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The orange-headed lad swung his devices forward forcefully and executed a quick forward somersault, keeping his flame from touching the ground. He leapt up and called out a long "Hoooh!" which was echoed a moment later by his comrades.
"Good evening, Nora! Let us introduce ourselves!" he called in a thickly-accented, rehearsed stage voice, never losing stride in his dance.
"I am Lew-xam!" he executed a backwards somersault, and the red-headed lad leapt over him, sweeping his chains in synch with his partners.
"I am Rednaxela!" called he. Rednaxela bent far backward, staggering his swings on either side. The dark-haired lad executed a neat flip over him, chains spinning with his body. He landed with his tightly leather-bound feet splayed and spun a beautiful flower design in front of him. The crowd "ahhed" with rapt admiration.
"And I am Enobh-tar! We are the brothers from Mangu-Roa across the great sea! This is our war dance!"
The three brothers swung their chains in perfect synch, slamming the flaming lumps into their own backs. Their shirts puffed instantly into colored flame and disappeared, revealing tight olive skin and sinuous muscle. There was heard one or two appreciative sighs from ladies in the crowd. Here they began to turn in circles, swaying side to side with the movement of their tightly-weaving flame.

"I want to learn how to do that." Saure whispered to Fred.
"I sincerely doubt you have the stamina, nor the rhythm. I've seen this before. It is called Shoi-lam. Mangu-Roans train from birth, or at least as soon as they learn to walk. I have never seen acrobatics like this accompanied with it, though. This is quite impressive." Fred whispered back.

The performance continued, and the crowd gasped and applauded and voiced its approval with vehemence. The flames doused themselves when the dance was completed, and the brothers bowed reverently to uproarious ovation.
As the crowd began to dissipate and the brothers packed away their gear, Saure approached them with Fred in tow. The purple-headed lad was among them, long drum under

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one fatty arm. In contrast to his comrades, this one was quite rotund.
"Hile! I quite enjoyed the performance." Saure held out a hand palm down, and the one called Enobh-tar took it delicately in his rough grasp and kissed it lightly.
"Lady's name is?" his accent and slanted eyes hinted at the Orient, and this is where Saure assumed the land of Mangu-Roa lay.
"Saure Fira. And this is Fred. I must say as a fellow fireblood, those were some impressive spells you cast tonight! How do you get the flame to take on such pretty hues?"
Enobh-tar tilted his head back a bit and laughed. "Lady, it the color of our gaio… er… what is word... noom?"
"Numin, you mean?"
"Sha, sha, noom. I mean... nooma.. noomee…" He chuckled. "Your language is difficult. Forgive."
Saure realized he was still holding her hand, and his was uncomfortably sweaty. She drew her hand away, still smiling. "Where would one learn such an art as this… Shoi-lam you perform?"
Just then, Lew-xam and the purple headed fellow bumped into Enobh, locked in some playful form of upright wrestling. "Kaek!! Lew-xam!! Doshu-na ku noi-shi! Xao!" he scolded, and shoved both of them away. Saure giggled and Fred rolled his eyes.
"Forgive; Kaek and Lew are still young, have much to learning." He bowed his head momentarily, grinning. "I would love to teach Saure Shoi-lam, but it long and difficult. Take year and year. You ken?"
"Aye. I thought so. Well, thank you anyway!" she raised a hand in farewell, but Enobh pulled her close by the back of her head, touched foreheads with her and breathed deeply through his flared nostrils. She was quite taken aback by this and stumbled away, staring at him with wide eyes and a furrowed brow.
"Hao xu, Saure. I feel paths will meet again in tomorrow." He bowed to her again and went back to gathering his things. Saure merely stood there for a moment with her hand to her collarbone, and then walked away.
"Such odd customs. I should like to go to their homeland someday, if they're all as friendly as he is."
"Harumph. Boys are boys no matter what continent. He can take his social liberties with women and pass it off as a