Symphony

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Quadrille Main Plaza. What was normally a rather normal area were people walked back and worth to their workplace is now a crowded center of attraction full of musicians and people bustling about. As large as the place was, it was actually almost filled to the brim. After all, it did send invitations to every region. Every building all around the square was equipped with large screens that showed many different points around the square. The air was filled with the voices of people and many instruments playing for entertainment pleasure. At the edge of the plaza there was a large platform filled with music stands and some chairs, obviously meant for the main event towards the night.

The large clock tower just passed 6 PM while the sun was now a dim yellow just about to dip below the far off mountain ranges in Ventus. It would look like about an hour before the moon would rise with the stars and start the performance.

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In the middle of the square, there was a small dance going on along with people on the side cheering and clapping along to the tune. The brown haired girl gave a small bow to the crowd as she hopped out and sat on one of the chairs on the side, laughing as she grabbed a drink on the table. "Hehe that was so much fun! You should go in and dance Kiane! Don't be a poopyhead and sit here all day!"

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Kiane sighed and shot a hard look at the girl next to her with her rather cold blue eyes. "I was more worried about you, Sasha. Since you jumped into that damned group, I lost sight of you. You have any idea how many girls with brown hair were in there?" She scratched her head. "I mean besides the ones without the white streaks, but you know what I mean! You need to be more careful!

Sasha pouted at Kiane. "There you go again. Always talking about how much you worry. You know how much of a downer you are? You should relax and enjoy yourself! Mr. Hawkins spent so much time making this entire event for everyone! He even invited the people of Lament! You should go and socialize instead of sitting here and sulking!"

"Look Sasha, you know these guys don't care about this event right? It's for political popularity when the next voting season happens. Why, if you just look at the news every now and then, you should know his popularity vote is over 75-"

"Blah blah politics politics. You almost sound like you're meant for a job here Kia. Shoot you really need to get your head out of current things for a bit and enjoy! Ugh I don't wanna do this, but you force me to!" She grabbed Kiane's shoulders and pushed her to her feet.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"

"Hehe looks like you need to pump out that nasty attitude of yours into some exercise."

"Don't you dare, Sasha. You better not-"

"Too late Kia! Enjoy!" With a happy shove, she sent Kiane into the dancing crowd.

"Ooh when I get out of here, you're gonna be in so much trouble Sash! You wait young lady!" The rest of the words she said were drowned out by the crowd, probably language more on the colorful side.

Sasha giggled and picked up her violin case. "Hehe sorry Kia. I could use some breathing space." She looked up at the sky and back at the square. "Right...now to find a good spot before it starts..." She started to make her way around the square.

 

A petite blonde girl carefully weaved her way through the crowds, a look of sheer overwhelment on her face. In her hand she clutched a violin case so tightly, it was a comfort, her protection from everything around her. It was certainly an incredible place, everywhere she looked were bright colours, people of all shapes and sizes, it was evident from the cultural diversity that there must be people here from every kingdom all mixed together. A wiff of a delicious smell crept past her nose, she'd never smelt anything like it before but then again this was her first time this far from home so that was probably to be expected.

This was an amazing experience but still she could not stop herself trembling, this was a long way outside her comfort zone. She felt so out of place, everyone else felt like they knew exactly what they were doing and all had huge grins on their faces but she was just there alone with no clue what she should really be doing. This really wasn't the best place to be alone and a friend would have been really appreciated but that had never really been an option when coming here. Her violin would just have to do for now to keep her safe.

She took a sudden jump to the left to avoid a rather fat man with the funniest moustache you'd ever seen knocking her over, it was evident that he'd not even seen her there. She ducked and weaved through the crowd, it was easy for people to miss her with her small size and she had no intention of being knocked out by some bulky instrument smacking her in the face. Then she saw it, a beautiful fountain, just through a gap in the crowds. An Oasis with less people around, somewhere she could go to escape this madness. A moment later people moved and the fountain was once again out of site but it'd been enough to make up her mind. With a new found determination, she dodged her way through the crowd in that general direction to find her way out to the fountain.

