FreckersFrog

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

At Lucien's last question, Faolan groaned and shook his head. "Shi-..." he glanced at the boy and then back at Lucien before continuing. "Bad, for me at least. There was a desk clerk, grocer, and one dictation job." He set his bowl down and fished into his jacket pocket. He handed Lucien a folded scrap of paper before picking up his food once more. "I took down the addresses there, but there wasn't anything really suited to me." He looked into his bowl and focused on finishing as he spoke.

He knew that this meant that Lucien would have to go into town and work while he stayed here with the child. There was no way both of them could leave him alone out in the woods, even if he was capable of fending for himself. Town wasn't far, but if anyone stumbled across their campsite and decided to check it out, or worse, rob it, then the kid would be left exposed. One of them would have to stay back to make sure nothing went wrong, and Faolan knew that it would have to be him unless a new job went up within the next several days. Town didn't seem lacking in bodies when he was there, so he doubted this would happen. It wasn't the most horrible thing, but he was still nervous about being alone with the boy. Lucien always made him feel at ease, so his presence would be a big help with the two of them bonding. Without him, he could say something or do something that scared or alarmed the boy without ever knowing it...

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

"Hm..." Geralt nodded in response to Aurel comment. It made sense, considering what the Full Moon did to animals and people. He'd seen some lunacy first hand in his long life. Still, something did seem a bit off about the explanation. Geralt would have to stay sharp and eventually this trail of breadcrumbs would lead him to why eventually.

At the young man's next statement, Geralt tilted his head back and laughed aloud. "Well, I assure you lad, there are worse ways to 'overwork' one's self." Although he could tell that Aurel was by no means inexperienced in life, he could smell the boy's virginity from a mile away. In fact, it seemed Lucien had surrounded himself with a cadre of them. Though he knew the man himself was no stranger to sex, and he wasn't quite sure about Cora or Ivory yet either, he was certain that Aurel, Illyana, and Akane had never known a sexual touch. They were too...innocent. Normally, he would press this issue. Unfortunately, he did find the sex lives of others to be quite interesting, even when he wasn't directly involved in them. This time, however, he decided to let it lie. There was time yet to broach the subject when there were less pressing matters to attend.

He felt the coffee was ready, so he got up to pour himself a cup as Aurel asked his next question. With his back to the lad, he answered, still in German, "For a time, they were very different," he paused as he poured, letting nostalgia get the better of him for a moment. He knew the genuineness of his statement was detectable in his voice, but wasn't sure if Aurel was the one to catch it.

He finished pouring, then turned around and took his seat once more, sitting sideways on the bench so he could look directly at Aurel. "I have seen the road, she and I are old acquaintances. Famous or not, travel always beckons." he said, taking a sip of his coffee, which was still a little on the cool side, but steaming nonetheless. "How about you, Aurel? How long have you been with Cirque D'étoiles? You must have been quite young when you joined, to show Lucien such devotion." He was mostly pontificating about the devotion, but he sensed a bond between the two of them. It was familial, and deep, but Geralt had not quite placed it. It was too early to tell without asking, so, given his current mood, he decided to just go for it.

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Illyana could not help but let her face fall at Lucien's continued explanation. Though she had sensed this coming, especially given the fact that they already had a small celebration planned, she was still disappointed. It wasn't out of spite that she did not want to make this gathering about the magician...or, not solely anyway. It was more about the act of it, of welcoming him, making him a part of them without really knowing what was going on with him. Though Lucien had been right about their pasts, Ivory's in particular when they'd had that discussion a day or so ago, she could say that she had never felt this uneasy with another one of their members. She didn't want to accept him, and she wouldn't, party or no, as one of them. Not until she could pinpoint his motives.

But again, now was not the time for such a discussion. Besides, the faster they moved on from here, the quicker they would be headed West and to who she was searching for. She simply nodded in response and said, "That sounds fine," her voice and expression flat.

There was a brief pause before she spoke again. "Should I gather everyone for the meeting before we go? Almost everyone has been up and about already." She glanced quickly over her shoulder to see that Geralt and Aurel were still sitting in the mess area, conversing. She needed to get over there when she could to see what they were talking about, or at least divine what he had said from Aurel when they were finished.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Faolan nodded and flashed a half-smile when Lucien filled his bowl. He should no better by now than to wait for him to be finished before eating more. Lucien knew him far too well to let this slide. The Irishman graciously accepted his newly filled bowl and began to eat it, leaving off the bread this time.

