Sebastian Feoure's Story

The tall figure paused, leaning against a post as he winced. He hated walking through the city. It was such a mental strain. Every sight sent a mash of badly matched music in his ears, every honk and yell a splosh of ugly color to frame his vision. Synesthesia was so annoying sometimes.
He moved his shoulder bag and unzipped a compartment, pulling out soundproof headphones. They were meant for music, but Sebastian usually just tucked the plug into his pocket, preferring the silence so his vision was clear. The music from his sight still played, but at least now he could concentrate where he was going.
He checked the address on a pamphlet he held. Memorizing it, the french boy shoved the pamphlet back into his back, tugged his headphones cord into his pocket and set of again.

Around lunch, Sebastian finally managed to get to Freaks Galore. He had missed the early opening crowds, but still had to wait in line for a few minutes to get a ticket.
His black hair stuck up everywhere, except some of his bangs that fell over his forehead. He was wearing his usual black v-neck, blue hoody,and skinny jeans. Leaving his headphones on, he took up his camera from where it hung around his neck and took pictures of a few plants before wondering over too the cages.
Sebastian ran his eyes over a few of the 'freaks', taking in the sounds each person stimulated. There was music he had never heard, ringing in his ears, sounds of faraway country's you would never hear in a city. Everything was so foreign, but in a good way, and for some reason, if he shut out the uglier sounds from the crowds, all the 'freaks' music mingled together pleasantly, like they were all linked in a huge tribal, electronic, classical arrangement. He began walking to each of the cages, camera at the ready, snapping regular pictures of some acts that he thought would inspire some paintings. Then he passed a cage containing a guy about Sebastian's own age.
Adjusting his camera so it could take a clear shot in the low light of the water the guy was in, Sebastian zoomed and took a rather artistic shot of the frog-boys facce looking peaceful with bubbles rising from his mouth. Sebastian reviewed the shot with a smile, nodding his head slightly to the low bass beat from the boy.
He then moved on, snapping photos from add angles and capturing beauty of most of the acts. He only lingered briefly at the cages of Freaks who seemed to be occupied speaking to other audience members.
It's good they're allowed to talk to us if they want to. I still feel bad for them though, I hope they want to be here.

Sebastian then came across a cage that particularly caught his eye. The bars were coated in webbing that sang out like a crystal bell. Entranced he wandered over, only realizing there were two males talking in front of it. Interested, he slipped of his head phones, colors from the crowd immediately swirling to life on the outsides of his vision.

"Before you smack Spidey around, there's a bit of a problem.Little Lizzy Godzilla bruised a few ribs. She won't be able to perform for a while. She can still move a little thought. What do you plan on doing with her until she heals?"

Sebastian couldn't help but curl his lip at the two in disgust. They spurred eye displeasing vomit color and sounded like several un-tuned instrument breaking, not to mention the mention of beating.
"You two sound absolutely distasteful." He scolded them without thinking, French accent flitting through. "Not to mention your colors. très laid."
He noticed one man was in a medical jacket, and thought sheepishly they were probably employees. Oh well.

He approached the cage with the web, reaching in a finger and trailing it down the slightly sticky silk. The musical bell sang temptingly to him, almost bragging about how much prettier it was then the other sounds he saw.
"Bonjour," He said lightly, leaning in a bit. "I'm going to take pictures of your web, if that's already with whoever's in there."
Raising his digital camera to his eye, he cast a final look at the two men, hoping he wouldn't be scolded if they were employees.

"Bonjour, I'm going to take pictures of your web, if that's alright with whoever's in there."

Ridley sat up straight at the sound of the French accent. She recalled, back when she was in the hospital, before she had been transformed, she had started teaching herself different languages. She was fluent in many because of this, and she quite enjoyed speaking with people in their native tongue. This man, he wanted to take pictures of her web? But why?

