Heartstopping Performance

A few days have passed since the Scale Emblem Alliance had fought their way to the boss on the 2nd floor. There is a general feeling of excitement in the air at the progress. Some have already returned from their journey. Still others now occupying the Town of Beginnings include both Landers and Adventurers from Ezzo, still trying to find someplace to call their own. A number have moved on to live in Tolbana, but there are still many people who have decided to take what available space they can find here.

Thus why a certain performer would have chosen an area just at the edge of town as a place to set up shop. Just within the non-PK border of the Root Town, a group has gathered, made up of various performers. Rylen seems to have called in some others, knowing that busking opportunities are often better when there are more talents on display.

There are musicians playing music, artists offering characiture drawings, strong men showing off their physiques and any number of other strange individuals. Lander and Adventurer alike gather, a few food and good vendors drawn by the milling crowd. It has almost a festival atmosphere, without the benefit of being anything officially run by the game. Most of those attending seem to have heard of the place by word of mouth. Next to each performer, there is a place to leave coin, and many seem to have gotten a decent amount of tips thus far.

At the far end of the row of performers, is a larger setup. There are platforms, horizontal bars, balance beams, each built on simple wooden structures. A crowd gathers there, occasionally clapping, or making other sounds of amazement. At the far edge of a grassy area, Rylen bows towards the audience, clearly having finished some kind of display. Then, he turns and runs, launching himself into a series of flips, spins and other acrobatic maneuvers before landing again on his feet, arms raised, to applause.

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen of Carmina Gadelica. For the final piece of this performance, I need complete concentration. Quiet my friends, for this may be the most difficult and dangerous of all." He explains, standing before them shirtless, toned muscles on display. His hand motions to a musician, who begins to play a dramatic sort of music as Rylen moves back to a stack of chairs.

What follows is an amazing display, as each chair is balanced one atop the other, he begins to perform a series of balance techniques. Until the tower of chairs reaches dangeorusly high. Enough so that a fall would certainly cause injury or harm. As the last chair is put into place, Rylen slowly lifts himself onto it, the tower wobbling ever so slightly. The music rises to a crescendo. Then, the elf lowers one hand onto the surface of the chair, pushing himself up into a one-armed handstand atop it. Following the flow of movement, he shifts into various complicated balancing techniques, all using that one arm.

    Xander had needed to speak with Rylen after chewing on some thoughts after the two shared some words. The Salamander makes his way through the crowd. Growling at some people trying to offer him perhaps a piece of crafts.

As he continues to make his way, he spots Rylen at last performing a very dangerous stunt. His fiery, gold eyes observes the performance and goes to cross his arms over his chest.

To say he wasn't impressed would be a lie. A very massive lie. He continues to watch, as his eyes soften a little and his head lowers. Looking away from the performer. Whatever was on his mind, he shakes his head gently and goes to step away, but yet, he finds his eyes drawn back. As if making sure nothing was to actually happen to Rylen while he was up there.

Slowly, Rylen lowers himself back down onto the top most of the chairs, then extends his arms outward, beaming with a wild-eyed grin on his face. That is the moment that applause erupts from those gathered. "You've been the absolute best crowd, my friends." He calls out, "Please, give your love and patronage to some of the other performers gathered today." He slowly begins to lower himself through the web of chairs, his peko reaching up to grab a couple from his hand. "More performances to follow with new and unique demonstrations. Come back again, send your friends!"

Another round of applause follows, and then the crowd begins to disperse. A few approach to toss coins into a box that is set out in front of Rylen's performance space. A few children wave enthusiastically at the peko, who seems to be trained to do little dances or strange antics for the younger crowd. The musician takes a moment to give their bow as well, and then the sounds of another show begin to draw people away. Apparently, a juggler is performing just down the way.

As the crowd clears, that is when he actually manages to spot Xander amongst those gathered. The Pooka lifts his eyebrows, and then gives a characteristic bow to him, hair sweeping forward as he does so. "Enjoy the show?" He asks, grinning like a fool. It's a far cry from the last time the Salamander had seen him, his entire demeanor seeming ... happy.

Ry gathers the chairs together, then reaches for a towel and begins to wipe off a bit of sweat. "Uta's around somewhere. Lass was just getting herself set up, I think." He reports, perhaps assuming that that is Xander's reason for checking out the place. "She really has talent, that one."

    Xander also gives his own applause, though it was tame. His face, his brows were knit. Gears apparently were turning in that dragon-man's head.

