xivyxx

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Ivory was glad her interruption had been enough to guide the conversation away from the previous topic. It seemed Geralt wasn't all too pleased with it, but the dhampir didn't care. She didn't want things to go his way. She grabbed the deck, giving it a few shuffles of her own before she began to deal cards to everyone at a quickened pace, as to shorten the amount of time it took, before they began their game. The beginning of it was not as intense, because there were a lot of cards available to them. Without her fox ears exposed, Akane was a lot better about not making any particularly outing expressions, though Ivory could see the occasional twitch of her tails from the edges of her dress.

"Geralt, I heard a rumor from the carnies that you've been doing magic for a really long time, is that true?" She asked with a small tilt of her head, curiosity shining in her eyes. He was a complete mystery to them all, so she couldn't help but want to know.

--

Lucien let out a small laugh, knowing that something like that was entirely possible if it was Ivory, hopefully things would not go that far though.

"Thank you." He called out to Illy as she took her leave, before he moved toward his desk and took a seat to wait for the dhampir to arrive. He honestly hoped things would work out. If they managed to put something together, he was sure that it would actually turn out to be a great performance. While Ivory hadn't had much experience when it came to circus things when she had first came here, it had been clear that she was willing enough to learn, and she actually had very good creativity despite the circumstances she had grown up in. Putting aside this idea of his, there were some things he wanted to address with her in terms of her interactions with Geralt going forward.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien's eyes narrowed as Faolan answered his question. It hadn't been the kind of response he had been expecting, and it certainly stunned him into silence, and for a moment he could almost feel his heart pounding out of his chest. His... feelings for him?

It was then that everything finally snapped into place for the Frenchman. The woman's words from before.. and Faolan's reaction to them. It had been the Irishman getting defensive.. Had his words and actions made Faolan believe he had feelings for him? Did Faolan have feelings for him? Honestly, he had never thought about it before. Throughout all these years.. Lucien had always felt the most comfortable with Faolan. It was easy for him to make acquaintances in the towns they went through, but he had never grown close enough with any of them to even consider the thought of staying. Being at Faolan's side had been the most natural to him, and he had never gained a close enough friend to compare their relationship to. Part of him had always felt this was normal.. but he was beginning to see that there had been more to it than he had originally thought.

Faolan's voice broke him out of his thoughts. In that moment he realized how much the man's body language had changed. He had that similar defeated look to him, from those many years ago, and it broke his heart to see it now just as much as it had back then. As Faolan turned away from him, he felt his heart sink, and he quickly grew afraid, his impaired mind immediately assuming the worst. His own ignorance had hurt the Irishman's feelings, caused this whole misunderstanding. He couldn't bear it. It pained him to see Faolan like this, and even more so to know that he was the cause of it. No matter what, he knew he could not let the conversation end here. He was afraid of what might happen if it did, and seeing him begin to walk away like this caused an uneasiness in his chest he simply could not bear.

"Faolan." His voice was quiet, breaking slightly, but he was quick to step forward, and reached out to grab Faolan's wrist in hopes to stop him. "Please don't go!" Desperation and fear was clear in his tone his arm shaking slightly as he held onto his wrist tighter than he had ever held anything in his entire life.

"I'm sorry! Please I—" For the first time in a very long time, the Frenchman fumbled with his words. His desperation to make sure Faolan didn't leave had made him react faster than his head had been able to keep up with. He wanted nothing more than to clear all of this up, to explain to Faolan that his intention had never been to mislead him, to tell him that everything he had ever said and done had been genuine and honest, and to apologize to him for the hurt his ignorance had caused, but he was afraid that one wrong word would end up destroying everything they had built together.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Ivory almost scoffed at his response. Shady color for a shady man. She thought. Granted, she usually wore dark colors herself, aside from when she was performing, but that was mostly to block out more rays of the sun. While it sometimes did make things a little hotter, her body temperature was slightly more on the cooler side, so she usually fared alright.

Akane's eyes were filled with curiosity as Geralt spoke. "Is there a school for that? Sounds fun if that's the case!" She asked. Having never experienced any schooling for herself, she didn't really know any better. All she really did know was that people went there to study. As she spoke she continued to watch the motions in Geralt's hands, as did Aurel. It was certainly an entertaining thing to try to follow.

