Raine glances to Vincent, she had nodded to him in return before(Even if her
player was being slow -_-) She looks to Selphie and Irvine for a moment before
she decides to step away from the entrance area and walk to a less crowded
area...oh like the wall Squall was at before he left to dance with Terra.
Terra says, looking down at the ground, "Did I step on your foot? I'm sorry..."
Those heels aren't spikey, fortunately, just an inch or two and fairly
rounded. "I've never done this before, though, like I said." Just
matter-of-factness. Then she stays silent for a longish moment... and squints
over the Commanding Shoulder. "Oh, Rinoa's here," she says with rather bland
cheerfulness; the more the merrier! Gee. This party stuff isn't exactly her
choice of activity, but it's not -that- bad.
Squall turns both himself and his partner around to verify Terra's observation.
Er. Yeah, there's Rinoa. Well... hey, she's going over to Bleak. That's not so
bad, he's a pretty cool guy. The Commander turns back to what he was doing and
grins. "If this is anything like what the Festival will be, it might not be to
bad." Mmm, someone check Squall for a fever, he looks like he's enjoying
himself, almost. And that Rinoa hasn't screamed or anything drives him to some
boldness. "Hold on," he warns Terra, before trying a safe dip. He has her
alright, tossing someone to the floor like that would just be bad.
Selphie nodnods happily to Vincent, very pleased with how this party of hers is
going. She -is- the social buttahfly of the group, afterall, and Irvine's just
along for the ride, as she sees it. He needs to learn how to mingle, too!
Giggling quietly -- well, okay, no... Just giggling, she patpats Irvine's
chest, "Irvy got asked to dance already!" Referring, of course, to the Annoyed
Young Boy that in fact asked to dance with -her-. "And -Squall's- dancing, and
--" Here, folks, is where Rinoa passes Selphie. She'll save the loud greeting
for later, instead looking immediately to Squall, "And..." Trailing off, her
little mind works at the possibilities of this situation. "--...Uhm~..." But
suddenly -- snap!, her attention moves up to Irvine. She wants to be -on the
dance floor- to see these fireworks, yessir. Beaming up at him, she bubbles,
"Let's dance s'more, Irvy! Okay? Cool!" With a quick wave! to Vincent, more of
an 'Ah'll be bahk,' than anything, she moves to... sigh... drag Irvine -back-
the dance floor. He can stop her, of course, she's not -that- motivated.
Rinoa glances at Selphie as she passes the young woman. She gives a polite smile
without giving away anything more than a pleasant greeting. She continues on
until she reaches Bleak, who she gives a bright grin and offers her hand, "Hi
there. I'm Rinoa."
Stop Selphie? Right, he'd be more likely to stop a passing train from Deling
City. No, he's being fairly complacent at the moment, and the fact that
Selphie's attention has apparently drifted away from Vincent doesn't bother
him in the slightest. After all, Vincent knows things about Irvine that the
gunman wants to forget ever happened. Of course, he has no idea about
'fireworks' either, or Selphie's true motivations for pulling him back out
onto the dance floor. As for mingling, it's hard to mingle when your
girlfriend has a two second attention span and likes to pull you after her.
Terra lets out a little squeak of surprise as she's dipped, and then blinks a
bunch of times as she's lifted back up. Even if she did fall down, she'd
probably deal with it fairly well; laugh, maybe not, but she wouldn't die of
embarrasment unless people started laughing. Anyway, after this, she remains a
reasonably responsive if... dull partner, until parked at the punch bowl anew.
Yay!
Bleak is not quite lost to the music comepletly, but is focused enough on it
that he does not note Rinoa's approaching steps until she is well within
conversation range. Despite this, his eyes open slowly, "content" draining off
his face as it shifts fully into "Peaceful" at least he is relaxed. Evaluating
the young woman speaking to him, he nods politly, a gentle smile forming on
his lips, "A pleasure to meet you Rinoa, I simply go by "Bleak." It makes
things much more simple..."
Rinoa chuckles softly at Bleak's response and nods her head, "I could see how it
might, but someone who can smile at strangers shouldn't be called 'Bleak'.
Still, it's very nice to meet you." She pauses and tilts her head a little,
"Are you new in Balamb, or have I just managed to be in the wrong place at the
wrong time a lot?" Her grin returns.
Oh dear. By the time Vincent assesses all of the announcements Selphie offers
about the success of her party, she's already gone again. Fwoosh. Mother.
