Chapter 02: Take a Bow

Chapter 2

Birds chirped against an overcast sky the next morning, as Lwshi'en ate breakfast with the rest of the troupe. He had slept fitfully, and finding Jhakari's tent packed and gone before he awoke had not improved his mood.

"I thought he was staying 'til Flod, but he skipped out on us,” Rasha grumbled, stirring her rice porridge more aggressively than necessary.

"Father offered," Eilyn said, "but he wasn't obligated to stay." Her linen shirt hung loose off her shoulders, and her long hair was still unbrushed.

"He didn't say goodbye," Rasha growled, indignant.

"Some people aren't good at goodbyes," replied Eilyn. She blew at the steam rising from her bowl.

"How're you holding up, Lwsh?" Seberin asked from across the table.

Lwshi'en gathered up all the energy he could muster and turned on his winning smile. "I'm doing great, why do you ask?" He almost convinced himself.

"Careful, Seb," Eilyn chuckled. "You just might become Lwsh’s next victim."

"That sounds sinister," Seberin said, wide-eyed.

"I've avoided the boy this long," added Rasha, "and I'm still here to tell the tale."

"You're joking, right?" laughed Seberin.

Rasha shrugged. "All I'm saying is, everyone's ever shared a tent with that boy has left the troupe for one reason or another. Change of heart, fed up with the life...that one guy even lost a limb."

"Oh, knock it off," Lwshi'en protested.

"C'mon, you know we're teasing," Eilyn smiled. "Lwsh is just particularly unlucky." There was a meaningful look behind her smile.

Master Aivynav emerged from his wagon and headed through the maze of tents to the fire pit at the center of the encampment, serving himself a bowl of porridge from above the dwindling fire and joining the members of his troupe.

"Morning, Father," Eilyn greeted.

"Morning, Princess," he smiled back at her. "Good to see everyone is bright eyed and bushy tailed today. It's going to be a busy one."

The troupe members set about preparing for the day's show. Master Aivynav would make a grand entrance, his carefully delivered words readying the audience to be transported to a fantastical world. Then, he would strip down from his extravagant coat to a simple tunic and stand at the back of the audience, observing their reactions. Frederyk, with his deep, booming voice, would introduce each act, exactly the same way he had introduced them the day before.

After years with the troupe, much of it was routine, even though there were some changes each time they moved to the next location. Lwshi'en's tightrope act was always in the latter half of the show, secondary to Eilyn's trapeze act in the first. Still, he changed and stretched with the rest of the performers in the morning, spending hours tense with anticipation.

It might not have been apt to think of Lwshi'en as a performer, at least not in the same way as the other members. Lwshi'en did not brave the tightrope for the praise of the audience, or to shock and amaze them. He performed only for himself, to prove that he could.

"You're really not bothered?" Eilyn asked suddenly, making Lwshi'en jump. She held her foot behind her head, her legs extended in her blue, skin-tight unitard.

"By what?" Lwshi'en replied, confused. His white unitard matched hers in cut, both having been hand-crafted for them by Mistress Kaelgari.

"That Jhak didn't say goodbye before he left?" she added.

"He did, in a way," Lwshi'en shrugged, stretching the tension from his lower back. "He asked if I would go with him."

"Awww," Eilyn sighed. "He really liked you."

"All the more fortunate that he is gone, then," Lwshi'en replied flatly.

"You sure you don't want to talk about it?" prompted Eilyn. "You look about as restless as a caged animal."

"Once I'm up there on the rope it'll clear my mind," Lwshi'en said with a shake of his head.

Eilyn groaned. "Most people would want to have a clear mind before doing a death defying stunt." She paused and lowered her voice. "Please don't be reckless out there today."

They were interrupted by Master Aivynav entering the front of the changing tent. He had already removed his white fur cap and bright red jacket in favor of a muted green tunic.

"Father," Eilyn said in surprise. "You aren't watching the show?"

"I'll be back out in time to catch your act," he smiled back at her. "I've just got to talk to Lwshi'en here for a minute." He shooed her out, and Eilyn left the tent for the direction of the stage.

"What is it, Master?" asked Lwshi'en with concern.

