The Ranch

Happy Holidays (9)

Sinclair wakes up first, so he's the first one to discover Tih's disappearance. He informs the others once they wake up and tells them not to worry as he's most likely went somewhere else on his own. Just in case, Phillip messages the group chat:

Codename: Protect Boss

Kai (Who took Tih?)

(Don't worry, he's with me) Phillip

Kai (Give him back)

(Don't feel like it) Phillip

Kai (Where are you)

Kai (Tell me)

Kai (You think I can't get your coordinates?!)

Sher (Kai, calm down, you're not Tih's mom)

Theo (or is he? Dun dun dun!)

Abel (shut up idiot)

(Anyone seen Tih?) Phillip

Henri (He's with me.)

Originally the group chat was just Sherlock, Kai, and Lucien. Then it expanded to include the four aces. Then it was somehow found out by Instructor Kane, who told Instructor Maddox, who told Private Scott, and so on. Now, just about anyone familiar to Tih is allowed in. They can only blame Tih for befriending and hanging out with so many people.

Speaking of, after walking down the mountain, Tih met up with Henri in the cafeteria and he took Tih southeast to the colosseums.

Colosseum one and two has been turned into a dance floor. Colosseum one has ballroom dancing, folk dancing, samba, tango, waltz, and line dancing to name a few. Each separated with their own music encompassing their space.

Two is more of a disorganized mess. Rowdy chanting, hollering, drunk choruses, a choir, ritual dancing with drums, caroling. The louder genres. Each area has more space as compared to the other colosseum. That also means there's not as many.

The third colosseum is filled with altars and symbols from different religions. Only a minority use this place. After coming to the island, most give up any previous religion they belonged to, but some still worship their gods and pray.

Tih is brought into the first amphitheater and is shown this sight. A ceiling has been placed above so snow doesn't come in. Everyone's moving around, different genres of music coming from every direction.

"Shall I Teach You The Tango?" Henri leads Tih over. Like with everything else, Tih picks it up instantly by copying those around him. He gains a crowd with his performance. An hour later they switch to ballroom dancing. The same thing happens.

"Let's Take A Break." Henri lets go of Tih after two hours of continuous dancing. Tih walks around, watching people and memorizing dance moves. He knows many of these people, they don't know him.

They're faces he's memorized walking around the island. Maybe he met them in the Central Market, maybe he saved them in the mountains, maybe the Cafeteria. Their faces look so much brighter than they do in his memory.

They're smiling, laughing, and joking without the underlying tiredness. For just a week, they'll forget about their troubles. They don't even have to worry about a sudden trial as headquarters made a promise not to enact and during this time every year.

The members of the dance arts are congregated here as well. He spots G-dog and James among the crowd. Tih hangs out with them for a bit before splitting off to go observe those in colosseum three. He spends a very long time there, listening to murmurs of praying, chanting, and rituals. It's quiet compared to the other two. There's a sense of peace.

Tih eats lunch at the cafeteria before checking out the second colosseum. He can't join in, so he observes for a while before leaving. Tih loops back around into the first colosseum.

He finds Abel in the waltz section. He's dancing by himself, hands in the air. He spots Tih and moves away from the other dancers.

"Boss, I thought you were with Henri?" Abel tilts his head down to talk to Tih. His eyes peek through his hair.

Abel looks back," Did you want to try?" He ponders if he should take the girl's part or if the boss would. He listens to his sister. He's taller and more proficient in waltzing, he should take the lead.

Abel offers his hand," May I have this dance?"

Tih pats the hand on command like a trained dog after seeing an outstretched hand. Abel leads him into the dance.

They move counterclockwise in a circle. The islanders are good at mimicking each other's movements with their good response time, so even if they haven't practiced together, they can maintain a tempo.

They dance in silence, with only the music to ease the mood. Abel hasn't talked much with Tih, on his own or otherwise. He usually lets the others do the talking. Many in their group don't like talking at all, which makes it easier for him.

So he doesn't converse that often, but Victor and Sherlock have been pushing for more communication as of late and he's started talking to the others more. Even so, this is a little too much, even if his sister says to take it as practice.

That's why, out of nowhere, comes, "My parents hired a private tutor." He's attempting to explain why he knows this dance. If it were anyone else, they'd be confused and question him further.

Tih stares at Abel in silence, so Abel continues," They hired for everything. Studies, caregiver, playmate, chef. I can't recall their faces. She was the only one there for me. She was always the only one." The eyes hidden behind hair soften as they look at the empty air.

They dance for the next couple of hours. Abel suddenly becomes a chatterbox when it comes to his sister. He talks about stories from their childhood, like the time they escaped through a tunnel they dug under the hedge and spent the day at a mall. Or the April they learned about April fools day and caused a mess for the maids.

They eat dinner together, Abel talking about his sister's favorite foods between chews. His sister corrects him every once in a while. Tih and Abel depart towards different apartments to sleep for the night.

Author's note: Guys I just binged through Land of the Lustrous' manga and I'm crying it's not completed but it feels like we're almost at the end. Second cockblock of the month, right after Night Beyond the Tricornered Window.