It was on the road, not far from the city of Tanchico, that Sterre Sophya found what she was looking for. One of her friends had mentioned it a few days past, before things had turned ugly within the city, that she wanted to go to the menagerie that was performing on the north side of the city. They'd even made plans to go and see it, but then things had gone horribly wrong and the menagerie had become a possible refuge instead of a mere afternoon's entertainment.

 

Sterre pushed her tiny honeycoloured braids out of her face and looked at the odd assortment of carts and tents, and thought that this possibly was one of the smaller menageries that she'd ever seen. She'd seen multiple of them performing in Tanchico and surroundings, and this was probably one of those that didn't make the big money. She wondered vaguely if she'd be even able to hide here and then shrugged. It was worth a gamble at least. If people even looked at her funny she'd be out of here quickly enough. She didn't think people would look for her here, though; people saw what they were expecting to see. And nobody would expect her to hide in a menagerie as an acrobat, of all things. It was worth the gamble.

 

She entered camp cautiously. It was a dusty late summer afternoon and the circuspeople were all outside, doing chores and practicing their shows for the evening. Two acrobats were tumbling about, two men were trying to poke wild animals who'd much rather take a nap into actions, and there was a young woman playing with fire not far from the camp entrance. Sterre just boldly walked over to the acrobats and asked one of them: "Do you know where I can find the owner of this circus? I'd like to sign up with you lot."

 

The acrobat, a tall man with curls and many pimples in his weathered face, didn't seem very impressed with her. His dark eyes narrowed and he said: "You can find Howel Fitch in that cart over there. Good luck, you'll need it."

 

Sterre just nodded and decided not to counter his unfriendly approach. The comeback on her lips It looks like you guys would need my input badly was quickly swallowed. She donned a brilliant smile that she had used on the Commander so many times, tugged her blouse so it would show a bit more exposure, shook her tiny braids over her shoulder and went to meet with Howel Fitch.

 

Twenty minutes later she found herself outside again, and with a new job. He had not even asked her to show her skills. "I'll see it during practice soon enough," he had told her. "And if you are not as good as you say you are, which would be a stupid move to begin with, then I'm sure I can find you some other work around the place." He had also asked her if she had a cart, to which she had to respond with a negative. "Okay," he said. "See if one of the others can take you in, otherwise I'll make a place for you in my cart. I wouldn't mind having a wench around."

 

Sterre, staring at the tall and broad man with the bald head and the way-too-sleek smile, had quickly smiled demurely and said: "I'll see whether the other woman in camp wants to take me in, thank you for the offer." Sterre was not above sleeping with men to get what she wanted, but Fitch was not to her taste. She had *some* standards! Picking up her bags she walked through the dusty golden sunlight to an exotic looking young woman that had her cart on the outskirts of the camp. She had a tinted skin that made her almost look like one of the Seafolk, but the luscious mannerisms of a Domani. "Hello," Sterre said with her friendliest smile, sticking out her hand for a shake. "I got myself a job here, so it seems we are colleagues now. My name is Sterre. Nice to meet you..."

 

Sterre Sophya

onto a glittery future

 

 

In all her life, Suraya had made a few decisions that could turn out either way. Up until now, those decisions had almost always turned out in her benefit. As she wandered around the small encampment, once again going over the few charms of the small circus, she was beginning to wonder if this was one of the few times it didn’t. The ‘circus leader’, as he chose to call himself, was little more than an ordinary brigand, looking to better his life a little. Suraya supposed that going from extortionist to leader of this merry band of losers would be seen as a promotion by some. Not by many though. With a sigh she returned to the cart she had inherited from the old gleeman that had thought her a lot of what she knew now. On days like these she yearned for the simple years when she had simply been his aide to return.

 

Alas, it was not so. For the past year she had travelled from one town to the next, performing everywhere they wished to see her performances, and even in some places they did not. She had made a nice little profit for herself, until a pair of thieves had stolen her profit from her cart. Without money, and without the prospect of a performance, the small circus of Howel Fitch had looked like a gift from the Creator. Now she was beginning to wonder if it wasn’t a gift from the Dark One instead. The performances of the two acrobats were pitiful at best, and the wild animals hadn’t been wild since they passed their middle ages. Few people had been interested in seeing the show when she arrived. Things had picked up a bit since she had started to perform though.

