Chapter 03: A Dance

Chapter 3

"What happened to you up there?" Eilyn asked.

Lwshi'en was pushing chunks of meat back and forth in a bowl of thick stew, gathered around the fire with the other members of the troupe.

"I've never known you to get stage fright," Rasha added, eyebrows lowered.

"It was horrible," Lwshi'en answered with a shake of his head. "No wonder Jhak left. Just standing there on the stage every day like a complete idiot. I'd rather try to sing. At least it'd look like I was supposed to be there."

"I'm sorry, Lwsh," sighed Eilyn. "I'd trade places with you, but Father would never allow it." She cast a glance across the firepit at Master Aivynav where he sat in conversation with Mistress Kaelgari.

"I'm sure Master Aivynav will find someone to replace you soon," Rasha said, laying a soft hand on Lwshi'en's shoulder.

"I still don't understand why he thinks you're the guy for the job," Seberin chimed in from on Rasha's other side.

Lwshi'en sighed. "Well, Mini's real skittish, but she doesn't seem that afraid of me. It's probably because I'm, well...y'know."

"I do not know," responded Seberin with confusion.

"Short," Lwshi'en shrugged.

"Aw, sorry, man," Seb replied. "That's gotta salt the wound."

"I don't know how I'm going to get back up on that stage tomorrow," said Lwshi'en, twirling a slice of vegetable around with his spoon.

"For now, just sleep on it, okay?" Eilyn smiled and ran a hand through Lwshi'en's dark hair.

The sun was barely peeking over the horizon when Lwshi'en roused Frederyk from his tent.

"Are you insane, boy?" Frederyk yawned. "It's the middle of the night." His brown curls were a fuzzy halo around his head.

"We've got a lot of work to do today," Lwshi'en said. "I need your help with Mini's practice."

"What practice?" growled Frederyk.

"Do you know 'cat leaped over the stream'?" Lwshi'en answered the question with his own.

"Of course," Frederyk said. "I'm no career bard, but I know the basics."

"Great, get dressed and meet me by the animal wagons," Lwshi'en said, his voice brimming with excitement.

Lwshi'en brought a burlap sack with him, filled with an assortment of fruits and vegetables he'd snatched from the supply wagon. When he rounded the corner and Mini's wagon came into view, he saw her sitting up, leaning against the iron bars and staring into the sky.

"The stars are pretty this morning, huh?" Lwshi'en smiled. Mini startled and backed into the corner of the wagon, eyeing him warily.

"I brought breakfast," he said calmly, lifting the sack so that Mini could see it before leaving it on the ground nearby. He slipped into the wagon and placed the rope around Mini's neck. She gave him a bewildered look, but didn't struggle. Lwshi'en led Mini out of the wagon and tied her up outside, waiting for Frederyk to arrive.

Mini jumped as the tall, broad-shouldered man rounded a corner and approached. Lwshi'en made hushing noises until Mini stopped fidgeting, and Frederyk kept his distance a few yards away.

"What exactly are we doing?" Frederyk asked with narrowed eyes, his lyre slung over his shoulder.

"There's a popular children's dance set to 'cat leaped over the stream,'" Lwshi'en explained. "I'm going to teach it to Mini."

"You're insane, teaching a goat to dance," Frederyk grumbled.

"Not to dance, just a dance," corrected Lwshi'en. "She already dances on her own."

With a final shake of his head, Frederyk slung his instrument forward over his shoulder and began to play. To Lwshi'en's delight, a familiar tune rang out clearly in the air, and without any prompting, Mini began to stamp her hooves to the lively rhythm.

The dance was simple, since it was for children. It was mostly a matter of teaching Mini to step in the right direction at the right part of the song.

He gestured for her to step forward, towards him. She narrowed her orange eyes back at him, a mixture of suspicion and curiosity in them. Lwshi'en could sense a deep intelligence behind those eyes as Mini watched him intently, searching for meaning in his behavior.

Lwshi'en pulled a ripe, purple fruit from the bag on the ground beside him and held it up for Mini to see, again gesturing for her to take a step forward. Cautiously, she stepped closer, eyeing the fruit with excitement.

"Good girl," praised Lwshi'en with a smile, holding the fruit out towards her. She looked back at him, unsure, before snatching the fruit from his hand. Lwshi'en waited for her to finish eating before gesturing again for her to take a step forward. This time, she did so immediately.

Mini was remarkably clever, and the training went quickly. It soon became clear to Lwshi'en that Mini was picking up on his gestures, and still did not understand spoken commands, so he dropped the speaking altogether. It worked better that way, matching gestures to the dance itself until Mini could do the steps on her own through the whole song.

