A Job At The Circus (Tumbling Training)

Danerec · August 27, 2007, 01:51 PM

TS: 15th Of Immanus, Season of Spring
Era II Of The Celestine Mandate
Era XIV Post Fractum

Danerec wandered into the Didasa Parish after browsing through the market. Even after working in the Aelyria Prime Circus for awhile, he still found it hard to find it again after wandering away. You'd think it'd be easier than this, he thought. It's a big white dome, taller than most of the buldings around it...That usually would stick out. He had heard about the Aelyria Prime Circus soon after he was left in Prime, and he figured it was the only place he could find employment with his limited skills. Knife throwing isn't exactly helpful for those doing clerical work, now is it? he had thought as he applied. Finally, he saw his destination.

Well, sort of.

From behind a few buildings Danerec could see a large white dome rising above the roofs. Quickening his pace, he rushed down the street and onto the next side street towards the structure. He could hear sounds of a performance happening within as he approached the domed tent, and he realized he'd have to wait until after the performance was over to make his request. Luckily for him he wasn't on for this performance, but would make one later on in the day. If he had forgotten and missed his performance he would probably lose a bit of his pay, and he couldn't afford that. Finding a place to sit on a few crates near the closed flap, Danerec waited outside the tent listening to the cheering within. Leaning back against another crate, he imagined himself waiting outside the tent, but coming from the performer's side, not the spectator's. He imagined the crowd cheering his name as he rushed into the tent to perform his act as they had done past times. Well, no, that's not quite accurate. Past times the crowd was usually quiet, except for a few coughs, as he performed his knife trick. He usually received a mediocre bit of applause afterwards, but he hungered for more. He needed something to make his act more interesting. That was why he was going to ask Director Mira Insigoria to teach him tumbling. Anything to liven up his act.
Smiling, he opened his eyes and realized with a start that the performance within the tent was over, and a gigantic man was standing over him, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Hi Savage," Danerec said quickly. "I was wondering if I could talk to Director Insigoria about my act, do you know where she is?"

Hazudar · August 28, 2007, 08:13 PM

ooc: yo, i'll pick this up if you want. tell me if i have the npc relationships off or anything, im basically making it up ^^

ic:

The big man shrugged, then inclined his head at the tent, his green eyes flashing somewhat in amusement. "In love with the stage, that one. Makes herself a pretty crown, she does, schmoozing it up with financiers and the like, and still has time to dance, eh?! Ho ho! But I assume you're looking the ole repertoire, eh Danno?" Savage's face screwed into a knowing smile. "Your act's... ehh... decent, but the crowd always likes seeing something new. Though I'm not sure how they'd react to a dancing knife thrower!"

Savage's laughter followed Danerec inside--where the spectators had mostly departed from the Dome, leaving the various circus hands to clear the stage, secure the props and all that. Lions and other beasts were being guided into their cages, one of the acrobats was walking off a cramp... the limelight was off, and it was back to the old bustle.

Mira Insignoria stood at the center of the ring, her tall form bent gracefully to one side as she shook the glitter from her long blonde hair. Her elfin features arched into an expression of slight surprise as Danerec approached, then she straightened, gifting him one of her amazing smiles. "Serale there, Danerec. Something I can do for you?" She threw her hair back almost theatrically, smiling down at him from a typical dancer's pose. A good show always seemed to put Mira in a good, playful mood.

Danerec · August 28, 2007, 09:57 PM

OOC: Thanks. Slika said she'd take care of it, but that was taking awhile, so...thanks!

IC:

"Uh, yeah," Danerec started to speak, then caught his tongue before it turned the rest of his sentence to mush. Mira always seemed to make him trip over his own words, and he didn't want that to ruin any chance he had at training.
Regathering his composure, and thinking clearly what he wanted to say, Danerec continued after a slight pause. "I was wondering if you could teach me a bit of tumbling?"
Wow that sounds too casual, he thought. Tell her why you fool!
"You see," he rushed on, "My act is drawing more snores than it is cheers, so I was wondering if you could teach me something to make it more interesting?"

Hazudar · August 29, 2007, 09:52 AM

"Aha!" Mira's smile widened, and she eyed Danerec in a coy, measurement sort of way. "Self-improvement, an admirable trait. Well, Danerec, you certainly came to the right elf. I can teach you grace..."

The elf twirled quickly on the balls of her feet, hands fluttering above her head... then fell into a low bow, like some long-legged bird, her arms spread delicately to either side.

"And agility!" Still in one fluid motion, she stretched backwards and executed a simple back handspring, planting her hands on the circus floor as her legs completed a smooth arc over her body. The move looked as if it required extreme flexibility, and had the effect of putting about two paces of distance between them.

"Maybe even a few tricks to dazzle the lasses..."

