Wandering Firebender
Eight: The Circus
Elio had never been to the circus before. They didn't really come around too often in his part of the Fire Nation. Stage plays were typically more popular; his family had a few favorites. He'd heard of the circus before when he first began practicing his firebending performance techniques, but he'd never seen it in person.
So when he walked into town and saw a big circus tent on the edge of town, it piqued his interest. He had to take a look for himself.
Standing off to the side, he could see numerous people setting up and preparing and rehearsing for their show. He saw jugglers, animal tamers, and fools. But he couldn't take his eyes off of the lone acrobat walking on a tightrope high above the ground.
She was incredible! She traversed the thin line on her hands, walking forward on her palms like it was nothing. Of course, there was a net below her in case she fell, but it might as well have not been there. She looked completely comfortable up there; she was certainly in her element.
"Hey, you! Get out of here!" A voice suddenly shouted, shaking Elio out of his transfixed state. He looked and saw a tall, heavy-set man stomping towards him. Elio took a step back defensively.
"Sorry! I was just watching." He said.
"If you wanna watch, you can pay for a ticket like everyone else! Now get going! Scram! Shoo!" He gestured for him to go, spitting in his direction. Elio made a face as he stepped back. He was going to keep moving on, but he was again stopped by someone else approaching him.
"What seems to be the problem here?" A girl curiously asked, doing a frontwards cartwheel before resting her hands on her hips. He quickly realized that this was the girl he'd just been watching on the tightrope.
"Sorry, Ty Lee. Just another straggler trying to sneak in." The man said, brushing him off.
"I was not trying to sneak in! I was just observing!" Elio defended.
"It's okay," The girl whose name was apparently Ty Lee spoke up. "Come on, Mel, you're scaring off a potential customer! Let me talk to him." She volunteered.
"Ugh, alright. Just make it quick." Mel grumbled, throwing his hand out dismissively and walking away. Elio turned back towards Ty Lee.
"Um, thank you. If I am actually intruding just by standing here then I'm sorry for interrupting." Elio said politely.
"Oh no, you're fine! It's no problem at all. Mel's our security manager. He can be a little stingy. He doesn't like to let us practice outside because he says people can get 'free sneak peeks'. I really don't mind it. He's just…well, ya know." She explained with a chuckle.
"Haha, yeah, I can see that. So your name is Ty Lee?"
"Yep! That's me! And what's your name, stranger?" She asked.
"My name's Elio. Nice to meet you," He introduced himself and shook hands with her. "I was really impressed with your tightrope walking. I've never seen anything that impressive." He complimented her sincerely.
"Aww! Thank you," Ty Lee exclaimed, pressing her hands on her cheeks. "That's really sweet of you!" She smiled, clearly flattered.
"Just being honest," He chuckled. "I've never been to the circus before, but I bet this show is something to see." He guessed. Ty Lee's eyes widened and she gasped in shock.
"You've never been to the circus before?! Wait, do you mean like you've never been to this circus or any circus?" She asked.
"Any circus. I just never had the chance." Elio answered.
"Oh man! Well, you know what? That's gonna have to change today! You've gotta come to our show tonight!" Ty Lee insisted. Elio chuckled.
"Haha, well, I'm a little pressed for cash. How much is the show?" He asked.
"Are you kidding? It's your first time at the circus ever! I'll just get you a ticket! Plus it'll make up for Mel being mean to you earlier." She added with a smile. Elio chuckled.
"You're too kind, Ty Lee. What time is the show? I'll be there." He promised.
Elio soon realized that he had been missing out by never going to the circus. It was an incredible display of showmanship with high energy and a sense of suspense throughout. Still, it was a joyful experience for him.
It was a lot like what he wished he could do with his firebending.
Once the show came to an end, he wasn't sure if Ty Lee wanted to see him again. They hadn't discussed it before he had gone, so it was kind of up to him at this point. He could leave now with this great experience and continue on his way…
But he decided to make a bolder move.
As people began to make their way out of the big top, Elio made his way towards the backstage area. He quietly snuck behind the curtain and immediately looked to try and find Ty Lee. He maneuvered behind boxes to avoid being caught until he eventually found Ty Lee. She was in full show makeup.
"Hey, Ty Lee! That was awesome!" Elio said with a grin as he revealed himself to her. She turned towards him. She was surprised to see him, but her surprised expression quickly changed to a beaming smile.
