Scarab, this one’s for you—based on your plotbunny of one character teaching another to dance. Merry Christmas. :)
A fragment in which not much happens, set some time after this ficlet using LightningFlash's codenames of Jade Fox and Flame for Lady Illusion and Sparx working together.
Dancing.“You’re the girl. Follow my lead.”
Sparx adjusted her hands slightly in order to be comfortable.
“Move your left hand further up. That’s better.”
She sighed. “It’s annoying.”
Lady Illusion released her, and took a step backwards. “You agreed to exchange places for this mission.”
Sparx rolled her eyes. “Let me complain, willya? Dancing’s just not my thing.”
Lady Illusion’s form shifted into a chestnut-haired man with a rather plain face. “Would you be more comfortable with this, Sparx?”
“Nah. The shape’s so not you. Change back.”
“Fine. Concentrate. One, two, three. Just hold on and smile.”
“I
am smiling.” It was more like gritted teeth, but Lady Illusion didn’t comment on that.
“Listen to the music.” The waltz played from an old-looking victrola behind them; it was a nice tune, the melody sparkling and flowing like a summer breeze. Sparx decided she hated it.
“Jade Fox has a reputation for being the epitome of grace.”
“She is. When she’s fighting.” The song was repeating itself now, she was sure, and she tried to follow the rhythm this time around, looking down in case she stepped on Lady Illusion’s feet.
“That would be the Flame.” There was slight amusement in the tone this time, and Sparx glanced up to notice a small smirk.
“Fighting’s different. I’m only there this time for the food.”
“And the experience. It’ll help us in more than this if you know how to comport yourself in society.”
“Most of the society I hang out with doesn’t use words like ‘comport’.”
“My point exactly.”
The music flowed around Sparx now, and without noticing she had been starting to accustom herself to its tempo and beat, following Lady Illusion’s steps as they bantered.
“Not bad,” she said.
Sparx looked startled, and fumbled again, nearly tripping over her own feet.
“That was better. Let your body do all the work,” Lady Illusion said.
“But I feel like I need to think about it,” Sparx replied. “It’s…hard.”
“Can you think of it as being similar to martial arts?”
“That’s not the same thing.” Sparx’ brow furrowed. “That’s fighting, and this…isn’t.”
“They’re both about movement.” Lady Illusion walked over to change the music. “What about a tango?”
“Sure. Sounds better than some old waltz.”
“All right. Hand on my arm, here, closer, then count four…”
The music this time was a more upbeat tune, and something inside Sparx appreciated the extra spice.
“Keep the weight on the balls of your feet.”
“Ouch. I think I have blisters.”
“Don’t be silly. Pivot, then backwards pivot, then spin.”
“Okay.” Sparx laughed as the motion of the spin nearly set their noses colliding. “Let’s try that again.” The tune was more energetic than the waltz, and she set a quick pace.
“Wait. I lead.”
“
I have to be the girl. Great.”
“Last time I checked you were.” She steered Sparx in a circle.
“You’re more…
girly.”
“And sometimes I’m male.”
“But that’s different.” Sparx spun, stomping her foot with flair to echo the drumbeat. “I don’t do girly.”
“Why?”
“It’s…boring. And way too much effort to put on makeup and look pretty and stuff. And people think it’s weak.”
“They’re stupid people.” Lady Illusion bent Sparx backwards, then pulled her back up. “The appearance of weakness can help you.”
“Yeah, well. So I’ll be doing it this one time. Stop reminding me.”
“It’s amusing. You get distracted when you’re angry.”
The music spun to a close, and Sparx looked down at her feet, realising that she’d danced most of the latter half of the tune easily enough.
“I…”
Lady Illusion laughed. “It’s time for a field run, I think. Then you can face Duke Hugo with the best of them.”
--
The glowing building in front of her with glass windows was a restaurant she didn’t know, somewhere in the swanky areas of Magery City. And it wasn’t the only unfamiliar thing to her; her new dress—bright red, at her insistence, though Lady Illusion had recommended blue for her eyes—still pinched slightly, the fancy shoes had a slight heel giving her more height, and the makeup she wore felt almost like a mask, although it wasn’t nearly as much as she’d seen other girls wear.
