Pigeon's Roost - Squirrels Don't Dance (But these ones do)

The treasure hunters and a newly acquired member... dance.

It is a boring, eventless night, and Aden is slumped against the wall, seated on the floor. Shes so bored, and just needs to move around a little. But theres nothing to do! A seedy looking band plays music in the corner. She could dance! But...who to dance with?

Well, there's Castus, who has just come back inside, dusting himself free of leaves and such. What an uneventful day. The band is playing,but nobody's on the floor. Castus raises an eyebrow, unsuspecting he might be a 'volunteered' participant.

Aden looks up at the new victi-- er, bar costumer. Castus! She pushes herself upright and waves. "Everyone here is so boring." She gestures to the few scattered inhabitants of the tavern.

"Uh... okay?" Castus confirms, raising an eyebrow at Aden. "I'm sorry to hear that." Hopefully she doesn't mean him too.

Aden looks at the band, playing a sad, slow and mournful tune. "They either need to speed up that awful music, or..." she searches for an alternate, and fails to find one. He's not boring. Or, maybe he's being a little boring right now. "It would liven this up a bit!"

Castus nods and heads for the band, speaking to them quietly. They nod, apparently in understanding, and then suddenly the music is picking up again! "Is that any better?" he asks with a grin, proud of his diplomatic skills.

Aden laughs. "Much." Pause. "Let's dance!" She grins, making puppy dog eyes. "Pleeeease! I haven't danced in /ages/!" And she's good at it! She danced all the time at the circus.

"Dance?" Castus seems genuinely surprised at the question. He looks at the band, then the empty floor, and then back at the pleading squirrelmaid. He shrugs and smiles. "Well, ah. Why not! Always wanted to dance with a circus performer." Maybe he just made that up. Still!

"Yes, dance! You can dance, right?" She's grinning, goes to practically drag him onto the floor. She winks "And we're the best at it, too!"

"The best, are you? Well, can't pass up a chance like this!" He goes along willingly and takes her paws, one circling her waist, smiling happily. The dance isn't insanely fast, but it's going to raise the mood and get them breathing hard. "All right... Here we go!" And then, in full view of all the other 'boring' patrons, he swings her out onto the floor.

( One of those 'boring' patrons is Reese. Well, she's only just come in from outside, in time to see one squirrel drag the other into the middle of the room. "Oh, really," she laughs at the sight. )

Aden laughs, what sort of dance is this? Who knows! Its a welcome relief from the boredom though. She knows what she's doing, obviously, and her feet do all sorts of fancy things like...dancing! A voice from a boring patron calls her attention very briefly to Reese. "Hi Reese!" But she does not stop dancing!

"Hey Reese!" Castus laughs as he goes spinning by, twirling Aden about, lifting her slightly off her paws as he does so. But of course they don't even slow down. "Come on and join the fun! Huh? It's a tavern, there's music..." Oop, some more fancy footwork to be done. Castus grins all the while. Is it even a dance instead of hopping and spinning about? Who cares!

"Maybe if what's-his-face was around," Reese says with a tilt of her head, as she perches on the edge of a table out of the way of them. She means, of course, Magramba, who has yet to get a better name from the squirrel doe.

Aden laughs as she's twirled about and tilts her head back to look at Reese upside down. "Heh, he might be a little old for you!" her tail wraps around Cas's waist to keep it from getting in the way - its her most commonly tripped over appendage you know. And a dancing pain!

Reese curls her own tail up over the tops of her knees, and reaches to snag a drink from a passing server. She sips from the cup while peering curiously toward Aden, then tilts her head. "Not sure why you'd think that." Her tongue brushes across her upper lip, taking away a line of foam from the drink.

"Ah ha! Then you'll just have to be my next partner!" Castus calls out. One, two, cut some floorboards! And then he'll be able to follow through on that promise for a pawshake. He too wraps his tail about Aden. Providing a bit more of a brace, and making the dance that much more 'reserved' for the two of them. He leans Aden over as they come to a pause, bending down and giving Reese a grin. "Just lemme take some breath away, first."

More of a smile creeps across Reese's face, at Castus' offer. "If you /must/..."

Cas's line draws a laugh from Addy. "Yeah, yeah!" She's leaned over now, and continues to watch Reese upside down. "I dunno, he always seemed a bit /older/ to me."

