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Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien smiled at the girl. "You're very welcome." He told her. She certainly was polite and well-mannered, he could see that clearly.

Aurel had moved from the passenger seat a little, his tongue poking out of his mouth but only for a moment as his nose twitched. He liked testing his nose like this. It was a game that he and Faolan would frequently play. Sometimes he'd make him guess what it was he was hiding, or sometimes he would hide things out in the forest and Aurel would trace them down. It was the best way to sharpen his senses, and honestly the teenager had always found it fun, and would feel quite accomplished when he had found what he was seeking, even as a child.

"Is it roast beef?" He questioned, pausing for a moment. "And.. potatoes?" He added.

At this, the striped snake at the front seat peaked out a little from his lap to look at Faolan as the smell of meat filled the bus.

Lucien took the bundle from Faolan, and set it down next to the girl. "Here you are. We figured it would be best if you had clothes to change into."

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien lightly ran his pencil across the page as he continued his sketch. Slowly it had begun to form the shape of a wolf. An ironic thing to draw on this night.. but this was the sketchbook he tended to draw animals into. He was a bit.. organized when it came to his drawings. Considering how much time he used to have on his hands.. he had gotten a sketchbook for animals, nature, and people, and would take whichever one he felt like drawing in the moment. He had paused to reach for his glass of whiskey when he had heard Geralt's voice at the bottom of his trailer, near the door.

He had raised his eyebrows lightly, a little surprised to hear him, considering how.. hidden away he had been as of late. He didn't blame him though.. in a way it showed him that he might have taken his actions into careful consideration. He sat up straight, and leaned over slightly, to see the man near the ladder.

"Geralt.. I was almost beginning to think you were avoiding me." He said, though he was perfectly aware of that fact. "Feel free to come up." He added. If he was willing to talk with him, then perhaps he had thought things over? Honestly he had hoped the man would come see him sooner in regards to the situation.. but it had certainly taken longer than he had anticipated. Lucien wasn't usually one to let tension remain in the air.. considering how rarely he got angry, but he knew that in this situation, he hadn't been in the wrong. Taking Geralt's pride into consideration.. he decided to let him be.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien was a bit surprised at Illyana's reaction at seeing Faolan. He came off as.. intimidating to most children, but the fact the girl had not reacted to him in this way made him smile a little. It seemed.. they wouldn't have to worry about that with her, which was a little relieving.

Her words in regards to being in danger, at least seemed to be truthful. That much he was glad for. So kidnapping was indeed out of the equation. His golden eyes followed the girl's onto the map. They hadn't been to the place she spoke of, so he didn't know if it was actually a park or not, but he knew for the fact the girl was lying. It seemed that despite believing them to be somewhat trustworthy.. she would still not tell them the truth. Lucien decided that was fine, he wasn't going to push her for it if she didn't want to share the truth yet. If she at least knew where her home was, then they could take her there.

They would at least be able to see her.. home situation for themselves.

"I see.. I'm sorry to hear that you were unable to find your way home.. but don't worry, we'll do whatever we can to get you there. Right, Faolan?" He asked him.

"Of course." He said in return. Lucien knew that Faolan wouldn't want to just leave this girl on her own. This situation was different than Aurel's, if this girl had a home to go to, he would make sure she made it there.

Aurel had listened quietly to the exchange. He wasn't sure if the girl was telling the truth or not.. but he had a feeling that there was more to what they she was telling them. He wished that he could reassure the girl that Lucien and Faolan could be trusted and that she could tell them the truth, but he wasn't sure that his word would mean much to her. He at least.. hoped they would be able to get her home.

He turned his attention back to Faolan when Lucien was done talking, his nose twitching slightly. "What did you bring, Faolan?" He asked, catching the scent of meat.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien could hear the applause that erupted as he had walked away from the tent. At least.. the audience was satisfied, but he could not say he felt the same. The Ringleader attempted to get rid of the expression he wore as he made his way through the grounds. Anyone who knew him well would be able to tell something had happened, and the current events was not something he wanted to share with the rest of the troupe. He'd give Geralt his chance, because he knew that there were some who would view him even worse than they already did. This was his first big mistake, he didn't want to ruin his relationships with the others because of it. He just hoped he had learned not to do it again.

He was heading to the next performance tent when Oscar had approached him.

"I'm done helping Alex, did'ya want me to go back to the Magician's tent?" The man asked.

"Helping Alex?" He questioned.

"Aye, with the new toys? Geralt said you wanted me to go help Alex with that?"

