FreckersFrog

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Illyana waited to be asked to enter before letting herself fully inside, and closed the door behind her. She moved to the chair and took a seat, folding her hands in her lap and attempting to keep her expression blank. There was a twinge, one so slight that only those who knew her well could pick up on it, of trepidation. Her mouth remained relaxed, but there was tension in her brow.

She tilted her head in acknowledgement of his assumption, although she had only guessed, not "known" in the way he implied. She touched the edge of the rough pages with the tips of her fingers, leaning forward slightly to read them more closely. With no attempt to hide it further, her brow furrowed even more, but this time with concern. Lucien was absolutely right; the troupe was in even more trouble than she thought. He hid is concerns from the carnies well. They had three, maybe five if they stretched it, more days on the road before they would have to stop again. The price of gas for the trucks and trailers alone would nearly run them dry, not to mention enough food to feed everyone.

Illyana was silent as Lucien spoke, mulling the situation over in her head. He was right again, "not a fan" didn't even really begin to cover her feelings on the matter of which they were now speaking. But, they were stuck.

They lay at a literal crossroads; up the track a bit, maybe a couple of miles, there was a split. East would take them to Allentown, a small and rural farming town with barely two pennies to rub together, but it was closer by about a day's journey. To the west, was Graston, a larger city center with some industry and more coin to go around, but the farther of the two. If they chose Allentown, they may be able to scrounge enough coin to move on toward the coast, but if they didn't get anything there they would be stranded. If they made it to Graston, they would certainly hit a bigger payload...but all their supplies would barely get them there. It would be Graston and bust, and if they made nothing from their haul there...well, Illy didn't want to think about it.

She shook her head and pushed the papers away slowly, biting her bottom lip. There was silence between the two of them for a moment before she spoke, choosing her words. "I know what's at stake, and I still think this is a bad idea." She then raised her eyes to the Ringleader, almost imploring him to go back in time and not ask this of her, "It's never been that way before, the way it was with him...it was just...wrong." She'd told him in detail about what had happened, shared everything, and with that came its cost. The allure of the coin may just be too powerful for any of them to resist, and she knew if they were stranded somewhere, she would never see her sister again, but still something sinister gnawed at her. Just the thought of it gave her the heebies all over again.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Faolan hated travelling by boat. Vast stretches of never-ending black water as far as the eye could see, cramped, tight quarters surrounded by other men, sick and weak passengers, livestock that were jammed into crates so tight they could barely move...yes, he much preferred his feet on the ground. Unfortunately, they hadn't yet perfected a plane that wasn't used for war, so he was out of luck if he wanted to get to America by air. The sea was in his blood, but he didn't have to like it.

Faolan especially disliked boats because of how cramped the sleeping quarters were, not to mention the lack of privacy. At six-foot-five, he was a beast of a man; broad shoulders and long legs made sea travel more uncomfortable for him that almost anyone else. During the trip, he would be spending most of his time on the upper decks with the sea air in his face. They would make everyone go inside when it was time to depart, but he wasn't about to waste a second of fresh air.

He was leaning over the side, looking out into the dingy streets of Bordeaux, happy to say goodbye. If ships were his least favorite places to sleep, cities were a close second. What did they think they were doing, anyway, covering up the green French countryside with monstrous buildings of brick and stone? A waste. Cool ocean breeze pushed his long red hair off of his forehead and sent it dancing around his shoulders.

The sound of a scuffle interrupted his thoughts. He didn't have to look to know what it was about, he could smell the alcohol on the breath of the Englishmen from the second they set foot on the dock. The young man, a native of France by the sound of his accent, had sparked their ire.

"Listen to 'im mates, what a puss! Could you let go of me...please? What tripe!" Faolan's lip curled at the sound of their rough accented mocking. They were pathetic, picking on someone nearly half their size.

Another of the men chimed in: "Haha yeah, a puss! What don't you make me let go, Frenchy?"

They was the sounds of more struggle behind him and Faolan's lip curled into a sneer as his paw-like hands gripped the freezing metal railing. The metal screeched quietly as it began to buckle. If those Black and Tan pricks said one more word...

"What're you gonna do, little froggy, cry? Where's your mummy, froggy, huh?"