"Thank you! Oh, Elio, I'm so glad you were able to come see our show! Wasn't it the best thing you've ever seen?" She asked, giving him an excited hug. He chuckled and returned the hug.
"It was! I really had a fun time. You were right, it was totally worth it." He said with a smile. Ty Lee grinned proudly.
"Awesome! I'm glad to hear it! Hey, what're you doing now that the show's over?" She asked curiously.
"Uhh, I don't know. Just going on my way, I guess," He answered with a shrug. "Why?"
"Weeellll I don't know if you heard, but there's a festival in town tonight." She brought up.
" You wanna go?" He asked.
"I would love to! I actually already planned on going, but it'd be fun to have someone to go with. You know, if you want to." She offered with a small blush. Elio chuckled and smiled.
"You know what? Sure. It's a date. How long do you need to get ready?" He asked.
"20 minutes max." She answered.
"Alright. I'll meet you outside in 20 then." He said with a smile.
"Great! See you soon!" She said, hugging him again and waving as she went back to her dressing room to get ready. Elio chuckled and shook his head before making his way out.
As he left town, got dressed in his nicest clothes with a long cloak over it, and hid his things somewhere safe, he couldn't keep his mind off of Ty Lee. It was unlike anything he'd ever experienced before: in a matter of a day, she'd already managed to win over his interest.
He decided to take some money with him, in case he found an opportunity to treat her.
Elio made his way back to the circus tent where he had agreed to meet her. He fixed his cloak and secured his money to his belt beneath the fabric. His nervousness began to build as the time drew closer for her to join him.
He turned and smiled as she approached him, her braid now fixed, her makeup now far more subtle, and her outfit now similar to what she'd been wearing when they'd met this morning. He smiled at her and gave her a quick hug.
"Hey! Fancy seeing you here." He joked and chuckled.
"You too, stranger! Ready to go?" She asked. He nodded.
"After you." He answered, offering his hand to her. She took it with a little giggle and they walked hand in hand towards the festival.
"So I gotta ask, Ty Lee, what made you decide to join the circus?" He asked curiously.
"Haha, that's kind of a long story. But I just knew that it was the right path for me. And I haven't regretted it at all! Not one bit!"
"That's really cool," Elio said with a smile. "You're really lucky. I'd love to perform the way you get to. It's pretty amazing." He admitted honestly.
"Really? You love to perform? What's your talent?" She asked curiously.
"Uh, well…" Elio hesitated to answer, but before he could think of something to say in response to her, his attention was drawn in front of him towards the entrance of the festival.
At the gate marking the entrance to the festival, a large Fire Nation flag was hanging from the top. Elio's eyes widened in shock.
"This is a Fire Nation festival?" Elio realized. Ty Lee suddenly became nervous; she had forgotten to mention this to him.
"Uh, y-yeah. That's not gonna be an issue, is it?" She asked.
Elio swallowed nervously. What was he gonna do? He wasn't even sure if it would be a risk to enter into the festival? However, before he said anything, he realized that everyone at the festival had on masks.
"Uh, n-no. It won't be an issue. I just wasn't expecting that." He answered.
"If it makes you uncomfortable, I'll understand." Ty Lee reassured him, looking up at him again. Elio, however, managed a smile and began to lead her through the gate.
"No worries. Let's grab some masks and join in the activities." He insisted. Ty Lee smiled at him.
"Sure. Let's do it." She nodded. The two of them approached the stand for masks.
"Hello there, you two! My my, what a lovely, young couple we got here!" The man behind the stand laughed, "A mask for each of ya, will it be?" He asked.
"Yes, please!" Ty Lee answered.
"Excellent! I have the perfect masks for the two of you! For the lovely lady, here's a dove." The man held a white bird mask out to Ty Lee. She took it with a laugh and put it on, cooing humorously.
"Coo coo. Ha ha, how do I look?" She asked Elio. He chuckled.
"Silly. I think it suits you." He answered with a laugh.
"And for the gentleman, here's an ostrich horse mask!" The man laughed, holding out a white and black mask of an ostrich horse face; it appeared to be ceremonial.
"Aw man!" Elio groaned as he took the mask. It was a bit uglier than what he would have wanted. Ty Lee was laughing even before he put it on.
"Aww, I think it suits you, Elio!" Ty Lee teased him, rubbing his arm. Elio looked down and shook his head humorously.
"Thank you, sir." Elio said, paying for their masks.
The date was going really well as far as Elio could tell. Ty Lee seemed to be having a good time, and so was he, which was the important part. He'd never really been on a date before, so he didn't have any reference.
