The sky was blue, and the sun shone brightly upon the land of Demacia. And there was something mystical in the air, alluring, unusual, but most of all, magical. The Wandering Caretaker entered the forest, his meeps close by his side, the low hum of chimes following in his wake. The animals came out of hiding, all charmed by his presence, lured and lulled to follow the otherworldly creature. His gentle personality proved too much for the animals to resist and like birds, they came flocking by the dozen. Some merely to follow him, and others bold enough to try their luck, chasing after the meeps, intent on sating their curiosity.
Sona emerged from her room, a long flowing blue dress trailing at her heels, and taking slow, careful steps down the stairway, she entered the kitchen feeling all too nervous. Her adoptive mother stared her down, nodding in approval at her choice of attire. "You look lovely, dear. No need to be nervous, you'll blow those gawker's chords away."
Sona smiled walking over to her etwahl, peering over the finely crafted strings. She shook her head, her fingers grazing the strings before she let out a beautiful note, one filled with worry, but also excitement. Her excitement had been misperceived by her mother as the thrilling sensation of being on stage, but no, Sona felt a mysterious presence about, one she could not convey in melodic notes alone. "Is something wrong?" Her mother asked.
As if remembering that melody wasn't the only way to communicate, she grabbed a quill and a sheet of paper writing down one lone word on the parchment. Mystical. Her mother seemed dazed by the singular word, unsure what Sona was trying to get at, but whatever it was, she would show her support, and with a faint smile, she hugged her daughter, wishing her good luck on her performance.
After a nutritious breakfast, Sona was out the door bidding her mother goodbye. She walked through the forest, the faint hum of chimes greeting her ears. She had never heard anything like it before, she could feel the chimes, physically reverberating in her chest, through her whole body, through the tips of her fingers, calling to her, beckoning for her to follow, and so she did.
It was a call she could not resist, and curiosity got the better of her, with every chime, echoed a pure note of undeniable beauty. A note of love, tenderness, and passion, and soon Sona was not the only one brimming with curiosity. The young Maven watched as a figure whirled past her, taking the fallen leaves with it, and once the leaves settled, he was gone, and Sona concluded that it must have been her imagination. And the chimes faded into thin air, sinking into the silence of the forest, the animals returning to their groves.
Her anxiousness had faded altogether, and with a spring in her steps, Sona made her way to the concert hall. Arriving on stage, she seated herself, gazing at her audience, at least a hundred people had shown up, and subconsciously she smiled, relieved that the accusations of her witchcraft had not swayed her audience. She took a deep breath, her fingers gently grazing the strings of her etwahl, embedding it with magic, as a melody echoed in exchange through the concert room. The song swirled into the air, a beautiful display of notes melded together in perfect unity, beating within the audience's hearts, a momentary abatement to their worries and stress.
And for those to first experience Sona's melody, they knew what it felt like to feel as light as a feather. After her performance, the Maven of Strings took a bow, a polite smile on her lips as her audience clapped furiously. No matter how much Sona tried, she still found herself embarrassed from all the praise she received. Despite her minor stage fright, however, all of her doubts and anxiety went away, and all her emotions conveyed itself through her melody, but the moment did not last forever. Leaving her to wonder who she was playing for in the end.
Full of joy, the Maven skipped through the forest, letting the animals follow in her tracks. Realizing she had attracted yet another audience, this one much cuter than the last, she twirled around to face the animals and took a seat on a log. With her etwahl situated, she began to play for the animals, her smile only widening with their excited chirping.
A note echoed behind her, and the Maven turned around, etwahl loosely resting in her lap. Sona wasn't all too sure what she was looking at, the man—or so she assumed—was large, long white hair flowing down his chest tied together at the end, his garb unfamiliar to the people of her region. His golden mask took her by surprise, and it wasn't simply the mask she realized, his face had an unearthly glow, almost divine. One of the meeps climbed onto Bard's shoulder, waving at the Maven of Strings, her music enough to move the lesser spirit into action.
