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Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Akane's smile widened, even if it was impossible to see from behind the mask, but as the man took her hand, a shudder went up her spine. It had been unexpected. Had her ears and tails been out, she imaged her fur would have stood on end, but she got goosebumps instead, and her shadow disfigured briefly into the shape of a fox, but quickly reformed. Geralt had removed his hand from her's, maybe as a result of what had happened if he had taken note of it. She felt a little bad, considering it wasn't intentional, and was quick to recover. Perhaps it was her instinct trying to warn her that the man wasn't normal? Either way, she wasn't about to be rude because of it.

That was when she realized she still had her mask on, so she then quickly lifted it up to rest on top of her head and smiled brightly hoping to get rid of the awkward situation.

"Sorry! Sometimes I forget I have this on. Seem's like there's a bit of a chill tonight. Are you here to watch?" She asked with a sheepish expression on her face.

Lucien almost held back on rubbing his hand on his forehead as Akane spoke. He had noticed the shudder, but he wasn't sure if it was because the man was magical in some way and this was just Akane's animal instincts reacting to that, or if it was something else. It was most certainly curious, and he'd probably mention it to Illyana later. However the excuse she gave was pretty terrible, considering it wasn't particularly cold, but he didn't comment on it.

"Well that mask is basically almost a part of you at this point." Lucien said a little amusingly. "We are, Geralt wished to see some of the other performers before his next act began." He told her.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien didn't speak for a while, mostly because he wanted to give Faolan whatever time he needed to process all this. It was.. a lot to take in, but he was relieved by the reaction. There was a part of him that should have expected this from a man who tended not to question things. The smile Faolan gave him immediately eased all of his nerves, making him let out a breath he hadn't realized he was even holding.

When Faolan broke the silence, golden eyes shifted toward the sky, and then back at him. This was what he had wanted to do, and now that he was about to he almost couldn't restrain the excitement. For a moment he had forgotten how to even do it. It had been a long time after all. He flapped his wings a few times, wanting to calculate his control over them. It really had been too long. It almost felt foreign to him. When he was a child he remembered he had flown around his room with ease. He tried to remember that feeling as he quickened his pace. Leaves and dust rose from the air as he did so, and then his feet finally lifted from the ground. The feeling had been much too weird, the weight having shifted in a way he hadn't expected. His body bent fell forward, but his elevation from the ground kept it from actually colliding with it.

"I-It's been a while." He said, a little embarrassed. The man's body was practically parallel to the ground, but he tried to straighten out a little before going higher. "There's.. certainly a lot more weight to balance out than when I was a kid." He said a little jokingly. Once he got the hang of it a little more, he went higher. The forest they were in had a lot of tall tree's so there wasn't much to worry about in terms of being seen over them. He wasn't sure how high he wanted to go either. He stopped thinking about it the more of a grasp he got on the movement. His expression brightened up. In the enclosed space of his room he had never been able to go this high before.

"It's a lot windier up here!" He commented. Considering his only true experience of flight was indoors, it wasn't something he had really been expecting. Having to focus on the movements of his own body, his wings, and the trajectory of the wind was a lot more work than he had thought. It was also a lot colder too. As he tried to make his way further up toward the higher ends of the tree's, a strong gust of wind hit him. It caught him off guard and threw him off balance and knocked him off his trajectory, causing him to begin to fall. He tried to straighten his wings, but it was a lot harder to do with the force of the fall working against him. Having resigned himself being unable to recuperate, he simply braced himself for impact.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien shook his head, having expected this sort of response from Faolan. He truly did respect his privacy, but he did have to do this, not out of obligation, but because there were things he couldn't do simply because Faolan didn't know about him.

"No.. I do. You've been very respectful of my secret, and I really appreciate that, but there was more than one reason why I wanted to leave. I wanted more than just one type of freedom. I grew up sheltered and restricted. I had never been able to do a lot of the things I wanted to freely because they didn't want me to be exposed. Now that I have that freedom.. I don't want to be restricted anymore. I want to do the things I never got to fully enjoy before.. and I can't do that if I'm keeping this secret from you. I also think.. it's a little lonely to be unable to talk to you about these things honestly." He told him, his tone completely genuine. He really did want to be able to talk to Faolan without having to hold anything back anymore.

Honestly he didn't even know how he could go about it. He felt like explaining would make him sound insane, though he didn't really think Faolan would think that of him. It was hard to formulate the words. He was clearly nervous, after all he had never had to tell this to anyone before. After a moment of inner struggle, he shook his head.

