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Post by Celia Abbott on Oct 14, 2016 9:40:10 GMT -6
The past few hours had been interesting for Celia. Being the busy and gossip-averse sort of person she was, Celia had taken an ungodly amount of time to notice the fliers and the students who had been speaking about the ball that would follow the tournament during the festival. With her late revelation came the realization that she was not at all prepared to attend any sort of formal event, especially not so soon. None of her clothes were quite up to the role of formal attire, nor were any of her few minor acquaintances able to recommend a place in Vytal to get any sort of decent-quality dress. And on the topic of the dress, she had shamefully found herself asking her dear friend Agnès how exactly a dress was supposed to "work." After her friend's laughter reached the two minute mark, she had given up and just called Minette. As it turned out, Minette had already known of her predicament and sent her something appropriate in the mail, citing that she would just have to go into town and get it fitted- stressing that she should bring Agnès when she did so, to add on some finishing touches. In the back of her mind, she dreaded the trip, but at the forefront of her mind, she realized something far more alarming.
Celia had no clue how to dance.
Strange as it might seem, Celia's life outside the walls of the Kingdoms proper had not offered many opportunities to practice such a thing, and it made sense in her mind that she would need this incredibly valuable skill if she wanted to have any sort of luck making decent new friends in her class. It was called a "school dance" for a reason, right? Obviously, people went there to dance. Still, even though she had this information, she could do little with it. Her mother didn't answer her scroll, and Minette was much in the same boat as her - and as much as it pained her to say, she was certainly not going to subject herself to another round of humiliating laughter from her best friend.
And so, Celia had ventured into the library for a book on the subject. A few inquiries on the small-monitored computers, and a bit of digging, and she had found herself in what she believed to be the proper section, and located the book on a shelf. It was a simple thing, if not a bit humiliating, a bright yellow paperback with the title "The Idiot's Guide to: Dancing" printed on the spine in an inelegant black script. It was a bit higher up than she was expecting, but not so high up that she would need a ladder. She reached her arm up to it, and fell short. Well, not a big deal. She shuffled closer to the wall and reached again. Not close enough. A third time she tried, balancing on the toes of her left foot and stretching her poor arm as far up as it could go, and still she could not reach it.
She gave a quick glance around for a ladder, or at the very least a stepstool, but found nothing of the sort that was available. And so, she continued on with her unsuccessful attempts to reach the book, a few muffled grunts and quiet exclamations serving to alert those around her of her determination - and frustration.
...met before? |
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Post by Raven Clovis on Oct 15, 2016 0:43:09 GMT -6
Buddy you're a young man hard man,
Shoutin' in the street gonna take on the world some day!
 After hearing lecture on subject on 'Anger Management' from none other than by yours truly, Professor Alvin, the young hunter walked out of the class somewhat half-baffled as well as half-confused about the assignment that he was given. To him, the today's lecture felt more like... an advertisement about the upcoming ball in the academy. Well, perhaps an 'advertisement' wasn't exactly the right word to describe the professor's oration considering none of them really had a choice in the matter, and much to his dismay, Raven found himself having to actually attend the ball. " Go out, have fun, and make some friends." Was the whole point of the exercise, but the boy failed to see how this was supposed to truly 'help' him in any way. Well, no matter, he'd just have to attend it and end it there, but there was just one problem: The boy had nobody to go with. At first, Raven thought about sending a text Lily with his scroll to see if she wanted to attend the ball, but admittedly, considering the fact that they'd met not too long ago, he had a feeling that she wouldn't be too keen on the idea. Thus, he sent a message to his oh-so-resourceful aunt to ask her for an advice, but of course, being a busy woman that she was, he could get an answer back from her by next week at its latest. In hopes of finding some place quiet to think (and perhaps nap), the brunette entered the school library and made his way through vast forest of bookshelves and stacked tombs as