Shadow Dancing - RPLOG

Participants

• Arimia
• David
• Fuyu
• Ryusho

Date

28/3/476

Log

A small crowd has gathered on the beach, and a few criers were hired to try and draw people here. Some of the shadow citizens of Firmament are holding a competition, of sorts! The crowd is not large, as there is not much in the way of festivities or refreshments, though a few enterprising merchants have set up small, portable stalls selling food and drink. Upon arriving each guest is asked if they're participating, or spectators, and the Gifted who arrive are no different.

Ryusho rumbles softly as he walks in, though he mprhs softly, partly looking around as he is asked if he is going to participate or spectate and mrphs quietly, "...I ..need to thinka bout that for a moment, I am a smith, not exactly a dancer...but I may just for..the sake of trying."

David's curiousity is peaked as he wanders onto the beach, he looks around at the spectators and hmms. He looks around more and points to himself as if saying 'Who? Me?' when asked if he wants to participate, he thinks on that and shrugs, "It... Could be fun... I could try at least." He then nods and blushes, "Sure, I'll participate."

The one doing the asking appears to be a pleasant looking nightingale lass, though there is something a bit off about her. And further examination would reveal her to be one of the shadow folk. She nods at Ryusho, then turns to David and says, "Fantastic! Could I get your name then?" She turns back to Ryusho and says, "There will be no penalties for expressing yourself poorly, beyond possibly a bit of jeering from the crowd. We will do our best to keep them quiet, however. And you need not dance. You could instead perform martial maneuvers or physical feats of acrobatics. So long as it is a physical form of expression."

Ryusho hums softly and then chuckles, "Well I tend ot express myself with how my smithing looks, but I may as well give it a try for the sake of trying." he says quietly, with a nod, "MY name is Ryusho." he says after a bit, though hey, he is one of the better smiths around..

David blinks at the prospect of the crowd and gulps a bit, "Umm, ok... I-I'm David Matthews." he looks to the crowd to see how big it is with a worried expression, he's taking a few deep breaths to to calm himself, cleansing the air around him as he does so

The nightingale nods and writes the names down on a bit of paper she has before saying, "Very well!" Ryusho's name doesn't seem to register with her. Perhaps it is because the shadow folk are new to actually being in Firmament. "The rules are simple. Nothing dangerous to the spectators, and physical forms of expression only. No singing, no story telling, nothing. If you need musical accompaniment to dance to there are some musicians in the dancers area you can speak with. That is where you will be waiting. It's just down the lit path to your left." She lifts a hand and motions toward a path made by torches jammed into the sand of the beach, leading to a couple pavilions with a few beings milling about. That done she seems to be done with the two, already looking past them to see if she has more beings to greet.

Ryusho mrphs softly as he slowly looks around and rubs his head lightly, as he takes a deep breath, as this is not something he is used too, that and with his large build it might almost feel akward to him as he see's quite a few who look rather gracefull he thinks.

David nods and smiles a bit as he calms, "Ok..." he ponders what he'll do exactly as he walks down the lit pathway and looks to the other dancers curiously

The dancer's pavilion is less crowded than even the small gathering in the spectator's area. There are three musicians, none of them shadow folk from the looks of them, two shadow folk who seem to be dancers, and another group of three off by themselves, two shadow folk and one non.

Ryusho slowly makes his way over though he does feel akward since he is such a big dragon-tegu, and also wel, growing clan and..big overall, as he hums softly, shifting his position when he comes to a stop, as he wonders if he should reget considering to enter but..he felt he should for the sake of doing so, at least for some fun, and try too

David looks at the other dancers and then to the musicians with a hmm, "H-hi... I'm David Matthews, Growing Clan..." he introduces himself quietly he looks over to the three by themselves curiously and waves friendily

The arrival of Ryusho draws some attention, a sizing up of the competition, though some continue to stare due to his size. David's arrival and approach toward the musicians doesn't go unnoticed however, and they reply in kind. "Hello there! I'm Jack!" "I'm John!" "And I'm Jane!" The three say this in turn, before exclaiming, "And we're the Jays!" Indeed they all do seem to be avian of a sort. Perhaps all a type of jay. One plays the lute, one a lap harp, and one a set of pipes. Jack, who seems to be the spokesman, asks, "Would you or your big friend over there like musical accompaniment for your dances?"

Ryusho glances up as he hears someone mentioning him though he is blushing a bit more, being so big as a whole, does have its disadvantages sometimes, as even if he disabled his dragon form, he would only be 8 feet tall, but still bigge then most....as he shifts his current 10 foot tall form, "...I Might need music I suppose, though I am not much of a dancer I believe...I work as a smith so ..I don't know if I have the grace to do such that well, but I guess I will find out."

