Saro was once more at the docks of Cairo, they had unloaded the ship, and his parents along with some of the other crew mates were busy contacting their usual black market contacts to sell off the goods they had procured during their time upon the seas. Saro was given the time to himself, and he hadn’t yet decided what he wanted to do. He didn’t feel like getting into anything too crazy, at least not yet. He was thinking about something a little more tame for that night, he had a while in Egypt and he could get into some trouble another day.

Apparently though, the fates were thinking differently, as suddenly he was being grabbed by a woman and asked to go on a date. His gaze followed hers as she looked behind them and he spotted two men that were likely following her. He realized that this was likely her attempt at escaping those two men and what ever they had planned for her if they caught her alone. Normally Saro wouldn’t meddle in such things, it was none of his business. He couldn’t be some hero for every person who needed it.

But she didn’t give him much of a choice, considering she grabbed him and put him on the spot in front of the two men and the other witnesses around the docks. He looked back at her and put a grin on his face, might as well play the part at least.

He nodded.

“Of course my lady, let’s go then.” He agreed, as if this was a totally normal and agreed upon date that they were going on. He of course did not plan on taking her on a date or anything close to it. Not to say she wasn’t beautiful, it just wasn’t exactly the situation that made him particularly want to get to know her in that way, though for all he knew she was a lovely person.

The whole situation was weird, why were those men after her anyways? For all he knew she had done something to them to deserve to be caught by them. But they also didn’t seem the sort to stop and talk it out, they seemed rather drunk.

He figured he could play along, escort this woman some where safe and then go on with his evening without what ever the hell this was.

And so he started forward, as if with a purpose, as if the woman beside her was someone he was looking to romance.

“You were late, I was starting to think you would never show up.” He said, the men behind them likely to hear him, though the raised eyebrow and questioning look was directed at her, and they would not see the confusion he held.

Who was this woman and why was he chosen to be her fake date? There were other people at the docks, so why of all of them had she chosen the random foreign man? He supposed he could always ask her if she didn’t take off as soon as they were away from these men.

Saro heard the drunks call her a whore as they walked, and it didn’t really bother him. For all he knew it could be an accurate notation. He had no idea what her situation was, or what her connection with these men were. He had just sort of gotten involved in the middle of this unwillingly, but hey at least it was something slightly interesting he supposed.

He sped up with her as she sped up, and could practically feel the anger radiating off of her. He had no idea what she was like, or if this was going to end up with a bit of blood on their hands. It wouldn’t be the first time Saro had taken a life, and it likely wouldn’t be the last. But he tried to avoid murdering in the middle of the city where guards or witnesses may see and he might see himself into some trouble.

Then she snapped as one of them grabbed Saro’s shoulder, and he knew that he needed to try to calm the situation down, either that or he would need to be ready to fight, as he did not think these two drunken idiots were in any state to listen to reason.

He placed a hand on his ‘dates’ arm and gave her a small smile.

“It’s okay my dear, I can handle them.” He said, trying to give her the chance to back off and cool down a little while he tried to talk some sense into the two men that she had been trying to get away from.

“Now now, we’re all civilized people here. So my beautiful woman here has made it very clear that she has no interest in socializing with you, so I suggest you turn around and find your way back to your homes, or perhaps the nearest tavern, and we will forget this ever happened.” He said, giving them a charming smile, but knowing that his silver tongue likely wouldn’t make it through their haze of alcohol. He had been in that state many times in fact, so he knew just how thick of a wall it put up.

As expected, the men started drunkenly laughing and spouting off something about kicking Saro’s ass and taking the woman anyways.

He sighed and shook his head.

“I didn’t want it to come down to this.” He said, the two men seemed to be unarmed, and in their drunken state, he figured that a quick beating would send them running home quick enough. They wouldn’t prove to be a challenge, that much he knew.

