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It was the perfect day for a circus.

The sun was always shining in the desert land they called home, but a blessed breeze and puffy clouds skittered across the sky. Guests were known to stay in the shade of their cool homes rather than fight the midday sun on sweltering days, but thankfully, the cooler temperatures had brought out huge throngs of people. It would be a great crowd, a full house! Days like this always got Leukos the most excited, and the most anxious. After years of performing in front of huge crowds, you’d think he wouldn’t have these nasty little fluttering birds squabbling about in the pit of his stomach! As he finished off the last braid in his long hair, weaving ribbons and bells into it so they would jingle marvelously as he moved, he began his customary breathing exercise. One long inhale, then exhale through the nose, repeat steps as necessary. After a short moment, the knots in his stomach untangled, and his usual calm vigor returned. After wrangling one of the crew members into help him put his braided hair into a secure updo, he took a moment to study himself in the mirror. His costume glittered with decorative beads, ornamental scarves tied in just the right places. After fidgeting with the straps of one of his close fitting shoes, he deemed himself perfectly presentable, and ventured out of his wagon to prepare for the impending show.

His first stop was the animal pens. As he passed by each cage, he stopped to greet every beast with a kind word of encouragement, one of the other customs he had adopted before each show. Handlers were running about putting all of the finishing touches on the performing animals’ costumes, making sure every creature looked perfect. The only two creatures of concern for Leukos was a fiery red Xaraan and a deep purple Janarim, his performing partners. He had personally trained these mounts to handle the stress of remaining calm in the hectic setting of a circus tent while performing their routine as he rode on their backs. His pride bubbled forth, as it always did, as he stroked their flanks, admiring their beauty and form. From across the grounds, he heard the deep reverberating boom of a large drum, then another, announcing that the show would be starting and for all the guests to enter the tent. He took them by their harnesses and led the animals to the back of the tent, waving greetings to the other performers who would be going on before him. Leukos killed time with his warm-up stretches, and with a loud symphony of harmonics erupting from within the tent, the show began.

As the lights in the tent suddenly illuminated the ring once more, a lone Matori performer crouched in the center of the ring. Leukos smiled at the ground at the murmur that swept across the enclosure, the crowd in silent anticipation of his contribution to the show. A gentle tune emanated from the band as he slowly raised himself from the ground in a precise one armed handstand, which he rolled out of into a curled somersault. Popping up out of his ball, he stood with his arms raised high, accepting the polite applause that followed. He continued tricks of this magnitude for a time, feeling the audience’s attention waiver, loose focus.

Leukos was in the midst of another handstand towards the audience, when he heard a yell from the edge of the tent, and the sound of many voices gasping at once. A huge Janarim had burst into the ring, loping across the compacted dirt and growling at the audience. The beast paced, eying the wary faces in the stands who sat in poised silence, unsure at whether this was a part of the show. It stopped in its tracks as its slanted eyes settled on the oblivious Matoran performer still in the midst of his trick. The music came to a halt as the beast lowered its body to the ground and began silently stalking towards him. Every second seemed like an eternity as the lights dimmed in the tent, the creature growing ever closer and closer to the young man. People began to nervously shift in their seats, children pointing, hushed concerns being shared. As the beast stopped behind Leukos and crouched into a leaping position, its fanged maw open and ready to clamp down on the small standing earthling, a handful of audience members leapt out of their seats, screaming for him to turn around. As Leukos quickly turned, the beast lunged, landing with sharp claws on the dirt where the boy had been standing moments before! The room was positively buzzing now, panicked faces transfixed on the horror taking place before them. He dodged and tumbled, narrowly escaping further swipes from the beast, its snapping jaws always inches away from its prey. Leukos whipped off one of the red scarves tied to his arm, snapping it before the face of the Janarim in rapid succession, distracting it with a flurry of color and movement. But that only lasted for a time, as the beast let out a reverberating roar and ran at the boy. As the audience cried out in terror, it seemed to ram its head violently right into the boy’s exposed abdomen. The music that had subtly been humming during the whole encounter suddenly swelled into a frenzied roar as in the blink of an eye, Leukos had grabbed the creature by its horns and flipped over its head, landing squarely on the bridge of its huge back. The red fabric held in his hand fluttered dramatically down around the unharmed boy who stood with his arms outstretched, smiling from ear to ear atop the suddenly still and calmed beast. And with that, the trap had been sprung.

