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

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

A lot of things can be tracked by the stars, that's true. Navigation, the change of seasons...other, more obscure signs. [Though she was pretty content to let that particular point stay nebulous, as it were.]

Yes, you. [Isabel chuckled at that.] Oh? Me too, but I just got lucky, I guess. I asked someone, and he said yes. [Though his comment about having a lot on his mind made her quirk a brow at him.] I might be just being nosey, I guess, but I'm always willing to lend an ear, if you need to get it off your chest.

[At the jealous type comment, she laughed outright.] Eleven? Not sure he's got a jealous bone in his body! I'm glad I don't either, because I think his goal is to dance with everyone. I can get behind that, though. Maybe I ought to emulate him, too! I'd meet plenty of people that way.

[king_of_egypt]

[The odd way she ended that statement didn't go entirely unnoticed] Other more obscure signs?

Then what was it that changed your mind? [Listening patiently as she spoke] That was bold of you, but it seems to have played in your favor. [Since for all practical purposes she seemed to be enjoying herself now] I appreciate the offer, but I think this is just something I'm going to have to work through on my own. [Perhaps given more time he might at least dive into hypotheticals but he had already come to a decision. One that others might not agree with.]

So you're the young lady that Eleven came here with! [He was hoping to get a chance to meet Eleven's date] No, I have a feeling he doesn't either. I have seen him taking a few trips around the dance floor while I've been standing here.. so you may be right. [Pleased that she didn't seem to mind since Atem didn't think Eleven meant it as any kind of slight] Well, then allow me to get you started. [Offering her his hand]

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

You don't have portents in the stars on your world? I mean, on Earth, one of the places I'm from, that's happened in the past...[And she shrugs at that.] I doubt it's that different here, just the stars are. I'd have to check it out in one of the libraries, though.

[Isabel chuckled again, there.] They say fortune favors the bold, don't they? It worked in my favor this time, at least! [But then, she nodded.] Said offer still stands. Sometimes it's just easier to get another viewpoint, but only if you need to. I hope you work it out, though!

[And then she laughs outright.] Yes, that would be me. Isabel Knight, at your service! [She'd offer him a hand, but something tells her that wouldn't be right. So she drops a curtsey, dainty as she can, and smiles at him, taking his hand.] Delighted to make your acquaintance--and dance with you, too!

[king_of_egypt]

Oh, I see what you mean. There are those that would claim to see such signs, yes. [The stars had always been favorable from his perspective but throughout history it was not always the case] I'm from Earth as well, Egypt to be more specific. Pardon me, but did you say Earth, as a planet is one of the places you're from? Does that imply that you've been to another world prior to this one and other than Earth? [He could be way off base but if he's not it's a fascinating prospect]

They do indeed. [Smiling at that] Thank you, again. It is a generous offer. [Not wishing to seem ungrateful by any means. He hesitated a moment longer as if considering asking something but then he said nothing.]

[Such a jovial partner Eleven ended up with for the Twilight Ball. It's not hard to see why he would have said yes] It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Knight, or do you prefer Isabel? [If she had he would have taken it and given her a handshake as the motion would have implied. It helped having experiences he could drew from that came from a variety of sources.. The curtsy looks a little peculiar for her, but he doesn't comment about it and instead bows in return, Once she accepted his hand, he'd lead them out to the dance floor.]

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

I actually wasn't born on Earth, though my parents were from there. My dad was born in Pittsburgh, in the United States, and I have a birth certificate from there, but my mom's family had moved to a nexus-world since then. She had a hard time staying on Earth because it wasn't a terribly magical world. So I was actually born there.

[Well, at least Isabel's version wasn't a terribly magical world. Others' mileage may vary, of course.]

Of course Dad went back to Earth from time to time, to both take care of his businesses there and visit family, and he took me with. So I had a presence there too.

[She just nodded to his next words--so long as he knew she was open to listen, there was no need to pry further.]

I prefer Isabel, thank you! Might I have the pleasure of your name in turn? [Sure, he'd said Egypt, but there was no guarantee that she could hazard a guess at his name. Best to ask, even as she followed him out on to the dance floor. She'll happily let him lead, but it's pretty clear she's done this sort of thing before.]

[king_of_egypt]

[Atem was intrigued by her words, already starting to question what other differences might exist between the various worlds and dimensions.] So you already had a connection to magic before arriving here at Diatu? I'm assuming that it differs in some fashion to how it operates in Anastara. [Trying to encourage her to proceed]

[It was hard to say really. It wasn't as if everyone had magically inclinations on Atem's version of Earth either. Sure in Egypt there was more focus on spells and mysticism but in modern Japan there had been significantly less practitioners]

Was it difficult to keep traveling between worlds?

[It was a total oversight on his part to not supply his own name. Besides there was still some pleasure derived from knowing it and being able to share it himself. In order to protect the world, it had been lost for so long]

Isabel it is. My apologies I should have offered it already. My name is Atem. [It would have been hard to guess given not only the wide variety of names to choose from but that he hadn't even specified an era. Some names were more popular in different periods. The dance starts fluidly enough, as that take to the dance floor.]

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

[Isabel nodded at that.] I gained access to my type of magick back home when I was almost fifteen. We call it Awakening. So I'd had some training--a little bit all my life, really, since both my parents are Mages, and my grandparents, though they're all different Traditions--except for my dad's dad. He's a werewolf.

[That was said matter-of-factly, though it wasn't something she mentioned every day. Still, things here were so odd, it probably wouldn't be that strange. At Atem's next question, Isabel shook her head.]

Dad knew where there was a portal to Earth, and we usually took that. It opened up into a traffic tunnel in Pittsburgh, and he'd just drive his car in.

[His next words got her attention. Isabel looked at him again, brows arched.] Atem? Were you named for an ancestor, or were you named for the creator god? The Complete One? [ True, she never in a million years would have guessed his name, so she was glad she didn't have to. Isabel lets Atem lead--seems she's both used to dancing, and good enough at it that he looks as if he's been doing it all his life. For her part, Isabel looks as if she's completely enjoying herself.]

Either way, it's a pleasure to meet you, and it's not like I'm offended, I just didn't want to say "hey, you" all night!