Act 2: Upheaval VI - Celebration and Departure

"Increased Chances - Chitlins, Whiskey and Skirt."

"Oh, that's a good one!" Amber exclaims.

"Sure, I can do that one. Anything else?" He picks up his guitar in its case.

"Nothing with boobies in it is too dark for me." He laughs.

"What about Never Going Back Again?" Zenobiusz asks enthusiastically. "It's her favorite."

He points to Wiera, who shyly responds with, "Zeno! He definitely doesn't want to sing that old song...

Song:

"You're lucky my master is a big Marcus Fleetwood fan or I might not know that one." He laughs again. "Last call for requests."

"Do you know the Duck song?" Saria asks?

"Oh, Breeze told me about that one," Fluffle says.

"I enjoy singing that one for my fiancee so no problem. That should do it then." He cups his hand and yells, "Hey Waffle! Warm up time!" And after she nods and starts gathering up the rest of The Vulcan Players, he makes his way to his impromptu stage, the small platform where Jaropelk spoke earlier. He loudly drags a nearby chair to the stage, setting it a bit off to the side so he has a place to sit if he needs a break.

This is when he sets his guitar case on the chair and removes the guitar. It's like seeing an old friend, he lovingly passes his fingers over the strings, checking their tuning, tightening and loosening the strings as needed before nodding when he is satisfied.

Konrad is surprised to hear someone else bring up the Duck song. "I thought Steve came up with the Duck song. Who wrote it?"

"I honestly have no idea," Leon answers.

"It's so funny though," Saria says.

The fairies line up behind Steve and do their vocal exercises with lots of enthusiasm. The people in the room occasionally look at them, wondering what they'll be performing tonight. Judging by the tone of their conversations, they're looking forward to some entertainment.

Steve quietly addresses the fairies, telling them the song order and seeing what they know and what they don't know. After a little brainstorming they are all feeling good about the first half of the performance so they take their positions and Steve starts playing his first song, his warm up song. It's always a good way to begin.

Steve's Warm-up Song:

Since this is only a warm up song, the audience continues to chat and drink, but they have noticeably quieted down. Steve is one of Nadzieja's champions after all, and once his performance starts, it's certain that he'll have all of their attention. In fact, someone seems to have told the staff to subdue the chandeliers' light except for the one right above the small stage, helping to set the mood.

As for the fairies, they're ready to go anytime Steve needs them to. Waffle is the one organizing her siblings as Segel has opted to act as a backing vocalist instead. Probably his sister is a lot more adept at this sort of activity.

"Hello everyone. Having a good evening I hope. I'm Steve Oldturn and these fine fairy folk behind me are The Vulcan Players. Say hi to the nice folks everyone." All the fairies yell hello as they are want to and Steve continues. "Before we begin I just want to give a shout out to our new First, Nadzieja Zerva. Congratulations Nadzieja." He claps along with everyone else. "So to begin, our first song is by request from a new friend of mine Zenobiusz. He dedicates this song, Never Going Back Again, to Wiera his lady love. Here we go."

Never Going Back Again:

The fairies joint him on backup, using their voices to fill in for missing instruments such as the bass, and Waffle and few dedicated ones harmonize with Steve when appropriate. It goes really well (Perform 25).

After the applause dies down, Steve says, "Thank you, you're too kind. Our next tune is a local favorite, requested by a local friend who doesn't get home as much as he would maybe like. If you know it, feel free to join in."

Poverty and Famine:

This time all the fairies join him as best they can. They aren't as familiar with Myrzen songs as they are with the Feathers songs they've been singing with Steve but they lived in the Enclave, they can fake it well enough and the crowd joined in anyway. (Perform 20)

Steve waits for the applause before saying, "This one is a bit different and is a personal favorite of mine and was requested by my friend Saria. Yeah, you can applaud that." He laughs. "I hope you all enjoy it."

