[Luke] - Learn That Boy Some MANNERS!

[swiftyuki]

It was a beautiful day. Well, it was about as beautiful as a cloudy day could be. No harsh heat, no rainfall or anything. It was pretty nice out really, unless you wanted to get some sun then tough luck.

Now, in today's story we have one of our beloved beat-em-up boy, Luke. Tough as some nails, and about ready to put some in a bat to bludgeon you with if you cross him. This tech-oriented nerd of a boy is a bit rough around the edges. Growing up learning to survive and struggling to get a girlfriend. Hey, stop looking at me like this, this is my story. Now, I know what you're thinking. 'But Glory, he's already had a girlfriend!' Well, that may be true, but that isn't the case now!

Luke here, he's a good hard working boy. He's just not as skilled at socialising with certain people. And by that I mean the ones with the coin that would set him off. Now, in all fairness, some of these people are cold blooded as heck. I get it, one wrong move and they're about ready to strike you with a venom dagger or something. BUT! Most aren't like that, I hope.

Luke was tinkering with a tinkering thing like a tinkerer usually does when they must tinker. Get your mind out of the gutter fellas, he's a mechanic for a living, not a porn star. Oh my, my, my! He seems to be messing about with a... Well, it looks like a music box! Let's have a little look see, shall we?

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    The past month or so had been particularly busy for Luke. He'd made not one, but two, count em, two new acquaintances! And one of them he's pretty close to considering a friend, if not maybe both! And, to top it all off, his best friend now lived in the capital with him. Which is precisely the reason why he was tinkering with something right now. If Mike and his sweet new headphones were anything to go off of, Luke liked making things for his friends. He still had big plans for something for Soren, but in the mean time, he was making something for Luna. 

    To say that Luna was an important person in this young techy's life would be an understatement. If it weren't for Io, the girl would be the most important person in his life. The boy never said it to Luna's face, and he never would, but if it weren't for her, he felt like he wouldn't have come as far as he had. She was the first person to really talk to him, to really stick by him and show him what it meant to have friends.

    And, sure, she annoyed the fuck out of him a lot growing up. But it was part of her charm. 

    Although really it was practically her personality more than "charm." Luke shuddered to think of what would happen if she met Mike. Either she would turn the poor redhead into her bitch to display dominance like she did to pretty much everyone, or the two would combine their powers into one massive storm of "fuck Luke and his sanity" and annoy him to no end. Yeah, see that? See that small twitch in his eye? That's what's called a "fucking NIGHTMARE" boy's and girls. Also see; HELL. 

    The young techy visibly shuddered. 

    Best not to think such thoughts. Lest something terrible come to pass. Not to self. Be very careful when introducing Mike to Luna. It might be cruel, treating Mike like a sacrificial lamb in such a way, but if he picked just the right words, he could turn Luna's chaotic energy unto the other young man instead of turning them both upon the terrified techy. 
    
    But all of that was neither here nor there. What was here and there was this little music box. A very delicate looking thing compared to what Luke normally makes, but when he crafts shit for the people that matter, he lets open his heart just for a moment. The boy puts everything into making something that matters. Something that would be loved or appreciated by the recipient. The punk played dumb, like he didn't appreciate the small things, or really pay attention. But truth be told... he did. He really did. And this was just a small bit of proof. 

    The time it took to put it all together, the care that went into every gear, into crafting the simple song the box would play. Even into the handle of the damn thing. Love would be too strong a word to use, but Luke put a lot of passion into each and every piece of this damn thing. And at the end of it all, he let it play as a final test as he gave a hefty sigh and sat back in his seat. Silver eyes calmly watched the handle spin round and round, just letting the music fill the silent and cluttered work room.

    "Gods what am I doing with my life?" The boy pressed a gloved hand to his face. Slowly he drug it down, eyeing the creation with some apprehension. Another heavy sigh escaped his lips, the techy slumping in his seat and staring at the ceiling. "I doubt she'll give much of a fuck about this damn thing. Maybe I'm just wasting my time..."

[swiftyuki]

The music played a sweet little tune, notes plucked off small metal picks of varying lengths to sing a unique note of their own. But along with the tune, the sound of background chatter rose. The tune itself turned into something more of a symphony's musical score. A Luke- pardon me, look around and this techy would find himself in a very highly sophisticated area. Everyone around him wearing masks of animalistic features, dawning rather lavish suits and gowns.

