"Moira, there's something about Nathan that you need to know about. This is kind of a big deal."
Moira could tell that his heart was beginning to beat faster and knew that this was either really good or really bad news. Deep down she knew it was good news for she knew her brother well but was preparing for a surprise.
"What is it?"
"Did you... feel something about Nathan when you sat by him?"
"Uh..." She definitely did but wasn't sure what Severin was getting at. "Yeah, I guess so..." she finally said.
"Moira! Nathan's a Terabikai! He too holds the power-" he stopped suddenly.
"Are you for reals?!" Moira exclaimed.
"I kid you not. He speaks Keòen and everything! That makes five of us here that speak it, not counting Dr. Sorela."
"Oo, have you seen him yet?"
"No, I keep missing him. Have you?"
"No, I haven't seen him either. We should go to his office after orchestra this afternoon. From what I gather he's really excited to meet us. Oh word, Severin! Imagine if we became close friends of his!"
"I hope we do. If he's anything like Nathan then I'm very excited to finally see him. I wonder if he knows that he's the one who made it possible for me to-"
"Oh I'm sure he foresees many things, Severin," Moira interrupted. "Let's not get too carried away yet. I'm just as excited as you to meet him." As she said this she began rubbing her hands together in anticipation.
"So how did classes go?" she went on as she served lunch.
"Oh they're great. I share a few classes with Nathan and I'm in psychology with him and Aslan. It's great fun. Seriously, what are the odds I meet an actual Terabikai that I share classes with! This is amazing! I know of two Terabikai already and it's just the first day! How about you?"
"Heh, everything's going well with me. You're right- Langley is hilarious! I'm going to love that class. My others have been pretty fun too. Lots of stares as usual but we just stand out so whatever. I'm totally looking forward to orchestra. I can't believe you got first on that one piece! It's just us and Quinn and she's way nice. I've met a ton of people in my classes and can't wait to see who I become good friends with."
They continued to talk as they ate lunch and finally got ready to catch the shuttle back to the music building for the most anticipated class yet.
***
They found themselves in the band room for the first time. As they walked past people they knew and didn't know they headed towards their seats. They already had folders with their names on them marking their places so they cautiously took their seats and got out their flutes. Moira was in the very middle of the row with Severin next to her and Quinn on the end. She and Severin would be trading off the first part on all the pieces to round everything out and Moira would be playing piccolo on one of the pieces. This meant a bit of shuffling every piece but they didn't mind too much. Moira looked to her left and saw three empty chairs. She snuck a peek at the names on the folders even though she had looked on the roster outside. Right next to her would be Winterwood Rivers, someone she hadn't even seen yet. She noticed Carey's name on the next folder and was happy to be near another freshman that she would recognize. The folder on the end simply said "Zora :)" and she wasn't sure who that was at all.
Soon more people began to pile in carrying all sorts of instruments. Moira tried to warm up on some scales but was too interested in the people walking in to stay focused. She really wanted to know who Winterwood was! She recognized Hugo, her neighbor, as he jovially sauntered in with a viola case over his shoulder, talking to a girl that Moira recognized as Aurora Fraley, a violin player from orientation. Severin also recognized a couple people form his theory class like Jupiter Torsalo, who was quietly sliding her way to her seat in the violin section. Moira recognized Jeffrey the trumpet player when he walked in, talking to a tall guy with blonde hair who was also holding a trumpet case. Declan followed them in and she smiled as she saw Aslan come through the door with his bassoon case in hand.
He waved at her and she waved back, giggling. His seat was almost right behind her and as she turned around she was suddenly aware of the three clarinet players who were in back of her.
"Hi!" she laughed. The first clarinet was a young man with a soft smile. He waved at her and introduced himself.
"Hi, I'm Franklin!" he said, with an extremely thick Vetonian accent much like the one Jimmy Charles had. Moira shook his hand and then the hand of the beautiful girl next to him whose name was Meagan. She later found out that Franklin and Meagan were married.
