CHECKERS

1. BALL ROOM DANCE 101
"Take your positions!"
Alida raised her hand and waited for her husband Armand to put his other hand on her back. Music started playing and next they were twirling across the marbled floor of the dancing studio. There were 4 other couples in their class, all learning some ballroom dances so they would be able to enjoy the New Year's Eve Checkerboard Ball to the fullest. 
Well, not everyone looked as eager to be here but that was probably directly related to how badly they needed these classes.
"Do you think Licia is okay?" her husband asked.
"I think your mother should know how to care for a child." Alida answered.
"Silence." the instructor admonished and both promptly shut their mouths.
Across the dance floor, Ule couldn't help but stifle a laugh about the other couple. She and her husband, Urbain were definitely a size smaller, being halflings. But luckily there was also a dwarf couple that had signed up so they weren't completely out of sync with the others. 
Urbain meanwhile was trying very hard to not tug at his shirt as he felt like it might be intending to suffocate him. Why was formal wear even mandatory at these events? He briefly loosened his hold on Ule's hand, wondering if he could just adjust his neckline before the teacher noticed, but Ule immediately grabbed it back and sent him in a pirouette, complete with dip.
"The men should lead." the instructor admonished them but as the move had been performed on key and on point she wasn't too harsh on them. Her workload had increased tenfold with the upcoming event and she had better things to put her energy in. 
Imke felt the eyes of the dance teacher weigh down upon her and promptly missed a step, stepping on her husband's toes. Isidoor was a dear about this too. He was far better than her at dancing and though his feet must be hurting he kept right on going.
"Straighten your back, miss." the instructor told them and then went on to the next couple.
Esther tensed but managed to stay in form. She had practiced at home before coming here. Her husband, Erwin was amazing at dancing, as was to be expected from his upbringing among the more noble elves. He gave a quick nod to the instructor before he let Esther flow to the side and then pulled her back. The teacher nodded approvingly and told them to practice the second diversion of the base steps she had taught them. And Esther was back to stressing.
Next to them, Odette and Oswald were dancing a stiff, formal version of the waltz. Odette might want to try one of the more free-flowing dance moves the others were doing but she knew better than to try and get her husband to leave his traditionalist ways. She picked her battles and getting him to come to this dance class had already been quite a victory. 
The music stopped and the instructor went over what areas they still needed to practice. In all she was quite happy with the progress the 5 couples were making so she had faith that they would do okay at the Checkerboard event. As long as they played waltzes that was. But they still had a few weeks to go so she felt confident to at least teach them the quickstep and slowfox. And if they had time she would lead them into Tango territory. Though she assumed the event would also host some of the more easy folk dances. Everybody could pull off a polonaise. Although she sometimes had her doubts about a few of her students. 
As the instructor started of her explanation of the slowfox, Armand couldn't help but let his eye wander. Though he was married, he still appreciated the female beauty. His wife Alida nudged him back to attention with her elbow and he apologised with a smile. He couldn't help that he wasn't all that fond about these ballroom dances. He could dance just fine, moving his body to the pounding beat at nightclubs. He didn't see the need to put all that effort into something he'd probably never use again. 
Next to him, Oswald was also getting bored by their teacher's droning. She put too much emphasis on the different styles and moves they could use. There was just one right way to dance and that was his. He'd been taught as a boy. The only reason he was even in this class was because his wife had felt so uncertain about dancing in front of others. He just couldn't lose face in front of a ballroom of people so he'd graciously allowed her to pay for classes.
Meanwhile Erwin played close attention to what the woman was saying. He'd been taught the elfish styles of ballroom dancing, but learning about how other species danced was quite interesting. He was already planning to look up some information about dancing in lesser prevalent races. Now that would be quite interesting, and definitely something he could discuss with Esther before the ball.
Isidoor, quietly took in every word of the teacher and committed it all to mind. Sure, as a dwarf he'd have little use for ballroom dancing aside from the big events at the Healing Den, but it would look all the better for his race if he could pull it off. Luckily his aptitude for martial arts and fighting aided him greatly. Dancing was all about being fleet of foot after all. Sadly, his partner had a ways to go. He loved her dearly but she was far removed from her heritage and had embraced a larger identity. He'd just have to lead her better so that they would look good. Dwarf women were just too stubborn to be easy, but all dwarf men liked a good challenge. 
Urbain nervously took notes and snapped pictures of the diagrams their instructor showed them. His wife tried to reassure him that they would get ready but she'd had acting classes from a young age which meant she also knew her way around a dance floor. He tried to look at this from the lighter side, at least if he screwed up people would laugh and that was not a bad thing considering his line of work as a comedian. 
Just a little later they were back on the dance floor, practicing and trying to look their best. 

2. UNWINDING AT THE TAVERN
"I'm glad that's over." Urbain sighed.
"Me too." Imke added full-hearted as she took a seat at the bar and ordered a stiff drink.
Isidoor took up the chair beside her and patted her shoulder: "You're improving."
"What? I stepped on your toes 4 times tonight?"
"Indeed, last time it was 10 times. I call that great progress." 
Urbain couldn't help but laugh but his wife quietly held up her hand to show that he'd knocked into her on 5 occasions. The ten of them had retreated to the Tavern after their lesson as was their habit. All that moving required a little extra to keep up their energy. 
"I do think we're improving." Ule smiled and ordered her drink.
"Camomile tea for me." Alida said, "I hope I can get some sleep tonight."
"I think I can sleep here." Armand added. 
The irony of being somewhere with drinks and only being able to think about sleeping. His mother had gracefully offered to let Licia stay over on the nights they had dance lessons since it would be a hassle to haul their baby out of bed and risk her not sleeping again for a couple of hours. One of these days she should be starting to sleep through the night. 
"We'll go home after the first round." Alida promised.
"Can't you stay a bit longer?" Esther asked. 
Alida and Armand let themselves be swayed and not much later the 8 of them were deep in conversation.
A short distance away, Odette and Oswald sat at one of the tables. They'd ordered their drinks and would soon leave as was their way.
"It was a good lesson, thank you." Odette said.
"I'm only doing it for you." Oswald grumpily answered.
"I know." Odette nodded, "But I feel better knowing I can at least pull off the basic moves."
She smiled at him and quickly changed their topic of conversation to something he'd find more pleasing: "Do you think you'll be seeing some of your contacts at the ball?"
Oswald straightened and launched in a talk about all the officials he knew.  
The night wore on and it was already the new day when they headed home, promising to do this again next week after class. There were only 8 or so weeks left before the ball and time would speed forward and be gone in the blink of an eye. 

CONTINUE
[ALIDA] [ARMAND] [ESTHER] [ERWIN]
[IMKE] [ISIDOOR] [ODETTE] [OSWALD] [ULE] [URBAIN]

Lantessama Isle
Candidates at the New Years Eve Checkerboard Ball