fiddlestick | Stella Fortuna Inbox

Maybe for you it isn't! [STILL HUSHING HIS VOICE BECAUSE AAAA WHY MUST YOU DOXX HIM SO MUCH]

If you have the time... y-yeah, I figure we could hit two birds with one bullet. My stuff's not far from here.

It's never a dirty secret for anyone. ♥

[Music always deserves to be heard!!! NO SHAME]

Ehe, sure! I don't think I've ever seen where you're staying, so lead the way!

[He stays silent out of sheer embarrassment for the rest of the walk. Every so often there's a hitch in his step, almost a limp, but he corrects himself with little more than a grimace.

The teapot he pulls out of his stash is plain, still the color of clay, with dragonflies painted white around the the rim of the lid.]

Don't freak out about the manor, alright. I gave Tubby free reign of the place, but she didn't seem all that interested.

[He'll follow him, noting the teapot that Lutha pulls out]

Ehe, don't worry. It's not like my place is perfectly designed or anything.

[Really it's just a collection of music stuff and Rean's weeb things. It's very...them, but yeah]

...The design's not really my concern.

[Still! In we go.]

[Though the teapot drops them at the steps of the manor, said manor is walled off on all sides, as though it's an enormous eyesore. Tubby doesn't seem to be anywhere nearby.

Lutha doesn't even bother to turn to go into the house, instead headings straight down the steps and shoving the gate open. He does at least pause, his posture straightening as he presses his shoulder against the wrought iron, holding it open to let Elliot past with little more than a nod.

The manor sits on top of a grassy hill, dipping down into a wide valley that might as well be a forest. Trees of all sorts fill the landscape, flowers peppering the sea of green with endless color. Off to one side sits an alcove among the woods with a shrine of sorts and even more flowers next to a small spring, where Tubby's pot bubbles in a doze in a nest of plants.

To the other side, a much smaller couplet of buildings stands by themselves, one larger and one smaller, a thin river basin set behind with several containers and odd shaped tools. There's tilled ground set behind a rock outcropping, plants in various stages of growth, some successful and others not quite right.

It's oddly quiet. Eerily, even. One might expect the song of birds at the very least, but it doesn't seem like there are any living things in this teapot save for himself and the spirit.

Lutha swipes up a lantern from outside the gates as he makes his way down the hill, his Vision lighting the wick with practiced effort.]

Watch the flowers as you walk, alright? Pretty sure Tubby will laugh at me if I have to keep replacing those.

[With Lutha's warning, Elliot had been expecting a rather plain place. Maybe one without any real decorations or isn't lived in. The guy had mentioned he lived on the street.

What he wasn't expecting was a beautiful nature scene. His eyes widen as he looks around in awe.]

Wow.....It's so beautiful in here!

Mn. No point in living somewhere if you can't try to make the most of it.

[He knows by now that this is most people's "normal" around here, so he tries to keep his tone dismissive, even if it doesn't sound earnest.]

Plants don't have a lot of color back home, but you still get the old withered goblins and wyverns telling stories about trees that were always green, flowers that had all sorts of colors. Kind of every kid's dream, at some point or another.

Haha, I'll say you make the most of it! I planted some flowers in my teapot, but it's nothing compared to this.

[This is out of a disney movie man!! Elliot very much approves]

...I get it. This realm can be made into whatever you want, so why not have it be your dream? I think it's really nice.

It's not that big of a deal. [That's a lie, because it is. And this is why he doesn't invite anyone over!!]

You were the one getting after me for getting too stuck in what I'm used to. Just because I suck at it in public doesn't mean I don't want it to happen.

[Elliot smiles a little of that]

It's nice to hear I had an impact. [But he knows that Lutha will get flustered if he keeps talking about it so--] So, you said something about an instrument?

Mn. I've got it at the house right now. Unfortunately can't manage it well without two hands, so it's gathering more dust then I'd like.

[He tries not to sound too bitter, carefully leading Elliot to the smaller of the two buildings, hanging the lantern near the front door before opening it for the other redhead. Wow he has manners??? Who knew.]

I need to grab something from the storehouse first, but uh. Help yourself. It should be over on the table near the fireplace.

[It's a small space, only two rooms split off by a doorless entryway, stone walls and wooden floors. But every corner leans some sort of tool, either fully realized or a half-made trinket of leather and metal and wood. One corner holds a bare bones kitchen, meat preserved, jars of vinegars and oils and spices very carefully lined up, with only a vibrant selection of fruit showing that anyone had even been in here recently, considering none have spotted from decay. The walls are lined with dried flowers and greenery tied up with twine, especially at a small pedestal decorated only with an unlit, half worn candle and two empty metal stands. To the other corner of the first room lies a small stone hearth, a mess of down and straw and cotton blankets strewn nearby in what is probably a bed of some sort, while opposite sits a table short enough that one must either kneel or cross their legs. More bits of metal and wood litter the surface, framing the long, ebony colored zither that currently sits, fully strung but unplayed. Next to it sits a book, scrawled with sheet music.

Really, the more he might look, there are just Secret Books all over the place and it's just the first room.]

[He makes an acknowledging "mm" sound, taking that into account. So he should try to figure out if there's a way for Lutha to play this instrument. That definitely seemed like the most important step to him]

Alright!

[He heads into the house. It's a small place, but it's honestly a pretty cozy place. This whole place felt like an idyllic get away into the woods. Which honestly...Elliot is glad that Lutha let himself have a place of peace and happiness.

