FreckersFrog

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Faolan watched Aurel's presentation of his canine and nodded slowly as understanding came to him. The tooth itself was long and thin, very much like a snake's, and Faolan guessed that it would be hollow as well. He would make sure to remember this and report it to Lucien, it would be good to know for the future as they prepared Aurel for going off on his own. If that venom could kill animals, he wondered what it could do to a full-sized man. No way to know, and he hope that there would not come a day for him to find out.

He had just settled in to fishing once more as he felt the boy touch his shoulder gently. He looked over at him slowly, a little confused, but brushed it off with a smile and looked back at the water. The boy was definitely observant, Lucien did that to him all the time.

"Hm..." he hummed at Aurel's next comment and searched the water, squinting as he did so. He followed the line of Aurel's finger and saw the smallest ripple in the surface of the lake. He raised his eyebrows as he pulled the line in to recast it, "You do have good eyes...seems we make a better team than I thought," he said, smiling down at the boy. He was glad that the two of them had got along so well, and he knew that Lucien was proud of him too, which only made it feel more like a success.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Geralt took another sip of his drink, maintaining eye contact with the Ringleader all the while. He found it sexy, the way the French toasted. There was power in looking someone in the eye that Geralt quite enjoyed.

He watched as Lucien leaned toward him to place the glass in the water, but did not move out of his way. "Much appreciated, that. I detest a warm cocktail." There was a moment of silence that followed as Geralt continued to trace the line of Lucien's face with his eyes. His jaw, so soft and familiar, and yet...different.

"Ah," he said, his eyes widening suddenly. "I almost forgot." He turned to spy an empty space on the table behind him and snapped his fingers. Instantly, a phonograph appeared where the empty space had been. Satisfied with this, the Magician spun his finger about and the record already installed began to play. The player itself was old, and the smell of its wood wafted through the small space almost instantly. It was finely crafted and the sound as it began to play was beautiful. There were scrolling designs in gold along the edges of the dark, almost black wood, that made up the case. It was from the Magician's personal collection and it rarely ever left his quarters.

He turned back to Lucien and tilted his head gently, "Not exactly a party sans music, is it?" he smiled mischievously and took another sip of his drink, already beginning to feel more relaxed. The music it played was upbeat, but mysterious, with notes of the macabre, very similar to the music Geralt used in his acts.

Illyana looked over to where the music was coming from and saw the appearance of the phonograph. Her eyebrows furrowed a bit as she studied it from afar. She could tell this was an item of Geralt's just by looking at it. She wondered what she could glean if she touched it...but was too frightened of what might happen if she did. The music was a little grating, not what she would have chosen, but enough to create the party atmosphere that the Magician was attempting to replicate.

Cora seemed a little confused at first by Akane's comment, but the remembered the sandwiches in her lap. "Oh, right! I'm already feeling a little odd...but okay. Are you warm?" she asked as she picked up a sandwich and had a bite. Between chews, she added, giggling, "I mean...more warm than you normally are."

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Faolan nodded at Aurel's understanding, then watched as he turned to the snake by his side and began to converse with it. He had seen the boy do this several times, and though the only sound that issued from either of them was a quiet hiss, Faolan had decided they must be communicating in some way. He had never witnessed anyone speak to an animal this way. In his village as a boy, there was an old medicine woman that his mother called a "witch" who claimed to be able to speak with animals. He had seen her do this several times, but it always just consisted of the woman placing her forehead against the animals and closing her eyes. To this day, he didn't know if it was true or not, but he was inclined to believe in her abilities. She was the one who had helped him after he'd been attacked by the creature that had passed its virus to him, and he had seen her do things that he had not thought possible before then.

Once the boy was finished, he extended the fish to Faolan. The Irishman nodded again, then took it and released it from the line. He raised his eyebrows slightly at Aurel's last comment, "Let's wait for any biting until it's cooked, hm?" Once he had the wriggling creature grasped in his large hand, he held the rod between his knees, and withdrew a knife from his pocket. He laid the fish on the rock between himself and the boy, and placed the knife right at the base of the creature's skull. He looked at Aurel to make sure that he was watching, "You want to do this quickly, it takes a little bit of strength," he said, before quickly pushing the knife down, severing the animal's spine. It stopped moving immediately, and Faolan finished the blow by removing the head entirely. After this, he tossed the fish down into a bucket that he had placed in the cold mud on the shore to keep it cool while they were still outside.