Vincent moves once he's not the center of Selphie's attention. His glance
casts over the crowd. There's some chagrin to realize that there are few here
that he could talk to, or would talk to him in return. Sigh. Hmm. It's this
line of that which makes his attention eventually fall on Squall again. Well
hey, there isn't many other places it could go. No Lucrecia, and you /don't/
want to catch Selphie's attention too often... Rinoa he doesn't know that
well, and... you get the picture.
Farrell is leaning.. against the wall.. again. Not in the same spot, but perhaps
a few feet to the side, watching everyone and everything in the area from the
sidelines. Normally he'd try and be sociable but lately things haven't been to
great for him. And he's really only here because he promised Selphie...
*grumble*
Squall drops Terra off by the punch, since, well, he needs to check it out too.
His dance partner seems to be fairly well intact, no broken toes, etc. So the
Commander is pleased. Mission accomplished, he's away from Vincent, and has a
glass of punch in his hand. Taking a sip, he glances over the rim to watch
Rinoa with Bleak. Well, nice that she's meeting new people, he's worried a bit
about that. Better let her chat, mingle, have some fun.
Bleak shakes his head slightly, "I am a... guest here. This "Garden" puts me at
ease for some reason. Are you a student here as well?"
Blissfully Unawares does not even begin to mention Selphie's state involving
Irvine and Vincent's secret-type knowledge. So! She just pulls Irvine back
through the 'crowd,' not even pausing as she greets some of the cadets that
help set this up. 'Hey!,' 'Hi-ee!,' 'Wow, cute skirt!,' etc, etc. Poor Irvine.
Either way, she finally lands a place somewhere near where Squall and Terra
-were- dancing, and twirl!s to a halt, almost as if it were part of a Swing
Dance movement. Speaking of fast dancing -- it seems to be absent for now,
replaced by a good 3 or 4 long slow-song barrage. Most don't seem to mind,
though -- especially Selphie! Who giggles at her little 'stunt,' letting go of
the Cowboy's hand so that she can hold her arms out in a 'Well? Your call!'
movement. Well... Okay, so. Her reason for coming out here left -- that's
okay, it keeps people like Vincey and Squallie safe. Sigh!
Rinoa shakes her head and chuckles, "I live here... sorta... but I'm not a
student. It's really a long story. So Garden relaxes you?" She winks, "Even
the training center?" She gives a quick glance to the dance floor, but doesn't
find Squall on it. She decides it safer /not/ to look for him elsewhere, so
returns her attention to her conversation partner.
Bleak raises his left eyebrow a centimeter or so, "Actually, I have yet to get a
true tour of this facility..." he trails off some for some reason, whatever
reason that is he keeps to himself.
Raine crosses her arms and uncrosses them a few times. She even idly shifts her
weight on her feet as she stands by herself. She looks over to Squall, no
longer dancing now and apparently unoccupied...so she begins walking toward
him.
Pausing to actually catch his breath, Irvine has to actually blink a few times.
This is going to be an interesting relationship... to say the least. Crossing
his arms over his chest, he squints one eye at Selphie as she holds her arms
out, wondering just _what_ the devil she's up to. Well, whatever she was
tracking like a bloodhound, she appears to have lost the scent. Taking her
hand, he grins at her, "My turn, darlin'." And with that, he tries to make
them 'disappear' into the crowd again, tall enough to spot Vincent and Squall,
and lead Selphie *away* from them for a little bit. However, he's still not
noticed Rinoa, and doesn't realize he's headed toward her and Bleak instead.
Ah well, nice try cowboy.
Rinoa hmms thoughtfully and taps one manicured finger against her olive cheek,
"Well, can I make a deal with you? I'll give you a tour later if you'll dance
with me now." And here comes that famous smile again.
Squall catches sight of Raine's approach, and lowers his cup to grin. It's a
surprisingly genuine grin, a happy one, and he bows a bit to the woman,
saying, "Hi," as if this was all he needed to say. Weeeeird.
