Closed The Happy Stryfer & The New Dancer (Artur)

[Amolina]

Timestamp: Day 50 of Spring 514 AV
Location: Lakeshore

After a long mysterious absence the actor group Deepwater Theater was back again, and this time they would give a performance of the well known ravokian play 'The Happy Stryfer' ! They were going to play on an outdoors stage, at the brand new Lakeshore Spring Fair, an event launched by the generous Lark Family, for the good of Ravok.

There was going to be lots of entertainment at the fair, but for Amolina Moletta the Deepwater performance was the important thing. She was going to play the female lead role as Belinda Boyle. She knew the role and it’s plot and lines by heart. And this might be a splendid opportunity to promote her actress career, as lots of people in Ravok had headed to the fair and they wouldn’t lack audience.

She didn’t know the exact circumstances but the play seemed to be financed by an art-lover in the Ebonstryfe. She suspected it could be the blackmailer Xavier, who had his drawbacks, but seemed to take a sincere interest in her acting. Essing was maybe a bit tense, though he smiled encouragingly at her and told her she was great and she going to be a grand star. It all seemed good, nearly too good to be true... and yes, to her annoyment the performance had now turned out to lack one male dancer. They had been forced to postpone the start a bit in order to wait for him to arrive … which he hadn‘t done yet.

She felt troubled. What if that dancer didn’t turn up? What would they do ? No matter he didn’t have any lines to say he had a key role as the cunning valet of the evil foreigner merchant who would lead the lovely Belinda Boyle astray by tempting her with money and luxury, while her stryfer fiancée was away on important missions. The valet’s task was to dance around and do what he could to help the bad foreigner steal a good ravokian girl.

There were other dancers as well. Among them Alice Lark and also the costume specialist of Deepwater theater, Aydury Hines. Hines was looking as pale and odd as ever, with her big hairdo and her generally starved look. And Essing was as usual dressed in his black pants and white shirt, his long dark hair falling in nice curls around his shoulders. Well…director Essing certainly seemed more than a bit tense to be honest. Amolina guessed it must be because of the missing dancer.

They took a break.

Amolina was too restless to just sit and wait, so she started strolling around, in the company of Birine Telemnar. She was dressed in her old violet silk dress of many purposes. Birine was patiently carrying the basket where Amolina’s baby named Pearl was sleeping.

Musicians played their instruments and painters painted portraits. Different kinds of food were sold at stands and lots of crated things as well. Lovers, or would-be lovers, headed to the Lilypad Farms to pick lilies, and on big grills near the water, fish was being grilled…and in the evening there would be more things.

She looked around for the missing dancer. Perhaps he was lost in the crowd… or dealying them because he was dancing for money or something … well, well, well, there, she saw somebody dancing ! She couldn’t see so much, there were so many people, but she was on her way and would soon be close enough to see …

[Artur]

Were he to be completely honest with himself? Artur didn’t honestly know where he was right about now, even if he’d been told many times by Gyatt what he would find in several places of Ravok. No matter what the bear tried though he just didn’t seem to have any luck remembering everything though, any useful information or detail even just somehow seemed to occur at the wrong time when needed. To have truly wound up within a place that was so strange and different from both Alvadas and Syliras was what interested him the most, yet all the same Artur found that his curiosity for a new place and new culture didn’t meet the same enthusiasm as the first.

After his time spent in KRF the Kelvic found not only a broken spirit but a broken body as well, part of him somehow changed from the very operation that led Gyatt to free him from his prison. In turn there was also one thing he held onto, one thing he knew that deep down rested on his shoulders as he was forced into it. The birth of his child. He knew not when it would occur or how much time he would have, but Artur felt himself in a time constraint due to the fact he’d bred with another Kelvic within the facility. Now all he could do was hope that he found a way to free his child, and in turn help raise that child in a world that provided much freedom as Artur once knew. How naïve it was though, to believe he could achieve such a thing, even if the bear was free in his own terms he still wasn’t released by the debt he owed Gyatt.