At first, Master Aivynav did not reply, instead looking intently over the costumes laid out on the two long tables in the tent. He searched down one, past colorful shirts and fanciful layered skirts until he found what he was looking for. He lifted the red jacket, embroidered with black detEilyng, that Jhakari had worn. Turning, he tossed the jacket to Lwshi'en, who caught it and held it at arms length, confusion still written across his face.

"With Jhakari gone," Master Aivynav explained, "we'll need someone to fill his role as Mini's trainer. As I'm sure he's mentioned, there's not much to it, really. I'm sure you'll pick it up quickly."

Lwshi'en stared back at him in shock. "Will I have time to prepare between my tightrope act and Mini's act? Will we have to change the act order of the show?"

"No," Master Aivynav said with a shake of his head. "Between you and Eilyn, we've some acrobatic redundancy. I'm afraid Mini's act will take priority."

"You can't be saying what I think you're saying," breathed Lwshi'en, eyes wide. "You're cutting my act?"

"It's only temporary," Master Aivynav assured. "Just until we find someone else for the role."

"Ten years and you're cutting my act?" Lwshi'en's voice shook. "There has to be someone else who can do it. Hex, if there's nothing to it, why not have Frederyk do it?"

Master Aivynav winced. "As you know, Mini is not exactly your average goat. When it comes to stubbornness, she's a mule, and in terms of sensitivity, she's a rabbit. Unfortunately, she's also our most popular performer right now, and we don't have time to adjust her to a new trainer the way we did the first time. We're going to need someone with... a gentle touch."

"I'm sorry, Master," Lwshi'en shook his head. "You know I don't have any experience with animals. I don't quite understand—"

"We'll need to head over as soon as possible," Master Aivynav interrupted. "If she doesn't take to you, I'm not sure we have many options left."

"Yes, sir," Lwshi'en acquiesced.

The animal wagons were set some distance from the other wagons due to the smell. They were also tucked out of sight of any passers-by, since the troupe animals, used to being handled by performers, were particularly prone to snatchers.

When Lwshi'en had joined the troupe years ago, there hadn't been any animals. As the Great Menagerie in Sarnai had gained popularity, though, Master Aivynav had thought to incorporate a traveling menagerie into the troupe. Several prized white snow dogs from the Northlands, a long-necked horse from the Dakshari Coast, and a playful but shockingly ugly hairless cat had been acquired in the time since. And of course, Mini, the dancing goat.

Lwshi'en tended to avoid the animals, rather than see them locked away inside the wagons any time they weren't performing. Nervous tension grew beneath his shoulder blades as they approached the wagons. Mini's small wagon was built from a warm brown wood, with stripes of blue painted around the top and bottom and decorated with gold stars. One of the long walls had been pulled out and replaced with iron bars, a small locked gate in the center.

Mini was curled up on the wood floor of the wagon, facing away from them, a small brown form shrouded in shadow. She wore a yellow dress with decorative ruffles at the collar and hem. It was such a hassle to get her in and out of it that Master Aivynav had decided to leave her wearing it even when she wasn't performing. The dress stayed fairly clean, despite the straw strewn about the floor of the wagon. Lwshi'en wasn't sure why they couldn't just tie her up outside the wagon and let her graze on fresh grass.

"I'll hang back here just out of sight," Master Aivynav said in a low voice. "Start by approaching the bars and seeing if you can get her attention. If she seems calm enough, you can try entering the wagon," he instructed.

Lwshi'en nodded his head and continued up to the side of the wagon. He stood just beyond the iron bars for a minute in awkward silence.

"Mini, here, girl," he called out softly. Mini was still, as if asleep, but one silky black ear twitched at the sound of his voice.

"Rise and shine," said Lwshi'en, clicking his tongue at her. "Mini...C'mon, Mini," he called, growing louder.

Lwshi'en reached over and jangled the door latch with his hand. Mini raised her head to look at him over her shoulder with a suspicious glare. Her eyes were eerily large and sunken in to her gaunt face. Horizontal pupils against bright orange irises made her gaze even more unnerving.

"You're not going to maul me if I come in there, are you?" Lwshi'en asked with a shaky laugh. Two sharp horns grew from the top of Mini's head, through her shaggy red-brown fur, and curved backward. Lwshi'en unlocked the door carefully, watching the goat for any signs of movement. When she didn't stand up, he stepped quickly into the wagon and pulled the door shut behind him.

