Remarkable Progress

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Dawn looked down at the stack of clothes, silently saying goodbye to them. It seemed a bit absurd to do such a thing for clothing, but those garments were most of what she had from her own world. Unfortunately they weren't well-suited for this one, and she couldn't carry both them and her new garb, as well as food and water. After a few moments, she picked them up, wondering where to throw them away.

"Duens?" Dawn said to the dalhari.

"Hm?" Duens hummed absently. He was busy packing up his own things, since they were leaving in just a few minutes. All of them wanted to get on the road toward Weosp, since at least they had a chance for employment there.

"Where do I throw these away?" Dawn inquired, holding up the clothes.

"What? Throw them away?" Duens echoed, looking over at her. "Oh, don't throw them away! We'll use them for rags. If your pack won't hold them, give them to Prall."

Dawn looked down at the clothes and shrugged. Hey, if someone wanted to use her old clothes as rags, fine by her. She set them aside for Prall and finished loading her pack. She was eager to get on the road and to the next hold. No one in Havbo had seen Xander and there was no work for the others, so she had no desire to stay here.

The quintet stopped for a quick breakfast downstairs before going over to the woodworker's shop. The cyar'dil was finished so it took no time to retrieve the instrument. Dawn was pleased with the midnight blue color, which completely hid the stains. Duens cut a leg off one of her old jeans and split it open, making her a cloth to wrap her cyar'dil in. Dawn tucked the instrument into her belt and they were soon on their way to Weosp, leaving Havbo behind.

It wasn't long after they got out of the hold that Duens told Dawn to get out her cyar'dil and start practicing scales. Now that they were away from others, her practicing could continue unhindered. Marni didn't even complain when she started, so Dawn figured that she'd either improved considerably or the f'lh had simply grown accustomed to the noise.

Several hours and a stop or two later, Duens drew out his cyar'val and began to play along with Dawn. She faltered for a moment before catching on and continuing to play her scales. Duens played the same thing she did, although his notes were a bit higher, since the cyar'val was smaller than the cyar'dil. Soon the two were racing each other through the scales, seeing who could get done the fastest.

"I think you've got those down, girl," Marni said as they stopped for the third time that day. "If you can keep up with Duens, you've made real progress." Dawn beamed at the praise; while she knew that Duens could play faster, it was nice to know that she'd passed whatever test they'd just given her. Maybe now she'd progress past scales.

"Can I learn songs now?" Dawn asked as they passed around lunch.

Prall shrugged. "You could, I suppose."

"Or you could just start playing," Zhaen added.

"Huh?" Dawn muttered. That didn't sound right. You didn't just start playing—you read music, or at least learned songs.

"We'll show you, don't worry," Prall said reassuringly. Dawn nodded, confused. Maybe music was taught differently here. She hadn't seen any written music with the musicians, so maybe they didn't write it down or something.

Once they'd continued their walking, Duens brought out his cyar'val again. "For now, we'll start with the scales again, Dawn," He said. "What you should try to do is follow me; whatever I do, do that." Dawn nodded and brought her instrument up.

Duens began with one of the same scales they'd been practicing for days. Dawn played along, trying to focus on what Duens was playing. She tripped up when a note changed, but she caught herself and continued. Every third or fourth note, Duens altered the scale a little bit. Dawn figured out what he was doing rather quickly; it took a lot of concentration to mimic what he was doing. At least the dalhari was playing more slowly than they had earlier.

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"What are you making?" Dawn asked Prall as he began to sift through their foodstores for their evening meal.

"Hif shwir," the orth replied.

"Again?" Dawn asked quietly. "How do you make it?"

Prall handed Dawn two cooking pots and a water container. "Fill one about one-third full, the other one-half." Dawn did as requested, being very careful not to spill any of their precious water. "The smaller is for the meat—it gets mixed in later," Prall said. "First, though, you need to put the pots on their stands in the fire."

Dawn looked askance at the stands folded up next to the fire ring. She had watched Prall set them up before, but she hadn't really taken note of how they worked. He picked one up, unfolding and hooking it until it stood upright. Dawn copied him, struggling for a minute before seeing how the thing worked. Once they were set up, she suspended the pots under the stands and got both of them into the fire, somehow not singing herself in the process. "Now what?"

"Now we put the vegetables in the larger pot," Prall said, presenting Dawn with several bags.

"Which ones?" Dawn asked, poking through the bags. "I don't recognize all of these."

"Some of them are local to this area; others grow elsewhere and are imported," Prall said. "You put in the ones you like and want to eat, just like cooking anything else."

Dawn nodded and sifted through the dried vegetables. Yimkia was very definitely out—she didn't think she'd ever want to eat more of that particular food. She recognized verdrin and tossed a large handful in. It was really spicy, but she liked the sort of tomato-like taste. Maybe if it was balanced with something blander…she tentatively tried a few different types before deciding on a couple. "Is that enough?"

"Double all of it," Prall said, peering into the pot. There wasn't nearly enough for all of them. Dawn shrugged and tossed in more. After she finished with that, he gave her a bag of dried meat. She put in a small handful for herself, Marni and Prall, guessing that it was enough. Prall handed her a couple of spoons for stirring, and before long their dinner was bubbling merrily.

