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Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien didn't need Faolan to speak to understand what he was trying to say, and accepted his kiss willingly, returning it with equal force before the Irishman pulled away. At his words, he only let out a chuckle.

"Way to ruin the moment." He said, amusement sparkling in his eyes. He simply gave Faolan a small peck on the cheek before pulling away. He was glad they had gotten that out of the way, the nephilim would keep everything he had just been told in mind, but he would not let it get in the way of their happiness. That he would make sure of.

They spent the rest of the day in each other's company. It had been a while since Lucien had felt so.. relaxed, not to mention happy to have Faolan back on his side. They talked about many things, including when it might be time to leave. While he knew Faolan would want to leave right away, Lucien knew he couldn't just walk out on Marcel from one day to another. He promised they'd leave once he made sure there was someone to take over his position.

Of course, Marcel was sad to see him go, but he knew from the beginning that there was always a possibility he would leave.

"Thank you for everything you've taught me, I'll be sure not to ever forget it. I wish you the best of luck in your business, perhaps I'll write to you every now and then? If you want me to of course."

"I'd be glad to receive your letters, let me know of your.. adventure on the road. Prenez soin de vous, Lucien." He said, giving him a firm handshake.

"Vous prenez soin aussi, Marcel." He responded.

With that, he and Faolan took to the road again, leaving Green Bay behind.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Ivory didn't say anything and simply prepared herself for another teleportation. This one made her just uneasy as the first, if not more. While the distance was not much larger, she felt it had lasted a little longer than the last. She managed to retain her balance this time around, but grabbed hold of a nearby chair. It was still a little off-putting. She was used to twirling and dropping at fast speeds because of her act, which had given her a strong stomach, though she was sure her vampiric composition might have also helped her with that.

Did this ability of his have a limit? How far could he teleport someone like this? She didn't really like being unable to have no control over where she ended up. The fact she had to leave it all up to him made it all the more irritating, but she had no choice but to comply, for the good of the show. Part of her wanted to get used to it to, just for future references. She didn't want to let him catch her off guard too much.

"Again." She said, straightening herself.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Ivory made no reaction as Geralt stepped toward her, preparing himself for whatever he was going to do. As he reached for her, her expression remained the same, her way of allowing him to continue. She nodded as he spoke, and simply waited. The tap on the shoulder was light, but there wasn't a moment to really prepare herself for what followed. A shudder ran up her spine, a strong sense of unease hitting her as she suddenly found herself standing in a different spot than she was. It had been so quick that the sensation had been hard to fully grasp. She stumbled but only briefly, and quickly straightened herself. It was strange.. and while it had taken not even a second, she knew she didn't like it. How exactly was he doing this?

She knew there was no point in asking, because he would not give her an answer. The only way she could really find out more about this was by having him do it again.

"It's weird." She said, feeling the need to at least say something about it. "Again. The faster I get used to it, the better."

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien had no doubt in Faolan's words. He knew that the Irishman would do everything in his power to keep them safe... but it was not himself that he was worried about. Faolan had told him on multiple occasions that he was always too concerned for other people to worry about himself, and he wasn't wrong.. but in these kinds of circumstances Faolan was the same. He was worried that he would be too concerned with protecting him that he might not look out for himself.

"Faolan.. it's not me I'm worried about. I know you would never let that happen.. but I need you to understand that I'm not that same man you met on that boat years ago." He slipped one of his hands out of Faolan's grasp, and reached out to place a hand on his cheek.

"I know that I have never been a fan of violence, but know that I would never let anyone hurt you. I am invulnerable to anything those humans could do to me.. but you are not. Promise me that you will also take care of yourself.. because I don't want to lose you.." He gently moved his hand toward his neck, and pulled Faolan closer to him, gently touching their foreheads together.

"I will also do everything in my power to protect you. I'll be as careful as I have to be, I won't let ourselves be discovered, I promise. I don't want to lose this either." His tone was gentle, but filled with determination. If he had to barrier Faolan to protect him and fly him away from danger, he'd do it. He didn't care if his own secret was discovered in the process, he'd do whatever he had to to make sure that Faolan would be safe.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Ivory didn't like it, not one bit. She looked at him almost suspiciously, wondering if this was actually true, but he had already preemptively stated that he might have to touch her for this. Unfortunately, it was unlikely that they could pull off any sort of good transition without her allowing him to touch her. She knew she couldn't be that difficult about it, so she resigned herself to accepting. It technically wasn't that big of a deal.. depending on how long he had to anyway. She would make sure to keep an eye on him to make sure he didn't have to linger for more than he had to. She believed him capable.

