Russian Ballerina

[Kalani Mauven]

A room of mirrors was a strange thing. The reflections and refractions made a dancer look as if they were everywhere at once, when in-studio. It was strange yet absolutely beautiful for there was a true feeling that you flew and this was an important factor for every ballerina when they danced in perfect unison with the other figures, unsure which one was the actual dancer and which was nothing but a graceful reflection.

The audition for the company had been tiresome, as it should be, but even with the hours upon hours of practicing, the sweat that dripped down her back and the pressure put onto her toes it had been worth it. Any pain in the world was overcome because you were letting everything out. The pain was cathartic to Kalani, even as she sat on the varnished floor fighting the pain in her lungs and the ache in her muscles, it was all worth it. She pointed her toes to perfection, not wincing as they touched the wood in her shoes, and leant forward at the waist, gracefully putting her hands towards her feet.

Practice for her solo as Odette had finished only moments ago and now Kalani waited. She waited for her Siegfried, whoever he may be, to arrive so they may work together on their Pas de Deux. Patience was not something that the blonde witch had very often anymore as she rarely got to see her twin and her friends anymore due to the eight hour time difference from New York to Russia that she traveled at an odd hour of day and the travelling they had to do for their own careers. Of course, it had been somewhat expected that their schedules would not work very well but it was taking a toll on Kalani. It often made her think of moving out all together, so she could adjust her body only once and be done with it. There was only so much pressure a person's body and mind could take before they snapped and the path in which Kalani followed was not one that allowed her to snap. Everything would be over, should that happen.

But now, as Kalani stood and looked at herself in one of many mirrors she knew that for now it had to be pushed out of her mind. Not only this, she adored New York City. Since moving there she had seen several ballets, met many performers, gone to many musicals, and even enjoyed the simpler things like just walking on the sidewalks that would be abnormally large for any other city, going to get coffee with her friends and just looking over the skyline. It was all very romantic. This was not to say that St. Petersburg did not have this but for Kalani it all ended when she left practice and the stage. Even the White Nights seemed to be like a movie date compared to New York City which seemed more like a walk on a beach as the sunset. Not that Kalani found either of these things to be terribly romantic. The blonde resented all of it, and bitterly.

When Kalani tried to even explain this to anyone they doted on the fact that she was ballerina. Their assumptions about prima's were that they would be even more of a romantic than anyone. In a way, this was true but most of the time it was the character they played. They were merely the body in which the soul needed to project everything so those who lifted her in the air, encircling her waist with their strong hands, were merely bodies to her. Their attractiveness was not important, the perfectly sculpted bodies and the strong presence before her was nothing as she chose it to be nothing. So the anticipation to meet this man was not in hopes of her next relationship or even hook up, it was only so they could get to work.

Kalani Mauven walked towards the corner of the room where only her bag remained with her tutu atop. She slipped the flat, stiff, pancake tutu on and took a drink of water and waited more for her partner with an irritated tapping of her foot, ignoring the raw feeling that the en pointe shoes gave.​

 

[Edgar Kane]

Edgar had made it. Made his dreams, got the part, found his destiny and moved to Russia and all of this in merely a week since his audition with the Russian ballet company he had been signed to. No longer was he Edgar Kane, the little boy with big muscles who had danced atop any surface he could have and looked at the almost unsupportive face of his father when he had given each of his performances in his own home. He was not the boy that people assumed must have been gay to enjoy donning lycra and white ballet pumps. He was a man, a strong one, a smart one, he was Siegfried of Swan Lake and in all his heart he still couldn't believe he had gained a main part in the production and he sincerely hoped that because he was new to the company that this wouldn't mean the other dancers would come to resent him. Finishing his rooftop practice with a cat leap, or pas de chat, Edgar lay atop the roof of his Russian apartment block, not at all resenting the pain he felt on the balls of his feet from dancing barefoot on the concrete, but instead relishing the feeling of pain, of triumph and of hard work.

