londoncallingrpg

It had been some time now since his attack, and though he still wore a few faded bruises that stubbornly refused to fade, the streaks of purple and blue across his fair skin were not what was bothering the pixie. Guilt clung to him, weighing him down, waking him in the night, and dampening his mood. It didn't matter how many times his friends and kin insisted he'd just been protecting himself, pain stabbed through his heart any time he let his mind wander to that night.

He'd replayed it over and over in his head, the man's words, the feeling of his fists and the pain that had left him weak and breathless- And the feeling of ice as his power had reached out to protect him. He hadn't meant to harm the man, but there was no undoing what had been done. All Winter could do now was live with the pain of knowing he had taken a life while defending his own.

Not wanting to be fussed over or worried about, he'd taken to going out more during the day. Wandering the city and wasting hours at the library or the shops. Anywhere quiet and calm, really.

Some days he made his way over to a small ballet school near the centre of town. Through large glass windows he'd watch the girls inside learn their positions and practice their jumps. They were so graceful, all smiles and giggles, even when their teacher's voice grew stern and they all rushed to get back into place. Winter found he envied them- But also found comfort in watching them dance.

Usually when the class ended, Winter would leave, but one day the instructor had signalled for him to come inside, and Winter had been curious enough to do just that.

"This is the third time you've watched one of my lessons," she noted. "Do you dance?"

Winter bit his lip, then shook his head. "Not like they dance," he said as the girls shuffled past him and out onto the street. "They're very elegant. I'm not sure I could be that."

The instructor raised a brow, then smiled. "No? Well, I do like a challenge..."

He'd been going daily since, learning at a rate that Miss Fairlite insisted was very impressive. She waxed on about natural grace and ability, but Winter found, for once, he wasn't interested in the praise. He didn't come to be told he was good or talented- He came because it felt good. Because the music made his heart patter in a way most of the music he devoured usually did not. ...Because for nearly an hour a day he felt free of his guilt and worries, his full focus on the dance and Miss Fairlite's instruction.

It was wonderful. Better than ice cream even.

(OTA. Feel free to have seen Winter dancing through the window and either come in to watch, or meet him outside after. :D)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

akatawitch

Sunny had been watching him.

It wasn't exactly a surprise that Winter would take to dancing, just to this kind. She knew from Aunt Chinwe's stories the sort of discipline ballet training entailed. It was demanding, painful, and any dancing mistress worth her salt took absolutely zero shit.

She had been drawn to this sort of music all her life, but she'd never quite had it in her to do ballet. Anyanwu could move to anything, but she could not.

When it looked like things were starting to wind down, she came in to see the end of it.

From:

winter_wisp

Winter had looked terribly focused, his pale brow creased deeply as he moved- Something Miss Fairlite was currently scolding him for.

"You're dancing, Winter, not doing arithmetic. You should look poised, not confused- And if you're going to count cracks, count the ones on the ceiling, not the floor," she tutted.

Winter relaxed, and lifted his chin- Then broke into a grin when he spotted Sunny.

"Posture," Fairlite said simply, glancing at the girl and offering a polite nod 'hello', then looking at the time.

"I suppose that's it for today. Don't wear your shoes out again, Winter, they're not walking shoes- And lock the door when you leave. ...Oh, and if you're tardy again tomorrow, there will be words," she added- Though she offered a faint smile then, patting the pixie on the head and offering Sunny another nod before heading off to her flat upstairs.

Winter peeped happily, wandering over to Sunny and smiling.

"Did you come to dance too, Sunny?" he asked.

From:

akatawitch

Sunny nodded politely back to the woman as she left before turning her attention to Winter. She smiled softly.

"Not really. I saw you dancing and got curious about what you were up to."

From:

winter_wisp

"I'm learning ballet," Winter peeped, gesturing down at his black, full body leotard. "Miss Fairlite says I am gifted. ...I think I just like the music and the way it feels to move with it."

From:

akatawitch

Sunny smiled. "I remember that feeling. I wanted to do ballet when I was really little, but it never seemed to be my thing."

From:

winter_wisp

"It may be your thing now," Winter pointed out. "Of if not, it's still fun."

The music was still playing, and Winter moved into position, pushing up onto his toes, then closing his eyes as he let the music carry him through the moves.

From:

akatawitch

"I don't think so," Sunny said with a soft laugh, but even as she said it, her eyes followed his movements and her body swayed a little. "My aunt dances professionally. She tried..."

From:

winter_wisp

"Really?" Winter asked, stopping mid dance to listen. "Like a proper dancer, on a stage? Wow."

The pixie grinned at the thought, making his way over to Sunny and catching her hands in his. Winter was small, but his hands were quite broad, reflective of the fact that he was quite tall for a pixie.

"Can you imagine, dancing for people, with lights on and music playing... Maybe even a proper orchestra!"

From:

akatawitch

"Really," she said. "It's not ballet she does exactly, but it was part of her training. Aunt Chinwe keeps saying that it's time for her to retire to teaching, and lately we think she means it..."

She stopped when Winter took her hands, shyly lowering her eyes.

"I used to dream about that. When I was a little girl and watching her dance." Chinwe, youngest of three and determined to forge her own path had been Sunny's hero. She still was.

From:

winter_wisp

Winter tugged her gently towards the floor.

"You could dance with me, just a bit. We could pretend. Oh, please Sunny," the pixie pleaded. "It would be so much fun."

From:

akatawitch

Well. She supposed she could indulge him in this.

But she didn't want to damage the floor, so she toed off her shoes first before she stepped out onto the floor.

Sunny did not know ballet proper, other than some knowledge of basic positions and the names of different moves. She'd taken classes when she was very young, before it became actual ballet and was more about developing coordination. But she let her self-consciousness slip away all the same so she could dance.

She was a natural dancer at any rate. So it may not have been ballet, but it was not clumsy.

From:

winter_wisp

Winter danced with her, all strange and ethereal grace as he moved. For such a small creature, he was surprisingly long, legs and arms stretching to create shapes as he moved.

He thought Sunny was a terribly good dancer. Where some of the girls he danced with were willowy and frail, Sunny was a lovely balance of grace and power, like lightning striking elegantly between the trees.

She was beautiful, and Winter stopped dancing to admire her as she moved, all bright blue eyes and sprightly curiosity. He was smiling, thinking of how lucky he was to have so many strong and inspiring people in his life. ...And then the smile faded, slowly, beat by beat.

He loved Sunny, but would Sunny love him if she knew what he had done?

From:

akatawitch

Sunny did not notice.

Having let herself start to dance, she found herself sinking deeper into the music, into moving with the music. Her motions grew more sure of themselves, the long, flowing movements that suited this music so well. And as she danced, she seemed to grow brighter, quite literally, as if a light were shining out from her skin.

She knew this feeling. Knew it inside and out. But it had been so, so long since she had just let it out.

Her face... changed.

It was still her face, if stylized, like a mask. It looked very like an African masquerade mask, carved and painted to look like the sun itself. Her movements became inhumanly graceful, inhumanly fluid.

It felt like her blood was singing.