Sunrise Dancing

Sunrise Dancing
Date of Scene:	26 May 2013
Location:	Business District-- Lindblum
Synopsis:	A bully caught in the act of dancing on her own by one of her favorite targets. What happens next?
Cast of Characters:	Annia Leradine, Alma Hyral

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Annia Leradine has posed:
After retreiving the world shard, the group returned to the inn rooms they had reserved, for some much needed rest. Many of them got battered up, and while healing spells help close up wounds, it doesn't exactly help with exhaustion, so before attempting to figure out what to do with the world shard, a good night's sleep.

Its somewhat early still, and a figure slips out of her room. She looks around to see if there's anyone else awake. Doesn't look like it. That's perfect for her. Its the kind of thing she doesn't want people prying upon either. She grumbles a bit at herself, thinking about to last adventure. She ended up being a liability rather than a help, and that frustrates her. She even needed the help of those she bullies to stay alive. Talk about a lesson in humility either way.

She shakes her head, and heads outside. Whenever she picks an inn, she always checks for potential quiet areas nearby, just for this reason. When she arrives there, she reaches around herself, unhooking her belt that holds the daggers, and tosses it aside...

And then, she dances. As odd as it sounds, its something that relaxes her. Helps her clean her mind. Not necessarily be 'less frustrated' at the situation, doesn't even make her less of a bully, but its one time that she can be 'alone with herself' in her mind, gain better focus. The dance is elegant as well. There's no music, but you can almost hear the melody, just by looking at the movements. She's versed in many kinds of dances, it doesn't seem like its one style in particular... its just, freestyle, letting it roll through her without too much guidance, leaving her mind to wander.

Alma Hyral has posed:
Earlier, just after the world shard had been retrieved...

Alma Hyral couldn't sleep. Not one wink. She should have been overjoyed that that her research had been proven correct. She should have been enthusiastic about the fact that they had part of the means to start restoring worlds... She wasn't. She was preternaturally depressed. No matter how much light she brought to the world, there was always someone who tried to smother it by bringing equal darkness to her life. On this occasion, it was Feige Abramson..

Alma was seated behind a column in this quiet area, on a small bench beside the window, just gazing outside of it unto the stars. Helena always tried to tell her that she should stop looking up so much... she'd trip less if she looked forward. And while that was true.. she couldn't help but be starstruck. Her mind.. was elsewhere, when Annia walked into the quiet area, put down her belt, and began to dance. It was in a place of serenity that she always thought she didn't deserve access to, like she was an unwelcome guest to some section of universal tranquility, meant only for the departed and the divine themselves. And yet it brought her peace. All of her troubles melted away as she listened to the song.

And then as always.. it receded, as the girl decided she should no longer intrude...

She was about to get up, to retrieve her laptop, to go to the common room of the inn... when she noticed that someone was here.

She craned her head forward slightly, just around the column... and there she was, dancing. Every rational part of her mind told her that she should slip away. Leave, before she was seen.. before she was harassed.. And yet she couldn't take her eyes off Annia.

The truth of the matter was that the frail, delicate, klutzy Ramuha girl was fascinated by Shivan culture. She loved her experiences with Rena and Thirza talking about their homeland.. and she remembered the vids from when she was younger of Shivan dancers. Her puritan father had always turned them off, telling her that they were immodest, and not something any daughter of his should emulate.

There were many things the girl longed to do... and one of those was to dance. Yet she knew she was a hopeless klutz, and it was far beyond her capabilities.. And so she sat, watching Annia in a sort of wonder, her expression one of awe and wonder... but also envy.

Annia Leradine has posed:
Annia Leradine keeps to her dance, eyes closed. She doesn't even need to see to know where's up and down, in this state she can just feel. She doesn't know someone is watching, lost in that little world of hers. She does that almost daily, as much as she trains with her daggers in fact. She doesn't look like the bully you know her to be when she's like this either, she's lost that almost perpetual frown, and looks... natural. Not happy, more like a still lake that nothing could break the surface of.