The man was a wonder to the bear to say the least, a savior he loved to no extent even though their time together has only been short. Though Artur didn’t feel that they were bonded as Kelvics naturally did, he still held a greater aspect of love and respect for the man. Mostly for the kindness he demonstrated. Such a thing was rare to have experienced in KRF, and what made it all the more better was that he not only saved Artur, but helped the Kelvic get a new start in a new place. Of course that meant the bear was in uncharted territory within his mind, left to explore what he could best describe a new world with an injured spirit.

As he made his way through the crowd he tried his best to squeeze through between two groups, it was a snug space that resulted in him only losing his balance and nearly falling to his bottom, had he of course not kept up with the effort to hold his equilibrium. Of course the act hadn’t attracted attention, more or less a few huffs from the people he tried to pass. However when he was right next to a female woman that danced with a few others, she’d thought he’d hesitantly joined in on their fun as the music seemed to sway throughout the crowd. She’d ever so gracefully grasped his hands with her own soft ones, and pulled him in closer to the circle with a wide smile on her face. What in Oriana’s-

"Come dance with me!" She cheered as she bounced to the rhythm of the tune that chimed aloud for all to enjoy, although he hadn’t the slightest clue what he was doing nor ever even thought about doing it, Artur tried his best to mimic the girls bouncy steps and mirror her movements to the best he could. When it came to a twirl she did she’d raised his hand up and led on into it while he stood there awkwardly, big brown eyes nervous as they fully watched the blonde happily dance about. His feet felt weird when they would make any steps, where the girl seemed light on her feet Artur was more slow and less graceful. It was all the more probably amusing to see him try more than anything, but after a chime or two the song seemed to end as the crowd around clapped for those who danced. This was when Artur took his chance to flee, after a short quick moment to smile at those around and nod to the girl, he finally wormed his way into the crowd once more to find a place where he could sit back and watch.

He had never thought it would be a rush to get up in front of others like that and perform, although he really didn’t put on much of a performance to begin with. Still he could only wonder if he looked overly silly trying to attempt it, or if he actually did a bit of a decent job trying to pull it off. Either way he was left alone now to contemplate in his thoughts, amused to watch the dancers perform with the next lively tune that seemed to follow. Little was he aware that he was being watched by another, one who had taken interest in his accidental participation in such a dance. Oblivious to the woman that watched him closely, Artur would definitely look to be occupied with some serious thought, even held what appeared to be a fragile smile at best. The garb he was adorned in was but a simple black cotton shirt made with short-sleeves, and beige colored shorts that were woven of the same fabric as the shirt.

[Amolina]

An unusual dancer with his very own style …

He wasn’t the missing dancer of the Deepwater Theater group. He was a stranger and she had never seen him before. But with her trained actress eyes, she could see that the man in the black shirt and the shorts had what it took to catch the attention of an audience. It was just like with that absolute beginner vantha who had been a success in The Dastard of the Docks in the beginning of last winter. Vanari ? Practice made perfect, and lots of training definitely made difference, but for a start you needed to have “it” or else no training and practice in the whole world could make somebody a star on stage.

A delayed show, a disappeared dancer, and now this man … an idea had started to grow in her mind. Could this stranger fill the dance role as the foreign merchant’s valet? Could his special and unusual dancing style add extra spice to the performance, even? It would be something new … oh, well, she had come a long way with the acting, and now she seemed to have started to think like a director. The audience had seen The Happy Stryfer lots of times, and it was actually essential to throw in a bit of creative improvisation and new unexpected things.

After how The Dastard had ended, Amolina had promised herself to never star in a play with surprise actors and a surprise end again. But this wasn't how the show business worked. Surprises were a must. It was the stuff success was made of, Seymor Essing had told her. So accept that, or be out.

Now ...

“Hey, you there …” Amolina left Birine and the sleeping baby behind and hurried after the man as he started stroll away, looking around curiously, seemingly at random. “Wait ... wait !”

She caught up with him and moved in front of him in order to make him stop and notice her. There was an awkward moment when the man stopped in his tracks but not until he had nearly made her fall - or more correctly, she had nearly made him trip and fall. But as Amolina saw it, it was the man who had nearly made her fall, he ought to have paid more attention.

