Dance Dance Reprobation

[magicademymods]

The Twilight Ball Arrival The Promenade has been transformed. Literally. With Modification. Ha ha. Cough. Crickets. Toad familiars eat the crickets. Circle of life. Animals bow before singing lions. You get the idea. Neither tree nor stone form the Promenade now. It is instead a long bridge over a shallow and brilliant pool, the gentle ripples of which catch the afternoon sun and scatter it into a million highlights that play over the Great Hall, the bridge, and those who walk down it. There is no formal receiving line, merely a gentle procession of people across the bridge at whatever speed feels comfortable, slowly making their way to the Great Hall. The Great Hall itself has been enchanted to be completely invisible while one is inside it, save for the outline of doors so people can actually find their way out through means other than smacking their noses into the invisible walls till they find a place with no resistance. Thus the twilight for which the ball is named will show all around the dancers, while they are protected from any errant breezes, faint hints of rain, or slime monsters that might otherwise threaten the festivity. Come in. Find your date and get comfortable. The fun is just beginning. Let the Revels Begin After Headmaster Birony welcomes everyone with a speech about she's going to get on her boat, go upriver, and kick that sonuvabitch Bison's ass so HORDT that the next Bison-wannabe is gonna feel it, the dance formally begins with a peppy number designed to get people out and moving. The orchestra here comprises some of the finest players available anywhere in the world, thanks to the whole Valhudor shtick and graduates of said house, and the music is infectious as it drifts through the slowly-darkening air. But as the dance progresses, they play something for everyone. Martial waltzes and slow dance ballroom numbers. Powerful tunes to lose yourself in, and gentle melodies that slip beneath conversation and encourage intimacy and closeness. Professors Trammel and King treat everyone to an exhibition of what an Earth resident might call 'swing dancing on amphetamines' and many students do call 'the closest I have ever come to death'. No pause for speeches, no announcements or interruptions -- just a steady stream of music, bringing dates and lovers together in dance, as the sun sets and casts the room into gentle and romantic twilight. Also a dolphin and a whale are swimming through the floor and they, too, are unmistakably dancing. If this is the weirdest thing you've seen all night, you need your eyes checked. "Food! One of the food tables has been discreetly slid against a wall, where it positively shudders under the weight of a massive buffet open to everyone. The food here tends towards the light, such as fish and vegetables, cucumber sandwiches and thin-sliced meats. Things that will give you energy without weighing you down, so you can keep dancing till the dawn comes. At one end of the table, an owl the size of a cupboard sits on a perch, serenely watching the varied drinks laid out for consumption. 'Spiking the punch' is so cliche that no one is going to pretend it won't happen or the students will behave on their honor, so here you get a chaperone. Even so, this whole area is a popular gathering spot for those between dances or partners, drawing steady attention throughout the night. Meanwhile, Elsewhere Shockingly, not everyone has found that loving feeling, asked out an attractive someone, and gone to the dance with romance on their minds. The rest of the campus, and of course Anastara itself, remain open as normal... and perhaps even less-minded than normal. The faculty, the familiars, the cleaning golems -- almost all attention is on the dance itself. If there's mischief to manage, now would be the perfect time... or just something else besides wallflowering and missing out. Wait, Wasn't There a Ghost Dragon and an Off-Brand Shoggoth? Professor King managed to find a way around the protoplasmic ooze's resistance to magic and splatted it (with no small amount of help from students and faculty!). The dragon disappeared into the caverns beneath the Magicademy. That certainly isn't ominous and won't inspire anyone to go down there, will it? Don't fall in the river down there. Please don't fall in the river.

Comments

[woo_oo]

"I can teach you what he taught me!"

Once she dragged him to the dance floor, he began moving their hands around.

"Here, the guy is supposed to lead. You put your hand on my back, hold my other hand, I hold your hip, and then we step forward, left, backward, right, and repeat. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!"

[talkyourwayout]

Louie smiled shakily. "Forward left back right?" he repeated. "Is this how we dance or how we cheat at video games?"

He wasn't using humor to cope with actually feeling things at all. Don't be silly.

Still, he took a deep breath in and stepped forward. Hopefully, Webby hadn't meant they started with her moving forward...

[woo_oo]

He was the lead, so, mercy granted, he was right! She smiled, pleased, following her own instructions.