A moment of shocked confusion left the crowd absolutely silent, eyes wide and mouths agape, until all at once, the silence was broken by a thunderous round of applause. They had been duped! The music returned to its regular jaunty rhythm as Leukos danced atop the creature’s back, daintily balancing on its outstretched tail tip across to the crown of its unwavering head, twirling the ribbon in vibrant arcs around him. The audience drank the spectacle in, reveling in their folly and the remarkable performance the pair had put on. The Janarim turned towards the audience, and both he and the boy atop its back bowed towards the stands as the music came to a dramatic conclusion, the onlookers applauding madly. Leukos hopped off and tied the ribbon around the beast’s neck, giving it an affectionate rub behind the ear before it exited the stage. Just as the crowd began to settle down, the music flared up again as a colorful Xaraan was led in by a small Matori woman who held a cord attached to the maw of the creature. She smiled and waved to the throng, taking her place in the center of the ring. She spurred the Xaraan into a slow run, allowing it to jog around the arena in a steady circle with her acting as the spoke. Leukos joined her in the center and then ran towards the creature, using the handles on its saddle to launch himself onto its back. Leukos vaulted atop it as the Xaraan ran around the room, delighting the crowd with back flips, handstands, and thrilling poses, suspending himself with only one leg off the side of the creature at times. For the final showstopper in his act, a ring of fire suddenly appeared in the arena, threateningly hovering above the dirt. As the Xaraan ran towards it, Leukos stood and dived over the head of the animal through the center of the flames, tucking into a controlled roll. The onlookers cheered when he popped up again, the music silenced once more so their applause filled the space. Leukos took the hand of his assistant as they bowed deeply to the crowd, and as they ran off stage to exit the tent, he couldn’t resist turning and throwing a few kisses to the enraptured throng.

Outside the tent his teammates congratulated him for a job well done as the next act entered the ring. He panted heavily but couldn’t contain his laughter from escaping; this was one of the best performances he had put on yet! Everything had worked out perfectly, the audience putty in his capable hands. He lovingly stroked the heads of the Xaraan and Janarim who had accompanied him in the show: he would be nothing without their support. Time wore on, and as the final act finished their performance, the whole troupe ran back into the tent to make their bows, Leukos proudly riding in bareback atop the Janarim. The audience stood in the stands, their applause deafening. Leukos reveled in the attention, smiling brightly and catching a flower that was thrown at him by a screaming girl he recognized as a regular. As his eyes scanned the crowd, they fell upon a young Matoran man standing at the front. Besides a huge contagious smile, nothing was especially noteworthy about him, but something in his hair made Leukos freeze in shock. A spiral shaped shell pin was nestled in the mob of hair atop his head, a pin the same as the one Leukos wore every day. He felt his toes go numb, his mouth dried, a heavy lump settling in the base of his lower back as old memories of a small, ragged child with sparkling eyes and an easy laugh came flooding back to him. As the sounds around him faded away, a single thought wedged itself into his mind:

Who is that man?

Sensing the distress of its rider, the Janarim beneath Leukos shifted uneasily and gave a low growl, jerking him out of his stupor. Leukos shook the cobwebs out of his head and heartily patted the neck of the beast, calming its nerves. He wanted to dart over the barrier and into the crowd right then, but knew that would cause a debacle the circus would have to sort out later. So he watched and waited for the young man to leave so he could eventually find him, but to his dismay, he continued to sit in the stands. Leukos was forced to depart from the ring with the rest of the performers and lead his Janarim to the pens to be properly cared for. As soon as he was able to he pleaded with another member to take care of his duties so he could try to find the young man in the stands, and after begrudgingly receiving consent from one of his partners, he darted off. He didn’t even bother changing out of his costume, he was so intent on his mission.

But he didn’t have to go far. As if the gods had heard his thoughts, there stood the young man in the back of the tent. One of the more large and burly men of the troupe had already grabbed the unsuspecting lad by the shoulder, no doubt for attempting to sneak in. For him to be looking for Leukos too, it had to mean something! He trotted over to the pair and hailed the man.

“Franko! Thank goodness, you found him! I was worried he would get lost for sure; it’s his first time back here. Sorry, it totally slipped my mind that he might get tagged for a thief when I invited him to meet me after the show! ‘Performer’s high’, you know how it is!” He smiled pleasantly to the large man, hoping his ruse hadn’t sounded too desperate. It took everything in his power to not just snatch the boy away and bolt.

