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 Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 6:58 pm
Melchy still wasn’t sure precisely what had happened to him or where he was. All he knew was that he was troubled by it, and that his fur was standing on end. Something truly, truly bad was going to happen to him. He felt it like he felt storms coming now (the older he got, the more easily he felt it), and this one felt...strong. Really strong. It was terrifying him.
“Cap’n...I don’ like this...” he mumbled, tugging at the sleeve of the shirt he had been forced into. It was like his typical attire, except...it was clean and unripped. The same with his trousers. His typical clunky boots, though...those had changed entirely. Cap’n had forced him into smaller, suppler ones that clung to his feet and made him feel odd. They looked like girls’ boots. He was beginning to suspect that, in fact, they were. Cap’n had even forced him to comb his hair (and brush out his ears and tail), holding him down to do it. He felt weird.
He felt stupid.
(He had to admit that he looked quite dashing.)
“Hush,” Katrina said absently, opening the door to the building and gently herding Melchy inside. The boy honestly had no idea what he had been signed up for. But Katrina was a pirate of a very specific variety: the type that believed that strict manners and a knowledge of at least rudimentary etiquette got one just as far as skill with a knife. Melchy had the latter. It was the former he lacked. So she had signed him up for some classes.
Dance classes. Not that the boy knew it yet. And to get others in on the fun, Katrina had taken a quick side trip to the Liberty Center and put up fliers. She had also called Anya, making sure that at least one familiar face would be there for the boy. Matter-of-fact she might be, but Katrina was far from heartless. She smiled at the woman who was waiting just inside the building—studio, was the proper word.
“Hello there!” the woman said smoothly, everything in her bearing suggesting exactly what it was she taught for a living. “You must be...ah...Melchizedek?” a look at Katrina for reassurance, and then the woman seemed to get over the boy’s oddness and straightened up again. “You’re the first to show up for class. Let me introduce myself. My name is Miss Emmet, and I’m your teacher.”
..........teacher? Melchy’s ears went flat, and he felt himself baring his teeth already. What was going on? What had Katrina signed him up for. “Teacher?” he asked, surprised at how calm his voice actually sounded. He was a tempest on the inside.
“Yes, teacher. This is a ballroom dance class,” the woman said with a gentle smile.
Melchy froze, eyes wide, ears still pinned. For a moment, nobody moved. Then the boy growled slightly and looked up at Katrina, who quirked an ironic smile at him. Tail lashing, Melchy looked sidelong at Miss Emmet and then at Katrina. “Ye’ve gotta be kiddin’meh.”
“No jokes, I promise,” Katrina said, expression bland but hiding laughter. The boy tensed like he was going to leap on her, and Katrina’s hand went to her sword, just as a quiet reminder. Melchy glared daggers at her for a moment (his had been left at home, at Cap’n’s insistence) and then relaxed and slumped against one mirrored wall.
“Blow me down with a feather,” he mumbled. “I better get sumthin’ outta this, Cap’n.”
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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 7:31 pm
"I'M NOT DANCING!"
"OOOOHH YES, YOU ARE!"
"NOI'MNOTANDYOUCAN'TMAKEMEYOUSTUPIDRABBIT!"
"WATCH ME!"
The hollering that echoed into the studio was suddenly cut by an angered scream, a crack that sounded much like a whip, and then more yelling that grew louder and louder with each passing second until it was right outside the studio's door.
"ISAAC SAID THAT YOU SAID WE WERE GOING SHOPPING! YOU TRICKED ME!"
"I did NOT trick you, you brat. I just said to make yourself fancy!"
"NUHUH, YOU SAID WE WERE GOING SHOPPING AND THIS," the studio door suddenly burst open with such force that it smacked the wall, dented its doorknob, rattled its glass, and would've swung shut again if Keres hadn't been in the way. "THIS IS NO GODDAMN STOR--"
"Katrinaaa~" Anya suddenly interrupted in a loud, sheepish tone as her single eye rested on her friend and her charge. "Melchizedek~"
Keres whipped her head away from Anya so fast that her whole body seemed to follow. Her hair ornaments glinted, her bracelets clinked, and the deep cerulean fabric that draped over her torso and around her bright wings gave a rather dramatic swish. Her eyes immediately narrowed to slits. The adults had set this up... It was all making sense to her now and the sphinx seemed to grow pinker in the face. Her feral eyes flicked from one person to the next for a few silent moments before she promptly crossed her arms and sat on the ground, her long serpent tail trashing dangerously.
Ooooh, they would all pay....
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Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 9:35 am
Kisala bounded into the room cheerfully-- as tomboyish as she was, she was willing to give anything that might be fun a chance, and dancing seemed like something that might be fun!
