Editing Lo'ren's Story (section)

==Introduction to the Conservatory==

For a more detailed listing of songs Lo'ren has sung, refer to [[Music by Lo'ren]].

===First Moments===
[[Image:Loren_age9.jpg|thumb|right|Ari Lo'ren T'Vof cha'Tarven, Age 9]]

Lo'ren had never heard anything so beautiful. She stood completely still and let the wind whisper beauty to her. The leaves spoke to each other, the branches danced and laughed with the wind - as if they were being tickled - and a Haren bird sang out joyously. 

Ari Sia smiled down at her daughter with the alien ears. There were so many things denied to all the children of Bajor for so long, it was sheer joy to watch Lo'ren sway and dance with the wind. Sia walked with a distinct limp - a gift from the Cardassians - but still she took the moment and danced with the graceful child, her movements fluid with music. 

Ari Lo'ren T'Vof cha'Tarven and her parents had come to the fledgling - brand new, in fact - Rakantha Music Conservatory for a concert. The first major one since the Cardassians had left. Ari Sia was to be one of the main performers and Lo'ren would sing with her mother in one song. Lo'ren stopped for a moment, watching the uniformed Starfleet officers milling about, politely making conversation amongst themselves and with the Clerics and other Bajorans present. Her eyes followed the gold uniforms. ~They came to help us, they saved us after the Cardassians left.~ 

"Well, daughter, are you prepared?" The stern-faced Vulcan looked down at his daughter, interrupting her thoughts. 

The willowy girl smiled up at her father. "Yes, Father, I am prepared." 

The tall, intelligent Doctor Tarven of Vulcan had the whisper of a smile on his face. His stoic discipline had eroded slightly in his long time on Bajor, and he allowed his daughter to read the pride in his face. Lo'ren T'Vof let her smile grow wider in response. She may have been T'Vof to her father and Lo'ren to her mother, but they never let her be without the knowledge that they loved her deeply.

Ari Sia briefly touched her finger tips to Dr. Tarven's, "Husband, I and our daughter must go now." Sia had grown used to this formal way of speaking over many years. She understood how much it meant to him, especially now that Starfleet had come and Vulcans were a bit more plentiful.

Dr. Tarven nodded and moved to speak with an officer in a blue uniform as Ari Sia beckoned Lo'ren to follow her to the rehearsal hall for a warm up.

===After the Concert===

Lo'ren climbed up a tree. The branches were perfect for a ten-year-old to climb. She was compelled to do it, no child faced with a tree like this would turn down the opportunity. She found a branch and settled herself.
She saw those Gold uniforms again and watched them. ~Starfleet... they are heroes. They helped us.~

Lo'ren had seen her father in the crowd as she sang. He had been proud of her, she could tell. She had kept her eyes on him most of the time, too nervous to look anywhere else. She had noted every time he had adjusted his glasses - an ancient device he prefered over the corrective procedures he could choose from for his distance vision. Momma had been very proud too, she had clapped the loudest as Lo'ren left the stage after their duet.

Lo'ren had enjoyed the musical portion of the evening, but when the conversations started, she found herself bored and had gone exploring when she discovered the tree she was now perched in. She sat back and listened to the Haren birds calling to each other. They sounded like the lullabies her mother sang to her. Lo'ren asked to be sung to every night, she loved the lullabies - a rare luxury, all too often missed during the Occupation. Now, Lo'ren asked, just so she could go to sleep feeling safe and knowing the Cardassians wouldn't come back.

"Lo'ren, come down." Her mother was at the base of the tree, looking up at her. "Come, I want you to meet Master Tesel."

Lo'ren clambered down the tree and followed her mother, off to meet a man who would become her guide and compatriot in passion for music.

[[Category: Character Notes]]