Two-Step (Step Two)
Two-Step Step Two.
Weeks drifted by, starting at a blazing pace and slowing down to a crawl as November came closer to a close. Soren equated this convoluted flow of time with how confident they were in their abilities. Soren was enthusiastically sponsored by the lab. His boss even hinted at a raise if he got far enough into the competition. Eli was keeping up to Shadows and Electric Daisy Violin with ease, and Soren was actually enjoying the dancing. There still wasn't a good place to practice in public, as no one really wanted to go outside in November. People could only take so much of overcast skies and almost-freezing temperatures, so Soren was worried that they both might cave under the pressure of hundreds of people watching them.
Today was rather nice though. The temperature was higher than 55F and the sky was cloudless on a Saturday afternoon. Soren and Eli had been out at the park since eight in the morning. It was approaching four o clock and neither of them had taken a break from the dancing. For the last few days Soren was coming home early so he could build up his endurance. His boss was actually OK with this, as long as Soren put his nose to the grinder while he was at the lab.
It was five to four, and there was actually a crowd of curious onlookers that were watching for the last fifteen minutes. The shuffle pulled up the final song, the 6u5 remix of Communications. It was a fairly easy dance. It wasn't too fast, though it retained 6u5's habit of putting elements in the middle of measures. They kept step despite their exhaustion. As the song wound down, they finished the final step and collapsed on the bench beside them. The crowd dispersed as it was clear the two foxes had finished dancing.
"Whoi," gasped Soren as he released an exhausted sigh. "I think we got the dancing down. We should be able to get to the routine at any rate."
Eli was panting too. "And there were so many people watching us today. It didn't phase you at all." The beige fox grabbed an apple out of a bag and took a bite. They hadn't eaten or drank anything at all since they had started. "At least at the contest they give you water every half hour."
Soren swigged from a can of coke. In reality he should have gone for water first, but coke was much more refreshing to him, even if it technically was dehydrating. "You said that they give us a half hour before routines start?"
"Yeah," said Eli after he took a swig of water. "They make you go one at a time too, so sometimes you can get a longer break. I've done this four times. I got to the routines all four times, but when I went later in the queue I did so much worse. It's better to keep momentum. I want us to volunteer to be first. You OK with that?"
"I'll trust your judgment," said Soren, now starting on the water. He pulled up his computer and plugged in his portable speakers. He kept the lid closed. Both of them had stopped needing the sheet music weeks ago. They managed to keep their exhaustion at bay as they went through both Shadows and Electric Daisy Violin three times each. They didn't miss a note or a step.
Packing up the violins and equipment, they walked back home. Their paws were throbbing and sore, their tails drooping, their limbs like lead. Eli went to take a shower while Soren went to make something light to eat. Just a tossed salad and some fruit.
Eli came out of the master bath as Soren finished the last of the chopping. They sat and ate, chatting about inconsequential stuff. They both had the competition on their minds, both secretly hoping they wouldn't disappoint the other. Soren finished his food and went to shower, letting the hot water ease up the tension in his limbs. Soren worked a little on his dubstep project as Eli finished off a few paintings, but they went to bed around eight. They were just too tired. They massaged each other for a while as they lay folded in the sheets, letting their hands and mutual affection ease the last of the tenseness out of their bodies.
Soren woke up around nine thirty, his arms and tails snaked around Eli's smooth back as the beige fox still slept. He rubbed his cheek against Eli's velvety beige chest tuft and slipped out of the bed. He snooped around the fridge, thinking of something good he could make them for breakfast. "we really need to take a trip to grocery store," he thought as he stuck his head farther into the fridge. He pulled out some eggs, cheese, sausage, and bacon that were all dangerously close to their expiration date, and got to work.
Eli walked into the kitchen, his nose preceding him, drawn by the smell of bacon. Soren deftly served them up a healthy sized omelet. They didn't want to eat right before they started, but they needed something that would last from noon till nine. They discussed the contest, going over things that tended to trip them up, the steps in the routines, the harder dances, and the like. For once in his life, Soren was actually excited to go out dancing.
The two foxes walked towards the event, dressed in tight black tank tops and slightly loose fitting shorts with firm black belts. They wanted something comfortable that didn't get in their way. The people running the event had commandeered the local athletic center, rolling up the curtains that normally separated the basketball courts. Tape was laid out across the sprawling wood floors, the same 6ftx10ft squares that Eli made them practice in, numbers placed in the middle of them. Pokemon of all types were milling about.
