There is the plucking of strings in the distance. Beautiful, haunting notes, evoking a feeling of romance and a breath of joy. It is one of those dreams that is darker, but not in a nightmarish way. No, it is a dream that is dimly lit and hard to really see what is going on. Cassandra is sitting on a chair with a pedal harp in her arms. She's plucking a tune she isn't familiar with, but she's happy. The harp itself is absolutely gorgeous. It has notches of decoration along the sides, beautiful flowers carved into the wood and the top curving into such an aesthetically pleasing manner that you almost can't resist looking at it.

This Cassandra is much the same way. She exudes more of a brilliance than she has in the past. Perhaps it is due to the bubbling emotions growing inside of her. She is wearing a yellow sundress with an embroidered lace overtop and there are black-eyed Susan's woven into her hair. She's looking up as if she's gazing at someone. But she can't quite see who it is.

When she is done, she reaches out for them. She feels their hand take hers and give hers a squeeze. The touch is familiar. The wisps and whispers of his mantle are more than familiar. He helps her up out of her chair.

The dream shifts a little and she is sitting with John outside on her balcony. The smell of cigarette smoke lingers heavily in the crisp Spring air. No doubt John had been smoking away nerves or whatever else he keeps bottled up inside. They're holding hands and he looks incredibly nervous, but excited. Yet, Cassandra feels as if she has no nerves or reservations. At least not on the outside.

"Ready?" She isn't sure which one of them said it. Or maybe they both said it.

And then there is just the sound of the harp. They both seem to be speaking and yet she can't hear them. This is perhaps the first time in a long time that Cassandra has had a truly pleasant dream. So many of her dreams lately have been fuel for her training, fuel for anxiety, fuel for being scared for the future. And yet this one was a light. This is a light for the future.

When she wakes, inspiration hits her. She has the materials, so why not?

Crafting a Harp - 7 Successes


There is a joy and a spark in Cassandra as she builds this harp. She pours every bit of herself through it, at least as much as she did her cello. Her cello took much longer this, days. Inspiration continues glowing in her as she decorates and engraves flowers into the wood. Maybe there is something about being in such a sweet state of mind that makes it all easier.

Ready? She wonders a little. Ready for what? There are so many ideas, but one sticks. Words. Just words. They need to talk about it. It being so many things, but one in particular. They need to talk about an oath. They have touched on it, but she's been worried about pushing. She wants it though. She wants that connection, the Wyrd binding them together. Not forever. Not yet. Yet? That's a long time from now. Little steps.

She does wonder what that would feel like though, being bound for a lifetime. She 'married' Phillip, but their oath each time was only for a year and a day. Went with their handfasting. Perhaps that's why... because he was going to leave her eventually anyway.

As she sits there, polishing the wood and slowly beginning to string the instrument, she can't help but feel a pang of sadness and, perhaps some guilt? She feels bad about moving on, and yet that's exactly what he would want.

There is no doubt in her mind how she feels about John. He is her partner, her rock, someone to lean on when she feels like she might fall. She feels stronger and more alive - more vibrant. Sure, she doesn't need to depend on anyone, she's strong enough on her own, but he brings out the better parts of her. She can only hope she does the same for him.

She continues stringing the harp and her mind turns to Sera then. Originally, her inspiration had been to make a harp so they could duet, in a sense. Well, it wouldn't really be a duet for Widmung. Cassandra would be the accompaniment. How does she feel about that? And then Sera wanted to duet some with singing at some point...

Well, maybe this is a way she can try to work off the jealousy. Or will it make it worse? Well, think of benefits. She'd get voice lessons from a pro, right? She wonders how that would affect her voice. Would it make it less airy? More melodic? Or would it just make the airy, alto sound of her voice more pleasant? Not that her voice isn't pleasant, but her presence lays in her posture and the way she carries herself, not in her voice.

She works on tuning the harp and as she plucks each string, delicately turning the nobs with a special tool. The occasional note brings back those nightmares then to her mind. Are they Omens, meant to put her into action? Or are they simply fears become animated in jer subconscious? Both? She isn't sure. She wants to find out though. This means more study. She doesn't know nearly enough.

Thoughts and insecurities stop as she finishes tuning it. She takes a good look at her work and smiles. Why not give it a whirl? She walks over to her bookshelf and pulls out a small book of harp melodies. Something simple to start. Let's see how much I remember.

Play the Harp - 4 Successes


Her playing isn't perfect, but it is expressive. It is easy to lose herself in the melody. She wonders if she can recreate that tune from her dream, but today isn't the day for that. Today is the day to just enjoy creation and creativity. Spring does have its joy to spark creativity, she can't deny that.