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Yellow Floating Bud
4f736e
1485, you are too slow.
>>1487
It was a fool's dance. Not to say that there was no skill involved; quite the opposite, really. The kobold girl had worked long to perfect it, an impressive task, given that almost all of it was improvised on the spot with every performance. She smiled as she gently whirled in a pirouette, knee raised and hands outstretched. As the friction of her soft boots ground her to a halt, she lazily fell over backwards, curling her body just so, transforming it into a somersault.
With her momentum, she shot up onto one hand, splaying her arms and legs in all four directions. As her free hand opened, an explosion of tiny sparks arose around her to emphasize her trick. Small bits of illusion magic were always incorporated into her act. She'd needed it, for an ordinary kobold wouldn't get far in such a judgmental world alone. It worked well enough; the dwarven royal clapped and hooted appreciatively at the spectacle.
With that, she brought her legs together over her, and her hands together on the ground. Slowly, her feet curved downward, touching the ground again to leave her body bridged, her belly in the air. Then, it was time for the finale. Pushing off with her hands, the launched her upper body forward, flipping forward onto her hands, her feet scissoring in the air, and landing on one foot, for a moment pretending to be going too fast, leaning far forward and shaking her left arm for 'balance' before reaching back with her right hand to grasp her foot.
When she stopped, she was in a graceful fool's bow, her left hand politely held out, her body pitched far forward, and her right foot and hand together above her. As she completed the gesture, shimmering dust popped out from colorful bubbles around her. Holding the pose, she looked up with a smile and said, "Though some may call my dance daring, I would prefer to call it... 'bold'." The noble laughed, far more than was called for, but even from a fair distance, the smell of booze on his breath was obvious. She'd normally have peppered the entire dance with such puns, but in this case, it wasn't necessary.
Applause went up from the noble and his entourage, and when it settled, she skipped forward, clapping with each step to the appearance of ethereal butterflies, and leaned forward onto his knee. "I do hope you'll pay me a visit when next you are around," she said, a hand going up to touch his flushed cheek. There was an almost imperceptible glow and warmth to her touch as she cast the spell: a simple bit of suggestion magic. "Aye, of course, of course!" he'd agreed loudly.
She'd already put on the best show in the little town, a trading stopover at best, but guaranteeing return customers had done more than keep her well off, it had saved her life before. With a smile, she lazily cartwheeled away, ending with a bow. "Then I wish you fare well, in whatever well you may fare," she joked with a humble tone, and skipped off, stopping only to scoop up the delightfully weighty coin purse she had earned.
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