Dancing Across... Where? [Flashback, Open]

[Alanys Hyacinth]

Summer 20th, 507 AV

The long ream of silk connecting the cocoons swayed gently under Alanys’ feet as her weight shifted. Her fingers, which were long and slender things, were working a swath of deep blue into a secure knot on her slim calf. Her willowy body was wrapped in long strips of violet fabric, which would have been burgundy had she been performing for someone. Her ruby eyes gleamed, the pupils wide and leaving only a thin ring of red around them. Adrenaline coursed through her body, her weight adjusting to give her more stability on the silk below her bare feet.

A Symenestra dancer had to always be ready for a fall. One wrong move could cause a slip and drop a brittle body down on to harsh, unforgiving ground mercilessly. Symenestra were a strange bunch, both daredevil and cautioning. A race running towards extinction that enjoyed the fine arts of moving weightlessly across barely there webs when a fall could spell death. A crushed spider, blood and gore spilled on Kalinor’s underside, Alanys Hyacinth was one such person who enjoyed the danger, she loved the feeling of weightlessness as she spun along a horizontal string, her loose swath of cloth trailing behind her and ghosting her every movement, creating an almost hypnotising demonstration of beauty.

A small smile danced across the spiderette’s pale lips as she took a deep breath, her gaze focused singularly on the ribbon of silk before her. Her chest rose and fell and she felt a thrum of excitement float through her body. Now was the time.

Without notice, Alanys twirled onto the web in a graceful, starting out adagio. This portion was more of a stretch for her, slow and luxurious. Her indigo silk followed her movements as she pirouetted, the fabric continuing the former movement as she did a half-cartwheel across the web, she wasn’t that proficient in acrobatics, and so she knew the benefit of being careful when suspended several feet off the ground with no safety guard and a breakable body.

If anyone would come up on Alanys, she would not immediately take notice of them. Her focus was on her dancing, and a distraction could give a young Symenestra a terrible fall.

[Poison]

He had been on his way to the market, to buy a few rare, fresh fruit that traders had brought from a surface, a much needed variety in his somewhat dreary diet when he noticed her. There was something about her that compelled him to come closer. He walked quietly. He didn’t make a single sound. His feet almost didn’t seem to touch the ground. It was as if he were floating in the air, not unlike she. He put his still empty basket where he had intended to put the fruit on the ground and sat down on a nearby rock, again quietly.

He didn’t move at all, but simply watched her. His amethyst eyes were focused entirely on her. He had seen dancers like her before, but they never ceased to amaze him. She was graceful. Of course every Symenestra possessed a certain kind of grace, but he knew that he would never come close to that. He raised his hands, about to applaud, but then he decided not to, fearing that she would fall if she were distracted. He waited until she took a break, until both of her feet were touching the Web before he clapped his hands.

If she decided to turn around and not merely continue her dance, she would see him. He was a slender Symenestra man, almost deathly pale with deep black hair and large violet eyes. His clothes were fine silk, unlike anything that the humans possessed. His feet were bare so that he could climb better, and his hands ended in black claws. He didn’t appear to be old, in his twenties, maybe, and there was a gentle smile on his face.

[Alanys Hyacinth]

She had taken no notice of him until he clapped, the sound resounding in the cavern’s deadly silence. Her eyes lifted to look up at his, her body still to keep from overbalancing and tipping the silk the wrong way. How embarrassing it would be if she would die only because she fell. She’d be labelled a clumsy Dancer. Her mother would turn over in her grave.

When she turned and saw that the one who watched her was just another of her race, she smiled slightly. That was good to know. She didn’t like the idea of an outsider wandering Kalinor unattended, or even one of those little Symenestra coming along to watch her on their disabled fingers and toes. How they managed in Kalinor was a mystery to Alanys. They, like their fathers, would need assistance from [i]real[/i[ Symenestra to do anything of note. Briefly, she wondered if she should just continue her dancing and pretend she hadn’t taken notice of her fellow Symenestra, but she decided against it due to that fact that she would be coming off as rude. Anyway, she hadn’t seen this Symenestra much before, for while his face came off as somewhat familiar she couldn’t place his name. Curiousity urged her forward to meet with him, and she never went against her curiousity.

Slowly she walked forward, keeping her balance on the web with the hooks on her feet that allowed her to adhere to essentially any surface. Her fingernails clicked as she came forward, but she remained on her Web to give her new acquaintance some space. She waited for him to say something now.

[Poison]

As she turned and smiled at him, he smiled as well. His violet eyes seemed to shimmer for a moment, and then he rose from the rock where he had been sitting and came closer until he was standing directly in front of her web.

