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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Apr 4, 2023 22:36:44 GMT -5
Leaving Cantio like that, Astrid fully expects the confusion that emanates through the earring. This is fine, she’ll explain quickly. The self-doubt, however, she must put a stop to. A burst of exasperation hits him just as Astrid’s words carry through the house, a full blown shout.
“DA, QUIT YER MOPIN’!” she shouts from some corner near the front entry. It echoes through the vast space with wonderful acoustics. “Gimme just a minute ta explain! It weren’t without ya necessarily on purpose! Where the heck is the– AH HA!”
In a literal blur, Astrid suddenly zooms back up the stairs to Cantio’s side. “Okay, I got it!” Knowing her father’s jumpiness, she instinctively puts an arm out in case he flings himself toward the stairs, fully confident she will save him from a tumble. “Watch yerself, da.”
When all is stable, Astrid drops her arm and looks up at Cantio. Her eyes and nose are still puffy, but only excitement paints her expression. In her hand, she holds up something wrapped in cloth that’s a bit too big for her small fingers to fully curl around. She becomes more soft-spoken as she offers it to him. “I got this fer ya an’ Melodia.”
She watches with an excited buzz as he slowly unwraps the fabric, revealing underneath it all a palm-sized wooden box. The brass latch and hinges have been polished to perfection. The wood is intricately carved with elven vines, the top with the image of a crescent moon peeking through the negative space of a forest canopy. There are blemishes in the wood, places where it’s swollen from damp air, but it has been freshly stained and sealed, something akin to its original coloration.
Astrid’s eyes glance back and forth between the small box and Cantio’s face, trying to gauge some reaction before she explains sheepishly. “I… um, I heard ya talkin’ ‘bout a music box, an’ since Melodia thought maybe it’d help her… ya know, manifest around home a bit better, I figured… Well, maybe I could try ta find it fer ya.” For both of them, really. Melodia’s said before she wishes she could manifest more easily on her own, and Astrid knows Cantio can get lonely without her and Blue around to keep him company. Everything that the minstrel’s done for her, this was something small she thought she could do in return.
Cantio’s daughter watches as he opens it. A mechanism she wound up beforehand plinks gently at an internal lamellophone and plays the same lullaby he and Melodia spoke of, the same one he played for the audience of their family on a stage without his mask. It’s something significant to them, and it can keep being significant now that they have the object that Melodia’s most connected to.
“Um… do ya like it?”
Bullet Dash
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Post by Cantio von Lumen on Apr 11, 2023 20:18:42 GMT -5
“I’m— not moping!” Cantio jumps when Astrid’s shout comes from across the house; he claps a hand over his collarbone, tail bristling slightly in surprise. “Not on purpose, anyways...” Sometimes he still forgets that Astrid can feel what he’s feeling. “I just, I don’t know, I thought that getting into the guild would be dif— AH.”
Astrid appears. She just appears, spooking Cantio in such a way that he might have tumbled down the stairs had Astrid not had her arm there. “Oof— sorry,” he apologizes; he can feel his heart in his throat as he attempts to calm down. He straightens himself out, sheepishly brushing the wrinkles from his shirt before he looks at Astrid. Her eyes are still puffy, but her smile is bright nonetheless; and an excitement buzzes in the connection of their earrings.
His quizzical gaze drifts down to what she’s holding.
“For… me and Melodia?” He repeats; he’s not surprised that Astrid would bring something home for Melodia; but he is surprised that it’s for the both of them. Genuinely, he’s not sure what it could be… The fellblood looks at it, looks back at Astrid, then breathes a chuckle; he takes it. “That’s very sweet of you; thank you.” He remarks, pulling off the fabric to reveal a wooden box. For a moment, he seems quizzical about it; it’s beautifully carved, latches gleaming in the light pouring in through the windows.
It’s not flawless— there’s signs of age and damages in the way the wood swells, and old scratches which sink into the beautifully carved vines, but… it is a lovely music box nonetheless. “It’s gorgeous.” He remarks, smile warm as he brushes his thumb to feel the divots in the wood, still clueless of its actual origin until Astrid explains. He looks up, blinking in surprise; and then a slight flush crosses his face at the recollection of Hearth’s Day. “Huh? Wait, so this is…” He looks at his daughter with a blink, then down at the Music Box in his hands.
It’s Melodia’s Music Box?
…
It’s Melodia’s Music Box!!
Wide-eyed, Cantio opens the top of the box; his smile turns into a grin the moment he hears a familiar song— one which Melodia talked about so fondly on that stormy eve, and the same that he played for his family at Bellighul’s Amphitheatre. A warm fondness fills his chest at the sound of the lullaby.
“Like it? Astrid, this is amazing! I can’t believe you found it!” There’s an uncontrolled strength in Cantio’s side hug as he squishes Astrid up to him, tail wagging with an innocent excitement; not that it means much, given the Minstrel’s strength is in fact something to sneeze about. “We gotta show Melodia!”
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Apr 12, 2023 17:58:37 GMT -5
Astrid’s chest swells as Cantio’s excitement grows upon realizing what the music box is exactly. He didn’t even seem upset that she totally eavesdropped on them – not that she really expected him to be genuinely upset, but a gentle scolding was expected at least. The hall seems warm around them as they listen to the tune plucking along gently together. Cantio’s surprising show of meager strength squishes Astrid against his side, and she puts her arms around him to make it a full-blown hug.
“We gotta show Melodia!”
“I’m here,” Melodia says softly from behind them, seeming to manifest in their presence. She never really did go anywhere after Cantio rushed downstairs to greet Astrid, and she listened in quietly while the two of them talked through the young girl’s grief. Knowing the context of her behavior explains many things for Melodia, and there’s some amount of guilt hiding behind her small smile. If only she could have really been there to help her, but she had no control over that.
