ic Strange Like Me (IC)

[Gizmo]

Erik looked over the group of teenagers and replied quietly, "Let's go with scarves to start with. I think we maybe work up to 'soft hands' with some of them." They were about to give the kids enough new things to keep track of as it was.

 

Taking the trio of brightly coloured silk scarves Talya handed him from the cabinet he proceeded to hand them out to Benny, Leroy and Pan respectively. "Here's how this is going to work," he announced, gesturing for the three of them to space out across the floor of the space. "The three of you tie those to yourself somewhere then pair up. Talya and I are going to walk you through some basic steps; what we do, you do. At the same time, though, each of you is going to try to be the one who's holding the scarf at the end of the dance. Questions?"

[RocketLord]

Pan rolled back to put in the space, his feet sliding across the floor leaving just the tiniest amount of golden dust behind where his feet had been but moments before. He held the scarf in his hand, playfully moving it around a bit, distracted by it for but a moment, before he tied it around his wrist. "Just one: We have to stay on the floor, yet? No flying?" He sounded almost disappointed, like he had already guessed the answer to the question, but of course, it was quite obvious.

 

Making sure the scarf was tight against his right wrist, he then shifted his position slightly, holding out his open right hand towards Eira, a devilish smile on his lips, a challenge in his eyes. "Shall we, then? Try to keep up, yes?" 

Edited April 5, 2020 by RocketLord

[alderwitch]

"You want to be subtle," Talya said with amusement. "Flying is rarely subtle. Contact is allowed, obviously. This is a combat course so it's acceptable to bruise. Try not to maim your friends. Bloodstains are the very devil to get out of the flooring and we don't have the mats down."

 

She gave Eira a fond smile as she passed the woman. Talya tended to compartmentalize a bit more than Erik so on the studio floor, she was all teacher rather than fond almost-aunt. Talya moved through the teenagers correcting a foot placement here or a hand there. Once she was satisfied, she returned to Erik. Taking a position opposite him, Talya rested one hand on his shoulder and the other lightly in his hand. "Hand on the bicep if you're following. Hand at the lower part of the shoulderblade if you're leading. Those of you who are leading, it is your responsibility to not careen your partner into other couples. This is about precision, not flattening the entire dance floor. Those of you who are following, it's on you to not try and wrest the control from your partner. You want to interpret one  step at a time, don't predict the dance. This is a conversation in movement, when done properly."

 

She nodded to Erik, letting him take a step backward, "When he steps back, I follow with the opposite foot; his left goes back, my right goes forward. When he steps forward, that leg goes back. There are three elements to the dance. Compression, where distance is closed. Tension, where we pull apart and leverage, where Erik will use my momentum for the next movement. You don't want to force the movement of your partner." 

 

Talya paused, turning her head slightly to check on the students as they found a partner and formed up. "We're going to start simple, alright?"

[Avenger Assembled]

Eira put her sword away with only moderate annoyance, the prospect of being tied to Pan being interesting enough that she was willing to explore this possibility. "I will catch you in the air for the next one," she told him, smirking as they squared off together and waited for the signal. "I am much stronger than you," she added. "You had better be careful letting me grab onto you like this." She leaned in very close as the music started, and said, "I might break something." 

[angrydurf]

As they were instructed to pair up Kam moved opposite Leroy with a small bow, "As you asked I believe tradition dictates you lead."  he suggested with a slight smirk and extended a hand for the taller boy to take as he assessed Leroys comfort on the dance floor.  He had heard all about the ballroom class he'd attended with Judy so Kam knew he wasn't entirely unfamiliar. 

 

At the mention of bruising he raised a brow, "So dance fight is not then metaphor I see."  he murmured and carefully watched where leroy secreted the scarf as he waited.  He was focused on his opponent for the exercise and not watching Eira and winced slightly at what he was concerned might have been an attempt at flirting.   He spared a glance for Benny and Davyd to make sure he was aware of the space each pair occupied and squared up ready to begin.

