Ian David McKinely's Story

Ian snarled showing his long and pointed fangs. He was in his wolf form, his white fur long and course and his body was larger than any of the other Freaks. He hated being one of them, but at least his sister was around because she relieved him of his cage more often then most of the others.
Dezi was in front of him, equipped with a whip in her right hand which was part of her act. It never hurt him and she mostly just snapped it in the air to make sure that he stayed on his toes.
"Come on, Ian. Try at it again." Dezi directed to him. The angel sighed and shook her head. They had been practicing nearly all morning and her brother still had not gotten down her new routine, but she was determined for him to be absolutely perfect.
"Let's go." She ordered, jerking her wrist, causing the whip to make the nearly deafening sound.
Ian growled lowly, but came to her, sitting properly in front of her to listen to what he had done wrong and needed to work on.
"Your form is off, you need to make sure you stick your landings and you have to move almost gracefully, now I know that is hard for such a large beast as yourself-" She was stopped, practically interupted by his thoughts.
I understand, let's just get on with it. She looked up at her brother, able to see in his purple orbs that he was ready to take a break. She sighed and nodded then he went back to the first stand and adjusted his spine so that he was straight like she had asked. He quickly jumped to the next stand and proudly lifted his head because he felt confident in his last move.
In front of him was a large ball that was decorated with rhinestones that shined against the lights. He carefully placed one paw and then his other front one, balancing perfectly before joining his other legs to begin walking on the ball as it rolled. He went across stage like this, managing to stay on it, but when he was about to jump to the next stand, his paw slipped and his head bounced against the ball as he toppled to the ground.
Fuck! Of course I screw up when I am almost doing it perfectly. He groaned and Dezi went to his side, taking the ball out from under him and setting it on the stand after making sure it wasn't going to roll away.
"Hey, it's okay. You will get it down. I am sure of it. How about a break? You look tired, darling." She coaxed him towards the barred cell and he regretfully rose and padded inside the metal cage, laying down. He gave a long sigh a rested his large head on his paws, thinking about how he could fix his act to make it work.
Dezi closed the door and locked it. She hated the fact that she was forced to lock her brother in a confined space, but it was the rules and she would not break them. There was no way she would let herself get kicked out. She had nowhere else to go.
"I'm sorry," She added, her eyes lingering on the large wolf. "really." She turned away and headed back to the ring, collecting her whip and wrapping it around her arm three times before strapping it onto her belt loop. She had to admit, she somewhat needed a bit of rest too, so she headed to the seats, lounging in one and propping her feet up on the chair in fron of her. Victoria was a few rows over, but she was almost asleep by the time she had adjusted herself in her chosen seat.