That was it. Faolan turned on his heel and stomped with authority down the deck towards the commotion and called out to them in a thick Irish accent, "Oy, haven't you gobshite's had enough?" He towered over all four of the men, the Frenchman especially, and glowered down at them with bright green eyes that flashed with fury. That, however, wasn't the most intimidating thing about him. A massive circular scar, like a bite wound, peeked out from his shirt collar and curled around his neck and shoulder.

The Englishman who was holding the boy by the arm looked up at this giant of a man, startled, but did not let go. "What's it to you, Bog-Trotter?" He said with a sneer, trying to hide how intimidated he was.

"Yeah, this your girlfriend, eh?"

"I'd watch the next thing you say." Faolan's fingers tightened into fists.

The Englishman paused a moment, looking like they may be re-thinking their decisions, when the third and obviously least intelligent of them chimed in by spitting a glob of snot right at the Irishman's feet, "Pooffter."

That was enough for Faolan. He grabbed the third man by the shoulder and slammed his forehead down into his so hard the "crack" was audible to those nearby. The Englishman immediately crumpled to the floor, unconscious. Faolan pulled away, a small trickle of blood leaking down his forehead.

There was a moment of silence, of shock, before the Black and Tan let go of the Frenchman's arm, raised his hands and took a step back. Another beat passed before they English bent to grab their companion and dragged him off, his nose smashed and face bloody. The man who had started the fight kept his eyes on the ground, "Our apologies, sirs, we didn't mean nothin' by it...we'll be on our way."

Faolan watched them go in silence, his brow furrowed and his mouth set into a hard frown. He hadn't broken anyone's nose in a while and had nearly forgotten how good it felt to see British blood spilled.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

The Carnival grounds were buzzing with activity; men rushing to and fro with tarps, chairs, poles, coils or rope, all of the pieces that built their private world of mystique and intrigue. They were about half-way done taking everything down, they would be ready to move in just a couple of hours time. Alex rushed through them, bobbing and weaving through the activity toward a trailer near the opposite side of the field that the troupe had carved out for their shows, games, and wondrous reveals. This trailer was small, modest, dark blue and painted with tiny silver and gold stars and moons, with a sign posted above the door that read "Diseur de Bonne Aventure".

Inside, Illyana was busy packing her trunks and securing her belongings inside of locked cabinets and drawers, so they did not spill out on the road. Dark brown bangs tumbled across her forehead, a bit of red peaking through at the roots. She was sleight of build, pale, with almond-shaped eyes and a spattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks. She wore simple clothing, an olive-green dress with long sleeves, stockings and brown travelling boots. A cloche hat of matching color and material sat on the table at her side. Looking at her now, she appeared as a completely ordinary maiden in her late teens, but those who knew her well were well-aware of her particular set of skills and the identifying feature that gave her away.

A knock at her trailer door startled her, and she dropped a reading lamp that she had been about to secure on a hook above her bed. The lamp would have crashed to the floor and shattered, had it not landed upon a pillow that had been placed in the middle of the floor at her feet, just where the lamp had fallen. After checking to be sure it was still in working order, she hung it on the hook and reached for her hat.

"Miss? You in?" Alex yelled through the thin wooden door.

"Just a moment!" Illy called back as she secured the hat on her head, hiding her red roots and her forehead in the process.

Having to get back to work, Alex simply called back, "S'alright, miss. I'm off, but Master Lucien asked to speak with ya'." He waited just a moment to hear confirmation that his message was received, which Illy gave, and turned on his heel to help some men deconstruct the big-top.

Illyana exited her trailer, shutting the door carefully behind her, and made her way across the grounds to Lucien's trailer. While it was the largest of them, it was not so large to be obnoxious or commanding. It was a pale sky blue, dotted with clouds, and a rising sun in the top left corner. Illyana approached the door, confidently, but with a look of trepidation.

