Casper Jetlude's Story

Casper's eyes flicked up from the seat he was on when he heard the ringmaster's clear voice. But, after seeing the acrobats fling around, he went back to making two of his dolls, Erik and Isabella curtsey to each other before dancing around. Sometimes, he made himself laugh from the silliness of it all, but he really couldn't be bothered to do the show today. He walked down the stairs, his hands only twitching slightly every couple of seconds behind his back as the dolls hopped down the stairs behind him, holding hands. He spotted Dezi, and Ian, as dell as the ringmaster and Victoria, seemingly angry. He heard her say something about puppets, and he made Isabella walk over to the harpy, who was now on a chair.

"Those are some marks!" Casper said, but his ability to throw his voice, and imitate a girl, made it sound as if Isabella was speaking herself. "Miss Shae may not like that, you know?" Isabella sat on a seat next to her, while Casper plonked himself at her other side. His voice returned to normal almost instantly as Erik and Isabella both sat on his lap and he patted Isabella's long, gold locks. "She's like a doll, right? She may seem scary, or loving or whatever, but I think she's not any of those things." A smile came across his face. "Just like Isa." Suddenly, he spotted knots in Isabella's long hair and he stood up in a flurry, walking off and whispering the words "Oh god, oh god. Come on Erik, catch up."

A few minutes later, he was seen sitting on a chair, brushing his poor doll's hair. Maybe it was good that his obsession was dolls; at least he enjoyed the job slightly more than the others. But that wasn't the problem. The problem was that Isabella's hair was really tangled now that he looked at it properly, and he'd have to put her away. Casper twirled his hand round a few times and the dolls fell limp. He stashed her in his case carefully and took out a doll with red hair and small, feathery wings on her back. He'd called her Swanne.

When he looked over at the ringmaster, she was with Ian and he set to having a conversation with his dolls. The voice Casper did for Swanne was maybe a bit too realistically feminine for a boy, but he was just good at voices. Maybe this time, he'd be able to invite some children to the stage. He didn't like children, not really, and especially not when they touched his dolls, but it gave him a bigger cheer when the kids tried to tug on non-existent strings. Perfect. He'd go ask the ringmaster now.

He walked towards Shae, his dolls following close behind. "Miss Shae, I was thinking I could bring some children up this time." He shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, I hate the vile things when they touch my dolls, but. . ." his voice trailed off as he became distracted at Swanne running around his ankles, skipping along with Erik.

"I like bigger cheers from the children!" came Swanne's graceful voice as she twirled around quickly. Her white dress flared out and she smiled. Honestly, it was a mystery even to him how he'd managed to master the facial expressions of his doll, they were so complex. Casper was going to go off and practice what to do as soon as he got his answer, but there was no way to prepare if he didn't know this detail.

Toan

Toan ran as fast as he could towards the pole in the center of the tent, ignoring everything and everyone around him, he had to remain focused, one false step and he could seriously hurt himself. Milliseconds before he ran into the pole he placed a foot on the vertical surface and proceeded upward, as if defying gravity.

"Higher, I'm sure I can do it," he thought to himself but knew it was no use. Just like every other time, after seven steps upward, gravity reclaimed its hold on him, forcing him to backflip gracefully, clothes billowing in the breeze and land crouched on the ground, one leg outstreched and both arms in the air.

"One of these days I'll get it," he muttered to himself, standing up and stretching his neck to the side before leaning back to place his hands on the ground, bringing his legs up till he was doing a handstand.

Before he could complete the slow flip a clown came up to him insisting that he try the high wire next. Toan's blood ran cold, he didn't mind throwing himself around like a ragdoll but the high wire was something he couldn't handle, for as long as he could remember he'd had a fear of heights, of course that wasn't something that could stop the show, countless times he'd had to push past the paralysis of his fear for the sake of the Cirque.

"Come on Twig, hurry up," said the clown as Toan completed his flip and slowly walked towards the ladder leading to the high wire.
With a deep breath he began to climb, keeping his eyes closed untill he reached the top. The ring spread out around him, he could see everything and everyone, Dezi and her brother Ian, the magician Kurt and the puppeteer, Casper. He was sure that everyone was looking at him, waiting for him to fail.

