This was going well. Better than he expected. The crowd was good. They seemed to be enjoying that story he wove just as much as those flaming illusions that danced and ran and exploded down upon the 'villain' of that tale. The 'demon dog' of his own homeland of Romania. That Cainele Diavolului. Those fiery creatures were relatively easy to control. Sly had been doing it since he could walk. Those animals were limited only by his own imagination. This was a story he had told before. A thousand times over. He knew what worked- and what didn't. That crowd was lively enough that he could surely pull a member of the audience on 'stage' with him. People seemed to get a kick out of watching one of their own pulled out of their comfort zones. People liked real reactions from one another. Genuine shock or surprise or laughter. He needed someone who was easy to read. Someone who would play along with that game and only add to what he'd already created. A near flash of flaming red hair was quick to catch his eye off to the side. The young, red-haired woman looked to be about his own age and yet features held a clear look of awe. Her blue eyes were nothing short of wide as she watched those flaming creatures battle beneath his command. She was cute too. She was perfect. Sly was quick to point towards her then before seeking to summon her from the crowd and onto the battlefield as Diavolului attempted to fling the last of its assailants. That Noah's Ark array of animals seemingly having weakened the giant canine and yet he was hungry for more. The crowd, no, the world, needed a savior. The red-haired Were girl clearly the chosen one.

The crowd was quick to urge her to go forward as if they truly feared she alone might hold the key to their apparent salvation. Urged on by those strangers and Sly himself, the almost shy young woman moved hesitantly forward with a clear uncertainty. The young warlocks hand extended then, Sly clearly offering to take her own as his fingers neatly closed over hers and tugged her gently towards him. It was easy then, to spin that young woman neatly around to face Diavolului as Sly himself took up that position behind her, his hand gently releasing her own.

"Don't worry, I'll tell you exactly what to do, just stand right here."

His words were barely above a whisper to the young woman herself as Sly stepped away from her once more to face the crowd. Diavolului whirled in place as if searching for more flaming creatures to fight. His gleaming eyes seemed to flare all the brighter, his heckles raised, as his jaws parted to bare those white-hot teeth at the crowd. Several people gasped once more before the giant dog's head snapped towards Sly's red-haired assistant- as if only now just noticing her. The giant dog lowered itself as it stalked forward, that hunting pose strikingly clear as it began to close the distance between itself and the young woman.

"Ladies and gentleman, Diavolului is angry today! We have managed to slow him down but it has not been enough to stop him. He means to make a meal out of my assistant! Do you think I should help her discover her own power?"

Those cries of 'yes!' rose from the crowd once more (and quite possibly from Abigail herself) as Sly spun in place once more, the warlock moving to stride back towards the red-haired woman then before coming to stand behind her. That devil dog continued to stride forward and towards them both, the heat from its flames was nothing short of intense. Sly spoke loud enough for both that crowd and his assistant to hear then.

"Hurry! Hold your hands out in front of you, yes just like that. Now I need you to concentrate really hard and I need everyone in the audience to help. I need you to imagine all the energy in your body travelling to your fingertips and turning into fire. Let's see what sort of creature rests in your soul. I hope it's strong enough to fight Diavolului! Ready? Ignite."

Sly's fingers snapped once more as those flames, seemingly, rushed forward from Abigail's own fingers. That fire launched suddenly *upward* and into the sky, the sudden roar of flames enough to force the demon dog to halt as those flames rapidly began to shoft and dance and take shape. The fire abruptly formed into the shape of a strikingly impressive dragon. That creature was nothing short of immense. Each beat of its flaming wings saw small embers fall to the ground below as it hovered above his assistant. The crowd's cheering had reached a near fever pitch as Diavolului lunged forward, launching itself upward and toward the dragon whose massive jaws readily parted to release that torrent of fire. The resulting explosion seemed to send heat and fire in every direction before dissipating as quickly as it had appeared. Both those creatures seemingly exploding as small, flickering embers and ash rained down around them. The applause of the crowd were almost deafening, the vast majority of them seemingly content to cheer for his no doubt bewildered assistant. The 'girl with the dragon soul' who had seemingly saved them all. Sly's own hands clapped together, his elbow nudging her gently as he passed.

"Hey, you did it."

The wink he offered along with those whispered words was visible to her alone, Sly taking that moment to step forward and offer the audience a bow as they began to disperse. Rather a number of people, fortunately, taking the time to throw money into the hat he'd laid down. The sight of that only seemed to widen his grin. Maybe he'd treat himself to a steak tonight. Sly's attention returned to his assistant then, the red-haired woman still standing dutifully where he'd told her too.

"Oh, hey, you can move now. You saved the world with your dragon soul. Neat, huh?"

The blond warlock offered her another grin as he moved to crouch down beside that hat. His fingers moved deftly, counting that money as he folded those bills over within his hands one after the other. There was at least five hundred dollars here. Damn the East side had been worth it. It was more than double what he'd made in the west. Sly folded that money before tucking it in his back pocket and snatching the hat up and off the ground to toss back onto the slight scorched wooden bench his belongings rested on. Well. That was unfortunate. For the bench. At least no people had caught on fire. Not that he'd noticed anyway. People didn't usually give him this much money if they caught alight. Sly's blue gaze turned back to the young woman then, that crowd having dispersed entirely, leaving him alone with his impromptu assistant. Was it possibly that she was even cuter then he'd realised? Red hair, blue eyes, pretty face, cute smile.

"If you're not in a rush or anything there's a decent bar about a block from here. Thanks to you I can even afford to drink at it tonight. Do you want to come with me?"

sly.