FreckersFrog

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Faolan averted his gaze as Lucien helped the child into the clothes he had brought. He'd tried to pick things that were functional over fancy. He knew Lucien would have advised him against some of his choices, but he went through with them anyway. Among them was a large and well-lined jacket for the boy. Faolan had noticed that he'd seemed cold in the trailer the night before, and remained bundled up to his nose while the sun was down. He'd spent the most time choosing that article of clothing.

Although he tried to keep his eyes on the fire while the child was changing, the smell of blood pulled his eyes back and Faolan glimpsed the outlines of scars as the firelight flickered between the three of them. Immediately, he felt his heart pumping hot angry blood into his veins, into his head. His fists clenched tightly and his breath came in hot gusts from his nostrils as they flared wide. This is why he had smelled blood before, the child had been abused, whipped it looked like, among what else Faolan did not want to face.

Knowing that the boy was close enough to see him was the only thing holding him back from flying into a rage. He punched one fist into his other hand and gripped his knuckles so tightly that he felt his joints popping beneath his skin. He may have broken his own hand, staring into the fire and imagining all of the things he would do to that creature that called himself a man, if the boy had not spoken.

Slowly, he looked back over at the child and slowly his face softened. He was not completely relaxed, but his jaw was slightly less tight, his eyebrows sitting a little higher on his forehead as the boy's heavily-accented English wafted towards him. He saw genuine gratitude in that boy's eyes, just for the act of handing him a coat. He remembered a time when that same gratitude shined from his eyes and onto strangers that had helped him in the past, he remembered thinking that there was hope in the world when he experienced this kindness. And he remembered his sense of confusion, rage, and despair when he experienced cruelty.

Finally, he nodded, and flashed the boy a tight-smile. "As long as you're warm, lad, that's thanks enough for me."

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Illyana was completely mesmerized as she watched Ivory twist towards the stage, then stop suddenly and hang upside-down by her ankle. Even she could not help but let out a small smile as she saw that her friend was unharmed. It was quite a thrill to see, and she wondered whose idea it had been to incorporate that element.

She tried her best to follow Ivory's movements as she detached herself and weaved through the silks, dancing first just outside of them and then within. She began to loose sight of her, glimpsing only flashes of her skin and costume, until she was completely out of sight.

Geralt took his cue with ease, and didn't even have his eyes on Ivory as he folded into a cloak of shadow and reappeared just in time to switch with Ivory. His eyes had been on Lucien, who was watching the show with his arms crossed from backstage, completely composed.

Geralt stepped from between the silks, pushing them aside effortlessly as he did so that they waved enticingly behind him. The crowd hung in silence for a moment as all faces looked down on him and he relished in their captivity. A huge smile split his face and he held out both arms in welcome. It was then that the crowd erupted into applause, and the whole tent reverberated with their shouts of pleasure and awe.

After a moment, Geralt held up a hand and the crowd slowly came to silence once more. "Our Winter Fairy, ladies and gentlemen, let us have another round for her fantastic feats of daring, strength, and pure elegance." he held his arms out once more as the crowd began to clap again, and a few men shouted. The applause was shorter this time, and when it was over, Geralt took a step forward to the edge of the stage.

"Now, I will not presume to waste my audience's patience with idle jaw flapping. You all came to see something...magical, did you not?"

This statement was followed by even more vigorous applause and louder shouts in the affirmative. It had been a long time since Geralt had performed for an audience this large, and he felt even his icy heart begin to thaw as they called for him. After all this time, a full house still had a way of wooing him.

"Well, with a response like that, I definitely cannot refuse you," he said once he could be heard. "I am sure that you all know who I am, thanks to our illustrious host, but I promise you that I will spend the next half hour or so getting to know each and every one of you..." He let this statement hang in the air for a moment as he looked around the audience, meeting eyes with several members, mostly women, before he returned his attention to the crowd as a whole and took a few steps back to center.

Sensing the silks on either side of him, he glanced at them, turned around in a full circle and followed the line of the cloth all the way up to where each one was attached to a heavy beam in the ceiling. He had planned this little trick out in advance, but had not told anyone in the troupe, preferring not to hear a counter-argument to his plan.

"Well," he said, as a few chuckles rippled throughout the crowd, "we simply can't leave these here, can we?" he asked, turning to the crowd. A couple clapped in response, but mostly they were hanging on the edges of their seats, waiting to see what he would do. Just how he liked them.

He stood between the two silks as he rolled up his sleeves, then held his arms out at his sides, palms up and elbows bent. He flexed his fingers a couple of times, took a deep breath, and snapped. Sparks flew from the ends of his fingers and immediately caught the silk on fire. It burned quickly and efficiently, the flammable cloth catching at lightning speeds as the fire ate the silk all the way to its zenith at the very top of the tent. Ashes drifted down from the ceiling to land on the stage, but not a single fleck of gray touched Geralt. A perfect circle of clean wood surrounded him, but he brushed his shoulders off anyway.