The sweat dripped into each crevace on his body and he hardly needed any hair product when the damp strands seemed to slick themselves back. The young man stood up, his hands on his bare chest as he felt the pounding of his heart, spinning on the blistered balls of his feet to let the cool breeze encompass him before he ran down ten flights of stairs to his own apartment to pull a v-neck over his damp chest and throw a bottle of water and a towel into his duffel bag. Todaywas the day he would meet his Odette, and he wasn't in any way worried because he expected them, as the main characters to have some sort of romance, he was nervous about them having some sort chemistry, which he believed was important for dancers. Especially since they needed to dance passionatley for Swan Lake, which was a hard thing to do if you felt nothing towards your partner.

Apparating to the alley behind the ballet studio, Edgar took a deep breath, realising he hadn't cooled down from his private practice, hopefully the adrenaline would help him through the next one with his partner. Nor, had Edgar remembered to lay an adoring kiss upon his poster of Anna Pavlova which he had done every time before he practiced since he was seven, the poster had traveled all the way from his home in Scotland with him. Edgar wasn't exactly a 'ladies man' in fact he had never had a girlfriend before, he only knew of one girl who had ever desired him, one Kalani Mauven, and Eddie was almost certain it was only because she blindly drunk and jealous of her twin sister. So like the gentleman he was, he had denied her, instead carrying her to bed and tucking her in, before leaving the graduation party.

The eighteen year old hadn't seen her since, he had wanted to do right by her and call to check that she was alright, but had been worried she wouldn't remember him at all, she certainly had been plastered and had embarrassed herself in front of him, entirely sober, and with all of his memory intact. Despite what she had done, Edgar couldn't forget the beautiful young woman, he had met her twin sister, but had believed there was slight differences between them, and that Kalani was more beautiful than Riley, in fact, she was the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on. Musing upon this, Edgar stepped into the Russian ballet studio and smiled goofily, his partner's back turned to him he paused then spoke, "Edgar Kane. he pronounce as his Odette turned to face him. He inhaled deeply, placing his bag on the polished floor. "Kalani Mauven, I don't believe it! ​

<i></i>

 

[Kalani Mauven]

Despite all the impatience that Kalani had, she could forgive someone easily enough especially when they already knew her name before she even opened her mouth to say it. A modest smile curled it's way onto her pink lips before she exclaimed, "My word!" Before she got a chance to catch that this ballerino, Edgar Kane, had meant that they had met already she said with a pleased expression. "I had no idea that I was already known in the ballet world. It seems my reputation preceeds me." While the blonde girl would have liked to go further into what her Siegfried had heard of her she was also ready to get to work so she looked at the young man. Kalani's brow arched to see he was not in tights or anything remotely appropriate for their practice which would be extensive. Her brow arched curiously and she spoke, attempting not to be rude but her irritation seeping into her voice, "Punctuality is important and so is attire. I expect this not to happen once more. Your time might be expendable but I promise you that the few years I have in this career will not be spent wait-" It was then that she looked into his eyes and remembered him. It was hazy but the memory of rejection was there. She had practically thrown herself at him only to be embarrassed and now she had to work with him, day-in and day-out. They would have to be in close quaters but as she looked at him and bit her bottom lip, Kalani thought he could perhaps be homosexual. It would make sense for most men in this art were. Of course there were some who weren't but to save her pride, she smoothed her shaking fingers over her tutu and tried to convince herself that she should not still be offended for Edgar Kane was gay.

All of Kalani's conviction had left but she finished her sentance anyway, "Waiting for you." The lids of her eyes slowly slid over, hiding her orbs, but not completely blinding herself - instead only appearing to from her long, black eye lashes. They were more doe-like than swan-like but this was the magic of stage make-up so she did not fret, instead she walked to the center of the room, more gracefully than she had walked on the night they had first met - much more. For some reason, Kalani seemed to transform into someone else when she had on her pointe shoes, she acted like more of a ballerina - or the stereotype of one. It was what other's expected her to be so she provided it, like she could provide romantic emotions for Edgar Kane as she would be asked and when the time came, she would have to seduce him as Odile. It was all a part of her art and she found it simple enough. She only hoped that Edgar did too. "The director said he had to be absent for today, perhaps we should begin with the scenes where there is more acting and emotions than cheorography so we do not learn it the way he doesn't want us to?" she suggested as she looked straight into one of her reflections and grimaced at the sudden anxiety and harshness to her usually bubbly, sweet voice.