 

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She wasn't expecting the sudden force that made her stumble forward. Thankfully she kept her balance with the exception of dropping her glass onto the floor. She turned around to face a girl apologizing to her rather quickly. Instead of complaining to her about how she made her drop her drink like a normal person, she just smiled and grabbed her shoulders. "Hehe easy there before you blow off your head with all those words coming out so quickly. No need to apologize over something so small."

Sasha shrugged and tossed away the empty cup. "Don't worry about it. You just had an accident. Something we all go through." She grabbed the girl's hand and shook it. "Here, my name is Sasha. What might be yours?" Her red eyes sparkled as she awaited the girl's response.

 

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Sasha smiled at Ari. It looks like she was gonna like Ari a lot. "Hehe glad we can get along."

"Ah yes this is my trusty violin." She gave it a small pat. Oh? An Orgio girl? They were never the kind to attend such posh events like this. Well maybe because Ari was not like most Orgio residents Sasha met back then. "Ah those sound like fun instruments." Though as she said that, she made a small wince as her eyes ran over her instruments on her back. Though she quickly swapped back into her usual bright self once Ari mentioned Arco. "Oh yes! Lovely place. Somewhat overwhelming at first. It takes a while waking up to random sea life floating all around you. Not to mention the rare cases of some fish and squid coming into your toilets, but otherwise a great place to call home."

 

Zip looked around in the crowd. He didn't necessarily liked crowded places, but he can make an exception for this particular occasion. He liked it back home in Lament, where the streets suited his style. The only ever reason he comes is because he himself is surprised as to how Scherzo can manage 200 years of peace without violence and conflict. It doesn't take a genius to know that all human beings, by nature were prone by violence, whether they develop it or they were born with it to begin with. Instinctively, His right arm reached to touch his Synth board, which was attached to his left arm. He crudely built it when he was young, but with time, he made a couple adjustments to tweak out any bugs. And it plays as well as it's design. Zip's right hand fingered one of the keys, then retracted his hand. He would need to find a better place for himself for when the show started. He made a turn and before he could register it, he collided with a girl with cold blue eyes. He fell down on his bottom, letting out a grunt of slight pain. he checked himself, then looked up at the person in the way. Hoo boy.

 

Lexi was worried she wasn't going to make it in time. She was still on a monorail going from Ventus to Quadrille since she missed the one she meant to take. She'd been busy writing up a new song that got in her head, and she really didn't want to leave early since her house was the perfect temperature and she wasn't finished with her tea. But she was regretting it now.

There was a ping when the monorail arrived, and despite the outgoing traffic that arrived with her, Lexi pushed her way through the crowd and exited the monorail. She left and ran towards the center of the city, her trombone in a soft-case fastened safely to her back. But during her run, she ran into a team of trumpet players. As she ducked her head to escape, she heard the angry men shout, "You! Girl with the red hat!"

Crap.

Lexi turned around and pointed to herself to see if there was any confusion, "Yes we're talking to you, are you the one wearing the red hat?"
"Oh, sorry. I thought it was blue. Look I'd love to stick around and chat but I-"

The three trumpet players held up their trumpets in position and played a harmonic chord which sent out a shock wave, causing Lexi to fly back. She landed on her feet but she was definitely not expecting that. The pedestrians seemed to automatically make a bubble for them to battle and a couple stopped to watch.

Lexi rolled her eyes and unzipped her trombone and attached it together, "You didn't even ask if I wanted to battle. I thought you maybe wanted to borrow some money for all the delicious looking food." she motioned towards some of the food carts pushing through the area.

The trumpet players nodded at each other and blew out a C in unison. One of them playing it up the octave. Lexi quickly began to perform a Bb scale without a moment of hesitation. When she reached the high Bb it sent out a colorful wave that interacted with the one the trumpets sent forth.

Lexi moved to the left and slide the trombone slide from 1st to 7th position. When she did it created a barrier around her that the trumpets began to penetrate by quickly playing a C major scale.

