notfaking_it | [Sawyer]

She was dancing Odette's solo.

In a way, it felt strange. The part, so longed for, still felt like it was Nina's and when Lily practiced, she had a tendency to avoid Swan Lake altogether, though she could never put her finger on why it felt off. It was only a ballet, just another solo in a long line of beautiful solos and it wasn't like she hadn't danced it before. But it was still Nina's somehow.

Still, the studio was empty now, which meant Lily didn't have to hold herself back from anything. There was a noticeable lack of music and she wished she had her iPod, something she could disappear into, if only for a few moments. The music wasn't necessary to dance, but it was beautiful and it was important. And it wasn't here. Even so, she could dance the part, her shoes loud on the floor of the studio as she moved from one side to the other.

She paused to catch her breath, then moved back toward the barre and began again, her arms lifting as she looked toward the ceiling. Her hair was pulled off her face, but the bun was a mess, strands of hair slipping free, clinging to her damp forehead, but she couldn't be bothered to fix it. This wasn't a stage in New York, it wasn't a stage in California and there was no audience to complain about how untidy Odette looked in that night's performance.

It wasn't late, but classes were done for the day and she didn't expect to see anyone else as she hummed the solo quietly. She never got the chance to dance the part in New York, but here she could have any part she wanted, even if only for an evening. And this evening, she was Odette, even if it still felt like it would never truly be hers.

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"Meeting the daring and the desperate," Sawyer added with a small grin, thinking of the self-selection that speed-dating no doubt had. Tilting his head, he amended his statement, thinking of the group of women he'd met, and those he'd seen sign up for the other half of the event. "Or at least, those easily tugged into the whole deal by friends. Felt like some people might've been more comfortable if it was just a mixer, less structure to it all. 'specially if you just wanna meet new people."

Pausing, he considered asking her whether she'd found anyone at all, carefully glancing down at his shoe to keep from scuffing against the floor. He decided against it. (After all, curiosity could be easily misread, even by folks Sawyer thought too even-headed to do so.)

"You wanna head on over to the Compound?" he asked instead. "Not that I mind the dance studio, but heck, I feel like I ain't supposed to be here 'less I break out in some kinda tap."

"Then let's see your tap," Lily said, gesturing at the floor before she grinned and slipped her sandals back onto her feet. She took a moment to sweep her damp hair off her face and pulled it into a loose ponytail again just to keep it back as she picked up her bag and tucked her pointe shoes inside.

There was a class starting soon, so she would have had to make room for them within the next half hour or so. It would be good to get out and head up to the Compound.

"Grab some lunch?" she suggested, the bag hooked over her shoulder. "I could kill for a really good burger right about now. I'm starved. I always am after rehearsing. I work out and then turn into the kind of person who can eat the whole cow."

He considered tapping for half a second in earnest, gaze dropping from her eyes down to his feet, and a brow raising in bemusement. Fortunately, Lily didn't remain on the topic for long, giving him the opportunity to recover, decidedly pushing tap off for the next time. While a part of him wondered just how hard it could be to get one's shoes to tap on a smooth wooden floor, he wasn't keen on making a fool out of himself by proving that notion wrong. "Maybe next time, if I find the right shoes," he said instead, lips drawn up in a smirk as he let his hands rest in his pockets, slowly ambling after her.

"Lunch sounds good, though. Ain't sure I can convince Neil to kill off a cow, but there's boar burgers. Ain't quite the same, but you put on a little extra sauce, makes it harder to notice."

"Oh, god, whatever," Lily said, laughing as she exited the studio and stepped into the midday sun. And that was something she was never going to grow tired of, the warmth of that sun on her skin after a a rehearsal, after a swim in the ocean, after time spent in the Compound. There weren't many things that reminded her of home, but that was one of them.

Good food would definitely be second on that list and although it wasn't quite the same as California, sometimes the island managed to give her exactly what she wanted in that regard as well.

"If it's meat, I want it," she continued, grinning over at Sawyer. "I know how that sounds and I'm at peace with it."

"Ain't no rule says that a girl can't enjoy a good slab of meat in a while, farm or otherwise," Sawyer pointed out in return with a suggestive raise of his brow. Nothing too forward, by his standards, which he assumed that Lily had more or less managed to asceratin by that point. Though their conversations weren't all that frequent, neither of them seemed to be putting up too much of a front, as far as Sawyer could tell. And he liked that. Because before he'd become insanely self-aware of the implications of his actions, he'd somewhat enjoyed being a rogue. There was a romantic aspect to it, although the reality fell short of that the majority of the time, and if a girl didn't get her hopes hung too high with a few well-chosen words and a smile, then Sawyer saw no reason not to indulge himself a bit.

Play the part, as much as Lily ever did while on the stage.

Unable to help herself, Lily gave a laugh, tipping her head slightly to look over at Sawyer in amusement. "You know, I'm on board with that rule, though I'm sure there are people even here who'd argue that with you. Farm or otherwise." In her time here, she hadn't yet run into a vegetarian, but that didn't necessarily mean there weren't any. And Nina herself could sometimes be an example of the protests against the otherwise, even if she had loosened up in recent months.

Lily knew she led her life a bit differently than a lot of people would choose to, but she knew how easily things could be taken away. Lucky or not, she'd still had her share of losses. "Still, you won't hear an argument from me," she said, flashing a brighter grin. "On either situation."

He barked a laugh then, bright and sudden, pleased with the lip that she gave. Her confidence shone in a way that Sawyer's never did, and whether it was the want or admiration of it which drew him to her, Sawyer wasn't sure, but there didn't seem to be any reason to argue against it just yet. "Y'know, there actually was this one crazy enviro chick who wanted us to stop eatin' any animals. Idea didn't go over so well. Heard she disappeared 'bout a month before I got to the island, though, so that's a relief," he snorted, shaking his head as he tried to imagine the way the two of them would get along. (Or wouldn't.)

"But hell, if all those science experts say that we're meant to be meat and veggies kind of folks, why fight a good plate of ribs, huh?" he reasoned, stepping until he was that half step in front of Lily, less concerned about taking charge, and more falling back on instinct he always had, the one that told him to keep others safe.

[Sawyer]

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