"That's a stupid thought," he whispered.

Turning his attention to the tightrope infront of him he tried to will his body forward and begin the routine.

"I can't do this!" he thought, closing his eyes and cradleing his head, "But I must."

Before he could think again he leapt into the air, landing on the tightrope, perfectly balanced. He began to walk along untill he reached halfway where he threw himself to the side, hooking his foot on the rope, allowing momentem to swing his body round in a full circle. For the next few minutes he continued to practice all of the acrobatic tricks in his routine before gladly climbing back down to earth.

"How did I do?" he asked the clown but he didn't wait to hear the answer, he was shaking from the effort it had taken to stay on the rope for that long. Silently he sat down in an empty chair and drew his knees to his chest. He hoped that nobody could see the tears streaking down his face.

Reina

She sat watching the others practice, the same two words of a song had been bouncing around her head for hours ever since Twig had shown her the dance he had learnt for it.

"Kalinka, Malinka," she sang quietly to herself. Kalinka, wasn't that the title of a russian folk song? She was sure of it.

Unbidden, the chorus burst into her mind.

Kalinka, Kalinka, Kalinka of mine,
In the garden a berry grows so sweet on the vine

Shaking her head the verses dissappeared. Things were definitely looking grim if she couldn't escape the noise even in her own mind.

"Rain, come and practice with us," said one of the other clowns, "It's meant to be a team effort remember?"

With a sigh she stood up, why did she have to be a clown, she didn't think she was that funny, he skilled didn't lie with jokes, it was with riddles.

"Why is a raven like a writing desk?" she asked of nobody in particular, quoting one of her favorite books.

"I dunno, why?" asked the clown who'd told her to join in.

"Well they're both flat of course," answered Reina, "My research showed that a ravens call is flat. Fascinating don't you think?"

"Yeah...sure" said the clown, "I didn't think that was meant to have an answer."

As the clowns began to practice their skit, Reina's thoughts began to drift again.

"Perhaps instead of being a clown I can be something else," she pondered, "I mean, my costume makes me more of a harlequin anyway, perhaps I could be a mystic or fortune teller."

She quite liked this idea, she knew she'd be able to brush up on or learn the skills for anything other than being a clown. Spotting Shaelynn from across the tent she began to make her way towards her, passing Victoria and several of the other "freaks" on the way. Freaks, what a dreadful name, calling the beings that made up the freakshow was about as wrong as calling her a clown which was to say in no way right. Finally she reached the ringmaster.

"Shaelynn, I was thinking about my role in the cirque," she said, "perhaps I could be something more than this."

