Natasha the Halve

I finished the piece and let out a short sigh.

Pokora took a deep breath and cleaned her snot and tears on my shirt, then released me from the hug.

Ah, yes... Why don't you? I let out a quiet chuckle.

“That was...” the Tigea whispered in surprise.

I turned my head his way and raised an eyebrow. “Well?”

Bromisnar chuckled and patted my shoulder. “That was quite the experience.”

I turned to him and gave him a nod, “I'm glad you liked it.”

Pokora stood up and sniffled, then cleaned her face.

I turned on the stool and faced her. “You okay?” I probed.

She rubbed her eyes and nodded. “Yeah,” she muttered.

I once again turned on the seat, that time facing the Tigea. “So?” I taunted him with a shit eating grin.

He covered his mouth and cleared his throat. “Yes, Your Excellency,” he replied with respect.

A satisfied smile formed on my face. It was the first time that shitty title made me feel anything other than cringe. “By the way... how much would it cost if a Performer bought it?”

“Five gold coins,” he instantly answered.

I hummed. “Makes sense,” I muttered and stood up. “So, one hundred and fifty.” I retrieved a linen bag from my storage- specifically the one that had the polupis in it- and put the gold coins inside, then gave it to him.

He took the bag and it disappeared. A sheet of paper replaced it and he wrote something down, then offered me it. “Please sign at the bottom of the page.”

I received the paper and gave it a look.

It was a form of receipt similar to the one I got when I bought Sonya but for a piano instead of a creature. It stated that I could resell it for no more than the original price and following taxation laws. It had a one thousand year warranty that only applied for when the strings naturally worn out and details of that nature. If it got damaged beyond repair by a monster it would invalidate any return policy, for example.

I signed it with a quill and gave it back to the Tigea.

He scanned it for a second and nodded. “I'll get it copied and be right back, Your Excellency,” he informed me. “Please wait a moment.”

I gave him a short nod and turned to the piano.

Pokora blew her nose with a tissue and approached me. “Why didn't you let Bromisnar buy it? That's a massive overcharge...”

The Satyr chuckled. “That would make the piano legally mine.”

The Elf shrugged. “Then you sell it to her for five gold coins.”

“That's tax evasion,” the Satyr objected with an amused smile. “Your know, a crime.”

“Ah, I see,” she muttered with a nod. “The reselling of items is different in Uuruhk.”

I hummed in understanding, then placed a hand underneath the piano. I lifted the instrument a tiny bit, then pulled it into my storage along with the stool.

“Uhm,” Pokora hesitated for a second.

I turned to her. “Yeah?”

She gestured at my torso. “Sorry about the shirt,” she shyly muttered.

I gave her a gentle smile. “That's fine. Don't worry about it,” I assured her, then changed to a different shirt.

Bromisnar chuckled and tapped the Elf's shoulder. “It was emotional for me as well, Pokh'Orra,” the man shared with us.

I smiled at the gesture.

The Tigea returned and gave me the original copy of the receipt. “Your Excellency, if I may ask?” he lowered his head.

I sighed and nodded. “Go ahead.”

“Could I ask you to teach me?” he asked with a heavily respectful tone. “The first piece was outstanding.”

My eyebrows climbed up my forehead and a smile spread on my face. “What's your name?”

“Julien, Your Excellency,” he replied.

I nodded. “Sure, but I'm strict.”

He raised his head and smile. “I wouldn't have it any other way.”

I nodded and pointed at the black piano. “Sit down,” I ordered him.

He complied and took a seat, then fixed the height of the stool.

I stood behind him and crossed my arms. “Play as far as you can with what you remember by ear.”

He nodded and started playing.

Bromisnar and Pokora stood next to me and observed.

Seven seconds into the piece, I gently slapped the back of the Tigea's head. “Wrong tempo!” I chastised him. “Your rhythm is off and you missed a third of the notes.” I leaned forward, pushing his head with my chest and reaching for the keys. “Like this,” I instructed him and played the first thirty seconds, then straightened up.

“I see,” he muttered, a little ashamed.

I circled him and stood next to the piano, then tapped the surface with a finger like a metronome. “Follow the tempo. It's crucial for that part.”

He nodded and gave it another try.

I listened in silence until he finished.

“Better, but not quite my tempo,” I pointed out. “Do you have a sheet of paper so I can write it down?”

Bromisnar took a step forward and produced some blank music sheets, then handed it to me.

I gave him a grateful nod and produced a quill, then wrote the first part. I placed them on the music desk and nodded.

Once again, the beings ruling the universe saw fit to make the system similar to the one I knew, or perhaps it was the other way around with how Galeia is older as far as I was concerned.

Would this be copyright infringement? I wondered with a smile, tapping the piano with a finger and listening to the Tigea playing.

The man made a lot of mistakes. The trill tempo was all over and he had to use 2 hands after I interfered.

“You're not using your annular finger enough,” I pointed out after watching his hands. “That's fucking your rhythm and making you overreach.”

He gulped and corrected himself.

I looked at him and appraised him.

[Urkila Tigea, Lvl 201 Conductor]

I held back a snort. That's pretty on the nose, I thought. “So, Julien. What do you do around the School?”

“I'm the Dean,” he replied while playing. “How am I doing?”

Oh... this is a bit awkward, I bit my lips. “Better. You still fuck the tempo and you need to slow down a bit after each trill.”