But the dance doesn't last forever either. She eventually stops.. and let's herself fall flat on her back in the grass, just gazing up to the stars and the soon rising sun, the sky slowly starting to tint over with dark orange hues. Its cool outside, and it feels good on her skin after warming up with her dance. Usually she follows up with her dagger techniques, but something catches the corner of her eye, slight movement, and a presence. Someone was watching.

She turns her head, as she sits herself up in the grass... Ah, its the meek girl. She was in her proverbial 'happy place' with her training, so she doesn't really have any needs to bother her either. The only thing she does for now, is speak. Her voice is somewhat softer than usual too, without the usual agressive spikes. "What's up?"

Alma Hyral has posed:
It wasn't so strange really that the two of them had their own happy places, away from the troubles and strife of the world. The fact that she'd just come out of her own... is what perhaps made her a little calmer when Annia finishes her routine, and spots her. Otherwise, she might have been a little panicked. Instead, she just pushes back her glasses, up to her eyes, looking away from Annia's direct stare, down at her hands. And then she'd state demurely, her voice wasn't stuttering as much as usual. "I was s-stargazing. But then.. w-well I saw t-that you were d-dancing..."

She takes a deep breath, "It was a-amazing. You have a r-real gift. One I wish I h-had."

At that point, she cringes a little, as if expecting some sort of harsh retribution for intruding on Annia practicing her dance routines.

Annia Leradine has posed:
Annia Leradine shakes her head "Its not talent." She stands up quietly, and stretches a bit, keeping her muscles warm "Its will. Talent is when you can do something without ever learning it. I learned, I trained, and I'm still training." She looks over to you "You have your own talents, you don't need to be wishful of what the others have. But if you want to dance, then learn to dance. That's all there is to it."

She walks over to the girl, with that characteristic hip sway. She reaches over to take her hand, and less rough that she might expect, she leads her over to the open space she was in. "The basic is in the rhythm." She seems ready to teach, for some reason. "Music is the same, it goes in steps." She demonstrates in front of you, simple side steps, dragging one left toward the other as she moves left to right "1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4. Keeping the rhythm is what makes it beautiful. Otherwise, it looks like this." She starts to sway again, but there's clearly no rhythm to it at all. It actually looks... rather silly.

Alma Hyral has posed:
The girl would actually smile as she told her to train as a dancer. She stood up from her position, taking a step closer, "Y-You know.. s-sometimes I w-wonder if I was m-meant to be a S-Shivan... and that the C-Creatrix changed her mind, and p-put me in this f-frail, k-klutzy Ramuha body i-instead... I w-want to learn, but I'm p-pretty hopeless.."

When Annia approaches her, she almost shrinks away, but then she takes her hand, the girl looked rather bewildered as she was led her over to the open space. She knew music, she knew the rhythm, she was a rather talented singer, a skill she developed further in her time in a Naturalis choir... but her feet, they just did not tend to cooperate. The fact that she was in her typical frumpy white mage robes, which were hastily patched after the rotting dragon tore large gouges away in the chest area did not help matters either.

But to her credit, once she was out there and Annia was showing her, she didn't complain. She didn't make excuses as to why she couldn't do something. She just tried to emulate the simple side steps.. and she stumbled once or twice. It was nothing she couldn't recover from without taking a full out tumble to the ground, but it seemed quite embarassing given the simplicity of the current movements. She just kept trying to copy her, to sway in time with her.. she was puzzled by the lack of the rhythm, but she didn't call her out on it.

Annia Leradine has posed:
Annia Leradine was doing it wrong on purpose of course. Seems you have the rhythm part down at least, for most people that can't dance its the main reason. The rest can be trained, the musical ear, not as much, but not impossible either. "You're hopeless because you keep thinking like that. You give up before trying because you're scared of failing, isn't that right?" She crosses her arms, and bends down slightly at the waist, pointing a finger at your shoulder "What are you scared of, people laughing? Let them laugh. They will forget it in a day, and once you show them what you can really do they will the be ones sorry for laughing in the first place." Imparting wisdom? How strange of her.