At his question, she tilted her head for a moment. "Number?" She asked, but then realized he meant her fox ears. Honestly she was so used to not having to hide them around the troupe that she hadn't thought twice about having them out in front of the man before.

"Umm.. I'm not sure how to explain it.. Instinct?" She said a little questionably. "It goes beyond that though!" She said almost proudly.

It was then that Ivory decided to cut in, not wanting him to find out so much about her so quickly.

"So, shall we begin playing? Or are you going to keep hogging the cards?" Ivory spoke up to break the flow of conversation.

"Ah yes.. we should probably start, it does take a bit to pass all the cards out." Aurel piqued in to help out.

---

Lucien nodded as Illyana agreed with him. He had thought so too. The dhampir was very resilient, so he knew that she wouldn't let Geralt just do whatever he wanted, but he hoped that wouldn't end up getting in the way of coming up with the transition itself. They did have a few days to figure it out, but that was why he wanted to get this out of the way as soon as possible, to give it time in case something really ended up not working out. If it didn't then he'd have to think up an alternative. Lucien did not like leaving things to the last minute, it was a risky thing to do in this business, specially in the situation they were in now. Good 'reviews' of this show would impact how things went going forward.

"Yeah.. I thought so.. I will speak with her first then, to make sure it's alright before I tell Geralt." If Ivory outright refused him, then he wouldn't blame her. He knew how much she disliked strange men, and considering the type of man Geralt had proven himself to be so far, he knew she'd hate spending any unnecessary time with him. Whatever smooth little words he had for the dhampir would only have the opposite effect, and while he knew Geralt had to know that at this point, he knew that it would not stop him. He seemed to be amused by it, that would be a problem.

"Would you mind getting her for me? It's probably best for you two to switch." He said. With Ivory gone, he'd prefer to have someone else there to keep an eye on Geralt and the others. He had faith in Aurel, but he knew that he could also get easily overwhelmed, and he also wanted to avoid that if possible.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien was startled slightly by Faolan's sudden outburst. This had not been the first time they had had this conversation, but it was the first time that the Irishman sounded so angry about it. There had been plenty of circumstances in the past where he really had unintentionally made women think he was interested in them. He never really understood why, since all he was really trying to do was polite to them. He always treated people with equal kindness, but it seemed that tendency seemed to get him into trouble. He really had gotten more careful about what he said lately, but back at the bar he hadn't been given too much time to process.. and with the alcohol clouding his mind, it was difficult to talk his way out of the situation and politely decline the women's company.

"I-I'm sorry, Faolan! I've.. tried to be better about it, I just wasn't in the right state of mind. I.. wanted nothing to do with them. I wanted them to leave us alone I.. just didn't want to be rude.." He trailed off, and quickly shook his head, though that made his head throb. That wasn't the most important thing right now, he wanted to make sure that Faolan didn't misunderstand him.

"I don't understand! What have I mislead you about!" His voice was a little louder than intended, but he couldn't help but be confused. He had always, always been honest with Faolan, and he had never once said something to him that he didn't mean. If there was one thing he had valued in their friendship over the years after he had found out Faolan's secrets is how honest they were with each other. If there was something he was doing wrong, or if he was hurting Faolan in some way he didn't realize, then he wanted to know. The last thing he ever wanted to do was to hurt Faolan. There was nothing he loved more than to see him smile.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Aurel and Akane watched with interest and almost amazement as Geralt expertly handled the cards. They couldn't deny it was interesting to watch. Aurel watched his hands move quickly and expertly, while he was proud of his own quick reflexes, he could not deny the man had his own set of skills. He wasn't sure if he could ever pull off something like that.

Ivory watched him carefully, but did not share the same amazement the others did. It was to be expected he could do that much if he was a magician.

"I can see why." She said, glancing at the joker card. "Clearly black is someone's favorite color." Her tone was flat as she spoke, not really directing the comment to him. She simply couldn't help herself. Her observation had pretty much been made clear at this point. The man was wearing all black after all, and despite her annoyance in the earlier morning, she had noticed the outside of the trailer he was now staying in had been painted completely black.

