#sg sona

| Part 1

The early afternoon sun shone impossibly bright over Valorant City. Spring was in full bloom, painting the gardens of Valorant High with its blossoms, their sweet scent carrying inside the classrooms and even the hallways. Students loitered all around the place, most attending one class or another, some partaking in the extracurricular activities.

It also happened that some of the spaces used for such activities were going through an extraordinary maintenance. So, while some students had welcomed the free periods, others had taken the chance to take their hobbies outside. Such was the case for one shy music student currently enjoying the cool shelter of the blossoming trees in the furthest west corner of the gardens.

That school area had always been a favorite of Sona's because of the quiet stillness. She couldn't stand the noise of the more crowded places, often taking her headphones with her whenever she wasn't accompanied by one or more of her friends. Still, even as much as she loved them, she had to admit that having a bit of alone time in the company of music and nature was a balm to her soul.

Today wasn't an exception. As it had become customary for her throughout the "maintenance week" (as some teachers had dubbed it, but which students hoped it would become "maintenance month"), she took her etwahl to her secret place with every intention of practicing.

As it also had become customary for her throughout the week, practice was just a shelved thought in favor of listening in to another student who, apparently, disliked the crowds too.

"So… what will be the excuse this time?"

If Sona hadn't been so accustomed to Chiisu's untimely interventions, she would've probably yelped. As it was, she couldn't help the annoying blush blossoming on her cheeks at the obviously uncalled for accusation.

["What do you mean this time?"] She quickly signed back to her familiar.

"You've been spying on him for most of the week!" The mouse huffed.

["I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."]

"Sona, we've been hiding behind these trees", he used his tiny baton for emphasis, "for days! The first time was fate, but the others?”

Fate. Did her companion have to be so annoying all the time?

To be fair, Shiisu had a point. She knew she was being ridiculous. There were a total of zero reasons why she couldn't be out there like any other human being and just talk to the guy or something… Except, of course, she could think of multiple reasons she couldn't, none of which she was ready to express outside the most private corners of her mind. ["They all were!"]

"Like I said,” he continued, “first time. Second time you may have been able to get away with coincidence."

["It was!"] She nodded furiously. Was Chiisu really going to do this to her?

"Third time, you were waiting for him."

She pouted. ["I definitely wasn't."]

"You definitely were. I'm attuned to your soul, remember?" Chiisu didn't wait for an answer, he knew she could be quite stubborn when she wanted to be. "Today's the fourth time, so what will it be?"

In all honesty, Sona didn't have an excuse. She simply wanted to be there to see, to listen to the boy perform.

The boy. Teenager. Young man? Sona had never seen him before, much less know as much as his name. He wore a blue and gold tie with his uniform, so she presumed he was a third-year. Perhaps he was in some of Kai'Sa and Akali's classes? He was really tall and lanky, with long dexterous fingers that played the violin as an extension of his body, of his soul. She wondered how those fingers would sound, whether they spoke.

She couldn't see much else: dark hair, olive skin, painted fingernails. But one thing was clear: he was an artist. He exuded an air of virtuosism that took shape as soon as he started playing, and Sona was entranced. Even if she wasn't the kind of girl to go sneaking around and snooping about other people's business, she just couldn't help herself when it came to him. His music affected her so, a captive audience.

Yet she knew there was no reason to not introduce herself and keep on intruding on what otherwise would be a private practice.

Chiisu floated nearer. "I'm sure you know this but I'm not judging you. I'm just curious! Besides, there's no point in lying, you know I'll know."

Sona would've groaned in frustration if she hadn't been so afraid of giving away her position with her movements. ["Why do I have to say it if you already know?"]

"Because it builds character."

She smacked him with his own baton, positioning be damned.

"Ow!" The mouse rubbed his head with his tiny hands. "That was completely uncalled for!"

["Stop being mousy then!"]

"But I am a mouse!"

She glared at him.

In the end, Sona decided that she'd much rather continue listening to the other boy play than pointlessly arguing with the magical creature. It was in good timing too, for the other student had started his performance. She could practically see the notes floating around her as the melody unfolded, a hopeful but timid invitation, opened to an answer.

"That's strange," whispered Shiisu. "It's not a solo."

It wasn't. As each note unfurled, the music invited an intervention, another voice, a new instrument. A siren call for another performer to join the stage.

Unthinking, before she could second-guess herself, Sona grabbed her etwahl and responded.

The notes hung in the air as the instrument's chords vibrated with hope, filling the atmosphere with the desire to be part of whichever magic was sprouting in a breeze of purple and gold.

A moment of silence.

A second of doubt.