Rialynn nodded, smiling. She could understand how that felt, to have clips of pretty lyrics and the occasional string of notes just floating in her head waiting to be crafted into a full song. Sometimes she even dreamed about the stuff, which had done a lot to convince her she was in the right line of work.

"I can help you with that," she offered. "It's half creativity and half technical skill. I'll make sure you're holding your instrument right, and that sort of thing. You said you played the guitar, right?"

If so, he and Johnny had something in common. It wasn't too dissimilar from a lute, so she'd found it fairly easy to learn. It had a richer sound as well.

"We should make sure you know how to sing too," she offered. "Sometimes you need to have your hands free to defend yourself, and this way you can keep a song going even if you're attacked."