Welcome to Gaia! ::

Kayde landed on the ground neatly, raising his hands above his head in a theatrical display. The crowd watching cheered as he gave a bow, pushing the hair out of his eyes as he straightened back up. After a few more bows and flourishes of his hands, the young man retreated behind the curtain set up behind his small stage. It connected with his wagon, creating a small dressing room surrounded by curtains on all sides, so he could rest in peace between performances. This was the last one for the day and so he retreated into his wagon to change his clothes and cool down. He was finding it didn't thrill him as much as before. At least not being in this camp didn't. All he saw were reminders everywhere of how these people had abandoned Elka in her time of need. Sure, she was spoiled, but she wasn't so bad to warrant leaving in a strange country so far from home. They could at least have went back to Zena and dropped her off. But they hadn't and he couldn't shake away the knowledge that no one seemed to care.

Placing his costume in his clothing trunk, Kayde exited his wagon, pushing back one wall of the curtain to leave his area. He was glad he had picked an edge of the camp to set up, as this gave him the advantage of being able to easily slip away if he needed to. And today was very much a day that he needed to do just that.

He made his way silently around his wagon, edging along the side of it like a thief in the night. Only he belonged here and the sun would still be streaming through the thick canopy for many hours yet. His sets were all done for the day. Next would be the trick riders and strongman showing what they can do. No one would be paying attention to the whereabouts of the acrobat, at least not yet. Murie's attention would be all on the next performers, to make sure their acts all went according to his plans. Nonetheless, when Kayde got around a thick tree, hiding himself from view, he sighed in relief. Murie knew something was up, but hadn't yet managed to ask Kayde yet what that was. If only Kayde was good at lying or even just hiding the emotions on his face, this would be easier and he wouldn't need to sneak around as much as he did.

The young Leaf picked a direction to go in and started walking, hands in the pockets of his pants. The noise of the crowds slowly ebbed away, until it was just him and nature. He liked nature, but also didn't mind the sounds large crowds of people could make. He didn't think he'd mind living in a city. He felt like he'd gotten out all the wanderlust by now and would be able to settle down somewhere. He hoped that would help him to impress Elka enough. She seemed much more mature than he remembered. More independent and understanding of the lower class's struggle. In a way, being abandoned here had done her some good.

While he watched, Kayde kept his pale eyes on the world around him. He watched animals scurrying after each other on the ground and the birds flying above him, casting brief shadows on the ground when they caught a stray sunbeam. He would miss this part of being on the move, being able to walk ten feet from home and find nature in such abundance. Of course, it wasn't like he wouldn't be able to do that in a city, walk in nature like this. It just wouldn't be on his literal doorstep.

A shadow of a bird distracted him and he looked down to watch it crossing over a few humps of dirt. As it passed over, something glinted. Curious, he walked over to it and bent down. It was stuck half in the ground and he had to use a rock to dig it out. He kept at it, realizing quickly what it was. With one final pound with the rock, the dirt loosened enough for him to pull the silver out and hold it up. It wasn't very large and wouldn't fetch much, but it was something that he could sell nonetheless. He would need a good chunk of money to do what he was planning on doing. He had a fair bit stored away already, but this would help, no matter what little he got for it.

Pocketing it, Kayde turned around and made to return home. When next he had some time off, he was making another trip into town.