Variations [Carina]

[Kala Leukos]

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13 Ash 121
The Golden Peacock Theater

The Cintamani Pavilion had almost everything Kala could desire in a home, but it didn't have expansive dance floors. Since coming to Kalzasi to accompany her brother on their Warren March and oversee the family zaibatsu's affair in the capital city, she hadn't had much opportunity to dance. There had been Shinsei's ball, but that was seasons ago. And while Kaus was game to do almost anything, his wings rather got in the way of dancing. He had his aerial displays, of course, which she could not hope to match, but on the sprung boards of a stage, she could fly in her way.

But she started on the ground, stretching and doing calisthenics with her bodyweight that were different from those she used to train for combat. Her weaponsmaster had always been pleased with her choice of cross-training, saying it lent an elegance to how she danced with blades. She appreciated that; she also appreciated the dance for no reason but to make something beautiful with her body, to take music and give it form.

Next time, perhaps, she would pay a musician to accompany her, but she didn't anticipate doing much more than exercises on her first real attempt to dance in months. There had been little things here and there, but nothing like a true session with a barre and mirrors.

At the barre, she went through all the rigorous forms for her legs, for her arms, reminding her body to elongate, counterbalance itself, and flow.

Across the floor, she went through various combinations, the most tried and true, reminding her muscles of what they had known since she was small.

It felt good. It hurt a little. She drank some water and put on the torture devices, wrapping the pink satin ribbon up her ankles and tying them off. She went through it all again, only now on point. It hurt a little, but her body remembered how to carry its weight, how to balance such that it was sustainable. She felt like a giant in them, like she could fly.

Not needing the music, she went through a variation that had always spoken to her, a princess embracing her shadow self. In her youth, she had been fiery. Art, training, and meditation had taught her to channel that fire, to make it constructive rather than destructive. But here, she remembered that more reckless burning, and she danced it here, alone, where it wouldn't hurt anyone.

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[Carina]

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Of any part of the Golden Peacock Theater that Carina may have been familiar with, it was the rehearsal rooms. Her months spent in Kalzasi did not go without practice. No matter how busy she was with what she had to do (and, frankly, with many things she had no business doing), she came to Kalzasi season after season so that she could dance in Zaichaer. And to dance in Zaichaer, she had to practice while she was in Kalzasi. A dancer's salary was not sustainment enough, and without the wealthy background like most of the other dancers in the company, she had to make do. It hurt, a bit, because she knew that with each performance missed for her duty to the Coven and the Theater, her chances of becoming more than just corps de ballet was lowered. It was better that she was just another dancer, because it made her time just a bit more disposable. But regardless of what small sway she held as a Railrunner, she just wanted to dance.

She had nearly passed the room by entirely when she heard movement inside. It wasn't rare, by any means, for the rooms to be in use, but she dared to slide the door open enough to spy. Nary a second had passed when she opened the door and made herself known, timing it well enough that the dancer before her was not surprised into an injury.

"Space for two?" She asked, without taking the time to speak clearly, but it was a rhetorical question anyway. She had already closed the door and set down her bag and started stretching. Carina didn't always like to dance alone, and she had some hope that this woman was the same. And then, more enunciated as she stretched, "Carina. What's your name?"

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[Kala Leukos]

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Kala was a little embarrassed to be caught out dancing, especially when what skills she had were quite rusty. Her instructors back home had often waxed eloquent about the dancer's life in the big city, but while she had been allowed to learn, it had never been a path she could expect to follow. There were too many other things that her people required of her, and so she was in Kalzasi paying attention to the ebb and flow of political and financial power. Perhaps she would come to the theater more often to watch the professionals at work, and occasionally take classes so she could remember the magic of her childhood. It was a shame, really. Her instructors told her she had what it took to be a professional dancer, and that had been gratifying to hear, but also maddening.

At least she could be in the audience. Perhaps her House might even sponsor a dancer.

Her instructors had told her that dancers were straightforward creatures, sometimes lacking in social niceties, but that was because they were authentic. Kala chose not to take offense that her privacy was breached, nor that the woman wanted to use the room she had rented. Perhaps Kala would learn a thing or two watching her.

"Kala," she said, pleased to simply be herself and not feel the weight of her House and her responsibilities on her slender shoulders. She was small enough she would be easy to partner with. But no one would go dancing; Gods, no, not with her. She offered a quiet smile and returned to the barre, stretching her leg along its length and using it to stretch.

