard had. Rickter could tell she hadn't outright thought that far ahead, since she needed a minute to consider how exactly she wanted to play. It wasn't like she knew any of the popular songs around Kalzasi or anything, and Finn undoubtedly had never had to match the quality of a ukulele's notes with his own either.

"This ought'a be interestin'." He figured aloud as he took the swig from his second mug, leaning on the bar with one arm as he watched the two rather lazily. It was strange really. He was never normally this relaxed when it came to being around others, even with Telion come to think of it, which led him to wonder how he'd grown so complacent all of a sudden.

"I'm more than happy with just playing if that's what you want?" She reasoned after much thought, chuckling softly as she tried to hide her embarrassment. "Unless you know some songs? I'm not familiar with the popular stuff some of the others here have sung, so I can learn as I follow along if you'd like that more."

"Just teach him that song you sang the other night." The wolf suggested plainly as he lifted his mug to take another swig, swallowing down the overpowering taste of fermented barley as he looked to Telion plainly.

"But that's a very energetic song, I think Finn needs something a little easier to work with, if we're just starting to make music together now." Telion argued quickly with a stern look to Rickter, before focusing on Finn once more with a relaxed smile. "Sorry, not that I question your skills as a bard." To which the wolf lightly scoffed in turn, lightly hinting that at least someone in the room did. "Anyways, I'm willing to learn if you wish to teach me a song or two! I've always been one who likes to play by ear anyways." She remarked sheepishly with her ukulele held up in her arms, a few of her fingers tapping against the chords as she waited to hear Finn's response, the strings themselves emitting faint soft notes each time one of her fingers quickly let off of them.

Last edited by Rickter on Mon Feb 26, 2024 11:50 pm, edited 2 times in total. word count: 564
"Dialogue" Monologue
"Telion" "Hannah" "Lykos"
"Common" "Synskrit" "Norvaegan" "Vastian"
Noble House
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Finn
Posts: 1024
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2020 4:20 pm
Location: Kalzasi
Character Sheet: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=916
Character Secrets: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=925


Telion, it seemed, was as ebullient as Rickter was taciturn. Opposites attracted, though, or so he was told. He didn't question it too much.

"No, I know it's..." he began, but as she plowed ahead explaining things, he just let it go. He would just assume it was a tenor ukulele, not a soprano, concert, or baritone, as tenors were the most common in his experience. His little village didn't have a proper harbor, but its stone quays had been an occasional port of call when fishing boats on the lake didn't want to be out in bad weather. Sometimes a sailor would have one — they were compact, at least, which was helpful on boats with limited space. "All right."

As she took the bit in her mouth and ran with it, he followed her quickly twisting monologue, but didn't get a word in edgewise until she ran out of breath. He wondered if he was that energetic when he was "on" for customers. He wondered if she was "on" right now, or if she was one of those people who didn't really have an "off," who contained enough energy within them to light fires with sheer force of will.

With a bemused smile, he eased his lute back down between his feet so he could enjoy his pint.

"Well, it was your idea so let me know when you decide," he said with a little laugh. Most of the songs that had any sort of staying power had traveled the world. Sometimes the words changed. Sometimes there were little tricks and surprises that some enterprising songster had added that were picked up by others and the song evolved. He knew that much from listening to musicians from out-of-town, or even from learning a song in the city and then playing it back home in the village. A new song to him was one his mother might know, or even his grandmother, though the words they knew were different.

He wondered if anything he wrote would survive him or, if he lived to be a thousand years old, if an old song would come back to him like a prodigal child, having grown and changed while out from his guidance. It was a strange thought.
word count: 391
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Rickter
Posts: 915
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2020 8:10 pm
Title: Dabu
Character Sheet: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=578
Plot Notes: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=815
Character Secrets: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=761
Letters: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=105&t=816

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Rickter noted that Finn seemed on the verge of expressing something, though, he clearly deviated from it as the blonde bard present went on her tangent. It was enough to at least evoke a light groan of amusement from the wolf, after finishing what remained of his second drink that is. Telion sort of slowed her own roll after a bit, lightly blushing as well, when she realized just how caught she'd been in the idea of performance. "Oh, wait. You meant," She quickly started to laugh a little, rolling her eyes up at her own behavior just then, "You were referring to the make of it earlier. Sorry!"