“I … oh, petch …” She grabbed the front of his shirt and managed to avoid the fall, then let go of it again as soon as she was standing steadily on her feet again. “I saw you dance. My name is Amolina Moletta. Deepwater Theater group.” She wasn’t a full member of the group, not really, but she wanted to seem serious.

Big brown eyes looked at her and he seemed curious. But also a bit wary, like he wasn’t sure a stranger chasing after him in the crowds in the fair was something good. For a moment she actually thought … but there was no collar around his neck, so he couldn’t be a kelvic. What had she been thinking. She must have been a “volunteer worker” at KRI for too long time. He was just a human commoner with very bad taste in clothes and no sense of fashion, likely one of those fishermen she had never paid attention to. Those clumsy louts were nothing for her, she preferred … anyways, she was going to ask him to save the day.

“I saw you dance. And we are in acute need of replacing a dancer who hasn’t turned up. We’re delayed. The audience is getting impatient and the whole show is at risk. So I’m wondering - could you please do us a favor and dance a bit in the play?”

If he said yes she would tell him about his role on the way back to the outdoors stage. She would make Essing and Hines buy this, somehow … Amolina looked around while she waited for the man’s answer. She was looking for Birine and the baby, anxious now, for no reason as the woman was as reliable as a nanny comes and the baby was completey safe and well taken care of, but nevertheless.

“There’ll be a picnic for the actors and their friends afterwards” she added,when she saw the man turn his brown gaze towards a stand where they were selling Lilypad Wraps, looking hungry instead of answering her question. She didn’t want to lose against a wrap ! “It will be nice. Food and drink. Good company. Fun storytelling. You know."

[Artur]

Upon nearly being tripped by an encounter he immediately felt he should apologize since it was in fact a female that did it, and as it stands he couldn’t afford to cause any trouble with anybody while he remained a servant to the man that rescued him. Yet his appearance here today was more so led on by Gyatt’s own notion that he go out today and learn about the town, hence why Artur found himself so lost and confused in the place he stood now. Oh no! I’m in trouble now! I did something wrong didn’t I?! He feared nervously as she caught his shirt to regain her footing, and about immediately apologized for the sudden incursion he caused the woman. However she spoke first and what she had to say was something he didn’t expect to hear. She’d saw him dance as did many others, which made Artur’s face turn a little red, and happen to be a part of some… some type of group.

Though he hadn’t really thought it a likely give away his naivety got the better of him as he hadn’t a clue as to what she talked about, and then randomly blurted out with curiosity the question that likely hinted he was Kelvic… unless she assumed he was poorly educated right now. "What’s a Deepwater Theater? Is it within the lake? Because I honestly don’t think I can make it. " Her next remark about in need of an “acute” dancer was only met with a puzzled expression from the Kelvic, and sure enough his attention started to shift from her to that of the yummy smell of some kind of food nearby. What was it exactly? It was the mysteriously alluring cent of these meaty treats that were wrapped in lily pads, a sort of tangy smell filled his nostrils with slight tart aroma to make his mouth water. Then it was there, the rumble of his empty stomach. Sure enough he could eat every single wrap on the stall there, but instead the poor woman worked hard to see he remained focused on her.

Food? Drink? Company? Stories? Maybe I should help her… She needs help after all, and Gyatt would approve I’m sure. Considering his eventful past few days he could use something like this, even if it required him to be a part of something he’d never imagined partaking in. Yet he was hungry… so hungry in fact he could literally eat the whole stall of Lilypad Wraps now. The ferocious growl in his belly made the indication stronger, although he looked back to the woman named Amolina and held a nervous fragile smile on his face. "I’ll help? I just need something to eat first." He quirked as he pointed to his stomach as it agreed with the terms he had, already there was an ache in the pit of his belly where it waited to be filled with some sort of substance. He wouldn’t need long to eat nor much if there was going to be food afterwards, just something to get him by while he did… whatever it was Amolina needed him to do… what was it again? Dance? Oh Goddess.

I can’t dance! He thought to himself self consciously as he waited to hear what the woman had to say, he could only hope he wasn’t going to make a fool of himself by agreeing to dance with her in… whatever they were about to do.

