The Exploits of Misfit Company

"Well, that sounds boring." Stella laughs. "I'm glad you joined us, at any rate."

Yvan had been keeping himself off to the side, simply overlooking the gathering all and making note of where everyone had been. He felt bad having left Alys alone while he went to take care of a very naughty bear, but seemed to have kept herself entertained by dancing with Bixby. He wondered for a moment if the changeling was the one who asked her, then again he highly doubted it as he seemed to be more interested in the corner than interacting with any of them. Alys also usually made a point to make everyone feel included, a good quality of hers that Yvan had admired about her.

Stella and Vastra had been enjoying themselves too, he could see, the wizard finally being able to dance with the rogue after the bear fiasco with little to no interruption from then after. Kasha was at the table-- No, wait... where did she go? Then he felt eyes on him again. The same gaze from when he was in the tailors shop. Kasha. His eyes went down to see the druid with determination in her eyes, then heard the command. 

His cheeks flush red in embarrassment. Where did this come from? "Uh... A-are you sure you don't want to ask someone else who, uh, knows... how to dance, Kasha?"

"Well, let's see." she deeply considered the question, her face scrunching up and her finger tapping her lip, like she was about to solve a calculus problem, or decide which of one hundred flavors of ice cream to pick. She looked at the dining area. "Vastra is dancing with Stella." she nodded. "Mhmm. They're busy. Yes. Rinn's not here. Hoodini tried to eat me. Obsidian is finishing his dinner." she thought some more, slowly turning to him again. "And Alys is dancing with Bixby, for some reason I can't fathom. So, uh...YUP! I'm pretty darn tootin' sure!"

She took a step back, half curtsied, and offered her hand to the barbarian with a look on her face that promised pain and suffering should he refuse.

Well, with a look like that how could he possibly refuse! He gives a sigh of defeat and bows before her, then takes her hand and leads her to the dance floor, his nerves slowly starting to bubble up. Once there, he looks down to the druid and asks, "Do... do you even know how to dance, Kasha? Like that..." He'd point over to Stella and Vastra as an example. 

"Yup!" she nodded. "And you can, too! Watch this." she said, and something happened.

Kasha took Yvan's hand and pulled him in, taking him around his waist. She performed slow, classical moves, and never let go of his hand. 

"Copy me. It doesn't have to be perfect. Do what I do."

With each move Kasha made, she did it slow so Yvan could follow. Essentially, by holding on to his hand, Kasha was able to move him and twirl him and adjust where she wanted him to go simply by pulling, pushing, and lifting his hand and his arm. She would move him out and bring him in, and hold up her arm by his hand. She would smile and nod at him encouragingly, even if he improvised a little bit, it was ok, because she never let go, and looked at him with a smile and a giggle the whole time making him forget people were looking at him - it was just him and her. She brought him in, and back out, tiptoed around him. Sometimes she held him with one hand, sometimes with two. She directed him to make classy, smooth motions.

And, the best part of it all was that she made it look like it was all because of him.

Yvan was dancing.

"I'm glad to be here too. What about you? Any good childhood memories that you want to talk about?"

Stella considers for a bit. "Hmm...learning to fight. My parents were also pretty insistent about that, but I enjoyed it. Rilan, the captain of the guard, taught me, and I always felt more relaxed with a blade--or two--in hand. A lot of the expectations fell away. And then once I found Furlong again, as an adult, he helped me remember those lessons, and it was a reminder that I didn't hate everything about my family. Plus," she grins, "it does worlds for one's self-confidence and comfort to have a way of defending yourself."

For a moment, Yvan was afraid he wouldn't be able to keep up with Kasha, or step on her toes, or make a fool of himself and her. While the druid could have easily laughed it off, he wasn't one to do so, usually one to drown in embarrassment and hide. He was always slightly envious of her in that regard.

But it wasn't like that this time around. While at first it took him a minute to loosen up, Kasha made the process easy, taking her time with the goliath to get him into the swing of things. With her lead, everything felt natural, like he had danced countless of times before, doing moves that he didn't know that he could do. It was as if the world around them disappeared with his nerves melting away as a result of it all.

He wasn't anxious anymore. He let the music flow through him, let Kasha guide him, and allowed a smile to tug at the corner of his lips. A rare, wide, beaming smile that had rarely appeared on his face and that very few had seen. It all came easily to him, and that was because of her. 

Near the end of the music piece, the world returned slowly, their twirls lessened, and eventually they were standing in front of one another again. Yvan lets out a breath, surprised at how much fun that was, and, still smiling, pulls Kasha into a tight embrace. "I have no idea what you did," He says quietly to her. "... But thank you."

Kasha hugged Yvan back as tight as she could. She had a very content look on her face. "You're welcome." she said softly. She turned her head towards Obsidian and winked.

"I'm glad that you found something that allows you to feel empowered." She says, before focusing on the dance. She twirls Stella once, twice, then dips her.

Stella smiles, clearly enjoying the dance as she moves through the steps and twirls, relaxed and sure of herself. She resists any automatic tensing as Vastra dips her, trusting the wizard to keep her from falling.

Obsidian has set up camp at the table, where he's idly eating some of the people food while watching the dancers. He gives Kasha an approving tail flick when the druid winks at him.

