Here are the songs for this chapter:
Nil sin La by Celtic Woman(youtube will put the accents in)
The Butterfly by Celtic Woman(I like this group a lot, can't you tell? XD )
Strings of Fire (the girls always play this one for new people because they know it looks cool going that fast ^^)
Including Myndræl and Dyrilæn there were five dragons with them. Dimara left the watch post to her younger emerald sibling Emoralin and came to join them, along with Lilianna and a tall black dragon called Firzara.
"Lord of Dragons." Firzara greeted Toshiro with a bow. "It is nice to see you again."
"And you as well." Toshiro replied easily. Dragons always expected a reply for greetings.
"Lord of Dragons?" Renji questioned.
"As the wielder of two dragons he has been chosen as our king." Firzara answered, glaring down at the red-head with eyes of amber. Right, the black dragon was from a ways out in the wilds, one who did not think humans were worth his time.
"You have a seriously crazy amount of power." Shinji snorted. "Politically and Spiritually."
"Not like I want to." Toshiro grumbled back.
"Let's not argue." Lilianna stepped in, walking over to sit between Retsu and Sajin, eager to greet the new faces. "Lady Greenleaf was kind enough to let us all gather here. Shall we sing together again?"
"Sing?" Rangiku turned to Toshiro, along with several others.
He gulped and turned away.
"But of course." Lilianna smiled kindly. "These songs are meant to be sung together. Anyone is welcome to sing along if they so choose and Lady Greenleaf will do her best to help you feel the rhythm."
"Enough chatter!" Sylfie arrived as if her name had summoned her. "You people are all stiffs, so let's have a little fun!"
"What kind of fun?" Yachiru giggled happily.
"Well missy, how about a dance, eh?" Sylfie winked.
Laughing happily, the pink haired Lieutenant jumped down into the center. She'd willingly tried out the new style with a pink skirt and short sleeved pink tunic lined with red, golden swirls across the fabric.
"Ooh, let's do THAT song!" Sofia called out from her master's shoulder, Ruala no longer wearing her uniform, once more in her celtic dance outfit. The others were surprised that they could see her face now.
"Perfect!" Sylfie replied to the feline.
"What song?" Soi Fon demanded, confused.
"Just go along with it." Toshiro replied.
Chatter ceased as Sofia morphed into her panther form and played a beat on the drums. Another new song. They had said it like they'd done it before, but Toshiro was sure he'd never heard it. Perhaps they had done it a long time before. After a few sets, Sylfie and Ælfwyn, who had come out earlier looking a little stressed and out of it, sang along together in what the prince recognized as Irish.
"Chuaigh mé isteach i dteach aréir, is d'iarr mé cairde ar mhnaoi an leanna. Is é dúirt sí liom "Ní bhfaighidh tú deor. Buail an bóthar is gabh abhaile."
Now they sang in English, Ralæn stepping forth with a violin in hand, an instrument she was expert at. The Reapers were watching in fascination while Yachiru danced along happily with Sylfie, the green-haired woman showing her the movements slowly while never missing a note.
"I came by a house last night, and told the woman I am staying, I said to her 'the moon is bright, and my fiddle tuned for playing.'"
Ralæn cut in with her violin playing that quickly had those who weren't already hooked captivated.
"Tell me that the night is long, tell me that the moon is glowing," Ruala stepped in and joined in with her voice, a clear tone that threw those who only knew her for her silence for a loop, "fill my glass, I'll sing a song," Now Ralæn sang as well, "and we'll start the music flowing!"
"Anybody else?" Sylfie laughed, letting Yachiru onto her shoulders. The pink haired girl was having so much fun it was a wonder her sides didn't ache from laughter.
"Ooh, me!" Rangiku jumped up, having gotten the gist of how the dance went and following along with Ælfwyn and Sylfie.
The chorus started up and the four celtic girls started up their song again, now with two Reapers dancing with them.
