💃"Ah, Si-um, Caspar!", Fir called out, greeting him with a stiff bow, freshly done with her snacks. "If you could, um...I mean. You say you're not a terrible dancer. Well, uh.." There was a tiny embarassed flush as she admitted. "I've never danced before. Not like this." A dance of blades, yes, she has. This kind of ballroom dancing, no. "So, um, please! I don't think you'd be the type to tease me." He didn't when he had caught her eating. So, he was a safe option, right?
“Fir!” He could recognize that voice easily by now, and turned towards its owner with a broad grin. “Finally decided to join in on the fun, huh? Don’t worry; I gotcha.” He paused a moment to listen to the beat. Perfect. “Here’s the deal: I’ll take you through two songs at least. I’ll show you the moves for a swing from my home territory, and if you’re ready by song two, we can go it at speed. That should be enough for you to get the hang of it, right? Right!”
Without waiting long for her acknowledgment, he took her hands and pulled her out towards the floor. “First things first, most Bergliez swings have you dancing in a line. You can step out of that line sometimes, but generally everyone stays 'in-lane’ to avoid hitting each other. Everything is done in sets of four, like so...” He spent several measures teaching her the basic step, passing, turning, and the like - so many, in fact, that before he knew it, the first song and another, had already passed. He hadn’t noticed the change in rhythm, but to his memory, neither had Fir - which must mean they had both adapted to it well. She didn’t seem to be all that bad either, at least judging by their not-at-pace lessons.
He could hear this song beginning to wind down, though, and so took hold of her hand and waist in anticipation of the next. “Ready?” he asked.
Well, ready or not, the music was starting without them. Caspar started off simple. Step, step, triple-step, triple-step; step, step, triple-step, triple-step. He chanced a turn and she responded quite well, he thought, as he caught her and resumed as before.
“What do you think so far, Fir?” he asked as they moved. “You’re not too shabby for a beginner, you know.”

