She knocked curtly and quietly, but entered before being asked. She was expected. She hung in the doorway, looking in at the Circus' Ringleader and guardian. "You asked for me?" She said, politely but with no hesitance. She knew what this was about.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

The year is 1935, travelling Carnivales are all the rage with the locals of rural villages and large cities alike. The end of the war has left refugees from all around the world without a safe home to go back to, so many have traveled to take up residence in America, where opportunities await. These opportunities are few and far between, it seems, but many discover this far too late. Carnivales have become a refuge for those outcasts with nowhere else to go. Shows turn freaks into wonders, and witchcraft into mystical magic tricks. Most of these Carnivales and Circuses and made up of regular humans, making their way in the world by plying their trade with card tricks, contortionism, high-flying acrobatics, and zaney costumes. However, while not all that glitters is gold, there is the sparkle amongst some troupes of a few diamonds in the rough...

Some Carnivales are more than a safe space for the refugees of war-torn Europe, and have become a haven for those forgotten creatures of myth and legend. Fairies, mermaids, shape-changers, seers, and even creatures with a touch of the divine, have begun troupes of travelling tricksters, earning their keep while hiding in plain sight. Cirque D'étoiles is one such family of misfits, cobbled together with the remnants of children's stories and the creatures that lurk in the dark. It's ringleader, Lucien, started his family after travelling to the US with a new-found friend, with the hopes that his Circus could become a safe place for others like them.

These are their stories...[bum bum]

(You may refer to the OOC thread for scenes of the past before the Circus was founded)

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

+Name = Cora
+Race = Siren // Mermaid
+Age = 60 years (Appears early 20s)
+Brithday = February 14th, 1875
+Height/Weight = 5'8/112 lbs
+Nationality = Atlantic Ocean
+Languages Known = Aquan // English
+Appearance = (Human form) Long straight brown hair // Pale skin // Blue Eyes // Slender // Beautiful // Light Clothes

Mermaid Reference
+Position = La Sirène
+Abilities = Amphibious // Hypnotism
Distinguishing Features/Marks = Three horizontal marks on the sides of her neck (human form) // Inability to walk // Beautiful singing voice

+Background = Cora had lived a carefree live under the ocean with her sisters for nearly sixty years before she ever saw land. Mermaids are an all female race of water-dwelling creatures. They exist in harmony with the environment, and have small nomadic settlements called "pods" that act as family units. Mermaids have no need for males as they are able to reproduce asexually. They live a very long time before they return to the sea in the form of foam, mist, rain, or bubbles.

Cora was young compared to some of the other sisters and matrons in her pod. She was curious and inquisitive, often asking questions to which some of the older matrons had no answers. She would frequently swim away from her pod on her own adventures, and get dangerously close to the surface.

On one such occasion, Cora saw a sea turtle trapped in a fisher's net. She knew of these things, and detested them. She swam to the net to free the turtle, and both were brought to the surface. It was the first time she had exited the ocean in all of her life, and she was overwhelmed by all that surrounded her. The human man who had trapped her refused to let her go back to her sisters and instead took her as his "wife". She could not speak his language, was weak and slowly dehydrating from the lack of moisture against her skin, and was unable to fight him. Even her voice did not work to convince him unless she was under water.

She learned to speak quickly from listening to the men. She learned the ways of the land, she learned pain she had never felt and the domination of her body by a human. He knew she was unable to fight back, and took all of the liberties he would with her. On the fourth day, she knew she was drying as she dried out, and prayed that the salt would take her, but the man grew wise to this and wetted her body to invigorate her once more.She hated him, but was powerless against him.

The man took her to his home on the land, far away from the ocean, and kept her locked in the toilet room. He brought her to the bed to have his way, then left her in a porcelain tub full of water when he had grown tired of her body.

On the twelfth day, she killed him. A piece of the porcelain tub had come loose and slashed her when he was drawing her from the bath. Over the next several hours, she worked away at the porcelain with her hands until the piece came away jagged and sharp. The next time the man came for her, she pierced his flesh with the piece of stone and watched him bleed to death. The man did not return to the earth, she left him to rot.

She dragged herself from the tub, out of the house, and across a dirt and grass field. She dragged herself through tall wooden things called trees for more time than she could count, until collapsed from exhaustion.

She came to in waves, first alone, then with someone, then with others, then being carried, then laying again on something cool. She learned later that the troupe of Cirque D'étoiles had saved her and nursed her back to health. One of their young woman, Illyana, knew to give her water, and they took care of her until her strength returned.