Kalani exhaled slowly before pointing a finger to the piano in the corner of the studio and having it play the notes to the solo she would practice while she waited even longer for Edgar. The only positive she saw now was that she could use magic in front of him, which meant she could practice with live music instead of poor recordings. They were a great annoyance to her, along with a list of several others. As the music began, her gaze softened and looked past everything, past her fingertips, past the emotions and past her reflection so she could follow her arms as one rolled so it lay just above the soft material of her tutu and so the other followed, crossing above it. This was until they extended above and her long legs tried to follow the pattern, repeating it until she knew that she had to fluidly, yet frantically, move her arms to make them look like wings as she did bourree courus rapidly. There was no denying that Kalani Mauven had been the best for the job, at least technically. Soon she could be a household name among dancers, Kalani was certain of it.​

 

[Edgar Kane]

Edgar became more than a little confused when Kalani shot back at him, the exclamation seemed like a coverup, he wasn't entirely sure whether the poor girl truly believed she was already famous in the ballet world, or whether she was only trying to draw attention away from what had happened at the graduation party that had both attended. Edgar responded the only way he knew, with a raise of his brow at the blonde standing before him. "Your reputation definately had something to do with it" he commented, thinking of the the drunk girl he had carried to her bedroom and what her friends probably thought of her now. It was unlike Edgar to make such jokes or be cheeky at all, he was such a placid young man, and the way he had denied the ballerina when she was t her most vulnerable had certainly proved that he was a gentleman, something that couldn't be said for most young men of his age. After the cheeky hint of a smile had disappeared from Edgar Kane's lips it seemed that Kalani had become rather irritable, her tone came across as bossy, if this was the way that she was going to conduct herself through all of the rehearsals he could see himself struggling to work so closely alongside her. Edgar took a step back and held his hands up in the air as if he were being held up by a police officer, "I understand completely, I'm not usually so preoccupied, my own rehearsal went on for longer than I had expected," he began, hurridly trying to explain himself in a calm and professional manner as he would have to work alongside Kalani for quite sometime and he wanted to get their relationship off on the right foot.

"It won't happen again Miss Mauven." he finished lowering his hands and turning towards his duffel bag. Edgar preferred to dance in a more free manner, wearing baggy trackpants and a loose singlet, or even sometimes shirtless, but by the looks of Kalani's tutu, her tight bun and the tone of voice she had used on him she preferred to be more constricted than he. So, Edgar reached into his bag and pulled his sweat stained singlet over his head, not feeling at all self conscious about changing in front of the other ballerina in the room. He pulled on his leggings and once white ballet shoes, smiling as he turned to Kalani to look for her approval. But she seemed to have the rehearsal on her mind and he nodded as she explained the director's absence and had no choice but to agree with them practicing their emotions, they would need to have good chemistry if they were to do a good job of portraying their character's in the production. "Sounds good to me." Edgar leant lightly on his toes, he was already warmed up but he cracked those toes all the same, so that he was loose and could get lost in the music.

Edgar assumed that Kalani had at least remembered some of their drunken encounter as she used magic in front of him, most likely remembering that as he had tucked her in his wand had been lit so that he could see what he was doing in her dark bedroom. The young ballerino leant against the barre and slipped a fitting singlet on, admiring Lani as she began to practice Odette's solo. There was no doubt that she had been perfect casting for Odette, but the ballerina seemed too technical in her steps, and Edgar had doubts about her being able to portray the looser Odile correctly and convincingly. As her back was turned to him, the eighteen year old stepped forward and took hold of Kalani's waist in his firm and large hands, he lifted her off of her pointes and dipping her sideways, letting his nose run up her neck slowly, his breath on her kneck as he turned her towards him, their faces closer than ever. Edgar, being the ballerino he was had become lost in the moment, and he had acted on impulse, wanting to know whether or not there was an Odile hiding beneath the act of Odette that Kalani was putting on perfectly. Edgar could only hope that his less than typical methods did not anger the bossy young woman more than he already had. ​

<i></i>

 

[Kalani Mauven]

