and there's no turning back

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

Comparatively at ease as he draws them out onto the dancefloor, Danta has no qualms in ferrying Maea along in his wake, murmuring a greeting or accepting a pat or a touch from the various strangers(?) they pass until they're enmeshed in the music and movement of all those around them.

"You don't," he says, having to lean down to speak to her in order to be understood, a crooked and fanged smile on his face. "No thinking. Just move." So saying, he'll take her hand if she allows to twirl her in place, before succumbing to the beat and the warmth the other bodies pressing in close.

Drunk enough and already chaotic enough by far to be at ease in a setting, Danta clearly neither knows nor cares what he looks like - what either of them look like - thinking of only how he feels as he moves to the music.

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Maea

I feel it in the wind, my dear
The sun is gonna reappear

No thinking, huh. That was like asking rain to fall upward. How was she supposed to stop the ceaseless torrent of impressions, judgement, notes and comparisons that filtered through her mind at any given time? Was there something in being shoved this way and that by people she didn't know that escaped her? Danta was the only solid thing in this confusing ocean of people. Maea let him take the lead, and found herself twirled round and round, until her vision blurred and her feet began to move on their own.

Gods, but she felt awkward. Lamely stepping this way and that, doing some silly wiggle of her shoulders, it felt so horribly different from what was going on around her that she had to be doing something wrong. No thinking was supposed to be the theme, but Maea couldn't help it; she looked at Danta for some clue on what to do with herself, scanned the crowd for something that might be a common theme... But there was none. Some bounced, others spun, and some - she quickly turned away, cheeks burning - were grinding against one another in very suggestive ways. Alright, so looking was a bad idea.

So, what if she didn't look?

Squeezing her eyes shut, the world shrank. Into the beat of the music, and the push and pull of the crowd, to the hand she kept clinging on to so she wouldn't get separated from her friend. If she didn't see them, she could almost think of them as waves, like it was the ocean rather than sweaty bodies that bumped into her. It made it easier to breathe. Let some tension out of her shoulders... and suddenly it became easier to keep up. To sway along, until her face flushed with exertion and warmth rather than awkward unease.

Daring to peer up at Danta, a sheepish laugh escaped her. Maybe it wasn't so bad... maybe it wasn't even all that difficult, this dancing thing.

Good days are gonna come along
Hold on, hold on!

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

At least there's no judgement coming from Danta - not that there ever would have been, given the Maverick's personality and proclivity towards chaos in general. Content to keep her hand as an anchor point, Danta is already lost in the music himself, in the sway and the rhythm and the alcohol singing through his blood. More than content to use the press of the crowd as a guide as to where the dancing started and ended, he peers down at Maea as she glances up at him, offering her a mischievous grin for her trouble.

"Told you!" He laughs, snagging her hand to draw her closer as someone tries (foolishly, in the Maverick's opinion) to get past with a tray of drinks. More than one person - Danta included - is forced to duck not to be hit, though he finds it more funny than anything. "Easy, right?" He winks.

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Maea

I feel it in the wind, my dear
The sun is gonna reappear

She had to admit, it really was. Laughing and nodding, elation cast a light over her expression as the usual wariness slipped away. Staggering a bit as she was dragged out of the way of the waiter - she didn't have to duck, only evade the elbows of those who did - she bumped into him, smashing her nose against his chest - and entirely on impulse Maea brought her arms around him in a hug.

"Thank you." It wasn't entirely obvious what the gratitude was for. Nothing, everything; she wouldn't be able to put words on it if asked. She was just... feeling it, she supposed. At least until she realized what she was doing and made to let go, flustered over an act that in her mind was awfully forward and close and unasked for, and gods, she couldn't just throw herself at people like this.

Good days are gonna come along
Hold on, hold on!

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

"Oop-- careful!" Danta can't help but laugh as Maea is carried forward and into him; he's wondering whether he's about to cause an impromptu nosebleed for all the wrong reasons, when suddenly the pale Ancient's arms are wrapped around him instead. "You are very welcome," he tells her indulgently, still swaying to the music even as his arms slip around her in turn.

It might make it a little more difficult to let him go, if she's that committed to the cause, though Danta is none the wiser. "Assuming you're thanking me for the dance," he adds, "and not for bumping into me. Because that, my dear, might be a type of kink." Laughing at his own bad joke, the Maverick is clearly content where he is.

