Tobias looked up from the ring to meet her gaze when she issued the challenge, and looked into the lovely blue orbs with obvious curiosity.<br/><br/>She interesting indeed. Her proposal had made it clear to him that she wasn't just interested in seeing how his trick worked, she wanted to properly test his abilities and see what he could do.<br/><br/>Why? He had no idea. The girls stare was impossible to decipher. Whenever he looked into her crystal blue eyes all he could see was himself getting lost in them.<br/><br/>Not knowing bothered him, but he did not let himself be intimidated. Instead, he let his intrigue show and let a small coy smile play on the corners of his mouth.<br/><br/>It had been a long time since someone had shown that much interest in his craft. If she was going to challenge him, then he would accept without hesitation.<br/><br/>"We have a deal sweetheart," Tobias said good-humouredly before flicking the ring into the air and catching it smoothly as it fell.<br/><br/>The first part of the trick had gone off without a hitch. He had already swapped the mood ring for his exploding forgery the moment he had begun shuffling the ring between his hands.<br/><br/>Making it explode was a simple matter. The inside of the ring was filled with a combustible solution, that ignited when exposed to oxygen. All it required was a small scratch from his fingernail to break the outer casing and let in the air.<br/><br/>The hardest part of the trick was getting the ring back onto her finger. Which was where, years of practice at sleight of hand and the special effect came in handy.<br/><br/>The flames took the audiences attention away from his free hand, which would slide the ring onto the end of their finger as they watched the ring burn.<br/><br/>Tobias always made sure to take extra care during this moment. If he rushed it or pressed the ring too hard onto their finger, they would catch on to what he was doing. Luckily for him, he had performed the trick too many times to fail now.<br/><br/>He watched the woman intently as the mood ring became ablaze in the palm of his hand. He hoped that her surprise might lower her guard just enough to give him a glimpse of what she actually felt. It would be the only clue he would have to guess what she was up to.<br/><br/>Whoever the woman was, he knew that she was dishonest. She had the mannerisms of a performer. Every movement, every gesture that she made, was with intent. When she spoke, she did it with the sole intention of capturing your attention and placing it on the act rather than the person.<br/><br/>It was a quality that Tobias had seen before in the people he encountered in his career, but the way she used it was different. It seemed guarded and dangerous, determined to shut out any effort at seeing what lay beyond the veil.<br/><br/>Once the trick was finished, Tobias crushed what was left of the smouldering ring in his hand and nodded towards the unharmed mood ring that hung on her finger.<br/><br/>"I think I earned myself a name," he said proudly before brushing the palms of his hands on his jeans. The coy smile, framed by the light coating of stubble that marked his cheeks and chin, grew into a grin. "What do you want me to do to earn your surname? Pull a rabbit out of a hat? Make someone disappear? Read your mind? Because, if that's what you want me to do, then I'm afraid you're in for a bit of a disappointment sweetheart."<br/><br/>For a moment the jovial tone in Tobias's voice dropped and his expression became steely. Now it was his turn to test the mysterious woman and gauge her reaction. "Because I don't do amateur tricks, darling. That's not my style."<br/><br/>ooc: Link to the adult post here: here (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=205403.0)