 

As she had learnt many years ago, the more spectacular the show, the more people talked about it. And the more people talked about it, the bigger the audience, and the profit got. Howel wasn’t stingy in giving away the money earned, which was another odd thing about him. Suraya decided to stop worrying, and get some practise in before the next show. She had already decided to leave here in a weeks time. She just had to work up the nerve to tell the big bald circus leader. As she pulled a pair of torches out from her gear, she could practically feel the dirty looks the acrobats gave her. They didn’t like the fact that she was popular. She didn’t really care. If they had been good at what they did, she might have seen them as competition. As it was, they were too pitiful for her to really notice. And too ugly as well.

 

While she lit her torches, she noticed a young woman walk into the encampment. If this had been a bigger circus, Suraya would have pegged her to be an acrobat groupie. While the young woman did walk towards the acrobats, she didn’t think that that was the case. After all, who’d be interested in those fellows? After a few moment the lass wandered towards Fitch’s cart. “Didn’t think she was a lightskirt either though.†Suraya muttered to herself. She shrugged, and got to work. As always she was careful not to light her clothes on fire. That might look spectacular during a performance, but Suraya had found out early on that it was nowhere near as spectacular as it was painful. To prevent such things from happening, she always wore formfitting clothes. Her audience never minded.

 

After she had practised for a portion of an hour, she noticed that the young woman, who may or may not have been a lightskirt, was standing close to her cart, watching her. Suraya doused her torches by placing them on the ground and kicking some dirt on them. After staring at each other for a moment, the other woman introduced herself, and stated the purpose of her stay. After a moments hesitation Suraya shook the offered hand. “Suraya Sharizade Oceantide.†She introduced herself. She picked up her torches and placed them on the cart. It was about time to get changed for her performance. She had taken to wearing formfitting purple pants of a Kandoran cut, and a low cut yellow top. And a lot of bracelets and necklaces of course. “So what do you do here?†she asked, shrugging out of her practise clothes and donning her performance clothes. She saw that Sterre didn’t make a move to get changed. “show starts less than an hour from now, you know… you might want to get changed.â€

 

~Suraya Sharizade Oceantide

Extravagant

 

 

“Suraya Sharizade Oceantide,†The exotic looking young woman introduced herself. She didn't seem all that friendly; all business and not very inviting. Sterre bit on the inside of her cheek and vowed not to feel rejected. “So what do you do here?†Suraya asked while she picked up some very brightly coloured clothes, obviously to get changed. Sshow starts less than an hour from now, you know… you might want to get changed.â€

 

Sterre had to bite back embarrassed laughter. "Um... this might sound very stupid, but I do not really own anything fancy. I... kind of had to leave my apartment and Tanchico in a hurry. And my former profession was not quite the flashy type. Also... I don't really have an act prepared yet. I joined the circus on a whim," she added, meeting Suraya's widening eyes squarely. Time to be honest. "And I know I can do acrobatics... but I saw that you already had some guys around here... perhaps it's better if I just watch you guys tonight and join in tomorrow? Or perhaps I can help out without having to do an act already? I mean..." she realized the was rambling as she watched the other woman getting into a very bright and skimpy outfit, "I know I can do it, I just have nothing prepared yet. And I *definitely* don't have flashy clothes like you do."

 

Sterre felt very silly now; perhaps this had been a mistake after all. She was completely unprepared and had no idea what was expected of her. It was more than a little surreal; Sterre knew herself to be one of the most proficient thieves in Tanchico, but she had to learn a completely new profession right now. It was more than a little humbling.

 

~ Sterre

 

 

Suraya felt herself stiffening slightly as she heard Sterre mutter on about how she didn’t really have a show, and how she’d rather watch first, and how she’d just fled Tanchico without her possessions. Then her shoulders slumped slightly. “Girl, that’s not going to work.†She said, before getting onto the cart and fishing around in one of the boxes that were on it. Moments later she leapt of the cart again, holding up a barely opaque white blouse and a pair of black breeches. “If you don’t perform now, or at least look as though you’re ready to perform, you’re going to find yourself in Howel’s bed before the night is over.†She placed the clothes in Sterre’s hands. “Well, what are you waiting for? Change!†Suraya sounded exactly as snappish as she intended to.

