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 Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2025 11:28 pm
The need to do something with himself that would help settle the anxious energy that seemed prevalent within his body had led Cassian down an ever familiar road. He had hemmed and hawed over it for awhile, fearful that it would place him in a situation of being within the same group of people as before (and wanting to keep his identity in tact, he needed to be careful). It took time, a lot of research, and some deep diving, but he had found himself a smaller studio that wasn’t nestled in the more artsy side of the city. It was a removed from his old life as he could be. So, he applied.
The place was an up and coming studio. Nothing large, but they were making a name for themselves within the dancing community. They didn’t specialize in just ballet like his last studio. This one focused on other forms as well, which was an added perk. The idea of diving into some jazz was a tempting thought.
But, for now, he needed an outlet for energy he didn’t know what to do with or focus. So, he had arrived to the class he’d been appointed to for evaluation early. No one else had been in the room at his arrival and Cass wasted no time in changing his shoes, stripping out of the shorts he wore over his dark, blue body-suit leotard, and finding a bar to begin stretching at.
It was so easy, losing himself in the practiced movement. To let his body and mind to just exist in the space without worry or stress. The bar was his stabilizer as he bent backwards, stretched his legs, and worked through more technical movements. He had no idea how much time had passed, but others had begun to filter in and begin their own warm-up routines around him.
Golden eyes watched as other students filtered in. Most were younger than him by several years, but there were some older students there. To be truthful, Cassian didn’t expect to stay at the intermediate level. Likely, this would be the only class he attended. If there was one thing the young man was still certain about was his own abilities on the dance floor, and Cass knew that he was far too good for the level this class would be dancing at.
Sufficiently warmed up he sighed and brushed slightly sweat damped bangs out of his face. The room was warming up quickly with the abundance of bodies filling it. The summer heat outside certainly wasn’t helping matter. Cass was pretty sure he could hear the in-window A/C unit fighting for its life on the other side of the room.
A younger, smaller girl walked up to Cass and gave him a smile before beginning her own warm-up routine at the bar. Cass took that as a sign to move himself back to the abandoned black duffle he’d brought in. It was a new one than the one he’d carried as Aelius. That bag had been officially retired as too conspicuous and beaten up. The new one was a bit smaller and sleeker, but efficient none-the-less. Another change, if insignificant, in his life. Grabbing his towel from it, he wiped as his face and neck.
Mildly he chastised himself for wearing a bodysuit. Even with it being a shorter version that exposed as much of his legs as possible and dipped fairly low in the chest it wasn’t going to hide the sweat. In fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if there were already marks on it. Damn. He’d worn it to look professional and put together too. A sigh escaped as he dropped his towel back into his bag.
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Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2025 1:44 pm
It’s enrichment. Maybe not the most convincing argument for dragging Eles out with him for dance class, but today Malory didn’t have to deploy much in the way of teasing, bribing, or coaxing to get the other to come along. The reason for the insistence was made clear soon after arriving, pulling of his tshirt and jeans to reveal a pair of high waisted spandex ballet tights, held up by shoulder straps and nothing else. The bold, hand drawn Coward across his back was clear and nicely framed by the straps for all to see as he began warming up without even a hint of reticence. Without further comment, he left Eles to sit and keep himself entertained. The dance classes were always more of a supplement to the stage work Malory preferred, but he did enjoy them quite a bit. He liked to focus on the physical when possible, and they helped him retain and improve the muscle control he so valued. Plus, dancers were so, so intensely funny in their dramas. Malory thought it must be something about all the adrenaline and endorphins at play that dialed so many of them up to eleven. The best drama and the best gossip were nearly always found at a dance studio. And it looked like there were some new faces in the studio today. Glancing at the boy with the plum colored hair, he did7n’t look new to a studio at all. Evals? A bit of a shame if he’d be moving on soon, he looked pretty, graceful, and like he’d might get into a fight with somebody sooner or later.
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Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2025 1:45 pm
Go to the studio, he said. Watch dance classes. As if Eles needed to be told twice.
While there were likely to be a lot of girls there, it was just as likely that some delectable piece of meat would stroll into that studio and make obvious his use of a dance belt in an outfit that otherwise left nothing to the imagination. Coupled with the idea that he was supposed to be working on his drawing skills, he had every excuse to stare unabashedly without having to disarm the overly self-conscious social faux pas that normally came when they noticed. So he'd gone, and he hadn't expected much else.
That was his worst mistake. They'd come after a few others had already started their warm-up routines, and Eles gave the room a quick scan for its occupants via the enormous mirror. Couple girls and a well-built Boy Specimen with violet hair.
And then he saw, and choked, and his soul left his body. Probably for good. Eles glowered at Malory as best he could over the flush of secondary embarrassment that took him. The scathing, accusatory glare only lasted so long, however; best that Eles come up with a plan for revenge, then.
