Ruthari Week 2022 Day 3 - Dancing
May I Have This Dance?
The Spring Bloom Festival was a lovely event.
Like the name implied it was a celebration of the season of spring beginning where elves came together to celebrate and be together.
All of Silvergrove was decorated with colorful flowers and lanterns, stalls sold delicious food, others hosted games with prizes to win, music was played and everyone talked, laughed and... danced together.
Ethari sighed as he watched the small crowd step and twirl around each other.
They did look they were having fun and Ethari did in a way want to join but he didn't do so, remaining seated on the nice otherwise unoccupied bench that watched over the dancefloor.
Why wasn't Ethari dancing while he wanted to, you ask?
Well, because he was honestly a terrible dancer, clumsy and uncoordinated and lacking the otherwise natural grace and elegance Moonshadow Elves were known for.
He really didn't wanna make a fool of himself in public.
Especially not when he was there.
A couple yards away stood Runaan, a young assasin who has famous for his talent with many already believing he would one day replace the current leader.
He was also the object of the young smith's affection ever since they had met when he had come to replace the former weapons smith who had grown too old for the job.
Sadly, other than the couple of times where Runaan had come to the forge for repairs or replacements Ethari had barely been able to talk to the other elf.
"Whatcha looking at?" a voice suddenly whispered right in his ear, making him yelp and almost topple over in surprise if not for the pair of hands grabbing his shoulders and pulling him back.
"Whoops! Did I scare you?" Tiadrin's face filled his vision, a playful grin on her lips.
"T-Tiadrin! Don't do that!" Ethari scolded, placing a hand over his racing heart as he glared at the female elf.
Despite her being a village guard, hoping to one day get promoted to Dragon Guard, she was as stealthy as an assassin.
And speaking of assassins, Runaan was still in the same place, talking with Lain while snacking on a small moonberry surprise.
Tiadrin wasn't fazed and just giggled as she plopped herself down next to him and followed Ethari's line of vision.
"Ohhh~ I see what's going on~" she sang and Ethari felt his whole face burn.
"I-I-" he tried to come up with an excuse but none seemed believable in his head so in the end just sighed and hung his head in defeat.
"Hey, it's nothing to be ashamed of! Runaan's a good guy!" Tiadrin nudged him with her elbow.
Ethari barely lifted his head to peek at her before dropping it again.
"I mean, he's pretty hot too and he has a great ass!"
"WHAT?!" Ethari blurted as his head shot up, earning looks from many elves around.
"Ah... Sorry." he grinned sheepishly and luckily most elves went back to their own business.
"I knew that would get you to stop pouting!" Tiadrin laughed as the smith glared at her.
"Don't you have any shame? Also, aren't you already in a relationship with Lain?" he huffed.
"I am but so what? I can look and not touch. Besides, Runaan is pretty which means that you, my friend, have excelent taste!" she just shrugged before nodding towards the elf they were talking about.
"Nevermind." Ethari groaned, "It's not like I've got a chance with him anyway. He's this cool, skilled and amazing assassin who's strong, talented and more and I'm just some smith that came here only because the previous one couldn't do it anymore. I'm nothing special."
Suddenly Tiadrin punched him in the arm. Hard.
"Owww! Hey!" he glared at her while holding his throbbing arm.
That would definately make a nasty bruise.
"Hey, yourself! What the hell are you talking down on yourself like that?!" Tiadrin glared right back, making Ethari back down.
"Huh?" he asked lamely, making her huff and roll her eyes.
"Look, you're not 'just some smith'. The weapons you make are the best I've ever seen. You're also one of the sweetest elves I ever met who besides pouring buckets of blood sweat and tears in your work still takes the time to ask everyone you see how their day has been, gives help to whoever needs help with a chore and even plays with some of the children running around. I say Runaan would be lucky to have a guy like you. Besides, he's not as untouchable as you seem to think." she said.
Ethari stared in confusion at that, making her shake her head.
