[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/LKcsd6y.png[/img][/center]
[hr][hr]
[color=00a99d]"Never done the waltz, huh?"[/color] Selma asked Chie.

"Mm, no... it's not much of a tradition back in Calcaria," she answered quite frankly. It was true, though; large gatherings like this were quite unusual where Chie was from. Sure, there were the graduating ceremonies, but those just had people sitting in a room listening to speeches. There wasn't much song, dance or socializing to be found. None of the schools she knew of had a flair for the dramatic, in any case. Even if they did, while Chie had heard of [i]what[/i] a waltz was, she hadn't actually seen one in action. It was, to put it in a complete package, entirely foreign to her.

When Selma boasted about her experience with the [color=00a99d]"[i]gentleman's[/i] end of a dance,"[/color] then, Chie could briefly feel reassured. Between her and Crystal, the both of them could probably demonstrate with each-other to Chie what it was like. At least, that was her initial assumption, until it very quickly became clear that that was [i]not[/i] wat Selma was trying to hint at. When she turned to Crystal and asked the black-haired Ars Magi to keep an eye out so Selma doesn't step on [color=00a99d]"her"[/color] toes, it was clear that the giant among them was intent on asking [i]Chie[/i] out for a dance. Chie wanted to course correct, saying she hadn't specifically been asking Selma out for a dance, but a lump in her throat (as well as a few unspoken anxieties) prevented her from truly speaking up. By the time she'd mustered her courage anyway, Selma had already made her move:

[color=00a99d]"[i]Milady Masuzu, may I have this dance?[/i]"[/color] she said in a cool, smooth contralto. Chie's cool face was in stark contrast to the tsunami of curses she threw at herself inside her mind's eye. She just barely managed to contain how flustered, flattered and frustrated she actually was. The thought of booking it straight out of the room came to mind, but instead:

"If you'd be so kind," Chie answered. She shot Selma a gentle smile and took her hand. After she rose from her seat, Chie glanced Crystal's way. She asked her "Don't laugh too hard, okay? It'll be my first time," and then followed Selma's lead toward the dancing area. Chie hadn't taken notice of Crystal being held up by an old acquaintance, but she [i]had[/i] spotted Noel and Aoife's swaying out of the corner of her eye. Two Ars Magi were strangely a more common pair on the dancefloor than a mix of the two schools; despite some officer's best attempts, they couldn't seem to get one of the girls to join them. As soon as Chie was done scouting out the competition, she focused her attention entirely back unto Selma. "I'll follow your lead," Chie quietly whispered to her.

As expected, Chie's first few moves were hesitant as Selma showed her the ropes. Despite that, however, Chie wasn't in any way [i]clumsy[/i]. She seemed to get the hang of it pretty fast, though granted they weren't dancing at anything nearing a breakneck speed. She didn't exactly [i]master[/i] the foreign dance in the blink of an eye, but Chie had enough dexterity and grace to balance herself and not overlap her heel with Selma's toes. It, from Chie's perspective, went much smoother than her lack of confidence would've made her anticipate.

She wasn't sure if it was appropriate to speak up during the dance, but against all better judgement, she did so anyway. "This is maybe a little fun," Chie said. She looked straight into Selma's eyes. "I was a little nervous, but I feel better knowing you're my first." the girl told her dance partner. Chie's expression had softened a fair bit compared to before; her passive expression had made way for a faint, genuine laugh.