The quintet all carried their own instruments as they made their way across the boardwalk, moving to the main path up along the mountain. At the front, Ravess and Snipe spent some time catching up.
'...three months I walked across the wasteland, until I found a skimmer. It was a half crushed mess, but I managed to make it fly!' Snipe said, telling the story as an epic with him at the centre.
'You desperately limped a scrapheap here, you mean?' Ravess remarked.
'...yes' Snipe admitted, defeated.
'So Aquinos took you in?' Ravess asked, a little impressed at his integration to their society.
'They knew me from when we were younger. My fishing days. My old boat master got them to let me stay' Snipe replied, almost sounding grateful. 'How did you get here?' He finally asked.
'I had been playing with my quintet for a small while, moving across the un-unified Terras. Eventually word spread, and Triton convinced Aquinos to let us play here' Ravess nonchalantly gave as response.
'Explains the losers' Snipe said with a childish snicker as he pointed behind them. 'Say, now you're here too... why don't we clean this Terra of suckers out and ditch?'
'Big muscles, tiny brain. Things don't change. Do they, my dearest brother?' Ravess mocked. Snipe pulled an offended look at her remark. 'Even if I wanted to, I have nowhere to go. I'm trying to reinvent myself, brother. I miss my favourite places. Surely you miss Terra Saharr?'
'Well. Yeah, but-'
'So keep you hands clean, and your nose out of it' Ravess instructed, pinching Snipe's nose for a second. 'Now... the theatre?' She reminded, using Snipe as a tour guide.
Above the waterfront, up the mountain, the theatre sat. It was of a high quality construction and could have easily stood out from the other buildings on the Terra. Inside, the capacity was not too grand, and the furnishing was fairly modest. Despite that, however, Ravess would enter the building and find it the perfect spot for her quintet to perform. The quintet, lead by Snipe, made their way down the couple dozen rows of seats, all wooden with hard cushions nailed to them. The seats were only on their level, with no balconies or private areas to speak of. Everyone headed to the stage, bright and imposing compared to the relative darkness of the guest seating. Finally at the foot of the stage, Snipe leant against the stage floor. 'Well, this is it. You can go back to you gleepish things now. I have work to do' He said, walking back up the gangway; his arms agape and his posture in its default, near angered position. Ravess waited, watching Snipe blast open both doors into the theatre hall with his hands. The doors shut with a loud thud.
'Right! We're giving it a couple of hours before we begin practice. All members, report here by evening. When the sun turns orange' Ravess ordered. She turned on the spot and walked to the side of the stage, holding the railing as she climbed the stairs on the side. Stan and Lester both looked at each other with a blank expression for a moment, followed closer by Stan holding up his hand to reveal a small bundle of cash. The pair nodded and smiled, taking their leave almost right away. Leila watched as Ravess walked backstage, and both Stan and Lester walking to the exit, deciding to quickly speak to Rez once the other members were completely out of earshot.
'Hey, Rez?' Leila timidly said, pulling his attention.
'What is it?' Rez answered, distracted by shifting his cased cello onto the stage.
'I tried to play alongside the street performers down on the waterfront...' She began.
'Oh good! y'know, it's great to see you fitting in so quick-'
'I got booted...' Leila interrupted, stopping Rez in place. He turned to face her, ready to talk with his full attention. Looking at her, Rez found her to be visibly glum. The words he was going to speak stayed mute, as Leila filled the silence. 'I thought I could hold my own, but the people in the street, people who are less profeessional than us, didn't see me that way' Leila said, frustrated. Rez held his chin and looked off centre, concentrating for a moment before coming back to look at her.
'Leila, you have skill, we all tell you such. That skill, much like with any of us, is unbalanced. You have weaknesses, like me, like Stan, or Lester even' Rex reassured.
'But not Ravess...' Leila asserted. Ravess had finished with what she needed to do backstage climbed to the side of the main stage, almost clearing the curtain before overhearing Leila's insecurities shine through. She stayed hidden, but still in earshot, waiting. 'She is so skilled, it's unreal. How can I possibly be like that when all I do is miss and scuff and run flat here, or sharp there. She expects perfection, but she's not getting that with me-' Leila continued, being sharply interrupted by Rez.
'Quiet' He ordered. Leila quietened down. 'Ravess has dedicated herself to her instrument since she could walk. It's just an experience thing. She's hard on all of us just because she cares. Otherwise, we'd all be gone, she'd fly solo. Stan, Lester and I would be stranded outside of civilisation. She didn't do that, she kept us. We had history in the days of Cyclonia' Rez gently grabbed Leila's arm and jolted it a little. 'She found a runaway, lost and without hope. We all owe it to someone who could have left us behind. She's good at her music, but she isn't hoarding it' Rez monologued. He saw Leila nod, still a little glum. 'Plus, don't forget that Aquinosians expect their Terra to have floaty and flowing sounds. Within these walls, we focus on harsher note lengths. You'll have you audience, it's just not everyone' Rez added, making Leila smile.
