Welcome to Gaia! ::

Elnara blushed deeply as she continued to pull things out of her bag.

"Um ... a lot?" she replied sheepishly. "I don't even remember some of this stuff ... it's basically a mix of everything I've collected since first coming to Gaia ... I guess I just never bothered taking it out."

Finally she found the sheet music, floating free in the magical space of her spelled bag.

"Ah," she murmured with relief, "here it is." She put it on the edge of the bed, then began the task of putting everything else back into her bag. Someday ... when she had time ... she would have to sort through everything.

"I guess this is what happens when you take magic for granted," she sighed as she worked.

Elnara smiled ruefully. "And I haven't even started reading some of these books," she murmured sadly. "Even now that I can read in English ..."

Now that brought back memories.

"On the other hand," she looked up at Lore again, "you're going to have to teach me how to read the music Shiro wrote, because I've never seen music on paper before. I learn by ear."

She finished with her bag and nudged it back into its corner, then used the bed as a prop to help her stand up again.

"Maybe that would be the easiest way," Elnara smiled, taking her flute and the sheet music and heading towards the door, "since that's how I've learned every other song I know anyways."

She headed back towards the living room, and once she was back near the fire she relaxed, warming up quickly.

Elnara giggled and sat on the couch across from Lore, then leaned back and put her feet up on the table, facing the fire.

"I'm sure you'll do fine," she assured him, holding her flute loosely in one hand and resting her hands on her abdomen. "However you do, I could do no better."

She smiled encouragingly and nodded for him to begin.

Elnara listened at first, humming along as the tune came back to her, and as Lore played she lifted her flute to her lips and began to play along softly, listening for the right notes. At first she was a little off, but within seconds she had the same key as him, and was playing along with him note for note, half by memory, and half by listening.

It was a beautiful tune ... it was a pity they didn't have anyone to sing along with them, as Ura had done. Then again, Elnara wasn't sure if Shiro had written out the words or not.

Elnara smiled warmly at Lore and nodded, lowering her flute.

"I agree," she murmured. "It's ... different, with flutes rather than the violin ... but it sounds beautiful both ways ..."

She fidgeted a bit, changing her position to make herself more comfortable. "Maybe Shiro should try writing some songs for performances or something," she mused. "If nothing else, it would fund whatever research or travel he wants to do."

Elnara nodded and raised her flute once more, readjusting her position so that she was once again comfortable.

"Ready," she murmured; and when Lore started playing again, she joined in right at the beginning once more.

~~~~~

A full week after the storm began, it ended, and it was almost three more days before Ulrich was able to dig through the snow and unbury their front door. Elnara was glad that he did: though she and Lore had spent quite a bit of time learning the song Shiro had written for them, so much time that they knew it well (and she off by heart), she had once again come down with a bad case of cabin fever, and had begun to consider using her magic to melt the snow away so that they could get out.

Needless to say, the first thing she wanted to do as soon as Ulrich showed up was go for a nice long walk.

"Just for some fresh air," she argued. "And some exercise."