Blame

Spray Paint

Somebody accidentally broke some equipment while they were cleaning up after the show. As a result, Mister Afton dragged pretty much the entire troupe along with him to some hardware store in town.

Elizabeth could understand dragging a few crew members along since they understood the equipment they used more than the performers did, but dragging what was the equivalent of an average-sized high school class to a store that wasn't all that big was just not a great idea.

The store was overcrowded and loud and the longer she stood in it the more she felt like she couldn't breathe.

"Maybe he'll be d-done soon."

"The man got distracted by a box of light bulbs the minute we walked in here and spent five minutes going on about how they were the highest quality bulbs he's ever seen. We're never getting out of here, Liz," Jesse said.

"Y-yeah, y-you're right..."

Mister Afton stepped in front of Elizabeth, a hatchet in each of his hands. "Do you think you could throw hatchets?" he asked.

Elizabeth wasn't looking at Jesse, but she could hear the small groan that always accompanied one of her eye rolls.

"Geez, Mister Afton. She's only been doing knife throwing again for one day. Today. Why you gotta try to switch her act up already?"

"There's never a wrong time to try and make our show more exciting." There was a strange glint in the ringmaster's eyes. "So...Elizabeth? Hatchet throwing? Yes? No?"

"Um...I mean, maybe if I practiced w-with them? They're w-weighted and shaped differently, so the force of the throw, the spin, and how far away I am from the target w-would have to change—" she rambled.

"So I'm hearing yes?"

"W-with practice...y-yes... I think so."

"Excellent." He handed the hatchets to Elizabeth, and then was quickly distracted by something that would apparently make Yenn's act "absolutely spectacular".

Jesse took one of the hatchets from her grasp and inspected it. "If you're gonna start throwing these, throw them at Jeremy. I'll do dinky little knives, but I ain't doing hatchets."

"Hey!" Jeremy pushed a couple of products aside, making his face visible from the other side of the shelf in front of them. "Don't tell her that! I don't want hatchets thrown at me either."

"Man, you're not a crew member anymore. You're a performer. And that means that sometimes you get hatchets thrown at you."

"You're a performer too," he argued.

"Yeah, but I already have swords down my throat while I get thrown at. And I've got the thing where I pull them out, drop them, and she catches them. My part doesn't need to be more exciting."

Jeremy opened his mouth to speak, but Jesse continued before he could.

"And I get thrown at before you. It makes more sense to start out with small projectiles and then switch to bigger, more intense ones."

"Well...damn it. You're right."

Mister Afton reappeared, taking the hatchets back. "I'll hold onto these for now," he said.

This actually meant that he was going to pass them off to Yenn, who was already holding quite a few things in muscular arms with an unamused expression on his face.

"Jesse!" Arlen yelled at an unnecessary volume, making both Elizabeth and Jesse flinch.

Jesse turned around.