"You can stay. I didn't hire a musician, though." Thankfully, she had what her instructors had called musicality. Apparently, she heard it with her body and didn't need to hear it with her ears.

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[Carina]

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Carina did not view Kala with an appraising or a judging eye. It was she who had invaded her space, after all, and ulterior motives were better served in games of business. What this woman was outside of this room did not matter to her, and she hoped that she would be viewed the same. Sometimes stretching felt like a maddening step between her and what she really wanted to do, but now she could use it as an opportunity to talk.

"We don't need music," she replied, and she watched Kala as the both of them stretched. Carina could not imagine a week in her life without movement. It was as much routine as eating, or bathing, or breathing. "How long have you danced?" She let the question sit for a moment, and then, "Do you perform here?"

Whatever answer Kala provided, she would simply nod in acknowledgement. Maybe, if she was feeling frisky today, she'd offer bits and pieces of her own history in return. Not now, though. Then, she was at the barre, mimicking the very same movements Kala had gone through before she had even arrived. It was more practice, and more routine, and more of exactly what she was proud of her body for being capable of. She loved Kalzasi, but the city also reminded her of duty that stood between her and herself. The duty had been a necessary compromise so that she could dance, and she respected it. But sometimes she wished she could just dance.

"Show me how you dance, Kala, and I'll return the favor. And then we'll know each other better." A genuine interest had spawned in Carina to get to know this other dancer. If they could be friends, maybe she wouldn't have to practice alone.

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[Kala Leukos]

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"Since I was five," he replied. Then, because people frequently misjudged her age due to her height and slight frame, "I'm nineteen now. I don't dance professionally, but I missed it, so here I am."

High points of color appeared on her cheeks, though it may as well have been from the exertion. She rested her opposite leg along the barre to stretch that and keep everything balanced.

"You already saw a bit of how I dance, didn't you?" She chuckled. "Everyone thinks I should play the white swan maiden in The Stolen Veil, but the music for the black swan maiden speaks to me more."

It was an old enough, famous enough ballet that the woman Carina would surely recognize it, as well as the struggle for a woman to find her power. There were countless interpretations, though, and Kala certainly felt as though there were two swans within her, so to speak, when dancing to that music, even in her own head. Though as powerful as the black swan maiden was, she was still a slave of the evil sorcerer. Perhaps they were all of them chained to something. Then again, she was also a sorceress, so perhaps the entire drama resonated with her for being able to empathize with so many distinct characters within it. It was also entirely possible that she overthought everything. At least when she was dancing, she was allowed to just feel.

"Are you a professional?" she asked. It wasn't with deference, exactly, though she did respect those who had both the skill and the drive to pursue that career. There was certainly respect, but then she respected anyone who had the discipline to pursue it, even as a hobby to feed their own soul rather than to perform on stages for the delight of others.

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[Carina]

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"Since I was eight, myself." Carina smiled. "I only saw a bit before I decided to intrude." Carina was not much of an over-thinker, for that matter. She mostly just did things, and she dealt with the repercussions as they came. She liked living better that way. Spending too much time considering things gave less time for enjoying them - or for floundering for a solution.

"In some ways, yes. I dance in Zaichaer." She paused, and then circled back to the remark about The Stolen Veil. "But I am nothing special. I just have too many other duties to play a leading role like that. I haven't taken the time to think about which speaks to me more." Carina laughed, though the fact of the matter was still a point of pain for her. "I just do not have enough time for daydreaming."

Despite her dislike for the necessity of stretching, Carina did not neglect it. The last thing she wanted was an injury she could have prevented, and so rushing was not an option.

"I attended the ballet academy in Zaichaer as I grew up, but I do not come from a wealthy family. I just could not survive off of a dancer's pay. I work for their theater" An explanation offered for a question that Kala had yet to ask. Not that she knew the girl nearly enough, but it seemed a natural extension of the conversation, because if she were a professional dancer, how could she be too busy to dance?

"What do you do? If you don't usually dance?"

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[Kala Leukos]

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"Ah," she acknowledged, though she continued to stretch. She was going to have to if she was going to actually perform what she had just previously done. While she spent regular time practicing with blades, this was a different sort of dance and she was going to pay for the months of no practice.

"You are far from home. As am I. My family lives in Starfall, about as far away from Kalzasi in the Astralar Mountains as one can get and still fall under the aegis of the Shokaze." She considered. "I am overseeing the family business here, and keeping an eye on the politics. My mother needs eyes and ears so she knows ahead of time what might disrupt our business."