high as the ceiling itself. One could find all sorts of various subjects here, and whatever they wished to learn was always at arms' reach. With a tired sigh, Raven let his body collapse down on a wooden chair and think. With his inability to talk, let alone communicate with others properly, he doubted that people would just go to a ball with him simply because he asked. Considering his... somewhat unsavory reputation with the Freshmen, the hunter knew his choices were narrow and limited unlike some of the students in his class. He missed the ability to talk. After finally losing it, he came to know that it was a sort of luxury that many failed to realize and took for granted. However, the boy's thoughts were broken when a sound of struggle seemed to come from behind him. A girl, perhaps nowhere near his height was vainly attempting to reach for a book. It was... rather amusing to watch the girl's failed attempts much to his own guilty pleasure. When she finally seemed to look for a ladder - or perhaps a stool to stand on, Raven stood from his chair, and easily pulled out the book that she had so much difficulty with. As he did so, the Hunter took a brief time to read the title to see what it was about. <"An 'Idiot's Guide to Dancing'....? I swear, they have guides to everything nowadays.">A small smile formed across the boy's face as he handed it to her, almost as if to say: 'Looking for this?' The moment she'd take it out of his mechanical hand, Raven would simply go back to his seat, back to pondering how he'd come out of the predicament that he found himself in. MADE BY VEL OF GS |
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Post by Celia Abbott on Oct 15, 2016 9:27:55 GMT -6
Just as Celia was beginning to believe, incorrectly, that she was making some sort of headway on reaching the book, she had felt another presence approach from off to her side. For a moment, she froze. They were getting awfully close to her for some reason, maybe they were- no. They didn’t need the book she was reaching for, did they? That was bad. She needed the book for herself, but if someone else needed it...She didn’t have any right to be selfish and take it first. She could wait her turn. Celia relaxed herself out of her reaching posture and backed away a bit, hopefully enough to be out of the way.
Sure enough, the presence she had felt came into her view under the guise of a taller young man, another student based on his attire and apparent age. This particular student was one she recognized, though not of her own accord - indeed, she had not shared any previous classes with him. But the bits and pieces of whispered gossip she half-heard circling amongst the students had told her. Raven Clovis, a freshman, like her, but one with quite a reputation for being...just a bit too eager to resort to violence. She didn’t immediately recognize him from the back, but as he turned around she saw the scar across his neck, and that told her everything she needed to know.
While Celia was certain she could quite easily diffuse any sort of tension that might arise from a confrontation with him, she figured it would be much easier to just relinquish the book without an argument. It would be best to be considerate of others, especially here. As she saw the man’s eyes rove over the cover, she gave a quick nod and mentally accepted her defeat. She was in the process of turning to leave, when she heard him shift. Slowly, she turned back to him, anticipating some kind of comment or snide remark, or maybe even a growl of some kind, but she was met with silence. Her eyes met the book, held in his outstretched hand, towards her. He was giving it to her? Carefully, she reached out her hands and gently took ahold of it, feeling the weight effortlessly pass from his hands into her own. She looked up to him, confused, but appreciative.
“Thank you.” She muttered quickly, quietly. It seemed that luck was on her side today, or perhaps something else was at work. Still, she wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. She scanned over the book’s cover, scanning through the little blurb on the back that summarized its contents. It indeed seemed to contain the information she needed, but something in the back of her mind clicked. She had the book, yes, but how was she supposed to practice dancing alone? The only person here she even really knew was Agnès, and after earlier that day, Celia didn’t think it would be wise to even remotely involve her friend in this. Unfortunately, said exclusion eliminated her only real feasible option. Unless…
“Do you...have a moment?”
Maybe she could push her luck just a bit further.
...met before? |
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Post by Raven Clovis on Oct 15, 2016 19:22:12 GMT -6
Buddy you're a young man hard man,
Shoutin' in the street gonna take on the world some day!
