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Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien glanced toward the boy as Faolan's question. He had a point, the boy hadn't really given them a proper date.. so Faolan was probably right.

"I suppose not.." He muttered. It was likely that it wasn't something he really got to celebrate at the circus, he just didn't see it happening considering the circumstances he lived in. His birthdays as a child had been relatively humble, which he hadn't minded at all. It hadn't been as big of a deal to him until he and Faolan had begun travelling together. He knew Faolan wasn't materialistic, so he always tried to make something for him, or give him something he could make use of. Over the years he had found himself enjoying his own birthday as well. It was a nice to be able to celebrate it with the man he loved. He thought the boy deserved that type of happiness as well.

With that in mind, he directed his attention to the boy again, who was still tackling the soup at a slow pace. He decided to ask him, just in case they were wrong.

"Do you know your birthday?" He asked him.

The boy glanced up from the soup and shrugged. "First of the year?"

That sounded more like that was what he had been using to keep track, instead of the actual day itself. "What do you think of making today your official birthday?" He asked, before switching over to German. "In honor of you starting a new life, I think it would be fitting." He added.

The boy seemed to ponder for a moment, before nodding. "Date?" He asked in English.

"It's October 3rd."

"Okay." He said, clearly pleased with this. He gave the two a smile before he went back to eating his food. It was odd that these people were so willing to not only give him a name but also a birthday.. they.. really were nice.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien understood why Geralt would be upset in regards to the situation, so he didn't blame him for it. On the contrary, he did feel bad for jumping the gun on it, and in the end much preferred having been wrong than the alternative.

"If I am to be honest, I was a bit more concerned about Ivory's reaction. I thought it might.. cause some tension, but it seems I was wrong on more than one account. It seems today is not my day." He said, though he was sure the act had probably bothered the dhampir more than she was showing. He was at least glad she seemed to have taken his words to heart. He could see that she was really trying.

"Thank you." He said with a smile. "I much preferred to clear the air. The last thing I want is for you to feel like you are restricted in what you can do. Artistic freedom is very important here." He told him. That wasn't something he wanted for any of them, even Geralt. It was still.. really early in the game, and he had only just joined them. He didn't want him to feel like he couldn't do his show as he wanted.

The Ringleader showed hesitation at the invitation he was given. The man was being much less forward than he had seen from him so far. Normally, considering the circumstances and the fact it was their last night, he wouldn't have minded saying yes but.. he couldn't really get out of the town visit he already had planned.

"I'm afraid I've made other plans for tonight I can't get out of, so I must unfortunately decline, but I'll gladly take a rain check." He said with a small bow.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien nudged Faolan's arm with his elbow as he took a seat. "Faolan, language." He scolded. It was likely the child didn't even know what it meant, but he didn't want him going around saying such things either.

Snake continued to blow on his soup, occasionally lifting his gaze to look at Lucien and Faolan. He watched the larger man dip his bread into his soup, and glanced down at his own curiously, before dipping the last of his bread into it. He blew on that too, before taking a bite of it. His eyebrows raised slightly. It was delicious.

The boy glanced up as he heard Faolan ask something about his age.

"I'm not really sure.." Lucien had responded.

Snake wasn't sure either. He knew what year he was born in.. mostly because it was the year he had been brought into the orphanage but.. not the day he was born. There was really no way for him to know that. He wasn't even sure what year it was now, it had been easy for him to lose track of such things.. it wasn't like anyone at the circus really told him anything.

"Born.. 1910." He told him, before finally taking a partial spoonful of the soup. It was still warm, but he could drink it now. He couldn't remember ever having had something so warm.. the boy was used to cold foods.

"So he's around twelve.. That means he joined the circus when he was around eight years old.. Lucien muttered, considering what the boy had told him before. If he had grown up in a forest.. it was strange for him to even be aware of the year he was born in. It made him wonder if there was more to this child's past than he was saying, but he didn't want to pry too much so quickly.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

While the man was quite good at hiding his expression, Ivory had a feeling that he was most likely irritated. She wondered if Lucien had said something in regards to the silks, knowing him he probably had. Well, at least that was a little satisfying.