The little SD-Selphie in her head 'whoohoo!'s, knowing good and well that she'll
just find someone else to chat with. Selphie herself, however, rather doesnt'
realize this quite yet, blinking rapidly and widely as Irvine drags -her-
somewhere. Some onlookers may find this setup funny, especially since
Selphie's playing the unwilling significant other this time. Well, for
about... 5 seconds, anyway, and then she ups her speed, ducking beneath the
arm that Irvine tugs her along with -- her intent to end up -right- next to
him. Let's not forget who wears the Short Yellow Dress in this relationship,
cowboy. >_>
Bleak raises that eyebrow just a bit higher, "I suppose that is a fair enough
trade, and how could I possibly refuse such an elegent offer?" let's see now,
that makes what... 3 offers for a tour of the Garden now? Here nor there... at
least he seems nonplussed that a young woman at least 5 or more years younger
than himself is asking him to dance. (It's hard to tell, could be 10 years...
the whole grey complexion makes it hard to be sure)
Raine walks up beside Squall and places a finger over her lips as she looks at
him. "I forgot to tell you the last time I saw you." She lowers the hand from
her face and smiles, "That uniform looks very nice on you." She than moves to
get herself a drink as she asks, "How are you?"
Irvine most certainly does _not_ wear short yellow dresses. But, his player
digresses. He grins down at Selphie as she ducks beneath his arm, drawing her
against him briefly in an affectionate squeeze as they walk together. Finally,
as the crowd thins at the edge of the dance floor area, the cowboy glances up
and spots Bleak and Rinoa, sighing quietly to himself. Maybe he'll get lucky
and Selphie won't actually notice or something. Otherwise, he's got a feeling
he's about to be dragged again.
Squall's expression lights up at the compliment, and he stands straight, shaking
out one of the cuffs of said uniform with a flick of his wrist. "It's just...
you know, work clothes. We have a dressy one, but I didn't know it would be a
fancy party. You look nice, too," he adds, noticing now.
Rinoa's smile of reply for Bleak is blinding. "Really? Wonderful! I'm really
grateful. See, I really like to dance, and I hate not having anyone to dance
-with-." Her fingers circle around the crook of Bleak's arm so that she can
lead him (or pull him, if necessary) out onto the dancefloor.
And then... suddenly... the crowd parts, and -the- most -gorgeous- girl saunters
out. --Well, no, not -really-. But a random Cadet Girl -- no pigtails here,
folks, heads over towards... Farrell? Yep. She heads his way shyly, biting her
lip, tugging at her Cadet Uniform self-consciosuly. Hmm.
Bleak takes the moment to use an unoccupied table he is led past to leave the
cup of punch (Still 3/4 full) upon, his "gliding" pace and apparently innate
grace making the motion completly seamless as he keeps pace with Rinoa.
Selphie? Not notice something like Bleak and Rinoa plotting to -dance-? Pfeh.
And I suppose you believed that SeeDs grow into FloweRs, and eventually WilT.
...Or something. Irvine secured at her side (she really needs to invest in one
of those kiddie leashes), she -- -doesn't- head for them, since they're going
to dance. But it's obvious that she -would-, had they stood still for oh, 3
more seconds. Looking put out for a grand total of half a second, Selphie then
turns her face Irvine-wards, bubbling -quietly-, "Look, look! They're gonna
-dance-! I betcha Squall dances again, too~!" Jeezus, she's worse than a full
knitting circle. Distract her, -please-!
Rinoa's smile only grows as she moves toward the dance floor, Bleak's grace
reassuring her that he will be an excellent dance partner. When she reaches
the floor, she turns to assume a more proper dance pose and murmurs to her
partner, "Thank you again for agreeing to dance with me. I hope I don't
embarrass you oly."
Farrell is so preoccupied with watching everyone else that he can't simply
single out an individual in the crowd.. even if they are standing in front of
him at some length. Eyes locked off to the side, he's actually looking for the
cowboy hat, since Selphie would be nearly impossible to see. Hmm... having
problems doing so... Oh well.
Raine turns back to Squall, "Thank you." She takes a sip of her punch before
asking again, "So how are you doing?" She holds the cup with both hands and
looks down to it before adding, "You're going to Midgar tomorrow right?"
Vincent now approaches Squall. Look! He's distracted! Now, Vincent doesn't have
ulterior motives... much. But he's coming up from (hopefully) behind. Will
whatever sense that allows Squall to detect Vincent's presence be foiled by
the woman who is named the distraction of Raine?
Bleak smiles gently again, "I fear it any incident should occur that could cause
that... it would be may due to a mistake on my part." can he dance? Yes. Has
he danced in the last 3-4 years? no. Let's pray it sticks to slow dances
too...