After going as far as taking a book out for the girl, she seemed rather puzzled - if not, somewhat hesitant about taking it out of his hand. Could Raven blame her? He was well aware of the rumors that surrounded him as much as the guys and girls circling each other in the hallways of the school. As much as he hated how people talked behind his back, their gossips couldn't really be all that far from the truth. Especially with the fight he had with Lily not too long ago, it cemented the infamy he had even further. Even so, he wasn't always like this. In order to drive the point of his action home, the young brunette gently pushed the book over towards the girl in front of him. Almost timidly, the girl's small hand reached out, and took the manual out of his hand weightlessly with no resistance on his part. Raven simply wanted her to take it, as he'd simply done it out of good will. As the brunette let his mechanical arm drop to the side, he could swear to himself that he heard a small, but hushed tone of 'thanks' left her lips. It has been a long time since he heard such a word coming out of anyone's mouths. It felt... kind of nice to be thanked, to be appreciated for what he did, even if it was very little, and seemingly quite insignificant. In response, the boy gave a brief nod of acknowledgement. Before the young hunter could go back to sitting down on his lonely seat, a sudden, unexpected question caused his attention to divert back to her. Now, it was he who found himself puzzled by the nature of the girl's inquiry: “Do you...have a moment?” A moment he could certainly spare, but someone asking him of all people? During his school life thus far, he never had anyone coming up to him like this due to his reputation. How odd. Regardless, the silver-haired girl managed to get his attention somehow. As Raven tilted his head in curiosity, the brunette reached his hand into his pocket to take out a scroll that he'd always carried around with him. Since he couldn't really talk, and most of the students in Vytal didn't know sign languages, having to manually type his thoughts out on a scroll, then showing it to have the person read it was the only main form of communication that he had. It probably came off rude to some people, but it wasn't like he had much of a choice. If they didn't like the way he 'spoke', too bad for them. Still, the boy wondered what she wanted out of him. Judging the book by its cover, (quite literally) he wondered if the girl was going to ask him if he knew how to dance. Unfortunately for her, Raven would make a very poor candidate to be her mentor for he, also knew little about dancing. Being a hunter - or a huntress meant that one had to be skilled in various areas, but he never saw dancing as one of them. Though his teachers did seem to emphasize on the point that it was indeed an important skillset for one to have, and a very basic one as well. Well, even if that wasn't her intention, Raven was willing to hear the girl out on her request, and he was fully prepared with either an answer a 'yes' or a 'no'. <"Well, what is it?"> He flashed the message over to her, <"Though I wish you spoke up a little. I know we're kind of in a library and everything, but I can barely hear a word you say.">MADE BY VEL OF GS |
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Post by Celia Abbott on Oct 17, 2016 1:10:53 GMT -6
As the train of thought carrying out how she would continue the conversation chugged on in her mind, Celia was vaguely aware of Raven’s acknowledgement of her question. She saw his head tilt, he was listening. That was good, he at least seemed to be at least willing to hear her out. The feeling of accomplishment in socialization faded quickly, though, as Celia watched the young man reach into his pocket and pull out his scroll. As he typed away, Celia wilted slightly. Was she being ignored now? A moment later, the scroll was turned towards her, and it displayed on it a few lines of simple text. <"Well, what is it?">
<"Though I wish you spoke up a little. I know we're kind of in a library and everything, but I can barely hear a word you say."> Oh. It was a message meant for her. A rather obvious question popped into her head, but based on his reputation and the scar across his neck, she figured it would be best not to delve into personal territory right off the bat. She could satiate her curiosity later. It bothered her a bit that he had also said she was too quiet - a complaint many of her conversation partners had echoed in the past. It wasn’t her fault, really, she just didn’t have a good voice for speaking loudly. Still, she would at least try a bit harder. For now. Clearing her throat and taking a deep breath, Celia raised her voice a bit and continued. “If you aren’t busy, do you think you could help me with one more thing?” To punctuate her statement, she held up the book with both hands. “I need to learn how to dance, but that’s not exactly something I can learn on my own. Could you...practice with me, just for a little while?”...met before? |
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Post by Raven Clovis on Oct 17, 2016 4:14:37 GMT -6
Buddy you're a young man hard man,
Shoutin' in the street gonna take on the world some day!
