The sun was high overhead above the marketplace when Vixen slipped through the flaps of the colorful tent's entrance wearing the outfit she'd put together for the day's performance. Sunlight glinted off the jewelry that adorned her body: the series of gleaming disks that fell across her collarbone, the bangles of thinly hammered gold encircling her wrists and ankles, the sapphire-studded headpiece that featured an ornate desert flower on one side, with dainty gold chains hung from points to cradle the glittering ruby that rested against her forehead.
The costume was of the traditional design, a simple top of ebony silk and a skirt of the same material that just barely touched the ground, slit at the thighs so that her shapely legs came into view whenever she moved. A thin green veil covered the lower half of her face, accenting the depths of her sky-blue eyes.
As she went to stand before the small crowd of people gathered in front of the tent, she began to unfold a gauzy scarf the same color of her outfit. She took an end in each hand and let it hang behind her from the elbows, so that it brushed against the back of her knees.
"Good afternoon!" she addressed the crowd cheerfully. A few returned the greeting, most of them silently waiting for her to get on with it. She briefly scanned the faces of those present. None of them looked like they would give her any trouble. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bern leaning against the side of a wagon, giving the crowd more studious scrutiny.
"I recognize a few of you from yesterday, but for those of you that haven't seen me before, welcome." She dipped gracefully into a sweeping bow, then straightened. "The dance I'll be performing today is called the Oasis Flower. It's a traditional Jernichian dance that was, once upon a time, performed to gain favor with the gods and grant travelers safe passage through the desert. Or so they say."
She indicated a box beside the tent, chained to a peg. A narrow slot for coins to pass through was cut into the top. "If you're feeling generous after the show, feel free to donate. Every little bit helps."
Closing her eyes for a moment, she grounded herself, finding the spark that always came to her just before a dance. She made a discreet gesture at the two men seated behind her with their instruments, and they started to play.
She began by rolling her hips in sync with the drum, the disks of gold hanging from her waist in strands clinking as they swayed. She extended her arms to each side, rotating her wrists and gradually bringing them together overhead, where they twisted and wove around one another in a hypnotic motion.
She swept a leg smoothly out in front of her, twirling and spinning, her skirts lifting at the hem as they fanned out and wrapped around her lower body, her thighs flashing in and out of sight. Her arms worked their magic, moving in unison, stretching towards the crowd to beckon invitingly with slender fingers. She drifted on the notes of the music in a trance, losing herself to the movement and rhythms of the dance as she always did. She was at ease doing so, because it meant that she was dancing from within herself, not simply imitating the steps of those she had watched and learned from.
She wondered if those gathered were enjoying this as much as she was.