ax_main | Duo and Vex

Duo has had a little too much to drink. Thankfully, Vex is there to sweep them off their feet.

Vex was on the edge of the dance floor, bouncing to the rhythm of the song. She’d stepped away for a few minutes, but was about ready to jump back in. As she moved to join the students currently dancing, the tune shifted, dropping to something slow and swayworthy. Well, less fun without a partner for that. Vex glanced to see if anyone else was departing the floor for this round.

There'd been enough drinks from illicit containers now that Duo felt that every step across the floor was lighter than the one before and had half a notion that maybe that really was true. Maybe they did have more than one mutation after all and all it took to unlock it was a little alcohol. Ridiculous of course, but Duo still kept a close eye on their feet as they walked across the floor, just in case that next step didn't quite connect with the boards underneath. It turned out to be too close an eye, because they almost managed to walk into a beautiful young woman right in the middle of the dance floor.

"I'm sorry!" Duo stood for a moment, unsure of what else to say, until the obvious struck. This was a dance floor, there was music... they held out their arms. "Would you like to dance?" It was a brilliant recovery that left them feeling very clever.

Vex spotted Duo’s approach, and she would have sidestepped had they truly run into her, but she was amused guessing at the reason for such a focused trajectory. Her lips curved in a smile. She took one of Duo’s hand. Her long, fingerless gloves were made from a butter soft yarn that brushed against Duo’s palm.

“You up for dancing, darling? Room isn’t spinning yet, is it? You seem very keen on walking a straight path.”

For a moment Duo considered that they'd done a very stupid thing. Their bare hand was in hers and it was possible that once their fingers touched, things could go all sorts of wrong. Possible, but not probable. There hadn't been an accident since their very first possession and besides, the walking on air thing hadn't quite worked out, so maybe the possession bit had packed up and taken off for an evening too. That didn't quite make sense, but Duo didn't care. It had been too long since they'd just held someone's hand so they were going to accept that bit of cobbled-together logic and enjoy the moment.

"I'm absolutely fine. I was just admiring my shoes." A complete lie, but they were very nice shoes.

“They are lovely shoes. Then yes, let’s dance.” Vex swept Duo in a circle and then pulled them in closer in case balance was in question.

Duo barely got a hand on her waist before the girl pulled them along. "I'm Duo by the way," they said as the room tilted, just a tad, then settled again as Duo found their balance.

Vex settled one hand on Duo’s shoulder. She still seemed to be the one leading. “I’m Vex. Charmed.”

"So soon? I doubt that." Duo smiled. "And I think you're the better dancer, so I won't be charming you here."

She laughed warmly. “I’ve a great deal of practice not being tread on. And don’t worry—I have a soft spot for hopeless causes.”

That was an invitation for mock offense if Duo had ever heard one. "I'm hardly hopeless, just not well-practiced. And a little tipsy."

“A little bit,” Vex agreed with a teasing smile. “Love your earrings, by the way. Very beautiful.”

"Thank you! They came from a very nasty lady I traveled with on the way here. Sort of with. More like in. But it was very together. That sounds..." Bad, but the words weren't working very well. "I don't usually take things from them, but she was very nasty and really... not pleasant at all. So I was liberating them, yes?"

The explanation made very little sense. “Well, liberating items from nasty people isn’t a terrible habit. That describes half the gifts from my brother.”

"Now I'm curious about what your brother does." And damn, they almost stumbled, and it was only Vex's impeccable balance that kept them upright. "And about your power. It's dancing, isn't it?"

"I'm afraid not, darling. That's natural talent." Vex started leading their dance slowly towards the drinks table, where there was still some bottled water. "I'm a bit of an enchantress when it comes to inanimate objects."

"Animate ones too I think." They smiled, but kept it proper. Flirting while drunk was territory Duo definitely did not want to enter into.

"You're sweet."

"I am, most of the time anyway." Duo caught site of the tale and the bottles of water they were heading towards. They pouted. "Are you going to try and sober me up or are you just very concerned about hydration?"

"Hydration," Vex assured. "To help your balancing act. No one likes a headache in the morning."

They reached the table, and Duo let go of Vex to dutifully take a bottle of water. They leaned up against the table to stop the slight movement of the room that the dancing had begun. "Thank you for the chivalry. I've been offered lots to drink tonight but nothing that didn't send me a little further into the drink each time. Not that I wasn't looking for it - just that everyone here seems to be very accommodating." There, lots of fine words strung together in a sensible order. They weren't quite as drunk as they seemed.

"You must be the trusting sort. I'm happy to let someone buy me a drink any day, but I find that accepting mysterious flasks ends in mirth. Especially from friends." She smiled. "Accommodating is usually a recipe for getting utterly pissed."

"Well, I'm halfway to utterly, so you might be right." They smiled and took a drink from the bottle. Then a thought occurred, impulse followed, and Duo pulled the gold feather comb out from where it decorated the top of their braid. "This is very inanimate, I can vouch for it. Think you could enchant it?"

Vex reached for the comb and ran her thumb over it. "Hm. Have to figure out what you'd do with a feather. Normally I'd fletch an arrow, but that'd require a bow on hand. Hm. One feather."

"A quill?" Duo suggested, not quite sure what that meant in regards to her power.

"Ooh." It was a good suggestion. Vex rolled the accessory between her fingers and focused. She felt a sensation like warmth flooding the metal. Vex lifted Duo's hand to test the transformation. When she touched the base of the feather to Duo's skin it scrawled golden ink. Vex looped a quick word across the back of their palm. Beauty.

Duo's eyes grew wide as he watched her write. When she finished they held up their hand and twisted it back and forth to watch the gold ink catch the light. "You make pens," they whispered in awe. "That's the most amazing thing I've ever seen. You could have a pen whenever you wanted. You'd never be without one. Best. Superpower. Ever."

Vex stifled a laugh. "You're precious. Another night, I think I have bookworm to introduce you to." She passed Duo the feather. "I'm glad you're not disappointed that your accessory has been replaced."

"I can keep it?" It was a little confusing. The comb had been theirs of course, but this wasn't the comb. This also shouldn't be so hard to figure out, should it? Maybe it was time to sober up a little. "And it'll work? I can take this back to my room and write things with it? It won't magically turn back into a comb at midnight?"

"Nope, it won't revert. It'd take more effort to put it back to what it was." Vex smiled. "I'm a high grade fairy godmother. But I don't do pumpkins. That's just messy."

Duo laughed. "How have I been here for a month and not met you until now?"