"That might have something to do with you being a bit... young." Reese's lips press into a small smile of amusement, which broadens again as she turns her gaze toward Castus. "Who's breath are you trying to steal, then? Mine's still entirely... mine."

Castus swings Aden back up and aroung into another spin, sweeping her off once more. "Ohh, he's not that bad," Castus says, rolling his eyes. "It gives him... experience. Maturity." He glances over his shoulder at Reese. "I'll swipe it soon enough!"

Aden still has breath left, apparently. "I'm willing to share!" she laughs, looking at Reese again. "You can't be much older." she reasons, and twists her feet around to do a little hop.

Reese tips her head after another drink from her cup, to point her long ear-tufts in Castus' direction. "I'm about his age. I mean, I'm guessing, but - younger than Magramba, older than you."

"I just hope you aren't as willing to hit me as he is in that case!" Castus calls back, and then unwinds his tail as he spins Aden away, and then draws her back in for a dipping twirl.

"Are you sure you don't mean 'as willing to cuddle'?" Reese quips.

The door opens, and Magramba enters. Evidence of his outing abounds in his clothes and fur; dried mud clings to his boots, thistles and the occasional thorn stick to his trousers, and a grin on his face. He stops a few steps in. Dancing again. "Dancing again..."

Aden is twirled away and dipped. "So you /can/ dance" she smirks and then the door opens. What is it with her always getting the upside down views of everyone. "Hi Mag!" she calls cheerily and waggles a paw to him. "Join us!"

Reese's head untilts back to its proper position, her muzzle turning toward Magramba. "I take it they do this often."

"Hey." Magramba's paw rises in greeting, but he doesn't 'join us!' Rather, he makes his way around the perimeter to where Reese is, giving her a slow nod. "Yeh. Favorite activity, it seems."

"This is the second time I've danced in /months,/" Castus clarifies as they go spinning past again. "Mag's just being a fuddy-duddy."

"Dancing isn't so bad. I just kind of prefer a less, um. Bouncy style," Reese says with a chuckle, gesturing toward the flouncing pair.

Mags /always/ a fuddy-duddy. "Bouncy style is the fun style." she argues, twirling herself away for a moment and then returning.

"For you, sure," Reese responds, and buries her muzzle in the cup to take a large swallow.

Magramba's eyes follow the gesture, and narrow, as though focusing for the first time rather than simply dismissing. His ears prick forward, as well. After a moment, he murmurs, "The band's missing every third beat or so. Tempo's all wrong." The squirrel cranes his neck to look over the crowd to see who's directing. "Dormouse. Typical."

Reese cocks her head so one ear is stood straight up, and turned toward the band. "I can't tell - but I'm not a musician. You are, then?"

Magramba shakes his head. "Not anymore."

Castus rolls his eyes and brings Aden back up to face level. They both bounce around to prove their point. "Why don't you play for us, Mag? Hmm? Since you /hate/ dancing so much."

Aden sighs, still dancing. "Mag, its not the /tempo/ that matters, its the movement!" she says in an almost scolding tone. Someone needs to beat some happiness into that squirrel.

"Magramba, if you do not get on this dance floor and dance with us I will be forced to hurt you." Then after Castus' suggestion, adds "Yeah - OR play."

"Lute broken?" Reese jokes, giving Magambra's arm a little push. "Come on, bet you're good, aren't you?"

"You know what? If it'll get you two," point at Cas and Aden, "off my back, I'll do it." Magramba picks his way around to where the band is set up, and takes stock of the members. A mouse on the fiddle, a shrew playing lute, and an otter plucking away on a makeshift washtub bass. Then there's that dormouse who's officiating. Or trying, anyway.

"Hurrah!" Castus says, and his dancing grows that much more enthusiastic now that Mag has finally come out of his shell. Under protest.

Aden laughs, doing her own little hop - jig of victory. "No one can resist the peer pressure!"

Magramba whispers in the dormouse's ear for what seems like a good amount of time. The dormouse nods throughout, and when Mag's finished, he gestures at the mouse, who comes over to join the whispering match. The otter and shrew keep going to town.

While Magramba plots with the band and the other two squirrels continue to dance, Reese finishes her drink and rises from where she's sitting, heading over to the other side of the tavern at an invitation from a few beasts with a deck of cards.

Castus begins to slow down the dance as Mag takes the stage and the music begins to slow down. "Whew!" he compliments Aden. "I think... that was the most fun I've had yet." He glances at Reese. "Not going to join me?" he wonders.

