I can do this. I can dance.
Sure, I have four feet instead of two, and a tail that could get in the way, but maybe it will also look good while I'm dancing.
Why didn't I have a week to get ready for this, like other big dances in my life? Like my prom? Like my graduation party?
Calm down, Blaze. It's no different than in the human world, when my friends used to drag me out to go clubbing. They had to pull me out of my books sometimes. Not because I was such a nerd or hungry for knowledge all the time. Even introverts and nerds go clubbing once in a while, just for a change. I'm not sure I was an introvert or a nerd. I was just driven. Driven to pass the tests, to get the highest scores.
My friends would grab me and say, "Come on, you never come out with us anymore. Let's go!" And my friends would usually throw a change of clothes at me. The more fashion-conscious guys, who paid attention to style. Heck, even Damon would help me with my outfits. Imagine, my baby brother, my style wizard.
"Blaze!"
Kaline kneels in front of me while the orchestra is tuning up to play the Biestwalzer, the Beast Waltz. The soft strains of music from strings puts me in a mood to tap my feet, all four of them.
"Blaze, don't be shy," Kaline says with a soft smile. "I'll be right here, watching you. Try to enjoy yourself. And use your tail for balance. Move your tail when you get nervous."
Move my tail. Right. It'll look good while dancing. I wave it around, letting it dance.
[Ho!]
Demos growls at me with impatience, his feet tapping, claws clicking on the marble floor.
[What are you doing? Do you not hear the music? I want to dance!]
[I'm dancing with Lightning, not you!]
Demos makes an "ufff" sound. The kind reserved for someone who isn't quite getting the message. [We are friends and fellow beasts in the same house. I am the kohai and I am not going out on that dance floor without you, the senpai.]
I utter a "mrrrrp" in response. My confused sound. [Where's your dance partner?]
A fluffy black she-bear cub waits for Demos. He sniffs the ground around her and makes a plaintive sound for her to follow him. It can't be a mating sound because he's not mature yet. But maybe he just has observed other bears.
In response, the she-bear cub follows him out onto the wide open dance floor. Demos glances behind me, signaling with his eyes to follow him.
I peel away from the other beasts. Gussie flaps above, having found another bird to dance with. Not a parrot, no. Some sort of a hawk. I hope he is friendly!
I can't resist a casual warning. [Gussie, he looks big.]
[Oh, stop worrying. And it isn't gallant to keep your dance partner waiting.]
Nearby, Lightning growls, a gentle reminder that I am being a terrible date.
[Shall we, Lightning?]
[I thought you'd never ask, Blaze.]
She and I strut across the floor. So self-assured and graceful, she seems like the prom queen. Somewhere in the crowd, her tamer gives me a polite but wary look. He's about Kaline's age. Clean-cut, nice-looking. I'd even call him preppy, in a medieval sort of way. Maybe lordly is a better word. He's a young lord.
The music swells as we join the Beast Dance. The Biestwalzer sounds like medieval music with a bit of a rock/pop beat. Sort of like my favorite band, World's End Orchestra. They play a blend of medieval, rock, and metal.
We move together in a synchronized dance. Left, left, right, right. Spin. Face your partner. Step to the left, step to the right. Spin and face the front together. Left, left, right, right. Spin. Face each other. Step to the left. Step to the right. Spin and face the rear. It reminds me of the dance known as the Cupid Shuffle. It's a country line dance that's popular. Except we're doing it in pairs. Almost like a reel.
[It's not really a waltz.]
Lightning purrs, amused. [Well, what would you have us do? Clutch each other like humans do? Walk on our hind legs?]
[I suppose not. I wasn't...I don't think I'd be very good at it.]
That's a lie. I could always dance. I knew how to move. Put me on a dance floor to music, and the rhythm would take over. I'd lose myself in the moment, caught up in an activity where I didn't have to think or be logical, but just focus on my feet. And on my partner.
Lightning bumps against me. [Are you trying to make me angry?]
[What's that supposed to mean?]
[You are GOOD at this dance. Yet Lobo was telling everyone you were a stray. A scraggly, useless stray that Mistress Kaline took pity on.]
Where is Lobo? I feel like biting his tail so hard he won't be able to sit or lie down for a week. But maybe success is the best revenge.
I spin, trying not to knock into her, or Demos' partner next to me. [It's true. I was nothing until Mistress Kaline found me.]
Her golden eyes look lit from within, and something flashes in them like lightning. [Just as I always suspected. Lobo is the stray. Or he acts like one. No manners. No decency. Well, you showed him tonight. Everyone knows who you are. But the question is, why are you the way that you are?]
You wouldn't believe me if I told you.
She brushes up agains me, and I feel a jolt of something. Lightning. I feel dizzy.
The ballroom vanishes, and all I see are beasts turned into marble statues. Lightning. Demos. A leopard. Others. I can't see Gussie or Lobo. The surface is loosely fractured, and there are jungle plants all around. All the creatures just stay frozen.
[Lightning! Demos! Lobo!]
Then, I feel my own legs lock up, and my legs turn into porcelain. Nooo! What is happening? Was this part of the video game?
Move. Move my feet. Move.
[Blaze!]
I come out of the surreal dream, and I rub up against Lightning's soft fur.
She sounds concerned. [Are you well?]
[Never mind.] I turn just in time to avoid crashing into her, or anyone else on the dance floor. [Let's just keep dancing.]
What in the world was that?