It wasn't that exciting. It looked like regular spider web in her opinion. Crawling forward, Ridley peeked through a small gap in the webbing to get a clear look at her visitor. She spotted Jack and Timothy first, their faces contorted in rage. She rolled her eyes at them and finally spotted the one taking pictures of her web. He was definitely attractive for someone visiting a freak show.

Though she didn't doubt there were a lot of attractive audience members, but their looks were contorted by how horribly they treated the poor exhibits. Ridley watched him with a curious gaze. He stared at her web as if it were made by a world renowned painter. Someone who took the time to make sure each strand was in its proper place, while Ridley just wanted some privacy.

He looked to be done, as he flipped through the pictures on his camera. Ridley couldn't help her curiosity however, and couldn't help but want to see what he saw. Without thinking, Ridley stretched her hand out of her bars, not caring what he may think seeing the black tough exterior of her exoskeleton.

"May I see?"

Sebastian flipped through his camera, feeling satisfied at the beautiful shots he'd taken of the web. They captured unusual closeup angles of the silk thread, portraying a rushed sort of pattern in their web. Through the camera he didn't get his Synesthesia, and he was able to see the web through normal eyes, where it shone in the dusky light of the cage and spiraled in intricate patterns. They were good shots, if he said so himself, and he was definitely putting one in his protfolio.
He was just about to skip quickly through the pictures of the other acts, before a voice interrupted.
"May I see?"
The boy was almost startled into dropping his camera as his head jerked up to look wide eyed at a girl, peeking at him from behind the web. Her voice had spurred sudden crisp icy blue lines, laced with gold , to dance like a heart monitor in his eyes, in beat with the song of the bell from the web. Contributing to that chiming song was something Sebastian barely recognized as a harp, brought on by her appearance.
The colors slowly faded as she waited for an answer, and the young adult opened and closed his mouth without success.
"Vos couleurs ...." He muttered quietly, barely stopping himself from complementing her sound. He had to sharply remind himself no one else saw or heard the things he did.
Finally managing a normal charming smile, He raised his camera from around his neck and set it back to the photos of the girls web before holding it out, slightly through the bars.
"Of course you may."

He tilted his head as he listened to her never ending harmony, the bell softer as he no longer focused on it. The last time he had been this effected by someones sound- or color- was when he first met Clarry. And as always there wasn't accurate words to describe it. Some kind of duet between a world class musician and a glass bell perhaps.
Despite the fact she was looking through his photos, Sebastian felt he ought to explain why he had been starring at her with childlike amazement now and before. He always felt the need to tell someone of his 'problem' when he did something strange. This was when his awkwardness came into play, seeing as he simply blurted out, "I have a neurological condition."
Smooth Sebastian. He chided himself. Real smooth.

"Vos couleurs..."

Ridley heard him say. She tilted her head. Your colors... What on earth did he mean by that? Probably her hair. She had dyed part of it red long ago, and had forced Jack to allow her to keep up with the coloring. It played off the whole black widow thing.

But the way he said it made it sound like he was seeing a beautiful painting, like the way he looked at her web. And was now looking at her. She couldn't help but blush, recoiling into the shadows as much as she could. She wasn't used to that look. Lust, disgust, and wonder. But never beauty.

Finally, he handed over the camera, and Ridley carefully pulled the item into her cage. It was a beautiful camera, one that probably cost several hundred dollars. Flipping through the photos, she found very mundane things. A lamp post. A bike leaning on a mailbox. Simple things that were just taken at a strange angle. Making them look interested.

She finally got to her webbing, the translucent material bouncing off the sunlight, making it look like sparkly thread. She couldn't help but think that he was unsure if she understood his artistic vision, for the next thing he said was "I have a neurological condition."

She couldn't help but laugh, realizing that that might be rude, but she couldn't help herself. "Vos photos sont très belles." She said handing the camera back to him. She laughed again.

"Cela m'amuse que vous raconter une mutation génétique que vous avez un trouble neurologique."

(It amuses me that you tell a genetic mutation that you have a neurological disorder.)

