Arella Eagle's Story

Quiller


Quill flinched as a roar pierced through the drone of noise before going back to rocking back and forth, cheerfully sucking on his lollipop as Euclid explained the book. It sounded pretty interesting untill he started talking about women in the eighteen hundreds, that part had escaped meaning to him.

"No doubt Rain would understand," he thought to himself, "Or soon would after researching."

But that was the thing he liked about Euclid, his conversations often inspired Quill to go and look up the meanings of what he said, it was a great way to learn new things. His thoughts on what he might learn from Euclid next were interupted by Dezi coming over to greet the both of them.

"There's a man who's a square," he added as Euclid asked if she would like to hear about it too.

He couldn't help but think that being a simple shape like a square would be a very odd experience, no matter how hard he tried he simply couldn't think of what a square would do for fun. A feeling nudged at the back of his mind like an itch, there was something he was meant to be doing, he was sure of it. With a gasp he realised what it was.

"I'm really sorry Euclid but I have to go," he said guiltily, shuffling his feet and scratching the side of his arm, "I'm meant to be practicing, I just forgot when the lion asked me for help."

With his spirits down he said goodbye and turned away, dragging Dezi with him, he needed her to oversee everything and make sure he didn't screw up.

"By the way, Dezi," he said as they walked, "Is Fang ok? I heard him roar before."

Thoughts of the Animal Trainer's brother came into his mind then, Ian as the magnificent beast performing in the ring before a huge crowd, the bright lights shining down on his fur. Then there was his human form, the pale skin and the dark hair.

"It's not fair that he and any of the others have to stay in the cages," he declared, "Especially Ian, I like him, his hair is cool."

With dismay he discovered that he had finished his lollipop without having the chance to savour the last of it, it always made him upset when this happened but he was determined not to cry over something so silly infront of Dezi.


Reina


"Success!" she thought as Shaelynn finished outlining a deal, "I have a chance,"

Thanking Shaelynn she walked over to a chair pondering what she could do for her act. That was the problem, exactly what could she do that would impress the ring master? Her gaze shifted from one person to another as she took in every member of the troop. Everyone had some sort of special skill, there had to be something that she could do. Finally her gaze settled on Kurt who was talking to Arella, the magicians tricks had always fascinated her and she'd done enough research to know that his act was the real deal.

"It's not like I haven't read books on witchcraft before," she reasoned, "I'm sure I could pick it up easily."

But then another thought pushed its way into her mind, what if magic was a skill one had to be born with. She could do all the reasearch on magic in the world but if it required an ability produced by genetics then she would have no hope of performing the wonders that Kurt could.

"It couldn't hurt to ask," she said, walking towards the magician, "Perhaps he could teach me, although I wouldn't hold my breath."

As she continued on her way a story that her grandmother used to tell her swept into her mind. The tale told of how there had once been a race of people that could control the elements, they had been a very fair and gracefull people and had admired beauty above else and were well known for their unparallelled skill in art. Her grandmother had claimed that their family was descended from these people and even now the power ran through her veins. Reina had always laughed it off as something her grandmother had told her to make her feel special but now she wasn't so sure, she vaguely remembered the old woman dancing and beautiful things happening, though what she couldn't tell. Perhaps she wouldn't be lost if Kurt refused to teach her she thought as she finally reached him.

"Hello Kurtis," she said politely, butterflies swirling in her stomach, "I'm sorry to interupt but do you think it would be possible for me to learn magic? Is it a skill I could learn?"

She stood silently, eagarly awaiting a response.


Toan


Toan wiped the tears from his face and searched his pocket for the MP3 he usually carried around. Ramming the headphones in place he scrolled through the list of songs untill he found one that he knew was upbeat, Speed Over Beethoven. As the first notes began to play he willed his muscles to relax while trying to picture a scene painted by the music.

"I'd probably be a dancer if I wasn't in the Cirque," he mumbled to himself with his eyes closed, "Then again, I don't suppose I'd ever know."

To tell the truth, he didn't really miss his old life that much, the Cirque was a fun and vibrant place to be and the only thing he particularly disliked was the high wire.

"But I'd have that fear regardless of where I was," he considered, "It would be nice to have the option to leave though."

Shaking his head he scolded himself, he was letting his thoughts go dark again. Perhaps some exercise would fix that up. With a leap he jumped onto his chair.

"Hey guys!" he shouted, "Anyone feel like a break? How about a game of tag, I bet you can't catch me though."

He fell silent and froze, that had been very unlike him. He usually tried to avoid drawing attention to himself but there was no use worrying about that now, the challenge had been thrown down. He half hoped and half despaired at the thought of nobody accepting his challenge. Nervous jitters began to race through his body as he waited. Only time would tell.

Toan


Toan looked up at the sound of Ian's voice, he had been sure that nobody would accept the challenge but now that someone had, he felt excitement begin to course through his body.

"Ok, sure thing," he said with a smile, he was sure that he'd be able to stay out of Ian's way, "Just give me a ten second head start."

With that he ran away, passing Arella who was watching him. With a leap he vaulted a barrel, twisting in the air to land facing Ian. He knew that speed was never the answer to winning tag but rather evasion, he was confident that with his agility he'd run circles around Ian.

"See if you can catch me within three minutes," he said, bouncing on the balls of his feet, "If you can then I'll treat you to cotton candy...or something."

Limbs relaxed but ready to move he waited for Ian to begin.


Reina


She watched as the card appeared in in the magician's hand. So it was possible for her to learn, however, what he had told her did not sound promising, certainly it wouldn't be enough to make an act to show the Ringmaster, still, it would be something worth working on.

"Thank you for your time," she said watching Arella walk away, "You've given me quite a bit to think about, I'll look into it and let you know how it goes."

