Hypnotists and Knife Throwers
The collected circus performers glowered cautiously at the three obviously battle ready...people in front of them. It took them about twenty seconds to decide that a twenty to three advantage was plenty even against trained warriors.
"Okay, we're going to give you three about ten seconds to..."
"Sorry but we're not leaving yet," Jol interrupted.
"Your friend just..."
"Unless I miss my guess you stole it first."
"Wait a minute," Amethyst insisted. "Didn't she say that it...."
"Was a bunch of orcs," Jol confirmed her statement.
"Take a good..."
"Nope, no orcs," Jol nodded.
"Yeah their might not be any," Xalan narrowed his eyes. "But..."
"Some of them smell like it." Jol nodded
"Does he..."
"Do I do what often?" Everybody glanced at Jol who was blinking in apparent innocent confusion. One of the carnival people turned flame red before raising his arm in prepation to shout.
"GET...ooof!!!!!!" He found himself flying backwards about twenty feet and landing in a daze. There was some blinking and the carnival people looked again at the three fighters.
"You cannot hope to beat us," Amethyst shouted. "We have justice on our side! Assuming Xina-san doesn't run off with Chindra-san's book." She said the last in much quieter tone of voice. There was a low dry chuckle and the crowd stepped forward to let a spectacled man through. He had gray hair that might have once been blonde, with a thick mustache over his mouth.
"Your friends did not give me the opportunity to introduce myself," the man said. "I'm Lagos, and you are you?"
"Why, I'm Princess Amethyst Lina Greywords-Sailoon, the.."
"Sailoon!" the man shouted interrupting her. "Ah yes, the wonderous kingdom of Sailoon and the great spring time festival. I can see the sparkling garments of pure white even now." At this point several of the carnival staff started what appeared to be a line dance of some sort while wearing a shoddy imitations of Sailoon festive garb.
"Huh what?" Amethyst blinked before this glazed expression came over her face and she cheerfully joined in with the dancing. "Yeah, its spring time! Whee!!"
"Uh...Amethyst what are you doing," Xalan asked sweatdropping. Xalan narrowed his eyes at the gray haired man and tensed to move when something caught his attention first.
"I got it here," Jol said, glancing at the spectacled man with a little bit of annoyance. Jol almost smiled as Xalan glared at him and left after the orcs he had smelled in the trees. Nobody liked knowing that someone was easedropping on their thoughts. Anyway back to the hypnotist. The man turned to the irritated if calm swordsman with a huge smile plastered on his face.
"Well, apparently my less public oriented compatriots are going for my book," he smiled. "Maybe we should get acquainted, and who, sir, are you?"
~A whole lot better than you.~ Jol smirked, as the man flinched.
Xina sat down and cheerfully hugged the book to her as she leaned down to open it. She froze as the knife flashed by her face and thunked into the tree. She glanced at the quivering silver blade.
"Okay, just what is your problem?" Xina snapped, looking in the direction the blade had come from.
"One of your parents wasn't human," the Kalus said. "But I don't care about that, who's the other, and maybe I'll let you live."
"My father was Xellos Metallium, you knife throwing freak," she stood up and her body was lined with shifting black shadow. It didn't really do anything, but she thought it might up the intimidation factor a little. "Just what do you think is going to happen here?"
Kalus smiled and launched another silver blade, and Xina calmly raised a shield of shimmering light. Then she barely dodged as the silver seemed to absorb the shield's energy. The blade didn't stop in the tree this time, it blew through it. Xina wide-eyed looked through the smoking hole. The knife-thrower was equally surprised.
"Okay, what did that," she didn't pause to think much longer, launching a light spear at the knife thrower. The man agilely brought the silver knife in his hand to block the projectile, and the spear's energy was again absorbed into the metal. "Oh shit."
Xina rolled away as a knife shot toward her, the man kept the now charged blade in hand, obviously in case she got close. Xina wrapped herself in a flowing darkness to confuse her enemy's fire. The blades flew with less accuracy for a moment, but soon Xina found herself having to abandon the cloak. Kalus nearly missed her exiting the darkness and charging toward him, but he noticed her before she could get too close.
~This is why I want to learn real magic.~ Xina said as she dodged and smacked away knives with her staff, trying to get closer to her attacker. A silver blade slashed through her sleeve, slashing into her arm and pinning her to the tree. ~Why do I always get picked on?~
She gritted her teeth as the steam began rising from the burning wound, and reached up to grab the dagger out of the tree. Kalus laughed as she discovered the handle was silver too. He readied another blade, as Xina pulled the blade out screaming in pain.
Distracted as she was, Xina didn't see the next knife coming in. Fortunately, she didn't have too. She dropped forward into Val as he was crushing the silver implement.
"Don't try that again," he warned. Kalus smirked and tossed the charged knife finally. Val snarled before launching his head forward and opening a suddenly fanged mouth to release a roar of flame that incinirated the projectile in flight. The blaze continued on toward the shocked knife thrower, seeming to overtake him. When Val pulled back there was nothing, not even ashes remaining.
"Did you get him?" Xina asked as she kicked away the silver knife that had hit her. She could smell him around, but that was mostly from their brief fight. She then glanced at her hand and the burned flesh there and along her upper arm.
"I can't tell," Val muttered. "He might have left while the flames where between me and him." The dragon looked cautiously down at Xina and noted her injuries.
"I hate silver," she muttered, a tear trailing down her face. She could have handled the stabbing, it was that burning of silver touching her flesh that terrified her.
Val looked about again, trying to see if the knife thrower was still around, before kneeling down on the ground with her. Gingerly he took her hand in his and turned the burn to face out.
"Keep your eyes open," he muttered and moved to check her arm. This was much worse, there was a burned out hole through her upper arm. "Amethyst would be better, but I can do a little." A white light gathered around his arm as he healed the wound.
"The knives soaked my wall and spears," she muttered as the pain lessened and nerves and muscles repaired themselves. She flexed her hand and growled. "Thanks."
"It's not a problem." Val brushed back her purple bangs and kissed her forehead lightly. Then they both blinked and stared at each other for a moment.
"Did you...?" An orc head landed between them. Both looked up to see Xalan standing there, looking very cross.
"Are you two scentless and deaf?" he asked, scanning about the clearing the battle had taken place. He walked calmly over and picked up the book this had all started over. He paused in walking back toward them to head for something on the edge of the clearing. Stepping up, he frowned back at Val. "And you even let that knife-thrower escape." He turned to leave and then snapped back at them to forestall any questions. "Come on, Amethyst and Jol might need help."
"What the...?" All they could do was stare in confused awe. Xalan stood between his sister and the dragon, but he was too surprised to be angry at the moment.
At the edge of the huge clearing where the carnival tent was pitched, Jol and Amethyst were being served tea by a blank looking Lagos. Scattered about the field were the other carnival people. They were ball-room dancing, sprawled unconscious, staring blankly into trees, and otherwise incapcitated.
"Uh, what happened?" Val asked. Amethyst pointed at Jol and blinked in mild amazement.
"I got annoyed." Jol said simply and took a drink of tea.
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