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

[advocateofgenderequality]

"The thought is mutual." He replies in agreement, with his arms crossed over one another. "I would have imagined everyone would still be prancing about each other in the bygone twilight, or instead be well tuckered out and down to bed by now."

"But it seems there are more night-owls about then we both figured, huh?"

[areasontohope]

By that statement, Yuki figured this other person didn't make it to the Ball or didn't have a date, not that he would hold that against anyone. He almost had turned in himself too, but he just had a lot on his mind so he decided a walk at night wouldn't be such a bad thing.

"I suppose." And with that, the wand goes away and he looked around. "There doesn't really seem like there's much to do this late." This is him wondering why this kid is out here.

[advocateofgenderequality]

"Oh, that's where you're mistaken, my fellow night-owl." Kazuma's face gains a mischievous smile. "This late, on a busy night like tonight, is the perfect time to do quite a few things."

He glaces about quickly, before leaning in closer to Yuki as his voice lowers. "Tell me, can this kindred creature of the night keep a juicy secret?"

[areasontohope]

He's really not sure what has caused the smile that looks something like a grin on someone that's about to start some trouble. Yuki doesn't know what's going through the other's mind either but when he gets asked the question, he's definitely curious.

"I can." And there's so much that Kazuma doesn't know about the boy in front of him. In his previous life, he kept a lifelong secret of turning into a rat.

[advocateofgenderequality]

"You know, for some reason I feel like you can keep a secret pretty damn well." Kazuma turns around, signaling for the other boy to follow with a wave.

"So, would you say you're more of the adventurous type, or the bookish sort?"

[areasontohope]

He can keep a secret better than you know.

Following the other, it only took a moment for Yuki to answer the question. Considering he was an avid reader, a great student and tutored, he definitely knew his way around libraries. In fact, he'd spent a lot of time until recently at the libraries here.

"Definitely books."

[advocateofgenderequality]

"Lucky you then." He answers with a chuckle before he lets out a sharp whistle.

An eastern screech owl silently soars down from the dark night sky and alights on Kazuma's held out arm. "Alright then, Scopes. Let's try this again, huh buddy? To the Library, the secret one, avoiding any more people this time, right?" The owl bobs his head in what might have been a nod before taking flight again.

"I hope you aren't afraid of fire, fellow night dweller." Kazuma calls back to Yuki with a grin as he takes off at a run after his red feathered companion.

[areasontohope]

Yuki looked up at the owl and watched its path as it alighted on Kazuma's arm. And it was a good thing that his rat Mayonaka wasn't present. After all, it really wouldn't do to have fussed with him while trying to go for a walk. And there was no way he would've let his rat out at the Ball and scared Miss Fluttershy for any reason.

After a moment, Yuki took off after Kazuma. Afraid of fire? No, he'd dealt all his life with far worse than that.

[advocateofgenderequality]

Scopes leads the pair on quite a path, with lefts and rights like rats in maze, going between increasingly older and older looking buildings and structures, each more decrepit and abandoned looking than the last.

Finally, after enough twists to leave most people hopelessly turned around and directionless, the owl alights on the branch of spindly evergreen. Before them lies a battered, burned-out building. It's foundations are burnt black to the core, and spouts of small embers still smoulder throughout.

"Welcome and behold, The Library of Fire and Ash." Kazuma declares with added bravado.

[areasontohope]

For his part, Yuki was trying to make mental notes where they were going so in case something happened and he had to go back on his own.

But he couldn't believe his eyes when the owl landed on a branch and he saw small fires burning everywhere. This was somewhere he hadn't been and he half worried about the books on the inside. Was everything inside the same as here??

"I've heard of this place."

[advocateofgenderequality]

"Have you?" Kazuma questions with surprise. "I learned of it before I even got to this school where'd you hear it from?"

Before even waiting for the other's reply, Kazuma is pushing through the blackened, yet still sturdy front doors and entering the library proper.

[areasontohope]

"I work at a library." This was almost said in the same tone that he used with Kyo, but he managed to bank it. Librarians had their own networks and he moved to follow Kazuma.

A flame seemed to rear up at him, but Yuki stepped back in time. That was a little too close.

His eyes looked around and none of the books seemed to be burning. He wondered how that was but then wondered how to go about reading them.

