[img=http://i.imgur.com/rxPNBnW.png] [img=http://i.imgur.com/Wa1ZH6m.png] [b][u]Phillis Circus: Outside the Big Top[/b][/u] [i]"Aight, I give up. You win! Fine!"[/i] Lute threw his arms skyward in a fit of annoyance. He was doing all he could to ensure the citizens' safety, and with the way Sammie was constantly on his case, it was as if she wanted anything but that. He made another attempt to reason with them - which Cammie too seemed to be all aboard with. Before his sister could spew out anything more, Cammie stepped up. The magician boy stood right behind Lute, cape in hand, in case he thought about leaving the area. Even if it was with good intention. "Wait," he said. Sammie threw her arms up the same way Lute did. "Wait!? But he's--" "Kid, before we get back to business - could you explain to me one thing?" Cammie lowered his cape and quickly glanced over his shoulder. The animals were on the prowl, no doubt ready to charge at Lute if he so much as even moved from his spot. Tents were still aflame, but it didn't seem like any other citizens were in immediate danger. "What are you and your friends doing here? You're clearly not... evil. Do you have a vendetta against the circus or...?" "Enough chatter! He's just trying to fool you with this whole 'Look at me, I'm relatively innocent!' thing he has going on!" Sammie screamed. Max's ears popped from her shriek, and he used his pinky to dig at his eardrums to unpop them. Amidst her screaming, Sammie readied another tool from her hat - a whip, used to 'train' Lidya. The lioness sharply lifted her head upon hearing the whip snap. Was this a cue? "I bet you that lovely white hair of his is just a stupid wig. Just like his whole persona!" With another lash, Sammie cried out as she charged after Lute. "Max! Cover me!" Cammie remained behind Lute, between their group and the animals. His cape was in hand, as he waited to redirect Sammie or Max should any of them miss running (or rocketing) after the virtuoso, since he was sure Lute wouldn't run away at this point. Still, he couldn't help but ponder Lute's words; if the other two performers didn't seem to need the magician boy's help, he'd do what the guilder was suggesting and work on putting out the remaining flames. --- [img=http://i.imgur.com/t9SKBzc.png] [b][u]Phillis Circus: Outskirts[/b][/u] [i]"The good news is we found the secretary's son! The bad news is he decided to set the place alight and now we're all public enemy number one."[/i] Amy had been there for less than a minute, and already she wore her trademark deadpan frown. "That's lovely." As the duo continued explaining what hell was unleashed within the circus, Amy worked on treating their wounds. They look absolutely battered - and being separate from everyone else couldn't be good news either. Judging from Moira's word about the rocketman, it seemed the performers had more up their sleeves than just mere tricks. Fight-worthy abilities? No wonder Lady was... [i]"Amy? If anyone makes you uncomfortable in there, don't hesitate to tell us, right? I...uh... I know you don't want to be here, and... um..."[/i] "Save it," she said. While her words were harsh, they could read gratitude in her tone. Once the finishing touches were done, Amy rose back to her feet, staff clenched tightly in hand. She and Moira were both in agreement - that they wanted to get this mess done and over with - and began rushing towards the circus as quickly as they could. Luckily the lingering citizens were sharp enough to get out of the incoming guilders' way, so their path wasn't too blockaded. It wasn't long before they reached the gate. The smell of fire from the outer tents (now catching onto a few trees within the circus itself) wafted all the way to the circus exterior, causing Amy to glower even more. If indeed the circus was to blame for the kidnappings, then good riddance. But an out of control fire spelled more danger than it needed to. Speaking of hot, it warmed up real quickly, real suddenly. The fires hadn't reached their location, no - but a blazing hot laser singeing the metal bars had. The crew turned around to find a patrolman on stilts nearby, although with his leg heavily bent, he could only count on his other leg to pivot himself. "H, halt there! Please! Weapons are totally against the law here... come on, please, we don't want to have to do this..." "Stevie, they're the friggin' [i]enemy,[/i] don't plead with them! Swords and staves, man!" Another stiltman came running from behind him, this time with a feminine voice. "Just stop them!" Another laser was fired, directly at the group of four. The smoke from behind them had dissipated. Trixie and Xandra were still out of sights, perhaps even hidden amongst the fleeing wave of citizens (as per Stevie's guess). But now they had their eyes set on new targets. [img=http://i.imgur.com/m6NfTjF.png] [img=http://i.imgur.com/jKbWTfD.png]