FreckersFrog

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Geralt's smile widened when Lucien approached him, and he busied himself with draining the glass of water as the man stopped before him. The concern was plain on the man's face and in his voice, and Geralt felt himself hardening to it almost immediately.

This filthy Angel-spawn takes pity on you, Geralt. You are a disappointment.

The Magician focused hard on the ringleader in front of him, trying his best to drown out the voice that rang through his brain. The barriers he had set up over all of these years were so much harder to contain when he was so mentally weak. He hadn't realized what a number he had done on himself with his moment of pride...it was now coming back to bite him.

Geralt had been fully prepared to turn down the man's offer of help, there was no way his own pride would allow it, much less the darkness that dwelt in his very soul. He winced as he opened his mouth to speak, closing it quickly as a scream pierced his brain.

DON'T LET IT TOUCH YOU. IT WILL BURN YOUR FLESH AND IGNITE YOUR SOUL IN A BLAZE OF DIVINE LIGHT. YOU WILL SUFFER PAIN THAT YOU HAVE NEVER KNOWN.

"No, thank you patron," Geralt said calmly, gesturing to Illyana as she walked away from the two of them. "Illyana's remedy has fixed me right up." He stood from the chair, graceful as ever, and took a slight bow. He made sure that all traces of strain or fatigue were wiped from his features as he did so. "Ah, Cora!" he exclaimed, spying the girl over Lucien's shoulder. He was happy for the interruption this time.

As everyone had finished, Cora had busied herself by going to each individual member of the troupe, carnies included, and thanking them. Even though she was nervous to do this, and operating her chair on the wet and slimy ground was difficult, she was determined to make sure that everyone knew how grateful she was for their help. She had just finished thanking Illyana and had spied Lucien and Geralt and wqas heading toward them when the man noticed her.

"Geralt!" she said, a little too loudly in her excitement, "I just wanted to say thank you to you," she nodded to the Nephilim, "and Lucien for all of your hard work today. I really really appreciate it!" Lucien himself had taught her please and thank you and ways of showing people when you were grateful. Cora liked this way best because she liked to see everyone's smiles back when she thanked them.

Geralt turned his smile towards the girl, leaning down slightly so he was on her level. "It was my absolute pleasure, my sweet. Anything I can do to make you more comfortable, anything at all, you just shout my name," he said, winking to her.

Cora blushed profusely, then nodded. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ivory relaxing in the shade and turned her chair toward her without another word to the two men, excitement plain on her face.

Geralt forced a laugh, though it sounded genuine, as always, as he saw Cora head away. He shook his head slightly, as if lost in thought and muttered, "Extraordinary..." under his breath. After a beat, he looked to Lucien once more and clapped his hands together vigorously, "So, now that all of the hard work is done, do we have your permission for some...recreation?" he said, hopefully, and biting his bottom lip to show his own form of anticipation.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Faolan simply smiled at Lucien as he ran his fingers across his palm. Occasionally, when he looked at him, he was entirely speechless. This was one of those moments.

He followed Lucien inside once they were dressed and dry, leaving a towel wrapped around his shoulders so his hair wouldn't drip all over the floor of the trailer. It was about dinner time anyway, and though he had enjoyed every second of his alone time with his lover, he knew that the boy needed tending to as well.

He closed the door behind them, noting the distinct temperature change from outdoors to inside. Faolan liked to keep the windows and door open when he and Lucien were "camping", but he knew the boy got cold easily, so he had closed everything up last night and did not want any of the warmth to leave.

Luckily, Aurel had been sleeping the whole time they were outside. Faolan breathed a sigh of relief internally as the boy stirred and eventually fully awakened. He set about trying to dry his soaked hair as he and Lucien spoke, but paused when he saw the Nephilim reaching for the boy's legs.

"Lucien." he said, his voice suddenly stern. He stepped forward and laid a hand on the Frenchman's shoulders, and when their eyes met, he shook his head gently.