"It's so mysterious! Can you do other tricks like that? Was it really hard to learn?" Akane asked curiously.

---

It seemed his words had helped Illyana ease a little, that at least made the Ringleader feel better about the situation. It would not have felt right to him to leave this off on a bad note. Lucien had made Illyana his right hand for a reason. While Ivory was very good at telling the carnies what to do, Illyana provided him with support when it came to handling everything and sharing responsibility. He really did rely on her a lot, but he also didn't want her to fall under the pressure of the entire situation.

"You don't have to apologize to me. I didn't mean to sound as harsh as I did. We both have small tendencies to get caught up in our own thoughts." He said, returning the girl's smile, before placing his hand on her head and ruffling her hat around a bit before letting both his hands fall back at his side.

"Ah, before you leave, there was something I wanted to consult you about. The last day, the consecutive shows. I was going to place Geralt last.. it makes the most sense to me but.. I wasn't quite sure who to place before him, since obviously there would need to be a practice on transition.." He trailed off, letting out a sigh.

"Honestly in terms of flow.. I feel like Ivory is the best choice, but.. I'm not sure how well that will go, considering what we've seen." He wanted to get her opinion on it, since he was very sure that this decision would displease Ivory, but whoever he chose would need to spend more time with the man, and he knew the dhampir would hold her own against him. He just worried of how much they might end up bickering with no one around to stop them.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien's heart sank at Faolan's words, his previous thoughts now not wanting to leave him alone, his expression faltered slightly, and his pace slowed ever so slightly.

"I—" He paused. "Was.. I wrong to think that you were enjoying yourself prior to their interruption? I.. really am sorry. I just.. it felt like there was a different side of you that I hadn't gotten to see before.. and I couldn't help wanting to see more.. I got carried away.. I just.. wanted us to do something new together.." He couldn't help but blurt out his completely honest thoughts. He wanted Faolan to at least understand the reasoning behind why he had wanted to do this in the first place.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Akane let out a small laugh at Geralt's compliment, glad that they had been allowed to join. It was certainly a nice way to pass the time with everyone, not to mention get to know Geralt, since he had just joined them. At his question, she nodded excitedly. That game had been easy enough to learn, though was hard for her to win when it came down to the last few cards, but that was fine, the experience and the fun she could have with her friends was what mattered.

Ivory glanced at Akane as she agreed, and decided to lean over to the kitsune, though she didn't have to speak up too loudly, knowing how sharp her hearing was.

"If you hide your ears, your chances of winning will certainly increase." She whispered, causing the fox's ears to straighten.

"Oh right!" She responded in a light whisper, letting out a small giggle. She knew those usually ended up giving her away. Without a second to spare, her ears flattened against her head, and in an almost completely smooth transition, they disappeared.

"This deck doesn't have a joker though.. so should we take out a Queen?" Aurel spoke up. It had gotten lost in one of the few times they played, considering how often the cards got moved around, and they didn't really use the jokers often.

--

Lucien's expression softened slightly at Illyana's response. He felt a little bad for being too hard on her, but she knew how much she liked to overthink things. Gently, he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Illy, I don't mean to sound like I'm disregarding what you're saying, I'm not. I really am trying to figure him out just as much as you, but if you make that your goal every minute of every day, he'll begin to notice, if he hasn't already. He's very sharp." For a moment, he hesitated, unsure if he should mention what had happened with Akane or not. Part of him didn't want to, because it would only concern Illy more, so he decided against it.

"I know.. that you're just worried about everyone and I don't blame you, I am too, but we can all work together on this. We don't have to get hasty, doing so might lead to slip ups. You don't want him to catch on, right?" His tone was more gentle as he spoke, realizing he had probably sounded a bit harsher than he intended. If he had to be perfectly honest, he was a little stressed out with this whole impeding situation, as today would truly prove whether Geralt's addition would be enough to get them out of their current financial crisis.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien let his arm fall back to his side as Faolan shrugged away his hand. There was something about the way Faolan refused to look at him, it made him want to reach out and make him stop walking away from him, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Faolan clearly did not want to be touched by him. His words slightly confused him. He knew that he had ended up dragging him along to the drinking and stuff but.. had he not had a good time prior to the women's arrival? The haze in his mind made his words harder to comprehend.

