2020-02-06 - On The Subject Of Dancing

It's yet another cold winter's day in a small town with not a whole plethora of options for entertainment in the middle of February, and so the Firefly club is populated with a collection of regulars, and those who have begun to get cabin fever and come out of the woodwork as the doldrums drone on. Elias has come out to dance after an evening of working at the book shop, and to be among people. He's been out on the floor for a while, but now makes his way over toward the bar, sliding into a seat and motioning for a rum and coke, running both fingers through his hair to brush the long strands back from in front of his face.

The doors to the outside open to emit a grinning Diana and the reluctant James, the latter of which is being lightly tugged in by the former. "I can't wait to strut my stuff," Diana says loudly over the music, currently dressed in high-waisted pants, black flats, and an 'ugly Christmas sweater' styled black sweatshirt featuring the Venus symbol across the top and bottom and the words 'NASTY WOMAN' in the center in pink. "Do you want anything to drink?" she adds, this time having to shout as they're further toward the dance floor.

James is, indeed, being lightly dragged inside. To be fair, he's a small man, and so a light dragging is more than enough to move him. Also, it's Diana doing the dragging, and he's particularly vulnerable to her womanly wiles. He's dressed for clubbing by wearing a zip-up hoodie (his magic coat of warmness having been checked at the door) instead of his normal full hoodie, and beneath it a black shirt with the stylized word 'KOMPRESSOR' on it (https://vangogh.teespring.com/v3/image/CbVwjYgzd5UDLPidCLiEMnOleaQ/480/560.jpg ), which, for those in the know, may reveal something about his feelings re: dancing. "YES! DRINK!", he shouts over the music, overcompensating a little since he's not used to clubs, and also because he desperately needs some booze in his system if he's getting dragged any closer to that dance floor.

Elias's own clothing consists of a pair of black skinny jeans, motorcycle boots, and a dark red button down that is unbuttoned a couple of buttons to reveal a black tank top beneath, cool enough to withstand the heat of the dance floor, but warm enough to not freeze under his coat-checked jacket when he heads back outside when the night is over. His collar-length longish hair is a bit wild around his face save for where it was recently pushed back. He accepts the drink from the bartender, lofting it and taking a swallow. He leans against the bar comfortably and people-watches a bit, exchanging little smiles or nods of hello to other fellow locals that he knows.

By pure random happenstance, Diana ends up taking a seat at the bar beside Elias, and he gets a friendly smile as she takes that seat. James is turned to after that, and she asks him in not-quite-a-shout given the bar isn't so close to the dance floor, "What do you want?" He's smiled at warmly, and she gives his hand a light squeeze of reassurance.

"Rum and ginger beer- no ginger jokes please.", James says, unable to keep himself from smiling back at Diana when she squeezes his hand, then he looks around. "This is.. ah.. very, uhm, clubby. Yup. Totally a club." Noticing Elias nearby, he gives the dude a quick Upnod of Hello.

Elias gives a smile to Diana as well when she settles in next to him, lifting his drink to her and James in greeting. "Evening," he says, friendly, a little smile playing on his lips as he looks them over. James is a local. and thus at least passingly vaguely familiar, though they haven't ever been introduced. He returns the up nod with a grin, "It is definitely a clubby club of the clublike variety."

"You got it," Diana promises, and agrees with his description of 'clubby' with a nod of her head. She turns toward the bartender and orders, "A rum and ginger beer, please, but hold the ginger jokes. Also a strawberry daiquiri. Thanks!" She smiles at Elias' greeting, giving him a nod and adding, "It does seem very clubistic to my eye as well. It has a certain clubitude to it."

Roxy, new owner of Dance Evolution and retired exotic dancer of the Platinum Cabaret enters the Firefly Club dressed for dancing. In her own fashion, that is. She has a 1950s style silvery strapless swing dress on with black trim, black strappy heels, and a string of pearls around her neck. She looks like she stepped out of an old movie, as she checks her coat at the door and makes her way towards the bar. She catches a tender's eye and quietly requests, in her strange Nordic accent, "One sidecar please." She gives the others at the bar a bright smile and a nod of hello.

