Agnes was surveying her again, hands on her hips, unflinching. The prawn tilted her own head, though in a more "What are you going to do...?" manner. The prawn had thought her excuse was watertight. She had a duty to attend to, that was keeping her fastened to the side of the floor! Shirking that responsibility was out of the question! It sounded legitimate to her... but apparently the excuse was a perfect opening for an inebriated young patron.

>> ”Well, if that’s the case, what better way to keep an eye on it than in the middle of it?”

Jack was dumbfounded as the smaller woman took her hand and began leading her away from the wall. Wh- wh- wait a second! This was the opposite of what Jack had intended. The prawn cast a forlorn glance towards the spot that she was leaving behind, before looking back towards the brunette. Agnes was right in assuming that, should she want to, Jack could resist being dragged out. Jack could lift Agnes with one arm, if she'd so desired. But she was too stunned. Why was this beautiful young woman so keen-on hauling this massive iridescent behemoth onto the dancefloor?

The two of them cut through the crowd, a few of the fellow dancers cheering when they saw Jack getting hauled out. This is my place of business, Jack thought with futility, I have a reputation. Still dumbfounded, the prawn watched Agnes for a few moments, who was holding both of her hands and dancing to the music in such carefree way. The prawn chirred faintly.

>> ”Come on... Like this, see?”

I'm too lesbian for this, Jack thought crossly. She'd seen girls dancing together a thousand times, probably just as friends, probably a little buzzed. This wasn't any different. Except Jack still didn't really know Agnes personally... she was just dancing with her. They weren't really friends before tonight, but maybe Agnes just wanted to cut loose with someone. Jack loosened up a little, her own massive primary hands lightly closing around Agnes's. Okay. Fine. She'd dance. Just a little. Just enough to make Agnes happy.

It wasn't anything exciting or especially skillful, in the way of a dance. Jack bent her knees, twisted a little, a shimmy here, a shake there. Jack was too busy watching her hands and feet. Don't step on Agnes, don't step on the other patrons, don't bump anyone. Ugh, careful. Caaaareful. The prawn became acutely aware of the pulsing beat that ran through her, and her gaze flicked towards Agnes.

A smile crinkled at the corner of her eyes.

This was more like it. Yes she had felt some initial resistance from her new from, but the giant prawn mutant surprisingly was receptive to being dragged out into the open dance floor. Agnes didn’t have the state of mind to think how or why it was possible, instead she just accepted it. She wanted to dance, to enjoy herself, to slip free of the shackles that River had been these last few months. She wanted to smile and have fun again without thinking of any drama that could possibly bubble up to the surface. Yes there was…Rebecca…but that was a situation that Agnes couldn’t handle right now. Instead she just wanted to dance with someone who would be willing.

Her hands wrapped around Jack’s she pulled the larger mutant out with her. The crowd around the dance floor seemed to be entirely receptive, applauding and chuckling at the two newcomers. Most were probably familiar with Jack, especially if the mutant was seen as a regular bouncer here. To watch the behemoth be dragged onto the floor was enough to make them all cheer the two of them on. Of course Agnes didn’t do this for appearances sake, she did it because she wanted to dance with Jack.

Once out on the dance floor, Agnes spied the resistance that was still evident on her friend’s face. Jack seemed unsure of what to do and, quite possibly, getting ready to bolt. Wanting to prevent that at all costs, Agnes reached out, taking both the mutant’s hands and shared with her a bright and happy smile. The buzz was still there but Agnes didn’t attribute her happy mood to that at all, she attributed to the fact that she was living her life.

She was a patient teacher, grinning as she gently moved to the music, startling slow and moving Jack’s arms in beat with the tune that pulsated all around them. Jack seemed to start slow, self-conscious as they looked back and forth, but as Agnes persistent, the mutant seemed to just give up and accept their fate as being her dance partner. Arms moved in sync with her own, followed by the massive body, and even what looked like the hint of a smile in the mutant’s eyes.

Agnes grinned. ”That’s right, hon. You got it…” she said as she started to dance a bit more freely.

