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[color=747474][i]In the backstage of the circus.[/i][/color]

The morning was fresh, but not cold. A pleasant treat of early autumn. The sun had well risen and so did most of the circus staff. But in one of the caravans, someone was still sleeping. And so, a conscientious soul knocked on the door.

[color=white]"Eh, Alphonse, you should get up already. Someone's gonna notice if you don't."[/color]

He opened his eyes. He closed them. He groaned. Alphonse was suffering from a nasty headache. His body was sore too. Had he drunk too much last night? He did often enjoy a bit of beer before bed, but usually in a reasonable amount. It was hard to think.
But then he noticed his throat was fine. And he had no nausea either. Alphonse blew into his hand to smell his breath. No scent of alcohol.

He massaged his temple while sluggishly extracting himself from his bed.  What did happen on the previous day?

[hr]
[color=747474][i]On the previous day.[/i][/color]

The circus was bustling with activity. Multiple showmen were already demonstrating their talents in the streets to spread the word of the circus opening. As a consequence, those who were left to finish setting up the circus strongly felt the pressure to get done as quickly as possible.

Among them was Alphonse, seemingly calm despite the agitation. He was carrying things around where they where needed while taking the time to give friendly light taps to his coworkers.

[color=BF00FF]"Don't push yourself too hard, pal. We'll be done soon enough."[/color]

But in fact, he was using his power. There was no visual effect whenever he diminushed the weight of an item, so it was easy for him to stealthily lessen the burden of others. As for why he did it this way, there's simply was no particular reason behind it. Alphonse didn't benefit from this in any way. Rather, he really wanted to help but was uncomfortable at the idea of making a show of his power. Was it because he wasn't truly boastful by nature, despite his acting during his shows? He had no real reason to fear rejection from the circus people, so that surely couldn't be it.

And yet, here he was, lending invisible helping hands all around. And those were starting to grow bothersome to him too. Suddenly letting the items regain their true weights while people were carrying them could be dangerous, so he had to maintain the effects until he could confirm they had arrived safely. And as he multiplied the targets of his ability, the mental strain would only get worse.

From time to time, he got to see how far things had advanced. But he had his own things to do and could only check on so many things at once, especially with how large of a space the circus was occupying. The number of objects to keep track off simply increased faster than he could let go of them. 
And yet, Alphonse simply didn't consider to stop his efforts.

The work finished towards the end of the afternoon, and so the strongman could finally let go of the mental pressure. By this point, he was thoroughly exhausted. Still, his fellow were going into town for a bit of fun while they could. After all, the true circus work would start on the next day as the visitors would flock in.

It would have been smarter to skip and lay down. Alphonse could already feel the headache from the mental exhaustion he accumulated.
But he went along.

[hr]
[color=747474][i]The day of the circus opening, on the cooking area.[/i][/color]

The teapot whistled. Alphonse poured himself a cup. He brought it to his lips. Blew on it. Took a sip. And finally, the strongman sighed in relief.

It wasn't the fancy tea popular among the aristocracy, rather just a simple herbal infusion Alphonse learned to make on his travels. It was meant to help with hangovers, but it turned out to be very effective against the headaches he suffered from overexerting his mind while using his ability. It rarely happened, but the strongman had a tendency to ignore his limits.

On this day, he had no choice but to be careful however. He was still recovering and this was only the start of a [i]long[/i] show. The reasons behind this didn't matter to him, Alphonse didn't concern himself with the management of the circus. But it had a certain underlying pressure. Mr Maleficar had always been a mysterious man of impenetrable thoughts, but that didn't make the mystery of the situation any less of a worry.
Still, to the strongman, what mattered was to do his job well. He mesured the quality of his work to the smiles he received.

Alphonse got up. He had a show to prepare and his weights would not not lift themselves on their own.

[hr]

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Well, things were certainly lively. Silas was taking [i]care[/i] out of a student. Edmund knew him just well enough to trust his judgement. That student was probably one to keep an eye on, so he made a mental note to search for his name later. 

His attention was quickly drawn elsewhere however. Three new faces had shown themselves.

A young man in white, more noble than noble. Edmund had to make great efforts to not jump to conclusions on his
character. He also felt a literal cold coming from him. Most could easily missed this without coming close, but Edmund's ability made him adept at noticing temperature changes. It was surely the trace of a similar enlightenment to his own.

Then, a young woman. Elegant and reserved, as one would expect from nobility. There wasn't much he could guess at a glance.

Finally, a young person, probably a man. He wore fine clothes, but didn't have the attitude of nobility. Rich bourgeoisie? He certainly didn't seem at ease.

They seemed to be all new students. Entering the school a bit late wasn't so rare, after all there was no telling when Enlightenment would manifest. Still, it was interesting to see three of them appear at once.

He turned around, walking the hallway without a precise destination in mind. It would become suspicious if he stuck around to observe further.

[color=3B9AAA]"Humm, let's see...[/color] he mumbled to himself. [color=3B9AAA]A white swan, on a north wind. A mysterious crane. And an anxious mouse?"[/color]

He was already fully absorbed into whichever code he would use to consign this sight. It was important to note this and make further research on who they were. After all, there was always a chance one of them would turn out to become a person importance.