Midnight Moontribe; Dance of The Swan & The Raven [Black Waltz/Vanderlou/Open]

[Mn`dharrowrynn]

TS: Winter of Immanis 10th Brightening

Mn`dharrowrynn heard the last of a nightingale song just outside her canvas flap. Her legs shifted beneath the blanket as she lay there, staring at the ripples of wind sprawling across the roof of her tent. The rhythm of the gales moved the roof of her tent like a snakes dance moves across the Arakmatian dunes. She eyed the subtle patterns, unable to sleep, restless and hardly feeling the effects from dance routines that seem to consume the greater parts of her morning, noon, and night. When the winter wind issued a mighty proclamation she quickened, and yet she hardly felt cold; contrary, she was sweaty and agitated. Too busy dreaming of what to do next, where to go with all the needs, all the possibilities; just one more step to take before a feeling of completion and purpose could set in. Why was the grasp of freedom so utterly intangible?

Tearing up from the bed, she let a river of linen sheaf robes puddle down to her agile feet. Stepping into a second skin of leather, she slipped on a snug bust of stitched hide strips, stretching into that tightly woven lattice of intricately spun patterns now clasped firmly around her writhing upper body. Suitably pleased, she grinned to herself then laced black pantaloons billowed at the ankles, and cinched tight at the waist; a desert fashion to give the garment flutter and volume.

Over those sheer and supple folds she belted a heavy leather war skirt; a customary raiment of the wild elves whom dwell deep within the Restwood Forest or Silverwood Haunts of Tawnleaf. Split in four quarters, the garb could, if one were so inclined, accommodate a rank of tiers with three razor-slim plates of steel for the purpose of dancing a bloody swath across any appropriate battlefield. On this particular early dawn Mn`dharrowrynn wore the war skirt without any fire forged tassels. Slipping a pair of simple sandals on, she felt confident there was no turning back now. She stepped out into the Carnivale grounds, then quietly vanished in pursuit of a rumor.

She wouldn't be disappointed once she breached the Kitsune District. One of the dance troupe members had mentioned something in passing to their friend or acquaintance, she couldn't have been sure and wasn't paying attention. They gave a nearly mute clue about dancing stones and shivering window panes. It seemed entirely ridiculous, but when the other exclaimed, "...You mean so-and-so is playing drums?!" It was followed by a reprimanding hush, but Mn`dharrowrynn followed the notion on a whim. The functions of life had been taken too seriously, and as she stood on a thread the last few brightenings, it became apparent that she had neglected herself in some crucial way.

When she turned the North Alley bend, following a low hum, she came to a sudden epiphany as that particular alleyway saw the stones on the ground bouncing just a little, synchronized to each throttle of distant vibration. Her eyes searched down the alleyway, taking note of the window panes that gave a light shutter to reflect the rhythm on point. Her expression beamed, and without pause she started to advance the alley, ducking into the cavern-like alcove where she took note of others coming and going, creating periodic bottlenecks at the entrance. This must be place, she thought. Striding like she was born to be there, the elf blew past the others like a sleek breeze, narrow as a knife when she pierced the crowd and schooled herself like a shark for the center of the dance floor. Everything of the forest trailed on her wild features, from the leather filaments shaped like leaves, down to the live vines woven into her ebony and emerald locks.

Once that thunder hit she found herself at that most perfect state of intensity. Beads of sweat welled, filling her vision with ghosts and gods, a burning, and a gasping for breath. Every calculated undulation of hips and languid upper body isolation became a ceremonial gift, exerted between hypnotic breaths, so quickly, so easily understood and embraced on common ground. Where a glance met her she smiled, and where those brushed, touched or bounced, she merely vibrated a heavenly peace with herself. She came here to dance, to give homage to the self she left behind in Syl'rosya.

[Vanderlou]

Having struck it rich practically overnight with a business venture wherein he gambled his life savings Vanderlou in his rare moments of decadence had decided to congratulate himself in the only way he knew how - by drinking as if there were no tomorrow. As a rule he was against all forms of splurging so he took the precaution of bringing only enough money with him tonight for his entertainment, though even that meager amount was more than ten times his salary back in the day when he still worked as a waiter.

