Do~ Re~ Mi~ [Elise | Saga]

Tap tap tap, even as the soft steps of the energetic squirrel girl approached the studio there seemed no sign of a reaction. Indeed, even the light knock on the door, the way the girl opened it hesitatingly and peeked inside seemed to suggest there had been nobody waiting to greet her. Instead, it seemed Honey was left with only the impressive-looking piano as her companion. Yet the moment she stopped beside it and seemingly thought it looked really impressive, she would start to notice a soft humming, the melody quite familiar to the young child.

"The faint scent of tears"

It was a soft feminine voice, and while it might had lacked the experience and skill in vocals that a trained idol would have, there was something, something special to the sound of the voice that Honey would recognize without a doubt. If she decided to listen, she would no doubt feel that the landscape around her briefly changed, from a mere studio into a path in a lush green park.

Rain, rain relentlessly felt from above, and yet Honey didn't seem to get wet, a peculiar something. However, there was little time for Honey to wonder about it, for she started to notice someone else was there, a small girl, seemingly her own age with long pink hair that flowed down to her waist, her eyes moist with tears as she seemingly was looking around desperately for something or someone.

"On my rain-soaked cheeks"

As the lyrics flowed, it seemed passerby walked past the two of them, and yet none seemed to disturb the scene that was unfolding, as if the two of them were in a world of their own.

"The warm look on the face
Of travelers"

It was then the familiar tune started playing, the tune of the song she was told to learn for her grand debut, and yet at the same time, it brought with it a sense of nostalgia as if it was a song one had heard many times before.

The music from our childhood
Faintly echoes in the background

The pink-haired child continued to wander amidst the park, desperately searching for something, something precious that she had lost, something she needed to remember at all costs.

The memories I hopelessly try to remember
Wander aimlessly

And then it happened, in the distance a figure was visible, a silhouette of a person, a silhouette illuminated by a warm pleasant light that beckoned her over.

But with these tiny wings, launched by my dreams
Over distant oceans and skies
We'll soar together
To a place where memories never fade

A song of longing, a longing to remember something precious that was lost, something which needed to be found again at all costs.

You light up the way for me
In the darkness of night
Oh, that warm look
On your face
I miss you so much

As the lyrics ended, it would be without a doubt that the young squirrel lass would notice the source of the disturbance, of that mesmerizing world Honey might had just witnessed. Seated on the railing of the window was a tall young woman, holding what appeared to be a notebook in her hands, and a earpiece covering her ear which seemingly had been playing the song the girl had heard just now.

"Ah~ It seems the star of the show has arrived." A gentle smile emerged on her lips as she turned toward Honey and rose from her seat. "I been expecting you Honey-chan, my name is Elise von Eisenberg, your partner for this training session~ Although I guess one could say that I was also assigned as a guest instructor of sorts. Seems Kaito-sensei believed I'd be better suited to teach you this than himself~"

She giggled softly, crouching down so she was at the same height as the squirrel girl. "You are my dearest, one of the most emotional songs from the 'Tsubasa Tale' series, quite an interesting challenge your manager gave you. I'm quite a fan of the original, so to see you brighten it back to life so many years later is heart-warming. But first things first~ Before we go all into training mode, why don't we talk a bit?"

She gently turned off the earpiece and approached the nearby piano, taking a seat behind it while facing the girl. "Fortunately I had a free day from work, and Tetsu is busy with disciplinary committee paperwork, so I can spend some time trying to help you out~ At least it will prevent Kaito-sensei from worrying about my own concert~" She snickered softly and turned her focus onto Honey's eyes. "Say Honey-chan, have you watched the anime? It used to be quite popular back in the day~"

Elise smiled sheepishly at Honey's little bow and energetic greeting. "Feel free to call me Elise-senpai, after all I would consider myself your senpai rather than an actual teacher." She nodded her head lightly at Honey's little round of inquiring. "Indeed, I actually will be performing alongside Arakawa-sensei~ so it is more of a duet rather than a solo. I normally play the piano." Her explanation came calmly as she listened back to Honey's response about the question she asked. It made sense that the little lass didn't exactly have the time to watch such an old series and yet hearing that the girl's teacher compared her to the main lead of the show earned a little chuckle from the Germanic lass. "Quite a compliment~ And one that is not unfounded, I can see that innocent and energetic charm in you that Cherry also has."

She lightly raised her hand, trying to reach for the child's head to gently ruffle her hair lightly. "An understandable thought Honey-chan, most people tend to cave in to such pressure and become worried about whether they are able to meet the demands of the audience. But that is a wrong mindset to have." She withdrew her hand and gently motioned with a pointing finger at the girl's torso.

"What is important is your feelings toward the song, and your desire to convey it as well as possible to those willing to listen. That by itself is quite a challenging concept to possess, especially if you don't know the 'story' behind a song."

With her explanation paused Elise leaned backwards, sitting down on the floor as she hummed softly. "In this case your first lesson will be to learn to grasp the emotions of the story that a song tries to convey. In this case the song embodies a feeling of longing. Cherry has lost her memories, and her childhood friend who loves her dearly, did all he could to save her. It took the power of a witch in order to save Cherry's soul, but as a result most of her memories were shattered across the various worlds the story took place in. Of course her childhood friend is more than willing to search for them, but little does Cherry know that the price of her salvation came at a cruel cost: she would lose her memories of her dearest friend. The story expresses how Cherry longs to find that what she is missing, desperately chasing for those memories, and while she chases the trail of her memories, she always finds the warmth of that boy that always was by her side, yet for some reason she can't remember him. It's a tragic but beautiful song, but it is difficult to sing it with emotions unless you are able to convey a similar feeling."