"I guess it's best.. If I just show you." He said. Without another moment to waste, Lucien tensed for a brief moment. Seconds later, pure, large white wings spread from his back, stretching to their full wingspan, causing some of the leaves on the ground to shift away from him with the small gust of wind he created. He had almost stumbled a little, but he quickly regained himself. He wasn't really used to having the weight of his wings on his back.

When was the last time he had been able to do this? He couldn't even remember. They had certainly grown a lot more than from the last time he had taken them out. As a child, he had been able to do little movements of flight within his room, but as he had grown older, the space he had to work with became smaller and smaller, and he was restricted from being able to do this outside because the priests were afraid someone would see him. Now, in this completely emptied forest, he finally had the chance to enjoy it, but he really couldn't unless Faolan knew the truth.

"I'm.. a nephilim.." He told him a little nervously, figured he should just up and say it. This would be harder to guess than just assuming he was an angel.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Ivory simply let out a huff, before nodding in Lucien's direction, she turned to begin to head back to the back of the tent, but then paused. It was likely they'd be seeing Akane's performance next. "I'm sure you'll enjoy the next performance as well." She said with a small unseen smirk, before she continued on her way. Akane's performance would put his little flame trick to shame.

Lucien nodded toward Geralt as he spoke, letting out a chuckle at Ivory's words. "Ah yes, let us go. Our danseur de feu would be our next stop." He told him as he lead him out of the tent and headed for Akane's tent. It was a bright red color, decorated with shining blue swirls that were meant to represent the blue flames of her dance. They entered through the side opening of the tent.

Akane had been headed in that direction when they had come in, so it was very good timing.

"Oh! Lucien." She called out with a smile, even though it was hidden underneath her mask.

"Ah Akane, seems we caught you just in time. I'd like to introduce you to Geralt." He said, motioning over to the magician. "Geralt, this is our danseur de feu, Akane."

Akane shifted her attention to the strange man. So this is the one everyone had talked about. Despite the warnings, she still wanted to be polite to their new member. He seemed nice. She leaned forward a little in a slight bow before she extended her hand to shake his.

"Nice to meet you!"

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

The more Faolan shared of his.. situation, the more curious that Lucien became, but he still managed to hold his tongue in asking, and simply agreed. Perhaps later down the line he'd have a better chance to ask.. once it had already happened a few times. While the thought of being left alone who knows where was a little scary, his faith in Faolan and knowing he'd come back for him was reassuring. Even though this whole circumstance was weird, the man sounded completely genuine. He wasn't lying to him, and that was enough for him.

At his next words, golden eyes shifted back to him, as they had went back to staring at the passing trees when he had thought the conversation was over.

"I'll keep that in mind, thank you for the consideration." He said, giving him a small smile. Despite the statement though, he didn't really think he'd want to part from Faolan's side anytime soon.

--

As they reached the next town, Faolan went about his usual routine of trying to find work. Lucien went along, since he had been determined to not be dead weight. When the man was able to find bartender jobs, he was given the task of helping in the back with washing dishes and cleaning, since they refused to believe he was twenty years old and therefore old enough to help out behind the bar. He simply didn't look it no matter what his identification said. Still, he was glad he was able to find something to help out with in terms of expenses.

When they had earned enough, they continued on their way again. Lucien used whatever chances he could to ask Faolan to teach him how to fight little by little. Despite his lack of knowledge he had strength and speed that was far greater than anyone with his physique would have, thanks to his divine blood. He wondered if doing more physical taxing labor could help him become stronger like Faolan, and maybe allow him to now look as childish as he did? He had a lot to hope for.

It was when they were travelling through a large forest that Lucien had a strong urge to bring up the topic he had been avoiding for a while now. If it wasn't for their current location he might have held out longer but.. this was a perfect place. They were pretty far from the next town.. no civilization in sight. No one to see him, no way he could expose himself. He fidgeted a little as he struggled to speak. It was hard to bring up, after all, but he really wanted to tell him. He knew he could trust Faolan to keep this a secret, just as he had when he learned of his ability of healing.

"Hey.. Faolan.." He spoke up a little hesitantly, glancing at their surroundings again. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you.. I figure.. this is a good place to bring it up.."

"It's about me.. and well.. what I can do.. and what I am."

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien smiled as he glanced over at Geralt. He was proud, to say the least. He knew how hard Ivory worked behind the scenes, considering she did a lot of her physical training within her own trailer, and only went to the silks to practice the actual routines. While her movements were fluid and appeared effortless, but he knew that was not the case. "I'm glad you think so." He replied, having taken note of a bit of his enthusiastic clapping.

