[Felix lets him finish playing the music before he speaks again, head tilted a bit to listen.]
...The footwork for dancing is nearly the same as it is for sword fighting.
[He huffs, looking aside, like he’s trying to convince himself of this more than Claude. When he glances back, he sees Claude gesturing to a private corner.]
[And, by way of demonstration, he does a little hip pop that makes the sash around his hips chime. So clearly the important parts are the parts that jingle.]
Fine. But you're going to let me know what your plans are soon as I come out.
[He disappears behind the screen, tossing his regular clothes over the top of the screen. It takes him awhile to get into the dancer outfit and its pieces and accessories, but eventually he steps out, glaring as usual. Maybe the icy stare has a slightly different effect while he's dressed sexy.]
[He then remembers that he's not supposed to have his hair up for this anymore, and tugs out his hair tie with an irritated gesture, letting his hair spill free.]
[Claude is content to let Felix take his time changing. While he does he's fiddling around on his phone, trying to find a long track of the right style of music to use while they're working so he doesn't have to personally supply the beat.]
Very nice.
[He gets a grin and an approving nod when the swordsman frees his hair, though his attention swiftly shifts to appraising the other's musculature.]
Have you been practicing the stretches I gave you?
[There's a difference between checking someone out and trying to determine if they've actually been doing their homework, Felix, calm down.]
Yeah? That's great. [A pause as he realizes that... he has no idea what sort of "spa" they might have here.] Anything to loosen you up y'know?
That's the big difference between dance and pure swordsmanship. It's not about strength it's about precision and control... and if you're as tight as you usually are you don't have the kind of control you need.
[As he speaks he sinks into one of the yoga poses he'd shown Felix before, motioning for him to follow suit. They can go through some warm up stretches while they talk.]
That's important for swordsmanship, too. I need to be able to actually hit when I'm swinging a sword at some fool.
[Perceiving is perceiving!! He glances back over as Claude indicates for him to copy his pose. He doesn't immediately join him, but seems to be thinking it over.]
...You're turning into a teacher. You didn't have to offer to help me at all, but you've been training and improving me. Is this what you intended to be doing?
[He brushes a length of the dancer outfit out of his way and lowers himself into the stretch pose.]
[Claude kind of shrugs the question off at first, focusing more on his breathing as they go through the first few stretches and Felix might think at first that he's not going to answer him at all. But after a few moments he pauses, gesturing for Felix to continue though.]
I'm teaching a few things, really. But if you're willing to learn things that aren't.... exactly Fodlish I'm not going to miss the opportunity to teach. Especially when the outfits are clearly such rip offs.
[He huffs a sigh, shaking his head a little as he comes around to face Felix.]
So the whole thing you're supposed to be able to move..... anything, everything, without moving another part. Like... doing a figure eight with your hips, you should be able to keep your torso, shoulders, head, all perfectly still even while doing this- [He does at least start slow so Felix can get an idea of what exactly is happening with his hips.]
If I was so traditional, I'd have taken the honor of being a mangled corpse at the Boar's feet years ago. If you know of better ways to do things, I'd rather hear what you have.
[He doesn't have a lot of hip to work with, but he tries to imitate Claude. Maybe just a little too abrupt in his motion.]
...So... thanks. For teaching me. But I still want to try weapons training with you, too.
[He flashes the other a smile but after a moment he steps closer, setting his hands on Felix's hips and trying to help work him through the motion a couple of times to smooth it out.]
If it helps at all... while the discipline and muscle control is great for sword dancing it is supposed to be sexy as hell, too. So y'know.... just... keep that in mind.
[Surely considering applying these fascinating hip motions to sex will make it that much easier to smooth the movements out. Right?]
[Felix frowns as Claude smiles, and glances away, because he can't hold eye contact at all at such close range. Then there's hands on his hips guiding him, and he rolls his hips to the direction he's being pressed, because it's as much instruction as a touch on his elbow to correct the way he holds a sword. But he still finds himself beginning to blush hotly from the way his hips are held, especially when Claude brings up the word "sexy".]
Ugh. Motivating. Can't you just call it motivating?
[At least that was his supposed purpose on the battlefield when dancing.]
Oh no, you lot decided it was meant to be motivating.
[Claude laughs more at the Fodlish ideas than anything Felix is doing. He'll even be a gentleman and not mention the blush, as much as he wants to fluster the hells out of him.]
This sort of thing was always meant to be enticing. Dance well enough and you make more coin- [One hand drops to gesture pointedly at the small hammered coins that ring on both of their belts.] More coin means a larger dowry or, if you're really lucky, catching the Sultan's eye and being allowed into the Imperial Harem.
Bringing magic into it to inspire one's fellow soldiers is certainly one way to interpret that, I guess?
[That word is a little less flustering than "sexy", but he's still flushed red, especially as Claude continues into the meaning of this dance.]
