2.5, mini-adventure: Pretty women

"Okay, do you want us to line up or did you want to go over some basics first?"

"We'll start with the basics of group dancing first," answers Fedler. "Men and women have their own steps to learn, but it's meant to be simple, so you should get a feel for it after just an hour of practice. You might find it more complicated when we switch partners, but we have the right numbers to practice that part."

"You are going to switch partners?" inquires Breeze, who's been floating above the group for a minute now. "During the dance?"

"Yes. That's why we should practice; we're going to dance with people we don't know."

"Hear that Steve?" says Zelk. "Don't pull one of your pranks on some poor girl tomorrow."

Mihai glances between the other ladies he just realized he'll have to dance with shortly.

"Too late. The prank is already in motion. I can't stop it now."

Steve shrugs. "Can't stop it now, it's not up to me anymore."

Zelk rolls her eyes at Steve's buffoonery, then focuses her attention back on the conversation between Fedler and Konrad. The redheaded hunter turns her head towards the red mage, and has to blink a few times before she can respond. "I've studied to become a bard," she responds with a nonchalant tone. "I might be a little rusty, but muscle memory goes a long way; it'll all come back to me."

"Oh!" exclaims Breeze. "So you were like Songbird?"

"...Yes. Kind of."

"Oooh!"

Mihai slouches against a railing and gives Breeze an annoyed look - "Can we dance now?"

"Yeah, let's see what she can do."

"Then let's form two lines; women on one side, the men on the other."

__________________________

For the next hour, Fedler teaches the party members how to greet their partner, what steps to make to approach them, how to hold them, and the whole routine someone has to follow before they switch partners. It is quite simple, although there are three routines to learn, one for each new partner, before switching back to the first one. The lines of dancers also move when partners switch, making for an overall symmetrical dance, which would actually look impressive if there were more people to practice with.

Fedler was right; after only a few steps, she knew exactly how and where to move, even though it wasn't as smooth as Aemilia and Zelk. These two had clearly danced like this before, and they assisted Fedler's teaching when it was appropriate. As for Breeze, she watched her friends turn and spin around to the rhythm of a silent melody with a smile plastered on her face.

"This manor hasn't been this lively in a long time," says a booming voice. Looking at the top of the stairs, you can see Sean Freeron walking down the steps of the stairways, pleased to be greeted by this scene. "Working up an appetite?"

OOC:

"Very much. It seems a shame to visit and dance without the master of the house, only to have to depart heeding the call of rumbling bellies."

And the offer to dine with the master of the house is up to the man himself.

"Oh, I rarely dance anymore," replies mister Freeron with a small smile. "Besides, I have no dancing partner. I could ask Gwen, but it would be strange, like dancing with your nanny."

"I heard that, mister Freeron," states the butler, having just appeared from the dining room.

"Uh, hm..." He is looking for an escape, then notices Aemilia. "Oh! Miss Avenarius! I didn't know you were here. How brings you by?"

"Mister Freeron," she replies with a cordial tone. "I'm pleased to see you. I hope I'm not intruding; I was invited in with the rest of the group."

"Not at all. Please, stay with us for dinner."

"Thank you."

"Oh, is it time for dinner already!?" exclaims Breeze. A lot rumbling sound comes from her stomach. "I think I'm hungry again. Eh eh."

"Konrad is going to show us some Myrish steps first. Right Konrad?"

"If we have time, sure. I happen to know a routine that can be easy on the Stoic sensibilities." There's a familiar tone to his saying "can be easy." "I'll show you, but I don't want to hold us up. These aren't the steps we'll be making tomorrow evening."

He tells everyone to line up and practice the steps for a step dance routine called the Clack, going through the movements of the masculine/feminine roles where applicable, as best he knows them (which turns out to be pretty well).

[Zeiss, take it from there. I'm afraid I can't.]

The "Clack" is a very simple routine; it consists of a few steps that take only ten seconds to complete, but which repeat themselves once you're back at your original position. The first cycle starts slow, and once it loops back to the first movement, each cycle progressively gets faster and faster. When it comes to dancing, Konrad's own talent is good enough but not exceptional. His teaching method however is clear and concise, and it takes only a minute for the group to pick up this routine. Fedler and Aemilia have some difficulties keeping up when the rhythm gets faster, unlike Zelk who finds it easy.

This lesson took overall only five minutes. Once it is finished, Breeze enthusiastically claps, cheering everyone for their effort.

"Wow, I'm sure it would look better if we had more people!" she tells them. "And it sounded like you were making music with your feet."

Mister Freeron appears interested in this dance, but it's difficult to determine whether he's seen this or not before.

Mihai does the routine mechanically, his upper body barely moving while his legs do almost all the work, and his arms fall to his sides. His head looking down at his feet as if counting.

Once he's done, he just sighs and takes a step back, glancing to his sides to check on everyone else.

"Someone's a natural!" Konrad remarks as Zelk easily surpasses his ability. "Very good form, Zelk. Simple steps are easy to practice, but I don't have to tell you that we prefer less formal 'routines'."

Zeiss wrote:Mister Freeron appears interested in this dance, but it's difficult to determine whether he's seen this or not before.

Deception
And that's exactly what I'm rolling to find out.

Steve throws himself into it with his usual enthusiasm. He doesn't pick it up as fast as Zelk or Fedler but he isn't bad at keeping up with them after some practice. "Oh that was fun! Thanks for teaching us Konrad."

To Konrad's compliment, Zelk responds, "Thank you. Military training puts the recruits through much worse than this, so it was easy to pick up."

Following Steve's thanks, Aemilia adds with a smile, "Yes, I've never had the opportunity to learn this before. Maybe we can practice some more later?"

Obviously, she doesn't intend to drag the others into this if they don't want to, implying she would also like it if it was only her and Konrad. Fedler stays quiet, and keeps practicing the steps at a slower pace than before, looking closely at the position of her feet.

"This was captivating," opines Sean Freeron. "It's not often that I get Myrzen guests at one of my events. I have the feeling you'll prove to be quite entertaining."

"Mister Freeron," interjects Gwen, who hasn't moved since she has entered the ball room.

"Oh, right. Might I suggest that we move to the dining room? I believe we're having spaghetti tonight."

"Lasagna, mister."

"Did I get it wrong again?"

Konrad:

Mihai lets himself slouch, and glances intently at Fedler's feet with a placid look on his face.

Konrad grins at Aemilia's hint. I'm open to private lessons. Doubtless Breeze will ask to watch if I say that out loud.

Zeiss wrote:"Oh, right. Might I suggest that we move to the dining room? I believe we're having spaghetti tonight."

"Lasagna, mister."

"Did I get it wrong again?"

"Gladly."

He raises an eyebrow at their venerable host. I wonder if that captivation he feels is close to home...I must find out for myself. "People find me interesting everywhere I go, that's nothing new. A fair trade nonetheless that I would be happy to oblige."

"Everywhere?" repeats Breeze. "Even in Myr?"

"Is that good or bad?"

"You tell me," Konrad winks with his scarred right eye. "In fact, I'm still trying to forget this happened to me," he jokes. There are some lines in front of you, read between 'em, friend.