Dezi looked up at Shae as she told her that it was not necessary that Ian was behind bars for now. She could not help but to grin, suddenly having the urge to tackle her with a hug, but she slowly came close to her, wrapping her arms around her carefully then releasing a couple of seconds later.
"I appreciate it so much." She thanked her and Ian stepped back outside.
This is so great that she is letting me out! I am so surprised. I have to be super good.
"As do I." He added, his cool and soothing tone coming out obviously content. "It gets too lonely in there." He smiled at the Ringmaster, very grateful for her generosity.
What was he going to do with this ability? This capability of actually being out of his cage and being able to go as he pleased without having to practice. Usually that was the only time he was allowed to exit his confined space, but now he was washed of that. He laughed heartily for a moment before another character from the circus addressed Shaelynn. It was Casper, the puppeteer and after she answered him he followed his leaving figure, his eyes lingering on the male for a bit too long.
Dezi chuckled to herself and Ian glared at her, but she shrugged her shoulders innocently. It was not her fault that she was cursed to read his mind, and his alone. After she was sent back down from heaven, God had given her "The Gift" as he called it and had said to keep an eye on her brother. Apparently it was his way of saying make sure he stays out of trouble and doesn't do anything reckless like he used to.
She recalled back over his thought he had just had.
Why am I so attracted to him. I can't help it and I hate keeping it a secret...more than anything.
She could see now after his eyes softened that the lightest hint of pink was easing its way onto his cheeks, but he flipped his hair which covered most of his face, disguising his feelings.
"Thank you again Shaelynn." Ian told her again, then began walking away from the two women. He wanted to go and talk to Casper, but he seemed a bit preoccupied by whatever he was doing and he was not going to interrupt him or distract him. If there was a conversation to be held, Ian could be approached.
For now, he just enjoyed the feeling of being free. He stretched his limbs, grabbing his wrist in either hand and stretching his arms back, and above his head. He felt his shoulder pop and sighed happily, but looked down when he felt a tug on his shirt near his waist. Being six foot and three inches, most people didn't compare to his height, especially the clowns.
There, next to him, was one of the painted comedian's and Ian tilted his head curiously, wondering why he had been approached.
"Your not supposed to be out. You need to get back into your cage." His tone was authorty-like and demanding, he began pushing Ian at his thigh, trying to force him to move, but the werewolf boy didn't budge.
"I am allowed to be out right now, Shae said so and I don't really appreciate you push-"
"Yeah right, let's go, puppy."
Now, there were two things Ian could not stand. One was obviously Dezerra being hurt in any form or fashion. The other was anyone who disrespected him. The pushing he could handle and keep himself calm, not blow up about it, he had not seen this clown around so he was most likely new and probably didn't know that Ian had a spontaneous attitude. Always. And his anger was not something to bargain with. And now, this clown was for one calling him a liar, but it was the discrimination upon him that really had gotten to the core.
"I. Am. NOT. A. Dog!" Ian growled through his teeth, letting his animalistic side come forth and the growl turned into that of a wolf. It turned into a roar, almost, but he didn't let it get out of control.
Beforehand, Dezi again had thanked the Ringmaster and slightly bowed her head to show her respect and gratitude, she was not taking this for granted in the slightest.
She turned her head, looking down upon her small and adorable assistant.
"Why, hello Quill," She began, then he started speaking about the lion's apparent feelings for one of the zebras. Dezi lowered her eyebrows quizzically, trying to figure the situation out as she listened to him. It was hard to contain her composure and at that she busted out laughing. She had never heard of such a thing! A lion liking it's typical prey? That was a new one. As she settled down she nodded to him and thanked him for telling her after wiping a tear that had streamed down her cheek from laughing so hard.
She exhaled, gathering herself after her outburst. It had been a good laugh, she had not laughed that hard in some time, now.
Dezerra glanced over to see Victoria giving Ian a hellish look. It unnerved her and she tensed up. Even if it was out of her ability to stop, she wanted to do something about it, but no harm had been done so there was no point to linger on the subject. At least Ian had not noticed.
She began humming to herself, starting off for her trailer when suddenly a roar erupted through the tent. Her head snapped in the direction from where it had come from. She had completely forgotten to be listening to Ian while she was talking to Shaelynn and Quill that now she regretted it. There hardly came a time when she was not paying attention, but now she was paying for her mistakes. Just hearing certain tones in his thoughts and she could tell when his blood was starting to boil. Now she found herself sprinting over to the clown and her angered brother because she had to hurry before someone got hurt.
When she got to them she snatched Ian by the chest just as he was about to lunge for the rude clown, and he looked pissed. It was a bit unusual that somehow this small girl was able to pry this obviously much larger male away from his want to tear the clown to pieces.
"I'm so sorry!" She called to him over Ian's inhuman sounds.
"You should put that mangy mutt on a leash." The clown said, before turning his back on the two.
He did not just call me a mutt!
"I'll fucking show you a mutt!" -Ian tried to struggle out of Dezi's iron hold, but somehow she kept him back and sturdy- "Dezi, let me go! He deserves it, damn punk!" Dezi moved to the front of Ian, holding him by his shoulders as his breath became more controlled, and soon the anger was gradually flowing out of him.
"Shh, shhh, shhhhh." Her fingers ran through her hair and Ian finally met the eyes of the only one who loved him.
"He called me a puppy...and a liar, Dezi you know me, I don't do tha-"
"Shhhhhh, it's okay, baby. It's okay." She pulled him to her in a hug and was petting the back of his head. "Just don't worry about it, it's over." She pulled away from him, their blue-green eyes and violet ones locking. "You don't need to listen to what they say. They just don't understand us..." She glared at the almost nonexistent silhouette of the clown who had insulted her brother. As much as she would like to give him what for, she knew it would not do any good.
"Just go and sit in the stands, try to cool off. There are a couple of water bottles near my bag next to your cage. Grab yourself one. I'll be with Quiller if you need me. Everything is going to be alright." Ian nodded to Dezi and found himself one of the bottles then went to sit in the audience's seats and rested his head back, closing his eyes.
God! I need to get control of myself... Ian lifted up his head for a moment then let it fall again. Why do I have the feeling that I am about to get yelled at? Oh, yeah! Because if it weren't for Dezi that clown would be in pieces.
Dezi made her way over to Euclid's cubical and smiled down at the interesting creature.
"Hello to the two of you." She said smiling, as if the scene she had just kept from happening hadn't moved her in the slightest. She was quite used to having to deal with Ian's outburts, and this definitely wasn't the first one that had gotten close to going overboard. She didn't want to witness him go that crazy again, though, seeing as how the last time had almost gotten both of them killed.

