“Dance?” I asked, wondering what kind of playlists they had for such a multicultural event. “Like with music and everything?”
“No, not quite like that,” he said, sounding unsure of himself. In the time we had been dating, it had been nice to see Ben grow more and more confident in himself, but this seemed like his original nerves all over again.
“Then, like what?”
“Ah, it’s a little hard to explain.”
“Because it’s weird? Or violent?”
“No, nothing like that. There’s no direct translation. Like a lot of those German words.”
“Like schadenfreude?”
“I knew you would know what I meant. Schadenfreude.”
“Can you try your best? Just to give me an outline of an idea?”
“Hmm. Best I can say is it’s kind of… a celebration of nature? Everyone who wants to participate gathers together, usually within the trees, forming a sort of loose circle. Certain segments are led by a single shifter. They set the mood, the tone, and move however their bodies tell them.
“Sometimes it’s kind of like play fighting, sometimes it’s just running in circles, sometimes it’s sitting around and howlingto the stars. We follow that one leader for a while until that segment is over, then it’s someone else’s turn.”
I couldn’t picture it properly, but my mind conjured up a vague approximation of what it might be like.
“And it would be okay that I was there, as a human?”
I didn’t know why I was so worried about people objecting to me being there since I’d spent almost two hours hanging with a bunch of humans who were in relationships with shifters of different species, but the insecurity was still there, whispering that I couldn’t possibly be welcome by all these powerful, magical beasts who could take animal forms at will.
“Of course. There are younglings there who don’t have an animal form yet, and other humans. Why wouldn’t we want you?”
“No idea,” I answered honestly.
“That’s okay.” He took my hand and squeezed it gently. Once. Twice. Three times. “You can just watch if you like, but also, we don’t have to at all.”
“When was the last time you participated in it?”
“Ah, years ago. Before, ya know.”
Oh boy, did I know. It was the event that had permanently changed the course of his life. I wished that it had never happened to him, yet, if it hadn’t, Ben and I wouldn’t be together.
Not that we were together-together, but we were kind of there.
It was strange to hold two such conflicting views, but it was the truth. I wished desperately that the massacre hadn’t happened, and that they’d had very different lives, but I was also incredibly grateful for the path that led them tome.Little ol’ sick, nobodyme.
“I would love to dance with you,” I answered, and he was polite enough not to point out how tight my throat sounded.
“Let’s go dance, then.”
Letting him pull me out of my chair, I walked with him back towards the pavilion and then past it. I trusted him to lead me without a single doubt, figuring he could either hear or smell where the gathering was already happening.
I was aweebit worried at how my stomach would handle things. Twenty minutes earlier, I’d been full to bursting. Hopefully, I wouldn’t get nauseous. Besides, Ben had said that it wasn’t exactly a sock hop, square dance, or anything else intensive. And I didn’t have to participate. It was my choice.
We walked to a well-lit area, where a group had gathered. A few of the taller people were setting up more hanging lamps, but the rest were casually talking to each other. Although I believed Ben’s assurances, it was still nice to instantly recognize two other humans, Lavar and Seong Yung. If they were there, I was sure there were others of our kind dotted around as well. Truly a blend.
“Ben, there are some people I want to introduce you to,” I said, happily pulling at his arm in their direction.
“Oh? Isn’t that my job?” he teased.
“Believe it or not, I made friends.”
