The Endless Kettle Corn Incident

Did I ever tell y'all about the Endless Kettle Corn Incident?

No? Well, then. Just sit down and I'll tell ya. Get comfy.

This all was some years after I took over the Circus of Shadows. Poor ol' Magnus had kicked the bucket, ya see? So I was put in charge. We spent a lot of our years trying to help out. Yanno, healin' the sick an' such? Fun fact about me, I'm actually pretty good with herbs. Lotsa people get sick on the road, and ya can't always get the doc. So that's where I come in.

Ah, I'm rambling. Anyways, it was one of those good years, when people started feeling healthy enough to come in for a show. Business had been real bad, so we all banded together to come up with new ideas. One of them stuck out to me: endless kettle corn. Sounded like a good idea, right? Infinitely multiplying kettle corn, don't have to worry about running out. Foolproof!

Oh, if only we had tested it out before we put it into action. The day we first tried it out, I was on the other side of the tent, attending to the trapeze guys' practice. From what I heard, the endless kettle corn experiment was a success. They set the spell off just as we were setting up to begin.

It was only when the show started we realized something was wrong. I had just gotten to starting the show when I heard a rumbling noise from behind me. I couldn't believe what I saw when I turned around. Behind the stage, a tidal wave of kettle corn was rising, scraping the ceiling!

I shot a look towards the calliope player. He struck up a frantic tune as the audience was ushered out of the tent. Everyone managed to get out safe, thank Anima. But just as I stepped outside, the tent burst, and I was buried in a mountain of popcorn!

As I clawed my way out, I realized what had happened. The spell to multiply the kettle corn had worked, but no one actually considered how we were gonna turn it off. It kept growing and growing until it became too much for the tent. So, it was up to me to save the day. And fast; the corn was becoming heavier by the moment.

As my mind scrambled to find an answer, colorful magic sparked around my hands. That's when I got an idea. I remembered hearing how dryads could grow little tree structures to heal themselves. The only way to destroy these was with fire. Well, kettle corn came from a plant, so if I used my magic to set them ablaze, they might just stop multiplying.

So, that's what I did. Magic bolts exploded out of my hands, burning the corn to ash. Eventually, I was able to pop my head out of the pile. The first thing I saw was everyone staring at me in horror. I didn't realize I was standing in a blazing inferno until Noire, bless him, pulled me out of it.

Well, the tent was completely wrecked. Buried in a mountain of charred kettle corn and on fire. The smell of burnt popcorn and sugar filled the air. Silver lining, though, the spell was broken. The mountain wasn't growing anymore.

Another silver lining, no one was hurt. I remember I started laughing. I just couldn't help it. Of all the things to go wrong, this had to be one of the funniest I've ever seen. I guess we all kinda needed something like this after all the sadness that came with the War, 'cuz everyone else started cracking up, too.

Don't worry. Me and the nekomata who created endless kettle corn (not gonna name them) are still friends. It wasn't too hard to get the tent repaired, despite all that happened. It wouldn't be the first time something like this happened; not even when Magnus was in charge.

But sadly, I never figured out how to get the stench of old kettle corn off my skin.