At Lucien's comment he simply shrugged, "Have to start early. You did, and it worked wonders for your..." he paused a moment as he looked at Lucien, letting his eyes move over the man's body and back to his face. Before he finished the sentence, he saw Aurel looking at them and his expression quickly hardened as he focused back on his bowl, "Progress."

There was a small paused as he ate another spoonful, and began speaking without looking back up at the Frenchman, now afraid to betray his feelings in the presence of a stranger. "Swimming is excellent for strength and endurance. Keep it up, he'll be walking better in no time."

He chuckled at the Nephilim's final comment and shrugged, "Whatever he can handle." Faolan knew that the boy would have to start slow, but the Irishman needed to be sure that when the day came for the boy to leave their care, he would be capable of taking care of himself. Faolan was not comfortable sending him into the world, on his own or with others, in anywhere near the state he was in now.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Geralt leaned back as Aurel turned around, clearly startled. He maintained his smile until the young man's first question. To this, he shrugged and said, "Hm, is that so? I don't mean to pry, but you sounded a bit...concerned." The Magician then made his way over to the coffee pot. It was no longer hot, as he liked it, so he lit the fire underneath with a snap of his fingers and took a seat near it while he waited.

Interesting...was Aurel trying to cover something up or was his confusion genuine? Geralt knew that the lad's face would betray his lie, so he discounted that. His eyes flashed to the snake wrapped around Aurel's shoulders under a blanket briefly, before falling back onto the young man's face. So, he was speaking with the creature, this was even more interesting than phantom voices. Geralt, at least, was too used to those for it to be shocking any more.

At Aurel's question, the Magician simply shook his head. "Ah, I'll rest once, and if, I'm dead, junger mann." There was a bit of a pause as Geralt's eyes narrowed as he looked directly into those across from him. When he spoke, he switched to German. "How would you say I'm...adjusting?" He tilted his head slightly, a lightly sinister glint catching his dark eyes.

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Illyana shook her head, a small smile touching her lips briefly before it disappeared, "No need for apologies, Lucien, I know you had a late night." She noted that his aura was a bit dimmer and smaller than normal, though it was still radiant. He must have tired himself out in town somehow. Or maybe it was the stress of adding their new member and dealing with all of them at the same time, in addition to their money troubles. He wore it well, but Illy was one of the few people he couldn't hide his exhaustion from. Today was a good day for rest, lots of driving, and a relaxing party later. It would do them all a bit of good to relax.

This news about their money situation made all of it even better. Illyana felt as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders...but only for a moment before she remembered Geralt's presence. This meant that his inclusion in their lineup had worked, and that he now had a stronger case for sticking around.

Now was not the time for this discussion, obviously, but Illyana kept it in the back of her mind all the same. "That's amazing news." she said, giving Lucien another smile before letting her expression fade into neutrality once more. She turned to look over her shoulder and scan the area. Almost everything had been broken down and packed up. They only had the mess area left, and a supply run.

"Hm...about an hour or so? We made good time," she said, turning back to the Ringleader. "Since we've done so well, should we add anything to the supply list for the party? I told Alex we'd be leaving at the same time and he can meet us with the truck at the lake when he's through." Though this request was not like Illyana, she was never one for spending more on frivolous things than they needed to, she knew that Lucien and the rest of the troupe needed an excuse to relax. They had been stressed about money for so long...there was little harm in making the most of their good fortune, especially if it raised everyone's spirits. And, with the full moon coming, they needed all of the positive energy they could get.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

At the mention of beignets, Faolan's mouth immediately started to water. While this was a delicacy that he did not get to enjoy often, it was still one of his favorites. Ever since Lucien had made them for him when they first met, he had made a point to seek them out when they were in the southern United States, or anywhere that had French influence. Lucien often made them for him, about three times a year, and especially for his birthday.

He chuckled lightly as he set the now empty bowl at his side. He'd finished it quickly and still had room for more, but wanted to wait to be sure that Lucien had his fill before he had more. "He can have them in a month or so, I suppose." His birthday was approaching, after all.

At the lad's next statement, Faolan couldn't help but raise his eyebrows in surprise. So the little one did have some admirable skills after all. This was good news, especially given the boy's excitement for it. Faolan could definitely use hunting as a way to increase the child's strength and stamina, if possible.