James nods at Elias and Diana's agreement with his observations. "All of which seems, I suppose, to be a positive thing if you're trying to be a club, which I guess this place is. So, uh, good job clubbing, club.", he concludes. A pause, noticing that Elias looks like he may have, at some point in the near past, been dancing, and he clears his throat. "So, uh, how's the, uhm, dance floor?", he asks, with some trepidation in his voice.

"You should see it when the tourists roll in," Elias says, "Positively clubtacular." He takes another sip of his drink and then introduces himself as "Elias." Then he nods to James, "You look familiar. You're from here but I haven't met you." Then he smiles at Diana, "And I like your shirt." One foot rests on the floor, the other on the rung of his stool, toe tapping a little to the beat of the music. His attention flickers over toward Roxy and he takes in her dress with obvious appraisal, "Stunning." Then he turns his attention back to James and his grin turns catlike and lazy. "Hot." The dance floor.

"That's clubtastic!" Diana enthuses to Elias, and nods her agreement to James' theorizing. "It does seem like that would be a bonus." Her smile lifts yet further as Roxy steps close, and she stares a little longer than is courteous before gathering herself enough to say, "Nice dress!" She kisses James' forehead, and then looks to Elias again. "And thank you! ...do you think it'll be too hot there for my sweatshirt? ...or his hoodie? I mean, assuming we're not super the 'bust a move' types, because we're totally not."

Roxy beams at Elias and Diana. "Thank you. I found it at a vintage store in Portland. I had to have it." The dress, she means. She takes her drink from the tender, paying with cash and tipping. "This is the first time I have been in the Firefly Club. It is..." it's certainly not Seattle or Portland. "...nice."

"... I was afraid of that.", James mutters at Elias' assessment of the dance floor, but Diana's forehead kiss does assuage his concerns slightly. He glances over at Roxy as everyone's noticing her dress, and he tilts his head for a moment. "It's my first time too. Apparently they have dancing here. I'm not entirely sure I approve."

"That entirely depends," Elias says to Diana as he feigns giving her question serious and weighty consideration. "If you're going to do the middle school shuffle out there, probably not that hot that you'd need to shed the hoodie, but if you're going to shake your groove thing, you may want to leave them behind." He, himself, is dressed for the more heated sort of dancing, as evidenced by the slight bit of dampness at his temples from dancing earlier. He lifts his drink and takes another sip from it before saying to Roxy, "It's gorgeous. I love that style." He chuckles at her assessment of the Firefly Club. "It's alright, darling. It's a chintzy little club in a tiny town. You can call it like it is."

In a place like the Firefly club, what generally came first was the thunder of a motorcycle engine, but it didn't stand a chance in contrast to the blare of the nightclub speakers of the true to life nightclub. Without the warning, the green-and-black flannel, leather vested, jean wearing and thick metallic chain that ran from hip to back pocket was likely just an announcement that he really didn't typically come to places like that.

Three steps into the club and a flash of plastic ID to the bouncer and Nicolas was already squinting at the environment, but blew out his cheeks in a hearty puff and made his way toward the bar anyway. Enough alcohol made anything bearable. Right? Right. Dark brown eyes surveyed the bar as he approached, and despite it likely being drowned out, he inclined his chin in its general direction, "What's good?" he inquired generally as he put to palms atop the bars surface, waiting his turn.

"Middle school shuffle ALL THE WAY, if I have anything to say about it. And at least for me, I do, so! Yay for sweatshirts! That's good too, since unlike a hoodie, there's no unzipping this thing." Diana grins at the exchange between James, Roxy, and Elias, nodding her head. "We were just remarking on its general club-esque appearance," she says with a nod, and then turns her smile on the newcomer. "I have no idea!" she says cheerily. "I ordered a strawberry daiquiri, but--" And right about then, she and James get their orders. She immediately takes a testing sip of hers before passing him his, and nods her head in approval. "Yep! It's a daiquiri!"

Roxy blinks wide bright blue eyes at James. "But dancing is life!" she chuckles. "I am Roxy, I just bought the dance studio in town. If you worry about your dancing skills, we have many different types of classes, even hip hop." She sips her drink, already bopping her head a little to the music.

Elias' commentary has her blushing a little bit. "I am sure they are doing their best. It is brighter, at least, than the last club I danced in." That's because that was a strip club. No one wants to see the floors in a strip club. She looks down at her dress again. "That era, here in America, was very beautiful. I watched many of the movies growing up, and fell in love with the styles." The arrival of the large burly man has her giving him a smile and a nod of greeting.

