La Flor y el Tiburón {Shark}

[LILA DAY]

The auditorium was quickly becoming Lila's favorite hang out. It was a free stage for the most part, and the drama club was nice to watch. Even if she didn't dare get on stage herself for an audience--at least not yet. Felice had been pushing her, running her strict like a ballet teacher, pefecting her form. Lila danced because she was good at it and enjoyed it. However, she wasn't passionate about it, not like she was for singing. The drama club had left for the evening, and Lila went exploring. Only to find the storage closet...which was a disaster. Props strewn about, costumes left on the floor. Some students cared about the stage but...not what went on behind the stage. It made her sad, and it made her miss the neat, labeled rows of the theater her father made their home.

So, what better way to spend her time than doing her best to organize everything? It was only a few moments before the silence started to ring heavily in her ears, and as she became distracted with the work--song came to her. A reflex to cover the silence. She had a powerful voice, but the song that came to her didn't require power. It required a gentle tone. Effortlessly the sound rang from her throat, starting off in a lower tone with a natural warble to the voice--perfectly on pitch.

"A la nanits nana, nanita ea nanita ea...
Mi Jesus tiene sueno, bendito sea, bendito sea."

It was a gentle song, almost eerie in the melody. As the song started to reach its height, the low tone of her voice slid to a higher pitch. Something closer to an opera, ringing high in a pitch. There was no shrill sound to it, but sounded more like a crystal bell. Clear, flawless, without a single hitch or scratch to her voice.

"Fuentecilla que corre clara y sonora,
Ruisenor que en la selva cantando lloras,
Calla mientras la cuna se balancea,
A la nanita nana, nanita ea, nanita ea..."

As she sang, she gently stacked the items back onto the shelf, organizing the hats, the smaller props, and the larger ones accordingly. She was seemingly on autopilot, her body mindless organizing the items properly, while she devoted her mind to recalling the lyrics. Lila had heard some of the women sing this backstage, and had asked to learn it. It came much easier to her, as living in theater--french, spanish, and a tiny bit of italian had accumulated over the years--along with a few classes that her father was sure to put her in.

--

Cancion De Cuna A La Ninita Nana; the song Lila is singing.

Her Outfit.

[sireno]

Mariano had been spending a lot of time at the auditorium lately. It was quiet there. He could get away for a while. Sometimes he would try to call Toro, without success.

Today he wandered the campus and his feet brought him right to the stage. His footsteps were nearly silent as he walked up the steps, running his hand along the dark red velvet curtains. Suddenly it became apparent that he was not alone. A soft, strong voice came from backstage. Just the sound of the woman's voice was enough to make his eyes close, a calm washing over him.

"A la nanita nana, nanita ella nanita ella...
Mi Jesus tiene sueno, bendito sea, bendito sea."

He recognized the song. It was in Spanish, to his great surprised, and he leaned closer to catch the words.

"Fuentecilla que corre clara y sonora,
Ruisenor que en la selva cantando lloras,
Calla mientras la cuna se balancea,
A la nanita nana, nanita ella, nanita ella..."

Without thinking, he had begun to sing along, his voice low and smooth, blending with hers easily. It was a song that he remembered well. It had been sung under the stars as waves hit the sand. In a bedroom during a thunderstorm. As a comfort when illness struck the household.

Mariano pulled back the curtain, eyes finding a small brunette cleaning backstage.

Outfit

[LILA DAY]

A smile crossed over her lips when she heard the second voice--honestly, it didn't quite click for Lila at first. She didn't turn around, because she was still focused on organizing everything. The second voice didn't register, but it made her feel like she was back home. There was a slight sway to her form, a lighter flourish to her fingers as she placed the items on the shelves. The skirt of her dress swung about her knees while her thick, long hair swayed along her back. Lila moved lightly on her toes, legs moving with a grace that belonged only to dancers.