Turning away she began to think of her other option, all hope lay on that one story her grandmother had told her. Exiting the tent she made her way to a secluded part of the circus and began to focus on the dances her grandmother had performed when she was little, after a moment she was sure that she had memorised one of them perfectly. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath and began to move her arms in graceful patterns, she felt and energy rise up within her like a river flooding its banks. Opening her eyes she swayed to and fro like a tree in the breeze, with a gasp she saw water begin to rise up out of the ground in elegant tendrils, moving in rhythm to her dance, twing around, crossing over and joining to make beautiful designs in the air.

"I don't believe it," she whispered, "It wasn't just a story."

As she brought her dance to a stop the tendrils of water broke apart into a fine mist that cascaded around her, catching the rays of the sun like thousands of tiny prisims. Never had she felt so peaceful.

"Well it looks like I have an act to show Shaelynn," she said.

Victoria picked at the deep fried food that her clown had brought to her and sighed. “Maybe we can practice?” Her clown suggested as he slurped on a soda. She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment before sighing. “Fine...” She breathed and finished off her food before climbing onto her perch and waiting for her cue. Everything was going fine when an idea popped into her head while up on the acrobat's ledge. She scanned the tent ignoring her clown as he tried to call her down. She spotted the wolf and the acrobat as they played and frowned. Then her eyes landed on the puppeteer and a smile curled onto her lips.

“Casper!” She called as she glided down in front of the puppeteer and beside the violinist, “Excuse me.” She spoke softly, “May I ask you a question?” She gave a small smile keeping her lips closed to hide her teeth. She glanced over at the violinist and smiled. She rather liked the soft music that she was playing and hoped that her interruption wouldn't upset her. The harpy's eyes quickly returned to Casper, “I wanted to try something different with my act,” She didn't really wait for him to speak, “I'll run it by Shea in a bit,” She muttered quickly with a wave of her wing, “But, I wanted to know if you would mind hiding in the audience during my act and at the point when the clown tries to “lure” me back into my cage I can instead snatch up an audience member... you.” She paused for a moment, “And to end it perfectly, instead of you being rescued, I'll land in my cage and the clowns will push us out of the tent with the last thing the audience seeing is you about to be devourer by the harpy.” She finished out of breath. She thought that her idea was a great idea and that it would be something that she hoped that the Ringmaster would at least consider.

“Please?” She tried to hold his eye contact, “I promise not to harm you or your friends,” She said speaking of the dolls. She eyed them for a moment before going back to their master. She knew that this was an odd request but she did want to try to behave for once and why not try to make the show better. Isn't that what the Ringmaster wanted in the end? In any case she wanted to do this and she was just hopeful that Casper was willing to help her.

Ian was prepping himself for the game ahead when Arella came and accompanyed them. He wondered if she wanted to play, but then she stated that she would rather just watch them. He didn't mind, the more eyes, the better. He smirked to Toan and nodded an agreement.
"Yeah, ten seconds is fair enough."
The fake audience that Arella managed to create the sound for was impressive to say the least, but she was good with sounds. He was intrigued by the small girl and he smiled to her.
"That's very interesting."
Ian thought over Toan's bet, and cottan candy certainly sounded like enough incentive to attempt to win, but it was not like he had planned on loosing before that anyway. He nodded again, grinning now at the challenge ahead of him. The two were about equally matched, he had speed and agility, but Toan was swift and light on his feet. He had to be, he was an acrobat. The only thing would really restrain him would be his oversized wolf body, but there was no way he would stand a chance without shifting.
Ian went to the stands, covering himself up from behind a chair and removing his clothes so that he didn't rip more of his clothes and managed to stay where no one would see anything they did not want to.
He began screaming, his body morphing into that of a wolf. His bones cracked and broke to support four legs rather than two, a new bone producing from his backside to become a tail and every pore burned when thick, course, hair began to grow from every surface of his body. It was quite a painful change, but it lasted only a few seconds and soon he was standing on four paws. A magnificent, white, huge wolf. His tail swishing from side to side and if you knew him well enough, you would think he still had the smirk on his face.
He glanced to his left and his eyes slightly widened. Why did Casper have to watch? Of all of the times. He sighed and focused, letting his claws dig into the dirt, feeling it under his feet and concentrating now more on winning then he had before.
He stuck straight up, head cocked and ears perked when Casper metioned the winner would get a kiss.
What?! Is he freaking serious??? He gave Toan a devilish look, as though promising him he would win. He had to win that kiss, but then his concern on the matter dropped instantly when Casper said it would be from his dolls, rather than him.
Ian couldn't help the small whimper and checked to see if anyone had heard quickly before positioning himself to start.
Kiss or not, he would win to impress his crush. He gave Toan the nod that he was ready and closed his violet eyes, allowing him the time to run wherever. Even with his eyes closed he knew exactly where he was heading, his impecible sense of smell and hearing told him so.
He chuckled when the ten seconds was up, his eyes flying open and he went into a full sprint after the acrobat, his paws thundering like a drum against the ground below him.
He barred his teeth, coming up on him, but just as he was about to touch him with the tip of his nose, the kid did some crazy trick and somehow ended up behind him.
Ian forced himself to stop, kicking up dirt and dust in the process, making him sneeze, before snapping around to speed off for him again.
All the while, Dezerra grinned at the obvious excitement of the child from just receiving a sucker. She would have to save him any candy she disliked from now on if he was going to get this excited over a small sugar product.
She shrugged when he apologized about pulling her away.
"No worries, it's fine. We probably need to practice with the wild animals soon anyway. We've been putting it off what with preparing for Ian's act and everything. Speaking of which, did you get any other good ideas for him?"
She always had trouble thinking of new things because she never liked to have the same routine twice. It would get boring and what if one of the same audience member's that had been there before saw them repeat something? She would not allow it.
She looked back to Quiller and could tell for a moment that he was lost in his thoughts and on the reminder of thoughts, Ian's floated into her brain.
Get back here you rabbit! She was curious about this because he had not hunted wild animals in many years so her attention was directed to the game of tag momentarily.
"Well, would you look at that." She said, mainly to herself. The thing she was mainly focused was that Casper was in the crowd of on lookers and she was knew Ian was nervous about it.
She turned her attention on the small boy in front of her again, smiling when he said that wolves should have space to roam around.
"All of them should, I agree. Harpy's should fly and people should not be confined to a certain area, it's not human-like. But they aren't our rules so we musn't ponder the reasoning. I am sure Shaelynn has a perfectly good reason why she..restrains them in boxes.
She let out a hearty laugh when he said he would enjoy Ian or Euclid having a sleepover with him. She could just imagine the creature sitting in the middle of a bed with Quil, watching a movie, completely intranced by it and throwing pieces of popcorn into his mouth. The image delighted her.
After she was done laughing she patted him on the head, ruffling his hair. "I am sure Ian would enjoy having a day with you. You know, he looks at you like a little brother." She smiled and took out her set of keys, looking for the ones for the lion inside the cage she stood in front of.