A chandelier of pure white and gold crystal hung overhead, the interior decorated with filigree gold leaf edging and white marble walls that held large paintings of people. Though, the figures in these paintings seemed to move as if they were the living and their faces swapped around with random guests roaming this lavish mansion.

Wow Luke, and here I thought you didn't have magic. What are you hiding from us?

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    Luke drifted in and out as reality slowly began to meld into something else. Noises grew louder, voices became apparent, and suddenly the black-haired boy wasn't sitting in his chair anymore. Silver eyes blinked in off-put surprise, as the young techy glanced around trying to adjust to where the fuck he was. Am... am I on drugs? Luke didn't feel like he was on drugs. But... he'd never taken drugs before so he didn't exactly know what it felt like. All he knew was that he felt normal. Tired, but normal. Gods, I need to get more sleep. 

    Wow Luke, and here you thought you didn't have magic. What are you hiding from yourself?
       
    On a serious note, Luke genuinely didn't know what the hell was going on. Who these people were, where he was. All he knew was that he was suddenly standing in a strange place, surrounded by strange people, holding a music box he had made that was apparently now magical. There's no way in hell I can give this to Luna now. Fucking cursed piece of shit. I bet that weird ass salesman I bought the parts from fucked me over. Cheap as motherfucker. The boy was going to have to kick that man's ass if he ever saw him again. If Luke ever saw him again.
    
    Was there even a way out of here? Gods, there was only one way to really find out; Talking to one of these weirdo's. Luke shuddered at the thought of it, but there really wasn't much of a choice. This was probably karma for... well literally anything he's done in his life, take your fucking pick. His life was pretty much karma for his life. 

    Real talk though, if he managed to steal... well... literally anything here, he could probably pawn it off for a pretty profit. No! Bad Luke. Focus on escaping first, robbing rich cunts blind later. The silver eyed techie shook his head and sighed, sucking up his pride and approaching one of the gaudily dressed women. Don't start a fight, don't start a fight, don't start a fight, don't start a fight, start a figh- I MEAN, DON'T START A FIGHT. DON'T. DON'T DO IT. Luke cleared his throat and nervously tried to remember what Io had taught him about dealing with rich people when he wasn't robbing them. Something about... maybe... er... a... bow? Just, you know what, just don't try. It's not worth it. Luke just tried his best to put on a polite smile before speaking up. 
   
    "Uh... h-hello, by any chance do you, maybe, know where I am? It's kinda weird to say but I seem to have gotten a bit lost. If possible could you also, maybe point me in the direction of the exit?" Gods, in his get up, the techie was probably going to be mistaken for some sort of servant or criminal. Probably criminal seeing as, you know, these are upper class pricks and Luke is... well... himself. Hello there rich person. Hello there filthy punk. How are you today? Good just calling the cops! Well I better get out of here! Don't bother! 

    Something like that probably.

    Well, either that or the woman would slap the shit out of him. Or scoff at him. You know, all that stupid bullshit. How the hell did he even end up here? Seriously, was he asleep? Man, if he was asleep he really wished there was a way to tell, so he could wake up. Or fuck around. Become a god in a dream world until he actually woke up. Simple things for simple minds.

    What didn't make matters any better for the poor punk was the fact that these freaks were swapping faces with paintings. Which absolutely would normally scream dream, but also given this was a world of magic and rich people were weird, it was entirely fucking possible this was just some sort of weird artifact magic or illusion or some shit. You know why couldn't life just be more straightforward. Magic had to just come in and make everything all sorts of weird and complicated. No, these things couldn't be easy. Had to be some sort of weird, funky ass mystery or something. 

    You know what, whatever, it's fine. He's over it. Luke is totally, one hundred percent, absolutely, entirely, completely... not over it. Gods why is this all so weird?! Why does it have to be weird?? There's no reason for it to be this weird, seriously, what the fuck? This was going to be a long night for the poor boy. 

    Wasn't it?

[swiftyuki]

[smear:#98c0d6]"Why, young man, you're at the Blue Moon Ball!"[/smear:#b892e2:3], a man said, turning towards him to respond. He was in a cream coloured suit, tailored with gold filigree embroidery to match up with the mask he wore, an owl's face over his own. [smear:#98c0d6]"Surely if you're here in the ballroom, you must have been invited, no?"[/smear:#b892e2:3] He didn't seem bothered that Luke was there, he appeared to fit in? [smear:#98c0d6]"Though, this is a masquerade, young man, I suggest you put on your mask."[/smear:#b892e2:3], he said, giving the boy a little wink with his lavender eyes.