And it seemed that his quest for the ultimate cold beverage would lead him here, to a nondescript looking building that seemed to draw in groups of teenagers by the dozens. He had been told that for a small sum of almost fifty crowns he could have as much alcohol as he wanted and not wanting to waste the opportunity he hurried inside after a brief transaction where he came out with a crimson chit danging from his neck.

Just as planned he started his drinking spree, lighter drinks at first though witch each glass he finished a stronger brand of liquour seemed to appear to replace it. By the fifth glass he was starting to wonder if drinking another down would be in his best interests but wasting the perfectly chilled liquid ambrosia seemed like a worse sin and with one swig of glass he finished his sixth shot of alcohol.

As the half-vagaran continued to nurse his drink in hand a face amongst the throng of slanted-eyed people caught his attention. An elf, a lovely one who seemed for the most part to be thoroughly enjoying herself dancing and for a moment Vanderlou considered joining her though he dropped the idea as quickly as it came. No, he wasn't that kind of guy. Of course like any other man he did want to be but despite his boyish looks he was far too shy to even express himself the way this girl did.

As he took another sip of his drink he sighed and continued to watch the Silrosian dance and he said to himself, "She's pretty easy on the eyes though."

[Black Waltz]

As Vanderlou gazed upon the Silrosian elf's fleeting dance, another figure would have popped up right in front of his eyes. A rather seductive, charming, Kemite lady stood in nothing but a small top and an equally small skirt in front of Vanderlou. "Well what are you waiting for? Let's dance!" The woman dragged Vanderlou up to the dance podium against his own will, knocking his drink out of his hands as she smiled sweetly.

She wrapped her arms around him, regardless of how he felt, and started to move to the music, slowly closing the distance between Vanderlou and herself until finally her bare body touched his own, rubbing gently against him. She adorned a pleasant aroma, a sweet smell capable of luring most men into her grasps. To Vanderlou's surprise however, Mn'dharrowrynn stood only a few feet away from where he was.

[Mn`dharrowrynn]

Her form whirled with absolution, beads of sweat welling at her brow, caught in a full explosion of sensory overload that washed over her. She was at her most perfect state, feeling the rapture of each intricate movement, eyes a blur, body moving to articulate rhythms while the crowd appeared to swim in a similar vibration. Mn`dharrowrynn envisioned tendrils of connectivity seeping from her flesh, feeling over the crowd, taking the form of phosphorescent light, psychedelic with its pattern. Her laughter only intensified a self-induced lush of joy for the moment, feeding off the collective energy of those that danced beside her. With a swimmers arm she dove into the gnashing forms, easing into a second skin of pure and ephemeral bliss. Unabashed, she felt faces, touched arms, embraced forms, and circled her quarry with a sharks intensity. The half elf near her struck Mn with a reflection of home, however vague and fleeting, enough that she smiled into his face then crossed the threshold, snaking up from behind him to close the quarters that he attempted to hold between himself and the kemite woman. Escape was almost nil at this point.

"Tell me you're a local. I need a laugh." She chuckled, hoping it didn't offend the half elf, but truth be it, she didn't expect to find anyone else aside from more Kemites, and maybe some tourists, but he seemed to move like he belonged here. It quickened something inside her, presenting the she elf with a possibility of connecting. Those thoughts could scarcely be revealed in her expression-- a visage that drank of the seelie delights and appeared to suffer at the bend of aching facial muscles-- a symptom of too many smiles. Invading their territory, she carried a banner of revelry, celebration, and aboriginal ecstasy into the lands of these dancers.

[Vanderlou]

Exactly what was he supposed to do now that he was effectively trapped in intimate quarters between two beautiful women he wasn't sure, but he couldn't say that he wasn't enjoying the pleasant stimulation that the kemite woman was graciously providing him. Now, while it was true that the lovely young thing grinding against him was distracting it proved to be an impossible task to ignore the elf who was just too easy on the eyes.

