People Are Full Of Surprises

Erika had found her way to Hargeon Town, she was supposed to be meeting her troupe here. However she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of them so far. Erkia sighed as she made her way to the lighthouse. She’d always liked sitting here when they passed through; it was so calm and peaceful.

She laid her bag down on the grass and leant against the lighthouse for a while, soaking in the sun’s rays. They felt so soft and warm on her delicate skin. After a while she decided to play a song. It had been a while since she’d played her lute.

She carefully opened her bag and pulled out a beautifully carved, wooded Lute. It was smaller than most lutes, but this was because one of her troupe members had made it specially for her when she was only 5. She placed the lute in her lap and began to play a gentle melody. She poured her emotions into the song, she never played sheet music, only what was in her heart.

Doragon walked next to Erika,seeing the lute and standing,hands in jacket,hood on,relaxing in the sun and shade at the same time"heat isnt the best but its decent sometimes"says Doragon relaxing,sitting on the grass with Erika."so why are you here?im here cause ive really got nothing better to do"says Doragon sighing,freezing the grass around him

Erika looked up at Doragon as he came up and smiled, continuing to play. Her nimble fingers never slowing as the music continued to play.

"My family is meant to be passing through soon." Erika said answering his question then realised he probably didn't understand what she meant. She hadn't told them that her family were a bunch of travelling performers.

She opened her mouth to tell him, but due to leaving a silence already felt awkward and wasn't sure what to say. As she sat there she closed her mouth again making the situation only more uncomfortable for herself. She stopped playing and put the lute down.

"My family are travelling performers and while that was fun, I dreamt on extending my knowledge of magic. Eventually I talked my parents into sending me to school to learn." She stopped and now thought perhaps she’d said too much. She still wasn’t good at talking to those in her own age group.

Doragon smiled at Erika"thats cool kid,well when are they coming by to come see you?"says Doragon looking at Erika curious,then crushing the frozen grass out of boredm"and why havent you told me or lover boy about this earlier?"says Doragon curious why for the first few hours,she was dead silent about her life.

“Well, they were supposed to be in town around midday. They said they’d wait till a couple days before leaving.” Erika replied as she watched him crush the grass, “And I didn’t think that my personal history was all that interesting. Besides would it have made a difference in any way?”

Erika finished speaking then looked up at some sea birds flying around in the sky. She watched as they swooped about and dove into the sea, occasionally coming back to the surface with a fish in their beak. She stopped examining the birds hovering about then pulled her bag back over to herself. She slowly unzipped the top and slid her small lute back inside.

Doragon smiled"not exactly,we didnt exchange anything of our histories,but you didnt even say your mage class,or such"says Doragon smiling,the grass now gone.


Doragon then made a few ice rocks and skipped them across the sea,they didnt go far with the waves and such,but it was out of boredm"Eh,i'd usually relax and hang out in a really cold place"Says Doragon smiling,thinking of the mountains hes been to the top of

“Well to be honest none of my troupe are even aware that I can do magic…I never told them.” Erika confessed and sighed, “They think I just wanted to extend my world knowledge in a way other than travel. Anyway what about yourself, where are you from?” she asked curiously. She went back to watching the sea birds fly, swoop and eat, then some strange movement from the other side of the bay caught her eye. She looked over to see colourful caravans moving through the main road and smiled.

“Well, that over there is my family, every single person in that troupe.” She said standing up and stretching her muscles before slinging her bag over her shoulder, “Want to come meet them?” She didn’t really mind and she didn’t want to be rude and just tell him to get lost.

Doragon sighed"uh thanks for waiting for me to answer,and sure"says Doragon smiling,and walking next to her"lead the way"Says Doragon obviously knowing the path


"By the way,im from a mountain,i was trained by myself a bit,and a woman helped a bit,she taught me how to make stuff with ice,make it colder,and how to endure the cold nude"says Doragon laughing at his fun times

Erika laughed, “Well at least you had a teacher.” She walked briskly to catch up to Doragon then slowed down a bit when she was next to him. She looked around, her eyes never really leaving her family’s caravans which had now appeared to have stopped. Erika focused on them again and squinted as she could just make out tiny figures moving about and setting up for their performance.