The answer came quick, though still a little too quiet for his tastes - the girl seemed to be doing the best she could to project her thoughts to him. “If you aren’t busy, do you think you could help me with one more thing?” Then, the girl, almost as if to emphasize on the obvious point that she was trying to make, filled his vision with a bright yellow wall with a immense, thick, bolded black text that clearly read: 'Idiot's Guide to: Dancing'. Out of honed instinct, the young hunter reeled his head back a little almost as if to dodge it, but at this point, the most peculiar request coming from this fellow student became quite crystal clear to him. “I need to learn how to dance, but that’s not exactly something I can learn on my own. Could you...practice with me, just for a little while?”Using his mechanical hand, Raven gently brushed aside the book away from his face. The request was slightly different than what he'd initially expected, so he felt somewhat less burdened on the fact that he didn't really have to teach her. All she needed was a practicing partner, right? The brunette was fine with the idea, since - well, he didn't really know how to dance in a formal ball-type setting either. It'd be his first time doing it. Both of them could learn something from the book. How bad could it be? Though the girl seemed... a bit tad short to be an ideal dancing partner. In fact, he was even a bit worried that he might even step on her foot in middle of the practice and the thought of that made itself quite apparent on his usual, hard features. <"Y'know, I have a feeling I'm gonna step on her foot a lot.... Is she even aware of the difference between our heights?"> A pause, <".... Yeah, she probably is. Why else would she ask?"> Still, was he going to find another dancing partner anywhere else? Raven certainly couldn't just ask some girl in middle of a school hallway to help him practice, let alone go to a Vytal ball. However, as luck his would turn out, this complete stranger that he knew little about was coming up to ask him to help her practice dancing. It was kind of a win-win situation for both of them. Though he still didn't have anybody to go with, dancing problem was solved, right off the bat! Even if he was this girl's last resort, he was still quite okay with that. The lady luck was smiling down on him today, it seemed. After some contemplation, the brunette started to type out series of message down on his scroll for Celia before holding out the message in front of him. <"I don't see any reason to say 'no' to that. Alright, I'll help you practice, but just a warning though: I don't know how dance."> He scratched the back of his head, <"But are you sure you're okay with me being your partner for the practice? I have some bad reputation around here, you know. People might get the wrong idea and put some ugly sounding rumors behind your back. I don't want that happening to you."> MADE BY VEL OF GS |
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Post by Celia Abbott on Oct 17, 2016 20:41:16 GMT -6
She felt Raven brush aside the book she held out in her hands before she could figure out any sort of answer based on the thoughtful appearance of his stalwart features. Celia wasn't particularly good at reading people when they weren't already predisposed to rampant emotional outbursts and very confrontational natures. She had her friends and family to thank for that one. Still, she could tell the man was at least mulling over the idea, and that gave her a bit of hope. She clutched the book tightly against her chest as he began typing away on his scroll again. When she had asked initially, she hadn't really considered the rather noticeable difference in build and height between the two of them. Only now did it begin to click in her head - as all of her recent thoughts had - last-minute. With such a great contrast, learning between the two of them would be a difficult and trying process. She had plenty of patience, both for herself and for others, but she could not speak to Raven's tolerance for such things. Her toes were aching just thinking about the two of them practicing footwork together... The scroll was turned back to her, with a longer message written on it this time. <"I don't see any reason to say 'no' to that. Alright, I'll help you practice, but just a warning though: I don't know how dance."> That was fine with her, they could both learn together, and it would give Celia a confidence boost knowing that she wouldn't have to try and keep up with someone more experienced. They could take the lessons at their own pace, even as the "deadline" loomed over them. She didn't need to become a master overnight, although that would have been nice. No, Celia would be perfectly content with just learning the basics and maybe a bit of flair mixed in, for effect. Although, the whole thing brought up another concern in Celia's mind. The book was secured, yes, and she had a partner to practice with - but what about her actual partner for the ball? Her eyes unfocused as her head began to fill with the possibilities. Agnès? No, god no. That was just asking for trouble. Not to mention, she wasn't even sure about the school administration's stance on same-sex couples, or even her friend's opinion on it, for that matter. Who else did she know? <"But are you sure you're okay with me being your partner for the practice? I have some bad reputation around here, you know. People might get the wrong idea and put some ugly sounding rumors behind your back. I don't want that happening to you."> Huh? Oh, right. Conversation. Focus. Raven had indeed brought up a valid point, but Celia wasn't particularly worried about her own reputation. Being a quiet workaholic who kept to herself had done wonders to ruin it already. Still...the fact that he had showed concern for her was a bit surprising. Though she had heard the rumors circling about several times, she hadn't really stopped to think if they had been just that - mere rumors. Maybe Raven wasn't as bad of a person as everyone seemed to think. "You don't need to worry about me, I'll be fine no matter what happens. I already have sort of a reputation of my own." She gave a gentle smile, though she did not quite meet his eyes, and nodded her head in appreciation. "But...thank you, for your concern."...met before? |
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Post by Raven Clovis on Oct 19, 2016 4:20:40 GMT -6
Buddy you're a young man hard man,
Shoutin' in the street gonna take on the world some day!
