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Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Akane smiled at the Magician's compliment. "Oh, thank you! Yours was also fantastic! I could tell the audience was in complete awe." She told him. His shows were always so interesting to watch, mostly because he had so many different tricks up his sleeve.

"I've actually been meaning to find the chance to give you something." She said, having been keeping both her hands behind her back, she moved them in front of her, clearly hiding something in her hands.

"I've noticed you've been a little down lately, so I didn't want to bother you, but I hope it's not wrong of me to assume that it seems like you're mood has improved, so I thought this was a good chance." She said, before moving one hand to reveal what she was holding. It was a small piece of origami, in the shape of a black cat.

"I made this for you a little while ago. It's one of my hobbies, but this is kind of.. a little something that I do for all troupe members here. I make something that reminds me of them, or can be.. a bit symbolic I suppose? Everyone has one, well, except Cora, because she liked the one I gave her so much I ended up making more, but I wanted you to have one too." She explained with a warm smile.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien had seen that dreaded For Sale sign just as quickly as Faolan had. It seemed Illyana was too lost in her own excitement to be home to have noticed. A grimace filled his face as he exited the bus, and had given his love a glance.

"Definitely not this.." He said quietly. The man had many mixed feelings. He was angry, at the fact that this child's parents would have just packed up all their things and left. They had abandoned her, but part of him wasn't sure if the girl was better off with or without them. At the same time, he felt incredibly pity for her, because he could see how badly she had wanted to return.. despite whatever treatment they had given her. It was sad, to be the one to have to shatter that hope for her. It was clear the girl had missed the sign, but she was beginning to see something was wrong.

He let out a small sigh, before he approached the front door.

"Illyana.." He spoke with a gentle voice. "There does not seem to be anyone here. Are you sure that this is the right place?" He asked, kneeling down to her level. Lucien didn't think that was the case, considering the girl's intelligence, but at least.. he could ease her into the bad news he would have to give her.

Aurel had remained on the bus, but had opened a curtain to be able to see what was happening outside. He saw the sign, and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He glanced toward Faolan who was currently leaning against the bus, and called out to him.

"Faolan.. is everything okay?" He asked.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

"Of course." Ivory would have expected nothing less. To an extent, she figured he would make some form of comment on it. Despite his words, she wasn't sure how true that was. Even though she had come to learn and observed certain things about his character, she hardly knew anything about the man himself. Neither she or Illy were really any closer to that, unfortunately.

Geralt hadn't given her much of a chance for her to respond to his words, so she just watched him leave. That was possibly one of the most.. positive interactions she had with the man, in which she had managed to go a good amount of time by being annoyed by something he said and did. It was certainly a contrast to the mood he had been in lately. She entered her trailer, and shut the door behind her. It seemed there were still different sides of the magician to explore.

----

The third round of performances had been just as good, if not better, than the first two. Ivory had found time to let Lucien know about Cecelia and her mother, and as she had expected, he hadn't minded it. On the contrary, he had been happy to hear that the dhampir had been able to have a positive interaction with a fan. It had.. inspired Ivory a little, though unbeknownst to her at the moment, to try to make her shows more intricate. Now that she knew her fan base included more than just unruly men. She'd put extra effort into this upcoming last performance in Vegas.

When the fourth, and final night rolled around, the turnout had certainly broken any records they had in the past few months. Everyone had been in a fairly brightened mood, even Geralt, though it seemed he had still been avoiding Lucien a little. The Ringleader had noticed, but had not said anything about it, and did his best to act as if nothing was wrong. He hoped this would not continue too long.

As they readied for the Big Top Show, Ivory had been glad to see that Cecelia and her mother had showed up for it, and they had been offered front row seats to the performance as promised, much to the little girl's clear excitement. Lucien had made a suggestion in regards to autographs to the dhampir, about how people loved to sometimes have something signed by their idols. It wasn't normally something she did but.. had decided to give it a try. She had cut a piece of one of her silks, and had signed it. While a bit reluctant, she had approached Geralt and asked him if it was possible for him to give that to her at one point during his shows, since it seemed within his capability. Thankfully the magician had agreed, and the rest of the night had gone as planned. Their Big Top Show in Las Vegas had been an incredible success.