When the barrier broke, there was silence. And all four of them nodded at each other, as they transitioned from scales and notes, to song.​

 

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Sasha gave Ari a small smile. "Hehe I wouldn't say that. Orgio is a wonderful looking place. Arco barely has any natural green. It's nice to go out and see the large fields of grass or animals every now and then. Seeing mostly blue and black gets dull. It's a big reason why I tend to go out as much as I can these days."

Right on cue, Sasha stepped aside from another person walking by. "Mhmm yep you got a point. Somewhere a little less crowded is a bit nice since it seems like it's getting a bit more crowded. Probably because the performance will be starting pretty soon." She led Ari out of the crowd. Though once they reached the fountain, she picked up sounds of music that stood out. It sounded more...aggressive rather than the casual players all around the plaza. Sure enough she looked and saw a rather odd music battle of trumpet players against a guitarist and a trombone. She did have a rather negative attitude on unfair fights. She turned to Ari and gave her a small grin. "Hey Ari, think I can see those instruments of yours in action?" She then dove off into the direction of the battle.

Unlocking her case, she pulled out her violin and slid right next to the man and girl. "Hey looks like you guys seem to be short-handed by one. Mind if I hop in?" Even if they said no, she paid no attention as she already started to follow along the guitarist's riffs. Instead of a normal violin sound, hers had a smooth echo to her long strokes. The strings glowing brightly wherever hr bow touched. Once the tune took a step in the more snazzy part, she picked up and her strokes were more sharp and direct.

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Kiane sighed as she was finally spit out of the dancing crowd after about half an hour. "Oh Sasha. Do we need a talk. VERY soon." Before walking off in search of her friend, she bumped into a person. She scowled at him, but then dropped her gaze into a tired sigh. She really had little to no energy to start yelling off at a person who walked into her.

She helped up the teen and patted at his clothes. "Oh man make sure you look before walking next time. Don't you see how crowded it is already? Geez." If anything, she sounded more like a concerned older sister. "Alright look. You should be glad I'm not all me today or else I would've yelled your head off. Try not walking into anyone else this evening. They might not be as forgiving as I-" She then picked up the sounds of a violin. Of course it could've been any violin, but this one had a rather odd tune to it. A tune from only one violin she has heard. "...Sasha?" She looked back at Zip. "A-anyways stay safe!"

Without another word, she dashed out of the crowd and ran by the table where Sasha was originally and grabbed her guitar case before making her way through the crowd where the sounds were coming from. "Ugh...I leave her alone for one minute and this happens!"

 

Zip was decidedly surprised at Kiane's reaction, but when she softened up, he felt a little more relaxed, and just nodded. But soon after, musical notes, one from trumpets and from a singing violin, sailed through the air, reaching his ears, and apparently the older girl's as well. He tensed, ready for action. He knew very well that the note at this level in volume is enough for a music battle, and the notes can hit from anywhere.
"...Sasha?" Kiane looked back at Zip. "A-anyways stay safe!"
She took off, leaving Zip alone again. Though he would normally turn around and continue on with his usual business, he was curious as to what was going on and who this Sasha person was, and if she could've been in some danger. though music battles aren't enough to kill a person, a powerful-enough blast could cause some major pain. Either way, Zip planned to investigate.
Zip held up his Synth Board, and while listening to the notes of the musicians, he tuned his Synth till the note matched harmoniously. He then took off after Kiane, following her every step of the way. He figured that if there was a music battle, it could use a couple of the hard notes, courtesy of Zip.Ogg.

 

At first, Lexi was doing alright. She could have been doing a little better, what it being a one versus three fight, but she was holding up fairly well. It was clear these three battled with one another before, knowing each others weaknesses and making sure their harmonies and unisons were on point. It was terrible how prepared they were, but she was managing to keep up.

Then Lexi noticed an 8 string guitarist show up to assist. Of course she wouldn't say no, it helped to even out odds just a little bit. Besides, he had a great sound going that helped to sharpen out the tones. Just the two of them would have been balanced enough. It was a tad odd that a string would run out to help out a brass but that didn't end up being the strangest part of the battle.

Another string showed up. A violinist. And jumped on in to help out as well. Now it was an even match up, and she would have smiled if she weren't keeping her embouchure correct. One small switch of the lips and everything could go horrifically wrong. One screaming sound could be the loss of the battle, at least for her.