Toan


He hadn't expected Ian to turn into a wolf but that just made things all the more interesting. Toan had only just managed to hand spring out of the way of Ian's first charge, stopping next to a chair, he knew that he wouldn't have a hope of outrunning the wolf but if he could just stay out of his way for three minutes he'd win.

"Wow, you're faster than I anticipated," he said, preparing himself for for Ian's next attempt, "This is going to be a challenge."

As Ian ran towards him again he leapt onto the chair and threw himself as high into the air as he could, spinning his body around as he flipped to land facing Ian again, however, he came down too heavily and the impact brought him to one knee.

"Ouch," he thought, wincing, "I could have landed that better."

With dismay he noticed a crowd gathering to watch, joining Arella and Casper, forming a circle.

"Shoot," he muttered, "That cuts down the area I can move in."

Despite this set back, he mannaged to avoid Ian several more times for another two and a half minutes although they were very near misses, each time the crowd had cheered though whether for him or for Ian he couldn't tell. Suddenly, after another flip the knee he had landed on gave way and the next thing he knew he had been knocked and pinned to the ground. Looking up he saw Ian standing over him in wolf form, almost seeming to grin.

"Congratulations," said Toan, smiling although a little scared at being pinned to the ground by a wolf, "Looks like I owe you a cotton candy."


Quiller


Quill pondered Dezi's question whilst watching Toan play tag with Ian. The way the acrobat gracefully evaded the wolf certainly was entertaining to watch and the crowd that had gathered to watch certainly seemed to be enjoying it, the cheering almost reminded him of the bar brawls in some of the movies he had seen.

"That might make an interesting act for Ian," he said to Dezi, "If both he and Toan were ok with it then perhaps they could do a performance similar to the game they're playing."

He smiled as Ian finally managed to pin Toan to the ground.

"At the end he could catch Toan and be about to eat him or something and then you could 'subdue' him," he continued, sticking the candy back into his mouth, "What do you think?"

He was happy to have had something to occupy his mind with, Dezi's remark about Ian looking at him like a little brother had caused a few pangs of sorrow to appear in his stomach but also hope. The Cirque was all the family he had ever known, before finding it he had lived in an orphanage dreaming of the day his parents would come for him, but it had never happened, when he had recieved the offer from the Ring Master he had seen it as his only way out and had accepted without a second thought.

"You have no idea what those words mean to me," he whispered to himself as Dezi opened the door, ready to aproach the lion who was sitting at the other end of the cage,his back turned to them.

Suddenly, the voice of the lion flashed into his head, a warning. Knowing what the lion was going to do he raced towards Dezi.

"Watch out!" he shouted, pushing her out of the way as the lion turned and leapt towards them.

Victoria restrained herself from jumping up and down at his response. “Thank you so much Casper!” She looked over at the violinist as she talked to the dolls and smiled, “That is a lovely song,” She commented as stayed to listen. She would tell the Ringmaster after the song was over. No need to go rushing out of the tent when she really wasn't suppose to be outside of her cage.

Her head turned when Casper went over to Ian and she couldn't help but giggle a bit when he kissed him. He never liked that wolf and she still didn't like him but she couldn't deny that that was a cute moment. She started walking towards the exit to go look for Shaelynn. She tried to compose herself but someone stopped her.

“Maybe you should change first?” Her clown held up a stack of clean clothes and a pair of sandals. Victoria smiled and took the clothes from the clown before going to her cage and quickly changing. “You might have a better chance of getting your idea accepted if you're not covered in feathers.” He laughed as she stepped out as a human. She pushed her hair back over her shoulders and smiled.

“Shut up.” She said bitterly before heading outside. She looked around and spotted Euclid talking to her and froze. She'd have to wait. She sighed and sat down near the tent prepared to wait until they were done before she froze. “What is he doing here?” She looked around for the Ticketmaster. She knew that he was there she could feel his presence and his power. She debated about running back inside the tent but didn't. Whoever he was here for he'd get them no matter what. She just silently hoped that he wasn't there for her.

