<div class="floatleft">(http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3oodrLvSj1r7wrq1o1_250.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Elizabeth Sawyer<br/><strong>Place within Hierarchy:</strong>Ring Mistress<br/><strong>Role:</strong>Act<br/><strong>Position:</strong>Fire Handler<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Chloes Private Room<br/><strong>Time:</strong>Late Night First Day<br/><strong>Languages and Accent:</strong>French Canadian accent, French<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>Erin<br/><br/>Erin was an incredibly complicated creature.  Elizabeth had hardly gotten to know her, but she’d already spotted the same bullheaded nature that Elizabeth herself possessed.  That was precisely why choosing a punishment was so difficult.  She was still new…So had she been a stage hand or a clown, she just would have been removed from the Family.  But the fact of the matter was she was an incredibly talented act.  And a spirited act none the less…Thus, removing her would have meant death.  Elizabeth simply could not find it within herself to kill the girl.  Had it been Elizabeth in the exact same position, she probably would have acted in a completely similar way.<br/><br/>But that did not mean she could go without reprimand.<br/><br/>It was simply what precisely she decided to do.  When she’d first been told exactly what had occurred, her blood was boiling.  Two needed to be punished, and the other she knew was not hers to deal with.  And it was the other that really had her enraged.  Olaana was brand fucking new and already knew that she was on Elizabeths hot seat…but she couldn’t do a thing without facing Lawrences wrath.  So she spent the hour after she heard about it plotting ways of exacting her revenge on the wrong person.  In time, she realized all of those methods were simply not fair.  Even Elizabeth had a point where she realized something was unfair.<br/><br/>But she still intended on punishing Erin much more harshly than was deserved because of her affiliation with Olaana.  It was quite ironic that the reason her punishment changed was because of the very person who had set Erin off in the first place.  She had had a lovely chat with Chloe about matters that had nothing to do with Erin.  But that conversation made her happy enough to realize that she had to be rational about things.  Not that punishing someone for an outburst was rational at all, beyond perhaps a verbal reprimand.  But it was still a big deal to Elizabeth.<br/><br/>Elizabeth had managed to catch Erins roommate before the girl entered the cabin.  Though the words that she used were kind and seemed like a genuine question…It went without saying that if Elizabeth asked someone something, you simply abided without needing to know why.  The two parted ways, and Elizabeth returned to her normal activities.<br/><br/>It wasn’t until late in the evening that Elizabeth actually returned to Erins door.  She paused outside of it for a moment and shut her eyes, taking in a deep breath before her hand lowered to the handle.  In a train like this it was nearly impossible to open a door without a creek, but Elizabeth managed it.  And she could take no credit in the act.  As she shut the door silently behind her, she turned around to face the sleeping Erin.  She looked absolutely innocent in that sleep.  Elizabeth hadn’t yet fully decided upon what she was going to do, but witnessing the girl in that state ensured it wasn’t going to be brutal.  Unless the girl forced her hand.<br/><br/>The same way she had opened the door in an unnatural silence followed her as she began to walk around the room and pick it apart.  Her natural grace certainly helped…but there was another factor in this.  The Spirit was flowing through her veins.  It was rare that the Spirit gave a helping hand in dealing out punishment, but it knew this one was a bit different.  If it were to be played out in Elizabeths setting, then Elizabeth wouldn’t need help.  But the fact of the matter was Erin was an incredibly dangerous person.  She could handle a weapon as easily as she could wave her hand, so if Elizabeth wasn’t able to go about her task in complete silence then her life was on the line.  Thus the Spirit gave Elizabeth the ability to open drawers, shift things around, and find absolutely every weapon within that room that wasn’t hidden beneath Erin or her pillow.<br/><br/>And what she found was absolutely remarkable.  Items she’d never seen Erin use.  Blades she’d never even known existed were piled up upon the would be roommates bed.  Finally she was confident that there was nothing else hiding, and Elizabeth began to take a close inspection of the mass of steel she’d found.  She dwindled them all down to three.  And she chose the one that she did for a very simple reason.  She pressed her thumb bluntly upon the blade of the first two, and felt nothing.  The last, a simple three inch knife, cut into her thumb just about the moment it was placed.  It took a lot of time and effort to keep a blade that sharp, and Elizabeth made the assumption that the one she’d chosen had some sort of significance to Erin.<br/><br/>Elizabeth slowly sat upon the edge of Erins bed doing her best not to let Erin feel her sit.  It was aided by the fact Elizabeth had ensured that the beds, no matter how small, were of the utmost quality.  She didn’t wish for her family to have sleepless nights.  But now that kind gesture would have a nasty outcome.  The knife lowered and lifted up the sheet at an agonizingly slow pace.  She pushed it to the other side of Erins so that her body was exposed.  In Erins sleep, her shirt had managed to work its way up the girls stomach.  Elizabeth was far from surprised with the bare flesh she saw, a profession that deadly demanded the utmost physical perfection.  But that bare flesh wasn’t going to remain so perfect for much longer.<br/><br/>Elizabeth lowered the blade.  The tip of it was no more than an inch from Erins stomach when she paused.  The tip was too sharp.  So she leveled it, and the moment she did her hand glided downward and down Erins stomach.  It sliced into flesh, and instantly the line drawn was colored crimson.  Elizabeth had went over this scenario a million times…At first she thought the girl would instantly submit in fear of being killed.  But then she was reminded how much Erin resembled Elizabeth, and realized she’d likely go down fighting as opposed to easily submitting.