(Little butterfly aww flkds;ajfkjweiogdsa)
She watched hesitantly behind Vasilios, eyeing the dagger. She listened to their conversation, making sure not to butt in. Her heart quickened at the Auro's remark. "Little butterfly." She whispered under her breath. She liked it.
She made a small mental note to remember Lios. His nickname?
Elena grinned and nodded ecstaticly when Auros turned down his title as one of the best weapon's masters around.
"You were really good!" She said.
He nodded in thanks "I thank my dear but there really is nothing so spectacular about practicing hours on end." He smiled up at Vasilios "you have a special one here Lios, don't let her fly away." He winked and tossed aside the red cloth he was using to clean the blade with "have you two gone to see Fair, have you?"
Vasilios shook his head "no not yet, congratulations by the way on the child."
Auros's sparkled "thank you Lios."
It was though. The fact that he was willing to practice hours on end with potentially dangerous props was a great feat. He was humble.
Elena furrowed her brow. Child? She wasn't one to butt in on conversations, so she kept her mouth shut. Auro's eyes glimmered.
"Thank you Lios." He said. He must be a good guy. Elena deducted.
He smiled and turned his attention back to Elena, letting Auros get back to his training "ready to go see Fair?" He asked with a tilt of his head. "Auros has some training to do for tomorrow night's performance, we'll be able to come down tomorrow for the tour." He breathed a laugh as he saw her smile "you've been charmed I see,Auros has that effect on many."
Elena bounced her head up and down in response. Because she never ventured from the show tent, this would be a new experience for her. Well, not exactly. She had seen pictures before, but no picture could give her the scents, the sights, and the experience of coming first-hand. That was what she wanted.
"I'll come tomorrow to see you perform!" Elena promised excitedly. She mentally calculated the extra trip with her budget and grimaced discreetly. She might as well start cutting back on a few things, and what better time to start than the present. Elena involuntarily brought up images of the dozens of stuffed animals sitting in her bedroom, and then a flashback to the hours spent by the claw machine, feeding it coins with hope for a catch.
Her eye twitched as she thought, her hand flying up to twist a lock of hair close to her neck.
He nodded and smiled "you've come to all of the Circus's performances haven't you?" Leading them away from the red tent, Lios turned on a path illuminated by the moonlight. They come upon a large tent, almost as big as the Main Tent. With the moon acting as a spotlight the tent shimmered with silvers and light blue accents, crameating the illusion that it was constantly moving and flowing. "I welcome you my dear to the Cretia tent.”
Elena skipped onto the moon lit path, her eyes moving side to side. We're traveling deeper into the fair. She thought, and glanced back. Would she need to remember the way out? She trusted Vasilios enough to know with surety that he was not a serial killer. Her black flats clicked along the paved stones.
She could soon see another tent farther out. It looked… Wavy. It appeared as if it were a mirage, swaying and wavering under the moon's light.
"A Cretia tent?" She asked.
He nodded and clasped his hands behind his back “The Cretia Tent. Home to acrobats who seem as if they fly and magic bringers to add a little flare.” He opened the flap for her to walk through. The inside corridor was dark, barely lit, casting the two in black, Lios’s eyes glowed with purple
Elena thought about the trapeze artists and the aerial silks performers, as well as a few other sights.
"Aerial performers." She whispered under her breath. The hallway they walked into was dark, with deep purple hues coloring the area. Vasilios's eyes almost changed colors, and she involuntarily held her breath. It was hard to see what was in front of her, much less anything farther than a feet.
"scared of the dark dear? Or scared of what's in it?" Vasilios said with a smile. He took her hand in his and guided her through the dark corridors, at some points light would sleep through cracks and frame their silhouettes with blue lights "this is where we keep most performers since we have a variety of artists and talent." He explained they walked
Elena swallowed heavily, and gripped his hand tighter.
"Are we there yet?" She murmured. The tent seemed much bigger on the inside than how it appeared on the outside. Her other hand buried itself in the flow folds of her blouse.
He rubed the back of her hand with his thumb in an attempt to calm her "almost." They walked on for a few more feet then came to a light colored door. silver fillagree was imprinted around the edges, the rest was filed in with merged wood with crystal. Lios opened the door with his free hand and guided her through to a large open arena. The ground was covered with a shimmery blue fabric that mimicked calm waters. Above we similar fabrics of all shades of purple and blues. They could vaguely see some performers practicing on the trapeze, easily flipping long distances and performing ariel acts some thought impossible. Far in the corner another Ariel Performer was wrapping fabric around her waist to redy herself to fly. Vasilios walked over to the woman still holding Elena's hand "I see you're practicing again," He greeted with a smile
(Bump)
How do they manage to fit all of this in a tent? Elena wondered, walking slowly to absorb the details of the spacious arena. They walked across a shimmery blue fabric that felt the tiniest bit fluffy for some reason. She felt oceanic here, the theme reminding her of fish swimming gracefully in the water. She turned to her left, and saw a young woman almost toppling down from the silks, like cartwheels in the air. Someone was hanging from a hula hoop suspended in the air with only their head, turning in slow circles.
