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 Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2025 8:27 pm
Quote: When Nehal pairs the two late comers for dance lessons, Finlay is about to show Agnes to a shocking time.
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Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2025 9:21 pm
  Thank the heavens today was easier. His limbs didn't feel quite as heavy as he attempted to smooth his hair from each strand attempting to find their own space in the universe. It was shocking - pun intended - just how much the cold, dry air seemed to make the little electric arcs that happened between his curls worse. And his joints, for that matter, but today was a good day and Finlay was determined not to focus on that. Especially since he could leave his cane behind. It only tended to get in the way anyway when it came to dance class.
Which was a very bold statement, considering he had never actually gotten to attend a dance class. Nor did he actually know how to dance. Something he was only realizing now that he was properly in the classroom and paired up with a very lovely stranger. The raven haired beauty was more than a foot shorter than him, though the woman who surprisingly matched his height had already been paired up earlier in the year and, frankly, her demeanor terrified Fin. So this was better. Well, for the most part. There was one teeny, tiny problem he hadn't considered before now.
They were going to have to touch for this to work.
A kaleidoscope of emotion washed over his face. Elation, panic, sympathy, worry. He finally settled on apologetic as his brows knit together. "Oh, um." He gave a small bow, trying not to sound too flustered and likely failing miserably. This was how you were meant to start a dance, right? Fin was starting to realize he really didn't know. The instructor had just launched right into the dance, something the rest of the students had been working on for the last week or two so there had been no demonstration. And now he was sitting here trying not to sweat through his sweater from nerves hoping he was doing this right.
"Lady Agnes, it's a pleasure to make you acquaintance." Standing tall, he held his hand out to the lady before him. Just as quickly a sheepish look crossed over his face and he pulled his hand back. "Well, actually before, um..." He trailed off, unsure how to bring up his problem. Or, well, problems. "I should probably apologize now. I'm probably going to shock you a little bit when we touch and I..." Fidgeting with the sleeve of his sweater, Fin hesitated for a moment. This part felt the most embarrassing considering his age and the fact he knew he should have learned by now. "Well, I've never danced before."
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Dance Hall ϟ Agnes ϟ outfit
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Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2025 12:39 pm
Location: Dance Class | Company: Fin
#cf3476 Speaking | #cf71af Thinking When Agnes had asked–begged, to be put in dance class against her parents’ wishes she hadn’t actually expected it to happen. She was certain the head of the school would refuse and she would be resigned to a life of strict lessons and forced obedience. And yet here she was, standing in a classroom that looked more like her dance lessons back home than the performances she had looked in on. She should have known better than to get her hopes up. It didn’t help that she felt immediately over dressed. The rest of the students were either in casual wear or something that looked akin to training clothes, and here she was dressed in a long skirt and ruffled button up. It was the closest thing to casual clothing she had, other than her pajamas, and she didn’t think wearing those to class would be acceptable. She made an internal promise to get out and buy more casual clothes as soon as she could. Where she would get the funds or chance was a matter for another time. The rest of the class was already paired off and getting started. She’d managed to catch enough of the steps to recognize the choreography from some of the parties her parents would throw to celebrate victories during the war. It was a small mercy, but not one she was willing to ignore. Any advantage to make this go over smoothly. A quick glance at her partner helped take the edge off as well. He was taller than her by a good foot, but he looked kind, especially compared to some of the other students in this school. She smiled politely, grateful that someone else looked as nervous as she felt. Dancing with a partner that wasn’t her instructor would be a new experience. "The pleasure is all mine,” she offered. The rehearsed response coming out of her mouth with practised ease. All the time spent in front of her mirror was worth the trouble. She moved to take his offered hand before he pulled away. There was a moment where a spike of fear shot through her. Fear that this was all a ruse and that she had just been placed in this dance class to be made fun of. That the Headmistress only agreed to her request on the behalf of her parents. One final humiliation to cement her punishment. His quiet admission was a surprise. Agnes’ sigh of relief melted her fear away in an instant. Strange powers and uncertainty, she could work with. Her own powers threw her off from time to time, and the thrill of seeing what someone else could do put a smile back on her face. “Luckily for the both of us I recognise the steps.” Agnes held out her own hand to shake in offering. “And just Agnes is fine. Do you prefer Finlay or Fin? I’m still getting used to names here.”That was putting it mildly. Names were just one of the few things she was getting used to here. Being the one to help calm someone’s nerves was becoming a close second.
