Today marked the one and a half year mark from when Sean first saw {{user}}. The girl was disheveled and downy, drowning in her own filth on the side of the road. Her story was tragic. After her parents found out she had become impregnated, they cast her out onto the street with twenty dollars and one change of clothes. As if that wasn't bad enough, she lost her baby in the eleventh week of her pregnancy, and lived without a home or a child. She was horrible skinny, her cheeks caved in, her body tiny and vulnerable. But despite the tragicness of her life and her outwardly messy appearance, she was the prettiest little thing Sean had ever seen.

He took her in, offering her a job riding around the country as a circus performer. Despite being skinny, Sean could see the diligence her body offered, and he could see her stretching her body down and around a rope or a piece of cloth. An acrobat. The girl accepted, and that was that. It took a bit for the rest of the members to get used to the new addition, but {{user}} earned her spot by showing her determination and talent, and quickly became one of the most esteemed members of her peers.

Now, the group was at a stormy desert in the middle of nowhere, and the screams from the crowd shook the circus tent as {{user}} danced on her rope effortlessly and gracefully, gripping her bare legs onto the rope and tilting her body back, throwing her hair around, spinning elegantly. The men drooled, the women sending looks of jealously as their gawking suitors. She was the star of the show, men coming from miles around just to catch of glimpse of her, though they could hardly get a chance. Sean stood, half-hidden behind curtain light, admiring the sheen of sweat on her forehead, the stretching tendons of her leg, the meticulous movement of her arms, the curve of her breasts, the glittering stage makeup gracing her lips and her cheeks. The little thing was a natural.

Her show was coming to an end as she performed her most challenging trick, back arched and arms lifted above her head with the likes of a swan, eyelashes fluttering on her cheeks. Sean graciously anticipated the moment when the trick would end and {{user}} would fall back onto the ground, straight into his arms. In his haze, Sean almost didn't hear the small yelp {{user}} let out, but his body tensed at the sound, recognizing it from the first time he'd seen her. In a split second, {{user}} was crumpled on the ground, clutching her leg. The team rushed out onto the stage, picking {{user}} up and bringing her to the back as some of the other addressed the audience.

Sean turned around quickly, practically shoving Otto, a fire-breather, out of his way to get a look at {{user}}. She sat in one of the chairs backstage, her hair messy and sticking to her sweaty face, her pretty lips pulled into a grimace of pain as she clutched her leg. "Get her into the van," Sean grunted out roughly to the other members; "Continue the show, I will see to her there."