(Untitled)

[crazyspacegirl]

River always did love to dance. And even though she still wasn't really convinced that she was the best person to teach others how to do anything, she did love her dance classes. She worked really hard, and most of her students did try to keep up with her even if she didn't always remember that it might not be as easy for them as it was for her

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[highf]

Although Kurt has no doubt in his mind that the doppelgangers that run rampant around the island defy the genetics of his world, on the whole, he doesn't mind seeing them around. Most of the time, there's nothing more distinguishing between them than a little bit of age, maybe hair color, little things that an actor or actress can change in practically the blink of an eye, but it's enough of a visual signal that he doesn't mistake one for the other in direct conversation, and if Kurt's honest with himself, he's actually kind of tickled to be on an island where there are a couple of Adam Pascals, Natalie Portmans, and so forth. The trio of redheads, admittedly, feature an actress (or at least, he assumes that she must be an actress, if there are so many of her on the island) that he isn't personally familiar with, but color him shocked when he learned that one of them was actually Ginny Weasley herself. (He was expecting Bonnie Wright. He's not too disappointed that the island chose otherwise.)

But the girl in his class isn't Ginny Weasley, and so the smile that Kurt returns is pleasant, rather than overly excited, and he quickly picks himself up to try and engage in a little light conversation.

"So," he says, shrugging both shoulders. "Liking the class so far? Teacher question, I know, but you can be honest with me, at least."

[hastrustissues]

It is a little strange to be sharing a class with yet another person who looks like her. Olive had been enough to try and get over, but it's easier at this point, especially now that they're friends - and she's not entirely sure if that's weird too, the fact that she feels like she can talk to someone who, aside from the obvious age difference, lighter complexion and hair color, could pass as her twin sister. She doesn't know if that's vain or whatever. But she's not going to allow herself to dwell in that for very long, because the more she thinks about it the more confusing it gets, and she could use a little less confusion in her life these days.

She offers a polite smile when she's directly addressed, and she shrugs, both shoulders rolling forward into a stretch toward her toes. "It's different than anything I've ever done," she admits. "I don't know, Could be fun so far, even if our teacher is shorter than I am."

[highf]

"Which is, in many ways, to her advantage in this class," Kurt points out with a small grin. He's curious to know whether or not he'll be asked to take on some of the male roles, curious to know whether or not the instructor is willing to take that kind of a gamble. While Kurt knows full well that he isn't exactly the greatest shining example of cliched masculinity, he still has the right height, he still has the right build, and he's been working on developing his strength in a way where his partner will be able to rely on him at last.

Not for the first time, he thanks biology, genetics, whatever it was that decided to give him one last push in the area of height. "Personally, I'd have a lot easier of a time lifting her- not that I've progressed even remotely close to lifts- than I would someone of a more average height."

[hastrustissues]

"Like me, you mean?" Wichita responds, her lips twitching with the beginnings of a smile that she tries to hide, if anything, just to have a little fun with him. She's only teasing, obviously, but sometimes that isn't apparent, at least if Columbus' gut responses to her are any indicator.

"Don't worry. It's probably best if I avoid being a part of any lifts," she adds, shaking her head. "On the lifting or the being lifted end. Just to keep everyone safe."

[highf]

"You know as well as I do that I wasn't trying to imply anything of that sort. Certainly, no shortcoming on your end- seriously, I would not change a thing. The hair color against your complexion, the cut, my god the cut is in good enough taste that I want to haul you back home and show you around to all the girls who cut their bangs too short, like they've even the slightest hope of achieving a mod look," Kurt shakes his head, eyes grazing the ceiling as he lets out a small, amused exhale. "More that I... am about as dainty as I look, and if people have been honest with me over the years, that's pretty dainty."

Smile widening, he holds out a hand. "I'm Kurt, by the way."

[hastrustissues]

"Really? I did it myself, but it helps that I managed to find a haircutting kit on the island. Someone else left it, and believe me, I was starting to get paranoid about not having a quality pair of scissors around," she adds, absently reaching up to brush the bangs in question to one side with a sweep of her fingertips before she realizes what she's doing, clears her throat and drops her hand down, only to hold it out towards him for the official intro.

"Wichita. Kurt, you said? Well, you've got a pretty firm handshake there for dainty," she points out.

[highf]

"Chalk it up to confidence and dreams of Broadway," he replies quickly, brushing the matter aside in favor of what he finds to be more interesting than his handshake. Everyone's heard of the riddle of the two barbers, he's sure, but while the riddle's imperfect for all that it never acknowledges the possibility of a barber cutting his or her own hair, there's some truth in the fact that it's far more difficult to manage such a task on one's own. Without the ability to alter the angle one sees of their own head, so much of it comes down to guesswork. Even simply spritzing his hair into some sense of order is a process that Kurt's had to carefully learn over the years, had to become increasingly meticulous about.