“The rather fancifully named Castle,” Lady Illusion explained, taking her arm. The morph she’d chosen was a pale-skinned human woman with features and build close enough to her normal shape; it was easier for Sparx to imagine the real
her that way, and though she wouldn’t give Lady Illusion the satisfaction of saying it aloud she was glad of the choice of form.
“Fanciful’s right. Doesn’t even
look like a castle.”
“It’s the ambience.” They were there, walking up the pale marble steps; from here on they wouldn’t be anything other than two ordinary human women for a night out on the town.
“And…nice ambience it is too,” Sparx said lamely as they walked past the doorman.
“I’ll take your coat,” Lady Illusion said.
“You sure? It’s…pretty cold here…” All of a sudden the dress felt extremely skimpy indeed, and the makeup mask didn’t count for anything.
“Play the girl, Sparx,” Lady Illusion whispered in her ear. She reached to her shoulders and slipped the coat from her, expertly prodding Sparx to make her arms slide into position.
“Okay,” Sparx said, feeling a draft of air stir the small hairs on her bare arms. “What about you…?”
Lady Illusion had already slipped her coat off, hanging it next to Sparx’.
She looked good, Sparx had to admit, confident in an understated navy blue dress that revealed slightly more skin than Sparx’ own.
“Let’s go in. We have a reservation at table forty-five.”
Sparx took her arm again as they walked in together, Lady Illusion easily navigating a path through surprisingly clean white tables and the overflowing greenery that the Castle used as decoration.
There was music playing, and Sparx looked up to see a formally dressed electro-band on a stage set to the right of the dining room; she also noticed a floor space cleared, where a few couples were already swaying together.
“I can’t stand this tune,” she muttered, more to make conversation than anything else. “You’d think a place like this could afford to hire better musicians.”
“Their second trumpet is slightly flat,” Lady Illusion said. “Still, better than
some.”
Sparx cracked a smile. “True. And that’s better,” she said, referring to the new, more jazzy tune that had started playing.
They sat down at a table under a wall covered in a red-berried vine; it was a comparatively private spot, Sparx noticed, which was good. She picked up one of the gold-edged menus and flicked through it, stopping herself from making a face at the prices. She could afford it—she was making much more money as a freelancer than as a Knight—but the idea of paying so much for food was really ridiculous.
“Smoked salmon salad entrée, I think, followed by the arugula salad,” Lady Illusion said.
“I’ll go for the…chicken and garlic soup,” Sparx said, looking down at the menu. “And then the steak. Served rare.” She might as well get her money’s worth, she thought.
“With a good white,” Lady Illusion added. “Daubignon?”
Sparx didn’t know about wine, so she nodded. “Okay. And I’ll have the chocolate gate-thing for dessert.”
“Gateau.”
“Whatever.”
The waiter, a young-looking human with brown hair, approached their table with a fresh-looking pad of notepaper in his hand. “May I take your orders?” he asked.
“Smoked salmon for her, and the chicken soup for me,” Sparx said, remembering. “Dowbignon white, and for the main course rare steak for me, arig…ar
ugula salad for her. Then I’ll have chocolate gateau, and…”
“Vanilla sorbet,” Lady Illusion added smoothly.
The waiter finished noted it all down, and nodded. “Is there anything else I can assist you with?” he asked.
Lady Illusion shook her head.
“Nope,” Sparx said. “Thanks.” He wasn’t that much younger than her, she thought, and she wondered if she’d be working as a waitress or something herself if she hadn’t chosen to become a Knight.
Once the waiter left, she broached that topic of conversation with Lady Illusion. “I wonder if I’d have worked in some place like this if I hadn’t trained as a Knight. What about you?”
“A nunnery wasn’t an option.” Lady Illusion shrugged. “And I didn’t fancy streetwalking.”
Sparx laughed. “Can’t imagine you taking the black. Are you even a Jesu?”
“No. I find it hard to believe in anything I cannot see evidence for, and our own world is fascinating enough.”
