The Confection Connection

[Ambrosia]

92nd Trial of Zi'da in the arc 716

Ambrosia probably should have been spending his free time getting furniture for his new place, but he'd been so busy with work that he just wanted some time to himself to relax. He was perched on a barrel in the Earth Quarter that had been left out near one of the buildings, his small harp in his hand as he strummed the strings, warming up his fingers before he started to practice. He hadn't decided just yet if he would sing the lullaby his mother used to sing, or something else entirely, perhaps even write something himself. He wasn't sure. His gaze was focused on the harp he held tucked snugly against his body, thinking of his mother's melodic voice as he drew his fingers along the strings. For him, it produced a lovely tune, but should anyone else try to play it, the music would be sour, one of the benefits of making the harp from his mothers wood meant only those related to him could use it. He thought about a song he was writing and started to work on the tune, playing a soft, slow melody.

"The leaves sing a melody
up in the treetops fair
A lullaby for babies
who are sleeping everywhere
So hush now, quiet now,
the forest will sing you to sleep
hush now, quiet now
Let the whisper lead you to dreams"

he paused, frowning as he tried to figure out how to continue his song. He wanted it to be a song about how his parents had encouraged his dream despite their fears of what would happen to him if he pursued it. His fingers continued the melody of the song even though he'd stopped singing, letting the music sweep up for a long moment as he tried to think of how to continue it.

"The rustle of the leaves
the creaking of the trees
nature's peaceful lullaby.
So hush now, quiet now,
the forest will sing you to sleep
hush now, quiet now
Let the whisper lead you to dreams"

His fingers continued to move over the strings of his harp, thinking of his mother as he sang, looking around at the people that passed by him while he played. He surely wasn't all that great, not compared to any professional at least, but he did have heart, and he put a lot of it into his music.

[Faith Augustin]

Faith was sitting in the front area of the Order of the Adunih in Rharne. She wasn't there for any reason, she just had needed some fresh air and so had gone outside. She and Padraig were struggling with so much at the moment, every tiny thing seemed so much more than it actually was and she just needed a little space. So, she was sitting on a low wall and she was just trying to make some sense from her life in her head.

When she heard a singing coming from over to her right and Faith looked over. There, sitting on a barrel was a small fellow with a harp. He sang a song for a child and the very pregnant human woman looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Faith had seen a Tunawa before, but only in her dreams and she was a little surprised to discover that they were real. But then, not that surprised because, she had to admit with something of a smile, impossible things kept happening to her lately.

"That's a beautiful song," Faith said with a smile. The human woman wore a white blouse and a red skirt, neither of which hid her very obviously pregnant state. She had long black hair and eyes such a pale shade of blue that they seemed to be almost ice grey in colour. Her skin was pale and, other than the curves added by her pregnancy, her body shape was usually pretty thin.

Silver eyes regarded him with a friendly expression. "My name is Faith. It's nice to meet you. Are you here at the Order for healing, or just to play music and make my baby happy in the process?" As the child kicked in time, it seemed, to the music, Faith's face broke into a smile as her hand rested on the swelling of her stomach.

[Ambrosia]

“The smell reminds me of home
Of the earth that I used to roam
Lift your nose to the air, little bird, little dear
Smell the song that warms your heart

The door that will open to welcome you
The candle that shines in wait for you
Follow the lullaby, the peaceful drone
Of nature’s nighttime song

So hush now, quiet now,
the forest will sing you to sleep
hush now, quiet now
Let the whisper lead you to dreams"

Ambrosia hadn’t noticed just yet that he’d gained an audience in someone who was near the Order until after he’d finished his little song. When he heard a female voice speak, he lifted his gaze from his harp to see a woman (perhaps human? He was not sure, nor did it particularly matter to him) whose stomach was swollen with child. The slenderness of the rest of her body left him no other conclusion than that, though then again he could only guess this because his parents taught him that not all species procreate the way Tunawa do. The way of other species was...messier, in his opinion, but he’d never say that aloud. It was rude. He flashed her a friendly smile, cheeks darkening with a blush as he said modestly, “It’s still got some kinks for me to smooth out.” He raised his hand to brush some spices that were growing on his head to one side, the rosemary was growing close to the front of his head and was drooping into his eyes for some reason. He was a few inches smaller than most tunawa, and even as he stood up to give her a bow in greetings, he was a small, slender thing. His clothes had a few odd bulges on them due to his having to carry around little pebbles to avoid being blown away at the slightest breeze, and the only reason they were not normal tunawa clothes made from petals and the like was because of this. He was wearing one of the outfits his parents had made him before they went back to Desnind in their older age, something they’d gotten at a toyshop and tampered with just enough to slip small pebbles into so they wouldn’t be able to fall out as they could if put in just the pockets.

