dance it out [open]

[alicedracul]

Alice knew she couldn't force Vlad to accept her as his daughter. Only time would do that, but what she want was just to dance out her frustration. She had passed the dance studio various times during the time that she had stayed in town, but today would be the first time she would actually be going inside. She enjoyed walking everywhere, and this time was no different. With a gym bag slung over her shoulder, she mentally counted off everything to make sure she had remembered everything. A visit to the blood bank was also in order, seeing that she was running low on stock, maybe enough to last another few days if she wasn't peckish during that time.

Alice entered the front of the studio and went through the usual filling out of the forms, but thankfully no membership fee. In the end, she found an empty studio with a CD player. The hardwood flooring was perfect for her, and she changed quickly. She was already wearing her track pants and loose shirt, but her trainers weren't the most appropriate. Taking out the black dance shoes, they looked like a cross between ballet flats and tap shoes. They were intended for Irish dancing, and even though she lived in Russia, she had managed to find the only Irish dance studio there. It had become a passion and now she couldn't stop.

Once Alice felt that her shoes were on firmly, she went through the stretching exercises. Twenty minutes later, she put the CD into the player, and the Celtic music washed over her. She started going through all the movements, not noticing anything going on around her. It was only her, the music, and the metal clacking on the floor.

[Axel Oskar Lasion]

Coming from a family that had a lot of sport enthusiasts, it came as no surprise that Axel found himself dragged to the dance studio early one Saturday morning. His sister Anne was Captain of the only all-female Ice Hockey Team on the island but she was in no way restricted in that area. She was also moderately talented at the field of dance. Axel had never dipped his toes into the sports that his grandfather so commonly wrote articles about (when he was alive) but he'd never wrote it out as an option if he ever got tired of teaching history. The other option he still had was Geography, since his degree was joint honours in History and Geography. There was also the option of going back into the army. All these doors were open to him, and soon he was to become a father.

To twins, he could hardly believe it. Maybe he'd have to take up another teaching position soon, maybe teach both History and Geography at Darcy. He could still remember all his studies on erosions, plate tectonics, cloud formations and types etc etc. The way his mother constantly went on about his having twins it was like she was already calling tailors for his groomsman suit. He hadn't exactly told her yet that they had broken up and that Rory was throwing every immature trick in the book right now. If she couldn't appreciate that he was working his ass off, he wasn't sure he was ready to speak to her again. She'd already dismissed him from their appointments, inviting her best friend instead. Axel had no problems with Artemis, just the fact that the twin's biological father wasn't invited to the appointments. That stung, a lot.

Axel didn't realize when he and his sister walked into the dance studio, the irony of the presence of the petite vampire. She had a father that didn't acknowledge her existence, and Axel was a father-to-be killing himself to try to have a reasonable conversation with the twin's mother so he wasn't cut out of their lives. Annie was already dressed like a ballerina, though her arms and thighs were more filled out with muscle than most slender dancers. Axel adored his twin, hence why he woke up early that Saturday just to watch her improved dance routine. He applauded when she was finished and nodded as his sister dismissed herself from the room so she could buy a bottle of water. Axel made it a rule not to disturb people who were focused and the other person in the room seemed very focused, so he left well enough alone.

[alicedracul]

Alice enjoyed going through the movements of the reel and jog, adding a little of her own flare to the routines. The studio was built like most to accommodate ballet, but the mirrors came in handy with complicated routines. Not that she could really see her feet while dancing, the pace of the movements having to keep up lively music. She didn't notice the arrivals in the studio until she was finished with the routine, and even then she chose to do her own thing. Breathing heavily, Alice grabbed a water bottle and sipped, forcing herself not to gulp it down all at once. She went through her stretching routine again, this time as a cooling off process instead of a warm up one.

Now that she was finished with her dancing, thoughts could accost her once more. They were mostly of Vlad and how she could have him accept her. Something told Alice that it would take time and a whole lot of patience. There was nothing that she had left except for those two elements. She had a feeling that Vlad didn't want to accept her and she was fine with that. She would go her own way this time. Alice had survived for sixteen years without a father and she would be able to carry on despite his refusal to accept her. Hot tears stung at her eyes, and thankful that she was splashing her face with water from her bottle, meant that she could mask it.

Alice finally did acknowledge the other person in the room. She was done for the day in any case. She had seen the man around the town, and it seemed that he was dealing with his problems. The gossip mongers had latched onto the fact that he had impregnated the student he was dating and now the whole thing was going South very fast. Hi, she greeted with a tired smile, leaning against the wall, untying her modified dance shoes and stretching her legs even further.

[Axel Oskar Lasion]

Since he'd been situating himself out of the dancer's way, he was mildly surprised to find that she acknowledged him. Not that he was complaining, his social life had been somewhat lacking since - well, ever, really. Before Rory he'd always focused on work and after Rory it'd gone back to practically the same. There was a lot of tiredness in her smile, which caused a glimmer of respect from Axel. He had nothing but admiration for people that worked hard, earned what they had. It was a drag to see people that thought the world was going to make sunshine and rainbows for them all the time just because they will it. "Hey, you look pretty exhausted." he observed with a knowing smile. He couldn't imagine what was taking his sister so long, she'd probably stopped off at the food area. Axel couldn't personally imagine why, all the food there was swimming in vegetables.

Axel had only recently started teaching at Darcy in the past few years and even then he only taught middle school, so he didn't recognize this student (though her teenage body implied as much) so he felt it necessary to introduce himself to his new acquaintence. "My name is Axel Lasion," he offered his hand to shake politely, though a slight part of him wondered if her hands would be all clammy and sweaty. He couldn't imagine so, it wasn't her hands doing all the work.