Everyone seemed to have similar aesthetics of formal attire accented with embroidered markings with a metallic shimmer. The masks hid the identity of many so well that it could be argued their faces were the masks. Amongst the crowd was an occasional cheer accompanied by butlers who always seemed to have platters full of thin glasses of champagne. After a cheer was made, they'd all take a drink, almost in a ripple effect with the cheers in the center.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    The... Blue Moon what? Luke turned away from the two and started walking away, lifting a hand to pinch and squeeze the bridge of his nose. Invited? I... don't remember anything of the sort. Gods, I have to be more tired than I thought. Where the fuck am I going to find a mask? And more importantly though- why aren't they freaking out about me and trying to throw me out? As though to answer that question, Luke noticed that his fingers felt notably not fingery. More like... rubber or cloth or-
    
    Silver eyes opened and stared intently at his hand. A hand that was currently gloved in a nice, fancy white glove. "Wh-" Further down, instead of a barren forearm, his arm was covered in a perfectly trimmed black sleeve. In fact, further inspection showed that he was covered head to toe in a full suit. The young man looked up as the crowd parted and came face to face with a fancy mirror. Almost immediately the words escaped his lips. "Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me."
    
    The young man was fully dressed in a sleek, form fitting black suit, trimmed with silver, and instead of his typical emo-punk ass hairstyle he so loved to keep, the boy's raven black hair was instead slicked back and kept neat, save for a few rebellious strands that refused to be forced back and kept away from his face. The shoes he bore were a similar, shined black. Featureless and plain. But, aside from the white gloves, there was one more item keeping to Luke's free hand;

    An ornate, silver mask- that of a wolf. 

    Fine. Might as well just play along for now while I find a way out. The techy ignored the cheering in the background, bitterly slipping on the mask. It felt hefty upon his face, and didn't obscure his vision as terribly as he'd feared. Luke felt an inkling of something terrible cross the back of his mind. He needed to get out of here. 

    The young techy was never all too good with parties or crowds anyways. 

    Everyone's clothes were so brightly colored. Creams, whites, and golds. Which really just put a nicely wrapped bow on this dream like state. Maybe someone drugged him. Maybe Luke was actually dead, and this was his hell. I always knew I'd be damned for what I did, but I didn't expect this. The boy shook his head to get away from those thoughts. Escape first. Sarcastic bullshit later. The face swapping paintings still kept him nervous though, pretty much ensuring that the techy would avoid the walls- or really just paintings in general. Maybe forever at this point. This really was one heck of a nightmare. 
    
    It didn't help that Luke had absolutely no idea where he was going, but the young techy figured that if he kept straight long enough, he'd find a doorway to somewhere. Preferably to one that led outside and away from this party. Though, as he wandered, he couldn't help but wonder what it'd be like- if Io were here. And Luna. And Ty. Mike, Soren, hell, even just any of the lost boys. What they'd look like, how they'd react. Luna would probably love being in such a gaudy dress, and Io would be soaking up the attention like a pro. Mike would give about as much of a shit as Luke did, and Soren would be enjoying himself like the bright little ray of sunshine he was. Ty would be playing it up, probably with some sort of mysterious-type mask, or maybe just a big fancy hat to mask his face as he stuck to a corner eerily. Zack would be out and mingling with a glass of champagne.

    And here Luke was.

    Just looking for a way to escape. 

    The boy wasn't made for these types of situations, or these types of places. Even when he did house calls he struggled. Luke just... kept to the room he worked in, didn't even look out at whatever went on until he was done and leaving. Probably for the best, even so far from the street, the punk techy was just that- a punk. Luke was rabid at heart. The boy wasn't built for anything fancy. He hated everything that wealth brought. That difference in status that made him feel inferior. Made the boy want to kiss the business end of a loaded gun and pull the trigger. 

    Even if the individual was nice, that didn't change the fact that there would always be an obvious power gap. "Oh Luke, you can't just say that stuff to them, you have to be polite!" "Oh Luke, you can't dress that way, just look at yourself, couldn't you at least try to dress nice?" Reminded him of his foster mother and it made him sick. It always felt like Luke was never allowed to be himself. That he wasn't good enough. 