One of the men yelled some threat at him and tried to take a swing, but Saro easily dodged it, grabbing the man’s arm before he was able to pull it back over to himself, he used the man’s weight and momentum against him and flung him over his shoulder, and he hit the ground with a thud.

The second man yelled something about Saro hurting his friend and came after him again, and he shook his head.

“Here we go..” He muttered to himself.

Saro loved fighting, he had been in so many fights in his life, sometimes he won, sometimes he lost. Most of the time he was completely ass over head drunk.

This time though he was (mostly) sober and the adrenaline from the fight was a high in and of itself. He ducked and swung and had a great time with the two drunks that had decided to harrass this woman. He definitely had no plans to be fighting anyone that night, at least not that early in the day.

Had she not shouted for him and grabbed his hand, he might have stayed and fought off the guard too, just for fun. But she pulled him away and he didn’t really fight it, he just followed her, fleeing the scene where the two men had gotten their asses kicked. Though they might be too drunk to even realize what had just happened. They would probably tell the story tomorrow and say that they were the ones who had won the fight or something along those lines.

Saro laughed a little as the woman excitedly chattered, only catching some of what she was even saying before she grabbed his hand to look at his knuckles and offer a doctor.

“No, no. I’m fine I promise. It’s the first time I’ve had to teach someone a lesson.” He said, giving her a bit of a grin.

“There is no need to thank me, honestly. They deserved what they got for their actions.” He said simply and truthfully.

“Nor do I require a thanks from your brother. While I appreciate the sentiment, I was happy to be of service. And aside from that, I rather enjoyed it. Definitely more interesting than what I had planned for my day.” He said, pushing some of his long hair out of his face, laughing once more.

“But, the circus does sound rather interesting. I’ve been to one or two in my life and thoroughly enjoyed it.” He said, perhaps he would end up at the circus, and if it was like any of the other circuses he had been to, there would be plenty of wine and some gorgeous people. The dancers and acrobats tended to be attractive people, to bring in crowds with their sex appeal. And Saro was a sucker for beautiful men and women.

“Lead on then, lets go check out this circus you speak of, if it truly is enjoyable, I will bring the rest of the ships crew tomorrow night so that they might experience it as well!” He declared, if she was still willing to bring him. He didn’t see why not, these places needed to drive business in some how. Though this was a strange way to do so, and one that he did not think she used often.

He couldn’t imagine that she ran to random strangers and got them into fist fights with drunken men often. Or perhaps she did, who was he to judge. He had gone along with her so far.

Zein was practicing a new routine for an upcoming performance. He stood in an area outside of their tents, throwing a series of odd objects through the a, twisting and flipping through the air every so often throw in a different element of surprise. That was what made a performance. People expected to see jugglers throw random objects into the air, but they did not expect to see the juggler perform incredible feats and catch those objects. It was up to Zein to surprise them. And he loved doing it.

The day was warm and he had already worked up a bit of sweat, eventually stripping off his shirt to cool down. He didn’t mind the added benefit of attracting those who came by. Somehow, during his practice, he had managed to attract a small audience. Those who wandered by had stopped to stay when they saw what he was doing. Previously, Zein might have asked for some money for this performance, but now it was a matter of promotion for the show. Those who saw him here might be well enough intrigued to pay real money for a performance. With that thought in mind, Zein ended his impromptu performance, informing his gatherers of when they could see the entire act. He did receive a few coins in tips, which he took gratefully—a life on the streets meant he would never say no to money, but he took more satisfaction in knowing that many of these people seemed to like him well enough to want to come back. That was the real reward.

As people dispersed, Zein looked up to see Kesi approaching with an unfamiliar figure. He gave her a smile as she greeted him, though turned a more critical gaze to the man next to her. Who was he that she didn’t even know his name? That did not feel like a good omen to him. What she said next did nothing to make him feel better. First date? Oh, what was Kesi up to? And why was this man involved?

He had so many questions and more than a few thoughts in the back of his mind that asked him why he cared so much. This circus was becoming more and more his family now and Zein wanted to protect that.

