A dance of the lotuslight

1.

Sumeru, the city of wisdom, a city where art and passion should not be accepted until recently, the region went throught a lot of problems but as of now people recognize Nahida as the Dendro Archon and the still main inspiration for our dancer Nilou of the Zubayr Theater.

Nilou, a elegant dancer for her smooth moves and the delicate smile she shows in every each of her performances, steals lots of hearts from her own audience, but one in particular has shown a really strong admiration for her, a mysterious man with white hair always leave her a gift of flowers, more specifically Padisarah, her favourite flower of all time, everytime an event finishes and in the whole chaos, he silently leave the flowers.

"No no Nilou it's not good enough what are u doing?!" said a man with anger, "I'm sorry I'm so distracted I can't focus.." Nilou said with a trembling voice, "Nilou we already talked about it, uff ok ok just take the week off and return here like your usual self for the event", Nilou thanks him and swiftly change her outfit to a more light and casual one. It was a while since she got a break, after the whole Akademiya incident, all people are thankfully more open about art, but with that said it also means that the work was tripled of the normal amount, she wasn't really used and it shows. Bruises, bandages and sleepless nights are what made Nilou the tired lotus she is in that period of time.

Returning at home, Nilou literally jumps on the bed and unexpectedly starts crying, she grips on the sheet of her bed while burrying her face on the pillow so that noone can hear her crying, she always the girl who has her smile shining like a bright sun in spring but right now there is her side that she hides away that only her friends know how much she is struggling now.

She cried for how much time she needs to get herself up again and while wiping away her tears, she looks at her vanity, she notices those beautiful Padisarah on the table, they were under the fallen sun, those beautiful purple petals really stood out in her bedroom.

"A gift for you, a delicate dance of lotuslight, you who can stood among the other flowers yet still pulling the others up, thanks to bright my day and you being yourself elegant and passionate."

That was the letter together with the flowers that the mysterious white hair man sent her, even tho it was still the same gift, every letter was different, he can kind off read her facial expression and Nilou was always surprised on how he can understand her, he was like an owl observing their pray, yet she never knew who he really was.

Was he from the Akademiya? Was he from Sumeru? Or from another region?

She doesn't know much about the Akademiya but she knows that all of them were smart and competitive, an enviroment Nilou wasn't pleased to remember when she got inside for signing some documents for the new events, the air was heavy and suffocating, all those people, all those eyes were like scanning her from top to bottom, she felt like an outsider in that place. A place she doesn't want to go anymore alone, that's why Dehya, her eremite friend, who she got to know thanks to Dunyazard for being the admirer of Lesser Lord Kusanali and arts in general.

Both know about Nilou's struggles in the theater and always try to help her in every way possible, by usually having night parties in Nilou's house, doing makeup, eating junk foods and gossiping about Sumeru or interesting people, like the mysterious admirer of Nilou.

"Oh I see, so this mysterious person always gift u some Padisarah and a letter" Dehya said, "Maybe he is a florist or some way? It's quite difficult to gather that much flowers everyday", Dunyazard said, they were both curious about this person, usually we spent the afternoon siping a cup of tea and talk about him, but still no other hints if not for the white hair and a big black cloth covering his own body.

Nilou wasn't really that bother with gifts at point where she couldn't even dance properly, instead she is always happy to get them and warm her heart, but he was different, he always get those flowers for her and a quite interesting signature, an anubi, a black dog to be precise.

A couple of days pass since that incident at the theater, Nilou was still sleeping peacefully in her bed, red hair loose and a surprisingly position to sleep than normal, well at least she was comfortable with that. Until a ring from the door makes her jump from the bed and her butt onto the wooden floor, "Is anyone home?" a voice she was familiar with said, struggling to get up from the sudden hit, she walked toward the door while still massaging that sweet spot that got hurt.

"Oh hello there sleepy head! You know it's already midday, right?" said a male voice, "Uff Kaveh it's been a while since I got some real rest, but anyway what bring you here?", while she was welcoming the sun to her poor face, "I need your help, like now, I need some ispiration for my next project and you are the one that is perfect for it!", Kaveh said in an exciting tone, "Yeah I could help you but how?", "You just need to dance and I will offer you lunch after it, what do you think about it, huh?" "Ok ok but only because it's you!".

Happily doing a little dance, Kaveh grips Nilou's hand but got stopped immediately by the girl, "Hey hey let me change first, I can't go out with my pygiama!!", Kaveh really forgot about that little but still important detail, the usual clumsy Kaveh that she knows.

She runs in her house again and fastly she got changed in a more light outfit for her ispirational dance for Kaveh, a pastel blue dress with white strips and a pair of sandals, while her hair are gather in a cute and simple bun.

"Let's go now!", Kaveh now finally lifts up his spirit again after seeing Nilou ready.

He brings her to his own creation, The Palace Of Alcazarzaray, a breathtaking place near a cascade. We were under a gazebo to not catch the hot sun of the middle hours of the day but at least the fresh air helps a bit. "So how you find such ispiration is a short amount of time?" Kaveh asks, he was quite curious while exploring his own papers to catch any possible thing for his next project, "I usually go to the nearest oasis of the desert, I don't know why but that landscape is different and more connected to nature, everytime I touch the water with my sandals, I always have this feeling of dedicating the dance to our archon, a dance delicate like her", while talking Nilou got up and walks in the middle of the fountain, she was quite crazy to just randomly but herself in the waters, but she can't express what she has on her mind if not with the best thing she can do!.

She doesn't care. "This dance is for you, Kaveh!", Nilou said while starting to move her body.

Her legs start to move and the sound of the water splashing on her body, she takes off her dress to reveal a light blue bodysuit, she became one with her element. She starts to walk around the fountain while Kaveh was sitting on a bench looking at her like she was a muse to him.

She is feeling free and happy, spin after spin, playing with the water under her feet and throwing it in the air catching every droplets with her light body, her hands move with her whole body as she was smooth like a cascade, that feeling she was longing to feel again.

She ended her dance, with a full bow in the ground. "Thank you to you who always supporting me as I will do the same".

The dance of the elegant lotuslight has ended.

Kaveh's eyes were full of light as he continuously scribbles on his notebook but deep in her heart she thanked that mysterious white hair man, she looks far away as she finds again her answer to her passion for dancing.

"One day we will meet, dancer of the lotuslight" said a boy with white hair, while facing the other side to comeback to his job. He is and will be an admirer of her.