Her adoptive mother had dropped her off, bowing respectfully to the teacher before leaving. She'd have stayed to talk with the teacher and make introductions, but Ajiiel was being impossible that day (as though there was any day the little girl -wasn't- being impossible?) and had made a big mess out of Kisala's things, so Shiori had to clean them up while Kisala was in class.
The girl had long since given up caring about her room's disorder. With a troublesome toddler for a little sister, it was impossible to keep things off the floor and unbroken. She was just glad that Ajiiel no longer -bit- her all the time, though she still pulled her hair.
She beamed, waving at Melchy and Keres-- the latter she didn't know too well, but she thought she'd seen her before. Melchy she remembered as being pirate-y, so she figured they could easily be friends, even if Kisala was more of a space-pirate than a typical pirate,
"Allo!"
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Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 6:56 pm
Casia was in the same situation as Kisala, though she was far less enthusiastic. Her guardian had dropped her off, giving her a kiss on the cheek, as well as accidentally leaving a smudge of pale blue paint on the little girl's face. Anna's hands were covered in paint, and an old ratty sock hung around her left arm, nearly black with all different colors mixing together.
"I'm going to go drop off some commissions, then send some letters home, then do some shopping, and I know how badly you wanted to see your friends," she said with a grin.
"Not this badly, Anna!" she whispered to herself as she walked in after Kisala, looking almost completely opposite in emotion and body language. When Anna had heard it was a dance class, she threw Casia into a white ruffled shirt, a beige pleated skirt, and somewhat expensive Mary Janes. All this commotion over a class Casia knew she would fail made her feel only worse. The siren was born with a golden voice, but with two left feet made of lead. She was terrified to dance with other children to music. What if she made a mistake? What if she got off the beat of the song and completely messed up from then on?! What if everyone laughed at her?
All of this worrying made her stand beside the door in nervousness, wanting to leave more than anything. The sight of Keres made her cringe in fear, but seeing the pirate boy Melchizedek made her a bit more relieved.
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Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 6:39 am
Aurora was the next to arrive at the dancing class. After her mama had seen the fliers about the class, Ze'zee had decided to sign her up. Rory was searching for something more that she could do and dancing never hurt any one. It would be better for her than trying to sing. The girl's singing voice could shatter glass, and that was a source of great disappointment to her.
"Mama, are you sure about this?" Rory asked, looking at two angry kids, which worried her, one who seemed to want to do this, and another - Casia - -who wasn't to sure it seemed. Rory was falling into that not-so-sure category.
"You'll be fine, don't worry and have fun," Ze'zee said reassuringly. Then she shoved the girl forward. With a little sigh, Rory complied, moving more into the building and putting her hands into her pockets nervously. Now she would just wait to see what happened, and who would show up.
The girl also went towards the one very familiar face she knew: Casia.
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Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 7:53 pm
Ballroom dancing, Antony thought as he stepped through the door, reaching up to straighten his collar as he realized the walls were lined with mirrors. He did admire a room with mirrors. Ballroom dancing was a princely attribute to have, even for the not so perfect princes, such as himself. And hell, he thought as he looked around, at least he wasn't shouting and punching in this class.
The only problem, he realized quickly, was that all the females except for guardians and the teacher, were kids. And several feet shorter than him. How did you dance with someone so much shorter than you? did they step on your feet, or something?
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 2:38 pm
Keres' arrival made Melchy brighten visibly, even as the girl shouted furiously about...well, about the same things Melchizedek was feeling. He didn't even notice Katrina's cordial greeting to Anya but focused on going over to say hello to the sphinx-girl. "Ah, so we're in this t'gether," he drawled loudly, shaking his head and looking more amused than angry. Drawing as close as he could to Keres, he gave her a cordial bow and shook his head. "At some point, Keres," he whispered quickly, "we gotta get 'em back."
Then he looked up, fixing on Casia and dipping a quick bow to her as well. There was another girl he thought he recognized from Harper's (ah...that name still hurt to think, that face still hurt to remember. Melchy grimaced outwardly at his own thoughts.) Christmas party. The other girl, he didn't know. He was about to go over and introduce himself when the door opened again. He thought he recognized this boy as well. Other than Leviathan and...the other...Melchy was pretty sure that Antony was the only Patch boy he had met. And Antony seemed to have gotten even taller since the last time Melchy saw him. A lot taller.
He was about to mention to Keres that she'd have an even match in height, was preparing to leap away from the swipe that would undoubtedly come, when the teacher spoke again.
"All right, everyone, I want you to pick a partner and come over here. We don't have many boys," and her smile fell on the two who HAD shown up, "but it doesn't matter if you are both girls right now. Just pick a partner and come sit in front of me."
Melchy, who had already written Keres off as being too tall, glance around for someone more his height. Casia was the only other girl he knew, but Kisala was cute, too. So was Rory, he decided after a moment. So hard to choose.
