Beauty and the Moon

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #1

And so there they were, a beautiful young woman and a kind looking gentleman stepped out of the carriage driven by a young, black-haired man. They found themselves few kilometres away from the main city on a paved walkway that was running through a front-yard full of flowers, ornamental shrubs, and trees. The yard was part of land surrounded by a high wall and patrolled by tall and muscular men in suits. One of them was waiting near the carriage, checking Gabriel´s invitation, before moving out of their way.

The path led them further through the land, towards a large villa built in an Empire style. They just walked through it, however, passing another control this time done by two bodyguards, who made a quick weapon check on them and double-checked their invitation before they let them in.

Well, letting them it probably wasn´t the right choice of words as they only passed through a monumental entrance hall full of marble, ebony, and gold to the garden where other guests were gathering.

There were around twenty people already, moving around a fountain together with several waitresses that were offering them refreshments from long tables located on both sides of the space. Gabriel was however completely ignoring them as all of his attention was focused on a single large figure that was sitting on the other side of the fountain. At first, the Professor thought it was an enormous statue, but then she moved, taking, for her, a tiny glass of champagne from one of the waitresses to drink. It was a giantess, a living and breathing giantess muscular yet very feminine, with a soft face, deep brown eyes, and dark blond hair braided into a crown braid. She was the first giant Gabriel ever saw with his own eyes and she was wearing a white shirt, sturdy work trousers, and heavy, leather boots.

“Perfect, just exactly what I needed after convincing Danielle to wear a dress.”

He sighed for himself.

[Bobbie]

The walk from the carriage to the large entrance hall was only the beginning of a terrible ordeal for Danielle, and it did not start off on a very positive note. Walking in heels was a far more difficult task than she envisioned, and she even had to endure the embarrassment of holding onto Gabriel’s arm as she walked along the paved walkway. Thankfully, having a rather flat physique, she didn’t need to worry about how close to hold his arm. Each stop slowed this down tremendously, although only for a matter of seconds to the average person, but Danielle was dying for this to be over and every second in her dress was suffering. The weapon check was the most irritating, and with a close enough look, one might notice her one exposed eye twitching as a glare was thrown in Gabriel's direction, the man who was putting her through all of this.

Once they were finally in the entrance hall they were met with a gathering, though not a considerably large one as Danielle did a quick head count. “There are barely twenty people here, excluding us…” she muttered as she eyed the other guests, scrutinising their behaviour to get some sort of idea for how she was supposed to act at such an event. She had never been to anything this fancy in the role of a finely dressed woman, so she always had more leeway when it came to expectations. A lot of those usually fell on Rosalina, while all Danielle had to do was stand by the lady’s side, content and courteous.

Then she spotted it - a mighty giantess. Danielle’s jaw dropped before she looked up at Gabriel only to find that he was also staring at the same thing, although his awe quickly seemed to vanish as he let out a sigh, his thoughts remaining private and unknown to Danielle. Nudging her companion, she gestured toward the giantess.

“Look. Do you see her?” she asked with a deep frown. She allowed her question to linger in the air for a moment before she continued, finally letting go of Gabriel’s arm to cross her own, her thin arms folding neatly just over her stomach. “I’ve never seen an actual giantess in the flesh before.”

Perhaps luckily for Gabriel, Danielle made no comment about the large woman’s clothing, too fascinated by her sheer size to digress from it long enough to make such an irrelevant observation, until-

“She was clearly not made to have a custom dress fitted for her, was she?” With a roll her eyes, Danielle didn’t expect an answer, and her gaze fell on the woman once more, intrigued. I could be wearing boots like those right now… instead of these death traps designed to fracture ankles.

---

Danielle: #fffd17

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #2

The Professor gently smiled when Danielle commented on the number of people that attended the party.

„And you was expecting more? “

He asked silently.

“This is a private party for selected business partners present and future. Also, I don´t think we are the last ones to arrive, so there will be around thirty, maybe forty people?”

He said, hoping that he can shift her attention away from the giantess, however it was empty hope. Of course she noticed the way she was dressed, but to his surprise, she took it much more calmly than he expected. That deserved praise and perhaps later even some treat. Gabriel noted for himself as he was answering.

“Yes, probably.”