When Rylen approached him with that smile, whatever he was going to say was, lost. His eyes looking distant, but there was a smile there in turn. "I," He starts out, before aheming, forcing himself into composure. "I was very impressed, honestly. I think, I owe a manner of apology for all my jabs in your direction. Maybe you /could/ beat me in a fight after all."

"At least," Xander tries to laugh, but it was a nervous one at best. "Wrap yourself around where I couldn't reach. Kind of jealous of that flexibility to be honest... At the same time... Kind of made me hurt a little to watch." There was a playful tone there to his last words.

    "I-- actually, didn't come to see Uta," He admits with a softer tone to his voice. "I..." His words were slipping again and he sighs. He rubs the bridge of his nose. "... every time I ever tried to speak... honestly... or... emotionally... or... Just--" There he goes and he knows it. The words slipping. "It just kind of gets fucked up somewhere."

Xander then motions with his hand slightly. "I-- I just wanted to say sorry and I probably will say sorry a many more times over, till I get something right. I... care... about you.. I just..." His hand sweeps to the side slightly and he grunts. The words struggling and it was even on his face. "Its hard." Then his hand falls by his side.

"I... I am glad that Uta is here with you though. She needs more mentors to look up too and I am by far the /worst/ one for her." Xander admits. "I'm to rough around the edges and," He motions between them. "Well, you have a better mind for it. Mine is..." He pffts softly, "It is somewhere back in no man's land.."

Rylen chuckles softly, amusement evident in his features. "Admittedly, I don't know if I could beat you in a real fight. You've certainly got more experience." He acknowledges, closing his eyes and inclining his head, "But I appreciate the apology." One hand motions towards the various apparatus that he has set out. "Grace and strength are my forte." He reaches for the towel then, running it over his head and letting it fall onto his shoulders. "As for flexibility, anyone can work on that. If they wanted to that is." He gives Xander a wry look.

And then, well, Xander starts to explain himself, struggling for words. The bravado and persona of a performer ebbs ever so slightly, with Rylen listening, even as the Salamander has his problems finding the right things to say. Normally, his instinct would have been to reach out, touch Xander on the shoulder, offer some sort of support, but instead, he just stands there, listening.

Eventually, when he does speak, it is softer. "I know you do." His silver eyes are kind, giving a nod. "Don't worry about it so much." His mouth quirks slightly, "I'm not going anywhere." It's hard to tell if he really understands what is going on in Xander's mind, though.

At the mention of Uta, Ry lifts his hands up, hooking them behind his head, giving a laugh. "Not sure I'm the best of mentors, myself. Or that she really needs one at all. That girl is smarter than people give her credit for." He smirks, "A complete space-case, but in the absolute best way." There is some affection there in his voice, "You don't give yourself enough credit, either."

    "When do I /ever/ give myself enough credit." Xander admits with a chuckle, seeming to relax with something that Rylen said. Perhaps it was the 'Not going anywhere' or 'I know you do', whatever the case the dark scaled Salamander seem to be smiling gently and much more calm.

He then crosses his arms over his chest, "Either way, I shouldn't hold you up from your loving public. Would see about that spar, but," Xander motions around. "You have your fans to please and I shouldn't steal the main attraction away."

Xander grins a bit, looking over to Rylen's Peko. "Seems the kids also love your bird, which speaking of birds." He raises a brow. "Where is your crow?"

    A tall, conical wooden structure spires upwards, allowing for acrobats to perform some aerial feats: in particular, this one involves one large white ribbon attached to the tip, falling down to the inside, clearly visible from the outside (the structure is barely more than a rising spiral of wood); people hang from it, performing gymnascic exercises while suspended in mid air.

    Uta is the one currently taking the center stage there: just done spinning around in a way that has freed her left calf, she kicks away the ribbon with her last motion, now hanging from her other leg; she gives herself a calculated thrust to spin the other way, her spatial orientation adjusting to the lack of one constraint; she's almost done uncurling her right calf, her spinning getting wider and wider, until her arm slams into the same ribbon she's hanging from; a few complex evolutions later, her leg is free, and she's hanging from her arm, vertically, spinning quickly. She waits for the applause to die out, then performs an explicit shift her weight, and with one swift movement she's swing-spinning, the arm becoming progressively more and more untangled from the ribbon, pushing it away with one final movement. No longer bound by anything, it seems like she's about to fall upside-down, and-

    ...She does, indeed, fall upside-down, flipping in the air-

    -...and snatch! The ribbon originally kicked away from her calf has swung back just in time to catch her other calf and slam-wrap itself around it, the inertia combined with the pull causing Uta's fall to turn into a swing. The crowd goes wild.

