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 Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2014 3:08 pm
 Bell knocked on the front door to Smooth Swing's home. After their meeting in the park and some conversation later reveled they both played instruments, Swing suggested that Bell come over sometime with her flute and try some improvisational music. The little unicorn had been a bit reluctant at first, she'd only ever played for her Daddy and the idea of an audience still terrified her. But between her Mom's encouragement to make more friends and her Dad's suggestion that playing for some phony else could slowly help her get used to playing in front of more people, Belldandy finally agreed to the colt's idea. Still..she had no idea how well a sax and a flute were going to sound together.
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2014 9:48 pm
The exasperated young pegasus who answered the door seemed all too pleased to get out of his house. As he closed the door behind him, the clamor that had followed him out abruptly ceased. The voices had sounded suspiciously like a bunch of other foals their age. Smooth Swing smiled apologetically.
"Hi, Belldandy. Glad you could made it. Sorry about the ruckus, but I live with a pretty big family and they get kind of loud. I didn't think they'd be in today because they were been planning to go practice playing baseball, but I guess they changed their minds. Um...did you still want to play our instruments here, or somewhere else?" He glanced back at the closed door.
"I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to go somewhere else since it'd probably too loud to hear ourselves think, let alone play. But if they're going to be watching a baseball game, we can use a room to ourselves and keep it closed so no one else will bother us. Which would you prefer?" He pawed at the ground in embarrassment. "I feel really bad inviting you over here just to have us go somewhere else, but I thought you might like somewehre more private. Aside from my mom and dad, I've got two sisters and two brothers."Astraea Pandora ((So sorry for the delay! I'm on a trip at the moment, so it's a little difficult to find wifi!))
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Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2014 11:46 pm
Bell blinked, then smiled. It sort of sounded like home to her, where her professional parents both worked their various crafts together and with her mother's band, and her siblings who were always rehersing something. "I sorta understand.." she said quietly. "I have two sisters and a brother..they can be pretty noisy when everyone is doing something all at once." she hugged her flute case to herself a bit. "I don't mind going somewhere else, if you know a spot." she blushed a little at the thought of being alone with a colt, it'd be the first time that wasn't with her brother. The sound of loud cheering erupted from the house and she giggled softly. "I guess the players did a good thing with the ball.." she wasn't really familiar with baseball or any sort of ball sport.
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Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2014 10:26 pm
"Oh, cool!" Swing exclaimed. "Do they all play instruments? Do you practice together?" It might have been difficult if each phony tried to practice their own solo pieces, but if they did so as a family, it must have been nice.
"Sure! We can go to the park or the schoolhouse," he suggested. "I don't think anyone would be there right now. Er, unless you don't feel like it," the pegasus added quickly, noticing Belldandy's blush. She looked very cute with her pale face flushed, but he wondered if he'd said something wrong. Pretty soon, he was blushing, too.
The cheering from the house and Bell's quiet giggles brought Swing out of his thoughts. "Oh! Yeah, I guess," he agreed, absently shaking his head. "Probably a home run from the sound of it. You like baseball?" Oops. Now he was babbling.
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Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2014 11:18 pm
"Oh I really like the park.." Bell said. "I wouldn't mind going there." she adjusted her bag a little on her shoulder as they turned towards the park. "Mmmm..." she thought about the members of her family. "Only my Daddy plays anything, he's a pianist. Mommy sings in a band, but she really prefers to sculpt. One of my sisters Drama likes to be in plays so she's always practicing her lines or sometimes a song. My brother Crooner sings jazz and my other sister Moon dances. I sing sometimes too.." she added as an afterthought. She shook her head a bit. "I uh..don't know anything about baseball.." she trailed off bashfully.
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2014 6:21 am
"Alright! The park it is." Glancing back at his own saddle bags to make sure nothing had fallen out, he followed after Bell.
"Wow. That's a lot of different things," Swing answered. "You guys must have a lot of fun together with so many talents. Hehe, I have a brother named Moon Rhythm who sings. Maybe him and your sister, Moon, should meet sometime." He looked thoughtful.