    Maybe he just fucking hated himself and secretly had self-confidence issues, honestly. That could really just be the take away at this point. Whatever the case, it wasn't as though his feelings were unwarranted. You could only take so many beatings. The young man sighed under his mask and slipped through the crowd. Thankfully, his pick-pocketing practice made it easy to dodge around people without actually touching them, slipping through the masses like a ghost. Either I'm gonna wake up, or I'm gonna find the exit. One way or another, I'm getting out of here.

[swiftyuki]

Was Luke really going in a straight line? I mean, there were people everywhere. More walking around in a zigzag. At least, that's what it'd feel like. But Luke, do you really want to go outside? Well, alright, don't let me stop you. But you'll regret your poor young eyes. Your very poor, innocent, sweet, young, eyes. Well, okay let's be honest here, this boy's gaze was about as sweet as a porcupine that got its ass poked by a crow.

Behold! A lavish garden, with most plants all closed up in their buds and leaving some of that sweet night time spotlight to the lunar lillies. Beautiful things, aren't they? Petals so white they practically take in the moon's glow and emulate it themselves. And if you look... Further.. There appears to be... Some of the guests having uh... Am I allowed to say this? Oh, no details. Okay. An orgy. You heard me, and it's loud. Some people call it by another name and proclaim it as art. And... Well, I can't argue that opinion. Art is subjective after all. Anyways, let's not watch this live feed of downright dirty deeds and go back into the ballroom. Gotta admire their confidence and comfort to pull something like that though.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    Luke felt relief wash over him as he found his way to the outside. Away from the crowds, away from the noise. The young man hoped it was an exit, and that he could figure his way out of this situation. Unfortunately, he found himself in a garden. The scene was lovely... at first. It took barely five seconds for Luke's mind to register the horrid scene before him, and no sooner had he registered it that he pulled his mask up to vomit into a bush. The boy's mind spiked with something akin to wild fear as he  stumbled back inside and shut the door behind himself. Call him a critic, but that wasn't art.

    Why was this so fucking awful?

    The only sounds he could register were the heavy panting that escaped his lips mixing with a hammering heartbeat. What the fuck is wrong with these people? He thought bitterly. Why am I even here? Some sort of universal karma? Hands balled into fists. Jaw set, fists clenched, the boy  stood shaking with a mix of many different emotions. His mouth tasted awful from puking up his guts. That scene was going to haunt his nightmares and frustrate him until the day he died. But it certainly solidified his will to escape. 

    Problem was, the poor techy had no idea how. Luke unclenched his fists, placing a hand against his head while he skirted the  edge of the crowd. The boy's head felt dizzy and light. Probably from the stress, maybe from upchucking. Whatever the case, it wasn't helping the situation. The guy needed a glass of water. Maybe some painkillers. 
    
    And a bed to lay down in.

    Preferably one that wasn't fucked in.

    You know what while he's at it, he could certainly use a map. You know. So he can find the exit. So he can get out. Because he hates this place. You know... because it's awful. What even was the point of him being here? What was  Luke meant to do? There was no purpose or goal at the end of this tunnel. If it was "To have fun" then he was going to be trapped here 'till the day he died. Or until he went insane, and by that point what was even the point of escaping anymore?

    Luke never cried. Even when the world was throwing shit the punk's way, and broken bottles were hurled at his head, he didn't shed a fucking tear. Even when he had his heart ripped out and stomped on by his cheating ex. The one and only exception was the day he lost Io. But you know what? Right about now the black haired boy felt like fucking tucking into himself and sobbing his damn heart out. 

    No... I'm not gonna give into that shit. Not today. Not here. With a hand pressed up against one of the walls, the young man took in a deep, yet shaky, breath. It was an attempt to steady himself, though it didn't exactly help all that much. Frustration wracked every part of his body, and seeing that awful image in the garden spiked something inside him that made him... shake uncontrollably. A thought popped into his head, a simple musing that maybe one of the flowers had something he was allergic too, and he didn't actually know it. 

    Maybe it was just... dehydration. Lack of sleep. It had to be one of those things, they were the only things that could explain this sensation. The only other times Luke had felt this way were when he was forced to go into a strip club to find a friend, or similar-ish situations. Actually, no, there were a few other isolated situations, but they were so unremarkable that the details were obscured by time. It had to be some sort of allergy thing, but it wasn't like the guy remembered the situations enough to actually know what was what. Gods I'm going crazy. I need to get out of here.

