PART IX: FAMILIAR SONG, NEW MEMORIES

Callie slowly moved her leg in a wide arc, timing her breathing with the movement and willing her brain to slow and focus. She'd been at it for a while now, combining the movements with running numbers in her head, and so far it hadn't helped a whole lot. She wasn't quite in the same state that she was in an hour ago, but she was still dealing with a mild panic attack, at least internally. Externally, she was trying to appear calm, with equally moderate success.

"How are you doing?" a quiet voice asked.

"Getting there," Callie replied to Vanis. "Focusing."

"Good. I'm really sorry all this happened."

Opening one eye, Callie looked up at her friend. "Why? It's not your fault."

"I know. But I tried talking to Lady Ingris and she's not backing down, even after a second attempt with a personal appeal. She's a spiteful one, that one. I just wish I could do more."

"Spiteful? I dunno, Vanis. I have a few other colorful words I'd use instead. I'm pretty sure if I did, your dainty noble ears would start to bleed." Vanis chuckled. Callie did, too. "Did you talk to Winafria? About Ingris being corrupt, I mean."

"I did. She makes a very good case, but the problem is she has no solid evidence. It's all circumstantial at best, and rumor or conjecture at worst. Credible rumors and conjecture, mind you, but still not hard facts. If I were back in Imor I could maybe make some inquiries or investigations, but I'm helpless here. I'm sure Ingris covers her activities well," Vanis sighed. "I'm sorry," he said again.

"Still not your fault," Callie said as she returned to her movements.

"Are the Bards going to be able to help? I got the impression the answer was no from their body language."

Callie shook her head. "We can do that Follow the Leader thing again, so they can play along with me, but there's no way they can up the power of my spell or anything. We'll still cast that between the first and second song in the hope it does something. As for other help, like you said, if they knew my music and had a connection to it, or really knew me well, maybe, but not as just accompaniment. She's Topaz, so you'd think she'd have something, right? Apparently not." Callie sighed deep, giving up on her meditations and dropping her arms. "It's probably just as well. Ingris was complaining my music was too loud and fast, so probably better if it's just me. One less thing for her to be grumpy about."

"Anything else I can do?" Vanis asked. "Otherwise, I'll leave you be."

"Nah. Thank you, though."

Vanis turned, about to leave, but Callie reached out to stop him. "Is having one of Juniper's trees eat her an option yet? It really would save a whole lot of hassle. Nobody has to know."

"Last ditch only, I'm afraid," Vanis replied with a twinkle.

Callie waved her friend off and then looked back out over the empty Ranger range. The stars were mostly out now, and there had even been a few streaks in the sky. She had been hiding a bit, in the mad hope she might be able to … damn this was a stupid bet! Seriously! If it was just Winafria's job on the line, she'd just forget the whole thing, but it wasn't. There was so much more at stake that wasn't immediately apparent to everyone. That was what had made, more than anything, getting her shit together hard.

After borrowing Nekini's guitar, Callie had tried to play a few things to get warmed up and into some kind of a groove, but she just wasn't connecting right. Every time she let her mind drift to some memory, the realization that the future of the camp was riding on this ridiculousness would intrude back into her head. Then the songs meant nothing at that point, or at least not enough for anything to happen. Even to Pixyl's non-musical ears, her practice sounded cold and mechanical, which is why Callie asked for some space to try and get centered and find the proper mindset.

On the positive side, she had decided on a second song. It was a good one, too. One that had even made her cry as a little girl. Would it be enough for Ingris? Doubtful. It was basically a nursery rhyme. It did at least tell a story, though.

But a third song hadn't come to her yet, or at least not something that felt right. It was like her brain was stuck now, and the karaoke list was blank as a result. The only thing that had come to mind was playing Aretha's arrangement of Try a Little Tenderness, this time keeping the song slow and soulful. That would probably just make things worse, considering how irritated Lady Ingris had been about the song the night before. It certainly wouldn't bring tears.

Callie had even made a half-hearted attempt to make something up a while ago. The best she had come up with was a bad limerick about a Gnome from Nantucket. It went downhill from there almost immediately and she gave up on that idea, especially when it turned into a certain someone's 'head in a bucket'.

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"Just do your best," Pixyl said quietly. "You've got this."

"That's right, I've got this," Callie confirmed. Mostly it was to try to convince herself. She wasn't convinced. She squeezed Pixyl's hand, enjoying the momentary squeeze back.

Up on the stage, the Bards were all finishing up their song. It was something slow and relaxing about a princess that ran away to become a farmer and met a true love. A tale as old as time, Callie supposed. It was a nice song, and was likely chosen purposely to help set the stage for Callie's music coming up next. In fact, the Bards had announced a 'quiet time' of music at the beginning of the set, giving those seeking something more upbeat a chance to wander off.

Nobody had left. Not a single person. Word of the 'Callie Challenge' had swirled amongst the attendees, and everyone wanted to see what would happen. It didn't matter that it was Lady Winafria that had made the challenge, or Lady Ingris that had accepted it, or even the stakes that were in play. Everyone just wanted to see if Callie could somehow 'Callie-up' a solution to this whole ridiculous mess. At least she'd decided on a third song.