After their meeting, the members had begun to disperse, but Akane had made haste to catch up to the magician. Honestly, the kitsune had been worried about the Magician for a while, given his soured mood. She had wondered if something had happened.. and had begun to think about what she and Cora could possibly do to make him feel better. In the end it had been unnecessary, as they had taken note of his brightened attitude these past couple days. With that in mind, she had chosen to approach him. There was something she had been waiting for the right time to give him.

"Geralt!" She had called out, falling into step next to him.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Ivory gave Geralt a glance at his following comment. She wasn't really that bothered by it. He was right in questioning it. Under normal circumstances she might not have done something like that.. but there was something in that moment that prompted her to do it. Maybe it was the girl's cheerful personality.. or how much she admired her. She just couldn't help herself, but it seemed he agreed that she had done a good thing, though she wasn't sure how much that was worth, considering how the man was normally...

"It's not often I have positive experiences with fans. Plus.. she's a good kid, and her mother clearly works hard to take care of her.." She muttered.

"I don't really think it's all that rebellious. I had full intention of paying for their tickets if Lucien had an issue with it. It's not like I have much to do with my money anyway. I'll let him know tomorrow." She said, before stopping as they arrived at her trailer. "But I'm sure you know him well enough at this point to know he won't mind."

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

"I'm sure she will." Aurel responded to her, before following her gaze out the window. Now that they had engaged in conversation, things felt a little less awkward between them, and it seemed it had helped Illyana relax a little, which he was glad for.

As she spoke up again, Aurel looked at her again, and shook his head. "I knew they could be found in many places, but not every continent. Lucien bought me a book about them a while ago, but it was a little general." He told her.

"You seem to know a lot about snakes, is it the same for other animals? Do you have a favorite one? Mine are snakes, obviously." He said with a small chuckle.

The girl then went on to describe about ten different animals before she had realized that the list didn't seem to be any closer to finishing.

"I guess I don't have a favorite because I like all of them." Illyana had said, leading Aurel to let out a small laugh. For some reason that did not surprise him.

They fell into a bit more of conversation after that, which mostly consisted of Illyana giving him more random bouts of knowledge. It seemed she had dedicated a lot of time to reading.. considering how much she knew despite being so young. The two of them had spent their time like this, until they had reached another stop. They used that time to talk to the yellow python, who had been more than pleased with the name they had come up with for her. Seeing that Illyana was more comfortable with her, Aurel had decided to bring her into the bus so the girl could spend more time with her.

With these distractions available, time had seemed to fly, and before they knew it, they began to near the girl's home. She had made her way to the front to begin to guide Lucien and Faolan there.

Lucien had picked up a bit of the conversation between Aurel and Illyana, but it there hadn't been much he could hear that revealed too much more about the girl, aside from her likeness of animals. Still, he was glad that she had opened up a little more after talking with him.

Faolan followed Illyana's directions. Occasionally Lucien glanced back at the girl, who seemed a little nervous, but he didn't make any comment on it. For now all he could do was observe until they arrived at their destination.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Ivory hadn't actually thought she'd get a comment from the first thing she had said. At most she had expected some sort of witty reply, but she didn't really see traces of that in his answer.

"Well it's never too late.." She had mostly muttered to herself. It seemed Geralt was very much aware of the kind of person that he was. He did not really seem like the type of man to give up, so she was a little surprised to hear him so.. resigned? She was unsure of what to think of it.

"I'd simply rather not take any chances. I'm not nearly as approachable as some of our troupe-mates. Though, I will say that Cecelia certainly does not fit that bill. She'll grow up strong." She said with a small smile, before letting out a small huff at his following comment. If only that were true. Plenty of men only saw her 'beauty,' and had no regards for her strength in the least. She had enough experience in knowing this because of men she had encountered in the streets during some of the troupe's outings to town. It was really irritating. While she had been opposed to accepting or acknowledging Geralt's compliments in regards to her looks, this was something she was actually glad to hear.

"That's a compliment I will happily accept." She said.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

A smile lingered on Aurel's lips as Illyana began to think intently of a name for her. It was nice to see how serious she was about doing this, and it seemed that it had indeed gotten her mind off of what they had previously been talking about. He did not interrupt her train of thought, and simply let her think.

