xivyxx

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

The circus' next stop had taken them into California. Being surrounded by desert, it had taken them a bit longer than usual to reach their next destination, a city named Barstow. Throughout the trip, they had to make frequent stops to make sure everyone got a good amount of rest. During this time, Lucien had taken note that Geralt had made no further effort to speak to him, at least no more than the usual. It made him believe that perhaps he had.. taken the hint and had decided to give up on pursuing anything further with him. In a way he was relieved, but at the same time it was a bit of a shame, since he had found their conversations intriguing.

Ivory had taken note of this, but hadn't really made any comment in regards to it, since it wasn't necessary. Her attitude toward Geralt had eased a little after their last show in Vegas, and she was no longer as curt with him as she used to be, though she still didn't go out of her way to begin conversation. At the same time, she didn't completely shut him out either, and this seemed to have been something Illyana had quickly taken note of. She had decided to explain what happened to the fortune teller, figuring it was only fair she didn't only tell her the bad things about him. While the events hadn't made her like him, it had at least eased her dislike, because she had seen there were other sides to him that were actually pretty tolerable. As long as he didn't go out of his way to annoy her, she could very well stand having him around without it souring her mood.

Akane had focused a lot on what Geralt had told her. The kitsune did not want to bother Geralt often with telling her more, but she had found a good chance to ask him on one of their stops, and they had been able to have another miniature lesson in their temporary mess area. Geralt had inquired as to where exactly her fire came from, so Akane had decided to tell him a bit more about herself. She explained to him about how she had grown up as a sentient fox for about one hundred years, before gaining enough spiritual power to take on a human form. She went into detail in how long it took for kitsune's to gain a new tail, and with it new power.

She explained the spirituality of her flames, which is what made them the color that they were, derived from her own spiritual power. When Akane had asked him where Geralt's flames had originated from, he had responded with a simple 'essentially the same as yours,' which she had found interesting, but hadn't asked more, since she knew he didn't like to share too much. She explained to him how much concentration it took to keep them from burning other people or things, like during her and Ivory's transition where the dhampir had to near the flames. The fact she could do something like that seemed to something that could be of great used to her in learning how to change them in the way she wanted.

The lesson had left the kitsune eager to learn more, but she was very patient, as she saw Geralt occupied a bit more frequently, and as they neared Barstow, she knew they now had to focus on their upcoming shows, so she decided to wait a little while before asking him to help her out again. That hadn't stopped her from being happy about it, however, and had expressed her eagerness to learn to Cora. If she was able to create shapes with her flames.. then perhaps she'd one day be able to form aquatic creatures as well, something she really wanted to be able to show Cora at one point.

Aurel had managed to relax a little more around Geralt. Seeing the newfound distance between him and Lucien made him feel like maybe they had worried a little too much. He was still watchful, but his nerves had eased a little, and he had began carrying his snakes with him again. By then they had all gotten used to the magician being around, and while they were still a bit agitated around him, they controlled it a lot better than they did before, much to Aurel's relief. This had allowed Aurel to be a bit more calm, as he no longer had to worry as much about them.

All of these developments had helped Lucien gain a bit more of a peace of mind. He had never thought he'd see Ivory of all people ease up around Geralt, but it had happened. The stress the Ringleader had been enduring had been greatly reduced, as on top of all of these positive developments, he had officially confirmed to Illyana that they were completely out of any financial danger. It was a good time for it too, considering they had now arrived in California, which was where Illyana had wanted to go.

It was clear she was excited to be so close to the location of her sister, and Lucien was happy to see her this way, knowing how far and how long she had been looking for her. A part of him.. was a little saddened, because he knew what could happen once Illyana found her place at her side. Still, he tried not to focus on it, because he knew this was what Illy wanted. As long as she was happy, he would be too. For now, all he could focus on was to continue their current success, so they could continue to have the resources to get her where she needed to go without worry.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

The fact that Illyana was okay with this put Lucien a little more at ease. This was her home after all..

"Alright, Faolan is going to get us inside." He said before turning to Aurel.

"Aurel, you have the best eyes here. Would you help me on look out?" He asked the teenager, who eagerly nodded.