    "...I'm actually just trying to get down and keep failing at it...", she whimpers to herself, too quiet to be heard. "...and now I'm too scared to admit it."

"You should start." Rylen recommends, that smirk still playing on his features. "Try saying: Xander is a bad-ass." The Pooka chuckles to himself.

"As for my adoring public, I promise you, they are more than happy to toss their attention and coin to the next act. The stage is a fickle game." In fact, other than a couple of children still being amused by his peko, most others have moved on to watch other performances. "I've got one more show before we close for the evening. Going to run shows for a few days, until the coin starts drying up, but I should have most of my evenings free."

When he asks where the crow happens to be, Rylen just raises a finger and points towards a high wire, where the little bird seems to be hanging out, along with a few other wild birds.

Then, the roar of the nearby crowd draws his attention, eyes moving over to where Uta is performing. At first, he just watches, until things start to... look not quite choreographed. His previous attitude shifts into keen focus, body tensing. "I... don't think that was intentional." Being somewhat responsible for those in the show, Rylen abandons his performance space at a run. The reaction is damn near instinctual enough that he doesn't even bother explaining to Xander.

Instead, he just positions himself, ready to dramatically catch the girl if she actually does fall.

    "I know I /am/ a Bad-ass when it comes to kicking monsters in the teeth and taking down bosses." The Salamander admits with a chuckle. "Socially however, socially that is another type of skill I don't have."

Xander gives a nod to Rylen, "Maybe after you are done, perhaps even with Uta, we can go get something to eat. I'm sure she'll enjoy sharing her crazy adventures in the performance world." He also looks up where the crow is at, but when Rylen's attention moves elsewhere, the Salamander follows the Pooka's gaze. "Hm?"

There he sees Uta with the ribbon. He watches Rylen make his way over, and goes to follow with an easy jog. He didn't have an eye for this type of thing, so he wasn't sure /what/ the problem is, but seeing the Pooka tense up like that probably says something is-- Not right.

    And in this kind of show, timing is everything!

    Uta finally manages to dislodge herself with a backflip in the air, the pose so epic and plastic that the soundtrack goes silent and the picture shifts to slow motion.

    Only a heartbeat remains.

    Camera pointing towards the sky, with Uta slowly turning in mid-air, in a gymnast's pose against the ribbon framing her in the background. Lens flare.

    Downward shot of Rylen running to catch her.

    Cut to Xander following Rylen. Cut to Uta's eyes going wider, smiling as she realizes she's finally free from the ribbon, and tensing in a mask of terror as she realizes she's not really thought about the next step.

    Heartbeat speeds up.

    Close up to Rylen reaching the designated spot. Cut to Xander's expression.

    Cut to verious members of the audience holding their breath.

    Close up to Uta's face going full panic.

    And return to normal speed as Rylen catches Uta with a muted "fwhomp".

    The crowd goes even wilder than before.

    Uta just stares in shock, frozen for a second or two.

    And then she notices Xander.

    She moves to stand up, or jump to her feet, or maybe she even just sits up or spreads her arms: the most "natural end to a gymnastics exercise" pose she can manage in her current state, held by Rylen. And flashes Xander a grin meaning "I totally meant to do that!"

It only takes an instant, but it seems that Rylen had read the situation perfectly. He'd seen hundreds of falls in his time, and in the world of Yamato, safety nets aren't exactly a common thing. The Pooka runs, skids to a stop, braces himself, and then catches Uta, bracing her fall against his chest.

In the same movement, she leans forward to stand, and he helps her to her feet, the motion looking as if it were completely practiced. Rylen follows by extending his arms out, bowing to the crowd, one arm around Uta's side as if this were all completely planned.

The crowd roars in a mixture of both relief and amazement, stunned that this seems to have all been part of the act - or so they believe. Rylen, however, leans towards Uta and whispers, "We need to work on our dismount, my dear." But, he is all smiles for the crowd.

    Xander does indeed watch this all unfold, from Uta's panick, to Rylen catching her, and that completely 'cat-like' behavior at the very end. The Salamander still claps his hands for her, though his eyes drift over to Rylen, before looking back to Uta.

