JP: 1Lt. Meeks & Lt. Cmdr. DeVeau - “Dancing Feet” (Part I)
Amanda Nordstrom
OOC: Takes place before the awards ceremony.
((Starbase 118 Ops - Ballroom))
Alora slipped over to one of the walls and hovered there a moment. She had just finished dancing with Nalni, which had been....interesting. If Alora hazarded a guess, the woman really just didn’t know how to handle people. She would think working with others in the Academy and then in Starfleet would have helped her in that area, but perhaps that just wasn’t always good enough. Hopefully things would improve after they got to know each other. In the meantime ,there was a ball to enjoy.
As the shadow fell over her, Alora’s mouth tilted upward in amusement even as her head tilted up to gaze at the man who approached her. Towering above her, his costume made him an imposing figure, whereas his normal, genial expression made him look more like a teddy bear.
DeVeau: Good evening.
Meeks: ::Bowing:: Good evening.
DeVeau: I dare say, count, you certainly cut a figure in that cape.
Meeks: Well, thank you, my lady. You look absolutely exquisite in your… uh… furs and stuff.
Tony tried, but had lost the words to try and sound overtly auspicious. Alora couldn’t help but giggle, then turned it around.
DeVeau: I have to admit, I didn’t expect a classic, but you pull it off well.
Meeks: This old thing? ::Attempting to sound flippant:: It’s just something I dug up. ::Wink::
DeVeau: Literally? Alora giggled softly, then turned as she heard the music come toward a resolution. The band finished the song that was playing, and after a short pause started a new one. This one was slower and had a waltz like tempo.
Meeks: May I? ::Holding out his had to Alora::
DeVeau: I was hoping you’d ask!
Alora accepted the hand of the marine and allowed him to guide her onto the floor. She’d had several dances and hoped that she would have more, but she was glad to share at least one with her original Ops dance partner. Hopefully it too wouldn’t be the only one.
DeVeau: So when did you finally decide on your costume?
Meeks: Oh, about dinnertime last night.
DeVeau: The classics are always a good choice!
Meeks: I really wanted something different, but I couldn’t make up my mind.
Tony had drawn Alora close, placing his right hand on her waist, and held her right hand in his left. They moved together with the music, feeling more than hearing as the instruments played. Tony led and Alora followed with every step, every movement, and taking the smallest direction from his movements or the tiniest of pressure from one of his hands or the other. This wasn’t their first time dancing together, and they had learned to lead and follow well.
Meeks: I love your costume. It really suits you well.
DeVeau: Oh really? That was new. Fur suited her? She was sort of a big mound of fur with a face and that moved around. Like a little hill had been covered with a fur coat and had legs underneath so he could skitter around on the floor. Honestly, she felt like she was comical more than anything.
DeVeau: Is it what you expected?
Meeks: I won’t even begin to expect anything when it comes to you, Miss DeVeau. ::Smile:: I would be remiss to have a predisposition.
DeVeau: Come now, you didn’t have any thoughts as to what I might have gone as? If you could have chosen my costume, what would you have picked? I’m curious now.
Meeks: Oh, no… I’m not going to give that a guess. I just like what you decided on.
He’d been born at night, but not last night. If there was anything he learned from his mother, it was not to have expectations or opinions about what a lady wore or dressed as. He liked Alora, and more than that, he respected her. She was becoming a friend.
DeVeau: What? I ask for your opinion and you won’t give it? The woman clicked her tongue, but Tony had an answer for that too. He stepped back, and with a push and pull, he twirled Alora and drew her back in. He resumed his original position, never missing a step. Afterward, he used a classic deflection technique.
Meeks: ::Looking around the room:: You did an amazing job on this.
Oh sure. Get out of answering her question. All right, Alora would give him that one. That time.
DeVeau: Masha was my co-conspirator.
Meeks: Well then, when I meet her, I’ll have to congratulate her on a job well done.
DeVeau: Oh you haven’t met Masha? But you must! She’s lovely!
As they spun slowly around, Alora twisted her neck, searching for her partner in crime. Alas, she was lost among the crowd.
DeVeau: As soon as I find her, I’ll have her look for you. Neither of you are easy to miss.
Meeks: Deal. But for now, I’m enjoying my dance partner.
The waltz was an easy dance to get lost in, having only a small number of steps. Tony enjoyed it on this occasion, being very content to enjoy the company. Alora moved with him easily, their motions timed in a way that suggested practise. In a sense, it was true. They’d danced for a long time that night they’d gotten together, and as such, they were at least passingly familiar with each other. A good dancer didn’t need to make their intent obvious. For the man, a gentle kinding, for the woman, simply going with the flow of the lead. In Aikido, the concept was similar. The attacker guided the motion, the aikidoka simply continued on with it further than was originally intended, which generally meant the attacker got off balance and fell, leaving the aikidoka a chance to escape. Yes, in a way, Aikido was very much like a dance.
DeVeau: And I. Masha and I talked about doing something more consistently. I know there’s a salsa class, but we were thinking of having an ongoing get together for people to just dance.
Meeks: I think that would be incredible.
DeVeau: I had a feeling you would. I’ll let you know if we get it off the ground.
It seemed Alora was helping to coordinate all sorts of things lately.
Meeks: As long as you’ll be one of my dance partners, you have a deal.
*****************
1Lt. Anthony Meeks Company Commander 1/292nd TMR D Co. Starbase 118 Ops/USS Narendra R238801IG0
&
Lt. Cmdr. Alora DeVeau
Science Officer
Starbase 118 Ops
M239008AD0