I'm fixin' a hole, where the rain gets in II

[Vega]

27th Trial of Cylus during Arc 720

"I bloody hate Cylus," Vega grumbled to herself.

It was true - the dark and cold was really hampering the abilities of people to get on and do the most basic of things. Vega was very aware that and she wanted to make sure that she - as far as was possible - made things easier. There was something about the young woman which drove her to try and help - to fix. It was a part of her nature and had always been so. Sometimes it made things difficult, because Vega was brash and opinionated and apparently genetically wired in such a way that it was impossible for her to do anything except speak her mind. Which, more often than not, was that people were stupid. Thus, she was difficult, obnoxious, stubborn and, she knew, difficult to get along with. She also didn't care that she was those things. Yet, Vega Lei'nox was also a fundamentally kind person, and a moral one. They were here, and these people needed help.

So, help was what she would give.

When there were things to be lifted and carried, she was always right there when she could be and, in this particular situation, there were holes in the wall. So, she was there and she was helping to move the larger stones and so on needed. As they worked, Vega never hesitated to be the one who was carrying the heaviest thing, or doing the hardest work. "We need to move this here!" She called and then, she started to sing. It was an easy enough song to sing along with and her voice lifted. It was a raucous working song with a catchy tune and more than a few choice expressions. Vega sang and quickly people started to sing with her. That was good, and what she wanted.

Then, when the heaviest lifting and so on was done, people started to work together to fix the wall, filling in the holes, she took up position as one of those who stood back and watched, making sure that there wasn't an issue in the wall above - they couldn't afford to lose people by being sloppy and letting walls fall on them, after all. So, she carried on singing and as she stood, looking at the people working, she lifted her violin to her chin and began to play.

Because they had started singing, Vega timed her playing with them and, soon, she realised that there was something happening. They were working better. In more of a rhythm - things were happening more smoothly, less mistakes being made than she would expect. It seemed like, to her swirling eyes, the rhythm of the music was helping them work together, bringing their actions in to synchrony.

And so, she smiled and kept playing. Because they needed all the help they could get, of course, but also - because an idea was starting to form in her mind and she wanted to try and see if she might be right.

[Vega]

27th Trial of Cylus during Arc 720

The workers sang, and she played, and she watched. Vega realised, as the next hour or so wore on, that there was something important to be learned here - and in fact, more than one thing. Until now, Vega had been fiddling and helping people in isolation. Not individual people, she knew that her music could assist groups, but it was more than that, she realised. She watched them and they, because of the music, they moved together. That had happened not because she had started to play, but because they had started to sing. It was the song of theirs which she had tuned in with. That was important. Truly.

Vega hadn't started it, but her music had been able to help; she had kept them together and assisted them - but it had been what they had started. That was good, and it was a use of her growing skills which Vega hadn't considered. Probably, she reflected to herself, because she was so naturally bossy that she assumed she had to start it and be in charge. In fairness, Vega always thought that things were better when she was in charge. However, what this was doing was assisting something which was already happening, and so she was facilitating, not originating. And, damnit all, Vega thought with a grin, it seemed to be working. They worked together, and their movements were together and this meant that she could do more than simply choose what to help.

She could help them all over the place.

That was amazing to her, and the realisation that it didn't need her to be the "conductor" was genuinely, Vega thought, useful. There were a number of times she could remember, since getting here, where she simply stopped what she was doing for ten minutes, even half a break, in order to be useful to another group. This understanding would mean that could maybe help in other ways - help them to be more productive while she was there and, even, if she got them into a rhythm - after she'd left.

"Wait a minute," she muttered, her playing continuing as her mind worked.

There was something to be learned here, Vega knew. She needed to think about this. After she'd left, they would keep up the rhythm if they just kept singing.

And there it was. That was what she needed to think about. They needed to keep singing. That realisation was enough for Vega to know that she needed to test it out and so, she first of all stopped playing, but kept up with the singing herself. After a few moments, she let her voice first become more and more quiet and then, she stopped singing and began just miming. The people around her didn't notice, they kept on with singing and Vega watched. It was rare that she took the time to step back and watch people in this way, but she did and she noticed quite a few things. As long as they sang, the rhythm kept them going.

"It bloody well keeps helpin', so long as they keep the rhythm," Vega muttered to herself. There was something to be learned there, she was sure and she began to fiddle again as she thought about it.

[Vega]

27th Trial of Cylus during Arc 720

How far could she take this?

Vega considered for a moment, as the sound of the fiddle accentuated the movements of the men and women who were working and she focused on what they were doing. They were moving in time with the music, their actions happening in synchrony with the words of the song. Vega felt a thought begin to tickle in the corners of her mind and she carried on playing while it took the time to percolate through to her conscious awareness.

However, as was so often the case with Vega, she needed to see things in order to really understand them and it was only when one of the workers moved away, no longer fixing the wall and yet, Vega watched as they moved. The man - a human or Sev'ryn she didn't know - moved to start chopping up some wood and, as he did so Vega realised that he was, in fact, still singing and he was moving in time, still.

And then, the silver nel dropped.

"Well schnizzle my snoot, but I don't need to start it, an' I don't even need to be there. I jus' need the music," she said, a smile lifting her expression. "I need to make the song magic, an' then they take it with them." That would be what she needed, Vega realised. To have one song which they all used, and which made them move together. That made sense, it made perfect and clear sense, and she made a mental note to speak to the Lieutenant about this. If they could incorporate it into their training, into physical exercise and all else.

Then the music itself would tap into the ability Vega had - it wouldn't actually provide any magic, unless she was focusing it - but what it would do is provide every advantage that music could. It would provide a means of rhythm, of working together - but more than that it would provide a sense of identity. That was what they needed, after all. They needed to have a song that was theirs, just theirs. That symbolised their battles, their trials and tribulations - their experiences here. It needed to be something they recognised, they all responded to.

And then, it would grow in power and it would mean more. And in that moment, it would become something for them all.

Vega suddenly had a clear vision - it was like an armour for them. Something which bound them together and illustrated their unity, fighting against the Pumpernickels. The fact that this could be something which she did for the place, for the whole of Storm's Edge. The ability to work together was vital for what was to come, she knew. This gave the option of using her skills with the aim of enhancing how they worked together- not just in how they moved, although that was part of it, but also in how they felt. The sense of unity, the feeling of camaraderie - that was vital and might just give them the tiny advantage here and there which would make a difference.

And that, therefore, was what she went about doing.

[Doran]

Vega:

Knowledge:
Tactics x 4
Detection x 2

Loot: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: 10, for helping and inspiring people with her music.
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 10

- - -

Comments: Vega’s threads are always entertaining to read. She has quite a unique personality. I also approve of her desire to help and fix. The description of her using her music to inspire people was well-written in my opinion.

Enjoy your rewards!