Lyer & Aluraios | Teach Me To Dance
"Lyer," Aluraios propped himself up on one elbow from his position on the bed, dropping the thin braid he'd woven down the side of his face with a thoughtful look at his partner. "At Court yesterday, why did you have to stop when that new song, young fields was played?"
The vampire turned from his hunched posture, his knot of black hair tied well up from the hot coals in the corner which sparked dark highlights in the depths. Placing the silverwork down with a soft chuckle, he rested his hands on his thighs, twisting to look over his shoulder at his partner. "It's not new, love. When I was human it was called harvest moon and had entirely different steps. It was just a shock to hear it again." He shrugged, turning back to gaze at the silver hairclip and examined it critically.
The fireborn grinned, swinging his legs off the bed and moving to peer over the vampire's shoulder at the clip until Lyer growled in exaspiration and put it down again, looking up at his lover with an annoyed glare. "'Rios, it's market tomorrow, and if we want to have some things to sell..."
"We have plenty to sell, solar," Aluraios said, rolling his eyes as he lowered his lips to Lyer's for a moment until they softened into relaxation. "I didn't realise the music was quite that old though."
"Why do you think I insisted on sitting down after trying to match your steps for a few bars?" Lyer retorted, his coal-blackend red robe creasing tightly across his body as he twisted round fully to face the hawken mage, "I can't counter steps that I don't know!"
"I actually thought it was because you didn't like the music." Aluraios murmured, straddling Lyer's slim lap to bring his mouth close to his ear.
Lyer shook his head slightly, careful not to dislogue the warm stream of air that tickled his earlobe. "No, I enjoyed harvest moon, it has... had some nice steps, but with what you were doing, I was just going to tread on your feet, and much as I enjoy dancing closely with you," he grinned suddenly, placing his hands on Aluraios's hips and easily lifting him off, turning back quickly to the fire and the tools laid out along the hearth, "I didn't think treading on your feet comes under one of your turn ons."
"It doesn't." Agreeing, Aluraios gave the vampire a small pout behind his back, before moving to wrap his arms around the slender neck, brushing away a few strands of ebony that escaped the knot. Leaning forward to ostenstiously tuck a black hair behind his lover's ears, he reached forward to grasp his wrists, halting his reach. "I'd like to learn how not to, though."
"Oh?"
The sunperson stepped back, releasing Lyer, as his lover turned towards him again, this time his whole body swinging round on the stool, a small smile on his lips and the midnight gold eyes lit by the fire. "I never got to dance with you when you were human, and at least if you teach me the steps, we can prevent hurt toes. After three hundred years, you shouldn't have to learn the new steps." Aluraios reached out, grasping Lyer's hand to pull the vampire up, "And," a gleam of mischief showed in his own inner-lit eyes, "we'll definately cause a stir with your steps."
Lyer laughed, letting the fireborn pull him into his arms, "'Rios, love, you just like to shock people." He kissed the upturned nose, running his lips over the slightly curved length and flicking the end with his tongue. "But," he added almost wistfully, "it would be nice to be able to dance the old dances again. Especially now the music's coming back into fashion."
"Then show me," Aluraios murmured, placing his hand on Lyer's shoulder, moving it to his cheek to turn his face towards him again as the vampire turned to look at the silverwork behind him regretfully. "You know you want to."
"You'll have to set the music up." Lyer reminded the major mage as he gave in gracefully and rested his arms around the other's hips.
Aluraios groaned, "Trying to exhaust me before we even /start/?" he muttered, though he quickly closed his eyes and shaped a mageball that reluctantly sprung into transparant being. Letting his memories of the music enter the magic he set it off, locking the song spell into place before slumping forward into Lyer's arms for a few moments. "There."
Lyer lifted a slim hand to stroke the soft white hair, the play of light on the pure silver strands captivating him as usual and bringing out the faint traces of blue and grey that flashed so rarely in the crystaline depths, mirroring the feathers that adorned Aluraios's hawken form. "Sorry 'Rios, love, you know I can't set that spell yet." he said apologetically when his lover recovered and stood up, resuming his stance.
"I know, and I can't wait until you reach Major." Aluraios muttered, setting the spell in motion with a thought, the annoyance turning to a loving grin as Lyer started to sway in time with the music.
Both of the pair were graceful, Lyer due to his vampiric nature, while Aluraios simply was naturally. Although the hawken-mage's real elegance was in his bird form, his human body was, as long as you didn't put it on a horse, perfectly capable of gaining many admiring glances in the Courtrooms. Lyer's dangerous stalking grace, however, usually so carefully hidden, made him a precise and controlled yet sinuous dancer, a perfect counterpoint to Aluraios's freeflowing movements.
"I'll teach you the counters first," the vampire said as he rested his own hand on Aluraios's hip, looking into the hawken-gold eyes for a moment before down at their feet to shuffle into position. "Just follow my lead and do the natural counter, most of young fields is just reversal or image movements," he chuckled, starting to draw the fireborn around the room, "You're lucky it's not rivereta, that dance has seperate parts for both the dancers, and neither of them follow the other."
Aluraios followed his gaze, resting his forehead on the welcoming shoulder as Lyer started to drift through the movements slowly, affectionatly and gently correcting the fireborn when he went wrong, the initial stiffness fading as the memories rushed back and the music took him over. I'll have to figure out how to play some of the old tunes, he though distractedly, maybe 'Rios can song spell them into a mageball.
For a few moments the sunperson stumbled over the unusual steps, pushing his hair back from his eyes as he concentrated to countering the other's steps. While he enjoyed Court dances, they were hard learned, for all his inborn grace, a talent for dancing was not one of his gifts. Slowly though, the rhythm pierced the confusion and he found himself countering instictively, the old steps flowing with more ease than the rigidly stuctured new style. With a touch of magic he set the spell to repeat, his eyes still fixed on the ground as he traced out the patterns with his feet.
"A bit faster now, love?" Lyer murmured from somewhere above him as the song started again.
"Uh huh."
Lyer smiled tenderly at the concentration on his lover's face as he let himself slide into the real pace of the dance, guiding the motion with a gentle touch on his hip towards the fireplace where he picked up the almost completed hairclip and slid it seamlessly into the other's hair to tame the flying strands, letting Aluraios's grasp keep them together.
As the music climaxed for the second time, Lyer slowed his steps, turning the hold into an embrace. "We can practice again tomorrow," he said softly at Aluraios's mew of annoyance as the silver head lifted of his shoulder. "I should really get back to finishing that clip."
Aluraios shook his head, reaching up to feel it nestling in his hair, and covering it with his hand as Lyer tried to unclasp it. "I think it's fine as it is, solar," he grinned wickedly, kissing lips that were pressed together tightly in consideration of his work. "And anyway, I haven't had enough of dancing yet." Wrapping his hands around Lyer's body, he pressed close against him, letting his eyelids drop to half mast and making very clear with a low caress that it wasn't public dancing he meant.
"You're incorrigible." Lyer shook his head lovingly as he broke for air, meeting the lips again willingly with an open mouth as he let the fireborn take the lead in the familiar caresses, letting his own hands and mouth counter as they fell onto the bed, the metalwork forgotten as quicksilver flowed over his body.
Afterwards they lay together, Lyer's hair mingling with Aluraios's, the various hair fastenings having fallen off early on. Curled in Aluraios's arms, Lyer's head rested on the strong chest, a teased nipple squashed against his cheek as the soft rhythm of his lover's heartbeat echoed in his ears.
© Clare Selley 2009
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