The girl -- okay, we'll call her... Anibell. Yes, that's cute. Anibell stands in
front of Farrell for a few embarassing moments, still tugging at the skirt of
her uniform, before she finally clears her throat. "--E-e-excuse me," she
ventures, 'digging' her shoe into the ground.
Squall nods, looking uncomfortable at the mention of Work, but replies, "Yes. I
really shouldn't be here, I guess. There's a lot to do between now and, uh,
wheneve rit all ends." He smiles slightly, trying to recapure his unnaturally
good mood. Who knows how that will go when he noticed Vincent, but yes,
sneaking works and he's oblivious, his attention on Raine. He pauses, before
changing his mind about whatever he was thinking about and saying
conversationally, "I think this is a taste of things to come, Selphie, the
girl in yellow over there, is putting together a Festival too."
Farrell looks forward, surprised at first since he wasn't expecting anyone to
even talk to him for the rest of the evening. Straightening up a bit and
looking at the cadet before him, his expression remains unchanged as he
replies. "Yes?" Plain.. simple.. crude.
Raine ohs and looks back up to him with a smile, "A festival? That sounds
wonderful." She takes another sip of her punch before she looks out to the
dance floor.
Rinoa chuckles and shakes her head, "Perhaps." She pulls her partner into the
dance, then, slightly slower than a fast waltz, but still with a beat lively
enough to prevent boredom on the parts of the dancers. Rinoa is familiar with
the steps, obviously, and melds in with the dancers on either side easily
enough. Moving without the flair of other dancers, she allows Bleak time to
catch on before showing her skill. In the meantime, she asks, "So what brought
you to Garden in the first place? Surely you didn't /know/ you'd find it
relaxing before you got here."
Distract her? Good grief, Irvine would love to, privately noting to himself that
parties and Selphie mean being forced into socialness, or dragged into it,
rather. Ok, that's it, the gunman's had just about enough of the gossipy
stuff, and being dragged along like one of those small people you see trying
to walk Mastiffs. No, he goes into 'last resort' mode to get Selphie's
undivided attention, even if it only lasts for a moment. He draws her in
toward him, leans down, and quite solidly kisses her, regardless of who's
watching... and who's not watching too.
Anibell smiles, albeit shyly, weakly, and almost defeated. "--Uhm. W-w-well,
y... yeah. Yeah. Y...eah. I was, uhm, kinda wondering..." Aww, she can't get
the words 'wanna dance?' out. They're too difficult for her! Perhaps Garden
isn't that good of a school afterall. Or maybe it's that blush across the
Cadet's cheeks. Erm. Fidget.
"Good evening." It's Vincent's voice, Squall, almost directly behind you. A
polite greeting for teh woman and the commander. Should Squall turn around, he
might even see a faint smile, followed by a short nod in greeting to the two.
Surprise!
Terra finishes off her sixth glass of punch, and decides two things. One of them
is that she's got several things she needs to do, all of which are more
important than standing about and looking pretty. Another, ancillary one is
that after six glasses of punch, she... needs to go to the bathroom. c.c So,
she makes her exit, staircase left. >_>
Bleak nods slightly, keeping in step with Rinoa but not doing anything
exceptionally complex. The movements are graceful, carefully measured, but
simple. Taking risks is not something Bleak is known for (Okay, so he isn't
really known for anything...) his voice (did we mention it is only available
in "whisper"?) is calm and collected... for a whisper, speaking while dancing
does not appear to be a problem, "Indeed... in truth I had little idea of what
this place would be like, let alone how I ended up getting here. Regrettably I
cannot say why I am here... although... this place reminds me of my own
home..."
Farrell smiles. He knows what she wanted to ask. He's heard it before; been
there himself. Don't ask where or when.. it's just a memory that suddenly
resurfaced from a lost time. "Sure," he says, quicker and kinder than the
first word out of his mouth. It's her move from here.
No, what Squall does is drop his punch glass. Fortunately, it's one of hard
plastic, so it's just his boots that get the remainder of the punch as it hits
the floor. High strung, maybe? Raine, poor woman, gets the brief look of panic
on the boy's face before he composes and turns slightly to catch Vincent in
his peripheral. "Hi," he says carefully, as if he expected Vincent to, oh, you
know, stab him in the back or somethng.
A kiss! A kiss?! ...A kiss? Selphie, admittedly, expected to just get caught in
the act of spying on others once more, the way Irvine caught her -last- time.