James grabs his Dark n' Stormy, which he did not order by name because you'd be surprised how few places know what it is when you ask for it by name, and sips it, before turning to look with a specific kind of horror at Roxy as she suggests he might do hip hop style dancing. Truly, this town is filled with horrors. "I, ah, I'll think about that.", he calls back to her, giving a weak smile, before taking another sip of his drink and turning back towards Diana, looking a little fearful that she might have a very different reaction to the offer of dancing classes.

Elias lifts his drink to Diana and says, "Well then you're well attired for the middle school shuffle. Cheers!" He laughs easily, and the drink is lifted to his lips for another sip, slowly dwindling. "Oh, you took over the dance studio? Excellent. Maybe I'll have to come and take some lessons," he muses to Roxy before glancing over at Nicolas as the man makes his way up toward the bar. He studies him for a moment and then looks back over toward James, "Not into dancing?"

"Daiquiri..." Nicolas replied, repeating one of the womans response as if his brain hadn't quite processed that as a response. What's goo... ahhh, suddenly, he flashed a bright white smile, stretching to the term 'ear-to-ear' and nodded once, "Daiquiri's, right! Right on!" and with that he lifted two hands that looked as if they could be marred leather baseball gloves and gave a double thumbs up with an approving nod as he turned toward the bar. Still not his turn.

He turned his eyes back toward the woman who'd given him a nod, to which he returned with equal unspoken approval, and flashed a simple, two-finger wave toward the two men of the group before finally got the attention of the bartender, "Fuck it, I guess give me a daiquiri!"

Uh oh. James better watch out, because Diana's eyes do actually light up at the mention of dancing lessons. Still, she catches that reaction of horror from him and rests a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "What kind of dancing would you say is the easiest, if you're a beginner? Especially non-couples dancing, because I have a feeling he's not as into dancing as he pretends." She smiles warmly over at him, and then nods to Roxy. "Great era style-wise, for sure! I love victory rolls for hair, though I've never done much with that, personally. They look GREAT, though!" She gives a cheers to Elias, clinking her glass against his if possible, and then tilts her head at Nicolas. A smile, then, "It's good stuff! Strawberry's my favorite, but I think they come in other flavors?" She looks to the bartender curiously.

Roxy smiles broadly at Diana. "Oh! Well we do hold couples ballroom lessons. Just simple routines that don't take much to learn. We also have Jazz, Contemporary, Ballet, and we may offer pole dancing from time to time." She ponders which would be easiest. "Ballet and Contemporary have the same roots. Jazz may be a bit easier as it's less acrobatic, you might say. Hip Hop I think is hardest, personally, but that is because I was a ballerina from a young age and it is a very different style."

James says, "You could say that, just a bit, yeah.", James replies to Elias. "You could also say that a whole lot and it'd still be correct." He glances back at Roxy as she describes these various torture methods, and just takes a long, slow sip of his drink. "

Elias can't help but grin over at Nicolas as he orders himself a daquiri and says, "Their daquiris are actually pretty decent." When Diana reaches over to clink glasses, he reaches past James to clink glasses with hers. His own rum and coke, however, has vanished entirely save for a bit of ice at the bottom of the glass and he sets it down a little way away from himself, tapping the glass for another when the bartender comes his way. "Why?" Elias asks James, suddenly intensely curious. He props his chin on his hand and studies the ginger man nearby.

"Yeah?" was the reply Nicolas immediately had toward Diana's declaration of her favorite flavor, and he shrugged a shoulder slightly, "Cant' say I'm picky. I'll take your word for it" he replied and tugged one side of his mouth into a smirk. He gestured toward the bartender with a few tattooed digits, something nonchalant and more or less unnecessary, "Strawberry, let's do it up" he told them and leaned his weight into the bar by way of his flannel-covered elbows.

For the most part, he seemed content to just begin hid nightly indulgence into the realm of liqour, but the mention of 'pole dancing' does pull a quirk of his brow at Roxy and the smirk breaks into a display of teeth with a low 'hah' of enjoyment.

