With dusk approaching, the Rhydin Theatre and Opera House sprang to life. Set aglow to set a dramatic ambience, posters were displayed, and some stamped with ?sold-out.? The exterior of the theatre, right above the doors, had the addition of a large balcony with several books lining around the edging. Large, life-sized books decorated the walls to bring hints of the theme of the ballet.

The lobby was already filled with early guests who anticipated the several grand doors to open. Posters of the play were displayed on the walls next to large dark colored candles, and different themes and props were cleverly collaborated to give subtle clues to those that did not know the story. The warm browns gave the sense of a the comforts of a small town atmosphere. Waiters came around to several groups of people with complimentary drinks of simple flavors and hor?dourves. There were also simple flyers passing around of invitations to the after party directly after the opera the following night in the Great Hall.

Candles of varying sizes brought illumination inside the theatre and down the aisles. Ushers were dress in simple but tailored tuxedoes. They appeared polished and patient, waiting for the doors to open and guide people to their seats. The walls and ceiling were made of both dark wood and light marble; designs both simple and bold that naturally drew the viewer?s eyes to the stage.

?Gah, I hate these thin's." Katarina continued to carefully apply adhesives to her toes to avoid blisters from her hard ballet slippers. With her makeup and hair already complete, she was trying to avoid putting on her costume as long as possible, and so took extra precaution of her toes.

"Every time you have a problems with those." Andy watched with amusement as Katarina had difficulty removing the adhesives from her fingers to place on her toes, "And every time I offer my assistance. And every time you say-"

"Go 'way." She grinned up at him and his look of satisfaction, "I kin do it, jist mahbe nah as quick as ya kin." She stood up, gathered her slippers in one hand, and moved over to dip her heels one at a time is a small basin of rosin, "Dun'cha hav' somethin' ta do?" Of course one look over at him confirmed that he was completely dressed and ready for the performance. With the year she had danced with Andy, she already knew that he liked to be prepared early and quick so that he could spend the rest of his time away to focus.

"Just coming to check up on you." He raised a brow as he watched her place her slippers on before moving towards another basin of water and dipping her heels in there as well, "Planning on losing your slippers?"

"Nah, jist takin' the possibility 'way." With the the silence in the studio, the sounds of the theatre being opened for ushers to take people to their seats brought the sound of a soft murmur. Katarina wiggled her brows and Andy and started for backstage to get dressed into her costume, "Showtime!"

? 'Cause in the daylight anywhere feels like home.?
(Matt & Kim, ?Daylight?)

Locke stood in front of the mirror on his closet door, twisting and turning to look at himself in his tuxedo from every angle. Unlike ballets past, Locke had stayed away from the flashier fashions he had previously worn. He would wear a tuxedo and not a suit. That tuxedo would only have one button, not five. The jacket and trousers would be black, with a white tuxedo shirt, unlike the coat and shirt he wore for La Bayadere, which had been a particularly daring shade of pink and blue, respectively. And he would wear a bowtie, and it would be black. For the first time in a while, he didn't feel the need to call attention to himself with his wardrobe for the night. He was shooting for effortlessly elegant this evening, and if his reflection in the mirror was any indication, he thought he was doing a damn good job of pulling that off.

All that was left was the bowtie. He stepped inside his closet and went up on the tips of his toes to pull a box of ties down from their storage spot above a rack laden with dress shirts and suitcoats. He brought it down and quickly removed a black bowtie from the container, before returning the remaining ties to their proper place. He walked back out and stood in front of the mirror, placing the tie around his neck and pulling one end down so that it was a couple of inches longer than the other. He crossed the longer end over the shorter one, before bringing it up and under the loop he had just formed. He then doubled the shorter end over itself, forming a loop in front that he brought the longer end back over to loop with again. Finally, he doubled the long portion of the tie back on itself and pushed it through the loop behind the now nearly completed bow, which cemented everything in place. A couple of tugs to adjust the fit and to center it on his neck, and he was done. He pointed at the mirror and winked to himself, before shutting the door and walking back into his living room.

Spring had been slowly peeling winter's cruel grasp from the realm of RhyDin for weeks now. An unseasonably warm day here, a cloudless, sunshine-y day there, and more generally, a gradual increase in the hours of daylight as the days and weeks moved forward. Unlike many in RhyDin, spring was one of Locke's least favorite seasons. Summer won that contest easily, for the heat and humidity was anathema to the ice elf's preference for cold and snow, but spring was second, because it heralded the inevitable increase in temperatures to come. It was in spring that he first lost the luxury of choosing to dress in as much or as little clothing as he desired. Once the temperature was up over 45 degrees Farenheit, he was stuck bundling up in cold-enchanted to clothes to keep himself from getting heat sick. Lately though, the spirit of the season had infected him. He felt reborn. He was growing. He was changing, and it seemed like for the better.

It was early evening, and yet the sun was still out, fighting to penetrate the blinds that Locke had pulled down over the balcony door in his plain white living room. It tossed lines of light across his carpet, his walls, and his furniture, warm fingers beckoning the room to be closer, to touch further. Locke obliged, pulling the blinds open so that the last rays of the day could flood the room. He then opened the door and stepped onto the balcony, looking west to where the sun was setting over the mountains and hills of Battlefield Park. He lifted his arms to the sky, and then brought them around his middle, giving himself a tight hug. He wished he could pull the sun down from the sky, or at the very least, feel the heat it imparted on the world without discomfort. Today, he would settle for the memories of being warm, and remember that even if he was still physically frigid, his heart and soul had been thoroughly thawed.

((Description of tying a bow tie inspired by this site. Picture of Locke's outfit can be found here))