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Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Akane's expression brightened considerably at her question. "Of course! I'm sure Lucien would be happy to know there's something out there you actually want. I could just think of so many designs that would suit you!" She said excitedly as she gently pulled her friend toward the door. Once open, she briefly let go of Cora's hand to move out of her way and then closed her door, before catching up and taking hold of it again.

"I've seen some aquatic designs in some of the shops I've been to before. I think you'd like them." She commented as they made their way to the mess area.

--

"One can have conversations during the day too you know?" He said a little jokingly. "I've traversed the all of the United States myself. I’ve always been rather fond of travel." He said. While in France, he would have had the opportunity to travel more of Europe if he hadn't grown up so.. sheltered, but now with the circus, it would definitely be more difficult unless they gained the funds to one day go international, so he was curious to hear about his visits to other countries.

Lucien shifted slightly to look at Ivory as she arrived at the table. He was honestly surprised to see she had actually managed to get up this early, but she was clearly in a foul mood, and was looking at the mug Geralt had slid in her direction in an almost suspicious manner. He took that chance to take a drink out of the mug he had been given, since the heat of it didn't bother him. His eyebrows raised ever so slightly. It was a stronger flavor than the typical American coffee, but it was quite good.

"It's actually very delicious, I think you’d like it." He commented, knowing that Ivory's first instinct would be to probably decline it, and he wasn't wrong.

The moment he had slid the mug toward her Ivory had almost immediately stated she didn't want it, simply out of spite, but Lucien's comment stopped her. It was his way of telling her to be polite. Geralt's little grin still managed to find a way to irritate her. It was too early for this. She was normally easy to annoy, so it was much worse this early in the day.

"Thanks." She said almost dryly, before she took a seat next to Illyana. Now under the cover of the tarp that encased the mess area, her eyes adjusted better, and she took note of Akane and Cora's approach. At least she had gotten here before them.

Aurel had glanced at Lucien as he spoke, then shifted his gaze to Illy. Clearly Lucien and Geralt were already getting along well enough, but then again Lucien got along with everyone. He hoped it wouldn't end up making things more difficult for him, considering the... intentions Ivory said the magician had.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien's smile widened at Faolan's words. There was something about the way Faolan had placed a hand on his shoulder that stirred his feelings of happiness. "Anytime." He said brightly.

The words that he had followed with were so simple.. but they meant a lot to Lucien. He treasured their friendship deeply, and he was glad they were able to get over this hurdle together. Not having to hide anything from each other anymore.. he was sure that would be a lot more refreshing for both of them. He felt like in learning this.. he had grown closer to him. Despite how long they had been travelling, there had always been a part of him that felt a bit of a distance when it came to his errand, but now that was gone.

"I'm happy to hear that.. I consider you my best friend you know?" He said, briefly glancing down at his hands before looking back up at Faolan.

"Because I'm such a good friend, will you finally let me heal you? I know there's a limited amount of things I can do to help you but.. in terms of recovery, that's certainly what I'm best at." He said, hoping Faolan wouldn't deny him this time. Considering he never really got to see Faolan after his change, this would be his first chance to provide him with aid much sooner, to hopefully help him get over his fatigue a lot quicker.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Akane's smile widened at Cora's words. "I try my best! Despite how uncomfortable some clothing might seem, there's actually some really cute things out there! I quite like Japanese clothes but, western clothing has it's charms too." Some were definitely a little more liberating than some of the kimonos she would wear back then.

"Beautiful as always!" She exclaimed with an equally large smile as her tails swished from side to side under her dress, her ears perked up. "Shall we go join the others? I'm sure you're hungry!" She asked, before extending her hand to her.

---

Lucien raised his eyebrows at Geralt's words. "The Republic of Peru? Really?" He couldn't deny he was impressed, and even more willing to want to try them. It wasn't really something one got to have everyday.The ringleader had always enjoyed life on the road and travelling, and there were still many places that he still would very much like to visit.