He met her eyes, and then he extended a slender, pale white hand to help her off the web, if she needed help.

„You are Alanys, aren’t you?“ he asked. He had a pleasant voice. „Alanys Hyacinth. I couldn’t help but watch you. You dance well. I hope you don’t mind my presence.“

It occured to him that she might have chosen this place for a reason, because she wanted to practice her dance without anybody interrupting her.

Did she want to be alone?

[Alanys Hyacinth]

She gave him a slight smile as well, and accepted the long, pale hand of the other Symenestra. She hadn’t expected him, or indeed anyone at all, to come upon her in her dance, and so surprised was she that she was beginning to think she was being inhospitable, in which hospitality to her kin was something she did not want to lack.

”Yes, I am Alanys,” she said with a slight smile. ”I am afraid I haven’t had the pleasure of your acquaintance yet. What is your name?”

His comment brought another smile to her lips as she looked up at him. ”It’s fine, in all honesty. This is my favourite place to dance, for it is even quieter than many other places in the city. I am flattered you enjoyed my dancing, however. I don’t think I am so good myself.” Now she let loose a quiet self-deprecating chuckle. She was rather pleased to have company, and if she needed to dance some more later than she’d return here and continue. It felt rude to ignore a possible new friendship, or a new recruit actually.

Her eyes settled on his basket briefly and she wondered if he’d been about to go shopping when her dance had interrupted him.

[Poison]

„I’m Avarys“, the man introduced himself. His hand lingered on hers a moment longer than might be considered appropriate, and then he let go and offered her another soft smile. "Avarys Anthurium, and I assure you, whatever you have heard of me isn’t true. I’m a perfect gentleman.“ His violet eyes were filled with a hint of mischief for a moment.

The Anthurium Web was infamous. Avarys and his cousin owned the Weft and Warp, the weaving school of Kalinor, and there were rumours that they were much closer than relatives should be, supposedly the reason why the young man wasn’t married yet. Some also claimed that he was a little amoral, but people claimed a lot of things ...

„It is quiet here, that is true“, he agreed. „I prefer a little silence and solitude myself every once in a while. It’s easier to concentrate if there aren’t dozens of people near you. As for you not being good, I dare to disagree. I’ve watched a lot of women dance, and you are better than most.“

His gaze followed her to the basket. „I’m afraid that there’s nothing of interest in it. It’s empty. I was just on the way to the market, but the food can wait.“ He turned to face her again. „You could dance for me – or with me – and then I’ll tell you whether you are good dancer for sure. What do you think of that, Alanys?“

He extended his hand again, this time in an invitation to a dance.

[Adavi Brevissima]

He’d stumbled upon the female dancer accidently some months ago. It’d been a hard day at school with difficult subjects that needed full concentration on his part but, filled with classmates of endless emotional distraction. Adavi didn’t much like school. The learning was good, each day his mind flowing with new facts and information; it was a powerful sensation really, something that set him above those of younger years who had yet to learn as much. What Adavi didn’t like about school were the people. It’s not as if he didn’t enjoyed interacting with people his same age. Small groups or one on one was fun, but in a crowd their disorganized mass of emotions bombarded him like small pellets. Over the years he’d learned to block most of it, but for some reason today had been too overpowering.

Leaving class early he’d gone to find a quiet private place to practice with his slingshot. The slingshot was an unusual thing, at once both a childlike toy and a potentially fatal weapon if used properly. He’d found it a few days ago in market and had fallen in love immediately. It was of Hebrean design and perfect in its simplicity. He’d bought some specialty made bullets to go with it but, so far had been substituting with similarly sized stones. The bullets were special the boy thought, and not something to be wasted on an armature.

That was how he’d found her. Slingshot tucked securely away he’d come across the women suspended in an unearthly cascade of shifting cloth. Adavi had seen dancers before but, never a show like this; so personal and poetic it was, as she danced for no one but herself.

Suspension was a dance like no other and the boy often wished that some day he too could perform this awe inspiringly dangerous art. Often he’d wanted to ask her but, was held back by fears of his own clumsiness. What if for some incomprehensible reason she did agree? What an embarrassment he’d make of himself. No, it was much better just to watch. He learned best from watching anyways, though with something as illusionary and distracting as suspension dancing there were so many finer points lost amidst the shifting cloth.

For its size Kalinor had a relatively small population. So finding out the mysterious dancers name had been a simple task. Alanys it was, Alanys Hyacinth, an odd name for a girl, but pleasant to the ear.