Ian was busily running basic circles around Toan, sometimes getting distracted by either looking at his sister and Quil observing the game or by Arella's adorable laughter. It was hard to concerntrate with on-lookers.
Time was running out and he would stop at nothing to at least put in good effort and try his hardest. He wanted that kiss most of all, he didn't even care about the sweet treat he would receive.
However, the person that would have distracted him the most he tried to imagine him not being there. He shook his head, flipping around to see Toan on the ground from a bad land and he knew this was his last chance before he was out of time. With all of his remaining energy he barreled forward as fast as he could, accidentally tackling Toan to the ground and basically pouncing on him. The large wolf was heavily breathing from the constant running and he was sure looking up into the mouth of such a massive creature could be somewhat terrifying so he stood back, knowing he had one.
He only laughed in triumph, the noise coming out as a sort of cough, but if you knew Ian, he was laughing from absolute delight.
His purple iris's were only on Casper now and he was glad he was not in his human form, like this he at least did not look as eager as he truly was, but he was actually partially nervous. Why? He was just another guy and it was just a crush, but they had barely even brushed shoulders much less something that remotely resembled a kiss in the slightes. With intense and waiting eyes he followed the dolls with his eyes, trying to make it not completely obvious he had beenb staring and smiled when Casper leaned down to his level and the group counted down to plant the "trophy".
He walked over to Arella and nuzzled her, basically thanking her for supporting the two of them in the competition.
She should join next time for fun. He thought, turning around to get his clothes and catching the slightly red-pink tone on Casper's cheeks. Had he done that? He didn't want to elaborate his thoughts on it because he usually got his hopes up about things and he didn't want to risk the disappointment if they only stayed friends. Which he obviously did not mind, but at the time, that was not all he wanted from this man. It had been a long time since he had even had a relationship and he had only had one other with a guy so it would be interesting, indeed.
He shook his head again, almost violently. He was thinking about it, not even meaning to. He tried to replace the idea of the possibilty with his act, his sister, anything.
He went behind the stands again and shifted back, changing into the same clothes as he had worn before since they were still clean. He had only put them on maybe a hour ago, anyway.
He stepped out from being hidden, entirely composed and trying hard not to look at Casper, but now that he had shared a small moment between the two of him, it was hard not to be even more attracted. He felt like his crush was expanding more-so. He really needed to talk to someone wise about this, but Dezi was probably busy and he had no idea who to ask about relationships.
He decided to go to one of the very few people that he actually looked up to and respected that worked in the Cirque.
Skeptically he made his way towards Kurtis, makin sure he was by himself when he motioned him away from the crowd to talk to him alone. He figured he would follow, mainly because he would probably be curious.
He stuffed his hand into his pocket and retrieved a cancer stick, slipping the slim product into his mouth and lighting it quickly, taking a long drag and exhaling a long flume of smoke.
He was trying to put the words together in his head before he found himself looking troubled and tripping over his own words in front of Kurt.
He was looking at the ground, absent-mindedly kicking clumps of dirt with his foot as he spoke.
"So...erm, I have a question. And it is totally going to be so random for you...It's seriously been too long and I am..way rusty." He let out a nervous chuckle to try and ease himself into the next thing he was going to say. He felt so foolish, especially asking another male because women tended to be better at this sort of decision, but he had faith in who he had chosen for advice.
As he asked Kurt, his eyes were scrunched shut, mainly because he was anxious about what he would hear and overall the assumption of possibly who he could be talking about. He had a feeling that it was up in the air about his sexual preferences, but he didn't mind that much.
"I like this guy and..urgh..what do I do besides straight up tell him, like not make it obvious?" He peeked out of one eye which was still scrunched, it seemed like he was nervous to even spit it out before he offered a half grin to lighten the tension he mainly felt. He wondered what he thought about all of this...
Dezi slowly nodded, watching Toan and Ian spring about. If he looked slightly more vicious, the audience would be eating out of their hands and it could be the cherry on top of their routine. It could lead into Toan's as well, so she would have to make sure it was fine with him, but he was a sweet kid, she figured he would not mind.
"That is an interesting idea. I don't know why I would not think of that when it is happening in front of me.." She trailed off, thinking deeply and not paying attention to the beast in front of her. Quiller saved her from loosing her hand.
"Whoa! Thanks Quil." She ruffled his hair then stood, turning stern on the creature that had just had an attitude with her.
"Bad! Bad Lucian!" With a quick flick of her wrist, her whip uncurling and snapping sharply against one of the bars of the now closed doors.
"You don't want me to hurt you, do you boy?" She asked in a soothing, sing-song voice. Her angelic tone was enough to have men fighting for her but she mainly saved it for the untamed animals that she could control.
The lion now stopped looking as though he were on the attack, his shoulders lowering into a more relaxed state, but still on edge because he kept eyeing the whip.
She coaxed him towards her with a finger, holding her whip behind her back with the other hand as the lion closed the distance between the two of them, resting his massive head into her palm.
"There you go, baby. That's the good boy I know. Did you not get a good enough whiff that it was your momma?" She grinned as she scratched the beard-like fur under the cat's head.

Kimirie turned her attention quickly to the girl before her. The first thing she noticed was the violin the girl held and played, as easily as if even unaware of her actions. But Kimirie was surely aware, recognizing it as the beautiful music she'd heard before. The second thing she noticed was that the girl, while probably her age, had a maturity in her clear blue eyes that an older person might have.

Kimirie blinked. She clasped her hands nervously, realizing her mistake; while she knew she wouldn’t be missed at home with so many other kids and problems, would she not be welcome here?
“I-I was just watching! Should I not be here?” She answered, though her eyes pleaded. She’d seen clowns and workers and an animal or two so far from her seat, but no acrobats outside. She glanced at the biggest colorful tent. Would most of the performers be in there? Kimirie rocked from one side to the other in her seat. She just had to see the acrobats. “I really, really wanted to see...” Mirie trailed off watching the girl before her, spotting the instrument again.

“So you play that? Where’d you learn? I’ve never heard something like it!” she gushed, then smiled sheepishly. The whole setting just made her so exited, though she didn’t know why. “Sorry!” she added again quickly, but more questions tumbled from her lips. “Do you work in the show, playing your music? Are you going to play tonight?” Hopping lightly down and landing in front of the other girl, Kimirie held out her hand.
“Whups! Where’s my manners?” She giggled at this, having stayed with a very strict foster house once. Kimirie held out her hand. “What’s your name? Mine’s Mirie.” She smiled hopefully at the other girl.

