Hi, all!

Here's a warm-up I just recently finished.  It's set after Masha 
defects to the US but before the ANAD X-Men are formed.  It's very 
short, but hopefully it's better than nothing. :^)

-Carolyn

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XXY Masha Rasputina Warm-Up: Freedom's Dance

Sunlight from an uncurtained window shone into the small, personal 
dance studio, glinted off the metal bar, reflected in the mirrors that 
lined one wall, and glistened on the polished wooden floor.  The 
silence was broken by the soft padding of feet that marked Masha's 
entrance into the room.  No one else was there to watch the dance that 
was to be for her a personal, private expression of her self and 
history.  She turned the music on and walked gracefully to the center 
of the room.

As she waited for the first notes, she adjusted one of her shoes.  
Doing so sparked a memory, of bandaging her feet when she was younger 
so that when the blisters on her feet burst, they would not leak on and 
stain her Pointe shoes.  Clearing her mind of the irrelevant thought, 
she began to move with the music as it started.  The moves were that of 
traditional ballet, perfectly and precisely executed, but seeming a 
little empty of emotion despite the technical skill being displayed.

With a shift in the music, the character of her dance changed, becoming 
tentatively more experimental with an air of curiosity and interest 
about it.  But after a time the experimentation ceased and she returned 
to strict tradition, now seeming sad and mournful, like a bird who had 
once flown free returned to a cage.  Her despairing movements gained 
determination, and with a mighty leap she fled from her confinement.  
Dodging and whirling to escape recapture, she found her way to a place 
of safety and freedom.

Her steps once she arrived there became tentative once more, unsure of 
themselves.  But slowly confidence was gained, and her dance became 
progressively more free and passionate.  She danced with all the 
freedom and grace of an eagle in flight, reveling in all the emotion 
that had not been there at the beginning of the dance.  The music and 
the dance ended with the eagle alighting on one foot in the center of 
the room.

Masha held her pose for a moment, then relaxed and headed towards the 
shower with a broad smile on her face, pushing her bangs out of her 
eyes.  The dance had been hers, as her life was now hers, without the 
State to tell her where she should go, what she should dance, who she 
should be.  Her only obligations were those of her own choosing.

Shower finished and clothes changed, she headed down the stairs and out 
into the street.  There were always new things to see, people to meet, 
places to explore.  She was free now and meant to enjoy it to the fullest.

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