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.

Toan


Toan picked himself off the ground, rubbing his back, thankful that he hadn't caused himself serious harm, amazingly he didn't feel bad about losing. Sure, he enjoyed winning but the loss had been worth it to see Casper blush, it hadn't escaped Toan's attention that Ian had been staring at the puppeteer and his stomach had erupted in warm and fuzzy feelings when Casper had kissed the wolf. For some reason though, Ian seemed distracted, perhaps it was one of those cases where everyone could see the two had feelings for each other except for the two in mention, he knew it wasn't his business though.

"Umm...thanks for playing the game with me?" he said hesitantly as Ian headed towards Kurt, "I'll um...I'll get you the cotton candy later I guess."

Had the werewolf even heard him? He couldn't be sure, Ian hadn't answered. He watched as the crowd that had been watching the display disbanded and went back to what they were doing. Once again he was invisible, or at least that was how he felt.

"I guess everyone has important stuff to do anyway," he thought as he found another seat and began listening to his MP3 player again.


Cadenza


"Did I miss something?" thought Cadenza as the crowd parted to reveal Toan standing in the center before he walked to a seat and pulled out his MP3.

It appeared there had been some sort of display but that was all in the past, he should focus on the present if he wanted to succeed in seducing someone.

"Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if I just talked to someone normally though," he thought, "At least then I wouldn't have to worry about saying all the right things."

He resolved to think about the matter more but first he had to find somewhere to relax and be himself, he was begining to get a headache from maintaining the psychic field. Hastilly he exited the tent and found a spot in the shade away from everyone where he hoped nobody would see. With a drawn out sigh he let the field slip away, the air shimmering around him like a heat wave allowing his true self to emerge. Cadenza leaned back against a tree, fingers tracing the tattoos on his chest, rubbing his antlers against the tree trunk gently. Today was such a nice day, all he wanted to do was stay out here and relax, enjoying the sunshine, his tail twitched at the thought. He was so tired, he could barely keep his eyes open.

"Falling asleep out here would be a dangerous thing to do," he murmered but it was no use. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't keep his eyes from closing and within seconds he was asleep.

Ian looked up from the ground towards Toan. He had mentioned the cotton candy and his interest was pricked so he apologized sheepishly to Kurt and held up a single finger to tell him he would be back in a little bit.
He went to Toan and put his arm around the shorter boy, giving him nogey and grinning down at him.
"I can be treated now, if you want." He smirked, but then out of the corner of his eye he spotted Casper and had a sudden urge to go and help him. He looked awfully beaten up, like he was sick or something.
"Well, actually, we can eat later, I am going to do something real quick." He patted his head, in another apology, but at the time, he had one thing he had set his mind to.
He jogged towards Dezi's trailer, knowing she would not mind and he knew where she hid the key, he was definitely tall enough to reach it anyway.
He unlocked the door and pushed inside, rummaging around numerous cabinets, drawers and checking under things looking for medicine.
When he found what he was looking for, he returned the key after locking the door and jogged back towards Casper, somewhat hesitantly approaching him.
"Uh, you don't look so good. You should take a couple of these." He handed him the bottle in his hand and smiled at him.
"They are good for pain, headaches, respiratory problems and what not. Should work just fine for whatever your experiencing." He raised a hand and rubbed the back of his neck, still holding out the bottle.

