Scribes & Archers

The end of the week has arrived, and with it my answers to this week’s prompts. :)

Day 8 – How does your main character feel about music?

All of my main characters love music. Since they live in the lower villages music is a big cultural thing, but they also just love making music and find it a lot of fun. Almost all of them sing around work.

Day 9 – Does your antagonist have a song that’s special to them? What is it and why does it matter?

Seeing as my antagonist is a secret, if I told you then I’d have to kill you. ;)

Day 10 – Do any of your side characters play an instrument? What kind?

Yes, they do. Zen plays the pipa (a Chinese stringed instrument), and both Tora and Sairsha play the Đàn tranh (a Vietnamese instrument similar to a lap harp).

Day 11 – What song takes your MC back to their childhood?

There’s probably a Virilen lullaby that always makes Duyên think about her childhood and her family. She sometimes misses hearing it, now that her siblings are both too old for it.

Days 12 & 13 – Write about a memory your main character has about music

Music, loud and clear, traveled in from the village field to breach Duyên’s window. She looked up from her dolls and listened for a moment to identify the instruments and guess who was playing. Pipa, Đàn tranh, ocarina, dizi… Aside from the ocarina, which was played either by Dai or Diem, anyone could be playing.

Duyên snatched her own ocarina off the dresser and rushed into the kitchen, braided pigtails flying out behind her. Her parents were already in the kitchen, Alachi tuning his ruan and Meuma situating Sakura in the sling on her back. Duyên’s eyes lit up. “We’re going?”

Alachi chuckled. “Of course we’re going.”

Duyên squealed and rushed to the door to tie on her sandals, small fingers fumbling with the straps. By the time she finished, Alachi and Meuma were coming to the door. Duyên hopped up and pushed out the door, following the sound of multiplying instruments as she ran down the dirt road. Duyên pulled up short when she reached the edge of the kyang field and her eyes widened. It had started with only four musicians, but now half the village was playing! Duyên rushed over to Dai, whose colorful scarves made her easy to spot, and hopped up on the porch stair next to her.

“Did you help start this?” Duyên asked.

Dai shook her head and lowered her ocarina. “The Tăngs started it.” She pointed over at a quartet.

The quartet was composed of an alachi, a meuma, and a daughter and a son. Vinh, Sakae, Diem, and Ryuu. She knew Vinh because he’d made her ocarina, and she knew Sakae and Diem because they made a lot of the village’s clothes, but she only knew Ryuu from the few times she’d seen him walk past her house on his way to school.

The first song ended and the Tăngs launched everyone into a new tune that Duyên immediately recognized as a common folk tune. Unfortunately, she couldn’t sing all the words without getting her tongue tied up yet. Ryuu started the singing, and anyone not playing a wind instrument joined in. Duyên decided it was better for her to play along on her ocarina than try to sing it.

The music lasted probably two hours before Dai stood up and announced a break for lunch. As everyone filtered off the field, Alachi and Meuma walked over to Duyên, Meuma bouncing Sakura in her arms.

“Ready to head home?” Alachi asked.

Duyên‘s face fell. “No.”

Dai chuckled. “Would you all like to have lunch with me?”

Duyên lit back up. “Yes!”

“Only if it’s not too much trouble,” Alachi said.

Dai grinned, deepening her wrinkles. “Not at all.”

After lunch, Meuma headed home with Sakura while Alachi and Duyên stayed to enjoy more music. Duyên sat on Dai’s porch step as people started returning to the field, watching for the Tăngs. When they arrived, she jumped up and ran across the field to them, pulling to a stop just before she would have run into Diem.

“Hi,” Duyên said.

All of the Tăngs looked over at her and Diem smiled. “Hi, Duyên. How are you?”

“Good!” Duyên grinned. “I wanted to thank you for starting all this. It’s so fun.” Duyên looked over at Ryuu. “You sing really well.”

Ryuu tossed his dark hair and put on the most arrogant smile ever. “Thanks.”

Vinh, Sakae, and Diem wandered off to talk to other neighbors until everyone had returned.

Ryuu looked down at the ocarina in Duyên‘s hand. “What’s that?”

Duyên lifted it up. “It’s an ocarina.”

Ryuu frowned. “No it’s not.” He pointed to the round ocarina that Diem had set on the stair, in contrast to Duyên‘s nearly triangular one. “That’s an ocarina.”

“They both are.”

Ryuu snorted. “Two of the same instrument can’t look that different.”

“Yes they can.” Duyên frowned and placed her hands on her hips. “Ask your alachi. He made them both.”

“I don’t have to ask.” Ryuu snatched the ocarina from Duyên and ran off.

Duyên shrieked. “Hey! That’s mine!” She ran off after him, pumping her little legs as fast as they would go.

Duyên caught up to Ryuu and tackled him, grasping for her ocarina. As they both fell to the ground, there was a crack and Ryuu yelled. Duyên scrambled out of the way as he rolled over, nearly rolling on top of her, and her eyes widened as she saw that a shard of her precious ocarina had embedded itself in the middle of his chest. Panic flooded her mind.

“Help! Help!” Duyên frantically cast around, and a handful of villagers ran to the rescue. Duyên looked back at Ryuu, eyes wide. “I’m so sorry.”

Ryuu simply grunted with pain as Vinh scooped him up.

Sakae set a hand on Duyên‘s shoulder. “What happened?”

“He stole my ocarina and ran off and I chased him and… I didn’t mean to!” Hot tears began streaming down Duyên‘s face.

“Oh, sweetheart.” Sakae wrapped Duyên up in a hug and stroked her hair. “It’s not your fault, sweetie.”

Day 14 – What song describes your MC/What is your MC’s theme song?

I actually have no idea. :P

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If you want to submit a prompt for the end of this month and get a chance to have your blog featured, you only have two days left! I’m closing submissions tomorrow night, so get your prompts in now! :)

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