"It's done," Marni declared some time later, setting out their bowls. The f'lh ladled out first the vegetables, then the meats, until all the food was gone. The musicians dug in and Dawn watched for signs that the food wasn't edible. It mustn't have been too bad, since they said nothing about it. She liked how it had turned out; maybe cooking wasn't so difficult after all.

After dinner was finished and the pots scrubbed with sand, Duens handed Dawn her cyar'dil and they began practicing again. "Let me guess—follow the leader?" Dawn asked wryly. Duens nodded and they started playing.

They played for more than an hour, Dawn following as Duens led her in ever more complicated variations on the standard scales. She was so focused on following him that she didn't notice Zhaen joining in until Duens stopped playing altogether. Dawn almost stopped, but was able to pick up on what Zhaen was playing and continued on. After a few minutes, Duens began again. Dawn alternated between mimicking Duens and Zhaen, noting how they played slightly different notes.

After another hour, Dawn stopped due to exhaustion and quickly fell asleep by the fire. Duens wrapped and stored her cyar'dil while the others readied the campsite for the night. "She's learning remarkably quickly," Zhaen noted as she and Duens settled by the fire.

"She is," He agreed quietly. "I wouldn't be surprised if she was able to join us in Weosp, at least on simple pieces."

"I should think so," Marni added. "After all, she did quite well with the two of you today."

"Just don't push her," Prall warned. "I think that right now it's fun for her, as well as a way to support herself. She shouldn't feel like a slave to us, playing just to stay alive."

The others agreed, quieting down for the night.

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"What's up for practice today?" Dawn asked Duens shortly after they started their trek the next morning.

Duens shrugged. "Whatever you want."

"Whatever I want?" Dawn echoed.

"Play whatever you want," Duens said.

"But I don't know anything but the scale!" Dawn exclaimed.

Zhaen sighed. "Make something up, then. That's what we do."

"Make something up?" Dawn asked. "How?"

Zhaen stepped up next to Dawn. "What do you see?" She asked, waving her hand out toward the desert.

"Um…sand, rocks and scrubby plants," Dawn replied tentatively.

"Good. Play that. Or, play something else, like the wind, the sun, birds flying…" Zhaen continued.

"Oh," Dawn replied. Hmm. She waited for more elaboration, but got none. After a few minutes, she raised the cyar'dil and began to play.

At first, what she produced was little more than a slow, labored cacophony of hesitant notes. Dawn grew frustrated. No matter how hard she tried, she heard nothing but noise—no rhythm, no harmony. She was about to give up—there was nothing for her to use to time herself or guide what she played. The rocks weren't doing a thing for her.

Then she picked up on the sound of footsteps—her companion's footsteps. Each one was different: Prall took great, heavy steps, Marni shuffled a little, Duens strode lightly, and Zhaen made almost no noise at all, almost sliding on the ground. Dawn started with Prall's very constant pace and began to play.

Her initial efforts at this approach were spare; she played a single note for each step. Once she'd gotten that down, she began to elaborate; adding notes here and there—a high note every time he passed a rock, a low note for each plant… Soon Dawn's attention was drawn elsewhere as she took the tune she was playing out into the desert, focusing more on her surroundings. There was a lot of life in the seemingly barren landscape, but it was well hidden. If she looked closely, she saw little birds and lizards darting here and there—and there were a lot of plants, even if they were scrubby and small.

Duens smiled over at Zhaen when Dawn picked up on the technique. They were both very impressed that she'd done so well—this particular improvisational method was widely used among the dalhari but was considered quite difficult by other species. Both Prall and Marni were practiced in it and used it a lot, since both Zhaen and Duens favored it, but the dalhari in turn learned the more set musical styles of the orth and f'lh. When the foursome had decided to teach Dawn how to play, they had unanimously chosen to start with the dalhari techniques, since they would prove to be the most useful later on. Once they were learned, she could easily pick up the other types. Besides, Duens, and to a lesser extent Zhaen, were the teachers of the group. Neither Prall nor Marni had much interest in instruction, unlike the dalhari. Oh, they could show Dawn a thing or two, but they didn't have the ability to easily instruct that the dalhari did.

This time when others joined in, Dawn didn't even pause. Actually, she was grateful that Marni had started playing her drums; the steady thumping gave her a nice basis for the improvisational playing they were doing. Soon she found herself playing off the others; sometimes she and Zhaen would mimic each other, while at other times Duens would copy whatever she played. Dawn could tell they were going slower and simpler than usual, but that didn't matter to her. It would be a long time before she could play as well as they did.

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"That's Weosp, isn't it?" Dawn asked, pointing to a dark spot down the road. Prall squinted at where she'd indicated.

"Yes, it is. We should be there within the hour," Prall replied. Dawn just barely restrained a whoop of joy. The several days they'd spent on the road had left her longing for a wellhouse and an inn. Funny now a few weeks in a strange place changed a person's priorities. It occurred to Dawn just that morning that she hadn't thought about a phone or television set in almost a week. She guessed that that was a good thing; after all it wasn't like she was just going to find one out here, now was she?