Her eyes closed for that moment, "A la nanita nana, nanita ea, nanita ea." Her shoulders rose slightly as the song floated out of her, "Mi Jesus tiene sueno, bendito sea, bendito sea. Fuentecilla que corre clara y sonora, ruisenor que en la selva cantando llors." Lila turned slightly to pick up a hat she knew was on the ground, but ended up doing a good job of jumping straight into the air and stumbling backwards into the shelf behind her. Her eyes were large and round, and the full lips that had been singing popped into a round O of fright.

"Oh---goodness." Her fingers placed over her heart for a moment, while she leaned down to grasp her knee with her other hand. Her heart pounded rapidly beneath her fingers, before she used the hand on her chest to flip her thick hair out of her face and she straightened up. A blush crossed over her golden cheeks, and she offered a dainty, tiny smile. "I'm sorry, you gave me a bit of a fright." A nervous laugh escaped her lips while she attempted to settle down, smoothing out her dress. Lila was as pretty as her voice, a touch of girl-next-door.

"I just felt like I should clean up back here, it's such a mess." one hand pressed to the side of her head while she looked down at the props still strewn about the floor, and on the couch that had been shoved into the corner. It felt like she had made more progress than that, so looking about suddenly made her feel very disappointed. Her large, brown doe eyes turned back to her imprmptu singing partner, before she extended her hand for a handshake. Even the way she held her chin up, and almost the delicate way her fingers fell radiated an otherworldly grace that should not have been possessed by a typical teenager. "My name is Lila, and you are...?"

--

Cancion De Cuna A La Ninita Nana; the song Lila is singing.

Her Outfit.

[sireno]

Apparently, the girl had been too lost in singing to realize that she wasn't alone and she started, hand covering her heart. He gave her a small apologetic smile, and she laughed nervously.

His eyes raked over her quickly. She was very beautiful; flawless ivory skin, chestnut colored hair that fell in light waves over her shoulders and big brown eyes. Something about her suggested a regal kind of air that made him feel a little out of place. She was polite and held her hand out to him, introducing herself. Lila. Delicate and sweet sounding. It fit her. He took her hand slowly, his lips turning up into a charming smile.

"I'm Shark. Mucho gusto, Lila. Nice to meet you."

He glanced around at the mess of props. He could see why it needed to be cleaned.

"Would you like a hand? Since I nearly scared you to death, I should probably be helpful."

His voice teased gently, flashing her a smile. He was incredibly curious about her. How did she know that song? Why was she singing it? Did she speak Spanish, or did she only know that song?

[LILA DAY]

Lila felt somewhat uncomfortable under his gaze as his eyes danced over her frame. However, that washed away when his hand took hers and shook it carefully. Immediately, she felt terrible for her assumptions that she had made in the back of her mind. "Shark, that's interesting." She tilted her head a bit, and withdrew her hands, before her eyes followed his and looked down at the mess still strewn about.

"You can help if you want to--but I calmly suggest you don't smell any of the props." Her brows furrowed, and she glanced up towards the bison head that had been used in an old production of Beauty and the Beast. She had set that on the highest shelf, and accidentally had taken a big giant wiff of it when she lifted it to the shelf. Enough to kill a moose. "Some of them are..." She couldn't find the words, the the corner of her mouth pulled down in a grimace, and she crouched carefully, smoothing her dress beneath her knees as she picked up a few plastic twigs, and placed them in a basket. "It's pretty easy--just kind of place them where you see fit, but try to keep it spaced out and organized." Her hands reached up, fingers spreading as she gestured to the organized shelves.

Slowly, she lifted herself with the basket about her elbows, as she moved to her tiptoes and placed it upon the shelf next to the bison head. "You have a lovely singing voice, are you in theater? Or one of the chorus classes?" She asked curiously, blinking at him through long, thick lashes that framed her brown doe eyes.

--

Cancion De Cuna A La Ninita Nana; the song Lila is singing.

Her Outfit.