"You seem very well traveled. I'd love to hear about it sometime." He commented, a part of him curious of how many other places he had been to. Even now Lucien was something who really did appreciate new knowledge. His desire to learn new things was still strong even after all these years.

Aurel glanced in Geralt's direction as he spoke, and shook his head. "Ah... nein, danke. Ich bevorzuge tee.. Coffee's a little too strong for me.." He told him in response. It was right up there with alcohol, the one thing he wasn't allowed to have, though it was for different reasons. In terms of flavor and smell, coffee it was simply too strong, and even so he wasn't so tired that he needed it anyway.

"Good morning, Illy." He greeted, waiting for her to finish serving herself before he began to do the same. Glancing over a the table, he could see a newspaper across from Lucien. If he had to guess, considering the strong smell of coffee that also came from the mug, Geralt was sitting there. Once he got his food, he decided to take a bit of initiative and took a seat next to that empty spot. Considering the three that still weren't here, it was probably better this way.

Lucien greeted Aurel as he sat down, part of him a little surprised that he'd decide to take a seat next to Geralt, but thinking about it, it probably shouldn't have. He took note of the fact that he had no snakes on him today, at least none that he could see. Maybe he had Jade with him, but he couldn't really be sure. Had he decided not to because of what happened last night? He hadn't really gotten a chance to talk to him about it. He'd be sure to do so later.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Once he was sure Faolan was done looking at it, he closed his journal, and then tucked it away back into his bag. It seemed he had taken it well at least.. so that was good. He was sure there was a part of him that was glad to know what exactly it was he turned into. If it was him in his position.. he'd probably want to as well.

"You're welcome.." He responded, before following Faolan's gaze back onto the water. It was relatively peaceful to look at. At the man's following question however, he looked back at him, a little surprised.

"Of course." He responded, no hesitation in his words whatsoever. There had been no moment throughout this entire ordeal that leaving had ever crossed the Frenchman's mind. He was worried about what would happen if he left Faolan alone, and honestly.. he just didn't want to leave him. Their travels together had been rather fun.. and he really enjoyed his company. More than he had ever anyone else he had spent time with growing up.

"I wouldn't have gone so far to get you to stay if I had been planning on leaving." He muttered. There was a small pause, and then Lucien smiled up at him. "You can't get rid of me that easily. At this point I think you're kind of stuck with me?" He attempted to joke, hoping to lighten the mood a little.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Akane turned around, having heard the scuffle of Cora getting onto her chair. "Well I came right on time then!" She said, returning her smile before she knelt down and picked up the clothes she had chosen for her.

"Hmm it's around 8:30 I think? I saw Lucien heading to the mess area, so I assume others might be up already. I didn't check, since I came straight here." She said before she handed Cora her clothes.

"Here, put these on, I tried to shoot for something comfortable, but uh.. 'appropriate' as Lucien would put it." She said with a small chuckle. Akane found the way Lucien worried about such things to be a little endearing, since she knew he was just doing it to look out for them.

--

Lucien gave Illyana an apologetic glance as he saw that he had startled her. He had been too preoccupied with putting some distance between them that he had forgotten to make his presence known. He knew how jumpy Illy could be, after all.

"I'm afraid I do not set such a good example, being the workaholic that I am." He said with a small chuckle as he took a seat across from Geralt on the table. "I appreciate the concern, however." He said, though part of him wondered if that was really the case.

Briefly he glanced down at the clipboard he held, taking note of the things that Illyana had already checked off, before looking back toward Geralt as he offered to make him coffee.

"Ah.. Sure, why not. I could always use a little caffeine in my system." He said a little jokingly. He didn't really see the harm in accepting.

It was then that Aurel arrived, briefly glancing at the three that were already in the mess area.

"Good morning..." He greeted them, before heading over to Illy who was already grabbing breakfast. It was a little relieving to have Lucien around this early with Geralt around. Knowing him he had probably already finished what he had to do, that was probably why he was here.

