December Spotlight Series – Christmas Karaoke Party – Part 4

Soooo in this one I ended up going off on a rather lengthy tangent about the set up of this little mental space where my characters all hang out together. Feel free to skip the first few paragraphs if you want to get to where they talk about the song.

Role Call: Nallain and Onrey
Scenelette Type: Meta

The MetaSpace had a variety of every-shifting options when it came to lodging. Occasionally, when Nallain got called in for a meeting with Hannah, she would pass through empty white space with whatever random piece of furniture Hannah provided for them (The Alter-ego was fond of beanbag chairs.) But those situations were rare.

The MetaSpace would generally form itself to accommodate the preferences of each individual character, and could range from an exact copy of their own world to a modern OuterWorld set up.

Sometimes the MetaSpace was just a series of rooms and doors and hallways, with the characters living together in a dorm-style setting. Sometimes it was a giant log cabin.

The only thing that remained at least relatively consistent was that characters from the same books were generally grouped together. There was nothing stopping her from visiting over areas (MetaSpace had no true walls) but Nallain had never felt the need to do so. So, she saw a lot of her own book-mates.

That’s why when Onrey wandered into her living room without knocking, Nallain wasn’t at all surprised. The house wasn’t exactly like the one she had in her world. It was similar, but it had a few more modern touches. Television, for example. And a microwave. She was fond of Hot Pockets.

Also, it was bigger. As a professional thief, Nallain knew better than anyone that having a large house full of expensive treasures was simply an invitation for unfortunateness. She spent her money on mostly intangible things, and kept a low profile. But that didn’t matter so much here, outside of the story.

When Onrey came in, the room shifted slightly – it became more rustic, less orderly, large open windows with soft breezes blowing through. Onrey obviously didn’t live on the streets here in the MetaVerse, but he still found actual houses a little constricting.

“What’s up, little dude?” Nallain greeted.

“Nothing,” he mumbled, wandering through the room and instinctively pocketing a few of the items. He would give them back later when he discovered them in his pockets.

“Great!” Nallain said. “Nothing’s wrong with me either. Glad we have that in common.”

Onrey wrinkled his nose at her, and shoved a little ceramic cat in his pocket before sitting down heavily on the couch. Nallain noticed then that he was holding a piece of paper crumbled up in his small fist.

“Is that your song?” she asked.

“Mmhm.”

“And I’m guessing your partner is… a hideous ogre and that’s why you’re here pouting instead of rehearsing with them?”

Onrey sighed and rolled his eyes dramatically. “It’s that old lady,” he said finally. “You know, that one who tells you her name twenty times a minute? Ava, Ava, Ava, Ava…” He concluded his long string of ‘Ava’s’ with sticking out his tongue.

“Yikes,” Nallain said sarcastically. “I think I’d rather have the ogre. She seems awful.”

“She’s fine,” Onrey said through his teeth. “She’s just… the song is…” Finally, by way of an explanation, he tossed the abused piece of paper between them on the couch.

Nallain opened it up, saw that it was lyrics, and understood. “Ah. This is about the fact that you can’t read?” she guessed.

“If she’d just told me what the song sounded like, I’d memorize it,” he boy huffed. “It’s not a big deal. Why does everyone always have to make it a big deal?”

Nallain shrugged and set the lyrics down. “Reading is more common in…” she almost said ‘other worlds’ but then remembered that The Bard’s Choice actually did share a setting with Ava’s world, albeit several decades apart. “…different areas,” she finished instead.

“I know,” he sighed. “I just… don’t want to do the stupid song.”

Nallain considered offering again to teach Onrey how to read, but decided now wasn’t a good time. The kid had always said it would be pointless to learn something here in MetaSpace that wouldn’t even benefit him in their actual world. Besides, the current problem was that he felt embarrassed again, and drawing more attention to it in that state wouldn’t help anything.

“What is the song?” Nallain asked instead, picking up the paper and frowning at it. “Never heard of this.”

Onrey shrugged. “Neither did the old lady.”

“Ava,” Nallain corrected.

“You sound like her,” Onrey said. “Ava, Ava, Ava, Ava—”

“Just call her by her name,” Nallain sighed, swatting him with the lyrics. “Don’t be a brat. Come on, let’s listen to this thing.” She cued up the song on her ipod and scooted closer so she could give Onrey one of the earbuds.

Their song is ‘Wooden Soldiers on Parade,’ which is a very sweet song that I happen to love desperately, but it almost never gets played on the radio. If you’re unfamiliar with it, I invite you to have a listen along with Nallain and Onrey.

As a side note, these two never interact in the book itself, but in the MetaSpace they’re best friends, and I think it’s super cute.

December Giveaway!

At the end of December, I’ll be giving these three bookish ornaments to one lucky person! I made these beauties out of upcycled novels (Left – Pride and Prejudice, Middle and Right – Sherlock Holmes)

To enter, just comment on any of my blog posts for the month of December! And, if you really want to increase your chances, you can also comment on the pinned post on my Facebook Page.

Last day to enter is December 30th. Winner will be announced on December 31st. Good Luck!