[Amolina]

Oh my … she wasn’t speaking with the brightest man in town exactly. The way he spoke made her wonder where he’d spent his life! Normally even the most ignorant fishermen lots knew what a theater was and what a performance was. They used to be in the audience in places like The Spot and The Sliver … but this man seemed to hardly know what theater was. He came off as … childlike and artless.

“Deepwater Theater Group is the name of a group of people who are giving theater performances” she said. “We are actors and dancers and perform together. Today, we are going to perform on a stage here at the fair. But one of our dancers hasn’t turned up so we haven’t been able to start. I saw you dance and I’m sure you can do this.”

Again, she wondered … he had no collar, but apart from that he reminded her very much of … kelvics. Amolina had been tasked with feeding kelvics at KRI for nearly one year now, and knew all about how food always seemed to come first for many of them. Everything with this man, from the gaze in his open big brown eyes to the things he said and how his thoughts seemed to be dominated by food - everything simply screamed kelvic.

But he didn’t wear a collar. Something was weird here. Was he … a kelvic slave on the run, trying to blend in and hide in the fair? In that case there could be a reward for handing him in.

She could investigate this later! Right now Amolina’s actress career was at stake. She needed to find a dancer. The theater group had the stage for a limited time and others were scheduled to perform there after them. The important thing was just to start and perform - they would likely need to skip a few things at the end, but as the end was a surprise end anyway, nobody would notice.

The man said something confused about water and she just stared at him speechlessly, but then he said something about helping her …“Good !” she exclaimed , like they already had an agreement. “You can do this. All you need to do is dance a bit, the way you were dancing here. I will give you directions when we are on the stage, so you just need to follow the signs I will give you. I will explain while we go there. “

The man didn’t seem to listen much though. He was focusing on the Lilypad Wraps stall.

“Let’s eat some Lilypad Wraps while we walk over to the stage !” Alright so she really was desperate to find a dancer, was she? Yes, she was!

She bought Lilypad Wraps for a whole gold miza and hoped this would make the prospective new dancer follow her to the theater group. It was getting complicated … she would need to persuade Essing and Hines, but obviously they would also all need to convince this …man…or kelvic on the run… or whatever he was … that he could do it. And they would need to explain the play too …

Being a skilled actress she didn’t show these thoughts. She just made her facial expression be cheery and untroubled, and her body language unconcerned. Acting on like this, she offered one of the lilypad wraps to Artur - only one. Then she took out the black cloth bag she always kept in her cloak pocket and put the rest of the wraps in it.

“Come on then!” she said cheerily. “Let’s go!”

If the man - or kelvic - agreed and followed her, she would walk to the outdoors stage with him. There she would introduce him to director Essing, a man with long black wavy hair, and costume specialist Hines, a pale and skinny woman with a big weird hairstyle. If they agreed to her idea, the new dancer would be given a valet costume by Aydury Hines, while Amolina and Seymor Essing entered the stage and started the delayed play.
Ledger-1gm Lilypad Wraps ...

[Artur]

Her answer about the group left Artur in wonder with high curiosity now, just when he didn't think he would learn more about Ravok and whatever culture it provided, he found himself learning the more beautiful side with the arts that resided within the city. He never took to really approach anything here because the idea seemed pointless really, for one he had a debt he needed to pay off and two... who ever said he wanted to stay here? Even though he felt rather trapped here somehow he found that if he truly were, then sure enough the cage he was in had no bars or walls to hold him back. Could he do it though? Could he really take a step forward and see where it lead him, allow him the chance to explore the finer things about this dark city and see the real beauty? Could he even dance? Possibly not. Still all the same he agreed to it.

The woman Amolina seemed pleased about it, even more positove that he could do whatever she needed him to do. Act was it? He'd never taken part in such a thing, thus his stomach began to roll nervously in doubt of his capability. Based upon her explanation it was something of a sort that could be a work in progress, yet he didn't know how these things worked considering he was no actor. When she offered to provide lily wraps for a snack beforehand Artur's nervous face seemed to die down a little, another fragile smile on his face as he took the one lily pad wrap she gave him. She's a nice lady! He thought with optimism as he took the firsr bite, eyes rolled to the heavens above as the wonderful blend of flavors danced on his tongue.

