Sarinah pursed her lips, watching the woman for a while, thinking. She crossed her arms, hip cocked.

"Well actually, I am heading to Old Rose after the festival. Been thinking about it for a while, since leaving Cook's actually. I want to start a dancing house in the harbor. Somewhere the men can come to watch the dancing and the performances, have a few drinks, maybe some sort of lounge upstairs. But no touching, and no extra 'favors'. We'll have body guards and rules. I got it all up here." She tapped her head, then smiled.

"So if your looking for work rosh, I'll be hiring."



Turning her brown eyes on Eriyenna, she tilted her head with a smile.

"Well, if it doesn't work out for you rosh, I'm gonna be hiring musicians too."

Xanadu tied her skirt around her waist and buckled on her knife belt. “I'm thinking of visiting the circus this afternoon. If it's ok with you, I could show you my routines then, so you can create some music for them. And if there's a trapeze up, perhaps you could show me how it's done?” The Mugrobi dancer's voice was hopeful. She really wanted to try that trapeze. She also wondered if the circus might be a good place to invest some of her money.



“I can help you with that, if you'd like. Some of your equipment will fit in my basket,” Xanadu offered. The snake basket she had brought was large enough for Seferu, who was six feet long, to coil comfortably inside. It could hold quite a bit more than just her three swords. “And the walk will do me good ... help me stretch out my muscles.” She glanced at Sarinah. “I think I used muscles while pole dancing that I didn't even know I had.”



“I might just take you up on that. Having a permanent place to dance does have its appeal. I've never been to Old Rose, but I suppose there would be a place for me to rent if I decided to stay. Let me know when you're ready and I'll be sure to drop by. Hmmm ... I wonder what your future patrons would think if I brought along my snakes.”

Xanadu laughed. “Actually, I could probably do double duty as a dancer and bodyguard.” She wiggled her hips, setting her six knives to knocking against each other. “I do more than just juggle and dance with these knives, and I've been hired to protect people and valuables before.” Guarding was one of the more boring jobs she'd done. Very rarely were her skills ever challenged. Hunting criminals with prices on their heads was more up her alley, although in her business you couldn't always pick and choose your assignments.

She looked from Sarinah to Eriyenna and back again. “I do hope the three of us can keep in touch after the festival. I haven't had this much fun in a very long time.”

Sarinah smiled warmly and nodded.

"Oes rosh, I plan on having rooms for any girls needing a place to stay. They won't be big, but they will be sufficient, plus they have the advantage of being rent free and being safe. A couple of them will be sharing rooms as well. As for your snakes, I ent got any objections. It'll be after the festival that me and my kov go to sort out the premises and start refurbishing. I'll be holding auditions then."



The dancer nodded, keeping it in the back of her mind for later. Part of the dancing house would need a sort of 'secret agent', if her plans went the way she wanted them too.



Tucking back her black and red hair, Sarinah smiled at the women.

"Me too. I ent really got a lot of friends. It's nice."

Eriyenna giggled and shook her head, "Mujo ma, Sarinah, but I'm pretty sure Old Rose ent my kind of town. Unfortunately, I have a feelin' I've been bit by a travel bug, but we'll see. I'd feel bad for leavin', but it might just be for a short while."


"That would be benny. It ent a long walk from here back to my kint, anyway. If we're lucky, maybe some folks'll actually be awake and movin' by the time we get there, too." The purple-haired witch winked, revealing that perhaps she wasn't the only performer at the Circus who wasn't quite a morning person.



"Oes, it's always nice to know folks from everywhere you go. Anaxas ent so big that we can't find ways to keep in touch. There's always mail, I suppose, if you're into writin'. Or Surwood's every year." Eri grinned, "And it's always nice to have an excuse to travel, 'sides just for a change of scenery."

The musician regathered her things and gladly split the difference between herself and Xanadu. Somewhere in between, she realized one of her belongings had gone running off down the beach to find trouble, most likely back in the water. Bringing her fingers to her lips, she whistled loudly for Brighteyes,

Something resembling a barking howl, distantly downriver, was the response. Eriyenna smiled and wondered in what kind of state her goofy black bander would be returning in.

She turned back to the other women sheepishly, "If your clothes end up dirty on the walk back, I'll have to apologize. I think Brighteyes likes bein' dirty better'n he likes bein' clean. Maybe if we get walkin', we can miss the worst of it." The purple-haired witch laughed, waving her hand light-heartedly in joking self-defense.

"This was fun. We've got a few more days left of the festival. If anyone else has spare time, I'm always up for more."

“That will be great if I am just staying for a short time, but if I decide to live there permanently, I will need a much bigger place. I have a large cart, two kensers, two bander wolves, and eight snakes. I also won't be able to come directly after the festival as I have business in Vienda.”

At least she hoped she had business in Vienda. She had no idea how difficult it would be to seek out the resistance there, and even when she did find them, there was a possibility they wouldn't want her. There was also the possibility she wouldn't like the way they operated or what they wished her to do, but she rather doubted that would be the case. Xanadu was very flexible, not just in body but in mind.

She was definitely going to take Sarinah up on her offer though, just as soon as she could. Idly she wondered if the resistance had a branch in Old Rose. What she had heard most about the place was that it was a haven for criminals, but that didn't bother her. She had worked for more than her fair share of those, and probably would again. They were mainly the ones who hired her to hunt down galdori, an assignment she very much enjoyed.

“But I do hope to come as soon as I can. I really love the idea.”



Xanadu lifted the basket, tested the extra weight. Not too heavy to carry at all. “I don't mind a little dirt.” An image popped unbidden into her mind: she and four-year-old Glorie making mud pies. Surprisingly, thinking of the child didn't hurt as much anymore. She smiled softly. “I remember getting quite filthy sometimes when I played with my daughter." Talking about her didn't hurt as much either. "It washes off.”



“Me too. I might not be staying until the end of the festival, but I certainly have a few more days. Almost any time is fine with me.”

Sarinah smiled broadly, picking up her sai and replacing them in the back of her skirt. Picking up her own wooden collection of weapons, she followed after the women with a smile.

"Ye can count me in on that too." The dancer felt a sort of peace. Having women her own age to talk to was nice. And the fact they were entertainers too made her feel at home. A part of her missed the girls at Mulms..Cooks..especially Caterina. But that was the past. This was the future. This was better for her.

((SFSR)