Before Nonsense

[Terra]

What happened right before the show

Terra had finished setting everything up. All the props were in place, a curtain drawn across. She was ready to begin-except for one small problem. Caspa was nowhere in sight. Worriedly she looked around. How could she do a magic show without her assistance? It would be very much different, Terra having to rewrite everything she would do. Hidden behind the curtain she waited impatiently for her friend to arrive.

Seething, the hound stalked through the festival crowds. Her every attempt to salvage the situation had gone awry. Amy not only survived and would be off-limits for weeks or months to come, but she'd implied she was not alone in her unholy and immoral practices. Caspa could not stand by and allow this to be her reality, but she couldn't know where to begin her investigations. At least she had enough patience to not let it drive her to distraction. Sooner or later the woman and all her kind would have to learn new ways or Caspa would die trying to teach them. Distracted, she found herself going in circles and drove the thoughts from her mind. She could do no more for the present. The clearing was a little way off, and she knew she was already late. The sun was high, perhaps even past noon. The show was due to start within minutes, she realised. There would be no more time for the rehearsal. And she hadn't even given Terra the coat. Caspa broke into a run, cursing herself for not noticing her lateness quicker.

Terra spotted the dog darting through the crowd with relief. As soon as Caspa arrived she broke into argument. "Why are you so late? I don't know how to do the show by myself! And definitely not in front of such a large crowd!" Escaping it would be quite the challenge if they lost their sense of humor.

"Shhh!" Caspa hissed, eyes darting from side to side. It would be just like the Amy woman to follow her and either spy or try to unnerve her still further. She spotted the barrow near the curtains and laid a hand on Terra's arm, motioning towards it. The coat still lay in the bottom covered in a layer of concealing straw, but it would also provide some cover from the milling people. Caspa wasn't sure how many of them would be watching their performance. She herself hadn't told anybody, so whoever knew about the show was down to Terra or word of mouth. Most of these people were probably just passing by on their way to somewhere else and had stopped to look at the billowing backdrop. Caspa wanted to get behind it, out of sight so she could make her apology and explanation to her friend. She wasn't in the habit of lying, and felt she'd hidden enough facts already.

Terra's ears flattened with anger as she was shushed. There was no reason for Caspa to do that to her. She hadn't done anything wrong. Really, she should have been the one that was angry. She followed Caspa over to the wheelbarrow, exasperated. "I already set everything up. What are you up to now Caspa?"

"Please forgive me," came the solemn apology. "It is nothing you've done. I'm sorry I am late." She glanced at the barrow. She had a good surprise for Terra, which hopefully would brighten the mood of the pair. But she wanted to get her dark tale out of the way first. "I was delayed by a dog who I have been searching for. She is a violent criminal and..." Caspa's voice lowered. "She keeps slaves." Her dark eyes bored into Terra's usually lively and cheerful green ones. "Which to me is unforgiveable."

Terra listened to the dog's words, eyes narrowed suspiciously. She didn't know if Caspa would be lying to her or not about this. The words spoken rang with truth though. She wouldn't be ripping apart her friend over that. Terra had a sneaking suspicion that what had happened had something to do with what Caspa had lied about to her before, despite lacking the ability to prove it. Her ears flattened as she was told about a violent canine that Caspa had been searching for. The fact that Caspa had taken on such a task by herself made her even more mad. Terra could have helped Caspa track down this enemy, and delivered the punishment. She still didn't quite understand what a slave was, beyond the grasp that it was supposed to be lower than an omega. She nodded her head at the words of Caspa finding it unforgiveable. "Some things are unforgiveable. Such as doing something dangerous without getting someone to help you." Terra looked at Caspa pointedly.

[Caspa Al-Fateh]

OOC: That was an AIM thread by the way, with both of us... But AIM started, well, not working... SO... we're continuing here!