But all was well, Franko being a trusting man. “Why am I not even surprised that this one belongs to you, Leukos? If you insist on inviting backstage any young thing that catches your fancy, could you at least let one of the higher ups know first? I’m tired of these kinds of surprises. And don’t let him walk around unattended, the last thing we need is an accident on our hands.” And with that he released the stranger and walked off, shaking his head as he left.

Leukos felt his face flush, knowing what he said was true: he had snuck a few cuties backstage and been caught on more than one occasion. But this time was different, he didn’t know this man. At least, he didn’t think he did. He turned back to him and smiled apologetically, “Sorry for all that. And sorry for this, but I’d like to be able to speak somewhere more private.” He boldly took the strangers hand and quickly marched off, surprising even himself at his rash actions. Usually he was more composed than this, weighing his words for the best effect. But something about this man made everything different, and he had to find out why.

Once Leukos had made it to the edge of the circus grounds where his trailer sat, he let go of the Matorans hand. Taking a moment to collect himself, he turned to the boy. “I’d like to know who you are, and why you were looking for me. Who gave you that hair pin?”

Leukos was taken aback by the man’s question. Organization? He didn’t think he was a part of any “organization”, aside from the circus, especially not one so clearly shrouded in secrecy. He reached down to his pin, taking it off and holding it up to the light to get a better look at it, as if he was discovering it for the first time. He furrowed his brows and spoke to the sheepish man, “No, I know nothing about any organization connected to this.” His voice took on a softer tone as he looked at it once more, running his thumb across the smooth surface. “It was given to me by a friend a long time ago. He was someone very special to me…” He tried to recall the face of the Matoran boy who had given him the shell as a present one night, a token to remember him by. There was something about this man that felt familiar, and a strange feeling began to work its way into his buzzing mind. He looked at him again, studying his face, the curl of his hair, the way he carried himself.

He took a step closer and asked, “What… what did you say your name was again?”

That was it. The missing piece in the puzzle.
He knew that name, knew these hands, the feeling of those eyes gazing so intently into his. Leukos felt his world falling away, all of his supposed strength, all of those years spent keeping people at bay out of fear. Fear of losing someone close to him again, of opening his heart so it could be ripped out.

He drew his hand back as if he was touching fire, clutching it and the pin to his chest. “I’m… yes…” he stammered, taking a step back, eyes wide in disbelief.

“I waited...but you never came. I was alone… I was…” he stammered out, losing hold of words he usually had such control over. He felt his chest clench, breathing becoming hard. “Xewai… it’s you. It’s really…you, isn’t it?” he gasped, eyes stinging with tears. It was real. It was really happening.

“…you finally came…”

In this moment, they were the only two people in the world. Two lost souls who had found each other. As Xewai took his hand again, Leukos could only shake and stare down at the man, barely comprehending the words he spoke. He could feel himself coming to his knees, but had no memory of controlling it. All he could do was reach out and gently touch his hair, run his fingers through it, holding on for dear life. Here he was, the boy he had dared to stop dreaming of. He tried to hold back his tears, tried with what little strength he had left, but for the first time in years, he cried.

He spoke through gasping sobs, trying to say what he had wanted to say for so long, “I don’t hate you… I never hated you...” He leaned his forehead against the top of Xewai’s head, letting his tears moisten the boy’s hair. “I wanted to for so long, I wanted to blame you for it all… But I couldn’t. I couldn’t, Xe…. You tried, I know you did! You were the sun… you always came back… you always…” He wrapped his arm around the man’s head and simply gave up trying to speak, not even caring if anyone was looking, holding him close so Xewai couldn’t leave him again.

Leukos could feel his pent up emotions pouring out of with every sob, leaving him physically and emotionally drained. Eventually his tight hold on Xe began to loosen, simply because he lacked the energy to keep clutching him so tightly. The small part of his mind that had been silenced during the whole encounter felt a pang of embarrassment at how close the two boys were holding each other, how completely heartfelt and sincere Xe's words of love were. So Leuko detached himself from his friend's head, instead placing his hands on Xewai's shoulders so he could look at his face. It filled Leukos with wonder to see how much Xe had grown, yet how much of the boy he had cared so much for was still clearly there.

He rubbed his palm against his eyes, trying to clean himself up a bit and force the fog out of his mind. "I am. I am very happy." A laugh escaped. "You know me, I always liked to show off... but it's different now! I get to decide what I want to do." He smiled and squeezed is friend's shoulders. "But what about you? What have you done with your life? Knowing you... I'm sure it's amazing!"