"Yes of course. I'll have Bengal and Ginger help too, we can each take a window." Aurel responded. While normally he'd be against this kind of thing, he trusted Lucien and Faolan's judgement. It was clear this meant a lot to Illyana too.. so he wanted to do the best he could to help.

Lucien gave him a smile. "You know what to do if you think someone's coming" He said. Faolan's hearing was extraordinary. If someone was about to catch them, all Aurel would have to do is say so, and he would catch wind of it. This made it a lot easier to go about this.

Aurel nodded in response and went over to the window with the best view of the neighborhood, while the two snakes took some opposing it.

"Just let me know if you see any humans okay?" He asked them.

With that out of the way, Lucien motioned for Illyana to follow him, and they both left the bus.

"Lead the way." He told his beloved, knowing he'd know the best way to go about this.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Akane's smile brightened significantly at his response.

"Thank you so much!" She exclaimed.

The kitsune knew that Geralt usually went off to town after their Big Top shows, so she had no intention of interrupting that routine. If anything she had just wanted to take the chance to ask him. She was happy that he agreed. While creating and controlling he fox fire had always come naturally to her, after seeing Geralt at work, she had realized it had so much more potential, and she wanted to make the most of that, not just for the sake of her show, but also for herself.

Akane looked up at him as the man spoke again taking his words into consideration. She looked down at her hands, opening and closing them as he explained.

"Hmm.. I see.." She said thoughtfully. By then, they had arrived at the entrance of the circus. She didn't want to keep Geralt any longer, so she stopped her walk.

'I'll think more on what you just told me, and see where that takes me. Thank you again for the advice! I know you're headed out, so I'll leave you here. I hope you have a good night, Geralt." Akane said with a soft smile. She was honestly excited for this. After she had left Japan she had kind of lost access to being able to ask other kitsunes or shrine maidens more in regards to her abilities. She had learned enough, and she knew her future was filled with more chances to seek more knowledge and power, and she was excited for it, but right now, she wanted to master the things she could do further. There was a small sense of accomplishment that came from doing that.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien followed Faolan's gaze toward the house. Breaking and entering wasn't really ideal to him, but if he really thought they might have left something behind, then it really was worth checking. Part of him hoped they would be able to find something of Illyana's inside, at least to give her a little something of what was her home.

This entire situation wasn't going to be easy, he knew that. Illyana had clearly wanted to go home, and he didn't think she would be giving up so easily. That left them with an unclear future, mostly because there was no way he was just going to abandon this child without being sure of what future she would hold. They'd figure things out, one way or another.

"Alright.. let's look inside." He said, glancing over at the bus. "I'll go tell Illyana. I'm sure she wants to look inside too... considering it's her home.. she might also know where to look for important things." He said, before turning and walking back into the bus.

Aurel was glad that Ginger's attempt at comfort had seemingly helped, even if it was just a little. He could only imagine the insecurity she was going through right now.. since he was familiar with it. He was almost going to speak, but then he heard the bus door open, and Lucien came back inside.

"Illyana.. Faolan and I are going to check out the inside of the house to see if anything was left behind. Would you like go with in with us?" He asked her.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Akane should have expected that sort of response from him, but she didn't mind it. If anything she respected it, but as he confirmed her suspicion that they had something about that in common in the way they went about this. She let out a giggle at this.

"Yes! I agree. It's much more meaningful too. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone!" She said in a whisper, placing her index finger against her lips.

That particular phrase had brought something else that the kitsune had been thinking about to mind.

"Oh, speaking of your tricks.." She said, pausing for a moment. She honestly wasn't sure if Geralt would be alright with this, considering how protective he was of his secrets, but.. she decided to ask anyway.

"I had actually.. been meaning to ask you about the fire you make. I think it's pretty amazing that you can shape it into all sorts of things.. and honestly I've been wanting to learn how to be able to do that. I know you're probably busy right now, and I'm not asking you to tell me how you do it.. but I was wondering if.. you could maybe give me a bit of advice on how to approach something like that? Whenever you have the time, of course. I'm not in a hurry." She asked a little sheepishly, fiddling her thumbs.

