#bergen_county

Linwood finishes with a flourish

She grins at him. "Yeah, but making them feel guilty because I'm not useful isn't really the goal." She shrugs amiably. "It's just the way things are, and I shouldn't complain when I have a pretty cushy lot."

"Well, you're not like me, Piper. I play to myself and if a crowd happens to be there, they're free to enjoy the music as long as I donn't talk to them. You love crowds, cushy isnt necessarily happeiness for you. Being in the thick of the party and people is ... " A pause "Or am I wrong?"

She grins at him. "You pretty much nailed it. I'm a bit of a social butterfly."

"Music for itself is lovely, music shared is an entirely new story."

"Then it is not unreasonable for you to have the rigght to drag your two lovers out to a bash" He insists "Soon as things settle, innform them their blue asses will go dancing with you, or to a dinner. And the next time you put on a concert or small performane for pay, tell them you'd like them to show up. That's your passion AND your carreer and they will want to support you if you just let them know how much it would mean to you" Linwood runs fingers across the ivory, playing 'my heart will go on' in it "It's your happy place. Music, crowd, loved ones nearby enough to hear"

She grins a bit. "You're right. Sure, they're trolls, and they need to focus on their duty, but I can tell them to remember their duty to ME. And before I feel TOO selfish about that, it might also make them take some time off, because the one duty trolls can't seem to focus on is to do right by themselves. Take a vacation now and again!

"Exactly, I.. I'm not a 'strong' personality, but one thing I've noticed bout the lodge gang. They will KILL themselves tryinggg to make things perfect for everyone. That's a ticket to burnn out. They need folks like you to ease them up" A sheepish look "me I'll get lost playing for hours while they have nervous breakd odwns inside"

"Oh, don't I know it. Do you ever compose?"

A BLUSH... "Well, what musician doesn't wonder about it"

"Well, I had wondered, because... well, listen to this." She reaches out and lightly raps her fists against a wooden side table in a repeating pattern. "Ta ta, ta ta, ta ta... right?"

He nods, and mimics it on the piana "Yeah"

"And then add in..." She taps her hooves on the floor. "Ta TA ta ta, ta TA ta ta...." A rhythm. "Sometimes I notice tunes in the oddest things around me, a faucet dripping, the clock tapping, or my own pace... but you have twice as many hooves, and each different speed you move at has it's own rhythm. I noticed it once when I was watching Dagmar joust - like, when her horse was running, only two hooves touch the ground at a time, but when she was doing the... I don't know, the three quarter speed, it's like Ta-TA-ta, Ta-TA-ta..." A grin. "You make potential music with every step."

"Hoofbeats have inspired musicians before" He pounds at the keyboard, makin it sound like a gallop "But I see what you mean... " As he also stamps with a back leg

"Now we're talking!" As she hums along, freestyling to the beat.

He begins to improv, mixing in hoof stomps, "Like hoof beats, but hoof beats in the rain.. hard..." Stomp, Stomp "And soft..." Lighter keys

She beats a quick staccato beat with fingers drumming on the counter. "Distant thunder..."

"Little bit of wind... makes the rain come annd gone "

A grin to Linwood. “See? The music makes itself.”

"Ha. I donn't have your confidence, but thanks for letting me borrow a cup"

And a text goes off

TXT: ICE CREAM PARTY RV! BAD GUY DEALT WITH!

"Did you just get a text too?" Linwood asks her.. almost sad to let the music fade

She looks up, a bit out of it, dreamy. "Mmm?" She peeks at her phone, and gives a woop! "They got him!"

"WOw. it's..over" Linwood looks dazed

She tosses her arms around Linwood in an impromptu hug. "And now I'm going to MAKE my trolls take a lil' vacation. The last one kinda dive bombed, but I can think of something better. You wanna go get in on the ice cream party?"

"Yeah, definitely, this I can socialize for" he grabs his collaspable keyboard

And out they go