Weosp turned out to be a hold about the size of Havbo, although the orth in it were considerably nicer. Due to the time of day that they'd arrived, the entire group marched up to the elders' hall and asked about possible employment. The elders were much nicer than the ones in Havbo; they offered to let the musicians set up in a public area that evening to play for whatever the audience would pay. Furthermore, they promised to ask the townspeople if there were any other opportunities for the musicians.

"Ah, this is good. Let's find an inn," Prall said as they walked out of the hall. "I believe I saw one toward the edge of town."

The inn was nice—spacious and not too expensive, which meant that they got two rooms again. They still had quite a bit of money left over from playing in Ingh'k, so even if Weosp ended up a dead end, they would be ok. Before they could get to their rooms, however, the innkeeper stopped them. "Does your group play lighthearted music?" She asked Prall.

Prall looked over at the others and nodded. "We can."

The innkeeper smiled. "Would you consider playing here, then? We have much business in the evenings, and a bit of music wouldn't be unwelcome. The desert is not a popular place for musicians to live, so we go without any songs most of the time."

"We would be delighted," Prall replied. "This evening we're playing in the square, but tomorrow we should be able to play here." The innkeeper agreed and they left to go stash their packs in their rooms. The next stop would rather definitely be the wellhouse.

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"What am I supposed to do here?" Dawn asked as she and Zhaen walked back from the wellhouse.

"Play, of course," Zhaen replied lightly.

"Me? I'm not ready—"

"Yes, you are," Zhaen said firmly, cutting her off. "You don't have to play all the time; none of us do. You simply play when you want to."

"Oh," Dawn whispered. Maybe that meant she only had to play one or two times that evening…and maybe she could play so softly that no one could hear her.

The hold's square turned out to be little more than the open space between the elders' hall and the wellhouse. The musicians set up against the back of the wellhouse, facing the back of the elders' hall. The elders had made good on their promises and the square was full of people, overwhelmingly orth. Dawn tried to hide herself behind Prall, but he kept moving. Eventually she resigned herself to leaning up against the wall and thinking herself invisible.

Zhaen started them out with a light, easy song that tripped off her den-liow. Marni and Duens joined in shortly thereafter, with Prall adding in the tinkling sound of his thrufna. A glance from Duens told Dawn that she was supposed to be playing, so she joined in. At first she was hesitant, but when Marni scowled at her, she played louder and with a bit more confidence. She found that if she ignored the crowed and imagined that they were walking out in the desert, it was pretty easy.

The first song became the second, and then the third. The more experienced musicians were surprised when Dawn continued to play, even when the songs became much more complicated. They noticed that her eyes were fixed on a spot near the top of the back wall of the elders' hall, but they didn't say anything. It was fairly common for performers to do such a thing, particularly if they were inexperienced or nervous. They were aware enough to stop her if she blanked out and kept playing when they stopped. None of them had any intention of doing so, since she was playing quite well.

Eventually Zhaen noticed that Dawn was tiring—performing was always exhausting, even for experienced musicians. She sidled up to the girl before the next song began and motioned for her to sit. "You can rest during this one; there is no part for you to play." Dawn smiled gratefully at her before slumping against the wall again. While the reasoning was convenient, it was also the truth; they were about to play some f'lh pieces that had no place for the cyar'dil—or the cyar'val. Duens picked up Prall's worn traedl and played that instead.

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Later that evening, Dawn humbly accepted the praise heaped upon her by her fellow musicians. They ate a late meal at the inn and headed off to bed, needing a good night's sleep rather desperately. Dawn's confidence was buoyed by how well the evening had gone and was less worried about the upcoming engagement at the inn.

Zhaen and Duens decided to forgo their usual evening's conversation to get a little more sleep. Besides, what was there to talk about? Dawn had proven herself quite nicely.

Playing at the inn proved to be a learning experience for Dawn—one that she might not have wanted to have so early in her education, but a useful one nevertheless. The inn's patrons were rowdier and louder than the ones at the square, and the music was rolling and funny. Prall sang most of the songs, and although Dawn didn't understand all of the words—they were in orth, and she was just learning that language now—she could tell that they were standard bar fare. Hey, she'd heard drinking songs back in Sunnydale and she knew what they sounded like.

The patrons were also a lot…friendlier than the others she'd encountered, but a sharp growl from Marni sent them away, particularly when the f'lh made it clear that Dawn was an immature human and not to be touched. No one was really aggressive, so she didn't care, although Marni's protectiveness was not unappreciated.

During the day, they'd found out that the inn was going to be their only source of income in Weosp, since the elders had not found any others to hire them. They'd made good money playing the square, however, and the innkeeper waived their rent in exchange for their music. As a group, they decided to stay for a couple of days, so that they could all rest up and get needed repairs on boots and cooking utensils.

Once again Dawn was disappointed to find out that no one had seen anyone matching Xander's description in the area. The disappointment wasn't surprising; after all even she'd come to the conclusion that finding Xander was a hopeless venture. She kept asking because it was what brought her here in the first place. If she did find him, she'd be overjoyed, but she'd come to accept the fact that she would in all likelihood never see anyone from Sunnydale again.

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