"Oh, I'm definitely not up for full-on ballet. I do the middle school shuffle at this point, so that's way out of my league. I'm more interested in something simple I can throw in when I go to places like this-- or ballroom, since that's always nice. Is jazz dancing good for a club like this? Or more, contemporary?" Diana clearly has no idea what sorts of differences there may be between the styles. She adds after a moment's thought, "What's hip hop dancing like, anyway?" She squeezes James' shoulder lightly, leaning in to whisper something in his ear, and then is happy to clink glasses with Elias, though of course she leaves James to answer for himself. She tells Nicolas in a chipper voice, "I hope you enjoy it!"

Roxy sips her cocktail and chuckles at James' expressions with every addition dance style mentioned. "Do not worry, no one can force you to take dance lessons. It has to be something you want for yourself." She looks out towards the dancefloor to gauge it a bit while she has her Sidecar. Nicolas' sound has her turning to him looking amused. "Do not underestimate pole dancing. It requires incredible core strength. Exotic dancers may make it look easy, but it is anything but."

She looks at Diana and considers. "I think hip hop is the closest to club dancing really. Jazz is more, ah, think Bob Fosse or the movie Cabaret."

James seems about to answer Elias, when Diana whispers into his ear. He relaxes a little, and smiles, shaking his head. He holds up a finger to Elias as he leans in and whispers (or really, just says in a normal tone of voice, not like anyone's going to overhear because no one here has Auspex (Achievement Unlocked: VtM reference in a club scene.) something back to her. He looks back at Roxy, and chuckles. "I know. But expect me there with her anyway, yeah?", then he's finally back to Elias. "S'just... not really my thing? Plus, y'know, seems like wiggling about in loud music is the kind of thing that gets a person noticed, and that just seems like a terrible idea all around in this town." Another sip of his drink.

Elias smiles curiously at James as he lifts one finger to speak to Diana. He waits, patiently, chin on his hand as the two exchange words. Though the response garners a slightly broader smile. "Oh, I can understand a thing not being one's thing, but tell me, how many people out on that floor do you really notice? You can get lost on the dance floor as much as sitting at the bar." He does slide off of his stool then though, drink finished. "Being noticed can be good or bad. It just depends, I suppose, on who is doing the noticing, and why." With that, he slips back out onto the floor to find himself a partner at random among those out there moving to the beat of the latest song.

Roxy drains her glass and heads out onto the dance floor herself, moving with some abandon to the music, like it moves through her.

A downturn of his lips and a shrug is what Nicolas had in return for Roxy when she took a stance on how much core strength pole dancing required, "Hey, I would never bad mouth any lady actively workin' on her pole handlin' skills, y'know?" he remarked and flashed what was no doubt the beginning of a grin that was near being described as 'shit eating' though was interrupted by the obnoxious sound of 'la cucaracha' as played by painfully digital sounds and the familiar buzz of a cell phone.

Nicolas plucked the retro favorite flip phone from the hip pocket of his leather vest and slapped it open with a satisfying clack that you just didn't get from a smart phone, and put it to his ear, which followed by a mouthing of the words 'Mother Fucker' - he forced a meaty hand into the side pocket of his jeans and fished out a few bills that he tossed on the bar, "Give it to strawberry lady!" he shouted over the racket toward the bartender, and pointed in the general direction of Diana and a quick wave of a hand in 'later' toward the rest.

One finger pressed to his free ears lobe in an attempt to block off the sound, and he was on his way out the door.

Diana smiles to James warmly even before he leans in to murmur to her, but whatever she hears has her practically melting, and she throws a quick hug to James before turning to see Elias and Roxy both blending into the dance floor, as Elias had suggested was so easy. "He has a point, you know," she grins to James, and then blinks as Nicolas ends up giving the drink to her. She perks up, because free is free! "Awesome, thanks!" she mouths to Nicolas, and gives a 'thumbs up' to James before drinking enough of her current daiquiri to give her a brain freeze. "...ow."

James wrinkles his nose a little. "Yeah well it's easy to get lost in a crowd when you're doing the same thing as the crowd is doing. What I do out there can barely be termed dancing, I'm gonna stick out.", he protests, then sighs, and gives a faint grin. "Guess that's what the classes are for, huh?" And then she gets that brain-freeze and he winces a little as if he almost felt it too. "Hey, don't rush the daiquiris. That's a sippin' drink."

