At any rate, this Shria—ve was ambitious. The work ve’d done for the Cirque—at such an age! And Pom’s patronage already secured. Perhaps, then, this . . . association . . . shouldn’t be too harshly discouraged? Crushes could be helpful in the formation of character. Some of Shria’s verve and vision might rub off on Fift.

Obviously, Pip could not say this to the others. Ze didn’t want to be accused of encouraging Fift in vailish pursuits (never mind pursuits of Vails)! No, if ze was to extend any aid in the matter of zir child and Pom’s star apprentice, it would have to be subtle enough that ze would not have to hear about it at zir next hundred breakfasts. So ze bided zir time.

It was late winter when Pom’s letter arrived, with the Ticket enclosed. The Cirque had announced a new performance series, not housed in their usual arenas and amphitheaters, but “in the midst of life.” The posting read:

O person! O child of fate!

(They always had been a little pompous, Pip reflected.)

Have you wondered if This is the World For You?

Why not find out?

The Cirque Fantabulous—jesters to the church of the inveterate Trickster (raspberried be Vir name) since the Age of War, fandanglers of chaos, marsh-mellows of Marshes that Died Before Time, pickpockets of the Wallet of Blessed Kumru—spit on your pieties and snuggle your rioties, and invite you (should you have a Ticket) to their (who are we kidding? our!) next series of performance events:

Unraveling: A Revolution!

This event is unwalled! Look for it in no stadiums, line up in no lines! Do Not Come to See Us! If you have a Ticket, we will Come to See You!

It went on in this vein for a good while, very clever and self-congratulatory. Unsluiced blockage, really. But it was a great coup for Politigus to have received a pair of the very hard-to-come-by Tickets in recognition of zir work on the somatology of the Cirque’s local chapter.

{I trust you’ll find a use for this.} Pom’s note accompanying the ticket read. {No time to go myself, alas, so I’ve given mine to Shria; I’m sure ve will fill me in on the details. With compliments.}

Pom Politigus was no fool, either.

So when Fift hinted for the third time, somewhat more directly than before, that perhaps there were one or two new developments in the books of Stiffwaddle Somatic that might—of course, who was ze to say, but possibly, in zir provisional judgement, wherein ze would defer to Pip absolutely, but simply to bring it to zir attention, perhaps a visit might be in order, and if Pip had no time, ze was sure ze . . .