 

While Sterre was standing frozen, Suraya was already on the move to pick several bracelets out of a little case that she kept hidden on her cart. They were large and golden, seemingly the same as Suraya was wearing. While she was rummaging through her stuff, she explained to Sterre what her big plan was. “Ok, here’s what we’re going to do. First, we’ll get those two idiots to do their performance before mi… ours. That might cost us a small portion of the audience, but that’s worth it. It’ll give us some time to practise. Now you’ve seen that I work with fire, right?†she glanced back at Sterre to see that she was still nailed to the ground. Then the other woman nodded, or at least she did something that Suraya interpreted as a nod.

 

“Good. During the performance, I want you to pretend you’re attacking me. Backflip towards me, jump over me… just do some acrobatic stuff that looks as though you’re challenging and attacking me. I’m going to counter that by breathing fire at you, and dancing with the torches. It’s really easy, but it’ll look impressive.†Sterre didn’t look all that confident about it. “Trust me, I’ve seen it at least a hundred time. And I’m good with fire, so nothing can go wrong.†She grinned at Sterre, suddenly excited about having someone to perform with again. “Now go get changed, and I’ll tell those idiots they have to perform first.†With that said she ran off towards the other acrobats. It wasn’t hard to interpret the conversation that followed. The acrobats weren’t pleased, but Suraya knew how to get what she wanted. A few well placed jabs about the lack of success of their own show was all it took to get them to agree.

 

~Suraya

 

 

 

“Girl, that’s not going to work," Suraya said, all business and obviously not allowing any argument. She dove into her closet and re-emerged with a set of clothes that were bordering on scandalous but that would probably fit well. Sterre took them without saying anything and let Suraya take the lead. “If you don’t perform now, or at least look as though you’re ready to perform, you’re going to find yourself in Howel’s bed before the night is over.†Now there was something she did not look forward to. “Well, what are you waiting for? Change!â€

 

Suraya turned her back on Sterre, fully expecting her to change into the set of clothes. She started rummaging through her closets and began to brainstorm her plan together. “Ok, here’s what we’re going to do. First, we’ll get those two idiots to do their performance before mi… ours. That might cost us a small portion of the audience, but that’s worth it. It’ll give us some time to practise. Now you’ve seen that I work with fire, right?â€

 

Sterre nodded with a sense of dread. This wasn't quite what she had planned for. She was not scared of fire, but to be part of an act that was pretty much based around fire was not something that was high on her list of fun-stuff-to-do.

 

“Good," Suraya said, taking it as an admission." During the performance, I want you to pretend you’re attacking me. Backflip towards me, jump over me… just do some acrobatic stuff that looks as though you’re challenging and attacking me. I’m going to counter that by breathing fire at you, and dancing with the torches. It’s really easy, but it’ll look impressive.â€

 

Oh dear Light, what had she gotten herself into? Sterre wasn't the kind of girl that got scared off easily, but she did have some sense of preservation in her hide; and she knew exactly what kinds of jobs had been too dangerous back in Tanchico. She knew exactly what she could and could not do; and this did not seem like something she had fun doing. Then again, did she have any choice?

 

“Trust me, I’ve seen it at least a hundred time. And I’m good with fire, so nothing can go wrong.†Suraya suddenly grinned, and her whole tanned face looked a whole lot friendlier. “Now go get changed, and I’ll tell those idiots they have to perform first.â€

 

Suraya bolted out of the wagon, leaving Sterre with a bunch of clothes and assorted jewellery and the decision whether she really wanted to place her fate in the hands of a fire-eater she had just met five minutes previously. But then again, spending the night in Fitch's bed looked equally un-appealing, so she decided to don the tight breeches and the blouse and take it from there. The trousers fit her like a glove, and the blouse showed exactly what forms were hiding underneath the nearly opaque fabric. Sterre wasn't ashamed of her body, but this might be a bit too much. She dug into Suraya's random assortment of cheap and not-so-cheap jewellery and threw on a handfull of necklaces that were silver and full of colourful glass beads, just to derive the attention a little bit from her breasts.

 

She also took care to put on bracelets that tinkled against one another when she moved her arms. Then she turned around to look into Suraya's tall mirror and saw a completely different person looking back. Perhaps she should take out her braids, then nobody would ever recognise her anymore, she mused as the door opened to admit Suraya in her own cart again. Sterre looked at the fire-acrobat and smiled weakly. She'd made her decision: she would do it and to the Pit of Doom with the consequences. "So, do you have any powders and make-up lying around here? We might as well go all the way..."

