Snippet #1445140

"Now, we work," she answered, motioning for for an aerialist on a platform opposite hers to toss her a rope. He did so, swinging the cable across the space between him, and she snatched it as it reached the platform, closing her fingers around the thick wire before it could swing back again. Moving her hand to the bottom of the cord (which ended in a clip similar to the kind on the end of a dog's leash), she studied the colored sticker which had been placed just below the rope's clip. "It's pretty simple, actually. The ropes with the blue stickers," she said to Blake, turning to the pole behind them, "go through the blue loops, red ones go through the red loops, and yellow go through the yellow loops." She demonstrated with the blue, pulling the wire through the loop protruding from the pole and double knotting it around the ring of metal. Checking the knot's security, she clipped the rope to the loop and did a final check, tugging on the cable to ensure it was properly fastened. Looking to Blake, she gestured to the web of wires and swings surrounding them. "Think you can handle it?"

The challenge in her voice was, of course, Terra being Terra. She thrived on competition, on winning. But as her eyes fell on Blake, curiosity overtook her. He seemed interested in more than helping out. Did he want...did he want to stay?