Closed I Will Throw My Pointe Shoe At You PV Pax Zhang

Mentioned: @Adelaide Barlowe
OOC: Pax's views on dance and the performing arts are not the same as mine, thank you.

Every new day led to new places to explore. Even after being here for a few months now, Pax still always found something new to peek their head into and get involved in. It wasn't until recently they'd discovered a rehearsal room even existed. And since they had a free day, today seemed like the opportune moment to get a good look around.

To be fair, Pax didn't see much need for a rehearsal room in their life. Performing arts weren't much their forte; sports were much more their preference. They could barely carry a tune, and dancing was a no. Coordination was not one of their strengths. The only thing that may interest them was a chance to act, but even then it would have to be a convincing offer. No, sports was much better than leaping about in a room.

Despite that, they still wanted to check out the room. Even if there was some classical music playing from inside (Pax didn't know nor care for what the piece's name or composer was), they still poked their head inside.

The first thing they saw was a girl, dressed for whatever style of dance she was performing. Her feet were seemingly bound in blocky shoes that looked ridiculously uncomfortable, and blonde hair tied back up out of her face. It seemed as if the girl hadn't noticed Pax's presence as she continued to pointlessly prance around the room. Elegantly, without a doubt. But pointlessly nonetheless.

"Hi?" Pax smiled, waving their hand. "I'm Pax. And you are.....clearly not listening to a word I am saying."

After a few more futile attempts to be noticed, Pax sighed. They were not going to be ignored by some porcelain prancer. In need of a drastic action to catch her attention, they darted forwards and lifted the needle of the gramophone, causing the music to stop abruptly.

"Hi, yes, I'm sorry about stopping your music, but I wasn't going to be ignored for much longer. I'm Pax, by the way."

They squinted their eyes at the girl. "So, what do you actually enjoy about this spectacularly boring form of what they call entertainment? Because, although you do it well, I lost about a minute of time to your dance. And that's a minute I won't be getting back.

Youssuf peeked into the Rehearsal Room. He'd recognized a tune slightly - Giselle Act One. He'd heard about Svetlana Zakharova's resounding success as Giselle by the La Scala Theatre Ballet. It was a classical ballet piece, most famous indeed. Not many could master it, he'd heard. But the music had stopped a second ago. Pity.
A rather pretty girl had been dancing till the music had stopped. Most elegantly, too. No doubt her aim was to one day become a prima ballerina. Perhaps even a prima ballerina assoluta (you never know, do you?).
The other fellow he'd seen around the Common Room before. Pax, his name was. He'd stopped the music, clearly. Youssuf heard what the boy was saying to the young ballerina, and tried to stifle a chuckle...unsuccessfully. He stepped out of the shadows, and made his way to the gramophone as well.
"Hey, I'm Youssuf. You don't know me, but I know you, Pax. Nice to meet ya." Turning to the girl, he said with respect, "You're very talented, mademoiselle. May I ask your name?" He bowed preemptively to her, giving her Respect To One Of Talent. He'd not given someone that bow ever before. It was a bending of the waist, followed by a twisting of the hand and forearm towards the intended person. Most hard to do if you hadn't practised. But Youssuf's master of arts had drilled it into him, and he pulled it off rather nicely, even if he did say so himself.
No one ever did recognize his bows or gestures. Perhaps because no one else had had a master of arts. Ah well.

Giselle Act One - Svetlana Zakharova

Reducio

@Pax Zhang @Adelaide Barlowe

Interacting with: @Pax Zhang @Youssuf Baid Mentioning:

-----------------------------------

Date: 29th January 2022 Time: Around 11am Outfit: x

Adelaide stopped dancing abruptly as the music suddenly cut off. She pivoted around in search of who or what had stopped the music, only to come face to face with someone she did not recognize. A bubble of laughter burst out of her in disbelief, "Excuse me?" She crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowing at the stranger, "Ignore you? Did you not see that I was clearly busy? I don't know you, nor do I wish to get to know you. It is incredibly rude to stop the music when someone is clearly busy dancing, didn't your parents ever teach you manners?" Who did they think they were? Adelaide was a mixture of shock, anger and confusion. Who just walks into a room that is clearly in use and stops the music that someone is clearly dancing to?

The blonde wasn't sure whether she should thank Pax for the compliment or not. She settled with, "I know I do it well." She started to walk towards the gramophone, intent on resuming her practice and ignoring Pax, "No one was forcing you to watch me. So, if you're going to complain about 'time lost', it's your fault. Ballet is not boring, it is a beautiful form of art and allows you to express yourself and if you cannot appreciate that, I really do feel sorry for you."