The thought that he might have found someone just as capable of doing that for him, and with much greater ease, is exciting to say the least.

"But waaait, wait wait. Are you telling me that you did your own hair? I mean, yes, great that you found a haircutting kit on the island, but even with the best of tools, it's not exactly easy to cut one's own hair," he points out, excitement bleeding into his voice. "Did you go to beauty school? Have you ever thought about offering this service to other people? Are you still good when it comes to cutting other people's hard, and not your own?"

[hastrustissues]

She's already laughing even before he finishing asking his round of questions, each one only seeming to grow louder in volume as his excitement grows, and she doesn't even stop to think that it's been a long time since she laughed this hard or this sincerely as she ducks her head to hide the width of her grin, the full extent of her amusement - not at him but just his enthusiasm.

"Self-taught," she finally answers, lifting her head, her smile still prominent. "And I cut mine and my sister's for several years, but I've done a few guys on the island too. Some of them were looking a little shaggy before the scissors, if you know what I mean. Mostly trims, not a lot of fancy styling, but it's the kind of thing you can get better at with the right motivation. Which I - don't exactly have, yet," she admits, smirking.

[highf]

"Lacking the right motivation, you say?" Kurt asks, raising a brow in challenge. When it comes to idle hands, Kurt knows full well that he can find something for everyone to occupy themselves with. Had he the will, and had others the willingness, he would most certainly have already divided the island's many beautiful and talented faces among half a dozen musical casts. As it is, though, his sights have been set a little more modestly for now, waiting for the day when he finally accepts the island for all that it is, and all the phenomena that he can't even begin to explain.

"Because I... have totally been wanting to open a salon. You know. Pamper people, help them take good care of their skin in these admittedly horrid conditions. I can't tell you how many times I cringe when people walk by without brushing the perspiration off their brow, or walk around like being on an island excuses them from having to cut their fringe," Kurt begins, taking an occasional breath. "But if I tried to do that all my own, it'd take a whole day just to get through any single person. On the other hand, if I had a handy barber by my side, then I could focus on the skin treatment, maybe a little bit of styling, nothing more than that. It could be great, don't you think?"

[hastrustissues]

She quietly considers the possibility. Back home, before the zombies and the death, she'd literally started relying on her own skills of disguise whenever she and her sister would pull a con - whether that meant styling her clothes differently, cutting her hair in a different way, or putting on makeup so far on the other side of the color wheel that she didn't even look like the same person. She'd had to become whoever she was trying to convince the mark she was, and more often than not, that person was a desperate fiancee trying to locate her engagement ring on hands and knees in a tight pencil skirt.

"Sounds like it has some potential," she finally admits, after a beat. But she does have some questions, even though her fingers are starting to itch with the urge to do more than just sit around, get drunk, get high or a combination of all of the above. "Where are you thinking of setting up this little venture? Do you have a location picked out, or is this going to require some scouting? Not that I'm against it or anything, I'm probably a little more dressed for walking the island on the days when I'm not in a leotard," she adds, with a wry smile.

[highf]

"I am still new enough to the island that I don't think I've pulled together enough favors to pick a spot for an entirely new building, and I'm similarly new enough that I'm not intimately familiar with which buildings are taken in the first place," Kurt replies with a slight sigh, shaking his head. While he understands and fully endorses the way that the island rewards people who choose to do services for the greater population, there's also a part of him that thinks the market only becomes a bit too difficult to enter. Finding the proper clothes and books is one thing; at least in that case, the only requirement is patience as he squats down by the magical item of choice. Asking for the building crew to erect a building seems to be the much greater deal.

"But I think anywhere with a decent number of people who pass by on a regular basis. My first thought is, obviously, somewhere outside the Compound. People go there for just about anything, for food, clothes, laundry, injuries, politics. It's the hub of island life." He grins. "We can both set out to search, if you'd like. Later. Once, like you said, we're out of these leotards."

[hastrustissues]

"Or how about even inside the Compound somewhere, if there isn't a room that's being specifically used for anything?" Wichita muses out loud, rising to her feet and offering a hand to help Kurt up once she's gone through her cool-down stretches. It's a little easier to reach out and touch someone these days - anyone, admittedly, who isn't Columbus - though she can't tell if that's due to her rising level of comfort with the place or the part where she's pretty sure she could hold her own if push comes to shove with Kurt - and she doesn't exactly imagine it will.

"But you're right, we can still go in search of something," she agrees, grinning crookedly as she gives him a tug into standing. "It'll give me something to do, at least, other than a heaping pile of laundry that I'm totally ignoring for right now."