Fire Eater

Don't be fooled by the Deserted Fairgrounds, which are little more than a tourist trap for those seeking the unusual, eerie, or extraordinary. Visitors are greeted by nothing but a series of thinly veiled scams, but not a single strange circus despite its prevalence as a motif. The real ones don't stay in one spot for long.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and any children with parents ill-advised enough to bring them," came the rasping voice from the center ring. The lights had dimmed, but the speaker was still visible. A Xweetok, fur the color of ash, addressed the audience with the assistance of a simple conical megaphone.

Setting the aid aside, he took a swig of something from flask that was strong enough for the front rows to smell, swirled it around in his mouth, swallowed, and spat at an unlit torch next to him. The crowd gasped as the liquid emerged a fireball, igniting the torch. He hadn't so much as touched a match. In the new light, the performer's face could be seen more clearly. The eyes were sunken in and red-veined from irritation.

With that, he took the firebrand and exhaled slowly but forcefully at it. Smoke curled out of his mouth, engulfing the flame and choking it. After a few seconds, it guttered and went out altogether. Twirling it in the air to demonstrate it was not simply smoldering, the fire eater then held it in front of himself once more and made a noise like clearing his throat, and a small lick of flame flicked out, reigniting it.

The show continued, with gradually more complex and unnerving feats. After the show's culmination, the clowns came on as the entertainer walked off, ignoring the applause. Most of the spectators were able to convince themselves that he'd been using clever tricks and maybe a small apparatus. After all, nobody could actually have the fire burning away inside them. But a few of the more observant ones noticed the scorch marks where he had been standing.

The Ashen Phoenix

The show. There was nothing quite like it. Sometimes that was a good thing.

The thrill, standing in front of the audience. For all the wrong reasons, though. Not because of the applause, not because of brightening somebody's day. Not even because of the money. Because for a little while, the fire could keep the cold and creeping entropy at bay. He was a fire eater.

The words. Every show he did started with them, the syllables painfully dragged out in a rasp almost as agonizing to listen to. A twist on an otherwise all-too-familiar introduction to set the mood, remind everybody that a circus wasn't just clowns and juggling acts. There were the people like him, the "side show." Like anybody would remember the show for anything else.

The act. It all began with a simple, sudden trick. From then, it descended into the implausible and delved into the impossible. He breathed out smoke with every breath and swallowed fire only to spit it back out in sudden gouts or as nimble little sparks heralding each word he spoke. The posters all said he ate fire, but sometimes it was difficult to tell if it wasn't the other way around.

Voror

Name: Voror (Latin: I am consumed)
Stage Name: The Ashen Phoenix
Species: Xweetok
Color: Shadow
Gender: Male
Occupation: Circus fire eater
Circus: Changes regularly
Appearance: Ash colored fur, eyes pink and bloodshot from constant irritation, scrawny frame
Condition: Failure of a fire pet to achieve necessary homeostasis for combustion
Symptoms: Raspy voice, coughs up smoke, can manage to spit small licks of flames without use of foreign substance, feverish to the touch, paws leave scorch marks with prolonged contact, constant chill in bones offset by consumption of fire
Prognosis: Unclear how subject is capable of continued metabolic functionallity without proper food, much less normal activity
Character: Bitter, jealous, withdrawn, jaded, good talker, pessimistic
Family: A younger brother who burns unusually bright

Likes}	{Loathes
Fire} Rust} Ashes} Circuses} Scaring others}	{Fire {Damp {Clowns {His brother {That he never lit {The chill in his bones

Nothing but Cinders

I'm consumed from within
As I'm fed from without
That's the mess that I'm in
And what I'm all about
With fire in my veins
And ashes in my heart
I feel the dreadful pains
Brought about by my art
My footprints left with soot
Just smolder in the grass
And where I place each foot
The smoke will linger last
I'm entropy at work
A phoenix gone all wrong
A circus sideshow quirk
An ember all but gone

<a href="http://www.neopets.com/~Voror"><img src="http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e87/neesboy/TorchAv.gif" alt="Consumed from within..." border="0"></a>