"Got a little too excited there, huh?" The wolf lightly remarked as Margo also chuckled a bit, removing the dishes from Rickter's spot at the bar, before wiping the area down with a washcloth afterward.

"Yeah, just a bit. Hm." Looking at Finn a bit more carefully, Telion then held her ukulele close in her arms, pressing some of the fingers along the strands as she started to pluck a few of them. The cords emitted soft, low notes that she let carry out softly, as she seemed to think on the matter of playing or singing together. "Know any good Kalzasian songs? I think I'd rather follow your lead if you don't mind."

"We should probably go, after this one song mind you." Rickter remarked with an eye up to the clock overhead, leading Telion to follow his gaze, before casting a lightly bummed frown at the time-telling instrument over the bar.

"Okay, one song! If you don't mind leading, I'll follow you sir." The blonde reasoned as she faced Finn once more, the wolf himself slowly turning so that his back sat against the bar, eyes waiting on them expectantly while he leaned back.

Last edited by Rickter on Mon Feb 26, 2024 11:50 pm, edited 2 times in total. word count: 326
"Dialogue" Monologue
"Telion" "Hannah" "Lykos"
"Common" "Synskrit" "Norvaegan" "Vastian"
Noble House
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User avatar
Finn
Posts: 1024
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2020 4:20 pm
Location: Kalzasi
Character Sheet: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=916
Character Secrets: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=925

Well, he wasn't going to get paid for this, but he didn't want to upset anyone at this fine establishment and then not be welcome back, so even though she had begged him to play with her and now was making him do all the work, he just smiled. Usually, it was drunk patrons who were problematic, but there was a first time for everything, it seemed. He downed his drink for patience, then picked up his lute once more. Tuning was quick work since he played every day and took good care of his instrument, but it was habit to make sure that if he sounded bad, at least it wasn't because his instrument wasn't in tune. Whether people liked his voice, his choice of songs, or his stylings was more subjective. He could only fix the objective things and try to be as good as he could be with what the Gods had given him in terms of talent and aptitude.

Given nothing to work with but Kalzasian songs, he just played the first one that came to mind as he had played it the night previous in a taproom not quite so fine as this one. It had gone over well for all that one could play it with about three chords if one was feeling lazy and few would notice. He didn't know her skill level, so he quickly played through the basic chords as a warm-up so her ear, at least would know the general direction they were going.

The lute had a weightier timbre than any ukulele, so he played a baseline with the lower strings and the melody up high, leaving her to ornament and harmonize as she chose. He didn't bother with lyrics, but gradually added more complexity to the chord progression. It ended up being a nice little exercise to pull her into his groove, and by the end, his smile wasn't forced. Music made everything better.

"Well, thanks for that," he said, slinging his lute over his shoulder and paying for his lunch. "Best get while the getting's good. It's too early for more beer."
word count: 373
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Mirage
Posts: 698
Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2020 6:10 pm

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Finn

Lores
Politics: Chasing a Rumor
Politics: Reading Body Language
Politics: Overhearing
Politics: Understanding Ripples
Etiquette: Be Polite to the Staff
Mesmer: Scanning Surface Emotions
Mesmer: Reading Rickter
Mesmer: Their Emotions or Mine?
Mesmer: How Long a Connection Lasts
Lute: Tuning on the Fly
Lute: Improvising
Composition: Song Evolution

Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A

Points 8

Rickter

Lores
Etiquette: Tipping Your Waitresses Favorably
Rhetoric: The Antics of Being A Protector
Rehtoric: Never Waste Good Food

Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A

Points 8

word count: 92
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