Taking Requests

Writers: Chelle, Leigh M-F.
Date Posted: 29th April 2015

Characters: Nokala, A'kua
Description: The Hatching Feast goes very smoothly.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 12, day 7 of Turn 7

Aluka felt about as wrung out as a dishrag, his fingers felt like
overcooked sausages (he was pretty sure one of the calluses had split), and
his voice was getting a little hoarse. But so far, things were going okay.
He was a little bored sticking with the traditional stuff, true, but
singing and performing with Nokala and other musicians was kind of fun,
like when he and Nokala had that improv jam session.

The Candidate was rubbing his right hand when a girl who probably wasn't
even ten came up to him, looking uncertain and biting the tip of her
finger. "Hey, careful there," Aluka said, and released his own hand to
gently take her wrist and move her finger out of her mouth. The girl
blushed, but Aluka ignored that, instead giving her a kind, big-brotherly
smile. "Can I help ya with somethin'?"

"You all, um, have been taking requests, right?" the weyrbrat ventured.

"Sure have."

"Could you play, um, 'Moreta's Ride'?"

Aluka tilted his head thoughtfully. "Maybe. I'll pass that on to the other
musicians and we'll see if we can fit it in. Sound fair?"

The girl smiled shyly and nodded, and went back to her seat after getting
her hair lightly tousled.

Watching this exchange from where she sat drinking water in between sets,
Nokala couldn't help but smile. She didn't remark or indicate that she
heard or saw. Instead, she waited. Aluka had done well so far. She was
admittedly proud and could add this milestone to his career record. Oh the
boy was going to make a fine harper indeed. Her long legs were arranged
carefully around her chair while the drum was between her knees. The sticks
were resting atop it. Soon it would be time for another round then she
could rest and have her turn to eat and dance perhaps.

Aluka rubbed his hands for a couple more minutes before turning to Nokala
and the others who had joined them. "Hey, we got-" Oddly, he broke off
mid-sentence. "Hey, do we have time to play 'The Ballad of Moreta's Ride'?"
he asked a beat later.

Her head tilted and she saw the look on the others' faces. They didn't do
that one very often. Of course any harper knew the old song. This was a
hatching, though, a happy time. That song was not about the good times.
However, it did celebrate a very good Weyrwoman and a gold dragon who had
done much for Pern and that was also what hatchings were about. **What
would it hurt anyway?** It was a slower song so there would be no dancing
but everyone would sing with them. "I think so. Grigor?"

The other drummer, a thickset man with a fine mustache and beard, shrugged.
"We might not be able to fit it all in. Let's try focusing on just Moreta's
big solo, when she vows to get the job done. You could sing that, right
Harper?" he asked hopefully.

"Sure..." It'd been some time but Nokala ran through the solo in her mind
as she set aside her drum. If she was going to sing, she couldn't be
beating it. Drinking down more water, she started to do vocal warmups.
"Better tune up then, boys."

Good idea. Aluka checked over his gitar, found the strings to be holding up
well in structure and tune, and had some water himself. He was going to
need a break soon; he wanted seconds of the food.

Last updated on the May 8th 2015

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Taking Requests