 

~Sterre

 

 

As Suraya explained what she intended, Sterre got paler and paler. As she walked back to the wagon, she expected the girl to back out. People often did, intimidated by the prospect of fire. Suraya had learned a long time ago that the fire itself wasn’t really all that intimidating. Sure, it looked scary, and it wasn’t always the easiest thing to control, but she had a couple of years of experience by now, and she could think of a dozen things more dangerous that a couple of lit torches. When she entered her wagon again, she saw that Sterre was dressed in the clothing she had given her, and that the look on her face was one of grim determination. “It’s not all that bad.†Suraya joked, grinning at the other woman.

 

It was good to see that Sterre was finally thinking a bit more pro-active. Suraya swiftly provided the powders she had asked for, and stood aside, watching as Sterre applied them to her face. “I never use them anyway…†she muttered, instantly realising that that sounded more than a little vain. She rushed to explain herself. “Not that I don’t need them, but… sometimes it gets a little hot, working with flames. And once you start sweating, it’s pretty hard to stop again, and you don’t want to know what a sweat-streaked, powder-crusted face looks like. It’s not exactly a money-making thing.†She smiled again. “Not that that should bother you. You probably won’t even feel the heat of the flames. I’ll keep them away from you.â€

 

When Sterre finished applying her make-up, Suraya opened the door to her wagon and lept out, landing on her hands and raising her legs high. She stood in a perfectly straight handstand for a moment before waddling to the other side of the wagon. “You coming?†she asked, her breath sounding a little strained from the fact that she was upside down. She allowed her arms to buckle, rolling forward until she was in standing position again. She pulled the two practise torches from the cart. “So… why don’t you show me what you can do so I can see how we can work that into the show.â€

 

~Suraya

 

 

She looked more than a little exotic, Sterre thought as she gave herself one last look in the mirror before she followed Suraya outside. I don't think that even my sweetie wouldn't recognize me like this. she thought with a pang of regret, remembering painfully the news of his death. It had been a stupid con anyway, but to lose him had hurt her more than she had thought it would.

 

“You coming?†Suraya asked outside the cart. She was standing upside her head and grinned at Sterre. Now that Sterre was actually following her lead, the other girl seemed much more friendly. Well, perhaps that was something to remember if Sterre wanted to keep the peace with her new colleague. Suraya pulled two torches from the cart and smiled mischievously. “So… why don’t you show me what you can do so I can see how we can work that into the show.â€

 

"Yes. Well." Sterre stood on the few stairsteps that led to the inside of the cart and was for a moment at a loss what to do. She knew her skills and she was aware of what she could and could not do in a way only one who has counted on her body to do what she wanted for years could be... but she had never tried to show off apart from playing tag over rooftops and daring eachother to walk washing lines between houses.

 

Sterre thought for one short moment and then climbed within a second or two on top of the cart. She waved at Suraya and then jumped. She seemed to float for one moment, ready to dive, and then somersaulted twice through the air, only to land nimbly on her feet, only a few feet away from Suraya; nearly close enough to kiss. She grinned and then danced away, jumping and twirling around the fire-acrobat. She didn't stand still for a second, but kept twirling and somersaulting until she'd made three loops around the other woman and then found herself on her feet again. Her breath was in her throat and her cheeks were burning, but the familiar adrenaline was rushing through her system and she found herself smiling. "What do you think?"

 

~Sterre

 

 

“And you think you can keep that up for over fifteen minutes?†Suraya said, not looking as impressed as she felt. The girl sure could jump. Not that that that would save their arses. It was best to be hard now, so that Sterre would remember that. she shook her head, a look of dismay on her face. “You’ll be exhausted within five minutes, and then you’ll have another ten minutes to go. The boo-ing will start about five minutes after you feel your lungs burn. You’re a sprinter, not a long distance runner. If you want to be good at this, you’ll have to be able to endure hour after hour of training, and you’ll have to be able to keep on tumbling for a over thirty minutes. You won’t always perform at a circus where the ring leader doesn’t care about the quality of your performance, after all.†During her speech she’d circled around Sterre. She lit her torches in the little smouldering fire that she left burning at all times during her waking hours.