Akane knew that Geralt was a busy man, so she wouldn't pressure him to help her if he wasn't able to. She was totally okay with that, but she figured it was worth a shot to ask.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

No more than a week.. so it had been recent. Lucien's eyebrows furrowed as Faolan spoke. He wasn't a fool.. he knew what was going on here.. he was just finding it hard to accept it.. mostly for the girl's sake.

"Even.. if that's the case.. I still need to know. The more informed we are the better." He said. Faolan's anger was clear, and he didn't blame him for it, he was angry too, but he didn't want to let that get in the way of him potentially being able to get his answers. He would hold back for the girl's sake.

"I think it would be best if you stayed near the bus for now. Depending on what I manage to find out, we can decide what to do next." He said.

Once Faolan had headed over there, Lucien began walking to the home next door. He got rid of his displeased expression, before he gently knocked on the door. A woman opened it, seemingly a little surprised to see him.

Still, he gave her a charming smile, and a small bow. "Good evening, Ma'm, I'm terribly sorry to drop by so suddenly." He said, in a perfectly fluent, American accent. Over the years he had mastered the language enough so no traces of his French accent remained. Usually he only had to do this in specific circumstances, this was one of them.

"O-Oh no.. it's quite alright, how may I help you Sir?" The woman asked.

"I am a relative of Mr. and Mrs. Brewer from next door. Some of my family and I have been on the road for quite a while, and had decided to drop by for a visit, but I happen to see that they aren't there anymore. Might you have any idea of where they went?" He asked, motioning in Faolan's direction. From all the way over here, it was probably that they could see some sort of resemblance.

The woman glanced over at the man and then the bus, before looking back at Lucien.

"The Brewers? Well.. I'm sorry to say I'm not exactly sure where they've gone. Are they unable to get into contact with you?"

"I'm afraid that letters are a bit hard to receive on our end, so I assume we must have missed their reply." He said with a sigh.

"That's unfortunate.. I don't think I can be of much help. About five days ago, they just kind of.. vanished. A lot of the neighborhood hadn't even noticed them move away. They weren't the most sociable people but.. I thought they'd at least say goodbye.." The woman said.

"Oh my.. that's very unfortunate.. Perhaps we should have timed our visit a little better. I'll reach out to the rest of our family, and be sure to reprimand them for moving away without giving their proper goodbyes."

The woman let out a small laugh. "That's not necessary, but I do appreciate the sentiment. I do hope you're able to reach them soon."

Lucien nodded. "Yes.. I do as well. Thank you so much for the information, please have a good rest of your day." The man said.

"Thank you, you as well!"

With that, Lucien turned on his heel, and headed back to Faolan. His pleasant smile became bitter as he did so. It was clear that they had probably left in a hurry. There was really no doubt in his mind that they were running away from something. Guilt perhaps? Guilt at having left their daughter behind. He clenched his fists, his anger becoming harder to restrain, but as he got closer he attempted to keep himself in check. He didn't want to scare the girl.

"I don't think breaking in will tell too much, aside from making it clear they left quickly." He said quietly, not wanting either Illyana or Aurel to overhear.

"I can maybe.. look into things at the bank, if the home was sold to them.. but.. it might not get us much. Is our only choice to talk to her?" He asked. There was no doubt in his mind now that Illyana hadn't told them everything... speaking to her would probably give them more information but.. in her current state, he felt bad doing so.

Aurel distressed a little as he saw the girl's tears beginning to flow. He got up for a moment to retrieve some napkins, before placing them next to her quietly. Ginger, sensing her sadness, slithered down from the nearby shelf and nudged her shoulder, hoping to help make her feel better.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Her eyebrows raised slightly at what he said, not really having expected for him to want to give her something in return. He extended a familiar looking card, like the ones from his deck they always played with. Carefully, she took it from him, and turned it around to see which card it was. The Jack of Hearts.

"Oh! A card!" She exclaimed. It was easy to recognize that it was similar to the other cards that Geralt had given their troupe-mates. Cora had been quite excited to tell her when Geralt had given her the Queen of Hearts, now she really was wondering whether there was a sort of meaning to all this. Perhaps he also had a similar way of going about this as she did with her origami.

