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At Puppett's refusal, Meldellevo could hear Luciano's voice rage within his head, a roar that eclipsed his mind. He was frozen, his cognitive functions put on hold, his consciousness numbed by a taste of Luciano's wrath.

She is kidding me! he seethed. All bark and no bite!

In a moment, it was over, and Meldellevo felt Luciano's presence whisked away in a dizzying whirl. He locked his knees to keep them from buckling, his being beginning to tremble again in fatigue. No...

He gritted his teeth, found that that took too much excess energy, and settled for softly setting his hat back upon his head. He slowly sank to his knee, pretending yet again to pick at specks on his boots. Come back! he pleaded in his mind.

Out of the corner of his eye, a lazy blue line of light snaked towards him from across the floor. It slid around behind him and up his pantleg, and Meldellevo found his - Luciano's - energy returning quickly.

Sorry about that, kid. Got a little carried away. Couldn't risk damaging ya. grumbled Luciano's voice. He was back, a comforting weight on Meldellevo's mind. The anger from before was still simmering below the surface, but it was better controlled now. Anger that could be channeled into power, not thoughtless destruction.

Meldellevo stood up, a small smile on his face. "That is truly a pity, Mrs. Puppet," he said evenly. "Perhaps another day."

Aure knew Meldellevo had good intention, and she didn’t want to cause any trouble for Ringmaster Icarus. She just couldn’t wrap her head around just letting Mrs. Puppett’s comment go in peace. Steed raised his arm that had few missing fingers, pointing toward Mrs. Puppett as he face Meldellevo, “But! But! She…!” Steed didn’t finish his sentence because he found it to be too insulting to be said in front of Icarus a second time.

Hearing Meldellevo taking up on the fight, Steed quickly snaps back, “And I don’t need any help!” So much is going on inside Aure’s head, she doesn’t know what to make of it. Winning a battle against the tarot reader is slim, but Aure still had pride in her support for her beloved ringmaster. That pride got crushed when the ringmaster stepped in to tell her to let Meldellevo practice with Mrs. Puppett though. “…Ugh…” Steed’s fingers went back to its original place and the two of them stared at the floor, thinking how unfair it was for them being so weak.

“Gah!” The flick on Steed’s forehead threw their minds off. Mrs. Puppett’s “bodyguards” comment was taken as a compliment to Aure, but her bringing up the “condition” causes Aure to be angry again. Continuing the fight would only have Icarus asking them to stop again, so Aure decided to stop here. “Just you wait…” Steed mutters under his breath. Both Aure and Steed head toward their usual seats in the reserved area of the tent, Steed stomps his way there making as much noise as he could while Aure tiptoes quickly and quietly. Aure climbs into her seat and Steed stood to aside with arm crossed. Aure and Steed waited for their turn.

“Nada,” was all Steed could say to Aemilio, since this isn't something that concerns him anyway. Not much attention is given to Aemilio after that.

Scheming up ways to take revenge on Mrs. Puppett, Aure didn’t pay much attention to Iris climbing up the ladder. The moment Iris fell off the rope, all Aure could see in Iris was Ringmaster Icarus. She ran toward the net with so much worry that Steed collapses to the floor due to lack of Aure’s mind control. The scene had happened quite a few times before, since Iris had a tendency to fall off the rope during practice. Every time Iris ends up unharmed, Aure tends to yell at Iris for scaring her.

Meldellevo tipped his hat to the other performers and headed to his place on the highest catwalk. Although he still had his own act, he also provided auxiliary support for the other performers, funneling wind to help propel acrobats higher or spin more, manipulating the sound waves to hush a distracting voice or amplify a majestic lion's roar (handy, saved the circus a lot of money and space in sound equipment), adding a sparkle to the steps and smoky mystique to the act.

He reached the top of the catwalk and turned to watch the tight-rope walker. She was trying out some new tricks today, if he remembered correctly, and he settled in, leaning against the railing, to observe and see where some enhancement would help with the act. Some smoke, perhaps, as she stepped out onto the tightrope? Whisk it away when she's done that trick with the sweeping umbrella ... there. And sparkles when she's twirling ... then. Some wind to help lift her higher at ... this time ...