Just as she was about to put the music back on, someone else walked into the room. Adelaide internally groaned, could she not get a moment peace? It appeared the boy who had entered knew Pax. At least he was nicer, "Why, thank you," she smiled, yet it did not quite reach her eyes. She was still very annoyed by the interruption. "I'm Adelaide." He bowed, which surprised Adelaide slightly, though she did not show it. At least he was more respectful than Pax, but her jaw was clenched in annoyance. All she wanted was a day of peace to practice ballet, apparently that was hard to find in this castle. "Do either of you need the room?" She asked, though she knew the answer was likely 'no' considering that neither Pax nor Youssuf carried any sort of instrument or equipment.

Mentioned: @Adelaide Barlowe, @Youssuf Baid

Pax looked at the male that had just entered, trying to work out where they had previously met. "Oh, Youssuf! From that skating session with Winter and the others at the lake, right? Also, just to inform you, my pronouns are she/they, I identify as a demigirl."

Then, with a scoff, Pax turned back to the blonde, who was looking at them with a strong annoyance clear in her eyes. But, as much as Pax wanted to just step back and apologise and make peace with her, their temperament decided otherwise.

"Oh, I'm sorry," They started, with the most obvious fake smile. "My parents didn't educate me in boredom etiquette. They were too busy teaching me how to do something more productive with my time. And, for your information, I came in because I was actually hoping to talk to you. Before you started attacking me with your words, I actually thought you could be a new friend. But clearly your pride won't allow anybody to have an opinion different to yours."

Pax took a dep breath before continuing, ignoring the girl's reaction completely. "I mean, is it really a crime to ask questions? Like, really, do you enjoy damaging your feet by forcing your full body weight onto them? Surely it's not too painful, what with your overinflated ego as added weight? And no, I don't need this room. In fact, if all the people who use it are like you, I'll be avoiding it at all costs."

Satisfied with their comeback, Pax crossed their arms and glared at the girl. They could accept being called rude-being honest all the time could easily lead to situations like this-but fake pity? That was the line. Pax hated being patronised, arguably more than anything. They were this close to making a rude gesture at the girl. The fact that there was a witness to this fight had completely slipped their mind.

Youssuf laughed. "I don't dance much, and certainly not with your level of skill. I do drums passably, but I don't see any here. I really don't need the room at all. All I came in to see was the dance. Ah well. If you do continue dancing, can I watch?"
He nodded at Pax. "Yeah, I saw you. Falling, just like me, at the lake. Haha." He heard the girl named Adelaide (it brought to mind the Australian city) arguing with Pax.
Neither of them were wrong, and yet both of them were only partially right. Ballet could be slow at times.

He interjected, "Hey Pax, boredom and etiquette aren't the same. The bow I just made to Adelaide, for example? That was Respect To One Of Talent. I spent months mastering that ONE bow. Etiquette is a form of life. My uncle taught me that when you're dealing with old families and formal occasions, your attitude can be the difference between life and death, extreme wealth and poverty."
Youssuf agreed with Pax on the matter of the body weight on the toes, though. It was bound to hurt, he was sure. Perhaps ballet dancers had foot training or something.
Pax looked really pissed off. And Adelaide's jaw was clenched in a way that suggested a mix of anger and irritation. He didn't want to intercede, but he would if the fight went any further.
In an attempt to lighten the mood, he said, "Hey, what are your hobbies? Besides roaming and ballet, which I can glean."

@Pax Zhang @Adelaide Barlowe

Interacting with: @Pax Zhang @Youssuf Baid Mentioning:

-----------------------------------

Date: 29th January 2022 Time: Around 11am Outfit: x

Adelaide raised an eyebrow at Pax, her fists clenching together at her side. They must have some nerve, to come in here and insult the one thing Adelaide was the most passionate about. Not just that, but to expect that Adelaide would be open and willing to befriend them? She breathed deeply, trying to keep her voice even before speaking, "I don't know who you think you are," she began, "But your head must be screwed on wrong. If you think you can waltz in here, turn off the music which I was clearly dancing to, insult the thing I'm most passionate about, and then say that you were trying to befriend me? Do you think that gives a good first impression? Of course it doesn't."

How someone could be so annoying on a Saturday morning was beyond Adelaide."Yes, like any other sport, ballet can be painful sometimes," she rolled her eyes as if this was the most obvious thing in the world, "There is a difference between an 'overinflated ego' and being confident. I'm just confident in the things I do, and know I'm good at them. What's so wrong about that?"