The juggler didn’t set down some of his juggling tools, deciding that it might make him appear more intimidating should he need to look it. “Well, that sounds admirable,” Zein concluded, though he wasn’t sure that Kesi needed saving, knowing her. “Welcome to our circus, Kesi’s date. We should be glad to have you. I’m Zein as you may have gathered. And you are?”

Turning to Kesi, he asked, “Did you promise him a tour or shall I do the honors?” He had no idea what had stumbled across his path, but supposed he could be prepared for it.

Yay! How exciting! Her new friend was interested in the circus! Well, of course he was. It was the circus after all. There was so much to be excited about. Saro was going to have a blast. And Zein was playing along too! This is why Kesi loved Zein. He was so fun. “Yeah, join us on our tour, Zein! We can do it together!”

So what else does the Tempest of Set have to offer?

Kesi was filled with so much excitement she was going to explode! She’s used to entertaining people with her own act, or directing them towards other brilliant acts if she were to wrap up. But she never walked by someone on her day off discovering the circus. Oh this was going to be so fun! He’s going to be so amazed and Kesi will get to witness it all! Yay! Maybe then he’ll come back! Maybe he’ll bring his friends! And then everyone will know just how amazing the Tempest of Set is!

Cool it, Kesi. You gotta play it cool, She took a deep breath, but she couldn’t hide her beaming smile. “We have lots! Fire dancers and sword eaters and fortune tellers and acrobats! Oh… Oh! Zein! Let’s show him our act!” Kesi was bouncing as she grabbed Zein’s arm. “C’mon let’s show him! It’ll be fun! Sneak peek!” They had been working on something new together. It hadn’t been shown to anyone yet. Snakes and swords were a dangerous mix, but Kesi was sure they would get it perfect if they had an audience.

Without even waiting to hear Zein’s response Kesi started running ahead. “You two continue the tour! I’ll catch up!” She called over her shoulder as she sprinted through the grounds dodging people left and right. She entered her snake tent and looked to her various snakes. Well Apep was, of course, going to be part of the show. He was her very best snake. But who else… hmmm… Kesi tapped her chin looking at the others. Who wasn’t likely to bite Zein or Saro and injure them? (Or, at the least, who wouldn’t kill them?) Oh, she knew! She picked three other snakes, carefully gathering them in a basket, while Apep coiled around her neck and arm. Kesi gathered her pungi, and left her tent once more to catch up to Zein and Saro.

It didn’t take too long before she found them again. “Saro!” Kesi said brightly. “This is Apep,” She introduced her snake, before glancing at Zein. “These are different ones from last time, don’t worry.” She whispered. Last time they did this… well, it could have went better. But this time would be perfect. And Saro would be amazed. What if he never wanted to leave? The circus could always use more family members! And Kesi could always use more friends.

Saro wasn’t entirely sure if he was interested in the circus, or just the eye candy it had to offer. Either way, he was going along with this random adventure and seeing where it would take him. There wasn’t much Saro feared, he wasn’t an idiot who thought nothing was dangerous, he just knew his skills and his luck. Nothing had managed to get him yet.

But his new friend, the woman he had been on this ‘date’ with at least seemed overly happy to be showing him around the circus. Maybe a little too excited. He supposed if she enjoyed what she did, then she would be excited to share that with others. She was so strange though, this whole interaction felt like some weird dream he’d had after a night of drinking too much.

He was a little more interested when he found out that he was going to get a performance just for him. Especially since Zein was going to be involved.

Saro shook his head when the other man asked if he had been told what Kesi did at the circus. He didn’t know much of anything about this woman. She hadn’t exactly been keen to share many details, nor had they had much of a chance to talk even if she wanted to. Things had been one event after another and Saro was just going with what ever was happening.

