From his place offstage, Augustus watched as the cockroach took the stage, closely followed by the occamy. His eyes followed the pair through the course. So far, so good; everything going according to plan...
Then the roach skittered into the front row. His eyes widened slightly, darting toward the audience to gauge their reaction. Hopefully no one would be too put off by the occamy weaving between their feet. Merlin, he couldn't afford any complaints! Smile, Augustus. Let them think it's part of the act, he thought. And he did.
Augustus applauded wildly, a wide smile on his face, as the occamy dove into the teapot to enjoy a buggy bite to eat. "Thank you, thank you!" he said loudly, taking the stage again. "How about a hand for our occamy, Morgana, who's shown us that big things can come in small packages!"
He paused a few moments for applause before going on, "Up next we have something a bit lighter for you, a beastly balancing act of sorts." He pointed dramatically upward with his staff. "Please welcome all the way from Africa the titan of the tightrope, the horned high wire walker... the amazing erumpent!"
With an exaggerated bow, he backed offstage once more.
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