An Unanticipated Audience PV

Katrina had been working on breaking out of her shell for a long time… several years in fact. At this point, conversation typically came at ease. Meeting new people was a bit awkward, but she usually found a rhythm fairly fast. Along with it came the ability to mask her emotions, or portray emotions that weren’t quite what she was feeling. Then she found that people could be horrible, being open and honest wasn’t always the best thing. So instead, she leaned towards the extreme of never talking openly about things until she completely trusted someone. One thing that was included in the never talked about topics was her ability to sing.

Over the past few months, she’d been spending her time in the Room of Requirement which she’d found. It was an escape from her fears and stresses and a place where she could do whatever. She often did homework or practiced dueling there. But recently, she’d been singing.

Back when she lived with her parents, the family would always be playing or making music. They each had an instrument and would play together nearly every night. Katrina played the piano and sang. With her parents far away and then gone, it had taken Katrina a while to pick back up music. Once she had, however, she found safety in it like she’d been seeking for a while.

Katrina stood behind a hill just out of view from the entrance of the castle. A spot, she knew with the wind in the direction it was going, where her voice would be unheard until someone came around the bend. Katrina took a deep breath in and started singing. Her voice was shaky at first, a bit broken up since it wasn’t warmed up yet. It wasn’t long before she was confident enough to sing louder. It wasn’t like there were many people around to hear her at all.

“You had your maps drawn
You had other plans
To hang your hopes on
Every road they led you down felt so wrong
So you found another way”

Katrina felt herself being swept up in the music. There was a peace and a silence that engulfed Katrina when she sang. There was a point in which she was hardly aware of anything at all, it was just her and the music. Even though Katrina wasn’t coordinated enough to dance, she began to sway with the music, using her hands to guide her voice.

“You've got a big heart
The way you see the world
It got you this far
You might have some bruises
And a few scars
But you know you're gonna be okay”

It was a good day for Katrina’s voice. Every few days her voice would simply decide not to cooperate, however, today was not one of those days. Today her voice simply seemed to do exactly what she wanted. (Which was a good thing considering the fact that she’s been singing this song for a few weeks). Katrina grew with momentum, her voice growing louder.

“Even though you're scared
You're stronger than you know”

The last quiet bit before the chorus. Her anticipation welled up. There was no music to guide her singing, but Katrina new the song by heart. She had also been learning the violin to the song, so she could just about hear the music in her ear, keeping her from rushing ahead in the song.

“If you're lost out where the lights are blinding
Caught and all the stars are hiding
That's when something wild calls you home, home
If you face the fear that keeps you frozen
Chase the sky into the ocean
That's when something wild calls you home, home”

Katrina broke into a smile, sort of swirling around a bit, completely caught up in the music. The next bit was just holding out ‘oh’ singing with the music with no words. It was the most fun part of the song and she actually managed to get a deep enough breath so she didn’t fade off at the end.

Katrina was so caught up in her music that everything else faded away.

Credits to Lindsey Stirling for the song Also, just imagine Kat singing it since I couldn't find a Kat voice cover

@Katrina Walker

Music gradually wormed its way through thoughts of elsewhere. Pericles blinked back to the present, pausing mid-chew, squinting against the snowy landscape as though this might help him hear better. It quickly became apparent that what was first mistaken for a trick of the wind was something much more exciting, and so he folded his food, tucking it into the satchel on his shoulder. He adored music. It lured the lad along easily, coaxing him down from the boulder and out from behind the tree. Peri strained to trace the source, listening carefully before hiking his way up the snowy knoll. At its peak he came to a halt, one hand in his pocket and the other hooked into his satchel, wide eyes shining with curiosity.

In her line of sight he could hear the chorus clear as crystal, and while Katrina was carried away by the powerful vocalization, Pericles was left mulling the meaning of those lyrics. The words were uplifting, empowering, inspiring faith in one's self. It was a call to bravery. When those lost let go of anxieties and confronted their fears, they would be led by "something wild". Instinct? Maybe something deeper than that. It had a meaningful ring to the young wizard. His upbringing had been reinforced by sensibility and structure, rules and regulations, the belief that everything happened for a reason. Yet chaos wasn't so easily escaped. One couldn't account for everything coming their way, things didn't always go as planned, and he couldn't afford to shut down if facing the unexpected. When tactic and reasoning failed, intuition would always be there to get him through.

Pericles cherished choir. There was something undeniably unifying about it, pitches combining in harmony, different voices contributing to the same song. But when one sang solo, instead of unifying with others, it was like bonding with one's self. Katrina sang not to tell a story or entertain an audience, but simply for the sake of getting lost in the music. If her smile and sway were anything to go by, its message meant something to her, too. It was in that moment that the odd boy hit a conundrum. What would be more rude? To interrupt, or to stare in silence? Interrupting with a compliment seemed the safer route than standing about weirdly until he was noticed, so he took a chance. Peri's gentle voice tried to carefully interject during the next pause for breath. "That was beautiful," he called down, mild manner of speech livened by earnest enthusiasm. "Where did you learn to sing that way?"

Katrina was lost in the music. There was very few things that could bring her out of the magical musical world she’d created. The song was among one of her favorites. The song taught about chasing your dreams and that your past doesn’t define you. It always reminded Katrina of freedom and exploring something unknown. Not to mention the fact that the song was beautifully made and it was played by one of her favorite artists.

As the song wrapped up, Katrina opened her eyes again and looked around, taking a deep breath. The air was cold, but clear, it almost had a sweet edge to it, it reminded her of—Katrina turned at the sound of a voice. Absolutely mortified, the Third Year saw that she had had an audience. No. Nonono. It was a boy she recognized, but she was so horrified that she couldn’t quite recall his name. She had been full on belting… and he had heard the entire thing. Panic swept over Katrina, it wasn’t very reasonable panic, but it was panic nonetheless.

Katrina hesitated a moment too long before replying. With a cough she stumbled out an answer, “I sort of taught myself,” This should have been a comment to boast about or be proud of. But singing was something that was very personal to Katrina. It was a talent she had but also one she wasn’t really ready to share yet. And she had thought she didn’t have anyone listening and she definitely had.

Katrina started desperately trying to find an out. A reasonable excuse to get back to the castle. There’s a chance that the boy hadn’t seen her teal streak in her hair so he wouldn’t be able to recognize her. She could escape and pretend nothing happened. Her singing could stay a secret and she could continue her life in peace. She looked around, quite bluntly for a way out. She didn’t want to be rude, but she wanted out.

@Pericles Dralt