{Dancing} With Fire ((open))

[DeLuna a' Moon]

Dancing with fire

TIME STAMP
58th of Spring, 510AV
Evening
[OPEN]

It had taken a great deal of patience to wait for the night to fall. During the time of which, she’d spent crossing a large amount of ground to set some traps out. Most of the traps were of a medium to small size, not all of them her own but as part of the belongings to the clan as a whole. It would allow them all a greater chance at luck in having a good outcome. At the most, they would possibly trap hares and foxes come morning after a night’s time.

Upon her return, Luna immediately made plans to dance for luck and favor. Mud paints were prepared in mostly colors of greens and whites due to her associating to the emerald clan. Two others that had helped set out traps also made their own preparations, retrieving their drums and getting a fire going.

The fire pit had been prepared a short distance away from the pavilions and while it was still light, Luna took her hands and fingertips and used them to paint her body (what wasn’t covered at least). Taking care not to cover her windmark that she admired so much, her fingertip dragged patterns of green and white over her face in strong lines and soft curls; following in suite with her arms, abdomen, and legs. Her hair left down, green ribbon and cloth intertwined in various and randomly placed braids.

By the time she’d finished, her drummers were ready and the fire was ablaze. From afar, just their silhouettes stood out against the painted skies of red, orange, peach, and pink. Her figure stood tall and slender compared to the others seated at one side of the fire. What began as just a small issuing of taps accompanied by slight and graceful movements on her part slowly grew louder and stronger. As darkness came nearer, the beats of the drums continued on.

It took a great deal of body control as Luna turned on an axis and stopped to face the fire, reaching her arms up and lulling her head back with her waste cocked out to the side slightly. The pause was brief and the drums silenced, until they picked back up again and Luna contracted back into motion. Her hips swayed and rocked fluidly to the beat of the drums while her arms did anything but hang there as decoration. Much like serpents, they decorated and finalized every movement she made. Ever part of her seemed connected to the beat as though she were pounding on the drums herself.

[Dhanya]

Apples were one of the finest delights in the world. Pygmy's teeth pierced the red skin, sinking into the crisp flesh beneath. It was the closest she could come to understanding how predation might feel, the twisted satisfaction of unmaking something. The tang of blood on your tongue, though in this case it was apple juice.

Pygmy took another crunchy bite and savoured it. She realised she could hear drums in the distance. There was a beat that you could dance to. She wiped her chin with the back of her hand and walked off in the direction of the music. She saw the fire first, ringed with people, a small bright spot in the dark night. She hadn't seen a bonfire in Endrykas before, she'd assumed the grass caught light too easily.

She saw DeLuna as she paused her dance, tipping at the waist before exploding into movement again. Pygmy wondered if they allowed others to join in or whether she was looking at a performance. She took one last bite of her apple and tossed the core.

It wasn't a dance she recognised, though aspects of it were familiar. Not quite zeltivan belly dancing, though similar. The zeltivan version, as with all zeltivan dances, was a controlled affair. Not as vibrant as what she was seeing now.

Pygmy watched and in watching, learned.

[Acacia]

Meandering around the town became a common occurrence for Acacia. Endrykas was losing some of its novel feel, but Acacia still liked it here. Today as she walked, she rebraided her hair. She twisted three sections of hair patiently: over, under, switch, repeat. Her weaving matched her steps perfectly.

In the distance, she heard drums. She wouldn’t even had noticed the sound had it not disturbed her rhythm. She grumbled, running her fingers through her hair and starting over. However, despite her annoyance, she wanted to know why there was drumming. She followed the beating until she reached the bonfire.

A celebration perhaps? Coming closer so that she could see the people circling it and the dancer, Acacia realized that she was once again witnessing something she had never seen before. Curiosity piqued, she wanted to know who they were, why they were dancing, and what they were doing.

Looking around, Acacia noticed she wasn’t the only once standing aloof from the fireside. Some distance away was the girl from the tavern. Pygmy was her name. She looked over, trying to catch her eye, but Pygmy seemed to focused on the dancing. One could hardly blame her, with the firelight it seemed to have an almost hypnotic appeal.