David hmms in thought at the jays and looks over their instruments, "Uhm... Do you happen to have a drummer?" he looks around for a straight stick or pole he might be able to use

Fuyu had seen the gathering in one of her nightly wanderings and made her way over. She looks a little confused for a moment, but shrugs and calls out, "I can try to help out, why not. Why a dance competition though?" She mostly ignores everyone else for now, partially because the shadows are the weirdest part and partially because the others are in her blind spot

The nightingale starts to asks Fuyu for her name and the like, only to pause at the question. "We wished to show that even those without voice can express themselves. In this case through the beauty of motion. Would you like to join in and dance? Or simply spectate? If you would like to join I would ask for your name, so we can call for you when it is your turn." Meanwhile, in the pavilion one of the jays nods and shifts to pull a small drum out from behind them. "I am not as good as this as I am with my harp, but I can do so well enough." Jack turns his attention to Ryusho and asks, "What sort of music would you like to have played for you? A martial cadence?"

Ryusho hums quietly, before he nods, "Something more martial sounding would probably work for me, though I have looked over preformace slightly, but...Yeah, I will try to probably be a bit more martial fromwhat I know...but we will see when the time comes

David nods and smiles to the jay that brought out the dum, "Good, perfect in fact. Maybe... A light, but fast, beat with some martial undertones?" he thinks on that and sighs before hmming in thought

Fuyu nods and wanders over to the mentioned bird and gives her name as, "Fuyu" simply enough, then she begins to think, standing off to the side, debating on the sort of music

The nightingale makes a note on a bit of paper and gestures toward a torch lit path on the left. "Dancer pavilion is that way. Just two simple rules. First is nothing that would be harmful to the audience. And second is no singing, storytelling, nothing to get in the way of the physical expression." Back in the pavilion the jays nod and perform two quick tunes. The first is a pure martial cadence, mostly drum, though there is a bit of pipe joining in, less lute. The second is pure drum, a fast paced rhythm, composed partially of rapping a stick on the wooden frame of the drum, while a hand performs a beat on the stretched skin. "How do those sound for the two of you?"

Ryusho rumbles softly in thought, as he lightly tapped his foot as he thinksbefore he nods a bit, slowly, "I believe that is alright..." he says nodding a bit more, "YEah that iwll be fine for me." he says smiling

David listens to the beat and nods with a smile, "Sounds good." he looks to Fuyu as she wanders over and waves friendily, "Hi, I'm David Matthews. Growing Clan."

Fuyu glances to david, turning her head a bit further to the right to get a good look, then says, "Hi. Fuyu, just the one name really. You're dancing too then huh... Pleasure to meet you I guess"

The gathered beings look over as Fuyu walks over and the jays, musicians, call out, "Just talk to us if you're wanting musical accompaniment for your dance." The three beings that were off by themselves slip out from the pavilion and start doing something to gather the crowd in the spectator area. Seems its getting close to starting.

Ryusho nods to Fuyu a bit, "Ryusho, Sorry I didn't itnroduce myself at first." he chuckles as he shifts and then mrphs as he decides to swap his soul gems to somethign that might be better to help him catch rythm a bit better mentally at least, as he then mrphs, he really needs to save up enough so he can get one of those dual gem ..things..

David nods to Fuyu and sighs, "I'm dancing, will probably make a fool out of myself though." he smiles weakly and nods, "Nice to meet you to, miss Fuyu."

Fuyu looks to the gathered band, holding a finger up to the other two. She then begins conversing with them, discussing the tempo and the beat she wants and the general idea behind the music. As best she can, it was her sister that did the music side of things really. At least she knows what to listen for. She then looks to Ryusho and says, "Your size? I'm a bit surprised, usually the center of balance gets a bit iffy. Good luck though." She blinks, then says, "Fuyu, Fuyu, not Miss Fuyu, just Fuyu thanks"

The musicians listen to Fuyu as she speaks, then plays a brief bit of music, fairly quick paced and intricate then look to the bat for approval. They then turn to converse among themselves before an announcement is heard. "We will be beginning shortly! Could all interested in observing please make their way toward the central area!" A glance over would reveal beings moving to gather around a central area of the sand that has been cleared, then marked off with a few stones, the three beings that were in the tent at the forefront of the gathering beings. The three musicians gather up their instruments and move out to a cleared area beside that empty ring, setting up so they can play for the dancers.

Ryusho hums softly as he slowly makes his way over towards..where he needs to be most likely, as he looks aroudn curriously, where are..those participating supposed to go he wonders, or do we go with the group and just enter when called...well either way, and yes, he is trying it just for the sake of trying...

David looks to Fuyu and nods with a chuckle, "Ok, Fuyu." he waits for name to be called and fidgets nervously as he does

Fuyu rolls her shoulders, then makes her way over to the ring, seeming confident enough. Then again, half of her face is hidden so how much does she really show. Settling down, she waits patiently for her turn, going over a few things mentally while she waits

One of those three in the forefront of the crowd says, "We are your judges. During the dancing there will be no talking, no singing. No noise to try and influence the dance beyond that the musicians make. For order we will go with..." The judge trails off and looks at a paper in their hand. "Antony, then Ryusho, then David, then Fuyu, then Abby, with no pause between performances, beyond what it takes for one dancer to leave the ring and another to enter. Antony, come forward and dance." The judge falls silent then, and one of the shadow folk from the pavilion steps into the ring. He looks like a mouse, wearing somewhat loose trousers and no top. The musicians start to play a song and he moves into a flowing, slow dance, vaguely reminiscent of a martial art. He looks to be doing quite well, conveying a sense of ease. Until he trips and lands face first in the sand. He flushes in embarrassment, then hurries out of the ring.