Out on the floor, Elias does indeed slip into the crowd, but he doesn't exactly disappear into it the way that some might. No, Elias tends to stand out. Perhaps it's just in his nature. Perhaps he just doesn't care whether he does or not. He finds himself one partner, and then another, easily enough, slipping from one to another as one song bleeds into another. The first is a woman in a slinky little black dress who has clearly had too much to drink. Though he returns her to her friends before being pulled into the next song by a similarly dressed guy just a little taller than he is, with short blonde hair who Elias winds himself around in a way that would definitely increase the temperature on the dance floor.

Clutching her head, Diana gives a slow and careful nod. "Mmhm. Sippin' drink. Got it." With her face turned partially away from James, she catches sight of Elias out there and blinks. "He's doing the same thing the crowd is doing, but definitely sticking out anyway. You'll be fine." She grins, turning back to face him. "And besides, that's what the classes are for, yes." A kiss to his cheek later, she risks a sip of the daiquiri again.

James looks over to Elias on the dance floor, and raises a brow, before turning back towards Diana. "... you make a good point.", he admits, then grins as he gets that cheek-kiss. He hops up on a barstool next to Diana, and motions to the bartender to pour him another drink, intending to give Diana time to enjoy her second daiquiri. Which is great, because daiquiri time is not dancing time.

Elias gets lost in the dancing for a little while, his eyes closing as he gets caught up in the music and the movement. And he does indeed seem to match the style of whichever partner he seems to be dancing with at the time. He's out there for a few songs before he eventually draws away and makes his way back in the direction of the bar, letting out a little laugh before he slips back onto the stool that he had abandoned and gets a glass of ice water, this time.

"I always do," Diana says ever so modestly, and slowly sips at her daiquiri in a comfortable silence, at least until Elias returns. "You looked great out there!" she says, grinning, and holds her glass up in a toast: "To blending in!" she says with a laugh.

James lifts his drink to Elias as well in greeting. "Yup. Ninja-like in your stealth, very impressive."

Elias combs his fingers through his hair, pushing it back, though several strands fall right back into place around his face. He thanks the bartender for the ice water when it arrives and he lifts the glass to Diana and James, laughing a little bit. "Thanks," he says to Diana, and then smiles amusedly at James. "That, I am certainly not," he agrees, assuming that James is being sarcastic.

Diana bumps her shoulder lightly against James', grinning. "Slick moves, for sure. Even if your ninja career does have to be cut short prematurely. I shall drink to its demise." And she does! This time without freezing her brain, too! "I'm Diana, by the way. I just realized I never really said that. It's nice to meet you!"

"James.", the short ginger dude offers, as Diana offers her own name over to Elias. "Though that's mildly reassuring to me at least. I don't need to worry so much about fitting in, I just need to stand out less than you."

"Nice to meet you too, Diana," Elias says when she introduces herself. He drinks down that glass of ice water pretty quickly, though he does press it against the side of his face as well, letting the cool condensation help to soothe heated skin. "Nice to meet you too, James," he grins with a nod. "Most people out there are so caught up in themselves, they're not really paying all that much attention to others. They're either thinking about the people that they're dancing with, or the people they'd rather be dancing with. Just bury yourself in the crowd and even the people watchers from the sidelines won't really be watching you, and have some fun." That's his advice, anyway.

"A pleasure to meet you, too. And... it was Elias, right? I think this stuff is slowing down my brain. When it's not freezing it, anyway." Diana's only just finished her first daiquiri, so maybe she's a super lightweight. Or exaggerating. "He's right, though," she says to James. "They did this study-- and it's been pretty replicable, though damned if I can remember the researchers on the original study right now-- er, anyway, one person was taking sign-ups, then bent down as though to pick up a pen, and someone who'd been waiting behind the counter came back up instead of the original person. ...and a huge percentage of people didn't even notice if the person's gender changed. It's worth thinking about!"

James takes a long sip from his drink as Diana and Elias both tell him how easy it would be to just disappear on the dance floor, no one noticing you- and that just sets off an entirely different bunch of alarm bells in that weird little brain of his. "Okay yeah but maybe I don't want to disappear like completely, 'cause that also sounds like just asking for trouble around here.", he blurts out. He pauses. "Err. I mean." He takes a quick sip of his drink again. "It's best to suck just enough to fade into the crowd, but still annoy the people nearby so they notice you.", he decides.

