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Shuffle
Dec 7, 2012 23:03:10 GMT -5
Post by Rowan Trace on Dec 7, 2012 23:03:10 GMT -5
Rowan needed to dance, it was that simple. He had only gone out a handful of times this year, despite his talk with Shianni. She didn't know what she'd been saying okay to, didn't know what condition he might come home in, and then there was the walk.
It had been one thing making his way to Keith's quarters on the ground floor, or up one flight of stairs to his own, but he was on the seventh floor now. There was no way he'd make it up without incident if he'd had a few drinks, and that was what this was coming to.
He'd introduced her to his more intellectual acquaintances at a nice restaurant, but there was so much he'd held back. Things were going well, and he didn't want to break the peace they'd found.
Then there was Vivienne.
She was a two months old now, and Rowan was taking an active role in her life. He'd never once pictured himself as a father, but as a study, new life was fascinating. Vivienne had every educational toy that was recommended to him by those friends of his who were parents; he was spending most of his outside-Hogwarts social time with those very people.
He'd gotten an owl asking him to a free party, though. It was so tempting! He hadn't responded yet, but it was driving him crazy not just saying yes.
He'd turned on his music. It was as loud as he could reasonably turn it with Vivienne in the room, but Shianni was out and he needed this.
Vivienne wiggled her limbs from her place on the couch, and her eyes followed him as well as they could keep up. He was shuffling like hell, the rug rolled up to give him a smooth floor to work with, and though he typically had bare feet at home, he'd put on a pair of socks to make the slide easier.
He was out of practice. He still exercised, still did cardio in his office when Shianni was out and Vivienne was asleep or being watched by the elf, but there was freedom in dancing that he didn't find elsewhere, an intensity that the music brought.
He'd needed this so much more than he could have imagined.
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Shuffle
Dec 7, 2012 23:19:14 GMT -5
Post by Shianni Veridian Trace on Dec 7, 2012 23:19:14 GMT -5
Shianni finally felt herself again, though the addition of a baby had certainly changed her life in ways she hadn't anticipated, even with the elf there to help them. She did find herself smiling more often than she had in the past, mostly due to Vivienne, though sometimes because of some small gesture from Rowan, who was still proving to be a good choice of husband, even if the circumstances were more than odd.
Today she had been to a meeting, a pair of disgruntled parents who thought they knew better than the school itself, though thankfully it had ended earlier than anticipated so she could head home. Of course, she did not expect to see her husband in the living room doing...whatever it was he was doing. She let the door close behind her and stared for just a moment before she slipped off her shoes and spoke.
"What on earth are you doing?" she asked, an almost smile on her face. It appeared to be some form of dancing, though it was no dancing she had ever seen and no music she had ever heard.
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Shuffle
Dec 7, 2012 23:31:06 GMT -5
Post by Rowan Trace on Dec 7, 2012 23:31:06 GMT -5
Rowan nearly slid to a stop, all the shock he might have expected from Shianni written on his own face instead. He was breathing heavily, and it took him a moment to recall himself, to draw his wand and stop the music. What was he doing?
"Dancing?" he said, unsure whether to feel guilty or sheepish about it. He tossed his head lightly, sending his hair back out of his face. There was an excited squeal from the couch, where Vivienne had been enjoying the show, and he almost wanted to shush her. Nothing to see here!
"You're home early..."
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Shuffle
Dec 7, 2012 23:36:40 GMT -5
Post by Shianni Veridian Trace on Dec 7, 2012 23:36:40 GMT -5
"Yes," Shianni said, stepping forward. Her eyes drifted to Vivienne. "Well, she certainly seems to have been enjoying whatever kind of dancing that was." After a moment she looked back toward Rowan. "I must admit, I have never seen dancing quite like that." It was so...improper. Oh but she disliked that word, had she not moved across the world to avoid doing what was proper?
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Shuffle
Dec 7, 2012 23:43:42 GMT -5
Post by Rowan Trace on Dec 7, 2012 23:43:42 GMT -5
Really? Rowan had the sudden impulse to laugh, but redirected himself. A hand swept back through his hair to straighten it, and then he moved to scoop up Vivienne, as though she'd protect him. Apparently from his own nerves, since Shianni seemed just fine.
"It's... more like club dancing." If one used the word club very loosely. "I've been invited out, and I'm out of practice." It killed him to admit it, but there was no point in withholding obvious truths.