"Níl sé ina lá, níl a ghrá, níl sé ina lá is ní bheidh go maidin, níl sé ina lá is ní bheidh go fóill, solas ard atá sa ghealaigh."
"It's not day nor yet awhile," Sylfie sang alone before Ælfwyn joined in, "I can see the starlight shining. Níl sé ina lá is ní bheidh go fóill, solas ard atá sa ghealaigh."
Ralæn got her turn with a violin part again, some of those in the audience watching clapping along to the beat. A few of them knew Ralæn as a fighter but she put just as much passion into her playing. They started the song again, a fast pace that made more of them want to get up and dance, though they held back.
"Fill the glasses one more time and never heed the empty bottle. Turn the water into wine and turn the party up full throttle!"
If Ralæn's playing before had been fast, her pace was quicker now and really got their attention, and she was even managing to dance a bit as she played. It was fascinating to watch, a fast paced music they weren't used to but yet could still hit right to the heart. Was this the magic of the elven line?
"Don't go out into the cold, where the wind and rain are blowing, for the fire is flaming gold, and in here the music's flowing." The chorus was starting up again and even the dragons were joining in, the Reapers trying their voice at Irish before they realized that they were singing along. "Níl sé ina lá, níl a ghrá, níl sé ina lá is ní bheidh go maidin, níl sé ina lá is ní bheidh go fóill, solas ard atá sa ghealaigh."
Sylfie paused in her dancing and started alone.
"Tell me that the night is long, tell me that the moon is gleaming," her daughters joined in, "Fill my glass, I'll sing a song, and we'll keep the music streaming," multiple voices joined in, Toshiro spotting Karin singing along and smiling, "Until all the songs are sung!"
"Níl sé ina lá, níl a ghrá, níl sé ina lá is ní bheidh go maidin, níl sé ina lá is ní bheidh go fóill, solas ard atá sa ghealaigh."
They repeated the chorus again, dancing all the while with a few more joining in, Shunsui having a little too much fun with it, and having a roaring good time. Despite the earlier awkwardness and surge of blurry memories, Kadin stood and joined in, catching Ruala's hand and dancing with her.
The chorus sounded once more, Ralæn playing her tune on the violin with a demanding pace, and near the end the girls did an echo effect by singing at different times before ending all at once with one last twirl or flick of the wrist.
"Whoo, that was fun!" Rangiku cheered while she sat down in the grass. "Hey Captain, I didn't know you were a dancer."
"You never asked." Kadin replied, still standing next to Ruala. The guardian seemed a bit nervous in his presence, but not in a frightened way.
"Let's see how many more of you I can get to dance." Sylfie grinned mischievously, making some of them pale.
"Oh come on, it was interesting, but I wouldn't dance to it." Shinji shrugged.
Ralæn began to play a tune, slower than the song she had just participated in. There was nothing to accompany it, just her violin playing out a song into the air at a slow pace. Giggling, Yachiru twirled around happily. After a while Ruala grabbed a tambourine and added to the music, Ralæn grinning at her but keeping her tune going. These girls could do nearly anything and keep on playing.
She slowed only to suddenly speed up, doubling her pace but still playing the same song. They started to clap along, wanting her to continue, Ruala still playing along with the tambourine and doing a small dance to it. The older twin got faster again, increasing the tempo and moving the bow over the strings at a surprising speed. They doubted she could go any faster, but faster she did, if only by a little bit. A few turned to Shinji with smirks, daring him to go against it, and he just shrugged.
"You try?" Ralæn smirked this time, holding the violin out to him.
"Er, I can't play."
"Then hush."
She placed the instrument back on her shoulder and played something that Toshiro actually recognized, the song she had played in tandem with Sylfie when he had first watched them dance here with his father. Sure enough, the green-haired woman snagged another violin and the two of them played it out like a battle of the violins.
While they played, Yachiru latched onto Ruala and got the shy blonde to dance along with her. While in battle the woman was a silent killer, but music brought out a completely different side of her they had no prior knowledge of, a smile on her face and a light laugh that they couldn't help but smile to. The Greenleaf girls had it, too.