"You'll find that like half the band is married to someone else either in band or not far from it," Meagan laughed. The bass clarinet player was a Catin guy named Murray who had an interesting punk style about him. By now Aslan had sat down next to Franklin and another bassoon player, this one with curly blond hair hidden under a hat with the sides pinned up, had taken his place on the end of the row. Moira soon learned that his name was Makay and that two of his cousins were in band.
After a while, she spotted Carey walking through the doorway talking to a tall man and a short woman. The tall man had blond dreadlocks and rectangular glasses that slid down his tall nose. He was carrying sticks and was dressed in torn jeans and a very faded shirt. The woman was a lot shorter than him and was quite obviously married to him. She had a round face and very curly brown hair. She had a round figure and was wearing unique layers of dresses, skirts, and shirts accented further with lots of bracelets and necklaces. She looked amazing and nothing seemed to be over-the-top in her style. She had a sling tied across a shoulder and in it was an adorable curly haired boy that looked to be about a year and a half old. As she walked in she untied the sling and handed her son to another gal behind her who had a stroller with another young baby in it.
Moira couldn't see what instrument this girl had but she was talking to Carey and soon walked over, pointing out his seat. She then walked over and sat down right next to Moira. So this is Winterwood, she thought. She was very excited to sit next to someone she had deemed so cool. Winterwood looked over and noticed Moira looking at her. She had a cheery smile and held out a bejeweled hand.
"Hi there! I'm Winterwood! You must be Moira. Dr. Sorela has talked about you a lot," she said with a wink and a smile.
"Wow! I really love your... outfit! I can't even decide if I like your skirt or shirt more. I've heard that Sorela has talked about us. I can't wait to meet him!"
"You haven't met him yet? He's dying to meet you! He keeps missing you and your brother."
"Wow!" Moira was in awe. "Do you know him well?"
"Oh yes, this is my 4th year here. He's the godfather of my son. Kindest man I know. Truly one of a kind."
"Wow that's awesome! So, you play oboe I presume, then?"
"Yes I do! I'll be your ally this term in orchestra. Ask me anything, I know the ropes quite well. Have you met Carey?"
"Yeah I have. We met at orientation, sort of."
Carey took notice and, smiling broadly, said a cheerful hello with a reed sticking out of his mouth.
"Just like his father," Winterwood laughed. "But anyways yeah, after rehearsal you should totally go to Sorela's office. Trust me- he'll know you're coming. Do you know where it is?"
"I think so. I'm totally going to go do that. I can't believe he's excited about us!"
"Well, he's very Jadali. Like, his name is totally Catin and he's a Man of Osai and everything but he totally identifies with that Jadali half. He loves being able to speak Keòen with students and since he knows practically all the history of Jadali he loves talking bloodlines and stuff. You'll love him, I'm sure!"
They continued talking and finally it was time for orchestra to start. A beautiful Catin girl with curled hair and a pink outfit stood up and Winterwood got her tuner out and began playing an A. All the winds began to tune and slowly the pitch changed from being quite rough to a lot smoother. After two more A's the director, Dr. Matthews, stood.
"Well, hello everyone and welcome to another exciting year of orchestra! This is my first year flying solo so we'll see how it goes. I'm Kirill Matthews and I'm also the cello teacher here. I'm so excited to be here and to be able to work with all of you. I recognize a lot of you from years past and, of course, all of you from your auditions which were very good. What I want to do now is introduce all the freshmen and new people in the orchestra so I'm going to go around and I want you to say your name and the city you're from. Let's start with the basses and work through the strings and then back to the percussion and winds."
The only new bass was a girl named Meng Ser who was Raellian and from the west coast. In the cello section there was one new student too, a guy named, oddly, Crunch West (his name was really Curtis, however). The viola section had three new people: Hugo Kelley of Pathreeah, Emma Zira of a city on the Falitonia-Baydi border called Arjiona, and a local girl named April Correll. There were only three new violin players as well. Amber Rule was a local girl, Aurora Fraley was from Rafi, and Shadrach Callahan was the graduate assistant, though Moira didn't catch where he was from. Finally it was onto the winds. Moira listened closely, anticipating her turn to announce her presence. There weren't many new people at all. Aslan represented the bassoon section and said he was from Kile Point. In the horn section the boy from Catarika that Moira briefly saw at orientation announced himself in Catin ("K'sa Ravosilu Kribana to ki maye Corro."). Finally it was onto her row and Carey announced himself as being from Pathreeah.