Toan


Toan watched as Ian went to assist Casper. He had to admit that the puppeteer didn't look well at all. He felt concern begin to gnaw at him as Casper collapsed and fell off his chair, unconcious. He had seen Ian give him medicine but who knew what was really wrong. He knew that Ian would probably appreciate the time alone with Casper but if he could help in any way then he was going to.

"I can't just stand by and do nothing," he reasoned, walking towards the pair and picking up Casper's doll case which had been left behind.

He came to a stop beside Ian, kneel down beside the puppeteer's head.

"Is he ok?" asked Toan, wondering why he bothered to ask when it was obvious.

Without waiting for an answer he placed his hand on top of Casper's forehead, feeling the heat sear into his hand.

"He has a fever," explained Toan to Ian, "It feels pretty hot so we should try to bring it down."

Seeing another person like this made him want to cry, he hated to see others suffer and would willingly change places with them without a second thought but sadly it wasn't something he could do, the best he could manage was to assist them in any way possible.


Quiller


Quill watched as Dezi began to speak to the lion, calming him down and scratching him in his favorite spot.

"So his name is Lucian," said Quill, thinking out loud, "I wonder why he didn't want to tell me."

He was still a little shocked that the lion had attacked Dezi like that even if he had been in a no girls mood.

"You know Lucian," said Quill, addressing the lion, "Next time you decide to make your cage a no girls zone you should warn us before hand and not attack Dezi like that, I'm sure you would have scared her a lot."

Quill shook his head in disbelief, he understood that the lion was feeling a little upset about the rejection but that was no excuse to leap at someone. He supposed he would never understand how the lion's mind worked, no doubt he felt he was completely justified. Instead of giving himself a headache he decided to try practicing the dance Toan had shown him, he'd called it Bad Apple or something like that. Step after step he progressed through the dance with a little difficulty untill he reached the one part that always gave him problems.

"Maybe I can do it today," he thought, preparing to attempt it.

As he moved to bring his left foot out from behind his right leg he got hooked up and tumbled to the ground, landing with a soft thump and sending up a small cloud of dust.

"I guess I'm just not as graceful or skilled as Toan," he coughed, rubbing dust out of his eyes, "But I'll get there some day."

Ian chuckled, basically forcing the puppeteer to swallow the pills. They would definitely help. He was worried about him, what if he was not in tune for the show later?
His eyes widened as Casper became limp within a minute or so after his arrival and he quickly stooped down to catch his head so he would not harm himself or get a concusion.
His breath was ragged and nervous.
"Damn...thought I lost you there..." He looked up greatfully to Toan who asked him if he needed help.
"If you could just manage to help me get him back into his seat, I can take it from here. Don't forget his dolls, either. He'd flip." Ian brushed Casper's hair out of his face and looked down, now seeing the closeness of the man he wanted so.
All he had on his mind was getting him to his trailer and getting him to better health and after he adjusted Casper into his arms he sped off outside followed by Toan.
He lay him gently in his bed, adjusting his covers to warm him up. He went over to the sink and dampened a rag then folded it to set on his forehead.
He looked up at Toan after sitting down at the foot of the bed.
"Thank you, I needed an extra hand." He gave him a smile, but his eyes swept back over to the one in bed. His eyebrows lowered and he cringed, wished, somehow, that he could do more, but for now, all he could do was wait.
Dezi shook her head, smiling.
"No, dear. It takes a lot to scare me. A flea infested beast could not scare me away." She smirked at the lion who was still enjoying the attention that she gave him.
Her blue-green irises averted from the lion to find Ian. She wanted to make sure he was not too far off, in case she would need to give him a side note and on the other hand, they needed to talk to Toan together.
"Keep working on that dance, Quil. You'll get it." She said to him, patting his head before going after her brother and Toan who were assisting Casper into his trailer.
She followed in right after, invited or not.
"What's going on?" She demanded, looking from Casper's pallor face, to the worry of her brother's.
"Nevermind, I got it." She tapped her head, in case Toan did not get the jist of the two of them then went to kneal next to Casper.
She placed a hand on his forehead, then closed her eyes, bowing her head and mumbling something that Ian was struggling to hear. He raised a brow, watching her curiously, but he knew that she was capable of whatever she was trying to do to help. Probably had something to do with the whole fallen angel from heaven, follower of God shishkabab.
To his surprise, however, Casper was slowly coming to, the color returning to his face and his body turning a couple of different ways as his eyelids slowly began to open up.
"He needs to rest for about thirty minutes. Stay here and make sure he stays in bed at least that long." She left Ian a lingering look before releiving herself from the overcrowded space.

