" What are you guys doing? You're gonna hurt yourselves if you don't watch where you're goin------HEY! Look out for those------"
CRASH
" .....books, " 5 finished lamely, as 7 came running through the door, drawn by the unexpected noise. She was met by the sight of 3 and 4 lying sprawled on the library floor, burried beneath a pile of books: some open, some closed, random pages flying wildly through the air.
" What happened, or should I ask?" 7 chided, grinning in spite of herself at the Twins' current condition.
" Yeah, really." 5 stooped over, offering a hand to 3. " I can see better with one eye than the two of you can see with four."
Naturally, neither twin made any verbal response, but merely scrambled back into a standing position, eyes flashing wildly as they pointed towards a book propped upright in a corner.
" What's going on in here?" 1 snapped, entering the room with 8 close on his heels. 2 trailed behind, followed by 9 and 6. 7 couldn't help but feel irritation at 1's stern demeanor, or the fact that he'd caused the Twins to huddle close together, caution and confusion written clearly on their faces. They were nearly always like that, skittish and afraid, but only moments before, whatever new thing it was that they had discovered, they looked as if it had actually made them.....happy.
" I'm not really sure, to be honest," 5 answered with a shrug. " Ask the Twins. I came in here and found them clasping hands, jumping around the room as if their tails were on fire." 5 paused, then chuckled. " It was kind of funny to watch, actually."
" There's nothing funny about making such a racket!" 1 hissed, eyes narrowing dangerously. " Do you want the machines to find our location? I highly doubt you'll find it quite so amusing then....."
" You're making more noise yelling at them then they were with...whatever they were doing." 7 glared at 1 meaningfully, then turned to face 3 and 4. Adopting a gentler tone, she smiled. " What were you guys up to, anyway?"
3 returned her grin brightly, taking her hand and pulling her over to stand before the open book. 4 joined them, eyes flashing in quick succession as he gestured excitedly towards the pages. 7 leaned foreword, frowning as she studied the literature. Most of the words were strange to her, but it was the illustration that caught her eye. Two humans, a man and a woman, stood straight and tall, hands entwined, smiles filling their faces with a light that seemed to glow from the inside out. Whoever had created the picture was an artist worthy of merit. 7 smiled, thinking of 6's drawings. Had he ever envisioned such a thing? There were many sketches throughout the book, of couples in such a pose, til it looked as if they were whirling across the ivory pages, around and around, with no one to ever tell them to stop........
'Dancing' 7's understanding of the Twins' strange language was limited, but she managed to make out that one foreign word. It was hard to say just how she knew, how she got that word from the flashes of light, but she did. As if some age-old memory spanning generations into the past had been awakened within her.
" Dancing....?" 7 let the word slip across her lips, and the Twins smiled.
'We read it from this book,' 4 'said', placing a hand affectionately on the battered cover of the volume. The humans used to do it for fun'. And it is fun..you just have to watch where you're going, I guess.
" Fun." 1 nearly spat the word, grimacing as if it had left a bad taste in his mouth. Such nonsense I've never witnessed----"
" Show us how!" 5 cut in, trying to cut the tension in 1's statement before it had a chance to grow. " Show them what you were doing before, except.....don't be quite so wild. You'll run into something again. "
4 and 3 nodded eagerly, reaching for each others' hands, but then stopped. Soundlessly, they gazed at one another, lights flashing fluidly from their optics. Eyebrows quirked, they turned together to face 7. They were smiling.
'Come'. 3 flashed, grabbing ahold of 7's arm and dragging her into a clear space in the middle of the floor. 4 trotted close behind, pulling 9 along with him.
"Wait, what are you -----" 9 began, but before he had time to protest, the Twins had shoved him close to 7, so that the two were staring awkwardly into one another's faces.
We're showing you how to dance!' Grinning, 4 pressed 9's and 7's left hands together, while the other ragdolls stared on in confusion.
Wrap your arm around her waist, 3 ordered, through the glow of his eyes. When 9 merely stared at him, 3 physically guided 9's arm to its place. Stiffening, 7's head whipped to stare warningly at 9, and for a moment, the younger ragdoll feared she might slap him. But her features grew soft as the Twins joined hands once more, beckoning for the others to watch.
Now....dance!, they said together, and away they went, whirling across the floor til it was dizzying to watch, so fast and so smoothly that their feet seemed to be flying. What impressed 7 the most was the joy on their faces.....such a strange thing to see in this world, yet they both looked so happy. Sighing, she turned to meet 9's gaze.
" Shall we give it a try?" she asked, smiling slightly.
They were clumsy at first, 9's feet seemed to big for his legs and he stumbled, stepping on her own a good several times before they truly got the hang of it. But then....what a feeling! Their limbs seemed to loosen, becoming almost weightless, as around and around the library they danced.
" Ah ha! I remember stories now of such a thing!" 2 declared, slapping his knee as he laughed good-naturedly. " Leave it up to these two youngsters to discover it, what with their heads in those books all day it's really no wonder! Don't look so ruffled, 1," he added, grinning slyly at the old doll, " With all the stress in this world a bit of fun won't hurt that lot." He turned once more towards 7 and 9, watching the smile that lit their young faces. " They say that a thing called dancing could grow love, " he murmured, his old eyes shining. " Maybe that's one thing this world of ours needs."