time.”
Once the girls had all taken turns with the percussion blocks, Alice sat at the harp and played a quick tune. When she finished, the girls applauded.
“Angitia, have a seat. Put your fingers in the following places and pluck, don’t pull the strings.”
The first few notes were more buzzing than anything else, but when she managed to make a clear sound, the group applauded.
“Keep trying that until your fingers sting. It takes time to build up callouses and you can’t use your claws.”
Her pupil tucked her tongue between her teeth. “Why not?”
“You will slice the strings and they can be wicked if they snap.” She extended her hand and showed them scars on her forearm. “When I was training, they tried to teach us while we wore metal nails on our fingers. It turned out that it was better to let us have the rough skin.”
The other girls looked at the scars and a few touched them. Angitia began to explore the range of her reach and that meant that the stringed instruments could be tried.
The atrium was arranged in a series of archways, and each arch created a sound bubble of its own.
Angitia was pinging away at the harp, Loria and Whenican took the stringed instruments, some girls practiced the rhythm blocks and one shy girl in the corner didn’t look like she was happy to be there.
Alice walked over to her. “Hello, miss. Is there an instrument that you would like to learn?”
“No.”
“You seem unhappy to be here.”
“My mother said that you were a bad woman and you had ensnared our Alpha.”
Alice looked around and found a bench. She gestured for the girl to have a seat and the quiet girl followed the order.
“I am a woman who met a man who was unattached. He found me attractive and we got along. We are two adults who each chose to be with each other for the rest of our lives. I didn’t ask him about the women in his life and he didn’t ask me about the men in mine.” It wasn’t precisely the truth, but it was the best bet when dealing with a child.
The girl nodded. “It sounds fair.”
“Tell your mother she can address all questions to me. Now, may I know you name?”
“Telia Crowsong.”
“How old are you?”
“Eight.”
“Well, Telia, what would you like to learn?”
Telia looked at the remaining instruments. “What is that?”
Alice grinned. “Stay here.”
Alice picked up the holochime and took the half-sphere back to Telia.
She put the instrument between them on the bench. “Now, think of something happy and touch the surface.”
Telia closed her eyes and stroked the surface. A chime rang out and shimmered in the air and the young lady opened her eyes wide, seeing a picture of a fat baby chick hovering in midair.
Telia gasped and the image dissolved. “Can I do that again?”
“You can, but the image is never the same twice. Watch.”
Alice focused and ran her fingertips across the surface. A beam shot out and covered the ceiling of the atrium with stars moving and shifting in blinding waves of light.
She let the notes flow as she concentrated on the holochime. All muted sounds came to a halt as she played and showed the girls stars that marched above them and sights that would never be seen by anyone again. A moment in time was caught in her thoughts and it would never happen to anyone else.
When she had finished her trip through her memories, she let the chimes fade as she pulled her fingers back into her lap.
The light brightened, and when Alice looked around, awed faces surrounded her.
Telia was looking at her in amazement. “Can I learn to do that?”
“You will see your own memories. This brings it out and uses sound to tap into your thoughts and keep them resonating. Like humming one note for a really long time.”
Telia smiled and stroked the surface again and the image she saw was of her mother.
One of the older girls asked, “How is that music?”
Alice smiled, “You can hear the chime and enjoy it with your mind. It is
Once the girls had all taken turns with the percussion blocks, Alice sat at the harp and played a quick tune. When she finished, the girls applauded.
“Angitia, have a seat. Put your fingers in the following places and pluck, don’t pull the strings.”
The first few notes were more buzzing than anything else, but when she managed to make a clear sound, the group applauded.
“Keep trying that until your fingers sting. It takes time to build up callouses and you can’t use your claws.”
Her pupil tucked her tongue between her teeth. “Why not?”
“You will slice the strings and they can be wicked if they snap.” She extended her hand and showed them scars on her forearm. “When I was training, they tried to teach us while we wore metal nails on our fingers. It turned out that it was better to let us have the rough skin.”
The other girls looked at the scars and a few touched them. Angitia began to explore the range of her reach and that meant that the stringed instruments could be tried.
The atrium was arranged in a series of archways, and each arch created a sound bubble of its own.
Angitia was pinging away at the harp, Loria and Whenican took the stringed instruments, some girls practiced the rhythm blocks and one shy girl in the corner didn’t look like she was happy to be there.
Alice walked over to her. “Hello, miss. Is there an instrument that you would like to learn?”
“No.”
“You seem unhappy to be here.”
“My mother said that you were a bad woman and you had ensnared our Alpha.”
Alice looked around and found a bench. She gestured for the girl to have a seat and the quiet girl followed the order.
“I am a woman who met a man who was unattached. He found me attractive and we got along. We are two adults who each chose to be with each other for the rest of our lives. I didn’t ask him about the women in his life and he didn’t ask me about the men in mine.” It wasn’t precisely the truth, but it was the best bet when dealing with a child.
The girl nodded. “It sounds fair.”
“Tell your mother she can address all questions to me. Now, may I know you name?”
“Telia Crowsong.”
“How old are you?”
“Eight.”
“Well, Telia, what would you like to learn?”
Telia looked at the remaining instruments. “What is that?”
Alice grinned. “Stay here.”
Alice picked up the holochime and took the half-sphere back to Telia.
She put the instrument between them on the bench. “Now, think of something happy and touch the surface.”
Telia closed her eyes and stroked the surface. A chime rang out and shimmered in the air and the young lady opened her eyes wide, seeing a picture of a fat baby chick hovering in midair.
Telia gasped and the image dissolved. “Can I do that again?”
“You can, but the image is never the same twice. Watch.”
Alice focused and ran her fingertips across the surface. A beam shot out and covered the ceiling of the atrium with stars moving and shifting in blinding waves of light.
She let the notes flow as she concentrated on the holochime. All muted sounds came to a halt as she played and showed the girls stars that marched above them and sights that would never be seen by anyone again. A moment in time was caught in her thoughts and it would never happen to anyone else.
When she had finished her trip through her memories, she let the chimes fade as she pulled her fingers back into her lap.
The light brightened, and when Alice looked around, awed faces surrounded her.
Telia was looking at her in amazement. “Can I learn to do that?”
“You will see your own memories. This brings it out and uses sound to tap into your thoughts and keep them resonating. Like humming one note for a really long time.”
Telia smiled and stroked the surface again and the image she saw was of her mother.
One of the older girls asked, “How is that music?”
Alice smiled, “You can hear the chime and enjoy it with your mind. It is
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