She found herself fascinated, rudely gaping at the mysterious creature. Sona sensed no hostility, and lowered her guard, playing a beautiful note for the wanderer. Bard reciprocated her note with his own, a sound that reverberated her very heart, it was indeed him. Mystical. Bard took a seat beside Sona, his meeps climbing onto her lap. She poked one out of curiosity, and to her horror, the meep popped, releasing an otherworldly noise, and vanishing into thin air.
Sona freaked out, glancing in every direction, her eyes eventually falling on Bard's, guilt drowning her hues. He tapped her shoulder pointing towards the sky and Sona glanced up, the meep she had just poked falling back into her lap through a faint portal, to which she assumed came from another plane of existence, it was fascinating.
The Maven stared at Bard, utterly mesmerized until he pointed a finger towards her etwahl. Sona smiled back, her fingers gracefully moving across the strings, emitting a gorgeous melody, one that in turn felt unfamiliar to the wanderer, but it resonated with him, and he let out a content hum. Caught up in the moment, Bard gathered his meeps, the two playing together without a care in the world, it was the first time Sona felt so connected to an individual. It felt as though she had found a new part of herself, one she had been searching for for years. A smile spread across her lips, Bard mimicking her, the animals chirping and dancing around them.
As the sky tinted to a kaleidoscope of warm colors, Sona lowered her etwahl, the music coming to a slow and steady stop. Bard understood and nodded for the Maven to go, following closely behind her, adamant on escorting his new companion. The meeps took turns emitting their own notes, desperately trying to resume the beat, but Bard shook his head, and the meeps grew silent, following obediently. Sona internally giggled, her voice unable to reach the outside world, an angelic voice that would forever remain trapped in the confines of her throat.
However, her sweet smile did not go unnoticed by the wanderer and bowing a goodbye to the Maven, he remained at the edge of the woods, watching the young girl take her leave. Sona glanced over her shoulder, a tender smile on her lips, one hand idly resting on her instrument as the other waved at the ethereal creature.
For the first time, Sona felt understood, she did not need to display her feelings through the string of her etwahl, it was as if he could read her soul, and she found herself even more intrigued. Because could he? However glancing back to the forest, she heard a faint whisper in the back of her mind. "Have a good night," the Wandering Caretaker said. And once again, Sona was delighted that she had met this beautiful creature, who she could connect to, never had she responded so strongly to anyone, not even her mother.
The next morning, Sona rushed out of her room and into the kitchen. Her mother watched her rush about, taking out all the ingredients needed to make a respectable sandwich. Watching closely, her mother noticed two extra slices of bread, and her smirk grew. "Do you have a date?" Sona turned to her mother a small o on her lips as she shook her head rather quickly. Crossing her arms to indicate a sharp no, even though blood rushed to her cheeks, Sona hadn't lied, it wasn't a date, per se.
"So it's not a date?" her mother mused. And Sona nodded with a gentle smile, her hand gesturing to her etwahl, carefully placed on the dining table, prepped and ready to go. "Ah, it's a musical date!" Her mother squealed, and Sona frowned but shrugged anyhow, knowing her mother would never drop the subject of who she was setting out to see. "Oh, my little darling is growing up so fast!"
Turning around, her mother wiped a fake tear, and Sona frowned, rolling her eyes at her mother's melodramatic display of emotions. But she couldn't help the small smile, she looked so proud, and it was a good feeling. Gently tapping her mother's shoulder, Sona indicated that she would be on her way now, and her mother gave a nervous chuckle apologizing for her parental outburst.
The Maven zipped out the door, picnic basket in hand, etwahl floating beside her. Entering the woods, she smiled waving at the meep that was awaiting her, and like a gentleman, the lesser spirit escorted her. Gazing around, eager to meet her new friend, her lack of attention caught her off guard, and her foot caught in a root, and down she fell into the leaves and dirt. She groaned internally and propped herself up removing the idle leaf glued to her forehead.
Sadness filled her hues, as she gazed at the picnic basket, the sandwiches had unfortunately not made it. She picked one up staring at the dirt smothered bread, and she felt water well up in her eyes. They were just sandwiches, and she wasn't sure why it upset her so much, but it just did. "Now, little one, no need for tears," Bard cooed, his finger brushing away a lone tear. Sona looked up, her eyes meeting with the kind wanderer and nodded. She wanted to wipe her eyes, but her hands were covered in dirt, and so she lowered them.