The conference seems to break up, with the mouse handing his violin to Magramba and the dormouse standing back in front of the band. Magramba produces a knife and quickly trims the claws on his left paw flush with the tips of his fingers.

Aden tucks her head under Cas's chin and casts Mag an odd glance. He just cut his claws off with a knife? Ew! Horrible for the nails. "I have a file if you need it." She calls over, smirking.

Reese glances back at Castus as he addresses her, about to sit down at the card table. "Oh. You're done? Um."

Castus shrugs. "Well. First song is over. And you haven't had a turn! So? How about it?" He glances down at Aden apologetically. "Don't mind, do you?"

Aden grins, stepping away and giving him a mock bow. She turns to Reese and gestures to Castus. "All yours!"

Reese turns back around to face Castus, leaning the small of her back against the edge of the table with her hands to either side. She gives Aden a briefly questioning look, then tips her head up to smile at Castus. "No bouncing?"

From the stage, Magramba briefly plucks each of the strings, making minute adjustments on the knobs. Satisfied, he draws the bow experimentally over the strings.

"No bouncing," Castus says with good authority, giving Reese a polite nod and a bow. Waiting for Mag to set the pace of the music, he holds out a paw for Reese to take. "A promise is a promise," he says in a quiet voice, smiling and flicking his tail.

Pleased again, Magramba sets the rear of the instrument against his neck, leaning his jaw against the body. When he pulls the bow across the strings again, it is with more confidance; a tune is distinguishable, but the interval between this and his last playing is clear. The instrument is not a standard violin, larger, more what would be called a viola. The squirrel stays with a deep, slow resonance for now, giving his fingers time to remember their old positions.

Aden adopts Reese's abandoned spot at the table, waving the bartender down. He's seen her enough by now that she either wants option 1) ale or option 2) tea. They have some sort of nonverbal communication going on, and she soon has a mug of ale clutched en paw.

Reese steps forward from the table, reaching to clasp Castus' hand. "Yeah, but the breath-stealing... I still have my doubts."

Castus gives her paw a firm shake, and his gentle grip does not depart. "Do you? Well, then it'll be all the more satisfying when I... blow them away," Castus grins, reaching out to take her other paw. His tail still flickers behind him, swaying back and forth, and then gently, without any bounce but a lot of glide, he turns them towards the dance.

It's not long before the tune Magramba's producing takes a decidedly mournful air, fingers massaging the neck of his instrument to draw vibratto from the strings, the movement of the bow like a river, flowing and majestic. The squirrel's eyes close, his brow furrowed as he focuses on the music.

Aden settles comfortably at the table and sips at her ale, letting herself enjoy the music. Should she be jealous? Maybe. Is she? Nah. Not really.

And Reese is pulled along, not protesting very much, though she raises her brows at Castus in a playfully skeptical manner. Her own tail is low, a little above the ground, swaying as she turns with him and moves into the middle of the open dancing area.

Oh, so it's a slow dance! He sees how it is. They spin and slide over the floor in a nice fluid motion, and Castus drops his paw down to Reese's waist, facilitating the swaying, melancholy motions they use to match Mag's music. Just like he said, it's not bouncy at all, and all of his attention is given to his partner.

The melody is building, and the shrew with the lute kicks in with some accompaniment. Bass-Otter is silent; his instrument's not really suited to this sort of thing.

Aden watches the pair curiously a moment, then her gaze switches to Mag, playing away. He's good - maybe even he has a soft side. She finishes off her ale, but doesn't order another one.

Reese sets her hand at Castus' shoulder, while the other one still clasps his. She follows his lead with an occasional quick glance down at her feet, muzzle positioned a little low. Trying not to be as clumsy as usual.

Castus is a perfectly accomodating partner! His smile grows a little softer when he sees her attempting to do as well as she can, getting into the tune just like he. "So then," he says quietly. "You're much better at this than trees, I think..." Just for kicks, he pulls back just enough to spin them both in a slow, elegant circle, before coming back together once more.

Despite the occasional slip, Magramba manages to pull off the climax of the song with a reasonable amount skill and grace. As the melody fades, he finishes the tune with a few long, vibratto-rich draws of the bow, while the lutist continues to play. Finished, the squirrel hands the instrument back to the mouse, thanking him, and quickly makes his way down off the stage, heading almost directly for the door. Behind him, the band strikes up a cheerful tune.

