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He smiles and puts his hands on your waist as the dance calls for.
Just before he does so, he lets the clay cup in his hands slip and shatter on the ground.
His touch is light but firm. Your hands go up, one upon his, and the other arm laid upon his arm with your hand on his shoulder. You feel held within a perfect frame.
You close your eyes for a long moment as you realize there is nothing words can do, and you get lost in the music. You’re feet seem to carry you through the motions on their own, and his hands become the center of your universe.
Among the pulsing, haunting, beautiful music you hear another cup break somewhere with the high yet muted sound of cracking clay, it’s a dull yet metallic sound. The clay of the cups is made hard yet brittle, and you can feel fragments under your slippered feet as you dance. They don’t cut, merely crack and crumble as you hear another cup drop. Then a chorus of dull clangs and muted cracks can be heard, as dozens break their cups in the course of a few seconds. Slowly your eyes open at the sound as if slowly waking from a dream, and you realize the entire gathering has stopped and circled around you, their jaws dropped in awe as yours has so many times in the past days. Eyes wide, and many teared up with happiness, smiles stuck on faces, and all you can see have dropped their cups, all at the sight of your dance. The two of you have stopped the party…turned all heads.
“Come back to me my lady, just close your eyes” Daidoji whispers, his eyes are closed, but he speaks as if he already knows what you are seeing. You are surprised at how easy it is to listen to him, at how easy it is to be the center of attention when he is there with you. You embrace the moment and let yourself resume the dance, this time adding a little flourish to the moves, so subtle and composed yet hinted with attitude, and you feel yourself blush a little at yourself as you do so and the crowd explodes with cheers and cries of “Caris!!” that erupt through the music. You get lost again in the moment for who knows how long, drifting in a glow.
The music picks up and suddenly you are aware of others dancing around you again. A burning hand touches your cheek and you know to open your eyes. Daidoji is looking right into them and you melt a bit.
“Now that the others are with us we’d better keep our eyes open to see where we’re going” he smiles as he returns the other hand back to your hip, and both hands become just a little tighter, and it makes you swoon just a little, as the pace picks up and Daidoji flawlessly leads you through the steps, encouraging you with his smiles. There are smiles all around you, as you dance the night away.