Ivory glanced at Geralt at his compliment. A snide remark on her behalf was almost natural, but she didn't do that this time around. His compliment did not sound sarcastic, though it could have easily been a rouse for all she knew. Still, she was proud of the performances she put together, so she decided not to disregard the compliments she was given.

"Thank you." She said, before her expression shifted back to amusement. "My, how much trust you have in someone you just met, although you are not completely in the wrong." She said half-jokingly. It didn't surprise her really, considering how he hadn't even flinched when she had thrown that knife past his cheek. Still, she knew that Lucien wouldn't approve of her actually hitting him with the knife, and it's not like she actually wanted to hurt anyone, even if she did dislike them, or thought they deserved it.

Lucien shook his head lightly. "I appreciate you volunteering, Geralt. I assure you Ivory never misses, so you would have nothing to worry about, but perhaps we can give that a bit of time before we attempt it." He said, in hoped that maybe down the line the two could actually have some chances of getting along. That was still to be seen.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Even little things like driving around in a truck like this was something Lucien had never been able to experience before. He glanced off the side of the truck, watching the passing trees, until Faolan had caught his attention, causing him to turn toward him.

He listened quietly as he spoke. Honestly, he was really curious as to what it was he had to do that left him so exhausted like this. It was worrying, considering the usual strong demeanor the man carried himself with.

"I wouldn't actually think you would do that to me." He said. If his intention was to do something like that, then he could have just left him at home. Lucien wasn't particularly concerned about it, who he was concerned for however was Faolan. Whatever it was he was doing clearly took a lot out of him. Honestly he wondered if this was something that he was able to cure. Up to this point he had only healed physical wounds.. and well.. silver poisoning, apparently. He glanced in the direction of the driver, and then down the road. He would have tried it, but it felt like too much of a public space. He'd have to give it a try another time.

"If this is the best way.. then I'm okay with it. I trust you." He had agreed to listen to whatever Faolan said, and the man had come back for him once already when he could have just left him behind. If this was his usual routine, then he couldn't really get in the way of it. He had promised he wouldn't get in his way.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Ivory noticed his amused expression fade at her comment. Good, that was all she was really aiming for. At his retort she simply scoffed, not particularly bothered by it. She knew from the beginning this was most likely to happen, considering it was their second stop. The lack of patrons didn't bother her. This wasn't a popularity contest to her, they were simply making a living, or as Lucien would put it, aiming to put a smile on people's faces, while making a living.

"That was the intent." She said, deciding not to comment on the last bit. She didn't particularly care if he knew what she was, considering he'd find out sooner or later anyway. She didn't really go around keeping it a secret around here. Ivory caught the glance Lucien had sent her way. She was familiar with the look, telling her to not pick a fight with him. It was a little late for that but.. she supposed she'd stop, she knew Lucien didn't like problems, but she really couldn't help herself at the time. So instead of biting back at him in regards to his greed, she simply turned her attention to Lucien as he prepared to go out on stage.

"Well, I'm off, play nice, you two." He said, giving them both a small look before he walked out on stage, as people had finished filing in. He took a swift glance over the audience, depending on the targeted audience, he changed the way he announced. It seems they were all men this time around, which was common for a second viewing.

"Welcome Gentlemen, to the stage of our lancer de couteau, whose elegance and beauty is just as sharp and dangerous as her aim! Be sure to watch her closely, or the knives might hit their targets before you even get to blink!" Lucien exclaimed with a small wink. "Give it up for our fairy of winter!" He motioned over to the side entrance, where Ivory gracefully stepped onto the stage as the ringleader left just as quickly, music beginning to echo through the tent.

Ivory gave the audience a bow as she stepped within the circle of knives. As she straightened, she swiftly unhooked the skirt she wore to reveal one that was of much thinner, but under that were pure white tights that connected to the rest of her outfit. This would get less in the way when climbing. If it wasn't considered a typical safety hazard, she would have kept the skirt.

It landed in a perfect circle over her knives, and with that, she jumped into the air, both of her hands simultaneously grabbing onto both silks and beginning to make her way to the top with ease using a hiplock climb. As she did so, she angled herself so the silk began to move in a circular motion as she continued on her trajectory through the complicated motions, occasionally seizing her climb to do some form of trick, whether it was a midair cartwheel or a swivel in the air. Once she reached the top, she performed a series of splits and maneuvers that made her appear almost as she was dancing in mid-air.