She had let go of one of Jack’s hands, to allow her some more free movement. The more energetic that Jack got, the more energetic Agnes allowed herself to be. With a giggle on her lips, Agnes raised the hand of Jack’s she still held, placed it on her head and did a little twirl, like a ballerina. Her gold skirt flared a little due to the movement, but not enough that would be considered in any way obscene. Agnes was a just a sweet girl who was having fun on a dance floor.

When she had finished twirling, another heap of giggles fell from her hips as she lowered Jack’s hand, her eyes smiling with pure joy as she looked up at her new friend. This was precisely what the doctor’s ordered…

Agnes wasn’t the first inebriated girl to drag the lumbering bouncer out onto the dance floor—and she wouldn’t be the last, either. Something about having alcohol in their system gave girls the inclination to dance with the most socially inept creature within eyeshot. Jack, being a statuesque figure that routinely loomed in the corner during her shift, fit that description to a tee. She wouldn’t admit to the brunette that she secretly enjoyed cutting loose. She was careful, of course, but the music soon sunk to the prawn’s core, and her body loosened.

She was, of course, polite. Nothing like the usual bump-and-grind that usually followed the heavy techno beat. They were just two girls having fun. Agnes was all grins as she twirled, and the prawn tilted a smirk of her own. When the young woman paused and locked eyes with the towering behemoth, however, Jack felt that tightness in her throat. She wrote it off as guilt—she should’ve been watching the floor, not dancing.

The prawn’s gaze cut sideways, towards her comfortable spot against the wall.

“I can’t dance for too long,” she said apologetically. It really was fun, though she’d never deign to confess it.

It really was a fun night. To not have to think about River’s behavior or whatever lingering issues that she had with Rebecca, it was just nice to go out and “be”. A strange line of thinking for the violinist as she spent the majority of her life wrapping herself in a comfortable blanket of peace and tranquility and overall wallflower-ish-ness. But as the woman grew up, she started to discover a lot about herself. Whether it was her time with Rebecca, her college friends, or the fact that River had helped to shape her into the woman that she was today, the young woman had changed in some pretty interesting ways.

The old, teenage Agnes would have never deigned it right to go out to a club for dancing. She had never been much of a dancer, strange given her lithe frame and her ease of movement. Her years of studying music, of wrapping herself up in it, had afforded her a natural rhythm that Rebecca had commented on regularly during their time together. And still it wasn’t an activity that she had allowed herself the luxury of until later in her life. Still, it was better late than never.

With a smile on her lips and a giggle in her throat, Agnes danced and twirled with her new friend. While the mutant seemed to be somewhat hesitant, the more Agnes danced, the more Jack seemed to be loosening up. Agnes could see the smile in her eyes as she moved and turned, that only spurred Agnes on to dance on further. Of course it wasn’t anything too rambunctious, they were just two individuals having a fun time.

As their dance went on, Agnes caught the eyes of the towering mutant. Peering up at them, the sapphire blues sparkled with happiness that was only slightly tinged with the effects of alcohol. She wasn’t drunk, really, maybe slightly buzzed but totally held her usual capacity for thought and understanding. Even then, the dancing would help to burn some of the tasty liquor from her body.

However their fun time would come to an end as the other mutant seemed somewhat preoccupied with other thoughts, glancing back to the corner that she had just kidnapped her from.

>> “I can’t dance for too long,”

Agnes felt a little guilty. Jack was supposed to be here in a working capacity and it wouldn’t be right to get her in trouble. As the song around them changed to something just a bit slower, Agnes smiled and nodded understandingly. However she did want at least one more dance for the road before she set free her new friend.

”Okay,” she admitted. However, instead of stepping away as one would have expected, the ex-runaway took both of the mutant’s hands in her own. Holding them gently, she stepped closer to Jack and placed her much larger hand and gently on her waist. She smiled up at Jack. ”After this song?”

The DJ crooned something over the mic about taking it slow, for a moment. About how he wanted to give the patrons an opportunity to share the dance with someone special. Jack's stomach knotted. Agnes was drawing-in.

>> ”Okay. After this song?”

Jack tensed slightly as Agnes moved closer, her maxillae curling timidly as Agnes placed her hand upon her thin, chitinous waist. Her massive hand occupied the entirety of her waist. The heat in her face grew, and as she'd done many times that night, Jack thanked her lucky stars that the chitin betrayed none of the flush in her cheeks.

