The Ranch

Dance Dance Resolution (3)

The three songs can be divided into three different genres.

The first song is a mix of R&B, soul, and disco. Basile's still thinking of food, Kai shows a weird expression, and Henri taps his foot to the beat.

"How are we supposed to dance to this?" Kai grumbles, confused.

"It's Fine. I'll Take This One." Henri lays claim to the song before anyone else can snatch it.

"Fine by me." Kai shrugs, hopeful that there will be something better.

The first song ends and the next two minutes is  filled with electronic rock. The fast paced song is a contrast from the previous slow song. The booming noise fills the entire stadium with a device advertised by Simon D earlier.

Kai's facial expression gets even worse, something akin to a prune with all its scrunches of skin. Basile has started snacking on a sour candy drop he scrounged his space for. The candy had previously been lost to time and only after all these years has it seen the light. Unfortunately for the candy, it was immediately plunged back into darkness. That darkness being Basile's mouth hole.

The third song plays. It's an old-school hip-hop/ rap song. This song is the only one with lyrics. The lyrics being automatically translated in everyone's first language. Kai, however, hears it in english, it's original language, but some words are foreign to him who only has textbook level knowledge. Those words are translated into his home country's language.

"I'm taking it." Basile states bluntly, finally paying attention to the song selection.

"But-" Kai desperately wants anything other than the electronic noises of the second song.

Henri pats him on the shoulder with a kind smile," We Only Need Two Out Of Three Wins To Move On." Essentially, he's telling Kai to take the fall and become a sacrifice.

Kai despairs, understanding first-hand how bad a dancer he is. He lacks the talent of rhythm needed to not only dance, but fight. That includes parkour. Recently, he's been frustrated by the fact that Sherlock and Lucien are showing more progress than him. He already knew he would never catch up to Tih's level, but Lucien's a tech nerd who never practices unless he's forcefully dragged along by the also physically inept Sherlock, who's only real fault is having never routinely exercised before, but still. His pride stings. All he has is his surface level knowledge and that just isn't going to cut it on this island.

He resigns himself to the electronic rock song. The last song ends and the three use the five minutes to discuss.

"I'll Help Kai Pick Out Some Moves To Use. Will You Be Fine?" Henri asks Basile. Basile nods, he hears a clink as the flavored sugar candy hits his tooth.

Henri walks Kai over to discuss what he's able to do. As his parkour instructor, he knows best Kai's strengths and weaknesses. He talks about ways he can dodge and attack at his current level.

Finally, he says,"Treat This As Training To Practice Your Moves. The Ones You're Familiar With And The Ones You Aren't. First Hand Experience Is The Best Way To Improve." During his pep talk, Henri notices Kai's despondence.

"Kai..." No response.

"Kai." He raises his voice, catching the boy's attention.

"Believe In Us. Trust Our Abilities." Henri glances at Basile. Kai looks over at the white haired pre-teen, his cheeks caved in from sucking on the candy.

Basile looks around. He waves back at the waving Tih. He notices Victor's apathetic expression that only he can see the worry in. He shakes his head a little to stop his concern from continuing. Becoming a bit bored waiting, he stretches for a bit. He already has the tempo memorized and he plans to wing it. His fighting style, Capoeira, already looks similar to breakdancing, so aside from adding a few more acrobatics, he shouldn't need to worry about dancing. He's more worried about the opponents.

He recalls the meeting they had this morning. Ignoring his potential dancing skills, Instructor Kane is a top-notch fighter. He teaches the sword so the other two might pick sword dancing, but the instructor is also a silver star martial artist. Whoever gets him will have a hard time. Basile ruby eyes stare at the man's back as he talks to his disciples.

Meanwhile, the camera saddles in front of the guest judges balcony. Simon D scopes the participants," See anyone that has potential?" He asks the three.

"Instructor Kane has a silver in martial arts and sword fighting. That'll be an interesting show." Louis has his buff arms crossed in a comfortable stance.

"Other team's just newbies?" Lanky James looks between the three on the arena floor and the rest of the team on the balcony.

"There's one other adult, but it makes me wonder how they've made it this far. Seems like we missed a lot."

"Just like you missed your chance at the championship last weekend pff-" Major Jax mumbles under his breath before holding back his laugh.

The staff was quick to pick up this comment and broadcast it on screen for the audience to hear.

"What'd you say old man?! At least I'm not a lifeless husk waiting to die off!" G-dog slams his fist on the marble railing and barks.

"...Oi, brat. I'm only one generation above you. Who you calling old man." Major Jax sneers definitely.

"Then why are you calling me a brat?!" G-dog looks at the man across the colosseum with frustration. He recently lost a dance competition and his emotions haven't completely subsided. Bringing it up now, in front of a crowd, who wouldn't be angry.

"Cuz yer a kid, brat-yeowch! Hey, what the h-."

"Shut up." Private Scott looks down on the slouching man coldly. After slapping the back of his head and shutting him up, he turns to G-dog and bows," I would like to apologize to you on his behalf."

"Nah, no need. We all know what you have to go through with a superior like that, so don't apologize like that. How are ya doing by the way? It's been a while."

"Quite. I've been fine and I've had more time to relax recently."

"Woah, seriously? I've never heard you taking a break before. Serious respect for that." G-dog pounds his chest with his fist.

"Oh, he the workaholic you told me bout?" James gets a good look at the man in question. "Heard you always busy with stuff. How'd ya free up some time? I'd like a few pointers, heh." He chuckles tiredly.

"Oh, a certain upstanding youth helped me out with my work. He was truly a great help." Private Scott shows an honest smile.

"Good for you man, got yourself a helper. I know him?"

Private Scott's lip quirks up against his will," Maybe, he's right over there." He points to the teams' balcony.

With that, all eyes and one camera land on Tih. The first thing Tih tries to do under this overwhelming(for most people) pressure is to try and...grab the camera.

Pierre facepalms from second hand embarrassment. Tih is the most well known member in their group and essentially the face of the team, but he acts more like a silly mascot. ...but maybe it's better this way.

Theodore grabs Tih's hands before the staff's animosity increases, if it hasn't already hit the limit. Theodore tucks the small, cold hand into one of his own, shutting his fingers and enclosing the two hands within his own larger one.

Victor drops his focus on Basile and looks over to the two balconies, bowing toward each one." Commentators. Guest judges." Respectful, but not overly so.

Seeing how attention has somehow been dragged back into the camera touching kid, Simon D looks at the time," There's ten seconds left! Participants, be ready to perform!"

Major Jax and cheetah print unconcealed animosity isn't brought up again. Long-standing feuds are common on the island. With tensions running high at an almost constant, it's easy to earn someone's ire and piss someone off. Sometimes they're started out of boredom and continue to pass the time for idle residents as entertainment.

Staff: "..." why does this kid keep trying to touch our sh*t?!