---

While others had an easier time getting up in the morning, Ivory did not. She heard the activity outside. Usually it was what woke her up, since her hearing was quite sharp, but most of the time she ended up ignoring it and going back to sleep. This time however, she could not do that. She had told herself she would wake up early. Well, earlier than she ever normally would have, but just the thought of that made her want to throw her pillow over her head and forget that the sun existed.

"Ugh." She groaned, irritated, before sitting up in her bed. Ivory had never been a morning person, and it wasn't really just because of what she was. Back when she was home.. what time she got up didn't really matter, because it wasn't like she could go outside or there were any time constraints for anything. It was a habit that was hard to shake. That had taken nineteen years of her life, and while now there were more things she could do with her time, doing anything so early in the morning was usually discouraging, not to mention being out in the sun too long weakened her after a while, especially if she had blood recently. That was a fact she wasn't willing to share though. Ivory hated sharing her weaknesses with people, so she much preferred using the excuse that she didn't feel like doing it.

"What a pain." She grumbled. This only made her annoyance with Geralt stronger. He was the reason she had to even bother with this in the first place. Sluggishly, she got out of her bed, not bothering to change. Ivory never really put in any effort to her appearance in the mornings, the only time she bothered was for acts. Some would say she didn't need it though, she had the natural beauty to not require it, even if the woman herself didn't care for it. Dressing up and putting on makeup only made her look more like her mother, and she hated it. Instead, she grabbed her cloak from her coat hanger and threw it on, pulling the hood over her head before grabbing her deck of cards off the table. Perhaps she'd ask Aurel to play later as a distraction from yearning more slumber. She squinted in irritation as the sun hit her face when she stepped out of the trailer, grumbling under her breath as she made her way toward the mess area. While she wasn't planning to really have a meal this morning, but she knew that's where everyone would be.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Faolan's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, causing him to close his calendar as he turned to look at him. He had planned to give him some time to himself, but it seemed things were alright now. His request made him curious, considering Faolan never really asked him for any sort of help.

His request had certainly been a little surprising. Honestly he thought that Faolan would want to completely drop the subject... but it wasn't like he didn't understand the question. He wasn't sure how aware Faolan was during all this, and if he had never talked to anyone about this before, it wasn't like he had anyone who could describe it to him. He shifted his gaze back to the water.

"It.. was.. frightening.. Not because of what you were turning into but.. the pain you go through.." He muttered, and then shook his head. That was probably not what he wanted to focus on. "Your body reforms. If I had to describe it simply.. the beast itself is a wolf-like creature that's very tall, I would say at least eight feet in height if it stands on two legs." He began shuffling through his bag, before pulling out his journal, along with a pencil. He quickly flipped through it, finding an empty page to work with. There was a part of him that wasn't sure if he actually wanted to know Faolan what he looked like in that form, he didn't really want him to feel any worse about it.. but he of all people deserved to know. He knew what it was like to have things about himself that he didn't know, and wanted to discover. He wasn't going to deny Faolan that.

"I'll just show you." He muttered, as he began to sketch on his journal. This was one of the many hobbies he had picked up back at the church. Drawing was something that gave him a little bit of peace. His journal held plenty of sketches of some of the different places they had gone to, of things he had found fascinating. This was one of the times he was very thankful for the skill. His hand glided expertly through the paper as his mind tried to envision the beast he had seen tirelessly running through the night.

"It looked like this." He said, showing Faolan his finished sketch.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Akane wasted no time in opening the door once her friend had given her permission to enter, smiling brightly at Cora.

"Good morning!" She chimed, waving up at her. "I'll help you get your clothes together!" She exclaimed as she walked over to her drawer. She thought about what she should pick, and had noticed last night that Cora seemed quite uncomfortable in the clothes Illy had chosen for her. While she knew it was to be more.. conservative, she didn't want to make her spend the rest of the day in discomfort, as opposed to the day before when she had only dealt with it for a little while. Instead, she chose a summer dress similar to her own. She found these comfortable and they covered enough, so she figured Lucien or Illyana wouldn't have a problem with it. She turned and walked next to the makeshift slide that had been made to make it easy for Cora to get out of her tank.