Kimirie's grin grew and she relaxed as the girl, Ave, replied to her questions kindly as if also loosening up. Kimirie even giggled quietly when Ave said she was surprised, and tried to picture herself in mysterious shadows. And when Ave talked about how she'd just always played music, it reminded Kimirie of herself; she'd never not cartwheeled or tumbled every chance she got.
"That's amazing, that you get to work in the show doing something that's so natural for you! Must be fun, huh? Ah-vay, pretty," Kimirie smiled, rolling the sound along her tongue. She decided it might be best to not pry too deeply about Ave. "Mimi, is that a nickname too? And wow, that's high!" Then Kimirie shuffled her feet. She would love to watch Ave's act, too...
"But I won't be here tonight. I- Well, I don't think I can get the money for a ticket," she said sheepishly, blushing slightly. "But I bet you'll do great tonight!" She bit her lip, almost wondering to continue. Now that she thought about it, her dream sounded kinda silly, an odd request. Of course anyone would love to see the cirque!
"And I guess, yeah. I'd hoped to see a-an acrobat." Her eyes sparkled as she gazed at the ground, her legs almost twitching in anticipation of the movement.

Kimirie's eyes widened at the charitable offering. She blinked a few times, her smile widening hopefully.
"You would do this for me?" She was hopping on her toes now, so exited that she barely heard the second question. She blushed slightly.
"Actually, yes!" she squealed. "That would be, like, the COOLEST thing ever! Ohmygosh," Mirie flew at Ave for a hug, trying to be careful of the violin. When she stepped back she slipped her hand into Ave's, smiling at her. Mirie sincerely hoped they could see each other after this. They could be real friends!
"Thank you, thank you thank you," she whispered. then looked out across the circus grounds, still bustling with people.
"Where're we going now?" she giggled. What time was it anyway? Would the show start soon?

Mirie clapped her free hand over her mouth to keep from vocalizing her joy, but her ambery eyes sparkled brightly. She cast Ave a grateful look before turning to help search for the acrobat. Toan. A real acrobat! She giggled, pulling her fingers through her own long locks. That color would be easy to find, she knew.

She swung her arm in time with Ave's, skipping as she went. "Who's Ian?" she asked excitedly. Would she meet the other cirque performers too? And they even had time to play as well as practice! Wow, she sighed. What life must be for a member of the cirque. Much more interesting than going from one foster home to the next, she thought wryly, but shook off the thought and kept her head up, searching eagerly.

Mirie blinked... a werewolf? Like a real... her skipping hesitated. Maybe Ave was joking, like a costume was part of his act? There weren't really creatures like that, where there? But the fact that she described him as a 'cuddly werewolf' make her giggle. She was about to ask about him, but Ave's voice trailed off. Mirie turned to peer into Ave's face. "Hey, you okay?" she asked softly, eyebrows nit at her friend's sudden change. "Even if you're not normal, you're obviously better!" Mirie smiled reassuringly, giving Ave's hand a squeeze. Then Ave was already thinking about something else as another name escaped her lips. "Casper...? Is he okay?" Mirie shuddered. It must be scary to have fainting spells. She wondered if he was in the cirque too.

As they approached a smaller tent, an older girl was slipping out. Mirie turned her head to look at her, but Ave's continuing movement pulled her into the tent too and she turned her attention again. Toan? Was he in here? Mirie found herself looking at three guys. One was laying on the bed, looking slightly feverish, but getting better. At least she hoped. That was probably Casper. Then two other guys stood by his bed, one very tall and muscular, the other had strawberry blond hair. Could the tall one be Ian? But he didn't look like a wolf...? She shook her head slightly, hair falling over her shoulders. So could this last person be Toan? She bit her lip, suddenly a bit shy, deciding not to be too hopeful. She glanced another look at Ave, then back into the room.

Quiller

Quill yawned as Dezi left the tent, his limbs were begining to feel heavy and his thoughts were slow.

"Oh, there goes my sugar high," said Quill, "How nice of it to say goodbye first."

That was the one problem with candy he thought, there was always the rule of what goes up must come down so it made sense that his energy would come crashing back down considering the amount of sugar he ate.

"It simply wouldn't do to fall asleep during the show now would it?" he remarked to the lion as he stepped into the cage and closed the door, "We should both have a rest before it starts, shouldn't we Lucian."

With a giggle he listened to the lion's rumbling purrs as it stalked around the cage. Finally he managed to corner him at one end of the cage.

"Stop playing hard to get Lucian," mumbled Quill sleepily, "I want to use you as a pillow and I know very well that you don't mind me doing so."

With a rumble the lion lay down and lowered its head as if admitting defeat. Quill seized the oppportunity and crawled up next to the lion, burying his head in its mane.

"You smell funny Lucian," giggled Quill, "You might need a bath if you're not careful."

He didn't hear the lion's growl of protest because by that time he had already fallen asleep.


Cadenza

He cursed at the sky, how could he have been so stupid to let his wearyness overcome him in a place where anyone might see his real form. With another curse his began to focus on reconstructing the psychic link. Slowly the air began to shimmer around him and soon enough he once again looked as he had before,his tail and antlers out of sight.

"I was lucky that time," he thought to himself, "There was nothing to stop Shae walking around the corner and seeing that."

Slowly he walked back to the tent, it'd be time for the show soon but he was in no hurry to go and get ready, he figured he might as well enjoy the time outside before he had to face the crowd again. That was the thing, he was almost certain to get at least one headache during each show, he was just thankfull that he'd had this chance to have a break from maintaining the illusiory field. As he rounded the corner he noticed that there seemed to be a few new faces around, perhaps they were going to be new additions to the cirque.