"I'm a local," he returned the elf's contagious smile. "So what are you here for, just the music or do you have a date?"

Really though, he found her presence comforting to some degree. With Amelia out on vacation and him running the shop in her absence he hadn't had someone to talk to who shared even a bit of his features and now, here was a woman who was completely elven - judging by her ears alone, though why was she in the city? Didn't most purebloods prefer the safety and calm that the wilderness offered?

[Black Waltz]

As Vanderlou seemingly cast away his temporary Kemite companion, she would have simply left the warmth of his body, heading to the next capable suitor, losing herself to the melody of the music. Violins and a wide assortment of Zinn'Sunnese string instruments intoxicated the scenery with jaw-dropping artistry, seemingly painting a canvas to the ears, a fusion-esque gateway into the psychedelic. The uniqueness of the music was parallel to none, marked by the virtuoso's who played each instrument with a finesse incomprehensable to those who were unfamiliar with Zinn'Sunn's praise-worthy musicianship.

[Mn`dharrowrynn]

She wasn't here for game, hell, game recognized game, and many of these males were looking kind of unfamiliar to her narrow and keen black orbs.

"This is it!" She beamed, sighing ecstasy when the music reached a crescendo and the bodies contorted to the rhythms of such celestial and elegant fury. She was unable to answer him, he could see the trance in her eyes, but she wasn't gone from him. "You don't feel that?" She touched his arms, then he felt a strength much more unexpected from one her size, pulled on by an arm that was accustomed to swinging a blade. The lithesome lily unfolded with liquid steps in a back-peddle toward the center, offering the half-elf a pathway with her single suggestive finger beckoning at him from the other upraised hand still waving freely in the air.

The darkness of bodies and warehouse depths came to swallow her form, teasing eyes with a few colorful flashes of her woodland body dressed down in leaves and vines, moving before him as a phantom from the past, a flickering flower beneath the abrupt flashing hues of violet and azure lights. She could smell the liquor on him when they'd been close, but his eyes were humane and maybe she lied to herself, maybe she was charged by the energy of the celebration, but she thought she saw something real in them for a moment. She chanced it by posing him with a geas; a challenge to be free and unrestrained with himself, if he could do that now, she reckoned it would be easy to be there for him, if he needed it. But something inside her believed that if he let go, he'd be just fine.

[Vanderlou]

So it was simply the music she was here for? It was a refreshing answer to say the least. Usually people never visited places like these simply for the music or a raw desire to let go and dance to their heart's contents, Van was more or less certain everyone in the Rolling Thunder right this very moment had an ulterior motive for their being here, be it for the simple pleasure of drinking, to socialize or for the hunt of the opposite sex. This elf definitely stroked his interest and without even realizing it he followed her, though dancing was another matter entirely.

He couldn't bring himself to dance as she did, for one thing he wasn't in his element and another was that he wasn't so confident in his ability to dance. Sure, he could probably dance as well as the next ordinary man but he didn't see how he would keep up with her - she who seemed all too lost in the rapture and ecstasy of the beating drums.

"I'm sorry," he gave her a gentle bow, despite the cramped position the dance floor provided. "I'm not really... well... I'm not so comfortable here."

[Lorelei Wyn'Fallai]

Feeling the loss of her family intensely tonight, Lorelei realized suddenly, as she sat alone in the forests this chilled night taking occassional tokes from her pipe, that it has been a long time since she gathered up her strengths in a bag and discared the seemingly non-elvish shyness and intense sadness she often felt on eves like this. She hides it so well, but then...

she does not have so many friends to speak of...save for her late Morrowyn.
She sighs heavily, taking another drag of her pipe; deeper this time.
She silently mourned her family for a long time--the silence encompassed her much like the night and the cold. Falling into her mind, she heard nothing for a long time--time had no limits in her meditative states...it always fell away.

