(2012) The Dance

[Cassandra Reeding]

Cassandra waits at the side of the dance floor, waiting for John to extend a hand to her, signaling he is ready. He might have something he needs to do before after all. There is a wonder in her mind of how long it had last been since she'd danced formally. She worries she'll misstep or perhaps John will. He's always expressed his lack of enjoyment for dancing and yet she'd roped him into it anyway. It isn't a formal high Winter masquerade without the monarch's first dance. At least, based on her experience in her previous Freehold.

It'll be fine. You're a decent dancer and you can lead him if need be, keep him on track. Worse comes to worse, you both fall and you laugh hysterically about it because you're friends. Friends can laugh about these kinds of failures. ...but it would be nice to just dance beautifully. We'll see what happens.

She readies herself, the track they are to dance to ready to go. The perfect waltz - beautiful and not too slow once it gets going, with a hint romance, but not too bright and cheery like other waltzes she'd gone through. Though there is very little melancholy to her choice.

[James Turner]

John didn’t wait long, he let the Wyrdstone work its magic and took that moment for a chance to breathe. Seeing Cassandra queue up the music he closed his eyes and took a brief look into the Future to get the timing down. He didn’t want to make an ass of himself on the Coronation so he’d use whatever tricks were at his disposal. Those perfectly waxed shoes stepping out onto the ballroom floor as he took her hand and they were off to the races.

3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-12-28 17:33:20	James Turner rolls 6 to Glimpse of Fortune's Favor (Wits + Wyrd) (10 Again)	9, 2, 1, 6, 10, 6, 8	3 successes

He took her hand and took the first step, following the steps he saw in the future and what he remembered from his time over there. He wasn’t the best dancer but he put his all into it and at least he knew the steps. It was nice to put the other things behind him and focus on the timing and the music. His breathing was heavy but as the dance went on it slowed and his body relaxed as he melted into the dance.

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-12-28 17:36:37	James Turner rolls 6 to Dex + Expression (10 Again, WillPower)	5, 5, 6, 8, 4, 8	2 successes

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-12-28 17:37:05	James Turner rolls 6 to Dex + Expression (Roll 2) (10 Again, WillPower)	8, 7, 2, 2, 7, 2	1 success

"There we go, just like I remember."

[Cassandra Reeding]

As John extends his hand to her she remembers a little trick of her own. She lets out a slow breath, letting the confidence of the endless Songs of Arcadia fuel her. They were going to be absolutely exceptional, but that wasn't what mattered. The comfort of ease, knowing the steps, knowing how to move and sway to the music to give them time to just breathe: that is what matters.

Songs of a Distant Arcadia Exceptional

5 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-12-28 18:15:17	Cassandra Reeding rolls 9 to Songs of Arcadia (Presence 4 + Expression 4 + SL 1) (10 Again)	10, 3, 2, 9, 4, 8, 4, 9, 7, 9	5 successes

She takes his cool hand in hers, a small shiver running down her spine as his stronger mantle envelops her. Whispers of nagging memories tug at her mind, but she pushes them away, her mantle of delicate warmth on a freezing day not battling his, but dancing with it. She rests a hand on his shoulder, gently, tentatively as if afraid he'd pull away. When he doesn't, she relaxes, taking his other hand in hers.

She realizes that she's never been this close to him before, but she doesn't let that affect her mien, sparkling and glowing with ever shifting prismatic colors upon her pale skin. The only odd thing for her is not being able to gaze at him truly, instead only seeing her own reflection in his mask. Perfect for a Winter, difficult to find that last bit of connection - at least for her.

The intro begins and soon they are already moving. It is easy to dance with him, smooth and delicate steps moving expressively to the music. It is nearly impossible not to be drawn in by their performance, or, at the very least, hers. Normally, Cassandra was more of a mover than a dancer, but tonight she looked like a natural.

Waltzing Exceptional

5 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-12-28 18:18:28	Cassandra Reeding rolls 11 to Waltzing (Dex 3 + Expression 4 + Songs (exceptional) 4) (10 Again)	1, 3, 2, 4, 10, 2, 6, 9, 10, 8, 5, 10, 3, 6	5 successes

"And you tried to convince me you couldn't dance," She grins a little, "It seems we actually dance better together than we thought. Perhaps we should dance more often." There is a teasing, relaxed tone to her voice, though her emerald eyes seem brighter somehow. Perhaps just the ease of the dancing. She knew this was difficult for him, the touch, the attention. It certainly was daunting to her, given her own issues with touch, but there is a comfort in the trust they shared as friends and courtmates. The pledge certainly didn't hurt.