"Star and Diamond also like singing. Probably got it from our mom, who sings jazz, too, just like your brother Crooner. I like jazz a lot, especially the swing variation. Partly where I got my name from, I guess. I'm just not as good at singing as my other siblings and mom." He smiled brightly at her when she mentioned she sang. "Really? I bet you have a really nice singing voice."
"Huh?" The pegasus colt had to strain his ears a little to hear the filly's most quiet words. "Oh! That's fine!" he assured her, his smile reemerging. "Not everyone likes the same things. I mean, I can tell you about it if you want. I know the basic rules, but I'm not much good at that, either. Not like my brother Sandlot and my dad."
He laughed lightly. "All of my siblings get pretty competitive - whether singing or playing baseball or singing at a baseball game - so I just try to stay out of their way or help them out when I can. Not much for competition myself, especially when we all pretty much like the same things."
"That's what's great about your family, though!" Swing pointed out. "It sounds like you all can work together to create something beautiful with each of you doing your own unique part. Not all clamoring for the spotlight."
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2014 7:01 am
Belldandy smiled softly as she listened about Smooth's family. "Star..Star..oh..Oh!" something in her mind clicked. "Star Spangled is your sister right?" she nodded knowingly a bit. "She and I helped a squirrel not long ago. She's very friendly and bright." she paused for a long moment. "I was envious of how easy going she is, I wish I could be that care free." She blushed again when he mentioned she probably sung well. "Kinda..." Belldandy was actually a great soprano but she personally thought she was a terrible singer. She spied a large shaded patch of grass under a tree and pointed. "Let's set up there so we aren't in the sun." She dropped her bag down and took out her case, picking up her flute and polishing it with a cloth until it sparkled. "Drama tends hog all the spotlight actually. She really likes the attention. And my parents are both really popular so they're in the spotlight a lot. I sorta..just stay in the background.." She tested the keys to make sure they were all working. "You're family sounds very lively though."
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2014 10:29 am
"Yeah...that's her," he confirmed with a small smile. "Star must be really social. Most foals I've met already know her." He tilted his head. "A squirrel, huh? Heh...you're not the only one envious of her, believe me." Swing looked up at the sky thoughtfully. "I don't think she's as carefree as she leads people to believe, though."
Noticing Belldandy's blush worsen, he told her, "Not that you have to sing in front of me if you don't want to! I just meant you probably sound good regardless of who does or doesn't hear you. I don't really like having an audience either. It increases the pressure, like with competition."
"Good idea," Swing said when she gestured toward the shade. He set his own bag down beside hers and took out his saxophone case. Opening it, he watched as Bell polished her own instrument. The silvery color seemed to match her in the way the yellow-gold of his sax went with his pale yellow mane and tail. Funny.
Laughing a little at her description of Drama, the colt said, "Well that's what actors do, isn't it? But I know what you mean; my parents are both stars, too." He inhaled and exhaled a deep breath of fresh, outdoor air. The park sure was nice. "The rest of my family may be lively, but I think I might know how you feel, since I try to stay in the background myself." Looking at her, he cast her an encouraging grin. "But that's not such a bad thing all the time, right? Not if you can help other people you care about shine."
"If you want to show off your skills every now and then, though, I think you should go for it! Show everyone just what you can do. I'm sure your family would support you just like you support them." He hesitated, staring back down at the saxophone that was in pieces in his case. "Um...speaking of support...I may need a little help, here."
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Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 2:56 am
"Mmm..." Belldandy murmured thoughtfully at Smooth's words. She peeked over the colt's shoulder into the case. "Oh I think I know how one of these goes together..'The filly sat down directly beside the pegasus in the grass, reaching into the case and pulling out the body of the sax. Using the cloth she'd polished her own flute with, Bell wiped down the instrument whistling a sad sounding tune that could be mistaken for birdsong. After a bit, Bell handed over the sax which shined and glittered like gold with a small smile. "I..didn't really explain how I did that did I?" she looked sheepish. "I'll show you how to break it down when we're done if you like." Reaching behind her, she picked her flute off the grass and held it across her lap. "When you're ready.."