Excited footsteps startled her from her trance. Lorelei saw the passersby from a distance of about 50 feet. She could see they were decked out in heavy, but very beautiful party garments. She listened to their conversation closely and overheard Kitsune, party, and music.
That was easy enough. Lorelei almost felt as if she manifested this, but of course that was a bit of a bold thought--she giggled to herself modestly and realized, in happy wonderment, that her mood had changed so quickly with the beautiful decked-out dancers who passed her on a mission.
She jumped up and decided to just follow them. She stopped almost as immediately as the thought came to her mind. Lorelei looked down sadly at her garments. It was a buck-leather dress she stitched (large, horrid stitching) in haste when her old one fell apart. It's the easiest garment to make. She just took two rectangular pieces of leather, sewed them together at the neccessary edges and left arm holes and a head hole. The dress almost had a potato-sack feel to it. And of course, no shoes to boot.

Her excitement outmatched her dilapidated attire, so onward she went; half-running, for at this point she might lose them. It did not take long to find where the gathering was held. The farther she followed, the more travelers, vagabonds and partyers seemed to group. She funneled into the tavern and immediately, the music took her away.

Sighing happily, she let her feet guide her to and on the dance floor. Immediately, as she was starting to focus on who else was around her, Lorelei's eyes found a beautiful, sweaty, and extremely happy elf maiden dancing like she had never seen any elf, or being for that matter, dance before. This elf seemed so strong and tough, something Lorelei has always wished she posessed. She realized she had stopped dancing and was now gawking. She laughed and shook her head at herself. Somewhere deep down though, she wanted to muster up the courage to talk to her...

[Mn`dharrowrynn]

When ghosts and gods had smiled on the two, Mn`dharrowrynn kindly touched Vanderlou's brow as he bowed, then moved to cradle his cheek and all that encompassed the left half of his cool ashen visage. "It is well with me to breath the air, and see the abyssal above blanketed dotted silver-dew," dear, she had a glazed look in her eyes as well, but Mn`dharrowrynn had consumed nothing. Susceptible to the environment, her body trembled with these intoxicated youthful kemite rituals to nothing but the night. She could feel the surreal heave of losing control, basking in an awesome glow of dancing and writhing forms. She could smell the free-flowing liquors and sense the hedonism stalking predatorily along the fringes.

"I never understood what humans saw in dancing indoors. It's beautiful outside." Winter had been kind to Zinn'Sunn, but she wasn't thinking clearly when she said that, it was surely breezey. Nevertheless, Vanderlou must have been on his fifth, no sixth coat of liquor. He should be dandy and warm, more than anything else.

"I am Mn`dharrowrynn. I'm staying in Zinn'Sunn for a while, dancing but not in any social clubs or courts." They'd have made it through the door, unfettered had the satchel with legs not crossed their sight. Mn`dharrowrynn could not refrain from a double take, eyeing the curious form that stood off to her side, staring without apology as her and Vanderlou had turned to leave. She saw her pensive, as if she wanted to approach. Why not? There were hundreds of kemite, one other elf, and a half elf, dear childs, come over, Mn`dharrowrynn thought. We're all friends in strange lands, of course. She moved to wave the she elf over, stepping faster as she saw the haphazard outfit. Was she just mugged? She glanced back over to Vanderlou with a want and concern in her eyes, like there might be trouble.

She'd never think the elf girl had just wandered into the eastern cities and lands from, well, one can never be certain of where at this juncture.

"Vedui`," she said, like a formality, when she'd finally reached Lorelei. Her trust for Vanderlou was set in moments, that she'd looked again to him, a dependence that spawned from being a stranger here too. She needed friends more than anything else, and fate had weird ways of demonstrating omens. This darkening was a genuine display of coincidences that can be coincidences no more.

"Are... you traveling?" Lorelei looked like a wood sprite who got lost and wandered out of the ancient forests, a flicker of dark tress and lavender stares that spoke of faery expressions, what was she doing in a place like this?

[Lorelei Wyn'Fallai]

Lorelei's lavender eyes brightened as she remembered what she came here to do...

She wanted to let everything go this darkening. Spending many moons wandering the outskirts of the Centripaxian Heartlands, she would meditate by streams and allow only nature to enter her heart. The happiness she felt when she was a small bobbin bubbled in her soul, waiting to be released. Then, it happened...