Lucien looked up at him, clearly confused. "Why?" he asked, his brow furrowed slightly.

Faolan's eyes landed on Aurel for a moment before he turned his gaze back to Lucien, switching to Irish, "If you heal him every time he's hurt, he'll learn to rely on it. He had to be able to handle some things on his own...it's better this way, for when he decides to leave." Faolan knew that this may seem like cruelty to some, and Lucien may be included in that number, but the Irishman firmly believed that it was important to show the boy independence. Sometimes, one had to learn the hard way and could be stronger for it.

After speaking, Faolan crouched down next to Lucien and the child, then returned to English, "How bad is it, from a scale of one to ten?" Before they made any decisions about how to proceed, he needed to make sure he was not putting the boy through anything too awful. He didn't want to be unabashedly cruel to the child, but he wanted him to know that there was boundaries.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Geralt continued to use his abilities to haul buckets even as the others fell to exhaustion or soreness. Though it was getting quite strenuous on his mind and his fingers, and he even had to take a short break when his hand cramped up, he was determined to see the task through to the end as long as Lucien kept going. He didn't speak to the others, but when he saw them dropping out he took more and more buckets as a way to pick up their slack. By the end, he had almost ten going at any given time, though he did have to take that number down to six once they were nearing the home stretch. Though chores like this were not taxing on his body, his mentally stamina did falter a bit as he continued to strain his abilities. The parasite inside of him had more and more of a hold the weaker his faculties became, the voice was louder, and a headache had developed behind his right eye.

Once they were finished, he dropped all six of his empty buckets into a pile on the ground for the carnies to collect, and immediately took a seat. He placed his thumbs and forefingers against his forehead and began to massage his temples, clenching and opening his fists to alleviate the soreness.

Illyana had taken a seat some time ago, helping every now and again. She merely chuckled at Aurel's comment, too out of breath to really answer him. Once she had caught her breath, she set to preparing fresh water for everyone as they worked. She'd filled a bucket, brought it to the mess area they'd set up and boiled it for several minutes, then placed the bucket back in the water to let it cool, then passed it out among everyone. When she saw Geralt move off to take a chair, and noticed the slightly annoyed expression on his face, she even offered him some. "You look like you could use some water...here," she said, offering him a full glass. Though she would not describe her attitude toward him as sympathetic, per se, she of anyone knew just how bad headaches could be. She suffered from them frequently, especially when she was working, and sometimes when visions came to her unbidden. Still, she had been impressed with how long Geralt had been able to keep it up without showing any signs of tiring until the last half hour. If she had used her abilities straight like that for so long, she'd be nearly catatonic by this point. She was much more frail of body than he, but she knew that he had to be powerful just based on his longevity.

A wave of rage passed over the Magician as the girl's voice split his head open. She was soft-spoken, and obviously trying to be quiet, but it would have been better if she had not bothered him at all.

She sees your weakness, she laughs at your pain. This little girl's powers are far beyond yours. She pities you.

Geralt looked up at her, removing his hand to show his eyes, which were alight with anger. He reached for the glass, eager to get her away from him, but paused when he caught a glimpse of Lucien heading toward them. He forced himself to smile, and blinked hard so he could make it reach his eyes. "Sorry, dear," he said, taking the glass from her gently, "Just a bit of a brain shake...that's all. Thank you," he raised the glass to her, then sipped the water. It helped, somewhat, but hydration was not what he required.

Apologizing to this creature like the worm she believes you are...you should be standing above her, making her suffer...and yet you sit and cower like a crooning child. Pathetic.

Geralt shook his head as if to clear it of a fog, squinting in the light, then took another full gulp of water. He could feel the flask in his pocket pressing against his chest, and longed for the liquid within to burn down his gullet and ease his pain...but he had to wait, if Lucien was approaching, for the right time.