Katerina sighs. Why were there no people in front of her cage? She continues to dangle her feet outside of the bars, trying to see if she can get a glimpse of anyone. She can faintly see a young gentleman down the line of cages. He seems to be close to her age, black hair, and by the sound of it, he was also french.
"Ah, un gentilhomme français." she says quietly. All the time she spent locked up in her house by her father had given her time to read up on languages and learn several almost fluently.

She kicks her feet again before pulling them back in and climbing up on a swing she had in her cage for her acrobatics. It had a thin, flat seat. Thin enough that she could hang from it, but thick enough so she could sit atop it. She chooses to sit comfortably on the swing, one foot on the seat, the other dangling off the side. Her tail twitches in anticipation, wondering if anyone will visit her cage after the recent incident with the wrenched mother and her pea-brained spawn.

At the girls chiming laughter, Sebastian found himself slightly embarrassed, blushing slightly. But he couldn't help smiling anyway, for her colors, the blue entwined with gold, turned light pink, the heart monitor picture spiking higher into miniature explosions.
"Vos photos sont très belles" His smile grew as he took back his camera. With her change in language, the harp of her voice had turned a bit more electric, flowing like a harmonic jazz.
"Cela m'amuse que vous raconter une mutation génétique que vous avez un trouble neurologique." She said with another laugh, and the dark haired boy couldn't help chuckling in agreement.
He swung the camera back over his neck, preferring the feeling of it secure around his neck in case he dropped it. Like his last camera. That'd be bad. this one had costed significantly more.
"Vous parlez français? Qu'est-ce une charmante jeune femme vous." He smiled shaking his head a little embarrassed. "Je suppose que mon état mental n'est pas exactement quelque chose que vous juger, hein?"
Leaning slightly onto the bars, careful to avoid messing up any of the web, Sebastian brought up his camera and snapped a shot down and across the bars. He wished he could capture the swirling colors he still saw remnants of from the girls voice. Perhaps he would paint when he got back to his studio apartment. He always managed to capture some essence of what he saw in his painting, and of that fact, Sebastian was proud, for he felt it helped people understand him better.
He let his camera hang against his lower chest again, tilting his head to the side and slightly backwards to talk to the girl again.
"I'm used to explaining what's wrong with me, once I realize I'm starring to long, or doing something else strange. Je suis désolé. Mon nom est Sébastien. Et vous?"

(1- You speak French? What a charming young woman you are. I suppose my mental state isn't exactly something you judge upon, huh?)

"Vous parlez francais? Qu'est-ce une charmante jeune femme vouse."

Ridley smiled, glad someone appreciated her knowledge of different languages. "Oui. Je me suis appris quand j'étais plus jeune. J'ai passé beaucoup de temps à l'hôpital, avant que je transforme en cela, bien sûr." She gestured to herself, referring to her mutation.

A young kid can put their mind to anything when they're bored, and have no friends. Including, learning an entirely different language. "Il a été un moment depuis que je parlais français dernière. Désolé si c'est mauvais."

I'm used to explaining what's wrong with me, once I realize I'm staring too long, or doing something else strange. Je suis désolé. Mon nom est Sébastien. Et vous?"

She nodded her head in understanding. She'd been locked up in the zoo for some time now, so she never really had to explain her condition to anyone. She could only imagine what it was life for those who grew up having to explain to people why they were different.

"My name is Ridley. It's wonderful to meet you Sebastian." She said with a smile. Glancing past the boy to where Jack and Timothy were standing, she noticed them yelling about something. Ridley knew there was noway she was going to save herself from a beating, or maybe isolation, but she could see a crowd gathering over where Ebony's cage was. Waiting for a show.

She had heard from Timothy that Ebony's injury would put her out of commission for a while, and with several people looking to see a wall crawling, acrobatic, freak. She figured she could help Ebony out.

Sighing, she stood from her spot and began removing her web. "I hope you got all the pictures you wanted." She said to Sebastian. Letting the sunshine hit her black exoskeleton, Ridley sighed into the warmth. She gave Jack a wave with her hand. "Since Ebony's out of commission, do some crowd control. Send them over here, I'll entertain them as best as I can."