She sighs, sliding her fingers through the loose bangs of hair that fell over her face, pushing it back to the sides.

"Instead, be happy that someone was watching you fall. All you see is the current me, you didn't see me stumble and fall while trying. There was noone to see me getting better. Its not being good at something that is rewarding, its the feeling of having progressed."

She starts moving again, showing the simple steps "Take a deep breath, concentrate on the feeling of your feet as they drag. Don't worry about the arms, get the feeling for the legs."

Alma Hyral has posed:
"M-Maybe." She looked at Annia square in the eyes, "I'm a-afraid of them l-laughing. Y-Yes. Of t-them s-showing me just what a u-useless f-failure I am. I'm not p-pretty, or p-popular. I h-have trouble t-talking to p-people. I d-didn't have any f-friends. N-None of the boys even s-spare me a s-second glance."

Maybe her words hit home to her on more than just dancing.. "I'm j-just the y-younger sister of far more i-interesting people. I'm u-unnoticed. W-Were we b-back on G-Galianda, I'd j-just want to get b-betrothed, m-married away, and h-have a family. T-That was my lot in life. I was h-happy with it. It's c-comfortable.. N-Now I don't even h-have that... and so e-everyone is s-still laughing. S-Still trying to h-hurt me. P-Put me out of my c-comfort zone. A-And there's no l-light at the e-end of that t-tunnel of darkness for me. So y-yeah.. m-maybe I'm a-afraid of being l-laughed at. It hits h-home for a lot m-more than you think."

And then there's a long pause, as her voice drops in volume, "I d-don't think I'm as b-brave as you are A-Annia. I c-can't stop caring about w-what people think."

She listens through her comment on having someone to watch her fall, "W-Well.. that much I can u-understand.. but I've got a l-long way to go.."

And then she starts again with the simple steps. For all of her plaintive whimpering previously, she was certainly determined. She didn't stop, despite the stumbles even during the simple steps. Just focusing, concentrating on her movements in her legs.

Annia Leradine has posed:
Annia Leradine has a laugh at that "... Think I'm brave?" She she shakes her head. If she was that brave she wouldn't have that much troubles even with herself. "I'm not brave, I'm worried about what others think of me too. Just not in the same way you are." She moves to the side, keeping an eye on your movements. "You think I'd be hiding and practicing when everyone is still sleeping otherwise? Its never that simple."

She picks up her belt, sliding it back around her waist. "Nothing is ever simple. Look at Jidro stuck in a marriage with a girl like me, its a wonder he still puts up with that at all." She seems to know what she's doing. But what's the reason behind her attitude, that's something to wonder about.

"You need more self-confidence. I don't think you're ugly. You're kind, you even kept me from falling last time. You didn't have to do that, after what I did to you. You could have taken this as proper retribution, perfectly justified, no? But you didn't."

Alma Hyral has posed:
She stops for a moment, to look at Annia throughout her spell of laughter, "B-Braver than me." She just mumbles, as she keeps moving.

She'd give a sidelong glance to Annia, still practicing the movements as she picked up the belt with daggers on it. "W-Well there's no o-obligation anymore.. so why do you s-stay with him? He m-must love you, if he stays." She nearly stumbles yet again for trying to talk while practicing the dance, recovering with a quick flailing of her arms to rebalance herself.

She'd sort of look vaguely in Annia's direction, with her gaze downturned once more, mostly at Annia's feet, but then she states, "I d-don't think that t-two wrongs make a r-right. I don't want a-anyone to suffer, even if they've h-hurt me. And.. I'm not g-going to sit back and let a-anyone get h-hurt if I have anything to s-say about it."

Annia Leradine has posed:
Annia Leradine walks back toward Alma at that, and moves a hand under her chin, lifting it up "... And why are you ashamed of that? That too takes bravery, standing up to those that you don't like and offer them your help, even if you might not even get a thank out of it. Because you want to be able to look at yourself in the mirror the next day, right? Even selfless actions have selfish reasons sometimes. You just need to realize it."