Kala was young and diminutive, but she didn't bat an eyelash at the responsibilities on her shoulders. She had help and she had been training for this her whole life. It felt only natural in some ways to take up the mantle.

Curious, she said, "I know the dancers here have a living wage. Some actors and performers even have patrons who donate their salaries and such. Is it so very different in Zaichaer's theaters?"

Her gaze was inquisitive as she looked at Carina's eyes where they reflected in the mirror. Kala was almost certain she would never go to Zaichaer, where she would be executed for practicing magic, or for having Avialae blood, or any number of other infractions against their law. That didn't mean she wasn't curious about the place and its people.

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[Carina]

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"I've never heard of Starfall. What's it like there? In the mountains?" Carina asked with genuine interest. She had almost never ventured outside of the two cities she split her time between, and she had never been in the mountains before. With Kala's own question, she laughed.

"In Zaichaer... the arts are a privilege. To perform is a privilege reserved for the wealthy, or those who are willing to stretch themselves thin. But I work hard to maintain that privilege, even if it was not given to me by birth. The popular dancers certainly have patrons. I am not one of them, but that is somewhat by choice." That was a bit of a lie. By birth, she was not wealthy, but she was not poor either. It was her own forsaken father's fault that they had been reduced to nothing, but she rarely gave consideration to things that attempted to stop her. In a different life, she would be one of those dancers. But that was not her life, and dwelling on it only made her sad.

"It's a bit of a cycle. I have to work elsewhere to afford to live, and as a result, I am not the best dancer I could be. And because I am not the best dancer, I am not paid as much as, say, the ballerinas. Because I am not paid as much I have to work elsewhere..." She smiled. "At least I'm able to devote my effort to the theater, whether I'm here or home. Not that Zaichaer doesn't appreciate the arts, of course. They appreciate them a great deal — it's just restricted to those with means, like everything else."

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[Kala Leukos]

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"Cold," she admitted. "Remote." She laughed quietly. Of course, she loved Starfall intensely, but to most, it was some mountain village with a bit of an ancient fortress crumbling alongside it. But it was a tight-knit community, largely self-sufficient, and they kept mostly to themselves except to answer Kalzasi's call to arms. That was due to its Avialae ruling family, of course, who did not forget its responsibilities.

"I love it there, but I love Kalzasi as well. There is more excitement and diversity here. It is like food for the soul."

She considered for a moment.

"Would you please show me how you dance?" She asked. "I am not rich, but my family is a family of means. Perhaps I could persuade them to sponsor you when you are in Kalzasi. Perhaps Master Hansom would find a place for another member of the corps de ballet if it didn't affect his bottom line. And then, perhaps, you would have some extra money and some extra practice, the better to dance more in the future."

It would not be a huge sum for House Leukos, she knew, to support one corps de ballet dancer for a month or so, but it might make all the difference to the dancer. Kala's own dreams might never come to fruition, but she could enjoy someone else's dreams vicariously. Such was the lot of noblesse oblige, but it was certainly better than pining after what could never be.

Her gaze was soft and undemanding, not sure how the woman would take her request, whether with disbelief or something else. But if Kala could make the world better in small, discrete ways, she would try to do so.

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[Carina]

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"I've never lived outside the city before. Somewhere remote sounds nice, but I'm not sure I could adapt if life were to become slower paced for me." She had now started to truly warm up her muscles, through series of movements and combinations that had been second nature to her. It was cathartic to dance, to her mind and her body, like cracking her back or taking a hot bath.

Carina blinked. "That would be...incredible." She returned to sit and replaced her shoes. Pain kept her grounded just like drugs let her float away, and it was in this balance of her life that she found peace. "I paid my own way through the ballet academy since I was a child. I worked for the theater, and in turn they taught me. I've never had a sponser or patron of any sort."

On her feet, Carina started to hum a tune, as if to get it into her head before she started to dance. Of course, now that The Stolen Veil was in her head, she felt the desire to dance that. She'd performed it only the season before, so remembering the choreography was not too arduous a challenge. Soon enough, she was performing the parts she knew for her audience of one. Much of muscle memory guided her body while there was no music to follow besides the orchestra she could imagine. She realized couldn't remember where this part lay in the overall production, but she also knew it didn't matter. Her hair was still in a ponytail, rather than a proper bun, but she didn't have a group of other dancers to blend in with. She didn't think Kala would mind.

It was nice to take a break from one job to practice for another.

And then she was done, and she looked at Kala, catching up with her breathing for a few moments. "I don't know any of the leading parts." She said by way of apology.

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