The Magician was aware of the changes to reality, but he was still subject to them. He knew his troupe had been audience members and remembered how the acts had originally gone, but he also cared for the troupe as family, remembering their time together crystal clear.
And he knew O'Hara could be a little over ambitious. If the show had no audience, then there was no show. It could be a practice act, but that felt unfair to the troupe.
But the troupe was not complete. Tommy had crushed on Chelly before, and he crushed on her now. The lad would follow her to the ends of the Earth without any changes to reality. But he also had his own place in the troupe.
"Time for our next trick boys and girls, and for this one we'll need a member of the audience!" O'Hara gestured grandly, suppressing a giggle at the audience oblivious to how the previous trick had been audience participation as well! "Now's let's see!"
'Please don't let it be that stupid 'brave knight save Princess Chelly' act. I am NOT wearing that stupid pink princess costume,' Chelly thought with a huff crossing her arms off stage. The joke was that Penny DIDN'T MIND wearing that costume, but apparently the pink and lace didn't compliment her scales. And it itched.
While Tommy wasn't a one note cliche, it was no secret that Tommy enjoyed fire motifs. While others found volcanos terrifying, Tommy found them beautiful the way other people found aquarium beautiful. But Tommy was no little pyromaniac, it wasn't like he watched things burn, but he did like the idea that a forest fire could be just a prelude to new growth. Too bad his classmates didn't see it that way. Contrary to the above, Tommy wore blue pants, blue shirt, and blue shoes (it was his favorite color).
When Chelly had been on stage, Tommy had followed her every move, she was so enchanting, like a princess, he wished he could be her knight in shining armor. Too bad she didn't look like the type to need rescuing, and there wasn't a fire breathing dragon to fight. Tommy had met Chelly before, kinda, he had spoken a few words to the cute cheetah girl when she visited his school. When he saw the posters with her on them, he begged his parents to let him watch her perform.
So when O'Hara pointed her paw at him, he'd stood up immediately. Before they even finished calling on him. "I'll help!" He raced to the stage and managed to leap up without landing on his tush. Even O'Hara seemed surprised by the boy enthusiasm.
"Well, what's your name boy?" The Magician asked, though he already knew, he was a Magician, he knew that sort of thing.
"Tommy!"
"Well Tommy, ready to help?"
"Yes! It doesn't matter what kinda trick it is! ..." The Magician preemptively leaned in close. "Uh, as long as it's not slapstick or something."
"Don't worry Tommy, we won't be making a clown out of you." The Magician assured him. "But this trick will take a lot of courage, and I do mean a lot, do you accept to do this trick of your own free will?"
"... Yes!"
"Brave lad." The Magician smiled. "Like a knight."
Chelly rolled her eyes. He heard Penny hiss a giggle in her basket. Chelly looked at Rosewood, grateful that the puppet wasn't silently laughing at her, Rosewood might have been a puppet, but even what she was given by her puppeteer had to fit into the context of who she was. As for the totem trio, as usual kept their opinions to themselves. Rosewood was too small to be a person in a costume, and Tott, Em, and Paul's bodies shapes made it impossible to be a set of performers inside.
Wseley kept himself from sniggering, keeping his gray hood cape on him like it was a royal cloak. Chelly comforted herself with the time she caught Wesley in a bet and he had to put on that stupid costume and blond wig. Sadly he'd since figured out how to get out of that Chinese puzzle box they'd picked up on one tour as a prop.
O'Hara didn't need to be told what props to bring out. But did some hand gestures to signal to Chelly to come out and bring them out herself. Chelly caught sight of what O'Hara was signaling, and was relieved at least it wasn't the princess wig and costume and the magician had just been rattling her cage.
Chelly grabbed the props and handed them to O'Hara, and pushed the biggest prop onto position on stage. Tommy's eyes didn't leave her. She focused on her task and quickly walked back off stage.
The Magician knelt. "Now Tommy, you don't have to do this, I promise no one laugh at you, no one will think less of you if you don't want to go through with this. Are you confident in juggling?"
"... Yes."
The Magician gave Tommy some orange gloves with white insides and black stripes on the back. "They're fire proof." The Magician explained. And then took a small touch and lit up one end.
Normally, the Magician knew there was no way any sane man would do this trick with a child, but thankfully the Magician had his magic to fall back upon to prevent such accidents.
The children were all very tense, and the troupe back stage were also tense, Tott, Em, and Paul turned their heads as one to look. Chelly gently touched Rosewood's puppeteer cross and she inched a little away. One thing was certain, Tott, Em, Paul, and Rosewood, all didn't like fire.
Not wanting to chicken out now, Tommy took hold of the torch, and spun it in the air, the audience gasped, and he caught the right end. There was a sigh of relief.
Now feeling more confident, Tommy repeated the trick, while he wasn't looking the magician added another torch, and Tommy continued without missing a beat. The magician repeated this so the lad was juggling three torches.
At first Tommy was terrified, but he felt his worry melt away like snow on a hearth. Now he was focused, his eyes never leaving the torches. He saw them spinning before his eyes. The Magician had said the gloves were fire-proof, so he ha little to worry about as long as he was able to catch them.