“No, she hasn’t told me much.” He admitted with a laugh as the two men walked together after Kesi had disappeared off to do what ever she was doing. But his next question gave Saro a good idea of what she had gone off to do.

“Can’t say I’m a fan, but I won’t run screaming.” He admitted. He was never a huge snake person, but he wasn’t necessarily scared of them. Though he knew of ones that could kill a man, so he definitely gave them a healthy respect and plenty of distance. Except for the time he’d caught one and tossed it in the bed of one of his crew mates who was having a hard time rising to get to work after a night of heavy drinking. That had been hilarious.

He got the feeling the other man was not a fan of the creatures himself. He didn’t sound overly happy about the idea of having to perform near them, or perhaps with them.

Shortly after, Kesi was returning and sure enough, there was a snake coiled around her. He gave her a little smile, though he kept his eyes on the beast just in case it decided it didn’t like him.

The daggers he carried suddenly felt a lot more obvious to him. There if he needed them.

When Zein told him to step back, he gladly did exactly that, moving back to a respectable distance to give them room to do what ever they were about to do. He couldn’t say he was too sad to move further away from the snakes.

“I can’t wait to see what’s in store.” He called out to them, truly he was curious to see what was about to happen.

Zein was secretly contriving all the possible ways he could kill these snakes without anyone thinking that it was him. Maybe if he snuck in during the night? Zein was good at sneaking—he’d always been. Surely he could get in and out of the enclosure without anyone knowing. Still, it was too risky, he thought. Someone could see no matter how careful he was. And then he would be kicked out of the circus so quickly he wouldn’t know what to do with himself. No, it was best he think of another plan. Though he’d been thinking of other plans ever since he first was bitten and hadn’t yet followed through on any of them. By now it was just habit to wish ill upon the creatures whenever he saw them. Kesi seemed to have no idea and that suited him just fine.

The juggler gave Saro a pained look as he went to take his place—far away from where Kesi was. Honestly, it was like they were giving two different performances. And this time he most certainly was not using knives, no matter what Kesi said. The audience would have to just be fine with that fact. Zein was not risking his life because of a snake. Ask him to hang from a rope with his foot and juggle? Sure. How about set something on fire and juggle with that? Most definitely. Zein was game for any challenge. Except snakes. He’d thought they would have been fine too, but snakes were uncontrollable, no matter what Kesi said. She had better control over them than the average person, but nobody could have it completely.

A feeling of dread came over him when she asked if Saro was ready for the performance of his life. Zein’s life, more like. It was soon about to be in complete disarray. Why hadn’t he just walked away when he spotted Kesi and pretended he hadn’t seen her? That would have been so much easier. Now he was looped into a performance that he had no interest in ever doing again. There were very few things in life where Zein drew the line. Returning to his homeland for a performance was one. Performing with snakes was quickly becoming two. He’d agreed to try again, but was already regretting that decision.

The man felt himself freeze as Kesi set the snake loose. What was she thinking? What was he thinking? This was foolish. He was glad Saro was a virtual stranger or else he would have felt quite ridiculous showing such fear, but the memory of the snake bite was far too unpleasant.
Eventually, he told himself to snap out of it and began juggling a simple pattern with his clubs, keeping an eye on the snake at all times. He was not going to let it get close to him. Not at all.

He admired how Kesi could close her eyes and pretend that nothing else existed, but he also wanted her to focus on her snake. What if it came to get him? He wasn’t so sure he believed in the power she held over it, even though it seemed to be obeying for now. Normally, Zein allowed himself to relax and enjoy his juggling, but this time he was on edge, even a bit tense. It wasn’t ideal for juggling, but he wasn’t so unskilled that it would cause him to mess up.

After what felt like hours, but was likely only a few minutes, Zein couldn’t bear it anymore. He looked at Saro and mimicked that he should clap, while catching the final clubs in the air. “Help me,” he mouthed, hoping the man would get the hint and pretend the performance was over. Then Zein could get away from the vile reptile and never perform near it again.