As Bily entered the corridor leading to the solarium he heard music pouring from the room ahead. Fiddle music, played as he'd only heard in the hollers, but with a bit of a undertone of something else, something a bit foreign to the hollers but enhancing the old tune in a way he'd never heard - even when the family got together.

As he entered the solarium itself Little Billy spotted the source of the music, Aunt Cathy and some gentleman he'd never seen before - facing each other and both of them fiddling, moving with the music, fingers flashing on the frets and bows blurring. A huge purple blue bird of some sort perched on the back of a nearby divan, adding an occasional grace note, while Mjolnir sat in spynxlike stance on the seat of the same divan, eyes locked on the pair of music makers in front of him. Scattered about the room were a considerable number of smiling residents, all appearing to be as entranced by the music as was Mjolnir.

Billy stopped just inside the door as his grandmother's music poured over him, the unknown gentleman flashing him a grin over her shoulder as the notes soared towards a musical peak. The bird (Lord! The thing was *huge*! where in the world had it come from?) adding a strangely effective trill that built on the theme Cathy was playing