"Are we done?" Frederyk grumbled as the song came to a close, again.

"I think we've got it," Lwshi'en answered. "I know you've got to get ready for the show today. Thanks for helping, Frederyk."

Begrudgingly, Frederyk nodded as he returned his instrument to his back.

Lwshi'en left Mini in her wagon with the rest of the food he had brought for her. Her eyes were bright and cheerful, and there was more color in her dark brown cheeks now. Still, her every limb looked thin and frail, as though this was the first time she had eaten in days.

Lwshi'en was abuzz with anticipation for the rest of the morning, determined to contribute something to his new act. He thought back on what Jhakari had said when he quit the troupe, and he sympathized with him now more than ever. It was easy to feel confident when doing an act based in raw skill, when you woke up every morning with a chest swelling with pride and overflowing with talent. When Lwshi'en walked the tightrope, every muscle called upon years of training that belonged to him alone.

Mini's act couldn't be more different from that. Not only was it a collaborative act, where no matter how good you were, you could still look a fool if your partner messed up, but Mini was also a very unconventional partner. There was something else beyond that, too, which Lwshi'en hadn't realized before being up on that stage. 'Come see the goat that wears a dress and dances on two feet!' Mini's act wasn't really an act at all. It was a spectacle.

"You seem in much better spirits," Eilyn commented, wiping the sweat from her neck with a handkerchief after she returned from the stage. "What did you get up to this morning?"

"I got in some extra practice with Mini," Lwshi'en replied. He wore the red, embroidered jacket over a simple black tunic and trousers today. "I think we made a lot of progress."

Eilyn quirked an eyebrow at him. "Last night we were placing bets on how long it would take for you to drop to your knees and beg Father not to make you go on. Now look at you."

Lwshi'en rolled his eyes. "You of all people know I have too much pride for that."

Eilyn laughed and sat down on a nearby stool. "What I do know is that you might be the only person here more stubborn than that goat."

Lwshi'en fetched Mini from her wagon as the time for her act neared. Her big ears perked up, sticking straight out from the sides of her head.

"Sorry, I haven't brought any food for you," Lwshi'en said. "We've got a job to do."

He opened the metal gate and Mini hopped down gracefully onto the grass beside him. Looping the rope over her head, for a moment his hand rested on the soft skin between her neck and shoulder. He felt a queasy pang in his stomach and hurried to brush a few wisps of straw from the ruffles of her dress so they could get moving.

Lwshi'en barely had to hold the lead as Mini walked in step beside him. She stood taller and with more purpose than she had the day before. They stopped beside the stage, waiting for their entrance. Thinking about what knot to use to tie the rope to the stage, Lwshi'en glanced over at Mini and saw her looking back at him with big eyes under long lashes. The thought of tying her to the stage unnerved him, and he took the rope off instead.

"Now, the time you've all been waiting for...It's Mini the goat!" Frederyk introduced them grandly to the audience, who clapped and cheered for their arrival. Lwshi'en held out an arm, gesturing for Mini to walk up the stairs at the edge of the stage. She did so, her black hooves clacking against each step. They reached the center of the stage, and Frederyk looked to Lwshi'en, who nodded back at him.

Frederyk began to strum the strings of his moon-shaped lyre, and many members of the audience began to clap along when they recognized the plucky tune. Mini needed no signal from Lwshi'en to begin the dance she'd learned. Forward and back, and side to side, she danced with a spring in her steps which made the sun yellow ruffles of her dress bounce in time to the music. Lwshi'en clapped along and watched as though he were a member of the audience rather than a performer on the stage.

When the song ended, Mini dashed back off the stage, breathless but exuberant. Lwshi'en quickly bowed to the audience before following her.

"Good job, Mini," he praised, giving Mini a thumbs-up. She wiggled her ears playfully at him as she hopped from one foot to the other.

Come, he gestured to her. "Let's go get you something to eat."

Mini followed Lwshi'en to the supply wagon that stood beside the fire pit. The food stores were not exactly free reign for all of the troupe members, with Mistress Kaelgari carefully planning rations of the meat, bread, and cheese. But at every town they stopped in, Mistress Kaelgari bought fresh produce at bulk rates, and it would spoil if someone didn't eat it quick enough. Lwshi'en leaned over into the open end of the wagon, searching for something which looked like it didn't have much time left.

"Lwsh, the goat's loose!" Eilyn's cry came from behind him.

Lwshi'en and Mini startled at the same time, and Mini pressed her back into his, the ends of her horns poking uncomfortably into the back of his shoulder blade.

"I've got her!" Lwshi'en called back to Eilyn, who was loping towards them, already changed out of her costume.