She gives a little flick of her fingers as she releases her chin, walking a few steps away.

She stops as she considers what you say about Jidro "..." She shakes her head "Because I'm giving him a chance. I said that nothing was simple. Its the same with him. He's making efforts to make it work, do you think I should just let him down without a chance to prove what he can do?"

She glances over her shoulder toward the meek girl again. "Everything comes with effort, nothing is gained without pain. Its the same with dancing." She pulls out a dangger from its sheath, just hangling it to watch the gleam of the rising sun into the flat of it "Same with friends, same with love. Trust is hard to gain, easy to lose."

Alma Hyral has posed:
Her chin gets lifted up, as she's forced to stare once more into Annia's eyes. Those malachite eyes of hers just waver slightly as she closes them after a moment, "B-Because kindness is n-never r-rewarded. I-It's only l-laughed at. I get d-degraded by H-Helena, by S-Souji, by so many o-others... j-just because they t-think I'm a f-fool to give p-people something for n-nothing... to a-ask for nothing in r-return. To g-give of myself, to g-give of my h-heart, my t-time, my h-health... and I g-get nothing for it. T-They w-want me to feel a-ashamed.. and so maybe I s-sometimes am a little.. even if I k-know I'm d-doing the right t-thing by n-not letting them c-change me. E-Even doing all t-that... I s-still have t-trouble l-looking at m-myself in the mirror sometimes. I don't l-like what I s-see, and I d-don't mean j-just my a-appearance."

She looks askance at her as she talks about her relationship with Jidro, "N-No.. t-that makes s-sense. W-What do you think, can it w-work out?" She was a little bit of a hopeless romantic, and likes to think that betrothals can work out with happily ever afters, which made her pry a little overmuch.

As Annia pulls out the dagger, she shrinks away a little, but nods slowly after a moment, "I-I k-know...I'm m-making some p-progress... I g-guess. I have some f-friends now..."

Annia Leradine has posed:
Annia Leradine slides the dagger back into its sheath. It wasn't to scare the girl any more than she is after all. She's not in the mood. "Souji and Helena, if you ask me, are the worse to look up for that kind of thing. They only care about results, not the process behind it." She shakes her head again, sighing "Which is what I hate about them the most." She grumbles a bit, her mood fouled a bit just by the mention of those two. "What you see in the mirror is not your face but your soul then. The worse thing is regretting your own actions. If you do, you can't look at yourself anymore. Like how you'd regret if you let someone die in front of you without doing a thing, right?"

She sits down in the grass, crosslegged, hands on each knee like that as she leans forward a bit "I don't want friends. It just makes things more complicated. When you have to watch for them or help them, its a hassle. Easier to stay alone." Maybe that's why she's bullying everyone, easier to stay alone that way. Definitely more story behind that kind of logic.

Alma Hyral has posed:
The girl just looks at her for a time, nodding to her, "I k-know. S-Souji hasn't been the s-same ever since my... s-sister passed. And H-Helena... well, she's h-hard b-because she's a s-survivor. A s-survivor of something h-horrible.. she acts like she d-does b-because the world is too terrible o-otherwise. I'm just.. I d-don't know if I'm e-equipped to handle the w-world as it is now. L-Like you said, the e-end doesn't j-justify the means, but they t-think otherwise. And I k-kind of feel sorry for them. I-It's just s-sometimes I w-wonder if I'm t-that wrong, and t-they're that right, or if it's the opposite.. it's like I'm just so d-different from e-everyone else.."

And then she'd look away from Annia completely, ashamed, "I h-have.. s-some really big r-regrets..y-yeah. I d-don't want to add a-anymore to them, but t-that's not why I do what I do. I j-just do it b-because it's right..."

She'd give Annia a look, before sitting down in the grass in front of Annia. She was out of breath, from just that simple amount of dancing, combined with talking at the same time, she really had very little stamina. "M-Maybe. M-My life is a l-lot more c-complicated now that I h-have some but.. I r-really wouldn't have it a-any other way. B-Better to be c-complicated than to be a-alone.."

