"Sharing Song and Dance" Log Date: 3/22/02 Log Cast: Wayfound (emitted by Vardeus), Fallberry (emited by Vardeus), Arnos, Vardeus, Coralfire, Kephissa, Altis (emitted by Vardeus) Log Intro: After many weeks of hardship and worry, in which the scattered survivors of the destroyed Vraeyan ship _Windrider_ have been certain their missing compatriots have been slain, a joyous reunion has occurred. The Captain Vardeus and his young cabin boy Maerro have made it to the mainland with the help of the Raft tribe of elves, and upon their arrival have met up with Kephissa and Valnek--and now, this group in turn has made its way northward along the beach of the Vastdeep Water to discover the _rest_ of their missing crew. Elated, every last surviving Vraeyan has eagerly begun to compare notes on the wonders that have been discovered in this new land-- like the Little People, the strange four-fingered, pointed-eared folk who seem to possess gifts far beyond the ken of any Vraeyan. But there are folk of the same kind as the Vraeyans in this land as well: Coralfire, and Xhosa, and Shelbor. And even as the _Windrider_'s crew happily reunites, Coralfire and the shy, acutely intelligent Wolfrider Wayfound are each drawn into the maelstrom of giddy merrymaking--and music-making--that results.... ---------- The activity surrounding the great broken structure on the shore -- the thing which the singing human has told her is called _Windrider_ and _ship_ -- is impossible to miss, for the Wolfrider huntress who has been lurking on the shore these last many days. Wayfound, once of Willowholt, more or less of Lostholt, has been shy of these strange humans... but, watching them from afar, their joy at returning comrades is impossible to miss. As the sun dips towards the water in the west she slips out of the trees, awakening with the evening and drawn by the sound of Arnos' voice uplifted in song. So too is the Preserver on her shoulder drawn, and Fallberry chatters eagerly from her shoulder, /We go see nice givewords bigthing?/ Oh? So Fallberry doesn't think Wayfound should stop on his feet and stick out her tongue at him anymore? Well, maybe he IS charming after all. Arnos fails to note Wayfound's arrival, however, seeing as his eyelids droop almost to closing. He's not sleeping. He's checking his eyelids for holes. That's all. How can he sing when he's asleep, after all? It hasn't taken long for Vardeus to try to brief the crew of the ship as to what exactly has befallen him and the others he's brought back with him -- or, for that matter, to give the bedraggled assortment of sailors a heads up about the others who've been travelling with him. More than one of the crew has asked him and Kephissa in stunned voices about the tales of the Little People and the tricks they seem to possess... but it's true, the Captain has asserted. Kephissa has seen one fly, and the elegant she-elf called Shay'la -- even now travelling with the party the Captain has brought -- can alter rock with her own touch. Vardeus even now is in the middle of a loosely knit group of the crew, politely out of immediate range of Arnos' performance so as not to disturb him, and is telling a lowly voiced but absolutely serious evaluation of the strange new people they have discovered. Coralfire still isn't hearing voices she recognizes, but the timbre sounds somewhat familiar. She pulls that pronghorn along - a fair sized one too. And as she sees all the people, she just comes to a stop, amazement on her face. Oh. my. You know, this isn't exactly what she was expecting to find here. Maybe she should just head back home? No, wait, it can't be that bad. Kephizza or Vardeus must be here somewhere. Kephissa sighs and stands and moves towards the waters edge, her posture is formal and the crew might recognize snippets of a prayer to the Seamother and Skyfather that manage to be heard above the sounds of water and music. Her hands move in ritual suplication, above to the sky and out to the sea, before she gives a deep bow and turns to move up the sand to where the others rest. "((I'm tellin' ye, Cap'n, if we hadnae seen that little Wayfound wi' our own eyes, we'd be thinkin' ye'd been hittin' the uzo!))" one of the crew maintains. Grizzled old Altis squints at Vardeus critically, as if trying to figure out if the man's taken a blow too many to his head. And Vardeus snorts aloud, shoving a hand through his tousled shaggy hair, answering, "((I've not touched a drop in months, and I'd be after givin' me right arm for summat, I can tell ye--))" "((Ho there, incomin'!))" someone calls, spotting Coralfire coming, and Vardeus looks sharply up, before he bellows out, "COORELFAIR!" Coralfire smiles as she hears her name, and a hand raises. "Tides," she calls out, before she adds a lot more shyly than usual. "((Hello.))" She switches back to the language she's more comfortable with, that of the elves. "I don't know if you still want it, but I have some pronghorn." Fresh red meat, as promised. Corelfire's eyes dart from person to person, and then she just stops cold, staring at the Windrider, once she notices it. That one -- the tall one with the well-carrying voice, the one she hasn't seen before. Wayfound slips up behind Arnos, catching the eye of a few of the others who have flopped down to listen to him play and sing, and their expressions change as they see her. But the she-elf is attending more to Vardeus, and wondering if that must be a chief of these strange humans? She doesn't say anything, not yet -- but _Fallberry_ does. /Eep!