"This is really fun," Ty Lee giggled, removing her mask for a bit and smiling. "I haven't been to a festival like this in a long, long time." She expressed.
"Haha, yeah, me neither."
"Oh yeah?"
"Uhuh. Hey, you see that stand there?" Elio pointed out, quickly changing the subject to save himself. "See any stuffed animals you like?" He asked.
"Huh? Oh! Hmm… That one right there," She pointed to one stand in particular. "See the stuffed badgermole? That's a really cute one!"
"I see it. Wanna try to win it?" He offered.
"Yeah! Let's do it!" She exclaimed. Elio chuckled and the two approached the stand.
"Hello hello there! Step right up, step right up! You can win yourself one of these stuffed animals; the largest you'll find anywhere in the festival! All you have to do is shoot a single flame through this target." The man running the stand announced.
Elio looked towards the game. It was a target with a metal disc in front of it. A small hole was cut in the center of it: that's what he would have to shoot through. It occurred to both him and Ty Lee in that moment that this was a firebending challenge.
"Aw man! Is it firebenders only?" Ty Lee asked.
"I'm afraid so, little lady. Sorry." The man shook his head apologetically.
"Dangit! Well, I guess we'll have to find another one… Elio?" Ty Lee began to walk away but stopped, seeing that Elio was still standing in front of the stand.
"How much for a game?" Elio asked.
"Right here, my good man," The manager pointed to the sign on his post displaying the price. He reached into his money pouch and paid to play. "You get three tries."
"You're a firebender, Elio?" Ty Lee asked in surprise. Elio looked at her.
"Uh, yeah. Surpriiise." He said with an awkward chuckle.
Elio stretched his closed hand towards the target. He extended his pointer and middle finger outwards. He took in a breath, putting all of his concentration into firing out a small shot. Some embers popped from his fingers before a quick burst of fire shot and hit the bottom of the metal disc.
"Aw! This is harder than it looks." Elio said, taking another breath and aiming a little higher.
"Come on, Elio, you can do this." Ty Lee encouraged him.
"Huh?" Elio looked over at her, distracted at the moment he fired his second shot. The flame bounced off the side of the disc and burst into little sparks.
"Oops! Sorry…" She blushed and covered her mouth sheepishly.
"One more shot left, my good man!" The man running the stand said.
Elio took in another breath, focusing on the target again. He kept his mind trained on, not his target, but his goal, which was winning this prize for Ty Lee. He straightened his arm and steadied his hand. He fired another shot and it went straight in.
"And we have a winner! Congratulations, sir! Pick your prize!"
"Your choice, Ty Lee. Pick whatever you want." He said with a smile.
"Are you sure? Now I kinda feel bad for taking the prize you won." Ty Lee said. However, Elio smiled and shook his head.
"Oh no, please! I don't actually have room for a prize that big; I want you to pick what you want." He insisted. Ty Lee smiled at him.
"I'll take the badgermole, please."
"So you're also from the Fire Nation?!" Elio asked in shock. Ty Lee hummed and nodded.
"Mhmm, yup! I lived around the east edge of the inner ring. Not to brag or anything, but I actually went to school with Princess Azula. We're best friends!" She said.
"No way! Are you serious? That means you probably went to school with my sister!" He realized.
"Wow! Aww, you have a sister?"
"Yes, her name is Taiga. Sound familiar?"
"Mm mm," She shook her head. "Sorry, nope. But still, that's really cool!"
"It is! I lived further within the inner ring, on the west side. We couldn't have been that far away from each other." He reasoned.
"That's really funny! Well, it took long enough, but I'm glad we met." She said with a smile. Elio blushed and smiled too.
"Yeah, you too. This has been really fun… So I'm guessing it's back to the big top for you after tonight, huh?" He presumed.
"Mhmm. We leave tomorrow for the next city. So is the life of a performer." She said with a dramatic wave of her hand. Elio chuckled a bit.
"Yeah. It must be fun. I envy you. I wish I could perform." He admitted.
"Really? You like to perform too? What do you do?" She asked curiously.
"I…well I can't say I do perform because I've never done it in front of anyone, but I've always wanted to perform with my firebending. There's so many things you can do with it, you know?" He expressed.
"No, I don't know. But I'd love for you to show me." She said with a smile, taking his hands and pulling him into a run suddenly. He stumbled as he followed her.
"Where are we going?"
