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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[nvrtheeasyway]

Lara was sitting a bit in retreat of the crowd, watching the people dancing and drinking, basking happily in the warm glow of the bonfires. There was half a smile on her lips, a thermos of warm, spiked apple cider nestled between her legs, the cup in her hand as she sipped slowly on it. She wasn't one that usually participated in such festivities, but sitting around the fire like this reminded her of some her excursions for hidden temples and sacred treasure. She leaned back comfortably, her foot lightly stomping to the rhythm of the music.

[gentle_cruelty]

Irial glanced back over one shoulder, intrigued by another guest hovering at the periphery of the dance. She did not look shy nor give off waves of discomfort. And she was beautiful to behold, a figure that would better suit the movement of a dance than sitting down tapping her foot to the music. What a waste.

Spinning away from the others who laughed and swayed in his absence, carrying on with the celebration, Irial walked with purpose towards the woman, invisible shadows clinging the bare skin of arms and chest, briefly passing across his eyes.

Standing a foot from her, Irial stared down at her in a way that might be perceived as rude, intimidating, or creepy depending on the recipient. He would have found the attention flattering and satisfying.

"Will you dance?" He invited, aware than human custom usually required an introduction and some conversation, but being a faery, he did not follow these rules. And he was impatient to skip to the part that pleased him.

[nvrtheeasyway]

It was a good thing for the man that Lara was hard to either intimidate nor being crept out. She simply raised an eyebrow at him. He was handsome, no doubt about that, but she was not that easily swayed.

"I have not yet had enough to drink to get on the dance floor, thank you. And it would probably be better for your feet for me to stay here."

It wasn't that she didn't know how to dance, she simply preferred not to. At least, not for the moment. But the man was welcomed to try and change her mind. She even moved a bit on the bench she was sitting on, leaving enough space for him to sit down if he would choose so.

[gentle_cruelty]

His feet were bare, but he was hardly squeamish about the pain - if indeed she was as clumsy as she claimed, though he was inclined to doubt. She seemed too confidant for skiddish footwork, but more one in control of their body, even in the dance. She was in control of her emotions, that much he could glean from the initial taste of the air around her. He also took her scent, which he found naturally appealing.

"But you're not drinking wine," Irial pointed out, with a faint smile of amusement, his eyes wicked. How, then, was she supposed to lose her inhibitions and give herself over to the dance, if that is really what she required?

[nvrtheeasyway]

There was a soft chuckle that escaped her lips before she filled her cup with the spiked drink she had with her:

"Apple cider and cognac. It is a more appropriate drink to cold autumnal nights than wine."

She offered him a taste from her cup. The cider was warm and lightly spiced with cinnamon. While it wasn't her favorite drink in the whole world, it did remind her of home and it was something Hillary used to serve when they would go outside at night to enjoy the last cool evenings before the winter cold would take over England.

[gentle_cruelty]

Irial's mouth curved with amusement and the dark faery reached for the cup she extended in offering. He did not speak the words usually exchanged between a faery and another shared a glass, but he did drink in friendship, tasting both the apple, the cinnamon, and the alcohol, enjoying the warmth.

While he didn't offer thanks, he did smile as he returned the cup, which was a rare enough gesture for Irial.

"Do you enjoy this?"

[nvrtheeasyway]

She took the cup back, shrugging slightly before draining the remnant of the drink in it:

"It is not my favorite, but I do like the taste. Have you not?"

Lara was used to far more stronger liquids, when not drinking wine.

[gentle_cruelty]

"It was an attractive taste," Irial replied, using the particular wording distinct to faeries. To say he liked it or that it satisfied him might not entirely be the truth, but it had been an interesting mixture of tastes.

He enjoyed watching her drink without hesitation. A shame she was not willing to dance with the same abandon.

[nvrtheeasyway]

The choice of words was indeed interesting and Lara knew she was not familiar with this pattern of speech. Was the man from the past like a few she's met before?

She raised an eyebrow at his observing of her and smirked lightly:

"Seeing something to your taste?"

This man was not very subtle in his staring.

[gentle_cruelty]

"Tempting choice of words," Irial replied in a murmur. She was beautiful and palatable to the dark faery, and he smiled a little in acknowledgment, unashamed in his desire and his curiosity, or the very direct way in which he went about it.

"I want to dance with you."

[nvrtheeasyway]

There was another chuckle leaving her lips and she barely restrained the need to roll her eyes. He was a persistent man.

"I suppose you are not going to take 'no' as an answer, right?"

She knew that type of men well. But perhaps giving in to his indulgence might turn into something interesting. Lara put down her thermos and offered her hand in a silent acquiescence as she stood up. She wasn't found of dancing, but she could manage a few moments of it.

[gentle_cruelty]

Irial's grin was wicked and self-satisfied. He accepted the woman's hand, linking their fingers and leading her towards the dance as he had done with countless partners before her, though it never lost it's allure, the conquest, the pleasure of the dance, the thrill of the contact.

Turning to face her by firelight, Irial moved fluidly to the instrumental music, shadows passing across his eyes moments before he spun her around and guided her back against him.

[nvrtheeasyway]

She followed his lead, finding the steps easily, a smile slowly creeping on her lips. Somehow, it was becoming hard to fight off the strange feeling in the pit of her stomach, as if losing her inhibitions like when one drinks a bit too much. But Lara knew she hadn't had that much to drink. Still, she closed her eyes and swayed with the music, only to open them back up as she felt the man spin her around. A soft laughter escaped her again:

"Well, you certainly know how to dance."

[gentle_cruelty]

"And you have spared my feet," Irial teased, lip twitching as he moved her around with ease, enjoying the sway of her hair and the way her clothing shifted and clung to her dancing body, the fire making them appear like dancing spirits haunting the evening square.

[nvrtheeasyway]

Unlike her usual self, she was feeling more and more at ease with the man, but she couldn't tell why. She flashed him a flirty smile as she took off her coat; dancing around the fire had made her a little warm.

"I do try to behave from time to time."

[gentle_cruelty]

"You don't have to, around me," Irial murmured, a hand at her hip once the coat was removed, his fingers curling around the feminine shape of it.

Mouth curving, he beckoned over a village boy to take care of her coat for her, freeing up her hands and arms so that he could spin her around again, indulging in the dance.