Annia Leradine has posed:
Annia Leradine scratches the back of her head "I don't mean letting others die and get hurt because of you though, but putting trust in some people just ends up in being hurt one day." She's had experience with that. Bad experience in fact, it would seem like. "You should never second guess your decisions though. You act like you think is the right thing to do, you need to live with that decision, and if it was a mistake, put your effort to fixing it. Regretting it just slows you down instead. Better put that energy to better things." She pokes at Alma's forehead "Which is what you seem best at, fixing things up."

Not a smile or nothing though. She really doesn't open herself easily, but at least she's not tying her up by the feet down a tree branch or anything, right? That's almost friendly for her.

"Helena and Souji are competent at what they do, but they have a superiority complex that makes them feel better if they stomp down on people around them. Better to ignore it, don't take their words as absolute." She grumbles a bit. She knows they are pullign strings around Jidro too.

Alma Hyral has posed:
"I-I'd rather be h-hurt than to h-have nothing at all. To f-feel nothing at all.. To go c-completely u-unnoticed by everyone. To be a c-cipher..." She rubs a hand across her brow, at the front of her hair. "So l-long as I have.. s-somebody who cares about me.." She'd look up at Annia, and shake her head, "I-It's not s-something I can fix. I can just m-make the best of it... it's not a g-good situation." She would actually crack a smile though when she said that she's good at fixing things.

She'd nod on the Helena and Souji issue..her voice steeped in depression and sorrow, like she's realized she's made some huge mistake working with them. "I'm.. c-coming to realize that..." And yet.. she didn't discuss it further.

She'd give Annia a thoughtful look, then would look down at her hands, as if pondering something. Eventually she'd speak up, "A-Annia... h-have you ever t-thought a-about what it'd be like to d-dance..."

A short pause... "...in the a-air?"

Wait, what exactly was she offering?

Annia Leradine has posed:
Annia Leradine blinks at the question "I can't say that I have. I always had my feet firmly on the ground, how else could you dance?" She wonders at that. She lets the 'sappy' stuff aside for now, as it seems they ran around the subject for long enough right now. Eveb she has limits on how much she can stomach of that. She taps her chin, wondering what you mean.

Alma Hyral has posed:
She'd offer a faint smile. "M-Maybe you can find out for me." And then without saying anything, a radiant yellow aura of quiet luminescence would start to lim Alma's body, while she remained seated. She would place a hand to her own chest, closing her eyes, and concentrating. And after a few moments it would become a brilliant white light. And then Alma would reach out, and place a hand against Annia's palm, and that same aura would lim Annia's body, except it would be an even dimmer yellow, whereas Alma's would change back to it's original color.

She'd then state quietly to Annia, as if it were some kind of secret, "You'll h-have c-control of your p-personal g-gravity and m-momentum for t-three minutes. J-Just think on w-where you want to go, and h-have fun. Y-You'll know i-instinctually when it's a-about to wear off.."

Alma would just stay seated, and watched her expectantly.

Annia Leradine has posed:
Annia Leradine blinks again, a bit confused. Well, she knows about magic. She has no 'talents' into that, to go with what was being discussed before. And then she starts to float. She goes wide eyed, but moves herself to her feet as if she was standing on the ground. She hmms, and bounces a bit. "2m45s now. So..."

She starts to dance, without any hesitation it seems, as if feels the same as on the ground... except with the magic of course.. Given the timeframe, she knows of one dance that can be completed in that much. Maybe as a thanks, she's giving Alma a show, floating a few feet off the ground, surrounded by the dim yellow light, and with backdrop the rising sun between the Lindblum buildings. Quite the picture! You should grab your camera.

Alma Hyral has posed:
Alma remained seated during the entire spectacle. Thoughts of grabbing her camera never crossed her mind. This was their little secret. Their little bit of fun.

She watched Annia dance, with a wide smile, that was perhaps a touch sad, maybe even envious.

The thought of why Alma just didn't do this all the time, may have came to Annia, during this, as the girl just continued to sit there on the ground, one hand on her chin.