So! When he begins the process of giving her icky boy cooties, she is more
than a bit surprised. Wide-eyed, blushing, yadda yadda... It looks cute,
anyway, and the surprise eventually wears off. Replaced, of course, by -total-
silence, which she doesn't mind for once. Huh. ...A -kiss-. Someone mark it on
the calander -- Selphie's speechless. And that's just -during- the kiss.
Squall who? Vincent who?
Anibell lets out a relieved breath, smiling a little more confidently, now.
"...Oh, wow, okay...!" She, of course, thinks that it's -Farrell's- move from
there, and ends up standing -- rather, fidgeting, for a little while... before
she oh!'s, again, and, "Well, okay, uhm... We dance now, right?" *o_o*
At hearing Vincent's voice, Raine looks back to Squall to peek past him to look
at Vincent but the sound of the cup hitting Squall's boot distracts her from
greeting him. She looks down to the spill then to his face with a puzzled, yet
concerned look.
Rinoa ohs sympathetically, "I'm sorry. But at least you've found Garden
entertaining for you." She tries out a few turns that wouldn't put any strain
on Bleak to keep up with, even if he had two left feet.
Silence. Silence? Irvine is somewhat uncertain of his sudden, implusive action
as he draws back again, trying to guage Selphie's reaction. Silence for
Selphie is... abnormal. Holding her hands, his face still not that far from
hers, he asks her quietly, tentatively, "You ok?" It's said like he almost
expects to get slapped... which _has_ happened before. Ahem.
Hm. How to answer this.... "How are you doing this evening?" Give him credit,
he's attempting to fan a conversation that already seems dead, waterlogged and
buried six feet under, as far as Squall's reaction is concerned. His features
remain fairly calm, but also there is a tiny amount of emphasis. Come on,
Squall, speak to the man. Please? (Vincent)
Well, one of the visitors has been attracted by the paaah-tay, if only because
she doesn't really have that much else to do. The thrift-shop-outfitted young
woman comes down the stairs, sedately looking around at the greenery and the
tiling... it -is- familiar, even if it isn't nearly as... run-down as she
would have thought it would be. Yes, Balamb, the Aerith has landed. Hide the
liquor!
Bleak smiles slightly again, "There is no need to apologize... as I said,
somehow it puts me at ease more than causing bittersweet recollection. As for
entertainment... so far I have little to complain about... even the trip here
was most interesting." he goes silent as he is led into the turns, speaking is
not an option as he must fully concentrate on his dancing skills... not fully
taxed but not enough to leave him sufficent capability to do anything else.
Squall looks back to Raine, deadpan, before taking a swinging step to put
himself to the side, if you would count Vincent and Raine as two
conversationalists and Squall as a bystander. Which is what he seems to be
aiming for, looking to Raine as if the gunman's question was put to her.
Ignoring the empty cup at the group's feet, he politely listens, watching
Raine.
Selphie can't -slap- someone! Well, yes she can. She's -done- it before, too,
but just 'cause they were being mean. But! Selphie has absolutely no reason to
slap -Irvine-, is the point. The brunette nods slowly, face blank for a few
moments... Then beam!s. Yikes. Talk about mood swings. "Mmhmm~," she drawls,
and Irvine should -fear- that little lilt in her voice -- though not now...
Later. Oh yes, fear the Selphie. She squeezes his hands, and bounce!s kinda.
"Whatcha wanna do?" See, look! She's not zipping around anymore! Hmmm.
Farrell laughs, "That we do" he says as he stands up completely, readjusting his
stance and offering his hand to the unknown girl named Anibell. Once she takes
it, the first and second moves shall be made. From there, well, we shall see.
Raine looks Vincent face as Squall steps aside. She didn't like the expression
she saw on Squall's face...but what can she do? She doesn't know what's going
on between them and even if she did, she probably wouldn't involve herself
into the issue. However, for some reason she feels compelled to speak up and
take the focus off of Squall, even if just for a moment...so she goes along
with Squall's attemp to back down from speaking with Vincent and she steps
closer to extend her hand, "Hello. I'm Raine."
Anibell does indeed take the hand that Farrell offers, blushing s'more. Aw.
"M-my name's Anibell," she offers, as she takes the hand. "What's yours?" A
display screen with letters and 10 spaces does -not- pop up here, thank you.