"Somewhere away from the crowds! Come on!" She said with a laugh.
Ty Lee and Elio left the vicinity of the city, going somewhere secluded and dark where they wouldn't be seen. Nervousness began to swell in Elio as she took a seat, ready to see what he could do.
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Ty Lee? What if someone sees?" He asked.
"Don't even worry about that. Just let me see what you can do! Come on!" She clapped her hands excitedly. Elio chuckled nervously.
"Alright… Let me just take a few steps back." He said, putting a safe distance between him and her.
Elio swallowed nervously and took in a deep breath. No one had ever asked to see him perform a trick before, and he was scared how he would be judged. Nevertheless, he did his best to calm his nerves…
Creating fire in his hands, he began to slowly create a circle of fire in front of him. He bent the fire into a ring and brought it around him, then spread the ring out around him. As the fire swirled around and around, he sent two blasts of fire in opposite directions. Those blasts became two more rings of fire.
Improvising now, he began to spin the two outer rings around the center ring, going faster and faster. The fire creating a low whoosh sound as it traveled; it was both exhilarating and intimidating. Elio bent the outer rings into lines now and continued.
The lines rose up from the outer ring and intersected above him, becoming a thin, snake-like dragon. The fire crashing in on itself created a roar-like sound akin to a dragon. Elio waved his hands in stylistic circles to make the dragon fly around.
Now Elio bent the ring around him into the air and had the dragon fly through it. He led it in a few circles before letting the fire disappear. He didn't realize it, but Ty Lee could see that he was grinning from ear to ear as he finished his performance.
"Wow! That was amazing, Elio!" She said, clapping for him and springing up to her feet. Elio caught his breath and looked over at her.
"Really? You think so?" He asked, still doubting himself somewhat.
"Are you kidding? That was some of the best firebending I've ever seen! You're an amazing performer!" She complimented him with a bright smile.
"Thank you. That really means a lot. You're actually the first person to see me perform like that." He informed her.
"Haha, well I'm honored! Hey, maybe you could join our troupe! I think tons of people would love your firebending!" She said enthusiastically.
"You…really think so?"
"Yes! Come on, you gotta talk to our ringleader!" She insisted, taking his hand again to pull him along. However, this time, Elio did not readily follow behind her.
"I don't know, Ty Lee. I mean…you know how people feel about the Fire Nation. I don't know if it would go over well." He expressed his concerns.
"But we've had firebenders before and it was fine! Elio, you gotta come join. You're really, really good. And it's pretty obvious this is what you wanna do." She insisted. Elio swallowed; he couldn't deny that she was right.
"I… I have to think about it, Ty Lee." He said hesitantly.
"Why?" She asked, tilting her head inquisitively.
"I…just… Wait." Elio's gaze was torn from Ty Lee. In his peripheral vision, he could see three men sneaking into the grounds of the festival. Ty Lee turned around and followed his gaze. She saw them too.
"That doesn't look good." She commented.
"We should go tell someone." He said.
"There's not enough time. I've got a better idea." Ty Lee said, looking back at him with a faint smirk.
"Get the spark rocks, quickly. We need to be out as soon as these things are lit. We don't want to get caught in the crossfire." The leader of the trio reminded them. They carefully tipped over a wagon full of fireworks, aiming them towards the crowds just on the other side of the buildings that concealed them.
"If you wanted to see the fireworks, you could've just waited 30 minutes. That's when they're scheduled to go off." Ty Lee quipped.
The three of them, all concealed by dark clothing and masks, turned their heads towards her voice. They looked over and saw both Ty Lee and Elio standing there with their masks on.
"Get lost." The leader quickly brushed them off.
"They're going to launch a bunch of fireworks into a crowd of innocent people." Elio said to Ty Lee, stating his observations aloud.
"Innocent? You know how many Fire Nation soldiers are in this crowd, kid?" One of the men said.
"Yeah, I do." Elio answered, swirling his hands around and creating fire. Immediately, the three thugs pulled out their weapons.
"Quick, light em up!" The leader shouted.
"I don't think so!" Elio exclaimed, breaking into a forward sprint.
He shot forward two fireballs to keep the men in front of him from attacking. As they dove to the ground, he jumped over them and aimed a fire kick towards the third man, who was about to light the fireworks. He jumped back, trading his spark rocks for a machete.
"For the Earth Kingdom, you filthy animal." Elio's opponent growled furiously before lunging and attempting to stab him.