[TheAbsurdist]

Benny laughed as he was paired off with Horrowshow, and he looked at Davyd, "So, youse gonna be nice widdis? Or am I gonna hafta slap away pseudopods?" His brows lifted, as he looked at the scarf, before he moved and worked the scarf around his bicep, as he tied that scarf around that.
 

"I ain't really one for dancin before, but if I wanna go ta prom sometime, might as well'," a nod before he laughed a little bit, at the situation. "Youse wanna lead or shall I, Davyd?" Resting his fists onto his hips as he looked at his de facto partner.  Which, thus far he got along okay with Davyd, so he didn't see a problem.  But then the lug that was Benny might have behaved in meatheaded ways that could be taken wrong.  The culture shock was real, his response had to be a little outgoing, cause all he had prior was boxing, and that hadn't changed.

[RocketLord]

"I could be subtle," Pan tried, but he let it go, instead turning fully to Eira as she moved close. 

 

His face lit up as Eira leaned in close, telling him that she was much stronger, that she might break something. "Ah, but Eira, my dear friend, if you were to break something,"[/color] he paused briefly, as he tended to do for dramatic effect, while his grin split even wider before, "then you will have to catch me first!"

 

Pan pulled back, following Tayla's instructions. "I will of course lead!"

Edited April 6, 2020 by RocketLord

[Dr Archeville]

Horrorshow

 

She's been a spy?  Hunh, I wonder how she got into that.  I wonder how I could get into that?

 

Davyd chuckled at Benny's question.  "Mister Erik said I'm to use my own muscles, so I'm guessing he means I am to stay in this form.  Which I will try to do," he gave a small shrug, "though I'm sure you might prefer dancing with someone who looks more... feminine."  He curtsied before the bouncing boxer, then offered his hand, "maybe they'll let me change a bit later.  As for leading, I get the feeling you'd be more comfortable doing so, so let's go with that.  For now, anyway."

 

[Avenger Assembled]

It didn't work. 

 

Eira was trying, or giving a good imitation of it anyway, her face screwed up in concentration, teeth gritted - but she couldn't do it. She bumped heads with him, she smacked into the side of the wall with her wings, and by the time they were done she'd almost fallen on her ass in front of everyone. She'd also never so much as touched the scarf, the look in her eyes promising bloody murder if it came her way when she hadn't earned it. 

When the music was done, she excused herself quickly to walk back to the bathroom. 

[Ari]

Lighter on his feet, and stepping with grace, Leroy tied his own scarf in an elaborate bow around his gold-threaded neck, extravagantly beckoning Kameron to the dance with a flutter of his long eyelashes.Twirling into the women's side of a stately(if somewhat overly simplified, to Talya's trained eye) waltz, the Dragon Prince bounced energetically through the steps, spinning and swooping with an abandon that coincidentally kept the bow out of Kameron's reach.

 

"Ooh, Mr. Kingdom, you could conquer me any day!" he said, laughing uproariously as his roommate swept him into another deep dip that had his long hair nearly sweeping the floor.

[angrydurf]

Leading a taller partner wasn't entirely familiar to the tall Dakanan.  Kam had a passing familiarity with the principles though no formal training.  He did however have a reserve of natural talent.  He was a natural though certainly not on the level of the supernaturally engaging performance put on by Pan.  He gracefully spun and dipped Leroy taking full advantage of the other boys tendency to lose focus when not immediately engaged.  In one low dip the loosely knotted scarf fluttered loose from Leroys neck and Kam snatched it from the air as he flung the taller boy upright once more.  

 

Maintaining his grasp on the scarf became a matter of keeping the scarf in one outflung hand as he flourished from one showy move to the next.  His long limbed partner would have all to easy a time regaining control of the marker should he allow them to close to a close carriage.  He maintained the distance as the song came to an end unsure when precisely the exercise was at an end.  His eyes flicked to eira as she fled hte dance floor and cleared his throat as he presented the scarf to Talya with a flourish, an attempt at drawing attention from the embarrassed android and to himself and the teachers.  "Would not a more efficient method be to have a partner on the floor to pass the object to after acquisition?"  he inquired prompting a continuation of hte lesson on a perhaps tangential methodology whilst Eira regained her composure, "It seems this is a very similar methodology to the slight of hand practiced by pickpockets yes?"