"I clearly didn't think that through," he said, and the audience chuckled once more as he looked around himself in mock dismay. Slowly, he turned his face back to the audience as his crooked smile returned and he shrugged, "Ah, I have just the thing for this." He squared himself in the center of the circle, gracefully brought one of his legs up, let it hover for just a moment, then brought it down as if crushing an unwanted insect. As the sole of his wingtip connected with the stage, the ash was swept away from him in an instant, as if a typhoon had just blown in behind him and pushed all of it on to the dirt floor.

"There," he said, and the crowd broke into applause once more, "Now we can really get started."

From here, he took the show on the usual tour. Since he had them captivated already, there was no shortage of people who wanted to volunteer as his assistant. He began with the card trick, then moved on to a series of sleight of hand and illusionary demonstrations to keep them interested. The crowd was too large to pass his case around, so he spent a little more time on the fire portion of the show and made a bit more of a show of revealing the card. He did add a couple of animals to his coat trick, including a snake, which he credited to Aurel's performance and elicited a few laughs. He added a short segment in the middle where he hypnotized and audience member, asking them to do several menial tasks and in general make a fool of themselves, to which the crowd reacted quite well. Once all of that was finished, he ended with his trademark levitation trick, moving the volunteer off stage and a little higher than he would in his standard act. This was always a crowd-pleaser and the best item to leave them on. When he was finished, he stood center stage and disappeared as the lights flickered amidst raucous applause.

He appeared again next to Lucien, who had positioned himself and Cora with the best view of the stage while still hiding from the crowd.

"The reviews are bound to be just marvelous, if I dare to dream," he Magician said aloud as he leaned over Lucien's shoulder.

Cora had watched the entirety of the show with bated breath, especially when it came to Ivory and Geralt's parts. She simply couldn't take her eyes off of the man, though she did steal a glance at Lucien when the silks caught fire and began to burn. She could see that his expression was tight, it was clear that he was displeased, but as always, he maintained his composure.

She had been so amazed by the entirety of the act that she hadn't been expecting the man to show up next to them after it was over. A high-pitched squeal of alarm exited her, but she clapped her hands over her mouth to silence it as she realized that it was only Geralt. She saw both his and Lucien's faces twitch momentarily as they heard this sound escape her, but she looked over with wide eyes at Geralt.

"That was incredible!" was all she could think to say.

"Thank you, my dear, I cannot tell you how glad I am that you enjoyed it." Geralt said with a slight bow. Though he had recovered quickly, the shriek that Cora had let loose pierced his mind like a hot dagger. It did not seem to effect his parasitic companion, Geralt knew there would be complaints if it had. Very curious...this girl had many talents that were yet to be revealed.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Faolan returned to their camp just after sundown, and noticed that Lucien had built a fire for himself and the boy. He had smelled the smoke a long ways off, and figured as much. He approached them loudly, not wanting to take anyone by surprise. He looked to Lucien first, fought a smile as he felt the boy's eyes on him, then glanced to him and nodded his greeting.

He held the bag up and gestured to Lucien, "I brought everything you asked for, and then some," he said, then dropped the bag at the Nephilim's feet and took a seat beside him. He held his hands out to the fire even though he wasn't cold, it was mostly for appearances. He could feel the child looking at him, and glanced his way briefly several times, but did not engage him in conversation. The Lycan doubted that he would understand him even if he tried.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Geralt tilted his head back slightly and chuckled, "Oh, trust me, humility is one of my most endearing qualities." He glanced back at Ivory as she climbed the silks for her final drop. "Enjoy the show," he said, tilting his head and giving a bow, before he disappeared in a swirl of black smoke and reappeared in position to take Ivory's place on stage.

Illyana had entered through a flap in the side of the tent and was standing near the back behind a stack of unused chairs and other miscellaneous objects. She preferred to be away from the crowd, with so many thoughts swirling around them it was often hard to concentrate. Even though she didn't have the best view from here, he was glad to accept it if it meant she could focus on the performances.

In fact, her focus on Ivory's performance was so completed that she jumped and let out a small gasp as Aurel approached her and spoke. She had not been expecting him to join her tonight. Sometimes he sought her out, sometimes he didn't. She glanced over at him, her eyes wide and cheeks slightly red with surprise. She swallowed and took deep breaths to calm herself, then offered him a small smile. "I suppose you did," she answered, then nodded toward the stage as Ivory dropped. "I've never seen her do this before..."

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Faolan was quiet for the rest of the drive. Though he knew that Lucien had drifted off several times, he remained awake and alert. His body had been trained by years of travel and danger to stay awake for days at a time. One drive through the night was nothing compared to the years he had spent on the road, and Lucien's hand wrapped in his own made it all that much easier.