Moira stood up nervously. "I'm Moira Lochgren and I'm from Jadali."
She received many oohs and ahhs and although she felt embarrassed on the outside she was secretly happy to be treated like such a celebrity. Finally it was Severin's turn and he stood.
"I'm Severin Lochgren and I'm also from Jadali."
"Are you related?" asked Dr. Matthews.
"She's my sister. No, we're not married. I'm her brother and I'm older."
The orchestra laughed and Severin smiled, proud to be related to Moira.
"What city in Jadali are you from?" asked a guy in the violin section.
"Leena Eithre-Resa," Moira and Severin said, almost in unison.
"Oh that's cool! My parents are from Dahhod and they go back to Chabhàidd," the guy said. ("That's Sarlan Lochmont," whispered Winterwood. He's got a little Jadali blood.)
Orchestra then commenced as usual and, though awkward on the first day of rehearsal with lots of new people, it was very enjoyable and they all had a great time. They were halfway through the third piece when during a pause in the music Winterwood tapped Moira lightly on the arm.
"Look!" she said, pointing at the door. Moira turned and gasped, glad that she wasn't heard. There standing in the door was the tall, dark frame of Dr. Sorela. His eyes were so dark that they seemed to absorb light and his long black hair added to his darkness. Just as described, he was wearing all black, with a long black trenchcoat. He had a soft smile on his face and the whole atmoshpere of the room seemed to change. Severin saw him too and they both took a minute to realize who they were looking at. They turned back to the music and once they had a rest again they looked back and he was gone.
"How does he do that!" Moira asked, during break. "He seems to appear out of nowhere!"
"Well, he has Stealth, remember," said Winterwood. "I think he uses the Realm to get around but I thought Terabikai weren't allowed to use it for that purpose in front of people."
"They're not," chimed in Nathan who had walked by. "He probably just uses Stealth," he said with a smile and walked off towards some friends of his.
"He's a Terabikai too," Winterwood said, gesturing at Nathan with her thumb.
"I know! We found that out today! That's amazing!"
"It's so cool, huh! They really make a difference with their presence in a room. It's probably the coolest thing ever."
"By the way Winterwood," Moira had been dying to ask this for a long time, "Your son... What's his name?"
"Oh! I forgot to tell you! His name is Riedlan."
"Riedlan! That's an awesome name!"
"Hehe yes! It's Keòen even. I thought you might like that."
"Also, what's your husband's name?"
"Oh! Right. His name is Eagle. We're both from Isle Del Akai. He does percussion and also sings but he hasn't in a while. He decided that percussion was his thing. You'll see him in band too."
"Are you in band?"
"Nope, not this year at least. I only do orchestra, lessons, and mainly online classes so that I can be with my son. I'm part of a group of music major moms and we watch each others' kids."
"That's so cool!" Moira was liking Winterwood even more with every second. They thought a lot alike and she was very nice and helpful.
As orchestra came to an end Moira found herself a friend richer and couldn't wait until that evening when she would go to the local festival with Winterwood and her family, Carey and his family, and some other people from their section that she hadn't met yet. The first step, however, was meeting Dr. Sorela. Both Moira and Severin could hardly wait for that moment and it was finally almost at hand!
Soon more people began to pile in carrying all sorts of instruments. Moira tried to warm up on some scales but was too interested in the people walking in to stay focused. She really wanted to know who Winterwood was! She recognized Hugo, her neighbor, as he jovially sauntered in with a viola case over his shoulder, talking to a girl that Moira recognized as Aurora Fraley, a violin player from orientation. Severin also recognized a couple people form his theory class like Jupiter Torsalo, who was quietly sliding her way to her seat in the violin section. Moira recognized Jeffrey the trumpet player when he walked in, talking to a tall guy with blonde hair who was also holding a trumpet case. Declan followed them in and she smiled as she saw Aslan come through the door with his bassoon case in hand.