As they were standing near the entrance a young woman with short ginger hair and wide smile approached them, raising her camera.

“Just one photo for the local newspapers please.”

The Professor nodded silently, taking a short step towards Danielle with one hand behind her lower back. He wasn´t actually touching her, but from that angle, no one would be able to tell, especially on a photo.

“Smile please!”

She asked, taking her picture before disappearing again. Gabriel wanted to join the remaining guests, but their host had different plans and decided to greet them personally. He was man in his early forties, a man of average height with a smoothly shaved face, that could be considered handsome and short black hair stained by silver.

“Professor Moon! I am so glad we finally meet you in person!”

He exclaimed patting Gabriel on the shoulder before looking in Danielle´s face. He was shorter than her, so he had to look up.

“Well, I have to say, when Mr. Monkhbat mentioned you will be taking Beast with you, I expected your infamous dog, but looking at your wife I can understand what he meant. Such beauty with such a strong spirit, you should feel blessed.”

He laughed, but there was no malice in it.

“James Gatling, at your service!”

He gently took her hand for a kiss.

[Bobbie]

“Yes, I was,” she admitted, looking around her as if to do another head count, “Considering the potential prices of the paintings you’ve mentioned, I thought there would be more people flocking over to get a chance to at least see them, let alone purchase any… I guess I assumed-”

She was swiftly cut off by a ginger with a dreadful camera, asking for a photo. Danielle shook her head the same moment that Gabriel nodded his, and before she knew it, he stepped closer to her and the flash of the camera went off. It all happened very fast, and the entire time Danielle did not manage to smile - no, she was too stunned by what just happened. Turning to Gabriel the very second the camerawoman left, she lightly beat his chest with a harmless fist, “What was that? Do you really think I can afford to have my picture in the local newspaper while I’m dressed like this!? What is Rosalina-”

It seemed to be a pattern that Danielle’s complaints were to be cut off before she could voice them, as she was yet again interrupted, this time by the host of this event. Judging by his attire and how prim and proper he presented himself, it was an easy assumption that this was Mr Gatling even before he introduced himself.

Why do people flock to this weirdo? She couldn’t help but wonder as the man exclaimed his excitement to finally be meeting Gabriel, a very bored expression on her face.

That expression, however, was soon replaced with a frown as she heard him referring to her as the man’s wife. “Excuse me?” she retorted in deep offence at the mistake of their relationship that was strictly business, although without any further clarification, her shock could have easily been to any other part of the man’s speech.

Having her hand taken in his and kissed caused Danielle to recoil as she promptly pulled her hand out of his grasp, a shiver running down her spine. Everybody this man surrounds himself with is so weird! Horrified by the gesture and desperate to move her hand out of Mr Gatling’s reach, she slipped her arm behind Gabriel’s back and took the tiniest step closer to him, but she was not as skillful as Gabriel and certainly not as stable on her heels, so she found herself leaning against the man - and wiping her knuckles where their host had just kissed in the back of Gabriel’s suit jacket.

Awkwardly, she smiled. You’re doing this for the paintings, Danny, millions of beri…

---

Danielle: #fffd17

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #3

James Gatling watched in surprise as Danielle tore her hand from his grip and quickly moved towards Gabriel for a protection, or at least that was how her stumble and loss of balance looked on the outside.

“Such a shyness and modesty. You really found yourself an excellent specimen Professor.”

James smiled like a cat, that found a mouse trapped between his paws, while using Gabriel´s title almost as if it was a name or something like that.

The Professor didn´t responded and instead offered Danielle his arm again to lead her further away from this man. From what he heard about James Gatling, the person was petty prankster who loved teasing and humiliating others, but couldn´t take a joke himself. At least not without holding a lifelong grudge. As he was heading away.

“I hope you will get an opportunity to dance with her!”

Gabriel paused. For a moment he wanted to shout in that man´s face that if he wants to dance with Danielle, he should ask her and not him, but he managed to control his emotions before that happened. Still a wave of cold fury moved through his face, before it was replaced with a kind smile, which was also the face he showed to Mr. Gatling, when he turned back to him.

“I am afraid that she is too shy for that, but maybe if you ask her nicely?”

The angry expression that appeared on James´s face was almost worth the risk, that his whole plan will blow off, almost.

