Welcome to Gaia! ::

“That she would, that she would,” Vilyum trailed off as he sat down. He sat next to Áróra, who had placed herself next to Sita. He pulled the hot dog back out, from the inner coat pocket. This time he did not open it up and take a bite, he merely held it at the ready. “Well, if Seth is any indicator, there is a good chance she will get quite a bit longer. Between when I first met him, and our most recent encounter, he grew quite a bit. Can’t say for certain what changes your girl will have of course, though one thing I noticed with Áróra, her wings grew a bit, it would seem possible that something similar could happen with Sita. Course, there are always the random changes, some previously unrevealed trait suddenly showing up, like with Áróra’s tusks. Áróra learned to fly recently. In general she only does it around the house, unless something specific comes up. She does enjoy it though.”

“Then you should come over!” Áróra exclaimed. At this point her attention was mostly focused on her new Naga friend. The circus could have started and she wouldn’t have noticed. “You have a fishy? I love fishies! What kind is he? Have you ever been to the aquarium? You have to go! It’s best at night! Fuzzy doesn’t make beeping noise, but you can gear her gears moving! Her eyes, they glow green! When you come over you can see you!”

“It does and it doesn’t,” Vilyum began, “I mean there is always the irrational fear of something going wrong, but that’s just what it is, irrational fear. I mean, I will always worry some, but she took the class and she did well. She has never been a trouble maker and always listens. Maybe when she becomes a teenager, I might reevaluate the level of worry I give it, but for now, I try not to.” At that he took a big bite of hot dog with one hand and ruffles Áróra’s hair with the other. She couldn’t help but giggle in response and then, using only her tentacle, moved her corn dog in front of her face and also took a big bite.

Lowering her voice, due to the show being about to start, Áróra replied, “Hmm, I don’t know what kind of fish that is… But yeah! They have lots of fishies at the aquarium. They have fishies and sharks and octopus and crabs and starfish and eels; they have everything! Well, there are sharks at some beaches, but you don’t have to worry. They don’t like getting close to the sand. They prefer the deep water.” Áróra couldn’t help but giggle as Soljyr tried to get Sita to calm down. Still, giggling, she answered “Yep! Fuzzy has no fur! Oh! And you can also meet my sisters when you come over!”

“Yes, we should go sometime! And yep, I have sisters and a daddy! Oo, it’s starting!” Áróra was excited, she couldn't wait to see what the circus had in store.

The man behind the voice was revealed. He came out on a multi tiered platform, as women in costumes that, while not indecent, teetered near the line, danced around him on a lower level. As the platform moved to the center, 2 large, metal platform swings with 4 men, 1 on each side of each swing, came out on either side. A multitude of people, performing acrobatic dances full of jumps and flips, filled the space between them. As the man on the platform, the ringmaster, introduced the show, one man on each swing flipped high into the air. Small fireworks went off and other performers came out briefly as the ringmaster introduced them. Sword swallowers, acrobats of all sorts, clowns, lion tamers, and more took a brief bow then disappeared back to the sides.

As the opening progressed, Áróra whispered to Sita, pointing about as she talked. “Look at that! He’s the, um, ringmaster! Look at the acrobats! Wow, fireworks!”

“Wow, weren’t the fireworks amazing, Sita?” Áróra exclaimed, “The acrobats too!” Áróra’s mouth was agape in awe. Everything about it had been such a thrill to watch, she couldn’t wait to see the rest of the show. Turning to Sita, she giggled and explained, “The Ringmaster introduced everyone and then they went off stage for the next part of the show!” Still smiling wildly, she brought the soft pretzel to her mouth and took a bite. As she chewed, it seemed the next act was getting ready to come out.

The curtains pulled back and out marched four elephants, with acrobats riding on their backs. The acrobats did flips and handstands upon the back of the animals, as they marched about. Suddenly, spotlights pointed towards the top of the tent, where several raised platforms could be seen. On top of all 3 platforms, there stood an acrobat. In unison, they all jumped off. The audience gasped as they seemed to free fall, few noticing the rope that trailed after them, attached to the platform at one end and to a rod they held between their feet at the other.

Vilyum remained quite calm through the show, he was glad Áróra was entertained, but he didn’t find it particularly thrilling. He yawned slightly, and then took another bite of his hot dog, chewing slowly.

The man, who was clad in a jester’s cap, gathered the balls of in his arms, and began launching them into the air. First one, then two, then three were being thrown in a circular motion. That only lasted a few moments. Before long, he was up to nine. Nine balls sped through the air in a crisscross pattern. He kept that up for a bit, even walking about some as he did it. It was quite the feat of dexterity. After a bit though, he caught the balls, one by one and it seemed like he was departing. This was odd, though, since there were still rods and knives lying on the ground. He walked right past the center pole, and there must have been a trap door or something, because another man, that looked identical to him, seemed to exit out the other side. The two men, made their way over to the rods and knives, and each picked up a handful. Walking away from each other, they turned to face each other, once there was a small distanced between them. They then began tossing the rods between them. First 2, then 4, then 6, and then finally there was 8. Eight rods flew quickly between them, but that would not be it. One by one the knives were added to the mix, 8 rods and 3 knives were soon flying back and forth, back and forth. Then, suddenly, flames roared out of the ground between them, and one end, of each rod, caught on fire, as it passed through the flames.

