Fire-Rockin' in the Market [5/10, midday, Aiden, DONE]

[Faeliel]

It was a bummer that the second ball had been canceled. The Birds of Play were scheduled to perform and now all of that was quickly dashed with the recent assassination attempt on the king. Understandably she could see why the choice was made to do this, but after that haul over the sea, it was a bit of an inconvenience to the group, whom were also relying on that money to help them get to Kelailles. Obviously having a large performance in the middle of the market place after an incident like that was also considered tacky, but Saorla was always the woman with the plan.

Instead of the entire troupe performing as one collective show, she decided to lace each of them in difference areas of Forsilvra aech day to gather some funding for the troupe to head elsewhere. Today was Faeliel’s turn, and she decided to select a large area of the market place where people could still shop, but gave her enough room to spin. He camped himself next to a nearby stall as Faeliel put on her specialized gloves where there were only coverings for the thumb, middle and ring fingers. Her hair was wetted and slicked down as a safety precaution. Eresir helped her out by shaking out the double ringed hula hoop of the excess ignition fluid that was previously soaked on it.

“All set?” he looked over and asked her.

A playful wink and a smile to go with it, “Always!”

Eresir looked up at the clouds and frowned a bit, “Weather’s a little dreary today.”

She simply shrugged it off, “Unless there’s a downpour, this won’t be a problem.”

The two walked into the center area, and Eresir put down a small bucket for tokens of appreciation upon which he would keep a sharp eye on for those who wanted to pocket it. Meanwhile Faeliel set the hoop down and started off with an introductory dance. Her hips slowly gyrated in circles, emulating the movement that would soon be required in order to dance with the hoop at her feet. Each chance she had a moment, she looked out at the passers-by and smiled or winked at them. With children it was always easy to grab their attention, men required a little acknowledgement to bring them in, it was the women that were always the hardest to lure. But that would change soon enough…

When neared the end of her belly dancing routing, her toes snagged the hoop and soon it was popped up by her hips where she immediately began to play with it. Right now it looked like a bizarre double hoop. What was the outer ring for anyway? People would soon find out. For the moment, Faeliel had the hoop crawl up and down the entire length of her body. Sometimes it hooked around her wrists which she gracefully moved in different ways before tossing it into the air and catching it perfectly back into a swinging motion almost like a large round baton. Then she let it crawl back down her body towards her legs and eventually moved it around her right ankle before she bent backwards onto her hands and lifted her leg high into the air and juggled the hoop around her ankle that way. By now she had a decent amount of peoples’ attention. It was time to move to the next phase…

She flung the hoop back into the air with her leg, and stood up quickly to prepare for the next move. As the hoop came down, her wrist snagged it back into motion, but at the same time, she snapped her left hand and in one fluid motion the outer ring of the hoop caught fire in an elegant blazing display. It was one fluid motion that most didn’t even realize how it happened. From this point, Faeliel started out a little slow so that people could grasp the motion with the fire. She performed the same routine with it as she did moments before when it wasn’t ablaze. Her wrist flicked it into the air; she played with it as if it were nothing. Pretty soon the juggling of the item was getting more elaborate and faster in pacing.

She had a captive audience now…

[Aiden Faerald]

Being a bard at heart, Aiden had felt the need to keep his eyes on all the entertainers in the capital. There had been one troupe in particular that had caught his attention, but he had long since forgotten their name after the horrors of the ball. What use was information like that when the world was so cruel a place? Or, at least, that had been his thought at the time.

Now that it had calmed down, he had realised he needed to see something to remind himself why life was not all darkness and he had silently cursed himself for forgetting the troupe's name. He had taken a little time wandering the markets, carrying his lute on his back and swapping Rascal between his pocket and his hands - Wanting to introduce the little kitten to the larger world. Poor Rascal had been so skittish at first - Not for lack of being introduced to people, but because of the sheer volume of people and the sights.

One he had to pop Rascal back in his pocket for was a girl, a little older than himself who seemed to be whirling rings of fire around himself. How she did it without setting herself on fire, he would never know, but he was entranced...though he found he looked away a few times with a blush when she swirled and winked at the audience. It wasn't right to look at her...well...practicing, he guess? Especially the way some of the men were. Almost hungrily. How the girl wasn't terrified, he didn't know. Still, he admired her ability and recognised the symbol of the troupe so he threw a few silver coins in, not paying much attention to what coins were already there.

The thing was, he was sure this girl had played an instrument at some point. How was she now doing something like this dancing? As he pondered it, he joined in the applause and waited to see what was going to happen next.

[Faeliel]

The hungry stares of men were pretty common for her to see, but she enjoyed the attention because that meant money was on its way. Faeliel continued to dance with the hoop swirling up and down her body. She walked along the circumference of the area upon which people were gathering in a circle-like fashion. The hoop just a foot away from them all and the heat warmed them on this dismal day. As she approached Aiden, she locked eyes with him. Poor boy seemed like he was blushing a little more than he realized, and she couldn’t help but smile at him coyly as she spun around once and brought the hoop up to her right hand. Spinning the item around her wrist up in the air, she used her free hand to run a finger down his chest playfully. A few of the men looked at Aiden with a subtle amount of jealousy before Faeliel made her way back to the center and brought the hoop down around her knees.

