The rest of the day passed by without significant incident. The big top and all of its accouterments had been set up, the practices had been completed, food made, so really this was a day of relaxation more than anything, especially for the Carnies and for Illyana, who would not partake in the big top show this evening. She would be watching, of course, but there really was no room for her act in the lineup as it was a one-on-one sort of experience. This was fine with her, there were always things to organize around the grounds, lists to make and chores to catch up on. She quite enjoyed big top days for this reason, it allowed her to recharge after consecutively reading for days, which was a significant drain on her system.

She was glad to also see that Geralt had decided to keep his distance, at least from her, today. She only glimpsed sight of him once, when he returned to the mess area after Lucien and Cora's practice to make himself a cup of coffee. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him spike it with something out of a flask. He smiled and raised to cup to her in greeting, but did not speak, before walking off and making his way to his trailer. She took note of the drinking, but would not broach the subject with Lucien unless she saw it effect the man's behavior or performance or she caught him offering anything to Aurel. She would have to be careful about what she shared about the Magician with the Ringleader, especially after their conversation the previous day.

Otherwise, the day passed peacefully for the clairvoyant, and she even had time for a little more research before the show began. Of course, she wanted to show her support for her fellow troupe members, and did make herself present at the show, though she remained backstage. She wore her typical gypsy garb while there were customers on the grounds, not wanting to have to explain herself if she was seen wearing her standard fare. She smiled as she watched Cora and Lucien's performance, but made sure to cover her ears as she listened to avoid any undo stress on her mental state.

Cora, who had been so excited about the performance that she could hardly sit still, spent the rest of her day preparing for the show. She picked out her dress, decided on her hair, and did her own makeup as Ivory had taught her to. Once she was done, she still had several hours to kill, so she spent the rest of the time with Akane, practicing and talking. Before she left her trailer for the rest of the evening, she tucked the card that Geralt had given her into the pocket of one of the warm-weather jackets she had folded in her trunk. 

Once the show was on, she wore nothing but the biggest of smiles. She felt beautiful, and knew the audience would be "enamored" with her, the word that Lucien had used before. It helped that the lights were on the two of them, and that the faces of the audience were shielded from her sight. She felt totally alone, accompanied only by the music that flowed from Lucien's fingers. She thought that their performance was even better than the two practices they had done earlier in the day, and was nothing but thrilled as they left the stage to loud applause.

She caught sight of Geralt backstage as she was lifted from the piano and set into her chair by Lucien. She smiled at him, and he flashed a quick one back at her, but kept his distance. She looked down, a bit dejected, but nearly forgot all about it as she was turned to face the rest of the show. She watched the rest, beaming the whole way. Though she had seen it all before, watching her friends perform was always so exhilarating.

Geralt had taken his place backstage, but made sure to have a good view of the backside of the performance as well. As a man of the stage, he was well aware that all of the misdirection for the transitions would be facing the audience itself, and the Magician wanted to catch whatever Lucien, Akane, and the others did not want him to see. For the most part, it was rather straght-forward and his sharp eye was not challenged until Akane left the stage. There, he was surprised to see her physical form shift into that off a twin-tailed fox. Now, this was very interesting.

[i][color=crimson]A Kistune...divine filth.[/color][/i]

Geralt hmm'd to himself, placing a hand over his mouth to cover his response, [color=crimson]"Very interesting..."[/color] While he had read the word before, he had never actually encountered any of these mythical beasts, that he had known of. As far as he was aware, they were shape-shifters and tricksters, which was very telling when he considered Akane's act, along with her personality. It also explained her almost ethereal beauty and her red hair, which was extremely rare in the orient.

As Ivory's act began, he sidled his way over to the girl, now in her fox form and came to a stop beside her. [color=crimson]"Now [i]that[/i],"[/color] he began, not leaning down but making sure his voice was directed toward her large red-furred ears, [color=crimson]"is an impressive trick."[/color] In fact, it may have been the most impressive thing he had witnessed since joining the troupe. He wondered what else Lucien had hidden up his sleeve. He stayed facing the performance as he spoke, providing the illusion of attention despite that fact that he was barely watching at all. He had seen it so many times by now, the most alluring thing about it was watching Ivory's well-toned body perfectly manage the silks.