Kalani's breath hitched as she felt Edgar's hands encircle her waist, he had changed faster than she had expected and the practice she was doing that was meant to be something for her to do while she waited for him. She had thought he would have gone out into the hall and into the male changeroom close by which would have left her waiting about as long as the song was. She looked to the side, trying to catch a glimpse of his face as he moved her body to try to judge what he was going to do but before she could try to read him, he had dipped her. Kalani didn't know what to do but the touch and feel of her Siegfried was enough to get any girl wrapped around his pink finger but the blonde was hardly any girl. Instead of letting him phase her, she extended her limbs like she would have in the pas de deux in act two and as he brought her forward she gazed at him momentarily, her chest and arms still extended and back until she was standing straight, en pointe, and went into an arabesque going further and further with it until she was in a penchee and her arms slowly rolled out and she looked up at him daringly before she stood back up. She took a few steps away from him and turned to face him, slowly moving away from him as her arms reached out like in Act Three's Grand Coda between Siegfried and the clever, subdued vicious Odile. She was doing all the right steps to the wrong music but what need was there for music when a person could count out the steps in their mind and feel the music within them? However, none of this would help either of them so once Kalani had finished mocking Odette and Siegfried's relationship with her bourre's she stopped moving and said, "Shall we practice the right way, now?" She wanted to call him an insolent little boy who seemed to want to ruin her career with the way he was acting. Ballet was not just a career to Kalani Mauven, it was her life and it had been since she was five and begged her mother to put her in classes. At first they had not been very serious, only prancing around in pink leotards with the other children. When she was eleven things got actually serious, she was put onto demi-pointe and more serious training had begun, along with her acceptance to Beauxbatons with her twin sister. Perhaps it was because Kalani had not gotten a chance to be in classes more or because she was simply very ambitious but after she was put onto demi-pointe there was no more time for fun. She would not dance with her hair down because she forgot, she would make sure she would not and would take the extra time to practice in the bedroom she shared with her sister in front of a full length mirror. Sufficed to say, Kalani was not going to take all of these steps just to waste it away on impulse or passion.

The invisible pianist had taken their last notes of the song as Kalani looked at Edgar, waiting for his response. Normally Kalani wasn't as bossy, or she wasn't anymore. She had stopped being this way and learned how to be a proper leader but she was frustrated with him for both offending her and not taking this seriously enough. She felt like she was being mocked in more ways than one and wished that they had gone with a different male for the lead but here she was, standing in a room full of their reflections together with nothing she could say or do to reverse it or the sting of rejection. As if it wasn't bad enough, he had let her go on thinking that he had already known her name through the ballet world instead of her idiocy. But when you were very small it was hard to hold your alcohol past two red plastic cups that Kalani had at the party. What she didn't understand is that why it was such a big deal that she had gotten that drunk pretty much everyone else had, she just happened to do it faster. So now she was being mocked because of how light she was because the need to be for her career. Perfect.​

 

[Edgar Kane]

Usually the sensuality between Odile and Siegfried would be anough to capture any dancer and sweep them into the moment, but not Kalani Mauven. All Edgar's life he had managed to get through his ballet career on mostly feeling the steps, not reading them from a syllabus or rehearsing them hundreds of times in front of the mirror. His natural ability to be one with the music and his set was what had gotten him a main part in a professional production at such a young age, but as he dipped his partner he wondered what the director had seen in coupling them as they seemed to be polar opposites and he could see them rubbing eachother the wrong way quite frequently during their time together in the future. But this did not seem to put Edgar Kane off, quite the opposite, what he didn't realise was that the director had chosen the two of them to learn to work with eachother and teach oneanother their own way. They needed to give and take, but right now Edgar and Kalani were only creating friction. For a moment Edgar paused into the dip, his empty mind filling with the image of the swan he held in his arms, at any moment he could have dropped her, in that moment he had more control over Kalani than she ever would have liked. But quickly, she took back her control and Edgar was reminded of how gorgeous she was and with one look before she stepped back the eighteen year old felt lust for the young woman, a burning fire that was so unfamiliar and confusing to him. He needn't have worried whether they had chemistry on stage, because now that Kalani was sober they had more chemistry than any partners in the company could ever hope to have.