As he rose from his bow, his harp tucked securely beneath his arm, he said, “It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Faith. My name is Ambrosia. I am here for nothing more than to perhaps bring a few moments of pleasure to any who should hear my music. If your child likes my music, I would be happy to continue to play for you.”

[Faith Augustin]

Ambrosia, for such was his name, introduced himself and Faith smiled. "The pleasure is mine. You have a talent, certainly. It's very pleasant and I can ascertain no kinks." But then, what did she know about music? However, not so long ago Faith had found herself with a situation and she suddenly thought that maybe, just maybe, the fates had set about to give her some help.

"Actually, this might sound a little forward, and I'm sorry if so. But I have ... well, my childhood was such that I did not really get exposed to music ever. I have a book of musical notations for children's songs, with the notes and the words." Faith looked positively excited as she explained. "I wonder, would you be able to teach me to read it? I want to be able to sing to my baby and I have all the words, but I don't know the tunes."

She looked at Ambrosia with hope shining in her eyes. When she had realised that she knew none of the tunes, Faith had sobbed. The former slave was terrified, truly, and she wanted to be the best mother she could. Her lack was very obvious to her and she looked positively eager as she asked Ambrosia. "If you would help me, I would be so grateful. I could reciprocate, if you want. I can cook for you, or make you some new clothes?" Faith looked at the Tunawa with an eager expression and waited to see what he said. She wanted to keep asking, to keep offering what she could do but instead she sat, hands folded together in her lap as she waited to see what Ambrosia would say.

[Ambrosia]

Ambrosia had just started to run through his head the different children’s songs he might know that were more commonly known to play for her when she complimented his playing. He blushed and ducked his head as he said, “You are too kind, m’lady. But thank you.” He tipped his head to the side curiously as she mentioned being forward with something, wondering what she could mean as she elaborated. When he realized what she was hoping, he had already made up his mind to help. He knew what a big impact on his life it was to have his mother sing to him, and even though he knew neither mother nor future child intimately, he was willing to help. He was prepared to say as such even before she mentioned giving him something in return.

He glanced down at his clothes when she mentioned making him something. He actually hadn’t gotten a new outfit since his parents retired to Desnind, as all of his clothes had to be made with extra weight so he wouldn’t fly away. He looked up at her again and tipped his head to the side thoughtfully. “Well, I am more than happy to help. My mother singing to me had a big impact in my life, I’d never want to deny someone else the joy that singing from a mother, or a father, can bring. I would actually greatly appreciate some new clothes, but um….I do have a slightly odd request to that. You see, I need to have extra weight sewn into his clothes, as I am too light and can get blown around easily by even the slightest gust of wind. Is there any chance you’d be able to do that? If not, then I do not need anything in return other than knowing my help will make your child happy.” He wondered how odd of a request it was to make, adding weight to clothes. Maybe the reason only his parents made his clothes was because it was too hard to do? The only way they knew how to do it was to sew pebbles into the hem of his clothes, after all. Or maybe they didn’t have access to any other fabric that would work...

[Faith Augustin]

When Ambrosia said that he was more than happy to help, Faith beamed in delight. "Thank you so much!" His mother singing to him had an impact on his life, which was good to know. "I hope that this one says the same, when they are grown up." Faith smiled, patting the bump which housed the individual she was talking of. "I'm very grateful, Ambrosia, really. " It was, in fact, more important to Faith than she could rationally describe; there were too many aspects which she simply would not discuss which meant that this was incredibly significant to the earnest young woman.

Ambrosia then explained about his clothes, Faith nodded. "I can do that, yes. That would be interesting and I think I could make you something very functional." She frowned slightly. "You have to, I imagine, draw a line between them being heavy enough that you don't blow away in the wind but yet still allow you to move around freely and not be hindered by the weight?" Faith could do that, she was sure. Also, rather than put all the weight in one place, she could work at distributing it more easily so that moving about should, she thought, be easier.

"It would be my pleasure to help with that. How would you like to do this? Shall we go into my room and I'll get started on the clothes, show you the music and we can start from there?" She smiled an earnest and intense smile at Ambrosia. "Thank you so much. I appreciate it more than I can tell you."

