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

[unswervingcompanion]

There was another look of hers that he was unfamiliar with and Hendrik simply didn't know what to do about the look that resembled a smile yet had some sort of fire to it. But for now, he would just have to muddle his way through it.

The knight was surprised at her question, but he shook his head at Yotsuyu as they began to dance. "No, I have seen him and he is aware that I am here should he require my presence." He had clapped the boy on the shoulder and nodded, and that was about it really. But he would probably catch up later with the Luminary just to check in.

"I will not haunt his steps. This night is for him to have fun and socialize." Like nights the boy would have had, had fate been kinder and made him the Prince of Dundrasil as he should have been since it was his birthright.

As far as his own plans went, he was going home once he was done dancing with her and had checked in on Eleven. There was nothing more for him to do here and this was the highlight of his time here.

[darkenedmoon]

"Good. Yes, you are right about that." That he shouldn't haunt the boy's steps. Eleven needed time to breathe--all the gods knew the boy needed it! They also knew that he was wise enough to run to those who would protect him, if he couldn't manage himself. At least she was confident in this.

Trying to tell Hendrik that, however...likely an exercise in futility. Yotsuyu knew she was stubborn, but comparing that stubbornness to Hendrik's own hardheadedness was like comparing a candle flame to a bonfire...

And yet it might serve her here. It might echo a bit more towards her old ways than her current, but as the music slowed, Yotsuyu arched a brow at Hendrik. She, at least, was having fun...

"Once more? I could hope you are enjoying yourself, you know."

[unswervingcompanion]

The knight blinked in some confusion as Yotsuyu asked for yet another dance. "Should you.." His voice trailed off. He'd meant to ask her if she should be getting back to Sir Jecht's side but didn't complete the though out loud.

But Yotsutu looked as if she was having a good time and he was happy that he could at least give that much to her. If she was his lady, he would give her anything and everything, but she already had someone.

Finally the music had ended and he nodded, unaccustomed to allowing his heart to lead him as he did now. The knight nodded, hoping to cover all of this asking business. If he made Yotsuyu happy, he would do everything he could to do so, even in this small capacity. And it was in that moment that Hendrik realized he was hers to do with as she pleased pretty much anyway.

"You may have as many dances with me as you wish this evening."

[darkenedmoon]

"Should I what?" Yotsuyu couldn't for the life of her predict the end of his sentence at the moment, especially considering the confusion on his face. It was echoed by her own.

She knew that she'd been monopolizing his time, which wasn't terribly fair, but Yotsuyu had come to dance, and she knew damn well that Hendrik did know how to dance, to say the very least. Oh, sure, she could be spun around the dance floor and swung around like a rag doll with her 'date'. But that was less fun for her--and a reason why she hadn't availed herself of much to eat. Jecht was just...more rowdy.

And sometimes she didn't want that!

"I should not take you from your duty overlong. Perhaps one more after this, and then I should let you go. Midterms are coming soon...I am sure you've studying to do, and I shouldn't keep you."

It was only considerate, after all. And Yotsuyu was trying her best to do that.