Rinoa takes a few moments to enjoy a few more complex moves at the pause in
conversation... complex for her, not for her partner. When she enters a
simpler portion of the dance, she speaks again, "Interesting is good, but I
hope it wasn'ttoo dangerous. I know that we've got some monsters out and
about. It's unfortunate, but there's nothing to stop them."
So _that's_ the secret to calming Selphie down! The cowboy has finally managed
to tame tha Woild Selphie... for now. Of course, he doesn't think much about
the lilt in her voice, or what it might mean later. He's Irvine Kinneas, after
all, *notorious* flirt. He can handle it, right? Sure, keep telling yourself
that, gunman. Shrugging his shoulders, so definately proud of himself by that
semi-smug look on his face he replies, "We could try dancing again, or if
you're thirsty I'll get you something."
Vincent hesitates. There is a frown, but finally, he shifts his attention to
Raine, "I am Vincent." he answers, adding a short nod, more curt than the
first time. "It is a pleasure to meet you." He pauses again. "Have you been
here in Garden for long?" he asks, his voice gaining a semblance of normallcy
finally.
Farrell continues to smile, the smile broadening some more as he pronounces his
name for the young woman. "Farrell." With that, he leads her outward from the
wall, looking at her the whole time. It's a wonder how he manages to do so
without running into anyone but he does nevertheless. As far as conversation
is concerned.. who'd want to talk in a time like this?
Aerith reaches the main party floor; ooh, there's Vincent, who she really is a
bit surprised to see here. And all those various people from the Big Important
Summit Meeting, and oh, even a woman to talk to that nice Bleak fellow! Well,
how nice. Hm. She makes her way towards the cowboy hat person and his date, if
only to chit-chat some with them. It was inappropriate yet sweet how they were
being snuggly in the meeting.
Bleak would have inclined his head to one side, but that's a bit hard to pull
off while dancing, so he doesn't, the impression is within his whispering
voice, "I do not believe I was put at any undue risk, the one in control of
the... ah, "truck" with which most of the journey was taken in... she was
quite precise and sure of herself. I did not lack for faith in her ability...
despite what I have decided was mere joking banter at the beginning of the
trip."
Rinoa smiles, easing again into a simpler portion of the dance, "Did you catch
her name? The lady driving the truck?"
Raine pulls her hand back, sensing Vincent's frown, thinking maybe he's not that
happy. She shakes her head at his question, "Only a few days, actually. It's a
very stunning place. I've never seen anything like it before." She crosses her
arms, "The students and staff all seem very friendly and helpful as well."
Tha Woild Selphie is far from being tamed, but... Well, who knows! Either way,
She -still- has a rather solid grip on the Cowboy, so it's not a total loss.
Grinning up at Irvine, she glances to the SnackieFood table. "--Well~, I -am-
kinda thirsty," she admits, "and I never -did- taste that punch!" -She- made
it, thank you. It's a wonder you all aren't twtiching on the ground. o_-
Aerith's approach is unnoticed! Especially since she's being 'tamed.' c_c How
annoying.
Squall stands listening. If he had a white towel over one arm, he could be
mistaken for a towelrack or a butler. Likely the former, because his
expression has gained wooden qualities and he keeps dodging looks at Vincent
out of the corner of his eyes, as if sounding distance. It looks... very
tense.
Anibell giggles and hees and such, being rather Girly and the like. Her eyes
constantly, nervously, shift away from Farrell! Eye contact isn't something
she's strong at apparently, and as a jeer from a girl in the crowd reaches her
ears, she bristles, and blushes. "--...Uhm, that's a nice name," she covers.
c_c
Bleak doesn't speak for a few moments, even though it is a portion where he
should have been able to. He next words explain it however, "Actually, I
believe I could do better than that... I could intoduce you to her if you
wish."
Vincent nods in agreement to Raine's assessment. "They are to be commended for
their efforts in recovering." he glances at Squall for a moment, before
adding, "And in their aid to others outside of their walls." Yes, that's a
compliment, not a jab, if the tone of Vincent's voice, changed to faint signs
of pride, is any indication.
Farrell chuckles inwardly at Anibell's comfort, or lack thereof regarding eye
contact. And it's completely understandable. As they make their way into a
place on the floor where there's enough room for movement, Farrell holds out
his other hand and waits for her attention before doing anything else.