“Feels like forever since I saw everyone. Ever seen a real travelling circus before?” She asked Doragon excitedly as she continued to watch the small people move about. Her anticipation was evident and a large grin spread on her face as they came closer. She would have skipped along if she’d been alone, maybe even ran all the way there, but she didn’t want to leave her new friend behind.

Doragon smiled"my teacher was cool,no pun intended"Says Doragon laughing"and no i have not,i lived in the mountains,so unless you count 2 bears attacking you,then rolling down a hill a circus,then no"Says Doragon laughing,keeping his walking speed.

Erika kept smiling, “Well it’s the greatest thing in the world, and I don’t mean to sound up myself, but my troupe is the best circus you’ll ever come across.” She looked at Doragon as she spoke this time then back to the people setting up. They were now close enough to make out people a bit better and Erika searched for her parents among the two dozen people there. She spotted her father helping to put together a stage and nearly squealed with excitement.

she continued searching for her mother but couldn't see her anywhere. Erika guessed she was probably still inside somewhere, it was nearly lunch time so she was probably cooking. At the thought of her mother's meals her mouth watered and she suddenly felt a pain in her stomach as she realised she hadn't eaten all day.

Doragon smiled and was eating ice,relaxing and he kept eating it,looking all around.Doragon saw her father and just continued to walk with Erika"so see your parents anywhere?"says Doragon not realizing that man was her father.

Erika nodded, "That muscular guy there setting up the stage is my father, but I think my mum is probably cooking. Well, I’m hoping she's cooking, I sort of skipped breakfast this morning..." Erika kept watching her dad as they approached. She noticed that her best friend Reilly was helping him as well. She looked up at Doragon with a smile on her face.

"That there,” She said pointing to her best friend, “is Reilly, he’s the only one in the troupe around my age so naturally he’s my only real friend other than Snake. That’s not to say the other troupe members aren’t, but they’re more like family. Want to watch the performance? It won’t be for another hour or two but it'll be the most amazing thing you'll ever see." Erika hoped this would be enough to convince him to watch, she could probably get him in for free too.

Doragon smiled,seeing her dad,then her friend reilly"wow,he looks sorta older than you,hes like 16 or 17,your like 13 or 14"Says Doragon amazed a bit"Well sure,ill watch your circus performance,and i even have some ice tricks people may wanna see"Says Doragon knowing they havent seen a mage alot of the time.

"Hey, I’ll have you know I’m 16!!" Erika complained, and crossed her arms, acting out a spoilt brat. She held this pose for a few minutes before grinning at Doragon. She was actually interested in why he thought she was so young and thought about asking him but chose against it in case the answer was something she didn’t want to hear.

"Anyway your ice magic would be cool to watch, Merridoth our troupes only mage doesn’t really perform. He's more of a doctor than a wizard." Erika said sort of excited at the idea of sitting back and actually getting to watch a mage perform. She's seen people perform magic, but not as an actual show, that would be different and splendid to behold.

Doragon smiled"sweet,well thats quite amazing that your 16,you look young,you dress like a 14 year old,your not very tall,but you are mature"Says Doragon smiling and making his ice throne.Doragon sat on this throne and relaxed"So whens the show?"

Erika listened to him describe why she looked young and sort of wondered what exactly about her clothes made her look young. She shook this thought from her mind as he asked her about the upcoming show.

“Oh, well, if you want I suppose you can stay here while I go ask my family about it.” Erika looked a little disappointed that he wasn’t coming any closer but she thought maybe he didn’t want to impose on her family. She shrugged these thoughts away again then ran over to her dad hugging him from behind much to his surprise.

She chatted with him for a bit and Reilly came over to talk to her too. Eventually most of the troupe had come over to say hello. Erika smiled at all her ‘family’ members and hugged them all. She’d missed them greatly. Eventually when her crowd started getting back to work Erika asked her father about when the show would start and if Doragon could join in, pointing to him as she spoke his name.