Meldellevo was entirely engrossed in his thoughts, so much that he wasn't aware that Isis had fumbled and had begun to fall. As he came to the realization that the girl was falling, he became alarmed, leaning further, eyes wide, to see what the situation was. Curiously, the tight-rope walker seemed to be falling slower and slower ...

He peered at the girl and gave a start. There were blue tendrils of light forming a hazy net of soft light around her, and it seemed to be slowing her descent. He shook his head and looked again. No, there was no mistaking it. It was magic.

His magic.

Mel let go of the railing as the cloud dissipated and deposited Isis gently on the net, his heart pounding. He looked down at his hand. He absolutely, positively, could not remember performing magic. What was going on?!

A swirl of light blue particles formed into the shape of Luciano beside him. The fair man put an arm casually around Mel's shoulders, giving the dark-haired illusionist an easy shake.

"Calm down, kiddo. That was me. Couldn't let her be so scared, could we?" came a lazy drawl.

Meldellevo rubbed the bridge of his nose, opening his mouth to retaliate, but the arm tightened around him, and he changed gears. "Warn- yes. I understand."

Luciano smiled, squeezed Meldellevo's shoulder softly, and disappeared in a soft blue glow, rematerialising as a white, fluffy Persian kitten on Mel's shoulder, lounging on the soft clothing.

[[OOC: Oh wow, I wrote this up a few hours ago and just posted it now. Um. Let's just pretend the net was there.]]

Mrs. Puppett was having fun watching the other members of the circus when something grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug. She grunted softly and was about the slit the offender's throat with her cards when she saw it was the twins. She blinked and proceeded to put her deck of cards back into her pocket, smiling a somewhat nice smile. If you could call it that.

While she never liked anyone in the circus, the twins were just about as nuts as she was, so she tolerated them to a point of what one would call a "friendly acquaintance". Parasite didn't really bother her either, in spite of her sex change.

Sitting up, the brunette straightened her tie and hat before leaning on her crossed legs. "Hello there, Parasite. Tapeworm. Where have you been?" she asked kindly enough. Judging by appearance, they were probably out causing trouble. Not that she cared, of course.

Noticing Aure's slight deflation when he had allowed Meldevello to combat Puppett instead of Steed, the brunette ringmaster bent down to whisper into the redheaded girl's ear. "My apologies darling, but a king does not send out his best knights to the front line does he? I must keep my most devoted subordinates closer to me and out of danger, no?" Then with a smile and nod, he returned his attention to the first act of the practice. 

Icarus had always loved and hated watching Iris' performances. Returning to his seat on the pedestal near the safety net, his eyes followed the girl as she climbed up the ladder towards the high wire. She was talented, that much was certain, and as she stepped onto the platform, the ringmaster couldn't help but feel a tinge of envy. She looked beautiful up there.

Before he knew it, she had begun her act, taking her first steps onto the rope and walking back and forth from one side to another, looking as natural as a fish in water. Her body language was relaxed, her footsteps light and carefree. She was so happy up there, that despite his jealousy, Icarus couldn't help but smile. Iris really did like she could fly, and in the deeper, more bitter confines of his subconcious, every time he watched her up there, he thought, Why her? It should be me up there. She's simply a self-taught little girl, I was better. People should be looking up there and admiring me. Then he thought about Iris' smile every time he mentioned her performance, the way her joy seemed to radiate off her every time the audience applauded after her act, her short prayer to the fake constellations on the tent roof that she thought nobody else noticed, and he would sigh. He was right about one thing, she was still a child, not even eighteen, and who was he to crush the dreams of an innocent child just because of his own jealousy?