/ the Preserver squeaks. /More bigthings!/ The creature's high piping voice cuts a noticeable slant across all other surrounding noises, and Wayfound shoots the bug a sharp look, making it promptly dive under her pale hair. Vardeus surges to his feet, beckoning Coralfire closer. "((Listen up everyone,))" he calls out, "((this is Coorelfair. She's one o' the ones as helped me an' Maerro out, so everyone, do good by 'er.))" That said, he turns and gestures vigorously, needing Arnos' attention. "((Arnos, man, I'm needin' ye here! Coorelfair dinnae speak too many of our words.))" And with that he turns back to the young human arrival, adding ruefully in his awkward elfin, "I say, to ((crew)), you Coorelfair, you nae say much ((Vraeyan)). I call Arnos." Arnos's singing breaks off quite suddenly, and casts a disarming smile upwards and back towards Wayfound, saying even before his head tilts back far enough to see her, "Wayfound. I was <> when you would <>. Please have a seat." He motions to the ground, just in case he's messed up any portion of the invitation. Apparently someone's been studying this new language. The rest of the crew should be relieved to hear him speaking so much of it. As usual, he ignores Fallberry, his brain yet refusing to deal with her presence. Kephissa starts as Vardeus's bellow breaks the peace of the night, but she grins and turns at the new arrival his bellow hearlds. She walks quickly up the beach to great the new human. "We find ((crew))!" She adds excitedly in broken elfin. "You find meat!" She goes to help Coralfire with the food. "Ah, that will be the << captain calling >> me. Sorry, Wayfound. I'll only be a << moment >>." And with that, he sets his instrument aside, rising. And as he lopes over to the Captain, he says, << Stop with that awful broken speech. You'll only confuse them. If you use a combination of our words and theirs they'll have a much better idea of how they should use them. >> Coralfire catches the sound of the bug, and she frowns, though doesn't see what it was that made that noise. She can guess though - there have been preservers more than a time or two at the Raft. She smiles though, as both Kephizza and Vardeus seem glad to see her, though Kepha seems happier to see the meat, she thinks. "((Aye,)) I found meat. Maybe enough for all?" She eyes the newcomer and goes silent for a moment. "((Hello, Arnos.)) I am Coralfire." Vardeus makes a face at his crewmate's chastising -- but only a little one, so thorough is his relief that Arnos is a) alive, and b) here to actually help him make better sense of the language problems. "((I never claimed t' be good at this,))" he notes, mock-grumpily, "((and I was doin' good t' get what words I got out o' the Little People. I cannae say how happy I am t' let ye take over, I can tell ye!))" On silent feet, then, Wayfound draws nearer to the humans, speaking up gravely in the elfin tongue, "Perhaps I can assist as well." And then in Vraeyan, "((Arnos gives me words. I speak some.))" "((And while we're at it,))" Vardeus yells out to the crew at large, "((let's get the fire built up for the meat Coorelfair's brung us!))" Two of the younger crew hop to it, running off to grab some of the store of gathered firewood, and more than one grateful face is turned to Coralfire. Several thanks are called out to her, unintelligible though they might be. Arnos offers a smile in return to Coralfire, eyes twinkling. "Hello, Coralfire. It is good to meet you." His gaze turns to the meat, and the salivation that starts up is almost visible. "We should put that in the fire," is his added commentary on the matter. Yes. Yes, right away. "Thank you," he adds, on behalf of the crewmen, repeating in exactly the same inflection, << Thank you. >> so that she knows what the others intended to express. Kephissa rolls her eyes, and laughs, addressing Arnos. "((Yes, you can't imagine the number of times I wished you were there when I was trying to make sense of the two different languages of this land.))" She and a few other crewmates help carry the meat towards the fire. She turns back to Coralfire, "Its is good you find us." Coralfire knows a few words of Vraeyan, just not yet fluent. She smiles over at Wayfound though. "Calm tides," she greets, quite at home in this language, perhaps more so than the one that should be her own. "Easy enough to track, really. I knew you were coming this way, Kephizza." The Olbar maiden watches as the crew runs when Vardeus snaps. Chief works. Mostly. She looks back at the Windrider. "What is that, anyway?" Out from under Wayfound's hair, Fallberry peeks out hopefully. /Hellohello bigthings!