Ian had closed his large eyes, almost finding himself falling asleep, but when he heard the jangle of keys his ears perked up, pointing towards where the sound originated.
Gradually he opened his eyes, but they flew open fully when he saw that it was Shae. He watched her carefully, following her as she unlatched the door and opened up the cage door for him.
I wonder what she wants...
He picked himself up, all the while listening to her advice. He was about to turn into his human form in order to reply to her, but then she advised that he go at it again. Her idea seemed logical enough, and because she was interested in seeing him, it made him want to try again even more. He especially wanted to impress her and he hoped she had not seen him screw up before.
Making his way out of the cage, he nodded to her, then nuzzled her side in a token of gratitude that she had attempted to help him. Now he was going to put her words into action.
Dezi had been tracing the lines of her palm before she looked up. Seeing Shaelynn arrive she immediately stood straight up, eyeing her specifically as she went to Ian's cage. The angel tilted her head, watching her closely and she was filled with greatfullness that she had let him out. She couldn't hear what she was saying, but hearing Ian's thoughts completed the puzzle for her.
I hope her idea works. I really cannot mess up again in front of. Even this far away she could hear her brother's loud sigh exhaling from his much larger lungs. I must be perfect. He scolded himself, as Dezerra came nearer to him. He was almost to the stage and she let her hand graze his fur, making him turn around to look down at his sister.
"Don't be so hard on yourself. It would not be the end of the world, even if you were not successful. Just concentrate, and do what she said. It will work." She assured him. The beast nodded to her then found himself standing on the same platform he had vacated previously.
He took a deep breath then let it out before clearing the bound from one platform to the other. He had done the jump as he had before, but that was the easy part. Now came the challenge.
He looked down at the ball, erasing all worry and stress that had been on his mind before and focused like Shae had said before he was atop the ball again. Steadily he rolled himself back over to the other platform and landed it perfectly, making him snort and give a sort of wolf-grin.
They still had not come up with the ending to his performance because he had struggled with the ball for so long, but he felt like he had won and hopped off of the stand, going over to his sister who had been applauding after he had completed the stunt.
"That was great!" He let her wrap her arms around his muzzle, his head pressed against her. When she let go, he trotted over to Shae and barked sharply while wagging his tail. If it had not been for her, he felt like it would not have gone so smoothly so she deserved a thanks.
He licked her cheek before trotting back over to his cage, standing at the door as if waiting for someone to open it for him.
Dezi basically skipped then ran to his side, opening the door for her brother, allowing him entrance.
Ian stopped in the middle of the cage and started howling in agony. His bones began shrinking and his fur was being sucked back through his pores like a burning flame. His bones cracked and shifted and his tail came back into his body. His teeth pulled back into his gums and reformed as his snout caved in and he was soon a human, ending the change with him screaming.
He dropped to his knees, his breaths were ragged and desperate, as if he couldn't get the oxygen into his body fast enough, but soon he simmered down, picking himself up to his full height. He was bare, and although he was not modest, he felt like it was necessary to cover himself, especially since the ringmaster was present. Inside his cage were neatly stacked clothes that he sifted through then pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans and throwing a black Killswitch Engage t-shirt over his shoulders. The tee portrayed a picture of a blue bear that looked like it was in the middle of roaring, its paw outstretched exposing its claws and it looked slightly terrifying. It was one of his favorite band shirts. He grasped two bars in either hand, looking out from between the two out at his sister who was closing the cage door. It was clear in his purple eyes that he was disheartened by the fact that he would have to be in here alone and miserable.

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."

Quiller

"No no! You've got it all wrong," said Quill, "It's not that she doesn't like you, she's just not that into you."

He sat for a moment, listening. To anyone watching he looked like he was deep in thought. Finally he spoke again.

"I can understand that and so does she, she said herself that she wishes there was another way," he said soothingly, "But the thing is, she just doesn't think she could get over the difference in species and..."

A roar drowned out the rest of his words. Quill sighed as the lion turned its back on him and stalked to the other end of its cage. There was just no pleasing some people, he concluded.

"I don't really know what he expected," said Quill to himself, unwrapping a lollipop "How could he expect a relationship with a zebra to work?"

Turning away from the lion and walking away he decided to go and find Dezi to tell her the situation with the lion. As he walked though, the thought almost disappeared from his head as the taste of watermelon filled his mouth.

"Watermelon!" he cried, "Yes! My favourie!"

Having candy always made him happy enough to bounce around with joy, especially lollipops. He continued on his way, skipping along and occasionally stopping to bounce around to some imaginary tune. Soon enough he found Dezi with her brother Ian and Shaelynn, the Ringmaster.

"Hello everyone," he said cheerfully, bouncing to a stop, "Dezi, I just thought I'd come and tell you why the lion has been actiong strange."

He paused for a while to enjoy his lollipop for a few seconds more.

"He has a crush on a zebra but she doesn't feel the same way, not that I can blame her," he continued, "He's kind of rude, I mean, he still hasn't told me his name. Anyway, I thought you should know."

With that he bounced off to go and see Euclid, he liked to go and talk to him to hear about the latest book he'd read and sometimes the noises he made were quite funny.

"Hey Euclid," he said, tapping his finger on the container, "What have you been reading?"

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.

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.