"Did you sleep well?" She asked her. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

--

As the mess area came into view again, Lucien was surprised to see Geralt already there. It seemed he had shown up sometime after he had left to go arrange things with the carnies. Seeing Illyana there however, he quickened his pace. While his line of sight of the man wasn't the best, he felt he was too close for comfort. Knowing how sensitive Illyana was because of her psychic ability, he didn't want him touching her, especially not this soon when they still didn't know very much about him. He'd rather avoid Illyana being exposed to any intense visions that touching him could possibly give her.

"Good morning." He greeted them both, taking a moment to glance in Illyana's direction. Her expression was a little.. off, but he assumed that was because Geralt had most likely pulled her into conversation. She seemed slightly more well rested than last night, but there was still some tiredness to her expression. He certainly hoped she hadn't stayed up doing more research, and for a moment, his expression reflected that, since he had wanted her to get more sleep today. He didn't feel like either of them had been here very long, as he had missed both of their arrival when he had been here earlier. He stopped a little behind her, and reached out to gently take the clipboard from her hands. He was willing to bet Illyana hadn't eaten yet.

"Breakfast has already been prepared, Illy. Have some, I'll finish this." He said, motioning to the prepared dishes with his free hand. It was harder to tell because the food had been covered to keep the bugs away, but enough had already been made for everyone. Lucien always made a point to make sure the troupe had their share of food before they started working. Everyone's health was important to him, and Illy had a habit of working a little too much, so he knew he sometimes had to keep an eye on her work habits. He supposed that was partially his fault, considering he too was a bit of a workaholic.

It was then that he turned to Geralt. "I hope your new home treated you well?" He asked. Paying closer attention, the man also did not look particularly well rested. Perhaps unpacking his things had taken longer than he thought it would?

--

A ray of light hitting his face was what roused Aurel from his sleep. Amber had slithered out through his window, and that had shifted his curtain enough for the rise of the sun to be made known to him. He squinted slightly, and while a part of him considered maybe going back to sleep, he decided against it. Today would be the first morning Geralt would spend here, so he felt he couldn't just.. be idle in his room. If he was an early riser, he wanted a chance to observe him properly as he interacted with the others. With a sigh he got up, and got ready for the day, slipping into one of the yukatas Akane had gotten for him.

His first instinct was to choose a snake to take with him, but then he decided against it, remembering that he had decided to not carry any on his person. It felt... strange.

"Well.. I'm going to go get breakfast. You can all roam as you please but, just be watchful okay? And no aggressive action." He added a bit more sternly toward the end. Not all of his snakes were here, but he knew they would share the information.

"Be careful.. Do not let the man get too close." Liquorice hissed, to which he nodded.

"I will." He told them, before heading out.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien forced himself to walk on his leg as they traversed through the trees. It was fully healed, so there was no need for him to lay off it. It was only the pain and discomfort that made it irritating to deal with. Still, it was something he wanted to get used to. He realized now that in not having felt any extraneous pain for well.. the majority of his life, he had become spoiled. He didn't want this to become a weakness later. Honestly.. he was still surprised it had even happened. Faolan being the.. 'thing that could get him' made no sense. There had to be more to it than that, something he wasn't considering, but he felt it was too soon for him to speak to Faolan about it, considering he was sure that he probably still felt guilty about it.

When they arrived at the lake, Lucien gave Faolan his space heading further off to the side, placing his bag at the edge, before he too began to remove his clothing. Trying to keep up with Faolan all night had been incredibly taxing, and he felt like he could use some cleaning up himself. He turned away from the man to give him his... privacy. He shuddered as he stepped into cold water, but he couldn't deny it felt good on his leg. It helped ease some of the soreness in his muscles. Once he was finished washing himself of all the dirt and blood, he left the water, dried himself off, and quickly dressed before taking a seat on the ground while he waited for Faolan to finish. In the meantime he allowed his mind to wander again, his expression becoming pensive as he thought back to how he had received his injury. Almost absentmindedly, he took out his small calendar from his bag, and marked the full moon for last night's date. He was planning to begin keeping track of the full moon dates to help Faolan keep track.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

The next morning, Lucien had gotten up around six, but had not left his trailer right away. His night with Geralt had been enjoyable, but it had taken from the time he would have normally used to count the amount of coin that had been earned that day, so he decided to do it in the morning instead. He had to admit the amount left more to be desired, but it was certainly more than he had expected for their second visit here. If the next day proved to be better, once word got out of Geralt's performances here, then he should be able to see a large improvement in the turnout.