Falling into a momentary kneel, Mira sprang forwards into a somersault with a 360 spin, what was known as a frontfull. Both feet landed at the same moment, and the elf flung her arms outwards in a typical 'ta-da!' pose, flashing another gorgeous smile.

"Question is, Danerec... what can you do for moi?" Flipping her hair over her shoulder again, the circus agent raised a brow and gave a playful smirk.

Ah, here it was. Nothing's free in the biz, so they say--and while Danerec probably had little to offer the older, wiser, more talented, better-looking etc. etc. performer that was Mira, tradition WAS tradition. There'd be the haggling, the boasting on both sides... and unless Danerec could muster a suitably charming and outrageous line of fast-talk, she'd probably end up assigning him some menial task to make up for the training.

Danerec · August 29, 2007, 11:32 AM

Danerec's heart nearly sunk, but for the fact that he wouldn't give up. What can I offer her? he thought quickly, his mind slightly stunned by the question. With no clue what she could desire of him, his mind ran through anything and everything (for it was a short list) he could offer, from menial labor to paying crowns.

Far from content with having to muck out horse stables, Danerec tried to think quickly of anything else.

"Well, truth be told I can offer you nothing as of now," he said, his heart racing as he framed his offer.

"But after you teach me, I'd let you rewrite my act, and your name could go up on the poster with mine. Shades, you could do the act with me for awhile, if you're so inclined."

Danerec · September 1, 2007, 10:48 AM

Danerec awaited her reply as she thought over his request, his heart racing.

OOC: Are you still there?

Hazudar · September 1, 2007, 05:45 PM

ooc: yeah sorry lol, sometimes it takes me a while.

ic:

"Hmmmmm... full creative rights, you say?" Mira raised a finger to her lips and arched an eyebrow, mock-contemplative, seeming to consider the offer. "Well, we'd have to do something about that costume of yours, first of all. Get you into a nice leotard, like a proper tumbler... perhaps some mock faerie wings for decor... oh, and naturally, your new role will be to prance and frolick around me while I dance, to draw the audience's attention to moi..."

Looking coyly back at Danerec, Mira broke into a grin. "Don't look so worried, Danerec! All jokes aside, being a Director keeps me too busy to do any sort of regular act... lucky for you. Besides, I've seen your aim--and I'm not sure I want to be anywhere near the ring once you start lobbing those knives around. No offense." The elf gave him a cheeky, somewhat haughty smirk.

"However..." And here the director's expression became sly. "There's someone I know who might be interested in your offer. A girl-friend of mine, relatively new to the scene... even newer than you are. I'll introduce you two -- tomorrow, maybe -- and you'll show her the ropes, find a way to work her into your act. In exchange..."

Smiling mysteriously, Mira performed another back handspring, but with a twist at the end, so that she landed facing away from him. Glancing back over her shoulder, her hair whipping around, the dancer declared: "I teach you to do THAT. Well? We can get started right away, if you like."

Hmm... a good offer, but judging from that coy look on Mira's face, there was clearly something she was telling him about this 'girl-friend' of hers. Was she fat? Clumsy? A dracon? Perhaps mucking out the stables'd be a better choice, but there was no going back now. There'd been a note of finality in Insigoria's last offer... if Danerec wanted to learn tumbling, he really had no choice but to agree.

Danerec · September 1, 2007, 07:44 PM

There's the best you're gonna get, Dane, he thought. "I'll take it," Danerec said. "Let's get going then." He jogged forward to draw level with Mira.

"And my knife throwing can't be that bad," he said as he reached her. "I hit two in every three..."

Danerec · September 3, 2007, 11:23 AM

Let's see...how would this work? "So, something like this?" he said aloud, attempting to plant his hands and pull off the back handspring. He didn't arch his back enough though, and his hands slipped out from underneath him, getting him nothing but a hard landing on his neck and shoulders.

As a shockwave of pain shot down his back Danerec groaned and rolled over, picking himself up off the ground after a moment. "Maybe you should show me again." he said, rubbing his neck and trying not to blush.

Hazudar · September 3, 2007, 02:39 PM

Mira burst into laughter. "No, no, you're doing it all wrong."

"Here, before you really hurt yourself -- you should always try to keep limber if you know you're going to be doing some tumbling. There's a lot of ways to get injured if you're not careful. It's easy to twist or pull something, and you've already found out what happens if you land wrong."

"C'mon, let's do some stretches... like so." Mira bent forwards, keeping her limbs straight while touching the tips of her fingers to her feet... then sideways, limbs straight and legs slightly spread, bending to either side to touch her left knee with her left hand, and vice versa. "It's important to keep the lower back loose and fluid. When you're tumbling you want most of the effort to come from your upper back or thighs, where the muscles are stronger."

She showed him how to do some squats and curls, plus a variety of stretching exercises. The view was awesome, but if Danerec showed a more than healthy interest in the demonstration, the elf didn't notice. "Rowing is great for the upper back, so take a visit to the Primus River sometime. For tumbling, and acrobatics in general, you want strength while maintaining as much flexibility as possible."