"Perhaps he will...but we'll have to get him stronger before we try any of that. Three meals a day, some light exercise, we'll have him fit in no time." He winked playfully at Lucien and smiled over at the child.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Geralt had returned to the circus right around noon. He'd been driven in most of the way by his escort, and dropped off just beyond sight of the circus grounds around a bend. He said goodbye to his one-time lover, she blew him a kiss, and as soon as she was out of sight around the bend, he displaced himself back to his trailer.

He hadn't slept, but grogginess had evaded him. He'd spent the evening just how he had intended, in the company of the raucous and uncouth and had even managed to feel a little drunk for an hour or so. Once that had worn off, he'd gone home with two women and enjoyed the rest of the evening. The other left in the morning, and his ride had insisted on driving him. Not wanting to reveal anything to her, he accepted. Besides, his head was feeling a little heavy after the evenings events and the cool morning air did him some good.

Once back inside the trailer, he looked himself over in the mirror. He looked as tired as he should feel after being up all night, but his mind was spinning. He knew that he would not be able to sleep today at least, so why waste it. He straightened himself up, pushing his hair off of his forehead, and adding a change of clothes to the mix. It was marginally better, but the bags under his eyes betrayed his body's fatigue. It was no matter, he doubted anyone would ask at all. They had learned rather quickly that he was not one to answer any question straight.

He left his trailer and walked over to the mess area to retrieve a cup of coffee, hoping it may add some small modicum of spring to his step. Aurel was sitting there, back to him, and he could hear the lad's accented voice drifting towards him on the air. Was he talking to himself, or one of his serpentine companions?

Just for a bit of fun, he walked silently towards the young man and didn't speak until he was right behind him. "Is it the brightness that bothers you, or the perfect circular shape?" he asked, leaning forward and tracing a circle through the air.

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Illyana had finished overseeing most of the major breakdown by this time. There had been a couple of hiccups, but nothing major. She hadn't needed to wake Lucien, at least, though it was getting on to noon and he still hadn't emerged. She was just thinking of checking in on him to be sure he had made it back last night, and had turned to begin making her way across the grounds from the site of the big top. As she did so, she noticed Geralt and Aurel at the mess table, talking, and her brows furrowed instinctively. She couldn't hear them from here, and that caused her some uneasiness, but she did not want to insert herself and cause suspicion. Instead, she watched them from the corner of her eye as she made her way toward Lucien's quarters.

As she reached the door, it opened, and the Ringleader stepped out. She stopped abruptly and laid a hand on her chest, "Oh! Lucien, you startled me. I thought you were still asleep."

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Faolan raised his eyebrows at the child's response, though he was not surprised by this information. "Never had cake...we will have to fix that, won't we?" he said, glancing at Lucien's direction as he got up to serve himself more food. He had always been a big eater and knew that it took much more food to power his ridiculous metabolism, but the boy was putting a whole new meaning to the phrase "eats like a mouse". He knew that they couldn't force too much food on him right now, but they would have to steadily increase his intake over the next few months to see if they could get his weight up.

He paused when heard heard the child speak to him and turned to see him offering more than half of his food. This would hurt Faolan to do, but even though he wanted the boy to eat more, he would have to accept the offer for now. No need to waste food, and if he made the child eat more it could make him vomit, which would be the ultimate waste.

He took the bowl from the boy gently and flashed him a halfhearted smile. "Thanks," he said, then took a seat. "There's always more when you're ready," he added, then grabbed another piece of bread and ate his fill of this bowl as well.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Geralt spent the evening in the company he had been craving, it wasn't hard for a man like him to find the attention he was looking for. Once he had stepped out of the circus grounds, he'd displaced himself right onto the main thoroughfare in Graston, walking along it until he found the most posh bar in town that he had not yet visited. It was not easy, given his track record, but it happened eventually. He noted its location, then displaced himself back to the main road, the one which he knew Lucien would be coming from. He found a dark place, secluded, but with a good view of the street, and posted there waiting for the Ringleader to arrive. Once he saw the truck approaching, he had his "friend" conceal his presence, then followed the truck by teleporting behind it just before he lost sight. The Magician tracked Lucien to a residence in Graston, but there was nothing suspicious about it at all. A elderly man answered the door, and just beyond Geralt could hear the voice of a woman, presumably his wife.