“I am sorry for that. Just…think about these paintings alright?”

He whispered to Danielle as he turned away from their host.

“And to answer your previous question, do you really think that Rosalina, or anyone else would recognize you even if she saw the photo?”

[Bobbie]

Danielle frowned as she watched Mr Gatling, disgusted by the predatory smile he wore on his face and the way he spoke of her while she was standing right there in front of him. Her eye twitched with irritation, her smile entirely gone as she took Gabriel’s arm. While she would usually be more reluctant in this gesture, her focus was currently on their host, a man who was more charismatic and understood social cues better than her partner for the night, yet his manners were atrociously worse when talking to a woman.

It shocked Danielle to admit it, but there was at least one redeemable quality in the professor - he was very polite and courteous. This James Gatling, on the other hand, was the opposite.

As she walked away with Gabriel, the woman on his arm also paused at the sound of such an outrageous comment. Very much like her company, she also wanted to give him a piece of her mind and an honest answer to his request - not in a million years would I dance with a slimy rat like you. Her annoyance was clear as her grip on Gabriel’s arm tightened and her body tensed, and when her partner turned, she turned with him.

Seeing the angry look on Mr Gatling’s face brought a smile to the blonde’s face before she turned once more to continue on their way. “If I have to dance with that pig, I swear I will tear his head off.” She hissed in response to Gabriel’s apology, shaking her head.

It was at this moment that she realised how she was clinging to Gabriel’s arm. Her cheeks turning red, she quickly let go of him, but didn't dare step very far, and she cleared her throat, moving on to his next comment. “You’re right, she probably wouldn’t… I don’t think she would.” There was a hint of uncertainty in her voice and she let out a sigh - shouldn’t Rosalina be able to recognise Danielle, though, being the love of her life and she hers, no matter what she was wearing?

Shaking the thought off, she looked at Gabriel, her arms crossing over once more. “Now that that terrible ordeal is over… now what? I would like to get this over and done with…” she mumbled, looking around uncomfortably. Perhaps a glass of that champagne would help.

---

Danielle: #fffd17

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #4

The Professor led Danielle towards the fountain, taking a glass of champagne from a nearby waitresses for himself and Danielle.

“You won´t have to, I promise.”

This time, Gabriel refrained for any lecturing or moralizing about how she should behave as he felt it would be inappropriate. In the response to her next question, he offered her a drink with a gentle smile.

“Now, we´ll wait until the remaining guests arrives and then…”

He couldn´t finish his sentence as suddenly a large shadow moved over them. Surprised, the Professor looked up, only to notice, that the giantess leaned towards them.

“Well look at you.”

Although she was probably trying her best to speak quietly, her, for a giant surprisingly gentle voice, boomed through the whole garden.

“You two look almost as happy to be here as I am. What happened, a lover´s quarrel? Or did James forced you to attend?”

She laughed, taking another tiny glass before downing it with one go.

“Nothing like that.”

Said Gabriel and it was truth, well at least as far as he was concerned.

“It´s just neither of us is really accustomed to a social gathering like this.”

The giantess looked at him with surprise written all over her face and then started laughing from the top of her lungs, scaring several guests and earning a wrathful glare from their host.

“Well that makes at least three of us, I am Sigrid, blacksmith and gunsmith in the services of James Gatling, but today I am here as a boogieman you see…”

She laughed again, reaching her colossal hand towards Gabriel.

“lots of nasty people who needs a reminder who is a boss around here attends today.”

The Professor caught another murderous gaze from Mr. Gatling directed to his “boogieman” and smiled.

“Gabriel Moon, pleasure to meet you.”

He grabbed one of her fingers for a handshake after which the giantess turned to Danielle expecting to hear her name as well.

[Bobbie]

With a slight smile that masked some of her annoyance, Danielle took the glass from him and had a sip while she listened. The speaker before her didn’t seem to get very far, however, as the giantess leaned over to cast a mighty shadow over them. For a moment, Danielle was confused as to why they were standing in a darkened area all of a sudden, then she turned to follow Gabriel's gaze only to see the large, looming figure.

Staring at the giantess, Danielle was quite stunned - it was her first time ever speaking to a giant and it really was something astonishing, yet the big-boned woman’s words brought a frown to her face nonetheless.