She quietly floats over to the two embracing and looks at the box. Melodia’s expression quickly changes to shock. She knew Astrid found the box but not that she spent time refinishing and cleaning it. If she had a physical heart, it would swell near to bursting. She’s incredibly touched by this. “A-Astrid, this… It looks wonderful..!”
“I had ta find a way ta surprise ya too,” the girl says, grinning up at the ghost.
“Well, this certainly is a surprise, isn’t it?” Melodia chuckles before glancing between the two of them.
“I’m glad it is!” Astrid says. “An’ it even looks like it worked! Yer here! I didn’t even hafta call ya!” She motions to Melodia being present.
Melodia blinks at this, realizing that she never did fade. There never was the familiar pull as she left the mortal plane only to be reinvigorated as what usually happens when the magic holding her is refreshed. “Wh..What? You’re… You’re right!” Her gentle laughter is bell-like in the hall as she spins around in the air. Astrid giggles watching her. It’s a truly joyful moment for the lot of them.
When they all settle, Astrid finally remembers she hasn’t exactly told Cantio what happened. “Oh, right! So I was out in the marsh lookin’ fer the orphanage so I could find the music box, an’ I ran into Blue an’ Morrigan,” she says, hands moving a bit wildly as she speaks. For a moment she pauses and ushers Cantio toward his room so he can pack while she continues about her rambling.
“Anyway, I'd met Morrigan before an’ they rubbed me the wrong way. I don’t like ‘em much. Last thing I wanna see when first meetin’ someone is someone naked as the day they were born.” Was Astrid particularly bothered by the nudity? Not really. She was more unimpressed with the whole situation of walking in on Morrigan prepared to woo Kvasir. “I dunno what Kvasir sees in ‘em either, but that’s beside the point. Point is, they were in the swamp swindlin’ some locals outta information, an’ Blue happened ta be there too fer… some… reason.”
“Turns out Morrigan got some info about somethin’ fer the Mage’s Guild, so we went together ta try an’ find the thin’. I wanted ta brin’ it back ta help ya get in, but after everythin’ we went through ta get it, Morrigan at least earned it a little bit.” Astrid expression grows sour. “At least I thought. Didn’t know they stole yer chance ta get in away from ya. They knew ya were me da an’ everythin’! Probably pretended not ta know ‘cause they knew I’d pummel ‘em.”
Then her face shifts into a devious smirk. “That’s where our revengeture comes in.”
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Post by Cantio von Lumen on May 3, 2023 9:14:49 GMT -5
Cantio gasps; the music box jostles between his palms when he jumps, both feet leaving the top stair; and it is a miracle that when he lands, his fragile ankles don’t give way to topple him down the staircase. “ Melodia!” He catches the music box in one hand, the opposite resting daintily on his collarbone while he gathers himself. “ Goodness, you scared the daylight out of me!” How long has it been since Cantio bounded downstairs to greet Astrid after her surprised entrance? For a moment, the fact that much more time than Melodia usually has in the material plane has passed completely flies over the fellblood’s head. Cantio’s startled expression quickly changes to a subtle smile, his golden eyes glittering when Melodia looks at the music box in his hands; he wants to offer it to her, but he doesn’t think she could take it. “ It’s been fixed up a little and everything,” he chuckles, holding the box like the precious thing he knows that it is; although, when Astrid points out that Melodia is here without being called… Cantio perks up, looking at Melodia with wide, golden eyes. His smile brightens, his disposition sunny; his tail wags somewhat while Melodia spins around in the air, her laughter as melodic as the gentle chords of a harp. “ You are! Oh, Melodia that’s wonderful!”
Cantio starts moving towards his room, excitement buzzing in his chest while he cradles the music box in his palms; he steps through the doorway, instinctively moving to the nightstand to set the music box on— temporarily— for safekeeping. “ Uh-huh.” He agrees, subtly encouraging Astrid to continue with an agreeable confirmation that he is, in fact, listening. He goes about heading towards his wardrobe— but something about Astrid’s initial explanation catches him off guard. The fellblood trips over his own two feet, nearly plowing directly into the wardrobe; but he manages to catch himself on the open mahogany doors before he can fall flat on his face. “ Wh— wh— he was what!?” Cantio’s face is blanche while he scrambles to his feet and whisks around to face Astrid, utterly baffled and concerned by her nonchalance. “ He was naked? Why was he naked!? In front of you? That’s so inappropriate!” Astrid doesn’t linger long on that incredibly concerning statement, but Cantio’s head reels trying to comprehend it all. He eventually calms, but he taps his fingers together anxiously while she continues, his golden eyes displaying a twinkle of disappointment when Astrid relays the fact that Morrigan knew he was Astrid’s dad, but probably pretended otherwise. “A-ah.” He agrees, trying to hide the fact, despite it being broadcast through their earrings. “Well, that’s…” he trails off, tail flicking back and forth as he sighs.
Disappointing...
“ Revengeture…” Cantio repeats, chuckling nervously when Astrid grins, “ What, um… what do you have in mind for this revengeture, exactly…? Nothing too crazy, I hope…”
As the afternoon falls upon Dragon’s Cradle, explanation of the aforementioned revengeture eventually turns into small-talk for so long that it’s hard to tell exactly when either of them stopped talking. With Cantio’s bag packed; and after a day of excitement, grief, and reunion; the house of Storm-Lumen temporarily falls into a drowsy silence after both father and daughter doze off curled up together for a well-needed, well-deserved nap.
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