I Am the One

Ren tried not to make a face as Viola spoke suddenly. She didn't even want her here in the first place. A private showing was supposed to be private after all, and she should not be allowed to make suggestions in the first place...

Also, Viola was trying to kill her, so that was a thing too.

Still, she smiled and walked over towards her harp. "Horror, it shall be, please, if it becomes too much, stop me." It was the atmosphere she brought with her rather than the lyrics that tended to freak people out. She froze as she moved the harp lightly, growing slightly bashful before looking behind her at Dorrance. "And should it haunt your dreams, allow me to soothe your mind later."

Once the warning (and offer) was out of the way, she let out a long sigh and began to lightly play the harp. There was no sudden movements, or dance attributed to this song. Her voice carried and echoed through the hall as she sung. There was a heavy and oppressive atmosphere in the air as she went on. Both Dorrance and Viola would see Ren seemingly grow pale, her eyes starting to glow as the song went along. Viola, herself would distinctly feel eyes watching her, a feeling Ren was hoping to drill into her skull.

Dorrance, on the other hand, she was trying not to scare as much here. She'd feel heavy and a distinct mist would creep into the room. Her hairs would stand up, a cold breeze chilling the air around her and Viola.

But, just like that. At the very end of the song. It all would drift away. Ren would return to her normal vigor, though a somber look took her features. She glanced over towards Dorrance, making sure she was still okay. She did not speak, instead, waiting for a reaction from her audience, as was her tradition after a song.

As Ren stared at Viola, the latter only stared blankly, appearing rather unaffected by anything. Whether it was in order to not let anything on or her general apathetic nature, it was hard to say. Whatever the case, she stared at Ren...and even smiled for a split second before reverting to her poker face.

The situation would be different for Dorrance. Her head would whirl around as she saw the ballroom eaten by the grim ambience Ren conjured. Dorrance...was oddly smiling. In fact, she looked at little excited.

She never ever wanted to admit it, but Viola had been right. As a kid, her father had gotten her accustomed to morbid things, and both of them even shared in enjoying scary tales during her bedtime. Dorrance's relatives had always called it distasteful and unladylike, and she had always been one to try and hide it. She never thought her ability to not just be unfazed, but delight in the morbid would ever come to use, but that changed when she started grave robbing.

Whatever the case, when the song finished, Dorrance was wide-eyed and looked ecstatic, like a child who had just seen a magic show or a neat trick. She quickly flushed, however, and after applauding, she tried to hide her enthusiasm behind her mouth.

"That was brilliant as always, Miss Ren!" she said, trying to hide her smile. "Where did you ever hear that tale, if I may ask? It sounds really intriguing and must have some semblance of truth!"

She was interested to hear if there was a true tale about it. She'd have something to tell her father when she visited his grave, if she did.

Ren was rather surprised by both of their reactions. Normally, there would be cries from the audience, some had fainted. She grinned towards the two. "It appears you both are quite the brave ones." She tilted her heads towards Dorrance all the same. "My previous offer stands though. Who knows what can crawl in the subconscious~" She said in a mock creepy voice.

When she asked further Ren could only smile wider. She loved this story. "Well, legends tell the tale of a man. The crow of Dearmad." She leaned in, her eyes getting wider. Again, as she spoke, the light seemed to darken around them, the candles flickering. "It is said, the man was once a crow himself, but feasted on the corpse of a powerful moira. The crow twisted a morphed, turing into a man with gray hair and yellow eyes. He possessed powerful magics, only dwarfed by his greed."

She began to move forward, gently kneeling and leaning towards Dorrance. "The crow, wandered, an army of his brethren following in his wake. He appears to those with a great need. He will perform any task..." She lowered her voice, leaning in further. "But, if you do not pay him what he wishes. The crows will surround you and pick you apart bit. by. bit. He will eat your still beating heart before disappearing once more, leaving only bloodstained feathers in his wake...He is always hungry, always greedy. If you see him, it is best to simply not speak. Say nothing, ask for nothing, else he will haunt you until he gets what he wants, be that coin or flesh."

Viola seemed to resist the urge to roll her eyes as Ren suggested things that would haunt their dreams, but Dorrance only blushed.

"O-oh, that would probably be a concern, yes," she said. And then, a little more sheepishly, "Though I wouldn't want to bother you and end up causing you to sleep in the same bed with me again, eheh..."

This time Viola discreetly did roll her eyes.

Whatever the case, when Ren moved onto talking about some old legendary crow, Dorrance looked only what could be described as ecstatic.

