Ash was so engrossed in glowering at a notepad she didn't register the lion sitting beside her until he prodded her shoulder.

"Words not comin', huh?"

Her shoulders sagged. "No. And I only have a couple of days."

"You want to sing it to her at the cast party?"

Ash started, and looked up at the softly knowing face of Calloway. "Is it really that obvious?"

He chuckled quietly. "To someone who's been there, yes."

"And someone who knows you," Johnny added, joining them.

Ash's eyes widened. "Wait, does that mean Porsh knows?"

"Pretty sure you'd know if she knew," Johnny responded. "Great girl, but cannot keep a secret."

"True." Ash gave a wry, fond smile. Her head canted. "Maybe..." Then shook. "No." Her slouch deepened.

"What've you got so far?" Calloway asked.

"A title, half a melody, most of a riff" – she picked up her acoustic to play a couple of short bits – "and two, maybe three lyrics."

"Solid start," the lion approved. "Want some help?"

"From you? Only answer to that is yes, yes, yes."

"Can I join in?" Johnny questioned. "I've been starting to play around with writing stuff, and learning from you guys can only help."

"Singer, dancer, piano player and song-writer?" Ash grinned. "Johnny the multi-threat! Yeah, you can join in. Was thinking about layering in some keys. Wanna go somewhere private and workshop it?"

"In a minute," Calloway agreed. "First: why the cast party?"

"Because something else important happens to happen that day, and since Moon wants live music, that's an opportunity I can't miss."

"You're more of a romantic than you let on," Johnny smiled. "Want a few backing players? Maximise the moment?"

"Now you mention it, yeah, if it's possible," Ash responded. "Rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, drums and bass. I think."

"Piano's easy." Johnny pointed to himself. "One of the guitars, too...if Mr Calloway is willing."

"I'll do either one," the lion affirmed. "And for the thirtieth time, just Clay. Or Calloway."

"You're wasting your breath." Ash patted the gorilla's arm. "He's near pathologically polite. That leaves one guitar, drums and bass."

"We can get drums," Johnny volunteered. "Maybe. Turns out, Noosh is nearly as good with a kit as she is a dancer, but getting her to play in public may be tricky. Took coaxing to get her to play for Ry and me."

"Might as well ask," Ash decided. "Any other questions, or can we go workshop this thing, already?"

"Just one," Calloway told her. "What's the name?"

A little colour came to the porcupine's ears. "Beautiful Adventure. A little sappy, I know, but..."

Calloway's smile reached his eyes. "I think it works just fine."