[James Turner]

This was the closest he’d been to someone since he’d left Arcadia, hell, even before. He didn’t think being attached as someone’s shadow counted as being close. Her hand much warmer than his, feeling as the smooth skin of his hand wrapped around hers and held firmly. His breathing was heavy, whispers of numbers dancing between them until they took the first step.

Cassandra ended up leading after the first few steps. She was smooth, graceful, elegant as she cut up the dance floor. She knew the steps without thinking as John was still keeping time in his head, repeating which foot he had to move as it wasn’t second nature to him. She was so good it made even him look better so he was glad for it. Her confidence helped him to relax, to melt into the dance.

He could focus less on the steps of the dance and more on the act of the dance as she took lead. His expression hard to read before but now she could only read her own expression. That just left the language of the body which was being shouted out to the entire ballroom. It was hard to do multiple things at the same time while lying, the dance was no different, you got your body focused on the steps and the changes that it was harder to hide body language.

This was why she always conducted business on the dance floor, her petty, pointless intrigues. “Clearly not as well as you. You make this seem easy.” Thankfully his face was hidden as the hardened mask would make it hard to hide the flushed cheeks. “I’ve had a little practice. We’ll see what the future holds then.”

[Cassandra Reeding]

Something about the way he says that last line gives her a hint of pause, her emerald eyes betraying her wish to read him. Hers had been a simple flirtation, but was it accidentally an actual invitation for something more? No. I'm crazy. Focus. Don't be a fool. This is close friendship, which is why we gave the mirror. If he ever takes up reflections, he can save energy... Still, pinks upon her mien seem to be a little brighter as a blush begins to form upon her cheeks and shoulders.

"I'm not normally this at ease on the dance floor. I've never really been that much of a dancer. Perhaps it is just something about dancing with you." The way it comes out brings an obvious blush to her cheeks and she sees it clearly reflected in his mask. She seems and can see that she looks surprised by her own words. This only makes the blush upon her cheeks more intense, though she manages to control the rest of her mien. Calm. Just calm. They continue moving with ease together on the dance floor, the steps coming as naturally as breathing. The chill of his mantle constantly reminds her how close they are, and the closer she feels the more she can't help but dislike staring at her own reflection.

"And, you know, someone vain would be into seeing their own reflection, but I'd much rather see yours." At least that one she means more than truly. It isn't just a want to see the face of her friend and person she dances with, but also disliking her own appearance. "Then I wouldn't have to see how terrible I've become at hiding everything. But, maybe that's a good thing." I don't want to hide anymore from people I care about - this new, awkward, wonderful family that I've finally found. I can't ruin this by being a lonely idiot. Why is it so hard to stop when you've already started flirting with bad ideas?

Misread the exceptional for Songs of a Distant Arcadia. With subtracting 2 dice and adding 2 auto-successes, it would be 6 successes instead of 5.

[Rhodes]

The Director slowly moves across the floor, waiting before inclining his head respeectfully. The mantle twists red leaves into the air gently around him.

"Lord Turner, Miss Reading." he says, his attention returning to James, waiting for a pause in their conversation. "I cannot deny I had wondered who would emerge with the Onyx crown. I do not pretend to understand the Onyx Court as much as I might, nor have you or I always seen eye to eye. But our diversity, and that of our people, is what grants us strength. I know enough to recognise those chosen by the Wyrd, which never performs without reason. And your words have offered insight still. Congratulations on your coronation, Lord Winter. I hope we might work as well together - as we always have."

He reaches into one pocket and brings out a silk hankerchief covering a small rectangular shape, and offers it to James. Within is an original copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales - Rhodes smiles tiredly. "A gift, from from one school of thought to another. I hope you take it in the spirit it is meant, and it offers you some of the knowledge that I have found from it."

The Dread Lord inclines his head again. "I have taken enough time - please, enjoy your night, for it is yours." Quietly, he slips back to the main room.

[James Turner]

They’d been dancing, the pressure of the evening less for now and thoughts of future issues forgotten. It was a nice reprieve to just be in the moment an occasion so rare for the Darkling he can’t imagine the last time he wasn’t internally calculating the steps that needed to be taken to protect the freehold and protect its borders. In that moment perhaps he’d not thought about his words or how they could have been interpreted, a rare moment of impulsiveness from him.