At this, Lucien let out a small sigh, but gave Oscar a smile.

"Right, of course. Thank you, Oscar. You don't have to head back over there, he should be done by now. Go do as you usually do, the night will come to an end soon." He said.

The nephilim couldn't help but be a little annoyed that Geralt had sent the carnie off with a lie, but he knew that Oscar wouldn't have questioned the order. He let him go and went on to continue his rounds, eventually returning to his trailer. Illyana had stopped by at one point to give a report, but aside from that, Geralt had not come to see him.

The following days it had even seemed that he was going out of his way to avoid him, but the next few shows had gone well despite that. The turnouts had been even better than the second day, and it seemed that at least Geralt had learned his lesson, as he didn't catch him doing it again. No one had really seen him around too often, like he was purposefully avoiding socializing with anyone. Even Cora and Akane had left him alone, clearly sensing that the man did not want anyone's company.

Lucien went about his usual last night activities.. heading to town to heal, before returning early before dawn. Once the circus had been all packed up, they hit the road once more. At the moment he wasn't sure where they should stop, but it seemed the popular Las Vegas would seem like a good option now that they had hit Nevada, he just wasn't sure if they should head straight there, or make another stop in between. He had heard that there was currently construction being done on a dam, meaning that this project had given people more job opportunity in these troubled times. Perhaps heading straight there was best?

The Ringleader was contemplating this decision as they had made their stop for the night, to give everyone some proper rest before hitting the road again. It just so happened... that this night had also landed on the Full Moon. He had set up his space of comfort at the top of his trailer as he usually did.

There was a small but comfortable lawn chair he had tied up there for transport, and a small table he usually folded. All of this was usually covered with a tarp to keep it all safe and secure during travel, but he utilized these things on nights like these. On top of the table was a bottle of whiskey, and a half empty glass. On his lap was his sketchbook, his golden eyes being able to see just fine in the darkening sky, where the full moon was already revealing itself. Honestly.. part of him sometimes wondered why he still did this. Here he was.. four years later.. prisoner to a routine he technically didn't have a need for. Despite that.. there had always been a part of him that was hopeful.. that somehow.. something would come of this.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien raised his eyebrows slightly at the girl's response. Utica? He didn't recall seeing that town anywhere nearby. He glanced over to the entrance as Faolan came inside once Aurel had opened the door. He gave him a small smile, glad to see him returned, before he looked over to the girl again. Now that Illyana was up and awake.. seeing her and Faolan this close to each other. He could see a bit of a potential resemblance there, in terms of origin at least. It was kind of nice to see, but he didn't comment on it.

"Illyana, this is Faolan." He introduced, before glancing over to Aurel.

"Would you mind handing me the map that's up front?" He asked him.

Aurel was quick to hand that over, but he didn't linger long, having placed his snake on the passenger seat. He didn't want to give the girl a chance to stare at him too much. While Faolan went on to prepare food, Lucien took a seat again as his eyes scanned the map he had Aurel give him.

"So.. we're right here." He pointed to the map to show the girl. "Utica is.. about 150 miles away... How.. exactly did you say you got lost?" He asked her. To be honest he felt bad for so blatantly pointing out the girl's lie, but in this situation, the more truthful she was with them, the better.

"You don't have to give me the details if you don't want to. Regardless of your answer, I wish to help you. I just want to make sure that you aren't in any danger..." He told her honestly, his worry clearly reflected in his golden eyes.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

It seemed that this whole situation had certainly caught the magician off guard. If there was one thing he had learned, was that Geralt was a prideful man, no matter how humble he tried to make himself seem, that had always been clear to him. He had been okay with it, after all there was nothing wrong with being prideful, as long as it was in moderation. He wasn't sure if Geralt was frustrated simply because he had been caught, or because he had caught him by surprise, something he knew was generally hard to do, but it didn't change his own displeasure to the situation. He was in the wrong.

The Ringleader's expression did not change as Geralt tried to joke, he wasn't in the mood to play along, and the Magician knew that. He believed what the man was saying, but that was not enough to ease his ire. It wasn't why he was angry.

"I believe that all that you say is true, however, I advise you against this in the future. This is not how we do things here. All it takes is one person, who isn't susceptible to hypnotism to ruin everything we have built. It's this kind of carelessness that can completely tarnish a Circus' reputation. I have no doubt in your abilities, Geralt, but there is always an exception out there. I'm simply glad that exception was not here today." He said, looking down at his pocket-watch.