She wasn't used to gentle demands. Usually inebriated girls were much more demanding, and it was easier to get rid of them. But Agnes was more polite.

"Sure," the prawn said gently. If the usual upbeat songs put the prawn out of her element, then the slow songs were really jarring for her. Though she'd occasionally been coerced to dance to the usual hypnotic beats, no one-- and she really meant no one-- had coerced her to slow-dance. Hopefully Agnes didn't expect anything flashy.

Agnes smiled at the sweet song that started to play over the speakers. Most of the dance floor had begun to empty out as the majority of people there wanted to dance hard and with innuendo. However there were a few couples who took the opportunity to get impossibly close, hands groping up and down the other’s bodies. A few others stepped in front the bar, dancing slowly to the romantic beat. Anyone watching would have been absolutely touched by the display; it was no wonder that Agnes wanted to join in.

Stepping closer to her shy friend, Agnes remained politely as she inquired if the other wanted to dance and, clearly, was not going to take no for answer. The insect queen knew how to be persistent and how to get what she wanted when she wanted it. Though she wasn’t looking for anything serious from Jack, all she wanted was to dance and just feeling good. The much larger mutant had thought she was pretty and her obvious nervousness was just a little intoxicating right now.

Without giving the other the opportunity, Agnes slipped the large hand upon her waist was she held the other. Yes, even though she had asked, it was clear that this was going to happen whether Jack wanted it to or not, it was just better to get it over with as soon as possible.

>> ”Sure.”

Agnes smiled happily. As the song began to play, Agnes played equal parts in leading and in allowing Jack to lead. The violinist could tell that Jack was uncomfortable but she didn’t stop which, Agnes guessed, was a good thing. It was only a few minutes out of her life so she could deal with whatever conflicting emotions she was having. Her eyes never left Jack’s, except for a small dreamy look every now and again, until, finally, at the end of the song, Agnes sighed. Carefully she stepped back, placing her hands behind her back and turning sweetly on her heels.

”See?” she asked as a more up-tempo song began. ”That wasn’t SO bad, was it?”

Jack was so preoccupied with not stepping on the diminutive young woman before her, she hardly had the time to get swept away in the atmosphere of it all. Her throat was clenched anxiously, her feet shuffling to the lull of the music, and her occasionally her feline, lavender eyes would meander to Agnes's face. The look she wore was fond and soft-- and, to be honest, it made Jack wish that Zinnia was there. It had been different when the prawn had danced with Victor-- she'd been drunk, for one thing, and the massive mutant had literally swept the prawn off of her feet.

But now, looking down at into the cool blue eyes of a stranger, Jack felt profoundly guilty. Agnes was smaller than Zinnia, but they were close enough in size for the prawn to draw the comparison. She should be sharing a dance like this with Zinnia. She'd never danced with someone smaller, before. That wasn't something she could get back.

>> ”See? That wasn’t SO bad, was it?”

"It was nice," the prawn agreed quietly, cracking a smile. She placed a heavy primary hand on the young lady's shoulder, giving it a careful squeeze, "I enjoyed it."

That being said, the prawn ambled back to her spot against the wall, and allowed her back to rest against it, heaving a sigh. That was her way of saying "thanks".

The dance was sweet and it was precisely what the insect queen needed. Though Jack was massive in comparison, the mutant seemed to be going the extra mile to try and keep from stepping on the young violinist. That was sweet, especially as it seemed that they weren’t one hundred percent into this kind of dancing. Still, Jack went along with Agnes’ demands and the pair of them had danced their slow, calm dance in the midst of the mutant crowd around them. For the briefest of moments, Agnes felt like everyone else and that was exactly what she wanted.

As the slow, soft music began to wind down, Agnes sighed a bit to herself. She wished that River was here. Hell, she wished that even Rebecca was here. She wanted to feel good, to have fun, but she knew that if either of them were in attendance it would just lead to more drama. River was increasingly seeming bitter about being in New York and her time with Rebecca was confusing, to say the least. She cared deeply about both women but right now, as much as she wanted either of them, at the same time, she didn’t.