Like all other days he’d brought his slingshot for practice in case she wasn’t there and had hidden himself away at her approach. Today was different though. Today he wasn’t the only one watching.

His name was Avarys Anthurium. Adavi had seen him a number of times at the weaving school. The boy had put little thought into the man or the rumors surrounding him at the time, but now he tried to recall what little information he’d paid attention too. The result wasn’t much, so Adavi put his mental churning aside and focused instead on the scene at hand; his large eyes flitting curiously and sometimes childishly hostile between Alanys and Avarys. He’d found her first after all and he didn’t like the interest Avarys obviously had in her, and even less the budding interest Alanys was beginning to show for him.

[Poison]

„Look, somebody is watching!“ Avarys remarked as he noticed Adavi, somewhere at the edge of his field of vision. He said that more to himself than to Alanys. „I wonder what he’s doing here. Is he as fascinated by the dance as I am?“ The weaver arched a pale eyebrow and smiled a little, revealing pointed, shimmering white teeth. He looked from Alanys to Adavi and back as if he were trying to come to a decision, and then he shrugged his shoulders and walked over to the boy.

No, walking was not the right word for what he was doing. He almost glided, danced. Avarys Anthurium was a graceful creature. In another life, if he hadn’t had a duty to his Web, if they hadn’t been such an essential part of Symenestra society, he might have been a dancer himself.

„Shouldn’t you be in school, boy?“ There was a certain, offensive undertone as he said this. Avarys could be very charming if it suited his purpose, where a woman was concerned, but it was obvious that he didn’t care about childen, despite the important part that they played in Kalinor. Most of his peers were desperate to become parents so that the Symenestra race would live on, but Avarys was perfectly happy with the way things were now. He was in no hurry to become a father.

„You are far away from the city center, little one. What’s your name? Do you need help? Does your heart beat faster at the sight of a woman as beautiful as our dear Alanys?“

[Adavi Brevissima]

Adavi froze as the man’s gaze focused on him and his heart began beating nervously. The boy thought he’d hidden himself well; clambering up a nearby rock structure and plastering himself against its most shadowy surface. From there he’d had a good sloping view of Alanys, but obviously the spot wasn’t as secretive as the boy first believed as Avarys had noticed him right away. And now the man was walking over pointing out his existence for all to see. Adavi felt somewhat ashamed but mostly embarrassed when Alanys shot him a miffed look, before gathered her things and leaving in a huff.

The boy frowned, Viratas, now he’d never be able to ask for lessons, and what did Avarys what to talk to him for anyways. He was just a kid, no one important. Adavi looked down at the Symenestra below, he’s young face dropping into a sulk that only child dramatics could pull off. A sulk which proceeded to deepen at Avarys’ snide comment. School? So what if he'd left school early? That wasn't any of Avarys business, and he wasn’t doing anything wrong by watching… right?

From his hiding spot the boy’s feet clung a good 2-3 feet above his elders head, but he gave a couple of quick glances around anyways wondering if maybe he should climb a little higher. It’s true he was somewhat far from the city’s center and more heavily populated roads, but the thought that Avarys might hurt him was brief and translucent. Besides, he had a heads start up the wall and there was a niche further up he could use as a vantage point for firing stones. Shifting he’s large eyes back upon the older Symenestra Adavi ignored all but the man’s last topic of questions.

“I was going to ask her to teach me.” He said the sulk still evident in his voice. “But now she’s mad.” He finished the accusation in his tone clear that this was somehow Avarys fault.

[Poison]

„Aren’t we all a little mad?“ Avarys asked and laughed before he cast a glance at Alanys who was quickly disappearing from his sight. The woman didn’t have any idea what she was missing. It wasn’t often that he showed an interest in somebody besides his beloved Alessa. She should have considered herself lucky! But no matter, he knew quite a few women that would give anything to be in his company for a while.

„You wanted to learn from her?“ The weaver’s eyes widened, and there was a look of pure surprise on his handsome face. „So you weren’t interested in her because she’s such a pretty girl? I’m disappointed.“ He pouted a little – an entirely fake pout – and then he laughed again. „Well, obviously you can’t learn from her anymore, boy, and I don’t know anybody else who could teach you.“

As he said this he climbed to where Alanys had been dancing only a short while ago and began to move. Avarys‘ style was different from Alanys‘, and his dance wasn’t perfect, but it was nevertheless fascinating to watch. „Why do you want to learn how to dance anyway? As far as I know, none of your Web are well known dancers.“

He furrowed his brow a little as something occured to him. „Unless it was something else that you wanted to learn from her? Although I can’t imagine what that could be …“