"Whew! Not a bad workout, eh?" Mira looked around, saw some carneys and snapped her fingers at them... soon there were several padded mats laid out on the floor of the arena. "These are good for practice, but it's better if you don't rely on them too heavily. For now, though, they'll save you from any more nasty bumps. Now, how about we start small?"

"I'm sure you were a child at one point, so you've probably done cartwheels." Smiling in her show-offy way, Mira did three perfect cartwheels, then began flipping along the mats, ending in a 360 backfull. Stylish! "Starting small helps you learn form and balance -- you'll need to know, on an instinct level, exactly what your body is and isn't capable of before you move on to flashier stuff. If it isn't strong or flexible or quick enough, then you need to train it to be so."

"Try to be like a cat, always land with your feet planted well, and stay aware of the way your body is balanced, where your center of gravity is." Mira did her trick again, taking off slowly at first, beginning with smooth cartwheels... "Over time you'll learn to chain moves fluidly together, how to build and exploit your own momentum, how to reverse it without losing speed..." She stopped talking as she began to flip through the air, throwing in what looked like midair cartwheels, her body bent perpendicular to her spinning legs... at last, she came to a halt. "Which is, in effect, the beauty of tumbling... don't you agree?" She grinned, quirking an eyebrow.

"Now, let's teach you something that'll prove useful OFF stage as well. I'm sure you get in plenty of scuffles with an aim like yours, so I'll show you moves for throwing off anyone trying to mush your face in." Demonstrating great agility, Mira twisted her body around while keeping her feet planted, twisting her torso as if trying to avoid a thrusting spear. Even more impressive, she dipped almost straight backwards, her long hair brushing the floor, and came back up just as quickly, smirking in ridicule of her imaginary opponent.

Next came some basic, but extremely fast tumbles. Mira threw herself to one side, her side, thigh and one hand taking the impact of the fall. The momentum kept her rolling, and she extended her other hand once she was face first with the ground, using her hands and feet to shove away from the ground--and back onto her feet. "As I told you, it's important to be quick on your feet, like a cat. Hit the ground wrong, and you become an awkard pile, an easy target for anyone trying to mush your face in. Do it right, and you can keep moving out of harm's way."

She showed him again, this time using the power of her arms and torso to keep rolling, backwards and forwards, side to side. She showed him how to get rapidly to his feet from any position:

"The easiest way is to roll sideways onto your knees, but the fastest and safest way is rolling backwards onto your feet. If you want to spring forwards onto your feet, first lift your feet in the air, bracing yourself with your hands like so--" As Mira curled, her legs bent above her, she raised her hands above her head, bracing them palms-down against the ground. "Then you kick and push off the ground at the same time, so that you land on your feet. But if you're feeling adventurous, you can also do this--" Still with her back flat against the floor, Mira twisted her abdomen and scissored her legs in a circle in the air above her body. Once the circle was complete she pushed off the ground with one hand, adding to the momentum of the kick to launch herself forwards onto her feet.

"Got it so far?" she asked Danerec with a smirk. "Go ahead and try some tumbles. Meanwhile, I'm thirsty. I expect you to have mastered the scissorkick by the time I get back."

Danerec · September 3, 2007, 03:19 PM

Danerec picked his jaw up off of his chest and firmly closed his mouth before he drooled. The amount of tumbling shown to him had made him think he was in way over his head.

Carefully he tried his luck at the rolling tumbles to his side. Finding them easy enough after a few tries, he practiced them faster and faster until he could do them almost instantaneously.

Rolling backwards proved slightly difficult for him as he was slightly afraid of falling forcefully on his neck again. Danerec tried to roll slowly backwards, but found he didn't have enough momentum and quickly rolled back forwards off of his shoulders. Taking a deep breath, he tried again, more quickly and forcefully. He nearly laughed aloud when he completed the roll without any pain, but for the fact that he landed on his knees instead of his feet. Danerec stood and tried again, pushing up as he rolled backwards, his feet hitting the mat first, but straight at the knee, and he couldn't stand.
Continuing to work at the roll, he eventually got the hang of it, and went over what he had accomplished so far.

Rolling to the side, Danerec rose and pushed himself to roll backwards. The momentum from the first roll however pushed him to the side, and his second roll was off, and he tripped and fell on his chest. Well, you'll get it eventually... he thought.

The scissor kick was very intimidating to watch, and he couldn't wait to attempt it. Bracing his hands behind his head he lifted his feet in the air. Spinning them as Mira had, Danerec was surprised when instead of pushing himself up into the air, the momentum merely rolled him to his side. Sitting up, he scratched his head, thinking back to what she had demonstrated.

Kicking and...Oh yes, pushing off with my hands!

