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Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien couldn't help but be a little amused by her reaction. "Don't worry, I didn't read any of your notes, I simply saw them." He reassured her, watching her take a glance in Aurel's direction again. It seemed that he had decided to stay out of sight, considering how the girl reacted to him before.

The girl's next question surprised him, but made him chuckle. Even though he had approached this conversation knowing this child was intelligent, he had still somehow underestimated her. From her tone, he had a feeling that she already knew the answer to her own question. Had she even gotten a good look at Aurel to come to that assumption? He didn't really think so... but if she already knew the answer there was no point in lying to her. To think he'd be tested by a child... Ironic indeed.

"He isn't, but I consider him a part of my family." He responded, hoping that answer would suffice. He was entirely truthful in that manner. Over the years, he and Faolan had considered Aurel part of their family. They had practically raised him.. and taught him many things. This.. was probably what he imagined having a son would be like.

At the word "family", the girl's nose crinkled in an unmistakable sign of annoyance...or it may have just been her semi-constant frown that made her look that way. It could have also been sadness, but it was hard to tell without knowing her better. It wasn't hard to assume however that maybe she didn't get along too well with her own.. considering the picture he had seen.

"Do you mind if I ask for your name?"

Aurel could not help but smile to himself upon hearing Lucien say this. It.. was the same for him as well. Having grown up with no true family.. Lucien and Faolan were the closest thing to that. He couldn't remember any sort of parental figures in his life.. but after meeting them.. he could openly say they really felt like that to him. He didn't feel as lonely as he used to, even when he still had the snakes around him.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Ivory lifted her gaze as she felt a pair of eyes on her, only to see it was Geralt of all people, crossing the grounds, very much so in an indecent state. Was she surprised? No, not at all. Considering Lucien was out and about, she very much expected something like this, and rolled her eyes, with no intention of hiding it. Shaking her head she shifted her glance back to the book she was reading.

Lucien on the other hand, had been caught a bit by surprise by Geralt's actions, not because he didn't believe him capable of it, but simply because he hadn't expected it. He was walking quite proudly across the grounds, clearly not bothered by any eyes on him.. as a matter of fact he probably wanted the eyes on him. He of course could not deny that the man was attractive in his own right. He had grown fond of his company, and he made an excellent partner in conversation.. but Lucien always made sure to keep a bit of distance between them, not wanting Geralt to get the wrong idea... but sometimes it was easy to forget. Their conversations just.. flowed so naturally.

Aurel had noticed this had caught Lucien's attention, but spoke up, wanting to distract him from the sight. He was sure that Geralt wanted Lucien to keep looking in his direction.

"Lucien." Aurel's voice broke him out of his thoughts, and caused him to glance down. "Would you mind cutting just a little more?" He asked.

"Oh, yes of course. How much more? An inch?" He asked.

The man nodded. "Yes.. an inch is fine.." He said, giving Geralt a small glance out of the corner of his eyes.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien couldn't help but feel a little surprised that the girl hadn't questioned him any further in regards to his ability.. and had simply accepted his answer. Perhaps there really was more to this girl than he thought. When one was capable of strange things.. it made it easier for them to believe other things was possible. That had been the case with Faolan, and Aurel as well. Really.. what were the chances that he would run into another child with some sort of special capability?

At her next question, Lucien had wasted no time in picking up the backpack from the floor and setting it down at her feet.

"They're right here. I do apologize, we looked through them to try to get a clue to what had happened to you, but I assure you everything is in there." He told her.

"Do you like animals? I couldn't help but notice the encyclopedia you had, even more so to see it was annotated." He commented, hoping that this would help the girl open up a little more. At the same time he was also curious about her, considering this wasn't the kind of book he'd imagine a young girl her age to have.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Aurel was more than ready to leave after he said he would figure things out, but he noticed him looking at Liquorice, and before he could properly excuse himself, he had spoken up again. He was a bit surprised by the question, but hadn't really been given a chance to answer it, as the Magician spoke up again.