He was not a performer after all. Her was a raider, a pvper, and a bit more if one peered under the hood that made Xander, well, Xander.

For the moment, he just waits for Uta and Rylen both to get off the stage.

    Uta bows and smiles to everyone, waving and bowing as she leaves the stage, a duo of gymnasts followed by some strange animal (vaguely reminescent of a seal or a walrus) ready to take her place. After the bulk of the crowd has been left behind, she finally does admit it, possibly within earshot of Xander. "...There's still a lot I need to work on, to be fair. Got a couple lucky techniques right, got overconfident. Maybe I should tackle some other kind of exercise to start..."

    "...Hi!", she offers to Xander, a little jazz-hands greeting for old times' sake.

As the two walk off the stage, Rylen raises a hand to wave to the crowd, then gives a nod of reassurance to the next act. Though there is technically no 'leader' amongst this group of random performers, some do seem to look to him to make sure everything is running smoothly.

"We'll work on it a bit more after hours. I can spot you, or try to set up some netting just incase." Though some of the performances look risky, Rylen does seem concerned about the safety of others, especially as Uta is still just learning the art. "Being able to safely get down is the most important part, before anything else."

He gives the Spriggan a look, "If nothing else, be easy on my heart aye lass? You gave it quite a shock back there."

    Xander chuckles softly as Uta 'Jazz' hands at him and waves back the same, "Hey Uta. I see you are doing well out here." His arms cross over his chest as his tail moves slowly side to side. "Having fun at least?"

Xander allows Rylen to say what needs to be said to Uta, though his gaze was moving around. Looking at those coming and going. His tail flicks once more, as he shifts his jaw a little.

    "I know the feeling, Rylen. I gave myself quite a shock as well."

    "...and yeah, maybe some spotting or netting could be good. Takeoff and landing are the hardest part here as well, huh?"

    "Oh, definitely!" is the answer Xander gets, complete with wide, sincere smile. The current embarrassment at failing her exercise is forgotten. "I'm learning all sorts of snazzy moves, and I get to do all these nifty actrobatics, and they have a sealrus, which can balance people on its nose, and there is this summoner with this huuuuuuuuge elemental that juggles actual people! I finally got to learn what a juggling club feels like!"

    "And you?", she asks Xander. "Having fun yourself?"

The one thing that the show did not need, is to get known for the fall-damage taken by its performers. Though it takes a fall from quite a height to actually kill an Adventurer, Rylen seems to treat this more like the real world, where injuries are a more worrying thing. "Exactly. Though in acrobatics, it's usually the landing that has the largest potential for injury."

There is something there, a ghost of some emotion that passes in his gray eyes, but it doesn't linger long. "We've got an interesting lot, as you'd expect from a circle of performers." Rylen chuckles as Uta enthusiastically explains some of the different acts. "It's all unofficial, but when one or two set up, the rest tend to come out of the woodwork. There's more money when we group together than performing separately." He explains.

"What we really need is a proper animal show. A few beasts, trained to perform, that usually draws people. Unfortunately I don't have the space to house them just now." A hand strokes his chin, "Though, if I'm able to get that peko farm up and running, I might have some space to house a few other beasts as well."

    "Peko farm huh?" Xander asks raising a brow at Rylen, "You know, I actually took Monster Handling as a profession when I created this character way back. Use to have an epic mount," The Salamander frowns. "... Lost that epic mount... thanks expansion." He speaks with a mild bit of monotone followed by a sigh.

He looks over to Uta, "Eh, so-so. Enjoyed watching Rylen and you both do your thing, but this stuff," He motions around him. "Not really my thing. I'm more of a fireworks, monster truck, explosions kind of guy."

Though he does lean over to Uta and whispers to her, "And a little bit of the petting zoo as well." He says with a laugh, before giving her a pat on the shoulder. "Keep at it Uta and keep having fun. Life is to short not too."

    Xander rolls his shoulders a bit. "Anyways, I should be getting back to HQ. The Alliance is going to be running a tournament over in the Holy Empire and I plan to sign up as one of the fighters, so, I need to make sure I still got it."

    Uta finishes scribbling down notes about the relative dangers of the various part of an exercise, quill and parchment de-rezzed as quickly as they were rezzed a moment ago. "If you need any help with your farm, Rylen, just let me know," Uta offers. "I may lack any skill at handling animals or monsters, but I can make up for that by being terrible at housework."

    Wait, that didn't sound right.