He waved at her and she waved back, giggling. His seat was almost right behind her and as she turned around she was suddenly aware of the three clarinet players who were in back of her.
"Hi!" she laughed. The first clarinet was a young man with a soft smile. He waved at her and introduced himself.
"Hi, I'm Franklin!" he said, with an extremely thick Vetonian accent much like the one Jimmy Charles had. Moira shook his hand and then the hand of the beautiful girl next to him whose name was Meagan. She later found out that Franklin and Meagan were married.
"You'll find that like half the band is married to someone else either in band or not far from it," Meagan laughed. The bass clarinet player was a Catin guy named Murray who had an interesting punk style about him. By now Aslan had sat down next to Franklin and another bassoon player, this one with curly blond hair hidden under a hat with the sides pinned up, had taken his place on the end of the row. Moira soon learned that his name was Makay and that two of his cousins were in band.
After a while, she spotted Carey walking through the doorway talking to a tall man and a short woman. The tall man had blond dreadlocks and rectangular glasses that slid down his tall nose. He was carrying sticks and was dressed in torn jeans and a very faded shirt. The woman was a lot shorter than him and was quite obviously married to him. She had a round face and very curly brown hair. She had a round figure and was wearing unique layers of dresses, skirts, and shirts accented further with lots of bracelets and necklaces. She looked amazing and nothing seemed to be over-the-top in her style. She had a sling tied across a shoulder and in it was an adorable curly haired boy that looked to be about a year and a half old. As she walked in she untied the sling and handed her son to another gal behind her who had a stroller with another young baby in it.
Moira couldn't see what instrument this girl had but she was talking to Carey and soon walked over, pointing out his seat. She then walked over and sat down right next to Moira. So this is Winterwood, she thought. She was very excited to sit next to someone she had deemed so cool. Winterwood looked over and noticed Moira looking at her. She had a cheery smile and held out a bejeweled hand.
"Hi there! I'm Winterwood! You must be Moira. Dr. Sorela has talked about you a lot," she said with a wink and a smile.
"Wow! I really love your... outfit! I can't even decide if I like your skirt or shirt more. I've heard that Sorela has talked about us. I can't wait to meet him!"
"You haven't met him yet? He's dying to meet you! He keeps missing you and your brother."
"Wow!" Moira was in awe. "Do you know him well?"
"Oh yes, this is my 4th year here. He's the godfather of my son. Kindest man I know. Truly one of a kind."
"Wow that's awesome! So, you play oboe I presume, then?"
"Yes I do! I'll be your ally this term in orchestra. Ask me anything, I know the ropes quite well. Have you met Carey?"
"Yeah I have. We met at orientation, sort of."
Carey took notice and, smiling broadly, said a cheerful hello with a reed sticking out of his mouth.
"Just like his father," Winterwood laughed. "But anyways yeah, after rehearsal you should totally go to Sorela's office. Trust me- he'll know you're coming. Do you know where it is?"
"I think so. I'm totally going to go do that. I can't believe he's excited about us!"
"Well, he's very Jadali. Like, his name is totally Catin and he's a Man of Osai and everything but he totally identifies with that Jadali half. He loves being able to speak Keòen with students and since he knows practically all the history of Jadali he loves talking bloodlines and stuff. You'll love him, I'm sure!"
They continued talking and finally it was time for orchestra to start. A beautiful Catin girl with curled hair and a pink outfit stood up and Winterwood got her tuner out and began playing an A. All the winds began to tune and slowly the pitch changed from being quite rough to a lot smoother. After two more A's the director, Dr. Matthews, stood.
"Well, hello everyone and welcome to another exciting year of orchestra! This is my first year flying solo so we'll see how it goes. I'm Kirill Matthews and I'm also the cello teacher here. I'm so excited to be here and to be able to work with all of you. I recognize a lot of you from years past and, of course, all of you from your auditions which were very good. What I want to do now is introduce all the freshmen and new people in the orchestra so I'm going to go around and I want you to say your name and the city you're from. Let's start with the basses and work through the strings and then back to the percussion and winds."