/ it pipes to Coralfire, and, for that matter, to Vardeus and Kephissa. The she-elf, in the meantime, stands surprisingly straight and tall for a being significantly shorter than everyone else in immediate sight -- not to mention possessed of a different number of fingers, and differently shaped ears. Vardeus hauls in a big breath at Coralfire's last question, glancing the direction she indicates, before he looks back at her with an ostensibly casual expression that doesn't hide the dismay in his eyes. Glancing sidelong at Arnos just to let him know his advice has been heard and heeded, he says, "((That's my ship, Coorelfair. That's the Windrider... or, ah, what's left o' 'er. What I'm after knowin' -- what is _that_?!))" And this last is directed at the bug in Wayfound's hair, as Vardeus' eyes go round. Kephissa blinks, and then blinks again, at the strange thing in the newcomer's hair. A talking bug? Kephissa has heard stories of birds from foreign lands that can mimic words, maybe this is something along those lines. She smiles at Wayfound, offering a hello in both her own language and elfin. "((Hello)) Hello" "The << Captian would like >> to know what that is," translates Arnos, pointing to the very thing he's been so carefully avoiding for the entirety of his time with Wayfound. HE, doesn't want to know, that much should be clear. Coralfire just grins as the bug peeks out. "Gentle waves, little friend," she says. "And who might you be?" Asking a preserver a question ... but, well ... Coral always has been rather silly that way. She looks at Vardeus, and then back at the ship. "I'm sorry. It's big." She really didn't quite understand what this ship thing was, but having seen it, she's still at somewhat of a loss. Maybe she can paint it though. On a cave wall near the Sun Village somewhere. /Am Fallberry!/ pipes the Preserver, apparently tickled by Coralfire's acknowledgement. /Fallberry go with findaway highthing!/ To Coralfire, the she-elf inclines her head soberly, adding in a tone that might be wry though it's hard to tell with her reserved expression, "I am called Wayfound; I am pleased to make the acquaintance of a Tall One who can speak elfin words." And to Vardeus, in slowly but perfectly pronounced Vraeyan, "((You are chief of the humans here? I give you greeting.))" "((Nae chief, Captain,))" Vardeus says, shaking his head, before offering Wayfound a small crooked smile. "Taydes, Wayfound. ((Arnos, I see you've already been learning about the Little People's words, eh?))" "Wayfound has been good help," Arnos agrees with his Captain, repeating the words in Vraeyan in case there were any he didn't understand. He smiles down at the little one, reaching over to pat her lightly on the shoulder, in a friendly gesture. (( I see you've gone quickly about mangling their language, yourself." Kephissa inches closer to Wayfound to get a better look at Fallberry, not really totally comprehending the preserver's words, as the syntax doesn't quite match what she's picked up. She keeps an eye on the preserver although not wanting to be to rude she doesn't get to close to Wayfound. Coralfire chuckles at Fallberry. "Nice to meet you, Fallberry, and you too, of course, Wayfound. I'm Coralfire. I learned Elfin while growing up over at the Raft Holt," she says, easily. Friendly elves are always good, aren't they? "I can also speak the language of the Tall Ones who live here, as opposed to the ((Vraeyan)). I only know a few words of that one so far. I'll have to learn more." Cause this half communicating thing is the pits. "((Hey Wayfound! Do ye do the magic tricks the Cap'n's been talkin' of?))" someone near the fire yells out, even as the flames begin to crackle up merrily under the crew's ministrations. Someone produces a makeshift spit, and soon enough Coralfire's catch is set up over the fire. And someone yells out hopefully, "((Aye, we wanna see some tricks, eh?))" Vardeus smirks lightly at Arnos, before saying to the others, in the best elfin he can manage, "((Crew)) ask, Wayfound do elf..." Ach, gods, no words for it. He does however peer speculatively at the little she-elf, going on, "Do rock shapin'? Metal shapin'? Flyin'?" Let's not talk about healing, shall we? That hurt, and Vardeus isn't eager to share that experience with anyone. Wayfound's eyebrows arch up over her huge ambergreen eyes, and for just a few moments she looks almost visibly surprised, before she explains steadily -- apparently holding to Arnos' school of thought that language should be clearly enunciated, even if not all parties present possess perfect understanding -- "I possess none of the gifts of my kind, save that I can send as we do. And Fallberry, by the way, is a