Reaching up, Irvine tips his hat politely, and somewhat formerly (for him,
anyway) toward Selphie, that smug, irritating, pompous smile crossing his lips
again. "Whatever Sefie wants, Sefie gets." Of course, he's unaware that
Selphie made the punch or perhaps he'd reconsider and try to detour her
somewhere else. Maybe not, she's suddenly much more 'tame', which is nice...
of course, if the hyperactivity began again, he'd just be forced to reapply
the same 'calming' technique.
Without further prompting, Irvine begins to walk with Selphie toward the
refreshment table.
The timing couldn't be better, either, as the dance draws to a close with
Bleak's question. "You could?" Rinoa asks, "I would love to meet her."
Raine glances to the floor, just feeling the tension in the air and is silent
for a short time...until the music changes to another song. Raine hesitates
for a moment longer before she looks up to smile to Squall. "Oh! I love this
song!" Never mind the fact she's NEVER heard it before in her life. ^_^ She
glances to Vincent still smiling pleasantly, "Excuse us." She than moves over
to Squall, wraps her arms around one of his, "I know you're just dying to
dance with me." She begins tugging him to the dance floor. Come on! ^_^
Aerith moves towards the refreshments as well; partially because of the urge to
say hello, partly because of the natural Cetra boyfriend-theft instinct, and
partly because... well... she's hungry and thirsty. Yes, she probably looks
rather grubby compared to the other people, whether or not they're all gussied
up or not, but she didn't bring a change of clothes. So. "Hello," she says
when she gets within hailing distance, smiling benignly at them both.
To say that he's surprised at the sudden...er... support from Raine would be an
understatement, and Squall blinks as he's suddenly glomped and tugged. He
gives Vincent something of a confused look over his shoulder; an improvement
from deadpan passivity, but a response born of the glomp and tugging. Maybe he
wants to say something like 'Bye' or something, but the pair are obscured by a
dancing couple and the moment is gone.
Bleak nods slightly, slowing to a halt with the music, "First let me thank you
for a wonderful dance, you truly are very talented... certainly my meager
attempts to keep from breaking form were only jsut sufficent." a quick scan
re-locates Aerith, and he nods in her direction, "Now then, perhaps some
formal introductions..." preparing to exit the dance floor before the next
dance starts up... but not in a rude fashion, that just wouldn't be proper.
Kain enters the party...looking...rather impressed, at the whole scheme of
things.
Vincent is allowed only a brief nod, before the two are lost to the crowd.
Then... well damn. He tried. He even stuck around for a little bit, when
finding out that Lucrecia wasn't present.... he looks over the gathering
again, as if to make sure. No? Nothing? Well, time to leave perhaps. Vincent
turns away and begins making his way for the door. His social fuel is low.
Time to rest it up for another quarter century.
And people wonder why Selphie's like she is. Tch! Blame people like Irvine.
Rather -- don't. She -likes- this, thankyou. Letting herself be lead, the
previously Hyperactive Short-Attention-Spann`ed girl hums along the new song,
glancing around at the random faces as she does so. Dum dum dum-- Oh! That
girl from the meeting... thing! Beaming at Aerith after the 'hello,' she
wavewave!s. She's behaving! c_c "Hi-ee!" is what she offers in response,
awaiting her yummy-drink. "Glad'ja could come!" Yay.
Rinoa follows Bleak from the floor with an easy "new people, be happy!" smile.
And frighteningly, it isn't an act with her. She really -is- just that
friendly.
Anibell blinks back up to Farrell, blushing again. "--Erm," she manages,
blinking at his other hand. You see -- she's never danced before. She doesn't
-say- so, but it's rather obvious. *>_>*
Raine waits until she's pulled Squall to the other end of the dance floor away
from Vincent before she turns to face Squall, takes his hand and if he doesn't
do it, she places his hand properly at her waist. Whoa. Deja vu. ^_^ She waits
a moment before asking, "Sorry about that...I just got distinct feeling that
you really didn't want to be there."
Tipping his hat to Aerith, Irvine remembers her from the meeting, also. A pretty
face like that isn't easy to forget, after all. *cough* Anyway, he drifts
apart from Selphie for just a moment, after murmuring a quiet "Scuse me a
moment, darlin'" to get fetch a glass of punch, one for her and one for him.
This, of course leaves her free to chat with Aerith for the moment.
Bleak collects his punch as he passes, each gliding step kept at a casual and
calm pace. He is in no hurry, and would not wish to put undue strain on Rinoa.