Once that was done with, Lucien got ready for the day and left his trailer. A lot of the carnies were already up and about, as they knew they would be tasked with more advertising this morning. He had a quick breakfast, and made sure all the carnies had done the same before he finally gathered the ones that usually went out to town.

"So, this time will be a little different, since we are shifting the focus of our advertising a little." He handed each of them a piece of paper, on it he had written out specific instructions on the things they should be saying. "Be sure to emphasize that this is Geralt the Great's.. comeback. Today is the last day children can enjoy his shows for free, so we can capitalize on that as well." He explained. The last day would also be a lot more worth it for people to come see, considering he was saving Geralt's performance for last. Honestly he had been considering placing Ivory's act before his, but he was sure she would not enjoy this, considering they would have to practice the transition. Usually they tried to make the way one performer entered and the other exited as smooth as possible.

"Alright, you can all head out." He told them.

"Yessir." They responded, before they headed out to one of the trucks.

A flash of red caught his attention as he took note of Akane leaving her trailer. She noticed him and quickly waved in his direction. It seemed she was heading to Cora's trailer. He'd have to make sure to take note whether Cora would dress.. appropriately this time around, but he had faith in Akane, the girl did have more experience than her when it came to this stuff. He could see her fox ears from here. For a moment, he wanted to call out to her, in warning that Geralt was here and therefore this would probably caught his attention, but after thinking about it for a moment he decided it didn't matter. The man was observant, and had probably already figured out she wasn't human. Akane never really went out of her way to hide it either, and he was almost certain that if Geralt asked her, she would probably just tell him what she was. He simply let out a sigh and headed to the mess area to meet them there. While he had already had breakfast, he still enjoyed spending time with his troupe in the mornings.

--

Akane was quick to head to Cora's trailer that morning. The day before, Ivory had commented to her that if she had free time in her mornings, she should stop by and get the mermaid if no one else had yet. She of course, had not hesitated before agreeing to this. Usually she tried to do it if Lucien hadn't, but sometimes she overslept a little, though not nearly as much her dhampir friend did. Still, she didn't need to be told twice, she always enjoyed hanging out with her friend.

As usual, she hadn't bothered to hide her fox ears or tails that morning. She was wearing another long, bright summer dress, one that made it easier for her to hide her tails. It was certainly nice to not have to worry about it.

"Cora! I came to get you!" She called out as she knocked on the door.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien did not break the silence that followed his words, wanting to allow Faolan to process everything he had said. When he finally spoke, he was glad to hear that these weren't words of denial, but seeing Faolan like this... so vulnerable. He knew how important this was to him. He wished that there was something he could do to help him.. to rid him of this terrible curse, but as far as his knowledge went on these things.. there wasn't any type of cure. All he could do was make sure that he didn't hurt anyone again. That.. he felt was within his capabilities.

"I understand Faolan.. I do.. I swear I will do whatever it takes to make sure it doesn't." Despite the emotion reflected in his expression, his tone was firm. He didn't want Faolan to think he wasn't completely serious about this. He was.

Even though he could see the tears that blurred Faolan's expression, he didn't comment on them, and as much he wanted to at least give the man some sort of hug for some type of comfort he knew that it would be a bad idea to right now. Maybe they could start by getting him cleaned up. It would be less of a reminder.. of the night he had just gone through.

"Let's.. get you cleaned up okay? While I was flying around, I noticed a lake nearby. Can you stand?" He asked.