“I like to think there’s
something out there, you know, worlds beyond White Hot Oblivion and some big guy up there. It helps you believe in right and wrong if you think someone’s out there as a final judge.”
“And who says right and wrong exist? Face it, Sparx; it’s relative. We’ve both killed not a few people in our time—yes, I know for you it was minions and, more recently, corrupt criminals—and yet most mortals would call that wrong.”
“Self-defence and defence of others doesn’t count,” Sparx said firmly.
“And what if you had the choice between cold-blooded murder of one innocent and an entire dimension being destroyed? What would your someone out there do then?”
“I guess he…wouldn’t let that situation happen,” Sparx said. “It hasn’t yet.”
“True, but…” Lady Illusion rolled her eyes, and then smiled at her. “Ah yes. You’ve never liked hypotheticals.”
“Give me a foe to blast and a sword and I’m fine,” Sparx said cheerfully.
“Or, perhaps, a gold-edged menu…” Lady Illusion jerked her head towards the waiter, who was approaching them with a food-filled tray in hand.
Sparx grinned. “Perhaps food. Perhaps.”
“You do know how to use cutlery, am I correct?” Lady Illusion said from out the corner of her mouth once the waiter had disappeared off again..
“
Yes!” Sparx flung her a glare. “Maybe not all the…weird stuff, but just because my parents were human doesn’t mean they didn’t teach me to use a knife and fork!”
Lady Illusion nodded. “Don’t get upset, Sparx. Just making sure. Imitate the others you see around you at Duke Hugo’s, all right?”
“Like I can’t handle
that,” she said scornfully.
She unfolded her napkin after Lady Illusion and set to eating the soup.
“And bear in mind that most men would prefer to order their own food, not to mention yours,” Lady Illusion said composedly, a small forkful of salmon paused in her hand.
“I said it straight when I did it for you. What’s the problem?”
“That it won’t be the thing to do if you’re out in public with someone else. Particularly one of Hugo’s mob, and Gervase Montreal is said to prefer redheads.”
“Eww.” Sparx grimaced. She hadn’t gone all the way through the thick file Lady Illusion had assembled, but she remembered his photo.
“You’re doing fine so far. Maybe eat a little slower, and if a date is paying—which he probably will—order more cheaply, such as salad.”
“You’re not going to make me cover the cheque, are you?” Sparx said suddenly and suspiciously.
“No. We’re splitting it.”
Sparx gave a slight sigh in relief. “So you like salads, then?”
“They’re healthy.”
Sparx swallowed another mouthful of soup; it was really
good stuff, she could tell, and the garlic added a nice kick to it. “They’re boring.”
Lady Illusion shrugged. “Suit yourself. Unless you’re accompanied by a human. Particularly one of Hugo’s.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Sparx rolled her eyes. “The criminal underworld’s way less sensitive about what you eat and who orders and stuff.”
“And whether or not you use the correct soup spoon.”
Sparx looked down—had she made a mistake like that?—then looked up to see Lady Illusion’s grin.
Lady Illusion laughed with her for a few seconds, then her face took on a more serious expression. “You’re not certain of yourself,” she said. “That could cost you your life in this game.”
“If there’s one thing you should know about me by now, it’s that I’m confident,” Sparx said. “You stress too much.”
“I like staying alive. Wine?”
She poured for both Sparx and herself gracefully, though Sparx noticed that she was less than generous in serving.
“Thanks.” Sparx drained hers in one go. She’d grown more used to alcohol since leaving the Knights, though it still wasn’t something she indulged herself in or knew much about; as far as she could tell the wine’s taste justified its price. “Do I get any more?”
“Best if you keep your wits about you for the dance floor.”
“Yeah. That.” Sparx looked at the marble-tiled area set apart from the tables, on which several human couples were contentedly dancing. It still wasn’t something she was confident about doing, and instead of fretting about it she attacked her meal with gusto. There wasn’t any sense in wasting good steak.
Dessert was finally served after Lady Illusion had finished her salad—it was probably
ladylike, Sparx guessed, to savour every mouthful and eat slowly and politely, but it so wasn’t her style. Something else she’d have to watch for the mission, she guessed.