[Ambrosia]

Ambrosia was glad to see that his offer to help made her so happy. Clearly it really meant a lot to her to learn the music within the book, so he would do his best to help her. “I am more than happy to help.” he chirped out brightly, adjusting his shirt with his harp tucked under his arm. “I’m certain that your little one will look back fondly on you singing to them, I think it's just one of many ways parents can show they care, even during more trying times. It’s important to me to spread music if the opportunity arises, so that others can feel the way my parents helped me feel growing up. That’s actually one of the reasons why I was here, to play for those who wish to listen. I plan on doing so whenever I am not at work, to pass on what I can.”

He listened quietly as she spoke about the clothes and grinned. “Thank you very much. It’s been hard to find people to take on my rather interesting request, but weighing as little as I do, there are certain measures that must be taken to avoid blowing away.” he chuckled a little, then tipped his head to the side. “Ah, yes. My parents were not the best at combining functionality with the weight and so these clothes that I’m wearing now are not exactly the type I can move about completely freely in, but at least I am not getting stuck on rooftops or anything.” he shifted when he said that, thinking back to when he’d done just that and his parents had to get someone to climb up and bring him down. “As for how, I believe retiring to your room might be the best idea. I can look over the music and you will have all the tools needed at your own disposal. I should be the one thanking you though, my clothes were getting rather threadbare and I was worrying on what I could do to obtain more, no one seems willing to sew pebbles into clothes and that would have impacted my ability to work. You are doing me a great favor in making me an outfit. Teaching you the songs is the least I can do in return.” He gave her another bow after he spoke, feeling as though it was right considering what a big favor she was doing for him. He could only hope that the music he could offer in return would be enough. He walked to the edge of the barrel he was standing on and peered down it to see what the best means of getting down would be so they could get going.

ooc note

you might need to do a new background. you prolly already know this of course and haven't had time soo >~< sorry

[Faith Augustin]

Making the clothes should be fairly easy and Faith nodded her head. "I will make sure to evenly distribute the weight so that you are not feeling heavy in particular places. Come on in." The small room which she shared with Padraig was clean and tidy and there, in the corner was a beautiful and obviously hand crafted crib with beautiful bedding on it. Faith smiled at Ambrosia as she sat down and motioned that he did the same. "I just need to measure you first, if I might?" That was easy enough to do and Faith nodded. This would be straightforward and fairly speedy. So, she suggested that whilst Ambrosia maybe sang the music for her, so that she could hear the tuned, she would get sewing.

The making of the clothes was a fairly straightforward thing, in that she had to weight down but really, not very much. He was just about four inches tall and so she just had to make sure that the weight wouldn't be too much for him. With a good cotton and some small weights in the waist of his trousers, Faith thought that should work just fine. So, she got to work as he started to sing. If he did not mind, she would sing with him, lifting her voice without shame to do so.

That caused her to chuckle as, more than once, she had to stop due to the baby kicking but she could not be anything but happy about that, so she sewed and she sung. Children's songs, she discovered, were very repetitive in their cadence and pitch, tending towards jaunty or soothing. She liked that and she focused on making sure that she got the rhythm right each time. She sewed as she sang and it was obvious that she was a master of that craft, her hands moving with swiftness and certainty.

After a few breaks, she had two sets of clothes for Ambrosia. A cooler one and a warmer one, and a small cloak, too, should he wish it. Each of them was made with the aim of weighting him down enough so that he would not, again, fly off in a gust of wind.

Off Topic

OMG - I'm so sorry, this had slipped off my list and I missed it! Sincere apologies!

[Ambrosia]

Ambrosia smiled, glad that Faith did not seem particularly bothered by his odd request, and in fact seemed more than happy to accommodate him. He followed her into the room she was staying in and glanced over at the crib. It was beautiful, to say the least, and looked as though it were handcrafted by someone with a lot of love. He moved to climb up onto a chair when she sat down, shimmying up the leg. When she mentioned measuring him, he said, “Of course,” and held his arms out to help her with measuring him before sitting down and pulling out his harp, running his fingers over the wood and thinking of his mother.

He knew most of the songs in the book, he checked by looking at the table of contents on the first page, and thus he didn’t need to reference it to know how to play. He went through as many of the songs as he could, singing out proudly and happily, smiling when Faith would join in and encourage her to join in, smiling when her baby would move in her tummy, clearly enjoying the singing. As he sang, he thought about something more he could do for her, and when he reached the last song and she finished his clothes, he figured it out. It would be a lovely gift for her, he was sure.