Ian's eyes shot open when Shae began to speak and he immediately fixed his posture, sitting as if he were leaning against a board, his back perfectly straight. It was obvious from the expression on his face that he was very disappointed in himself because he could tell that she definitely was. I understand, Mrs. Ashford...It won't happen again." He hund his head, his eyes full of sorrow intermingled with slight worry. It was very hard for him to restrain his anger at all. Being a wolf, it was the hardest for them. The littlest things set them off and any snide remark could force them to phase and attack whoever was in his way if he was mad enough. Now, however, it looked like he would need to be taking some sort of instruction on how to keep his cool in times like that. God knew he struggled with his emotions more than anything else. He sighed and dropped his head into his hands. He really, really hated seeing her so upset at him. He wanted to immediately prove to her that he was trustworthy, that he could be depended on. It would just take time. He would have to show her that he was able to keep calm even in the toughest times, but he needed a teacher. There was no way in hell he could do it on his own, yet Dezi was always so busy with Quiller, taming the animals and training them and himself, well, she had a full plate and she hardly got enough rest as it was. So who could he come to? He definitely didn't want Shaelynn instructing him. If it were going to be a successful teaching he would need to come over hardships and that would mean people would be ragging him and bashing him and he didn't even want to think about getting angry at her, especially not hurting her. He didn't want to hurt anyone in the Cirque, but if it came to that, Shae was one of the last people on that list.
Then he had an idea....He thought it over for a moment, then began nodding to himself, approving this thought. Kurtis seemed like a proper teacher, and if anything happened, he would be able to take care of himself, even in the worst of situations. He would have to remember to ask him about it later. If not him, he would have to find someone else to help him, and quick. The show was later that night, and he didn't want to risk anyone's neck. Although he was always pretty calm during a show, and nothing really ever bothered him all to much, at least nothing he could not handle.
Meanwhile, Dezi was looking into the glass of Euclid's tank. She nodded to the creature inside smiling. "Actually, I have read that before." She said, her lips pulling up to show her perfect teeth when she grinned.
"It's a romance of many dimensions." She joked, grinning and giggling. "Didn't they make it into a movie? I heard it wasn't half as good as the book." She shook her head. "Pity that movies cannot be as in depth as the stories they are created from. I love when the sphere comes in." She was happily talking about the novel until Quiller began tugging her away. She was still facing Euclid and waved him a goodbye.
"We can talk later, I guess. Have a wonderful day, dear!" She called before turning around and removing Quil's grasp on her arm.
"You know that I do not like to be pulled against my own will. Now, for the hundreth time, will you please not pull me around like a puppy." She halted in her words and looked back up over towards Ian, hoping he had not heard her. She saw him sitting there looking pitiful while Shaelynn stood in front of him, probably telling him what he did was wrong. Well at least she wasn't the only one who had to play "mommy" with him. She was tired of always feeling like a downer because she was forced to scold him like a child and supposedly "suck the fun out of everything".
She shut out all of the other noise around her and focused in on him alone.
I need to figure out who can help me. I just get so mad when people disrespect me, but especially Dezerra...I swear, if anyone here ever did anything to her...There would be hell to pay, but more than that, even... She came out of it, shaking her head. She felt bad for him, but he caused it himself. She agreed, though, that if anyone would be able to help, it was Kurtis. In her opinion he was one of the strongest one in the Cirque, mentally and physically. At the same time, she wasn't in his head like she was with Ian and looks can be deceaving. Everyone had their own inner strengths and weaknesses.
"Ian will be fine. He just needs to get ahold of himself...You see, being a werewolf, well, it makes all of your emotions maximized. Like if he is ever sad, he is majorly depressed...Like on the verge of killing himself. When he is mad, he completely explodes..But when he is in a good mood, he is ecstatic and caring and loving as can be." She chuckled when the smaller boy mentioned that he thought Ian's hair was "cool". "I am sure he will appreciate that. And why especially him?" She asked, curiously tilting her head, looking down at him as they continued towards the cages.
She noticed that Quil looked a bit disheartened and she knew it was because he was out of candy, but she was in luck. She dug around in her pocket and found the Tootsie Pop she had been saving, it was even her favorite. Cherry. But he seemed like he could have better use of it.
"Here." She said, holding it down to him. "Hope you like cherry." She smirked at him.
Ian's thoughts were interrupted by Toan's request to play. Although he really needed to focus on what to do about himself, the idea of letting loose for a little bit would surely help his mood. He had his routine down, so he didn't see the harm in playing for just a little bit.
"I'll play tag." Ian said, giving a devilish smirk, just daring him to agree. There was no way he could be beat by an acrobat, since he planned on being a wolf.

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.

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.

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.

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?"

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?"