Aonung x reader • Dance•

IX

Kiri and Tsireya helped you get ready to perform. It was so much fun to go through your ritual with your friends. Kiri styled your hair while Tsireya fiddled with your skirt fixing the shells into place. You were excited for the festival but you were riddled with nerves. You weren't nervous to dance, you were nervous to face Aonung. Apparently, he was out all day with a hunting party hence why you still hadn't seen him yet. You knew you'd see him tonight. He would be seated next to his father right at the front of the crowd. That was always where you'd find him during these kinds of events. Kiri's words from earlier crossed your mind. Your dancing always made people around happy and maybe it could make Aonung happy. Maybe you could go back to the way things were before he began to distance himself from you. It was wishful thinking but you still believed it to be possible.
The familiar sound of the drums was your calling to take your place for the performance. The girls wished you luck and left you on your own. You closed your eyes for a moment to mentally prepare. You took a slow breath in and quickly blew out in an attempt to blow away your nerves. You took your place in the front of the other dancers. For the first time you would be leading the dance. You looked out at the crowd as you took your position. Aonung was exactly where you thought he'd be. Despite your attempts to mentally prepare yourself to see him again nothing could have prepared you for this. Even sitting down he was almost as tall as his father. His hair was still tied back but it had grown down to his shoulders. His chest was broad and he was well built from all his training and hunting. He had earned a few tattoos along the way. The most obvious one on the right side of his face. He took your breath away. Aonung was always very good looking but now he had fully grown into himself and he was more than just handsome. However, when he looked up at you his gaze remained the same. Like he didn't recognise you at all. He looked at you like you were a stranger and you felt your heart shatter in your chest. He had such an effect on you that you almost missed the first steps of your dance. You swallowed down the lump in your throat, put on your best fake smile and danced your broken heart out. Through your dance you'd quickly glance towards Aonung praying that he would acknowledge you in some way. His facial expression remained the same. No emotion, almost as if he was bored.
When your dance was finished and you bowed to the crowd you quickly excused yourself before anyone could notice you had begun to tear up.
You walked quickly down to the water as far away from the celebrations as you possibly could. As you stormed down the beach you were feeling a storm of emotions you were upset and angry. So angry. " Stupid SKXAWNG!" You screamed kicking sand under your feet before falling to you knees.

You sat there in silence until the storm in your mind began to calm. It was peaceful by the water. It settled your emotions with the sound of each rolling wave. Just you and the ocean. The faint sounds ilus playing in the waves further out at sea and the distant sound of music coming from the festival provided you a relaxing ambience. You closed your eyes and exhaled steadying your mind and body.
You suddenly noticed the sound of someone slowly approaching you. You opened your eyes to see who dared to disturb your tranquility. It was Aonung. He almost came to a halt when he saw you look towards him. You waited for him to say something.... Anything, but he didn't. He didn't speak a word he stopped a few feet away from you waiting to see what you'd do. You slowly stood from your seated position. " You have a lot of nerve." You stared him down waiting for a response. He didn't move an inch and didn't speak a word. " what do you want?" His ears pricked up at your question. But still he said nothing. You could still hear the music from the festival in the distance but the song had changed. It was the same song from the night you first danced with Aonung those few years ago. Your anger melted to a melancholic feeling. Everything was so much more simple back then. You were pulled from your thoughts when Aonung took a step closer and changed his stance. He held his right hand over his heart. ~ is this his attempt at an apology? He wants to dance with me? ~ Aonung looked at you with sad eyes. He was waiting for you to move but you were taken aback. Now you were the one not moving or saying a word. Regardless of your reluctance he began the dance without you. He didn't miss a single step. You had to admit his dancing was better than before. ~ had he been practicing?~ he moved around you and you kept your eyes on him at all times. He stopped in front of you holding his hand up to you waiting for you to accept. You wanted to smack his hand down and walk away but you couldn't bring yourself to do it. That teenaged girl inside you screaming for you to forget everything for one night and just dance with the man you've been in love with since you knew the meaning of the word.
In that moment you gave in and you couldn't reject those big sad blue eyes of his. So you held your hand to his. The moment your hands touched you saw every muscle in Aonungs body relax. Like the weight of the world was lifted off his shoulders. You saw how much it meant to him that you accepted him and you felt the same. You couldn't explain the feeling in your stomach as you danced with him. Everything around you melted away. You only saw Aonung and he only saw you. For the first time in a while you felt at peace. Even if it was just for that short while you felt at peace and happy.
You spun yourself to bring the dance to its inevitable end but unlike the last time you didn't lose your balance but just like the last time the dance still ended with Aonungs hands on your waist holding you steady. You were both out of breath and frozen in place. Neither of you wanted to move. You didn't want it to end. He stared into your eyes. " I'm sorry." He spoke so softly it was barely audible. You loved dancing with him again but you couldn't bring yourself to let him off the hook so easy. He would have to do better than that. " you're sorry?" You pulled away from him. You left him speechless. You quickly made your way to the water and glanced back to him over your shoulder daring him to come after you, before you jumped into the water you heard him call out to you but you didn't stop. You wanted him to follow you.