[TheAbsurdist]

Benny looked at Davyd with a funny expression, before he started to speak, only for it come out a stammer, "I mean, yeah, I guess? I went to Catholic school, so's, gotta leave space for Jesus..." The big lug blushed a bit and shrugged, "But, yanno, I box and grapple, so I am comfortable doin' this."

There was a shrug, as he held out his hands in in a way that would look like he was gonna dance, and then he did just that, not doing a full partner dance like a waltz, but he started to do the Twist, humming a long to the song, though off key, he could keep a rhythm.  No, no he didn't like this, it was a show off, and a whole 'pick up the advanced concept now, or fail, sorta scenario,' it when against Benny's fundamentalist approach to this. He wasn't Gene Kelly or nothin'.

[alderwitch]

Talya's keen gaze missed nothing but she smoothly took the scarf from Kam, turning so that her body took the primary focus and allowing Erik the chance to slip off after Eira if he so desired. 

 

"Indeed," Talya agreed, taking the scarf that he offered. "Everything is easier if you have a partner that you trust. Unfortunately, all too often, we work alone or with people we don't know all that well." 

 

Talya reached out and knotted the scarf around Kam's wrist before gesturing for Leroy to come closer. The blonde bombshell stepped in to slip her hand into Kam's, her hand on his lower back as she took the lead. Her heels made them even height and she slowed down her movements, so Leroy and Kam could both observe. "It is, indeed, a bit of slight of hand. Similar principles. So, I press you forward a bit. I step, pushing into your space and I watch your eyes. The moment you have to drop your gaze, or you glance away to check the space."

 

Her hand shifted in his grip, slipping the handkerchief off. Even slowed down and telegraphing the movement so both teenager caught it, Kam barely felt the fabric move until his wrist was bare. "It doesn't have to be big, or flashy. You find the techniques that work for your body,  your skills and your style."

 

She handed the scarf to the boys again with an easy smile, "Try again, yes?"

 

Having settled the two of them, she moved on to Davyd and Benny. She caught Benny's slight flush of frustration as well as his style of dance that wasn't really anything like what they're teaching.

 

She reached out, lightly tapping Benny on one shoulder to get his attention. "You're overthinking it." Talya said gently as she got their attention and pulled that pair to the side as she sent Kam and Leroy back to the floor. She looked from one boy to the other with consideration as she assessed their skills, trying to decide whether it was the same-sex pairing that was the hurdle or just ambient discomfort. "It's alright if you've never done anything like this before. The school sent you because they thought our training might enhance your skill set. I'll walk each of you through the basics, alright? Who'd like to go first?" 

[Dr Archeville]

Horrorshow

 

Davyd was two inches shorter and about 50 pounds lighter than Benjamin, so it was easy for him to be lead by the pugilist.  And he had some experience with dancing, though not much, having worked on a few high school musicals.  So, he focused on reading Benny's body language, the subtle physical and visual signals he gave off -- intentionally and unintentionally -- and on maintaining whatever moves he initiated. 

 

At least, that had been the plan.  But then Benny started doing The Twist, and Davyd wasn't quite sure how to work with that.  He muttered a brief thanks when Talya interrupted, then raised his hand, "ah, yes, I'd like to go first, please."

[Gizmo]

Erik silently stepped around the corner wall toward the restroom with the same ease and misdirection that they were attempting to teach to their students. He stood outside the bathroom door with his arms folder, waiting long enough that he could indistinctly hear one of the boys replaying to some question Tanya had asked before clearing his throat. “Hey, kid? I’m not the roboticist in the family but I feel like you probably didn’t just hit the frappuccinos a little too hard before class, yeah?” He waited again, looking up at the ceiling with a wince. “Do you want me to ask Min to come down? Or would you rather talk to Vince?”

