InsaneJournal

"What did you think?"
Who: Alma and River
What: Ballet and Science
When: Tuesday
Where: River's home
Status: Complete
Rating: PG for beauty




Alma thought getting away from the hospital and the relief center would be good for her. Most of her time had been divided between Wrex and Roy, though she had grown increasingly aware that both had their own support groups, and it made her feel...extrenuous. She was vaguely aware that was irrational.

So an excuse to get out, and see her new friend was a welcome one. She found she was excited about it.

The table had been moved out of the kitchen that morning, to give River more space to practice on a smooth floor. She'd brewed up some coffee and let Alma in, and was now warming up on the kitchen floor, legs stretched out to either side.

She had on a black leotard and tights, pink legwarmers, and had opted to leave her hair down. This was more of a fun demonstration, and she hadn't even bothered to put ballet shoes on.

She pointed her foot, and leaned down to grab it, "Are you sure you're comfortable sitting on the counter?"

"I want to make sure you have enough room," Alma assured her. She was wearing jeans and a button up shirt. With sparkles. She'd discovered a fondness for sparkles, that had probably made the adults around her relieved. Because that was normal for a girl her age.

She shifted, crossing her legs underneath her, studying the way River moved as she stretched.

It had been relieving, yes. Wrex had bought her all kinds of girly things to wear after most of her clothing had burned to a crisp. Or at least, he'd let her have some money so that she could buy some, and had apparently ordered her a few things over the phone. She might have felt unnecessary, but she was the only rock the man was clinging to right now.

On the floor, River moved to stretch down to the other leg, a content smile on her face. Like her namesake, she seemed to flow like water, "I appreciate that. I get carried away sometimes when we're not on the bar. The last time I practiced in the kitchen, I ran into the fridge."

She giggled. It'd been pretty funny.

Alma even had skirts now, but after thirty minutes going through them had decided that would send the wrong message. Not that she knew what message she wanted to send.

River's giggle brought a smile to her face. Obviously she hadn't been hurt and found the experience amusing and not embarrassing. And the giggle was infectious.

"You love it so much you become the dance."

"I get wrapped up in the story the music is trying to tell me, and then the steps aren't mine anymore. They come from somewhere else, deep in me..." River trailed off. The smile on her face was one that was as lost in the words she was saying as her own body often got lost in the dance.

"I can tell," Alma replied, quietly. The words were doing the same thing. River was a very emotional person, she thought. It washed over her in waves and she had to close her eyes as she sorted through it, to separate herself from River.

She swallowed, thinking zen thoughts, "And then you tell the story?"

"I guess I do," River got to her feet, and put on some music, "I feel like it's more that the story tells itself through me, but I'm not as involved in the process as people seem to think. Feet can move and make dance steps, but that doesn't mean that it's a story, and..."

She trailed off again, and grinned at Alma, "Well you'll see. Dance is math and science in some of its most beautiful applications."

And with that, she closed her eyes, and started to dance to the music.

Alma felt herself lulled into an easy going, laid back feeling. She shifted on the counter, watching River dance. She didn't realize it but her mouth was hanging open. It was absolutely, stunningly beautiful. It was sweet, and ...happy. Her eyes watered, just a little bit.

River moved like her namesake, graceful and fluid. Alma felt like she was watching something secret that her eyes weren't worthy to see.

The dancer got lost in it, falling into some imaginary world where she was a leaf in the woods, blowing around on the breeze. She nearly collided with the refrigerator again at one point, before making her way across the floor in the other direction. She was that leaf, could imagine herself as one, could see the world from that perspective, visualize blowing around on the breeze, and even feel the wind flowing around her.

The leaf bobbed and weaved and spun and Alma followed along with her eyes and her head, as if she could visualize this forest world that River was dancing through. She wished she could dance with her, accompany her on that journey. Maybe she was picking up some leakage. Everything around them was green and instead of sitting on counter she rested on a fallen log while a fawn stepped cautiously around her.

The music faded, and River came to a stop, blinking her eyes for a few moments as she mentally adjusted from the world the dance had taken to and back into her own.

Then she located Alma with her eyes and grinned, "What did you think?"

Momentarily at a loss for words, Alma worked her mouth soundlessly. So many emotions and feelings were thundering inside her that she had to take a moment to reign them in before they broadcast out to River. She didn't trust herself to move, "That was beautiful. You took me to the forest."

River clapped her hands together and bounced on her heels a bit, "That's where I was! I was a leaf on the wind," and as she said the last words, she danced a bit again along with them, pretending to be the leaf again.

She stopped then, and let out a happy sigh, "I like practicing at home, more. Dance classes are so rigid and structured."

"You do not belong rigid and structured," Alma observed. Her mouth was dry and her hands a little sweaty. She filed that away for further study.

"You are like your name. You flow." She searched for an appropriate analogy, "You are beauty in physics."

"It's so ... very nice of you to say something like that," River walked up to the counter and hugged her. Her new friend was amazing and thought she flowed, and was beauty in physics. There was no greater compliment!

"The classes are all about doing 20 of that dance step and 30 of this one. I understand the necessity for repetitive motion like that, but at the same time I wish they'd let us be more interpretive sometimes. The life of a Ballerina is going to be hard, but I love dance so much I think it'll be worth it."

"Is that what you intend to do, for a career?" For some reason Alma was torn between elation of the idea of that beauty being nourished, and disappointed at that incredible Sexy brain wouldn't be. But River should do what she loved.

"Well what I wanted to do was be an FBI profiler, but Simon thought that job was too dangerous, and I love dancing enough that I don't mind being a Ballerina, either." The tone of River's voice backed up her remarks. She sincerely loved dancing, enough that she was willing to put aside her other degrees.

Alma slid off the counter and put a hand on River's arm. She let it linger while she said, "Let dancing be your love, and science be your hobby. Perhaps teach it?"

She really had a hard time letting go of River’s brain.

"Oh I could never let Science go. I want to learn so much still, and I thought I could apply it to dancing, and maybe do some kind of ... science of dance course at some point. Teach other dancers how to do better with physics, like that one movie about figure skating. Which wasn't as true to life as it could have been, but is still a really amazing idea." River's face lit up at the thought of it, as she planned it out in her head. While standing there.

Alma felt relieved, "It is good to nurture both the mind, and the body. Especially ones so beautiful."

She studied River's face as the girl planned through her idea and felt a smile come unbidden to her own face, "That is not a bad idea. Urdnot Ranch will need people to teach science and arts, when it is rebuilt."

River blushed a bit and ducked her head, but her mind was already reeling with the idea of teaching dance classes at Urdnot Ranch somehow, "Do you think they'd let me teach some? I'm not an expert yet, I don't know if I'm that qualified, but you know I'd love to help out, and it would mean I got to spend more time with you."

"Father will be okay with it, I think. Once he sees how you dance. And we can amaze him with your mind." Alma grinned. It was a real, genuine grin, and her own face was lit up at the prospect. River wanted to spend more time with her!

This was a happy day!

“Let’s start today! I’ll teach you a few things!” River proceeded to get out a few chairs they could use as bars to hold on to, and motioned for Alma to take her shoes off. She could show her the first few steps every Ballerina learns, at least!

Dizzy, Alma pulled her shoes off. Is this what friends normally did together? She wasn't sure. She squashed the conflict so she could concentrate on the moment, and the fun.

She paused, blinking, realizing she was having fun and it was normal.

The demon within her felt chased very far away.