[Open] .2nd Fantasy Impromptu.

[sakedrinking]

There would be a new sound in the castle this morning. A certain recent arrival had managed to make her first wish at the fountain, and gotten it the very next day, much to her joy.

So out in the room just past the old bridge, the lyrical strains of an acoustic guitar could be heard, followed by a voice singing in Japanese to the bubbly song.

Join? Interrupt? Listen from a distance?

What do you do?

Comments

[returntothesea]

Oh, music ...

It was a sound she was familiar with, and one that she very much enjoyed. She had never heard this song before, but it definitely sounded nice ... so nice, in fact, that she couldn't help but move a little closer to listen a little better.

Here, Haku, have a fourteen year old girl standing somewhere to the side, listening to your song.

[sakedrinking]

Haku finished the song with a faint smile, listening as the last cords rang out through the large chamber. But the smile faded quickly, replaced by a distant look and a sad sigh. It was nice to have her guitar again, but it didn't help just how homesick she was already feeling.

She plucked at a few strings absently, considering starting another song just to fill the silence, but she finally picked up on the fact that she wasn't alone. She turned around and smiled awkwardly, bowing as much as she could with the guitar still in her arms.

"H-hello..."

[returntothesea]

Caught! She froze for a moment, but eased right back up as she heard the girl's greeting. She bowed politely in return, obviously a little awkward, herself.

Polka stepped a little closer.

"Hello ..."

She offered an awkward smile of her own.

"That song you were playing was lovely."

[sakedrinking]

"Thank you..." Haku replied softly, offering the shy girl a smile. She could understand just how she felt, being quite reserved herself.

"Are you new here? I... just got her a few days ago myself..."

[returntothesea]

Polka nodded, stopping nearby so that she could be at least somewhat conversational.

"Some part of me still thinks this place is just a dream I'm having," she commented, a sheepish expression crossing her face as she continued.

"I know it must be real, though. It feels too real."

[sakedrinking]

Haku sat down on the steps that led down to the lower level of the chamber, motioning for Polka to come join her while she gave an understanding nod.

"I know how you feel... it really is hard to believe this place is real sometimes... but at least we're not here alone?"

[returntothesea]

Polka took that invitation, already feeling some relief in the fact that she was able to connect so easily with this girl. Good, she'd made a friend in this new place!

She sat down and began smoothing out the skirt of her dress, nodding in response to what she had said.

"That's true. I still have to wonder why a place like this would gather so many people to it, though ..."

[sakedrinking]

Haku looked at the dress curiously, admiring how beautiful and intricate it was. It reminded her vaguely of the dresses the girls in Harajuku would wear, with all the layers and the ruffles, but there was something more... old fashioned about the one the blonde girl wore.

"I have no idea... I don't even think I could begin guessing," she answered after a moment with a slow shake of her head.

[returntothesea]

"Me neither," she responded rather quickly, finishing with her dress and clasping her hands atop it as she looked to Haku with a small smile.

"I guess it's just one of those things we'll have to find out for ourselves, right?"

[last_lombax]

Now this was new. With large ears twitching, Ratchet followed the noise to it's source and stopped when he found it. The armored creature leaned against the wall, listening contently to the music. He wasn't going to interrupt such a nice performance. He couldn't understand any of the words but it didn't matter. Music was music and it was already better than most of the stuff he usually listened to on the radio back home.

[sakedrinking]

The last chords echoed through the large chamber, Haku finishing the song with a flourish. Silence settled over the area again quickly, though, earning a faint sigh from Haku. It really wasn't the same as back home, even if the guitar was a very welcome gift from the fountain. If anything she was glad that her new friends had informed her that the fountain could even do that.

Absently she sat back down on the steps and idly tugged at the cords thoughtfully, trying to decide if she wanted to start another song, unaware that she was being watched.

[last_lombax]

Ratchet stood there for a moment, watching the girl tugging at the cords before stepping further into the room and clapped his hands.

"You're pretty good, you know. You going to play another?"

[sakedrinking]

Haku whirled around and just about jumped out of her skin with a yelp, feet stumbling backwards away from the strange creature until her heel caught an uneven stone and sent her sprawling to the ground with a squeak.

[last_lombax]

"Whoa! Are you okay?!" Ratchet ran over to Haku and held out his hand to her. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."

[sakedrinking]

"E-eh... w-what... wh... who are you?" Haku asked fearfully, wanting to believe that he was telling the truth but too frightened to think clearly. She looked at his hand, but didn't take it, red eyes wide.

[last_lombax]

"My name is Ratchet and I'm a Lombax. Come on, let me help you up."

[sakedrinking]

She didn't know what a Lombax was, but he didn't look threatening, even with how different he was.

Hesitantly, she reached up and took his hand gently, allowing him to pull her up to a standing position with her guitar still tucked under one arm.

"T... thank you, Ratchet-san..."

[eldritch_princess]

Cordelia, of course, had been attracted by the music. Strange music, in her opinion, but definitely music. After tracking down the source of the sound, she slowed, listening from the distance until the song ended.

At that point, she politely clapped. She wasn't sure if the musician wanted to be approved, but surely, they appreciated applause. While it had been a very, very foreign song to her ears, she could still apreciate it, after all.

[sakedrinking]

"Ah--!" Haku jumped a little at the clapping, having not expected anyone else to enter the chamber while she was playing. She turned around to face her randomly appearing audience, smiling sheepishly.

"Th-thank you..."

[eldritch_princess]

"Uhm, you're welcome." Cordelia replied, equally sheepishly, and stepped a bit closer, but remaining at a polite distance still. "I couldn't help but overhear your music. I admit, I have never heard something like that."

[sakedrinking]

"I'm... not surprised..." Haku said uncertainly, fidgeting with the neck of her guitar nervously. "I don't think there's many people from Japan here... Or... at least my version of Japan."

She bowed a little after that.

"I'm Haku Yowane. I'm a Vocaloid."

Ak, sorry.

[eldritch_princess]

"I've never heard of Japan." Cordelia admitted. "Uhm, I'm Cordelia, delighted to make your acquaintance."

"What is your country like, if I may be so bold to ask?"

'sokay!

[sakedrinking]

"Ah... what is Japan like... ?" Haku echoed, shoving her guitar to her back as she put a finger to her lips thoughtfully.

"Well... it depends on where you go! Tokyo is a very large city with a lot of people... but Kyoto is very old and covered in forests..."

Re: 'sokay!

[eldritch_princess]

"Ooh, so a bit like the country I'm from." Cordelia replied, a cheerful tone in her voice. "Do you still have castles where you're from? Do you have kings, or queens? Is is it one of these republics I keep hearing about?"

She really didn't know how big Tokyo truly was, after all.

[sakedrinking]

"Oh, Japan is a republic. Japan hasn't had an emperor in many, many centuries," Haku explained. "There are many old structures from those days still standing, though."