[Avenger Assembled]

One of Eira's friends from school would have gotten at best "I am fine, don't worry about it" and at worst "Mind your own business." Dragonfly, Ghost Girl, or Miss Americana would have gotten a full confession - Citizen most likely a wordless hug. 

 

What Erik got was a soft but firm "I do not need help like that. I am not -"  She didn't finish - but she did open the bathroom door. A normal teenage girl would have been fighting back tears, or had let them free - but Dragonfly's little marvel hadn't been normal in any time since Mara had first brought her over to meet VINCE. She'd folded her wings back inside her torso, and changed her pretty flapper dress into a more sensible black tanktop and shorts. She looked at Erik with pale blue eyes and asked, pain curdling around the edges of her voice. "Why is it so easy for  - you?" 

[RocketLord]

Pan paused, looking after Eira with a puzzled expression. He seemed a bit lost, as Erik moved after Eira, and Talya focused on the other students. He held up his wrist with the scarf, and slowly untied it, passing it wordlessly between his hands as he moved closer to Talya and the other students.

 

He didn't really seem to focus on them, in any way. Instead, he seemed like he was just listening, looking around the room.

[TheAbsurdist]

The tap made Benny's spine stiffen, and he stopped doing what he was doing, a big hand rubbing against his bicep, "I-" He closed his eyes then, and drew in a slow breath.

 

"Yeah, I am. S'what ya do with new stuff. I mean... Yeah, okay." Whatever he was going to say he dropped and he rested his hands on his hips, hooking thumbs in belt loops, as he stepped back and let Davyd and Talya do their thing.  His jaw setting as he watched.  He had enough discipline to grouse internally, rather than do it out loud. He didn't see himself doin' fancy soirees, or nuffin, he saws himself bouncing and punching, and that was it. But someone thought he'd be a good fit for this? Okay, give it a try. Worst thing he had hurt was his pride. Though he wondered if there were any Soda shops still in town, or if there was a place to get a decent malt.

[alderwitch]

Talya smiled. It wasn't the sharp-edged smile that she was so famous for. This one was gentler. Kinder. Talya had spent years turning her charisma and charm into a lethal weapon but she was equally able to turn it to something a little more human and a little less intimidating. She turned towards Davyd and took the scarf. She tied it quickly around her own bicep before she stepped in to partner up with the teenager. She settled one hand on his shoulder, their others clasped at eye height. Where Kam and Leroy had grasped where they might use this skill, Talya could tell that there was a lot less comfort with this cluster of teens. 

 

"We teach this because it teaches multiple skills at once," Talya explained as walked Davyd through the basic steps. She glided backwards, letting Davyd take over the lead once she'd walked him through a basic combination first. "Not only do you have to keep your eye on the room, as well as your partner, you have to read their body language and the subtle cues. It is almost impossible to know the tells of every fighting style, every opponent. You can be good at fighting without learning how to read any opponent and adapt,  but you'll never be as good as you could be."

 

Talya smiled slightly, "Right now, Davyd has to consider how to get the scarf from my bicep, know where Kam and Leroy are - know what direction that they're moving in - and understand how I'm going to move all while keeping his own body in motion."

 

She paused then, gently bringing Davyd to a stop as she included Pan and Benny in her explanation. Her expression was sober and even the mask of her smile fell away as she fixed them all with a serious expression. It was the first time that she'd let her mask drop fully for this particular class. "No teacher can prepare you for every situation that you'll face. What we're giving you are building blocks to give you the best possible chance." Talya waved one hand towards the studio, "I went to war at nineteen with a background in dance, a knack for languages and a pretty face and I turned those into weapons. I don't expect you to do it exactly like I did. I do expect you to adapt to your situation."

 

Talya nodded at Davyd and turned to Benny to gesture for him to step forward. "Start with trying to get the scarf, alright? We'll go from there."

 

She offered a ghost of her usual devil-may-care smile. "We'll try it my way first and then, perhaps, see if you two can work together to take me out."