"... I'm much better at a lot of things than trees," Reese mutters, glancing up again to Castus' face. Her smile is a little cautious and a little wry; her tail brushes the ground for a moment as he leads her in the turn.

( Mag can't escape that easily, nope, he should definitly dance before he goes. Plus, Adens just sitting in a chair all lonely like. "That was nice." She yawns. )

"Well. It's a good thing we haven't had a dance in a tree yet," Castus says with a smile. The music may be picking up, but their dance, for the moment, stays the same, if picks up a bit in tempo. "If you don't mind my saying so, you're doing pretty splendid so far."

Magramba pauses, taking a moment to swallow. "Thanks." The squirrel takes another step towards the door. "Did you, um. Want something?"

Want something? Of course not. The squirrel shrugs her shoulders and nods towards the dancefloor. "Wanna dance?"

"... it'd be um. /Much/ easier to.. dance underwater, or something." Reese's muzzle rests forward near Castus' shoulder. "Do you swim?"

"Not really." Magramba gives the door another glance. "You?"

"Yep." Addy pauses "But you look incredibly busy."

"Let's do it, then." Magramba holds out a paw.

Aden takes the offered paw graciously and stands up. "Gladly."

"When I get the chance," Castus says, directly into her ear as she bows forward. "I usually don't... big wet squirrel tail gives a rather unpleasant feeling." He raises his ears and eyebrows when Mag... agrees? To /dance?/ Wow, everyone must have gotten drunk behind his back! But, it only makes him smile, and swish his tail about, brushing against Reese's for a bare moment, encouraging her to lift it up. Look good, feel good!

The bat of Castus' tail against hers makes Reese laugh quietly, her own curling up away from the ground now. "Well, I like it /in/ the water. It's kind of weightless. Anyway, I learned to swim before I learned to climb..."

Magramba leads her out onto the dancefloor. "Just so you understand, that bouncing about is /not/ dancing, and we won't be doing any of that."

Aden smirks. "Understood." her tail swishes around her ankles. For good measure, she adds.

Aden's paw is moved out into the air, and Magramba moves his other paw to her waist, beginning with simple swaying step as he feels out the rhythm of the music.

"Now that's interesting... dancing in water. Not something I've done before." He chuckles and noses her ear, just slightly. "You'll have to be /my/ tutor for that one." He watches the new, unlikely duo take to the floor as he gives Reese another twirl, eyes following the way her almost bronze fur is played aginst the light. It's quite fetching, really.

Letting Magramba lead, Addy's feet slide gracefully across the floor, moving with the ebbs and flows of the music. No ridiculous bouncing here. Her tail wraps delicately around her left ankle to keep it out of the way.

Magramba dances with his typical agility, although his left leg does seem to be lagging behind ever-so-slightly. The pair orbit the center of the floor, revolving in turn on their own axis.

Reese isn't as graceful a dance partner as Castus' last one, but at least she hasn't managed to treat on his feet yet. Every little while she gives a slightly furtive downward, usually when Castus turns to, to try to avoid such a thing. "I haven't either... but I've seen the otters do it. And there'd be no toes in danger, either," she huffs against his shoulder, her tufted ears folding backward in a relaxed position.

If this were a more intimate setting, Castus might even kiss the girl. But, no such luck. He rather shudders to think what Mag would do to him! "This is nice," he decides, seeing all his new friends enjoying themselves. "Guess taverns aren't all bad and boring after all..."

Any lag, however slight, that Mag's sore leg might build up is perhaps picked up in the fancy footwork of his current dance partner, her feet performing the typical steps though with a few extra bits of flair thrown in. An extra, well placed step here and there propelling it along at its current, steady pace.

"No, just... um. Unpredictable. Taverns. Yes, that." Reese's voice is a low mumble, a bit distracted. She's looking more at his face now than at her feet.

It would seem they make a good pair on the dance floor; Magramba's feet move with practiced precision, his posture erect and his natural strength bleeding into his performance. The squirrel leads his partner into a twirl, drawing Aden in close, then letting her spiral outward from his paw, pausing in his motion to anchor her.

"Yes. You never know who you might run into. Or what they'll bring into your life." His eyes have almost always been on her face, in fact, leaving only to give Mag and Aden a glance. It is a happy expression that dominates his face.