Illyana noticed just the tiniest bit of darkness in the man's expression when he looked at her, it sent a chill running down her spine. Though he replaced it with a smile soon after, she let go of the water glass before he had fully grabbed it, and stepped away from him so she was out of arm's reach. She nodded her response to his thanks, then moved off quickly to help the others, looking at her feet as she scurried away.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Geralt saw that everyone was moving towards the task at hand, and reluctantly began walking in that direction. Of course, if it were up to him, he would not help at all. If he didn't care about how anyone saw him at the moment, he may have taken a seat and done the work. But, no, this required a bit more of his showmanship to pull off. He approached the trailer itself as Lucien made for the edge of the lake, and grabbed a carnie who was about to mount it.

"Do you mind if I take a look?" he asked, and the man nodded in agreement, slightly slack-jawed. He would have asked Lucien if it was alright with him first, or Cora if she hadn't been so far away. In truth, he did want to see the tank and the inside of the woman's trailer out of plain curiosity, but he would mask this by explaining that he had to see what he was aiming for if he was going to help.

He climbed the ladder and looked down into her abode. It took only a moment for him to absorb everything he was seeing. The trailer was clean, but he could tell it was not normally this way by the way things had been stored. It looked like someone was leaving in a hurry, even though Cora had all day to prepare for travel. He could see her being the lazy type, given her...situation.

The tank itself was impressive; large enough that it took up half of the floor space and was as tall as the inside of the trailer would allow. He wondered how they had gotten it inside...but if Ivory was able to come up with the plans for building it, maybe she had constructed an apparatus to get it inside as well. Overall, even the Magician couldn't fake being impressed by the craftsmanship and ingenuity showed by the Vampiress.

Once he had his fill of snooping, he descended the ladder and took a place in between the lake and the trailer. He clapped his hands together, rubbed them as if to warm them, and directed his attention to some buckets that were left unused at the moment. He stretched out his arms and fingers once more, lifted three of the objects, filled them, and deposited the water to its intended place. With all of the movement, he had to time it carefully so as not to dump the water on someone's head...but he found good openings and used them. Still, even with this amount of people filling the tank, he guessed that it would take two hours to complete, minimum, and that was with no breaks. It would be a long stretch of time...so he picked up the pace as much as he could. This was selfish, but would look good to Lucien, so he didn't mind.

Cora yelled thank yous to everyone working each time someone returned to the water's edge. Illyana carried one bucket at a time, slowly, and had a Carnie hoist it up the ladder for her. After only six trips, her legs began to shake with the exertion, and she had to take a break. She had been surprised to see Geralt helping, but knew it was not for the good of Cora or the others, but for his own. She took every break as an opportunity to jot more notes down about his abilities.

About halfway through filling, Cora pulled herself from the water and wrapped the robe around her. Illyana was taking a break, and saw her getting out and rolled her chair over to her. The mermaid sat herself down and allowed Illyana to place a bucket on her lap. She rolled it over to the tank and back again once the water had been emptied. She figured she was the only person laying around doing nothing...she might as well help, since they were all doing it for her.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Faolan couldn't help himself, once Lucien reassured him, he allowed himself to be completely lost in his lover's embrace. Only after he was fully satisfied did he let Lucien go, and even that was reluctant. He only hoped they would have chances like this regularly...holding back had been more difficult than he'd anticipated.

The two exited the lake, and he dried and dressed himself, taking note of the wrinkled skin on his hands and feet. At Lucien's comment, he chuckled, looking at him with half-closed eyes. He was relaxed, less tightly wound now that he had found his release. "Mmm...look what you did to my fingers," he said, spreading them wide for Lucien.

Thankfully, the boy had not shown himself while Lucien and Faolan had been enjoying each other, at least that the Irishman had seen. He hoped the child had been sleeping the whole time and had not accidentally seen anything...but he had faith in Lucien and his words, and pushed his anxiety about that away.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Faolan let Lucien guide the two of them deeper into the water until they were up to their chests in it. He kept a firm grip on the Frenchman throughout their movement, the man felt like a bundle of feathers in his arms.

