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Delilah White - Rolling Globe

Red eyes fluttered as she felt as if something had blinded her. Thank whatever gods were watching out for them today that she hadn't been on her ball at that moment in time. There were enough bruises on her backside from practicing the latest trick...

"Oh? Hm?" The raven haired woman muttered, her attention going to the push at her hip before registering what Mercy was saying. "New Routine...Oh! Poorly..." Delilah sighed with a huff as she crossed her arms under her chest. "I have it down packed with two hoops but the moment I add the third...thud."

With a jerk of head to make her point, Delilah then could only roll her eyes. "So frustrating when others start watching as well."

Alphonse Wingates-St. Grey - Fire Archery

Alphonse smiled with eyes closed as the crow alighted on his head and made its nesting place if just for a little while. He remembered when he had first met Alois. He must admit - the bird hadn't cared for him much at all at first, but now it seemed the two had finally grown on each other.

"She's such a good girl with her care. She didn't kick me once when I trimmed her nails. We must look our best for the show. Isn't that right?" He looked at the bird positively beaming as she trilled and preened on his outstretched arm. He practically treated the birds like his own children and he was proud when they did well.

As for himself, he was dressed except for his overcoat which was an old Japanese-style kimonoesque affair with just enough - or maybe too much - extra glamour and shine made just for the circus. He always put that on last as it was too risky to let the talons of his charges near it.

"You know - I am not sure what time he'd said exactly." He scratched his head with his free hand almost forgetting that Alois was still up there. "He's always changing something. I just can't keep up with the man."

✪

.::Glee Doyle - Adagio Performer::.

The best part about growing up in the circus was that she'd had her sister by her side along the way. For as long as she could remember, Glee and her sister had been partners-- partners in mischief, mayhem and dance. Their form of art was practiced and rehearsed, nurtured by the professionals they had trained under. Some days it was draining, but all days it was home; rewarding and wonderful.

It was always a thrill getting ready for the next performance. Practice made perfect, of course, but it was so much more than memorization. It was the way they moved with the music. It was the anticipation of knowing that all eyes would be on them. It was the light, the sound, the costumes. Glee couldn't deny that the costuming was her favorite part of it all; the shimmer and the shine, the glitz and the glam.

This was the life and it was theirs.

Ignacio Araya : Vaulter

Ignacio stood up from where he was sitting and stretched, pushing both of his arms into the sky before bending down and stretching all the way to his feet.

Time for practice, he supposed.

He wasn't even sure how he fell asleep. That wasn't really like him. He wasn't sure how much practice he had gotten done that day. Perhaps he had already done a lot of practice and needed some time to recover his muscles and bones? He couldn't really remember.

Shrugging it off, Ignacio headed out of the stands and towards the vault, where a rug had already been laid out behind it and a cushion had already been laid out in front of it. He figured the easiest way to practice was just to do it. The same trick. Over, and over, and over, and over again.

He took off running.

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Raina Araya : Magician

After leaving her brother to his own devices, Raina headed off to the area where she usually practiced.

That was what being in the circus was all about, after all. Practice, practice, practice. There wasn't much else to do other than practicing, admittedly, which could sometimes be boring ... but that was why she always liked to come up with new tricks to perform! New ways to trick other people, new slights of hands, new twists of tricks to make everything she did fresh and new and to keep people coming back for multiple nights.

The more people came back, the more applause she heard, after all. The more eyes remained on her. The more people seemed to be interested in what she had to offer.

She sat down with her supplies near the edge of the tent, playing around with a deck of cards. Easily, she flicked them from one hand to the other, watching them make a U-shape in the air before falling squarely into her open palm.

Raina looked over her cards for a moment to watch the others. Admittedly, she didn't really want to practice. She'd rather go talk to the people around her.

She was pretty sure they were practicing, though...

[ open to interaction for both! ]

.:: Dee Doyle - Adagio Performer ::.

"I think that's the guy who's got a crush on her." Dee tilted her head back so she could see her sister, grin on her face. "Her assistant is sick so he offered to take their place. I'm wanting for him to freak out cause he's not used to having knives between his thighs. And you know she likes to make people nervous."

She'd thought about offering to be Queenie's assistant a few times but she wasn't sure she could actually hold still.

.:: Queenie - Knife Thrower ::.

"Higher?" Queenie raised a brow, tapping the hilt of one of their knives against their lips. "If I go any higher we might be worrying about something being harder than hitting things while I'm blindfolded."

Not that they couldn't do that. Muscle memory was a wonderful thing but Halsey was a bit bigger than their usual assistant. Smirking Queenie flicked another knife toward Halsey, this one thunking into the wood on the other side of his knee parallel to the first knife.

She would definitely have to do a practice run, she just didn't want to catch anyone one fire on accident. "Oh would you? That's so thoughtful of you!" She said to the other young woman and listened as she spoke about something she was working on. "Maybe I can watch you practice one of these times, perhaps give you an outside perspective?" She offered.