Knowing it was nearing the show's end, he spoke up again.

"Please don't do this again. If you wish to talk with me further on this matter, you know where to find me." He said, before turning on his heel and leaving the tent. In all honesty.. he was disappointed. He didn't really think Geralt to be this careless.. perhaps he really was just that confident.. but this was something the Ringleader was not willing to risk.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

The girl's displeasure upon the question he had asked was clear, but he knew that it was necessary. A new thing he had learned about this girl: She was a terrible liar. He felt a little bad for her at this fact, but it would at least allow him to get more straightforward answers.

"I.. see.." He said. "Well.. where do you live? Perhaps we can take you there." He told her, before nodding at her question.

"Of course." He said, before gently taking the canteen from her and going over to their icebox to get her more water, before returning to her and handing it over.

"My friend should be back soon with some decent food for you to eat." He said, knowing that the jerky hadn't nearly been enough.

"Actually.. Faolan's already back. He's been outside for a while.. I think he was just waiting for the right time to come in?" Aurel spoke up quietly from the passenger seat, causing Lucien to shift his gaze toward one of the windows. That was just like him. He had probably been waiting for the girl to trust him a little more before he came inside, not really wanting to scare her.

"Faolan, do come inside. I don't want to keep her waiting." He called out a little louder than necessary, even though he knew he would have heard him had he spoken in a normal tone.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly at Geralt's response. He could tell by his position that he was maintaining some sort of concerntration on the audience to retain their trance. That meant it probably wouldn't fade until the magician let it go.

"Clearly." He said, crossing his arms, maing no attempt to hide his current displeasure. Geralt didn't appear to be apologetic in the least, which only irritated him further. Instead, the man looked a bit displeased, probably the most displeased he had seen him by his presence. Clearly he had not expected to be caught, but that only irked him further. How many times had he done something like this?

"I decided to make a couple rounds just to see how everyone was doing, but that's besides the point. I sincerely hope that you don't actually think doing something like this is okay? Hypnotizing your audience? I very much hope that this is not a frequent occurrence." He wasn't sure if the Magician would even admit to it if it was, but just the possibility of it angered him. Did he not understand the kind of risk doing something like this?

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien gave the girl a kind smile at her response. "Nice to meet you, Illyana." He told her. By now he could tell that the girl was a lot more relaxed around him. It seemed that he had passed her test, which he was glad for. This meant that perhaps now he could get some answers of his own.

"Now, I don't mean to pry into your business but.. how exactly did you end up on the side of the road? Was there somewhere you were trying to go?" He asked her, hoping this would help him discern whether she was running away or if she had been kidnapped somehow... Somehow he felt like the latter wasn't as likely.. just because of the way the girl acted.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien had returned to the task at hand and finished cutting Aurel's hair, to which the man thanked him. With that out of the way, once the water had been refilled and everyone had gotten their showers out of the way, the troupe set out on the road again to where they'd be setting up next; Mesquite.

The Ringleader had been a bit preemptive in his measures to attract the crowd. During their stop at the reservoir, he had sent a couple carnies to town to spread flyers, giving their advertising a bit of a head-start to the day they actually reached town and began their setup. The turnout the first night had been fairly decent. Of all four days, the first night was usually the least busy, considering they would only just be getting the word out. This one was better than their last stop, at least, and by the time the second night came, the difference had been quite large. It seemed they would be going a bit over what he had calculated they might make in this stop, which was of course good news.

He had decided to make his usual rounds, exchanging words with a family here and there, and would on occasion even give some of the children candy to enjoy while watching the shows, flashing his usual charismatic smile. The Ringleader began to make his way to Geralt's tent, to see how his show was going, considering this was his second one for the night. The first thing he noted upon his approach was the fact that Oscar was not at his usual post at the entrance of the tent. Curious he went inside, through the back, but what he saw was not quite what he was expecting.

Geralt was sitting at the center of the stage, on a chair, reading a book, as if it was the most casual thing in the world. In the audience was the crowd he had been supposedly entertaining, but instead of their usual engaged and brightened expressions, the audience almost appeared to be in some sort of trance. He recognized this look, from when he had seen Geralt hypnotize people before.

Was he.. hypnotizing the entire audience?

Lucien's eyebrows furrowed deeply, his lips forming into a deep frown, an expression not normally seen on the Ringleader.

"Geralt." His stern voice called out to him, though not too loudly. He wasn't really sure what it took to break people out of a trance. "What in the world are you doing?!"