She hated speaking to Jack in a civilized tone, especially since he never seemed to have a civilized tone to anyone else, but she did her best. It was hard to not say harsh words to the man who was going to beat her later in the evening.

"Sorry to cut our conversation short, Sebastian." She said to the photographer. "But, duty calls."

She did a back flip and then shot a web pulling herself up towards the ceiling. She waited for more crowd to gather to start her routine, hoping this would reduce her isolation setting.

(1. Yes. I learned when I was younger. I spent a lot of time in hospital, before I turned into this, of course. 2. It's been a while since I last spoke French. Sorry if it's bad.)

Timothy already had two reasons to dislike Sebastion: he liked Ridley, and he was an asshole. Tim was annoyed with the spider-loving French man enough, but then Ridley began to perform to make up for Ebony's lack of performance. Ugh, seeing that creepy girl move is even worse than listening to her talk. It was time to skedaddle. Timothy looked away from Ridley and looked back at his boss.

"Well, I'll leave you to your work, Boss man. As for myself, I've got freaks to check-up on!"

He waved as he lifted his heavy medical kid off the ground and moved towards his favorite cage: Katerina's. He didn't actually like the freak herself; he just enjoyed any opportunity to make stupid puns involving cats. A list of jokes scrolled through his head as he dragged himself and the medical kit to her cage, cackling with each step closer. Once he reached her cage, he pulled out his keyring and joked.

"Hey kitty cat! Miss me? It's time for me to check for any hair balls."

He roared with laughter and entered the cage, closing it up behind him. He plopped down the kit and pulled out a small pen-light.

"Time to check on those cat eyes of yours. Follow the light, kitty."

"Sorry to cut our conversation short, Sebastian. But, duty calls."
The photographer smiled back. "Of course. Expect to see me again sometime." He promised with a wink, and then the spider girl did a flip and shot a web, pulling herself to the ceiling.
Sebastian stuck around for awhile, capturing some shots of the girl in air doing tricks and listening as her song followed her movements, rising and falling, and sometimes adding a new instrument according to her movements.
After several failed attempts he even got a shot of her webbing, flinging towards a space on the wall. As the crowd began to thicken, Sebastian slipped away, never one for large amounts of people. After the beauty of Ridley's color and sound, a crowd seemed all the more messy.
He scanned the area once more, listening for anything that caught his attention. Once more he realized how unique and synchronized the entire zoo was in their music.
Maybe I should be a musician. I'd make a fortune if I could reproduce this sound. Then he laughed silently to himself and shook his head. Anyone else would simply find these sounds a clash of noise, not the beauty Sebastian saw.
Where to go, where to go?
The young adult began walking cage to cage again, coming across a man with a scorpion tail, holding the hand of a red haired girl. Sebastian smiled at the scene, angling his camera to capture the man in the cage and his small grin, their hands and the back of the girls head. They caused nothing but good music, and Sebastian quickly scuttled to the cage opposite before he could be a nuisance to them.
He glanced at the small plaque labeling Blueberry and Strawberry, before noticing the two girls, each glaring in the direction of the man Sebastian had scolded for his colors. Perhaps they weren't in the mood to humor his photography. He would try though, because the two girls were actually quite intriguing looking.
The the more blond one was covered in blue snakelike scales, while the more red haired one had patches of pink salamander-ish skin, and pink fins on her hands and feet.
While making his assessment of their appearance, some sort of electric-tribal music had started as a low drumming in his ears. The low electronic sounds stirring from the first girl kept time with the rhythmic drumming of the second girl. A rain stick startled Sebastian as he noticed they appeared to be conjoined at the hip.
He smiled. Everyone at this Zoo had such lovely sounds, he almost preferred it to regular people. Well, everyone except those two mean looking men, who, by how they were glaring, these two girls didn't like him either.
"Hello," He said, still smiling at their music. He didn't bother to conceal his French accent. Everyone seemed to notice it, even when he tried his best to get American pronunciation right, so why bother?
"I was wondering if I could take a few pictures of you. Si vous ne me dérange pas." He paused, quickly translating, "If you don't mind, that is."
He raised his camera slightly,to indicate it and ran a hand through his messy hair with the other.