 

Swiftly she twisted away from Sterre, bringing the torches high above her head. As she turned again, first one way then the other, she let her arms go wide. It looked about as impressive as a backflip, with the flames to aide her, but it was so simple it was almost offensive. “Looks good, no? and it’s not tiring at all. Remind me to give you something showy if we perform together again. Maybe some veils and sashes. Or maybe bells. Something to distract people from the fact that you’re not moving all that much. She danced around Sterre, twisting and jumping here and there, throwing both her torches in the air at one point, only to tumble forward, rolling over her back, and standing on her feet again in time to catch the torches.

 

She swished her torches in Sterre’s direction, nowhere near enough to actually touch her, but from her experience she knew that it looked dangerous. She doubted that the other woman even felt the heat. “Your turn, and now watch me as I move while you’re taking over the performance. I want you to do something similar while I’m doing my thing.†Moving the torches closer to her body, Suraya twisted her hips and torso the way a snake charmer did, occasionally stepping away from Sterre as though a move the other girl had made intimidated her. “So… you think you’re going to be able to do that?â€

 

~Suraya.

Of course it had been but a show of what she was capable of, but it was quite humbling to hear Suraya completely trash Sterre's quickly assembled ideas. Her feedback was constructive, though: she pointed out why all Sterre's tumbling around would be hard to keep up for a whole performance, and she immediately came with ideas to make the thing work anyway.

 

She then lit her torches and showed off some of her own moves, sometimes moving a bit too close for Sterre's comfort- but quickly enough Sterre learnt that Suraya had a tight control over both her fire and her movements, and she never even felt the heat coming near. This gave her a bit more incentive to trust the other woman in this thing. “Your turn, and now watch me as I move while you’re taking over the performance. I want you to do something similar while I’m doing my thing.†Sterre watched Suraya closely and knew that it would be easy enough to mimick the other woman. "So, do you think you're going to be able to do that?" Suraya asked, and Sterre nodded. "It's like a mock fight, or a dance. I think I'll be able to work like this," she observed. "As long as you keep those flames under control, that is," she added with a wry grin.

 

They started out; hesitating at first, anticipating one another's moves, but soon enough Sterre found out that it was easy to trust Suraya to be careful with those flames, and Suraya gave her tips and tricks to preserve energy in her movements. "I guess I have too much excess energy," Sterre commented, slightly panting after another round of twirling and mock-fighting. "I just want to burst it all out."

 

"Just keep in mind that we have a whole performance to work out," Suraya warned her. "And as for now, another performance since I think we're about to perform now. Come on, it'll have to do for tonight."

 

It's a good thing that I was never prone to stage-fright, Sterre told herself. Why, then, did she feel so wired up with adrenaline and anxiety?

After a few more tries, Suraya felt a little more confident about performing with Sterre. She really did have a lot of energy, and she was learning swiftly. Of course, the ‘circus’ of Howel Fitch wasn’t exactly the best place to learn a performance. Suraya knew quite well that Fitch used his circus as a cover for other activities, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t take advantage of a young lost woman the first chance he got. Suraya had seen it all before, and she’d probably see it again time and time again, but today… she just wasn’t in the mood for it. And that really was Sterre’s lucky break, because Suraya usually didn’t help random strangers unless she got something in return.

 

And to be honest, Suraya did believe she’d get something out of this as well. Two young women sold better than one, after all, and Sterre showed a lot of potential. “Ok…†she muttered. “Well, that will have to do for now. Let’s start the show.†She took her show torches out of a box on her wagon, and brought them along, holding them in one hand, and holding one of her lit practise torches in the other. She also attached a little flask to the belt around her hip. “Can’t breathe fire without a little fuel.†She said, winking at Sterre. The flask was filled with a mixture of spirits and s light oil. If you swallowed enough of it, you’d eventually get sick, which was why Suraya made sure she never did.

 

Sterre followed her to the main tent, looking more than a little nervous. “Don’t worry.†Suraya said. “These people won’t know the difference between a good show and a mediocre one, so we should be able to get away with it.†The applause coming from the main tent was mixed in with boos. “Of course they do know when a performance is absolutely worthless… Ok, here’s how we’re going to do it. I’m going to enter the tent, tell the people who I am, and then I’ll announce you and you come out. Tumble around a bit while I light my torches, and then we’re going to do what we’ve just practised. Ok?â€

 

She didn’t have time to see if Sterre was ready, as Howel was motioning for them to come in. “Easy big fellow…†she whispered. “You’ll get your show tonight.†There was something predatory about Suraya as she walked towards the centre of the ring, her hips swaying not unlike those of a cat on the prowl. The sounds of the people muted as they watched the darkskinned woman enter. Suraya placed her two torches on the ground. The third one she held high. The last of the loud spectators was hushed as she looked around the ring, letting tension build. “Ladies and Gentlemen…†she started, her voice sounding sultry, but still carrying a long way. A trick she’d learnt from the gleeman.

