Wherever the Ringmaster pleases

His mornings always began the same way. Five o'clock sharp, Lucio di Morte swung his feet out of bed. He shrugged his lean, slender body into a black dress shirt, black shirttailed jacket, dark slacks and dark shoes. He finished tying his satin white tie at 5:10.

Mornings always began early at Di Morte. Especially on the morning of a performance.

"Ringmaster...." He tested the name again, smirking as he slipped on the white half mask. He pulled back his dark hair into a ponytail at the base of his neck, tying it off with a blood red ribbon. He took his cane, which leaned against the wall, and headed out of the cabin onto the campgrounds.

--x--

Sawyer Jacobs shifted in his sleep, before something heavy crashed into his side. He jolted up, staring in bright panic at the fox spirit that sat, rather smug, on his stomach.

"Elora...." he moaned, falling back onto his cot.

"Get up," the fox spirit commanded. "Ringmaster approaches."

Sawyer scrambled for his mask, tugging it over his head just as Ringmaster turned the corner. His real name...Sawyer didn't know his real name. None of the circus members did.

"Good morning, Fox," Ringmaster's voice was smooth, polite as he stopped by Sawyer's room. Sawyer nodded, the back of his throat suddenly dry..

Lark's eyes slid open, settling on the cage bars. The sun was barely starting to come up. He sighed.
It was time to begin.
He slipped his feathered mask on, giving a trilling bird-call to wake the others. The Ringmaster would be around to inspect any minute.

Adele's amber eyes flickered open as she heard Larks shrill call. Pulling the blanket back she sat up and pulled her blue mask over her face. Rising from the bed she pulled out a small comb and began brushing her long chocolate brown hair. Her eyes turned down, she could "taste" the Ringmaster, a faint taste that always seemed to be at the back of her throat, perhaps because he had such an unusual "taste" positive and negative, very unusual. Her hair flowed down over her shoulders and she pulled the sheet up over her bed in order to make it look neat for the Ringmaters inspection.

Lark had no prepping to do. He simply uncurled, stepping out of the nest-like structure that he was given as a bed. He ran his fingers through his auburn hair a few times, straightening the feathery outfit built to make him look even more like a little girl. And then he moved to kneel in front of his bars, peering down the halls, waiting.

The Ringmaster headed down the hall, smirking to himself. He paused at Lark's cage. "Hello, Lark," he murmured, not even turning to look at the boy. "Did you sleep well?"

Sawyer, relieved, stepped out of his room, Elora trotting by his side - not that anybody else could see.

"That was rather more stressful than usual," the fox noted as Sawyer headed towards the cafeteria. His stomach rumbled.

"He scares me," Sawyer admitted with a soft voice. He pulled off his mask. "Something...about him...."

"Yes, Ringmaster," Lark whispered, ducking his head to the man. He found himself shivering in fear.

“No way…how absurd.” Confucia, quite perplexed, poked at the apple before her. Worms ate this stuff did they not? Not that it mattered, worms were decomposers, like bacteria, bacteria grew sometimes on cheese didn’t it? Oh wait no that was fungus. Actually cheese was fungus. Like blue cheese. “I don’t think I enjoy blue cheese, it isn’t even entirely blue…”

Confucia’s comment seemed out of the blue, heh, blue. Back to the point! One moment she was commenting on how absurd the apple was, and now she spoke of blue cheese, she was not aware that the comment seemed strange, but a curtain other individual was acutely aware, and he cocked an eyebrow at her from across the bench. His name was Kohn.
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“Well that in front of you missy, so happens to be an apple, that which we humans consume. So consume it and quit complaining, you haven’t eaten in a day or so if I’m not mistaken.” Kohn dug back into his cereal, eyeing his friend with the blank mask. Why did he have to be the sensible one? If it weren’t for him this idiot would have starved by now probably, and Lark would have gotten hit on by numerous unsuspecting guys, and August would have said something offensive and gotten into trouble, and a thousand other things… He sighed.

“Do I need to shove that apple in your damn mouth? Or are you going to eat?” It didn’t make sense; he loved food, why would anyone not love food?

“Hello fox.” He nodded in Fox’s general direction as he entered.
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“Well, I don’t think my mask allows for food shoving…” Confucia tapped her mask were her mouth should be, this was not good. Her mask was ok during work hours, but it was proving to be so inconvenient lately. She didn’t like being seen as nothing. Waving to Sawyer she tossed the apple into that air and it started to circle her head in a planetary fashion.

“I don’t think my apple can find an opening…”

"Take off the mask," Sawyer suggested. "Ringmaster's with Lark anyway. You know how he gets...." Sawyer's eyes darkened slightly. Lark. Would the boy be alright?

Their Ringmaster had a certain habit of.....well.....

Not being very gentle with the feminine male.

--x--

"Are you cold?" Ringmaster's voice slid across the room, as he crossed over to where the boy knelt. He put a hand in Lark's hair, lifting the boy so that Lark was standing.

Lark whimpered in pain and fear, rising with the Ringmaster's hand. He squeezed his eyes shut, and his shivering intensified.

Ringmaster's eyes flashed before he tossed Lark back into the nest. "Get up," he growled, cane hitting one of the bars that surrounded Lark's cage. "It's time for breakfast."

He disappeared out the door, heading down the hall.

Where others still had yet to be inspected.

Insolence and messiness were not to be tolerated. Especially not on a show day.

Lark hit the ground hard, and lay there for a moment, arms over his head as he shuddered in relief. The man was gone. There would be no beating. Not this morning.
He couldn't bring himself to stand. His legs would not hold him.
______________________________________

Glow strutted around one of the cages, watching the creatures within as they quivered. They knew it as well as she did. The Ringmaster was approaching.