The only new bass was a girl named Meng Ser who was Raellian and from the west coast. In the cello section there was one new student too, a guy named, oddly, Crunch West (his name was really Curtis, however). The viola section had three new people: Hugo Kelley of Pathreeah, Emma Zira of a city on the Falitonia-Baydi border called Arjiona, and a local girl named April Correll. There were only three new violin players as well. Amber Rule was a local girl, Aurora Fraley was from Rafi, and Shadrach Callahan was the graduate assistant, though Moira didn't catch where he was from. Finally it was onto the winds. Moira listened closely, anticipating her turn to announce her presence. There weren't many new people at all. Aslan represented the bassoon section and said he was from Kile Point. In the horn section the boy from Catarika that Moira briefly saw at orientation announced himself in Catin ("K'sa Ravosilu Kribana to ki maye Corro."). Finally it was onto her row and Carey announced himself as being from Pathreeah.
Moira stood up nervously. "I'm Moira Lochgren and I'm from Jadali."
She received many oohs and ahhs and although she felt embarrassed on the outside she was secretly happy to be treated like such a celebrity. Finally it was Severin's turn and he stood.
"I'm Severin Lochgren and I'm also from Jadali."
"Are you related?" asked Dr. Matthews.
"She's my sister. No, we're not married. I'm her brother and I'm older."
The orchestra laughed and Severin smiled, proud to be related to Moira.
"What city in Jadali are you from?" asked a guy in the violin section.
"Leena Eithre-Resa," Moira and Severin said, almost in unison.
"Oh that's cool! My parents are from Dahhod and they go back to Chabhàidd," the guy said. ("That's Sarlan Lochmont," whispered Winterwood. He's got a little Jadali blood.)
Orchestra then commenced as usual and, though awkward on the first day of rehearsal with lots of new people, it was very enjoyable and they all had a great time. They were halfway through the third piece when during a pause in the music Winterwood tapped Moira lightly on the arm.
"Look!" she said, pointing at the door. Moira turned and gasped, glad that she wasn't heard. There standing in the door was the tall, dark frame of Dr. Sorela. His eyes were so dark that they seemed to absorb light and his long black hair added to his darkness. Just as described, he was wearing all black, with a long black trenchcoat. He had a soft smile on his face and the whole atmoshpere of the room seemed to change. Severin saw him too and they both took a minute to realize who they were looking at. They turned back to the music and once they had a rest again they looked back and he was gone.
"How does he do that!" Moira asked, during break. "He seems to appear out of nowhere!"
"Well, he has Stealth, remember," said Winterwood. "I think he uses the Realm to get around but I thought Terabikai weren't allowed to use it for that purpose in front of people."
"They're not," chimed in Nathan who had walked by. "He probably just uses Stealth," he said with a smile and walked off towards some friends of his.
"He's a Terabikai too," Winterwood said, gesturing at Nathan with her thumb.
"I know! We found that out today! That's amazing!"
"It's so cool, huh! They really make a difference with their presence in a room. It's probably the coolest thing ever."
"By the way Winterwood," Moira had been dying to ask this for a long time, "Your son... What's his name?"
"Oh! I forgot to tell you! His name is Riedlan."
"Riedlan! That's an awesome name!"
"Hehe yes! It's Keòen even. I thought you might like that."
"Also, what's your husband's name?"
"Oh! Right. His name is Eagle. We're both from Isle Del Akai. He does percussion and also sings but he hasn't in a while. He decided that percussion was his thing. You'll see him in band too."
"Are you in band?"
"Nope, not this year at least. I only do orchestra, lessons, and mainly online classes so that I can be with my son. I'm part of a group of music major moms and we watch each others' kids."
"That's so cool!" Moira was liking Winterwood even more with every second. They thought a lot alike and she was very nice and helpful.
As orchestra came to an end Moira found herself a friend richer and couldn't wait until that evening when she would go to the local festival with Winterwood and her family, Carey and his family, and some other people from their section that she hadn't met yet. The first step, however, was meeting Dr. Sorela. Both Moira and Severin could hardly wait for that moment and it was finally almost at hand!
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