Sure, nothing like that. Neither, in fact, we’re here to steal that pig’s paintings.

She wanted to say that, but of course she didn’t. Gabriel replied before her, causing her to turn to look at him, her eye fixed on him with intent as if willing him to say something else. Something more specific. Something that would correct an assumption that seemed to be thrown around a lot lately. Seeing that he wasn’t going to say it, she turned to the giantess once more to correct the error herself. “We’re not lovers.”

The large woman’s laugh was so loud that it drowned out Danielle’s voice and she doubted whether she was even heard at all. Next thing she knew, the giantess was introducing herself to the pair, and interrupting that would be terribly rude, so Danielle merely stood there with a grumpy look on her face like she wanted to murder someone - more specifically, Gabriel.

Once the broad hand was shifted in her direction, she looked up at her with a soft sigh. “Danny,” she uttered, absent-mindedly giving her shortened form of her name because she was more accustomed to it, then taking one finger for a handshake, just as Gabriel had done.

“Nice to meet you, Sigrid.” It wasn’t every day that she got to meet a giant, so perhaps she should be a little less sour about it, yet she found it quite impossible to share the merriment that went around at this event. She wanted to snatch those paintings and get out of there as fast as possible without alerting any-

Danielle visibly stiffened as a thought occurred to her, Sigrid’s words playing back in her mind.

nasty people who need a reminder who is the boss around here… boogieman… please don’t tell me this is the rat's form of security!

---

Danielle: #fffd17

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #5

The giantess frowned when Danielle corrected her assumption looking from one to another before asking
"Are you sure? Because you two look gorgeous together."
However, she paused right afterward, turning back to Gabriel.
"Wait, you are THE Gabriel Moon?"
Slightly confused about where could she heard his name before, the Professor nodded, brightening Sigrid's face to the point where she was almost illuminating her surroundings.
"Oh my God, I heard so many stories about you today. Is it true that you have a giant dog who made all these craters outside the city? Is she here with you? Can I pet her?"
While talking, the giantess was looking left and right in an attempt to find Beast."
Gabriel smiled.
"I am sorry but no, she isn't here."
The giantess looked at him with such disappointed and sad eyes, that he immediately felt the urge to pat her head and soothe her. It cost him a lot of effort to stop himself from doing that.
"Really?"
She asked like a heartbroken child, before getting her cool back.
"I mean, that's a shame. I always wanted a dog, but all of them were made in the human size you know…ehm, anyway I should probably go back to work…security officer and everything."
She patted her own shoulder almost as if there was supposed to be some kind of badge that only she could see and straightened her back again. Training her best to look elsewhere.
Gabriel chuckled leaning slightly toward Danielle so no one else would hear his whisper.
"Well, looks like that when Beast will be finally old enough for puppies, you will have a competition."
He was joking of course. There were no puppies planned or anything like that, but he still hoped that mentioning them would improve Danielle's mood.

[Bobbie]

Danielle couldn’t stop the redness from spreading across her cheeks, but the frown made it clear that she didn’t enjoy the compliment - if that was meant to be one. She didn’t look gorgeous, she looked gorgeous with him.

Looking away with a soft huff, she listened as the giantess continued to talk about Gabriel, THE Gabriel Moon, or, as Danielle liked to think of him, Professor Creep. The man’s plus one for the evening was about to hiss a nasty comment about him being a lot weirder than most people seemed to know, but as the large woman moved on in the conversation to talk about Beast, Danielle held her tongue, as this was far more interesting.

A proud smile replaced her previous frown as while the giantess was denied the opportunity to pet the beautiful malamute, Danielle had not only been given permission to, but even had the grand luxury of riding on Beast’s back and even snuggling into her fur coat. If Rosalina didn’t already, that was enough to make her feel like the luckiest woman to walk this earth.

As Sigrid made her comment about getting back to work, her frown once again returned as she was reminded of the horrible reality - this operation might include the need to slip past a giantess, and the young painting thief had no idea how she was going to pull that off.

