“The best disguise available at times… is to just be yourself.” - Saying attributed to Hassan Sev Omar, legendary spymaster from the Hassid Caliphate.

Warm summer’s sky~ A gentle breeze~

The laughter of the children who played in the lake~

Such innocence~ Full of warm smiles~

It lifts my heart to see them play so joyfully~

Then came the rain~ And bright turns dark~

Yet they cared not for meager trivialities~

With clothes soaked wet~ And muddy feet~

All they cared for was their pure joy as they played on~

Such is life~ For those~ Who live free~

Such is life~ For those~ Without a care~

Such is life~ For those~ With pure hearts~

Those who were blessed with no struggles of the heart~

“She’s a bloody natural,” praised Yliz as everyone listened to Kino’s singing while eating their dinner that evening. Most everyone else in the room returned nods to her, while a few of the younger Death’s Hand’s trainees actually ignored her words, captivated by the song and Kino’s pleasant, melodic singing voice. Aideen who was seated beside Yliz just nodded knowingly, as did Eilonwy a table away.

Kino was improving well on her physical capabilities and managed to not come in last all the time anymore, but at times, when made to pace herself against Eilonwy, the girl still every now and then. On that particular night, Yliz happened to “punish” Kino by tasking her to entertain the others during dinner, and she was to go all out in her bard disguise as she did so.

So that evening the group of trainees – as well as Yliz, Aideen, and Eilonwy – were treated to the sight of Kino who made full use of the disguise lessons she learned and used cheap, affordable cosmetics that most people could possess to further accentuate her natural features and made her wine-colored hair seem to shine under the light.

She was dressed in a mish-mash of clothes in garish colors that would normally look like a horrible fashion disaster, yet weaved them together with each other to somehow look fitting on her. Definitely something that’d turn her into the center of attention, for certain. She even looked the part as she strutted towards one of the empty tables, placed one of the stools atop the table, and lightly leapt on top of the table to sit there, in full view of the room.

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Then she strummed the strings of the lute in her hand and began to sing, quickly turning the trainees having their dinner into a captive audience for her performance.

Aideen and Eilonwy, who had been close to Kino for the few decades the girl had been in Tohrmutgent and occasionally frequented the places she played at, were more familiar with her singing talent. As such, they were not surprised to see what Kino could do when she put her mind to it. Yliz was clearly not one who regularly went to such places though, and was caught off guard.

She had only known that Kino had some talent with singing and playing the lute, but had no idea on her level of skill, until now.

“So what do you think?” asked Aideen somewhat teasingly as she drained her cup of mead. It was somewhat amusing to witness the usually unflappable Death’s Hand squad commander look flummoxed like that, she had to admit. Definitely the sort of moment she’d remember fondly over her life, to say the least.

“It’s a perfect disguise for her while just being herself at the same time,” admitted Yliz after a moment of thought. She looked somewhat conflicted when she realized that the time she spent teaching Kino how to disguise herself to be unnoticeable was likely wasted, but eventually came around and accepted the facts. “If we ever send her out as an agent, nobody would likely ever consider this one bard clearly devoted to their craft to be one. She would have to craft some excuses to go out and do things secretly of course, but this sort of cover identity is unlikely to attract suspicion by authorities.”

“She would have already attracted too much attention on her own, and spies don’t draw attention to themselves, while bards definitely would,” noted Eilonwy as she cited what was common sense to most people. It was a risky approach, a refuge in audacity, but it was that exact audacity that would likely make it successful in the first place. “Besides, if she gains fans as quickly as she just did, there’d be riots if they even try to take her in after she’s been performing for a while.”

“I’ve heard stories and seen what happens when you try to mess with someone popular amongst the people, yeah. Unless you’re so powerful or authoritative that they wouldn’t dare to disobey you, that way lies a big mess,” noted Aideen. She recalled a minor incident when she traveled the Clangeddin Empire where a minor landholder tried to force a young healer to sell their ancestral land to him.

Said healer was popular enough with the local populace and said landlord had nowhere near enough clout to intimidate them that the incident ended with a large group of villagers beating said landlord and his thugs half-dead before the local guards could force them apart. It wouldn’t have happened if the landlord was a more proper noble, likely, or if the healer wasn’t a kind one who helped many people in the village for free, but cases like those weren’t uncommon.

Just then, the closing parts of Kino’s songs played as she brought the performance to a close.

The sun has set~ Night comes to reign~

Boisterous laughter slowly quietened down~

To take their place~ A warm embrace~

From those who loved them from their heart~

It’s time for bed~ Turn off the lights~

For there are more joyful days to come~

Sweet dreams my child~ Sleep well, good night~

May your future be filled with carefree days~

Such is life~ For those~ Who live free~

Such is life~ For those~ Without a care~

Such is life~ For those~ With pure hearts~

Those who were blessed with no struggles of the heart~

Not all were~ So blessed~ With carefree lives~

Not all had~ The chance~ To be themselves~

Not all got~ Time to~ Chase their grand dreams~

So be grateful and take your blessings as they come~