Work Text:
A Bard and a Mage
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The strings of the guitar pluck as the elven bard sits upon a barrel, feet propped against it. He hums a cheerful little tune, trying to imitate it on his instrument--of course, the bustling noises of the tavern certainly don’t help. He glances up and around, drumming his fingers on the smooth wood at the variety of people within the tavern, feasting and laughing amongst each other. Some slaps on the back echo through the room. As much as the bard enjoys company, he decides it might be a good idea to go outside for a little quiet.
Hopping off of the barrel, he walks out the back door, nodding at the bartender before exiting. He inhales the fresh air of the winter, closing his eyes with a smile before he notices someone else, jumping slightly at the sight of them.
A woman--a wood elf, by the looks of it--with dark skin and an intricate mage’s robe stands with her back to the wall, her hands are behind her back and part of her face covered by black curly hair. Her eyes are closed, and her lips are slightly parted. She looks towards the bard, eyes opening to reveal large, emerald orbs.
“Why, hello there!” The bard smiles. “Enjoying the fresh air?”
The woman doesn’t answer, only nodding shyly. Brushing some of his pale blonde hair from his face, the bard extends his hand. “Varre is my name. What’s yours?”
She stares at his hand hesitantly, reaching forward and shaking his hand. “Meira…”
“That’s a gorgeous name. It’s a pleasure to meet you!” Varre smiles brightly, ice blue eyes twinkling. He always loves meeting new people.
Meira nods back, looking away as she fidgets slightly.
Varre holds up his guitar. “You don’t mind if I play, right?” he asks. He wouldn’t want to disturb her; he thinks she came outside for the same reason as him.
She looks at him, eyeing the guitar and shaking her head, the tight curls of her hair bouncing. Varre smiles again before he props himself against the wall, plucking the strings and humming quietly. His feet lightly tap the ground, and one of his fingers taps the body of the guitar gently and rhythmically as he pauses the strums, continuing to hum. As he continues to play again, he feels Meira’s large green eyes upon him, watching the intricate movements of his fingers playing the various chords while pressing down on the taut strings. She doesn’t say anything, and he doesn’t mind her watching at all; he simply continues to play, conjuring a light tune before he beams, scribbling on a sheet of paper, murmuring to himself quietly. He then continues to strum as he sets the paper down on the small table between them.
Meira’s head tilts to the side, her curls dangling over her shoulder and her lips parted. She watches Varre suddenly grumble, shaking his head and erasing what he wrote down. He looks up and smiles sheepishly. “Coming up with a song is difficult sometimes, heh,” he says.
She looks down, fumbling with her hands a little. “I would help if I knew anything about music,” she whispers. “Sorry…”
“What? Hey, don’t apologize, it’s okay!” He shakes his head, some of his hair falling from behind his ear and into his face, swaying back and forth. Meira seems to jump slightly at his sudden exclamation as she looks up quickly. “Even us musicians struggle sometimes.” He laughs, smiling sheepishly as he brushes his hair from his face. “It’s just about finding the right source of inspiration, yeah? To me, at least, it is.” He gazes over the snow covered forest. “Inspiration can be found just about anywhere, but sometimes, you have to look really hard in order to find it. That’s the reason I love to travel; if I look in the right place, that…” He pauses before he gestures with his hand by closing and opening his fist quickly. “That spark will appear.” He looks at her. “You get what I mean?”
She pauses before she nods. “Mmhmm,” she hums.
“You’re a mage, right?” She nods again. “I’m not too keen on magic, but creating spells can be difficult, too, can’t it?”
“Yes.” Her posture seems to relax at the mention of magic. “Y-you need to come up with different things… The runes for some, the potions for others…” She laughs quietly. “It takes a lot of experimenting…”
The laugh dances in Varre’s mind for a brief moment before he chuckles as well. “I understand. I suppose magic and music are similar in that way, yeah?”
She tilts her head.
“See, there’s coming up with the rhythm and seeing if that works, then the chords and the lyrics…” He laughs. “I’m horrible at rhyming most of the time, in all honesty, so that’s always the trickiest part for me. Some spells need to rhyme, too, right?”
“T-that’s right, depending on what type of spell it is. Some are just a word or two, and others are entire incantations that you need to recite perfectly for it to work, otherwise it’ll all blow up in your face. Literally. It takes so long to memorize them, and--” Her cheeks suddenly darken as she covers her mouth.
“What’s the matter?”
“I’m rambling… I-I’m so sorry.” She shrinks back, looking down and obscuring her face with her hands.
“What? I don’t mind at all!” Varre shakes his head and beams. “If anything, I’m really interested in all of this magic stuff.”
She looks up, looking somewhat surprised.
“I always thought it’d be so cool to be able to juggle both magic and music at the same time. So I really enjoy hearing about the former.”
“I…” She straightens. “I do, too…!” She fidgets. “T-that’s why I was, um, trying to study how you played the guitar… I always really enjoyed music, b-but never found the time for it…”
“Well, how about I teach you some music?”
Her eyes widen as she nods frantically. “Yes, please!” she blurts before her cheeks darken. Varre smiles, chuckling as he hands his guitar to her. “I-I could teach you some magic in exchange, maybe…?”
“That sounds excellent!” The man beams. “In fact, why don’t we just travel together and teach each other along the way?”
She stares at him, her eyes wide before she smiles. “I… I’d like that.”
As soon as Meira smiles, Varre suddenly feels that spark ignite within him.
He believes he’s just found his next source of inspiration.