When they stopped, he feigned rest for Lucien's sake, but remained in a half-alter state until morning. He was listening and watching for any sign of approach, no matter how slim the chance was, he wasn't willing to take it that they had been followed.

They hadn't, luckily. Once they had all awakened for the day, he set off for town with a list Lucien had prepared of things that the boy would need.

It didn't take him long to reach town, which was already bustling with activity in the early morning hours. He made his way around to various shops, purchasing clothing for the child, food, and other odds and ends. In one particular shop, he stopped just as he was leaving to grab something extra. While he was in town, he also bought gas and some other tools and supplies he would need for the trailer. He'd heard something squeaking under the hood and wanted to make sure it was in good order before they took off again.

The last thing he did before leaving was check for job postings. Unfortunately, there wasn't much of anything promising. Most of the things he saw were short term engagements, two days or less, and there was almost nothing for his skill-set. He had no doubt that Lucien could find work if he applied himself, everyone had trouble turning him down when he put his mind to it.

Unsuccessful in that endeavor, he asked around a bit, but got nothing else. People naturally resisted him, especially when he asked questions. He would have to come back or send Lucien tomorrow to see...

He took his leave of town and headed back as the sun began to fall, a full pack slung across his back.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

"My apologies, miss, I didn't mean to startle you," Geralt said, taking a half step back. He knew that the girl was still uncomfortable with close proximity, as were most of the denizens of the circus. He had to make sure to be respectful of it until she got over whatever it was that was causing her to keep distance.

It can sense me here...that is why it cowers and trembles hehehe....

Geralt ignored the cackle in his head and nodded, "I am having a marvelous time. Each member of your troupe is exceptionally talented, I only hope my small offering is worthy of your stage." He said, bowing his head slightly to demonstrate humility.

He glanced up to see that Ivory was about halfway done with her performance, which was just about the time he should be getting into position. "My que is on the horizon. I do hope to see more of what your particular talents bring to the stage in the future," he winked.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

The rest of the day passed by without significant incident. The big top and all of its accouterments had been set up, the practices had been completed, food made, so really this was a day of relaxation more than anything, especially for the Carnies and for Illyana, who would not partake in the big top show this evening. She would be watching, of course, but there really was no room for her act in the lineup as it was a one-on-one sort of experience. This was fine with her, there were always things to organize around the grounds, lists to make and chores to catch up on. She quite enjoyed big top days for this reason, it allowed her to recharge after consecutively reading for days, which was a significant drain on her system.

She was glad to also see that Geralt had decided to keep his distance, at least from her, today. She only glimpsed sight of him once, when he returned to the mess area after Lucien and Cora's practice to make himself a cup of coffee. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him spike it with something out of a flask. He smiled and raised to cup to her in greeting, but did not speak, before walking off and making his way to his trailer. She took note of the drinking, but would not broach the subject with Lucien unless she saw it effect the man's behavior or performance or she caught him offering anything to Aurel. She would have to be careful about what she shared about the Magician with the Ringleader, especially after their conversation the previous day.

Otherwise, the day passed peacefully for the clairvoyant, and she even had time for a little more research before the show began. Of course, she wanted to show her support for her fellow troupe members, and did make herself present at the show, though she remained backstage. She wore her typical gypsy garb while there were customers on the grounds, not wanting to have to explain herself if she was seen wearing her standard fare. She smiled as she watched Cora and Lucien's performance, but made sure to cover her ears as she listened to avoid any undo stress on her mental state.

Cora, who had been so excited about the performance that she could hardly sit still, spent the rest of her day preparing for the show. She picked out her dress, decided on her hair, and did her own makeup as Ivory had taught her to. Once she was done, she still had several hours to kill, so she spent the rest of the time with Akane, practicing and talking. Before she left her trailer for the rest of the evening, she tucked the card that Geralt had given her into the pocket of one of the warm-weather jackets she had folded in her trunk.

Once the show was on, she wore nothing but the biggest of smiles. She felt beautiful, and knew the audience would be "enamored" with her, the word that Lucien had used before. It helped that the lights were on the two of them, and that the faces of the audience were shielded from her sight. She felt totally alone, accompanied only by the music that flowed from Lucien's fingers. She thought that their performance was even better than the two practices they had done earlier in the day, and was nothing but thrilled as they left the stage to loud applause.

She caught sight of Geralt backstage as she was lifted from the piano and set into her chair by Lucien. She smiled at him, and he flashed a quick one back at her, but kept his distance. She looked down, a bit dejected, but nearly forgot all about it as she was turned to face the rest of the show. She watched the rest, beaming the whole way. Though she had seen it all before, watching her friends perform was always so exhilarating.

