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Post by Liana Marceau on Jun 28, 2008 18:37:24 GMT -5
Alright! So far so good. She had seemed to guess most of the gestures correctly. This last reaction however, the mere little shrug suggested that perhaps she had guessed the question closely but not closely enough. She could not think of what else it could have been besides what book she was going to get. Perhaps what book she had finished? That was the only other logical explanation, but at the same time, Liana figured, hoped actually, that her previous answer has sufficed as the girl did not seem keen on motioning the same thing over again.
In fact, it seemed she was more intent on a very different motion. It was harder to understand than the last one. It was obviously something in regards to herself. The girl was pointing at her after all. For what reason and to what extent Liana did not know, but it had to be some kind of personal question. Then, as if things were not complicated enough, the girl curtsied. That was a gesture for people of well birth. Was she asking if Liana was of the upper classes?
Considering the motions carefully Liana pursed her lips and stared down at her slightly worn clothes. Her speaking in Italian perhaps could have given her away, but she could easily explain that. Say she taught herself. It was not uncommon. If girls could teach themselves english and to read and write here by themselves, Italian was obviously no far stretch. Still, in the back of her mind Liana doubted that nobility was truely the question.
If her intuitions were correct though, what else could to girl be asking. It was something about herself. That would explain the pointing. But the curtsy. It had to be in the curtsy. You curtsied to nobility, but that couldn't be it. What would you curtsy for then? Respect? Liana pursed her lips again and continued to think through reasons to curtsy. A small smile finally went across her face. Hopefully this was right. "You are asking my name yes?"
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La Muta
Understudy
Parlare Non Male
Posts: 70
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Post by La Muta on Jun 28, 2008 22:08:12 GMT -5
La Muta would pause and stare wide-eyed at the girl's confused and thoughtful expression and then repeat her gestures: -point, curtsy, stare, point, curtsy, stare. She started to feel a little silly, like one of those mechanical life-size dolls in the novelty museums that stiffly did the same thing over and over again for a few small coins. She watched as the girl would watch her curiously and then once even stare down at her own clothing. Perhaps she was thinking that she was indeed asking if she were nobility. It was preposterous, but it might make sense with the gestures.
Finally she watched realization dawn upon her face as a small smile came to her lips. It looked a little clever and also a little exasperated. She finally asked to clarify, and yes! it was what Muta had meant. She smiled brightly and nodded with enthusiastic praise, for that question had been a difficult one. Then she held her hands together in front of her and tried to stay still (not something she was good at) and politely await the answer.
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Post by Liana Marceau on Jul 1, 2008 22:29:03 GMT -5
Well Liana just felt rude right now. It was just sillly wasn't it? To sit here and talk and discuss without telling the girl her name. Well, sort of talk. Communicate would probably be a more proper term wouldn't it. None the less, despite her years of breeding and her experience with meeting such people she had managed to neglect her name. Well, her pen name at least. Her false name. She could never again tell anyone her real name. That had long since been cleared as an option. She had to simply give the name she had come to embrace since she had left home.
A brightly smile and a slight blush took Liana's face at her foolishness at not giving her name. She sighed and shook her head before looking up at her new found friend. "Please forgive my rudeness. My name is Liana Marceau." She smiled and tilted her head to the side slightly considering what could come next. She would need the other girl's name of course, but how would she guess something like that? Perhaps a meaning of the name? Perhaps she could write it? It would have to be guessed of course, but first it would have to be asked. "But please, tell me, is there something I may call you by?"
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La Muta
Understudy
Parlare Non Male
Posts: 70
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Post by La Muta on Jul 2, 2008 3:10:39 GMT -5
She looked a bit nervous and embarrassed; there was a blush upon her cheek, and her hands moved in tense and flustered ways. She apologised for neglecting to give her name. How rare! A girl with good manners working in the opera house. Muta herself wasn't an expert in all of that howdy-do etiquette that the nobility was so fond of, but she was at least kind. She wondered where Liana had learned it. La Muta smiled at the name. Liana. She'd never heard that name before. Had it been invented by her parents? She wondered, but that was too difficult a question to ask, and not the time anyhow. She bit her lip at the prospect of signing her name to her new friend. She was sure that it would be a failed exercise, as it had been every time before.
Oh well, it was worth a try! She started with one that she used often enough, putting her palms together at her wrists, linking her thumbs, and moving her hands open and then partly closed in sync while she weaved her arms and even stepped with it a little, her eyes trained upon her flapping hands. Then she ran around the few sets and grabbed up the wedding scene costume, running back to point to lift it for Liana to see and pointing to it. She laid it down quickly and went back to making the hand gesture.