His eyes however, narrow in on the zither. He's never seen that exact type of instrument before - but it looked like a type of harp. He heads straight over to it, sitting down and begins tinkering with it. Lutha will be able to hear the early experimental plucking as Elliot starts to figure out just how this instrument works.]

[It's been tuned well! Rather than each accidental having its own note, though, it will be obvious that it's purposefully been tuned for a specific key, maybe even a specific melody.

Lutha isn't gone for very long, slipping out of the house and the back in within a couple of minutes, straps of leather slung against one of his shoulders. He stops to the candle first, unfolding something from an inner shirt pocket and setting it in the stand, before carefully lighting the candle with his fingertips. It takes him a second to catch if Elliot is playing anything seriously or not, the sound still muffled.]

Change the pegs if you need to. [It's said without looking up from what he's doing.] I set it to B flat last week. Didn't work exactly like I planned.

[Sorry Lutha did you say something? Because Elliot's attention is completely on the Zither. Once he's finished with experimental twangs, he's checking the pegs for differences. All the while his fingers keep plucking the Zither at different point, as if he's trying to figure out what it's trying to tell him. All while he's got a real look of joy on his face.

...Get comfortable Lutha. He's in his own little world and he's going to be here awhile]

[...

Ah.

He's glad Elliot's too distracted to see his lips quirk up at the sight of it.

It's there and gone as Lutha fetches a teapot from among his things. His limp is a little more pronounced in closer quarters, but he doesn't bother to hide it now. It's a safe space, and Elliot's distracted enough.

The fireplace is coaxed to life, just enough for the embers to run hot, as Lutha plops himself down into the mess of fabric and feathers with a tired grunt. Elliot's probably going to have that instrument figured out before he can fix his brace, but all the better for it. It's been a while since he's seen someone so openly giddy about music without jealousy taking over.]

You really do have an ear for it, huh.

[Elliot is completely distracted so he won't notice any limb. It was like he was in his own little world, just getting to know the instrument and getting it to share its song. And he's making quick work of getting the hang of it too, running through the scales and chords on the strings.

He will actually answer when Lutha speaks up, even looking up a little. Managed to get lucky enough for Elliot to hear him this time]

Haha, you could say that. [he glances back at the zither] It's a little hard to explain, but music's just always spoken to me. And when I get my hands on a new instrument, I just feel an urge to find out what it has to say.

[He broke through the trance, 10 points for Lutha.]

Nah, I think I could get it. Music is music. People might feel how it flows differently between one thing or another, but it's still the same language at the end of it all.

[He's not gonna try to interrupt Elliot much further, getting busy himself with shoving off the boot of his right leg and rolling up the worn seams of his trouser leg. The scars are much darker, caving under the wrap of a makeshift brace that's barely hanging onto the straps against his shin and knee, the leather torn away from too much wear. It's slow work, with one hand, but he keeps talking the whole while.]

I'm just surprised how quick you're managing it, since you mainly use the bow. Do you have one of these in that stockpile of yours?

Eheh, yeah. Exactly!

[You do get it Lutha! He has the vague sense that Lutha is doing SOMETHING nearby. Or at least, he can hear something going on. But he'll keep his eyes on the zither. Partly because he's focused on it, and partly out of respect for Lutha's privacy. ]

Not exactly this instrument, but I'm familiar with instruments in the same family. [The harp, the lyre, etc] Violin's my favorite, definitely, but it's not the only instrument I know. In fact, I've played the piano longer than I've played violin.

[He's just chilling on the floor fixing his leg at a snail's pace and listening to the attempts at music, it's fine.]

"Piano"? [The syllables are sounded out, the word foreign.] Is that one of the ones in the same family, then?

Haha, well it's something of a distant cousin, I suppose. This is closer to a lyre than a piano though.

[How to explain]

Pianos are very large instruments, that you sit down in front. They have a bunch of keys that you press to make notes. If you've heard of a harpsichord, clavichord or a pipe organ - those are similar to a piano.

Harpsichord, yeah. My, uh -- [shit] Someone I knew as a kid used to own one, but it was too tinny sounding for me. Hard to draw out emotion from it.

If you like that piano of yours, I imagine its a little easier to play around with and not sound like silverware trying to escape a cabinet in the process. [It's a quip that's brimming with some dry sort of nostalgia. He hasn't touched a harpsichord in over a decade, after all, but the sound was hard to forget, especially of one being played wrong.]

[He laughs at the description]

Haha, you're not wrong about that! The Harpischord isn't the, uh, easiest instrument to love. [Elliot loves all instruments but....yeah. He gets it.]

In my world, the piano more or less replaced the harpischord a couple centuries ago because of that. [Actually--] Actually, I think I have a recording of my sister playing one, if you're interested.

Recording, huh.

[what, like they wrote it down or something?

Either way, he's not getting up from what he's doing just yet, letting out a breath of relief as he wrangles the brace off his leg and sets it onto the floor.]

You mean the sheet music, or something else?

Edited 2021-11-28 16:23 (UTC)

Hehe, not exactly...It's best if I just show you.

[He'll dig into one of his belt satchels and pull out his ARCUS -- which basically looks like a massive flip phone with magic gems inside. He hits a few buttons, makes sure the volume is nice and loud, and then starts playing this song.

He'll let the song speak for itself, letting it play out so Lutha can hear it. ]

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