He nodded and finished playing.

“Again,” I gave him a nod.

He placed his hands on the keys and pressed the wrong ones, fucking the very start he snorted at.

I waved a hand and closed my fingers. “You're rushing!” I hissed and he stopped playing. “Take your time, follow the tapping of my finger.”

He did, managing the start of the piece and following the rhythm I used. After ten seconds, he played slightly faster than needed.

I shook my head and clapped once. “Okay, what are you doing?” I asked a little pissed. “Fo-llow-the-rhy-thm!” I said with a clap for each syllable.

He looked down at his hands and nodded with a tight face.

“Okay,” I sighed and tapped my finger. “Five, six, seven, eight.”

Bromisnar took a step back, covering his mouth.

Pokora was holding back laughter, pinching her lips and blushing.

The Tigea played, and fucked up again with the first trill.

“You're fucking with me, right?” I asked him with a serious tone.

“N-no, Your Excellency,” he stammered, looking up at me with nervous eyes.

I looked into his eyes for a second then nodded. “Okay... begin with the trill,” I said with a nod, resuming the tap of my finger on the instrument.

He played for three seconds.

I waved a hand and closed my fingers.

He stopped playing and froze.

I walked next to him and bent over, closing into his right feline ear then whispered, “Your dragging now. Why?”

He shook his head, “I'm sorry,” he whispered.

I straightened and sighed. “It's okay. We're getting there. You're improving.”

He nodded and started again.

That time he didn't make mistakes, religiously following the tapping of my finger.

“Good!” I praised him with a nod. “Now, keep going.”

For the following two hours the Tigea played and I flayed him every time he made a mistake. I eased on the pressure but remained strict. Purposefully stressing him would have the opposite result and I wasn't one to actively sabotage someone who wanted to learned something I liked.

Still, even with my gentle direction, the man was close to tears a few times and I gave him a two minute break to collect himself each time it happened.

After that session he was decent at it but not quite up to standards.

Pokora's stomach grumbled and I checked the time.

We had passed lunchtime by ten minutes.

I sighed and tapped the Tigea's shoulder a few times. “You did good,” I reassured him. “I apologize if I was a bit strict there.”

The man nodded and took a deep breath. “I also apologize for my behavior earlier,” he sighed with a little relief.

“Mhm,” I hummed with a nod. “We'll take our leave now. Have a good one, Julien. Use a metronome to keep tempo if you have one.”

The man stood up and gave me a bow. “Thank you for your guidance, Your Excellency!” he declared with respect.

I patted his shoulder and nodded. “Not a problem. Take care and have fun.”

He straightened up and gave me a nod. “Will do,” he said with a smile.

And so, we left the School.

Out in the street, Pokora burst out in laughter.

Bromisnar was a bit more serious.

“Not quite my tempo,” Pokora imitated my tone. “That was gold.”

I chuckled. “I am gold,” I commented with a smile, showing her my hands.

“I don't know if I want to learn those pieces from you,” Bromisnar muttered.

I patted his shoulder and laughed. “He was a bit of an asshole, so I was a bit more strict than necessary. I will be gentle with you,” I reassured him and gave him a wink.

He sighed and nodded. “He was a bit disrespectful, true that,” he admitted with a small smile.

“Just a passionate man,” Pokora waved our comments away.

I nodded. “A bit too passionate,” I muttered. “Anyway, lunch.”

“How about we meet up with Alyssa and Lapia?” Bromisnar offered.

Pokora nodded. “Sounds good.”

We agreed on that and fetched our mounts, then made our way towards the two woman using the Bond as a guide.

I sent them a message through the Bond to let them know and they replied in the affirmative.

After around ten minutes we stopped in front of a luxurious-looking restaurant. It had wide windows on the front revealing the spacious insides.

We entered the edifice and noticed the two woman quite fast.

They were sitting on a wide table next to the right wall of the building.

We walked over and sat down with them.

Alyssa, Lapia, and me sat on one side of the circular table, and Bromisnar and Pokora sat opposite of us.

“Had fun?” Alyssa asked me and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

I nodded. “I did. How about you?” I asked back, returning the gesture. I gave Lapia a wink.

“They had amazing pastries,” Lapia commented with an approving nod.

“Eeeh...” the Luzo wobbled her head. “They were okay. A strong eight in my book.”

“Where was the store?” Pokora joined the conversation.

“That was quite the adventure,” the Luzo chuckled. “I saw a store this morning when we were going to the arena. So, we went there. The pastry chef had gone and watched our match so they didn't have any for customers. The ones on display weren't available due to being in stasis and all that,” she sighed in reproach. “I asked the staff that welcomed us if they would have some ready soon and was recommended to check other stores instead. And we did,” she sighed again. “Turns out, all store owners and workers had gone to watch the fight. There wasn't a single store that had pastries ready and fresh. I would not have stale pastries so we left and asked a local. They recommended going to the main Church where a lot of confectioneries are. That took most of the morning, unfortunately. I managed to buy some, however. Then, we came here for lunch.”

“I see,” I muttered. “That Dwarf did a number on us, huh?” I chuckled.

Nods were shared.

Wait... I thought and felt a cold shiver go up my spine. If nobody sold anything because of our fight... will I be charged with the financial loss again? I sighed and felt a little anger tickle my skull.