Yvan's eyes would follows Kasha's to the table, but he wouldn't focus on the feline, instead noticing something among the piles of food they had forgotten. He'll take Kasha gently by the hand. "Come. There's something I want to give you. A gift from Alys." The barbarian will then lead her to the table where the brooches and corsages had been left, noticing that one of them was gone. He would quickly glance over to where Alys and Bixby were, wondering if maybe she managed to convince him to let her pin the brooch on his suit and he simply couldn't see it from where he was.

He doesn't try to think too much on it, instead, he'll carefully pick up one of the corsages and turn to Kasha to show her in his palm. "I think it's supposed to go on your wrist... It's pretty, isn't it? She even got them to put M's on it for the Misfits..." He gives the spray of flowers a look of endearment for a moment, then looks up to the druid. "Want me to put it on you? We can give Vastra and Stella theirs too since Alys is a little busy."

"Omigosh!" Kasha squeaked, looking at it. "It's beautiful! It's like nature right next to my pulse! Yes! Lets!" she agreed happily. She puffed out her chest and her wrist as if she was receiving a medal.

The goliath has a warm smile on his face as he carefully puts the corsage on Kasha's wrist, making sure to handle it with caution as to not ruin the arrangement with his hands somehow. Once it's in place, he'll give her an approving nod, then turn back to gingerly pick up another two corsages for Stella and Vastra, handing one over to Kasha to give. "Be very careful with it, okay?" He'll say to the druid before making their way over to the two girls.

He'll politely wait for them to finish their dance prior to approaching them, not wanting to be rude, though he'll apologize regardless for the interruption. "I wanted to give these to you," He shows them the corsage in the palm of his hand. "It's a gift from Alys. She meant to give these to us before, but hasn't had the chance to. We can help put them on if you'd like...?"

"Uh, oh.." Kasha said, slowly turning to Yvan is worry, a petal hanging from her lip. The corsage she was carrying was gone. "I might have, uh.."

"BrLpBrlPlblpP!" Kasha shook her head violently and snapped out of the awful daydream and resumed her composure. She looked excitedly at Stella. 

"Here you go, Stella. Look what Alys got us. Do you need help putting it on? Isn't it pretty? Look at mine!"

Despite the very same predicted incident, or perhaps because it was anticipated, Bixby's face hadn't even changed in the slightest from the misstep beyond a slightly more amused smile. Rather, he answered her apology an almost promise of more to come with the faint nod of a patient teacher, and gradually guided things in more simpler steps. After all, this was a dance, not a competition, and in all his varied forms and personalities, the interest of the member's future took priority. A near perfect record marred only most recent events.

"Hmn... A difficult request." He admitted as much during the pause for breath. However, any designs the sorcerer might've concocted to answer in fully are soon cast aside at Alys' insistence of needing to apology. Both curious and confused, the facade of the easygoing gentleman cracks for a moment. Bixby narrowed his eyes for that split second. Then seeming to remember the setting, it is back to being all half-smiles and gentleness.

"That was never in doubt, my dear Lady Alys. Which is-..." He shook his head dismissively, unwilling or able to complete the thought. Not in between the deep breaths his elven companion needed to center herself, and certainly not at her expense either. The fact that his personal company out of all being sought spoke volumes of the importance of her needing to trouble with the changeling after stilling himself as 'Bixby'. Which is why until she truly spoke the entirety of her piece after, the psionic let not another word past his lips, or expression shift again by much; if only for the sake of appearances.

Even after all is said however, the changeling is quiet, and visibly pensive from the furrowed brows. "That is... certainly a great deal you had on your chest." He said with an empty grin, before then casually letting his gaze drift to the surroundings. "Something better left for a different setting, and a different eve, considering certain social pressures. Though..." He clicked his tongue prior to regarding Alys once more. "I understand. Partially understand, but it is something. And everything is alright. Without more mental discipline, these things are bound to happen from time to time. As what was stolen was meant for further enhancing my own mental discipline, and could be replaced, as I had already done so, nothing of value of lost. I would only hope that for the sake of the company, you will do better. And know, come tomorrow you will not need to worry about these supposed walls I have been building" He spoke calmly; and yet, the more he did so, the more detached he began to sound. "But I must ask.. Did you attempt to solve it at any point? And were anyone else involved in the theft?" 

 Vastra brings Stella back up to her feet from the dip and then lets go of her hand. "I enjoyed dancing with you. I wish we were able to do this more." She accepts the corsage from Yvan and skillfully places it around her wrist. "Thank you for bringing this to us. I'll have to tell Alys that I appreciate this once I see her."

Stella returns Vastra's smile. "It was lovely." She turns to Yvan and slips her corsage around her wrist. "Thank you, Yvan, Kasha."

Kasha jiggles her head in a ‘you’re welcome’.

Truthfully, Alys expected the sense of detachment to come on a lot sooner than it did, but almost right on cue he found chords and stuck them. It was Alys’ turn to furrow her brows. Without more mental discipline... Nothing of value lost... For the sake of the company, you’ll do better... Her eyes would waver and she’d misstep. It struck hard because she understood the truth in it, as if affirming the voices that were already nagging at her. But it wasn’t time for her to chase that rabbit down the hole. The wizard would blink to try to refocus and correct herself.

”When you wait for the right time, you'll never know when it's already too late...” Alys’ would whisper that more to herself before looking back to B, searching his eyes, “What comes tomorrow?” She’d ask, but honestly didn’t know whether she expected an actual answer or not.

Alys believed B asked those last questions more as a courtesy than out of need. Even if he didn’t actually know, he was intuitive enough. He knew she did. “Yes.”