Despite his resignment to this fate, every time she performed, Icarus could never help but feel bitter and proud at the same time. Returning his focus the girl dancing atop the high wire, he noticed that her tricks had gotten more complicated. Throwing her umbrella in the air, she cartwheeled forward, intending to catch it as it fell. Not an uncommon trick, but not without difficulty, especially if you rushed the timing. The amputee enjoyed analysing her performances to see what she could improve on, and despite his handicap, his eyesight had yet to deteriorate.

Looking closely, a small frown touched his features as he noticed her steps had become slightly sloppier, a bit unsteady, but nevertheless, she pushed herself into a back flip. That must have been the new trick that she had been so excited about. However, it appeared as if she hadn't quite mastered it yet, and by a slip of foot, the seventeen year old began to plummet downwards. 

This was far from the first time that Iris had fallen from the wire, nor would it be the last, but Icarus remembered how panicked he had become the first time she had fallen, practically screaming and doting on her as if she had fallen from a cliff into the sea instead of unscathed into a safety net. To this date, he swore that every single time she fell, his heart stopped for a few seconds and the scene of his own demise briefly flashed before his eyes. Had he been fully healthy, he would have run over in concern to try and catch her or something of the sort, but he knew that in given his 'condition', as Mrs. Puppett so tactfully put it, he'd never reach her in time. Muscles locked and frozen in fear and concern, Icarus couldn't help but marvel and let out a sin of relief as Iris' descent suddenly decelerated with the support of several tendrils of magic. Casting a glance at the source of this illusion, the Ringmaster smiled weakly at Meldevello as a thanks. What in the world would I do without him? 

Limping over to the safety net with the aid of his crutches, Icarus put on a stern expression and scolded the fallen tightrope walker. "For heaven's sake, Iris! You must be more careful! Do you know how much it scares us all when you drop down like that? Honestly Iris!" Despite the strictness of his words, his eyes displayed genuine concern and worry. "In any case, are you unhurt?"

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As she fell, Iris was especially mindful of the umbrella, hugging it closely to her body to ensure it wouldn't break or stab her body in the few unfortunate times before where she landed on the plastic and metal.

But everyone else's worry was for nothing as Meldellevo's familiar magic came in wisps of blue smoke, slowing and eventually softening her descend onto the safety net. It was the lack of sensation of falling that terrified Iris as she felt it was far more natural and better than she plummeted to the net. With a held breath, she was stiff and frozen until she felt the familiar net holding with the just as familiar face of the angry Aure.
She let out a deep sigh as the discomforting cloud left her and smiled sheepishly to the small crowd that usually gathered around the net after all her falls. With a nod and slight blush of embarrassment, she answered the 'important' question, "Yes, I'm fine."

Iris stood on the net, balancing on the different tension points as though it was the high rope above their heads. After a quick navigation, she reached for Aemilio's hand and stepped down from the nets. Even without the magnificent Meldellevo's magic, the worst injuries she got were from her own prop or the abrasive rope. Small bruises and scratches easily hid with a bit of stage make-up.

She swears she doesn't need glasses no matter how bad her eyesight is, and in the end, it is true. Iris is simply too oblivious to notice much in the first place. "But Icarus! Icarus! How'd I do? Go tell everyone to move to the second act, I forgot to stretch. You can talk to me while I do that, right?" In her energetic bundle of sentences, she spoke quickly and missed key explanations as though they were already spoken somewhere inbetween.
Without even waiting for his response, Iris began to flex and stretch her muscle lightly to warm up. After every practice, after every fall, after every show, Iris would immediately go the ringmaster for any tips or advice, looking up to the man as though he was her older brother.

The circus was her family now, and she was quick to adapt. Parasite and Tapeworm were her cousins. (Mischief was their common language.) Mrs. Puppett was the aunt that no body liked or knew exactly how they were related to. Aure and Steed the younger siblings, both of which Iris loved simply to bits as being an only child biologically. Meldellevo wasn't an older brother, but more like a really nice uncle that fortunately didn't marry Mrs. Puppett.
And then there was Aemilio.
He was kind of like the neighbour next door... who spoke Spanish. And talked to animals.
Which was down-right awesome to Iris, even with her fear of the larger beasts.