Casper woke up fully on his side, and he glanced at the back of someone leaving. . . wherever he was. Whoever it was looked female. It took him a few seconds to remember what had happened, and his face went red with embarrassment. Did he really collapse? He hadn't done that in ages as he massaged his head, before running a hand through his hair, sighing and rolling over. Just as he'd be without others around when he was ill, before seeing two other people there. He blinked, before realising who it was. Toan and Ian. Well, he didn't mind Toan, he was rather cute, but Ian just made his face go slightly brighter pink as he looked away. He curled up for a minute, enjoying the wonderful warmth of the covers, before sitting up. Almost instantly, a head rush made his head throb as he groaned.

Finally, the boy realised where he was. Even though he'd had the same trailer for. . . ever. Not technically, but still. There were no dolls, not even traces of them. They were all tidied away. However, there was an endless amount of things on the floor, the most random of things thinkable. There were threads, a dreamweaver, about a million bracelets in one area, and on the bedside table, a ring sat on the spotless surface. He glared at it, before looking at Ian and Toan. "Erm. . ." Casper's voice trailed off. It was tired and quiet anyways. "Thank you." He said, a genuinely sweet smile on his now only slightly red face.

He spotted his case in Toan's hand and a part of him just relaxed immensely. A grin came across his face as he stood up, but he had to latch on to whatever was there since he couldn't feel any support from his legs whatsoever. Oh, I had to grab onto him, didn't I? Casper mentally cursed himself for latching onto the person who was confusing the hell out of him. He looked up at Ian with an apologetic look on his face, as he sat back down on the bed carefully, waggling his toes to check his legs were still working.

Well, that did happen every morning, the feeling where he felt he wasn't in possession of his body, but that was mostly since he had strange nightmares every other night. He then thought about Ian, and how warm his own head felt. It felt like he had been burning up but he was now cooling down. He felt somewhat better though. Maybe it was the pills, it probably was, but he felt something extra. He kicked his socks off as he lay back, not even bothering to use the covers. He stared down at his feet, waving them around before observing the marks darker than his skin, like he had millions of times. They were a dark blue, on his ankles, and it looked like one butterfly wing on each foot. He still had no idea how they'd gotten there; he'd somehow had them since birth. Well according to his father, at least. And that person was not to be trusted.

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?"

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?"

Casper felt a bit bad about pushing the werewolf out even after he'd helped him so much. But he was changing and Casper, the usually confident person, was really self-concious. Not in the way of 'Oh, I hate my body!'. More in the way that he was just really, really insecure in general, about his personality, his voice, his background. On his ankles, fine. They looked like tattoos, so it was fine. But the weird scar, normal coloured and just in the shape of a long cut across his back was the thing he hated showing others. He sighed as he pulled his shirt off, just about tugging a white shirt on when he heard a loud cry. It sounded like a girl, too.

The twenty year old popped his head out and saw Victoria running, but he only slightly saw the ticket master. He saw her wings, from the back and smiled a bit. Her wings were really pretty. But when she was fleeing from the trailers, he saw the front and a look of genuine surprise came over his face. Quite a few of her feathers were missing; gone. His dolls, suddenly brought to life all gathered around his feet and looked up at his shocked expression. They all asked him questions of what was wrong, but he grabbed his coat (for some reason he was freezing his butt-cheeks off) and threw it on as he shoved his dolls back in his trailer before leaving with a quick pace. Searching around the trailers, he looked for Victoria, but didn't even see a trace of her. Without feathers, could she fly? He saw Ian and ran up to him.