Lucien hadn't spoken up immediately as Geralt had turned to leave, and was a little surprised that Cora had decided to instead. The magician was clearly not in the greatest mood. He hesitated for a moment, after all it wasn't like this was mandatory, and honestly he knew that not everyone put in equal effort effort. Akane and Cora genuinely liked to help everyone out. Ivory usually got all of her own tools together and packed before she made her way back to her trailer unless explicitly asked to assist, though this was more common during the day, and Aurel did what he could but his endurance only took him so far.

"Well.. for the most part performers just pick up after themselves at the very least, but considering all you have on your person in regards to your act is your briefcase, you can do as you like, unless anyone here needs your help?" He turned to the troupe, at least to double check, but no one said otherwise.

"Then you may all go, good job tonight, everyone." He said with a smile. As everyone began to take their leave, Lucien noticed that Geralt wasted no time in wanting to do so, so he quickly moved to catch up with him. He didn't like to leave the situation unaddressed for too long.

"Geralt, wait just a moment." He called out to him, slowing his pace once he reached his side.

"I hope you can accept my apology, for jumping to conclusions. It all looked very real, of course, as expected of a man of your talents, but I should not have been so quick to reprimand you." He told him, being quite genuine in his apology. He did feel bad for not at least trying to ask why he chose to do it that way but.. he had been a little short on time, considering he had to take the stage soon after.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Snake's eyes immediately brightened as the source of the smell was shown to him. He had never had this.. stew, but it certainly looked delicious. Now that he was somewhat conversing with the man, he realized he wasn't as scary as he had initially thought. He was actually.. quite nice, just like Lucien had said. The other man had risen to his feet and took the jar from Faolan, before setting up a pot over the fire they had made to warm it up, stirring on occasion. The stronger smell hit him immediately, and his eyes shifted from Lucien to the pot, before looking toward Faolan.

"Nose good, eyes too." He said, in regards to his other comment. Perhaps those skill sets could be helpful to them? He wasn't sure. His eyes were very good at seeing and finding sources of warmth, it was what made hunting a lot easier back in the day, along with his strong sense of smell. Considering they were in the forest right now.. he wished that he was able to show them that, but.. considering the weakness in his legs he doubted he'd be able to for a while.. it was unfortunate.. since he really missed being able to live that way.. more free.

"He told me that before the circus, he used to live with that snake he has there in a forest back in Germany." Lucien spoke up as he continued to stir the soup.

"Do you like forests?" Lucien asked him, since he was unsure of whether his experiences with them were positive or negative.

Snake nodded at his question. Even though it was cold at times.. he still enjoyed the freedom he had there.. it was at least.. much better than the orphanage.

It was at least good to hear he liked them, because it meant that camping out in the forest would be something he would probably enjoy, as opposed to being scared of the dark or something of the sort. When the soup was heated properly, Lucien served it, and handed the boy the bowl. He peeked at it, but appeared a little deterred.

"Is it too hot?" He asked him.

"Yes.." He responded quietly, but Lucien smiled at him.

"That's alright, people like different temperatures, feel free to let it cool." He told him.

The boy nodded, and stared down at the bowl for a little while, as if waiting.

"You can blow on it gently to speed up the process, like this." He paused to show him how it was done. The boy watched him carefully, before doing the same. With that, Lucien went back to the pot and served himself and Faolan, handing the man his bowl.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

"I'm happy to hear that!" Akane said with a bright smile. Honestly she was always excited to put what she had practiced into play, it was nice to hear that Cora enjoyed the final result of it. She'd make sure to put more thought into her next dance, it was one of her favorite things to do, and having the mermaid around definitely gave her a lot of inspiration.

Akane lifted her gaze as the other three troupe members approached, and for a moment had forgotten about the silks incident.