"I mean, yeah. He's skilled, got good leadership and I agree that he's good looking but that's not everything to him either. Really, take it from someone who's known him for years. Besides everything you see on the surface, he's a goof. He's so vain about his hair that unless every single strand looks right refuses to leave his house, he often if not always joins Lain in coming up with "inventive training methods" that rarely make sense and usually results in at least one of them getting hurt and he's better with Moonstriders than with most elves. And do you see how he's eating that moonberry surprise?" she pointed at the elf they were talking about.
Ethari nodded.
"That's probably his fifth moonberry surprise tonight. I swear, if he could he'd probably live off only those things." she snorted before looking at Ethari again with a gentle smile.
"My point is, he's just an elf like you and I and there's no need to put him on any pedestal." she said before turning serious and raising an eyebrow, a challenging spark in her eye.
"Does hearing all of that make you any less interested in him?" she asked, her voice holding the hidden message of 'I'd respect your choice but I'd still be disappointed in you'.
Ethari however wasn't bothered as he looked back at Runaan.
"If anything, it only makes me more interested." he muttered dreamily, more to himself than to Tiadrin.
In fact, he had actually forgotten her for a few seconds before she roughtly slapped him on the back.
"That's what I was hoping to hear!" she grinned before getting up.
"Come on, let's go there so you can ask him for a dance!" she cheered.
"W-what?! No! No no no no no! I can't do that!" Ethari shook his head wildly.
"And why is that?" Tiadrin pouted at him, hands on her hips.
"Because I can't dance!" he yelled.
"Now, calm down, 'Thari! Anyone can dance!"
"Anyone except me! I swear, I've got two left feet! Or two right feet or maybe a left and right foot but backwards! I'm definatelity gonna make a fool of myself!" he cried, frustrated with himself as well as the other elf who looked at him in disbelief.
"Okay, so let's say you're not the best dancer-" "I'm the worst dancer!" "-I know Runaan is a wonderful dancer and I'm sure he'll be able to balance you out and even if you end up messing up, Runaan won't judge you. Have a little faith in him. Now quite your whining and come on!" his friend grabbed Ethari by the arm and dragged him around the dance floor to where Runaan and Lain seemed to be in a heated discussion.
"All I'm saying is that if we just fill a hole with rotten sanguicots under the zipline then- Oh, hey Tia!" Lain stopped whatever he was saying to greet his girlfriend.
"First, don't call me Tia. Second, I'm not alone, guys." Tiadrin lightly shoved her boyfriend.
"Good evening, Ethari." Runaan greeted, making Ethari jump at being adressed by his crush.
"G-Good evening!" he answered, voice a couple pitches too high before he cleared his throat.
"So... Are you enjoying the festival for now, Runaan?" he asked, trying to appear casual.
Runaan hummed thoughtfully as he looked down at his moonberry surprise, "I suppose it's quite nice this year. It's obvious a lot of effort has been put in everything." he answered and took another bite from his treat.
"Especially the moonberry surprises, right? You've been eating them all night!" Lain laughed.
"Only because I just got back from training and hadn't been able to have a proper dinner yet before you came and dragged me here!" Runaan snapped back before pointedly stuffing the rest of his treat in his mouth.
"What were you two even talking about before we came?" Tiadrin asked curiously.
"Oh, oh, oh! You guys can actually help us out here!" Lain cheered as he gestured to her and Ethari.
"So since some trainees are having trouble with holding on for long periods of time when going down a zipline, I was thinking if we filled a hole with rotten sanguicots under it, they'd end up falling in that if they'd let go and so they'd be more motivated to keep holding on and so improve their arm strenght!" Lain explained his idea only to be met with incredious stares.
"Babe, I love you but that's just stupid and disgusting." Tiadrin deadpanned, making him pout.
"I mean, I guess it's not a bad idea to try and give them extra motivation to not let go and fall but really? Rotten sanguicots? If anything, it would just be a waste to gather so much fruit only to have it rot away first instead of being eaten by elves or animals." Ethari scratched the back of his head.
"Exactly what I said." Runaan nodded.