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Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2025 8:11 pm
The surge of relief was instant and powerful. All she'd done was let him know she knew the steps, but that was at least one less thing Fin would need to worry about. He knew traditionally men led. He wasn't so completely sheltered that he wasn't aware of that fact. But he'd also been so bedridden as a child that he couldn't learn to dance. By the time he was less bedridden, his father had been so frustrated and disappointed that Gwennie had to step in as the heir to make up for his faults that he matter seemed unnecessary to force a useless child who could barely walk to learn to dance.
His brows knit together, looking down at Agnes with concern as he reached his hand back out to take hers. She hadn't actually given her consent or acknowledged what he'd said and it made him nervous as his hand neared hers. Then it happened. The shock. From experience he knew other people felt it as if it were static. Unfortunately, the kickback to his power was that he reabsorbed the electricity between them and it zinged up his arm to his elbow unpleasantly. This time it wasn't too bad, thank whatever gods above had chosen to look down on him with mercy today. Between his pain being manageable enough that he could move without a cane and the fact that the blow back had mostly just felt like hitting his elbow a little too hard, it was a lucky day.
Slipping his hand properly into hers now, Fin was able to smile properly. "Oh, I don't think I have a preference. Which ever makes you more comfortable is fine with me." The only reason he didn't have a preference was because she wasn't trying to call him by his childhood nickname. For some reason, some of the students seemed to know him by Tammy and he wasn't sure how. They must have been friends with Gwennie and she'd forgotten again he didn't like to be called that anymore.
The shake of their hands was brief before he was adjusting his grip to attempt to mimic what instructor Nehal had demonstrated earlier. His other hand found itself looping around her back, holding her shoulder blade like the other students were doing. Thankfully he wasn't having to hold much lower. Finlay might have had long arms, but they weren't that long. Then he was looking down at Agnes with a sheepish look on his face. "Do you mind if we take this a little bit slowly? I'm not exactly the most graceful on my feet."
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Dance Hall ϟ Agnes ϟ outfit
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Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2025 12:49 pm
Location: Dance Class | Company: Fin
#cf3476 Speaking | #cf71af Thinking At the risk of being un-creative, the shock came as, well, a shock at first. A small burst of static that made the ends of her fingers tingle and then it was gone. She had heard Fin's warning. It made sense that everyone here would have powers just as strange as hers. And yet she was still surprised at the small jolt of electricity. She was able to keep the surprise off her face as she started to lead him through the first few steps of the dance. Then her eyes locked on a small puff ball of darkness resting calmly on the shoulder opposite of where her hand was and she nearly lost her composure. "What? Oh, slow is more than perfect." She turned them just enough so her back was to the rest of the class in hopes of blocking everyone else from seeing her own powers going awry. The height difference wasn't helping but it was her only option to not draw too much attention. This was her first dance class, with a partner no less, and she didn't want to embarrass either of them. The dusk bunny was no larger than the big end of a spoon as it swayed it's little body with the music. It would have been cute if she had any idea as to why it was even here in the first place. I thought I left them all in my room. What is it doing here? She had checked all her pockets when she left for breakfast this morning. There hadn't been a speck of dusk on her earlier. Agnes was fighting with the decision to tell him about the small creature or keep quiet. It wasn't doing much but dancing along with them, but it was sitting on his shoulder. It was just polite to tell him, right? She would have given anything to be able to speak with the creature in her mind at this moment. Then she could just tell it to go away and hide in a shadow somewhere. Somewhere far away from this class and the other students. In the end the little dusk bunny made the decision for her. As Fin and her did a slow turn, compared to the rest of the class, the little bunny followed suit. Without legs it had horrible balance and tumbled off Fin's shoulder and landed among the many ruffles at the top of her dress shirt. She barely muffled her yelp of surprise so the rest of the class didn't hear. The little ball of shadow stood out against the white of her shirt and had her face flushing red in embarrassment. "Sorry, sorry!"
