dancing by myself? [hector] [INACTIVE]

[georgie]

outfit

Meg Giry had made connections who worked at theaters all over the city. They were always willing to pull strings for her to get her into theaters so she had a stage to practice. She was SO greatful for them when they allowed her inside a beautiful theater. She liked practicing in the dance studio where she now was the top dancer but she always missed dancing in a real theater. She honestly missed the Paris Opera House a lot sometimes. It was her home for as long as she could remember. It wasn't easy to be away from it.

Meg sighed softly as she walked to center stage. She wore a black leotard, pink skirt and tights and her pink toe shoes on her feet. The feel of the stage under her feet was so familar to her. She had been dancing since she could walk and performing in ballets since she was six. She couldn't think of anything better she rather do in her life. She was only seventeen so she had time to find out if she really was going to dance all her life. She knew in her heart she was but things can change for her.

Meg started up going up on her toes slowly and balancing there for a moment. It had been a week since she had last dance. She was so busy with costume fittings for ballets and saying goodbye to Christine, who was going back to Paris for a bit. She also was getting calls every day from her mother, making sure she was all right. For some reason she didn't think she was. She rolled her eyes at that thought and then went into a dance from one of the operas she danced in without turning on her music. She seemed to dance to her own inner music and she really just let herself go. It was a rare moment that anyone would see Meg look completely free, not reserved or shy in anyway.

[MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI]

Hector needed to get away from all the crap that had somehow found its way into his life. The shit hit the fan, the store was dead, not to mention his real business wasn't faring too well. It was time to break out his tap shoes that had been sitting in his closet for way too long. It took some digging and a little polishing and upkeep, but it wasn't long before Hector was calling his "buddies" over at the theater and got him to leave the side door open for him.

Hector sat on a box back stage and left his Italian made loafers in the theater's gray dust as he tied up the laces of his ancient hoofer shoes. He rotated his feet to make sure that everything was fitting right before standing up. Once he was on his feet, his shoes making muted clacks as they touched down, Hector shrugged off his jacket. It was folded neatly and left it on the box he was just sitting on. It was quickly followed by his tie and his wallet was tucked beneath it.

On his way to the stage where the lights were on, Hector rolled his silk shirt's sleeves up to the elbow. He wanted to be comfortable while he tapped. Two steps onto the stage however, Hector realized he wasn't alone. A young woman was dancing some wonderfully clean ballet. He watched from the sidelines until he was certain she was done.

Hector applauded as he walked out onto the stage all the way.

[georgie]

For a moment, Meg felt like she was back onstage at the Paris Opera. She closed her eyes as she danced, imagining she was back there. She didn't worry about falling off the stage because honestly this stage was slightly bigger the the Opera's. She felt like she'd look up and open her eyes and see the large chandeler, to the left and see box five with a shadowed figure sitting there and look out to see a full house of Parisians in their finery. Unfortunately, she knew it'd still be an empty New York theater when she finally did.

The dance slowly was coming towards it end. Her mother was a good chorographer when it came to Opera Ballets. They were wonderful showcases for the Opera's "Ballet Rats" as they were called, especially her because they reviewers like to see the pretty blonde daughter of Madame Giry dance up front. She had more to do than most of the other girls in the ballets but she didn't mind.

When her dance finally came to the end, Meg came to her final pose and stopped. Suddenly, she heard someone clapping and she jumpped out of her final pose and stood, feet together, hands wringing. She looked like a little girl ready to be scoulded. "Um...." she said softly, "Can I help you, sir....?"

[MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI]

Hector gave his best comforting smile, which wasn't all that comforting and shook his head. "Nope. I'm just here to do a little dancing. Though the show was great," His smile was crooked a little, the right side of his mouth tilting up higher than the left. Hector walked further out onto the stage until he was almost center. The clicks from his shoes got louder and louder the more he moved into open space. Pretty soon, the clean and sharp sounds were echoing in the audience and bouncing back to him.

"You're very good," Hector said with a nod of the head. He wasn't an expert by any means, but like many people he could recognize skill. The girl, no matter how small and blond, had skill. And maybe a little talent thrown in too. "How long have you been studying?" Hector also knew that skill and talent like that wasn't picked up over a couple of weekends at the YMCA. It took years to pick up ballet, just like it had taken him years to really get into tap. Now, nearly thirty years later, Hector was a hoofer through and through. When he was the girl's age, seventeen or eighteen it looked to be, he could count like a horse and that was it.

Today, Hector was a tap dancer who considered himself both a hoofer and tapper and could beat out staccato rhythms no problem. As an awkward seventeen year old, he probably would've ended up hurting himself if he even tried to do the steps he did nowadays.

[georgie]

"Nope. I'm just here to do a little dancing. Though the show was great," Meg felt herself start to blush at that. "I honestly didn't know anyone was watching..." she admitted softly, "But thank you just the same." She smiled shyly. As the man made his way closer to her, his shoes clicked. In instantly clicked in her head, that he was a tap dancer. She had never tried that before but had always wanted to. Ballet was just her thing, though. The taps on his shoes seemed to get clearer and clearer as he came closer to her.