Elio sidestepped the attack, pushing his wrist away with his right hand. With his left, he threw a quick jab into the man's nose. As he stumbled back, Elio shot a fireball right into his chest, blowing him back and knocking him down.
The second of the three turned to attack Elio. He had a small shield strapped to his left arm. Elio threw a fire kick at him, but he used his shield to block the fire. He then stepped forward and knocked him back with his shield.
"Elio!" Ty Lee exclaimed, stepping forward to try and help. However, the leader, who was the biggest of the three, quickly pushed her back.
"Stay back, little girl." He warned.
"Who're you calling little?" She made a face, throwing several punches into his chest. He gasped in shock, clutching his chest and freezing up. Ty Lee quickly threw more several punches into his legs, causing him to collapse.
Elio quickly got to his feet, throwing several more fire blasts at him. He blocked each one, but had to take a step backwards each time in order to stand his ground against the force of Elio's attacks. As Elio advanced, he realized that his flame blasts were setting off the fireworks.
"Ah!" He shouted, rushing over to lift the wagon. The man attempted to take advantage of this and attack Elio, but he was quickly stopped by a few crippling jabs from Ty Lee. Elio was impressed by this, but he was unable to express that in this moment.
"Help me get this up before they go off!" Elio said, crouching down and doing his best to lift the wagon. Ty Lee quickly joined him and did the same.
"Almost…got it!" She strained.
They barely managed to get the wagon up on its four wheels before the fireworks began to shoot up into the air. Ty Lee and Elio both stepped back quickly, looking up into the sky as the fireworks shot up.
"Ooh, pretty. I like the shapes! They didn't have that before." Ty Lee commented with a smile.
Wordlessly, Elio gave Ty Lee a look. She didn't notice; she was too enthralled by the fireworks display. Behind them, he could hear the crowd begin to swell excitedly and appreciatively as the fireworks burst in the sky. Elio couldn't help but shake his head and smile.
"You'll pay for that!" The man with the machete got up suddenly, attempting to attack Elio again. He quickly turned around and tripped him. When he hit the ground, he stomped on the back of his head and knocked him out.
"Oof! That's gonna hurt." Ty Lee cringed.
"Hey! Did you kids set off the fireworks?" Two Fire Nation soldiers rushed over.
"These three men were going to set the fireworks and shoot them into the crowd. We stopped them just in time." Elio quickly explained.
"Yeah! We would've gotten you guys, but it would have been too late! You're lucky we were here! You should really get better at keeping an eye out." Ty Lee said, pointing a finger at the both of them even though her tone wasn't really all that condescending.
"Right… Well, thank you. Let's get these men to the town jail. Quietly." The soldiers decided among themselves.
"You do that! Come on, Elio, we don't wanna miss the rest of the fireworks!" Ty Lee said, grabbing his hand again and pulling him away.
"Woah oh!" Elio stumbled again, waving at the soldiers as he was pulled off.
"Well, I can honestly say tonight has been a night unlike any other. One to remember, for sure." Elio commented humorously as he walked Ty Lee back to where all the circus performers were camped at. Ty Lee turned towards him with a giggle.
"Yeah, definitely! This was awesome!"
"Yeah. It was." He agreed with a smile.
"So, did you think about what I said? Are you gonna talk to the ringleader?" She asked. The question quickly made Elio's smile fade away.
"I…don't think so." He answered. Ty Lee's disappoint at this was obvious, but she nodded.
"Yeah, okay. It was worth a shot…" Her lips tugged to one side, "Sure there's not anything I could do to change your mind?"
"It's just a big risk. I'm sorry."
"I understand. Well hey, if you do change your mind, we'll be here until tomorrow morning." She informed him. Elio nodded.
"Thanks, Ty Lee… I had a good time today. I've really needed a good day like this."
"Aw, well I'm glad you had as much fun as I did! It was nice meeting you," She said. She stepped towards him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Take care, okay?"
"Yeah," He answered, touching his cheek and blushing. "You too." He said. She smiled at him before turning away and returning to the camp.
As Elio walked away from the camp, his mind went back over two things: the circus and his little demonstration for Ty Lee. For the last few years, he had doubted whether or not performing would be something that would make him happy. He wondered if he was cut out for it, or if it would even be worthwhile.
But after tonight, he knew for sure that this was something he wanted to be a part of.
Elio looked back towards the camp. It was like Ty Lee had said: it was obvious this is what he wanted to do. Elio sighed and turned back to go and get his things…