Arriving at the refreshments table near Aerith and Selphie. He waits patiently
for a verbal opening to make the intended introductions however... go figure.
Aerith says, "Hello," to Selphie, still smiling. She folds her hands behind her
back and rocks a bit back and forth on her heels... and mystical senses known
as 'peripheral vision' go *ping* and make her turn her head. Eek! "Oh, hello,
Bleak." She tilts her head slightly at Rinoa, still with the warm smile, and
says - to Selphie as well, and in fact Irvine if his ears are working, "I'm
Aerith Gainesborough, it's nice to meet all of you."
Rinoa pauses only once during the walk to pull the strap of one heel back onto
her foot correctly after it has slid down a bit. Aside from that, though, she
has no trouble keeping up with Bleak's admittedly slower pace.
The smile never leaves Farrell's face.. at least not yet. To make things easier
for both of them, he goes ahead and prepares them for the whole dance routine.
He can already tell that Anibell isn't what you'd call a 'dancer' but luckilly
for her (and not to mention him), he knows how. Just to save the player the
headache of trying to write everything perfectly, we'll say that Farrell goes
ahead and associates each hand with the proper positions and whatnot. "Just
try to relax and go with the flow." he says quietly to her. "It's not as
difficult as it seems." Once she's ready, they shall begin. Here's hoping all
goes well.
Kain walks in, and joins the party. He takes a seat at an empty table.
Kain observes the dancing style being used...so he can imitate it as soon as he
can.
Squall gazes at Raine with a light, puzzled frown, and a faint knitting of the
borws. Standard fare. "Uh... just a minor disagreement with Vincent. I really
should get back to work," he adds, as he finds himself in dance mode again. He
casts about briefly, as if for support, or for an opening in the crowd to
escape through.
Yay! People! Nyahaha. Irvine's scheme could never compare to -hers-. Beaming
happily to the Materia-Girl, she notices Bleak a second or so after Aerith
does -- and Rinoa, to boot! Scooore! Waving happily to Bleak, though she
chatted with him earlier, she also adds in a -happier- wavewave to Rinoa, and
a 'hi-ee!' before Aerith's introduction. Which! She honors, and claps her
hands together. "I'm Selphie! I hope you're having a mega-cool time!" She sure
is. o_o Waity-wait for Irvy.
Bleak nods politly to Aerith and Selphie, then speak/whispers to Aerith, "Allow
me to introduce Rinoa, Aerith. I have told her somewhat of the part you played
in our trip here."
Returning to Selphie's side, holding out a glass of punch to her, Irvine waits
until she's taken it before glancing up at Aerith, nodding. He heard the
introduction, he wasn't _that_ far away, after all. "I remember you, glad you
could make it, Miss Aerith." He's got a bit of a drawl, though he's worked on
toning it down, it just kinda pops out occasionally.
Anibell blushes the entire time, doing as she's told. Nodding slowly, she
offers, "I'll try," which is really the best she -can- do.
Rinoa smiles warmly to the other lady, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Aerith."
She offers her hand then, to be shaken. "And welcome to Garden, though I'm
sure you've heard that several times already."
Raine blinks at Squall and tilts her head before stepping back from him. She
looks slightly hurt...as if she just did something she shouldn't have(See :
Stupid). She nods and glances away as she starts to blush from embarrassment.
"I understand."
Kain decides to walk over to the group containing Rinoa, Aerith, Sephie, Irvine,
and Bleak. He greets them all, "Good evening to all of you." He doesn't know
Rinoa yet...so he seems to await an introduction.
Aerith giggles and nodnods at Rinoa. "Yes, I have." She turns her head to Irvine
- "Please, just Aerith." - and then back to Rinoa, extending a hand, since
she'd been Formally Introduced. And she doesn't wanna curtsey. "...hello," she
says to the towering blonde man, nodding slightly. Wow. Tall guys. And she's
surrounded. If only she'd brought her flower basket, she could make a killing
right now.
Farrell leads, which shouldn't be a surprise. Starting off slowly, much slower
than one named Rinoa tried to get into things, Farrell tries to get a simple
movement into the mind of Anibell, just an exaggerated sway of sorts that most
dances can sometimes start with.. or not.. but it works. As things get better,
more subtle things will be added such as various 'fill-ins' to variate the
aforementioned movement. Let's see how it's working.