Her words though, maybe something about dancing with you, had caught him off guard. What did that mean? He could try and decipher the colors of heir mien and read deeper into it but was that an invasion of her privacy, was it something she wanted to keep a mystery or close to the vest? He’d been thinking about it too much, the blush burning brightly on her face impossible to ignore. He cleared his throat as she continued, any words that he’d had caught there and forcing him to silence.

“I wouldn’t say that.” Then breaking the moment, the possible futures cracking and shattering like a mirror before him taking him back to the present moment was Rhodes voice. The dance stopped for the moment as the song slowly came to an end as the discussion took place. He returned Rhodes’ bow. “Thank you Dread Lord, your words strike true. Conflict can bring strength; challenges bring new ideas. I look forward to working together more, if I’m lucky I’ll learn something more.”

He took the gift in his hand and looked it over, the cover reflected in his mask as it softly rippled with the movements of his face. Was this the building block, the starting point of the knowledge of the Others? He wasn’t sure but to him the gift was important and a good place to start, besides he always needed something new to read. Whether he took anything away from it was another story, he wasn’t studied after all.

“Thank you again, this means a lot. I hope your studies are well. Perhaps you’d care to join us on the dance floor?” He waved at the open ballroom figuring if anyone would want to dance it’d be the newly engaged monarchs, then if they could just rope Circe into it. Well, he might have to do that. He could always drop off the book but he left that ball in Cassandra's court as his head tilted her direction.

[Cassandra Reeding]

Everything came out wrong. Everything in her training says not to word vomit. Not to say things that will show your emotions. She's somewhat embarrassed, perhaps seeing that reflected back to her made it significantly worse. Exponentially. But no, she calms herself, her colors shifting back to hopefully normal. She didn't often look in mirrors long enough to know what normal was. "Perhaps," was all she could get out.

When Rhodes arrives, his voice breaking the trance of the music coming to a close, she feels weird. Incomplete. As if a cadence wasn't properly reached. She stands there awkwardly during the exchange, her mind still giving her crap for being flirty instead of going for fun and platonic like she had planned. Stupid defense mechanisms. When in doubt, flirt. But that is the rule for deception, not friendship. But now she knows what she looks like when she does it.

She knows the moment Rhodes hands him a gift that she would take it and bring it to where the other gifts had gone. Give him space. You've probably weirded him out enough. Why do you always assume things for people? Another defense mechanism?

Cassandra gives a curtsy to the monarch and reaches her hands out to take the gift from John, "I've got it." She could already tell that was the intent anyway. "I'll see if I can't grab a few in to dance." She says with a smile, but before she leaves for the moment, she says, "Sorry." ambiguous, sure, but she feels the need to say it. Maybe explain later? No, there's no good way to explain 'I'm flirting with you because I don't know how to do anything else when I get awkward around someone I find attractive. But I'm not trying to date you. At least, I'm pretty sure I'm not and it's a bad idea anyway.' without it likely coming out all wrong. Is this because Gerrit got in her head? She'd have to ponder that. She wish she had someone to vent to about all of this. I miss Blodwen. Maybe I'll give her a call...

She walks then over to the gifts box underneath the food table and gently place it inside, making sure she accounts for everything before leaving to see who might want to join her for another wee dance. Something to get her mind off of everything. At least she saved playing for last. That'll help.

[James Turner]

He wasn't sure what was going on, but he could feel a growing strangeness. He couldn't put his finger on what was causing it or where it even came from, was it the remnants of that shattered moment, was it the tension from himself and Rhodes? The music still playing felt almost surreal now. The gift taken from his loose grip, "Thank you," he answered in his confused daze.


It happened in a blur almost she'd swept away and slid back to run away again. He could have got whiplash from the speed of that change. The growing strangeness making more sense now but now he had to know why, it didn't make sense to him. What had even just happened? Was that one line more than a flirtation? Was it a slip? It was definitely a mistake judging by the reaction.


He did what he always did in uncomfortable times like this. He froze, he got real still like if he didn't move no one could see him. The problem with this strategy was he was frozen on the dance floor. No James, bad optics. Go back to wanting to vomit, you were operating so much better in that space. He had wanted to say something but he hadn't even had the opportunity.

[Saber Sloth]

Ten Days Left!