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2026 9:39 am
Thankfully she hadn't protested to his request. Granted, even if she had, it wouldn't have made Fin any more able to keep up. Something she would have learned rather quickly if and when he tripped over himself. Though, he also likely hadn't need to ask either. From what limited understand he did have, men lead dances. Fin was meant to be the one gliding her through the motions and setting the pace.
Which would have been much easier if he knew the steps. Nishant had said eyes up, don't look down. All his eyes wanted to do was drop to the floor and watch his feet to make sure that he was taking the correct steps. Logically he knew that watching his feet wouldn't magically make him better at the dance or know the steps. It didn't stop him from looking down occasionally just to double check himself.
Slowly he was guiding Agnes around the room. Their pace was at least half that of their peers around them. There was a creaking feeling in his knees with each step, the way he was bending making the entire affair all the more awkward. Or maybe the worst of it was how his legs seemed to wobble uneasily with each step. The only thing that truly seemed to be keeping him upright was sheer determination and the fact that he was able to hold onto his dance partner for support. That part, at least, was nice. He was hyper aware of how her hand felt in his, like he could just soak up the contact and hold it in his heart for years to sustain him.
Fin was so concentrated he didn't notice the little puff of darkness at first. Not, at least, until he heard Agnes's muffled yelp. It was like his entire body stuttered from the sound, his movement becoming disjointed and even less fluid. The worst case scenario was playing in his head. Had he let out electricity without meaning to? Without noticing? His hands jerked back reflexively, the one holding hers not fulling pulling away as she was holding on to it.
"I'm so sorry, did I-?" The words died on his tongue as his focus snapped to her face. There was a little smear of darkness hovering just below on her chest. One he would not be focusing on. Heat flooded his cheeks as his head snapped up and back so he could look up at the grand ceiling. Heat that burned so hot he was amazed he was not Funkazan with fire burning in his blood as it traveled down his neck. "So-sorry! Are you quite alright?" Was it polite to ask a lady if she needed to go clean up? It didn't feel polite. So instead he clamped his mouth shut and attempted to regain his composure.
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Dance Hall ϟ Agnes ϟ outfit
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Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2026 6:03 pm
Location: Dance Class | Company: Fin
#cf3476 Speaking | #cf71af Thinking “No, no. I’m alright! It’s–” Agnes frowned at the little dusk bunny and reluctantly removed her hand from Fin’s shoulder to grab the little creature and hold its round form between the two of them. Her face was still red in embarrassment from summoning the poor thing, and where it had landed. This was her first dance class with a partner and she was already making a fool of herself.
This was definitely not going to be mentioned in the bi-weekly letters her parents demanded she send while at Utopia.
“This is my fault. The little zap from you must have drawn this little guy out.” She gave the little ball of darkness a small shake for emphasis. “I’m sorry, my abilities are normally under better control.”
She was tempted to toss the thing into the nearest shadow and pretend this never happened. The chance that Fin was just as embarrassed as she was a strong one. Maybe they could both laugh and promise to never speak of her powers misbehaving again.
It wasn’t the first time her powers had taken on a mind of their own, even if it was a small one. The ability to summon the dusk bunnies came first, much to her parents' disappointment. Her brother’s powers were useful in combat, whereas the loneliness of a toddler produced friends. Dusk bunnies offered no use to her parents before the war or during. As far as they were concerned the little puffs were only as good as the lint they were named after.
The shadows were more promising, but she had to be the one to use them. Her parents wanted a pawn, not a warrior. Maybe she could learn to be neither here.
“I call them dusk bunnies. They’re basically harmless.” She turned her hand so she was cradling the bunny in her hand instead of pinching it between her fingers. “They mostly keep me company, but they can follow basic commands as long as it’s not too labor intensive. Did you want to hold it? It was sitting on your shoulder earlier, so I don’t think you have to worry too much about shocking it.”
The two of them had stopped dancing. Nehal was across the room giving directions to another pair of students, so the two of them had some time before her eyes found them not participating.
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