Áróra started off interested, during the initial juggling. She was impressed, but thought, with practice, she might be able to do that. Once the knives were thrown into the mix, though, and the fire, she was on the edge of her seat, mouth agape in awe. There was no way she would try that; she was in fact, speechless.

Vilyum reached the end of his hot dog, chewing contently.

Vilyum looked up at the man and replied, with a shrug, “Honestly, I have no idea what’s coming up next. I don’t go to many circuses and thought it would be better as a surprise.” He turned back, to face the show, just as Sita screamed out “Lions!”

And lions there were; six of them in all. Also in the cage was a man, who would likely be the lion tamer, a large metal cylinder, an assortment of platforms, two ramps, and a large ring. To start off the entertainment, the lions all stood on a platform as the lion tamer walked by, sticking his head in the mouth of each. Áróra couldn’t help but gasp as he did this. “What if they bite his head off?” she exclaimed to no one in particular. She was a bit nervous.

Next, one lions climbed on top of the large metal cylinder, one climbed inside, and two stood on either side of it. The lions on the each side pushed the cylinder back and forth, as the lion inside walked about as if on a giant hamster wheel, and as the one on top carefully balanced. It was entertaining, but Áróra wasn’t nearly as nervous during this part of the show as she was in the previous, nor as nervous as she would soon be.

The shows conclusion brought many gasps of excitement from the crowd. The lions lined up at the tamer’s command. In front of them lay a ramp, followed by a large ring, and then another ramp. With a stamp of his foot, the ring was suddenly alight; the spotlight dimmed as the cage was lit by the flames. One at a time, the lions jumped through the blazing ring. From the first through the fifth, they all went through with no trouble. The sixth and final lion seemed reluctant. After a momentary pause, the last lion jumped through; the fire blazed up, momentarily blinding the audience, as the lion passed through. The eyes of the audience readjusting, they could see that the sixth lion was not there, in its place stood a woman in a flashy costume that looked like it had been made to look like lion fur. Áróra let out a light, “Wow,” at the finale of this act in the show. She was amazed, she couldn’t even sense any magic.

For a moment, silence filled the circus, and the lights went up a bit, there seemed to be a brief pause in the show, possibly for people to get more food or drinks, or to visit the restroom if need be. Some clowns came out, but they mostly seemed to be killing time until the real performance continued. Looking down at Áróra, Vilyum asked. “So are you enjoying the circus so far?”

Her grin practically went from ear to ear as she looked up at him. Nodding, she answered, “Mmmhmm! It’s great! All the performers and the animals and the fire.” Her face tentacles seemed to wiggle back and forth as she spoke. She was very excited.

Laughing, Vilyum responded, “That’s good, maybe when we get home, you can convince your sisters to come next time.”

“Yeah! They would love it!” she answered before turning to Sita. “What do you think so far Sita?” she inquired, “Isn’t great? I bet you liked the lions! I wonder how they turned the lion into a girl! And the trapeze artists! They were practically flying through the air and they didn’t even have wings, like we do!”

The intermission wasn’t over, not just yet, but they could be seen setting up, presumably for the next act. On one side, they set a large wooden, almost a bucket. It seemed to be full of swords. On the other side, they brought out a table. On the table was laid out several objects that looked almost like giant q-tips, though much more brown. Next to the table was a metal pole with a flame coming out the top. Áróra could hardly wait to see what was next.

The next attraction wasn’t one, but two acts both showing simultaneously. To one side, the side with the flame and table, two women walked out. One was barehanded and walked to the table, to grab two of the large brown q tip like objects. She lit the end of both objects on fire. First she twirled them about, spinning them quickly, throwing them into the air. Then she ate the flame on one of the objects, relit it, and then ate it a second time. The third time she brought it to her mouth, however, a torrent of flame erupted outwards. It was like she was a dragon, exhaling a breath of fire. The other woman had come out with a whip in each hand. She touched both whips to the fire and they lit up along their lengths. As the first woman performed, the second swung her whips about. She was a tornado of fire, her whips whirling back and forth, cracking, and showers of light erupting from them.

The other act was far less flashy, but just as thrilling. Two men walked out to the tub of swords. The first made a show of balancing first one, then two, tip down on his hands and then forehead. Then he tilted his head back and slid a sword down his throat. The other man, his assistant, handed him and sword, which he carefully slid down as well. This repeated 5 more times till the man had 7 swords down his throat, their hilts just peeking out from his mouth. He then slowly slid them out, one by one, handling each to his assistant.

Áróra was in awe the whole time; she kept looking back from one act to the other. She didn’t know where to look; she wanted to see it all! “Look!” she exclaimed, “he is swallowing swords and she is eating fire! And the fire whips! Wow! This is amazing! Isn’t this amazing Sita?” She was probably talking a little louder then she should have been, but no one in the audience seemed to mind. They were too much in awe of the spectacle themselves.