That's...
[He frowns harder, but only quiets for a moment.]
...Fine, I get it. You're the expert. I'll try to be... enticing.
[Which he barely has a clue about. He supposes he can at least try to move more languidly. Smoother motions, like the ones Claude is guiding him into with his hands. He also makes himself face him again... mostly... he keeps his eyes down.]
I never had to deal with trying to catch someone's eye. And never wanted to. And my old man didn't even try to set up an engagement for me like he did with my brother. ...I think he just hoped I would be born a girl, so he could have had me engaged to the Prince right away. But that didn't work out, obviously.
You're pretty enough to make up for the attitude at least. [Felix gets a grin and Claude only barely resists winking at him.] So you don't have to work too hard on the enticing thing.
[Sorry Felix he is not touching your authority issues today buddy. Ain' nobody got time for that shit. Claude's got more than enough of his own issues.
But the more Felix loosens up the more Claude lets his hands slide away, letting him fall into a rhythm on his own. One hand slips into his own pocket and he pulls out something that looks like... a metal disc?]
Okay so there's a lot of things you can do to break that up.... repeating the same side a couple times like... a side step sort of thing? So- [He demonstrates this as slowly as he can while he speaks, letting the motion of his hips roll down through his legs.] you do half the figure eight and instead of following it with your opposite hip, roll it down into a little kick-
Which you can use to take a step and do it again~ Definitely something that would motivate something if you approach someone like that. [Okay this time he does wink.
But if Felix does at least try he'll find a steady beat started for him with the bit of metal Claude has since affixed to his fingers.]
Its definitely easier when you have a beat for this sort of thing
[Felix finally glances up with sharp bronze eyes, giving him a hostile look for being called "pretty".]
You must be motivated towards getting yourself punched.
[Since he's put off, he moves with more force. At least he remembers to keep it smooth, so the dancing just becomes more assertive motions. Saucier, even. He takes Claude's slow demonstration to the pace of the beat, rolling motion through his hips and legs while keeping his upper body poised.]
[Well if irritating him is what it takes for him not to hesitate or feel too silly to do things properly then so be it. Claude smiles and nods and as Felix gets some of the basic hip motions he begins to mirror his student. He does his best to keep the beat even, but as they move he begins to demonstrate some of the hand and arm motions that will only enhance the elegance of the motion of their hips.]
It's not just your hips though, you should be able to have perfectly still arms while all sorts of different moves with your wrists or fingers, including playing with these.
[Another little jingle as he turns his wrist in a little swirl that looks... surprisingly elegant.]
[He's surprised by how quickly sweat is starting to form at the back of his neck. The ultra precise motions are giving him a workout, testing muscle movements not often used in swordplay, and far different than the dance he was taught for the battlefield.]
Be still and be moving. Fine.
[Still huffy and glaring at Claude, he pays attention to the demonstration and follows his movement, mimicking the swirl of his wrist.]
[Control and precision are the name of the game, it's part of what makes Claude himself so difficult to hit in battle.]
Yeah, see? There you go. You wanna try doing a hip pop?
[He's not sure Felix is going to be able to pull it off properly but he also knows damn well the other man is going to be practicing the hell out of these moves so may as well give him a base to work from for a few things.]
You're probably not going to be able to keep your torso still for it but we can go over how it works~
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...The footwork for dancing is nearly the same as it is for sword fighting.
[He huffs, looking aside, like he’s trying to convince himself of this more than Claude. When he glances back, he sees Claude gesturing to a private corner.]
What, you want me to put this on now?
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[And, by way of demonstration, he does a little hip pop that makes the sash around his hips chime. So clearly the important parts are the parts that jingle.]
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[He disappears behind the screen, tossing his regular clothes over the top of the screen. It takes him awhile to get into the dancer outfit and its pieces and accessories, but eventually he steps out, glaring as usual. Maybe the icy stare has a slightly different effect while he's dressed sexy.]
[He then remembers that he's not supposed to have his hair up for this anymore, and tugs out his hair tie with an irritated gesture, letting his hair spill free.]
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Very nice.
[He gets a grin and an approving nod when the swordsman frees his hair, though his attention swiftly shifts to appraising the other's musculature.]
Have you been practicing the stretches I gave you?
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[He looks away with a huff as Claude's eyes roam his body.]
I... also took some advice to try out a spa... the muscle relaxing treatments turned out to be worthwhile.
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Yeah? That's great. [A pause as he realizes that... he has no idea what sort of "spa" they might have here.] Anything to loosen you up y'know?
That's the big difference between dance and pure swordsmanship. It's not about strength it's about precision and control... and if you're as tight as you usually are you don't have the kind of control you need.
[As he speaks he sinks into one of the yoga poses he'd shown Felix before, motioning for him to follow suit. They can go through some warm up stretches while they talk.]
