Geralt made his way to side-stage as Lucien joined him. It was hard to admit to himself, but he was impressed by the Ringleader's confidence and charisma. He had a natural charm which was undeniable, and despite the circus struggling at the moment, Geralt was sure that this was one of the better operations he had come across over the years. Not that anyone could outshine him, per se, but this Frenchman seemed to be a perfect match.

[i][color=crimson]Too perfect...[/color][/i]

The frown returned as the voice echoed in his head and a surge of rage thundered in his chest. [color=crimson]"Quiet now..."[/color] he whispered, showing his canines and turning his head slightly to his shoulder, [color=crimson]"I need not be distracted on stage."[/color]

Geralt forced his focus back to the stage where Lucien was doing his introduction. That charisma spread through the room like a fine mist, enveloping all in its spell. Yes, he was good. Now he saw why the others called him their leader, in practice and in form, he was nearly flawless. He felt the rage from before fade into desire, into hunger, as he watched the Ringleader. Oh, how it would feel to make Lucien his...

At his introduction, exactly on queue, Geralt stepped onto the stage, the string-lights flickering all around the tent as he did so. He watched Lucien's coat-tails disappear as he entered, graceful and quick.

[color=crimson]"Welcome, one and all. And thank you, monsieur, for your elegant and [i]accurate[/i] introduction."[/color] Geralt stood center stage, and already all eyes were on him. The tent was full, every seat taken except for three or four in the back. He may have pulled the entire crowd from outside. Luckily, there was standing room available for tomorrow night's show.

Geralt proceeded with what he liked to think of as 'the kiddie show'. This consisted of relatively run-of-the-mill illusions and tricks for the first half, then slowly progressed to more and more magical displays. 

First, he asked an audience member to choose a card from his deck, inviting them on stage and charming them with winks and smiles. He then placed it back in, shuffled, and made the deck disappear. This gained a few gasps from the younger members of the audience. To everyone's surprise, he then asked his 'assistant' to step down and return to her seat, they payoff would come later.

After this, he rifled through a list of casual illusions and sleight of hand to get the crowd intrigued. From here, he moved on to fire in the hands that could catch a stick on fire but not his clothing or skin, he then opened his jacket to look for the cards he had "misplaced" and three white doves flew out from inside (that got a loud collective [i]gasp[/i] from the audience). Once he had "located" the deck of cards, he performed a series of feats with that: cutting and shuffling with one hand, water-falling them, even tossing them through the air to land perfectly back in his hands. He then made a show of "counting" the cards and found there were only 51 in the deck. He then asked his 'assistant' from before to check her pockets, and there it was; her card, the seven of spades. This was especially awe-inspiring because at no time did he get close enough to the girl to plant the card on her.

For his next ruse, the penultimate one, he passed around his "magic case" (which took the place of a hat for these circumstances) and allowed audience members to pull objects from it. Each time, he would show the case was empty, then allow the audience member to reach inside with the lid just cracked enough for their hand, and withdraw some prize which, of course, they were allowed to keep. Mostly, he targeted children and teenagers for this. One boy withdrew a handful of black buttons, another pulled a pair of bottle-caps, someone else got shoelaces, and the final audience member withdrew their hand to find a crisp dollar bill.

His final act, the one he had built everything up to, always left the audience with a sense of amazement and wonder. He asked another 'assistant', this time a young boy, to approach the stage. His mother, a mousy thing with a cloche hat, stood nearby, clearly nervous but also excited. Geralt took a moment to ease her fears, and at the sound of his voice and a wave of his hand, she instantly relaxed and watched the rest of the performance through half-lidded eyes.

Geralt asked the child to lie on the ground, on his back, for buoyancy of course, then proceeded to levitate him. The boy giggled hysterically at first, saying it tickled as Geralt waved his fingers and chanted 'magic words' until he began to rise into the air. For some extra flair, Geralt levitated the child over the heads of the audience members. At this, the boy showed some fear until he saw his mother's smiling face, and put on a brave face. Once he was back on solid ground, the crowd stood and clapped wildly, some mother's clasping their mouths shut with their hands and the boy begged to 'go again'. Geralt waved and smiled, did a short 'closing speech' (nothing to write home about), and with a final bow, the lights all went out for just a second and when they came back on he had vanished.

Overall, though it was short and fluid, it did just the job he was looking for. Nothing like the grand performances he had done back in Paris, of course, but the act of performance gave him the same exhilaration that only one other activity could manage.

As the crowd was ushered out of the tent by carnies, their eyes wide and their mouths flapping, Geralt stepped up behind Lucien as he watched from side stage.

[color=crimson]"So, how was that for a passing grade?"[/color] He whispered in the ring master's ear, an eyebrow cocked to match his smirk.