Then, she began her descent. Ivory sharply twisted her body, hoisting her legs upwards as she hooked her leg around one of the silks twice, before she let go of the silk with both of her arms, during the three seconds it took her to take the dive, her right hand reached behind her back and into her pouch, even though there was nothing inside, she manifested a knife and swiftly threw it at one of the targets in the upper half of the tent, before she grabbed on to the silk with her left and straightened herself and readjusted her position. She hadn't bothered to use physical knives for this, because there was always a small chance they might find some way to fall in the midst of a performance. She needed to be swift for this, and found this to be the easiest way.

The following distance she needed to cover involved her intertwining her hips and legs around four times before she gracefully twisted to unwind, and appeared to fall freely for a small distance as she did so, during that time she reached into her pouch with both hands and then threw two knives in opposing direction, and the moment she caught herself at the end, she grabbed the 'final' knife she had and threw it straight upwards into the air, in a target that rested on top of the tent. With that, she twisted once more and had landed precisely in the middle of the circle she had created. Wasting no movement, she grabbed the part of her skirt she had discarded and placed it back on herself while her left hand grabbed hold of the eight knives on the floor, switching half over to her other hand as she wrapped her ankle and wrist around the silk before taking a small running start and kicking off with her feet to begin the spin again. She threw her knives effortlessly into their designated targets sprawled out in different areas of the tent, and by the time her motion had ceased, she was back in the center of the stage again. She extended her right hand, and the knife that had been stuck to the ceiling fell (forced, by her hand), and she caught it without even looking in it's direction, before she threw it straight into a target straight above the audience, and once she took her bow, the music ceased.

There were loud claps among her audience, and once she had given a smile and another bow, the lights flickered, and she left the stage as quickly as she had entered it.

Lucien smiled and mimicked the audience's applause but at a much lower volume as Ivory reached their side.

"That last bit is most certainly new." He commented, causing her to smile. It was an addition among some of the other little things she had added to her performance, including target placement and the kinds of flips she had done.

"I had to get more creative." She responded with a shrug. "Next time you should let me use you as a volunteer." She added a little amusingly, to which Lucien chuckled.

"Well, you know if I am available, I'm always willing. Simply let me know." He said with a small tip of his top-hat. Depending on the target audience, if there was an larger older crowd and minimal amount of kids, he would volunteer himself so she could add a more dangerous aspect to her show. He didn't mind, he trusted Ivory, and the knives she used couldn't hurt him, so it was better for him to do so than a carnie, who would definitely be too afraid or intimidated to try.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien nodded. "Yeah.. I am too. I would have been able to leave anyway but.. it would have left a bad taste in my mouth." He muttered, having finished with the dough. "Of course, I don't really have many things that I have to take with me, and well, I don't really have to go around carrying religious texts anymore either." He said a little amusingly. He had packed clothes, his.. mementos of home and small journal, along with some writing materials. He didn't need anything else.

Some time passed as Lucien finished making the beignets and had packaged them up neatly for the journey. He was basically all ready to go by the time Father Cyril returned. He had left the priest some beignets for him to eat as well, it was only polite to do so. He was sure to leave four dollars on the table, almost half of his remaining money, because he didn't want the priest to feel like he was taken advantage of in his time here.

"So.. you're all ready to go then?" He asked, causing Lucien to nod.

"Yeah.. I left some beignets for you.. as a thank you." He said, not mentioning the money. He'd see it later.

"I'll really be missing those when you're gone." Father Cyril said in an attempt to be lighthearted. Lucien simply let out a small chuckle, and then headed to the door with Faolan.

"Take care of yourself Lucien.. and may our Lord be with you on your journey." He said, before extending his hand for a handshake and extending a small book to him with this other. A Bible. Lucien felt it rude to decline it, so he accepted it and returned his handshake.

"Thank you Father Cyril.. thank you for everything. I'll try to write to you and Father Thomas as soon as I am able." He told him, leading the priest to nod. With that out of the way, after Faolan exchanged his goodbyes, they headed out on their journey.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien glanced back at Faolan as he spoke. "Thank you?" He supposed that was a good thing. He had at least learned that the way he spoke to people affected the way they reacted to him.

"I am as well." He really hadn't been looking forward to further fighting with the priest if he had said no. Momentarily he paused in his work, but then continued. Faolan was right, he wouldn't have taken no for an answer at this point.

"You're right." The man had already been too excited and too prepared to leave to just sit down and accept his response. "I didn't think he would end up saying no in the end, after the last conversation we had while you were gone. I feel the alternative of me going off on my own later if he didn't allow me to come with you was too much of a risk for him to take, so I figured it would end up alright." He said.