Preserver; it occurs to me that I should mention." "The << crew >>" Arnos begins, trying not to laugh, and not to look too terribly embarrassed at the same time, resulting a blush, "Would like to know if you can do... special things." But, apparently she understands, so he is spared from anything awful like having to jump around flapping his arms in a simulation of flying, for which he did not yet know the word. "Send?" he asks curiously, eyes sliding somewhat warily to Fallberry, "What is she?" He's asked this question before, and not gotten a very promising response. Kephissa tilts her head to one side, taking in most of the words but more focused on Fallberry. "What presever?" She asks, stumbling over the pronounciation of the new word. "Fallberry bird?" Well, it has wings, and its too big for most insects she's seen. And the word for bug hasn't come up yet in her language lessons. Coralfire tilts her head. What's a preserver? Oy. Now there's a question. Uhm ... "Wayfound is an elf, We are all humans and Fallberry is a preserver." That's how it got explained to her, but maybe Wayfound can do better? "No, it's not a bird, not really." Just watch out for its wrapstuff, but she will wait until it's out of earshot before mentioning that! As for the special things, she'll let the one who actually /can/ send answer. It's only fair, after all. Carefully, Wayfound takes the creature that keeps her company out onto her small four-fingered hand, holding it up for all to see. And Fallberry, seeming to sense it is the center of attention, visibly preens, flapping gossamer wings and beaming with its tiny face up at the humans. /Fallberry pretty!/ it pipes proudly. /Fallberry strong! Fallberry take care of findaway highthing!/ "Fallberry is... not she, Arnos," Wayfound says in that soft grave voice of hers, though there's a flavor of uncertainty there. "Not he, either. Fallberry is just... a Preserver. Preservers are--" An extremely good question, this. Wayfound exhales silently, considering her answer, before she goes on, "Companions to elves. They came here with us, when our kind first came to this place, long ago. As for sending..." Aware that many curious eyes are on her now, and looking ever so slightly discomfited -- is Wayfound actually blushing? Perhaps she is not accustomed to being the center of such attention? -- she concludes, "Most elves can talk to one another in their thoughts." Vardeus makes a point of waving a few of the lingering curious crew off on the business of getting the dinner cooked, not to mention arranging seating for all; certainly, long before Vardeus and Kephissa and the others arrived, there was a long-established firepit already and several logs and flat rocks hauled into its vicinity to make for 'chairs'. To Wayfound's words, though, he nods to Arnos and Kephissa, "((It's true -- the Little People on the island I was on were doin' it, silent as shadows, but lookin' at one another and seemin' to pass their thoughts back an' forth clear as day. I could read their faces.))" Arnos appears slightly alarmed, but gets over it quickly, distracting himself with a change of subject. << Well then, now that that's cleared up,>> he calls, << Anyone in the mood for some dance and song? >> To Wayfound, "You do not sing, do you?" Okay, Kephissa has reached her limit for strange info for one day. She looks upon Arnos with relief at his suggestion, "((Play something lively, my friend. Make the stars dance.))" She's not sure if she's in the mood to dance, but some cheerful music would do the world of good. Coralfire at least can understand what Wayfound says, so that's a good thing. And she's familiar with sending, besides. And preservers. But these humans, this << crew >> of Vardeus' has her more than a little curious. She looks over all of them, one at a time, and then at the question to Wayfound, she smiles. Singing. See, all over this planet, you bring fresh meat and everyone breaks into song. "You don't mind if I stick around a while, do you?" she asks, looking at Vardeus mostly. Yes, okay, so she's just curious about the lot of you, what did you expect? _Dancing_! Now there's the best idea Vardeus has heard all night. "((I've been achin' to hear ye all beltin' out a grand 'un, everyone!))" he shouts out. "((Sing somethin' with a kick to it, Arnos, an' let's make some noise! I'm thinkin' we're needin' a party!))" His ocean-colored gaze swings to Coralfire, and he beams roundly at her. "Stay," he agrees, resoundingly. "Stay, ((dance))!" "((Aye, ye pretty,))" one of the men calls out laughingly, towards Coralfire. "((A new woman t' look on's a gift from the gods!))" As for Wayfound, even as this new surge of excitement washes through the Tall Ones, she blinks askance at Arnos. "I, sing?" she blurts. /Fallberry sing!/ the Preserver puts in. /Fallberry sing very nice!