“And shall we dance?” Lady Illusion asked, scribbling down her cheque for the meal and placing it under the half-finished sorbet.
“Absolutely.” Sparx dabbed at the spot of chocolate she just
knew was on her chin. “If you’re ready for it, that is.”
Sparx offered her arm to the Lady as they stood up, pleased with herself for remembering the formality; this might actually be
fun, she thought.
The tune was actually one they’d practiced to, a popular Fourth Dimension melody, and the familiarity was enough to give Sparx the energy and confidence she needed to carry the dance off.
Her cheeks were flushed with the effort, she realised, and this really
was fun exercise if you knew what you were doing. And it might not have been the sort of thing that either Sparx or the Flame liked to do, but here she looked like a girl and she’d damn well dance if she wanted to.
“Enjoying the evening, Sparx?” Lady Illusion asked her.
“Strangely, yes,” she answered honestly, letting the talk cover up the physical concentration, like their banter during fights. “You like it?”
“Yes.” Lady Illusion added a variation into the dance step suddenly, making it more complicated, and Sparx adapted to keep up with her. It was learning new moves, Sparx realised, watching someone else’s body to memorize how they positioned themselves and learn where they were going to strike next, just like she had watched Lady Illusion back when they were still foes.
As Sparx matched her, Lady Illusion varied the dance yet again, making it harder for Sparx to follow her lead; which was
fun, Sparx thought, a little like the battles she so craved.
“Nice moves.” Sparx grinned, and added in a variation of her own to her twirl.
“You’re improving.” Lady Illusion matched the move with a shimmy of her own. “Gradually,” she added.
“We’ll see about that.” Sparx smiled. This was going to be
good.
She barely noticed that the tune was reaching a climax, she was so absorbed in the footwork, and almost missed that the next song was a waltz going at a far slower tempo than her beating pulse.
“You won’t like this one,” Lady Illusion warned, sweeping her around the dance floor.
“Maybe.” Sparx let herself listen to the music for a while, the harmonic string sounds washing over her. “Or maybe I can handle this.” She wouldn’t have admitted to liking anything calm in public, but after the frenetic pace of the last dance this was nice, and like she’d been told, she stepped closer to Lady Illusion. “Mmm. It’s kinda pretty.”
“I’ve always liked this one,” Lady Illusion said, extending a hand for Sparx to step away from her for a moment and spin around. “They say it started out as a fey belltune.”
“Only it’s not luring us to fall down any cliffs.” Sparx laughed. “I met a villain who did that, while I was still in the Academy. Not really a villain, just a lost Unseely around one of our field trips. We blasted him, but then he shrunk himself down and vanished down a rabbit hole.”
“They’re unpredictable things,” Lady Illusion said. “I once had to get past a swarm of them, all shrunk down into the size of large moths and shooting small bolts of mageflame…”
They continued to dance and swap anecdotes as the music played around them, until Sparx looked up to see a human staring at them.
“What’s
he looking at?” she said. The man wasn’t the only one staring, though; she remembered seeing a couple of both curious and appreciative glances as they’d danced. Then she looked down at her hands in Lady Illusion’s, and wrenched them from her. “
Oh. They must think we’re…you know…” She stepped back towards the border of greenery separating the dancing area from the dining area. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
“What does it matter what they think?” Lady Illusion turned around, and smiled at a partnerless human youth.
“It does. You and me…you know,
together!”
“Calm down, Sparx. Nobody here knows either you or this morph.”
The human walked nervously towards them, and Sparx managed a sheepish smile.
“Are you two…lovely ladies…enjoying the evening?” he asked somewhat hesitantly.
Sparx stepped forward. “Yes. Very. How about you?”
“The…better for meeting you.”
Sparx restrained herself from rolling her eyes at his attempts at wit. “Call me Flame,” she said.
“It’s like the dress. And the hair,” he said. “Anthony duBois. I don’t know if you’ve heard of DuBois Steel…?”
She hadn’t, but nodded anyway.
“And I don’t suppose you’d allow me to…” He paused, trying to get the words out.
“To what?” Sparx asked sweetly.