Ravess picked this moment to emerge from the curtain. Walking at a normal, brisk pace. Her high heels clacked on the stage floor in loud, metronomic pulses. 'Right, I need a drink, I'm parched. Rez, whilst you're still here, I need you to pick up more Rosin, and a replacement set of strings for all of us' Ravess ordered, detouring down the stairs. Rez affirmed her instruction and made his exit. Ravess, now stood next to Leila, put her hand onto Leila's shoulder. 'I'll only be a short while, now would be a good time to practice the showstoppers; whilst no one else is here to judge. And, if I may...' Ravess paused, leaning in closer. 'Anxieties get you nowhere in music. You can be better, so go and make sure of it. Take the time on your own to really nail what you need to' Ravess patted her shoulder, then crossed her own hands behind her back and walked to the exit doors. The clacks of hardwood changing to dull thuds on the carpetted gangway. Leila watched Ravess leave for a short while before a short burst of determination struck her. Forcing her to climb the stage with her violin and make for the backstage. Ravess never stopped, never looked back, yet knew from the sounds that Leila took the encouragement to heart. Knowing this made her smile as she finally reached the doors, and left the building.
Ouside the theatre, Ravess would spot a small cafe across from her. It was nothing special, a place that served greasy food at best. Ravess made the resolution with herself to go. 'Just a coffee. That's all' She mumbled to herself. Walking up and purchasing the coffee flew by in an automatic trance, taking Ravess to a seat outside the cafe, overlooking the theatre with a hot cup of black coffee. As she sat and stared, one of the servers walked up to her. Noiticing she was staring, the server took the chance to speak.
'We got a special show in there soon' the server informed her, unaware who she was.
'Oh yes?' Ravess responded, playing along and egging for more information.
'Yeah. Some old Cyclonians or something. Apparently it was in the newsreel we had delivered this morning, but I've not had a chance to see it yet. It's all a bit mad if you ask me'
'How so?' Ravess pried.
'It's just... we have spent our whole lives in fear of Cyclonia, and now that it's all gone, the left over people start to integrate with us? Shouldn't they be locked up or something?' The server said, with worry in her voice. Ravess took a sip of her coffee, and recoiled in its taste. It felt rancid across her tongue. Burnt, and filthy; rather than rich and bitter as black coffee would tend to be. Ravess finished her sip, put her cup down, and stood up.
'I'm sure there's nothing to fret over' She assured. 'I'm certain we're just slaves to our music. we're having more fun putting our energy into it compared to being militia, anyway' Ravess teased, walking back to the theatre. The server stared with wide eyes of regret as she pieced the clues together, with help of seeing Ravess enter the theatre.
Inside the theatre once more, Ravess heard the building fill with a violin's singing strings. It was a sombre tone that Leila was playing, rising scales, before changing time signatures for a faster climb, just so she could then change it back and hover at the same rough octave for a little, only for a final set of scales to tie her section up and repeat itself. Ravess heard the sorrowful emotion resonate across the hall, and it spoke to her. She journeyed down the gangway, up on the stage, and over to the curtain at the stage's side.
Backstage, Leila's violin played at an almost obscene volume. Purely down to its proximity. Leila's body was tense. She played with growls, held back tears, and gnashing teeth, not noticing Ravess behind her. Ravess could tell the piece was meant to test Leila's timings and finger placement, but whilst she was doing well when Ravess first spotted her, the rapid movements eventually began to fatigue her, which only served to anger her even more. Once she finally missed a note, only by a half-beat, and only by half a semi-tone, Leila stopped outright. Her face crumpled in searing rage, and she screamed with a gutteral wrath. She tensed, making herself shake as she let out some of her pent up frustrations. Yet it seemed to not be enough. Leila's soul felt itself brimmed with irate fury.
'Calm yourself' Ravess firmly started to say, knowing Leila's state of frustraion to be counter-productive. She gripped Leila by her shoulders and held her tightly at an arm's length. 'It's okay, it's okay, it's only practice. You need not stop' Ravess asserted.
'Enough of that! Face it! I'm not good enough!' Leila said, almost shouting. Tears almost floating in her eyes.
'Not on your own, no. But none of us are-' Ravess tried to reason.
'You are! you've shown me how you play when you're alone! You're so much more than I can ever hope to be!' Leila replied, her envy and anxiety revealing themselves to Ravess.
'Stop it! Me playing solo was for my ears only! I don't play solo, I need a group to support, and support me in return. You fit in the role for that!' Ravess shouted at her, trying to get her to snap out of her episode.
'So why are you pushing all these major leading parts onto me?' Leila asked, her frustrations started to fade.
'You deserve to shine, too. Learning to both lead and follow makes our dynamics feel more alive. It may be my quintet, but I'm not its only member' Ravess explained, her grip on Leila's arms kept stiffening.
Both Ravess and Leila stood still, silent for a second.
'...can you let go, please? You're starting to hurt me...' Leila asked, after the silence. Ravess looked at her hands, and released her grip.
Ravess closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, 'Take this evening off. I'll practice with the rest of quintet tonight. You and I need a one to one. Understand?' Leila tried to protest, but would be cut off by Ravess. 'You're not in the right frame of mind. go to the waterfront. Find a spot, alone, and watch the waves. That used to help me when it all got too much. you got that?' Ravess asked. looking down and to the side, Leila finally nodded, without a word to answer with. Ravess would then usher her on, watching her leave the building. Once Leila fell far enough out of earshot, Ravess put her hands on her face and quietly wailed in dread. She started to worry for the young girl, questioning if she had been pushed too far by the unspoken expectations the group subconsciously enforce.