12 [Location: Central/Josef's place] Party Post

[loveawkward]

Entrances had been made. The people of Taxon, some of them at least, had arrived. As the sun was setting and casting the room into shadows, the lights began to come up. Twinkling white lights on the balcony around the pool, mood lighting throughout the room to separate the loft into differing areas for different events. Light music played throughout the main room, though at poolside was a section set aside for dancing as well.

Pausing to overlook the affair, for a moment, Josef felt like he was still back home.

Well, minus the bevy of beautiful women offering up a vein at the snap of his fingers. He was still getting used to that loss, which hurt more keenly than most.

((ooc: Come one, come all. Feel free to set up your own posts or use the starter areas. Josef's place is a massive loft, with three separate rooms including a bedroom with an oversized freezer in it. There is also a rooftop pool area with a wide wall overlooking part of the city.))

Comments

Dancing

[loveawkward]

By poolside there was a cleared dance floor. The music came from an electronic source that is likely controlled by the tablet of those that chose to fiddle with it.

...or ogling - whichever floats your boat, Bagoas is a happy camper

[thepersianyouth]

After a bit of trial and error, mostly involving jabbing fingers at the tablet (and then simply asking for assistance from the host himself), Bagoas finally finds a piece of music that speaks to him and his long standing love affair with drums and rhythm and musicality.

He leaves his bright red kaftan folded neatly on one of the poolside wooden lounge chairs; wearing matching trousers that reach to his ankles underneath, and a long-sleeved, form-fitting top that come to a stop at the lower edge of his breastbone, hugging his ribs and leaving his mid section completely bare despite the chill.

He gives Josef a mischievously demure smile, telling him he would do a poor job of dancing for entertainment if he was covered from head to toe.

Now he moves over the dance floor, hands and feet painted and bare, for once dancing solely for his own amusement.

[loveawkward]

That Bagoas was going to dance, and not ask Josef to show him there his kind of dancing, made Josef's night even brighter.

That was not his word for it as the caftan came off and Bagoas wore that delightful outfit. Not even playing things subtlety as he moved to lean against the wall to watch.

His pale eyes were bright with amusement, lips curled into a half smile. His toe tapped to the music, remembering the first time he'd heard Benny Goodman. He'd certainly been wearing something entirely different, and the mood hadn't been nearly as cheerful. Odd how being abducted was better than war.

Not a threadjack, just another admirer

[threelivesdown]

This is unexpected, certainly.

Selina watches, the champagne flute held lightly in her hand. If she were going to make a list of things she thought she'd see tonight, this wouldn't have been on it but she's pleasantly surprised. There is something about the movements and the expression on Bagoas' face that calls her attention.

<3

[thepersianyouth]

For someone so short of stature, when he moves he seems to stretch for miles like the winding road stretching forever onward. He spins, holding on to the edges of his veil, making it stretch out like a sheer fan behind him; every now and then he'll catch the eye of someone, snap his hip forward in a series of rolls and pops that has his belly moving like a separate, living thing.

...almost as if to say interesting?

join me?

Or, in some instances, can you do me one better?

With the right account this time...

[threelivesdown]

Selina knows herself well enough to know she cannot dance - at least not like this. If there were a fight, she'd be okay. She can even handle a tango or two if the situation calls for it but this is something else entirely. It is rare that she feels envy but there is a spike of it as she watches.

She's very conscious of keeping her body language interested but politely neutral.

[loveawkward]

Pushing away from the wall, Josef moved to where Selina stood. "He's amazing, isn't he," he murmured softly, the words nearly a purr. "That he can even move like that amazes me," he admitted, glancing at her thought most of his attention was on Bagoas.

"Do you dance?"

[threelivesdown]

"Not like that," she says, still watching. Selina glances to Josef before looking back at the dancer on the floor.

[loveawkward]

Josef chuckled, nodding. “Neither do I,” he said, watching the sleek lines and sultry movements of the man before them. “I don’t think I could do some of those bends and twists if you cracked my spine to do it.”

And in his mind that was a compliment.

[threelivesdown]

"I'm pretty sure I could bend like that, I just don't think I could make it look so... artful," she says for lack of a better word. She's fairly certain, at one time or another, she has moved in those positions but nor for art and not for elegance, either.

[aintnoconvict]

Simply ogle? When this song is playing? No, no, never, it's impossible, so Glitch takes his slightly glittered and springy-haired self out on teh dance floor with a twirl and flourish.

And a smile for Bagoas of course, and for a memory of the ballroom that doesn't cause an immediate pang. He doesn't possess the younger man's pure fluidity but he does have his own grace and confidence, his own joy in movement and music.

[thepersianyouth]

One second, there is no one and nothing but the music and rhythm; the next, he catches out of the corner of his eye a familiar face, and he turns just in time to see the smile and return it in full.

There is something to the art of dancing to entertain and delight; another entirely to share the floor with someone else, and truly share it. It is a small sacrifice for someone who thrives on being at the centre of attention, when the mere presence of this someone sends one's heart fluttering.

He touches the fingers of one hand to his forehead in unspoken greeting, then quite unceremoniously hooks his arm with Glitch's - side by side, isn't that how it should be? - and bumps his hip in blatant challenge.

In so many words: shake that thing.

[aintnoconvict]

What is it the kids say these days? Challenge accepted?