"Fine." She said simply. Part of her was curious to how this magic of his worked anyway. It was her best chance to learn as much as she possibly could. Any feeling, or strange thing she saw, she wanted to keep in mind so she could inform Illyana about it later. There was plenty to gain from this experience, and she wasn't planning to let it go to waste.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Thinking back to that day, Lucien knew that the women had been completely out of line, and he wished he could go back to stop himself from having accepted to do something so foolish, considering the women's intentions were clear. Faolan's hand brought him a bit of comfort, and he turned it to link his fingers through his, accepting his warmth before the man eventually pulled away.

Lucien listened quietly as Faolan spoke, listening to every word. Growing up he had never put too much thought into these things. He had what he learned growing up in the church, and he knew what people typically viewed as wrong, but he had simply never saw it that way. There had been.. something inside him that kept him from fully believing that to be a fact. He hadn't really put much thought into it after that.. as he had never actively sought any sort of relationship, or had been tempted to either.. until he had realized his feelings for Faolan.

He lowered his gaze as Faolan spoke. He couldn't believe how terribly these people had reacted. He was completely appalled by the mere thought. It was nauseating.

"But.. he was just a boy.." He said quietly. An innocent child who was barely old enough to really understand what he was doing. Lucien had liked to believe that he was no longer the same naive Frenchman he was that had gotten off that boat. He was aware that there were those who viewed this negatively, considering the insults that he had received from those Englishmen, and those women, but he had never seen it in action for himself, but to think people could just.. get away with something like that. It was a terrible thought.

Not once throughout this whole endeavor had the thought occurred to him that their decision could place them in danger. There was nothing of course that the humans could do to hurt him, but Faolan was another story. He was strong yes.. but that didn't mean he couldn't be hurt. He had seen it for himself back at the boat.. it was possible if people had the right tools available to them. Just the thought of that possibility brought a sickening feeling to his stomach. Had Faolan had to grow up afraid that the same thing could happen to him one day?

"What those people did.. it's wrong." He said, his gaze finally shifting from his now empty plate to the man he loved.

"Is this.. what you were worried about? That the same thing might happen to you..? To us?" He asked, reaching out to take his hand again.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Ivory didn't mind the silence that followed, she was sure he was trying to find some sort of flaw, but she knew he wouldn't find any. She would not have stopped her practice if she felt like it hadn't been perfect.

"Well I can say I would never fight you on that. I'm simply used to practicing alone." She told him simply. She much preferred to do this sort of thing alone. It probably may not have taken as long if she had been able to do it sooner.

Not even moments after the magician responded, he was suddenly out of sight. It surprised her, because it had been so quick and sudden that she hadn't had time to fully observe it. While usually quite aware of her surroundings, she hadn't expected for the man to appear behind her so suddenly, and swiftly turned around as she heard him speak, taking a step back, but then trying to neutralize her expression to hide her surprise.

"..No." She said. He was quick, she had to admit. She wasn't sure how he did it, but it was definitely something of the supernatural. Putting that aside though.. with that sort of skill, she was sure the transition would go just fine, but she couldn't help but feel wary of the ability.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien had smiled at Cora as she gave her own input on the song. As she had tried her shortened note, he knew immediately that was exactly what they needed toward the end of the song. He erased the final note and made it shower, and gave a satisfying smile. Their work was done, now all that was left was to actually put it into practice.

"Thank you." He told Geralt, watching the magician leave. Honestly he had wanted to ask how he and Ivory's practice was going.. but he had been too busy with his own. He supposed he'd find out one way or another, probably when they had finished for the day. Based on the man's expression it didn't seem like it was going back, but he knew better than to base it on that. The man had a good pokerface.

He nodded approvingly at Illyana as she walked past him to wash her plate, glad she had actually managed to get through her food, before he turned his attention back to Cora.