Ivory raised a slight eyebrow at Geralt's.. 'humble' apology. Obviously, she believed none of it was genuine, but she knew what his intent was here, considering Lucien was right there, and she had time to calm in regards to her irritation to the situation. If her silks had in fact not been burned, then there was nothing for her to really be mad about.

"It's fine." Her initial response was short, but it was the best they could expect. She had managed to avoid her initial response of anger, which was a success in her book, considering she was sure Geralt would have just loved to see her get all furious just to end up telling her her silks were fine. She was not about to make a fool of herself.

"That's good to hear, however I don't need you to return them to me, just put them back where they belong, which I'm sure is an easy feat for you." She told him. He could at least do that much.

Lucien raised a slight eyebrow at this exchange. Honestly he was a bit surprised to hear Geralt give her such a.. seemingly heartfelt apology, but now it made him feel a little guilty for his earlier scolding of him, though the magician could have just said that to begin with. He'd be sure to apologize to him for the misunderstanding. What surprised him more was Ivory's reaction to the whole thing. She had taken it.. rather calmly. He was honestly impressed with how well she was managing to keep her cool around the magician. Considering how well the show had gone and how good their transition had been, he was glad he had decided to partner them up. He just hope this relative.... peace between them would last.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Ivory shook her head at Illy's question. "No, he doesn't share more than he has to." She said, though she did find the fact he could do it interesting, if it was real, at least.

"If it's real, we should try to stay aware.. just in case..." She added. Knowing that he could possibly be capable of doing something like that was a bit concerning, considering what someone could actually do with that kind of power. Still she knew asking would get them nowhere, since she was sure he'd never admit to it being real or fake, so the only choice they had was to wait and see for a better sign of how real it might actually be.

"We might as well join up with the others, we have a busy night ahead." She said, giving Illyana a glance for a moment. She didn't mind going over there again if the fortune teller was up for it. She was just as curious about finding more information about Geralt as she was.

-

Lucien could see that Geralt was not entirely pleased by the scolding he had received, but there was no helping it. While he appreciated the man's creativity, he felt like doing things like that would only increase tension among other troupe mates, even if it wasn't the intention, which he did hope that wasn't the case. He just wanted to make sure that he kept that in mind.

Akane's smile widened at Geralt's response. "It's certainly well deserved, it was very fun to watch!" She said, before then looking at Cora. "I hope you liked seeing the dance in action!" She added, referring to her own act and the dance the mermaid had helped her practice. She had been looking forward to Cora being able to see it mixed in with the other elements of her act.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien was amused by Faolan's response, taking the half of the bread he was offered as he continued to ponder, eating the bread he had been given. He would probably not come up with something today, but he'd be sure to keep it in mind as the day went by. The nephilim couldn't help but smile to himself as he watched Faolan interact with the child. It wasn't really something he got to see much, considering most children were intimidated by him, but he could at least tell Faolan seemed to have warmed up to the idea of this, and he was glad for it.

Snake tilted his head in slight confusion at Faolan's words. "There's more?" He asked, looking down at the bread. He was used to small quantities of food so.. it was strange for him to be told there was more available. He followed the man's gaze to the bag at his feet, and his snake like tongue poked out of his mouth for a second as it helped him take in the scents around him. He could smell.. meat in the bag. That was something he hadn't been able to have in a while, and it almost made his mouth water.

"Meat?" He asked.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien had mirrored his lover's expression at his question. He had never mentioned he had a dog, but he couldn't deny that he wasn't curious as to what Faolan named him. At his answer however, Lucien could not stop himself from letting out a laugh.

"You named your dog dog? Faolan did you even try?" He couldn't help but tease, his eyes clearly reflecting his amusement. Well if that was Faolan's naming sense then.. he supposed he wouldn't be that helpful in this. He caught the piece of bread he gave him with ease, and expressed his thanks before standing up and going over to hand it to the boy.

"Here you go, I'm sure you're hungry." He told him gently.

