Week Four

[stagemanagers]

[Last week, Gershwin High School Academy University saw its very first intentional murder! What a milestone! And right after Spongebob's No Murder party, too - that doesn't seem like it bodes very well for anybody's future.

You all wake up this morning with yet another new memory returned to you. You'll also find that the school's external doors have now unlocked. Congratulations! You're free! Unfortunately, you also seem to be entirely in the middle of nowhere. So maybe it's more of a symbolic victory.

Still, you should look around and do some investigation! Maybe you'll find a fun surprise.]

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

(( Be sure to submit your memory regains and your AC for this week! Hester's office hours and the merch booth also remain available! ))

Comments

[mayavericks]

[Maya sits up, following the motion of his hands. Aha, a distraction. She will... politely ignore his question in favor of taking an interest in his own efforts.]

What is all of that?

[themuseabandonsyou]

It's an offering. [ says Orpheus, continuing to circle the bench. ] I don't... know if penguins have gods? I never really talked to Mumble about it. But I thought it couldn't hurt, to try to do something to ease his passage. Even if I'm a little late.

[ He sets the tap shoes down on the bench, on the other side from where Maya is sitting. ]

And those are for Mumble. I got them out of the machine. I was going to give them to him? But...

[mayavericks]

He'd love them.

[Maya doesn't know much about the ritual. Most of what she does know are from the old Greek plays she's been apart of. But she can respect the thought that's gone into it, at least.

The tap shoes, however, she does understand. She stares at them as they're set down. Even as he continues speaking, her gaze remains locked there.]

He would have loved them. [A beat.] The first time we danced together, it was a tap routine.

[themuseabandonsyou]

He showed me a little bit of his dancing. And he told me he'd talked to you about it.

[ Orpheus sits down on Elisabeth's bench, leaning against the back rest. ]

I'm not much of a dancer, myself? But I wish I'd gotten to show him one of the traditional jigs I learned back home. I think he might've appreciated it, especially since it sounds like he'd never really seen anyone else dance except for him, before coming here.

[mayavericks]

[Maya is quiet again. Mumble had spoken of her. It wasn't just her own ego speaking, when she felt that she had bonded with him in that moment.

Thankfully, Orpheus keeps speaking, gives her something else to focus on, instead of her own thoughts.]

You could show me, if you wanted? Perhaps, wherever he is, he can see us. And maybe he might like to watch?

[themuseabandonsyou]

Maybe. It's worth trying. [ he says, putting the plate down as well before taking the guitar he has slung over his shoulders off and propping it up against one of the benches. Rolling his shoulders, he stretches a little as he steps back to give himself some room. ]

This might be a little hard without music, but. I think trying to play and dance at the same time would be harder? So.

[ He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and begins to dance. He's rusty at it, taking the steps slowly and deliberately as he tries to remember what he'd been taught all those years ago. It comes back to him steadily, though, and he gains some confidence as the dance goes on, clicking the heels and toes of his shoes against the garden's paved path and moving in a slow circle around the planted tree at its center. When he finishes, he's done a full circuit, ending up in front of Maya again and looking to her for approval. ]

[mayavericks]

[Maya watches him move, twisting around the bench. Despite the looming cloud over her, she looks at least a little more like herself as she watches? There's a faint, familiar glimmer in her eyes, and while they're narrowed it's clear that it's out of focus rather than anything else.

All in all, it's not too different than what she's done before. She's familiar with tap, after all -- it had been the exact same sort of dance she'd showed Mumble. And even without the music, she can at least envision the rhythm that's supposed to follow.

After a moment, she stands.]

May I try?

[themuseabandonsyou]

Sure. [ says Orpheus, smiling a little. ] It's supposed to be a partnered dance, anyway. You just do it side-by-side. Here.

[ He'll step aside to give her some space, then go through the first few steps of the dance again, slower this time so she can watch his footwork and pick it up for herself. ]

[mayavericks]

[Maya's a quick study, at least. She mirrors the steps that Orpheus takes, then picks up the pace in her own right. It's familiar enough, and the rhythm lulling.]

