Jacques could've laughed at how easy Barney made it look. Ironic considering the fact that Jacques was the one dubbed as the Swordsman; he could do these tricks in his sleep without even twitching an eye lid.

Barney was catching on rather quickly, even though it had only been a few days since he'd first picked up a blade. It seemed he agreed with Jacques about the best blade-- of course it was the curved one Barney had been previously been shown.

Something about how the cool silver felt in his hand gave off a strange aura. It was like the sword knew everything about that person by looking right through them, into the part that counts. Barney liked the feeling, but he couldn't get the thought out of his head that the blade knew something he didn't.

It was rather unnerving.

The duo had also had a struggle with when to practice. Barney still hadn't worked up the courage to confront Clint about how he was going to be training as a performer, so they had to make sure and scout the area for a small sandy haired boy. Although, he did seem to spend every waking moment pent up with energy in the trapeze artist's company.

Barney knew Clint would be getting suspicious soon, but he just couldn't seem to find the words to say, Hey, I'm learning to do dangerous things with Jacques. Don't worry your pretty little face, I'll be plenty fine.

It wasn't exactly the type of thing to come up in a casual conversation between brothers either. Truth to be told, the elder Barton had sort of been avoiding his kid brother recently. He was scared Clint was like the sword, all-knowing and seeing. But mind reading was impossible, right?

Clint was also preoccupied helping Annie and Carson unravel a new mystery. He treated it as more of a game, while the businessman was more pissed than intrigued. Somehow, nearly every night, mud got into the Exchange.

The Exchange was the biggest and most grand carnival tent there was. The group always called it that because of the exchange of business propositions, shows, and most importantly-- money. It doubled as the main entrance into the circus and was always the first set up after moving to a new location.

There always seemed to be muddy footprints in the Exchange, and nobody had the slightest of clues about who the perpetrator was.

Carson had originally thought it to be one of the Bartons. It had made sense inside of his rather thick head, with how mischievous the younger kid appeared, but after mashing together puzzle pieces that wouldn't connect-- Carson realized that it couldn't have been either.

Barney had been constantly sneaking around with the Swordsman, under the big dog's watch, of course. Clint was always following Annie around like a lost puppy, complete with those large blue-grey eyes. So it hadn't been either of that lot.

Unknown to the young boy, but not to Annie, Carson has yet to mention another piece of evidence in the circus case; the missing amounts of money. Annie wasn't fully sure he had even known it to be gone, maybe that old man was finally going senile or somethin' similar in that sorts.

The only person that knew who'd done it, was the person themselves.

***

Barney flicked the knife upwards and caught it with his other hand, impressing his mentor even though he'd done it before. Then, Barney spun it 'round and down and back around again to his original hand.

Jacques smirked, already thinking of the possibilities being opened up by having someone to help him. Someone that was plenty skilled enough to use his blades. And the Swordsman wasn't just thinking about the circus acts they'd perform.

In fact, Jacques knew at some point or another that he'd have to come clean; he was also planning on it. These thoughts endlessly plagued and ambushed his brain as he took another sip of his beer.

Barney retired the knife for the evening, preparing to go find his brother. It sometimes took awhile to find him, as it seemed Clint was on a mission to find every nook and cranny nearby.

But Jacques motioned for him to sit next to him, and Barney obliged with wanting to talk about the rush of adrenaline felt when dealing with the sword. It felt great to feel the cool silver on his hand, to get the satisfaction of being able to hurt someone in a flash. He even forgot about how it could read Barney like an open book.

"Y'know...your a fast learner," Jacques commented.

Barney nodded. "Well, sometimes there are things that make you grow up and learn--"

"Survival," Jaques finished. He was pretty intoxicated by now, Barney noticed. As if to emphasize his point, he took another long drawl from his beverage.

"Yup..." Barney trailed off, too taken over by a thought to finish whatever he was saying.

He eyed the beer uneasily, but also a little excited. Something was compelling him to snatch it from his mentor's hand and drink it all down. Barney liked the feeling of adrenaline from performing (even though it wasn't in front of an audience), so why wouldn't he feel the same rush from drinking?

Jacques noticed him staring. He offered the bottle to Barney, who took it right away and brought it to his lips.

"Just gotta drink your problems away, buddy," Jacques put a hand on his apprentice's shoulder and said between hiccups, "Just like me and--" Hic! "--me fam'."

Barney merely cackled; the alcohol sure worked fast.

**I just want to say that the next few chapters will move kinda fast. Like, each one showing an entire years progression for Clint and Barney. Happy reading!

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