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Post by Liana Marceau on Jul 2, 2008 4:32:56 GMT -5
This was going to be difficult. It was well known that it was going to be difficult because honestly, names would be hard to guess. She would need a book of names to get herself through this one! She really would. It was near impossible unless the name meant something in french. She knew some names translated over to something in french so she could be able to act it out some way. She had done well enough with that so far and now she would truely be put to the test. She would just imitate the actions like last time and hope for the best.
And so it begun with a simple hand motion. The girl put her hands together at the wrists and entwined her thumbs. She smiled and nodded. Then the girl started moving her hands a bit. Well that was easy enough. She used to do that all the time to signal birds to her mother all the time. She had seen teh gypsy children do it before! It was a bird! It had to be a bird! A kind of bird! But what kind of bird. She wasn't an expert and there were thousands of kinds of birds. That was when she pointed to the white. She smiled so brightly then. There was only one kind of bird it could possibly be! Liana almost jumped up and down when she said what she believe the name, "Dove! Ummm Ummm Ummm Colomba!"
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La Muta
Understudy
Parlare Non Male
Posts: 70
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Post by La Muta on Jul 2, 2008 10:42:08 GMT -5
She watched Liana's gaze go from very concentrated and thoughtful to excited, and that excitement rendered itself physically before her in barely restrained excitement. La Muta started to grin as she went through the motions, growing excited and playful herself. What a wonderful game! She had never felt so thrilled to communicate with anyone before. Usually she felt a bit embarrassed, for they often looked as if they would rather not bother. The entire circulation of the gestures ceased when Liana said Columba.
La Muta was astonished. No one had ever come this far! It was so close! She was overjoyed! Now how to finish it? This girl was knowledgeable, obviously, far beyond the norm, and very clever--would she know about the commedia dell'arte? Muta nodded her approval of the guess and then turned her hands upside down on her face, thumb and forefingers together, so that her fingers formed little circles about her eyes and her other fingers splayed over her cheeks.
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Post by Liana Marceau on Jul 2, 2008 20:28:18 GMT -5
This was communicating, but it was far more fun than actually having a conversation. It was a game! A challange. They were practically building their own language it seemed. So far the sucess was near perfect. It took her a little longer to get the signs now and again, but the two of them felt so natural doing this. It was as if it was meant to be as silly as it sounded. Like Liana understood the signs as if she was the one signing them rather than the one translating them. Even the other girl was getting exciting. The two of them were practically jumping around like children. Liana laughed knowing she was getting close.
The actions continued though. She hadn't gotten her name yet but she was close! Was she signing her last name or the rest of her first? Liana smiled brightly, laughing at the ridiculous motion. It could be a racoon. Or a mask of some sort! She smiled and babbled back in Italian. She needed more information. "Did it sound like my guess or is this a whole new guess? Oh! And is that supposed to be a racoon or a mask?"
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La Muta
Understudy
Parlare Non Male
Posts: 70
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Post by La Muta on Jul 2, 2008 22:24:13 GMT -5
The excitement mounted as the 'game' continued. Muta was excited to be able to form a type of communication with something. Liana's excitement, her willingness to participate, and her cleverness with putting the clues together made it a fun experience. She felt as if she had a friend! It was a truly wonderful feeling, and rare to find.
La Muta now held up one finger and then put her hands palm up at her sides, arms bent at the elbows, and shrugged her shoulders slightly. She hoped that her meaning was clear as she referred to question number one. Then she put one finger again for first, and putting a hand on her hip and waggling the index finger of her other hand knowingly and if she were telling someone something. First question: first answer. She repeated her gestures again, except using two fingers. Second question: second answer. She hoped that she would get this, as she was referring to what Liana herself had just said, seeing as she could not say it herself.
She suddenly got a grand idea, and holding up both palms to Liana while leaning forward excitedly to signify that Liana should wait, she backed up a few feet and then ran around a few sets. Sounds of things being hurriedly moved, fabric fluttering, dust being beaten out, more rusting, and Muta emerged in a quickly assembled costume. It was a costume for a maid, and on her face she wore a half mask to which she pointed, outlining the shape. The shape was important, as it was a certain kind of mask. She was trying to indicate a character of the commedia dell'arte, which would fail miserably if Liana knew nothing of it.
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Post by Liana Marceau on Jul 3, 2008 19:49:10 GMT -5
It was perfect! She had found a way to sign answers! That had to be what this meant. She was making the number one and a confused look and then another number one. So that was her first confused look, question she assumed, and the first answer. That meant her name wasn't Colomba it was something that sounded similiar. She just needed better Italian at this point to try to figure out what sounded like Colomba. She was pretty good with Italian, but not that good! She only knew how to speak properly after all. She didn't know words commoners used and she wasn't sure if she could guess.
It was something to do with a mask though. She knew that. But the word for mask didn't sound at all like the word for dove. Maybe it was a kind of mask? She knew about styles of masks from being in the opera house. There were masquerades often here and the girls often spoke of styles of masks. She didn't know which kind though. She knew the names were Italian, but she could not for the life of her think of any! It was a little frustrating.