With this out of the way, Geralt decided he could truly enjoy his evening. He displaced himself for the penultimate time, to the doorway of the bar he had chosen earlier, and spent the rest of the evening there.

Cora, Illyana and the others went about their duties before going to sleep. They had to make sure that everything was in order for the next day as they began to pack up, but go to bed with enough time to feel rested and ready to tackle the next day. Moving wasn't hard, by any means, now that the carnies and troupe alike had found a system that made breakdown and setup as quick and easy as it needed to be, but it was still physically demanding. If they wanted to be on the road on time, they needed to be sure that all of their ducks were in a row before they even thought about moving along.

With everything seen too, the troupe drifted off to their individual chambers and dozed for the rest of the evening.

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Illyana was the first to awake. She rose with the sun on breakdown days and was up even before Lucien. She knew he liked to have one last night out to himself before taking his leave of town, and he deserved it after the last few days of hard work. She was happy to pick up the slack if it meant he was getting a little extra rest. By now, she really only had to oversee everything. Everyone knew their places and the timing of everything, so really she was just there to move from place to place to be sure that no one needed help and that no unforeseen issues arose. She was usually an expert about keeping the latter on track, for the most part.

Cora usually stayed in on moving days. It was difficult for her, knowing that all of the buzz was going on outside while she slept the day away, but she knew it was for the best. No one needed her around to be in the way, and all of the activity sometimes made her head spin anyway. Akane and Illyana would come check to make sure she was alright and give her updates on the timing, and Akane usually rode with her when they were travelling. She was content to wait until they got to the lake, it would be worth it.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

The more he learned about this child, the heavier the Irishman's heart became. He had no name, no birthday, no family...the only hands he had known had presumably been severe and cruel. The only language he spoke clearly was the one he had heard spoken by his tormentor. He was underfed, small and skinny for his age, weak, and most likely had no education at all. Though Faolan had grown up a poor farmer in the bogs of the Irish south, even he had had more chances than this boy. Lucien had been raised entirely cloistered by a religious patriarchy, had never known the touch of his mother or father's hand, and only had the chance to experience freedom after his teenage years had already ended, but had many more opportunities than this child could have known were possible.

Faolan looked down at his nearly empty bowl, then up to Lucien and down at the child. They had given him a second chance at life...Faolan would be sure it wasn't squandered.

"I suppose that means a cake is in order, eh?" He said to the boy, almost grimacing when he realized he almost added "Snake" to the end of the question. He would not call the boy that, not ever. He would rather refer to him with silence than use the name given to him by that evil charlatan masquerading as a man. He saw that the child had barely eaten any of his food, and raised an eyebrow before looking at Lucien once more. "We'll make an eater out of him yet." he said, then downed the rest of his stew by tilted the bowl into his mouth.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Geralt nodded his understanding at Lucien's explanation. Of course, he'd known that his little stunt would upset Ivory and he cared not a flap about that. Currently, he wasn't quite sure if he could do anything that did not somehow raise that woman's ire. It would be nice not to have to be in close quarters with her while they traveled. Some much needed alone time would be caught up with on the road...er, well as alone as he could get, anyway.

He preferred to let the Ringleader think that his little apology had placated him, for the time being at least. He didn't want the man worrying over him only three days after they'd met. Though it was early on, The Magician could sense that he had broken through some wall, just a shark could smell blood in the water from miles away. Geralt had no doubt that the time would come for he and the Frenchman to explore their relationship with more...depth. In response to Lucien's explanation, he simply said, "Of course. I am sure you are nothing but a friend of the arts, with great respect for their integrity. I appreciate the freedom you have bestowed upon me and the others."

He was not surprised when the man turned him down, and his initial reaction was to ask if he could join the Ringleader for his plans, but he held himself back from doing so. Now was not the time for the two of them, and he found himself craving more attention than the man was willing to give, he would have to make due with what he could find in town. Still, curiosity at these "plans" tugged at him. Maybe he would do a bit of reconnaissance, if he was going to be in town anyway.

He did not show any signs of disappointment at Lucien's rejection of his offer, and in fact the Magician could tell that he was even a bit disappointed himself. He merely smiled, nodded, and said, "Alas, patron, but they do say 'c'est la vie' for a reason. I will be waiting to cash that check." Winking, he turned on his heel and walked off, whistling a tune from days long past.