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Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 8:18 am
"All I know is it's a wood wind instrument like yours," Swing admitted sheepishly. "But I guess that alone doesn't mean it would fit together like one."
"I'm sorry. I've had this thing for a while and I should know how to use it, but..." He diverted his attention to the grass, running a hoof through it absently. "I get so busy helping my other siblings that I forgot to practice with it." He looked up again as she was wiping down the sax. "Pretty whistling. Was that a particular song?"
He laughed as she handed the gleaming sax back. "Wow, you're amazing! See, you're so good at making others shine. Including instruments." Nodding at her offer to show him how to break it down later, he said, "Heh, I should have been paying more attention when you were putting it together, so it's my own fault. I'd appreciate that, thanks."
Holding the sax before him, he beamed at her and waved a hood in a grand gesture. "After you, my lady," he said in a comically deep voice, bowing his head. Then he raised it and, in his normal voice, "You should yourself first once in a while, Belldandy."
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Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 11:48 pm
Bell blinked. Her family had said the same often, that she should put herself first occasionally, but she'd dismissed it as something they "had" to say because they were related to her. Smooth saying it gave her pause and she smiled shyly. "Maybe.." she relented lightly. Her mind blanked. Despite the fact that jazz music was commonplace in her home, Belldandy didn't actually know any songs or tunes to try to mimic. "Mm..mm..hmm..ok ok..lessse.." she blew out a couple of small notes, looking for the right key to start on, and after finding it, tried a slower melody, thinking it would be easier for Smooth to join in on.
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Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2014 10:55 am
Giving her an amused smile at her 'maybe', Swing looked down at his instrument. For humble and shy phonies, it seemed it was difficult to accept praise or the idea that they might be able to outdo others if they gave it their all. In time, perhaps, she'd learn.
Swerving his ears to catch her notes, the pegasus attempted to mimic them on his sax. He managed the first couple, but when he tried to follow her melody, he ran into some trouble.
"...It sounds like a drunk duck trying to give a mating call to some songbirds," he concluded. Then he looked at Belldandy with wide eyes. "Oh, shoot. These things have to be tuned, don't they?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 3:21 am
It was a sudden thing. Belldandy started to giggle. "A duck's mating call to song birds.." Her giggle started to evolve into laughter. "I just..oh goodness..I can just see it in my head..a duck quacking at a pretty song bird..it's so cute and so funny.." The filly tried to stifle it, taking a deep breath. "Let's try again.." she said with a bright smile. She inhaled, and as she started to play, she was over come with the giggles again. Her notes went sharp and sorta sounded like a bird that fell off the branch mid song. That seemed set her back into a laughing fit. "Oh how romantic the answer to the duck that was.." She wiped away a laugh tear.
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Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2014 1:22 pm
Blinking perplexedly at the filly, Swing gradually began to smile as Belldandy started to giggle and then laugh. He joined in with his own laughter, finding it to be contagious. "Well, I mean...your flute music is just so pretty and I really feel like a silly duck trying to join in your song," he said, catching his breath as his laughter died down with the unicorn's. Hearing Belldandy's laughter, though, made him feel proud of his mistake rather than ashamed of it.
Nodding at her suggestion, the pegasus was going to join in again, forgetting once more that his instrument probably had to be tuned. ...Unless Belldandy had already tuned it when she had put it together and his playing was just really, really awful. Before he could get out another note, though, the air he had breathed in rushed out again in another torrent of giggles, having never before heard anything like the flute sounds Belldandy was making. It was even funnier when he realized she hadn't meant to do it on purpose.
"The most romantic," Swing agreed, gasping for breath even harder than before. "Sounds like...the bird's imitation...of the duck's imitation! A love song all their own!"
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