Running his hand through his hair anxiously, he looked up. "I-Ian! Erm, thanks for earlier, really. Have you see Victoria? She just. . ." his voice trailed off as he bit his bottom lip. He remembered the figure he'd caught a glimpse of leaving and suddenly remembering who it was, holding onto his hair in annoyance and realisation, before his facial expression changed and he immediately burst into laughter. His laughter wasn't the usual type, not the laugh he'd have if he actually found something funny. No, it was the weird laugh that showed snippets of insanity within his personality. It was things like this that made people in the cirque call him crazy, crazy, mad as a hatter. It only happened sometimes, and it was rare that side of him would come out, but when it did now, his dolls all came running around him and started talking, all overlapping each other. And he let them, his laughter sort of echoing in the silence.

"You really are mad as a hatter." Swanne shook her head as she tugged his trousers. "Why should I care~?" his voice was all singsongy and he twirled. "It's more fun this way." Shaking the dolls off, he made them know he was talking to someone by putting his index to his mouth. His facial expression suddenly became a lot more serious, but there was still a crazed glint in his eyes. "Did you see which was she went?" He asked, Isabella and Erik shaking their heads.

Dezi and Ian shared a horrified and worried stare towards Victoria. Dezi's related more to the terrified expression. She already knew who had caused her to be in such dissaray and annoyance. The Ringmaster. She shuddered to herself and eyed Toan now, putting the scene out of her head before they reached the tent and she watched Victoria leave.
"Poor bugger." Her eyebrows lowered in a shared compassion for the girl, although she did not like Ian, she could not help but to feel sorry for her. She couldn't imagine the horribleness of loosing her own wings. She touched them lightly and they fluttered as if they weren't attached to her body and had a mind of their own.
"Sorry, spacing out." She told Toan, focusing on him again. It seemed like everyday in the Cirque had something crazy happening at least a couple of times throughout the evening, not including the shows.
"He will be find with it, I'm sure. I will go and talk with Shaelynn." She smiled at him and patted him on the head, then glanced towards Quiller.
She liesurly walked towards the cage, putting her hands on two bars and pushing her face between the iron.
"It's time to wake up, baby." She called to the smaller boy. She smiled and watched as Lucian slowly opened his large eyes and looked rather sleepy himself. The giant cat yawned and rested his head on his paws again, not disturbed by the prescense of the boy in the slightest.
Dezi turned back around to Toan and nodded to him.
"Yes, she can be a bit difficult to track down, but it should be fairly easy for me." She half smiled, half smirked before lifting off of the ground as her wings began flapping vigerously. She was nearly to the top of the tent, her eyes scanning over the whole of the area and found it to be empty of the ringmaster so she soared out of the tent and outside towards the setting sun, going lower to view the grounds before finally spotting her not far off under a tree. Two smaller human girls were heading in after she left as she landed lightly in front of Shae.
She gave her a small head bow and smiled.
"Hello, love. I have another question, if you're not too terribly busy. If so, it can wait until later and we could try the idea I have in mind in the next show."
Ian stared after Victoria. He felt really bad for her, but did not let his thoughts linger on the poor girl. There wasn't anything that he could do to change what had happened.
He sighed, then as he turned saw Casper running up to him. He was slightly taken by surprise, thinking before he didn't want him around. He gave him a lopsided grin when he thanked him and lifted his arm up and over to rub the back of his head while still giving that goofy smile.
"Hey, it was no problem. You obviously needed some help, but the real thanks should go- Victoria? I think she went...." He was interrupted yet again by a series of manic laughing sprees. He raised his brows skeptically, and in turn, not understanding the joke. He let his eyes wander to the ground before it was just too awkward for him to stand there while the puppeteer laughed like crazy and he didn't make a peep.
He scooted back slightly before turning around, sighing again and dropping his arm to his side.
He found Kurtis and was glad that he had come back around.
"Hey! So..." He glanced back to see Casper still enjoying whatever he had missed out on and he turn sheepishly back to the magician. "that advice? And it's not like I can just...flat out say it either...This person's...different to say the least." He let out a large breath and Kurtis's eyes with his own violet orbs. They seemed to sparkle with the hope that he was asking the right person.

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.

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.