And once it was finished..all Alma would say is.. "Y-You were s-sublime. T-Thank you."

Annia Leradine has posed:
Annia Leradine finishes the dance after the elapsed time, and very gently lowers herself to the ground again, with the last bit of magic, while giving a theatrical flourish as a thanks. "I'll teach you to dance if that's what you'd like. Limits are something you impose yourself. If you want to do something, you take the steps to do it, simple as that. And if you really can't, at least you can't regret ever trying." She even offers a smile at that. A rare sight for the bully.

Alma Hyral has posed:
"I t-think I'd like that..." She'd smile at Annia in reply, "Y-You know... I d-don't think a-anyone will ever ask me to d-dance.. but m-maybe.. just m-maybe.. I'd l-like to k-know how, and be r-ready in case someone d-does... and if not. T-Then maybe I'd j-just like to d-dance for myself..."

Probably to those sappy love songs she listens to all the time on the radio.

Annia Leradine has posed:
Annia Leradine nods "You don't need to dance for anyone but yourself. That's what I do. You're the first one that really watches me dancing for the sake of dancing." She crosses her arms at that.

Alma Hyral has posed:
"R-Really? I'm the f-first?"

She seems, completely shocked by that, "B-But you're so good. I'm s-suprised you don't have a-audiences all the time who just want to see you d-dance.."

She tilts her head to the side, regarding her with a thoughtful look, "W-Well then. T-That's who I-I'll dance for then, u-until I know how."

Annia Leradine has posed:
Annia Leradine nods "Well, I mean dancing to show of. I've danced at events, but that was social." She frumfs a bit thinking about that. "Anyway, just don't tell the others that I'm being nice to you. They might start thinking I need to be nice with them too."

Alma Hyral has posed:
She'd just continue smiling, "O-Oh, I w-won't. I-It'll be our s-secret.."

And then she gives her a questioning look, "J-Jidro has never asked you to d-dance?"

Annia Leradine has posed:
Annia Leradine shakes her head "Never really had that chance to, honestly. We don't spend that much time together. Our parents decided on the wedding, not us."

Alma Hyral has posed:
She'd place her chin in one hand, as he regarded her with a thoughtful look. "Well.. m-maybe one day it'll be your d-decision too."

Annia Leradine has posed:
Annia Leradine lifts her shoulders at that "Who knows. That's why I'm giving him a chance to be more of a man and prove it. Its complicated, but he seems determined to make it work out.

Alma Hyral has posed:
"Is t-that what you w-want in a man?" Another questioning look. "I h-haven't really g-given much t-thought to what I'd w-want. M-Maybe just someone who's s-sweet, and i-intelligent. S-Someone I could t-talk to under the stars for a-ages and n-not notice how m-much time has passed."

Yeah she was definitely a hopeless romantic.

Annia Leradine has posed:
... That actually brings a bit of thought to the dancer. She pauses, thinking. "... I never really thought about it, to be honest. I didn't want anyone with me. So to imagine how the special person might be, I don't know." She hmms, and scratches her head "... I guess its not very fair or Jidro."

Alma Hyral has posed:
She'd just shyly smile at Annia, "W-Well, maybe you should t-think about it. M-Maybe he'll turn out to be w-what you're l-looking for after all."

Annia Leradine has posed:
Annia Leradine shrugs a bit "I guess I always expected that person to be more dependable than he is, but... I really don't know Jidro all that well either..."

Alma Hyral has posed:
"Well.. m-maybe you've gotta d-depend on him a little to f-figure out if he's d-dependable." She'd shrug her shoulders, while still smiling.

Annia Leradine has posed:
Annia Leradine taps her ear a bit, hearing the radio piping up "Looks like the others are up, I guess its time for breakfast." She doesn't elaborate on the possibilities with Jidro at that point, but she's going to think about it.

Alma Hyral has posed:
She'd slowly get up at that point, brushing herself off, "Well let's go see to them, then... And.. this'll be our secret, I promise. Wouldn't want them to think you're going soft.." A small grin, as she walked back into the Lindblum Inn.