"Well done. Now I've got to get one or I'll look bad." Faolan said, noticing that the child was not bothered at all by what he had seen. It was clear that he was a hunter, comfortably with killing when it was done for food. It reminded him of Lucien's first reaction to watching Faolan do this. Though, it had been a rabbit, which Faolan knew was a little harder to bare. Lucien had "watched" it done through his fingers, and the Irishman was not certain he had really seen anything at all. At first, he'd thought it was juvenile and even a little irritating, but after he had gotten to know Lucien he was happy to do it out of his sight.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Geralt raised his eyebrows at Lucien's comment about tending bar and tilted his head, "Oh, really now? In that case, I insist that you make my refill after I've finished with this one." At it's mention, Geralt leaned back and rescued his drink from the bowl of cold water where he was storing it. He took a sip, and tilted his head in disappointment. It wasn't as cold as he'd like it, but they didn't have access to ice, and he felt the itch getting more and more prevalent in the back of his mind.

He caught Cora and Akane's exchange out of the corner of his eye, then stood up straight and raised his glass in Lucien's direction. "I wouldn't call myself a follower, per se, but I feel the need to show my appreciation just now." He held his glass up a little higher, made eye contact with Lucien, and said, "À un partenariat fructueux. À ta santé," as a smile curled across his face.

Cora's smile widened as well as Akane returned her toast. "Oh," she said, her eyes widening, "Kanpai!" She mimicked Akane's accent perfectly as she said the word, one of the talents of her naturally adaptable voice. Their glasses clinked together and she took another sip, beginning to feel a little lightheaded.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Faolan watched the boy struggle with reeling, holding himself back from helping. He wanted to teach Aurel how rewarding this could be, not only because he'd done something, accomplished a goal, but because he was doing for someone else. Faolan always felt best when he was providing for Lucien and thought this would be good to pass on to Aurel while he was in their care.

He actually broke a smile as he saw the child pull the fish all the way up and noted the ecstatic expression on his face as he shouted his accomplishment. He didn't bother asking the boy to quiet down now, not when he was so excited.

"Excellent, and you got one before me," he said at a normal volume. "Now, we don't want it to suffer." He said, looking from the child to the fish, still bouncing on the line. "Do you want me to do it?" he asked, reaching for the animal slowly. He didn't want to bring the boy's mood down, of course, but he also hated to watch things suffer. Growing up on a farm, his father had taught him to kill and slaughter efficiently, making sure the animal felt as little pain as possible. He had never been resistant to this, and although he never liked watching anything die, he understood that some things had to for the sake of other life. He respected wild animals, even more than humanity on occasion, and he always made sure to honor them when he could. If killing had to be done, Faolan wanted it to serve a purpose.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Illyana couldn't help but let her smile widen at Aurel and Ivory's "cheers". She lifted her cup slightly to return it to them, and took a sip. Maybe relaxing wouldn't be so bad after all.

"You are more than welcome, ladies. Just let me know if you'd like a refill." Geralt said to Akane and Cora. Even he had to admit he was quite pleased by their happy and surprised expressions. Going out often caused him to order drinks from someone else, he didn't usually have the pleasure of serving many people. It was amazing practice for his hands, and his wits. Seeing everyone else enjoying themselves set his fingers to twitching, he longed to feel a drink in his hands as well.

As Lucien spoke, he turned back to the table and began mixing himself something a little stronger. He grabbed the bottle of whiskey he had brought and the other ingredients required for an Old Fashioned, the correct way to make it, not the way some uppity bartenders thought made it cute.

As he mixed, he turned his head to face Lucien, chuckling as he spoke. "Accuse me of anything, Lucien, but never of safety," he stirred as he finished the drink, then poured a bowl full of the cold water Illyana had prepared and set his glass inside of it. As he waited for it to cool, he turned to Lucien, leaned back against the table and crossed his arms. His eyes narrowed slightly as he cocked a half-smile, "Hmm..I don't know, you don't strike me as a beer man." Geralt himself was not either and much preferred Germany's claim to Brandy. "Besides," he added, tilting his head, "I didn't think you'd permit me to cheat."

Cora nodded to Geralt's instruction, then took a slightly larger gulp of her drink. She really did enjoy it, especially how warm it made her feel. It was a sensation she'd never experienced before, and it reminded her of Akane. She looked up at the girl next to her as she took a sandwich from the plate. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the three at the other table touch the rims of their glasses together, smiling. Almost in a panic, she turned to Akane and raised her glass, trying to mimic the gesture.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Faolan looked down into the water to see the shadow of the fish, pleased that it was not anything larger than the boy's hand. It was small, but he was not quite strong enough to handle anything larger. He saw the line tense a bit and held up a hand to let Aurel know to wait.

"Hold..." he said, very quietly, watching the fish. He let his hand hover near the fishing rod to be sure that he was there to help in the event that the fish was too strong. They waited a couple of seconds before Faolan sensed the fish attempting to pull on the bait. He said "Now!" quietly, just as the fish's tail began to swish under the water.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Illyana was glad to see Lucien approaching them and began arranging a plate for Akane and Cora, making sure to add an extra for Cora as she knew the Mermaid had a large appetite, especially after swimming so energetically earlier today. She graciously accepted the drink from Lucien and smiled at him before he walked off again. Afterwards, she headed over to a table and had a seat with Aurel, holding her cup with both hands. She felt a little on edge, but seeing Lucien and Aurel so relaxed was beginning to help her do so as well. She didn't often get the chance to have downtime with everyone all at once, aside from their meetings, open time like this was rare form these days. She looked across the table and made sure to keep her smile as she took a sip of the juice, remembering something Lucien had told her long ago: "Smiles are infectious."