"I teach at Darcy, maybe you go there? Stab in the dark of course, you might be older than you look." he smirked, hoping that he didn't offend. After all that'd be just his luck, like Rory and him splitting up meant that he was cursed to offend everyone around him. Well, he was determined to not think about it.

[alicedracul]

Alice's only motivation for coming to New Castle was to find her father. Now that she had, she wasn't going to go back to Russia. It was something that she refused to do. She might be playing the martyr by staying at the one place where she would run into her father. Haven't danced in a while, so I'm slightly unfit, she said. The male didn't strike her as the vampire type, his scent more animal like, probably werewolf or shifter. She had no beef with either species, and her knowledge about a possible war breaking out had been limited to what she had found out since her arrival. There never really was a place that had felt more like home than New Castle, but Moscow would also be the one place she would return to.

Alice Dracul, she returned the introduction. Alice always went on her last name from her father, no matter how much he denied it. She placed her hand into Axel's, shaking it politely, before removing it. Manners may have been drilled into her, but it didn't mean that she always paid attention to them. Sometimes her cheekiness was required, but now she was too tired to be her cheeky self.

I'm supposed to start at Darcy at the end of Summer, she answered, grinning slightly at his comment. She would actually have loved to been older, maybe then Vlad would believe her, and the difference would have been that she would been accepted by Vlad, mainly because there wasn't the trouble of the divorce going through just yet. Summer holidays had provided her with ample time to dwell on her father, and she hated it. There really wasn't anything that she wanted more than a father figure.

[Axel Oskar Lasion]

Alice Dracul, it was quite a haunting name, just because of the associations it had with Dracula. For a second he thought she might be in some kind of Dracula-worshipping cult or something. Then again if Dracula was a real person, it'd make sense that a vampire such as herself would be a fan. Especially, as it might seem, one who was alone. Dancing was a solitary activity sure but she didn't have anybody around her at all. Since she was starting Darcy in the Summer, Axel therefore concluded that she must be new to town. His eyes turned cold as coal at thinking of going back to Darcy. Even though he taught the middle school, he'd still see Rory around. It was just too much stress to deal with right now. And with his family and all their extra perceptions being thrown at him, he literally didn't know where to turn.

"Ah, so your new to town?" Axel asked, trying to put his finger on the accent. Axel was Polish but nobody guessed his accent correctly. He didn't expect people to. By this time Axel's twin sister Anne came back from the cafeteria and gave him two things. First she waved at him to signal her presence, to which Axel returned the wave. The second she gave him was a dirty look and Axel knew what she was thinking. Oh come on I fell for one high school girl. Now I'm officially the guy that hits on teenagers? he thought, annoyed. He'd talk to her about that later.

[alicedracul]

Alice wondered what she had said that would make Axel's that dark and cold. It was a look that she knew all to well. It was the one that she had gotten from Vlad when she had arrived and told him what she was. That was the worst look to be the receiver of. It made someone feel completely unworthy and distraught. She had only received it once and it still made her shiver. It made her wonder what she had done to deserve it, but that was probably because she had gotten her's from a vampire. The undead. It made sense to her, and she actually thought it was pretty cool. Not the blood drinking part, that actually just repulsed her slightly, but the whole special powers, super speed, enhanced hearing and sight. Over all, it was pretty cool to not be living.

Indeed I am. Arrived from Moscow about two weeks ago, she answered him, feeling a pang of homesickness hit her. She enjoyed the freedom that she had been granted, the trust her mother had in her was amazing, but her main reason had been to meet Vlad, and that had been the plan that backfired most dramatically. So what are you doing here? You don't seem like the dancing type, she asked, really curious as to why this guy was hanging around a dance studio. More curious was the fact that he would actually want to talk to her, or even strike up a conversation. Not that she minded. She was the social type, but she hadn't been getting out much since she had arrived in New Castle.

Taking another sip of water, she thought back again to home. She wanted her pack. She wanted her wolves. She had been lucky enough to witness the birth of the new pups, and assisted where necessary. She had the ability to heal animals, and it had always come in useful during birthing season. The fact that she could touch her wolves' minds had taught them from an early start to trust her. She had been through so many winters with them, that they were more like family than her real family.

[Axel Oskar Lasion]

As more dancers came into the studio, Axel found he had to move in rotations just to avoid their bobbing and curving. He wondered whether it would be a bright idea to leave so that he didn't interrupt several dancers. He sure wouldn't someone in the way while he was conducting a lesson. Incidentally though he couldn't find himself tearing away from the woman's pleasant conversation. Especially when she talked about Moscow, oh he loved Russia. "Ah, I'm from Poland myself but I spent almost a year in Russia when I was nineteen. I was deputy chief of a News Corporation Company in Moscow." he confided, thinking back. He loved those memories, they worked hard at keeping him sane here in America.

"I'm not, my sister brought me here. She's taking up dance again. If you watch Ice Hockey, she's a famous player in the women's team, Anne Lasion." he told her, though if she only just arrived at Garvonia a few moments ago then odds were that she hadn't decided to sit down and randomly watch the ice hockey. Still, it was worth a shot, since Axel's family had a history of becoming famous in their areas. His grandfather was a sports writer, his mother and father had endless amounts of accomplishments and his brothers were in the police and sporting careers. Axel wondered if being a teacher really ever made you that special.

"But I'm wondering whether I should go, i do seem rather out of place here." he admitted solemnly.