Like this?

[themuseabandonsyou]

Exactly! And then the next part goes like this.

[ He'll demonstrate again, a little faster this time, since Maya seems to pick things up so quickly. ]

Then it's just a matter of putting them together as we move. We can try it together when you're ready.

[mayavericks]

Okay.

[She gives herself a few moments to practice, repeating the steps to herself. When she's confident, she looks to Orepheus for approval.]

And then we go around the bench, just like this?

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Orpheus watches Maya go through the steps as she gets a feel for them, nodding to her when she looks up at him. ]

Right! Just like that. Here, let's go.

[ And Orpheus will start up again, back to the speed he'd started at, but this time with a little more confidence, having been through the steps a couple more times now for practice himself. This time he'll hum the song's tune, giving himself and Maya something to help them keep the rhythm as they circle the bench slowly. ]

[mayavericks]

[The music helps. So, too, does moving at all. The clouds in her head become just a little less turbulent. She even manages a half-smile as they go.

When was the last time she danced for fun, anyway?]

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ It's a little hard to keep up the humming, between the dancing and the fact that a little grin keeps threatening to break out on Orpheus's face as he and Maya do a slow loop around the bench, tapping out a rhythm against the paved path of the garden. It feels good to do this, right somehow, and he doesn't know if Mumble can see it, and he doesn't know if the offering he gave earlier meant anything, but it feels like some of the weight has been lifted off of him, however small.

When they come to a stop back where they started, he lets himself grin at Maya, and takes a shallow bow. ]

You pick these things up really fast! [ he says, eyes alight. ] We should do this again, when we can actually get someone to play the music for us.

[mayavericks]

[Maya returns the gesture to Orpheus, bowing low. When she comes up, the smile has broadened to a grin. It doesn't take away everything, her heart still aches for those they've lost, but at least she feels a little lighter.]

I've always been a quick study. [She isn't even trying to brag, she promises.] It was common for our instructors to put on a video of a stage production, and then have us recreate it from memory. I got good at memorizing the small details.

I would love to do it again, though. With the others, even.

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ This might be the first time Orpheus has ever seen Maya smile so wide, and it only makes his own expression lighter in turn. ]

That sounds like it'd be a really tough exercise. Usually when I learn a new dance I have to have someone walk me through it a bunch of times.

[ His memory for dance isn't nearly so sharp as for music. ]

If the others want to, I'd definitely be happy to help teach them the dance too, or the song if they'd rather play. It might be something nice to do together, for us and for Mumble's sake.

[mayavericks]

You get used to it. And it helped that some of the plays we did were ones I was familiar with. Like Arrie. It was my favorite to watch as a child. I looked up to the young actress in it so much, and --

[She catches herself suddenly, and covers her mouth. There's a faint dusting of pink on her cheeks.]

Suffice to say. I enjoy the stage and found it a welcome challenge to recreate my favorite performances.

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ The embarrassment is briefly puzzling, and Orpheus blinks at her owlishly, before shrugging it off and grinning, just glad to see how passionate she is. ]

I'm glad it's something that suits you so well, [ he says. ] Loving what you do and having real talent and skill and patience for it is a wonderful thing. Did you always want to be an actress? I know you said your parents were performers too.

[mayavericks]

Truthfully?

[She shrugs.]

I never thought of anything else. It simply... was the way it would be. I never questioned it.

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Orpheus nods, thoughtfully. ]

I think I understand that, a little? My mom taught me how to play the lyre and the piano almost before I could walk, and I've never really... thought about doing anything else, other than playing music. It's just who I am.

[ And his circumstances might be a little more literal about it being in his blood as opposed to the pressures of having stage parents, but he's not necessarily aware enough to pick up on that. ]

But like I said, it's clearly something you love, and I'm really happy for you.