IC

She chose to skate over the implications in Terra's words. They hardly had time to argue, although she would have liked to retort that perhaps the larger misdeed would be to drag another innocent friend into trouble. Caspa was ordained to the path of resisting all evil: she had been taught that it was not for everybody to consider themselves expendable to the cause. Only a few of these souls were necessary, and they had to be trained and behave with discipline at all times. She was still only a novice, but age and experience didn't matter once you were indoctrinated into the way she followed. You could die at any age, after all. "Be that as it may. I plan to travel home straight after the performance. She mentioned that there may be others in this land practicing the same thing. I have to find out where they are," she went on, her expression determined. "I don't know where to start, even..." But she could not ask for her friend's help, for reasons already stated. She couldn't know that the coywolf had already joined a group upon a similar mission and raided a slave-keeping pack. Her face was creased with thoughts of the immensity of her task, but she knew she had to put these worries aside for within minutes they would be on stage, required to set all wordly cares aside and simply concentrate on the acting and dexterity required for their illusions.

[Terra]

Terra sighed in frustration. It seemed she'd have to keep a close eye on Caspa to make sure that she didn't get herself injured doing something stupid. She had no idea what was running through the dog's mind, just that it would probably get her killed. Someone experienced in dodging death could probably help prevent that from happening. Terra might not be a warrior, but she was used to challenging death to games. She did it on a regular basis, and would probably kill her one day. Right now though, it looked like she might be able to use it to help her friend. Other slave people? Like Salsola? Terra glanced out at the audience. We can talk later. For now, you'd better get on stage and start juggling.

[Caspa Al-Fateh]

That simple sentence was utterly and completely the last thing Caspa had expected to come from her friend's mouth. If she had been more of the easily shocked type, her jaw might have dropped. Instead she simply stared blankly for a few seconds, before Terra continued and shook her briskly back into reality. "Wait a moment. I am not ready. You're not ready either." Caspa reached into the wagon, shovelling the straw to one side to reveal the glimmering coat. Still dark purple fabric showed through, but now it was bedecked in gleaming swirls and spirals of gold and white fabrics: these were edged with beads, sequins and glass crystals, also white and black borders that made the patterns seem to pop out of the fabric's surface from a distance. Strelein had outdone himself. The thing was a work of art. There were also myriads of secret pockets added, that Terra could use in future trickery. There wasn't time to show her all of this right now, sadly. "Here. Put this on, quick," she said, holding it up by the collar and wondering if Terra would even recognise her old coat beneath all of the embroidery.

[Terra]

Terra looked at Caspa puzzled as she proclaimed that Terra wasn't ready. I can do the tricks just fine. I'm ready. She watched in confusion as Caspa dipped into the empty barrow, only to reveal that it wasn't as empty as she'd thought. Terra laughed with delight as she realized the reason for the straw in the bottom. Terra hadn't questioned it, assuming it was just something that luperci did when transporting stuff. To have it revealed so cleverly had her admiring the myriad of color before her. It was beautiful. Terra reached out, her hands dancing over the wonderful beading. She ran her fingers over it happily, slipping it on at Caspa's request. Terra ran her hand through the inside, finding a couple pockets, invisible to the eye. Smiling she looked up at her dear friend. It's beautiful. Thank you!

[Caspa Al-Fateh]

OOC: thank you and goodniiiight. I think this leads on pretty well to the other thread. But feel free to post again if you want!

IC

Thank goodness for the surprise she had planned: it had managed to make their transition from the shocks and grim news of the morning so far to a mood of delight. Caspa was quite amazed at Terra's talents of living for the moment, or so it seemed to her. She had spent such a long time learning to let go of her resentments and regrets. As a youngster Caspa would have spent hours chewing over the frustration of the meeting with her enemy, and the enormity of her approaching task. Now, she merely spent a moment listening to nothing but the air of her breathing and all these concerns could float away. The joy on Terra's face helped too, provoking a half-smile from the scarred jawline of Caspa. "You should thank Strelein, not me: this is his handiwork," she informed the coywolf. Yes: Caspa owed him a good deal, and she was planning to acquire as much liquor as she could on her way back out of these festivities. There was bound to be some around, if the luperci hadn't drunk it all already. "And now, I think, we are ready," but instead of moving to begin the show, Caspa turned to sneak past the curtains and out into the crowd. She wanted to get a sense of the atmosphere before they began, and take another moment to clear her thoughts completely. And then, the magic could begin.