By the time they stopped moving, Faolan was sure of Lucien's intentions. He wanted his beloved, badly, and knew that if they continued this way he would not be able to control himself. Lucien knew him well enough by now to realize this as well...

He stared into the Nephilim's eyes and took a deep breath of him, taking in his delicious scent. For one moment, he paused, and glanced back over his shoulder. His voice was quiet, and he made it clear what he wanted to hear from Lucien as a response, "You don't think...the boy...?" he asked, before kissing Lucien softly again. He always lost control when the two of them were this close, and without their clothing...well, there was only one thing he could think of doing.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Geralt nodded with a cocked smile, "Oh, I know that better than most." He took another look at Ivory as she glanced in their direction. It was curious, how well she seemed to hide her...attributes.

He looked back at the trailer as Lucien explained, placing his forefinger and thumb against his chin as he did so. It had to be quite an engineering feat to have come up with a waterproof vessel that large to house something living. Not knowing if he would have another opportunity, he turned his half-smile into a full one and turned back to the Ringleader.

"I'd be happy to help, truly, it's the least I can do." He watched as Lucien folded his wings in to remove his vest and began rolling up his sleeves. After a beat, he added, "I have so many questions..." with a chuckle at the end. This was absolutely true. Though he now knew that Lucien was descended from something truly holy, and was likely a Nephilim as his dark passenger had suspected, he still knew so little about the man himself and how all of his attributes worked. Curiosity was burning in him, like a child staring at a Christmas present, but he kept telling himself to slow down and wait. Now was not the time or place, though a day of relaxation and, hopefully, imbibing alcoholic beverages, would help to loosen everyone's tongues.

Cora was so happy to see Aurel in the water that she couldn't help but play with him as well. She swam circles around both of her friends, twirled, grabbed their hands and swung them about. It was all so freeing...and the happiest she had been in quite a while. She raced laps around the edge of the lake, shortening her time with each one, and launched herself from the water several times.

Before she knew it, Aurel and Akane were both leaving. It took her a moment to remember why, and then she surfaced and saw that the men had backed her trailer up to the water's edge. It was filling time! It was unfortunate that she couldn't help...but she really was better off staying out of the way.

She made her way to the shore anyway, popping her head up out of the shallows as the water lapped against her back. She lay in the mud, belly down, and propped herself up on her arms, making sure that everyone saw she was present so she could thank them for their hard work in making her comfortable. Ivory and the others had done her a great service by building her something so nice...she had to be sure to show her gratitude for everything they had given her.

Illyana had finished scribbling in her notes and stuffed the book back into her pocket just as she saw the carnies exiting the trailer with buckets. She had been so absorbed in what she was doing, that she hadn't noticed them pull up. She strode toward them, rolling up her sleeves. She wasn't physically strong by any means, and tired easily due to her lack of exercise in general, but she always tried her best to help out. It was a large tank, and filling it took quite a long time, so she hoped her small contribution was enough to lighten the load at least somewhat.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Faolan couldn't help grinning as he watched Lucien get undressed and enter the water. He felt his body responding, even in the cold. Just the sight of the Frenchman was enough to excite him...He knew he had to keep at least some of his desire at bay while they boy was near. But, he was away in the trailer, and he knew that Lucien would not be approaching him like this if he was unsure of the child's safety or whereabouts. For the sake of his own needs, Faolan decided to let this play out. He so missed the touch of Lucien's skin and the smell of his hair...