"Yes, Elias," he confirms for Diana and laughs. "Yeah, don't drink those too fast. It'll hurt." Clearly spoken from the voice of experience. "I, personally, like being watched," he adds with another one of those lazy catlike grins. Then he raises a brow at James and says "You don't literally disappear. People are just inherently more caught up in themselves than they are in others most of the time. That's human nature, nothing particularly sinister." He then pauses and says, "Now, there certainly /is/ the sort of attention in this town that you don't want to attract, but you strike me as a particularly cautious sort of guy. Trust me, there are those of us who are far more likely to draw /that/ sort of attention."

Diana smiles at Elias, nodding, and then looks to James, kissing the side of his head before saying, "It's true. Try to remember who you last bought gas from. ...do you? Or who you passed on the street on the way here? We remember very little of our chance encounters, but because we remember a few of them, and because we notice ourselves, we always think we're more likely to be remembered than we are. It's humbling, in a sense. But I remember you, so there's that." She smiles warmly, though she doesn't comment on 'that' sort of attention.

James shudders a bit at Elias' last words. "... you'd be surprised.", he mutters, then leans in against Diana's side, seeking out her hand as she reassures him that she remembers him at least. "S'all I need, then, yeah?", he tells her, because he is clearly head over heels for the woman, as if his letting her drag him to a club wasn't enough indication. "I dunno. I've just never liked crowds and public... stuff. Like dancing in a club. Especially when I'm here." He takes another sip of his drink. "Guess it's not so bad if you're not alone, though.", he adds, squeezing Diana's hand.

Elias can't help the little smile that curves his lips as he watches Diana and James together. There's just something about that interaction that is sweet, and he unashamedly enjoys it as he takes another sip of his second glass of water. "It's definitely better when you have someone with you," he agrees. "Someone who can be your anchor point in the middle of it all."

Diana kisses James' forehead, nodding. "An anchor point," she agrees with Elias, "...can be very important." She squeezes the hand in hers again, and then leans back in her seat, seeming contented. She takes a sip of her daiquiri, a smile still on her face as she asks Elias, "So are you from around here, or elsewhere? I'm from elsewhere-- but I'm betting you know that, if you're from here. But if not!"

"That, at least, we can all agree on, then.", James decides, and seals the deal with a sip from his drink. He glances curiously at Elias as Diana asks her question.

Elias nods to Diana and says, "My family's been in the town since it was founded. I was born and raised here. Where are you from?"

"Oh, wow. That's impressive. And I'm from Indiana. I'm not sure how long they've been there. I mean, it's where I grew up, so ... at least 18 years, which is far less impressive, if you think about it." Diana shakes her head. "I guess I never really thought to ask. I'll have to poke them about it sometime." Idly, she squeezes James' hand.

James leans a little closer to Diana as he feels that squeeze to his hand. "Local too.", he tells Elias. "Tho I've been gone for the last 15 or so years, because of reasons." He shrugs, and takes a sip of his beer. "It's been a rough homecoming.", he adds, then looks down at his hand in Diana's. "Well. Hasn't been all bad."

Elias smiles to Diana and says, "Could be interesting to find out. Maybe they have history there. Maybe not. Well, welcome to Gray Harbor. It gets weird round here, which I'm sure you've found out. I own Likely Stories, the book shop downtown. Feel free to stop in any time; both of you." He definitely includes James in that, nodding when he says he's been away and recently returned. "I've heard that can be.. jarring, depending on how much you remember. I've never left, so I have no experience with it, personally. It's great to meet you both, though." He smiles and slips from his seat though, ice water finished. "I should be heading out though. Need to open early tomorrow. Have a good one. Get out and middle school shuffle at least once before you go." He gives them both a wink then and a wave of one hand.

When James says things haven't been all bad, Diana flat-out blushes, for the first time all evening. She then grins, looking to Elias. "I'm all about the weird," she says, nodding her head before giving Elias a wave of her hand. "Thank you. And we'll have to stop by. I'm also all about books as well as the weird. It was a pleasure meeting you."