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[Perceiving is perceiving!! He glances back over as Claude indicates for him to copy his pose. He doesn't immediately join him, but seems to be thinking it over.]
...You're turning into a teacher. You didn't have to offer to help me at all, but you've been training and improving me. Is this what you intended to be doing?
[He brushes a length of the dancer outfit out of his way and lowers himself into the stretch pose.]
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I'm teaching a few things, really. But if you're willing to learn things that aren't.... exactly Fodlish I'm not going to miss the opportunity to teach. Especially when the outfits are clearly such rip offs.
[He huffs a sigh, shaking his head a little as he comes around to face Felix.]
So the whole thing you're supposed to be able to move..... anything, everything, without moving another part. Like... doing a figure eight with your hips, you should be able to keep your torso, shoulders, head, all perfectly still even while doing this- [He does at least start slow so Felix can get an idea of what exactly is happening with his hips.]
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If I was so traditional, I'd have taken the honor of being a mangled corpse at the Boar's feet years ago. If you know of better ways to do things, I'd rather hear what you have.
[He doesn't have a lot of hip to work with, but he tries to imitate Claude. Maybe just a little too abrupt in his motion.]
...So... thanks. For teaching me. But I still want to try weapons training with you, too.
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[He flashes the other a smile but after a moment he steps closer, setting his hands on Felix's hips and trying to help work him through the motion a couple of times to smooth it out.]
If it helps at all... while the discipline and muscle control is great for sword dancing it is supposed to be sexy as hell, too. So y'know.... just... keep that in mind.
[Surely considering applying these fascinating hip motions to sex will make it that much easier to smooth the movements out. Right?]
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Ugh. Motivating. Can't you just call it motivating?
[At least that was his supposed purpose on the battlefield when dancing.]
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[Claude laughs more at the Fodlish ideas than anything Felix is doing. He'll even be a gentleman and not mention the blush, as much as he wants to fluster the hells out of him.]
This sort of thing was always meant to be enticing. Dance well enough and you make more coin- [One hand drops to gesture pointedly at the small hammered coins that ring on both of their belts.] More coin means a larger dowry or, if you're really lucky, catching the Sultan's eye and being allowed into the Imperial Harem.
Bringing magic into it to inspire one's fellow soldiers is certainly one way to interpret that, I guess?
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[That word is a little less flustering than "sexy", but he's still flushed red, especially as Claude continues into the meaning of this dance.]
That's...
[He frowns harder, but only quiets for a moment.]
...Fine, I get it. You're the expert. I'll try to be... enticing.
[Which he barely has a clue about. He supposes he can at least try to move more languidly. Smoother motions, like the ones Claude is guiding him into with his hands. He also makes himself face him again... mostly... he keeps his eyes down.]
I never had to deal with trying to catch someone's eye. And never wanted to. And my old man didn't even try to set up an engagement for me like he did with my brother. ...I think he just hoped I would be born a girl, so he could have had me engaged to the Prince right away. But that didn't work out, obviously.
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[Sorry Felix he is not touching your authority issues today buddy. Ain' nobody got time for that shit. Claude's got more than enough of his own issues.
But the more Felix loosens up the more Claude lets his hands slide away, letting him fall into a rhythm on his own. One hand slips into his own pocket and he pulls out something that looks like... a metal disc?]
Okay so there's a lot of things you can do to break that up.... repeating the same side a couple times like... a side step sort of thing? So- [He demonstrates this as slowly as he can while he speaks, letting the motion of his hips roll down through his legs.] you do half the figure eight and instead of following it with your opposite hip, roll it down into a little kick-
Which you can use to take a step and do it again~ Definitely something that would motivate something if you approach someone like that. [Okay this time he does wink.
But if Felix does at least try he'll find a steady beat started for him with the bit of metal Claude has since affixed to his fingers.]
Its definitely easier when you have a beat for this sort of thing
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You must be motivated towards getting yourself punched.
[Since he's put off, he moves with more force. At least he remembers to keep it smooth, so the dancing just becomes more assertive motions. Saucier, even. He takes Claude's slow demonstration to the pace of the beat, rolling motion through his hips and legs while keeping his upper body poised.]
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It's not just your hips though, you should be able to have perfectly still arms while all sorts of different moves with your wrists or fingers, including playing with these.
[Another little jingle as he turns his wrist in a little swirl that looks... surprisingly elegant.]
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Be still and be moving. Fine.
[Still huffy and glaring at Claude, he pays attention to the demonstration and follows his movement, mimicking the swirl of his wrist.]
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Yeah, see? There you go. You wanna try doing a hip pop?
[He's not sure Felix is going to be able to pull it off properly but he also knows damn well the other man is going to be practicing the hell out of these moves so may as well give him a base to work from for a few things.]
You're probably not going to be able to keep your torso still for it but we can go over how it works~