Wandering Firebender

Eight: The Circus

Elio had never been to the circus before. They didn't really come around too often in his part of the Fire Nation. Stage plays were typically more popular; his family had a few favorites. He'd heard of the circus before when he first began practicing his firebending performance techniques, but he'd never seen it in person.

So when he walked into town and saw a big circus tent on the edge of town, it piqued his interest. He had to take a look for himself.

Standing off to the side, he could see numerous people setting up and preparing and rehearsing for their show. He saw jugglers, animal tamers, and fools. But he couldn't take his eyes off of the lone acrobat walking on a tightrope high above the ground.

She was incredible! She traversed the thin line on her hands, walking forward on her palms like it was nothing. Of course, there was a net below her in case she fell, but it might as well have not been there. She looked completely comfortable up there; she was certainly in her element.

"Hey, you! Get out of here!" A voice suddenly shouted, shaking Elio out of his transfixed state. He looked and saw a tall, heavy-set man stomping towards him. Elio took a step back defensively.

"Sorry! I was just watching." He said.

"If you wanna watch, you can pay for a ticket like everyone else! Now get going! Scram! Shoo!" He gestured for him to go, spitting in his direction. Elio made a face as he stepped back. He was going to keep moving on, but he was again stopped by someone else approaching him.

"What seems to be the problem here?" A girl curiously asked, doing a frontwards cartwheel before resting her hands on her hips. He quickly realized that this was the girl he'd just been watching on the tightrope.

"Sorry, Ty Lee. Just another straggler trying to sneak in." The man said, brushing him off.

"I was not trying to sneak in! I was just observing!" Elio defended.

"It's okay," The girl whose name was apparently Ty Lee spoke up. "Come on, Mel, you're scaring off a potential customer! Let me talk to him." She volunteered.

"Ugh, alright. Just make it quick." Mel grumbled, throwing his hand out dismissively and walking away. Elio turned back towards Ty Lee.

"Um, thank you. If I am actually intruding just by standing here then I'm sorry for interrupting." Elio said politely.

"Oh no, you're fine! It's no problem at all. Mel's our security manager. He can be a little stingy. He doesn't like to let us practice outside because he says people can get 'free sneak peeks'. I really don't mind it. He's just...well, ya know." She explained with a chuckle.

"Haha, yeah, I can see that. So your name is Ty Lee?"

"Yep! That's me! And what's your name, stranger?" She asked.

"My name's Elio. Nice to meet you," He introduced himself and shook hands with her. "I was really impressed with your tightrope walking. I've never seen anything that impressive." He complimented her sincerely.

"Aww! Thank you," Ty Lee exclaimed, pressing her hands on her cheeks. "That's really sweet of you!" She smiled, clearly flattered.

"Just being honest," He chuckled. "I've never been to the circus before, but I bet this show is something to see." He guessed. Ty Lee's eyes widened and she gasped in shock.

"You've never been to the circus before?! Wait, do you mean like you've never been to this circus or any circus?" She asked.

"Any circus. I just never had the chance." Elio answered.

"Oh man! Well, you know what? That's gonna have to change today! You've gotta come to our show tonight!" Ty Lee insisted. Elio chuckled.