Human norms. Let him take the lead.“To…have this dance? Please?” He looked desperate, as though his water-coloured eyes were going to pop out of his head.
“Sure,” Sparx said, offering him her hand. “I’d be
delighted.”
As he inexpertly led her back onto the floor, Sparx glanced behind herself to notice Lady Illusion chatting to another man; evidently she’d have no trouble finding an alternative partner,
probably one who could dance better than duBois, not that that
was difficult.
He trod on her feet, and Sparx only just restrained herself from crying out and hitting him, and missed the cue for the second section, and stumbled so much that Sparx had to prop him upright as best as she could.
Well. Now I know
I’m not the worst dancer in the world.She sneaked a glance across the room at Lady Illusion, who was dancing with a silver-haired man who seemed to share her skills at dancing; at least
one of them was having some fun, Sparx thought bitterly.
DuBois Steel was apparently one of the wealthiest corporations in the city, she learned, listening to her partner droning on while she tried to avoid getting her feet trodden on, and his father was the President of the Board as well as the founder, and if she was ever interested in touring the premises she’d be quite welcome…
At long last, the tune finished, and Sparx removed her bruised feet as far away from her partner as possible. Why couldn’t she have gotten someone who could actually
dance?
“You’re a wonderful dancer, Miss Flame,” her partner said, smiling to reveal teeth that reminded Sparx of an eager rabbit. “Will you take this one? Your companion still seems occupied.”
Lady Illusion was still chatting to the silver-haired man; they’d hit it off personally as well as both being good dancers, Sparx thought in exasperation.
“No
way,” she said firmly, almost amused at the sudden depression that came over Anthony duBois’ face. “I’d prefer to dance with someone who knows
how.”
“Such as your…
companion?” A flush was creeping over the young man’s cheeks.
Sparx didn’t like the sound of that pause, but she ignored it. “Yes, why not?
She doesn’t step on my feet. Or tell me how rich her father is.”
He shook his head. “I thought you might be just…friends…at first. But I guess I was wrong.”
“We’re not exactly
friends.” More like co-workers, enemies who by coincidence had gone into business together as Jade Fox and the Flame.
He took a tottering step back from her, as though staying close would taint him. “Yes. I didn’t know you were…like
that…”
“We’re not
together, either,” Sparx said sharply. “But go find someone else to pester. I’m out of here.”
She strode off, feeling people’s eyes on her staring, and paid no heed to any of those as she advanced on Lady Illusion. “It’s late,” she said, grabbing her arm.
“A pleasure meeting you, Mr. Forrest,” Lady Illusion told the human. “Perhaps we’ll encounter each other again.”
“Let’s go,” Sparx muttered, taking her from the dance floor. “We’ve spent long enough here.”
“Very well. Wasn’t your partner to your satisfaction?”
“
No. You were getting along well with yours, though.”
“He’s a banker, with shares in a few underworld concerns. A person with whom scraping an acquaintance was useful.”
“And was duBois
useful, too?”
“Daddy dearest is rather well-off…and as a hobby enjoys a bit of mask and cloak every now and then.”
“I heard about the well-off bit. Extensively. Who’s his father?”
“Excelsior.” The name was only vaguely familiar to Sparx as one of the several vigilantes haunting the night in the area. “Interestingly enough, no friend to Duke Hugo.”
“So you brought me here just so we could meet a couple of people.” They had reached the coat rack by now, and Sparx grabbed her own to draw on.
“It’s useful to mix business with…well, business,” Lady Illusion explained.
“And you
didn’t tell me that you only wanted to meet Forrest and duBois.” Sparx flung her arms into the air. “You never tell me these things!”
“I didn’t
only want to meet them,” Lady Illusion said quietly. “We agreed this was going to be for you, a trial run…”
“Yeah, right!” Sparx walked out on to the steps. “I’m calling the Flash. Don’t wait up for me.”
Ignoring the heels and the dress clinging to her, Sparx ran down as fast as she could, not looking back at Lady Illusion or anyone else around. She’d go flying. Very quickly, and very far away, and
maybe she’d come back in time to be the human Jade Fox for the Hugo mission.