"You guys are no fun~" Lain whined, making Tiadrin punch his shoulder.
Ethari winced along with Lain, knowing from experience how hard her blows were.
"You want fun? Then how about you take me for a dance on the floor behind you? Come on, I think they're about to start a new song!" she grabbed her boyfriends hand and pulled him onto the dancefloor but not without shooting a wink at Ethari who blushed, knowing what she wanted from him.
Then again, there was no way Runaan could know what they had been talking about.
He could just ignore the obvious (to him) hint and just try to talk a little to Runaan which all in all was already hard to do without losing his composure.
He turned to the other elf again but was surprised to find him staring at the dancefloor with what looked like... longing?
Maybe he wanted to dance too but didn't want to appear as the odd one out by being without a partner.
What if... What if Tiadrin was right and Ethari should just ask Runaan for a dance?
Besides, if Ethari ever actually wanted a chance with Runaan he'd have to actually make a move someday, didn't he?
'Runaan won't judge you. Have a little faith in him.' Tiadrin's voice repeated in his head.
Deciding to trust both her and the elf he was with Ethari took a deep breath and turned to Runaan.
"R-Runaan?" he called him, sweating bullets when the other turned to look at him with those pretty turquoise eyes.
"M-May I have this dance?" he asked asked with an already clumsy bow.
"Of course you don't have to if you don't want to!" he quickly added, looking down.
"Ethari." he winced at hearing Runaan's voice, ready to get rejected only to nearly jump out of his skin when he felt a hand take his outstretched one.
"I'd be honored." Runaan told him with a smile that, small as it was, make Ethari's heart do somersaults.
"I must warn you however, I'm a pretty bad dancer so I apologize in advance if I mess up." he confessed as they made their way to join the other dancers.
"I'm sure we can manage together." Runaan answered confidently and Ethari's heart jumped again.
'Together' sounded nice.
A new song started playing, the music slow and sweet.
He had to force himself not to jump when Runaan put an arm around his waist and pulled him closer.
"Is this alright?" the assassin asked and he nodded.
"Yeah, totally fine!" he answered as he stiffly put his hands on the other's shoulders.
After standing for a few seconds Runaan started moving slowly, pulling Ethari along who's steps already didn't match, stepping with his right food when he was supposed to use his left foot and so on.
"You're too stiff." Runaan muttered and he right away felt ashamed and was about to apologise only for shocked when Runaan took his hands and placed them around his own neck.
"It's okay to hold me, Ethari. I won't break." Runaan chuckled.
Was is just Ethari's imagination or was he blushing?
His cheeks did look a little flushed.
He was ripped out of his mussings when he stumbled and almost fell but luckily Runaan was able to keep them both upright.
"Sorry!" he yelped.
"It's okay, really. Here, just try to follow my lead. Left foot right, right foot right-" Ethari looked down, focussing on the way Runaan's feet moved along with his voice instructing him and found he was moving along a lot easier.
He also somehow hadn't stepped on the other's toes yet.
He beamed at the other, "It's actually going better!" he blurted, earning a chuckle.
"Do you feel comfortable going a bit faster?" Runaan asked as the music around them started to pick up more.
Ethari wasn't too sure but still nodded, figuring he'd be fine as long as he was in Runaan's arms.
At first he looked down at his feet to make sure he wouldn't mess up again but after a few moments realized Runaan wasn't instructing him anymore, yet they were still moving in sync.
He looked up to the other elf and blushed upon seeing the tender look in Runaan's eyes.
"Are you having fun?" the assassin asked.
"I-I am!" Ethari answered as he grinned back.
He almost didn't notice the mischievious glint in the other's eye before he was suddenly spun around.
"Whoa!" he cried out as he twirled before crashing into Runaan's chest as the assassin held him tighly against him.
"Wha-?" he looked up at the other who was now openly grinning.
"I'm sorry but I just couldn't resist." he admitted and be it the playfulness of the other or just the euphoria of being this close, Ethari didn't know but he burst out laughing.
