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Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Akane couldn't help let out a small chuckle. "It is isn't it?" She said before looking back at Geralt as she dropped another pair. The conversation allowed distraction from the fact she was in possession of the Joker, it kept herself from staring at it, and instead kept her eyes on the magician. She of all people couldn't say anything, considering how old she actually was. She was honestly curious, because she had yet to meet anyone who was as old as she. Granted she had spent her first one hundred years of life as a fox, but it didn't dissuade her from having wanted to learn new things. She found it had only added to her experiences of life, and the years she now had as a human only added to it. There were still plenty of things she needed to learn, but she was happy to have all these great people with her on her journey.

"Something about a hundred years? I'm not sure, but I know sometimes things get lost in translation." She said thoughtfully. One of the many things she had learned when living among humans is how much people loved to gossip. Lucien had always told her not to believe everything she heard. Hearing a pair of light footsteps approach, she glanced behind her, smiling as she saw Illy had returned.

Ivory turned to Illy as she spoke to her, raising a slight eyebrow. "Alright.." She said, though she hadn't been in any particular hurry to leave. Still.. if Illy was here then she supposed she wouldn't be leaving the rest of them alone with Geralt. She handed the fortune teller her cards as she rose to her feet.

"Give them a run for their money on my behalf." She told her, with a slight grin, though there was only one particular person that was aimed toward. It wasn't like they were betting anything, but it would be nice to hear it if Geralt lost. She gave the table one last glance, before she readjusted her cloak and reluctantly walked out from the shade the tarp was providing, quickly making her way across the grounds to Lucien's trailer.

She knocked upon arrival.

"Come in." She heard Lucien call out to her, and quickly went inside. Lucien had been nice enough to preemptively close his curtains on her behalf.

"Illy said you needed to talk to me?" She asked, walking up and taking a seat on the other side of his desk. He didn't seem displeased, so she didn't think he had called her here to give her a talk about being nicer to the magician.

"Yes, I actually wanted to consult something with you. It's our tradition to have the consecutive performances on the last day.. and Illy and I agreed that Geralt's act would best be suited to be last, considering how long it runs. Up to this point the closing had been up to you, and we were struggling with whether we should keep the order we've been using and change it up.. Honestly I feel like transitioning your show into Geralt's would flow the smoothest, but I know you don't like him. If I do this, you'll have to practice at least a few times with him until you come up with a way to do that, but before I mention this to Geralt at all, I wanted to make sure that it was alright with you." He explained.

Immediately Ivory grimaced. It wasn't like she had any particular attachment to the idea of closing the show, she just did it cause Lucien told her it would work out best that way. She didn't care if Geralt did it or not, but the idea of having to spend time with him was displeasing to her. On instinct she wanted to say no, but then she thought about what would happen if she declined. Someone else would take her place, and that meant someone else would end up having to practice with him. Considering what she had seen from him so far, she didn't want that to have to happen this soon, when they still didn't know what he was or what he wanted. She let out a small frustrated sigh.

"Fine. I know everything you decide you do for a reason, and I don't want someone else to get stuck with him." She said, crossing her arms. "But if he pisses me off, I can't make any promises that I'll hold my tongue. He seems like the type to like to be in control of things, and I'm not letting him boss me around." Her tone was dry as she spoke.

Lucien chuckled. "I would expect nothing less from you. He might be an experienced showman but you have seniority here. I know you'll do what's best for the show in the end." He said pausing for a moment. "Yes, I've noticed he seems to like edging you on. In all honesty, Ivory, I would consider approaching this a little differently. He seems to take satisfaction in your annoyance, so I would keep that in mind in your future interactions. Instead of letting him play you, try to play him. You have the wits to pull it off you know?" He suggested.

At this, Ivory's expression eased, and a slight smirk tugged at her lips. "My, what a manipulative thing you are suggesting, Lucien. Aren't you supposed to be the good guy here?" She teased, though she knew he was right. It was clear Geralt enjoyed the.. bickering. She didn't want him to think he could just easily poke at her either, and if she wanted to catch him making a mistake, she supposed she'd have to be more careful in how she reacted to some of the things he said and did. What was it he had said? Play the player? Maybe it was possible for her to get his guard down if he thought she didn't absolutely despise him. She didn't, at least not yet. She just found him annoying.

Lucien couldn't help but laugh. "I like to think I am the good guy, but I know a sharp man when I see one. He doesn't seem like a person who would slip so easily, but if anyone can get it to happen, it's you. Me calling you away can easily be played as me scolding you to be nicer to him." He said a little amusingly. It would certainly make it seem like the Ringleader was less suspicious of him if they went about it that way, but it was ultimately up to what Ivory decided to do.

"Well.. as much as I hate to admit it, he doesn't seem like an idiot, so I suppose you're right. I'll do my best, but I'm not suddenly just going to start being nice to him, that'd be weird. I'll make sure the show is a success, don't worry. You should stop by practice sometime though just to make sure I haven't decided to throw a knife at him." She slightly joked.

"I'll definitely be sure to keep that in mind. That's all I had to say, so you can go back if you want. Mind telling him to come see me?" He asked. "The sooner we get started with this the better."

Ivory nodded, rising from the chair. "I do mind, but I'll do it anyway. Be careful Lucien, don't forget he seems to have taken a liking to you. You are inviting him into your trailer."

"You all worry too much. I'll be sure to be careful."

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien was relieved that Faolan didn't pull away from him. It would have given him time to gather what he would have said next, but he wasn't given the chance. Before he knew it, the Irishman's arms were around him, and there was a warmth at his lips as Faolan pulled him into a kiss. There was a moment of shock, as it wasn't something he was expecting, but it didn't last long. Suddenly it felt like all of his worries and fears had been completely washed away. He relaxed, and it was when he leaned into the kiss, a hand reaching out to tightly grip Faolan's shirt, that he realized just how much this meant to him. How much.. he wanted this. Plenty of times women had sought his company in the past, and Lucien never held any interest in them. Even back then.. he had always found his mind trailing back to Faolan, thinking about how he was doing.. how he was feeling.. how he had to go back and meet up with him soon. This feeling that stirred within him was not simply friendship.. no it was more than that. He could see that now.

There was reluctance as Lucien forced himself to break their kiss, allowing them to catch their breath for a moment. He saw Faolan quickly glance at their surroundings, a glint of worry on his face. It was that and the feeling of the cold night air against the heat that their contact had created that made Lucien more aware of their surroundings. He tugged on Faolan's shirt, and pulled him into the nearby alleyway, making sure they were out of sight from any people that might decide to pass by. He understood his worry of not wanting to be seen.

With that out of the way, there was no hesitation in his next course of action as he placed a hand on Faolan's cheek, golden eyes burning with a newfound desire before leaning in to kiss the Irishman again. Their last contact had been his first kiss.. and now this was his second, and there was no moment in him where he regretted any second of what was transpiring. He had never felt Faolan as relaxed as he could feel him now. Any time the Frenchman had hugged him.. he had always felt tense, but not this time. It was the most relaxed and at ease they had ever been with each other, and he could not deny that he was rather enjoying it. In this moment everything that had happened prior to this did not matter. The only thing on his mind right now was Faolan, and how much he didn't want to let go of him.

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.