"I'm sure we'll have plenty of time tomorrow to practice this song with the actual piano accompaniment, or maybe today, it depends on when Geralt and Ivory will be finished with their work, regardless, thank you for all your input, I think this song will be very successful." He told her with a warm smile. He truly hoped it would do as he intended.

--

Ivory's gaze shifted to the entrance of the Big Top as Geralt made his return, having just caught the knife in her hand. Just like that, it was gone.

"It's finished." She said, before rising to her feet and heading back to the silks. That was all she needed to say for the man to play the music again. Confident that it was perfect, it was easier for her to perform it without worrying about the fact Geralt was there. It was always at this stage that she allowed people to usually see her work, unfortunately that wasn't something she could do here. She dropped, and eased into her dance just as she had practiced. Not one step out of sync, and no longer overcompensating. As she covered herself with the blue of the silks, the dhampir now stood completely out of sight, before she released them completely, and turned to look at the magician.

"Well?" Was all she said.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien's gaze was filled with small amusement as he looked at Faolan. This was the most he had ever seen the Irishman smile, and knowing that he was one of the reasons made him feel happy.

"You're quite welcome." He told him as he began to eat his food as well. "By the way, I called off both of my jobs today, so we can spend the rest of the day together." He told him.

"Sounds good." Faolan responded, with that same smile that Lucien was beginning to believe he might never get enough of. There was a bit of silence as they continued to eat their food. Faolan was clearly hungry, so he didn't want to disturb him too much. His thoughts wandered a little, to last night.. to everything that had happened. There were some things he still had questions about.. but he had been to caught up in the.. moment to really ask them of him. It was only when Faolan was almost finished that he finally decided to speak.

"Hey Faolan.. do you mind if I ask you something?" He asked him, pushing the last two pieces of bacon he held in his direction. The Irishman had gone through his food quite quickly. He only nodded, which prompted Lucien to speak again.

"Last night.. you said.. that you were scared.. why?" His tone was soft as he spoke. There weren't many things he could imagine Faolan being afraid of.. aside what he already knew.. so he couldn't help but wonder. If they were going to be together from now on well.. he wanted to know these things, because he wanted to know how he could put the man at ease. He didn't want him to have to worry about things on his own anymore.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien continued to instruct Cora on the pitch and transition between verses of the song. He scribbled away at his notes, changing the music notes at times to match Cora's singing as they made their way through the song. Normally he kept the siren's range in mind as he wrote his music, but sometimes hearing it in person made him change his mind on certain verses to match it better. The aim was to have perfect synnergy between her voice and the piano. He had to admit Cora had truly grown when it came to these things since he began to teach her the art of composing. He was always glad to take her opinion into consideration.

"What do you think about this verse? We could probably afford to go a bit lower here, before raising the pitch a bit more toward the end?" He asked, glancing over at the mermaid. On occasion he'd shift his glance in Illy's direction, making sure the girl was still eating.

Akane smiled as she listened to Lucien and Cora practice. This song was very soothing, and it made her feel all warm inside, she was sure that was the kind of feeling that the two were going for. This was one of the reasons why she loved the final day, getting to listen to the two of them perform like this. She simply couldn't wait to hear the final result of it.

--

Ivory had not wasted much time in getting back to practice, she wanted to make the most of the time she had before Geralt returned. She did the performance again, and again, keeping in mind the points that had stuck out to her. It was easier not to overcompensate with her previous faults without the man's irritating presence there. She changed the dance just enough to make up for those mistakes, opening the curtain wider towards the end but in a more elegant manner before she had wrapped the silks completely around her in a smooth motion, completely blocking her sight from the audience. This was the best spot for that 'teleportation' to happen, though she supposed she'd have to wait for Geralt's return to test that.

Once she was sure she had all the steps down and memorized, it was only then that she decided to take a break. The dhampir took a seat on the edge of the stage and let out a sigh. She couldn't deny that she was a bit tired, making that drop continuously was a bit straining on her ankle if she did it continuously for too long, but she didn't think she'd have to keep at it for much longer. She manifested a knife in her hand, before she threw it toward one of the nearest targets to pass the time, before pulling it back and doing it again. It was a nice way to pass the time.