Sorry!Sorry about the plants verses planks! It's spell checker gone wild!Klane soon learned that no one was paying attention to his playing. Even though, oddly enough, as he moved the instrument from his back to his hands, he felt a confidence infuse him that made him feel... somehow larger than life as he stood on the stage. The crowd roared as Keri took her first steps, and as she began to dance, the whole audience was riveted. Each step, each sway, each beat he played - it didn't matter if it was a fast or slow song - the girl before him changed. Even her costume changed. First she was a dark-haired beauty and then she was a pale blond Konti. The next swirl she was an over endowed buxom and then a thin waif with barely no curves at all. She danced her heart out even as her face changed and there was a magic behind the motions that pulled at Klane's heart and made him realize that from one step to another she became first one man's fantasy, then another, then another until there was no man in the audience that was not wholly enthralled by her performance.
Oddly enough, she only kept her eyes on Klane. As she danced, it was as if she danced only for him. Maybe the rest of the men in the audience had the same impression, maybe not, but with Keri and him... it was different. It wasn't a seduction of sorts. It was more of a conversation - an exploration of possibilities. And as he played for her, he felt himself doing something he'd never done before. He arched from one rift to another on his mandolin changing music as fluidly as she changed her face. It was a heady exciting experience as energy seemed to flow into him through her dance steps, powering his hands, making him pour himself into the art of creating sound. He knew his playing was sub par, but this wasn't about his skill at music. It was as if Keri and himself wove an illusion between them that had the audience on their feet, screaming, clapping, as he played faster, higher, lower, more boldly with each pluck of his fingers.
He felt alive.... fully alive. And the thrill it brought him was like none other he'd ever experienced. With Keri he'd made magic on that stage and he knew it because a power flowed through him that was so alien and yet so welcoming that he couldn't have possibly have understood it or believed it if someone had presented it to him as a story.
The moment lasted only a short while before relativity came back, the power withdrew, and Keri was taking a bow to the last notes of his instrument. The crowd was on their feet roaring, stomping, cheering, even as the girl stepped back, bowed again, and gestured at Klane. The roar was suddenly for him as well, and he felt it sweep around him, buoy him up and catch him with the magic of the moment.
The eyes of the little kelvic dancer met his and for a moment there was a power in them... a piercing glare that ate him alive and burned him all the way to his soul. Her lips smiled, and for an instant she seemed almost male, almost someone completely different, as she whispered
"You'll do fine. More than fine. Welcome to my fold." And then it was just Keri standing there, breathless and sweating. She laughed, tipping her head back and hugged Klane spontaneously.
"That was great! Just great! You played like you owned the house! Thank you so much.. thats the most fun I've had in forever!" She said, catching his hand and dragging him off the stage a far different way than they'd come on it. They ducked a prop, wove through some ropes held together with pulleys, and came out into another tent adjacent the big one that was filled with soft seats - couches, pillows, chairs - which held an enormous buffet table. Barin wasn't there, but several other cast members were. Keri went right for the food, dragging Klane with her.
And in a hearbeat he realized... he was starving. Sure enough, the table had very rare meat and a wide assortment of other foods and drinks he could indulge in. She was busy filling a plate with bread and fruit, still in many ways dancing excitedly. Then, she took a seat by a brazier used to warm the tent, and began to eat greedily... replacing calories shed' lost dancing up on stage.
There were other acts that followed, but they weren't called back to the stage. Soon enough, the event was over for the day, and the whole crew gathered around to partake of the feast and unwind. Klane was truthfully treated just like one of them.