There it played up and down her legs, before she lifted her left foot high into the air in a standing split. The audience applauded as she continued to hold the pose for a while. When enough time had passed, she snapped her finger, and suddenly another hoop that was unlit leapt over the audience from behind and hooked around her wrist. Now the entertainer was juggling two hoops and she maneuvered them so that the fiery one was running up and down the lower half of her body, while the unlit one was going along her chest, neck, and arm. Her whole body undulated as the two hoops ran up and down, always coming close to contacting each other, but never quite there. The spinning got faster, and then in the blink of an eye, she caused the two to make brief contact and the second one burst into flames.

Faeliel’s end to the hoop performance was now a flurry of fire as the speed of her body increased. Occasionally she would juggle one into the air, perform backflips in mid-dance, or have them swing in opposite directions to one another. This was the thrill that Faeliel loved and cherished as the audience applauded and showed their appreciation in monetary values. Saorla would be very pleased with this outcome considering the circumstances. When all was said and done, she performed one last grandiose trick, before catching the flaming hoops and taking a bow. Everyone clapped and cheered, while Eresir came up to her and extinguished the flames.

“I think that was one of your best,” he complimented with a smile.

“Thank you,” she replied, a little winded from all the dancing and gymnastics that were required for that routine, “I wasn’t bad if I do say so me-self.”

She turned back around and caught eyes with Aiden again. Giggling, she walked over and gave him a cute smile, “Got any water for the fire bender, handsome? I’m parched.”

[Aiden Faerald]

If her costume had been enough to make him blush, her attention on him almost made him scarlet. Especially when she made a move that...well, he could barely begin to think about how she was being. His cheeks felt like they were afire and he had to look away. He wasn't sure if that had been her cue to ignite the hoop, but it seemed timed well to his blush. He kept sparing glances up and focusing when she looked away from him, but now he was struggling to make eye contact.

Soon enough though, the dance was over and Aiden began to applaud...until she ignored the couple of commenters and looked at him. Again. He tried his best not to blush, but he looked at the floor, clearly a little nervous. "Um...o...of course." Plucking his waterskin from his pouch he handed it over to her. "It's um, no problem if you want to keep it." He looked away again and his eyes widened in horror. "O...oh! Did I not put enough money in? I'm so sorry." With that he dropped another three silver coins into the box before it was taken away and looked back to her...or as near as he could manage. "Um...I'm really sorry, it was very good. I didn't know how much to pay...i...is that why you came over? I didn't mean to insult you..."

[Ragnar Storm]

Ser Ragnar Storm watched from the crowd of onlookers as Faeliel's act wrapped up. Faeliel was incredibly talented, and the crowd she drew quickly caught the attention of Ragnar Storm and Rain Hollen, who were talking a stroll through the market. Since the assassination attempt, and the fact that almost every noble in the land was in town nowadays--the sight of two knights wasn't that uncommon at the moment. What was uncommon was such good entertainment following an assassination attempt. With Jon Fitzwulf's death, Ragnar had trouble the past few days gathering his thoughts. The fate of the League was in the balance, yet two days after his birthday, Ragnar felt in a good mood. He had worn his plate armor and the green cape with the insignia of House Storm on the back. Rain had worn the same thing. The act was in full swing when the pair of knights had come across the crowd of onlookers. Admittedly, they were mostly male, but even Rain clearly enjoyed it. Ragnar, who had a wife and children, still indulged himself. He was certain he was far too old, but nevertheless, Faeliel was attractive, a performer needed to be attractive to be successful.

Ragnar and Rain stood near the back of the crowd. They hadn't seen anything like this in Kelailles. They joined in on the 'Ooooh's and 'Ahhh's. They exclaimed when the two hoops of flame exploded above Faeliel. Even Rain became somewhat jealous when Faeliel picked out Aiden to tease.

"That is one lucky boy." Rain said smiling. Rain had alluring straight red hair but lacked any of the feminine charm that Faeliel had innately. Ragnar even wondered if she preferred women to men. He had never heard of any of Rain's male interests, but to be a knight and woman must be incredibly hard as it was.

Ragnar chuckled, "He looks so uncomfortable, I almost feel sorry for him."

"Almost?"

"Almost, she's gorgeous."

Despite not receiving the one-on-one treatment that Aiden had, Ragnar and Rain were thoroughly pleased with the performance. They applauded loudly when the act was over. When it seemed like the act had wrapped up and at least half the crowd dwindled, Faeliel caught her breath and continued to torture the youth some more. It seemed he had no idea how to respond to casual flirting. Ragnar couldn't blame him, there were some woman who just can catch men off guard. Usually, they became performers.

"Can we meet her?" Rain asked, half-excitedly.

Ragnar pondered for a second, "I don't see why not."

Ragnar walked over and clapped his hands once more, "Tremendous performance Fire Dancer!" he gestured to Rain, "Rain, my coin purse please."

Rain handed Ragnar a purse filled with coins. He reached into it and with a flick of his thumb he flipped a gold coin into the donation box. "Your troupe should come to Kelailles sometime in the future, there are things we don't see too often in the North. Calm winters for one, and fire dancing for another."