Artur simply complied as he followed her along, rather engaged with the chewy wrap he enjoyed as they made their way to this theater they were headed to. When they had arrived and Amolina seemed to have stopped the Kelvic stayed right next to her, almost as if he were naturally bound to follow. With the introductions made Artur came to learn that Essing was "the director" of the place, that held little meaning for Artur as he hardly understood what that or costume design was for that matter. He pretty much looked as well as felt like a black sheep in this new flock he'd found. "Um... Hi. I'm Artur." He smiled nervously with a slight chuckle, hopelessly curious to see where this whole thing was bound to lead. His stomach still felt peckish too, but enough to where it would remain silent at least. He did after all enjoy one wrap, and would hopefully enjoy more food soon after he did whatever they wanted them to.

[Amolina]

To be honest Amolina was convinced the dancer to be was a Kelvic. In the past his fragile smiles and generally clueless style would maybe have made her turn her back on him, but after she had taken Pearl as her daughter she had become used to fragile smiles and clueless baby eyes and it didn’t irritate her as it would once have done. Not that it appealed to her either. But she tolerated it.

A sudden memory …an unkempt girl on the Nitrozian plaza long ago, hungry eyes, and Amolina Moletta had tossed a piece of bread her way…but when that slave looking man had started to bother the girl, Amolina had pointed to the city guards and left the plaza … she had been on her way to odds and ends, in order to look at a beautiful pair of bracers of carved bone which she considered buying, eventually …

Amolina had shrugged the memory off and asked her newfound colleague for his name and he’d said “Artur”. He had munched happily at the lilypad wrap while he followed the actress, much like a dog would follow somebody carrying a bag full of food. Alright, alright, this was simply ridiculous, but she would at least make a try to save the performance. It was worth a try.

When she introduced the new dancer to Seymor Essing, Aydury Hines and Alice Lark (who was helping out as extra dancer as usual) they all stared at her like they thought she had gone mad. Essing started to say something about them being a serious actor group with no room for goofy kelvic antics and … But Amolina put in effort to persuade them. “What’s the other option ?” she said. “No performance at all? Isn’t it better to do something of this and get the publicity and the money? If something goes wrong we can just pretend we are doing everything deliberately. “

Yes, Seymor Essing actually thought so. It was better to cancel. But Amolina didn’t give up. She tried to negotiate. She said that if they agreed to this she would take care of everything. “I have a bag full of Lilypad wraps. I’ll manage the kel … Artur’s dance by tossing wraps to him. You will see, everthing will be fine. “ She was definitely getting some expertise at acting . She manged to act like she was totally convinced and sure of what she said.

That wasn’t true. She could see the problem here. Really … the kel …Artur didn’t seem to grasp much of what they were saying. She realized it could be wasted time to try to explain the play to him. It could be enough to just use the lilypad wraps as instructions …

After a short silence the others finally agreed. Artur was going to dance and do the role as the valet of the foreign merchant. Amolina told him that he was now going to go with the nice lady named Aydury and she would give him clothes to use on the stage, then bring him with her to stand with the dancers at the side of the stage.

When it was time for him to dance Amolina would throw a lilypad wrap at the place on the stage where she wanted him to be. Artur would then dance in front of the wrap, until Amolina clapped her hands - when she clapped her hands he was allowed to take the wrap and go back to Aydury. He could eat the wrap while he waited for next instruction.

She really hoped he had understood this. She didn’t have time to explain more. And she hoped Aydury would give him a reasonably good outfit.

Seymor was already on the stage and the usual drummer was drumming. Ta-da-da-dah! The Happy Stryfer was finally starting and as the audicence already knew the play and the time was shortened, they would skip the somewhat lengthy start scenes with lots of "just chatting" and go directly for the action ! The audience answered his announcement with cheers and applause.

Needless to say that Amolina was already on her way onto the stage, while she unbuttoned the bodice of the violet dress a bit in order to make the décolletage more generous. It wouldn’t hurt in a play like this one, she knew by experience.