"We need to grab a number," said Eli getting in a long line that circumnavigated the dance floor. "If they see someone screw up they just call them out."
Soren looked up and down the line. The attendees ran the gamut. There were some who were there to honor loved ones lost to cancer, others who wanted to socialize, and more who looked like they were here to kick ass and dance swing... and they were all out of ass. The line moved relatively quickly, and it didn't take long for Eli and Soren to grab a number and move to their spots.
The opening ceremonies were pretty standard for a cancer charity event: the national anthem, heartfelt stories of survivors and victims, announcements. Soren normally paid at the very least respectful attention to such things, but right now he was too anxious. He wanted to start dancing before he lost his nerve. There were a lot of bodies packed into this gym, and while many would be occupied with their own dancing in the beginning, Soren know many, many eyes would be on him as people started dropping out. Soren also tried not to think about how many spectators were looking down on them from the running track one floor above.
There were four large displays, each placed on a wall. Each screen displayed the next three songs on the line up as well how many participants were left. Right now the count was over 150 pairs. Eli and Soren were pair number 76.
There was a 60 second count down. Soren was starting to get nervous. They didn't even show the starting line up of songs. It was clear the administrators wanted to surprise them, as dancers had only five seconds to find a beat for each song. His disposition significantly improved as the first song began to play, a snazzy tune with upbeat clarinet and percussion. Both Eli and Soren recognized Geraldine's Routine by Tape Five. This was a personal favorite, and it conveniently happened to have a dance routine right in the lyrics. The two foxes started in a Charleston step. Eli smiled and said, "let's show off. We'll do the whole routine."
Soren thought perhaps this would be a bad idea, but he would protest later. He trusted Eli's judgment, as this was the fifth year he was doing this. So the two foxes shook their tails as they waved their paws in the air, spun about like Fred Astaire, slipped them five as they could jive (that's Geraldine's routine)...and so on." Soren was keeping up and was really enjoying himself. The song was rather fast but he wasn't phased at all. He took that as a good sign.
Geraldine's Routine was short, just barely over three minutes. The play list moved to Pirates by Caravan Palace. It was a medium speed song, and the two foxes clasped hands and stepped together, taking a short break from the fast dance. Soren looked around at the other contestants. Two Gardevoirs were dancing together, bobbing to the music and hovering with telekinesis. "Lucky bastards," muttered Soren, "floating like that should be against the rules."
"Not really," smiled Eli. "Endurance contests are as much about mental fortitude as well as physical strength. When they dance by floating, both the physical and the mental stress is consolidated into their brains. We're better off on our paws." Eli smiled and moved their arms between them, swaying a bit to the music.
Hours flew by in weird stints. Some times the dancing seemed to last forever while other times it slipped by in a flash. Soren equated such anomalies with how much he liked the music. It was three hours in, and a song he vaguely recognized started to play. Soren read the name off the display one of the walls. La Voix Humaine by G-Swing. It had a slow-medium pace, which suited him as his paws were starting to get sore. Eli looked like he was hurting a bit too, but he had done this before. Eli grasped Soren's hands and began to move them between each other. "You need to do something to keep your brain in the game," he said. "Sing the scat with me." Soren listened to the scat on the first part of the refrain, and by the second repetition he had it down pat, letting his experience with brass instruments help him maintain the rhythm.
As the sixth hour passed by, Soren saw many of the other contestants drop out over the past hour and a half. The display showing the song line up and the number of pairs remaining said that less than 50 pairs were left. Soren was feeling the pressure of all the eyes of the former contestants raking the dance floor, looking for contestants showing signs of weakness. Soren was on the point of dropping too, but he was determined to go to the end with Eli. He didn't want to disappoint him.
The next song up gave them a bit of a breather. City of Lights by Tape Five. Eli grabbed their hands and held their bodies close together, swinging and stepping to the slow music. The physical contact was a wonderful pick-me-up. He smiled as they swung and revolved within their allotted space. Enjoying the sweet, sad, and romantic lyrics and melody.
"Get a room," hissed an Electabuzz dancing with a Jynx. "How dare you display your deviance in public?!"
Soren and Eli responded in the standard fashion. Keeping in step, they leaned in for a passionate kiss. They abstained from raising their middle fingers, as such responses may have angered the judges. To the foxes glee, the two dancers looked horrified. A minute later, they lost step and tripped, and the judges called out that pair number 73 was eliminated.