The man could not help but grimace at the words that followed. He was somewhat familiar with the way some people viewed snakes. Even as a child he had heard adults make comments about it in his previous circus.. because he was a child surrounded by such dangerous creatures.. and had even heard such things about himself.. but he had tried not to let it bother him, Lucien certainly hadn't minded it, and had even explained that in some religions snakes symbolized something else.

Geralt continued to speak before he could make any comment in regards to his words, at least adding a bit more positive meaning to the creatures.. but for whatever reason it still didn't sit well with him. Liquorice hadn't torn his eyes away from Geralt, and slithered up to his shoulder, almost glaring at the man. Honestly he was unsure of what to say to anything he had just told him.

"Er.. it's fine... happens to the best of us.." He said simply. "I'd be careful though.. some people might not take it as well.." If he had walked in on someone like Ivory well.. he would have felt a bit bad for the man.

"I sstill don't like him." Liquorice complained.

"Bye.." He told him, before quickly leaving the area. He headed straight for Lucien's trailer and knocked on the door.

"Come in." He heard ther ringleader call out, prompting him to open the door. He had been looking at a few maps to pass the time, preemptively seeing where they should go after they were done with Mesquite.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything.." Aurel told him, remaining by the door.

Lucien of course was quickly to shake his head. "No, not at all. What do you need?" He asked.

"I was wondering if you could cut some of my hair if you weren't busy? It's getting too long.."

The Ringleader smiled. "But of course. I'll bring a chair out, give me one moment. It's best to do it now since your hair is wet."

Aurel nodded, letting Lucien grab his things before walking back outside. Lucien then joined him with a chair, towel, comb, and a pair of scissors.

"I was wondering when you might ask me, I was noticing it was getting quite lengthy." He said a little amusingly as set up and Aurel took a seat and Lucien began to brush it. It was at times like these that Lucien felt a bit nostalgic, getting to do this again.

---

It was around this time that Ivory had finally left her trailer. She had already taken her shower, and had been relaxing a bit in her trailer while the sun went down to a bit of a less annoying state. She figured now would be a good time to eat some food, and so she made herself a sandwich to eat, taking note of Lucien beginning to cut Aurel's hair.

She smiled a little, before taking a bite of her food. When she was finished with it she washed her plate and put it away, but instead of going back to her trailer she decided to stay in their temporary mess area, to read the book Illy had given her. Occasionally she'd glance over at Lucien and Aurel, who were in small conversation as the Ringleader cut his hair.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien let out a small relieved sigh upon seeing the girl finally begin to eat. It seemed she had finally calmed down, which he was thankful for. He hadn't wanted her to end up exhausting herself mentally again.. she needed all the strength she could get. He allowed the silence to remain as she ate, not wanting to make her feel like she had to rush in any way. When she was finally done, she seemed thoughtful for a moment, and again Lucien didn't speak. It was the girl that had broken the silence between them.

Her question hadn't been one he had been expecting, at least.. not yet. The girl's eyes seemed sharp. He had a strong feeling that she was quite the inquisitive child.. but he wasn't sure how much he should say, after all, she was still a child. Still.. she had that strange third eye, and it was certainly not normal, it didn't match the color of her other two, but he wasn't sure what she could do with it either. Lying to her would make him seem less trustworthy, so he decided to go with the truth, just not.. so specific, similar to what he had done with Aurel, though he wasn't sure how much of that would fly with this girl.

He'd cross that bridge when they got to it.

