"I believe it is," he replied, equally frankly. As he considered Pen, his expression lightened and he arched an eyebrow. "Do you disagree?" Though Rabastan felt he understood Pen in terms of their shared devotion, there was much about them that he did not comprehend. They were still a closed book; or at least, a book whose pages remained to be read. He was intrigued to know how Pen's brain ticked, at the same time recognising that he may not be able to identify with it. That, perhaps, made them all the more interesting.
He definitely hadn't expected the offer of a dance. For a brief second, he studied Pen, considering this gesture with sharp attention. It did not take long to reach his conclusion. He accepted Pen's hand, a grin raking his lips upwards, wickedly thrilled, as they stepped onto the floor.
"You continue to surprise me." The irony was lost on him. Pen was indeed an unexpected choice in partner, yet having already roamed the room from one side to the other, Rabastan had found no one even mildly worth his time. So he gifted it willingly, for Pen deserved it and he enjoyed making his parents boil, if only temporarily. His mother and her witches could wait. Snorting as another couple seemingly scattered out of their way, he continued. "But I'm afraid this was a poor choice of activity if you intended to avoid surveillance. The dancefloor is always watched."
Their head tipped a bit to the side, regarding Rabastan quietly and considering the fact that he found the description accurate. They shook their head slowly, "I don't believe i've ever been described that way, before." Calling them charming implied that there was something inherently likeable about them, when throughout their life they had seen much evidence of the opposite. Most people seemed to have the instinct to avoid them, like they could somehow sense the monster hidden in their fragility. "My presence unsettles others most often..." Pen kept their hand open and offered to him while he considered it, and they were pleasantly surprised when after a long moment he grinned as he did, and took it. As if he were somehow eager to dance with them. Their touch remained light, Pen following him with their eyes at first, and then gracefully stepping after him into the crowd of people on the dance floor. "What has been so surprising...?" Their free hand lifted away from the handle of their cane, sending it floating away to stick itself leaning against a wall nearby, not to be moved by anyone else's touch. They were used to people going out of their way to avoid them. When a couple stalled in their steps to shuffle themselves away from them, they didn't react for theirself. They did look back to Rabastan when he snorted, and for a moment there was the tiniest upward tug to the corners of their lips, the smallest smile. It was gone again in an instant. "We will be watched by some... But will we be watched by your parents?" Hesitating only a moment out of habit, they slipped their free hand to one of Rabastan's shoulders without any weight to it, only the barest brush of their fingertips. "Surely they would know better than to seriously consider me."