Though Raven half-expected the answer to be along the lines of: 'Maybe I'll think about it some more,' or 'On a second thought....' it still surprised him when the girl said: "You don't need to worry about me, I'll be fine no matter what happens. I already have sort of a reputation of my own." He wasn't sure if she was confident that nobody would spread rumors behind their backs - or because she was brave, but the young hunter didn't feel that any more questions were necessary. It was obvious that they both needed practice, and they'd help each other out as needed. Though he did see a lot of headaches and foot pains to deal with (For Celia's part, mostly) in the trying times ahead, he would at least be able to settle for the fact that he wouldn't have to embarrass himself in front of everyone. Now where to practice...? At first, the brunette thought about the gym, or the training grounds, but considering the time, it would certainly be strange for both of them to dance in front of everyone. If they wanted a much more private setting for both to practice, then the dormitories themselves were certainly an option they could take. Again, it'd be very awkward if either of them had to invite each other to their rooms for a dance practice. Not to mention some rooms could be quite crowded. Like his, for example. If Raven had to balance either of those two out, the rooftops seemed to be the only way to go. They'd be away from prying eyes and ears, and both could practice as much as they want. Besides, he was probably the only person to ever go up there. "But...thank you, for your concern."Once again, Raven typed away into his scroll, <"It's nothing."> He shrugged, <"I know a place where we can practice, follow me."> As soon as he put his scroll away, the boy grabbed his bag which was lying on the floor and headed out the library, fully expecting the gray-haired girl not to fall too far behind him in his steps. However, after a few twists and turns, dodging of a crowd here and there, the brunette arrived at the door which led to the rooftops. A lot of the students expected the place to be locked, so people almost never came here. Except for the ones who already knew its secrets. After he made sure his companion was behind him, Raven placed his hand against the metallic door. Then, with a single push of his hand, an open field of gray was spread before them. The skies were still yet at its high noontide, and as the crisp, cool air of autumn brushed past their faces, Raven stepped into the a tiny, but quiet piece of heaven that he'd reserved for himself. With a small smile on his face, he turned back to the girl with his scroll out in front of him.
<"Nice, huh? I bet most students don't even know this place isn't even locked - or exists, for that matter. We can practice here with little distractions. What do you think?"> With an anticipation that the two were going to start their practice soon, Raven began to stretch his legs with his golden eyes directed at her, almost as if to say: 'Where do we begin?'
MADE BY VEL OF GS |
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Post by Celia Abbott on Oct 19, 2016 8:28:32 GMT -6
The man looked as if he was deep in thought as he mulled over her response. What he was considering was probably a bit different than what her mind was still focused on - the subject of her partner for the ball. With Agnès off the table immediately for several reasons, it seemed that all of her real options had been exhausted. Asking out a stranger among the students didn't seem like a good idea, and if someone was planning to ask her out themselves they would have likely done it by now. She couldn't go by herself, that would be an awful and awkward experience with nobody to talk to or spend any time with. But she had to go. It was a social gathering! It was the perfect way for her to begin the process of breaking out of her shell. She had to do this. She looked up, hearing Raven finish tapping away on his scroll, to see his message. <"It's nothing.">
<"I know a place where we can practice, follow me."> He shrugged, and picked up his bag before she could get a word out, not that she had anything to say in the first place. She was glad he knew of a place they could practice, since she most certainly did not. While she was fine doing this in an open space, there would be a lot of people out and about this hour - a lot of people who could potentially watch her fail continually. That was bad. She certainly didn't mind inviting him back to her dorm to practice, since she was fairly certain her partner would not be in at the moment, but...this would hopefully be a bit less awkward of an excursion. She trotted carefully behind him, her short legs doing their damnedest to keep up with his longer strides as they made their way through the labyrinth of halls and crowds. She saw him look back only once, and she gave a patient smile as she carefully wormed her way between a muscular Junior and the brick wall he