Ryusho would take his attempt to dance, though he was not feeling the ability to use his magics, a bit afraid to make a mistake with them as he gets out there, and would begin to work, as it is a bit of a more martial flowing, yet strong dance, though his movements seem a bit , not so much unbalanced, but more that he is a bit self concious, as he does his limited, but best ability to dance alright, and well, he dances decently, Not bad, not wonderfully, but not bad....Acceptable and in his mind..he thinks decently good since he is a s mith by trade, not a dancer at all..

David wanders out onto the sand and takes a few clensing breaths before he starts, he makes smoke with his hands and dances to the beat. He sways a bit as he pounds his feet into the ground, making the smoke wreathe around him before ending by raising his hands into the air and firing off a small flare

Fuyu waits until her music actually starts, rising smoothly from her seat with deliberate steps in time with the music. At a pause in the music, she stops with one arm raised, hooked over her head while the other is held just before her belly. The music begins again and she slowly spins, moving her arms in practiced movements, opening and closing her wings as she moves them while small currents of wind stir her skirt. The music slows down briefly again, then she sweeps her foot out, leaving a trail in the sand with a touch of wind that kicks it up and swirls it around her to emphasized the movement. The music picks up the tempo and she hikes her skirt just a bit, showing off carefully choreographed movements, then the music truly picks up and she begins to step quickly, arms now quickly moving, either as part of the dance or to give her skirts a specific twirl while kicking her leg out. The music then slows down once more and she begins to step around the arena, occasionally stopping with a light stomp, kicking up eddies of sand. She slowly taps her feet and swirls her skirts in time with the melody, though some of the effect is lost without a proper floor. The music's pace drops one last time as she follows the music, arms and wings slowly swirling and lifting, tracing through the air gracefully, practiced, slow and almost sensual. Finally the music begins to quickly reach it's peak and she begins clapping in time with it while stepping back and forth, skirts swirling, aided by both her hands and the air magics, the sand swirling around her quickly and then it ends suddenly with one last twirl and stomp, the air magic disappating quickly. She grins, then hurries off stage!

The last dancer steps into the ring. A shadow folk spider. This time the musicians do not come in to accompany the dance, the arachnid doing her dance in silence. It's a slower dance, with lots of twirls and leaps, and at times she almost seems to blend in with the shadows cast in the circle. Perhaps due to her nature? Her dance concludes with a final, midair twirl and she gives a small curtsy before stepping out of the ring. The spokesperson for the judges speaks up, "Thank you all. If you would be so kind as to wait in the pavilion while we confer and decide?" There's quite a bit of chatter going on in the crowd behind the judges, but it's kept low enough to keep it from really being discernible. As the mouse and spider move off into the pavillion the spider says, "You were doing fine, Antony! You should have just kept on dancing!"

Ryusho me rumbles quietly, he is sure that he won't be a 'placement' if it is a contest but he doesn't expect to be anyway, he just was doing this for fun...and..well from how he didn't get jeers, well, he felt he did good enough for himself.

David blushes as he waits for the announcement and fidgits nervously again, at least he didn't get jeered out of the arena as well

Fuyu settles down nearby after taking a moment to try and reassure the mouse since she did feel sort of bad for crashing. She then settles down near the other contestants and scans the crowd curiously. She's still pretty confident and calm looking

It isn't too long before everyone is called back out to stand before the judges. "We have considered things. You all danced well, in different styles. Some of you incorporated other elements into your dance, which the crowd enjoyed at least." The judge goes silent for a moment before saying, "And even with the magical elements added, we feel that the best dance was Miss Fuyu's dance. I would like to say again that you all danced well, however. And as there is no official prize it does not matter what we think. So long as you all enjoyed yourselves. You will each receive a small, equal bit of crown, what we had left after procuring services and such to set this up. Now! Everyone! Feel free to take part in the festivities here! I believe our musician friends were going to play a few songs everyone could dance to!" This draws a few cheers from the crowd, which starts to disperse. Some move to the food stalls set up, some move to leave the beach, and some move over to congratulate the dancers.

Ryusho smiles softly, "Thank you." he says after ab it, just for the sake that it is for fun, and not just a generic thing, as he rumbles and looks around, considering what to do, though he does begin to blush heavily as a pair come over and begin to ask him after talking about how they kind of liked what he did, and the fact that he is a smith and tried anyway

David blinks as the judges say that they all did well and smiles a bit, he looks a bit faint from the exeration for some reason as he walks over to the food stands to buy some things to munch on and blushes as he converses with some beings who were interested in his dance

Fuyu rolls her shoulders, shakes some of the sand from her skirt and murmurs, "Usually do that on a proper floor, need to get a different... uh, everything if I do that again" She then smiles and with one last attempt at shaking sand loose, makes her way over to mingle with the crowd, happily chatting.

The general festivities carry on well into the night, many of the beings gladly taking the excuse to socialize and dance and chat. Eventually, however, folk head home needing rest so they can start their workdays in the morning. Many stop to congratulate the dancers one final time before they depart.