He didn't even notice as the flames were lit one by one on the other ends and he had to catch them in the middle, nor how he was able to feet the torches through the gloves like he wasn't even wearing them. Finally, he caught all three at once, and gave a bow to the audience. He was clapping all around, including the Magician, he couldn't 'make' Tommy a juggler unless he had that ability already in him.
"Not bad Tommy, but can you hand THIS!" The Magician gestured dramatically, and O'Hara pulled back a fireproof sheet to reveal a bed of hot coals. She waved a piece of tissue paper over them that caught fire and turned to ash to show that the hot coals were very real.
Tommy shuddered. O'Hara took the torches and dosed them. The Magician led Tommy to the start of the hot coal bed. Tommy felt relief when he saw a set of fire-proof orange boots in front of him. With black stripes, and with little pointed metal claws at the end. They were hidden out of view so no one could see them from the audience, Tommy like any good sport and decent human being chose NOT to reveal this to the audience.
"Now Tommy, please take off your shoes and socks."
More gasps from the audience. Tommy did his best to look scared, as he did just that. Worried about Tommy's acting, O'Hara, for added effect, threw them on the bed of coal, and they caught fire.
"HEY-!" Tommy started.
"Don't worry kid, just part of the show," O'Hara quickly whispered. Shaken, Tommy nodded. But it add the desire effect of the audience now buying into Tommy's reaction.
"Do you dare march across the coals my lad?" The Magician asked.
Tommy nodded, and carefully slipped into the hidden fire proof boots, they were so smug, it was like he was wearing a pair of socks. Steeling himself, in case something went wrong, Tommy marched. He didn't notice, or rather didn't notice anything odd about the pads on his hands, nor his claws, or the fur on his hands.
Walking across the coals, Tommy felt the pads of his feet protect him, but the heat wasn't less, in fact, his paw's fur was singed and had to be careful to time his contact with the coals least they outright caught fire. 'It's one step after another Tommy, mind over matter, remember, mind over matter, one two, one two, one two.' Tommy gritted his teeth. At last Tommy came to the other side.
He showed his scorched paws to the audience to show that it was no trick, and the audience were in awe and clapped again.
"Impressive performances I'll admit, but not quite magic is it?" The Magician said. Technically Chelly's acrobatics hadn't been magic either, but her performance had been so stunning that no one really noticed. Technically Chelly was could have done some trapped rings with her act, but those hadn't been thought about at the time. Chelly would apologize to the Magician later.
"Don't worry kid, just do what comes natural," O'Hara whispered to Tommy who nodded.
O'Hara put some incense burners in front of Tommy, that hide the fine mist that he was subtly spray with, a special non-toxic chemical created by the Magician's old alchemist teacher that had a much lower burning point that fur.
As the fine coating was applied, the Magician did several sweeping arm gestures and spoke dramatically, as O'Hara posed sultry like any good assistant, both of them distracting the audience.
Tommy stood still, having the slightest idea of what was coming next.
The Magician snapped his fingers, and produced a tiny flame on his finger tip. Tommy stiffened from no magical influence.
The Magician touched Tommy, and the boy was set aflame. The audience naturally gasped in shock and alarm. Katie hoping the Magician hadn't gone crazy or something! But this was all part of the show right?
And Tommy's pants, shirt, and other things all burned away, Tommy himself wasn't hurt in the slightest. Where the flames touched his skin, he became covered in orange fur with a cream belly and black stripes upon his orange sides. His head decidedly became feline, along with losing his 'hair' even if his head was now covered in stripped fur. His eyes became slit and golden. Whiskered formed on his face and his teeth all became fangs and canines. His feet were now digigrated. A stripped tail now swept behind him. His figure took on a more athletic tone.
Chelly had to admit, she never got used to that part of Tommy's act, she'd gone through his flaming hoops, but this was too much. Rosewood and Tott, Em, and Paul were naturally scared very much of this part of the act and respected Tommy even more-so for always going through with it.
While the element of Wesley's act was water, Tommy's was definitely fire.
Katie and her brother was relieved to see that the tiger boy was unarmed and his fur didn't have any burn marks from the dangerous part of the act.
"That fire made me hungry." Tommy said with a grin.
O'Hara said, "Well, here ya go." She gave him a flaming marshmallow that he swallowed whole. A girl with a pretty pink and sparkle dress in the front row fainted at the sight.
Then Tommy picked up a flaming stick and blew, a stream of firing going out from it.
"Heart burn!" Tommy joked, the audience laughed and clapped.
Some of his cast-mates joked he must have been part dragon, but the genealogy tests proved that was indeed just a joke.
Like Wesley and Chelly, Tommy was covered in fur that covered anything improper.
"Let's hear it for Tommy the Fire Tiger!" The Magician clapped, and O'Hara and the audience responded in kind.
Tommy The Tiger took his bow, and returned back stage.
Tommy gave Chelly a hug as soon as he was back stage. "Hey!"
"Hey." Chelly responded politely. "Nice show out there."
"Thanks!"
"Chelly and Tommy sitting in a tree-"
"SHUT IT WESLEY!" Chelly and Tommy said together, then awkwardly broke the hug.