"Doesn't look like any potential for one of my victims though," he muttered, "Oh well, I'll seduce someone eventually, I'm sure of it."

With new found determination he strode through the entrance to the tent and headed towards the clowns.

"Watch out ladies and gents," he thought, "There's a heartbreaker on the loose."


Toan

He sighed with relief as Casper woke up. He had no idea what Dezi had done but it had worked like a charm. He thought he should check to see if Casper was really ok but he had the feeling that Ian would probably appreciate some time alone with the puppeteer.

"I'm glad to see that you're feeling better," he said, smiling, "I better go, I thought I heard someone calling me and it looked like Dezi wanted to say something."

With that he turned to find Arella in the doorway with a little girl he had never seen before beside her.

"Oh...um, were you the one calling me?" he asked, eyes flicking from the mimic to the new girl, "If it's alright with you could we talk outside? I think it's a little crowded in here."

Making his way past them he went and sat by a tree with his MP3 player out just incase Arella hadn't been looking for him.

"The show should be starting soon," he thought to himself, "I hope Shaelynn doesn't make me do the highwire tonight."

Dezi leaned against the trailer she had just exited, thinking over what had just gone down inside. She really was pushing it, using her powers, especially if she had not even asked beforehand. Her Father would be slightly displeased, but she hoped her Savior would not come down on her too hard because she had been helping someone out.
She sighed. No one, not even Ian understood her background, hell, she had trouble understanding her own life half of the time. She shook her head and slunk down to sit on the ground.
She still needed to talk to Toan and Shae before the show, but she would have to wait for now.
She spotted Arella closing in on the trailer with a human tailing behind her. She wasn't much for the species, mostly because they always judged her and found her to be an abomination or a trick of the eyes. She curiously looked over her shoulders to her exposed wings, as if asking them if she should hide her identity. She shook her head again, what would be the point in that? She hated pretending. She scoffed to herself, then stood up when the girls arrived, giving Arella a bright smile.
"Why, hello, dear Ave." The small girl always brought a cheerfullness to her for some reason. She could not exactly put her finger on why, however.
Ian could hardly find the strength to look Casper in the eye. Watching him hurt made him equally as pained and he didn't like the feeling that he cared for someone so strongly besides his sister.
"I was worried about you." He muttered, catching the adorable smile on Casper's face made him want to blush as well. He really needed to pull himself together, not be so...girly. He felt like such a pansey when his face would get hot or he had trouble forming words. He sighed and was alerted suddenly when Casper stumbled into him.
"Damn, dude. You need to rest." He helped him settle back onto the bed and touched his forehead lightly, surprised in himself by how easy it had been.
"Well, your fever's gone. I think Dezi helped with that." He looked back to the doorway, almost knowing that she was waiting outside for him or something then turned back to Casper.
"But she's right. I think you ought to stay here, for your own good." He smiled, now finding it hard to look away from the puppeteer now.
"Also, no worries about your stumble. I'm straight." He smirked, eyeing Toan as he left and the weight of the room came flooding back on his shoulders again.
Ian's eyes lowered with Casper's down to his feet and he was immediately intrigued by the strange pattern of what looked like a scar. He tilted his head slightly, but looked up, hearing the girls that approached.
The human, he could smell, was eyeing them all, almost suspiciously, as if trying to solve a case that had been bugging her. She seemed almost shy though, her demeanor was closed off, but he turned his focus away from the newcomers back on Casper.
"So, how are you feeling?"

Toan

Toan blinked as Arella informed him that the girl, Mirie, had wanted to meet an acrobat. Surely she'd rather see the magician or any of the others that were part of the "freak" show. Sure, during the performance the crowd loved acrobats but they were soon forgatten after all of the other acts had come out.

"Um...hi, it's nice to meet you," he said, unsure of how to act around a fan, "Are you going to come to the show tonight?"

His mind was blank, he couldn't think of anything else to say. As the seconds ticked along, the uncomfortable silence grew between them all and Toan became more and more uneasy.

"Oh, um, I better go now, I'm pretty sure Dezi wanted to talk to me," he said, fidgeting, "I'm sorry, but if you come to the show then I promise we can talk again afterwards."

Relief swept over Toan as he walked away from the two girls and headed towards Dezi.

"Did you want to talk to me?" he asked, "It's just that I got the feeling you were waiting for me."

He hoped that it hadn't been his imagination, he didn't think he could handle another embarassing situation.