    Only option left was to simply wander, and hope that he didn't walk in on anything else that was as visually sickening as that. Or perhaps he could find someone that wasn't so into the event that Luke could ask where he could find the exit- or at the very least a glass of water. 

[swiftyuki]

Well, that's a cute wish but what a shame for poor Luke that the party was only just getting started! Literally! Well, we can all afford for the boy to get over his not-even-close-to-midlife-crisis. We good? All collected! Great! You know what that calls for? CELEBRATION!

A voice rang out seemingly from everywhere, a familiar man's voice making a grand announcement. Well actually, he sounded like he was talking just away from the microphone, if he was using one in the first place.[smear:#98c0d6] "Ahem, before we start this off, I'd like security to get that mess outside taken care of, thank you."[/smear:#b892e2:3] His voice became more grand and clear, speaking in that tone to gain hype.

[smear:#98c0d6]"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Blue Moon Ball! We have a wonderful array of guests here with us this time around, plenty of faces old and new! Let's give them all a warm welcome!"[/smear:#b892e2:3] The opener was met up with cheering and applause as it should, ahhh wonderful.

When the applause and cheering died down, the man would speak up again. See, now was a good time to see who was talking. A particularly pale purple man he met earlier would be the grand speaker, on a platform that split the staircase into three. [smear:#98c0d6]"Now, for those of you who have been here before, please bare with me while I tell the newcomers of the Ball's main event tradition!"[/smear:#b892e2:3] A better look showed the man never had a microphone hooked up. He was using sound magic, either cast on him or he cast it himself.

[smear:#98c0d6]"Welcome to the main of event, The Harvester's Dance! Of course, it's no ordinary dance. No, this is a contest! The best of the best dancers will receive a grand prize!"[/smear:#b892e2:3] Those who seemed aware of such a strange event seemed all for it, despite the lack of prize visible. He seemed to be a man of good promise if this many people didn't question this. [smear:#98c0d6]"These dances are set in a continuously running tournament style until there is a single winner. Now, the dance. It's not a typical dance fight taking turns. As a matter of fact, dance is a form of battle. You will all find on your person, an emblem to show you're a participant. This rune will vanish if you lose the battle. However, if you attempt to lose the battle on purpose, an additional contestant will join in your battle for every attempt and your rune will simply change to a new colour to invite another in. The rune will revert for each contestant you beat if you can."[/smear:#b892e2:3]

Wow, what an oddly specific detail! Although it didn't seem like anyone was phased. Although, with the benefit of a doubt, it could mean this has happened before. The man straightened his bowtie. [smear:#98c0d6]"Now, I will say the more you take on simultaneously, the faster up the ladder you go towards the final rounds!"[/smear:#b892e2:3] Nice save, still got it. [smear:#98c0d6]"Now I want everyone to find a dance partner and we will begin!"[/smear:#b892e2:3]

Good luck, Luke.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    Static filled the young techy's mind more and more with every word. The party was getting heated. Maybe he could take this opportunity to slip away, let the revelry be a distraction as he tried to find his way out. If the words that had came out of the host's mouth were just "Fight!" than Luke could  deal with it a bit better. He knew how to fight. Dancing? Not so much. The boy had never learned when he was growing up. Never really bothered either when he was an adult either. 

    As the host said would happen, a rune appeared in the palm of Luke's hand. White with hints of purple. Karma. This has to be some sort of Karma. Luke thought, feeling every ounce of fight go out of him. His body felt heavy. Sapped. Drained. The boy's mind felt battered an worn from the roller coaster it had been subjected to. Karma was the only answer. The only reason why he was trapped in some weird prison against his will. Retribution for everything I've done. Running away from home, stealing, fighting, letting Io die, leaving the lost boys behind. It's all Karma coming for what it's owed, ain't it?

    Luke turned and pressed his back to the wall, shutting his eyes. The young man didn't know what to do. Even if the poor punk didn't run away, he still didn't know how to dance. And, if he didn't know how to dance, everyone would know immediately that the guy didn't belong there. Shunted into a situation he had no control over and then fed to the wolves because of it. Even if he wasn't attacked on the spot, then what sort of mockery would he have to withstand? Luke'd have to grit his teeth and do his best not to lash out. 
    