"That sounds incredible!" she said. She clasped her face, looking into the distance dreamily. "Such a legend sounds amazing. It would be so incredible if that were true. It half makes me wish I could go on fun adventures and meet such an incredible person!"

"You've said incredible three times, milady," Viola pointed out matter-of-factly.

"W-well, that's the only way I can describe it!" she stammered. And then looking back at Ren, "A-are there any other tales of this legendary crow?"

Ren was more or less angling for that, but when Dorrance spoke, both a smile and a blush appeared on her face. "Honestly, I've never slept better than when I was with you. It's no bother at all." Feeling safe from death tended to help one sleep after all.

Dorrance being so delighted by this story only brought a smile to her face. Asking for more made it wider. She had one and it was a doozy. "Well, rumor has it. He's appeared in Saadedge a couple months ago. I know it to be fact, do you know why?" She let the question hang in the air for a moment.

"Because I saw him and the aftermath." Suddenly she'd sit down next to Dorrance, quite close in fact. "Here." She whispered and held open her palms. She whispered a few incantations and suddenly, a book seemingly appeared in her hands. The book itself was worn and scarred, yet with gold embroidery on the front it read 'memory book'. "I can show you what I saw that night." She turned and whispered.

The book would open, the pages had still images painted on them. The first one, Dorrance could see Ren as a little girl, dirty and small, yet in mid dance with a small pot full of coins at her feet. Suddenly, the pages flipped by themselves, several scenes skipped by, eventually stopping on an inside of a rather wild inn in Saadedge. "Focus on it, dove." She held the book up. If Dorrance stared, the image would begin to move, the sounds of the very melody she'd just sung echoing across. The audience was scared, sweating and wide eyed. The picture would shift, showing Ren. Her eyes were scanning the room idly. Suddenly, her eyes widened. The song stopped.

The scene changed, showing a man's wicked smile, sharp teeth and gray stubble across his face. Next it showed his eyes. Glowing yellow and bloodshot. It showed his full body, strong and handsome. Longer graying hair tied into a short ponytail. The man saw her expression and idly waved a hand, silently telling her to continue. She did as ordered, watching him the entire time.

Quietly, he leaned over, whispering to a woman nearby. She handed him a bag of denars and, with a smile, her turned and left just as she was finishing her song.

The page turned, Ren was rushing out of the inn as the crowd applauded behind her. It was dark out and nary a soul was about. The moon shone brightly. Ren looked around wildly, trying to catch sight of the man. Dorrance would see it before the image of Ren. The shadow of the inn loomed outwards, lit by the moon. On the top, there was a crow. Its caw alerted Ren. She whirled around, staring up at it. She saw its piercing yellow eyes first. It let out another caw, staring directly at her. Suddenly, she heard another caw, then another, then another. A cacophonous roar filled the streets, causing Ren to cover her ears. The sky went dark, the moon being completely covered. Ren looked up to see possibly hundreds of crows flying in a circle above her.

Suddenly, they descended, swirling around her in a whirlwind. Their caws only growing louder. A shape appeared in the whirlwind of crows, though Ren could only see glowing yellow eyes.

"Is there something you require, bard?"

Ren's mouth opened, but she quickly brought her hands to cover it, her eyes shutting as the figure went on. "Or are you just too curious for your own good? Do you know what I do to people who seek me out without reason?" Ren's eyes widened as the whirlwind of crows suddenly tightened, growing closer and closer. The caws were so loud, her ears were bleeding. She could barely breath. Suddenly her legs gave out. Oddly enough, there was a defiant look in her eyes as she reached for a dagger. She had no chance to use it and she was suddenly taken by the crows. They flew around her, buffeting her, pecking at her skin.

She let out a cry, and then...It was over.

She looked around, the sky was clear, the moon bright. She was bleeding, but she wasn't hurt too badly. Looking up, she no longer saw the crow. She sighed, shaking as she pushed herself up from the ground. She unclenched her hand and looked down.

In her hand, there was a black feather, stained red by her own blood...

The story ended there, the book closing. Dorrance was close enough that she could practically feel Ren's heart hammering in her chest. "I certainly learned a lesson that day." She smiled, despite her own fear at remembering the story. "Tis a memory that haunts my dreams to this day."

Dorrance leaned closer to take a good look at the book. She also took note that she had been called 'dove' again. Her face instantly reddened and, unlike before when she had feigned embarrassment, she felt all tingly at the name. She decided to brush it aside, however and focus as Ren said. She made no words and only stared as she saw what seemed to be Ren in certain scenes. The images quickly changed, showing this and that, a handsome man...a crow...