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Shuffle
Dec 7, 2012 23:48:20 GMT -5
Post by Shianni Veridian Trace on Dec 7, 2012 23:48:20 GMT -5
Club. Shianni knew what a club was, but she had never been in one, nor had she ever spoken with someone who had been to one in any great detail, so she knew very little about it all. "Are you going to go?" And what in the world did the dancing look like when someone had been practicing regularly?
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Shuffle
Dec 7, 2012 23:55:53 GMT -5
Post by Rowan Trace on Dec 7, 2012 23:55:53 GMT -5
Rowan was finally catching his breath, but that didn't make deciding what to say any easier. He let the batting motions of Vivienne's hand against his face force a pause for him to think.
"I don't know," he said at last. He turned to reach for a toy to busy Vivienne's curious hands, and took a deep breath. "It was what I did to let off steam from work, but I always kept it entirely separate. When Keith and I were friends, he came with me sometimes; we'd go out, drink, dance, and just let go." How did one explain to a gently bred woman, as strong and independent as she was, free parties, raves, and 10-hour dancing marathons?
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Post by Shianni Veridian Trace on Dec 8, 2012 0:01:13 GMT -5
"I have never stopped you from going out with your friends," Shianni reminded him. Perhaps she wasn't entirely comfortable with it all, but he had gone this long without it causing any problems and she knew he was intelligent and careful enough to keep it that way. She stepped into the living room and stopped by a chair, folding her arms loosely against her.
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Post by Rowan Trace on Dec 8, 2012 0:07:23 GMT -5
"There are some differences between going out and..." Rowan stopped there, and sighed. He supposed it was bound to come out sooner or later.
He handed Vivienne over to her mother, then gestured to sit. He couldn't imagine this could go so smoothly, but whatever happened, they were already married, and they'd gotten along well so far. It was uncomfortable realizing just how much Rowan wanted to stay in Shianni's high esteem.
"Some of my friends are into more of a party lifestyle," he said, beginning where it was simplest.
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Post by Shianni Veridian Trace on Dec 8, 2012 0:23:25 GMT -5
Shianni sat on a couch and settled Vivienne in her lap. "Ah," she said, unsure what to do with that information. "Does that mean that you are into, or have been into, the party lifestyle?" she asked. She wasn't even certain what that meant in this area. The only party lifestyle she had any contact with was the pathetic one some of the students at her old school had participated in. Somehow, she doubted it was the same kind Rowan was into.
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Post by Rowan Trace on Dec 8, 2012 0:27:27 GMT -5
"Yes," Rowan said carefully. He paused, then leaned in slightly. "If you look closely, you can see the marks from my piercings." They weren't obvious, but they were visible unless he took the time to hide them. He hadn't completely given up on his snakebites, but had been far more careful wearing them than he had dancing.
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Post by Shianni Veridian Trace on Dec 8, 2012 0:34:45 GMT -5
"I had simply thought them scars of some sort," Shianni said. She had noticed the marks but hadn't given them much thought. "So then what does that mean?" He was so discreet, she couldn't help but wonder what else she didn't know about him. Ah well, that was the danger with marrying someone she barely knew, was it not? But piercings.
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Post by Rowan Trace on Dec 8, 2012 0:44:29 GMT -5
Rowan pulled another bracing breath. "It means that I was leading a kind of double life," he said. "Work is work, it always came first, no question, but once work was done, I'd go out most weekends. Sometimes to a club with friends, sometimes to ah, alternative-style clubs. Pub-crawling and, less often, free parties." And this was where things got sticky.
"Free parties are... free from the restrictions of the legal club scene. Loud music, drinking, drugs, and no security. It's a free-for-all."
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Post by Shianni Veridian Trace on Dec 8, 2012 0:48:25 GMT -5
"Drugs, like the muggle ones?" Shianni asked. She knew something of some of them, but no details. "Is that really the best idea? I mean, is it safe?" Her eyebrows creased slightly. It was hard for her to imagine getting involved in something like that. Drinking, drugs, and no security. It didn't sound like a very good idea at all.
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Post by Rowan Trace on Dec 8, 2012 0:56:13 GMT -5
"Generally, no," Rowan admitted. "The first time I went out was my 7th year, and I was so miserable the next day that I refused to do it again until I'd left school. I've come up with a lot of safety measures in the meantime. There's a charm I tinkered with and perfected to keep the worst of it from affecting me. I stay away from things that are addictive and especially dangerous." Yes, Muggle drugs. In the scene itself he wasn't at all self-conscious about it, but he was at school, at home, and away from it all, he wasn't proud of it.
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