She smiled gently and raised a hand to her cheek, musing softly. "In my case I tend to look for the emotions I felt in the past. I always loved my childhood friend, and while we're in a relationship right now and living happily as a couple, it was not always like that. Often I felt that despite the warmth I shared in our friendship, I was desperately chasing for something precious, something I longed for so immensely and yet it always seemed to be out of my reach: Indeed, once upon a time I wasn't able to reach Tetsu's love..."

She mused softly as if she thought about the last part for a moment. "It is important for you to discover something for yourself to convey in the song. I like to call those emotions: The world of Music, try to listen to the original song and watch the anime if you have time during the weekend, they will be essential parts of what will allow you to obtain that what you seek. Once you get more experience you will even be able to hear, feel and see the story that the singer's emotions try to convey."

Elise couldn't help but find herself pulled along with the enthusiasm and excitement of the little squirrel girl, the way she described the upcoming concert as being cool earning a sheepish grin from Elise. "They can be a bit intimidating, although I do like them a lot, it's the opportunity to convey your feelings and emotions in such a clear and powerful manner." Indeed, to her music was a gift, a blessing that had allowed her to convey her feelings to her beloved Tetsuko.

As the explanation continued and Honey seemed initially confused, perhaps even a bit intimidated by the answer, Elise couldn't help but chuckle softly. "Of course~ Every song has a story of its own, filled with so many emotions, it's why sometimes a song might sound different depending on who it is that performs the song. When she explained a bit more about the importance of being able to connect to the emotions you wanted to convey in a song, her mentioning of her lover made Honey seemingly realize who she was talking about. "Mhmm~ Tetsuko Shindou is my lover~" Elise hummed with a bright smile, a sense of pride and joy being felt at how she could admit it so openly and with such happiness.

Although pondered for a moment, wondering if she could help figure out a way for Honey to experience the type of longing she meant. "Well, it might not be exactly an easy thing to accomplish, since a lot of songs have different stories, and some might be unfamiliar to you. A lot of my own songs tend to be cheerful and happy songs or songs about my love for Tetsu~ For this song it might be best to try to think of a situation where you felt sad and lonely, like a moment where you really wanted to have someone by your side, to hear their voice, to see their smile to bring you a renewed feeling of courage and determination. Try to think of that person as you sing the lyrics, that should be a solid start for now."

It was not the ideal solution, but perhaps it was for that reason that she tended to write her own songs most of the time. While she had become quite proficient at connecting to the emotions a song brought with it, there was still a feeling of disconnection in her, it just felt more pleasant to sing songs where she truly could immerse herself in the world of music, overflowing with those powerful emotions she felt so often.

Rising onto her feet Elise took a seat behind the piano and explained with her usual cheerful tone. "Let me know when you're ready and I'll start playing the piano to accompany your song~"

After all, there was a saying that practice made perfect, and in the music industry that was certainly also the case! Although, she was actually genuinely curious and interested to hear Honey singing along with the song, but for now all she did was wait for the girl to signal her.

Elise smiled kindly at Honey as she inquired about whether it could be a pet or not, leading the pink-haired lass to reply in a soft and gentle tone. "Of course, a pet can be very dear to its owner, after all there is a reason why many believe that a pet is a part of a household, a member of their family."

Elise did truly feel that was the case, for example Stompke, the Japanese bobtail cat that they had ever since the family moved to Japan was very dear to her, and she considered it a true member of the family, not just because of how adorable she was, but also because of how affectionate the cat could be.

With that said Elise nodded her head attentively to Honey, watching the girl stand up straight and prepare herself for the singing of the lyrics, upon which Elise's hands would move toward the piano keys, ready to start playing the opening melody of the song Honey was going to be practicing. It was nice to play alongside someone else for once, especially since most of the time she played solo songs, perhaps the reason she had been so eager for the duet with her mentor!

There was something about music, a certain power that was greater than words. It might had sounded odd to most, but for Elise music was more powerful, more honest than words could ever be. After all, it was music that had allowed Elise's feelings to finally reach Tetsuko, for their love to finally blossom into the state it was today. Perhaps it was for that reason that music was something that she loved so much, something that she treasured immensely and found o so precious. As she started playing the interlude she focused on the song, giving Honey the opportunity to start singing. She could sense it, despite the girl's talent and efforts, she seemed to struggle with getting into the message of the song. Then again, that was not something she could blame Honey for, after all it was not the girl herself who had chosen the song.

A difficult task was given to Honey, and she would do her best to help prepare the girl for her performance as well as she could. When Honey took a deep breath, Elise paused for a moment, a hand reaching for her chin as she pondered softly. "I wonder... Perhaps rather than reenacting the song, it might be a better idea for you to try to create your own version of it. It is not unheard of, for artists to create their own version of a famous or popular song, similar to the 'remixes' that a lot of people like to make online."

It was a potential idea, but she was curious what Honey would think about it.