/ And to that, Wayfound hastily orders the bug, "Er, let's let the humans handle that, bug--!" Arnos manages a bit of a laugh at the still very disturbing apparition in Wayfound's hand, peering at it for a moment before he is able to continue on. "You sang with me. When I played before. Do it again? Please?" With a bit of a grin, he picks up his crwth and bows out a few chords. The start of a rollicking slipjig, it seems. Kephissa flops down onto the sand near Arnos, and starts clapping along in perfect time to the music. She laughs, "((I bet the drums are all waterlogged.))" Too bad. She laughs more as she watches some of the sailors get up and dance, cheering them on. Coralfire gives the bug a glance. Oh no, no singing from the preserver! Well, she can hope anyway. She watches the dancers too, and her feet start to tapping along with the music. She doesn't know the tune, but she manages okay. She might blush if she understood enough of what those sailors were shouting. Instead she smiles at them, and looks between Vardeus and Arnos. "((Dance?))" she asks, trying out the word on her tongue. /Fallberry no sing? Awww! Awww -- ooh!/ Fallberry, apparently, has a short attention span; as soon as several of the crew, men and women alike, are on the feet it gapes openly at the sight. /Bigthings sing! Findaway highthing sing with bigthings?/ The Preserver scampers up to the top of the she-elf's head, then flops over upsidedown to peer hopefully into her face. /Sing with givewords bigthing!/ Er. Wayfound blinks up at Arnos, looking distinctly shy at the sudden exuberant display of seven of the younger members of the crew joining up hands and beginning to frolic about the sands. "((Arnos,))" she blurts up at the musician, "((I do not know the song--))" Ah, so that little elf-maid's a shy one? Apparently Arnos has befriended her, though, so Vardeus leaves her to him, and says in the meantime to Coralfire, gesturing broadly at his crewmates, "((That's _dance_!))" And it's apparently _singing_, too, for Arnos' tune of choice is a familiar one, and the words to it begin to rise from a dozen throats, in rich, rough, ready harmony. "You'll learn!" Arnos cries, jubilant as he highsteps about a bit in place, the beat of the music speeding up a notch and the key modulating as his fingers fly up and down the fingerboard and his bow works doubletime, sending up clouds of sticky dust. "It's fun!" he assures her, beaming. Dance. Right. Coralfire watches a moment and she guesses she can translate that word. Moving to music - check. "((Dance.)) Dance." She says, not bothering with the third language. She edges nearer to Wayfound, cause it seems safer somehow. Even with Arnos high stepping. "Lively bunch," she says with a half smile. "Xhosa would be impressed." "((Dance with us, Cap'n, c'mon, dance!))" Vardeus blinks as two of the youngest women on the crew, Franni and Dharce, dash up to seize him by his hands and drag him off into the center of the revelry. He towers over both of them by a good three quarters of a foot, but a big broad smile lights up his rugged face, and in three heartbeats Vardeus Alirreus is in the middle of his merrymaking crew. For all his big size, the man is not without grace, and he seems long-familiar with the steps of this dance, letting himself be passed from partner to partner and beaming at everybody in sight. Fallberry squeals happily and takes wing, buzzing in giddy circles high over everyone's heads and trying to see everyone at once -- while Wayfound bursts out, "Fallberry, _no wrapstuff_! Be good! I--" And she watches Arnos for a few moments, wide-eyed and obviously struck with wonder. Softly enough that perhaps only Coralfire can hear it, she breathes, "I did not know humans did this--!" Arnos turns his giddy face on Coralfire, and utters a short laugh. "Go, dance with the << Captain >>, then. I can't really with the << crwth >> to << manage >>." He throws his head back again in reaction to Fallberry and Wayfound, fingers and bow never pausing as they move into a new rhythm, same key, and the words change. Coralfire glances at Wayfound. "Oh, they do. Even those who aren't from somewhere in the middle of the vast deep. My human relatives dance and have festivals, just like the elves do." She looks over at Vardeus then, and she gets to her feet, moving over towards said captain. When she gets close enough, she speaks up. "Vardeus, will you teach me?" Cause this does look like fun, even if Coral isn't at all sure of the steps. Aye, well, and Wayfound has never been exactly comfortable at the festivals of her own folk, either; here, she is glaringly obvious, as short as she is, and her other differences besides. But there is something curiously inviting about all these broad-featured faces, and without really considering it, she finds herself by Arnos, subtly bouncing on her heels as she begins to try to study his movements and the way his hands seem to fly upon his instrument. A great cheer arises as the woman the Captain has introduced as 'Coorelfair' comes to join the dancers, and even as she is greeted