#goldfinchfreehold

It's somewhat surreal for Piper, she's teaching Linwood how to muse!

"I feel a bit old in the tooth here," the dreamer to be smiles. Mrs Laveen is not old, she's 39. The big 40 coming up, she wondered if a wife and mother was all she was. Her husband tricked her by being supportive, and .. getting her back into Piano lessons. Linwood can teach her, but musing is new.. and there's Piper to teach Linwood how to coax her.

How did PIPER end up with this job? She's done a good job of connecting mortals with their musers, and skirting doing any herself. Maybe that's her new thing, she's a matchmaker. But this is a bit much.

She takes Linwood aside and whispers, "I should get Etsy to guide you on this. It's really more her thing."

Linwood the normally shy guy, looks at her, "You're an extrovert, I'm not. You're a good people person. I'm not. This is related to that. Also you have a way of making folks feel better. And... " He lowers his voice "Frankly, Etsie can be a bit extra. Come on, please? for me?"

BIG Centaur eyes

She fidgets a bit. And an amused snort. "Etsie is extra, and I'm not? Should I be offended?"

"Ah .uhm"

That looks socially awkward folks get when they've stepped in it.. AGAIN

Piper takes a moment to surreptitiously look over Mrs. Laveen. She's not Piper's type, so this should be fairly safe, right? And Linwood IS cute when he blushes like that, but it's not really FAIR to tease him.

"Sorry about that, Mrs. Laveen. Just a little coach pep talk. Mrs. Laveen - that's so formal, can we call you by your first name?"

"you can," She blushes "Unfortunately it's Karen. I don't know who started that meme, but I am now deathly afraid of ever complaining at a restaurant"

Linwood chuckles at that lightly

"Well, hold on there a minute. Not to say it's not rough, but... names have meaning, and you shouldn't let a bunch of jerks ruin it for you - that is, the ladies who act up."

Tapping away at her smartphone, and then she grins in Triumph.

"Karen, huh- I never knew it was a Scandinavian name... THERE we go, it's from Greek. So many are! From 'Aikaterine', which means pure. Pure... well, let's try for some pure tones. Piano is lucky in that, notes are easy to hit. Keys give clear responses, versus a string or vocal cords that can tremble and affect pitch, or breath into a woodwind or brass. Soft or hard, lingering or sudden, but the notes are clear and pure. So, Karen, let's give Chopsticks another go... Linwood, take the high notes, and why don't you try it together?"

Karen smiles at that, "pure tones? I like that. Thank you, PIper."

Linwood nods, and takes a spot at the highnotes

Soon, the two are tickling the ivories at Chop sticks. Karen seems to have warmed up to the notion of her name having a musical take if you look at the right way

Piper follows along with voice - a song doesn't even need lyrics, as she vocalizes to hit the notes. "La la la la la la DAH DAH DAH... perfect!" Cutting them off just before the song gets into the higher, jazzier set.

"Have you ever done a massage, or backrub?" She asks Karen, seemingly out of the blue.

"Had one? yes. Done? No." she says curious where the young lady is going with this

"Can I see your hand?" Piper reaches out her hands to take one of Karen's if offered.

It is offered, and her fingers are slender, well suited to thekeyboard . Karen blushes "I was told i had good fingers for the piano"

Piper stretches out Karen's fingers, slowly extending, then forming her hand back into a fist. "Oh, nice. You do have good playing fingers."

"There are exercises you can do to stretch your fingers out and improve your range - I noticed you having a little trouble hitting the C note with your pinkies there. But... you know, I've found that massaging - giving, not getting, works the fingers and hand joints just as well as any dexterity devices or exercises, but with far more gain."

An impish grin to the lady. "Lotion, or oils, are also good for the skin and will keep your fingers soft and limber... perhaps there's someone at home that wouldn't mind helping you get your hands into prime playing condition? A... Mister Laveen, perhaps?"

"Oh, " She laughs "If I thought my husband had pushed me to relearn Piano just so he'd get a back rub-" Karen tries to sound ired but breaks into a laugh "Actually, I'd be impressed by the sneakiness. I don't think he did, but I'm pretty sure he'd forgive me if i used him as a massage guinnea pig"

Indeed, Piper can feel somethjing inside Karen.. not the lust or desire that she might have played with when she ran with her gang, but something that takes that, and incorporates it. Love.. like her mothers have for each other. Strong and potent enough to cut through Karen's insecurity

"Piano can also be tough on the shoulders and neck, some folk have a tendency to hunch over, especially if they're tall..."

She shoots a wink over to Linwood, who may be guilty of that a bit.

"So if you were to trade some hand exercises for a shoulder or back rub of your own, who's to say it wouldn't be tit for tat? Music opens doors, after all. Now, let's see that finger placement on the keys again... Linwood, come take a look? Tell me, do you think we need to adjust the height of the bench?"

She tries to guide Linwood to that spark. Find their passion, make a connection, then...

Linwood blushes but comes takes a look, and helps her, "I think it's great your husband is supporting you. You have the potential, and he wants you to find it...Piper's right in the tit for tat part... it might prove a sign how united you both are in this journey. He appears to be your biggest fan..."

"he's my rock" Karen admits as the bench is adjusted "I hope you two find someone like that"

Linwood nods to Piper, trying to take her lessons to HIm and working it "Then the music maybe heard by others, but a part of it will be for just the two of you... can you imagine that? Every tenth keystroke is secretly an I love you to him?"

Piper nods, and discretely takes a step back, letting Linwood take the wheel.

And Karen lets, not a leak, but a delightful cloud of glamour as she practices, thinking of telling her husband how much she loves him with music

Linwood's eyes widen. He's never mused before, and Piper helped him do it! he grins at the satyr as he glows a bit

She applauds soundlessly, grinning to Linwood. Good job! She mouths!

He motions for her to take a sip of the gently mused glamour in the air excited to share

Goldfinch is not a strong balefire per se, so musing on top of things is the way to go.

She hesitates, but touches the glamour, savoring the feel of it, fresh and new. The freehold should like this. She thinks. Maybe feeling a litttttle bad about how she scolded the 'Freebird' chimera earlier.

Love is a very nice glamour indeed, given freely in it's way, gently coaxed. Karen and her husband have made something special, and in making it, they share it with the world. Two people in love make the world better, Siv would say. But she's a Fiona ,and they can be silly creatures

ANd the freehold does like it. If it were a cheerleader, it would be jumping high right now. Mmm then again, Sylvi's corruptive influnce may mean it's at least PART Cheerleader

Piper grins, and slips out of the studio, letting Linwood finish the lesson. She finds a soft cloth and some window cleaner, and goes to the front of the freehold.

Spritz spritz, and she carefully starts cleaning, letting Bertrand's work shine, and taking especial care on the etched design of studio name and bird.

The bird flutters and seems to enjoy the bath, flapping her wings and seeking more water as if it were a birdbath

A giggle, and she spritzes the glass obligingly.

Yup. Happy flap. It would appear there are no hard feelings. Goldfinch is just happy to have her back and happier