"You're very good," The young Miss Giry blushed bright red at that. She knew she was a good dancer but she wasn't use to others saying she was. "Thank you, sir." she said softly, clearly not use to being complimented on her dancing. As a dancer at the Paris Opera House, you didn't get many complements, especially from her mother, Madame Giry, who was the ballet mistress and chorographer. She always told the dancers they were "a disgrace" and "had to rehearse" right that very minute after a long performance. She honestly didn't miss that.

"How long have you been studying?" "Honestly?" Meg said, "Since I could walk but I've been performing since I was six." As soon as she said that, she knew how odd that sounded. "I was a ballerina at the Paris Opera." she said, hoping it would explain things, "My mom's the ballet sequences chorographer."

[MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI]

"I see," Hector nodded his head understandingly. That means the girl had been dancing ballet for over a decade. Despite the fact that she had the talent and experience, the girl didn't seem used to the compliments. It was apparent by the blush on her cheeks at his words and at her soft tone. Hector understood that performance was taken quite seriously all over Europe and wouldn't have been surprised if the girl told him that she had a slave driver for an instructor.

Hector eased his hand into his pockets and tapped out a quick rhythm with his right foot. He was eager to get dancing but it was rude with someone standing right there. Then again, he already crossed the line of rude by walking in on someone while they danced. "You want to know something? You don't match your dancing. If you can light up on pointe, you can light up as a human being. Try smiling; open you mouth and show your teeth. It helps. I promise," Hector grinned jokingly. He wasn't one to give advice on how to be likable. He wasn't likable. Hector specialized in being deceptively polite and charming. Not likable.

[georgie]

"I see," Meg nodded a bit. "Yep," she said, softly, "I was just stuck practicing in the Paris Opera House for over ten years." She shrugged. "It was bound to have some effect on me." Her words were coming easier but her tone remained soft but she always spoke softly since you had to backstage durning the operas. As glad as she was to be in New York City, she couldn't help but miss the rhythm she'd found her life in at the Paris Opera House. Learn dances for a new show, perform that show, start rehearsals for the next one and the cycle just continued and continued with no breaks, except for Christmas and New Years, when the Opera would play host to large parties and a masquerade on New Years.

Meg watched as he started tapping out a rhythm. "Is tap dancing difficult?" she asked, "I've always wanted to take lessons but there was no place for it in the Operas we did at the Paris Opera." Her mother actually yelled at her when she asked if she could take tap lessons, saying if she was going to be the star ballerina in the Paris Opera, she shouldn't even think about taking tap or any other type of dance.

"You want to know something? You don't match your dancing. That comment caught Meg off guard. "...I don't, monsieur?" she asked, softly, confused and mentally kicking herself for slipping into French by adding "monsieur" instead of "sir". "If you can light up on pointe, you can light up as a human being. Try smiling; open you mouth and show your teeth. It helps. I promise," She considered his words for a moment and then smiled a pretty smile, showing her teeth this time and brightening up her already pretty face. "Is this better?" she asked, still softly but still smiling.

[MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI]

"Tap takes a lot of practice, almost as much as ballet does. I've been tapping for nearly thirty years and I'm just now good at it," Hector shrugged and drug his toe across the floor. It made a dry, scraping noise that was used in the middle of routines to break up the taps.

When the girl smiled, Hector returned the favor. "That's much better. Now, all you have to do is find a voice and you'll be perfect," Hector tapped out the comedy drum end bahdumbah! "If you're brave enough to dance like you do in front of a full audience, you can be brave to talk like a normal person. You aren't a mouse,"

It was then that Hector realized something strange. A fatherly side of him had appeared. He wanted to take care of the tiny blond girl, make her okay in the world. Like a dad. Like a dad that Hector never had and had, up until that very point, never wanted to be. But there was something about the tiny ballerina...something that Hector wasn't expecting or could explain.

"My name's Hector, by the way," Hector extended a hand for the girl to shake. They might as well have a formal introduction for such an unorthodox meeting.

[georgie]

"Tap takes a lot of practice, almost as much as ballet does. I've been tapping for nearly thirty years and I'm just now good at it," Meg watched as he drug his foot and it made a scraping sound. "It just seems so..." she took a moment, still speaking softly, searching for the right word. "cool." she finally finished. It wasn't as eloquent of a word as she was looking for but it worked. "I mean, I certainly can't do anything like that with these." she gestured to her pointe shoes with another smile. Sometimes Meg Giry could be so cynical. She truly did love ballet but there were just some things you couldn't do in pointe shoes or ballet slippers.

"That's much better. Now, all you have to do is find a voice and you'll be perfect," "I do have a voice..." she said, softly and slightly confused. His tapping out the comedy thing confused her even more. "If you're brave enough to dance like you do in front of a full audience, you can be brave to talk like a normal person. You aren't a mouse," "I suppose you're right." she said, softly and then smiled a bit shyly, "Would you believe I'm use to talking like this? Carlotta, the leading soprano, didn't like the ballet rats, that's what she called us, making too much noise so..." She shrugged a bit.