The last beats of the song rung out and Agnes smiled as she inquired of her new friend if it was as bad as they seemed to make it out to be? Normally she wasn’t this forward with people, but home drama and a little bit of alcohol had quickly tumbled down those walls. Now she was grinning up a the mutant with the face mask and awaited confirmation that all this really wasn’t as bad.

>> "It was nice…I enjoyed it."

Little else was said after that. Clearly Jack needed to get back to work. Agnes watched as the mutant smiled at her with her eyes before turning and slipping away to the dark corner where Agnes had found them. Her promise of helping Jack get into one of her shows still managed to stay at the forefront of her mind. She wouldn’t leave without keeping her word so, with a new task in mind, Agnes marched over and gave Jack another beaming smile.

Standing before the mutant and giving Jack the widest of grins, she stopped and stared at her. ”I think you forgot something…” she added. To anyone watching, they could have assumed that maybe the violinist was out for a goodbye kiss or something. However, as the pause grew heavier and heavier between them, Agnes finally clicked her tongue and held out her phone to the mutant. ”Your number, silly,” she giggled. ”I said I’d get you into one of my shows and I keep my work. Add in your phone number.” That wasn’t a request.

Jack's mind was humming with the energy of dancing with someone else, and the hum had drowned-out any recollection of the young woman's promise. The prawn allowed herself to breath again, when she reached the side of the floor. From the shadows she could resume her job and watch-over the club's residents-- here, she was comfortable. The sidelines. To her chagrin, Agnes did not (as the prawn had hoped) resume her merriment's solo. She marched right over to Jack with a broad grin.

Jack was beginning to interpret those smiles as devilish.

>> ”I think you forgot something…”

A primary hand rose to her chest pocket, and Jack patted to see if she'd perhaps dropped her cell phone. Honestly, that was the only loose personal belonging she carried while she was working. That and her ID and a debit card, which she could conceal in the case of her phone. Everything else was somehow attached to her.

>> ”Your number, silly. I said I’d get you into one of my shows and I keep my work. Add in your phone number.”

Jack mutely accepted Agnes's phone, leveling a blank stare at it, for a moment. The introvert in her softly encouraged the prawn, "Add a fake number."

She'd overheard patrons talking about it numerous times. Use faux numbers to appease guys who couldn't take no for an answer, let them down and easy and escape with your private life in-tact.

Jack didn't know any faux numbers. And it didn't feel right to give Agnes a fake one, after she'd been so nice. Careful primary hands tapped Jack's number into the appropriate dialogue. In the "Name" dialogue, the prawn typed, "Jack (Chrysalis)". She then complacently passed the phone back to Agnes.

Agnes only continued to smile her beaming smile. She was more than happy to await Jack handing over her number and stood there, swaying cutely from side to side, her hands clasped behind her back. Anyone else would have just left the matter alone, but the violinist was just buzzed enough that she would be persistent in this matter. It was criminal that the much larger mutant hadn’t heard music like that live. Absolutely criminal! If she had to, she would make this a one woman mission to ensure that everyone who loved music would get to listen to it.

After a few moments of confusion as to what Agnes could be referring to, Agnes finally clarified as she held out her phone for her. Jack seemed to eye her cautiously but made no attempt to really say anything else on the matter. Seconds ticked by like minutes before Jack finally tip-tapped a phone number into Agnes’ phone. It didn’t occur to her in any way that the towering mutant would give her a wrong number. At the moment she was perfectly willing to believe that she was being sweet and in no way obnoxiously persistent.

Standing back, she waited for Jack to finish before she handed the phone back to her. Agnes took it, eyed the contact, and nodded her head. Perfect! She was half-tempted to steal a selfie with the giant prawn but figured that would probably be rude so she would find something else to add to the contact picture. So, with a shrug, she beamed at Jack and slipped her phone back into her clutch.

”Thank you for the dance, hon,” she said with nod. ”I’ll be seeing you soon. Enjoy your job. You look tough!” she flexed her extremely lean muscles, sighed, and stepped away to look for the friend that brought her here. It was time to face reality once again.