Masquerade Mingle

[thespaceopera]

[The night has finally come--the Gravity Rush is nearly upon us! What normally serves as a large performance hall has been gutted, emptied of its boring furniture and rigged up into a fantastical mismatch of technology and old culture. No matter where you go tonight, you're encouraged to move around, dance, play games, whatever helps you sleep in late tomorrow morning.

If you aren't one for scurrying around a ballroom all night, there's always plenty of people-watching to do. After all, so many people are wearing extravagant costumes and elaborate masks. How can you even tell who is who? Get lost in a crowd of sequins, chatter with a sun and a moon, or try to beat the guy in the monster-mask at a game of cards. Meet your friends or make some new ones--this masquerade party has begun!]


[[ooc: All sections are up now, have fun! A related ooc post is HERE for any questions or plotting you'd like to do.]]

Comments

[precedented]

Calling yourself a farm boy makes it sound like the sum of who you are. Which it is not. Such titles are erroneous.

[ Just like Leto's many titles, though they're meant to inspire fear and awe. ]

[universal_charm]

I don't necessarily think so. It's just a part of who I am - there's nothing wrong with calling that one part out. The farm helped to shape me, as did my time in the Academy, and now my role as a captain. Captain is not the sum of who I am either, just the most recently formed part.

_{[ He shrugged and stepped in, brushing his fingers across the chocolate fabric. ]}

But did you really come to a dance to discuss semantics and personal identity? This is a masquerade, after all. We can be anything we want tonight.

[precedented]

Then I suppose the most pertinent question is this. Do you know how to dance?

[universal_charm]

Depends on what you mean by dance. I know how to dance in clubs on my home world, and some more formal types we learned at the Academy for balls and formal affairs. Nothing overly complicated.

But I can learn.

_{[ He titled his head slightly, lips curling at the corners and eyes sparking with a particular challenge in them. ]}

[precedented]

Then it is best you have a good teacher.

[ He holds his hand out, palm turned upward. ]

[universal_charm]

_{[ He chuckles and reaches out, placing his hand in Leto's, thumb brushing the skin along the back. ]}

Do be gentle with me.

[precedented]

I make no promises.

[ With a firm hand, Leto heads out to the floor. His spine is straight and his expression is pleasant. But there are lines of authority in his hands and feet, which shows his upbringing. He is a prince, royalty, the heir to a dynasty. ]

[universal_charm]

_{[ Kirk follows him without question, noticing the change in his demeanor, in the way his spine straightens and the lines of his face. It is a bit strange, having never seen this side of Leto, but he finds it alluring to, a little thrilling even. ]}

Have you taught someone to dance before? Or is that not something a prince does?

[precedented]

In a way. I remember -- [ He pauses, and then continues, in a nostalgic tone. ]

I remember when my father learned to dance. His mother led him by the hand in the sunlit water palaces of Caladan and taught him the way. Her hands were warm under the glass roof.

[ And his voice changes back to his normal even tone. ]

An heir had to know many things and their education was varied. How to detect poisons, how to fight, how to deflect conversation.

[universal_charm]

<sub>[ His head tilts at the change of tone, wondering at the strange way he relates the memory. As if he were there. He remembers what he had said of the wormskin, and wondered some more - but he did not want to bring that up here, not now.

Instead he focuses on being in position, on admiring the blue of Leto's eyes. ]</sub>

Was there ever a time you got to learn something fun? Something you wanted? I mean - did you ever get a moment to be not the heir?

[precedented]

[ His expression grows confused as he tries to recall such a moment. ]

I never had to learn anything in the conventional manner you speak of. I never needed tutors or schooling.

[universal_charm]

_{[ For a moment, he seems confused, but then his hand reaches up and brushes across a part of Leto where he knows the wormskin lies. There is a question in his eyes, but he would rather not speak of it, and the sad fate that awaits his friend. He did not want to sour the evening with it. ]}

That still doesn't answer my question. What did you do when you wanted to not be the heir for a little bit? It's a heavy burden, after all. Aren't there times you want to put it down for just a little?

[precedented]

[ Leto's eyes flutter happily at the touch, leaning into it. ]

When we were young, Ghani and I would run into the desert. We would hide in the corners and play with the scorpions. We hoped we'd see a worm and we would not be back for days. Our retainers would be furious with us.

