#performance!

His voice begins to grow stronger, and the midlander’s smile broadens along with it. He hops down from the stage, the light following him as he makes his way slowly over to West O’hteco. ♪ “Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes the sun… Like a stream that meets a boulder halfway through the wood.” ♪

♪ “Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better? But because I knew you, I have been changed for good.” ♪ The slender hyur lets the words and their gentle impact hang in the air before a single red brightlily is pulled from his coat and presented to West. He backs away with a nod and a smile

With slow steps, Ilan picks his way through the crowd, his steps gaining confidence as he walks. ♪ “It well may be that we will never meet again in the this lifetime, so let me say before we part. So much of me is made of what I learned from you.” ♪ A slender hand reaches up to clasp the pendant hanging from his neck. ♪ “You’ll be with me like a handprint on my heart.” ♪

The man’s crimson eyes settle on Naranai, and he stops just beside the Xaela, this time producing a vibrant white brightlily to hand over. ♪ “Like a ship blown from it’s mooring by a wind off the sea… Like a seed dropped by a skybird in a distant wood…” ♪ Ilan shakes his head, smiling but averting his eyes shyly.

♪ “Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better? But because I knew you, I have been changed for good.” ♪

Longing red eyes turn once more toward that something or someone that no one else can see, and Ilan strides slowly back to the center of the room. ♪ “And just to clear the air, I ask forgiveness for the things I’ve done you blame me for.” ♪ He steps back onto the stage, still looking at that far away something… ♪ “But then I guess we know there’s blame to share, and none of it really matters anymore.” ♪

The small hyur kneels down once he’s again standing in the middle of the stage. He seems to pluck a yellow lily from stage as though it were a field of flowers, rising to his feet with it clutched lovingly to his heart. His voice is powerful and thick with emotion. It seems to split, one singing the words to compliment the ones that spill from his own lips.

♪ “Like a ship blown from its mooring (Like a comet pulled from orbit). By a wind of the sea (As it passes the sun). Like a seed dropped by a sky bird (Like a stream that meets a boulder). In a distant wood (Halfway through the wood).” ♪

♪ “Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better?” ♪ The hand holding to the flower falls to the mage’s side, letting the brightlily fall to the floor of the stage. The other reaches up to grasp the half-bird pendant hanging from his neck. He offers a simple smile for that someone who doesn’t seem to be present.

♪ “I do believe I have been changed for the better,” ♪ Ilan manages, his voice quivering ever-so-slightly.. Red eyes seem confused as they shimmer with unexpected tears that are yet to be shed. ♪ “And because I knew you.” ♪ He draws in a breath to compose himself, a smile shining through in spite of tear-filled eyes.

♪ “Because I knew you…” ♪ Ilan closes his eyes, suddenly seeming very small. ♪ “I have been changed…” ♪ The light that had illuminated him before fades into darkness as the last line is sung in a whisper, a whisper that still echoes throughout the entire theater.

♪ “For good.” ♪

For Good - Wicked

((Thank you so much to @fantasiaplayers-ffxiv for letting Ilan perform at your show!

A short hyur makes his way onto the stage. He’s wearing neat but relatively simple clothes that resemble the colors of the ocean. (Well. They top is blue, anyway. At least he tried, right?) With a lute in hand, he closes his eyes and draws in a deep breath before turning to face the audience. Ilan strides to the front and center of the stage, falling into a seat right there with his legs crossed beneath him as he settles the stringed instrument in his lap.

((Song is “Drifting” by On An On with a few alterations to suit the setting! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcQrTF7z5zM))

Ilan starts to play, plucking the strings of his lute as the tune begins a simpler melody than the more dramatic and theatrical numbers he’s performed before. Once he’s sure his fingers aren’t going to just suddenly forget the song, he dares to look out at the sea of faces.

“♪I had a dream that when I woke up you were finally there. And I believed that all the hours turned to minutes, it’s not fair. And when I turned to look at where you should’ve been I started drifting. I tried to stare into your eyes and realized that there was something missing.♪”

Ilan’s voice is gentle as he sings, a hint of sadness carrying in it as he pauses in between verse and chorus to just play. “♪And if I stayed. I couldn’t help but lay awake. Cause it’s not you. It’s just just a dream, it’s only fake. I just gotta leave. I gotta leave...♪”

As he continues to sit there, simply playing and singing, a sad smile plays on his lips. “♪I close the door. I try, I try to walk away into the night. Try to keep, I try to keep myself between what’s wrong and what is right. And when I looked beside me where you should’ve been I started drifting. I tried to stare into your eyes and realized that there was something missing.♪”

“♪And if I stayed. I couldn’t help but lay awake. Cause it’s not you. It’s just a dream, it’s only fake. I just gotta leave. I gotta leave.♪” Ilan looks down at the lute while playing, the soft sad croon of his voice turning much more impassioned and almost raw as he continues on.

“♪I gotta get out! I gotta get out!♪” The desperation in his tone matches the look in his eyes. “♪I gotta get out, I gotta get out!♪” But it lasts only for that moment. Shortly after his song returns again with that softer quality, gaze wistful.

“♪ And when I turned to look at where you should still stand, I started drifting. I tried to stare into your eyes and realized that there was something...♪” Ilan’s voice trails off and leaves that last word missing, letting the sound of the lute carry him over before he opens his mouth to sing the chorus again, voice stronger this time as he looks out over the audience.

“♪And if I stayed. I couldn't help but lay awake. Cause it's not you. It's just a dream, it's only fake. Still if I’ve changed. Everything is still the same. I can't take no more.♪” It sounds like a plea as the chorus changes. “♪I don't know what I'm fighting for. And I just gotta leave. I gotta leave~♪” He holds the note, letting it drift off as his voice fades.