    Turning the rune over in his fingers he felt a new sensation wash over him. A single thought came to mind, dominating everything else. So strong, it overshadowed almost everything else he'd felt in his entire life up to this point.

    He wanted to Die. 

    Genuinely and whole-heartedly he wanted his life to cease. The room Luke was standing in was a monument to all of his mistakes. Everything he hated, everything he didn't know. Maybe... maybe it was his fault he ended up here. A prison built just for him to make him suffer for all his wrongs. Hell, maybe Luke had already up and died. Exhaustion killing him before he had a chance to realize what happened, and now he was stuck here. His own little hell.

    That's a damn shame. He thought somberly, holding the rune up to his eye. There was so much he had left to do. Tell to Soren and Mike and Luna. Presents he had planned on making for them, places he wanted to take them. Luke thought about the trio of friends he had somehow made. He tightened his grip on the rune and took in a deep, deep breath... then let it out... nice... and slow. I'm giving up... way to easy for my taste. The boy patted his cheek, trying to snap himself out of it. Whatever is going on in my head, I need to shove out. Think objectively Luke. Think of the other potentials. You can't dance to save your life, they're gonna figure that out in seconds the moment you hit the floor. But, that could work to your advantage. If they realize you're not faking, then maybe guards will pick you up, and throw you out. Easy way to the exit. 

    Just gotta make sure you don't fuck-up fucking-up. Luke held the rune between his thumb and forefinger like a coin, silver eyes studying it's details. The colors reminded him almost of Luna. Wherever the music box ended up, the tech-head needed to make sure to work out this whole magical teleporty thing and fix it up for her. Though the girl would probably handle this situation  far better than poor Luke was. 
   
    Already everyone was pairing up. The guy didn't know how they were finding their partner's so fast, guess it was just inherent by now. Reluctantly, the punk started scouting for his partner. Alright Luke. Time to put Operation "Embarass Yourself Irreparably and Get Your Ass Kicked Out" into action. Luke hoped that for once in his miserable life he was actually lucky with this. He was going to need it.

[swiftyuki]

Okay, Luke, my guy. My stories are never this deep. Shoot, Aurora probably wouldn't let me into that interstellar library to read into your life even if I did want to get deep. I just wanted to tell a story. But now it's actual sad magi hours.

But wait- Ohoho? What's this? You're telling me, this guy. THIS GUY RIGHT HERE! Luke, the guy that frequents a bar with a rave on the upper floor, CAN'T DANCE? Well, that's something I never would thought to be possible. You know what, since you're really making this depresso espresso, I'm going to toss you a bone here.

Amongst this grand crowd came a little girl. Aw man she was cute. Sparkly big eyes, lavender and white. Her dress was frilly and laced, even wearing cute little gloves. It's almost like shew as trying to be a fairy god mother or something with this look. Besides, you think I would let you lose in my story? Hah! FOOL!

But seriously if you can't beat a cutesy child in an elaborate frilly dress in a dance off, I'm going to be disappointed.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    Listen here you incorporeal gremlin. Just because Luke frequent that bangin' club known as The ∇ri∆ngle, doesn't mean he knows how to get down and boogie with the best of them. When you spend most of your time thinking with your fists, feet come later on. Luke can't be good at everything, and it just so happens dancing is one of those things he wasn't good at. Like socializing. Or being normal. Or this whole list of other things. Look, the point is, Luke's bad at a lot. So you shouldn't be surprised that he's bad at dancing too.

    That one's on you, but it's ok, I forgive you.

    But as the crowd thinned out and everyone began pairing up, Luke noticed who his partner was. A charming little girl. On one hand, he hoped someone was keeping an eye on her, but on the other, her little get up with adorable. Her parents must have helped gussy her up for this. How sweet... please tell me they weren't in that... mass outside. No, no no, there's a good chance that the girl had good parents, and they were probably just watching her from a distance. Something like that. Regardless, Luke's worries seemed to just... kinda lighten up a bit. See, Luke was bad at a lot of things. And I mean a lot. Dancing, singing, driving, holding his breath, writing in cursive, drawing/painting, you name it. But, one of the few things he was good at was dealing with kids.
   