Lilith Calchas {Magician}

Day in and day out was life at the circus. Had been for her whole life. Her father had been a strongman, her mother doing performances with animals along with looking after their care. Instead of following either in their performances, their daughter had picked up slight of hand, and soon, larger magic tricks that only expanded over the years. Though her parents had retired from the life, she'd remained. There were too many connections, too much of her life here for her to go anywhere else.

Lilith winced, rubbing at her temple through the fabric of her blindfold as her head throbbed. It was merely there for aesthetic--it hardly could do anything to hamper her vision...--but it was one she enjoyed. Black, teal, and white consisted of her uniform, a tight corset with a nearly sheer skirt, and simple heeled sandals. Comfortable for her, though she was aware it showed a bit of skin. Something about it though, and the memories of her life, made her head... ache? Stress? Unease..?

She pushed such things to the side though for the moment--she could do a reading later with Christa, if she still felt unwell--as she could hear movement approaching outside the tent. Cloth slid against a body, and she smiled as she heard the tiger pad his way to her where she sat at a desk. "Hello, Zeus," she cooed to the large beast, scratching him gently behind the ears. She'd been timid around the predator at first, but four years had changed... a lot, hadn't it? "Where're your brothers?" Not just the other tiger was in reference, of course. She was... incredibly fond of the human brother--of sorts--the tamer who radiated warmth and brightness. It was more like a crush, really. A rather... rather large one.

The sound of a small paw bopping a large snout made her have to stifle a giggle. "Lace, you're quite fortunate Zeus doesn't see you as a bite-sized morsel," was the vague chide to her smallest assistant--familiar, even. Still, she found her and leaned over to gave the black kitten a peck on the head before she bounded out.

After a moment longer with the tiger, she sighed and stood up. "We should likely join the others outside, hm?" Not that she expected Zeus to speak like Lace did, but she kept a hand on the tiger's back as they headed out of the tent. So much hustle and bustle. She breathed in the scents of animals, popcorn, cotton candy, sweat, perfumes, sawdust, fire... everything that was familiar and home, the day to day of the circus.

She knew Melody was out there practicing, and likely Khaleel was none too far if Zeus had come her way. Even more likely, would be Zach lingering somewhere near Melody. Not that she saw this to be a bad thing... but the juggler's crush on her all but adopted sister was perhaps one of the circus' best worst-kept secrets.

Before she reached any of them though she heard Orah's voice and turned her head towards the direction of the source. "Orah, hello!" She smiled towards her friend and held up a hand in a light wave. They should be practicing, shouldn't they? Orah was a fantastic assistant, and Lilith herself was insistent on the other girl practicing her own routines and shows as she built up her comfort on the stage. It wasn't an easy thing to be up in front of crowds, but it was her hope that Orah would find that strength to let the brilliance in her shine freely in front of an audience. Just took time and practice, right? "Are you ready for a test run with the new routine? We should have plenty of time, so there's no rush."

Pixie Nyxie

Lucifer Force

White Trickster Rabbit

Whimsical Blue

Eva'd been born under the ring top, to two of the best known trick shots in the gig so it was no surprise to find that she'd also been born with a bow in her hand; as the saying went. As soon as she was old enough to stand she was learning to shoot a bow, wanting to be like mom and dad. Wanting to join in their act.

By the time she was old enough to perform, however, her father had left the mortal coil. Which left only her and her mother to tag team trick shots in a routine that left people amazed. It didn't help that targets were usually stationed all around and the two often employed varying degrees of acrobatics in order to achieve the shots. But eventually the duo would become only Eva herself as her mother soon grew too old to keep up with their routine.

Which worked out, she supposed, because it allowed her to be even more ingenious with ideas on how to keep everything fresh and entertaining. Her time on the floor often required the aid of multiple obstacles for her to climb, jump and throw herself from as she aimed for targets both still and moving. Though she could have probably added some fire for flair it just wasn't Eva's thing.

After all, how could people appreciate the work and dedication she put into her archery skills if all they paid attention to were the flames??

Having apparently dozed off, though the blonde didn't remember doing as such, a slight yawn left her as green eyes caught movement up from above. Oh, right. She must have come to watch Kailey work on her routine as she hadn't had much else to do.

One could only practice so many arrows into stationary targets before getting bored. And since other people had to use this area for their own practice it was hard to set up. Never mind that she was sure she could pull off everything with her eyes closed.

Lifting a pale hand, the archer smiled as she returned the greeting. "You know how I feel about aiming at people, Kailey." Too many accidents happened and she couldn't run the risk with such an important friend. "I know you live for the danger and all but I would feel horrid if I caused you any damage. Or worse! Do you know how many people have died from such accidents? I'm pretty sure Alex would hate me forever if I killed you, even on accident."