Spirits are high all across the festival grounds—music, chatter, laughter, and the delightful scents of various treats floating on the cool winter air, made warm by the various bonfires dotting the space. Just a few paces from the band, a man galavants across a makeshift dance floor, stopping now and then to tempt a chosen dance partner. Despite no success in his first two tries, he gives it another go and extends an inviting hand toward...a woman just to Khayr's right.
She declines, giggling shyly behind her Fool's Feast mask and the fiery innkeeper wastes no time in slotting her own hand into the surprisingly warm one awaiting it, startling the dancer for only a moment before realization catches up and a smile returns to his features. The exchange between them is silent, but understood, and Khayr is guided out of the dense crowd and into the spotlight. Hands part only once they've reached the center.
It starts with an initiating bow, his knee just barely brushing the ground, and one reciprocated from her. As if rehearsed, they set off in a circle, going opposite directions but never losing one another's gaze. The circle breaks as he gives first approach, a shuffling two-step taken toward her, followed by a retreating spin and one last step her way. Two firm claps signal the end of his turn and she mirrors the steps, clapping last, before they both launch fully into a jaunty romp as the music picks up to an infectious rhythm.
It only slows long enough to allow another round of wordless exchange and then another—he, then she, then they as they return to a single unit, spinning and jaunting across the earthen dance floor.
They kick up dust, they insight joyous laughter and cheers while their gleeful audience claps in tune. Khayr's loosely coiled hair and skirts fan around her, turning her into a beautiful display of color with her dress made of a lovely green and gold cloth gifted to her on one of her many travels and fashioned into something wonderful by the master tailor who'd been creating Alrynian's clothes for decades. With the hem modified just slightly enough from normal to allow for freer movement, she is completely uninhibited in her movements, allowing for a more fantastic display as the two dancers mirror one another's movements through the entire song.
Perhaps too soon, the song comes to its close and they end the dance with a pose, allowing the audience their cheers. Chests heaving and grins widening, Khayr allows her partner to close their distance enough to grasp her hand for an appreciative bow.