"My name's Hector, by the way," Meg smiled a genuine smile. "Nice to meet you, Hector." she said, shaking his hand, "I'm Meg, Meg Giry." Her French accent slipped a bit on "Giry" but she didn't seem to care/notice.

[MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI]

Hector shook Meg's hand and bowed a little at the waist. He didn't like hearing about that singer, Carlotta. Ballet rats? "You aren't a ballet rat, you are a ballerina. A pretty good one at that," Hector returned his hand to his pocket and looked around the theater. It was much larger from the stage than from any other angle. He could see every corner of the vaulted ceiling and every seat.

"Tell you what, since I got to watch you dance, how I about I perform for you? Just to make it equal," Hector offered. He wanted to dance. That's why he was there in the first place, to dance. He wanted to get all of his frustrations with the world and people out. He wanted to pound them into the wood of the stage and hear them echo back to him. He needed that therapy.

[georgie]

Meg was a little surprised when he bowed a little at her. She thought only guys at the Opera did that. "You aren't a ballet rat, you are a ballerina. A pretty good one at that," She smiled again. "Well, thank you very much." she said, still not use to getting complements. She also looked around the theater. It wasn't as big as the Paris Opera House but it was pretty big.

Meg turned back to him as he started to talk to her again. "Tell you what, since I got to watch you dance, how I about I perform for you? Just to make it equal," "All right" she said with another smile. She moved to give him some space and waited to see him dance.

((this is shorter than what I've been doing...sorry... XD))

[MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI]

Hector grinned and shuffled to the center of the stage so he could have room. He was a hoofer who traveled, he didn't like staying in one spot that much. Hector checked to make sure that his sleeves were securely rolled up before clapping out three even beats. Then, within the beat that he set with his hands, Hector's feet began to clip out differing beats within the parameters of the original claps.

Hector's feet started off small and slow and began to speed up and travel gradually. He used his whole foot to dance, the toe, the heel, the whole foot, even the sides of his foot. To keep his balance while doing switch turns and twisting hops, Hector's arms moved in relaxed motions. It took years of practice for him to learn that tapping while tight never yielded satisfying results. But now, Hector was nice and loose and his taps weren't forced.

Even though he wasn't used to performing for someone, Hector found himself enjoying the experience quite a bit. After a few moments, he forgot that Meg Giry was even watching. The dance became about him working out his anger and frustrations.

When he wound to an end, Hector was panting a bit and felt drained. Emotionally and physically in the best of ways.

[georgie]

Meg moved to the proscenium so she could give Hector room to dance. She didn't know how much room a tap dancer would need. She knew when one did ballet, you needed space. Now, tap was new territory to the young dancer so she thought she'd just give him plenty of space. She knew he'd probilly go into his own world while he danced, like she did, and even forget she was there but she was actually use to people not noticing her.

Miss Giry watched in amazement as Hector danced. Where had he learned to do that? He was amazing. She, as a fellow dancer, could tell that he was getting everything he felt out while he danced. She did the same thing when she danced. If she was angry, the dance was quick, a little rougher. If she was happy, it was light and airy. Dance depends on your mood.

When Hector finished, Meg Giry applauded for him. She was totally and completely amazed. She hurried over to him as he panted a bit, clearly out of breath from his dance. "That was amazing, Hector!" she told him truthfully, still in her soft tone.

((OOC: Sorry it took me a little while to post.))

[MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI]

Hector mock bowed at Meg's praise and ran a hand through his hair. It was damp with sweat so it ended up standing on end, looking a little ridiculous. "Thank you, very much," Hector took a couple of deep breaths and rested his hands on his hips. He'd been stupid to neglect exercise and dance for as long as he had. He was out of shape, to the extreme it felt. Even though Hector could still see clearly defined muscles whenever he looked in the mirror, Hector could tell that he had let himself slip. His core was weak and his knees were tight because he hadn't stretched.

"I'm getting old," Hector said with a wry smile. He wasn't really, he wasn't even 55 yet, but he figured to someone Meg's age, that would be old. Hector promised himself that he wouldn't think himself old until he hit 65, assuming that is, he reached that age in the first place. Considering his job, Hector wouldn't be surprised if he was knocked off before 50. Hector pushed that thought out of his mind; it probably wasn't the best thing to think about right then. He was dancing and sharing dance with a lovely young woman, he didn't need to think about his impending death at the moment.

[georgie]

Meg actually grinned as she hurried over to Hector after his dance and giggled a bit as he bowed. "Thank you, very much," "You're very welcome, Hector." she said with a smile, "That was one of the best dances I've seen in my life." She'd never seen anything like that. She didn't know if she could ever dance like that but she knew she loved watching Hector dance.

"I'm getting old," Meg shook her head. "You don't look all that old, Hector." she said, "I'm bad at guessing ages but I'm only seventeen so...yeah, I'm not good at it." She laughed a bit. "How old are you?"

"How long have you been tap dancing, Hector?" Meg asked, getting the topic of age. She didn't like thinking about getting older. She NEVER wanted to believe she'd be Carlotta's age (which was almost 60...she just liked to say she was 45.).

((OOC: Sorry, Kay, this may be a little short XD MAJORLY distracted XD))