Snippet #2325085

Her laughter came as a relief to him, at least he wasn't the only crazy one here. It didn't matter if she tried to deny it, they were both completely mad for this, absolutely loony, bonkers. For some odd reason though, and perhaps it was the lunacy or the adrenaline, but a tickling feeling was running up and down the inside of his stomach. Vaguely his mind was running through how he thought it was cute how she covered her mouth in her embarrassment and how she tilted her head with a smile, and mortified he tried to lock these observations away. It had to be the adrenaline, that's what made the most sense, it also must be what was making his face feel like hot coals.

Ezekiel found himself back in reality as soon as she moved off of him, the two of them sitting side-by-side in momentarily silence as their bodies processed that danger wasn't so imminent. Even if they were apart now the previous proximity still lingered, his skin still tingling from where her breath had landed, remembering each touch. He furrowed his brows as he stood, brushing the dirt off his cloths fastidiously despite not caring about getting dirty. Being incredibly hygienic was never a habit someone could really form in a travelling circus, no matter how well they were treated. Silently Ezekiel told himself that he could remember it all so clearly because of the rush, along with all those years that he went without close physical contact, being in a cage most of the time did that to people.

He found himself only nodding in response, stretching out his wings and wincing as his nerves delivered pain to his head. There were some spots that would need to be put into a splint, but it wasn't anything he couldn't manage for now. "Copacetic." His voice was quiet and his wings folded again, as if to demonstrate that he would be fine and that there was nothing for her to worry about. When they had a real shot of getting out of here alive he found himself hardly thinking about the pain at all, and it wasn't as if his wings were special to him, not to mention that he probably would have never been able to use them for flight in the first place. Rolling his shoulders Ezekiel stepped forward and onto the path, looking both ways before gesturing to where Mr.Torture had come from on that assumption that he wouldn't head back that way anytime soon.

Again was their world filled with nothing but the sound of their own footsteps. There was no time for his body to relax, everything felt tense as they walked through the circus, stopping to check pathways before advancing, avoiding brutes and guards alike. Every one of his muscles felt tight, wound up and ready to spring at the slightest noise or hint of danger, anything that would jeopardize his own freedom. Yet he still stood close to Avalin, keeping her in grabbing distance in case they needed to run. While she could most likely run faster then him (Thanks to having normal feet and all), she didn't know the layout of the circus. After all that she had done for him, leaving her behind was the last thing on his mind, and both of them would get out of this in one piece if he could help it.

It wasn't far now, and he would have kept on going if it wasn't for noise, voices, and he turned to Avalin with a perplexed countenance. What was with that racket? Even if it was hushed the noise was such a contrast to the stillness of the circus, and it obviously wasn't from anyone that they should be running from. His wings twitched as he recognized a couple of the voices and he changed his course, walking towards the sounds rather than away, thinking that if it was what he thought it was then there was nothing for him to worry about.

He wasn't wrong, but he wasn't quite right either. He saw Ester and Mark, as suspected, but there were two other people that he didn't recognize, and then another who he didn't expect to be there at all. "Well, aren't we a bunch of eggs?" He questioned, making their presence known among the others as he walked closer, specifically approaching Ester and Mark, who he was more comfortable with. For a few quick seconds he looked between the two that were foreign to him, and then glanced back to Avalin, his eyebrows raised. Maybe she hadn't come here alone after all? "Are they with you?" He whispered, hoping that it was true, because if they were her friends then at least he could trust them a little bit.

Ezekiel stopped beside Ester, and in his surprise he was unable to force himself to smile, only managing a nod. So this was a full blown operation? He had to admit, he was impressed, and perhaps they would have a better chance at breaking out of this joint with more people, more minds. He tried to not think of the possibility of all of them simply being a bunch of saps. "Hi." He greeted her bluntly and looked over to Mark, the skinny boy's hands still tied and his own eyes widening. If this was going to be a group effort they should be getting out of her soon. The longer they stayed in one spot the more change they had at getting caught, and he would fight tooth and nail to see that they didn't meet with such a wanweird.

With this in mind he stepped forward without a word, avoiding vocalization as a means to not draw more attention to themselves, along with hoping that logic and nonverbal communication would do. He pulled out the key Avalin had nicked and quirked one of his eyebrows, curious to know if it would work on the chain lock as well. Figuring there was only one way to find out the winged boy sent a brief look over to the other male before knelling down behind Mark, his eyes squinting in the dark shrouds of the night, searching for where the lock was. When he found it he reached forward and grabbed the shackles, not giving any verbal warning. Really, he didn't know how to act in this kind of situation at all. Ezekiel bit the inside of his cheek as he placed the metal shaped by heat into the lock, holding his breath as he turned it, awaiting a click or a dreadful resistance.