[angrydurf]

Kam nodded thoughtfully at Talyas reply.  Such situations were unlikely to be completely under ones control of course.  He fell into the steps as the instructor tied the scarf to his wrist trying to split his attention between her instruction and keeping the cloth in place.  Of course the subtle wordplay mentioning watching his dance space sent his eyes to wander the room and granted her the moment she needed to loose the scarf.   He was certain he noticed the absence only because she wished him to.

 

He watched as Talya stepped in to instruct david and copied her placement tying the scarf around one bicep, harder perhaps to maneuver but also harder for his opponent to surreptitiously lay hand on.  He followed Leroys lead this time maintaining focus on the other boys movement, while he had to follow the cues he was able to keep his own spin on the steps he hoped.  When Leroy managed to finally turn him out in a step that put the scarf in reach he knew he was beat.  

[Gizmo]

Erik gave Eira a shrug, palms upward, his expression one of rueful commiseration. "Why is computer stuff so easy for you? Or, like, speaking Swedish? Maybe you got some advantages going in but it's not stuff you were born with, yeah? Took time and work." He nodded back in the direction of the training floor. "You wanna talk this specifically, well. Making it look easy is the whole point. Hey, look at me." The swordsman indicated himself from foot to head. "I'm not smart like Mara or mi hermanita. I'm not tough like Steve. Compared to the wives I've got mediocre powers and basically zero experience. I've gotta work my ass off to keep up. But if the guy I'm fighting knows that it's game over. I need him to know that I know I can beat him."

 

He crossed his arms, still leaning against the wall. "I spend probably more time training that you spend in class. Making something hard look easy is one of the hardest things there is. So hard I should open a school or something to show people how to do it. Oh wait." Erik gave the teenager a lopsided smirk and raised one eyebrow.

[TheAbsurdist]

Benny's expression was... unreadable?  Or hard to pick up a clear thread.  He wasn't amazingly deceptive, and he had the whole 'lug thing' down pat, but he peeked the corners, and glanced around him, at them.  One of the blessings of his powers were preternatural reflexes, and heightened kinesthetic sense.

And he was content to watch, to listen. He certainly wasn't going to presume he was better than the teachers. And they had engaged business mode, and that workman like mentality, and boxer mentality of 'if I am standing at the end then I won' was keeping his attention.  Even if he didn't talk about his past, but since they were picked for this, then all of his day to day practice times would likely have been given.  Unless they didn't do that?

 

He didn't pretend to get a lot, it frustrated him. It made him sigh, and he broke his rapt attention away, rubbing a hand against the back of his thick neck, before pushing it away to return to his attention back to the lesson.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Okay." Eira stepped out of the bathroom with her hands in her sweatpant pockets, looking a little frazzled but ready for what came next. She gave Erik a quick smile, teeth flashing, then walked back across the floor to join Pan. "I want to try that again," she told him seriously, staring at him with pale blue eyes. "But I want to try it slower - and without so many distractions." For the others, she spared neither a look nor a word. 

[RocketLord]

Pan's attention turned away from the lesson, back towards Eira as she spoke. He smiled, tying the ribbon around his wrist, holding it up so she could see it, then offered his other hand to her.

 

"Slower it is, then." He raised an eyebrow, making sure to look directly into her eyes. "Distractions, I can make no promises." His tone was playful, but a bit different from before. Maybe a bit of hesitation or worry?

[Dr Archeville]

Horrorshow

 

Keep an eye on the target, an eye on my partner, an eye on those around me, an eye on- ah, crud!

 

As Davyd tried leading Talya through the moves she'd just shown him, she noticed the hair at the back of his head was not moving the way it should, not quite following the movements of his head.  Then she saw two eye stalks pop out and peek around, one at Kam & Leroy, the other at Benny.  To his credit, he only faltered once, and was able to keep up the dance at a decent pace.

 

When she brought them to a stop, the eyestalks had already retracted, and his hand went up to rub the back of his head.  "Sorry, sorry.  I'm still working on that."  He bit his lower lip, looked to Talya with big (more than human-ly big) watery eyes, "sometimes my body, it gets too adaptive."