Kate's eyes grew wide as she realized that just as soon as she had gotten off the ground, she was headed straight back for it with a force from Claire. She struggled and twitched in an effort to avoid the inevitable, but she soon realized she was on the losing end when Claire pinned her down and displayed a devilish grin in anticipation of the attack to come. 

"No, no, no, no, nonono!" Kate squirmed but was unable to escape the assault on her nervous system as Claire relentlessly tickled her until her abs ached with laughter. She bellowed out and twinged back and forth, her arms wrestling with Claire's as she attempted to cease the tickling. Several more minutes passed before the action was halted, and Kate had just noticed Claire's hands under the hem of her shirt as she removed them.  She blushed for a moment, but swallowed and ignored the different sensation that sent goosebumps across her belly as Claire's fingertips left her bare abdomen. 

Kate grumbled and attempted to roll over, but she was stuck. She kicked her feet a few times and then raised an eyebrow at Claire before quickly throwing her hands at her sides to return the favor, tickling until she fell off of her. Kate sat up and straightened her shirt and hair, then stood up and looked at her friend. 

"Well, I'm not one to miss my cue, now am I?" She smirked and then motioned towards the main tent, "I'll see ya at the show then. Good luck." 

She walked with her friend down the hill but then parted ways with her, heading back towards the throwing range where she found Eli staring at a pile of different weapons. Kate walked up, curious as to why he was staring at the instruments instead of moving their things to the big top. 

"Something wrong, Elijah?" 

Eli turned his head and smiled as Kate approached, shaking his head. "No, no. We've done this dozens of times by now." His smile flat lined for a moment and he sighed, "This is just such a big show. I've got a strange feeling about tonight... I only hope everything goes as planned." 

Kate had a concerned expression on her face as she approached her partner. "Eli, do you trust me?" To which, he responded with a nod of the head and a weak smile. "Very well then, everything will be just fine. Don't you worry." She smiled at him and helped him gather their things and head to their station behind the scenes at the main tent. 

Elijah and Kate both waited backstage for their turn act to come up in the lineup of the show. Kate had changed into a flashier top, one with glittery jewels on it meant to catch the intense light of the ring. Elijah was wearing only trousers with suspenders, his abdomen bare as part of the "proof" that their displays were real. 

When it was time for their act, they both took a deep breath. Kate looked at Eli and smiled, "Remember, it's all going to be fine. Just like in practice." The announcer called their names, and they both emerged from the curtains and walked to their set up. A table sat with cleavers, arrows, and darts. Kate's knives were strapped in their holster around her. 

They began their act with the cleavers, each throwing several at targets. Kate even turned around and threw one backwards, where it still hit her target dead center. They progressed through with darts and arrows, where Elijah stood in front of a board as Kate shot flaming arrows at him. 

To wrap up their act, Kate helped Eli strap into the spin board, where he was left suspended on the circular board. Kate gave it a tug, and he was sent spiraling around like a top. The tension of the crowd could literally be cut by a knife as they all held their breath. Kate pulled three knives from her side, taking in a deep breath as she lined up the first one. Eli was spinning in front of her at a rapid pace, and she let the first knife fly. 

It hit the board in between his ankles, and the crowd cheered at the feat. Kate blinked hard and lined up her second throw, letting the knife leave her fingertips and soar towards her partner. A thud could be heard and the knife was embedded next to Eli's head, two inches from his ear. More cheers resulted, and Kate swallowed the lump in her throat away as she held up the last knife. She twirled it between her fingers, breathed in, and then closed her eyes as she sent her arm forward, the knife gliding off of her fingers and flying towards the board...

When she failed to hear a resulting thud, she opened her eyes frantically to the sound of Elijah gurgling. She looked on in horror to see that the knife had pierced his neck. But how? She was so sure of its path... Blood splattered across the board and and crowd gasped in unison before breaking out into chaos. Kate ran towards Elijah, unstrapping him from the spin board, blood covering her hands. As his feet hit the ground, he looked at her, eyes wide and put a hand on his neck. He garnered an expression of utter confusion as he removed his hand to reveal there was no longer blood or a puncture wound through his carotid. Kate's eyes grew wide, but the crowd erupted in jeer as the incredible feat was displayed as an illusion. The spotlight dimmed on the two of them still gaping at each other in confusion.