“Even if we did mind there’s nothing we could do, we’re an exhibit, photos are part of that aren’t they?”
“You could at least pretend to mind him taking photos of us. You’re so subservient."
"Shut up Ara. Stop being she bitter all the time, it’s getting old.”

Sebastian blinked in confusion, not by they're words, but by the colors he was seeing. They were like a fireworks show gone wrong, with all the explosives going off at once, in a brilliant show of light, but less satisfactory than the actual show. He took it that meant his triggered hearing had heard something his actual ears had missed. A confusing conclusion, but it made sense.

The French boy set his camera back against his chest, tilting his head and pursing his lips at the two. His eyes moved and took them in again, the tight smile the blue-scaled girl showed, the annoyed look on this 'Ara' girls face. He raised his hands and then put them back down in an 'I'm innocent' sort of gesture. He felt the immediate need to prove something to these girls, but he wasn't sure what yet.

"I wouldn't take your picture unless you approved." He said quietly, thoughts occupied with their colors, tapping his lip. "I always ask permission. The others in this... zoo, who I took the photo of and didn't ask, I'll go back and ask them before you close, or I'll delete them."
Sebastian was still lost in the remnants of the fireworks in his eyes, trying to figure out what he had missed in their speech. He mentally shrugged and took a step away from their cage.
"If you don't want the company though, I'll go, bien que votre musique et les couleurs sont belles." Sebastian gave them a playful salute and bowed, hoping they might warm up slightly if he played it cool. He really wanted a photo of them, to capture each of their shimmering skin, which he found quite lovely.

"What do you think is the meaning of life?" Dawn looked up, a small frown set on her face. Meaning of life? "Honest answers are greatly appreciated." She tried to think of what to say. Nobody has bothered to ask her a question like that since... Well, since ever. She ran a hand through her hair before deciding the suitable answer that Jack always used. And, the one all of the older freaks used to describe themselves.

"To entertain. It doesn't matter if we want to, or don't want to, but we have to entertain." Her eyes never strayed from a spot on the ground, and she could hear Freya's voice fill her head with thoughts at what she had just said. She flapped her wings, enough to have her hover a bit over the ground but not enough to be out of sight. She looked down at her current audience member. Only audience member, at that. Where was everybody? She looked around, finding them crowded around Ridley's cage. And Jack... Wait, Jack? That must mean that she had done something wrong. And sure enough, there was soon a web covering the bars of her cage. Oh, no. She wouldn't be leaving without bruises.

"I don't mean to cut our conversation short, but the zoo is closing soon, Freya. I thought you might like to know." Still quiet. But this time, Dawn look up. Over Freya's head and to watch the sunset. It was beautiful, she watched it every time. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair again. Habit.
---
Jack looked at Jetta, saw the rib sticking out. Saw Widow shoot the web. He had had just about enough. He shot a look to everybody that was dangerously evil. He was losing his patience. And you didn't want him to lose his patience. He looked at Timothy one last time, nodded, before heading off to his office. It was still as clustered as ever, maybe even more messy because he had left a window open and the breeze had blown papers everywhere. As soon as he locked the door behind himself, the phone rang, but he didn't recognize the caller. Instead, he walked over to it and listened to the message.

"Hello,this is Jennifer Cross. I was just wandering if it would be possible to interview you when you arrive at Vancouver,possibly other staff member and maybe a few of your 'exhibits'. This would be a really interesting story and I would love to work on it. Thank you. Bye." Jack looked down at the answering machine as the girl (Jennifer Cross. Name sounded familiar) hung up and a series of beeps told him that. He looked around. The newspaper, that's where she was from. And she wanted a story on them. Which would populate them. And then cause him to earn more money.

