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Authors: D Jordan Redhawk
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sized hoops in his hand. At the dog trainer's instruction, the animals began an intricate pattern of leaping through them. In response, the people clapped, laughing when one dog appeared to take a liking to Minkhat, jumping up to bounce off his chest and through a hoop.
While this was occurring, the others were not idle and neither was the audience. Some of the people had drifted towards Cristof and he was regaling them with horrific tales of how many men his tiger had killed. At one point, he rapped the cage with a cane and the cat snarled and growled in response, scaring the living daylights out of the youngsters. Wilm was wandering about the crowd, the monkey on his shoulder, answering questions about the animal and allowing children to pet it. The boy's mother, Sati, was being chased about the crowd by Gemma, their behavior ludicrous in the extreme as they ran circles about people and generally caused havoc. Usiku, his midnight skin sporting a patchwork of colorful paint, closely studied an old man's clothing, half undressing the fellow in his inspection.
Once the dogs finished their exhibition, Daiki called them back, tossing them each a treat before taking the hoops from his assistant. Free from aiding the trainer, Minkhat leapt into the air with a whoop, doing a backflip before joining the chase of Sati and Gemma. Taking their cue, Tommaso and Martim stalked forward and glanced confidently about the clearing. After a moment of sizing the crowd up, they looked at each other, nodded and began their act.
Tommaso squatted down, holding very still as Martim placed a huge hand on his head. In seconds, the audience gasped as the second man levered his body up until he was standing, one handed, all his weight on his partner's head.
Katerin watched in awe, as she'd done at rehearsal the day before, while the two men practiced what they referred to as 'hand to hand.' Movement from the corner of her eye drew her away from the act, and she spotted Sameer and Abdullah handing out flyers. She couldn't help but giggle at them, one tiny and the other massive, as they played off their size to do their task. Abdullah would squat down for the dwarf to clamber up the muscled body, bringing him eye to eye with an average sized woman that he flirted with, handing her one of the many flyers he carried. At another point, he circled a man who appeared to be the tallest one in the audience, his craggy face screwed into a scowl of consternation. Tugging on Abdullah's pant leg, he made some comment and, in response, the large performer picked Sameer up by the back of his shirt and dangled him before the tall man's face.
"What do you do?"
Surprised at being approached, Katerin looked down to a girl of about eight. "Me?" Her mind raced as she tried to come up with an answer, dark eyes casting about as she searched her thoughts.
"This is my assistant, Kat," Ros responded as she stepped near and knelt down.
The girl giggled, glancing back at two of her friends who were edging closer. Pointing up at the brunette, she said, "She's not a cat! And what does she assist with?"
Relieved at the interruption, Katerin was nonetheless wary of the circus owner's response. After the last day of innuendo, there was simply too much that could be said to answer that question.
Also picking up the potential, Ros looked up at the princess and winked, her grin impish. "Well," and she returned her attention to the girl. "Kat is her name. And she helps me with my magic."
"You're magic?" the girl asked, eyes wide, all thought of Katerin gone. Her friends, interest peaked, pushed closer.
"Aye," the blonde nodded solemnly. "Let me show you."
Biting back a sigh of relief, the princess watched Ros entertain the trio with sleight of hand for a few moments, rolling a coin along the backs of her fingers, making it disappear and reappear once more. Despite a desire to keep away from the blonde, Katerin found herself intrigued by the conversation, a small smile forming
While this was occurring, the others were not idle and neither was the audience. Some of the people had drifted towards Cristof and he was regaling them with horrific tales of how many men his tiger had killed. At one point, he rapped the cage with a cane and the cat snarled and growled in response, scaring the living daylights out of the youngsters. Wilm was wandering about the crowd, the monkey on his shoulder, answering questions about the animal and allowing children to pet it. The boy's mother, Sati, was being chased about the crowd by Gemma, their behavior ludicrous in the extreme as they ran circles about people and generally caused havoc. Usiku, his midnight skin sporting a patchwork of colorful paint, closely studied an old man's clothing, half undressing the fellow in his inspection.
Once the dogs finished their exhibition, Daiki called them back, tossing them each a treat before taking the hoops from his assistant. Free from aiding the trainer, Minkhat leapt into the air with a whoop, doing a backflip before joining the chase of Sati and Gemma. Taking their cue, Tommaso and Martim stalked forward and glanced confidently about the clearing. After a moment of sizing the crowd up, they looked at each other, nodded and began their act.
Tommaso squatted down, holding very still as Martim placed a huge hand on his head. In seconds, the audience gasped as the second man levered his body up until he was standing, one handed, all his weight on his partner's head.
Katerin watched in awe, as she'd done at rehearsal the day before, while the two men practiced what they referred to as 'hand to hand.' Movement from the corner of her eye drew her away from the act, and she spotted Sameer and Abdullah handing out flyers. She couldn't help but giggle at them, one tiny and the other massive, as they played off their size to do their task. Abdullah would squat down for the dwarf to clamber up the muscled body, bringing him eye to eye with an average sized woman that he flirted with, handing her one of the many flyers he carried. At another point, he circled a man who appeared to be the tallest one in the audience, his craggy face screwed into a scowl of consternation. Tugging on Abdullah's pant leg, he made some comment and, in response, the large performer picked Sameer up by the back of his shirt and dangled him before the tall man's face.
"What do you do?"
Surprised at being approached, Katerin looked down to a girl of about eight. "Me?" Her mind raced as she tried to come up with an answer, dark eyes casting about as she searched her thoughts.
"This is my assistant, Kat," Ros responded as she stepped near and knelt down.
The girl giggled, glancing back at two of her friends who were edging closer. Pointing up at the brunette, she said, "She's not a cat! And what does she assist with?"
Relieved at the interruption, Katerin was nonetheless wary of the circus owner's response. After the last day of innuendo, there was simply too much that could be said to answer that question.
Also picking up the potential, Ros looked up at the princess and winked, her grin impish. "Well," and she returned her attention to the girl. "Kat is her name. And she helps me with my magic."
"You're magic?" the girl asked, eyes wide, all thought of Katerin gone. Her friends, interest peaked, pushed closer.
"Aye," the blonde nodded solemnly. "Let me show you."
Biting back a sigh of relief, the princess watched Ros entertain the trio with sleight of hand for a few moments, rolling a coin along the backs of her fingers, making it disappear and reappear once more. Despite a desire to keep away from the blonde, Katerin found herself intrigued by the conversation, a small smile forming
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