Ja'heil nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, it's much like a parent, though you can get away with talking back to a parent..." he chuckled. "My Ma would never hit me, or my Da. But Elaitih-Rajenni...? I don't think she'd ever openly strike me, but I know the times I've behaved poorly, she was extra harsh in our training session the next day." He shrugged. "I deserved it anyway." 
"Lucky you," Ridahne said. "My Elaitih was harsh. She was relentless in training, and if I ever embarrassed her, she always found a way to return the favor." Ridahne cringed, but then mused, "I wonder how she's doing...she retired many years ago. Maybe we'll run into her in our travels, eh Darin?" For all that her former mentor was hard on her, the two of them, like most eija and their apprentices, shared a bond. It was an odd relationship, not quite the same as family, but Ridahne still cared about her deeply.

Of course, Ridahne did not miss Darin's expression. Evidently, some thought came across her mind, though she wasn't yet ready to talk about it. She knew Darin would tell her later, though she distantly wondered what she was thinking about. She'd whispered something, but over the general din of the dining hall, Ridahne missed it.

"Oh, it's pitiful," Ridahne supplied. "I tried teaching her what I know of basics--you know, balance and such--and she did learn some, but not enough to make her much of a dancer." Ridahne laughed. "Human dancing is..." she paused for a long time, trying to figure out what exactly to call the difference between her native dance and the human style. Finally, she decided on, "Spinny." She twirled one finger around in the air. "They do a lot of circles. Very intimate partner dances are slow and they kind of...just sort of spin around but slowly while holding each other. And more casual dances are bouncy, but also still in a lot of circles. Like imagine you link arms with someone, and skip around and around, and then detach and find another partner and skip the other direction? I don't know, I know I've seen something like that more than once." 

Ja'heil clearly did not know what to make of that, and sat there puzzling out what that would look like. When Darin asked if he'd be allowed to demonstrate the Azurei style, he snapped to attention, though he looked a little uncertain. "Right now? In front of everybody? There isn't any music..." 
"That could be arranged..." Ridahne said, a mock-threatening smirk on her face. 
"I'd need a partner..." 
"Good thing I'm an excellent dancer, then. Come, if Salei is displeased with you, you can tell her [I]Taja-Torzinei[/I] and Astra-Sol made you." 

Ridahne got up and called for music, and as players entered with their instruments (mostly drums and other percussive instruments, though there was one large but thin stringed instrument that was played with a bow), the general assembly turned to watch with passing interest. The music began, a slow but powerful rhythm, and Ridahne began to lead Ja'heil, who relaxed a little more with each passing second. The dance itself felt heavy, grounded, and the drums were accented by the rhythmic slapping of the dancers' bare feet on the cool stone. The only moments they touched each other was when they brought their arms up in front of them and crossed their wrists delicately. Otherwise, the two stayed equidistant from one another as they moved, giving a sense of choreography where there was none. 

After a while, Ajoran stood and, between songs, quietly asked Ja'heil if he could cut in. The lad bowed to him and went to sit back down, offering Darin a smile. As Ajoran took his place in front of Ridahne, the air of the dance floor changed. Before, it had been easy and lighthearted, almost relaxed. But as Ajoran looked into Ridahne's eyes, and she into his, there grew an air of focus and intensity, of passion and precision. The musicians seemed to sense this mood shift and played a much faster, thunderous beat. The dancers moved equally as fast. Once again, they generally kept their same distance apart regardless of how they moved, but Ajoran had far more control than Ja'heil, and the two of them knew each other far better. Their dance was aggressive, passionate, and warlike, but it was poetic, too, like the honed edge of a blade. Beautiful to behold, but intense also. Watching this display, it wasn't difficult to understand why the Azurei terms for sparring and dance were similar, and colloquially were used interchangeably. Both were about precision and control. Both required reacting to the other's movements with equal measures of speed and accuracy. Their skill drew the attention of most of the people in the room as they looked on with a sense of admiration. With Ridahne's red clothes, and Ajoran's blue ones, they looked like spirits of fire and water battling for supremacy.

Finally, the music stopped, and the two shared a quick but passionate kiss before returning to their seats, out of breath and glistening with sweat. "I have been waiting to show him off since we got here," Ridahne said with a grin, hooking a thumb over her shoulder at Ajoran. "Next time, we'll show you actual sparring. It's just as beautiful." 
Ja'heil's mouth was open. "Wow..."
"You should dance more with Salei," Ajoran suggested. "If you can dance together in harmony, you can fight together in harmony."