(no subject)

[the_cupbearer]

Ganymede spins into the bar gracefully as if through a gauze curtain--literally spins, arm extended as if reaching for someone--and stops when upon opening his eyes his view is not the same as what he just left. His body is contorted as if he'd been interrupted in the middle of whirling himself around, which he was, and he slowly straightens up in time to feel his clothes change.

Now dressed in blue so deep it's almost black, and shirtless save for a heavy necklace strung with gleaming stone and metal beads that might as well be a legitimate collar for all the weight of it around his neck, he looks different; holds himself differently, even.

He hasn't looked this close to a prince in a very long time.

Comments

[cook_the_rude]

"Handsome," Hannibal comments from nearby.

Or rather, Hannibal's voice coming from a bare-chested, grimy, tattooed and one-eyed barbarian with an axe and a bit of a scruffy beard, with a face that might be Hannibal's while still as unlike him as possible.

[the_cupbearer]

Well.

That's new.

Ganymede finishes his pivot, the foot not bearing his weight sweeping over the floor with a whisper of bare skin on polished wood. As his head comes up to see Hannibal--or rather his costume--his lips part in surprise, and a not-small amount of immediate interest that goes with it. "Ad you as well, I see," he murmurs, blinking slowly and showing off dark kohl lied eyes.

[cook_the_rude]

"You like this barbarian look?" Hannibal says, reaching out for Ganymede as if to catch or steady him, or maybe join in the dance.

[the_cupbearer]

Ganymede gives him a look for that, pointed as if to ask what else he thinks the reaction might be. His hand easily extends out, and even though there was no music to dance to he continues to step right up to Hannibal, fitting against him with his chest snug to the curve of the other man's ribs.

"I do," he murmurs, looking up. "It suits you. Minus the eye."

[cook_the_rude]

Hannibal pulls him close. "The eye was part of it," he says. "Apparently, you don't get this particular barbarian with two good eyes."

[the_cupbearer]

In this close an embrace there's really no room for stiff posture and formality, rather exchanging it for the subtle intimacies that make people stare at couples exercising it on a dance floor. "Evidently," he hums.

"You don't know what sort of dance I just came from," Ganymede says quietly, head turned so his breath rushes past Hannibal's neck in a teasing whisper while he watches the room. "Are you going to try and imitate it blindly?"

[cook_the_rude]

Hannibal turns him around, apparently not caring who might watch. "I saw your last movement, and feel quite willing and able to improvise a variation on a theme."

[the_cupbearer]

He moves easily as he ever does, but something about the thick necklace around his throat and the heavy, draping fabric resting on his hipbones makes Ganymede stand taller, taking up somehow more space. He slides through openings less slanted, not twisting or bending to fit through a slot.

"My theme might have changed," he says, coming back to his position fluidly though he insinuates one foot between Hannibal's. "Unless you have the same aim as did my last partner?"

[cook_the_rude]

"To bend to your whim, or to bend you to his?" Hannibal suggests.

[the_cupbearer]

"Whichever you think you might actually accomplish," he says silkily.

[cook_the_rude]

"I don't know what he was aiming for, though," Hannibal says. "I would guess the latter, though."

[the_cupbearer]

"Feel free to try that," he muses with a soft, crooked smile that promises so very many things. "It's been a long time since I've been this close to a barbarian."

[cook_the_rude]

Hannibal whirls him around, still in that soundless dance, and dips him.

"A barbarian who knows to tango."

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric spots him and greets him with a small bow, oddly out of place in his 50s sundress and victory roll. "Ganymede. You look very regal this evening."

[the_cupbearer]

"As do you, but considerably more queenly," he replies, with a short bow to Sinric. "You look good in that cut."

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric drops a deep curtsy, perfect for the full skirt. "Thank you. I confess, it's rather pleasant to wear but I'm not use to having my shoulders bare like this."

[the_cupbearer]

"I'd say I know how you feel, but...I'm considerably more used to being bare in many more ways than I'm used to being covered."

He smiles, though, and stands upright again with a little toss of his head to flick his hair clear of his eyes. "Did you do the hair yourself?"

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric nods, understanding that also. "I suppose it is more the space between my shoulder blades and the back of my neck. Even when I am bare, my hair usually covers that."

"The bar did it for me, to match the dress I assume. It is very beautiful and I hope I can find someone to teach me how to do it."

[the_cupbearer]

"I could," he says evenly. "It's not terribly difficult once you've got the technique."

"I imagine you could get a shrug, though."

[thewidewideworld]

"If you could, I would be honoured. I do like this look very much and though I could never wear it at home but here, I can look as I please."

"No, I wouldn't cover it, and I'm warm enough. It just feels strange and a little illicit. I could walk bare through the room and not feel self-conscious but that little patch of skin feels like... showing off something secret."

"May I ask about your dress? Is it a holiday costume or your own?"

[the_cupbearer]

"It was once my own," he says. "I wore this, or a variation of it, for nineteen years. Sometimes it went with a shirt of some sort, but not often."

[thewidewideworld]

"It looks lovely. The collar is most striking. May I ask what it is made from?"

[the_cupbearer]

"Sapphire," he says. "And silver." The facets are large faced, polished and gleaming, but the chunks of stone are quite heavy. "If you'd like to hold it, I don't know it will come off, but you should try."

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric frowns in surprise. "What should it not come off? Is it bound to you somehow?"

[the_cupbearer]

"It's a trick the bar likes to play on patrons for Halloween," he says. "The parts of your costume may not come off when you try."