At her first suggestion, he shook his head, mostly because it seemed she didn't like it either. It was nice but.. a little odd at the same time, in comparison to Bengal.

"This hatchling is amussing." Bengal hissed as he made his way back to his resting place at his shoulder. He didn't disagree with him. She was certainly different than other children he had encountered in the past. This reminded him a little of when Lucien had worked hard to come up with his own name. The thought of that made his smile widen.

Finally, Illyana had made up her mind, causing Aurel to let out a small chuckle. That might have been the loudest he had heard the girl speak.

"Ginger huh.. that sounds really nice.. I think she'd like that. What do you think, Bengal?" He asked the snake, who nodded in agreement.

"It iss adequate." He responded.

"Then, Ginger it is. I'll let her know next time we stop. Thank you for your help." He said.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Her question had surprised him, a rare instance, but Ivory was glad to have actually received a proper answer. It seemed to be something he didn't have to hide. She wondered how he would react if he knew she had been watching his original interaction with Cecelia? While curious, she decided that for now she'd keep it to herself.

His response had been intrieging, and it caused her to raise an eyebrow. There was no denying that Geralt was certainly not a simple man, but quite the opposite. To hear him be envious of children of all things.. it was strange.

"You could always try to be less complicated." She responded, tilting her head ever so slightly at the unfamiliar expression he wore as he pulled out his pocket-watch. Geralt was.. certainly a man of many faces. It was when he wore a face like this that it made her curious to know what was on his mind, considering how used to she was to the smug look he always wore on his face. It made him just a little more likable.

At his question, she faced forward again, but continued her current pace. If he had been a bit taunting in his tone, she might have not been inclined to give him an answer.

"It's not that I like or dislike them. I simply don't know how to act around them. I don't have chances to interact with kids often, and they seem so fragile, so I'd rather just keep my distance.. I'd rather not accidentally scare them away." She said.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Aurel had noticed her expression had immediately dropped at the mention of the circus. That.. was strange, considering he thought most kids loved that kind of thing, unless she had never been to one.. or maybe had gone to one and seen something she didn't like? He didn't ask about it, considering he also didn't want to talk about his experience there. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her.. but it really seem like this topic got to her, and that worried him.

He welcomed the change of subject, and gave her a small smile to attempt to ease her a little as Bengal slithered back up his arm.

"Sure, I'd welcome the help." He told her, before glancing out the window.

"She's a yellow ball python. She's fairly large, and probably still has room to grow." He said with a small smile. He still remembered when he had first found her out in the forest. She had been curious about him, and had taken a liking to him instantly. He remembered almost giving Lucien a heart attack from having been found with the snake wrapped tightly around him, but not enough to hurt him, she had only been curious, but had decided fairly quickly that she had wanted to tag along with him.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Ivory let Geralt take the reigns on the rest of the conversation, seeing no need to add anything else. Her suggestion had ended up making Cecelia very happy. There was an odd.. warm feeling, that she didn't really get often at this. While very unsure of herself when it came to dealing with kids, that choice had been a good one.

"No problem.. just give Cecelia's name at the gate, and they'll be sure to let you in." Ivory said, making note to let one of the carnies know about this tomorrow, and Lucien as well.

The dhampir was slightly caught off guard as Cecelia flung herself at her, not really having been expecting her to do that. For a moment she grew rigid, not really used to that kind of physical affection, but had at least managed to gently pat the girl’s head before she had pulled away. She really was too awkward with kids...

”You’re welcome.. see you on the final night.” She told her with a small wave, as Cecelia and her mother began to take their leave. She hadn’t minded the silence that followed too much, but when Geralt had finally spoken up, she gave him a glance. Opposite to how the man’s attitude had been lately.. he certainly appeared to be in a better mood now. Had the interaction with the child done that? It was a bit unexpected. Right now she had no reason to be sarcastic or spiteful toward him, so she responded normally.

"Definitely not how I was expecting the night to end.." She said, finally turning around to begin to head back toward their trailers. Unlike usual though, she was not incredibly quick in her step, to at least show she wasn't trying to leave him behind.

"Do you like children?" She asked as she turned slightly to look at him. Her question was fairly straightforward, thinking this would be the best way to get an answer.