She was now acting in the role as Belinda Boyle ! Seymor Essing was the vile merchant, a foreigner, what else. He started to woo her and try to seduce her and Amolina started alternating between flattered titters and nervously dancing away from him. The audience laughed and clapped.

The show was in full swing and it was time for the merchants valet to come in and help his employer. She guessed she and Essing would have the competence to use the new dancer and make him do his role.

She carried the cloth-bag full of lilypad wraps with her while she acted.

Now she threw a wrap on the floor in front of Seymor Essing !

[Artur]

Upon the others finally being in agreement from Amolina's persuasion the bear was quickly guided into another area where outfits seemed to rest on tables and wooden hangers that hung about in odd places, a mirror propped up against a wall showed the reflection of Artur and the strange woman with supernatural hair. She worked quick to put together his "costume" which consisted of a really fancy looking white shirt made of silk with long sleeves that had cuffs at the end, next were a pair of trousers that looked to be made of finely woven felt in a very dark brown color. She insisted for Artur to hurry and change and the bear didn't wait for a second order, unaware of the fact that he was changing before a woman to reveal his nude parts for but a few chimes.

Whether she cared or not was uncertain, he had his back towards her when he committed the act. Either way when he was finished and turned towards her she'd already brought a black vest soft to the touch and fastened the buttons together quickly after he slid his arms within the damned thing. Overall he looked to be quite a fancy looking fellow for a Kelvic, yet it was only a mere costume to outline the highlight of his part. He was no doubt nervous for the act considering he was a terrible dancer, but he somehow convinced Amolina that he could dance even though it was unintentional. Before the woman Hines was done with him she took a comb and quickly ran it through his hair, several "Ows" followed during the process as she encountered tangles in the process. When she found that his hair suited a better look for the role of a "butler" then she twisted him to look in the mirror, and he had to admit he did look spiffy with the outfit on. Now of course was the hard part of the show... acting.

"Right then, its your que! Break a leg out there!" She nudged him forward to the area where Amolina and Seymour waited, a lily pad placed on the stage just as the woman instructed in the beginning. He was to dance around it right? Shouldn't be too hard. Yet even as he was brought to enter the stage... he felt nervous. Completely stunned with the act alone in fact, he didn't really want to be out here now that he thought of it. He was in over his head! But the food... oh yes the food... it waited for him. Sure enough that would be his motivation, simply forget the crowd that watched and focused more on the food in sight and he would be able to achieve what he needed.

Here goes... The Kelvic sighed and took a deep breath before he took a step forward, he then entered the stage upon slight improvement compared to the dance he did earlier with the woman out near the buskers. Step forward in a bounce like and pretend he searched for a partner, realize that Seymour was present and play like he was surprised with his presence. That was good right? No time to dawdle it seems, he had a dance to carry out and felt it imperative to finish now. The crowd certainly found amusement in his appearance as he stepped next to the wrap, and then spread his arms outward as he bounced in a skipping sort of motion around the pad. Not the greatest dance sure but as he made a couple of circles around the wrap, he broke into a sort of motion where his feet moved about with the roll of the drums. Arms tried to sway but somehow looked to flail here and there as he did his best to appear "elegent" to these people, all the same it was an effort that pulled off as many of the audience seemed to laugh.

[Amolina]

While Artur danced, Seymor Essing danced too, and managed to carry out a quite good version of the Dance of The Foreign Merchant and His Sly Valet. The contrast between the two of them was huge and the result was at same time entertaining and convincing.

While she was watching them and waiting for her turn to interact again, Amolina danced a well known tavern dance, which she had learnt from Alice Lark . She went through the combinations of steps and movements without mistakes, but it would be a lie to say the audicence cared. With Essing and Artur dancing in the center of the stage and Amolina flanked by the far more spectacular dancers Alice Lark and Andrey Hines, Amolina was hardly noticed.

But she would soon be back to acting !

Artur was still dancing on and Amolina bounced in, danced beside him and made it look like he pushed her towards Essing. “Good, you are doing fine” she whispered to Artur, without knowing if he could hear it. They were done for this round and she clapped her hands. Artur went away to eat the wrap.

