“I get it. The indie stuff and the stuff that generally remains low key produces some great works. You’s be surprised how much good stuff is tucked away in a corner of the internet that normal people don’t see much, you know.” Stella laughed as she came to understand a bit about this sister Doku seemed to speak so much about and so highly of. “Your sister sounds like a fun person. Would probably be fun to meet her in person, though that’s probably getting ahead of myself.”

“Perfect. I’ll keep myself occupied till then.” As the offer to just walk around was something he had accepted without much evident hesitance, Stella clapped her hands and smiled as she watched the boy walk off back to finish the rest of his shift.

“Alright, let’s try to get something done in the meantime.” Cracking her knuckles, she looked back to the screens with intent to make some progress. A new fire was lit.

---

Unfortunately, a small flame may leave behind nothing beyond mere embers as far too little progress is made.

So much for that moment of passion.

Stella sighed as she sat patiently, having just packed away all of her devices into a messenger bag. The approximately thirty minutes was almost up so the boy was probably almost off shift.

And right on cue, he returned to her table, seemingly ready to get going.

“So, she has heard of me. Well, that’s embarrassing.” Despite that, she was hardly showing any external embarrassment. No blushing or fidgeting. If anything, it almost seemed like she was melting into giddiness from the praise. At least, that’s how it was before she heard the jab from Doku.

“Hey, now. What do you mean that kind of music? Witch’s Melancholy is the tragic tale of an immortal mage watching the world pass her by. I happen to particularly love that one…wonder if I could make a follow-up song to it. That might be worth it.”

After shortly muttering to herself, keeping her hand on her chin and gazing up at the thought of some inspiration, she turned back to Doku who was asking if she was ready.

After a short pat against the messenger bag hanging over her shoulder, she smiled. “Yep. I’m ready. You got everything you need?”

“Honestly, it was just a bit of a joke.” Stella stuck her tongue out and winked in a motion that was so quick it seemed to be an instant. “Though the sequel song idea wasn’t. The song didn’t end with the Witch’s death, so there is some room for a future song just based off that.”

But, Doku brought up a fair point. If a song was going to be a follow-up, it better be a damn good one to match the level of the original and beyond. Still, she couldn’t help but feel dead set on this idea. Stella had to wonder if she was coming to understand what it felt like for an author who created a one-off book to want to create a full series from the concept.

“I know. But even so, I want to make it the best damn sequel possible. Maybe a stealth sequel. Oooh, that would be fun.”

She found herself perking up more and more as the possibilities ran through her head. But now was not the time for a vibrant rain of hollow possibilities. She just had to engrave it all into her mind and keep the idea archived for just long enough for her to act upon it.

Besides, if she ended up finding further inspiration while she hung around Doku, couldn’t it end up blooming in a direction she could truly admire?

“I’m down for it. A hillside and maybe walking down riverside after. It doesn’t need to be anything more elaborate than that.” She had simply added on another option. The simple flow of time and the simple flow of life was, in its own right, a powerful view for a muse as well.

“What do you think of that, Doku?” she asked with a smile as simple as the view she wished to look upon.

“Well, I’ve considered the ARG route before.” Stella scratched at her head with her free hand and looked up towards Doku at her side with a mildly dismissive glance. “But there are a few problems with that. First, artists who usually do that need a bit of a pause between works for it to really initiate a good mystery. Second, they’re really difficult to get right. You wouldn’t believe how many ARG type ideas I’ve had that fell apart long before any implementation stage. Practicality kills. And lastly...”

Stella gazed off into the distance for a moment. “Well, there’s gotta be an actual song to market. Hints are meaningless if the final song ends up completely different.”

But with a quick shrug, she stopped speaking of the idea of a viral marketing campaign. “But don’t worry. I’m not going to do something as tasteless as trying to squeeze water from a stone with my music. That would defeat the purpose of why I even sing.”

Yes. Miracles could not be made from fragments of loveless tunes. That was as simple as it could be.

“Let me know what you think when you finish. Or be honest and leave an anonymous review when you’re done. I can take the flaming.” Stella, being a bit facetious, gave a quick jab with her elbow when the young man mentioned trying to listen to her music.

“But yeah, simple tends to be the best for inspiration. You never realize just how many ideas simply watching a flowing river or a sunset can spur.”

After having found a place to sit, she followed behind Doku and took a seat at his side. “I can’t say it all started at a single point. If it had to be one, it was probably that idol I liked when I was a kid. Aurora Lux—at least that was her stage name. When I saw her perform...well, you might think it’s silly, but I came to believe that there was something like magic in song.”

“You’ll what?” Stella continued on with as big a grin as she could muster. But from there on, it was no longer necessary to push any further. He probably was going to say something like ‘smack some sense into you’ but hesitated before he could do so.

Honestly, it was quite adorable to watch but there was only so much teasing she could perform before it became more of a detriment than an asset. So, finally aligning with her better judgment, she dropped the line of thought.

“You learn to deal with negativity in the end.” Stella shrugged. “When you put something out to the world, it ends up being part and parcel to have detractors regardless of the reason. You just have to sift through it to find what’s worthwhile to hear.”

“Well, to be honest...” Stella blushed a bit before she spoke up again. “I’ve written a couple of songs on those subjects and well...I don’t have any experience. With love or dates. A lot of it’s all second hand. Though I guess you could say that it’s the same for a lot of the things I put into lyrics.”

“Really? Your mom as well? I guess Aurora Lux was a bit more active when I was a kid. I still remember her retirement concert.” Hearing of another fellow fan of the retired singer, she couldn’t help but chuckle a bit.

But, with all of that said, she turned her focus back to the slowly changing sky before her. But the more she stared, the more the block on her writing hand had failed to even budge a modicum. “I guess just sitting watching the sky is nice on its own too, though,” she said, concurring with Doku. “I don’t really get to appreciate all of that when I’m playing streetside or dueling.”