 

“Tonight… is going to be a real treat. Consider yourself privileged, nay Honoured, to be the first to lay eyes upon something the world has never seen before. My name is Suraya Oceantide. And I present to you the woman who makes stars look pale in comparison. A woman who makes noblewomen sigh in petty jealousy, for their husbands will never look upon them the same way as they did… before they laid eyes on her. Ladies and Getlemen… I present to you Sterre Sophya!â€

 

ooc: :P

And then it was time to enter the ring already. Sterre could hear the crowd; they did not sound very impressed with the act that was coming offstage right now. She exchanged some glances with the acrobats that she had talked to earlier today - and with their narrowed eyes and ugly expressions they looked far from friendly.

 

Sterre smoothed back her braids and checked over her appearance one last time while Suraya entered the ring. It would have to do. The crowd, easily distracted, stopped booing as soon as Suraya elegantly made her way to the middle of the ring. Light, the way that girl moved was enough to catch attraction! Sterre wondered if the young woman'd had some Domani training. She sure had a flare for drama, Sterre judged as Suraya waited a few heavy moments before adressing the crowd. “Ladies and Gentlemen…†she started with a trained voice that easily carried. “Tonight… is going to be a real treat. Consider yourself privileged, nay Honoured, to be the first to lay eyes upon something the world has never seen before. My name is Suraya Oceantide. And I present to you the woman who makes stars look pale in comparison."

 

Oh dear Light, what is she DOING?! Sterre's breath caught in her throat, but Suraya was not done announcing yet. She continued, her voice brimming with glee and drama: "A woman who makes noblewomen sigh in petty jealousy, for their husbands will never look upon them the same way as they did… before they laid eyes on her. Ladies and Getlemen… I present to you Sterre Sophya!"

 

So what do you do, when people talk about you as if you are the best thing ever? You try to be the best thing ever. There would be plenty of time to throttle the other woman later.

 

Right on cue, Sterre swept into the ring, twirling and easily somersaulting - her glittery sashes flashing in the evening sunlight - until she found herself right next to the other woman. She took a deep bow before the audience, allowing them a good look at her ample cleavage, and then got up and gave a brilliant smile at an audience who looked at least partly intrigued. More than a few of them applauded, she noted with some degree of satisfaction.

 

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure to be here for you tonight. You will bear witness to something that has previously gone unwitnessed before," she took up where Suraya had left off. She'd always had a voice that carried; perhaps not as well-trained as Suraya's, but her voice was clear and warm and always made people listen to her. "Tonight, dear esteemed audience, I will try to attack the Mistress of Fire, the Enchanter of Flames, the unrivalled and stunningly beautiful Suraya Oceantide! Please do not try to do this at home, since Suraya's fiery flames are as dangerous as they are beautiful - and I am going to bet my life against these fiery terrors that are her torches!!"

 

The response wasn't as cheering as it was to Suraya's words, but Sterre guessed that people were silent because they were curious about what would happen next. In a flash, Suraya's torches were burning; and thus Sterre launched her first flurry of mock-attacks.

 

They danced around one another: sashes and flames twirling alike. Sterre could feel sweat trickling over her back as she trusted Suraya not to thrust the flames into her face or endanger her in any way. It only went seriously wrong one time when Sterre's bare foot actually whooshed through a licking tongue of flame when she performed a kick, but fortunately the move went so fast that it never hurt her - like you can trail your finger through a candle flame without feeling heat. The audience loved it, but the girls both exchanged a glance of pure horror before the moment passed and Sterre somersaulted out of the reach of Suraya's flames once again.

 

Near the end of the act it happened again: one of the sashes in Sterre's hand didn't move out of the way quickly enough and caught on fire. The sheer gauze burnt up in a flash, and Sterre was only just in time letting go of it before the flames reached her hands and the other sashes. She bit back a scream and finished it off in a graceful move, bowing to the audience as if she had done it on purpose.