Gabriel’s comment, though perhaps meant in good spirit, only elicited a heavier frown from Danielle. No… this was more than a frown, she was fully glaring at Gabriel with what might be interpreted as pure hatred in her eye as the man made such an outrageous claim. Of course, she couldn’t demand that all the puppies should go to her, not verbally, at least… but she hoped the look in her eye was enough to communicate the notion that Danielle did not want to share such treasure.

“I don’t like competition.” She said in a bitter tone, implying that his comment was not funny to her in the slightest. In a gesture of sheer frustration, she tipped her glass and emptied its contents into her mouth before swiping a second one from the waitress that passed by them with a tray full of freshly filled champagne glasses.

"Can we stay focused? We're not here to chat up a giantess after all, and if she is part of Mr Gatling's security, then I think we have a problem. I'm not quite sure how I can get past her to reach the upper floors and snatch the paintings," she sighed, "Or do you plan to bribe her with empty promises of puppies?" the sulk in her tone made it clear that she was still upset at him for making such a comment about any form of competition, especially one over something so valuable. 

---

Danielle: #fffd17

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #6

The Professor looked at Danielle with a surprise in his eyes. What was that supposed to mean? Did she take him seriously? Wasn't it clear that if Beast ever had puppies he would keep all of them for himself?
He shook his head, hiding the surprise behind the usual kindness and soft smile as Danielle asked about how he was expecting to deal with Sigrid.
"I mean, she looks like a nice person."
Gabriel shrugged, completely oblivious to the nervousness Danielle was displaying with her behavior.
"I am sure we can talk it out with her or something like that."
He shrugged again, putting his glass on the nearest table, without taking even a single sip from it.
"Look, looks like everyone is here."
He whispered and really, the number of people attending the party just passed the mark of forty and Mr. Gatling headed to the center of the garden with glass and a thin metal tube in his hands. Hitting gently one with the other he rang on the glass, to capture everyone's attention.
"Gentlemen and Ladies, welcome to my humble home!"
He exclaimed, prompting several guests to silent laughter.
"You know I am not really good at giving speeches, so let me just say this! There is plenty of food and drink, there is an orchestra playing their music for listening or dancing."
He nodded to his right at around fifteen people who were just getting ready for their performance on a small stage to the left from Sigrid.
"So have fun and if you want to do business, do so in a civilized manner!"
As Mr. Gatling finished he nodded toward the musicians who started playing the slow tunes of a waltz.
With a bow, Gabriel reached toward Danielle with his left hand, asking
"Would you like to dance?"

[Bobbie]

“Talk it out?” the finely dressed blonde looked at Gabriel with scepticism. “And how do you think that conversation will go? You heard her, she’s here as a boogieman tonight, do you really think we can talk our way out of stealing her employer's precious paintings?” her tone was reduced in volume to a hushed whisper but it was no less harsh.

When Mr Gatling stepped into the centre of the garden to make his announcement, the sharp ringing sound in the air attracting most people’s attention, if not everyone’s. “Ugh… not good at giving speeches in a public manner or a one-to-one setting,” she grumbled, entirely put off by the man due to their first encounter. First impressions matter and this man came across as misogynistic and self-important in the one that he gave Danielle.

Danielle sipped her champagne, before watching Gabriel approach her and ask her to dance. For a moment, she simply stared at him as if her next response was going to be a slap - either to the face or his hand. With a sigh, however, she put her glass down on the nearest table, not very affected by it its contents.

“Do I have a choice?” she retorted, bitterly, before taking his hand and stepping closer to him. As waltz music filled the air, Danielle could recognise the general rhythm, having danced to a waltz before with Rosalina. The only problem was that from the male and female counterparts within each pair of dancers, Rosalina always filled in the female’s side perfectly, while Danielle had no problem filling in the male’s. This was hard enough to do in heels, but if she also had to deal with the unchartered territory of a woman’s part in a waltz, she wasn’t quite sure she could pull that off.

“I lead.” This was awkward no matter how she looked at it… “Do you even know how to waltz? Just follow my lead and don’t make it obvious or you’d make us a very conspicuous pair.” One thing was clear in Danielle’s mind…

I am not doing an underarm turn with this man…

---

Danielle: #fffd17

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #7

The Professor was half-expecting that Danielle will say no. And judging by her face, she was seriously thinking about it too. That, or she wanted to punch him and ran away screaming, he wasn´t really sure. But then to his surprise she agreed, although in a rather unexpected way.