The Duck Song:

Steve and the fairies are really into this one, as they sing it a lot for fun. They ham it up, dancing and flying around the stage, at one point Steve walks over to Saria and sings it directly to her before walking back. (Perform 28)

After waiting for the applause to die down from this one, he says, "I'm glad everyone liked that one, it always reminds me of my special lady back home. She can't be here tonight, but she's never far from my thoughts or my heart. So this next one is for her. I've been working on it for a while. Let me know how it's coming along."

Just the Way You Are:

Steve has a lot of fun with the fake horn sounds, his little inside joke to his relationship to Zelk. Not for the last time he wishes she was here and it shows in the performance. (Perform 34)

He wipes away some tears while he waits for the applause to die down. "Thank you everyone. I'm going to take a little break now. But I leave you with the expert vocals of our very own Ember. That's right Ember, do that song you guys wrote. I think everyone will like it."

He steps away and sits in the chair while Ember, Waffle, Piffle, Hiccup, Truffle, and Gabby all take position up front while the rest of the fairies do backup and start singing their song a cappella style while Steve gets a handle on his emotions.

That Thing You Do:

The one by Fleetwood makes Konrad think. He looks very intently at the stage, getting lost in the performance. He has no trouble singing the song he suggested along with the others who raise their voices ("Ubóstwo i Głód", for those who don't speak Imperial).

During the Duck song, he sits and listens while watching the children react and laugh at Steve's antics, content to be an observer.

He can't help glancing over at Nadia when Steve explains the next song he's going to sing is about Zelk, expressing his desire to be near her. He starts nodding along to the fairies' outro song, but the specificity of the lyrics of their song makes him glance over at Nadia again, this time with some a frequency causing inward embarrassment. He's forgotten all about Angelika.

Deception 27
He attempts to hide the furtive glances toward Nadia, but not the first one during the fairies' song.

The audience participates as much as they can, clapping in sync with the song or even singing along when they know the lyrics. And that's exactly what they do when Poverty and Famine , which appears to be known quite well here in Myr. When Steve decides to follow it up with the Duck song however, he hears merry laughter instead. A few of the clansmen do find it strangely catch though...

As for Saria, she's elated when the young man comes down the stage to sing for her, and she can barely contain her excitement at the sight of fairies flying around her. It's as if she was in the middle of a tornado. She stands up and claps for Steve when the song ends, beaming with joy.

The next song, more serious in tone, clashes with the previous ones. The audience is nevertheless receptive, and Steve can tell that they like what they're hearing. In fact, it seems to grab the attention of everyone because of how heartfelt it feels, and he receives a long round of applause when it's over.

As for the next segment, the fairies' mini performance is quite endearing, and no one dares interrupt the cute little creatures who are giving it their all so their voices can be heard across the room.

Konrad:

Now composed, Steve stands once more and joins the audience in clapping for the fairies. "Well done guys, that was great. Weren't they great everyone?" After the new cheering dies down he says, "We've all had a blast singing songs together since we met back in the Enclave. Some of them are fun, like The Duck Song and some of them are fun like this song, Chitlin's, Whiskey, and Skirt. This ones for you Mihai and Amber."

Chitlin's, Whiskey, and Skirt:

The fairies always get a kick out of this song, flying around and making faces at each other and the crowd, doing the strange butt wiggle dance that Steve taught them and generally being weird to match the weird tone of Steve's guitar playing. (Perform 33).

After the applause dies down, Steve laughs and says, "That one is always fun to sing. Thanks for the request from the boss of the 113. Now all these requests remind me of my master, Fedler Melan, who taught me how to play and sing. One of the ways we'd practice is by taking requests from our other friends. She would have loved this concert, especially that Marcus Fleetwood song we started out with. So I'm thinking, why not sing one more? This one is called The Chain. If you know it feel free to sing along."

The Chain:

The fairies harmonize with Steve, enhancing the performance. (Perform 25)

Steve waits for the applause to die down once again before saying, "I'm so happy Fedler introduced me to Fleetwood. Truly a great bard. Speaking of a great bard, I thought I'd try my hand at a little Kowalczyk with a tune she wrote called Zachód Słońca, or Sunset for you Imperial-speaking folks."