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 3:35 pm
Keres gave Mel a glare at his first initial comment, but allowed a devious smirk to smooth itself over her mouth. She said nothing, though, and just let her eyes wander to each of the faces that had appeared in the studio as if by magic. She remembered the blond-haired siren and the tall boy from the memorial service, and another girl looked somewhat familiar, but it wasn't like she knew any of them other than Melchy.
And so, on that note, when she heard the teacher tell them all to pick a partner, the sphinx-girl immediately knew who she was going to attach herself to.
A single second passed and the cat-boy's furry ear was grabbed up in a vice-like grip. "Iclaimyou," she stated in a quick string of words that sounded more like alien garble. It's finalized and demanding tone spoke her meaning, though, and to just make sure that all was understood, she tugged him even closer to her side.
She still considered this whole thing HIS fault, so he would have to suffer with her and not with somebody else.
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Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 4:09 pm
Irelia was muttering as Asher dragged her to the dance studio, but she had to admit that she sort of, really wanted to, learn to dance. She had pretty good balance, inherited from her mountain goat genes (or so her father liked to point out when she would balance on ridiculously thin metal poles) and she had been known to rock out to the music that she would hear on TV, but she was a bit... apprehensive about the whole thing.
The last time someone had taught her to dance, had been- Irelia couldn't remember his name. She had blocked the memory from her mind, after staying in her room for several days, just sobbing. It had frightened her father when she just appeared out of her room, seemingly FINE. He should have sent her to a therapist, to be perfectly honest, but Asher wasn't used to people suffering nor did he know what therapists were. So Irelia muddled through her pain without any help.
Irelia's light cotton dress was pure white, with puffy sleeves, and she rather liked it, though she worried that you could see her underwear through it. She had tried to braid her hair but her curls were escaping haphazardly, and she wore nothing on her feet. Stepping on to the hardwood floors, her feet gave her away, and Irelia blushed as the teacher turned to her.
"Um, I'm here for the class?" Asher had disappeared it seemed, off to work on his pottery or something else. She saw the large lion-girl attack Melchy as the teacher asked them to pair up, and Irelia looked around, biting her lip. The only people she knew were Melchy and Antony, and Melchy was already taken.
Scowling, Irelia walked up to Antony.
"I promise not to step on your feet if you promise not to tease me about my hair."
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Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 9:19 pm
"I would never dream of such a thing," he said a bit evilly, bowing to her. "But tell me, did the finger in the socket hurt as much as I've heard it does?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 5:50 am
Seeing a few faces that she knew, Rory began to calm down. These were new people that she could meet, and they looked very interesting. Especially the sphinx-girl and the cat boy. Then Antony and Irelia showed up as well, and she knew them.
The teacher asked them to find a partner for dancing and Rory made her way over to Casia, whom she had met more times that the others - who were already pairing up. "Would you like to dance with me?" she asked the winged girl.
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Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 6:44 am
Casia waved shyly to Melchy, trying to look somewhat more cheerful. However, as she watched the sphinx-girl grab hold of him, her expression only soured. It's not that she was jealous of Keres (maybe envious for being so outgoing), but more panicked and whimpering, like a pet that knew some horrible disaster was soon to come.
She gave a chirp of surprise at Rory's request, before smiling and nodding. "I-I'm not very good at dancing," she admitted, folding her arms behind her back in a bashful manner. "A-actually.. I've never d-danced." That wasn't a bad thing, right?
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Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 7:54 pm
"I haven't really danced either," Rory admitted, taking a place next to Casia. Then she smiled unreassuringly. There was no real reason to be shy when they had met before.
"So, we'll both be bad together, and mess up. But since we're learning, I don't think we're supposed to be good at it in the first place..." she said thoughtfully.
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Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:47 pm
Melchy had been about to wander off when Keres' hands closed around his arm. He paused, tail poofing in what appeared to be alarm, expression one of absolute dread. Something bad was going to happen to him, he could tell.
One glance at his sphinx friend's face suggested that Melchy had to suffer for what Katrina had done. He felt his own expression twisting into something bitter and angry...very angry. Katrina had forced him into this situation and he was not going to enjoy it.
"I hate this place," he said very definitively, then attempted to extract himself from Keres' grip. He could hear the woman, whatever her name was, in the background saying something about dancing, something about counting, actually...but he was pretty sure nobody was listening. At least, he wasn't.
"Excuse me!" Miss Emmet's voice cut through loudly. "I need all you children to come here and sit down. Now."
She spared a cursory glance to Shiori, and her expression softened. "We might have a latecomer. If not, I'll be your partner. We can change things next week if need be."
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Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 11:58 am
Kisala beamed at the woman,
"S'okay! Just as long as I get to learn how to dance, it doesn't matter who I dance with!"
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