I can never say quite as much as I know

Tay crouched low behind the stage, occasionally chancing a peek over the top to watch the show. The troupe really was amazing, and he thought he could deal with Karra's scolding later on, and that was if he was even spotted.  Avera and Hunt were doing their act now. They were truly spectacular, and Tay smiled every time he heard the audience gasp whenever one or the other flew through the air, unsupported and with no safety net should they fall.

            Their act was made even more spectacular by their handicaps. Hunt had lost an arm in the war, and Avera a leg. By all accounts, they should not have been flying high above an audience in the most spectacular display of gymnastics Tay had ever seen; but rather, he would have expected to see a pair like them stuck in a home for those wounded in the war. He had come across many of those in his travels. He closed his hand over the pendant that Horja had given him. If it weren't for him, Tay would probably be in one of those homes now, rather than watching two of the most amazing acrobats in Indurmek. The mere thought made him shiver.

            Suddenly, Tay was yanked out of his morbid musings by the sound of whoops and hollers, accompanied by applause. Tay looked out and saw Avera and Hunt taking their bows. This was his cue. Quickly, Tay scampered over to the props hatch. He reached down into the mechanism and popped the door and shimmied down into the small crawl space underneath the stage.

            Below the stage, a massive jungle of gears, pulleys, levers and switches dominated. Tay cracked his knuckles and took a quick look around. This was the first time Karra was letting him operate the prop transitions alone, and he didn't want to mess it up- especially in the middle of a performance. With care, he quickly went through the proper sequence to activate the mechanism that would transform the stage above from the high platforms needed for Avera and Hunter's act to the low hills and ramps that were the necessary for the next one.

            With a click, the transition began, and Tay stepped back from the levers, nervously staring at the copper tube that hovered near his head. He heard a clanking sound coming from the mouth of the tube. Suddenly, the sound of Karra's voice came through the pipe.

            "Great job, Tay. Everything's good, you can come topside." Tay smiled in relief and gave the operation room one last cursory glance before he squeezed his way out of the small space and back into the performance area, careful not to let himself be seen by the audience. Above, Karra was standing just out of sight of the arena, wearing a smirk and looking proud of her tech protégé.

            "Hey kid, didn't know you had it in ya." She said, giving Tay a pat on the shoulder.

            "Who are you calling 'kid?' I've got at least a year and a half on you." He said, giving the girl a shove with his elbow. Karra laughed and gave him an incredulous look.

            "Yeah, according to Horja, but who can trust that guy?"

Suddenly, Tay's face turned serious. "I trust Horja, and you shouldn't speak badly about him." He snapped at Karra, who looked taken aback at Tay's reaction.

            "Alright man, sorry. I was just kidding. Don't freak out." Tay stepped back and put a hand on his head.

            "You're right, I shouldn't have snapped. I don't really know why I did." Karra put a hand on his arm.

            "The guy's your best friend. I guess you're just a little protective of him, that's all." Tay nodded in agreement and made a noise of assent. Karra gave him a little pat on the shoulder and a smile before she took off, heading back to the control room to make sure everything was running smoothly. Tay looked after her with a frown. He couldn't help but feel there was something more to his reaction… but any clue as to what was buried deep within his consciousness, along with everything else he had lost in the accident. Shaking his head, he decided to put it out of his mind. But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't shake the feeling that there was something important in there, in his strange defensiveness of Horja, and that he would never be able to say quite as much as he knew.


(763. Can this make up for my last post? XD Also, crappy end is crappy. I apologize.)