[universal_charm]

<sub>[ He bites his lip, pleased to have drawn that reaction from him. He leans in some, not enough to touch their foreheads, but their faces are close, the better to hear him as they dance.

The story makes him laugh, low and warm. ]</sub>

I can imagine. Sounds like you were quite the trouble maker with this Ghani.

_{[ It's absolutely meant as a compliment if his tone is anything to go by. ]}

[precedented]

Ghanima is my twin sister.

[ He hums lightly. ] I was fortunate to have her.

[universal_charm]

Twin sister? I didn't know you had a sibling.

<sub>[ He almost wanted to ask if she too had to the wormskin, but he'd told himself not to ask or speak about it tonight, not when they were having fun.

Instead he shifted their stances, stepping in so he could wrap his arms around Leto's shoulders as they swayed. The past tense had not gone unnoticed either, and he felt unsure of asking, of bringing up sad memories. ]</sub>

Come on, you two must have gotten up to more than just sneaking out.

[precedented]

Oh, many many things. But probably unsuitable to the public.

[ He wonders if Jim will catch onto that. He hasn't told many people about his love for Ghanima, the same love she holds for him. It goes beyond familial and romantic love. She was his half, his soul, his heart. As rich as a picture he might paint, Leto is only in full light when Ghanima is there. ]

[universal_charm]

_{[ It wasn't enough for him to catch it, not really. He raised a brow though, more curious than anything now. ]}

Come on, you can't say something like that and not expand on it! That's just being cruel.

[precedented]

I never claimed to be otherwise.

[ He does a twirl, palm against palm. His steps echo the beat. ] We were in love. Are in love. Always in love. Like twin stars in orbit.

[universal_charm]

<sub>[ That catches him by surprise and his eyebrows raise before he can school his expression. Incest was taboo on his world, for a variety of reasons, and he could not quite kick his initial reaction to it. He reminded himself that Leto came from another world, a different culture, and that Leto was... different. He knew he was, simply from what the man had told him and his own experiences with him.

If he was like Leto, would he had turned to a sibling to find acceptance and love? Leto was royalty, after all. He doubted it was like the fairy tales where he could find it in someone of lower station. When he reasoned it out, it made a sort of sense that he would turn to the person who shared his blood for comfort and affection. It did not make it any less strange to his mind, but neither did he pull away from Leto, following his lead and moving in close when he was able as they stepped. ]</sub>

I can't say I quite understand. My own sibling and I were never - will never be - so close.

_{[ There was a beat as turned over words, words he felt true for only having known Leto for such a short time. ]}

I'm glad you aren't alone, though. That you have someone like that.

[precedented]

[ He lets his fingers brush against Jim's neck, half in apology and in thanks. He knows it is not easy knowledge to digest. ]

You have something like that too. Your ship, your people. When you see them, it's like coming home.

[universal_charm]

_{[ A shiver runs through him at that though, from delight rather than disgust. Who was he to question how Leto had coped? He had it rough enough with his fate hanging over his head. He did not want to burden him further, and would not abandon his friend for simply not understanding. ]}

Heh, that's right. They... they're the only real family I've ever had. They and the Enterprise are my home.

[precedented]

Family is what you make of it. At least that is what I have learned.

[ Leto's feelings on his family are complex, twisted beyond recognition. He loved them, fiercely, intensely. He would save them all if he could. But he would just as easily condemn them for their part in his doom, in the doom of all things.

Alia's broken body on the floor, as she whispers, wishing for her brother stays in his mind. Leto cannot hate. He doesn't have the capacity to curse or wish ill on anyone, but in that moment, the tragedy of it all overwhelmed him.

But such thoughts slipped by him, like sand. He was not unhappy and he shows that by pressing a kiss to Kirk's cheek, a royal boon. ]

[universal_charm]

_{[ He smiled and nodded, humming when the other man kissed his cheek. His smile softened and he turned so that his lips brushed Leto's, bumping their foreheads tenderly. ]}

You're right. You don't need blood to be family. You just have to care about each other.

_{[ Blue eyes looked into Leto's, thumb brushing back and forth where he gripped his shoulder. ]}

One day I hope you'll let met count you amongst mine, and me among yours.

[precedented]

[ That declaration takes him off guard. He doesn't know what to say, and it shows. Leto is rarely at a loss for words. ]

You do not want that, I think.

[ It's like saying you want to hang out in Westeros. ]