Walking up the few steps on the side of the stage, Callie spotted Winafria standing next to her brother, with Lord Cessel to her other side. The Lady appeared worried, teeth biting on a finger and her eyes unfocused, as if thinking hard and distantly at the same time. The Legate was frowning, but gave Callie an encouraging smile when they momentarily locked eyes. As for Cessel, he grinned stupidly, putting thumbs up on both hands. That actually made Callie giggle in her head, if only because it just felt like the complete opposite of the moment. Then she found it had helped.

Deduxia played the closing chords of their song, bowing slightly to acknowledge the scattered applause. She glanced at Callie off in the shadows, and Callie nodded in return.

"Okay dad, grandpa, even you great-grandpa, who I never met," Callie mumbled to herself, "if you are out there and watching me, a little help would be appreciated." She drew in the air, the glowing form of a treble clef appearing behind her finger before it moved slowly towards the body of the guitar. It nervously drifted off course a little, but Callie moved the guitar's body into the path so it landed on roughly the right spot. She drew a second, pushing it towards her chest, this time keeping a channeling open to it.

Waving to the crowd, Callie put on a big smile, forcing out the somewhat-false confidence of a performer as she took her spot in the middle of the stage. Nekini had brought out a chair for her to sit on, but for at least this first song she was going to ignore it, and maybe the other's too. She began to play. No real music yet, just a few melodic notes, almost in a random, to help set the quiet moment and engage the audience. Briefly, she saw the scowling face of Lady Ingris, with Vanis approaching her from behind, maybe hoping to make one last appeal to let this go. Sighing, she motioned off to the side. In the shadows, as they had discussed earlier, the Illusionist called forth simple, non-taxing magic, a single beam of white appearing above and in front of Callie, bathing her effectively in a spotlight.

"Hey everyone," Callie said to the crowd as the notes set the mood. "I hope you are all having a great evening." The crowd was almost silent, save a few whispers and a single whooping sound from somebody that might have been Lena. "Well, we know somebody is," Callie continued, smiling. With the light in her eyes, as had been the hope, she wasn't able to see the faces of anyone. She didn't want the distraction; didn't want to see the face of Lady Ingris while she played.

This was the point Callie had planned to say something poignant, and had even practiced the words a few times. Something about the magic of music or the power of friendship or something else schmaltzy like that; something that might help set the theme a bit more. But the words failed her in the moment, as her fingers plucked lightly on the strings, only coming out as a bit of a croak.

She decided to give up and just skip the words, instead transitioning the random notes into chords that were recognizable to many, and even over the almost-buzzing focus in her head, she could hear a gasp of excitement from Halc and a few others. Most in the crowd had never heard Callie's rendition of Israel Kamakawiwoʻole's Over the Rainbow medley, since the evening bonfires had largely been for the sake of the recruits. For the first-timers, this became just as when Callie had played after the Bogwump mission, filling their ears with rhythmic, strange, and hypnotic sounds new to this world, carrying with it a contented brightness. It was new and different and many stood wide-eyed, including the Bards, stunned as they huddled together in the shadows.

Forcing everything else from her head, Callie played as she held tightly in her mind's-eye to what made this song so special. It had been her grandmother's favorite song, and the one thing that had been able to get through the fog of her Alzheimer's at the end. Callie had been the one to bring joy in the final days of life to the one that had brought Callie joy throughout her own. Sad and happy, sorrowful and joyful, warm and wonderful, all those things and more at the same time. That made those moments precious.

But as her Inspirational Melody spell came alive, Callie's memories began to wobble. The images of her grandmother's smiling face faded, soon replaced by new ones. The face of a young prince, muddy after chasing creatures in a stream, learning to fish, and excitedly petting drimlings before walking off together with his grandparents. Images of one of her best friends reaching out to touch the head of a frightened baby unicorn before soon after magically bonding with the same, and a few days ago the two leaping to hyperspace and teleporting kilometers away. Of Juniper excitedly summoning Loki for the first time, irritating the Commandant as the little plant monster charged Callie, thinking she was breakfast, before Pixyl swooped in to defend her. So many others, too. Tiny moments of beauty Callie had experienced in just a few weeks that wove together into the beginnings of the ever-expanding tapestry that would become her future in this world, now infused with her magic and pulsing out over the crowd.

It was almost as if love was all around. Not a romantic love, but maybe one of kinship; of family. It was warm and beautiful and perfect. Some people wept, but none loudly, and none in sobs. Those that did weep, did so with joy and with smiles on their faces, some not even needing Callie's magic for the tears to fall from their eyes. People reached out, taking the hands of the strangers around them, or pulling them close in gentle hugs and sharing the moment. They were just that, too, a 'people'. Unified in this moment and this place, and in the moments and places to come.

Except for one person. One person standing in the shadows, an aura of roiling anger pulsing off her. Lady Ingris had vowed she would shed no tears, and most of her was committed to that goal. But as the song went on, that resolve was being shaken. It wasn't the music that was doing it, though. She actually hated whatever this noise was, and hated the sentiments flowing in the magic even more. No, her mithril-hard resolve was being tested by words that were being whispered into her ear.

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