But the moment they shared ended all too quickly and Kalani seemed tense and rehearsed again as her sharp tongue seemed to scold him again. She seemed so patronising in his words, but it had the complete opposite effect on Edgar than his partner would have liked. She was mad at him, he could tell, but his thoughts boardered on inappropriate as he looked at her in her tutu, it only made him want her more. "What would you suggest we begin with Miss Mauven?" he responded, a slight raise of one eyebrow that he knew would antagonise her further than calling her by her last name like a child would their teacher, a vast contrast from the night he had spent nursing her like a drunk baby as she had thrown herself at him. He knew it had not been her fault, and that she wasn't thinking straight, which was why he had denied her, it had taken most of his strength as she was so gorgeous and graceful, even as she stumbled along her toes seemed to point in a way that excited him. A part of Edgar had suspected a ballerina in the almost graceful drunk, but he was still stunned he had just danced with her. The sweat was dripping around the neck of his singlet now, and out of instinct he pulled it over his head, discarding it on the polished wood floor. Kalani Mauven probably thought he was gay, like many of the males in his profession, by denying her that he night he had only exaggerated the suspicions but he was determinded to remove the stereotyping of ballerino's, the passion he put into dancing with females could not be faked by any stretch of the imagination. ​

 

[Kalani Mauven]

Kalani knew, just by the tone of his voice or what Edgar had calld her, that he was trying to irritate her. The only problem was that it was actually working and she couldn't think of a way to calm herself before she spoke with clear bite in her tone of voice. "From the beginning." She had thought it was clear that she meant the beginning of Odette and Siegfried's relationship and waited for him to respond, probably with some snarky comment but clearly he didn't care about ballet in the same way she did so she would have to ignore it as best she could and just get through this until. hopefully, he was kicked out of the company for clearly being less than a third tier dancer, simply for his attitude and his clear disrespect for those who were classically trained instead of he who seemed to learn from rabid animals. It worked with his personality, after all. Despite stewing with anger and walking away from Edgar to what would be stage left, Kalani saw him slide his shirt up over his head and saw the lines in his muscles that would hold her above his head and hopefully keep her from falling. They looked as though they would do the job but that was hardly what she was looking for, the colour on her cheeks was proof of that but exhaled a deep breath to make it seem that it was the physical exertion doing this to her, not the fact that she found herself quite attracted to his toned body, the one she had felt the night of the party over his close and under her hand as it had slid down his shirt as she did her best to seduce him whilst smelling of alcohol. The thoughts had already seeped into her mind, however. She thought of what it would have been like to kiss him and be with him if he hadn't been gay things could have been great, he was so attractive but she caught herself before things went further and she hurt pride more by convincing herself that he was straight and this was some sort of misunderstanding. She flinched as she shook her head from her thoughts and looked into Edgar's eyes through the mirror before she looked down at the satin ribbons around her legs holding up her pointe shoes.

A deep inhale and Kalani spun around to look at Edgar as she inquired with a fair amount of cheek, "You do know the steps or are did you even bother because you are going to wing it on stage as well?" She practically glared at him as she imagined being so embarrassed. This was St. Petersburg, how dare he have any less than the best work ethic and perfectionism? He might as well be at HARID Conservatory with the novice attitude to his dancing. Kalani didn't pretend to know all when it came to ballet but she gave it all to learn all she could in a day but Edgar Kane was rubbing her the wrong way. It almost infuriated her that someone related to him had been at her mother's wedding and that one of her dearest friends, Jennifer, had been in contact with him throughout her brief time at Salem and had become friendly with him. The anger in her voice said this all but the look in her eyes had something different mixed in there too. It was hurt masked with obnoxiousness to prevent people, namely Edgar, from seeing this in her.​

 

[Edgar Kane]

Edgar responded immediately to Kalani's request, it was clear to him that he was currently not her favourite person and although he had had fun winding her up, he saw the time to stop and become the professional he knew he could be, and that she was about to find out he could be. Edgar's dance partner was now turned away from him whilst he admired her reflection in the mirror and it was obvious that she had noticed his lack of clothing, her facial expression had changed, though he wasn't quite sure why. Edgar worked out almost every day so he had no problem being in the little attire he was now standing in, it was easier to dance with less clothing weighing him down and he had been certain that Kalani would understand this as a fellow professional dancer. "From the beginning." he confirmed, drawing the blonde's attention away from the mirror and her own image. With her attention caught, Edgar had not expected another snap from her, but the glare he had received was enough to whip him right into line, she certainly could have been a teacher if not a ballerina. Her words seemed to hit hard, he had heard though other member's of the production that Kalani Mauven was rigid and a perfectionist, but he had not thought that she would mock other's methods. The way that edgar danced was unrestrained and natural, the very reasons he had gotten the part of Siegfried in the first place, but the eighteen year old was not in the mood for a fight, so he assumed his starting position, he was going to prove to Kalani that he deserved to be there just as much as she did.