Ian stared off into space, somewhat expecting a reply from Casper but coming up short of what he wanted. He glanced towards the other male, brow raised when he began speaking to an unknown voice that had Ian whipping his head side to side as his eyes circled around the trailer for who it might have belonged to. He was sure that it would be one of his little dolls, but the pitch and tone coming from the female puppet had him wanting to shake, it was creepy nonetheless.
He watched Casper, slightly ammused as he checked under the bed and continued in the conversation which he was completely out of the loop of. Now his other brow joined his other as they knit in the middle of his forehead. He certainly was an interesting specimen, but maybe that was why he was so attracted. Ian definitely was not simple in the least bit, so it seemed obvious that he should be intrigued by someone at least as complicated.
Ian snickered at Arella's comment about him being a nurse. If that job discription defined anyone, it would be his sister. He needed to talk with her before the act started tonight, but he was so preoccupied with Casper that she was put on the backburner.
He was surprised, his eyes widened with concern as he was shoved out the door by the smaller male. Glancing back over his shoulder as he watched himself being shoved outside and the door quickly shut behind him. His brows, in turn, lowered completely. He did not understand what the rush was about, he had been trying to help and he hadn't even been spoken to and now he was rudely kicked out. She scoffed and kicked a rock with his foot as he started walking to wherever. He actually still wanted to talk to Kurtis, but after lifting his head for a moment away from his only entertainment, he could not find the magician anywhere in sight.
He sighed and continued walking.
Dezi's smile brightened when Arella called her darling. It was utterly adorable in her opinion and she watched the two young girls set off towards Toan, but the human's attention was still glued to her and she seemed absolutely mesmirized. Not like the usual people who would cower or question, but was that actual awe that she saw on her face?
Dezi's eyes crinkled at the corners when she grinned, now, and although the girl had said absolutely nothing to her, it had made her day entirely.
She felt like giving her a small performance, but that would seem like bragging so she restrained herself and stayed sitting on the ground, finding a twig which she began drawing shapes and doodles in the dirt around her indian style posture.
Once she had finished the portrait of a sunny and cloudy day above a raging ocean with a dolphin and a couple of other detailed mishapen drawings on the side, her eyes were greeted by Toan.
Immediately she popped up, fully erect and beaming again.
"Yes, actually. I did." She chuckled lightly and put her arm around the acrobat, leading him away from her embarrasing art skills and back towards Quiller and the cages.
"When I was watching you and Ian interacting it sparked an idea between my assistant and I." She let her arm slide off of his shoulder and she turned to face him, her head lowered to look him in the eye. She had a smirk on her face that was slightly smug but also interested.
"Well, how about for the last part of our act we could incorporate you somehow, maybe make it look like you were about to get pummled or something and at the last second I could fly you up to your stand or something to save you from the big bad wolf? We would have to ask Shae, of course, but if she approved how would you feel about that?"

Mirie’s smile faltered a bit during the awkward silences between Toan, Ave, and herself, but her face lifted by the offer. She glanced at Arella for assurance and nodded quickly to Toan. She would see him after the show! He seemed uncomfortable though, and left quickly to Dezi, that pretty girl with the unusual wings? Mirie nodded again, watching him leave. She would keep an eye out for Dezi’s performance too, definitely.

Mirie turned to Arella, but she turned quickly. "Mirie, I have to go... I'll be back soon!" Mirie looked worriedly after her friend. Did she have to meet with someone, some obligation to fulfill?
“Well okay, see ya...” Mirie called after her, but she was gone in an instant and Mirie was alone. Suddenly feeling small, she looked around her; to where Toan had left, where Ave ran off, around the bustling cirque grounds, and then back up at the big oak. She made herself take a deep breath. Ave would come back soon enough, so she shouldn’t wonder around and get herself lost and in trouble.

So instead she stood closer to the Oak tree, soon pulling herself into the branches and making a game of twisting and sliding around them, walking along them and climbing higher. Not even very high up, she could see quite a lot of the Cirque. She looked for the faces she’d met so far, but the crowd was thick. So Mirie sat on a particularly thick limb and swung her legs and listened to the exciting sounds and thought happily of the coming evening.

Ian could tell that the moment he walked up that Kurtis was not in the least bit excited to have him joining his presense. He sighed and watched the ground with uneasiness, waiting while he was thinking. He most likely made it completely obvious whom he had been talking about when he had peered over his shoulder, but it did not really matter now.
He met the magician's eyes as he began to state his opinion on the subject.
He gave a small nod of agreement that it did seem best to just tell him, but this was already getting under his skin. He hated expressing his feelings and he was always used to the women or men approaching him. Only once had he made a forward offer and it was only to ask for a dance. He sighed again when Kurtis had said "no offence" and shook his head to inform him that none was taken in the slightest. The only reason he had asked him was because he seemed like the most wise, knowledgeable, and mature of men on the subject, but he slightly seemed to have failed at that.
He slightly cringed when he was reminded that Kurtis was always the jokester and he hated the fact that he may, now, be put on the spot about his crush. Maybe even in front of everyone. The idea unnerved him and he shuddered on the inside just thinking about his reaction to such a horrid thing, but of course he would jump to conclusions about it. He shook his head, now hating himself for even mentioning anything. He could have easily just done it on his own and he was sure, almost positive, that Dezerra would be listening to him and critisizing him for not coming to her about dating advice. She had always helped him before, kept him on his toes and remind him when he needed to be proper and when it was okay to relax.
She really was like the mother they never really had and he scolded himself. He was supposed to be the big brother, not the older sibling who didn't even know how to handle talking to someone. He swiftly thanked Kurtis with a mumble before watching him off.
He peered over watching Dezi take flight and following her with his eyes before she zipped out of the tent. He curiously tilted his head, wondering where she was heading off to.
He figured that the show would be starting soon, it was getting close to seven and he needed to go and change before the show so he would not ruin his good clothing. He had a set aside wardrobe that the clowns often lent a hand in repairing that he used to rip out of just for the shows. The audience always got a kick out of it.
Dezi's attention was taken away from Shae when she heard the call about the show. She bowed her head for a moment and apologized, but she figured that the ringmistress would understand her need to hurry.
"We can just set it for tomorrow's show or something." She chirpped before skipping into a run, using her hands to push her muscles into a sprint.
She caught a sliver of Ian's thoughts and part of her wanted to chuckled while the other half wanted to scoff. He seriously had asked Kurtis for some sort of inspiration to talk to Casper. She could not admit that she was not surprised, though. Lately he had been more stand-offish around her and had tried to keep more to himself, which in turn just made her more eager to know what was going on in that mind of his. It wasn't like he had the ability to hide anything. She knew the second his mind was made up about anything and she was greatful because she had stopped him from hurting others. Mentally and physically.
When she swung the door to their trailer open she bumped into Ian who apparently had just entered as well. She pushed past him, even though it seemed like a challenge to move the huge guy, she didn't care right now. The show was much more important than his relationship status.
"Dezi....C'mon. Don't be like that, please-" "You need to get ready." She stated in a hard tone before swiping the curtain shut that divided the two sections that they shared when he was allowed to stay with her, which was rare, but she had the feeling that would be changed now.
She pulled off her regular, everyday clothing and pulled one of her favorite blue dresses which she enjoyed because it complimented her curves well. Once she had adjusted it onto her body she slipped on a pair of silver heels. She removed the curtain and stepped out, hearing Ian's whistle of approval she smirked, but it fell fast. He was wearing simple clothes, which was to be expected. A pair of baggy jeans that hung off of his waist slightly matched with his long sleeved, plain v-neck.
She shrugged and strutted out, leaving him to walk on his own and he hurried to catch up with her.
"Dezi, please." She stopped to look at him and he could not help but to look down at her shoes. "How you can walk in those, I have no idea. You better not fall and break your neck or I'll be short one sister." He laughed and she rolled her eyes angirly and began walking again, but he held onto her shoulder and stopped her.
"If you are seriously stopping to me to talk about my outfit, just leave me the fuck away." Ian was bewildered as she started off again but Ian stopped her with his thoughts.
She hates me. She turned on heel and stared up at her ignorant brother.
"You seriously think that, Ian?" She asked, basically scolding him. She sighed and he shook his head.
"No, but I feel like you can't even look at me right now." She shook her own head and went to him and held onto his arms.
"Just don't even worry about it, kay? Let's just do this." She slapped his arm and continued to walk towards backstage and met up with the others. She came up to Arella and looked down at the small girl. "Hello there, doll. Will your friend be in the audience tonight?" She asked as she glanced towards the entrance seeing Ian walk in all clumsy-like, tripping over the tent fold.
"He is really bugging me right now." Which was not really unusal, however she mainly just stated the fact to herself, rather then Arella.
"You look pretty in that dress, Ave." She gave her a grin.

