Preparation

"Keep an eye on them, Lunaira. No one followed after us, but I can feel it. There is something wrong with this town. And well…you know my concerns." Lunaira found there was a slight hesitation found in Ori's plump form. She noticed her adopted mother's feet were not too willing to leave them to their own devices so soon.

Her second in command could understand why. There were three particular individuals that worried the both of them. Still, white haired performer stretched her arms above her head, grinning away her worries. Or at the very least, she tried to.

"Of course, Mama Ori. Kail's been told to take it easy, so he'll stick to teaching Graves. I'll handle teaching Marrow how we run things once I finish cleaning. Do what you gotta do, just leave it to me." Ori kept her blue-eyed gaze on her for a minute, long enough to catch a twinkle in her companions' purple orbs.

The elder also caught the way split second sparks formed between Lunaira's waving black nailed fingers. They fizzled in the air before disappearing with a pop! Her silent promise to her adopted mother still held true. If something were to happen, Lunaira would take care of. A small, worn smile graced the mother's lips. Her shoulders relaxed just a bit. Not as much as Lunaira wanted, but it was better than nothing.

"Very well. I'll see you all shortly. Love you." She tapped the girl's back gently before turning away. A flash of light appeared around Ori, only to disappear a second after. With her gone, Lunaira had the go ahead to get started. She marched out into the clearing with a deep breath. The crisp air was refreshing while she rolled her wrists.

"Time to get to work." Her fingers flittered, rubbing swiftly against one another while she extended her hand out. Her face furrowed in concentration, summoning her powers from deep within her spell seed. She could feel it, her magic. It flowed easily to all parts of her body, traveling through her blood as it reached her finger tips.

With a twist of her wrist, it shot out of her hand, latching onto various branches, and leaves that littered the green floor. They were enveloped in her magic, shown only by a very dim white outline. With the exception of a small pile of thicker branches that more than likely belonged to the previously cut stumps next to Ori's horses, she had them move, one by one.

"Dance for me." With a little tune, she sent them further and further into the lush forest. She waited, watching until they all were out of sight before she snapped her fingers. Breaking the magic that wove through each of her targets. Though she couldn't see them, she heard all of them clatter into an abrupt cluttered pile. The process was repeated with the stones, with each one this time rolling away. Her leg twitched as grass tickled her. A hum reverberated through her chest while she scratched her ankle.

"Time to do some trimming." Cupping her hands together, she summoned flames, morphing it into a scythe. The flames crackled against her hold, yet there was no heat penetrating her flesh. In fact, she held it with ease as she flipped it around, lengthening it. By the time she was content with the height of her weapon of choice, it reached about five feet. She gripped the lower part of the handle, raising the elemental weapon high above her head.

In one long sweep, the blades of grass burned down to little nubs, barely sticking from the ground. Her eyes illuminated, controlling the fire from spreading while she hacked the long brush into ash. Twirling it around she sent waves farther out into the area around her. With the exception of where the caravan was, and essentially where the tent would be, she set the rest of the land around her ablaze.

Smoke and ash flew around her while she kept cutting, all of it disappearing with the wind. Lunaira was unsure how much time she spent working, but by the time she finished, the clearing was leveled and sweat steamed off her brows. Her scythe vanished in her palms, the lingering magic sputtered off when she clapped her glowing hands together.

"Ok, that's one task done." Satisfied, Lunaira spun around, curious to see how the others were doing. A grin made its way to her face as Dante huffed out orders. Out of all the guys, he was the shortest on his side of the crew, at a strong four-foot seven. He was also the most knowledgeable when it came to tent work.

"Again boys, heave ho! Graves, follow Bastian's example." He led them calmly, and carefully through the motions. However, Lunaira crossed her arms with a raised eyebrow when she saw something unpleasant. Apparently, Dante saw it right alongside her as his pale amber eyes narrowed.

"Kail-drop the rope! You just got over your fever." He barked out his disdain without any warning, startling poor Graves who flinched a step away. The young boy collided with the source of Dante's frustration, the two of them nearly falling over. Lunaira snorted, her smile widening a tad when pale palms lifted high into the air, covering sheepish, guilt-ridden bronze eyes. Kail's short hair, tied with a black ribbon, nearly undid itself as he lurched backwards.

"Just ah…supervising the rope, Dante. Making sure there's no uh funny business?" The rope Kail was supervising laid in front of him. Both it, and Kail earned an irritated scowl from the passionate florist. Something Lunaira couldn't say she saw too often.

"You were told no heavy lifting. Don't make me regret asking Luna, and Mama Ori to take you off of bed rest early. Graves, I'm trusting you to keep an eye on those twitchy fingers." The adolescent jerked once more, but thankfully recovered quickly once he realized what was being said. He even gave a silent salute to the order, much to Kail's dismay.

"Come on, buddy! I thought you were on my side." The scolded male dramatically hugged the younger boy tight to his chest, whining with false tears. A scene Lunaira could only shake her head at. Poor Graves had no idea how to react except with wide, dull vermillion orbs. He just stood there awkwardly, unsure what to do with Kail bemoaning into his ear.

"Let go of the poor kid, Kail. Let me know when the tent's evened out."

Despite the slight hiccups (seriously, if Dante hadn't already, Lunaira would've chewed Kail out later) the boys banded together. Their muscles, and the wind lifted the heavy fabrics high into the air under the still recovering man's judgment.

"Looks good, Dante! Let's get it pinned down."

"Great. Bastian, I'll have you test it in a minute." It stood tall, spread out across the clearing. Its shadows expanded, towering far above the forest while metal picks were bashed in with hammers. Dull clangs rang, bit by bit the picks burrowed into the ground. The moment Dante raised his hand, everyone, with the exception of Bastian, moved away. Dante saddled right next to Kail, raising his fist into the air.

"Go for it!" They both had their arms crossed when Bastian summoned a heavy rush of wind. It pushed and pulled against the tent. It squirmed, leaning in whatever direction the wind blew. No matter how harsh Bastian's gust flowed, it still stayed in place. The picks kept it standing proud and tall.

"Perfect!"

"So far so good." Another task was done. Lunaira then switched gears to the caravan where Illese led the charge for her group. All of them stumbled, their stomping footsteps creating a mini earthquake in the rickety old cart. Each of them had signs, paints, and another batch of newly bloomed floral in their possession as they stepped away from the creaking steps.

"Come on girls. Sooner we get this done, the better!" Already there was a decent pile over by the resting horses who were happily nibbling on the grass (who needed magic with these two bottomless pits saving Lunaira the trouble?) Once everything was brought out then they could get to adorning both the inside and outside of their circus tent with the necessary equipment. Then Dusty could aid in positioning the decorations.

"Marrow be care-"

"Dammit!!" She was too late. Lunaira winced the moment Marrow fell roughly onto the ground, her crimson eyes wide with simmering anger. Immediately the teen scurried to pick up the scattered paint brushes and canvases she dropped. Though her batch of flora was reduced to crushed petals, the rest of her belongings looked fine.

"Here Marrow…" It was no harm done, a simple accident. So Lunaira made her way over, intending to help her pick up the mess. Ori's second in command went to her side, her hand reaching for some of the more distant tools. Only to receive a scathing glare on top of a small shock that paralyzed Lunaira in place. Literally.