She was wary of them at first, knowing humans to be horrible, callous, and cruel, but eventually this suspicion faded as she began to trust them. They built her a tank for travelling, as they made their way toward the sea to return her to her sisters. But time on the road was lonely and boring, and all she could do was watch from her window while the humans came to the Carnival of Stars. She wanted to be a part of the fun, and begged to be allowed an act to help with money and get the troupe to the coast faster. The rest agreed, and La Sirène of Cirque D'étoiles was born.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

+Name = Illyana Brewer
+Race = Human
+Age = 20 years
+Brithday = May 31st, 1915
+Height/Weight = 5'3/107 lbs
+Nationality = American
+Languages Known = English
+Appearance = Short red hair, dyed brown // green eyes // cloche hat // simple traveling clothes

Third Eye Reference
Additional Facial Reference
+Position = Diseur de Bonne Aventure (Madame Illynova)// Gypsy // 2nd in Command
+Abilities = Clairvoyance // Mind Reading // Telekinesis
Distinguishing Features/Marks = Horizontal third eye in the middle of her forehead (purple Iris)

+Background = Illyana was born in to an entirely normal family as a twin, only minutes before her nearly identical sister, Issabella. Both her parents and the doctor, all being completely ordinary, were shocked to see that not only had the mother given birth to healthy twin girls, but that the eldest had a third eye set into the middle of her forehead. She was born sleeping, all three eyes closed, and completely at peace, while her sister screamed for the first hour of her life. The parents were then given a choice: keep their child or "dispose" of her, as the doctor recommended. Against the wishes of her husband, the twins' mother decided to keep both of the girls. They believed their child's abnormality to be entirely physical, and therefore reasoned that it would be easy to hide.

Despite this decision, Illyana grew up shunned by not only her peers but also her family. She came to understand her powers and the third eye she possessed rather quickly, and was conditioned into believing that it was a deformity that was entirely unwelcome by "normal people". She never left her room without a hat or scarf to cover her forehead, and was never allowed to seek medical attention for the frequent and intense headaches and vivid dreams that plagued her throughout her childhood. Her only friend and confidant was her twin sister, Issabella. The two shared a close bond and were never out of each other's presence unless absolutely necessary. Issabella's ability to communicate telepathically, which they discovered when the pair was around six, was never revealed to their parents for fear that they would both suffer the markings of "freak" and "abnormal". Izzy and Illy were inseparable, until Illy's gift and her frequent headaches became too much for her to bear and she was rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night, unable to be comforted by normal medicines.

Upon her arrival, the doctors, seeing her deformity, refused to treat her and sent the family home. Soon after, rumors began to spread of the girl with the eye in the middle of her forehead. People began to gather around the house, pestering and spying, which was the last thing the parents wanted. Illy was about 12 years old, and in there eyes more than old enough to "leave the nest". Other children had begun working in factories and farms at this age or younger, so they attempted to find work for her.

No would take a girl that young and physically frail, she was not suited for manual labor. Her parents almost considered abandoning her in a nearby town to fend for herself. Before mother and father could settle on what to do, a travelling carnival took up residence nearby. Knowing that only other freaks would take her in, they drove her out to the circus on its last night in town and sold her to its ringmaster.

Illy spent less than a week among the riffraff that populated this place. They were coarse and callous and all around horrible, and Illy had had visions of what awaited her if she stayed. On the fourth night of travel, she sneaked away and hid, and luckily the Carnival never found her. She was always two steps ahead.

Throughout this time, she was always in contact with her sister, but neither of the girls were able to pinpoint the location that she had escaped. Illy, unable to find her way back, began travelling by foot in the opposite direction the Carnival.

On the third day, exhausted, hungry, and dehydrated and on the verge of collapse, the founding members of Cirque D'étoiles found her. Sensing no danger, and grateful for the healing powers of Lucien, the ringleader of the group, she agreed to join them. During her first night with the new troupe, she lost all contact with her sister.

The first stop they made was Illy's home town, but her family had moved. So she traveled to the next town, and the next, unable to locate her first family. To this day, as she travels with her companions, recruiting other members and putting on glorious shows, she searches for her lost twin.