Adelaide had momentarily forgotten that there was another person in the room. Thankfully, it seemed Youssuf had more manners than Pax. She was still annoyed at the interruption by the two, but Youssuf's presence was certainly more welcome than Pax's. "I also play the piano," she said in response to Youssuf's question, "Also reading and studying. Not necessarily a hobby, but I do spend a lot of time with my cat, Nina. Oh also, you're welcome to stay and watch me dance if you want." She had just realized she had never answered the boy's question earlier, only half registering what he was saying before her attention was focused on the nonsense coming out of Pax's mouth.

Mentioned: @Adelaide Barlowe, @Youssuf Baid

Pax sighed irritably. Honestly, part of them just wanted to walk right out of the room and ignore this girl for the rest of time, but if they walked out then and there then it would look pathetic. They literally thought they were losing brain cells from this conversation. But, despite all of that, they still felt guilty. They didn't want to argue with girl, but there was no backing down now.

"My head is screwed on perfectly fine, alright? Look, I may not know a thing about dancing, and to be frank, I don't give a flying cr*p about dancing, but that's because I don't dance! I mean, I have zero coordination skills when on the ground-Youssuf can back me up, he saw me on the lake! I'm sorry that I accidentally hurt your feelings when I was just being, arguably brutally, honest, but that's just who I am. And, yeah, it's good to have confidence in your talent, but humility also a skill that comes in hand with talent. So, maybe you don't like me right now, and maybe you won't ever, but that was not my main intention when I came in here, and I feel really bad about this whole situation, so I'm just going to sit here until you accept my apology sincerely or you leave."

Pax blinked, realising what they had just said. Well, there was no turning back now. Dramatically, they sat on the floor, legs crossed, to prove their point, looking up at the two. Oh, right! Youssuf was here. Oops.

"Youssuf, I'm sorry about this. I promise, I'm not usually this bad. Also, I understand what you mean about boredom and etiquette, I just got caught up with myself. And, hobbies wise...I mean, as well as exploring, I love nature and being outside-oh and quidditch, it's absolutely brilliant! I suppose I read pretty regularly too, so I suppose you could say that's a hobby of mine as well. What about you?"

Interacting with: @Pax Zhang Mentioning:

-----------------------------------

Date: 29th January 2022 Time: Around 11am Outfit: x

The Ravenclaw crossed her arms again, listening to Pax's rant with a mere raised eyebrow. At least they apologized, she supposed. She wasn't a horrible person, she could accept an apology when the person acknowledges that they were in the wrong. "Just because you don't dance, doesn't mean you need to talk bad about it, alright? You wouldn't like it if I waltzed in here and talked bad about something you liked, would you?" Adelaide vaguely sounded like a stern mother telling off her child, and with Pax stubbornly sat on the ground like a toddler having a temper tantrum, it did certainly look like that. "I accept your apology, though," She said, staring down at Pax. "So are you going to get up off the ground or are you going to continue acting like a toddler?"

Whether Pax decided to stand up again or stay seated on the floor, she continued, "Now that we've got that settled, I do plan on practicing ballet again. So you may leave if you want, or you can stay and watch me with a more open mind. Maybe you'll begin to understand why people love ballet, and why it's a beautiful way to express yourself," The offer was up for the taking, it was only up to Pax on what option they decided to take, "If you do decide to stay though, I don't want you talking bad about it. Or else I will throw my pointe shoe at you and chase you out of the room." The threat was not meant to be taken seriously, although if Pax was paying enough attention, there was a slight bit of seriousness in Adelaide's tone. She would not hesitate to chase Pax out of this room if they looked down upon ballet one more time.

Mentioned: @Adelaide Barlowe
Word count: 243

Pax couldn't help but grin hearing Adelaide's lecture. As much as it felt like having a second mother, they actually valued Adelaide's input. They knew that they had screwed up, and if anything they deserved a beating more than anything.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, again. But thanks for accepting the apology. And yes, I will get off the floor. Though the toddler comment is, whilst mildly insulting, also accurate. And if you are to continue as my friend, then it may also be something that you may need to grow used to. I'm sure it won't surprise you to know this isn't the first time a first meeting has headed in this direction?"

Pax quickly got to their feet again. Surprisingly, their cheeks were only tinted red. Though they assumed others would be flushed with embarrassment, this sort of situation was surpringly normal. Pax supposed they were a strange sort of human. Embarrassment didn't come naturally to them. Maybe that was for the better of them. For others, well, that was another matter entirely.

"It wouldn't hurt to stay and watch, I suppose. Maybe you can teach me about the world of dance, and in return I can teach you something? Do you happen to know much about the sport quidditch? It's a favourite hobby of mine. And I won't be speaking bad about dance again. Well, at least, not to your face. I've learnt better than that."