Zachód Słońca:

The fairies are content to listen to Steve for this one. They are resting up for the last two songs. (Perform 32)

After the applause dies down Steve says, "That was a fun one. I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did singing it. But now that I've almost exhausted my Myrish repertoire we are going to head back to the Feathers one last time with Save the Last Dance for Me. "

Save the Last Dance for Me:

Steve and the fairies sing this one together, with them clapping along while they dance in flying formations. Steve has a big old smile on his face at their antics and is clearly having fun with the song and that comes through in the performance. (Perform 30)

When the song comes to an end and he's waited for the cheering to stop, Steve says, "You've been a great audience tonight. I hope you've had as much fun as we have but we've come to our last song. This one is for Nadia, from the crew and me. Take it away Waffle!"

The fairies fly out into the audience and alight all over the tables, with Waffle and the core singers taking up position around Nadia herself. That's when they all break out into their version of Cara Mia, a cappella style. Steve joins in but the last song is really the fairies show.

Cara Mia:

Once all the interaction quiets down, the dimmed lights and music throw Mihai into some sort of reverie. The Duck Song perks him up a bit, especially when Saria lights up.

Just the Way You Are seems to somewhat resonate with him as well, and he slips into melancholy all the way through That Thing You Do.

He's snapped out of it by something Steve says right before Increased Chances, looking momentarily lost for a reaction, until it tempers into determination. The song itself seems to lift his spirits, getting a few chuckles and a quiet laugh out of him for a moment.

His gaze becomes distant when Steve mentions Fedler, but quickly refocuses into resolve. He leans forward in his chair, resting his arms on his knees. If anyone were to look, they might notice his hands clench into fists from time to time, and an unusually sharp gaze on his face, as if he were looking far beyond the walls of the building.

He eventually mellows out when The Chain starts playing, and by Save the Last Dance for Me, he's back into reverie. Cara Mia however, particularly gets his attention.

Amber never liked Chitlin's, Whiskey, and Skirt, so she finds it quite funny that Steve is singing for both her and Mihai. When two clansmen at the next table humorously complain about the choice of song, she's quick to point to Mihai as the one to blame for this. Of course, the fairies acting silly makes it all worthwhile to them.

The Chain is a definitely favorite among the Myrzens here, and several people sing along with Steve at the appropriate moments. For Sunset and Save the Last Dance for Me however, a few couples stand up and dance on the open space in the middle of the room. The fairies happily join them and do the same, but in the air, which people find really amusing and cute.

Closing the performance with an a cappella song dedicated to Nadzieja might be the best decision Steve made tonight. The fairies gather in a circle around the young woman and begin singing as best as they can, and it's not long before her cheeks turns bright red. She does find it very charming though, and she thanks the fairies for the song once it's over.

Immediately after that, she rises to her feet and along with the rest of her clansmen, she gives Steve and the fairies a standing ovation which last for a full minute. Needless to say, Szef Duma and his champions do the same.

Konrad smiles and echos the response from the Myrzen folk throughout the third act, apart from getting up to dance with anyone. However, watching the fairies flying around Nadia, singing in a capella while she blushes, has an enchanting effect on him. At the end, he also stands up and joins the ovation for Steve and the Vulcan Players.

Steve smiles and claps and cheers for the fairies before saying, "Come on everyone, get up here so we can all take a bow!" When the fairies have gathered back up around the stage, they all take a bow together, soaking up the applause and cheering. Steve high-fives several fairies around him , including Waffle and Segel, while the others fly around and hug and dance. When the applause dies down he carefully puts the guitar back into its case and returns to his spot at the table. He downs his entire cup of juice in one long drink and says to those around him, "Whew, I'm going to need to work on my endurance if I'm ever going to be able to do a full concert." He laughs.

Konrad comes out of his daydream to give Steve due praise. "Please do! That was amazing, Steve. You really gave them what they wanted."

"That was pretty cool," Volwind says, trying not to look too impressed.

"Thank you Steve," Saria adds, her eyes alight with admiration. "You're a really good singer!"

A few other people around the table compliment Steve for his performance.

Mihai gets up and joins Steve - "Wow, you did the Songbird thing without the brainwashing."