Vasilios led her to another woman who was securing a strip of crimson fabric around her waist, preparing to climb up the rope-like structure.
"I see your practicing again." Vasilios spoke.
"Why if it isn't Lios," she bowed gracefully and pulled him into a hug "How are you?" she asked with a bright smile.
Lios hugged back "I'm dooing fine, fair." releasig her from the hug, Vasilios introduced Elena "this is my friend Elena, she helped with the show this morning."
"Ah, Auro's said you had a follower, he never mentioned how lovely she was though." She smiled at Elena
"He never does, he only has eyes for you, you know that." Lios replied.
Fair nodded "want to try?" she asked Elena, gesturing to the velvet curtain that was wrapped around her waist "It's fun!"
The woman gave Vasilios a hug, red silk dangling around her waist like a dress. He introduced Elena to her, Fair.
Fair gestured at the velvet fabric.
"Want to try? It's fun!" Elena's eyes widened at the danger it presented to her. She was in no way flexible or athletic, and wouldn't be able to climb the silk if she was offered a million dollars. Elena fidgeted nervously, but what the heck, she thought. Fair seemed really nice, and in the shows she appeared so confident, so she shouldn't worry.
Nodding shyly, she stepped toward Fair.
Fair smiled encouragingly while she unwrapped herself from the curtain "first we need to find you an Airiel outfit." She led her away to a corner, Vasilios making the move to follow but was held back by a look Fair shot him "tsk, tsk, tsk, Lios, I know you're attached to this one but don't worry, she's in good hands. Plus it's the ladies dressing room." Lios sighed but nodded "alright." As he waited, he pulled off his gloves and unbuttoned his shirt a bit. Wrapping his arm securely around the curtain, he pulled himself up in one fluent movement.
"Really?" Elena felt a surge of excitement flood her, and she followed Fair into a corner. Vasilios started to follow them, but Fair pushed him back. Elena giggled, realizing that Vasilios was about to come with them to the dressing room.
Fair tugged her along, making occasional comments about her figure and what would suit her best. She tried her best to listen. Fair grabbed a costume and nodded to the closet- "Here, change into this one."
Fair waited outside while Elena changed. "Ready yet?" She asked. "So, how do you like the circus so far – it's quite a sight to see, huh? And to tour with Lios, my, my, my, he must be fond of you to show you something so close and dear to his heart. come to think of it, I think you're the only person he's brought into the grounds that not part of the show." She mused with a smile "Don't pass that off as nothing, Lios feels something for you if he's willing to show you so personal."
Elena stepped out of the dressing room carefully, hugging herself around the waist. The tight cotton fabric clutched her sides, and Elena thought of the word.. Revealing.
She swallowed, eyes wide.
"Really? I didn't know that. Well, it is very nice to see you in person!" She said, trying to turn the attention away from her clothing. It was a weird mixture of silvery white and gray, which she assumed would go well with the bright red of the silk.
Fair nodded in satisfaction "like a star in the night." She praised "hey, don't be nervous. I promise none of us will let you fall." She reasured, assuming Elena's nervousness was about her performing with the other Airiel artists. "Lios should already be up there with us by the time we get there."
"Mhm." She said unconvincingly, happy that Fair didn't judge. Now let's just hope no one else does. She padded quickly out, ready to just get it over with. There it was, the long red silk dangling from the ceiling threateningly. Elena wouldn't even manage a single step before slipping off. Or she would crawl up a sufficient height, and then fall to her doom.
"You- You're coming with me, aren't you?" She said, apprehensive. They were only a few feet from the curtain separating the dressing room with the practice area.
She nodded, "I'll help you get up there, but I have to head off to practice. Lios will guide you through everything else." She pointed to where he was swinging back and forth on another red curtain with grace. "Don't worry, I leave you in good hands." She walked over to the curtain and wrapped it around Elena's waist securely. "Ready to go up?" Fair asked, wrapping a curtain around herself
"Oh, Right, that's fine." Elena smiled crookedly at her, ready to run out and hide before Vasilios could see her in this absurd costume. She rubbed the sides of her arm, hoping to look uninterested. Fair pointed at Lios, who was swinging erratically back and forth on a long red silk similar to hers. He looked like any other professional, moving with agility and refined elegance. He's good at everything. She thought to herself, not in the least surprised.
Fair wrapped a length of the curtain around her waist, securing it around her. Elena had to admit the colors looked better together.
"Ready to go?" Fair asked, wrapping some silk around her as well. Elena nodded, fearing the worst.
Fair showed her how to climb the curtain and how to decend safely before heading off o practice. "Have fun!" She called over her shoulder as she slipped off
"You coming up?" Lios called from his place on a hoop, swinging back and forth. "Come fly, butterfly."