Later, as the 7th hour came to a close, Eli and Soren were doing fairly well. They were able to filter out the physical stress as they danced, and they found small things to do to keep them mentally engaged. Small spins and other dance elements that weren't too strenuous but kept them from just mindlessly keeping step. The current song was another breather song, Jazzhole by Free the Robots.
"See the next song on the lineup," whispered Eli to Soren. "the Tape Five remix of Dixie Biscuit?"
"What are you planning," asked Soren shrewdly.
"Let's do a Lindy Hop routine. Show them we've got energy to spare," said Eli with a devious smile. "Psyche out the competition."
Soren accepted the water being passed to him by a judge and took a swig. "Do we have energy to spare?"
"Let's find out."
The hard and heavy clarinet and trumpet opened a brisk and jazzy tune, the two foxes snapping their fingers to the new beat. Eli and Soren danced hard and fast to the lyrics, Eli even doing an incredibly good imitation of Tape Five's singer. He had the lyrics, pitch, and timing down to a 'T. They started with a hard and fast Charleston and then grabbed hands as they swung each other, taking advantage of their extra space left by dropouts. They spun each other fast and kept in step to the quick pace of the clarinet leading the melody. They finished with a quick step that mirrored the scat that ended the song.
Eli and Soren were pleased to see jaws drop at the extreme amount of vigor they displayed, even if they themselves was close to collapsing themselves. Two pairs dropped out at the sight of their competition seeming to be filled with limitless energy. The next song was I've Got that Tune by Chinese Man, which gave the two foxes time to recover.
The next hour was difficult, the judges playing upbeat and fast tunes designed to be danced to at a fast pace. Soren was almost regretting the Lindy Hop routine, but he lost himself in Eli as they used each other for a reference point. Soren looked up at the board and noticed that there was only one song left in the queue.
"I knew it," gasped Eli, "I knew they'd finish off with Douai Charleston." The final song began to wind itself up, and the two foxes returned to their Charleston step. 30 seconds in they switched to a stationary shuffle as the musics rhythm dramatically shifted. The song then wound itself back up to the Charleston step, but now including new elements and dramatic pauses in the middle of the measures. Both foxes were out of breath and panting, but they powered through the incredibly complex song. They alternated between the Charleston and the stationary shuffle, and the song began to wind down. Neither fox missed a beat.
Once the music completely faded, both foxes flopped on their backs, laughing faintly out of exhaustion and elation at getting this far. Soren saw only 3 other pairs left on the floor. The displays on the wall now showed a big clock marking 30 minutes to the routines. After five minutes of lying stupidly on the floor, Soren got up and went to the refreshments table. He found the coffee machine. Ignoring the brew, he got two large cups of steaming hot water, and from within his pocket he drew out his secret weapon, four packets of Fukamushicha tea leaves. He put a packet in each cup and handed it to Eli. They downed the scalding liquid in one gulp. It was a much better pick-me-up than coffee. Their whole bodies were invigorated, at least for now. That wasn't to say they weren't exhausted, but it did help. They savored the next cup, letting the warm liquid fill them up. They spent the remaining time tuning their violins and drinking copious amounts of water. Soren hoped that they had enough energy to get to Electric Daisy Violin, which would be the tie breaker if people still remained after Shadows.
Soren and Eli volunteered to go first. They were both exhausted, but the tea and re-hydrating helped a great deal, and they still had some adrenaline in their systems. A good luck kiss from Eli behind the curtain was probably the best pick-me-up for Soren. They walked on to the stage, Eli holding the purple electric violin and Soren holding his grandmother's acoustic. Soren actually felt confident. They had practiced relentlessly, and his grandmother's instruments had never let him down.
The two foxes stepped onto the stage. There where whispers as the crowd saw their violins. Soren and Eli bowed. As they straightened, the music began. The short introduction to shadows led right into the violin. Eli started the first few measures, as both foxes moved their upper bodies to the flow of the music. Shadows really had a wonderful flow to it. At this point they really didn't need to concentrate on their movements, instead making sure they kept up with recording. So far they were right on time and in perfect tune.
As they moved through the song, they mirrored each others movements as they became each others shadows, fitting considering the name of the song. They always had their backs or faces to each other as Eli was a lefty while Soren used his right hand to move the bow. They moved about the cardinal directions as they faced and backed up to each other, mimicking each others movements even if they were not watching each other. Every few measures they passed the melody to each other, allowing one to play and letting the other rest for a few bars, sometimes synching up together for particularly intense parts of the song.