<br/><br/>Fortunately facing death in the eye often changed a persons rationality.<br/><br/>Erin shot up, and Elizabeth didn’t give her time to fight back.  She knew that if she tried to reason and Erin got the better of her physically, then she would end up the one cut to pieces.  So the moment that Erin shot up, the blade was angled so that Erins own movements would impale her.  But Elizabeth had no intent upon killing her…not someone this promising, not yet at least.  The blade slid an inch inside of her chest, just beneath her breast, and when she felt it strike Erins rib she quickly slid the blade out.  One of the wonderful things about the Spirit was that it wanted to keep you alive, and the biggest threat was always your own act.<br/><br/>Had Elizabeth burned Erin, then it would heal naturally and scar.  But Erins most likely injury would be a slip of up the hand, and a nasty cut.  So despite the depth of the wound, it’d be completely healed within a week.  And it wouldn’t leave a scar, Erins body would remain as it was at that point.  Not that Elizabeth was going to share that info at this very moment.  Instead she shoved the knife upwards and placed it against Erins throat, her expression was beyond hostile and her words were nearly as sharp as the blade. “God damnit Erin I will fucking kill you here and now if you try to fight back again.  And I wouldn’t lose a nights sleep over it.  You can lay back down and hear me out, or you can die upon this blade.  I will leave that decision up to you.” Elizabeth lifted the knife away from Erins throat, but it was never far from her body.  And her arm remained at the ready, one threatening move…and she’d have to lose a possible asset.<br/><br/>Elizabeth had decided that Erins life was now more important than just her show.  Of all of the acts, there were three that stood out in regards to outright danger.  Elizabeth and Lawrence would be dead every single night had it not been for the spirit, Olaana tamed natural born killers, and Erin had a way with blades that rivaled guns themselves.  People often underestimated the power of a blade…it was easy to hide, easy to use for a kill, and absolutely silent.  Elizabeth had always been paranoid, but she knew that a weapon as deadly as Erin could be invaluable if a war did in fact occur.<br/><br/>And as much as it broke Elizabeths heart, she had convinced herself one would.<br/><br/>When Elizabeth spoke again her voice was calm, though her expression made it clear she hadn’t changed her mind about killing Erin if need be. “You must understand that what occurred this morning could not go without punishment.  It is the way of the family, no matter your place within it a wrongdoing must be acted upon.  I had intended upon coming in here and slicing you up, leaving a plethora of surface wounds that’d remind you to stay inline with every shower, with every bead of sweat that fell into the wounds.  However, I believe that stabbing you will suffice.” Elizabeth lowered the blade again, placing it a quarter of an inch above the stab wound, though it had now turned ninety degrees.<br/><br/>“That is what the spirit demands.  It is not what I believe.  I believe that if I were you, I would have done the very same thing.  You see, you and I are not entirely different.  We both put our lives on the line with every performance.  We both have no fear of death.  We both speak our minds no matter the consequences.” Elizabeth moved her free hand to Erins belly, her index finger tracing the cut.  She pushed down, ensuring that pain came with every movement. “If I were in your position I’d seek to kill me for that alone.  But I am not in your position.  And I must do what is needed to preserve what is left of this family.”<br/><br/>Times like this were when Elizabeth was at her best.  When a show was meant to be given…When words were not always enough, and a physical display was in order.  That afternoon with Lexie had been a perfect example, she’d played with death to dance across the top of the train to prove a point.  But Lexie was harmless…If she did anything more than keep that knife level, she risked being killed.  So the act she gave was one that’d only resonate with her; she remained still, because she was afraid of Erin.<br/><br/>“I must maintain order.  I must ensure that nothing goes unpunished.  If I do not follow that rule, than people will lose fear.  These people, this family, they may love me.  But they also fear me.  That is why this family works so seamlessly.  What we do, and what we wish to achieve cannot simply be done with loyalty and respect.  We brake laws every day, and we all live with the supernatural gift of the Spirit which would have every one of us thrown into a looney bin, or worse, find ourselves in the hand of a flawed government who would try to use us to their benefit.  You are still new, so you do not quite realize exactly what it means to be a part of this family.” Elizabeths finger had settled just below the gash in Erins stomach.  It finally lifted, and moved towards the edge of the blade.  She didn’t show any sign of pain as her finger trailed alone the edge of the blade to slice her finger open.  It was only revealed she’d cut herself when that finger was lifted for Erin to see.<br/><br/>“We now belong to the spirit.  If you try to leave, it’ll find a way to kill you.  I do not wish you dead.  Nor do I wish to have to do this again.  We are at the precipice of a great change, and I wish to have you at my side.  I can promise you things that you couldn’t imagine, but I know that you are beyond that.  I’ve no intent upon bribing you.  Instead I only ask you to take what is rightfully yours.  Power.  Had it been you instead of me when the spirit was ready to be captured, I’m more than confident you could have been able to do it.  I’ve been looking for someone to be my second…And I think I’ve found her.” Elizabeth fell silent for a moment.  Her hand lowered and that cut and her finger touched gently at the stab wound in Erins chest.  This time she didn’t place enough pressure to cause anything more than a sting. “I had no choice but to do this.  I hope in time you will understand why.  A yes or no would suffice, but if you have questions, I’ll give you answers.  Just realize that every answer I give puts you in deeper, and ensures that if you’re of loose lips the next time we have this kind of get together you won’t wake up.”