The child was clearly surprised by this offer, as he stared at the bread in almost disbelief. The strong smell of it filled his nostrils.. and honestly he couldn't remember the last time he had bread that looked this good. Hesitantly he took it, before taking a bite. Immediately his expression brightened. It was.. just the right amount of crunchy but it was also soft.. but most of all it was delicious.

"Good.." He said, voice muffled through his chewing. Despite how great his hunger was, the bites he took weren't large. His appetite had never been the largest, but he couldn't stop himself from continuing to eat this peace of bread. These people.. were really nice. Even now the large man looked.. less angry than before. He wasn't as scary when he was smiling like that.

Lucien was glad to see the boy enjoy the bread, even though it was a little sad at the same time. When was the last time this boy had gotten a proper meal? To be so excited over a piece of bread? Then again considering how malnourished he looked.. he figured it wasn't often. The boy had quite a way to go for a full recovery.

"I suppose I could try to come up with one.." He said, clearly going into thought. He didn't want to half ass it, after all a name was important. It would signify the start of his new life outside the circus, so he wanted it to be fitting for him.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Ivory wasn't mad, no, she was incredibly annoyed by what Geralt had done. She wasn't sure if this was some sort of intentional jab at her, no actually, she was quite sure that it probably was. Almost on instinct alone she wanted to storm over there and ask him what the hell his problem was, but she didn't. Oh no, she stayed right where she was. She exhaled, and maintained her cool. Play the player, she had reminded herself. It was just silks, she had plenty others, as they were normally replaced when she wanted to change the colors or she felt like they were getting old. It wasn't a big deal, it was just.. the principle of it.

Still, the dhampir would not let this get to her, because she knew that was exactly what Geralt would probably want. No, she would pretend to not care at all, like it didn't bother her. He was simply getting rid of the silks so they wouldn't be in the way, just as Aurel removed his snakes or Akane removed her tools. That's at least what she told herself, to keep her expression neutral. Instead of heading toward Lucien, who she figured Geralt was currently with, she went toward Aurel and Illyana instead.

"What did you guys think of the show?" She asked them.

Aurel glanced over at Ivory as she approached, honestly a little surprised that she didn't seem angry. "It was good.. in all honesty, I could tell that the magic was real.." He said, giving the stage another glance.

"You.. disappeared off the stage, how did that happen?" He was honestly curious, and he figured Geralt might not tell him.. but maybe he could get a response from the dhampir.

"It was teleportation." She told him, not particularly concerned to keep it a secret, at least not with troupe members. "He teleported in and then teleported me out so he could take my place." She explained, causing Aurel to raise his eyebrows.

"That's quite the skill set.." He said. "You don't seem that upset about the silks." He was mostly just curious about it.

"It's not that big of a deal I suppose. There are replacements." She said in an almost casual tone. Even she had to admit she was a bit impressed with her own self-restraint.

-

Lucien's expression did not ease completely, but he was at least glad to know he had a back up plan for what he had done. "That's good to hear. I'm sure Ivory will be glad to know her silks will be replaced, but please do refrain from damaging anything on stage in the future, at least without running it by me first." He told him, pausing for a moment.

"Putting that side, the audience clearly enjoyed today's performance. I will most certainly say tonight was a success. I look forward to what the future will bring." He said, knowing that he couldn't only scold the man. He could not deny how good his show actually was. This would definitely be something the audience would end up talking about to their friends and family. This was how news began to spread, and it was what they wanted.

-

Akane, like the others, had been impressed by Geralt's act, especially the fire related skills he seemed to show. While she was sure Ivory would not appreciate the burning of her silks, she was curious as to what kind of fire abilities this man held to be able to do such a thing. Was it similar to her's, or more limited? She couldn't wait to find out. The magician had certainly been modest, he was clearly skilled, and honestly Akane was glad she had gotten to see it. When the show was over, she waited for all of the audience members to be completely out of the tent, and that there was no one in sight before she shifted back to her own form, and quickly made her way to the side of her stage. She could smell Lucien and Cora there.

Seeing Geralt, her smile widened. "That was amazing!" She said, giving a few claps as she approached.