[SpringsSong]

As was to be expected--at least, among the members of the Tenth Pantheon of Re'klet--once the word had reached Aila that there was a music festival in Jawan, she vanished like Sairahiniel's císte cáise seacláid caramal at the annual holiday dinner for the Pantheon.  Aila's mind drifted to that treat for a few brief moments--here in Evelon, it was referred to as a turtle cheesecake (and she couldn't understand why they called it "turtle" to save her ridiculously prolonged life!), but she had decided that, hands-down, Saira still made the best one--but it was soon brought back to the present when the sound of an orchestral excerpt interrupted her thoughts.

"I know that tune..." Aila said, snapping her oboe out of thin air and walking over to the orchestra that was performing the song.  When the director saw her--her dark purple performance dress, her hair pulled back into a delicately-shaped bun, and of course, her oboe--she flagged her down.

"Pardon me, madam!" she called.  "You wouldn't happen to know this tune, would you?"

"I do, actually," Aila replied.  "Why do you ask?"

"Well, we're short an oboe player, and--"

"Name the part, and I'll play it," Aila said, winking.  The orchestra's director smiled as she held out a stack of papers to Aila--labeled Oboe II--and pointed to the empty chair in the orchestra.

((The excerpt which Aila hears starts at about 8:06 in this clip.))

[Thunder]

It was a pretty nice day in Jawan. A bit chilly from the sea breeze, perhaps, but not utterly unbearable. Ludwig strolled through the streets, not doing much in particular and simply taking a look around town. He was dressed nicely as usual, wearing a fancy brown vest over a black shirt, a white collar, tan dress pants and leather shoes. He was content, though his expression could be mistakenly taken for one of worry. Perhaps too much frowning had caused it to look that way.

As he passed by a series of fish sellers and seafood restaurants, he thought he could hear a familiar sound drifting over on the wind, a soft chorus of strings that gradually grew in power. Ludwig froze in place and shut his eyes, analyzing, drinking in the music. Ah...it had been a long time since he heard this one. Only a few minutes in did he realize that he was standing in the middle of the street, which got him some strange looks from passersby, and he began slowly walking in the direction of the music.

Eventually, he saw what appeared to be a concert going on. There were many other people gathering around to listen, so he struggled a bit to find a prime spot to hear the music. Once he settled down, he resumed his deep journey into the heart of the song. He remembered hearing this as a child, during a secret performance his parents had taken him to before the cruel government banned music. A bit of rage flooded him as he recalled those political pigs, but Ludwig forced himself not to think of it and let the music overtake him. The oboes, he thought, sounded especially nice...

[SpringsSong]

Aila allowed herself to be consumed by the music as well, taking only a few moments to look over the part and remember how the song went.  This song was one of the few that she knew from memory, and she was quite proud of that fact (although she would not be the first to admit that fact openly).  She knew that the orchestra was about halfway into the song, so there was still plenty of music to be had.

When the end of the song finally came around, the orchestra director walked up to Aila, smiling brightly.  "You're amazing!" she said, smiling.  "We're going to be playing another song in about forty-five minutes, and we need a first oboist for this one.  Think you can play this one?" she asked, handing the music to Aila.

The Goddess perused the music real quick, and then, she nodded.  "This was one of my favorite songs in high school.  In fact, I played this exact part--I think I can brush up on it in another 45 minutes, no problem."

"You're an angel," the woman said, and Aila smiled to herself.

Not an angel; but not all that far off, she thought, barely noticing the rather well-dressed man who had managed to find a spot in the crowd.  However, in the back of her mind, Aila couldn't help but wonder if he was involved with music to some degree, since he had found a relatively decent place to hear the music, as opposed to the rest of the crowd, which just swarmed around the orchestra.

[Thunder]

Ludwig listened deeply all the way to the end of the piece. He let out a small sigh as the song finally concluded and the audience began to cheer. It had been a while since he heard such good playing. Back in his homeland, there was no such chance for an open concert as the government would immediately crack down on it. Any concerts had to be hidden away in secret locations, which were often too stuffy and uncomfortable for the musicians to play their best and for listeners to enjoy the music fully.

It seemed that there would be a break before the next piece, so Ludwig detached himself from the crowd and began making his way towards the musicians. A little talk with one of them might be nice. He usually wasn't very sociable, but he always appreciated a sophisticated conversation about music. He found himself walking towards one of the oboists, a woman in a purple dress with her hair up in a bun. He stood slightly apart from the woman until there seemed to be a good opening for conversation, and then Ludwig approached.

"Greetings," he said, giving her a small bow. "Were you a second oboist, by any chance? I have to say that I was deeply impressed with the oboes in that last piece."

[SpringsSong]

Aila looked up as she saw the man approach her, and when he bowed, she returned it with a curtsey of her own.  When he asked her position in the orchestra, she blushed as she shrugged slightly.

"Why... thank you," she said when he commented on how he was deeply impressed with the oboes.  "I play whatever part is needed, whether that is first oboe or second oboe.  I've learned in my days in the orchestra that you've got to be versatile when you're an oboist," she said, smiling slightly.  "I... I mean, I've been playing in orchestras since I was very young, so..."

