At no point in her life had Dahlia ever expressed interest in music as a career. She had enjoyed plonking out little melodies on the grand piano in the hall and singing along as she did so but playing as a job? That would just make it work. But she had shown aptitude in it and in the Sangrey family that meant she had locked herself in. Around the same time her skin had turned blue and her feet morphed into hooves had started to grow from her scalp the little pseudo-demon was surrounded by the best instructors money could buy. Hours upon hours spent with vocalists, violinists, pianists, past and present professionals being paid hundreds of dollars per hour to turn Dahlia's hobby into her new way of life. Time not spent in school or other lessons was dedicated to practicing scales and studying music theory, writing and rewriting compositions that would never see the light of day.

Dozens of hours had blurred into hundreds and then thousands, Dahlia being molded into a master without her asking or consenting to process. There was no point in complaining about it. Her elders were as eldritch and immovable as the scarcely understood power that had marked her with golden eyes and heavy horns, she may as well have asked the rivers to unflood or a volcano to revert its eruption. It was better to accept it and move on as best she could, performing in concert halls and at events across Iliad. She sang with a smile, another crown jewel in the Sangrey's collection of cultured, intelligent future leaders. 

So the Games were hardly even a change in schedule. Nergal had more or less demanded she be part of the team and so she was, armed with her bow and the ability to warp probability as needed. [color=0047ab]"Oh yes, very exciting. The same way jamming my tail in a socket would be."[/color] The spade tipped appendage had curled itself around leg, Dahlia's dry snark hiding the tension she always felt when her family's pride was on the line. [color=0047ab]"I should have asked you about outfits Helena, you're more familiar with this kind of show."[/color]

She had worn what she usually did performing. A cloak the same dark cobalt as her skin with a black dress covering to just above the hooves nervously kicking at the stage and arm length gloves, a veil with her horns poking through hiding all of her face from the audience. Save for her eyes of course. The gold was just bright enough to be seen through the material, dim lighthouse bulbs almost hidden by heavy fog. It was dramatic in the extreme but by design, playing up the inherent exotic mysteriousness of her "condition" and hiding the injuries and changes that would result from using her more powerful abilities for too long.

[color=0047ab]"If that's really how you think we should play it then I guess we have no choice."[/color]

A lie of course, lip service to an order she'd ignored at the first sign of trouble. If the amateurs across from them did better than expected there wasn't a chance Dahlia wouldn't cheat. A cruel though combined with a note or two from her violin could cause strings to snap and voices to crack awkwardly, instruments becoming untuned in a heartbeat. There was more riding on this than a couple of pages. She had family in the crowd who would be displeased in the extreme if she embarrassed them in front of the horde watching. 

Despite Helena's naive adherence to the art it was nice to have another professional on her side. One of them really should have been handling vocals as well, hopefully the bundle of spikes and studs masquerading as a student knew what she was doing. [color=0047ab]"If you end up needing a break Vell give me a signal and I can sub in for you."[/color] The offer was out there for her to take up or reject as she saw fit. All Dahlia could now was wait for the start.
 
[@Nyxira] [@The Jest]