"This is The Owner of Freaks Galore. We will be arriving at Vancouver in two days, you won't miss us. There will be flyers all over town. But, if you'd like to interview us, that would be wonderful. The freaks you should probably interview are our most populated ones, which are stated on the front of the map when you get here. If you'd like to know their names ahead of time, here they are; Angel, Black Widow, Jetta, Romulus, and Zero. Staff, I'll introduce you to when you arrive. We'll cease to entertain you." With that, he hung up. Somebody had answered, but that was all he had said. And that would be enough to catch their attention.
~
"Attention! The zoo is now closed. We will be here tomorrow also, so if you wish to come back, please do so. After that, we will be heading to Vancouver. Please clear out, or my guards will have to help you." Jack called out, the last part dead serious, but he smiled as if it were a joke. He ushered a lot of the onlookers that were talking to the freaks with his hands. Amoung them was a redhead, a girl in pigtails, a french guy, and some dude dressed like a girl. He nearly pushed them out, but did it with the same joking smile.

After all, he had to get to his freaks. They hadn't exactly done a good job today.

“No, Look, fresh start. I’m sorry I was just really blunt, I can get like that sometimes, it is just been on of those days. Please don’t leave though. Look, I’d like you to stay. Believe it or not, being here day in day out with only this one isn’t a dream come true.”
"Just incase you fazed out there like I did. What I think she’s trying to say is she’s sorry that she’s always in one of those moods and that it's fine for you to take pictures of us."
“Do not talk for me. And I am not always in one of those moods,"

Sebastian couldn't help the grin and low chuckle that rang out. These two were funny, arguing like they did, but he knew they really cared for each other. He could see it in their colors, which he had finally figured out. They had been so confusing before because they had acted colder than they were. Now their firework show, though still a bit chaotic, were quickly timed explosions that intertwined when ever their voices overlapped or they talked in quick secession of each other.

The light in the sky was slowly getting darker, and the girls scales shown in the dim light from their cage. Raising his camera, Sebastian captured a few shots of each highlighting their 'mutations', then some of both of them. Between shots he tried to start conversation.

"I have some friends back at art school who are really quite blunt, so it's alright. Both of you are lovely by the way, you make an interesting set of music. Tribal electric, or something." He lowered the camera to study them outside the lens, realizing he should explain that statement.
Before he could, the owner (one of the men Sebastian had scolded earlier, he realized sheepishly) began to push everyone out of the zoo.
"I'll be back, you two are interesting," He said to the siamese twins, giving them a little wave and smile. As he was ushered past Ridley's cage, he shot her a wink and said, "I'll see you tomorrow too!"

Then he was outside the gates with a few other stragglers who had been shoved out. He smiled at them all rather absent minded. "These people are interesting." He announced, not caring if any of them were listening.
Then he walked back to his studio apartment in the dusk, hurrying back to paint the colors he had saw before he forgot.

Ridley listened as Jack slowly called closing time, the chatters of everyone as they were pushed out of the zoo. She smiled as people passed and couldn't help but blush when she was Sebastian. He winked her, shouting out a promise to see her tomorrow. Did he know that they were going to Vancouver? Once everyone was gone, Jack came to the center of the zoo, not bothering to hide his emotions.

He was pissed. Obviously. He promised to see her, Ebony, Arabella, and Lillith later, which didn't surprise her. She glared back at him, no longer showing fear towards him. Sure she was scared, but he couldn't kill them. At least not Ridley. She was one of the attractions that brought in a lot of people. She wasn't sure about the others, she never really paid attention to crowds.

Fearing Jack was pointless, although that's what he wanted. Ridley refused to show fear, especially to a man who used violence to get his way. "What do you think we're in for amigas?"

She heard Ebony ask. She shook her head sighing. "Nada beuno. Algo horrible, estoy seguro."

(Nothing good. Something horrible, I'm sure.)