"Humans are strange." Firzara said, though he was smiling, his tail hitting the ground to the beat.
"How do you know one of them isn't your partner?" Myndræl commented, Toshiro looking back at them in interest.
"Doubtful." The shadow dragon snorted. "But to be honest, I would prefer these over the barbarians found in the wilds. Dethmaiyn has yet to convert them, thank goodness, but they are troublesome nonetheless."
"You shouldn't judge a race by the few." Toshiro warned.
"I suppose not." The black dragon nodded in agreement. "Well, while I still find them strange…I suppose I could give them a chance."
"As a pure breed Dark Dragon you have more power over the other darkness-type dragons, meaning you could probably tell them to be a little more open-minded when it comes to interactions with people."
Amber eyes locked with teal as the dragon contemplated those words. The prince had a point, as the Shadow Keeper, the dragon in charge of any others with a main power over darkness, he had a lot of influence over the other dragons, some of which were thinking of siding with Dethmaiyn. While they controlled shadows they were not all evil, and Firzara despised the shadow users that took to the calling of evil simply because they thought their powers were similar.
"I will take that to thought, Lord of Dragons."
"I suppose that's what you're calling me until I'm king?"
Firzara chuckled.
"It was decided you couldn't be considered the Dragon King until you became a king, so yes, that is the title we have decided upon for the time being. Would you prefer a different name?"
"I don't mind, just curious." Toshiro glanced at Kadin. "Kadin Thane has a shadow type zanpaktou, would a dark dragon bond with him?"
"The boy?" Firzara looked at him curiously. "I feel no connection, but perhaps another might. Then again, Keepers are never meant to bond with another, it would cause them to be swayed. Our thoughts must be solely about the dragons, not what our partners would think."
"There's nothing wrong with partners." Myndræl bristled.
"I never said there was." Firzara snapped back. "I simply said the Keepers cannot have one, because our duty is to oversee the dragons, not the people."
"Hitsugaya."
The person called looked away from the dragons to see Ruala standing near him, a dazed look on her face. What's more, her left eye was golden. Time. He glanced around quickly, most of the Soul Reapers distracted or uninterested. A few close by seemed curious but could not hear them with the music. The only ones close enough were Karin beside him and Soi Fon a foot or two away.
"The dragons choose a king of frost, demons crawl with power of fear." She recited in a monotone voice.
'So it was another line to that prophecy…it really does seem to be about me, if the first part is anything to go by.'
The color returned to amber, signaling that was all he was going to get. Karin glanced at him, confused, and Soi Fon frowned in thought, having no clue what the guardian was talking about. A code of some sort?
Both girls saw Toshiro simply nod and Ruala walked away, returning to her family to join in the dancing again as if it had never happened.
"What was that about?" Karin asked quietly, leaning closer.
"Don't worry about it; I'm still not sure myself." He answered, which was half true.
And so the festivities continued on without pause, Dimara and Firzara eventually heading back to Dragon Isle. Toshiro thought it would never end until the sun fell when a messenger appeared beside him looking flustered, panting a bit from trying to get to the kingdom. Due to the magic of the place it was impossible to just Flash Step right over to it so the message must have been urgent for him to try so hard.
"Get your breath back." Toshiro said to him as the man panted heavily. He stood and waited patiently for whatever it was that had him so worked up.
"It's…Soul Society…demons there." He managed to work out.
The music had happened to have a pause and everyone stiffened or stood, the joy of the moment replaced with agitation. Half of Soul Society's force was currently having fun, which meant the Seireitei would be in big trouble.
"Party's over, we've gotta head back." Kensei grimaced, latching onto his zanpaktou.
"Those who want to return head to the Tenchuren." Toshiro ordered, knowing he couldn't keep them back, and that it would be a bad idea to. Demons were powerful; the Soul Society needed its Captains.
So much for a fun day.
Okay, getting back on track. Onwards to the ending! Then I can start doing the sequel ^^ Enjoy!