Her father eyed Doragon and nodded his head then turned to Reilly and they began setting back up again. Erika then headed inside a majestic looking caravan and came out a few minutes later with some apple pie and walked back over to Doragon, offering him some.

“My mum made this, and my dad says that they’ll be starting to perform in an hour after eating a meal. You’re also welcome to perform at the end of the show. They let crowd members join in then.” She smiled and sat down on some cool grass by Doragon’s throne of ice.

Doragon ate the pie,and smiled"This pie is wonderful"Says Doragon eating it faster,amazed by the flavor and taste.Doragon finished it quickly and relaxed,keeping his throne from melting,or even dripping a bit.

Doragon smiled"sounds awesome,ill be sure to woo the crowd with my amazing powers and skills"says Doragon confident of his success.

“Er, well, my mother is a great cook. Her acting is just as spectacular.” Erika said being rather modest, even if she didn’t sound like it. Her mother was the greatest actress she’d ever seen, and Erika had seen many women try to top her. Erika gobbled up her share of the pie with delight.

“So what tricks are you planning on showing people?” Erika asked hoping to a hint and perhaps a chance to see something before everyone else. She’d never seen anyone create ice from their hands the way Doragon had. Erika had seen ‘magicians’ but their tricks were nothing but lies.

Doragon smiled"Awesome,i cant wait to see her acting"says Doragon kinda excited.Doragon then heard her next question and smiled"can't tell you,its a secret,the better you dont know,the better the surprise"says Doragon relaxing

“Awe…” Erika complained, “That’s so not fair.” She knew this was a big lie, the best performances were always those that were new and full of surprises. She’d just have to sit through all the others patiently first before she’d get to watch him. Erika lay down in the grass, it was still chilly from the ice nearby, not to mention sort of wet as the throne slowly melted.

“Hey Erika!” A deep voice called from a few meters away. Erika looked up to see Reilly standing next to her looking down, “Going to introduce me to your new friend, or do I have to do that myself?” he asked with a sly grin on his face.

“Do it yourself.” Erika replied in a rude, yet friendly manner sort of how siblings react to one another.

“Fine then you loser.” He said sticking his tongue out at her then stopping to look at Doragon, “I’m Reilly, Erika’s friend and most talented acrobat in the troupe.” She said with a bow then glanced at Erika from the corner of his eye to see her pull a face as he claimed to be the most talented.

Doragon smiled and decided to get alittle too informational"Hello,im Doragon Aruji,im a mage,performing in your circus,and i tend to be nude or in my boxers when im in the cold"says Doragon grinning."well Reilly,nice to meet you"says Doragon grinning

Erika laughed as she lay in the grass getting rather saturated now. Not wanting to get her lute wet she stood up and moved her bag further away from the melting ice block. The throne now looked rather pathetic in comparison to how it originally looked.

Reilly still had his devilish grin, his short, straight brown hair rustled in the wind as he stood with his hands in his pockets on a sort of lean. While Erika was moving about he leant in towards Doragon, his smile fading.

“Hurt her and you die.” He said then leant away as Erika returned, his smile coming back in an instant. Erika eyed him suspiciously.

“What were you two talking about?” she asked screwing up her face and placing her hands on her hips.

“None of your business.” Reilly replied with a large grin as he stuck his tongue out again.

Doragon stood,returning ice,then whispered in his ear"i'd never hurt her,but hurt me,and you'll die"says Doragon making his spear,then hucking it into a dead tree,the tree frozen now,the lance gone"heh"says Doragon relaxing and watching the clouds"So Erika,what do you perform here?"

Reilly was a bit shocked by the whole ice spear thing and jumped back a little.

"Er, mind if I ask what that is about?" Erika said as she looked at the now frozen tree. she shook her head and turned her sight away from the spear to look at Doragon.

Reilly put an arm around her shoulders, "Little missy here plays music and does reasonably alright acrobatics, nothing special though." His grin grew then fell as she puched his side, "Oof, what was that for?"

"I'm far better than you in any performance." Erika said looking rather snobbish as she spoke to him.

"Suuuuure you are..." Reilly said this time taking a step back to avoid further pain. She may look weak but Erika really could pack a punch.