"So are you sure that you don't want to do it?"

       "Yeah, I'm sure," Xavier assured Crito. She decided to stop by at Xavier's place before heading to the castle to hear how far the musicians were getting with the music. However, it confused him since his shop was further away from the castle than Crito's own home. He shrugged off the thought and just assumed it was because she didn't want him nor Gilbert to miss out on something that they'd like to do.

       Crito shrugged. "Alright. Just making sure," she said. "Anyways, where's Gilbert?"

       "He told me that he was heading to the market," Xavier explained. "I considered going with him, but I just got an order of Rosewood in, and I wanted to prepare them before anything else gets to them. It's harvested well, too, so that should make it a solid price when I finish it," he said.

       "That sounds fantastic!" Crito looked outside, then back at Xavier. "I should be heading out, because as of now I'll be late. I'll catch you later," she said with a small wave.

       "Alright, I'll see you," Xavier said.

       As she made her way down the streets of Chilith, she felt water on her forehead. She rubbed the spot with her casual dress sleeve, and sighed to herself as she felt more drops falling. Hopefully the rain won't come down too hard before I get to the castle, she thought to herself.

       Unfortunately, the rain didn't hold up. It wasn't too long until it started pouring down on the kingdom. Crito started running back towards her house to grab something that will keep her warm and drier until she got to the castle. Xavier's home was a well away distance from Crito's, so by the time she saw her front door, she was soaked.

       She rushed inside and slammed the door shut. She was shivering as she wringed out the bottom part of her pale rose dress before going upstairs to get into some dry clothes. By the time she was finished, she was noticeably late, but at least the rain had eased. Crito even managed to find an umbrella that she bought from a local a while ago that chose to bring along.

       The rest of the walk to the castle was easy. The rain came and eased periodically on the way there, but for the most part she stayed dry. The guards seemed a bit annoyed for her tardiness, but she has been there before for previous practices, so she was lead to the ballroom without any trouble.

       "Hey guys, I'm sorry I'm late," Crito apologized as she walked into the room. By the looks of it, the group had been playing their personal favorite tunes and chatting.

       "It's fine, Crito, we didn't mind," the cello player said.

       "Speak for yourself," said the trumpet player. He smirked as the cellist turned around to glare at him.

       "You've never done anything useful with your life, so who knew that you're going to start when she got here?"

       The flutist smirked at Crito as she watched the two bickering. "These two have been at it whenever you were gone," she explained.

       Crito chuckled. "Anyways, we should probably go over the second half of the songs," she said.

       "That'll be easier if Agi and Aveza stops flirting with each other," the tuba player teased.

       Aveza sighed as she rolled her eyes. "Seriously though. You are grown adults, yet you act like children," she said.

       "Hey, he's just stating the truth," Agi defended.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

       After the band finished their squabble and Crito - who was secretly enjoying this - got a hold of their attention, they started to play music. Most of the songs are lighthearted and fun, but of course they had to go over the slow songs. Crito wasn't a big fan of those kinds of songs, and she hated playing or conducting them herself. To her, they felt so slow, and she enjoyed fast-paced and exciting things.

       Once practice was over, she said farewell and headed home. She had to get to the castle the next day to rehearse with the second group of musicians, since the two groups will be playing every other songs. She decided that it was going to be a long night, so she needed several songs, and it'll just be easier to have them do it that way so that they wouldn't exhaust themselves.

       The walk home was quiet and peaceful. The rain had gone, leaving the sky clear and dark, with a few stars visible and the moon almost full, but not quite. A cool breeze blew through the streets, and Crito giggled like a child as she saw a small whirlwind pick up some dust. She could never figure out how they happened, and she enjoyed thinking of different possibilities, but she'd like to learn how it actually happens someday.

       When she got home, she placed down her bag and went to give her dog some food. She was not surprised when she saw her dozing off on the same stool like always. Good thing I took her in when I did, she thought to herself. She could still remember the dog when she first saw her: calm, curious, and independent. Crito called her Wind, like the soft breezes of the night. Wind was now old and tired; she spent most of her days sleeping and dozing in the sun's light.

       Crito's mind drifted back to the ball. She knew the music was getting well prepared, but she started wondering about the other things that need to happen. Who was in charge in the food, and what will they prepare? How will the decorations look like? She laughed softly to herself as she felt a rush of excitement flow through her bones. She looked outside the window and smiled to herself. If I have the night to enjoy myself, I'll have a good time finding out.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

       Xavier found living with Gilbert easier than he thought it would be. Gilbert constantly offered to go to the market to buy food or do other chores, and when he's not out of the house to do whatever he was doing, he was with Xavier in the shop and fetching whatever tools he didn't have within his reach. He didn't know whether it was a phase, if Gilbert was planning something, or whatever else it could be, but Xavier knew that he should be grateful for his help, and he was.

       "So what's this thing called?"

       "That's a xylophone."

       "And that?"

       "A marimba."

       "And how about-"

       "That's another marimba."

       Gilbert studied the three instruments, side-by-side, and cocked his head. "Ya' know, to me, they all look the same," he said.

       "I can see that," Xavier commented. He looked back down at his work: threading the strings through the keys. "A xylophone is smaller than a marimba," he said.

       "Now why is that a thing? Don't they all sound the same?"

       "People do that because they like it that way," Xavier said with a sigh.

       Gilbert looked at the marimbas and xylophone again before grabbing a pair of mallets from a nearby shelf. "And what about this? What's up with these things?"

       Xavier looked over to see what he was talking about. "Those are soft mallets," he answered.

       "What's the difference between these and normal mallets?" Exasperated, Gilbert flung his arms in the air.

       Xavier sighed before explaining, "every set of mallets have hardness, some are just harder and softer than others. It depends on what sound you're looking for." Gilbert looked at the mallets again, before shrugging and setting them down on a different shelf from where he got it. Xavier saw what he did and cringed before going on a rant about why misplacing things trigger him. Things like this makes me question my life decisions...

~~~~~

WHOOP SECOND CHAPTER DONE ^o^

SO next chapter's gonna be hardcore, it's gonna be great X3