Odette was about to meet her Siegfried for the first time, and for the first time Kalani was going to meet the real Edgar Kane, the one that would give anything for the part he had gotten, and give even more to keep it and make it his own. Edgar moved towards his Odette, executing each of his steps perfectly, watching her tease him with each moved of her legs and fluttering of her tutu, he encircled her, his arms gracefully yet strongly held, their bodies as close as was possible with Kalani's large tutu separating them. The tease of the dance continued until at last edgar took a hold of Kalani's waist and she leant in on one pointe, the young man's heart racing at the intensity of the workout he was receiving, in more ways than one. Her lips almost touched his as she leant in, and the eighteen year old could no longer take it, she was going to hate him for it, but Edgar did not let go of his partner's waits, instead he pulled her in as close to his bare chest as possible, most likely transferring the sweat right from his skin onto her immaculate leotard, but he didn't care one bit, right in that moment Edgar Kane truly fell for Kalani Mauven. He was aroused by her, just as Siegfried had been by Odette, he felt passion sweep over his body, and grow within his tights, almost without realising Edgar had done one of the least professional things that he would ever do in his career and he was about to embarrass himself and Kalani more than he could ever have thought.​

<i></i>

 

[Kalani Mauven]

Before it was Kalani's turn to join Edgar she watched him; she studied his steps as they timed with the piano and appreciated that this time he didn't 'loose himself' in the music because practice was important if you wanted to be perfect and this was exactly what Kalani wanted - it was all she wanted. So in search of this perfection Kalani touched her hand to his arm as she lifted her leg up, letting him know she was there as bravely as a swan could do with a hunter.They were to fall in love with each other in this dance and while Kalani found it difficult to let herself fall so heavily in her day-to-day life falling in love with Edgar as Odette was easy. She put on all the faces and moved in the way she had practiced, graceful, powerful and slightly damaged as Princess Odette was. What Kalani didn't realize was that there were so many similarities between the two or perhaps it was what she didn't want to realize. Love was always something that seemed so out of reach for Kalani that she couldn't grasp it but now, without her knowledge, she was falling for Edgar just as Odette was falling for the role Edgar played, which was unfortunate because he was very easy to hate. The self-richeous smirk he wore paired with his 'everything-comes-easily-to-me' aura was something that the forever hardworking Kalani Ingrid Mauven loathed. And yet, she danced with him, catching his gaze when the steps would let her and her fighting the warmth that touched her cheeks when his touch left goosebumps trailing after it. What she didn't realize was Edgar could feel this too.

They were closer than the reserved blonde would let anyone, even her Siegfried who had the right to touch her thigh and hold her waist, and it took all of her strength not to lean in a little more. It's infectious, Kalani thought as she looked into her reflection as he spun her, thinking that all of these feelings brewing inside of her were simply because she had got lost in the music. As Kalani was pressed close to Edgar's body she felt something else touch her and it took her a moment to realize what it was. Almost instantly she gasped and jumped away, her gaze away from Edgar as she stuttered, "I h-ha-have to go." It was a lie but she couldn't continue on and he certainly couldn't dance like 'that' so she added, her tongue fumbling from the speed at which she spoke, "I have a dentor appointment... I mean a doctor - er I mean a dentist. No! I mean a doctor then a dentist appointment." Without another word she grabbed her bag and apparated away leaving Edgar alone in the room with the exception of clear embarrassment between the pair of them. When she arrived home her sister asked her what had happened and how it all went but Kalani had tunnel vision and went straight for the shower to clean Edgar off of her before she told her sister who laughed because she clearly didn't understand the importance that he didn't get excited everytime they got close because it would be a lot.​