"I never played video games before we met, remember?" Granny still didn't quite approve, but she allowed it, trying to trust the boys. "There's no cheating when it comes to dance."

[talkyourwayout]

"Right, right," Louie said, a bit sheepish. He had to roll his eyes just a bit, though. "But I'm sure you could cheat at dancing here. We're at a magical school, someone would just need the right spell."

[woo_oo]

"True... but that would kind of take the fun out of it." She was so confident in their steps she didn't even have to look down as they moved. "Is this something you'd really hit the skip button for?" She'd be disappointed if he said yes.

[talkyourwayout]

Louie laughs and shakes his head. In a bold moment, he twirls Webby as they take their steps. "Nah. I wouldn't."

[woo_oo]

And just like that, she's back to her peppy, cheerful self, even letting out a wild giggle. "Hey, way to go! Maybe you should be the one teaching people!"

[talkyourwayout]

It was just something he'd seen in a movie, once, honestly - and going for the move had been a big gamble. But hearing Webby's excited laughter meant it had absolutely paid off.

"I don't know," he began, half-joking. "You think people here would pay for dance lessons?"

[woo_oo]

"Hendrik gave his for free," She pointed out. "Isn't making people happy payment enough?" Though she figured she already knew the answer, given who she was talking to.

[talkyourwayout]

Louie just smirked at Webby. "I still have so much to teach you, Webbigail."

Which was kind of big talk coming from a little duck who had just been more than content to hear Webby laugh.

[woo_oo]

"Have you ever thought I could teach you something..."

In a whisper, so no one could hear.

"Llewelyn?"

[talkyourwayout]

Louie stopped dead, eyes wide. He always forgot that Webby knew that was his full name. He still wasn't entirely sure how she had learned it in the first place.

"I cannot believe you just called me that."

[woo_oo]

"And now you learned something." She smirked, showing off the shades of influence he and Lena combined had been instilling in her. Hopefully Huey would balance it out.

"Don't dish what you can't take."

[talkyourwayout]

Louie picked up the steps again, shaking his head. "Alright, well-played, Webby," he conceded with a little chuckle.

[woo_oo]

"I'm more than just an adorable face," She replied with a grin, easily getting back into the dance.

[talkyourwayout]

"Oh, I know that," Louie complimented in earnest... Not at all denying that she was adorable, either. Maybe the starlight brought it out him.

Maybe Webby did.

[woo_oo]

Naturally, she still remained oblivious. As far as she knew, everyone thought she was adorable.

"And I can't change that. So I've got to work hard to prove to everyone I'm more than what I appear to be!"

[talkyourwayout]

Louie considered this, looking quite focused. "Is that why you do things so extreme?" he asked. He'd always assumed she was just Like That - and she probably was, he figured, but maybe the idea of proving herself was a factor, too.

[woo_oo]

"A little bit of both?" She answered with a half shrug.

"Ever since I first learned about Uncle Scrooge, I wanted to be just like him. He proved his worth to the entire world... and I want to do that too."

[talkyourwayout]

Louie could... Kind of relate to that, but not entirely. He didn't need the world to know he was worth something, but it would be nice for someone to - and it usually felt like no one did.

But this was about Webby. He just wished he knew what to say to that - or rather, that he felt comfortable saying what he knew to say to that. Because Webby was great just the way she was. How did she not see that?

"I think... I think you'll do great at that, Webs."

[woo_oo]

Webby beamed, always happy as punch to get praise, especially from those she cared about.

"Yep, I know I will too!" She flashed a playful grin at him. "Ducks don't back down!" She'd be carrying that catch-phrase with her for the rest of her life.

[talkyourwayout]

He had to roll his eyes at the phrase - it was an automatic reaction, really - but he was smiling.

"Well, this Duck does," he teased. "But yeah."

[woo_oo]

"C'mon, you stick around when it counts!" Webby wouldn't allow anyone to put themselves down unless she felt they deserved it.

"For a boy who loves money, you sure love selling yourself short."

[talkyourwayout]

"Sometimes I do, but I still wouldn't say that's selling myself short," Louie said, tone casual despite the fact that what Webby had said meant a lot to him - and made him think. "I'm okay with who I am, Webs."

Not entirely true, but not a flat-out lie, either. It was... Complicated.

[woo_oo]

Well, that was fair. So she gave a little shrug, casually dancing back and forth.

"All right! I'm okay with you too!"