Laying back down he repositioned his hands and tried again. Pushing up with his hand as he spun he was overjoyed when his body lifted up into the air. So joyed that he forgot to land on his feet. Landing heavily he rolled forward to lessen the blow to his knees. Within three more attempts he finally pulled it off correctly.

Just to make sure it wasn't a fluke, Danerec repeated the process and executed it again, then went back through one by one the other rolls. Allowing himself a small grin for his accomplishment, he did a cartwheel, which as Mira had correctly guessed, he did quite often as a child. Repeating the cartwheel with another, he landed awkwardly on his heel and slipped on the mat, landing on his rear.

Laughing slightly at his fall, Danerec picked himself back up and began going over the rolls again. Practice makes perfect, afterall... he thought.

Hazudar · September 3, 2007, 04:19 PM

"Hmm... you're coming along nicely." Mira came back nibbling on an apple, watching Danerec's progress with slightly wide eyes. He'd learned quite fast... given he was a human and a male to boot. Perhaps that bump to his head had done him some good.

"You're not quite ready to do somersaults, but give it time. Keep practicing. Explore your body's potential, learn to move like a ball of wizard's mercury sliding along glass. Develop your muscles and muscle memory."

"Once you become good at tumbling, nothing can touch you. You can move through a crowded tavern full of orcs and not even get your tunic dirty. On the battlefield, you'll slip past and around blades and arrows like they weren't even there. A great kemite master of Zinn'ka once said, 'Be like water.' Wise words. For now, though... you should be content with not snapping your neck every time you go for a tumble."

Mira flipped the apple in her hand, seeming to muse over it... then looked at Danerec with a somewhat devilish grin. "Think fast!" Without further warning, she lobbed the apple core at the center of Danerec's body. He had only a moment to react.

Secrets :

Danerec · September 3, 2007, 07:29 PM

Surprised Danerec dove sideways out of the way, rolling and coming up to a kneel as the apple flew harmlessly by. Rising to his feet Danerec questioned the reasoning for throwing fruit. "I mean with how fast you through that it'd probably hurt like hell!" he finished.

OOC: Combat, circus...huh? Do you mean I should ask to throw some sort of fight in, or draw this out into a detailing of how the new act should run with the stuff...? Sorry, didn't understand you there...

Hazudar · September 3, 2007, 09:51 PM

ooc: that's what i'm saying. which do you want to do? that is, which are you more interested in? think what kind of challenge you'd like to face, and i'll set it up ic :3

ic:

"Good reflexes," Mira remarked. She pulled a second apple from nowhere, and began nibbling again, talking between bites. The fact that she'd nearly bruised Danerec with that last toss didn't seem to worry the Director much.

"Naturally, that was a test to see if you really got the moves down. If you want to do this kind of thing on stage, you should practice until it becomes second nature. And of course, you'll have to learn some flashier moves. That could take a while, though. It took me several of your human lifetimes to get as good as I am, and I'm quite talented."

"Anyway, I'm tired, and you've learned about enough for one day. You really have to master the basics and develop a sense for how your body works when it's in motion. That sort of stuff. Come back same time tomorrow and we'll see how you've progressed. One last thing, though... your payment. Price of admission, as it were." The elf gave a mischievous smile, her eyes darting towards the entrance to the arena.

A human girl was arriving, slender and kind of short, with chestnut hair. She wore modest clothes, like something the circus hands might wear, but was still fairly pretty.

"Carla!" Mira called to the girl, who looked about Danerec's age. Instantly the girl whirled to look at them, her blue eyes widening, and began making her way hastily over. A bit too hastily, perhaps, as she stumbled and fell nearly face-first onto the floor. Her cheeks burned as she got up and began trotting over all the quicker.

"Carla, Danerec. Danerec, Carla. This is the one I was telling you about." Mira looked hard at Danerec, as if warning him not to say make fun of the girl's slip up. "Eventually, I hope you can work her into your act--though you'll need to improve your aim first, of course. I never understood the fixation crowds seem to have with throwing knives at pretty girls, but hey, it's what the people want."

With a very directorly grin, Mira clapped both Carla and Danerec on the back, almost shoving them together. Carla looked up at him shyly, but a bit defiantly. It was the look of someone determined to find her place on the stage. "S-serale..." she said, extending a hand somewhat hesitantly, then with a bit more force: "I like your act." She gave a quick smile, her eyes darting to the daggers still at his sides.

Mira was already beginning to slink off, probably bound for some meeting. A director's work was never finished, alas.

Danerec · September 4, 2007, 12:18 AM

"Well," Danerec said as the director walked off. "Nice to meet you." He shook the girl's hand, noting her nervousness. Grinning warmly hoping to make her feel a bit more comfortable he said, "I look forward to working with you. What can you do?"

OOC: Combat'd be good, unless you want to stick with the circus theme