 

The audience cheered wildly, and Sterre exchanged another look with her partner in crime between lunges of fire. They were messing up all over the place, but at least it looked impressive, apparently. That was something to be grateful for at least...

At some point during the impromptu performance, Suraya noticed that they weren’t just entertaining the crowd the way she was used to, no, they were driving them insane. The more they swayed their hips, and the more dangerous their performance looked, the more the eyes bulged. She twisted swiftly, glancing over to where Fitch was standing. He was applauding. The man, who knew nothing of performing and even less of running a circus was standing there, applauding, and waiting for his pockets to fill with the coin the performance would surely bring. Suraya grinned and took the opportunity to spin Sterre around so she could see how Howel Fitch was doing as well.

 

Sterre eyed him warily before mouthing a disgruntled ‘what?!’ at Suraya. The darkskinned girl grinned again. “We’re going to get rich baby!†she laughed, twirling again before throwing both her torches up high, flipping forward, and catching them again. The thought of success was starting to get to her a bit, fortunately the heat of the flames that got precariously close to her fingers was enough to shake her from her reverie a bit. She grinned at Sterre again. “When we get better at this, of course.†The dance continued and the crowd went wilder and wilder. Suraya felt she could go on forever, but Sterre was having some trouble keeping up. She frowned for a moment, before twisting past the other girl. “Time for the grand finale.â€

 

They’d practised this a bit in the hour before the show. Suraya had been taught that, no matter how bad a performance went, a good ending could save it. So they had worked on it, not knowing their performance would be taken in this well. Now, with the roar of the crowd in her ears, their ending sounded a little… bland, compared to the rest of the show. Of course she needn’t have worried. Nothing went the way they planned, after all. Instead of leaping over her, as planned, Sterre landed right on top of her. Suraya tossed her torches to the side, to prevent getting burned, letting out a loud oof in the meantime. Sterre looked panicked for a moment. “Roll with it. You’ve defeated the fire breather.†Suraya hissed. After what seemed an eternity Sterre leapt up, flipping backwards twice, carefully avoiding the two still burning torches.

 

In the end it was Howel Fitch himself that saved their performance. He walked forward, still clapping. “Ladies and Gentlemen!†his voice boomed through the tent. Suraya took the opportunity to get onto her feet and pick up her torches. “You’ve just witnessed something amazing! The very first time our Champion Suraya…†Suraya lifted her arms, both her torches high. She winced slightly, noticing her muscles were a little sore, “Was defeated.†He pointed at Sterre, who bowed deeply. “Honour to our new Champion!†As if that was their cue, both the girls bowed again, turned, and walked out of the tent. Suraya extinguished her torches the first opportunity she had, after which she turned to look at Sterre. The other girl looked about as flustered as she felt, and Suraya couldn’t help but laugh. Light, this had been a ridiculous performance, and yet she hadn’t heard a crowd cheer so loud since she had left Bandar Eban.

That last leap just didn't work. Her jump went all wrong, she felt it the moment she pushed herself off. For some reason she sunk through her ankle and she did not have enough momentum to leap all the way over Suraya. All she could do was try and not hurt Suraya too much, while still maintaining an image of grace that might or might not fool the audience.

 

They collided in a crash. The air was slammed out of Sterre's lungs and she hit the ground with her head a little too hard for comfort. A flash of light bored through her skull, but then Suraya hissed: "Roll with it. You’ve defeated the fire breather."

 

It took a moment to register what her partner had said, but then Sterre leapt off and twirled, before bowing deeply to the audience. She tried to ignore her headache for now and squinted against the setting sun.

 

Howel Fitch was the one who saved their asses. “Ladies and Gentlemen!†his voice boomed through the tent. Suraya took the opportunity to get onto her feet and pick up her torches. "You’ve just witnessed something amazing! The very first time our Champion Suraya…†He gestured to Suraya who had also gotten up and was lifting her torches in the air, "Was defeated. Honour to our new Champion!"

 

Sterre smiled brilliantly at the audience and bowed.

 

The cheers of the audience was like music to her ears. Who would have thought that they would have been such a hit? It seemed that life was smiling upon Sterre Sophya once again. Things were picking up, and even though Howel Fitch seemed a shady guy and Suraya Oceantide wouldn't probably be easy to live with, Sterre had worked in worse circumstances.

 

A promise of a good future awaited her. And it felt good.