Now she was doing something else. She was gathering things. The rustling of fabric and the beating of fabric. Then her new nameless friend popped out with a half mask and a maid costume. It was some osrt of shape. It was a kind of mask shape and also a character! It was a character that Monsieur Reyer mentioned often during rehersals to describe how a person should act! Why couldn't she think of the name. Colomba....Colomba..."Colombia?"
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La Muta
Understudy
Parlare Non Male
Posts: 70
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Post by La Muta on Jul 3, 2008 20:46:07 GMT -5
Muta jumped up and down now, unable to stop herself. It was not it, but it was even closer! She was missing but one sound (one letter, but Muta didn't know that, for she did not write) between the "ee" and the "uh" at the end. Muta pointed to her mouth and very exaggeratedly pulled back her lips to mouth 'ee'. Then, keeping her lips pulled back in the same way, placed the tip of her tongue on the top of her tongue to demonstrate the missing consonant. She opened her mouth a little to show what she was doing and then completed the mouthing with opening her mouth and letting her lips relax in the 'uh'.
She closed her mouth and stared fixedly at Liana, leaning forward slightly in excitement and clasping her hands in front of her chest, wringing them slightly. She was very expressive in her emotions, almost comically. She had a smile of encouragement on her face.
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Post by Liana Marceau on Jul 3, 2008 22:45:09 GMT -5
The jumping made it clear that she was closer. She was so close now! It was painfully obvious that she was almost there! She didn't know what else to do. She had gotten closer with the help of the extra sound. Perhaps there was another extra sound. She knew there was another extra sound, but what it was she had no idea. It was a name of a mask and a character in many operas. It was a type of character actually. It was close to Colomba and Colombia. But what was it?
Lip reading was never a skill Liana had to develop but right now she wished she understood the movements of the mouth. She imitated them with quite a bit of uneasiness but it did not help much. She just would have to keep guessing. She worried her lower lip, racking her brain for the name. She needed the name! "Colombiba....Colombcia...Colombida...Colombifa...Colombiga....Colombila...Colombima...Colombina..."
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La Muta
Understudy
Parlare Non Male
Posts: 70
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Post by La Muta on Jul 3, 2008 23:01:13 GMT -5
With a grin and a mute exhale of breath that was surely a voiceless expression of joy, Columbina began to jump up and down and clap her hands with sheer joy. Without thinking she flung herself forward and hugged Liana tightly, then with her hands lightly on Liana's upper arms and standing a bit apart look at her in the face and nodded furiously, some hair coming out of her messy coif.
Oh! What joy! What wonder! Her name, spoken aloud! And by a new friend. She was happier than ever she had been that someone had taken a spill done some stairs; which, granted, there were a few people who she disliked who had given her great pleasure by doing so. She did not so like that Liana had fallen down the stairs as that she had fallen down these stairs in this room and become her friend.
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Post by Liana Marceau on Jul 3, 2008 23:27:48 GMT -5
Well that solved that! It was perfect! The expression of joy, the jumping and clapping. There was more! She smiled brightly laughing, the sound only amplifying through the room. The sound only stopped when the girl hugged her. Only for a moment a she was surpised into silence. It was so wonderful to be able to do this. It was so wonderful to be help. It was so amazing to free someone from silence. She only wished she could be truely free with hers! Perhaps that was why this was so relaxing, so easy for her. She was driven to understand as she could have no one understand her. Liana smiled brightly and laughed again. "Colombina then. A beautiful name."
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La Muta
Understudy
Parlare Non Male
Posts: 70
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Post by La Muta on Jul 6, 2008 1:46:23 GMT -5
She smiled, shrugging one shoulder in a modest gesture. She pointed to Liana and nodded her head knowingly, for she thought that Liana was a beautiful name as well. Colombina pointed to herself then and then pointed to the white dress, still laid in a bit of disarray on a nearby crate, then to her bracelet of cloth, stuck with an array of small sewing utensils. Then she pointed questioningly at Liana. Surely she was not a ballerina--ballerinas didn't trip down stairs! They were not clumsy at all. Was she a performer at all? Lucky girl! To be there on the stage... Colombina smiled wistfully.
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Post by Liana Marceau on Jul 7, 2008 2:19:31 GMT -5
Well, it seemed they had gotten past the hardest obstecal yet. If they could do that, Liana was sure they could do anything with their little language. With a large smile Liana nodded when Colombina did to show that she was thankful that she thought the name was pretty too. But it seemed they were not yet finished with the game of getting to know each other yet. They wouldn't be. It was too soon to finish with just the name. There were jobs and famlies and so many other things to know! Like where to find each other again because Liana had a feeling this was not the last they would see of each other. "I am a singer. You do beautiful work on the costumes by the way. They truely are amazing."
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