She felt the drum beats pulse through her as if her body contained a polar balance of shock waved rhythms building up and pressurizing. The only way it is to be released is for her to dance.

Lorelei remembered the dance of her ancestors, the dance of the elven kindred kith of the forests--not dancing for release, no...dancing for life. Her hips undulated and swayed to the cadence of the drums. Her arms moved around her like serpents dancing to muted tunes from a charmer's flute. It all flowed together like a symphony of art. Lorelei released her inner shackles and allowed her veil of mourning to release her into the light again. She closed her eyes and envisioned golden light encompassing her.

When she opened her eyes again, sweat poured into them. Quickly wiping it way and letting her vision clear, she saw two figures in front of her. It was the elven maiden and her male companion.

Shocked and barely able to mask her surprise, Lorelei replies, "Serale and Vedui`. She studied Vanderlou and Mn'dharrowrynn silently for a moment, almost sniffing them. How pleasant they both look...almost glowing, she thought and then,
"And I am not sure what you would call my venture here. Let us just say that it is a matter of the soul, the reason that I stand here tonight. Let that mean to you what it may, for I am still searching for the answers myself.

"My name is Lorelei Wyn'Fallai. It is my humble honor to make your acquaintance."
She flashed them both a most precious smile that had not been seen on her face since she was a small child. One that you would want to keep in a tiny glittered box in your pocket to warm and cheer you on chilled, rainy eves.

[Vanderlou]

The half-elf scratched the back of his neck as he awkwardly acknowledged the presence of the newcomer. Really, it was enough of a coincidence to meet one pretty elf-maiden in one night, but two? It seemed like Vanderlou had incredible luck when it came to meeting attractive women though this was offsetted by the fact that he couldn't actually take the initiative when he did encounter them.

"A pleasure," Vanderlou sweeped a hand across his abdomen and bowed gently. "I am Vanderlou, a wanderer from Enamoria."

"I hope you two aren't adverse to getting a table for three, I've been working all day and my legs are giving out on me." he motioned for one of the kemite staff, exchanged a few whispers with the worker to which the kemite responded with a hearty nod.

"Drinks are on me, are you two interested?"

[Mn`dharrowrynn]

Mn`dharrowrynn received Lorelei's diction and general presence with an equal amount of formalism, smiling softly, bowing in turn, wondering if she were brought up as the high borne, but something in her dress and the awakening of her words spoke far more than convential elven exchanges. She accepted the pleasant vibrations that started to circulate between the three of them, then found herself mechanically nodding to Vanderlou, for she was easily distracted by the music, and often eclipsed by such impression for the revels that she didn't afford enough attention to connect with other people. He seemed like a portal to authentic communication with another person, if not for more than to creep out of her own skin and take in something new. It worried her to think elvish isolationism was inherent, and not an accidental occurance of circumstances, but then her pull toward the forests and the never-ending roads seemed to wither at the social butterfly that once ruled over her actions. She use to be driven by friends and family, taking that road as a necessity-- a means of societal upkeep, though the universe seemed to be conspiring to reveal her much of the realms variety for more than just the purpose of sight-seeing, and she didn't seem surprised when she continued on the road, and no longer required the impetus of keeping contacts with scattered family, but visited only to keep the feeling of a memory at bay; keeping vigile against the sense that she may lose something precious before she'd come to fully appreciate it, and yet there was a weariness in her, as if the course she had taken toward security depleted her and distracted her from a higher calling.

Maybe she was thankful more than anything else, that her most recent events seemed provoked by a force beyond her control, moving her along, that she may absolve herself of the regret and finally leave her path in the hands of the gods--- to fate.

"Please," and she gestured for Vanderlou to lead the way, studying the other elf; inspired by her words, and intrigued all the same to see what omens brought her to such a conclusion, and more, what she thought it would all lead up to. Her eyes feinted back to Vanderlou, contemplating the paradoxes lurking beneath his being as well, wondering what inspiration would be unearthed between the two of them. With a serpents sway she kept pace with the half-elf, finding her cue to their table.