"Escapade..? What are you talking about? I just.. wanted to drink with you and have a nice time.. I'm sorry if I forced you into it.. I promise I'll never do it again.." His words were rushed, part of him desperate to ease Faolan's anger toward him.

He had thought Faolan had actually been enjoying himself before those women showed up but.. perhaps he had been wrong? Maybe he should have backed down when he had first told him he didn't drink. Maybe he had been angry the whole time and he had just finally snapped when the Marie insulted him. Lucien couldn't stop the paranoia that invaded his mind. Normally he was very confident when it came to reading the Irishman, but in his current state, he just didn't know.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien began to struggle with how to get himself out of this situation. If he had been sober, he could have easily managed, but this time aronud he had gotten himself in too deep without realizing. Now he understood what Faolan meant when he said that alcohol clouded one's mind. It was through this internal struggle of his that he heard the Irishman speak. It got the woman off his arm, but the nephilim wasn't really prepared for the situation that escalated afterwords. He found it hard to find a place to interrupt.

For a moment, he was shocked to hear the slur directed at Faolan. He furrowed his brow, his expression souring. Hearing Faolan raise his voice made him realize that he had to say something. He was angry, that much was clear. This had been only the second time that he had ever heard the Irishman raise his voice. Quickly he moved, to stand between Faolan and the woman, trying to choose his words carefully. At this point he just wanted to get Faolan out of here. At this point Marie was yelling, and at this time of night it could certainly bring some bad attention to them.

"I'm.. terribly sorry if we've offended you.. mademoiselle. I'm afraid the alcohol has gotten to his head.. I do hope you'll forgive his words.." He said hesitantly, bowing his head slightly in her direction. She didn't seem particularly satisfied with this, but he didn't want to give the woman time to protest further.

"I'm afraid we've overstayed our welcome. Do have a goodnight." As quick as he could manage with his lack of usual reflexes, he turned and placed a hand on Faolan's shoulder to guide him away from the situation.

"Hey wait a minute!" Marie called out, but was stopped by her more sensible friend.

"Marie just let it go, it's not worth it." Charlotte muttered. Clearly the other woman was displeased by this, but she let them go.

Lucien let out a relieved sigh as they turned the street corner and were completely out of the women's sight. He rubbed his forehead slightly, beginning to feel a slight throb at his head. That situation had certainly gotten out of hand. There had clearly been a misunderstanding here, it had happened before, long ago when they had first met on the boat. Why did people feel the need to resort to such slurs? Things like these clearly got a rise out of the Irishman. He didn't like seeing Faolan upset like this, and felt bad for being unable to defend him. In that situation, he just wanted them to be able to leave as quickly as possible.

"I'm sorry.. Faolan.. For dragging you into this. I wasn't thinking clearly.." He muttered apologetically. Not only had it ruined their good time, but it had clearly soured the man's mood.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

At this point, even in his drunken state, Lucien could tell that Faolan was incredibly annoyed. It made him feel a little bad for having dragged him into this in the first place. All he had really wanted to enjoy a nice time with Faolan, but it seemed that the bright mood had passed. It was unfortunate. He'd be sure to apologize later. The Frenchman hadn't even bothered to re-state Faolan's name as the two women hadn't heard him. If he wanted it to be heard, he probably would have said it louder. Charlotte didn't make an attempt to ask again.

"What about you?" Marie asked, shifting the conversation back to him.

"Lucien." He responded, causing the women to smile.

"Lucien, hmm? What a nice name.." She said, trailing a finger down his arm.

"Ah.. thank you.." He responded. It was then that they seemed to arrive at what appeared to be an apartment building.

"Well, here's our stop. You two have been so kind for walking us all the way here, why don't you come inside? It's quite cold out today." Marie tugged slightly at Lucien's arm as she spoke, but he managed to stand his ground despite his slight lack of balance. It was only then that the women's intentions became clear to him.

"Oh.. I.." He struggled with his words briefly, attempting to clear the fuzz in his mind. "We thank you for your kind offer, but we should probably get going, it's quite late, and I'm sure you ladies need your rest. We just.. wanted to make sure you got home safely." He managed to say.