Just a little Glorybringer for ya

Dance Lessons

Joy was walking down the hall with Kelp when a thought suddenly popped into her head. 

"Hey Kelp," she began. 

"Yes?" Kelp asked. 

"Remember how last year I promised to teach you to dance?" Kelp let out a snort. 

"Who could forget?" 

"Do you still want to learn?" Kelp froze. Was this a trick question? If he said no, would she be disappointed, or relieved? But why would she bring it up if she didn't want him to say yes? And if he did say yes, what would happen? He loved the idea of a chance to get closer to Joy, but what if she didn't see a dance lesson the way he did? What if she just wanted to teach him as a favor to a friend?Three Moons, girls were confusing.

 "Yes," Kelp admitted. "If you're still willing to teach me." Joy smiled.

 "Great,"

"When is our first lesson?" Kelp asked. Joy thought for a moment. 

"How about tonight?" she suggested. "I'll come and get you." 

"Okay." Kelp agreed, not really sure what to expect.

Apparently, when Joy said 'tonight', she didn't mean when the sun went down, she meant late at night. When they weren't allowed to leave their sleeping caves. Kelp was lying awake in his cave, listening to Nightflyer's heavy breathing, when there was a tap on his shoulder. He jumped up, and looked around, for there was no one else in he room. Then, with a smile on her face, Joy melted into view. 

"Come on," she whispered, glancing briefly over at Nightflyer to make sure he was sleeping.

 It wasn't until they were walking down the hall that Kelp thought to wonder why the heck he was following Joy down a dark hallway for dance lessons. 

They ended up in a deserted cave, away from the rest of the school. Even though they could both see in the dark, Joy lit a torch to brighten the room anyway.

 "It'll be more difficult to learn without music, so just think of a song I guess." she suggested. 

"Okay," Kelp agreed. 

"I'm going to start you off with something easy. Just three steps, okay?" Joy explained. Kelp nodded. "This is for when you're dancing with someone else," Joy held up one of her talons. "Take my hand," she instructed. Kelp did as he was told. Joy then placed her other talon on his shoulder. "Now, with your other hand, hold on to my waist." 

"Wait what?" Kelp said in shock. Her waist? What? Joy bit back a laugh. 

"Come on," she urged. "You can do it. No big deal." Kelp looked at her, mildly mortified, and placed his talon on her waist. "There. Now for the steps." Joy continued, smiling at him. "Take one step back." Kelp did, and at the same time, Joy stepped forward. "Now to the right." Another step. "Now forwards." Another step. "See? That wasn't so bad. You're basically dancing in the shape of a box." 

"Huh." Kelp said in surprise. This was easy. 

"Now let's do it again." Joy commanded. This time, as they stepped, she spoke. A step back. "One." A step to the side. "Two." A step forwards. "Three. That's all you have to remember." 

"I didn't realize it would be this simple." he admitted. Joy smiled again. 

"Now we add something. Remember the song that's playing in your head?" Kelp nodded. "As you step, sway to the music." 

For hours that night and for many days afterwards, they would dance. Slowly, the dance itself got more complex. Soon there were spins and twirls, their feet moving faster. Sure, it wasn't all perfect. There were plenty of times that Kelp stepped on her toes or his own, fell to the floor and dragged Joy down with him. But he got better. As to why, Kelp had no idea. But he was pretty sure it was because of his teacher. 

A few weeks later he was learning a new step. In this step, they would start the way they always did, their talons entwined, her talon on his shoulder, his talon on her waist. But then Joy's hand would slide across and lightly grab his arm. Then Kelp would slide back and spin her back into him. It took a few tries before he got a hang of it. But finally, he got it.

 "Now put it all together," Joy told him. They took their positions and danced. Their feet moved faster, their bodies swayed to invisible music, faster and faster until finally Kelp spun her close and they stopped, panting, their arms tangled together, their faces surprisingly close to each other. They stared, un-moving at each other for a while, each of them fighting the feelings they were not supposed to have. 

No, the logical part of Kelp's brain yelled. You aren't allowed to have this. Let her go before she gets too close. Don't let anyone get hurt. But why? the rest of him screamed. Why can't I just have this? Joy's brain was on a similar track. 

Don't. You can't be with him, they'll never accept it. Find someone else. Don't let him too close. Don't let him get hurt. So, they did nothing. After a moment more, Kelp let go and they faced each other. Joy cleared her throat, snapping back to reality. 

"That was....great." she insisted. Kelp nodded, unable to speak. Joy was finding it difficult to breathe. "How about we end it for tonight okay?" she suggested. "Practice more tomorrow?" 

"Yes, tomorrow. Of course." Kelp agreed. They walked silently back to their sleeping caves, thoughts swimming in their heads. What if I hadn't stopped? Kelp wondered to himself as the day arrived. What if I had closed the distance between us? What could've happened if I had? But that didn't matter, because he hadn't done it. He hadn't kissed her. And now he was left wondering if he had missed his only chance.