"Where does the human half of your ancestry come from, Vanderlou?" She didn't mean to be so blunt, and hoped he'd not been the subject of any ridicule for it, and that he'd immediately be able to sense that she wasn't the type of elf to prod the matter out of maliciousness, but merely felt inclined because he remarked at being a native of Zinn'Sunn earlier.

[Lorelei Wyn'Fallai]

Lorelei's formalities masked her lack of real, deep-rooted social skills. Her large and very intrigued lavenders spheres made their way to Vanderlou. The elfess had never seen a half-elf before in her life, though she did grow up amongst ash and brush deep within the Centripaxian Heartlands. Her schooling was limited to--or perhaps extended to--Naturalism; basic instinctual survival skills that any being, given similar circumstances, would attain easily over a lifetimes worth of exposure to Telath in her rawest, most respected form.

The elf child-adult realized after a few moments that Vanderlou had asked a question. She had been too involved in staring at his hair, hands, face and ears--studying really--as if to paint a solid picture of him in her mind. When she was finally aware of how rude her actions were, she turned her attentions to a more broad spectrum--staring at the ground, others dancing around them, tugging at her ears and generally staring off into the ether, occasionally giving a glance to Mn'dharrowrynn as well.

Within the moment, she felt as if she gave her savageness away, but the elfess was relatively certain that her scraggly hair and sack-like hide dress had given that away long ago. One could even look at her feet and perhaps assume, by the amount of mud and dirt caked on them, that she was a wild forest elf. As to how she found herself here in the eyes of others, well, it most-likely looked as if she got lost and decided to stick around for a while to make friends.

Mn'dharrowrynn had already answered Vanderlou's question and they were off to find rest for their weary legs. Following at their heels like a loving pup, Lorelei caught Mn'dharrowrynn's glance and for a moment, thought that she could not be too much older than herself...but after a second of study coupled with the way she seemed to carry herself, Lorelei suspected Mn'dharrowrynn to be closer to the age of her mother in comparison.

Sitting down next to her new-found friends, Lorelei felt a little more contented and relaxed. Quietly, she listened intently to their conversation and waited, with peaked interest to hear Vanderlou's response. Lorelei was hoping that she did not have to tell her story this darkening. She was still getting over it even after all these years. Mentioning it in any way--even thinking about it in this moment--just brought it back full-force. The elfess figured she could just continually diverge the conversation back on Vanderlou or Mn'dharrowrynn. Besides, who, no matter what race or creed, does not enjoy talking about themselves? Unless it's painful, of course...

[Vanderlou]

"Vagaran, barbarian-folk hailing from the cold north." he told her bluntly, not taking any offense at the question. "Not that I've ever lived with Vagarans, I was raised in the quiet countryside of Enamoria. So, if I were to warrant a guess you don't meet to many of my kind do you?" and it was probably true too, half-elves were a rarity, a breed that didn't belong to either worlds. They were either shunned by their elven brothers in disapproval or envied by humans for their gifts.

"Are you both from elven communities? I just get the impression that you two are. I've been to this village, Natura, its not a long ways from here. Its mostly elves that run that place and the looks you two are giving me reminds me of the people there, no offense meant of course."

Before the half-elf could say more a kemite waiter approached Vanderlou and tapped him lightly on the shoulders. He presnted the adjurator a small menu that the half-elf took from his hands, after skimming across the menu he looked back at the two women smiling. "The menu is in kemite so I'll just ask you this. Are you to vegetarians? Do either of you drink?" he pretty much decided on what he wanted already, stir-fried noodles, dumplings and a bottle of champagne. The question was if there was anything in the menu that would suit either girls.

If they two gave him their answers he would give the waiter their orders in broken kemite and return his gaze towards the two beauties on either side of him. "Question. What are you two doing all the way out here in Zinn'Sunn, business trip? Or did you end up riding the wrong wagon like I did." he flashed the pair a smile hoping to break some of the ice. He wasn't good with being too formal after all.