"I healed them." He told her honestly. "It's.. a special thing that I can do, it's why I studied medicine." He added, hoping that might satisfy her curiosity.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Aurel hadn't wasted any time in moving to begin to dress himself as Geralt had finally given him his privacy, not really taking as much time as he usually would have, considering the Magician was waiting right outside. At the question that broke the silence, however, Aurel froze, having been in the process of putting on his shirt. It had lasted only a moment, as he then quickly moved to adjust it. Of course he had seen them.. His back was turned to him when he had opened the curtain. He had done a really good job in not letting Geralt see them.. even the other times they had stopped by lakes to refill Cora's tank, he had always been careful. He was unsure of how much he wanted to share. Only Lucien and Illy knew the whole story after all...

"Yes..." He responded simply, but it was clearly something he held no desire to talk about. Looking up, Aurel tapped on the glass of the water, to waken Liquorice. The snake then crawled off the side and wrapped around his arm.

"Be good.." He muttered to the snake, considering he had been one of the two he had on his person the day he had first met Geralt and him and Jade had hissed at him. He hadn't really interacted with him since then, since he had been keeping his snakes away.

"...I sstill don't like him.." The snake responded, but Aurel didn't say much else, considering Geralt would most likely overhear. He drew the curtain open again.

"All yours.." He said. "You haven't used it before right? Do you want me to show you?" He asked him, hoping to change the subject.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

It seemed that her notice of Aurel had scared her, as the girl began to shoot into a panic. Despite this Lucien remained calm, not wanting her to freak out any further. It wouldn't be good for her current state. Clearly she was more concerned with her current location than she was about eating. It showed the girl was clearly weary about this entire situation... Not that he could blame her.

"Please calm down. We're currently parked in town, since we didn't really know where to bring you. That is my nephew, Aurel. My other friend is currently out buying some actual food for you to eat. I understand that the situation is scary, but I assure you that no one here will hurt you." It was clear that she was famished, considering how often he was hearing her stomach growl. He didn't want her to get worse because she was too worried about her situation to eat.

"You're currently dehydrated. I will answer any question you have, but please eat something." He pleaded to the girl, clearly concerned for her health.

At hearing the girl begin to panic, Aurel was quick to retreat back behind the seat. He hadn't meant to scare her.. but he decided to stay quiet, not wanting to say anything that could end up making things worse. Lucien.. was good at handling this kind of thing, he knew that from experience.. so he decided to just leave it to him. He didn't want her taking note of his appearance and then getting even more scared.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Aurel had jumped slightly upon hearing the curtain drawn opened, and looked over his shoulder to see that it was none other than Geralt. His embarrassment was obvious on his pale skin, but he hadn't wasted too much time in grabbing his towel and wrapping it around his waist, before turning around, shifting his hair to cover his back. The man certainly appeared apologetic, but he wasn't really sure if that was true, considering he hadn't stepped back or drawn the curtain closed again. Well.. at least he wasn't staring. Geralt was certainly lucky it hadn't been one of the girls he had walked in on, and he much preferred this than the magician walking in on Lucien.

"It's alright... I had just finished anyway.." He told him. "If you give me a moment to change.. I'll free this up for you." He added, hoping that'd get him to leave.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Though the girl had taken the food, she had not taken a bite of it. This had partially surprised Lucien, as he figured most children would not have hesitated to eat, especially if they were as hungry as she was. The child was very much intelligent, and weary of him as a stranger. It was impressive, but that also meant he should be more careful in his words.

Finally, the girl spoke, albeit quietly. Lucien of course did not hesitate to answer her question in the most detailed way he could. She didn't want him to think they were hiding anything.

"We are in Middletown, New York. You collapsed on the road.. we thought it would be best if we brought you to the closest town we could find." He told her, wanting to make sure she knew that she at least wasn't incredibly far from where they had picked her up. He figured the more information he gave her, the less confused and weary she might be. He really wanted her to eat.