"Oh, okay," Eilyn replied as she slowed down and came to a stop next to them. "I thought you needed to have that thing on a leash."

"She's really quite well behaved," said Lwshi'en, gently stroking Mini's head between her horns as she shook next to him.

"I guess you've been working hard training her," Eilyn smiled at him. "Does she know any tricks?"

"Besides dancing on stage?" Lwshi'en chuckled. "No, I didn't even think of that."

"I wonder if she can learn to do tricks like Ivi does," Eilyn said. Ivi was the most acrobatic of the troupe's snow dogs, and Eilyn's favorite.

"I'll have to give it a shot," Lwshi'en laughed. The laughter seemed to be bubbling up from inside him as he tried desperately to ignore the warmth of Mini pressing her cheek up against his chest.

"I did see your act, at least," said Eilyn. "I thought it was really cute, and the audience ate it up."

"It was all Mini, really," Lwshi'en replied hastily. He put a hand on Mini's shoulder and tried to push her a few inches away, but she pressed back stubbornly. "In fact, she's probably worn out. I should take her back to her wagon so she can rest."

"Don't be long," Eilyn called cheerfully after him as he headed toward the animal wagons.

When the blue stripes of her wagon came into view, Mini grabbed onto Lwshi'en's arm, her black nails digging into him and bringing him to a halt.

"Mini, let go," he grumbled. Stop, he held out a palm. It wasn't a command that he had taught her, but she seemed to understand it, letting go of his arm.

Go, he pointed toward the open gate in the side of the wagon.

No, she shook her head at him and frowned. A lock of russet hair fell down between her strange eyes and she crossed her black furred arms defensively across her chest.

Lwshi'en pointed again, more forcefully this time. Mini snorted, wrinkling her heart-shaped nose at him, but did as she was told. She stomped into her wagon and plopped herself down on the floor, glaring at Lwshi'en as he locked the gate behind her.

Lwshi'en turned to leave, his heart pounding in his chest, but he heard Mini shuffle across the floor of the wagon. He glanced over his shoulder at her to see her stick a hand out toward him from through the bars. Slowly, she extended her thumb, and pointed it straight at the ground. He rolled his dark eyes back at her, and left.

"You should have seen the crazed look in his eyes when he woke me up this morning," Frederyk laughed, dipping a hunk of bread into his bowl of spicy soup. "He's not your prized ward for nothing," he added to Master Aivynav, seated beside him around the fire pit.

Master Aivynav chuckled. "Even I was impressed," he agreed. "It was a lot to accomplish on only your second day."

"Well, any day could be my last," Lwshi'en replied hopefully.

"But it seems that you have a knack for animal training after all," Seberin grinned.

"Knack or not, I'm ready to get back on the tightrope any day now," Lwshi'en said, blowing carefully on a spoonful of his own soup.

"Of course," said Master Aivynav. "I'm not going to have your replacement before tomorrow, however."

"Are you going to need me again tomorrow morning?" Frederyk asked. "Or can I get a full night of sleep tonight?"

"No, I'm good," said Lwshi'en.

"Everyone is going to need to be well rested," Master Aivynav said. "I plan to get us moving before noon the day after tomorrow."

"What's the rush?" grumbled gray-haired Uncle Kaelgari, seated next to his niece. He was a quiet, reserved man when he wasn't acting on the stage.

"I want to get headed for the Khandin Mountains as soon as we can, Uncle," Master Aivynav said.

"Not Sarnai?" Seberin raised an eyebrow. "We're not heading straight there this year?"

Master Aivynav nodded. "There's a big event in Sarnai later this year that I'm angling to get the troupe an invitation to. It works out better timing-wise if we head down the Khandin River instead of up it this time."

"Do you know what event he’s talking about?" Rasha asked Seberin under her breath. The Sarnain shook his head.

Lwshi'en slipped away from the group as they talked amongst themselves. He wasn't tired enough to sleep, but he didn't feel like talking or eating either. Uncomfortable, conflicting feelings were roiling around in his stomach. He found his feet taking him into town, where the crowds flowed through the streets like a river within its banks.

The all-consuming hum of the people, the claustrophobic streets lined with endless shops and stalls, and the bright, multi-colored lights. Each on their own would have been overwhelming, but somehow, together, they relaxed him, washing away his thoughts and concerns. Lwshi'en ducked into a side street and used the back stairs of a two-story restaurant to get access to the roof.

He sat precariously on the edge of the shingles, overlooking the bustling city. He had stopped thinking of Hanzo as his home a long time ago, when he joined Master Aivynav's troupe. Tonight, at least, it did feel a little bit like home again.