When the keytar showed up she was completely thrown off but keeping up with the battle, constantly sliding and throwing in as many 16th notes as she could handle in one breath. She wasn't sure what the tempo exactly was anymore but by then the trumpets stopped.

Two of the trumpets scowled and ran off, the third one watched the two and then pointed at Lexi shouting, "You got lucky, trombone! Don't think it'll always go this way!" before they too ran off.

Lexi emptied out the valve on her trombone and mumbled, "Trumpets... always acting like their higher and mightier than other brass..." she put her hand next to her mouth to cup the sound and make it louder and shouted, "Sorry for... bumping into you! Seriously did you just get into a fight with me because I bumped elbows?"

The trombonist watched the audience disappear and she turned to the people who joined her and she had a small smile on her face before she tipped her hat towards them in a manner of greeting and spoke, "Thank you so much for the help. My name's Lexi. Lexi Coda."​

 

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Somehow, they managed to hold out against the trumpeters, making them eventually flee. Sasha just shouted after them. "That's right! Run you cowards! Thinking you're so great when you team up against one person!" She sighed and turned around with a smile. "Hehe nice to meet you all." She gave Lexi and Terry a small bow. "To be honest, I wanted to just sit this one out and watch you guys fight. But...I have a rather strong reaction to those that play unfairly. So I couldn't help but join in ya know." She scratched her head and put her violin away. "Anyways, what brings you guys-"

"SASHA!"

She winced as she heard her name. "Hoo boy...am I in big trouble..." She turned around nervously to face the girl approaching her with a gaze cold enough to turn an ocean into ice.

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"What...did I tell you about going off on your own. ESPECIALLY in a situation like this?!" Before Sasha could respond, Kiane grabbed her shoulders and shook her hard. "Not to mention pushing me off into the crowd like that?! Am I that much of a nuisance to you?!"

"B-but that's not fair! The girl, Lexi, was outnumbered! I had to help her out! You know it's not me to leave-"

"That's no excuse! You know you shouldn't be doing this! For god sake, how many times do I have to constantly tell you this?! Must I keep shouting this into your ear until you go deaf?!" On that note, she looked up and realized the group before her. She quickly let Sasha go and looked away somewhat embarrassed. "I-I'm sorry. I-I lost my temper there for a second. I didn't mean to go off like that." She looked sadly at Sasha who looked down. "I probably should introduce myself. I'm Kiane Yawa. I'm...what you would call Sasha's guardian. It's a bit of a long history, but..." She shook her head and gave Sasha a hug. "I'm sorry I yelled at you Sash. I'll treat you at the nice place near your home ok?"

Sasha sniffed and stared up at Kaine. "Promise?"

"I promise." She gave her hair a ruffle with a small smile. "You dumb idiot. Don't do that to me again. You have any idea how worried I was?" She let her go and rubbed her head once more.

 

A heavy sigh sounded from Damion's mouth as he followed behind his sister through the crowds. Actually it was more like he was being dragged behind her as she pretty much lead the way. His red hood was pulled up over his head like it usually was whenever he went out. To be honest he didn't want to go the celebration today and he really didn't want to be around this many people for this long. But since Alisa really had her heart set out on going, plus she really knew how to convince him to tag along with her and so here he was.

"Hey Damion, look over there." The over-sized blue sleeve of her jacket had pointed towards what had looked like to be a battle forming. Without saying another word Alisa had tried to sneak off in an attempt to get closer and, knowing her, assist in anyway possible. She didn't get far before Damion noticed and held her back her the hood of her jacket. Then he motioned for her to take another look at the situation, in which she saw how most of it was already being handled by another group of people who'd jumped in.

"See, there's no reason for us to get involved." His eyes looked around for a moment to get a look around and while he did that, his sister had unzipped her jacker and still made her way over there now dressed in the turtle neck that was under the jacket and a blue skirt. The blue hair girl had wormed her way through the crowd til she'd arrived at where the group of people who made the three trumpet players flee were at.

"Um, hello." She said smiling.