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

[treno_nobleman]

[The step is easy enough for his own role in it, just a simple shift of his weight and strength enough to hold his partner's weight for a few brief moments before lifting them again with even half the grace intended for such a display and continuing on. But this is muscle memory to him now. His focus is on Eleven and what the boy does with it, how he's doing with it.]

We hold for a breath or two, to give the audience the full effect and let them feel the wonder of the moment, then I lift you back up and we continue dancing, leaving the crowd wanting for more.

[bearshermark]

Oh. That sounds.. [Like suddenly people are watching them. He finds a few wayward pairs of eyes doing so and colors a bit. He clears his throat and straightens, initiating a reset.]

I think I can do it properly this time.

[treno_nobleman]

[Amused, Kuja watches Eleven blush at the ones watching them. They've been watching for some time, but if Eleven isn't bothered by them, Kuja will pay them no mind. He has a lesson to teach.]

Good. Now. [Once they've reset again, Kuja steps away, moving at a learner's pace still, and waits for Eleven to do his part before lowering the boy back as it should be.]

[bearshermark]

[Eleven takes a moment to remind himself that no one's expects anything in particular from him, then turns into Kuja's hold and lets himself dip back.

He tips a triumphant grin up at his partner. His steps had barely faltered. When he's pulled back up, he's practically beaming]

We did it. [He laughs again- bright and almost giddy] Thank you for taking the time to teach me.

[treno_nobleman]

[Seeing the delight on the boy's face brings an unexpected note of satisfaction along with it. Oh, he had certainly made people happy in his time, in whatever business dealing or conversational means he had with them, but this? He would later liken it to what he had felt when he had teased Zidane a world ago for having two left feet, as he put it, in battle and had the thief snap at him for it.]

[Maybe it had been fleeting then, given the circumstances, but now it was there and gone because he wished it would be. This was no time for such thoughts. He told himself he had no need of them, but his smile remained there, genuine, and ever pleasant.]

Oh, no need to thank me. I am quite dismayed that you haven't fully enjoyed this art until now. Dance is a profound performance and requires a certain awareness of the mind, body, partner, and surroundings all at the very same time, much like battle. [He won't ask Eleven if he ever has fought. This is just his take on it.] Shall we continue?

[bearshermark]

Yes. [He's enthusiastic in taking Kuja's hand again, and emboldened by achieving something like proficiency with a new, more advanced step, moves with more confidence]

I'm from a small village in the mountains, so we never had anything like this before. This is my first time at a school and at a ball.. I'm learning a lot.

[treno_nobleman]

[Admittedly, he hadn't expected Eleven to jump on the lesson like this. But, if nothing else, he's willing at least. There is far more to teach than simple dip, at least. So he takes that hand and settles back into a standard hold with the boy and starts around the dance floor again with him.]

Well, then, far be it for me to deny you a fancy or two out on the dance floor. We'll still be working for the beginner steps, but they're no less elegant.

[bearshermark]

[Eleven nods, perfectly happy to follow Kuja's lead and learn a few more steps. He only hopes he remembers after the night is over]

Where did you learn to dance?

[treno_nobleman]

[They'll start back into an easy dance, going into the basics of the step again around the dance floor, and Kuja is sure to lead them where the crowds are the the thinnest so that there's less a chance of someone colliding with them.]

Where I come from, a world known as Gaia, the higher ranks of society are fickle and prone to look at a person once and decide they know about them at face value alone. Dance is one of the tools by which they judge, so if you do not dance well, they know you as a fraud, and they are only interested in people with money and power and influence. You must learn to act as they do to get ahead; it was something I had to learn to establish myself. [Hence, his tendencies toward fancy footwork.] That and... I do adore it.

[bearshermark]

[It feels easier than before, spending a little less thought on his steps, but Kuja's explanation of the inner workings of his world serves to temper his triumph.

It occurs to him that he doesn't know anything about the upper echelons of his own world beyond which kingdom was ruled by whom. He's met them all- except perhaps, he's never truly met Carnelian. But for all he's the Luminary, the mysteries of high society escape him.

Perhaps that is what Hendrik has been trying to tell him, all this time.]

..Well, I'm glad you enjoy it. You must be really well-respected in your world.

[treno_nobleman]

[Their movements are easier now, more fluid, like the dance should be, and Kuja is pleased to see the progress. He wonders at the boy's willingness to try another step out soon, or perhaps shifting him back into the dip again without warning him. A step to the side, an expectant look, to see if he would go for it or resist.]

[But mention of his world quiets those thoughts for but a moment.]

I was. There were few with greater wealth and esteem than I had achieved at one time. But, as they say, all good things must come to an end, and so they did. [He smiles again, but it's just this side of forced until he relaxes into another round about the dance floor.] Not quite the pleasant tale, I'm afraid. We would enjoy the songs in the air and the rhythm of the step better.

[bearshermark]

[Eleven throws himself into the new move, grinning when they pull it off smoothly after only that initial surprise. When they rejoin, his grin turns a bit sheepish]

Sorry. I'd thought maybe you were royalty or something, since you seem.. refined? [Is that the right word? He's suddenly unsure and colors a bit, eyes dropping to their feet and working to explain.] You dress, dance, and speak well, I mean. A-anyway, what house are you in?

[treno_nobleman]

[There's that enthusiasm that he'd seen on the faces of people who loved what they were doing. Isn't this fun?]

[The comment gets a soft laugh out of him.]

The nobility of Gaia were very nearly royalty in their own right, though they couldn't lay claim to a throne if they wanted. I may not be royalty, but that doesn't mean I didn't once live as one. Live any kind of life for a decade and you might also be hard pressed to drop your old habits on a whim. [A pause, to weave them out toward the edge of the dance floor as the song tapered off to an end.] I am in house Ka. And you?

[bearshermark]

I think I can understand that.

[Though he dreads to think of what ten years as the Luminary might do to him if he manages to live that long. At heart, he's still an ordinary boy from Cobblestone and such a lofty title feels more beyond him now than when he'd first learned of it]

I'm in Eiather.

[Their swaying stills and he takes a step back] Thank you again for dancing with me. I've learned a lot already.

[treno_nobleman]

[He hums and nods, allowing Eleven to step back and free himself.]

This is a small academy grounds. We'll surely meet again. [But he won't let the boy go without a bow at the waist, one hand swept gracefully before him.] Perhaps next time, you will be leading me.

[bearshermark]

[The gesture is so elegant and sweeping that he can't help but color self-consciously. He fumbles for words anywhere near as eloquent]

I- yes, perhaps. ..I look forward to meeting you again.

[treno_nobleman]

[There is no thought to the movement; the gesture is only second nature. He may not have been a true born noble, but he was good at what he did, with everything from the card tournaments of Treno to inciting wars. He rose again, smiling pleasantly, and made no mention of the blush on the boy's face.]

As do I. Do take care now, Eleven. It has been a pleasure this evening.

[One more brief bow of his head and Kuja turns to head toward the refreshment stand, tail waving serenely behind him.]