    Growing up with the Lost Boys taught him how to manage a tiny tot, and how to make sure they were happy and enjoying themselves. Now, mind you, a lot of it wound up with dog piles and having to be rescued because the Lost Boy's were concentrated chaos and mischief at all age levels, but some of the best memories came from relaxing on pillow forts and blanket mountains, watching Hook with bowls of popcorn passed around between everyone. And if it's one thing Luke knew kids were good at, it was being goofy. And thankfully, so was Luke. 
        
    Dab Bot anyone?

    The young man approached his dance-fight partner, and made a deep, exaggerated bow. If it was up against a child, it's not like he had to really try to dance all that well. As long as he took it seriously enough to not get yeeted into the abyss. So, here goes nothing. A little tappy tappy there, and a little wiggle here. It was probably the most basic dance he could offer, but he hadn't fallen flat on his face just yet. Which was a thing of beauty. Usually, he'd have tripped over himself twice by now, but he was holding on. At least, as best an angry, two-left-foot havin' punk could when thrust into this kinda situation. 

    Still, going up against a kid and just having an excuse to goof off was a nice change up. If it weren't for the fact that he was explicitly not allowed to loose, than he would have let the kid have this win. Make her night. Although, depending on how well her parents taught her, he may wind up losing anyways. Which would definitely be a blow to his pride. But at least it'd be an acceptable loss. 

    Probably.

[swiftyuki]

The little girl, wand in her hand, raised it and twirled it around. A trail of white glitter followed after. Now remember, I did say this was a fight. And- oh. Oh shit, Luke isn't a mage. Well, good luck with that!

Luke would find his vision tilting, Actually, the little girl and everything sank below him. OH no wait, he's floating.

The little girl did a cutesy twirl, one leg lifted behind her as Luke was then slammed towards the wall in the direction her wand went. Weirdly enough, the velvet padding on the wall softened the blow on him though, so that's good.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

   "A...ah?" Luke could feel the voice in his head just softly whisper; Oh... oh no... And then Luke was gone. Of course, he wasn't K.O'd, but the poor punk still laid there utterly stunned. There were two internal reactions. One, was furious screaming. The other was a more coherent furious scream of "WHAT THE FUCK!?"

    What the fuck just happened?

    Luke popped up his head, the mask hiding most of his shock and surprise. What a rude little shit! Luke stood up, brushed himself down and smoothed out his suit. The young man took a step forwards, remembered this was a dance competition, then reluctantly did an angry shimmy towards the girl. This was really dumb. 
   
    First order of business once he was back- not letting that happen again. Of course, he wasn't about to punch or kick the ass of a literal child. That was too far, even for him. Well, especially for him, actually. Quick as he could, he spun and pointed behind the girl. "Look over there, it's a unicorn!"
    
    Wow... this was getting... really stupid now. But what other choices did Luke have? If he didn't at least try to catch her off-guard, chances were she'd hurl his dumbass into the wall again when he tried to grab it. Sure, he... could have picked something better than a unicorn but look! He's trying his best here. Thinking on the fly. Trying to think of things little girls would like. Unicorn's were like... right up there on the top of the list, right? That was something kids liked? Aw the hell with it.

    Luke's hand lashed out- distraction or no- to snag up that little wand. No more floating! No more walls! Question was, if he got it what was he even going to do with it? Snap it was the first thing that came to mind, but that was just way too mean. Little girl's heart would snap just as fast. Nah, he'll keep it raised above his head then. She's too short to grab it! If he knew magic he'd totally try to figure out a way to get revenge on her. Nothing bad! Just probably something like... a wedgie or just floating her up as payback for her doing the same. Eh, this was probably the safer bet anyways.

[swiftyuki]

The little girl's eyes lit up and she turned to look in the direction he pointed. Yes, she was just that dumb to fall for that. She didn't see this unicorn and turned back towards Luke just as he was taking her little wand. [smear:#98c0d6]"Hey!"[/smear:#b892e2:3], she whined as she tried to reach for the wand. A voice rang out between both Luke and the little girl's heads. [smear:#98c0d6]"Remember children, this is a dance."[/smear:#b892e2:3] The little girl now seemed to be just as pleased as Luke. That is to say, not very.

She huffed and stared Luke down as she made her way towards him. Her arms swayed to give herself momentum as she skipped a little here, hopped a little there and then proceeded to leap up with a ballerina's twirl in midair and kick Luke in the gut.

Luke can't really shimmy his way out of this one. He knew more than the cha-cha slide, right? Right?