What Dorrance didn't expect was how the crow suddenly turned into a murder of crows, in the group and active sense as they started picking at Ren's skin. Normally, Dorrance would enjoy such gruesome scenery, but seeing Ren hurt and distressed, it...it oddly shocked her. It felt like something had stabbed through her chest and sent a wave of panic about her.

Quietly, she looked at Ren when the story finished. Then she rushed out of her chair without warning and rushed to Ren's side, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her close.

"Oh, my poor Miss Ren!" Dorrance said worriedly. "I'm so so sorry that happened. That must have been so frightening! Is it really okay that you told us about that? You're not in distress right now? If you have trouble sleeping, you're always welcome back in my bed."

She had paid attention to Ren's comment about sleeping at ease in her bed, and for her sake instead of Dorrance's, she'd happily let Ren stay with her.

Well THAT wasn't what she was expecting. Dorrance suddenly threw her arms around her, holding her tightly as she checked on her. Ren blinked in amazement, practically feeling the worry and care radiating off her. Slowly, she returned the hug, her pounding heart slowing down just a bit. "Things happen in the world. I was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. 'Tis a fine story though no?" She sighed, relaxing in Dorrance's arms. "I'm okay, Lady Dorrance. There's no need to worry about me. I'm-"

The sound of a caw outside, made Ren's head snap to the side wide eyed. Dorrance would feel her hold her more tightly as she tried to see whatever crow was outside. After a few seconds, she relaxed. It must have just been flying by or something...

"Sorry, that was just bad timing no?" She laughed bashfully. "I would be careful about saying such things, dove. You'll have a very hard time getting me out of your bed at this rate." She giggled, her nerves calming once again. "In all seriousness, I may have to take you up on your offer tonight." She briefly glanced out the window. It was hard enough sleeping while someone was trying to kill you. It was another thing when ones own mind was getting paranoid.

She found herself having a hard time actually breaking the hug...So she didn't. She'd wait for Dorrance and then maybe continue performing. She...didn't expect a hug to feel so damn comfortable.

Even if Dorrance was taken aback by Ren's sudden return to hugging her, she definitely welcomed it. Seeing Ren all scared like this honestly made the bard rather cute, and when Ren mentioned she really WOULD take the offer and would be hard to get out of her bed, Dorrance let out a delightful little laugh. Despite herself, she hugged Ren even tighter and nestled her face against Ren's head, being slightly taller than she was.

"You know you're always welcome to," she said giggling slightly. "I want nothing more than to make sure our guest feels safe and at home."

It took awhile for Dorrance to actually let go of Ren. In fact, she stayed in place until Viola cleared her throat.

"Milady."

"Hm?"

"I believe you are suffocating our guest," she said.

Dorrance opened her eyes and looked at Ren. Her face flashed pink and she quickly let go, clutching her face in embarrassment.

"A-aah...I-I'm sorry!" Dorrance squeaked. "I-I got carried away! I just f-felt really bad about you being scared is all. But if you're alright now, then I suppose we can carry on with the show?"

Dorrance was a little hesitant to go back to her seat and lingered, worried Ren might suddenly flinch again at the sound of the night birds or faint on the spot.

"Thank you..." Ren muttered into Dorrance's shoulder. She felt comforted by the woman. It wasn't something she felt often, so she might have been indulging herself just a little. Of course, though, Viola had to speak up.

"Ah, no worries. At least it would've been a comfortable death." Ren giggled, waving off Dorance's apologies. "There's no need to feel bad! I misjudged my own tolerance to the story is all. Twas my own mistake, My Lady." She smiled bashfully before Dorrance suggested moving on with the show.

Ren perked up slightly and gave another bow. "But of course! Please take a seat...What would you like to hear next?"

Dorrance let out a sigh of relief. A part of her oddly felt at ease that Ren was at ease. It was a new feeling to her, but one that was more pleasant than the earlier feeling of dread she had for Ren. Reluctantly, she went back to her seat and pondered about what Ren should sing next.

"Well...you've told me a legend of a dangerous man," she said. "Why not tell me a story of a legendary hero? Someone who would starkly contrast the grimness of the Crow of Dearmad?"

She then quickly added, "N-not that I didn't find him in any way distasteful! I'm actually quite endeared at how mysterious he is. I just think the parallel would be interesting if you had it!"

Viola, meanwhile, said nothing and merely looked on. She seemed rather disinterested at this point.