Ragnar glanced at Aiden and smiled, he nudged the boy with his elbow familiarly, "Looked like you were having fun too, eh?"

Then Ragnar saw his lute and his smile faded, "Oh, pardon me, are you a part of the act as well?" Ragnar sounded disappointed, if the teasing wasn't genuine where was the fun in that?!

[Faeliel]

It was almost too easy to pick on him, poor boy! Despite the weather, she could detect at least nine shades of red that he was turning during their interaction. She kept smiling as the guy fumbled about trying to get his water skin for her. Once he managed to retrieve it, she took it from him gingerly, her fingers brushing over his hands, “Thank you, Luv!”

Taking a few good swigs, she then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before handing the item back to him, “That really hit the spot! Thank you, my kind sir.” But he was too busy stammering himself half to death, and honestly Faeliel was too amused to pay too close of attention to everything he was saying. It didn’t take a courtesan to know he was green around the ears, so-to-speak. She continued to watch him drop money into the box until she finally giggled and ran a finger down his cheek, then slid it along his neck, “The price is whatever you feel it is worth, good sir. A donation of any kind is always appreciated.”

Her words were soft and sultry when she said them, and they were used because she knew it would likely cause more than one thing to turn red in the long run. If she was going to utterly embarrass the boy, she may as well have gone for broke.

Faeliel’s attention was immediately turned to the two knights who approached her. Both were very regal and attractive looking themselves. The gentleman gave her praise and began fetching his coin purse. By their attire, it appeared that the knights were roaming about these areas a little more frequently than usual due to the festivities that were supposed to take place. “Thank you Milord! I’m always happy to be of service in entertaining you!”

Eresir quietly bowed in thanks for the offering of both individuals before he moved on to cleaning up after Faeliel’s act. It was an even trade the two of them had agreed upon so that each performer had time to converse with their audience. When the knight mentioned where the troupe should entertain next, Faeliel gave him a confident smile, “Actually, Kelailles is our next destination! We’re heading there at the behest of hoping to perform for the Storm family.”

She then cocked her head to the side and looked the knight up and down, giving him a sly expression, “You wouldn’t happen to be part of that family, would you, Sir Knight?”

[Aiden Faerald]

If Fae's attentions weren't worrying enough to him, Ragnar's comment about his being part of the act was what made him flush crimson ear to ear. He wasn't particularly used to people talking to him and now, an attractive flirty girl was, a confident and overly familiar man was...and even a female knight was there now. It was all getting too much. He tried his best to answer Fae, but his words seemed to catch. "I...well I mean it...it was worth more than I have to give, I guess." He looked down, a little ashamed that this man had managed a gold coin and he only had a small stipend to pay with.

When she phrased her words just so and started speaking to the man though, he realised he had been caught well and truly as the joke of the act. Shame flooded his face and he decided it would be best to simply leave, rather than be laughed at by anyone else. That was until the man brutishly elbowed him. "I...I'm not part of the act" He managed to speak, in a small voice. "G...good day."

He wasn't even sure if he wanted to say anything to Fae, for she had truly toyed with him and he wasn't sure if he could face that. So he simply began to walk away.

[Ragnar Storm]

"That kid needs a good role model." Rain quipped as Aiden walked away, red as an apple and stumbling over his words. Ragnar felt kind of bad as he walked away, he was obviously interested in the troupe. Faeliel most likely didn't have any remorse however. The kid's loss, Ragnar thought, he was attractive enough to get into Faeliel's underpants if he wanted to--he simply lacked confidence.

Ragnar smiled when Faeliel talked about her troupe's next trip, "Well Fire Dancer, let me introduce myself then. I am Ragnar Storm, the Lord of Lightning and I'd like to invite you and your troupe to accompany me back to Arbrecht."

(End thread if you wish.)

[Faeliel]

“Awww, the little birdy is flying away…” Faeliel replied with a saddened tone in her voice and a bit of a pout. It seemed that the guy was more of an introverted individual, which typically meant that it was better for one-on-one interaction. But in the middle of a market square where people were all over the place, Faeliel couldn’t exactly promise a more private setting. That would have required more coin from Aiden’s pocket anyway.

As the kid made a quick retreat back into the crowd, she smiled as Ragnar made a comment about Aiden needing a role-model and turned her attention back to him and the female knight. When he introduced himself and offered the troupe a ferry to their next destination Faeliel was thrilled!

“Truly Milord, you are much too generous,” she replied with whimsical gratitude, “If it were any other circumstance I would have to insist that you not offer such a grand token of opportunity. But seeing as that we are desperate for the coin needed to travel, this would save us from being late to our next destination. I will have us gladly accept the offer, and we’ll make it up to you all by hosting a private performance for you and your guests during your journey home!”

She snuck in between the two knights and wrapped an arm around each of them before looking over her shoulder and gesturing for Eresir to follow behind, “Well then Milords, let us be off to tell the happy news to the rest of my troupe!”

From there she led them onward to where the rest of the Birds of Play were camped out to deliver the good tidings.

(Fin.)