“Of course, I know how to dance. Attending balls is one of the many burdens of being noble.”

Gabriel sighed silently, taking Danielle around the waist.

“Alright, I know you are probably used to taking the man´s role thanks to Rosalina, but now you have dress and high heels, so just relax and let me take the lead.”

Professor Moon whispered, trying to gently lead his reluctant dancing partner through the most basic steps of the Waltz. However, despite Gabriel being a surprisingly good dancer, the result was awkward at best, as they both tried to do the same at the exact same time.

“Could you…”

The Professor sighed silently.

“Look, I know, that you have some trust issues, when it comes to me and I understand that, I really do, but just for once, try to believe me, that I know what I am doing alright? It´s your only chance how to get what you need anyway.”

He tried again, leading her slowly into the most basic box step. In Gabriel´s eyes this was exactly the same situation when a rescued dog was trying to assert their dominance over him. He knew that using force would let only to a further distrust and aggressive behaviour. And so, instead of trying to push her or being otherwise forceful he tried different approach. Slow and gentle with lots of reassuring, praise and kindness. It always worked with the dogs, so there was no real reason why it shouldn´t work with Danielle right?

[Bobbie]

Reluctant was a heavy understatement to describe Danielle’s response to any attempt from Gabriel to lead her through the Waltz that the pair was engaged in. He was indeed a good dancer, and Danielle recognised this, but it didn't mean she was ready to let him lead. 

Her posture alone was awkward, obviously unable to place her own hand on her partner’s waist as she would if she were dancing with Rosalina, so instead let one hand rest on Gabriel’s shoulder while the other remained in his gentle hold. Unfortunately, her body remained tense, her arm almost creating a barrier between them as she refused to step any closer to her dance partner.

Something as simple a standard box step grew increasingly difficult and frustrating for both of them as they seemed to be fighting for the lead throughout, their steps not synchronised in the slightest and often causing a stumble here and there.

“No, could you?” Danielle replied in a frustrated tone before Gabriel could elaborate further on her having trust issues with him. As far as she was concerned it was all perfectly reasonable - he forced her to give up the amulet after all her hard work to retrieve it, then poked a dozen needles into her foot. As he explained his reasoning, she glared at him.

“Why, exactly, is allowing you to lead my only chance to get what I need?” she hissed at him, lowering her voice when she noticed how close another dancing couple was to them and she paused, “This can go very smoothly if you’d just stop being so difficult!” as she finished her accusation, she took a step that was not timed well with one of Gabriel’s, and the toe of her shoe rammed into the side of his foot, causing her to trip and fall onto him thus closing the gap between them. “Your big feet are getting in the way, stop stepping into my territory.”

---

Danielle: #fffd17

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #8

Danielle repaid his kindness with another barrage of aggressive and snappy comments, but Gabriel didn´t let her to provoke him. She was just a troubled puppy, difficult one, but still deserving of all the love and affection he could give her.

“I am sorry, I´ll try to respect your space more.”

Said the Professor kindly, however he didn´t stepped further away from her but instead took the lead and walked her through a slightly more complex pattern of dancing steps.

“You know…”

He whispered after another turn.

“For someone who isn´t used to the woman part, you are doing great. You have to have a natural talent.”

He avoided an elderly couple that almost bumped into them.

“I wish one day, I could see you dancing with Rosalina. It must be a wonderful sight.”

There was no irony or mockery in his voice, only a honest admiration for his dancing partner.

“You know…”

Gabriel added after another few steps.

“It would be easier if you tried to relax a bit. I know this is probably very stressful for you but let´s make a deal.”

The Professor became silent as they were too close to Mr. Gatling for his taste and so he led Danielle to the other side of the dancing dance floor, before continuing.

“You will try to relax and let me take the lead. And if after the whole night you will feel like you didn´t enjoy the whole night even a little bit, I…”

He thought for a moment before finishing the sentence.

“I will let you spend a whole week with my dogs. That´s seven days with just you and thirty fluffy angels. You can even take Rosalina with you if you want. And I promise you wouldn´t see my face for the whole time.”

As he finished, he raised his harm a bit to lead her into the underarm turn.