Lwshi'en tried to keep his breathing steady as Mini sat up on her hindquarters, still holding his gaze. Afraid to approach her, Lwshi'en instead slowly lowered himself to the floor and sat there cross-legged.

"I'm not sure the right way to introduce oneself to a goat," said Lwshi'en in a hushed voice, hoping Master Aivynav couldn't hear him. Mini watched in silence as Lwshi'en continued.

"I'm Lwshi'en, we've only met in passing before. I walk tightrope, or...I did. Hopefully I will again. Not that I'm not excited to work with you, I'm sure you're a pleasure to work with. But, see...I'm trained for acrobatics, not for animal handling. It's kind of like asking a goat to dance," he chuckled to himself.

"Do you know any commands? Or even your name?" wondered Lwshi'en aloud. "Here, Mini," he said, waving her toward him with two fingers. She looked down at his hand and back up to his eyes without comprehension.

"You'll need this," Master Aivynav's deep voice came from behind them. Lwshi'en nearly jumped out of his skin and Mini startled, scuttling around Lwshi'en until he was between her and Master Aivynav.

"I'd say that's a good sign," Master Aivynav laughed heartily. He held out a thick, braided rope to Lwshi'en through the bars of the wagon. "When it's time for her act, just lead her out to the stage."

"Yes, Master," replied Lwshi'en. It took a while for Lwshi'en to calm Mini down from her jumpy and wide-eyed state, but he eventually was able to place a loop of rope over her head. It sat loosely atop her shoulders as Lwshi'en considered it. The rope was rough and scratchy in his hands, and Mini's soft mahogany skin was exposed along the front of her neck. He couldn't bring himself to tighten the rope, and instead led Mini out from the wagon slowly, keeping the rope slack.

They reached the edge of the stage just as Frederyk was announcing Mini's entrance to raucous applause. The curly haired man cast a sideways glance at Lwshi'en, hurrying him with his eyes. Lwshi'en, feeling panic rising in his throat, rushed to pull the rope off over Mini's head. She flinched only slightly before walking up the wooden stairs onto the stage.

"What are you doing?" Frederyk hissed under his breath at Lwshi'en while grabbing a half-moon shaped instrument from the side of the stage. "You're supposed to tie her to the pole, not set her free."

Disoriented, Lwshi'en looked behind Frederyk to see Mini standing in front of a heavy metal pole in the center of the stage.

"Sorry," Lwshi'en grimaced. "I'll go get her."

"Don't," Frederyk growled, his deep voice reminiscent of a bear. "If you try to grab her now, she might just jump off into the audience." Frederyk re-entered the stage, beaming a wide smile at the audience as if everything was going to plan.

Lwshi'en followed Frederyk onto the stage and stood awkwardly between him and Mini, paralyzed by the gaze of the audience. Frederyk began to strum a simple tune and Mini stamped her hooves to the rhythm as the crowd lost their minds and cheered.

Unsure what to do, Lwshi'en looked out into the audience, desperately trying not to meet any single gaze. The air in his lungs felt as though it were stuck and he could not exhale. When Lwshi'en performed on the tight rope, he never looked at the audience, or the ground, or even his own feet. The only place he looked was at the rope, at the specific spot where he needed his feet to go. No matter the roar of the crowd, or the noise of thoughts in his head, it all melted away when he was in the air, bringing to him a calm stillness that was unreachable for him anywhere else.

Standing on this stage, the noise of the crowd, of Frederyk's playing, of his own blood rushing in his ears, it was all deafeningly loud. The minute stretched out for an eternity until Frederyk ended his song and whispered in Lwshi'en's ear. "Take a bow."

Lwshi'en did as he was told, despite the unsteadiness of his legs. The audience clapped and cheered, and children screamed in excitement. Mini stood, wide eyed and still, as Lwshi'en carefully dropped the rope lead back over her head. She followed him easily off the stage, and he guided her back toward her wagon without speaking to anyone.

Once they were beside her wagon, out of sight from any other members of the troupe, Lwshi'en leaned heavily against the side of the wagon, his breath still coming to him shallowly. Mini looked at him with big, sad eyes.

"I'm just gonna rest here for a second, girl," he breathed. She sat on the grass beside him and they stayed there until the sun dipped low in the sky.