Small Town Complications [D6, LM] Calico's Room

[Rayfe Drathmire]

Rayfe laughs and rolls his shoulders. "Really? I didn't think I did much differently..." He gives Orlok another affectionate pat.

[Calico Carter]

Calico shook her head and chuckled.

"Whatever, Rayfe. Nyx could see you weren't acting right. And whatever your normal demeanor might be, mindless isn't it. Orlok. Come on."

Chitter.

But the saturnadus did lift off again.

[Rayfe Drathmire]

"Fair." Rayfe scoffs with a faint grin. Once Orlok dismounts, he leans over and give Nyx's mane a few gentle, reassuring pats.

"Did you..." He clears his throat. "Want to see if that music player works? It comes preloaded with some songs. That way if it doesn't function, I can exchange it before you head out of town?..."

[Calico Carter]

She arched an eyebrow. Cocked her head to the side.

"You know, when you put it that way... just... stay put a second."

She circled around behind him, and looked it over.

Not as compact as her new strollman, but the sound quality was almost definitely going to be better.

"Now, let's see... let's see what I've got with a good beat... aha."

She circled back around in front of him and started to dance. Unlike the drunken stumbling on the night they'd met, this was... really, really good. Orlok flew and served as a sort of partner, his shimmering wings adding a bit of flair that Calico's rather tacky attire sorely lacked.

[Rayfe Drathmire]

Rayfe's brows hike up with surprise when Calico repositions in front of him and starts to dance. Her performance is impressive, and he's quickly entranced by her movements. Her footwork is flawless compared to the woman he saw dancing at the Apricot...

Nyx snorts and stomps her foot as the music starts to play. She hops around in a little circle, trying to mimic Calico.

"...I didn't know what I was missing out on when I lost our bet..." Rayfe says wistfully. He leans one hand against his cheek, admiring her dancing.

[Calico Carter]

Oh this felt good.

Like the night of her last performance, when that talent scout had been in the audience, and everything, everything had been going right.

She smiled and spoke without missing a beat.

"Well. You're here now, after all... can you really call it a loss?"

[Rayfe Drathmire]

"Only thing I've lost is my breath." Rayfe murmurs smoothly. His eyes track her precisely, amazing by her dexterity and synchronization.

"I'd... join you but I'm too afraid of messing up something so beautiful..."

[Calico Carter]

"Flattery will get you nowhere, but never stop trying."

Was she blushing a little?

Oh, most certainly.

"You can always cut in on the next song. I'm sure Orlok won't mind..."

That worthy had in fact fluttered over to Nyx and was leading the enthusiastic magnox in a bit of a dance of his own.

[Rayfe Drathmire]

He smirks a bit. "Sure... you're on." At the same time, he'd be perfectly happy if this song never stopped.

Nyx huffs happily at Orlok, her dancing managing to be even more enthusiastic now that she has a partner.

[Calico Carter]

"Or you could just... stay... right... there..."

She started moving around, making another circle behind him.

"Until you feel the need to do anything else..."

[Rayfe Drathmire]

She finally did it. She finally made him blush.

As the red tint flushes his cheeks, he knows it, and the first instinct is to cover his face. But covering his face meant he wouldn't be able to watch her, so that was no good either...

Rayfe settles for half-covering his face with one hand, keeping the other eye exposed. He exhales heavily out his nose and grumbles something inaudible under his breath.

[Calico Carter]

"Turnabout is fair play, Rayfe."

She threw him a wink, despite her own blush, then bit her lip.

And then the song was over.

Hooboy.

[Rayfe Drathmire]

As the song ends, Rayfe stands and shifts over toward the music player. He taps one of the buttons, and the same tune begins to replay.

"...It's a good song."

Rayfe appears to have regained some of his composure. He moves to join her now, standing in front of Calico. He starts to reach out for her, but his fingertips fall short.

His tone is soft and thoughtful. "...Need implies I'm acting in a way that disregards your feelings on the matter. Want... puts pressure on you because it risks disappointing me. So, I'd like to put it this way. How would you feel about a dance and a kiss?"

[Calico Carter]

She stepped forward, but still shy of the reach of his fingertips. Just. Then reached out to guide his hands into place.

"That clear things up for you?"

[Rayfe Drathmire]

"Yes." Rayfe gently takes hold of her and starts to sway them along. He can't come close to keeping up with her solo dancing, so hopefully his attempt to keep a slow pace with her is charming in it's own way?...

Nyx, in her mind, has already mastered Orlok's improvised choreography of this song and does not understand why it is playing again. She spots their humans together, dancing a strange dance. She tilts her head up at Orlok.

As the song picks up, Rayfe releases one hand on her so she can spin and pivot and really show off. He's smiling for each second of those perfect three and a half minutes.

And as the vocalist winds down to a quieter, intimate finale, Rayfe gently pulls Calico close again and leans in for that kiss he had mentioned...

[Calico Carter]

When he got. With a vengeance.

Calico, internally, had multiple competing trains of thought.

One was absolutely delighted, into it, and seriously contemplating shucking out of her stupid t-shirt, shorts, and underwear and trying out a new and exciting dance right there on the floor.

One was shrieking in a voice not unlike her mother's that she was no good, that she was living up to every stereotype about girls in the performing arts, that she was a slut who could only be excused of two-timing because there were more than two people she was getting involved with so "two-timing" was too mild a descriptor.

The third was a bit more nuanced. Happy, nervous in a good way, all excitement and nerves, but also deeply, deeply worried about screwing things up- with everyone. With Rayfe, with Felix, with Mara. Afraid that this was as good as it got because it would all come crashing down, that they'd wise up and see her for who she really was.

But she managed to snarl those three down with the fourth, which was just... safe. Happy, but not so overenthusiastic as to make any rash physical moves.

Orlok observed impassively. If his mind had any particular thoughts on the vagaries of human courtship rituals, mating patterns, and the various hormones and mental processes he could sense on some level, he was keeping them to himself.

He did land on Nyx's face though, curiously pleased that he hadn't had to face the soft warm perch in a fight.

[Rayfe Drathmire]

Nyx was oblivious to whatever Orlok was intentionally or not so intentionally censoring by obscuring her face. She was just wondering what song might be playing next. Was this part of the routine? She huffed happily at Orlok's company.

Not unlike Orlok, whatever might be going through Rayfe's head is hard to read. He does hold her afterward in a strong, safe embrace with no sense of expectations. Just wanting her to be okay. More than okay.

"So..." He finally whispers by her ear. "You will call me, I hope? Over huddling in a ditch? Or anything of the sort?"

[Calico Carter]

Her voice was pretty steady. You could barely hear a shake.

"I think that seems pretty likely, yeah."

[Rayfe Drathmire]

He squeezes her gently before he leans back and lowers his arms. His eyes study her carefully. "...You have a ceremony to prepare for. Is there... anything I can do to help out?"

[Calico Carter]

"Uhmmm... make sure nobody throws anything at me while I'm up there?"

It seemed to be a joke.