Geralt turned back toward the table, slid two glasses toward them and poured one finger of gin into each one, then making up the difference with water. This was much less than he would normally serve, but he wanted to be sure to heed Lucien's warnings. Besides, nothing was more unseemly than someone who was fall-down drunk. He preferred his consorts to be tipsy, just enough to be off balance, not enough to wake up and evacuate the evidence of a night's romp.

To Akane, he answered, "Because, honey," and with a twirl of his hand, produced a bottle of a stick golden substance, "It has...honey," he finished, winking again playfully before stirring a hefty serving into each glass. He stirred, then added a good bit of lemon juice and a dash of sugar syrup for a little extra sweetness. He turned to the two woman, glasses outstretched and looked between them. "Let me know if it needs anything else, pleasure is my passion."

Cora giggled as Geralt produced the sticky substance and set about making their drinks. She had no idea what a "beez" was, and also didn't know its relation to honey, though she had tasted the stuff before. She liked it very much, so she had no doubt she would like this too. She took the glass from the magician, finally letting go of Akane's hands. She looked between the man and woman, her face alight with curiosity. Slowly, she raised the glass to her lips and smelled it first before taking a sip. "Oh," she said, "It smells delicious!" After this, she pressed her lips to the glass and let a tiny bit of the liquid touch her tongue. At first, all she tasted was sour lemon, so she tilted the glass a little more and new flavors entered her palette. It tasted sweet, but like flowers and berries too, with a little tartness from the lemon. Her eyes widened as she swallowed and pulled the glass away, and she immediately felt warmth bloom in her throat and chest. "Wow..." she said, her voice quiet with wonder, "It's so good!" She looked up at Akane to see if she would have the same reaction just as Lucien arrived with their food, and placed the plate of sandwiches on her lap.

Geralt turned to Lucien, smiling widely with half-lidded eyes. "Oh, Lucien, you flatter me." he said, laying a hand on his chest and bowing slightly. "I'm glad you don't find it too...on the nose?" Even The Magician had to admit that sometimes his over-zealousness could make him appear too subservient when the truth was quite the contrary. Although the one who shared his body wasn't the biggest fan of it, Geralt understood the need to placate oneself from time to time.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Faolan nodded to Aurel's clarification, "Very good." Aurel was getting better and better at English every day. Faolan and Lucien spoke it around him as much as possible, and Faolan only attempted German when he knew that there was no other way to get his point across. Usually, it made Aurel giggle more than anything.

Faolan almost flinched when he heard Aurel's exclamation, but held back from scolding the boy. He had been very careful about not scaring the child unnecessarily. Besides, he knew that the child was excited to do this for Lucien, so he didn't want to detract from anything that put a smile on either of the faces.

His attention was immediately cut as he saw the buzz of Aurel's line. He knew that he had a bite before Aurel told him. He looked over at the boy and held up a finger to his lips to remind him to be a little quieter, then answered softly, "Now, you lean back a little bit, very slowly. See if you can get it to latch on."

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

"Don't you worry, ladies, there's plenty to go around." He nodded to Lucien's comment, still focused on his task as he peeled a bit of lemon to add to Lucien's drink. He set that aside, topped the drink off with a touch of champagne he had brought from his personal stores, and wrung the lemon skin over top of the glass before placing the twist inside.

Finally, he turned and offered Lucien the glass, his other arm behind his back. "For you, patron, une humble offrande."

Cora watched in awe as Geralt extended his arm toward Lucien, her full lips slightly open. She looked at the drink and smiled, "Oh, I like the bubbles,! Will you make that for us?"

Geralt looked down at Cora and tilted his head toward the drink, frowning slightly, "Ehm, nein, mein liebling, this one is a bit too strong for your...delicate constitution. I'll make you something sweet and light, as Lucien asks. Maybe..." he thought for a moment, eyes rolling to the makeshift ceiling before he looked back down at the two of them, "A Bee's Knees?" He had already decided what he'd make for the girls, but Geralt could not help but add a bit of theatrics to every offering. It was in his blood.

Illyana blinked a few times at Aurel's comment, then shook her head slightly in embarrassment. She hadn't intended for her movement to be noticed, but she supposed she should know better who she was dealing with. "I'm sure it'll be fine," she said, almost absently. As she overheard part of Geralt's conversation, she looked about wildly for a moment, down at the food in front of her, before waving a hand and calling over to Akane, Cora, and Lucien. "Make sure you have something to eat, too!"