Welcome to Gaia! ::

The best thing about freelancing was the flexibility it provided. When the weather turned, there was nothing to stop Sadie from packing up her laptop and claiming an outdoor cafe table for a few hours while she worked on client emails and attempted some financial paperwork. It was warm now but the bugs weren’t out so much yet, and the flowers were on the trees. Of course she wanted to be outside. She nursed a few hot teas. She enjoyed the feeding of the sunshine on her cheeks and the wind making her long skirt flutter.

She managed to do some of her work.

When it was time for a break, it was easy to pay for this drinks, slip the computer back into that bag, and start walking. She found herself making her way towards the sound of a tune. Someone had been singing in the distance since she’d arrived, and that was more than enough to get her curious.

Sadie had a soft spot for street music, even if it was the same covers of what was on the radio anyway. This seemed different, though, and that was even nicer. The whistle especially brought a smile to her face.

He was right around the corner, not hard to find at all. Sadie was quick to slip a few dollars into his case. He’d earned that much, giving her something to listen to. She gave a little nod and then stepped back to hover a few feet away. She kept her face tilted away out of habit, but she watched him from the corner of her good eye.

He was looking at her while he sang a little, and Sadie wasn't sure why There were others around, and she wasn't doing anything differently than they were. Of course, she was used to getting looks and stares now and then for the scars, but this wasn't like that.

She sort of nodded at him with a soft, unsure, smile.

She loved the music, though. It was folksy and sweet, the kind of song that made her feel that she was somewhere on the other side of the world, which had always been her favorite. From her odd angle, she watched his fingers fly across the holes as best she could. She had some idea of the kind of skill that took, and it was easy to smile at that.

When he came up to her afterwards, she hesitated for a moment before looking into his eyes, because there was really no getting around it at this point without seeming terribly rude.

"Cheers, yourself," she said, her voice quiet and her accent distinctly American. She lit up a little when he mentioned the music, though. "Oh, it was lovely! I always liked watching tin whistle videos on YouTube, but I don't think I've ever seen one in real life before, and then you're even better then most of them." Her smile widened. "The people online, I mean."

She did eventually take his hand, remembering her manners. "I'm Sadie," she said. "Nice to meet you, Rob."

He was all sunshine and swagger, even as he talked to her instead of playing on his whistle, and that was enough to get some of the anxiety to ease from Sadie's shoulders.

"Oh, I played the actual flute for all of a semester in middle school," she said as he pulled out another tin whistle. "But I didn't really get into music until a few years ago, when I found out that you can play Lord of the Rings music instead of just constant, overwhelming repeats of Ode to Joy."

There had been other reasons, yes, but the music she'd found had piqued her interest in its own way, and it had her playing for herself at times instead of just practicing the song that was connected to her Knight magic.

She flashed another shy smile as she took the took the whistle in one hand and turned it over. It was feather-light, but solid enough, and it didn't take Sadie long at all to adjust and put her fingers over the holes. "I always thought these looked a little intimidating," she said. "Um, fiddly or something? Then again, I have pendant ocarinas, so it shouldn't be worse than that."

Looking over to him for assurance, she blew an experimental note.

"Ocarinas aren't bad," said Sadie, soft as soft, brows inching together in a way that was almost defensive. "I could maybe call kalimbas bad, if I had to pick something. I had blisters on my thumbs for a week after I bought one, but then, the sound's so fairytale delicate that of course I forgive everything."

Her gaze drifted off towards the distance, and she smiled a little just thinking about it. Rob's playing brought her back, and she watched him, then, following along with the scale. He was right that the fingering was about as simple as it got, and similar to the flute from all those years ago. She tilted her head in amusement at the Ode to Joy comment, not having the heart to tell him that with all the scales and handing out instruments, he was already the picture of a middle school music teacher.

Carefully, eyes narrowed in concentration, she whistled the first phrase of Concerning Hobbits. It wasn't perfect. The breath on this was different than her ocarinas, she could already tell, but she was happy with her first try and gave a satisfied nod.

Then, all at once, she gave a concerned look to the case of donations, brows really scrunching now.

"Maybe I shouldn't play so much here, though," she said. "Not on this. People will think I'm supposed to be good."

Rob had all the confidence in the world, that much was clear. It was true that it was part of what had drawn Sadie over to watch him in the first place, and it kept her eyes on him while he went off to play another set.

It was also clearly not his first time touching a whistle, or singing, or doing anything like that. He had the talents to back up all that swagger, and the combination was what drew people over, not one or the other. The music was lovely, of course, and Sadie was all enraptured again, tapping her fingers against her leg to the beat, and softly smiling at him the whole time.

When the song wound down, he went to sell people CDs. Sadie smiled at that. Yes, this one was a professional. Still, the way he talked to her had her feeling a little more confident than she might have otherwise, and while he dealt with all that, she went to dig into her bag.

She pulled out an ocarina, not the nicest she owned, but the one that she kept with her portable things, and one that she knew how to play. The tin whistle was set aside for the moment as Rob came back to her.

"I follow, I think," she said. He wanted her to succeed, she could see it in his eyes, and that was enough to make her want to try. He wanted her to succeed. She could see it in his eyes, and that was enough to make her want to try, even though a few passerbys still lingered, glancing at the instrument she'd pulled out. "Just, let me show you what I can really do, okay?"

Then she closed her eyes and let herself get lost in her own music. She played Lord of the Rings since it was on her mind, a medley this time. It was slower than what he'd played on the whistle, and softer, something more fitting for the ocarina's richer tone, but she added a flourish or two of her own. Her eyes stayed closed until she was finished. It was easier if she didn't think about everywhere nearby.

When she finished, she looked straight to Rob, and her smile was small but proud.

The applause hadn't been expected, and a rosy blush crept across Sadie's cheeks. She turned towards the small group of onlookers and gave a few little, appreciative nods without ever looking any of them in the face.

Then she looked back to Rob, smile slowly widening. "Oh, um, thank you," she said. "I'm glad you think so. I'm glad you liked it. You deserve to listen to lovely things, too, sometimes."

It wasn't as if there was a shortage of music in the world, or even live music in a place as bustling as Destiny City, but her song had been enough to make him smile, and she found herself holding on to that fact.

Then he was packing up, all quick and practiced, before she'd even thought to ask to buy a CD. That was okay, though. She could always come back to work here some other day, and see if he'd be playing on the corner again.

Or, maybe, she could go to the cafe with him, now. She blinked at the offer, but then nodded and nodded again. "That sounds lovely," she said, soft as ever. "I like tea, and I like you."

She blinked at the brick wall as she turned back towards the building, wondering if that was too forward or could be taken weirdly, but the words were already out of her mouth, and Rob didn't seem so easy to scare off.

She walked down the rest of the sidewalk silently, and when she reached the entrance, she held the door for him.

Sadie stayed in the door until it was clear that Rob could make it inside even with his arms full of guitar case. "I won't say no to free tea," she said, still smiling, as she finally moved farther inside to go sit at the counter.

Maybe it didn't really count as free, if she'd given him money a few minutes ago. Maybe it was more like things coming full circle.

Either way, she didn't waste any time giving a small nod to a barista and then ordering something iced, with lemon and raspberry in it.

Then she turned back to Rob. Most of the tension that she'd carried while out in the street among strangers was gone now. She worked here often enough that she'd met the staff, and it wasn't early or late enough for a deluge of college students to come in, seeking caffeine. Now she leaned over with an elbow on the counter while she lazily brushed a stray curl from her good eye.

"Um, you said you're from London, didn't you?" she asked, although the accent was answer enough that he wasn't local. "What brings you to the States?"