Irial ♥ 5

[gentle_cruelty]

♥ Who: Irial gentle_cruelty & anyone passing by
♥ Where: around Festival bonfire
♥ Style: Your preference
♥ Status: Open like faery wings

There were two things faeries of each court seemed to enjoy, and that was excellent wine and dancing. Of course, the style of dance differed between Courts. Summer Court fae preferred a happy dance in a meadow beneath the sun, or

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[beautifulmartyr]

Since the other night when she was out with Malik, Aerith had wanted to go to one of the dances. No one seemed willing to come with her, so tonight she decided to join one herself. It couldn't hurt, now could it? Half the time she didn't know what she was doing, just letting herself fall to the rhythm of the music. Some random man would grab her arm, spin her around, then send her off to someone else. All the while she laughed, glad that she had gone out, alone or not. Within the group of people, she could lose herself for just a little while.

[gentle_cruelty]

Irial was of the same mind; public dances were meant to be communal experiences. If you didn't want to dance with strangers, or at the least, be seen by other people, then staying at home or private parties would have made more sense - not that he didn't enjoy the discomfort of a wallflower almost as much as the pleasure of a party-goer enjoying themselves in the music.

The faery was not playing voyeur tonight, however. Instead he was an active participant, feeding off the lack of inhibition, the pleasure of heads being thrown back and bodies arching in the freedom of the dance. He moved against women who in turned swayed against him, and exchanged conspiratory glances with the men who were prowling the circle, looking for a partner.

Spying a new addition moving from the periphery, Irial greeted her in the same way he had the other strangers, extending a hand silently and offering to dance.

[beautifulmartyr]

And she took it all too willingly, spinning into the bare-chested man with another burst of giggles. Whatever she had been upset about previously; that dream of Zack, worrying if Malik would go on a murdering spree, whether or not Alphonse was doing okay home alone, was locked away in the back of her mind. She knew, one way or another, everyone was--or would try to be--enjoying themselves wherever they were.

By the time she reached Irial, she had been moving quite a bit, and with her free hand; made a motion for him to hold on a minute. Here she leaned down, tugging her sandals off and tossing them out of the crowd. Likely she wouldn't find them later, but that was okay. Knocked down to her normal short stature, Aerith smiled up at him, tugging him further into the crowd and swaying with the music. As she had done with everyone else, she said,

"Are you enjoying yourself?" just for the sake of conversation, and she wanted to ask why he didn't have a shirt on. That was new.

[gentle_cruelty]

Not being much of a conversationalist while in a club or a crowd, where he was so focused on savoring the taste and feel of those around him, satiating himself on emotion and the experience, Irial's response was delayed. Instead, he stared into her eyes for long moments, his mouth barely curved, his body swaying instinctively in ways that felt right and felt good, the proximity of the bonfire warming his skin in spite of the lack of shirt on the cooler evening.

"Immensely," Irial finally murmured, and of course, while it didn't reveal much, it was the absolute truth.

[beautifulmartyr]

"Good." Was what she countered with, and while she herself was a rather ridiculous conversationalist, she more or less left it with that. She lifted a brow curiously as she stared back at him, momentarily noting how pretty his eyes were before she looked off again. Not out of embarrassment or anything, simply because she had the attention span of a gnat when in a large crowd. Curiosity made itself far too apparent as the green-eyed woman danced with the unknown man.

[gentle_cruelty]

Irial smiled a little, taking her hand. To dance with a faery was usually a different experience entirely. He had given her a few moments to adjust to his nearness, to his eyes on her.

But then he started to move the way he liked, taking her closer and moving with abandon, at a slightly faster pace than the people around them. But he handled her with care so that when he spun her around or lifted her up, she did not hurt her bare feet or collide with anyone else. She was far more fragile than a faery partner would have been, which is the only reason he held back. A pity that they could not go on dancing all night.

Chuckling in pleasure at the dance, Irial spun her around once more and lifted her dark hair in order to press a brief, warm kiss to her throat, a thank you for obliging him.

[beautifulmartyr]

Her eyes snapped back to him, looking somewhat surprised by the quick movements, ones she fell into a bit more easily after a few minutes. She continued to laugh as they danced, her smile unfading up until the warm lips met her neck. There she let out a quiet gasp, not expecting such an affectionate show of thanks for joining him.