with a flurry of delighted smiles, Coralfire's hands are seized up readily by those of Vardeus. "((Learn fast,))" he booms heartily, "(('cause I'm nae stoppin'! Follow me now, come in t' me right--!))" And he tugs encouragingly at the hands he's captured, a little harder with his right one, to guide Coralfire in the right direction. As he bounces about with all the energy of a sail threatening to tear its rigging, Arnos nods encouragement to Wayfound, laughing and grinning more than he's been apt to since the incident with the monster on the Vastdeep. "<< Aye >> that's the way," says he, and begins to lead her about in the formations of the dance, unable to guide with his hands as Vardeus does Coralfire, but doing his best to make up for it. Coralfire stumbles a bit, but she catches her balance, limber enough to follow somewhat. So long as she doesn't get confused. She likes to dance, really, or to prowl through the woods. While she might spend most of her time alone hunting these days, there is a grace about her movements. She laughs as she misteps again, but each time she gets a little more. Soon she's managing to follow more than not, and at least not slowing the <> down. "This is fun." "((What'd she say, Cap'n?))" "((What was that?))" "((Blessed sight f'r me eyes, but I cannae make sense o' her birdspeak!))" "Like ((dance))?" Vardeus cries, in approval, to the woman that's joined them. And don't feel bad about missing steps, Coralfire -- Vardeus isn't a perfect dancer, and he's out of practice, to be sure. But he steps on no one's feet, and what he lacks in precision he makes up for in vigor and enthusiasm. "((Left,))" he urges, "((and Virdi's up t' take yer hands now, lass--))" And without warning he jumps in on the next chorus, his baritone rising up to bolster the other singing voices, coming in on a brand new lower layer of harmony. Wayfound can't help it; the smiles and giddy good cheer are infectious. Her smile's a shy one, but she offers it to Arnos nonetheless, even as she begins to mimic him almost flawlessly. No touch of hands seems to be needed; at this, it seems, the she-elf is as quick a study as she is with the humans' foreign words. Soon enough the music-maker has himself a short shadow mirroring his movements with the sinuous, fluid ease of a Wolfrider born and bred. Other sailors have managed to find barrels and bottles and other such rudimentary musicmakers, and have begun to put them to good use, augmenting the instrumentals considerably as the dancing around the fire continues on. Arnos is exhuberant in his instruction of Wayfound, apparently pleased with her ease in picking up the strange human ritual. He begins now to lead her around the edge of the main body of dancers in the intricate patterns of steps. Coralfire whirls, adding her own step into the song and then takes the hand of the next in line. Virdi, though Coral isn't sure of that. She's not so good catching Vraeyan when Vardeus talks faster. She listens to the music and just loses herself in the dance, following hte steps with more and more ease. Shelbor would be popping like crazy, but she's not. She laughs delightedly. "((Dance good.))" she manages, - they should be able to understand that, as she whirls to the music. She doesn't try to sing -- not quite so brave is Wayfound, whose way it usually is to lurk on the edges of the tribes she's known, accustomed as she is to being looked upon oddly even by her own kin. But she does whirl and spin in Arnos' wake, taking a private pleasure in the deceptive simplicity of it all. There are patterns the music follows, patterns of movement for the hands and feet, and her ordered mind has ever delighted in the finding of patterns. But it's her wolf-blood that rises with the physical pleasure of it -- even as her mind finds itself relaxing in a way she hasn't known in turns of the seasons. Virdi is a slender young fellow with big dark eyes and a lissome frame that has managed to stay limber and agile despite the hardships this band of travellers appears to have undergone -- and he beams at Coralfire with a smile of welcome that needs no translation as he takes his turn at being her partner. "((Dance is good, singing is better!))" Vardeus roars merrily, in between passing Dharce off to Dorian, and picking up again where he'd left off in the song. He's gotten a little breathless, but he's not stopping yet! As the last few chords die away, Arnos falls onto his behind right there in the middle of everything, breathing hard through laughter. << Well, that's all for me. I'm done. The rest of you can continue on if you'd like, but me I'm off to bed. >> He and his crwth start back towards the shelter, but not before he bows to Wayfound, murmuring. "You are a most << graceful dancer >>. Thank you." [And so the surviving Vraeyans are finally all reunited with one another--and Coralfire and Wayfound begin to be accepted by the entire crew of the _Windrider_ at large... end log.]