Listen, And The Stars Shall Speak

All That Jazz

"Shore!" Orange's familiar voice called out. Shore turned around and grinned at the sight of his best friend. 

"Hey Odd-ang." he replied. She grinned at the sound of her nickname and handed him a flyer.

"Have you seen this?" He read it quickly.

The Scorpion's Tail presents

Jazz Night

Any and all musicians over the age of 15 are welcome to the Scorpion's Tail for a night of music, dancing, jazz and drinks. Completely free. Instruments like pianos and guitars will be provided.

A date was listed below, along with the address for The Scorpion's Tail- which was one of the most popular bars in the Sandwing Kingdom.

"Woah." Shore said breathlessly. All those musicians in one place? That was sure to be amazing. Then realization kicked in. "Too bad we can't go," he said ruefully.

"Why can't we?" Orange questioned, a devious look on her face. Shore stared at her.

"Orange, The Scorpion's Tail is all the way in the Sandwing Kingdom. There's no way we could get there, even if by some miracle we were allowed. And besides," he pointed to the flyer. "It's for dragons over the age of 15. We're barely four." Orange shrugged.

"The age is a minor detail. We can sneak in. And we can use the tunnel to get to the Sandwing Kingdom, and we can sneak out. Because I don't know about your parents, but mine would never let me go to some Jazz club." Shore paused, thinking about Orange's plan. It could work. They could actually make it work.

"My parents would never let me go." he agreed. "Alright, I'm in."

"Really?"

"Yea, let's do this!"

The night of the Jazz event, Shore waited until his parents and sisters were asleep before he crept out of the house.

"Hey Shore," Ander's familiar voice interrupted his silent prowling. Shore froze. His little sister was sitting contently at the table, drinking something as she stared out at the stars.

"Ander?" he hissed, praying she wouldn't give him away.

"Don't mind me," she insisted. "You can go back to sneaking out to make out with Orange til dawn or hunt elephants; I don't care." Shore was frozen in shock. Normally he would make some snappy retort, but he was probably already late for meeting Orange.

"Okay," he agreed. "Thanks?"

"Don't thank me, Mr. Blue scales, thank the stars."

Shore awkwardly stepped out of the hut and took off into the forest, stopping at the tunnels. Orange grinned when she spotted him and they ducked into the tunnel, making their way to the Sandwing Kingdom.

"I always thought this tunnel would feel creepier after I heard about it." Shore admitted. Orange shivered.

"I think it's plenty creepy enough." she disagreed. And then the tunnel ended, revealing the dark sand of the Sandwing Kingdom. They smiled and took off into the night sky, heading for the jazz club.

The place was packed with dragons, and no one seemed to notice the pair of four-year-olds that dropped in from the window. A band was blasting jazz music and Shore stopped in awe. Orange smiled, looking the look of excitement on his face. She didn't understand music as much as he did, but she loved how happy it made Shore. 

She loved Shore in general, if she was being honest. 

He started to jump up and down like a small child on sugar and he turned to Orange, looking as if he were holding back a happy shriek.

"Wanna dance?" she asked, nodding at the floor. He nodded vigorously, to happy for words and they ran to the floor. The band changed often and the music was always fresh. Shore spun Orange around and started to laugh. She spun close to him and giggled. His happiness was contagious.

"All we need now is singing!" he exclaimed, yelling over the noise.

"You could probably sing and no one would notice!" Orange shouted back.

"Who says I won't?" he teased, spinning her away.  Orange laughed and they danced around. When their feet finally gave out, Shore turned his attention to the band. There was a piano right on the corner of it, and it was screaming his name. It seemed like fate was on his side when someone came on the microphone.

"We've got one last band for you tonight, But unfortunately, their pianist couldn't make it. Do we have one in the crowd willing to take his place?" Orange shot up and stood on her chair.

"Over here!" she yelled, pointing at Shore. She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up. "He'll play!" They agreed and next thing he knew, Shore found himself on stage. He tried his best not to freak out as he played with the band, but it was hard not to. Here he was, on a real stage, playing in a real jazz club! He could've fainted with happiness. The set ended far too soon and the Scorpion's tail closed for the night. He and Orange did flips in the air and laughed as they flew back to the tunnel. The sun had risen by the time they got there, but neither of them had thought to worry. The village was awake by the time they stumbled in, dizzy with laughter. But the smile on Shore's face faded quickly when he caught sight of a familiar face.

Kelp stood before them, and he did not look happy.

"Where have you been?" he demanded.