She looked after him. Success. The audicence had liked him, but she found herself wondering what the kelvic of the big brown eyes and the fragile, insecure smiles was feeling. Not long ago Amolina Moletta wouldn’t have cared about his feelings, but things had happened and she could sometimes find herself slightly different from how she had used to be. She observed other people more, like she saw them a bit better, saw them more, looked just a little bit more at them...maybe because of the training she got from observing Pearl and trying to understand the wordless communication of the baby.

It was actually like she cared a bit more, even. She saw Aydury Hines’ thin body and starved looking face and wondered how it came that the costume specialist looked like she didn’t get enough to eat. Seymor Essing looked well fed enough. It had never occurred to her before but now the contrast between his flayboyant good looks and Hines’ scrawny style intrigued her.

Also, this Artur, and the confused expression on his open and somehow innocent looking face. He followed his instructions and did his dancing. She was content of course, but it also made her feel a bit bad to see how cooperative he was, just for a few lilypad wraps. She took advantage of him, and as he agreed to it she ought to just be satisfied, but there was a streak of sadness in her satisfaction with the new dancer.

He looked different in the clothes Aydury Hines had given him. He looked more like a common human than they used to do, the kelvics, as their clothes were often so sloppy. This costume made her think of how true it was sometimes : The costume makes the man. He could pass for just another human when he was dressed like that...many humans could look worse.

So. He looked looked just like a man and she was controlling him with lilypad wraps, like he was nothing more than an animal. This thought was slightly weird. She shook it off as she needed to go on with the show.

And she and Seymor acted on and she threw more lilypay wraps on the stage once in a while. Artur danced in and out.The story of the play unfolded as usual. The merchant was rich and Belinda of course consented to be his mistress and get lots of luxury into the bargain. Something else would have been unrealistic, sadly, but the audience knew how life was and besides this part of the play was full of daring things that made people cheer and clap.

It was time for the end scene and Amolina threw a lilypad wrap on the stage floor again. While Artur danced in she pulled up the décolletage and pushed her now loosely hanging hair back over her shoulders. Essing had exaggerated the kissing scene a bit in her opinion, bending her back over his arm in that impractical way and ruining her hairstyle. But the audience hadn’t complained.

Meanwhile, at the very back of the stage an actor in a dark cloak appeared. It was The Happy Stryfer.

[Artur]

Did he do it? Yes! He did! Artur couldn't help but celebrate his accomplishment, but only did so inwardly as the show was still going on. He didn't hesitate to take the lily pad after he heard the clap and more so tried to make it seem like it was all part of the act, still the people that laughed seemed to take a liking to it when they watched. At least he hoped they did. He'd never been so nervous, so anxious in front of an overly large crowd that contined to watch. Gaze at him, or what he felt like was him, as they pierced his flesh with their eyes. He was no doubt nerve wrecked but at the same time.... numb fromt the incredible high one felt when under an adrenaline rush.

Yes that is correct. He'd undergone an adrenaline rush that'd numbed his mind well enough to just follow through with what he was told, the ability to think rather impossible as he could only seem to live within the moment. Maybe that's what acting was, putting on a show and living in that moment for everyone to watch. It didn't make much sense as to why, but sure enough it was all the more fun to do now that he'd gotten a taste of it himself.

All the more reason to live by the expression he'd heard, "the show must go on" was something he'd never known to exist nor understood up until now. Now that he got to move and dance around lilypads to try and please a crowd, while at the same time fill the reaches of his stomach with small food to hold off until the picnic or whatever. Times came where he stood in awe as he watched Amolina and her partner dance and move about, and as he did so he curiously watched their movements to try and pick up what he could. Come the time for the next dance he interpreted what shoddy footwork he could into his own sort of coreography, and moved about the next lily pad thrown on the floor while the show continued onward.

Then of course the next part of the sequence seemed to unravel and Artur looked to the man in black out of surprise, though many could assume he was acting now this clearly was misinterpretation. He knew not what to expect and the change in music to match his apearrance brought the nerves in Artur to act out on their own, yet even though he literally was nervous it somehow must've looked appropriate for the part. Seeing as he was the servant of the merchant... or whatever they called him... anyways since that was but a minor role he hadn't worry about looking to keep up important appearaces other than his ques to dance.