He opened his arms as Lucien closed the distance and returned the kiss, letting it linger a bit before breaking off. He wrapped his arms around Lucien's waist and held him in the water. The lake may as well have been boiling around them, for how aroused the Irishman was. He looked down into Lucien's eyes and hummed with pleasure, saying, "Mmm...you taste good. Let's see if we can make up for some lost time," before pulling Lucien to him and kissing him again, deeper and more passionately this time.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien's words barely broke Illyana's concentration as she fiercely recorded what was happening before her. She noted Geralt's posture, the position of his hands, whether there was a change in the atmosphere around him or not, whether he broke into a sweat, how tense his muscles were. Her third eye was not the only sharp observation tool the girl had. She was so focused one getting everything she could that she didn't even respond to what Lucien had said, for fear of missing something crucial. She did notice when the man walked over to the Magician as he finished, but left him to it. If she butt-in too much, it would become too conspicuous.

Geralt felt Lucien's approach, but did not turn to look at him as he set the last chair into place. The carnies were looking at him in awe, transferring their gaze between the Magician and the task he had completed. He graced them with a smile and waved them toward the newly arranged mess area, "You chaps can finish up, I presume." He kept his tone light, though his words may be slightly condescending. The men didn't seem to notice either way, and slowly drifted over as their awe settled.

Geralt turned at the sound of Lucien's lightly accented voice, feigning some surprise and fatigue. He appeared as though he were catching his breath, and straightened his vest as he cocked a smile at the Ringleader, "Oh, it was in some ways. But in others...well, I'm quite meticulous," he answered with a light chuckle. He finished with, "I'm glad to be of service." nodding as Cora's trailer rumbled towards them and came to a stop near the water's edge.

Geralt raised his eyebrows and nodded at Lucien's explanation, though inwardly he cringed at the sight of buckets. The voice in his head chuckled cruelly as it sensed his displeasure, which only made him more irritated. Manual labor was not his forte, exactly. He was glad that he had taken his chance to help with setting up the mess area, that little trick was far preferable to hauling buckets full of lake water to and from a tank which was sure to be quite large, judging by the size of the girl who called it home. Cora was quite slight when she was out of the water, but in it she appeared to be quite large. Geralt would guess her tail was at least five feet long on it's own...This was why her trailer was so large as well, it must have been. He would have to find out more about what the process of her change consisted of. Illusions were his specialty, after all, he would have noticed if she was using one to appear human.

At the mention of Ivory's handiwork, Geralt glanced at the woman as she leaned against a tree in the distance. Although the sun was mostly obscured by clouds and it was not a particularly hot day, even exposed like this, he was sure she had to keep herself at least semi-protected from its rays. He also knew she had been watching his display, and had not yet taken her eyes off of the two of them. She seemed interested, and given her talents, there was a short list of reasons why.

"Aha," he said as he looked back at Lucien, "That's interesting. I didn't guess that miss Ivory was the mechanical type." As he looked the trailer over, he noticed a spout near the bottom on the side and decided that this must be what the man was referring to.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Faolan had busied himself with cleaning up and organizing while Aurel and Lucien went about their "training" in the lake. He didn't see the need to stick around for it, and thought his time was best served elsewhere. The afternoon dragged on as he waited for them to finish, but he kept a respectful distance. He even went out for a walk into the woods for some time, half exploring, half sweeping the area for signs of life. Fortunately, it did not appear that their camp had been discovered, so there was no need for extra security, which was good.

Aurel and Lucien were just finishing up when he returned. He waited for the two of them to be out of sight, but smiled as they passed, before he began to undress and get into the lake. Normally, he would have done this first thing in the morning, or before bed, but timing had not allowed it, so he took advantage of being alone. At least the water was warmer at this time of day.

He wasted no time, heading straight for where it was deepest and submerging his entire body in the cool water. It felt good to wash the dirt and grime of several days off of his skin and out of his hair.

He was just pulling the water through his hair when he heard the door of the trailer open and turned to see Lucien approaching. He was about waist-deep in the water now, and was almost finished already. Lucien's comment made him smile, however, and he did a quick scan for the child before he answered. It seemed her was still inside.

"If you insist, I won't fight you," He said, shrugging, "much," he added, and winked to his beloved on the shore.