~ Twisted Wonderland Inktober 2020~

#5 ~ Dance

 Spoilers from Chapter 5, part 2

_________________________________

"Ah! You're here! Good evening, Epel."

"Good evening, Deuce."

Without Vil noticing, Epel and Deuce sneaked into an empty room of Ramshackle dorm. 

"So, what did you want to show me?"

The Heartslabyul student mentioned something about wanting to help him with the ballet lessons. He could have just told him staright away with a message what he had in mind, but Deuce insisted that he wanted to discuss about it in person. 

The boy took out his phone and invited Epel to sit next to him. 

Both videos showed two dancers, performing  a pas de deux. 

Epel left out a sigh. At the sight of the performers, his mind flashed back at that afternoon's lesson, when Vil defeated and scolded him once again. Those insanely garceful, intangible movements, making her look like a pure white feather swinging gently across the scene, everything paired with her child-like features... 

How am I supposed to achieve that?

"How is this supposed to help me?"

"Wait and see."

Even though the performers and the notes were the same, the second performance was entirely different.

The girl's attire changed from white to black, her makeup sharpening her soft features, her face once innocent-looking turned mature. Her movements were just as graceful as before, yet held a foreign pride and subdle aggressiveness within them. The "sweet" and "innocent" from before were replaced by "strong" and "dangerous".

"It's so cool but... how is this supposed to help me?"

"Remember when Vil said that "strong" and "adorable" aren't that different?"

Epel nodded.

"Maybe this is what he meant. She looks innocent and fragile, yet she grew into the strong and prideful girl in black from the second video..." 

"I still don't get it..."

"Ugh, I'm so bad at explaining..." He got up, giving his hand to Epel "Maybe it's better if we just start, don't you think?"

Deuce gave him a warm smile. The other boy hesitantly took his hand.

In the middle of the moonlit room, the boys began their late night practice.

Clumsy and stiff, their steps were light years away to the softness of the two dancers from the first performance. 

Even if they fell and failed multiple times, they stayed determined. Determined to break out the shell of their limits, Deuce supporting Epel with both his hands and words.

Towards the end of their night meeting, they finally nailed a spin, only to fall backwards at the next step.

For the first time during a ballet practice, Deuce heard Epel laugh.

_________________________________