"Thank you so much! I'll be sure to keep it safe!" She said. "I had actually been a little curious about these. Do you have a meaning behind them too? In the way you decide who to give them to?" She asked, her curiosity clearly reflected in her eyes. Akane knew she was not the only one who wanted the answer to this question, so she figured this was actually the best time to ask him.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien was glad Illyana had agreed, and watched the girl retreat back inside the bus with saddened eyes. He really wished this was something he hadn't had to do. Part of him might have preferred that her parents were here so he could give them a piece of his mind. Maybe it would have prompted them to treat her better.. but it seemed to them, running away had been a much better option. How cowardly.

He was snapped out of his thoughts as Faolan approached him. "Can you tell how long they've been gone, Faolan?" He asked, knowing how good his nose was. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked back at the empty house.

"I.. think it's best if I talk to the neighbors.. to find out what happened. I really.. don't want to jump to any conclusions but.." He trailed off, knowing he didn't need to say anymore.

Aurel's worry hadn't eased at Faolan's response, but he didn't ask further.. mostly because he knew right now they probably didn't have too many answers to give him. He nodded slightly at what he said, and had closed the curtains once more once he heard Illyana stepping inside. At first he was unsure of what he should say to her.. mostly because he didn't think anything he could say would make her feel better.

"I'm sure.. that Lucien and Faolan will figure out what happened here.." He attempted to encourage.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Akane was happy to see his reaction, and more importantly, his smile upon receiving it.

"Thank you!" She exclaimed. "Oh yes, it's called origami. You can make all sorts of things! It's actually really fun." There was a part of her that felt like this was something Geralt would actually be pretty good at doing, considering he was quite skilled with his hands. She had taught Aurel how to do a few different ones, he had seemingly enjoyed the lessons.

"Oh yes, everyone's is different!" She said, before letting out a small hum. "Well.. I actually spent quite a bit of time wondering what I should pick. That was when cats came to mind. They are sometimes used to portray a witch's familiar right? I hear they're very faithful to them. I felt like your skill set with magic tied in a little to that, so I thought.. why not make a familiar of sorts for you? I know it's not real but.. I thought it was a nice idea. I do know that black cats have a bit of a bad rep in America, but when I'm from they actually represent good fortune and prosperity. Black cats in particular serve as a talisman against bad luck or danger as well. So I decided this would be the best thing to give you." She explained.

The kitsune had actually put quite a bit of thought into this. She always did, with every single one she had made. To Lucien she had given a white crane, to Illyana, a mouse. Aurel had gotten a snake, and Ivory had gotten a blue butterfly. Cora on the other hand, at this point had almost every aquatic animal in her possession. Since she had ended up making so many for her, Ivory had actually helped her put them all together and made a wind chime for her to hang in her trailer, where she would be able to see them all without worrying about them getting ruined. It always put a smile on her face to see them whenever she visited her, because it showed how much she cared for them.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien nodded, showing that he acknowledged her words.

"I believe you. Neither of us think that you lied to us. Faolan and I wanted nothing more than to make sure you got to your family safely, so believe me when I tell you that I wish to help you find out what happened here. I don't want to jump to any conclusions, so would you please allow me to handle this? I can go ask the neighbors a couple questions and see if they know anything, but to do that, I think it would be best if you headed inside the bus. I'm sure seeing your family gone and you here would be less than ideal to them." He kept his tone soft as he explained. He didn't want to disregard her pain, but at the same time, they had no answers yet, and he didn't want to confirm or deny anything to her without having all the answers.

Aurel looked back toward Lucien and Illyana as Faolan told him what had happened.

"Did.. they abandon her?" He asked, his voice quiet. That was a feeling he was familiar with, but at the same time.. he couldn't imagine the heartbreak she could possibly be feeling at finding this out. At least for him.. the people who had left him were people he was completely detached from. He had expected no care or emotional connection from them.. but.. these were her parents.. even if they seemed to not get along well.. she was still their child.. and.. what about her sister?

"What are we going to do?"