Soren began to really appreciate how hard Lindsey Stirling worked to dance. The Foxes need to focus an extreme amount of energy on keeping their arms and upper bodies solid. If they lost focus it would ruin the sound of the violin. All the dancing was lower body and leg work, and it was intense.
Halfway through the song they began the cross-ups, moving behind each other to switch sides, still not missing a beat. On the second cross up they lifted their paws up to click them together, rotating on the other paw, sweeping their tails across each other to make them look like a single living being.
Entering the most intense part of the melody, the two foxes stepped up their dancing, pirouetting on a paw as they weaved their music together. Then on the next cross up, Soren's heart stopped. In a moment of fatigued clumsiness, he had stepped on one of his silver tails, and he was losing balance. Time slowed to an intense and painful crawl. The ground was rushing up to him.
Soren saw only two options. He could take the fall and eliminate them both from the competition, or he could attempt to throw out an arm and leg to save himself. But that option had a dire potential consequence. If he failed to save himself, his grandmother's antique violin would be at serious risk for damage.
But to Soren, that violin wasn't an instrument. It was memories, love, and beauty solidified into spruce and maple. It was a legacy of someone who cared about him when he was struggling through life. If he damaged the beloved instrument, he would never forgive himself. It pained him to let down Eli, but he shifted to land upon his back, banging his head hard against the wood floor, keeping the precious instrument cushioned in his arms.
The buzzer rang, and Eli slowed to a stop, less than 30 seconds from the end. He offered a hand to Soren and picked the silver fox up. They embraced and walked off stage. They sat down and let exhaustion over take them. Soren put the violins in their cases and then embraced Eli. "I'm so sorry, Eli. I failed you tonight."
Eli shook his head, but was alarmed to see that Soren's eyes were leaking as he dug his face into his shoulders. "I saw how you fell. You would've crushed that violin if you tried to save yourself. That instrument is much more precious than winning a contest. I can't and won't begrudge you for that... we made it so far." The beige fox squeezed tighter, rocking their bodies a bit. "You wanna go home? Get something to eat?"
Soren nodded, his head in Eli's arms. Soren wasn't mad that they didn't get the prize. He just felt terrible that he and Eli got so close. It was entirely his fault that Eli didn't get the victory he deserved, especially after he poured so much effort into his violin. They walked home, exhausted and beaten, barely staying conscious from the intense day of swing. Five minutes into the walk it started to rain. It was the kind of rain that only November could deliver: the freezing, whipping, and harsh wind and rain that chilled not to the bone, but to the very soul. Soren and Eli didn't mind frigid air or wind, but rain was one of the few things that made a fire type truly cold.
Soren was reminded of their first night together as they staggered through the rain, arms around each other. He smiled. At least they weren't drunk, though they felt the so called runner's high from all the dancing, and the heavy fall still left Soren a tad punch-drunk. They stumbled out of the elevator and into their apartment. Shivering, they forwent food and moved into the master bathroom, letting the water run to scalding as the scent of nectarines wafted through the room. They undressed each other and Eli got in first. Eli massaged Soren as the silver fox slipped in after him. Eli wasn't angry at all. But he was distressed. He could tell Soren was beating himself up on the inside, and that was completely unwarranted.
"Are you glad we did this," asked Eli, rubbing his hands on Soren's collarbones. He gave the silver fox a light kiss.
"It was fun while it lasted," sighed Soren, "I'm sorry I couldn't keep up with you. It's my fault we didn't win."
"It's no big deal. You were great. You got on my level in three weeks and you were such a good teacher. We learned so much from each other. Winning would have just been icing on the cake." Eli raised his leg out of the water so Soren could wash it. He knew that would make the silver fox feel a little better.
Soren mood improved a fraction as he savored Eli's short, soft fur running through his hands. He still felt bad that he chose a violin over Eli. But Eli clearly wasn't mad. Soren finished with Eli's legs and started on his chest. He just couldn't get enough of that tuft of velvety beige fur. Somehow it was a talisman against any bad feelings that plagued him.
Eli and Soren were both feeling hungry now, but they didn't want to leave the warmth of the tub or the embrace of the other fox. Soren broke down and got out. He quickly toweled himself and went to search for something easy they could share. He came back with some crackers, cheese, fruit, and a bottle of dessert wine. It felt luxurious to sit there with each other as they enjoyed the taste of the wine, despite how cheap the snacks were. Soren felt the sting of his failure fading away as his limbs loosened up, thanks to the hot bath and Eli's gentile touch. They went to bed in each others arms, letting exhaustion overtake them, content with each other, even in defeat.
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