stood with his back to. Raven led her to a heavy metal door that she didn't recognize, from a stairwell that led above what she thought was the top floor. He looked behind himself, presumably to check if she was still there, and she gave a tired nod as he turned back to push it open. She had never been to the roof - she wasn't even aware students had access to the roof. The door had been unlocked and unblocked though, so she assumed it was okay for them to be up here. A wide expanse of gray stone and blue, cloudless sky was all she saw from the doorway. Nobody was up here but the two of them. It was a perfect place to practice. <"Nice, huh? I bet most students don't even know this place isn't even locked - or exists, for that matter. We can practice here with little distractions. What do you think?"> She walked through the door after him and stepped out into the midday sun, feeling the natural light brush her skin and warm her more than the sterile white lights of the school's interior ever could. Off to the side, Raven looked to her expectantly. "It's perfect." She replied simply. She opened the book, quickly scanning the index and checking pages as she slowly made her way over to her partner. Distractedly, she added on to the last part of her short response. "I forgot to mention, my name is Celia. Celia Abbott." She held out the book to Raven, turned to a page a short ways in titled "Proper Posture and Positioning." "I think this is a good place to start, maybe?"...met before? |
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Post by Raven Clovis on Oct 20, 2016 4:49:17 GMT -6
Buddy you're a young man hard man,
Shoutin' in the street gonna take on the world some day!
Raven figured that she might like this place. When he heard the word 'perfect', he was almost proud of himself that he managed to recommend the rooftops as their practicing grounds. It was wide, open, and the lack of people made it somewhat forgiving for whatever embarrassing mistakes that they would somehow manage to make. Though such things will be embarrassing nonetheless, but much less so since it would be only two of them here. Even so, he couldn't help but feel that something was missing. They had a guide to read off of, a partner to dance with, so what was exactly missing in their 'supposed' ballroom? Oh right, music. Unfortunately, he didn't bring a speaker from his room. If he thought about this ahead of time, he would have, but for today, a practice without music would have to do. Thus, the boy made a brief note to himself: Bring a good-quality speaker that isn't broken next time to link up to his scroll. As he began to finish his stretching exercise, the girl spoke up suddenly, introducing herself somewhat distractedly: "I forgot to mention, my name is Celia. Celia Abbott."
Celia Abbot. The young hunter repeated that name a few times to in his head to make sure he'd remember it. Raven couldn't really consider himself to be too good with names as he'd been quite horrid with them since birth, but hers was particularly easy to remember, for most parts, at least. It was a nice name too, admittedly. Somewhere in his mind, he couldn't help but feel that moniker of hers fit the gray-haired girl pretty well. Now that she'd gone out of her way to introduce herself, the brunette felt that it would be rude not to tell her his own name. <"Clovis. Raven Clovis. Nice to meet you, though you probably might've heard of me by now."> Then, as he put away his scroll once again, Celia turned the page of the book, which read in a thick text on one of its many chapters: Proper Posture and Positioning. It was a good place to start as any, especially the basics. He had to think that it had to do with footwork, so he walked over in her direction, got close enough to be able to look over on her shoulders so that both of them could read out of the book. "I think this is a good place to start, maybe?"With a small tilt of his head, Raven flipped the page and started to roughly read over the guidelines and its intents for the lesson. As with all the basics of everything, it was simple, but deceptively so for the beginners. The pictures and the descriptions was simple enough to understand, but to perform them was another question. It required good timing, for the partners to be in good sync with one another, and the most important thing of all: Matching heights. Even the manual's pictures seemed to describe that the heights were indeed an important aspect of this art. Well, it wasn't like the two had any other partners and they came too far, so it was too late to turn back now. 'You never know until you try!' would definitely be what he'd say if he still yet had his voice. Using his hand, he'd pointed at the page to confirm to Celia that this was indeed a good place to start. Afterwards, the brunette took a few steps back with his arm spread out in front of him with a grin creasing across his lips. Let's dance.
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