"Well now, aren't you sweet." She teased lightly, leaning back a bit, and lifting a brow up curiously. "You're a good dancer--I should have come more prepared!" she didn't think anyone would move so well. Especially in a crowd like this.

[gentle_cruelty]

Irial's mouth curved at the compliments, though his ego didn't need much stroking. The fact that she was still in his arms satisfied him, and he spun her around again, kissing the opposite shoulder as he weaved between the other dancers, enjoying the euphoria that dancing and being in the middle of a happy crowd could bring.

"You came," Irial finally replied in a murmur, just for her. "That is enough."

[beautifulmartyr]

She stared. He was being rather sweet considering they had only just met, but she couldn't really bring herself to object much. She was enjoying the fast-paced dance as it were, and simply attempted to bypass the kisses without making a big deal out of them.

"Oh, were you waiting for me?" She asked curiously, still with a bit of teasing in her voice. Of course he hadn't been waiting for her, that would just be ridiculous.

[gentle_cruelty]

"Only a moment, before you took my hand," Irial answered, the bonfire flashing across his eyes as they passed. He pressed her hand gently, leaving a kiss against the top of her palm before turning her around again.

"Would you like a drink?" Irial asked, turning her around to face him once more. "Where I am from, we always share a drink and a dance."

[beautifulmartyr]

There may have been another second of hesitation then, but she just continued to smile and laugh the conversation off. Either he was extremely charming, or extremely creepy. She was hoping for the former. "I would have come sooner then if I had known!" and that was enough of that.

Did she want a drink? Well she couldn't be rude, and she had been dancing for quite a while by now, "I wouldn't mind," she offered, looking up when she was twirled back around to face him. "--And where are you from, exactly?"

[gentle_cruelty]

"A world of shadows," Irial answered, deliberately vague. In part, it was because the location of his Court constantly changed, and also because he wasn't willing to divulge intimate secrets such as these with a woman he had just met, no matter how ready she was to dance, or tolerant of his kisses. Oh, he could taste that much, her hesitation, her confusion. She did not take pleasure in the stolen kisses, and the minute satisfaction he took from them was not enough to sustain him.

Beckoning the boy from before, the one who had taken his previous cup, Irial asked for another glass of wine, spinning her around several more times before he reached for the drink that was offered.

"Will you drink with me in friendship?" Irial asked, eyes intent on hers as he held the cup between them.

[beautifulmartyr]

While it was true, she had come to dance and enjoy the company of random strangers, he was a bit more touchy than most. She didn't say anything, or push him away, unaware that he could feel her hesitation in continuing with what they were doing.

As she spun around, she took in what she could of the crowd, once more looking back to him in time to see the cup between them. He moved fast, didn't he?

She smiled softly, offering a nod before she sipped from the glass with him.

[gentle_cruelty]

Irial patiently held the cup for her as she took her fill, pausing long enough to assess whether or not she enjoyed the wine. He already knew she enjoyed dancing, though was not wholly accepting of the stolen kisses. These mental notes were only for curiosity's sake, of course; it did not mean he would necessarily deter him.

"Enjoying yourself?" Irial asked, mirroring her inquiry.

[beautifulmartyr]

She swirled the wine around in her mouth a bit, enjoying the taste more than she expected she would. It was now, as she pulled back with a slight wrinkle of her nose, that she thought about his answer to her previous question. A world of shadows seemed like such an odd, vague answer. But from what she learned of this world so far--there were plenty of things she wouldn't understand from the other people here. They had only just met, so maybe if she spoke to him more, she would learn more.

"I am. I've never really gotten the chance to come to a festival like this before. There are so many different people in Somarium, I would like to meet them all if I could." a somewhat ridiculous goal, but one she would have loved to fulfill. "I'm Aerith, by the way."

[gentle_cruelty]

"Irial," he replied in kind, his eyes moving over her features by the light of the fire, his eyes darker than before. A trick of the shadows?

"Have you been here long?" he asked, more to collect information than to strike conversation. He was more interested in the gratification of dancing than making small-talk.