Jane picked herself up and slowly headed towards the others. The show would be starting soon and she was to go on after Dezi and Quiller, who went on after the main acts. She approached the group, seeing that Dezi and Quiller were a few others, like Arella and Ian. She couldn't help but to roll her eyes at the sight of Arella. Jane had disliked the girl from the moment that she had joined the circus a month or two ago. She had never done anything personally to her to cause the hatred, but it wasn't unusual for Jane to have problems with people. She tended to be a little bit on the... bratty side. Maybe it was her high-maintenance attitude or constant complaints, but whatever it was seemed to annoy people.

"Like how what is with me and you?" she asked, after hearing Ave say, "Like how it is with me 'n' Jane?". She glared at the girl, her eyes then flashing up at Ian and his sister Dezi, and then over to Quill. She didn't mind Quill, which was strange because she did have problems with most people. He wasn't too annoying and he always seemed to know where to find candy which Jane loved nearly as much as him. He was only a year younger than her as well so there was some type of commonality there as well. Ian freaked her out- he was scary when he wanted to be his purple eyes were kind of mesmerizing. His sister, Dezi, was one of the few people that Jane listened to, even though she didn't hesitate to give her problems too when she felt like it.

Quill looked happy and while it was quite possible that he was just excited for the show, Jane knew that he had probably used sugar to hype himself up. "Quill, gimme some of your candy. Where'd you get it?" she questioned, grabbing her flask of chlorine trifluoride and sipping the light yellow liquid. She capped it and shook it slightly, looking at Ave with amused eyes. "You know what this is, Ave? Imagine if I used this stuff to set you on fire, it can burn straight through sand and metal and concrete- I wonder how long it would take to turn you into nothingness," she said, slipping it back into her pocket as she gazed around with boredom. "Did the show start yet?" she said, mainly as a complaint to herself.

Dezi nodded, glad that the human girl would be observing everyone's overly prepared acts. They really did work hard to make the show in tip top shape and everything was always perfect. To a t. She couldn't stop the grin from forming on her face, her white teeth revealed when she pulled back her lips in the expression.
"Awh, thanks honey." She let a hand stroke through Arella's hair and then let her hand fall. She really had an issue with touching other people's hair. She hardly ever touched her own, but when it came to others, well, she honestly felt motherly to nearly everyone in the Cirque. Besides the obvious who were much older or those who did not much appreciate her seeming to be responsible for them as well. She sighed at the mention of Jane and the obvious stare towards her sibling.
"I'm pretty sure that it is much different with the two of us. I am forced to love him no matter what he puts me through and I am sure that he feels like it is his duty in life to protect me. He trys to act like an overprotective father, yet fails miserably when I have to step up and take on the actual role of the parent.
No, you and Jane are just more like...opposites, rather than..." She paused for a moment to raise her hand to her mouth as her finger skimmed over her lips as she thought. "well, whatever we are." She gave a light scoff before turning around to see Jane, who added in an expected snarky remark. There weren't a lot of people that she did not like in the Cirque. Actually, she did not dislike any of them usually. But there had always been something about the way Jane presented herself and the way that she always talked down to Arella that would occasionaly put Dezi off.
She cleared her throat, peering down at the younger girl and let out a long sigh, looking back up towards Ian who had decided to head towards them as well. It was not hard to read him now.
I can't wait to watch Casper perform. He always does really well. The angel could swear that if he had been in wolf form, his tail would be wagging.
Ian had caught the end of the conversation coming from Jane and smirked, eyeing the small girl. He felt far away, being this tall.
His eyes squinted when the girl demanded candy from the boy who was basically like the brother he had never earned and he could not help but to scowl down towards her.
"Maybe you shouldn't boss other people around." He basically growled, in effect, Dezi rammed her elbow into his ribcage which he did not even flinch from. Pain hardly affected him, even critical wounds hardly were a bother. More of an annoyance. Ian winked at Arella. She needed someone to stick up for her.
"Yeah, the show started." Dezerra replied in a sing-song voice that really sounded angelic. She smiled, trying to weave the problems away because they always seemed to follow Ian.