Glitch bumps back with one of his breathy chuckles and briefly brushes the fingers of his opposite hand down Bagoas' forearm. A little greeting, a little welcoming, a little connection to make his own heart leap.

"Remember this, Bagrat?" he asks, breath carrying a hint of spirits and lime and mint, and gradually settles into the rhythm with some of the footwork they'd practiced. And some loose-jointed...well, "grooving" is likely the only word for it, neither leading nor following but finding a home in the beat.

[thepersianyouth]

Bagrat bursts into a happy bout of laughter at the name; utterly delighted and caught in a moment of absolute unmasked cheer.

"How could I forget?!"

He follows, then decides to up the proverbial ante with a bit of flair of his own - and what better way to do a tutor proud than to showcase what you've learned?

He shifts his hold on Glitch's arm, placing it at the base of his shoulder blades, his own resting along said arm and Glitch's neck.

He was particularly fascinated with that side-by-side dance Glitch showed him in the ball room when they danced for the first time.

Charleston anyone?

[aintnoconvict]

Only always.

The shift gets a full-throated laugh of delight and Glitch holds on tight, losing himself in the kicks, the steps, forward, back, right left, one two three four five six seven eight. Bagoas is a perfect warmth at his side, keeping the evening chill away (or is that the dancing, or is it both, or does it matter?).

And really, as much fun as he's had with other dance partners in Taxon no one else has been able to follow along with his instincts, really keep up, really made him bring out his best.

"Aren't we fantastic?" he asks, sneaking a quick nuzzle at his friend's temple.

[thepersianyouth]

The rhythm is addictive, the joy it spreads infectious, both intoxicating like sweet wine and Bagoas for one never wants to escape its hold. To share it with a fellow dancer only adds to its draw, and within minutes that might as well be years, he has taken the veil from his hair and tied it low on his hips.

And, oh that soft brush of skin means more than he thinks Glitch knows. It signifies more than just touch: it is acceptance, open and honest and completely uncaring of who might see.

To think such a simple token of affection could be more than he's ever had in front of others.

"Yes," he sighs, catching his breath on a twirl that brings them face to face. "Perfectly singular, the pair of us."

[aintnoconvict]

Horror of horrors Glitch misses a step, but really it's not his fault he's suddenly distracted and blushy. There are those eyes and that voice and those moves and...

No, he doesn't fully appreciate it since those little tokens of affection, the brief demonstrative moments are second nature. So much to learn, so much to teach, and as Glitch clasps Bagoas' hands and settles into the new dance he wonders how much time they have for it.

...but there once was a young lady (who was much wiser than she gave herself credit for) who freqeuntly reminded him that having happiness now would make any future better, so he sent his worries packing.

"Hope folks aren't jealous," he remarks with a sparkly little smile. "Or, y'know, intimidated by our skills."

or actually dancing.

[aintnoconvict]

There's a Glitch hovering by the dance floor for a portion of the evening. It must be noted that he's fairly close to the best there is at what he does, and what he does is kinda pretty.

That thing is of course dancing, and he's got a range from the waltz to the schottische to swing to...well, stuff probably best suited for a bonfire and a drum circle.

He likes dancing with people, any people, so no one be shy about asking.

[genequeen]

Dancing!

Maddy can do this! Or at least she can do this with Glitch because he taught her how to dance. Even just a little bit. She's got to relax a little bit, though, which she's having a bit of a time doing.

[aintnoconvict]

Well, Maddy can be assured that it won't be anything too elaboarte. For one that dress kinda puts a limit on footwork, and for another...well, Glitch is saving her final exam (as it were) for Annual's End.

This, though, they can work with. Slow, simple, and universally familiar.

He offers his hand with a grin and a half-bow. "May I have this dance?"

[genequeen]

There is a test? No one said there would be a test...

"Of course, kind sir," Madelyne says as she takes Glitch's hand in her's, giving the best curtsy she can in the dress. She's trying to be light-hearted while she's here even if her mind is mostly elsewhere.

[aintnoconvict]

"Why thank you," Glitch says and bobs his head. He holds her left hand in his right, places his left hand on her waist (shrugging that shoulder to show where her other hand should go), and guides them into a sort of casual waltz. It's something they've practiced, not too challenging at all.

"Enjoying the party?" he asks.

[genequeen]

Her hand finds his shoulder and she does her best to think about the steps without thinking about the steps. If she concentrates on them, it looks like she's concentrating on them, which isn't the point of this at all and it looks strange. "The party is lovely. It is good to see ... people."

She was going to say everyone but not everyone is here, are they? Scott's missing at the very least.

[aintnoconvict]

It's all right, he gives her hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze and smiles softly. He hasn't really kept up on Scott's strange disappearance, figuring he needs some time for himself and the others have it covered. Aware but on the barest fringe.

"Yeah. I've been kinda going all hermit-y since the big song and dance thing stopped. It's good of Josef to host this."

And he pulls back slightly, raising their joined hands. A spin, m'lady?

[genequeen]

The ex-husband she still loves has gone missing and is possibly being tortured or something somewhere by fuzzy aliens from hell. She's a little distracted. That plus Tony Stark and his... charming self... Madelyne is distracted.

"The song and dance thing was... Well, it was. I understand keeping to yourself after all of that," she smile is there but it is a bit wobbily. She nods and raises her hands looking to take a spin around with Glitch. It helps strengthen the smile, even if briefly.