"Geez, that actually scared me, you know!" he snickered, making the other laugh.
"Did it really? How about now?" he asked before spinning Ethari again, earning another laugh.
"How about we see how you like it!" Ethari said and without thinking spun Runaan around and pulled him into his own chest.
"Oi!" Runaan laughed as he threw his arms around Ethari again.
Ethari froze for a moment before tightening his hold on the elf in his arms, swaying lightly to the music.
He couldn't stop smiling and laughing. His heart was beating miles a minute. He felt warm and tingly all over.
It felt nice to hold to hold Runaan like this, to laugh and act silly and to dance like this.
It felt good. It felt right.
He was pulled from his thoughts when Runaan carefully stepped back and pulled Ethari back into their dance, arms around the smith's waist and Ethari's arms around his neck, dancing in circles together.
Runaan looked so beautiful, eluminated by the light of the moon and the different colored lanterns all around, long silver hair flowing behind him and that smile he was giving just for Ethari.
It stole his breath away.
"R-Runaan? I-" he started to say but then it happened.
He tripped and stumbled, falling over, right on top of Runaan who wasn't able to catch him this time and also went down.
"Oof!" the assassin grunted as they hit the ground but Ethari barely registered, far too horrified as what he feared all along came true as everyone around them stopped at stared.
"Ethari?" he heard Runaan calling his name but he didn't care. He needed to get out of there.
Without another word he pushed himself off the other elf and ran, ignoring his name being called.
He sat hidden behind large right, away from the festival and all prying eyes but close enough that he could still hear the music.
He honestly wanted to go further but he just didn't have the strenght to go further.
He was drained physically but more so emotionally.
He definately blew it.
Why did he listen to Tiadrin and ask Runaan to dance, despite knowing it would most likely turn out like this?
Why did he have to be such a clutz?!
The worst part was that he hadn't just embarrassed himself but Runaan too.
How could he face him after this?
Of course it had been to good to be true.
Maybe it was a sign.
Yeah, Runaan agreed to dance with him but that didn't have to mean anything.
He probably only did so to save Ethari the humiliation of getting rejected on public.
Tears started to build in his eyes.
"Ethari?" he gasped when a familiar voice called him.
"Runaan?" he meekly peeked from behind the rick and sure enough Runaan stood there, looking worried.
"What are you doing here?" he asked and the other huffed.
"I was about to ask you the same after you ran off like that." Runaan said as he slowly made his way to Ethari as if he was appraoching a frightened animal, which in way wasn't too far off.
"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." he apoligized.
Runaan lifted an eyebrow, "Something tells me you're not just saying sorry for running off." he said.
"Right." Ethari sighed.
"Ethari?"
"I should also apologize for what happened. For embarrasing you with that fall and all. I should have known it was bound to happen and I shouldn't have asked you to dance. I know you were just being nice when you agreed." he chuckled humorlessly.
"Who says I didn't dance with you because I wanted?" Runaan asked, making Ethari blink.
"Eh?" he asked lamely.
"I was honestly quite pleased when you asked me. I enjoy your company and saw it an opportunity to spend time with you. I also enjoyed our dance very much." Ethari gaped as he watched Runaan fumble fumble with his fingers and look around.
Was his nervous? Was he blushing?!
"Runaan? Are you..." Ethari trailed off, too scared at being wrong with that he was assuming.
"I... I was hoping of getting a chance to a second dance." Runaan confessed and for a moment Ethari swore time stopped as he tried to register Runaan asking him for aother dance.
"I'm not sure... Not that I don't want to, I mean! It's just that I don't think I'm ready to go out there yet." Ethari worriedly looked at where the noise of the crowd was coming from.
"I don't mind dancing here if you don't mind either." Runaan shrugged before bowing before Ethari in a graceful sweep.
"May I have this dance?" he peaked up at him with the same smile from earlier.
Ethari stared and struggled to come up with some kind up excuse but upon seeing Runaan's hopeful look he decided the throw his worries away and just go for it and took the other's hand.
"I'd be honored."
The End
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