So he staked himself out a spot near the far wall, near the dancers' estranged bags. He felt rather self-conscious in Malory's designer rags, some tank top upcycled out of torn or threadbare garbage, held together with bandage-style strips of cloth, and studded all over with eyelets. Some aesthetic but otherwise useless black lacing was threaded through part of it. Given to him were a pair of black jeans that laced up quite far in the back, tying off right beneath the swell of his a**. So, naturally, he made sure he was sitting on it as often as possible.
Orange eyes followed the muscled dancer back to his bag, distinctly avoiding Malory's vicinity at all costs. Eles assumed it must've been a good warm up to have managed such a sheen of sweat already. Oh, to be that towel, he supposed.
But he couldn't deny, he had a prime viewing location. Opening his sketchbook, Eles started with a few gesture drawings of the boy. Quite a practiced grace he had, but it was of a different kind than Malory's. Less intentional, maybe.
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Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2025 2:21 pm
The class was, as usual, predominately female leaning. He’d grown accustomed to the stares of women, but most caught on fairly quickly his prefrence wasn’t for them. So, when not one, but two guys walked in, Cass’s attention was snagged as he casually noted them.
Both were smaller than him in stature, with one reminding him with a stab to the gut, of another much beloved boy of his. He didn’t look like Eion persay, just the stature and the more bird-like delicateness. That specific one was an obvious observer as he sat himself down near Cass. A sketchbook in hand, and clothing that was both interesting and very much not dancer attire spoke volumes for his level of commitment to the class itself.
As for the other one, well, he gave off a confidence that Cass wasn’t sure was genuine or not. There was something about the boy in the bodysuit similar to his own. Something tickled the back of his mind as he watched that back marked with a crude ‘Coward’ which was…a choice.
Cass found his gaze shifting from the dark, well-framed script back to the boy who had made himself comfortable on the floor. Those orange eyes were focused on the boy he’d walked in with. Friends perhaps? No. The way the dark-haired boy with the studded shirt watched the other said otherwise. Something wasn’t sitting well with him about that.
“A bystander in the class who has come to just watch?” He questioned as he shoved his bag further against the wall and out of the way as it became clear the class was going to be a busy one. “Or perhaps watching to see if you’d like to join?” Cass highly doubted the answer to his last question would be an affirmative, but it was a way to start soothing his need to understand the dynamic between these two and try and figure out why the hell he felt he knew the other one. To be honest, there was a part of Cass that was hoping he was incredibly wrong about their relationship.
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Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2025 2:26 pm
The glare and pointed avoidance kept Malory in a barely suppressed smile as he warmed up. Eles should have learned by now, that he shouldn’t give anything to Malory that he didn’t want others to see. Or at least to put such things somewhere less convenient to show off. He was absolutely a coward, but never underestimate the power of those without shame. Well, Eles had probably learned that lesson pretty thoroughly with this. Candrah, who was two inches taller than Malory, freckled head to toe, and who could slam dunk him into a dumpster, sidled up and began dishing the hot gossip concerning Short Helen and Assistant Beetlejuice, which soon segued into New Guy who she had some Theories about. Turning to look, he saw that Eles was making good use of his time and also getting acquainted with the new dancer, or at least getting familiar with their body and poise as he recognized that focus in the boy’s gaze. A good subject? And one that took initiative too, approaching Eles for a little tête-à-tête? Oh… Malory placed silent odds on how flustered Eles was about to get before he caught the tail end of Candrah’s assessment, “Gay to the bay and back, but might beat the s**t out of you if you start acting sideways. Like he might not, but he could if you give him reason to and I know you like your face where it is, babe. Here grab my ankle I need to…yeah…ok…ahhh no, too far, s**t!”
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Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2025 3:29 pm
Eles looked up from his sketches when the boy — the subject — spoke to him. The questions brought a thoughtless half-smile to his face. He had to know how he looked, right? No one went through life neglected and isolated while looking like that, right?
So Eles set his pencil down on the sketchbook that was balanced across his legs. Using sign language worked out more often than not, so he signed his responses at the boy who stood over him.
Came to watch. Malory invited me to his class. Thought it was good opportunity for figure drawing, he explained. But, I could be convinced to join. Never tried dancing before.
That he knew of, anyway. He never felt especially moved or repulsed by it for as much as he remembered; his main point of contention was the mirror reflecting back the person who didn't quite look like him. Having to watch that, having to examine that familiar stranger in the mirror and correct his posture and watch that stranger do the same was an unsettling thought. But why? And why was it such a challenge for him to grasp that the boy that he saw was him? Even now, Eles had no convincing answers.
An expletive coming from one of the dancers stole his attention momentarily. When he looked, Malory was helping with one of her stretches. Probably his fault, then. Beautiful as he was, Eles tried to put him out of mind.
Back to the boy, the newfound and impromptu star of the show, Eles added, You look like you're serious about this. Why come to this class?
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