She smiled. "I'm just intimidating to the boys… and thus, the girls are also scared of me. No one likes to get to know someone who intimidates them." She mutters quietly, resting her head on her hand. She looked very sad. "So there's no point in me coming to dances."
She nodded. "I guess. Th-though, you'd be surprised how many friends I have that still intimidate me to this day. People…people will always judge a book by its cover - i-it's just a thing we do, and trust me, I know how much it stinks to be that book. I'll bet you could have any kid in that building on their knees for you if they just stopped and…l-looked past your height." She cringed inwardly and glanced at the other girl. "A-am I helping at all? I'm not..the best with advice, but I- I don't like seeing people upset."
She listened and smiled a little bit. "People can be very judgmental. But people are scared of me for reasons other then my height…" She mutters softly. She sighed a little and looked at the sky, shaking her head. "You're helping a little. It's kind of you to even talk to me." She mutters gratefully.
Riverpaw nodded, then tilted her head a bit. "Who wouldn't have? You were upset. I mean, I guess if people are scared of you…but that's no reason to not help someone who looked so sad."
Charlie looked to the side and sighed softly. "I suppose…" She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Not many people like me, or care for me. So I'm used to just… pushing things away." She looked down. "People aren't as kind as they used to be." She mutters quietly.
"No, no they are not." Riverpaw frowned, then looked up at the other girl. "B-but you shouldn't push people away; it'll just make things worse…" She trailed off, gaze going back to the ground. Don't give advice that you don't even follow yourself.
Charlie shrugs. "I've been alone pretty much all of my life. Even when I was little. So I'm used to it." She looks at Riverpaw. "Thank you for being concerned, myshka. Would… Well. Since this is a dance… Would you like to dance with me? Out here is fine, I don't like crowds. So I can thank you for cheering me up?"
Riverpaw squeaked involuntarily, the question catching her off guard. She opened her mouth to answer, but only looked away and shrugged, her face flushing lightly. "Y-you don't have to…thank me f-for anything."
She smiled a little bit before standing and offering her hand. "We don't have to do any fancy dancing." She says a little lightly. Now that she was standing, it could be seen that she's wearing A soft midnight dress that reached her mid thighs and black tights with black flats.
"O…kay." Riverpaw took Charlie's hand, but dropped it as soon as she was standing and fiddled with the bow that tied around the middle of her ruffly, forest green dress, which flowed down to her shins. She wore matching flats and mint green leggings. Her ears pinned back nervously.
She smiled a little. "Well then, may I have this dance?" She bows kindly. She offered her hand and grinned at Riverpaw. "I promise I don't bite." She says gently. Charlie looked rather happy now, a small smile on her lips as she stood before the other.
Riverpaw could only nod, taking the hand once more. "Y-you know, w-we don't know each other's names, do we?" She asked.
"Charlotte, but I prefer Charlie." She smiles gently and slowly begins to dance, beaming at her a little bit. It had been a while since she had danced with people, but she was very graceful.
Lovely name. "Riverpaw." She said. "B-but um, you can call me River, if you want." She swayed and stepped, though still hesitant, with the music they could hear from inside, and she grinned up at Charlie. "Y-you're good at this."
"Riverpaw. Very pretty. I suppose I should change myshka to volchonok." She chuckles softly, dancing to the tempo. "I had practice with my mother." She says, a small smile on her lips as she danced with the other. This had been the first time in a long time that she had danced with someone that was not her family.
Riverpaw tilted her head a bit at the odd words, but decided not to question it yet. She had a Russian-speaking friend who had called her 'myshka' before, though she still didn't know what it meant.
"Y-you, um…you speak so kindly of your mother. I guess you learned a lot from her?"
She laughed. "Myshka means little mouse. Volchonok means wolf cub." She replies as they dance. Her expression became sadder. "I did. She was a very wise woman." She says quietly, continuing to dance. "She taught me how o be strong. Helped me through a lot of things. I always looked up to her."
Riverpaw nodded. "I…looked up to my mommy too. She was a police officer, and she was tough as nails but very kind." Her smile dropped, and her movements slowed a tad. "I-I didn't get to spend a lot of time with her, though."
She glanced at Riverpaw. "May I ask what happened?" She asked gently, a little smile on her lips. There was concern in her eyes. She looked genuinely concerned about the female she was dancing with.
Riverpaw inhaled, her shoulders shaking slightly. "There was…a-an incident on my fourth birthday. I-I can't bring myself to go into d-details, but s-she was…shot." She stopped dancing and cleared her throat, gently wiping at her eyes before the tears could spill over. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't cry."
She shook her head gently. "Easy now." She says gently, placing her hand on the others shoulders. "That must have been very hard to learn." She mutters softly. Charlie hugged her and place a soft hand on her head. "It's hard to lose someone who is close to you."
Riverpaw returned the hug tightly, coughing out a quiet, muffled sob. "I-it was- I didn't just learn it, it happened r-right in front of me." She muttered. "S-some issue w-with a family feud and…my uncle did it…I-I invited him in. S-Stars, I'm so sorry, I-I can't- I can't think about it without..this happening." She pulled her face away and rubbed her eyes. "Ugh, sorry, I don't wanna mess up your dress."
"It's alright." She mutters, running a hand through her hair, listening to the sad story. She hugged the other gently before softly letting her go. "I am sorry that such an unfortunate thing happened to your family. She must have been a kind woman." She mutters, a look of concern in her eyes.
Sniffling a bit, she nodded, but finally rid her red face of tears. She placed a hand over the red crystal hanging from the silver string around her neck. "She gave me this on the s-same day. I hardly ever take it off." She sighed, taking a few breaths, then looked up worriedly at Charlie. "Sorry that I'm…I came over to help you because you were sad and n-now I'm crying over my own problems." She glanced at the school building. "And during Homecoming."
She smiled a little. "It is alright. I asked the questions." Charlie placed a soft hand on her shoulder. "Dances were never my thing." She replies, looking towards the building. "Maybe once would I go. But tonight is not a night for dancing." She smiled weakly.
"I guess not. It's kind of fun, though, w-when you're with someone."
Riverpaw blinked, realizing she was still clinging to Charlie, and she swallowed a lump in her throat. She didn't know this girl, and wasn't sure if she should back off by now, but the closeness made her feel better.
"That is true." She hummed softly to the tune that she heard before looking down at Riverpaw. She didn't mind supporting someone who needed help. Especially when that person offered her help when no one else did. She still swayed with the music, but she wasn't paying attention to the school music, she was humming her own. It sounded like a lullaby.
Riverpaw's ears caught the humming, and she smiled a little. "That's lovely." She said, resting her head against the other as they swayed. "What is it?"
I'm back! I'm dreadfully sorry about that!//
(Totally cool! Everything okay?)