Her voice trailed off here as she looked down at the music again, smiling.  "This song that we are to play next... it was one of the first songs I played, way back when.  In fact, it was the first song I was allowed to play a solo on.  Honestly, I am surprised that their principle oboist is missing--"

"We don't have a principle," the other oboist said.  "This orchestra was just put together for this festival, and at the last minute, she had to go and get sick... there were no formal auditions, so we just divided up the parts evenly between us."

"Oh," Aila said.  "Well, that makes sense... by the way, I am called Aila."

[Thunder]

Ah, so she had been playing since she was young. "I see," Ludwig said, nodding. "I too have played in orchestras when I was young...though definitely not as often as I wanted to." Yes, he had participated in some of those secret concerts before, but usually his parents tried to stop him from doing so in fear that if the concert were to be discovered, he would get arrested. The musicians were usually in more danger than the audience in those cases.

"I was taught to play a variety of instruments," he added, "but I feel that I'm a pianist at heart. I have never learned the oboe, though." Ludwig glanced at the sheet music the lady was holding. "May I ask what song that is? I suppose I could lend a hand in this too, if they need anyone." Then he paused for a second. "Ah yes...where are my manners?" He gazed up at Aila again. "I'm pleased to meet you, Aila. My name is Ludwig. Ludwig Vanhart."

He extended his right hand, offering a hand shake.

[SpringsSong]

Aila smiled as she offered the music to Ludwig.  "It's Beethoven's Sixth Symphony, in F-Major," she said, looking back at the music for a moment.  "And it looks like it's the third through fifth movements... it's amusing how you can't just play one of these movements; you have to play all three of them in succession because of how it's scored."

Ludwig, hm?  For a few brief moments, Aila considered asking him if he was, by chance, named after the famous composer of eons ago, but decided against that inclination and extended her left hand after taking her oboe into her right hand.

"It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Ludwig," she said, smiling.

[Thunder]

Ludwig glanced over the sheet music, imagining the sound of the notes in his mind as he read. He thought he vaguely remembered this piece from his childhood, though whether he had listened to it somewhere or played it himself, he could not remember. He felt a slight wave of disappointment at his inability to recall; perhaps listening to the concert play would jog his memory. He gave Aila's hand a firm, friendly shake and handed the sheet music back to her.

"Out of curiosity, did you pick the oboe yourself?" Ludwig asked, fixing his blue eyes on the woman. "My parents made me try out most of the instruments I've learned to play, though I did choose the piano myself. I think that's the reason I'm so fond of it." Ludwig knew that children sometimes hated to be forced to play an instrument, but when he was young, he was quite willing to take up his parents' suggestions. He was glad he did; he felt he had a richer musical experience by experimenting with various kinds. Of course, he couldn't master everything, but he felt that a little bit of each was healthful.

[SpringsSong]

"I did indeed pick the oboe myself, some years ago," Aila said, smiling.  "Although, for a time, my parents wanted me playing the flute.  It was cheaper, didn't require near as much maintenance, and on some days, was... 'easier' to listen to than the oboe, when I was first starting off."

Aila could not help but chuckle here as she thought about some of the days that she would practice her oboe instead of her flute.  Her parents would holler up at her, telling her to put the "dying fowl out of its misery", but she had no desire to play the flute, she realized.  And the soone rher parents began to realize that, the sooner they realized how much further she could progress in her musical career on oboe as opposed to flute.

"Piano was never my strong suit.  Although one of my friends attempted to tutor me in the instrument, claiming that it would aid me greatly in my musical theory comprehension, I could never get my two hands to do different things at the same time.  After I nearly failed a piano class when I was studying, I gained that much more respect for pianists," she said, nodding slowly.  "Oboe, however, is my main instrument--and always will be," she said proudly.

[Thunder]

The flute was another instrument Ludwig had never really touched. He found he was not as skilled with anything that involved breathing, and thus most woodwinds and brass instruments were out of the question. He did, however, have some experience with strings, and he would often play the viola as a break from the piano. "I see," he said. "The piano is indeed excellent for music theory, though it does take quite some practice to master. I myself have difficulty with woodwinds and the like."

Ludwig paused and pulled back his sleeve slightly to look at a silver watch he was wearing. It seemed that they still had a good bit of time to kill before the concert started up again, and he disliked standing around in one place for too long. "Would you perhaps like to walk around for a bit before the next piece?" he asked Aila. It had been a while since he spoke to another musician outside of his Muse group, and quite frankly, the Muses could exhaust him at times, especially Jacob, who represented heavy metal. Ludwig tried his best to be open to other genres of music, but he simply could not tolerate those shrieking, drum bashing fellows.

[SpringsSong]

"I would not mind that at all, Ludwig," Aila said.  "That might actually be a little refreshing before the next performance, especially since this has one of the more... well-known oboe solos in the symphony.  Not as well-known as some, but well enough known."

She listened as he mentioned that the piano took him some time to master, and she dipped her head slightly here.  "Well, we all have our different areas of expertise.  Some of my friends were more skilled in the area of brass instruments, while others are more attuned to the strings.  Personally, I was the most attuned to woodwinds, save for one compatriot of ours in the past who could play everything.  It was quite sickening, really," she said.