[advocateofgenderequality]

"Pfft. Dork." Kazuma snickers out a reply, as much to himself as to Yuki.

As if answering the other's unspoken question, Kazuma lets out a sharp whistle. Scopes soars silently into the building through a hole in one of the burnt out walls. The teen points out a book that's been tossed up into the air by a whirlwind of hot current and ash. With another whistle the owl swoops down upon it. Flying back to Kazuma, he drops the soot covered tome neatly into his outstretched hand.

Kazuma looks over the work of forbidden things before shrugging to himself and underhand tossing the book towards Yuki. "See if it's any good, would ya?" His attention is back to directing his familiar at another flying non-fiction without waiting to see if his new partner manages the catch.

[areasontohope]

It made an income, but the gray-haired boy kept that to himself.

He caught the book alright, and had to dodge several fires and try to keep an eye on Kazuma or he was certain that he would be left behind. He didn't have his backpack on him so how many books he collected to bring back would be limited.

But then again he could always make a second trip out here sometime and see what he could find out on his own. For now, he'd just keep up and be cautious.

[advocateofgenderequality]

Kazuma's busy 'hunting' for another tome, but once it's in his hands, he pauses to address his gray-headed follower with a frown.

"So are you going to see what that book in your hands is actually about, or are you saving it for later or something?"

[areasontohope]

Yuki shook his head. "This is about how to speak to snakes." That one got put down fast as Ayame came to mind. They were mending their relationship when he'd left, but he was pretty sure his brother's curse was broken too.

"What else have you found?"

[advocateofgenderequality]

"Let me know if you find one for owls." Kazuma comments after Yuki reads his book's title aloud.

"Pffthahaha. Nothing all that useful, not yet anyway." He snorts out a laugh as he tosses another tome over. 'Magic in the Bedroom: Spells to Spice Up Your Sex Life' is the title plastered over the front cover, accompanied by a rather suggestive illustration of a woman 'utilizing' her wand.

[areasontohope]

He nodded and decided doing something like that would give him a reason to start looking through the books here. It was tougher because he didn't want to end up bringing all of them back and he was afraid that some of them were actually on fire.

At the book that landed in his hands next just bugged his eyes out of his head for about a full minute. He couldn't even speak and literally threw it, moving as fast as he could away from it.

[advocateofgenderequality]

Kazuma gasps over-dramatically as he points at the 'literature' Yuki finally manages to snap away from and toss aside.

"Throwing a book!? What kind of librar-dork are you!?"

[areasontohope]

"I don't have time to read that sort of..thing." Yuki snapped. Truth be told he didn't want to see that sort of book at all. Too many things had run through his head and he just couldn't handle it.

"Tell me when you find something better."

[advocateofgenderequality]

"Define 'better'?" Kazuma's answer is cynical as he owls up another book and looks it over with a frown. "Cause with this library, it's a totally crapshoot for what you can and might find here."

[areasontohope]

"A better topic." came the reply. Having looked up at Kazuma, Yuki narrowly missed getting singed by a random fire tornado or whatever the heck it was.

His eyes noted a book and he had to wait for the damn thing to move, but once it did, he grabbed it. It was on the subject of botany, which was right up his alley. And it immediately got added to his pile.

[advocateofgenderequality]

Another wandering swirl of heat and ash barrels in towards Yuki, but rather than hitting the teen, his pile of chosen books are the victim. The tomes are tossed and scattered all about, practically undoing all the effort spent towards sorting them out.

"Oh yeah." Kazuma chimes in cheerfully. "Don't leave anything you want lying around. The library seems to take offense to it. I think it hates organization of any sort, or something."

[areasontohope]

"Now you tell me." This came out as a slightly annoyed sigh. But there Yuki goes, scurrying to pick up the mess. But this time he puts a few precious books in his backpack and wears it.

But it was good to know because now he would be on his guard better.

[advocateofgenderequality]

"You're welcome!" His answer is still happy-go-lucky. Whether he missed the sarcasm or he was just being cheeky is up for debate.

"But the good news is that despite all the fire, the books never seem to get burnt up at all." Kazuma continues explaining as he and Scopes hunt for their own reading. "Good luck if you want re-find something you read before, though."