Bard did her the honor as he lifted the hem of his garb, wiping her tears, the meeps helping to freshen up the young maiden. Bard rested a gentle hand on her head, and kneeled down picking up one of the sandwiches, he dusted off the dirt and took a bite, and Sona reached out in protest, but Bard stopped her taking another bite. A little bit of dirt wouldn't kill the traveled wanderer, but Sona looked so distressed, he found it uncharacteristically adorable.
"So this is what humans call a sandwich?" He spoke inside her mind, taking another bite. She nodded still flabbergasted by his wholesome gesture. "Wonderful!" Her heart warmed, and she settled down, letting him enjoy his new found discovery. His meeps fought over the second sandwich, and Sona smiled glancing up at Bard. He seemed delighted over the sandwiches and was glad when the animals chimed in, the meeps sharing their portion with the animals, such kind, and loving creatures, she thought to herself.
Sona eventually had to break up the meeps and animals, splitting up the sandwich by hand and giving everyone a small portion. Bard leaned down, his finger wiping off a drop of mayo from her nose, and to her surprise, the Wandering Caretaker licked his finger. She blushed, and covered her nose, wiping it ferociously with the hem of her sleeve. How embarrassing, she thought to herself. As the hours passed, the two grew comfortable together, Bard lying his head across her lap as Sona played a string of songs for the wanderer, every one holding a different emotion.
"Would you like to come see my performance tomorrow?" She thought, and reading her mind, Bard glanced up, his eyes meeting hers as he smiled, nodding slowly. He found his movements slow, and his reactions lacking. There was something about Sona's presence, calm and soothing, and he found himself at ease, a feeling he never wanted to part with, but it wasn't just the feeling. His chimes hummed softly in sync with Sona's notes, melody plunging the forest in serenity.
Before long, Bard had fallen asleep, his snores soft, and somehow musical, they had a certain rhythm to them that Sona couldn't place her finger on. She ran her hand through his hair, his soft texture surprising her, even her hair wasn't that soft. "Where I come from, caressing one's hair is a form a deep affection," Bard spoke. Sona chuckled softly, it wasn't much different here, and she did have a deep affection for the wanderer. He read her thoughts vividly, and Bard smiled resting a hand on hers, intertwining their fingers.
Another blush crept up the young maiden's cheeks, and she averted her eyes, but her fingers remained laced with his, her heart pounding violently in her chest. She found it weird, the amount of affection they had shared over the course of two days, she couldn't explain the connection, but it felt, genuine, if perfection was a reality, then she had found it. And gazing down at Bard, she wished she had found him sooner.
The next day, Sona wore her finest dress heading to the concert hall, prepared to put on the greatest show of her life, not for her audience, but for Bard, and him alone. Taking a seat on her usual bench, she glanced at the audience before her spotting Bard in the very back, leaning against the decorational railing. It was not unusual for ethereal creatures to attend one of her many performances, the news of her legendary skills had spread through the whole of Runeterra, so none took notice.
As Sona's fingers glided across the strings, a note full of passion rang out through the concert hall, directed at Bard himself. A melody of love, art, and passion swirling through the air like magic. And Bard felt every note in his very soul, and then and there, he had found love. A pure love he had sought for centuries, and here she sat before him, baring her soul to him. Her heart opened, waiting to be claimed, by him and him alone, and looking at the young Maven, he made his move.
Floating through the thick crowd that was her audience, Bard landed on stage, his meeps close at his heels. And while the crowd looked on in confusion, Sona only smiled, her fingers not stopping the rhythm she had acquired, and then Bard joined in, his meeps and chimes, falling into rhythm with her's. It was indeed perfection, and the crowd was engulfed in a passionate exchange of love between the two.
After the concert, Sona and Bard walked back into the forest, and the wanderer expressed his love openly for the Maven of Strings. Cupping her small hand in his, he squeezed gently, pressing her hand to his heart. Sona smiled and leaned down, kissing his knuckles in a show of affection, knowing he would not care for the traditionalism of gender roles. As the sky tinted orange, the two pressed their foreheads together, a loving smile on both their lips. "I'll be waiting for you, little one."