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

[talkyourwayout]

"You only apologized for part of what made me upset," Louie said, speaking slowly himself. Being mad for having been put in the middle of things was easy to express - was safe to express. The rest of it... Not so much. It was a topic that would leave him more vulnerable, but, well, that couldn't be as bad as letting this go on. Could it?

"...Look, Lena, I always thought you were pretty cool - okay, really cool. But when we got here, I thought we were becoming friends. When you showed me that wand, I was excited, okay? You trusting me with a secret was a big deal!"

He sighed and looked down at his feet as they moved. "But you hadn't told Webby because you wanted to protect her, which I still don't really get. By the time you wrote me that note, though, I realized that really sucked, because it was like... Well, like it meant you're only real friends with Webby."

Louie looked back up at Lena with what could only be described as hurt in his eyes. He couldn't bring himself to explain the rest - how reluctant he usually was to open up to others. How he'd broken the rule for her, jumped right on - because she'd saved Webby, admittedly - and how it felt like he'd been punished for that.

[outofyourshadow]

She took in another breath, her eyes widening a bit. And it was hard to say if his words or the look on his face hurt more, sending something twisting in her chest. When she glanced away again, the guilty expression she wore more apparently.

"...Yeah...I can...see how that'd be upsetting." Swallowing the lump in her throat, she sighed. "Look, I'm...I'm sorry. For what it's worth, it's not like I wouldn't have protected you if I needed to. It's just...felt like you two needed protection from two different things."

Then she shrugged, looking a bit helpless. "And I guess I just...really wanted to tell someone about it."

[talkyourwayout]

When she admitted that she understood why he was upset, Louie stopped dancing quite suddenly. "Yeah? Th-thanks. And I guess... I get what you mean. Webs is-"

He cut himself off from saying 'special' real fast, but went on with, "-different. In a good way, but..." He shook his head. "I don't want you to do that again, you know, tell me without telling Webby? About something like that?"

He paused, then, and a hint of a smile began to show. "But it is kind of cool that you really wanted to tell someone and came to me."

[outofyourshadow]

She nodded. "Yeah, she definitely is...something special." Somehow, that felt like she'd said too much, and not enough at the same time. "And yeah, you don't have to worry about that. Webby and I had a long talk about it, and I won't be keeping secrets from her anymore. So if you know something, she'll know it too."

She managed a faint smile of her own. "Yeah. Actually, you were the first person I ever really showed it to. Even now, you and Webs are the only ones who really know about it."

[talkyourwayout]

"Good," Louie said, his smile growing. "I'm really am glad you guys worked things out, you know." A cough. This was such a sentimental conversation, and he was starting to feel acutely aware of that. He tried to hide his smile some, just so he'd look like less of a sappy nerd, but the look in his eyes and the tone of his voice still gave away his relief and happiness. "So we... We're cool, right?"

[outofyourshadow]

"Yeah...so am I."

Lena was also aware of how sentimental the moment was, and while it made her a bit uncomfortable, she was finding that they were...okay sometimes. Maybe she even needed them a bit more often.

"Yeah, we're cool...Thanks."

[talkyourwayout]

Louie raised a hand in the air for a hi-five. "Don't mention it. I'm just happy to have things back to normal... And thank you, too. For hearing me out."

[outofyourshadow]

She met his hand with hers - it's a rule not to leave people hanging, after all.

"Yeah, no problem. This is a lot better than whatever we were doing before."