Geralt had taken his place backstage, but made sure to have a good view of the backside of the performance as well. As a man of the stage, he was well aware that all of the misdirection for the transitions would be facing the audience itself, and the Magician wanted to catch whatever Lucien, Akane, and the others did not want him to see. For the most part, it was rather straght-forward and his sharp eye was not challenged until Akane left the stage. There, he was surprised to see her physical form shift into that off a twin-tailed fox. Now, this was very interesting.

A Kistune...divine filth.

Geralt hmm'd to himself, placing a hand over his mouth to cover his response, "Very interesting..." While he had read the word before, he had never actually encountered any of these mythical beasts, that he had known of. As far as he was aware, they were shape-shifters and tricksters, which was very telling when he considered Akane's act, along with her personality. It also explained her almost ethereal beauty and her red hair, which was extremely rare in the orient.

As Ivory's act began, he sidled his way over to the girl, now in her fox form and came to a stop beside her. "Now that," he began, not leaning down but making sure his voice was directed toward her large red-furred ears, "is an impressive trick." In fact, it may have been the most impressive thing he had witnessed since joining the troupe. He wondered what else Lucien had hidden up his sleeve. He stayed facing the performance as he spoke, providing the illusion of attention despite that fact that he was barely watching at all. He had seen it so many times by now, the most alluring thing about it was watching Ivory's well-toned body perfectly manage the silks.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Faolan grunted again at Lucien's response. He had thought not.

His jaw began to squeeze a bit again as Lucien started explaining, and he glanced out of the side mirror absently to keep himself from looking at the Nephilim. He knew that Lucien was only trying to help allay his worries, his fears, his hesitancy, but Faolan knew that nothing Lucien said right now could truly help ease the doubt in his mind. Only time would do that, really.

"Mmm...I have to give them that. I don't know what he is," he said in hushed tones, "I don't think he's really like me or you...he feels..." he paused for a moment, looking at the boy in the reaview mirror. Although he couldn't see him, he could smell that mossy earthen smell that the child exuded, hear the sound of his soft breathing. "Somewhere in between." He was basing this guess on pure instinct, but something told him he was not too far off the mark.

"And," he said, looking over at Lucien and placing a hand on his knee. "I know you will. I'll try too." Despite his questions, there was nothing he could do to change their course now, short of dropping the boy on the side of the road. This decision had come with obligation, and though Faolan hated the idea of it, he was an honorable man and would do his best to stand by the choices that he and Lucien had made tonight.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Faolan should have expected this, but the knowledge that the child didn't even have a proper name was quite upsetting to him. He could feel his teeth grinding together as he jaw muscles worked and anger welled up in his chest. What other horrors had this child seen...and at such a young age. Faolan himself had been through a lot, seen a lot of heartache and caused most of it, but he had at least been a man when it had happened. He couldn't imagine how he would have turned out if he had been that boy's age when...

Lucien's question snapped him out of his thoughts. He relaxed his hands and jaw a little, knowing that Lucien would be able to read these signs like a book with large print. Part of him was thankful for that, their closeness, it saved him from having to voice his every grievance and concern. But part of him wished that he could be alone with his thoughts as well. Even he knew that his issues were not always...productive.

"Mmm..." he grunted quietly, then glanced over his shoulder again to see that the boy had wrapped himself in the blanket like a cocoon. He could tell from the pace of his breathing that he was asleep, or nearly. "He speak English?" he asked, though he could anticipate the answer based on Lucien's continued use of German.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Cora took hold of the wheels of her chair as Lucien reached for the handles, smiling back at him as she began to push herself. She was in a good mood, feeling accomplished by their conversation. She was a little proud of herself, and decided to show it by taking the reigns of her own steed.

Geralt nodded in agreement at Lucien's comment, and held an arm out to the rest of the attendees. Bowing slightly, he said, "After you," and let them all pass. He noticed Cora begin to push herself, and Lucien walk slightly in front of her. Ivory, with her long and muscular legs, was well ahead of them now. What a perfect opportunity to impart a little gift to the troupe's resident Siren.

The Magician waited until they had taken a few more steps forward, keeping a slow pace behind the group, then called out, "Oh, Cora, I think you dropped this?" He bent down as he saw her acknowledge his question.

"Hm?" Cora said as she heard Geralt speak her name. She stopped and turned herself around, watching as the Magician crouched and picked something up from the ground. He remained in a kneeling position and held it out to her, wearing his usual charming smile.

She moved closer to him and reached out to take the card he held, furrowing her eyebrows as she flipped it over to see the face. It was the Queen of Hearts. "But, this isn't-"

Geralt caught her eye by tapping the side of his nose, then winked and straightened himself. "After you, my dear," he repeated, then gestured toward the exit.

Cora looked down at the card curiously for a moment, noticing a slight shimmer over it's laminated surface. She smiled up at the Magician, tucking the card into her blouse before she turned herself around and began to wheel toward the tent flap once more.