"I'm sorry if I've frightened you, I promise that you are safe here. My name is Lucien." He introduced himself before attempting to reassure her once again.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

The next three stops had gone fairly smoothly, and had done well to further balance their financial state. The addition of Geralt the Great to their troupe had definitely increased the public turnout. Not only was his name bringing in people that might normally have skipped a circus visit due to his free admission to children, but it allowed the other performers to receive visits they could have missed out on because a couple couldn't afford to take in their child with them. Lucien's stress was slowly beginning to ease as everything was falling into place. Generally it was all going well, but behind the scenes there were some who were taking note that some things were changing.

Geralt was still as mysterious to the troupe now as he had been when he joined them. Ivory was still keeping an eye on him, but wasn't really going out of her way to seek any interaction with the man, mostly because for her there wasn't any need to. It was clear after some time that he had clearly stopped trying to converse with her, which she had been perfectly okay with. She continued with her everyday life and routine, and had even adapted to waking up earlier than she used to before Geralt had joined them. What Ivory had taken note of however was that Geralt's attitude was slowly deteriorating. It wasn't obvious to those who weren't paying attention, but either he was getting careless... or maybe he simply didn't care about putting up appearances with them anymore, at least when Lucien wasn't around. Ivory and Illy had known it would only be a matter of time until this happened. Part of her was glad that they hadn't been wrong, but at the same time she felt bad for Cora and Akane, who hadn't taken as much notice as they had.

Lucien was seemingly the only person that Geralt refused to show this attitude in front of, that much had been made very clear to Aurel, Ivory and Illyana. It was a little irritating, needless to say, but none of them decided to say anything about it, but only because it hadn't really caused anyone harm. Ivory would much prefer Geralt slipped in front of Lucien all on his own, but she had decided she would not hesitate to speak up if he did something that they could not ignore.

Aurel and his snakes were still watchful of Geralt, but he at least managed to not be as nervous around him as before, mostly because he had become used to his presence here. The full moon had come and gone during their second stop, with thankfully no more questions from Geralt about the matter. He wasn't sure if he had noticed Lucien sitting out on top of his trailer all night.. but it didn't seem to have come up in any inquiries. He had finally grown used to not always carrying a snake with him at all times, which was something that he hoped he wouldn't have to continue doing for much longer. Having them around helped put him at ease. His snakes had finally grown used to the Magician's unsettling presence, so he didn't think he had to be too worried about any lashing out occurring, specially now that the man's attitude seemed to slowly be changing. It was.. concerning to him, because part of him worried that the situation would turn into one he was all too familiar with. Still, he tried not to reflect that concern, mostly because.. things were different now.

Currently, the troupe was stopped near a water reservoir where they had refilled the water they used for their bathing to get cleaned up before filling it once more and heading on their way. Over the previous years, Ivory had been trying to work on a decent shower mechanism for them to all use while on the road, and had tried many methods until she had reached their current system. This involved filling large container of water which she had managed to install a pitcher pump into the top of. She had attached a sturdy string from the bottom of the lever of the pump to a foot pedal, that one could use when taking their shower to get more water. This way only the needed amount of water would be used, and none would get unnecessarily wasted. It required setup to use, so it was best suited for when they made overnight stops at lakes or during their actual show stops. Since they were planning to refill anyway, right now was the best time for everyone to make use of it. Half of the members had already taken their shower, and Aurel was the one currently making use of it at the moment.

The shower system had been set up behind one of the large trailers, out of sight of everyone else to further add to the privacy given to the one making use of it. Even though it did have curtains, it was just an extra measure to give them a peace of mind. Liquorice, his garter snake, was resting at the very top of the pump while Aurel took his shower. He stopped pumping the water as finished washing out the shampoo from his hair. He began to think it might be best if he asked Lucien to cut it soon, as it was getting a little too long and was becoming more of a hassle to manage. There had been plenty of times in the past where he had Lucien cut it, but he had never really tried a short hairstyle, it wasn't really something he was used to, and the long hair worked well for his performances. Outside of that he'd usually tie it, so it was never really in his way. If Lucien wasn't busy, perhaps he would go seek him out to cut a few inches off after he was finished with his shower.