    "...I mean, as a nurse, uh, do you think I also function as a veterinarian? I... I have never investigated that bit."

    Uta stares at Xander.

    At first it's her usual spaced out look, where she might be recording everything that's going on but saving it for later watching while her brain chases something else. But then, possibly because said later viewing has actually taken place, it turns into a pointed stare. "Wait. WAIT. You just... WAIT. You could have tamed slimes this whole time?!"

    Oh, wait, Xander has to leave? "...see you later Xander!"

"It's an idea." Rylen confirms with a nod, "Seems like something Plant Hwyaden was looking into at one point, but the plans have fallen by the wayside. So far as I figure, it would be good to be able to offer mounts out to new players. It's getting the pekos that will be troublesome, since the Peko Army has most of the good breeding stock."

That is when the Pooka returns the raised eyebrow, seeming surprised that Xander works with monsters. "Is that so? Well... if you ever want to go hunting for a new mount, let me know. I've got a fair hand with both animals and monsters."

His lips do curve into a grin, though. "You know, we could use someone to martial fireworks." There is a wicked glint in his eye, perhaps trying to find a way of roping the Salamander into their strange life. "Just a thought."

This, of course, is the first time that Rylen has heard Uta talk about slimes, so he looks at her with some surprise. "Were you looking to tame slimes, lass? I had no idea. I mean, I imagine we could figure out a way of doing that, though you have to be careful, they tend to shift form into whatever it is they come in contact with."

The fact that Xander would be departing is met with a brief falter of that smile of his, "Ahh. So you'll be heading out soon, then? First time heading off the island since the expansion?" Then, almost conspiratorially, he looks to Uta. "You know, the tournament is bound to attract a fair crowd. Good crowds mean good money." Or he's just looking for an excuse to tag along, who knows.

    Xander turns to look back over to Uta and grins, "Sorry kid, I don't want to be slimed, get slimed, or see if it has a never ending desire to eat food." Then he gives a shrug, "I also don't want to take a chance in crossing the streams you know!"

The Salamander's tail twitches as he smirk a little at his own reference, before he looks over to Rylen, "Yeah no. If you need a bouncer, sure, but I am /not/ joining the performing thing." He shifts his weight, as he looks to Uta, "And he is right. Its going to be the first tournament since the expansion launched. There could be all kinds of people there, who knows! Maybe they will need someone with healing skills to patch up the fighters /and/ you could get paid for it."

    Xander looks back over to Rylen, "And yes, it will be. Which is my other eagerness to do so. It should be fun either way. Even if I don't make it past round one. Its--" He moves his hands around, "An excuse to get out from under the shadow of the tower, ya know?"

Then for real the Holy Knight extends up his hand in a wave, "See you two later!" Before he steps around to give Rylen an American salute, before he laughs and continues on.

T5Uta's eyes glaze over at Xander. "...I've completely forgotten what I look like, to be honest, but... uh..."

    She flicks through her menu, and after some navigation, she rezzes a drawing. It's a portrait of Uta, and people familiar with it might recognize Kita's drawing style.

    She stares at it for a few moments, as if there was something on the tip of her tongue she couldn't put her finger on.

    "...Hey! It's the girl from the menu!", she eventually exclaims.

    A lot of expressions pass over her face in a very short amount of time, until she, probably picturing Uta-slimes, goes all wide-and-beady-eyed.

    "...so adorable...", she whimpers.

    "See you later, Xander!" After some silence, she comments, "I might look into that event, yes..."

"Hah." Rylen laughs at the reference, then shakes his head in amusement. "Can't say I'm exactly fond of them, myself. They tend to get into things and then you end up with a right mess on your hands."

"You know the folks running fireworks usually do that behind the scenes right?" Rylen asks, raising his eyebrows at Xander. "I'm sure if you were drunk enough I could get you out on stage, though." He winks towards the Salamander, his tone playful. "Kidding, kidding. I solemnly swear I will not take advantage of your inebriated state, even if it would be hilarious." He has had the chance to now, twice.

Rylen doesn't seem to be all that interested in joining in the fighting. Afterall, he'd mentioned that he doesn't really fight for sport, but the idea of capitalizing on the attention the tournament will bring... that has an appeal. It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that if he doesn't go, he won't see certain lizard-men for an extended period. Nope, nothing at all.

"See you around, Soldier." He returns the salute, "Stop by after dark if you want to grab some dinner. Otherwise, maybe we'll see you there."