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Maea

I feel it in the wind, my dear
The sun is gonna reappear

If anything, the easy reciprocation confused her enough that all intentions withered into nothing. Maea could count on one hand the number of people she had hugged over the past year. With Danta, that would be four. All of four individuals trusted enough to get that close, with oceans of time passing between occasions. To say that it was overwhelming and strange didn't even begin to cover it; but she said nothing about it. Nor did she try to wriggle herself free. Perhaps he would notice the tension that came and went, or the way her hands trembled against his back - but then again, it could just be from lacking skills on the dance floor.

"Oh no," she replied, laughing a little shakily, glad that the awful joke could help conceal the crisis she was working through. "The depravity... I'll never be able to get married now." Unbidden memories of her trysts with Sunjata made her wonder what he would say about some of her actual kinks... but knowing Danta, he would probably be unimpressed. Opting to save face, she focused on breathing instead, and relaxing into what was proving to be a warm and alarmingly pleasant place to be.

Good days are gonna come along
Hold on, hold on!

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

Unaware of Maea's internal crisis and instead drunkenly enjoying the slower rhythm of the music and the way he simultaneously wants to dance forever but also fall asleep on the dancefloor, Danta blinks his eyes back open as he hears her voice. "Listen," he says, barking out a laugh, "anyone who doesn't also have a little bit of depravity in them isn't worth marrying."

It doesn't matter if Maea had been joking - the point stands regardless, not that Danta is or ever would plan to be married. Drawing back again to give Maea another little twirl across the dancefloor, Danta's smile is as lopsided as it is suddenly exhausted. "I think," he says, like it's some grand admission, "it may be past my bedtime."

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Maea

I feel it in the wind, my dear
The sun is gonna reappear

Amused, she hummed "Probably true. Maybe I should watch myself a bit more carefully. The last thing I need is a gaggle of suitors to make life more complicated." Her wry smile was self-deprecating and full of irony, finding the notion utterly unimaginable.

Twirling with more ease and some actual grace, Maea was genuinely disappointed to find that the evening was drawing to a close. "Awh, that's too bad," she replied with a sigh. "How come you're suddenly the sensible one?" She felt like she could go on forever, spinning until the colors of the room blurred into kaleidoscope patterns and all her worried faded away. Maybe she was simply too tired. Maybe it would catch up soon, if she sat down again.

"What are the odds of me making it back home, you think?" Squinting towards the exit, she tried to gauge her level of sobriety against the risk of falling asleep in a snow drift and the indignity of asking for a room to crash in. Alone. The pity on the workers faces whenever she left in the morning would never not be humiliating.

Good days are gonna come along
Hold on, hold on!

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

"More complicated or more exciting?" Danta grins, because if nothing else, a gaggle of suitors would ensure that Maea's life is never boring. As for being the sensible one, Danta can't help but scoff a laugh at that, waving a hand at her as he wombles off the dancefloor so he can go and collect the rum she's kindly gotten for him from Torchline.

"I'm wasted," he clarifies with a wink, "and we had a long day. Building portal entrances and all that." And then getting very drunk over a very short space of time. "I think you could flip a coin," he says, referring to the likelihood of her making it home. In other words, fifty-fifty.

"Or you could just stay here." He gestures around at the brothel in general, of course not knowing her thoughts about asking for a solo room.

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Maea

I feel it in the wind, my dear
The sun is gonna reappear

Fifty fifty, huh. "Those are awful odds," she groaned, following in his wake just because she could. "And I don't have any coins on me." And if truth was to be told, she wasn't overly interested in trundling through snow for an hour to get back home. She sighed, resigning herself to the indignation. "I did say it felt like home, didn't I... Guess I'll take you up on that then. Got any spare rooms?"

Nabbing a handful of the treats while Danta retrieved the rum, she popped a grape in her mouth. It was unexpectedly hard to leave. What could have been a quick goodnight and see you later was turning into a lengthy affair of lingering and hovering, extending the pleasant moment for as long as she could. Relieved to have the chill between them dissolved, glad to be back in familiar settings, perhaps a little nervous that this state wouldn't last once the buzz wore off... But of course it would have to be put to test sooner or later.

Good days are gonna come along
Hold on, hold on!

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

"Or very fair odds," Danta reasons, grabbing up his rum and beginning to totter towards the direction of (he hopes) his own bedroom. "I imagine there are a fair few. You're here before the Longnight rush." He winks. "Or you can share mine, but," and here he lowers his voice, whispering it like it's a secret (it very much is not), "there are already two people waiting for me in my bed, so it might be a bit of a squeeze."

Tittering to himself and swanning away once more, he bids a very fond goodnight to the pale Ancient before excusing himself, whether or not Maea chooses to follow. If she doesn't, she'll easily be able to find herself a spare room - an empty one - to spend the evening. And if she does? Well, that's up to her as well.

~FIN

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!