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"I want to juggle fire with you."

The man glanced aside from counting his money and stared at the young boy with a quizzical look in his eyes. "What?" He asked as if he'd misheard the child.

"You're a fire poi spinner, right?" Kai asked, his face partially hidden behind a mask of cloth. "I've seen you on the streets. I want to work with you."

The man sighed and shoved the coins into his pocket. He then raised an eyebrow, smiling at the boy mockingly. "I am a performer, not a joker," he said, folding his arms. "And I've got other things to attend to instead of dealing with pesky children. Now, go back to your mommy."

"Don't have one," came the short reply.

The poi spinner faltered a little. "Your father then."

Kai shrugged. "Don't have him either."

The man frowned. A brief staring match started up between the two in which the man seemed torn between wanting to believe the child and shooing him away. However, there was so much solemnity in the boy's amber eyes that he couldn't help but conclude that he really was an orphan.

"Now you see why I need the money?" Kai spoke, taking the interval of silence as a chance to proceed with his pleadings.

"Well, what can you do? You're just a kid," the man pointed out, seeming annoyed with himself for giving in.

Kai held his hands behind his back, feeling them heat up. "You'd be surprised."

"You've done fire spinning before?"

"No," Kai replied, "but I'm a quick learner. I just need you to teach me how to handle the poi. And I'll make sure your crowd gets bigger."

The man laughed. "Sure, kid," he said, sarcasm lacing his tone. "You think you're some kind of good luck charm." His smile dropped. "This better not be a prank."

Kai showed no signs of being offended. "I've got a little sister at home to feed. I don't have time for pranks."

"Alright, alright." The poi spinner held up his hands in surrender. "If I teach you, you juggle beside me. And you promise to increase my audience?"

Kai nodded eagerly. "You can keep more than half of the money, I don't care. I just need something to survive on." He waited for the man to agree to his terms. His hands kept warming up and he feared that his anxiousness would cause another fire nearby.

Finally, the man sighed loudly and extended a calloused hand towards him. "Fine, I'll help you out. But I'm trusting you, kid. I don't want no backstabbing."

Kai's relief was enough to cool him down. It really was a shame he couldn't mention this to Nya since it included the use of his new powers. He could make up some other excuse for it.

He made no delays and took the man's hand, shaking it.

"Name's Niko," the poi spinner prefaced.

Kai reached up and pulled down the cloth from his face. He aimed a friendly smile at the man. "I'm Kai."

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The poi went spinning into the air, imprinting a glowing circle of fire over the gasping crowd. A few people pulled back but more kept coming. The intricate ways in which Niko displayed the fire-lit poi were enough to attract a dozen people. Most of them were traders and visitors from out of town but Ignacia's own population never tired of watching their local poi spinner work his wonders.

After a good few minutes of performing and earning a round of applause, Niko, out of breath but bright in the face, gestured at the part of the crowd on his right. "And now, please welcome my student. He handles the flames with as much care as I do. Perhaps even better."

The knot of people clapped, surprised by this sudden change in the show. Kai emerged from among the crowd, moving towards Niko as he held out a smaller poi for him to use.

The people waited in silence. However, it was thick with anticipation. Murmurs brew up and died down continuously. Surely no one was okay with the notion that a mere ten-year-old child was about to play with something as unpredictable as fire.

Kai stood facing the crowd, poi in hand. He tightened his grip and closed his eyes. Before Niko could light up the poi with a match, it burst into flames on its own. Niko, along with the rest of the crowd, gasped and immediately fell back in surprise.

Kai reopened his eyes and slowly began spinning the poi. His speed grew with every spin; faster and faster till the poi was a diminishing blur and the fire was a glowing, burning halo. Although this performance was normally what Niko entertained the people with, the actual captivating wonder was that it was being done by a child.

Kai began doing formations that proved to be too dangerous and held the risk of the flames getting out of control. But no matter how close the poi came to touching him, the fire never harmed the boy. Eventually, a ribbon of fire dislodged from the spinning tip of the poi and began circling the crowd overhead.

Niko's eyes widened at that. His audience cheered and applauded. The enthusiasm grew louder when the trail of fire split into two, twisting and winding around each other. The spectacle was seen from afar and more villagers began gathering around the original crowd.

Kai was having the time of his life, the rush of blazing adrenaline urging him on. Not only was fire soaring in the air above him but tongues of flames began encircling him as well. Through the rush of the poi and the magic of the fire, Kai could make out the wonder-struck faces of the crowd and Niko's disbelief.

"How is he doing that?"

"Hey, get over here! You gotta see this!"

"That's impossible!"

Finally, Kai slowed down the spinning until the poi came to a swinging stop. The bouncing fragments of fire in the air flickered and blew out and the tornado of flames encompassing the boy died down. The whole show came to a gradual halt and Kai, out of breath, bent over in a bow.

This was met with a few seconds of silence before the large crowd burst into cheers. Kai straightened up and grinned, his face bright red from the blood rushing to his cheeks. While the coins were being pulled out and offered, Kai walked over to a dumbstruck Niko.

"How did I do?" he inquired innocently, his smile still present.

Niko blinked a few times at the poi in his hand and then at the excited people holding out their pouches of money.

"Whoa," was all he could say in return.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

The heavy drawstring pouch hit the table with a thunk. Nya stared at it, not believing what she was seeing.

"How about a warm bowl of soup for tonight's dinner?" Kai smirked. "It'll be a change from all that bread."

"You earned all this money? On the first day?" Nya asked, picking up the pouch to see how much it weighed.

Kai shrugged. "Beginner's luck."

Nya rolled her eyes. "You always say that."

"Because I believe in luck and you should too," Kai replied, flicking Nya's forehead and sending a strand of her bangs flying.

She brushed his hand away. "If we were that lucky, Mom and Dad would be with us right now. We wouldn't be-"

"Hey," Kai cut her off, holding up his hands. "No negative thoughts. I got all this money for us. So, today is a good day."

Nya raised an eyebrow in mock suspicion, a teasing smile accompanying it. "Are you sure you got the money from doing chores in the village or did you steal it all?"

"Nya!" Kai whined, laughing in spite of himself.

The girl giggled. "I'm joking. Come on, let's go get that soup!" She added, juggling the pouch in her hands.

As Nya walked out the door, Kai took a moment to conjure a small flame in his hand. He smiled at it thankfully before dispelling it and running after his sister.

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