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Vi was ready to go home, but ekko and jinx insisted they had to go see the new fire dancing show at the Zaun Theatre before they turned in for the night. Who was she to say no?
~~~~~
The lights were blinding, flashing blue and pink through the smoggy air. The venue was near the river, cold air wafting off of the muddy water. Breathing in, Vi could smell the treatment chemicals from where she stood at the edge of the viewing field. Half listening to her sister talk with her boyfriend, she set her eyes on the stage they were slowly wandering towards.
“I’m so excited- this troupe is supposed to be amazing”
“I heard that, too. Think they’ll live up to it?”
“I hope so- we’ll see!”
“Oh look- it’s starting!!”
###
The lights dimmed and a sultry EDM song Vi didn’t know came on, dipping the audience into a sea of bass and reverb. On stage someone moved to the centre as two glowing stars of fire appeared, casting them in orange and yellow.
The pink lights came up again, this time to focus on the firekeeper on stage, sliding almost imperceptibly into a deep burnt amber colour. Then, the woman started to dance.
Vi’s jaw dropped.
Twisting like ivy and swaying like a live wire in the wind, the dancer moved like the rod of flame was an extension of her very body. Or maybe she was an extension of the rod— Vi couldn’t tell. Slipping through the air like she didn’t know gravity existed, the woman tossed and spun the fire, grasped at it like a sword, cut through the air in one fluid motion as if she was fighting with liquid chain instead of a lethal element.
“Holy shit..”
Distantly, she heard someone snicker behind her. Later, Vi would realize that was Jinx laughing at her. Oh well- it was worth it.
Mesmerized, Vi only realized she was being pulled towards the stage when she accidentally knocked shoulders with some guy next to her as she moved through the crowd. A distracted apology was said over the pounding beat as she continued forward. As she got closer, the celestial being that was the woman came into clearer view, as did the dancer’s fierce gaze that was connecting with the audience.
A messy bun of dark hair came into view, loose strands falling to frame her face and neck. Nimble hands dancing around the flaming pike were gazed upon next, dark protective gloves highlighting the dark ridges of her metacarpal tendons when the lights caught on the little leather windows at the top of the dancers’ hands. Her forearms, ever so slightly veined from exertion of her movement, were taking up every available braincell Violet had, tripping her mind like a short circuit.
Following the line of her arms, Vi took in the ridges of practice-defined triceps, the beautiful curves and indents of her back muscles under the tight black tech shirt she wore as she spun. Inadvertently, her eyes dipped down to the stunning Venus-like curve of her low abdomen as she tossed the fire above her head, the svelte line of a nourished, ethereal woman.
Ohhh she was fucked.
Vi always made it A Point to not let her mind wander to anything further than “she’s beautiful, I hope she knows that,” when she saw stunning women. She also made it A Point to not develop crushes on people she didn’t know, because in the past that had not worked out well. Even the thought of brushing her lips to a woman’s hand (which had slid unbidden into her mind a few times) was enough for Vi to put herself in the corner and stare at a dusty wall for 20 minutes. “Red as a tomato” Jinx would snicker, and walk off to dish the dirt on her panic to Mylo or Claggor.
But shit. She definitely had a crush.
She was close enough now to see the bead of sweat tracing its way down the firekeeper’s temple, others gathering around the dancers’ hairline and above the dip of her top lip.
The bass was pounding as close to the speakers as Vi was. Entranced, she wondered how the woman had learned to move like that.
Slipping through the bright lights like water, the celestia came close to the edge of the stage, close enough Vi could see the midnights of her eyes.
She startled as their gazes met, fiery blue power catching and tying onto awed grey.
Those stunning irises of the woman widened, dark pupils dilating enough for Vi to realize that she was the sole reason for it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finally. Freedom
She always belt better when she danced, sweat and lighter fluid boosting her mood instantly.
The fire was being extra sly today Caitlyn thought as her hands, sweaty beneath their leather and plastic guards, wrapped about the staff to toss it above her head.
Every dance was different, the flame responding to the air and heat and energy of each space differently. Today, It was slipping like oil through the humid midsummer air, pulling her attention to the small flickers magnetizing towards the crowd. She’d never seen It do that before.
Eyes watching the flame arc through the air, she saw the loose embers pause and spire in the flashing pink lights, flicking to a single point of light and then vanishing.
Dipping the baton around her neck to get a better look, she caught a glimpse of pink hair and a red jacket. Her heart caught in her throat, pulse jolting so hard she felt it in her tongue.
Oh my Janna.
The staff pulled her into a spin, as if the fire was laughing that she had finally noticed what It had been pointing to.
As she came back to centre, she was willed forward. By what? She didn’t know. But whatever it was, it was Insistent in its tugging. She’d lost the pink haired stranger in the crowd during her turn, and now that she was facing the audience again, her eyes were scanning for that mesmerizing bubblegum shade. It had only been a glimpse, but something in her ribcage was furiously trying to claw its way to the figure below.
Mindful of the drop off, Caitlyn slid forward, the toes of her battered shoes skimming the gritty flooring.
And there, in the centre of the pink-orange haze and staring up at her with lush lips parted as if speechless, was the most beautiful woman Caitlyn had ever seen in her entire life. The woman’s grey eyes were hardly discernible in the shifting lighting, as their pupils were swallowing any colour that might have been present to begin with.
For the split second their sights were connected, every sound rippling through the courtyard was silent, and every light slowed to micro-shades of its hue.
The fire peaked, skittering and laughing as Caitlyn had to focus back on the task at hand.
The rest of the song was a blur, the staff in her hand feeling as if it had been electrified.
Elated at how smooth this performance was, Caitlyn hoped someone was catching it on film. She would probably never hit this level of flow with the Flame again, and she intended to savour every second of it.
Dipping, bending, sliding, rippling and rolling through the movements she’d rehearsed until she could do them in her sleep, Caitlyn blazed through the rest of the melody with an ease she’d only ever dreamed of. It was like lightning had possessed her, crackling with power as she spun and wove across the stage.
When the song finally faded out, she was breathing hard enough that her breath was whistling in her nose, and smiling so hard her that her face was aching. The wall of sound from the whoops and cheers of the crowd were loud against the thick evening air, and hit her like a brick to the temple.
Loudest of all was the cheering from the woman standing in front of her below the stage’s edge, beaming from cheek to cheek and glowing in the bright lights.
It seemed as if there were more sparks flying tonight than just the ones from her staff.