As she finished the clothes, he moved to get up and move closer to her, bowing grandly as he said, “I thank you for making these clothes for me. It’s not easy to find a tailor who makes clothes for someone so small with my specifications. And while my singing might be payment enough for you, allow me to also gift you something else. A song, written by me for you to sing to your child.” He straightened from his bow to run his fingers over the strings of his harp, a soft melody filling the air that was wistful and sleepy. He took a breath and sang out, his voice soothing and somehow soft despite filling the air with the song.

“A soothing breeze from Hushabye Forest
Stirs the boats docked at Lullaby Lake.
It fills the sails, of these boats that are waiting
Waiting to sail all your worries away.

It’s never far to Hushabye Forest
A boat of your own waits down by the bay
The winds of the night, hear now they are singing
Soon you will sail your troubles away.

So say goodbye to Hushabye Forest
You can wave farewell, to cares of the day
Then watch the boat, sail from Hushabye Forest
And sail far away, across Lullaby Lake

Yes say goodbye, to Hushabye Forest
And wave farewell to your cares of the day
Away goes your boat, from Hushabye forest
And sail far away, across Lullaby Lake”

As he sang, his body swayed and moved, dancing slowly and gracefully, almost as if he were slowly rocking a child to sleep as he played his harp, the lovely tune still filling the air. He held the last note of the song for a few heartbeats before letting his harp play by itself, repeating the last verse with only the music filling the air and letting it fade into silence. He’d never actually shared this song that he’d written with anyone before. He glanced up at her after the song ended and said, “I know it might not be as good as some of the songs written in the book, so it's alright if you don’t like it. If you do, I can write out the words and tune so that you can sing it to your child, both now and after they are born.” He fidgeted, a bit nervous about how she would react. He hoped she would like the song.

OOC Note

The song is inspired by a tune from a song in a movie that I heard a long time ago. I dont remember any of the words but I'm just putting a note in case someone finds the song that this is inspired from and it seems rather similar. If its a lot like or identical to said song, then I own no rights to it but if not I did kinda write this on my own to the tune.

[Faith Augustin]

Faith watched Ambrosia as he strummed on his harp and she wondered what it must be like to be so small in such a big world. It must take a level of patience and determination which most probably ignored, Faith considered and she smiled at Ambrosia as he allowed her to measure him. Making the clothes was simple enough and he didn't mind her singing with him, which she was pleased for. Her voice was nowhere near the level of skill that his was, but she could carry a tune and she was more than happy at the response of the baby to her voice.

Faith was a natural observer and so she listened with care to Ambrosia's tone and pitch, attended to the cadence in his voice and tried to ensure that she harmonised with that. In not just singing with him, but listening to how he sung, she could adjust. He tended to emphasise, for example, the last word in each line ~ the rhyming word. He did that by just a one-beat pause after the word; also by the way that he enunciated it. Faith did the same, soon realising that the slight adjustments made a major difference.

Ambrosia was very patient with her and worked until such time as she had the songs clearly in her mind. Then, though, when they were done, it seemed that he was not and Faith smiled as he spoke of a song. Was he going to write a song for her baby? That in itself was amazing to the young woman but then, he sang it. A song which told a tale of wonderful places, she was sure, Hushabye Forest and Lullabye Lake. Faith listened, enraptured, and when Ambrosia lifted his head to ask if she'd like the words, she had tears standing in her eyes and a smile on her face. "It's beautiful. It really is. I can not tell you what a gift that is. Thank you." She shook her head in amazement at his words. "How could anyone not like it? It's... thank you."

Whilst he wrote the words, she put together the clothes carefully for him and she prayed to Moseke for the life that grew within her, that her baby might always know music, to Vri that the child might always know love and to Famula to protect her baby's soul. "And if it please you, Mother Moseke, care for the life of this Tunawa whose heart is so good. Lord Vri, may you turn your benevolent gaze on this individual, may his life be filled with love and good memories. Beloved Famula," she prayed, internally, "guide him with your light and lead him to a life well lived."

Faith was astonished, truly astonished, that the tunawa she had just met could be so kind and she was truly grateful. "I don't know how long we'll stay in Rharne, but I hope we might see each other again, Ambrosia?" Her voice was soft, but her intention heartfelt.