"Well I don't like it on, soooo." Coni slipped the mask off and set it on the wood in front of her, the apple set itself back on the table and she decidedly picked it up to take a bite. "Hey Sawyer, do you think a worm will pop out when I take a bite, maybe it'll talk?!" She laughed a light tinkling laugh and took a small bite, lo and behold, no worm, but it tasted just fine to her after all, not like blue cheese or something unpleasant.
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Kohn froze after Sawyer spoke, "He's with....fuckin." Kohn let his spoon clatter on his dish as he forced himself up. This was a recuring problem, the new Ringmaster was rather cruel, and Kohn tried as much as he could to redirect said cruelty as much as he could. He dearly missed the old ringmaster now more than ever.

He took off at a jog out of the cafeteria and passed said cruel ringmaster without even looking at him, pretending not to notice. He didn't stop until he came to Lark's cage. "Yo...hey you ok?" Kohn bent down, offering a hand to help him up, releaved to see no new bruises.

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"Oh dear, that makes for a poor way to start a day." Coni frowned, putting the apple down, suddenly her appetite was gone. "I hope Lark's ok, wish I could do something." She tapped her blank mask, she hated this damn thing.

Sawyer watched Kohn leave, shaking his head slowly. "At least he's wearing his mask," he said with a small smile at Coni. He sat down next to her, picking up another apple from the fruit basket. He offered the fruit to Elora, who jumped up onto the bench next to him.

To everybody else, it looked like he was offering it to empty space.

The fox shook her head, curling up and laying her muzzle on her paws. Her intelligent eyes stared up at Sawyer, as the male reached down and put his own mask on the table. He studied the mask, before taking a thoughtful bite from the apple.

"Wish worms could talk," he responded to Coni's earlier statement. "Would make life a lot more fun."

"Because you don't have company enough?" Elora snorted.

"Shut up, El," Sawyer shot a dark look at the fox empty space next to him.

--x--

Kohn ran by him. For a brief moment, the Ringmaster frowned, before he shrugged. Let them do as they pleased. He would be back later. This was his circus. These were his people. They would not get away with doing whatever they wanted for long.

His father had been too lenient on them.

"Glow," his voice held a note of affection. But was it affection? Did he feel affection?

Lark stirred slightly, sitting up and reaching for Kohn. He whimpered slightly.
Why did the Ringmaster pick on him so much?
Probably because he reacted so well.
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Glow smiled at the sight of the Ringmaster, reaching out and slipping her lush arms around his neck.
"My lord," She breathed.

"Damnit Lark, don't be such a ninny to him." Kohn said angrily, though he was more angry that the ringmaster was picking on one of his people. Kohn pretty much hoisted Lark up, "You're a guy for pete's sake, grow a pair. If for you're own good if nothing else." Kohn's concern would be heard in his voice now. "Never had to do this shit whith the old master....c'mon, let's go eat, show day today. Maybe you can help me play the never ending game of getting Coni to eat, last I saw she had apple's levitating around her head." He chuckled a bit, trying to get Lark to smile.
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"You're the one that said I should take it off! Off like a plane." She twirled her fingers, causing the mask to do a flip. She watched with glee as Sawyer spoke to Elora. "And is miss Elora this fine morning, still fabulous?" She smirked, snapping her fingers and causing a flower to pop out of the ground. She picked it up and waved it around. "Lack a day, for the elsutrious must grace us with her presence!" Confucia was trying to coax Elora out, she liked her, quite the curious person she was. Especially becasue she kept sawyer company so much.

"Oooo, look who's still alive." She winked over at Lark as he and Kohn filed in.

"Tell her I don't feel like it," Elora told Sawyer.

"No, that's rude El," Sawyer sighed. "She's not in the mood today," he glanced apologetically at Coni. 'Thank God I'm not scheduled to perform....'

Elora got on her hind paws, sniffing at the table. Sure, she was a fox spirit. But she still liked to eat. She grabbed a scone. And all any other person could see would be the scone disappearing into thin air.

Sawyer looked up at Lark. "Hey~" he greeted the boy. He swept a critical eye over him. "You alright?"

--x--

The Ringmaster smirked, unlocking Glow's cage as he pressed his lips to the inside crease of her arm. "Step out into the sunshine, my dear," he murmured. "It's hard to see you in the dark. And today is performance day~" He laughed a little, a somewhat...strange laugh.

Lark gave them a tentative smile.
"I'm fine," He whispered, flushing, dismayed that they were all so worried about him.
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Glow stepped out of the cage, letting her long, bare leg brush against him as she moved. The sunlight hit her, and seemed to shatter, intensifying into a halo of brilliance.

Coni's lips pursed into a pout, awe, Elora wouldn't come out, and Lark was...being un-Lark like. "Smile." She said softly to the bird singer, "While you still can..." She gave him a knowing look, as if to say, 'things are going to get so much worse'. But of course, how would she know that? Besides, that wasn't what she meant, and it became evident what she meant as she slipped on her mask, once more hiding her expressive face.

The flower she held slowly fell back into the ground from wence it came, it, much like most things, was not permanent.

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"If you aren't performing, mind keeping an eye on everyone while I'm up?" Kohn and his Lion tamer act were up today, if he was performing then he couldn't watch over everyone. Who the hell gave him that job anyway? What a pain.

Mirella, or Milly as she asked people to call her, watched the Ringmaster and Glow's interaction from a good distance so that she wouldn't be noticed by Glow. She created a red rose in full bloom to give him later as she did every day.
She could wait. Wait until the ringmaster was by himself.

Lark gave Coni a tentative smile. A ghost of his usual smile. But it was a smile.

Sawyer clapped Lark on the back. "Cheer up," he said with an easy grin himself. "He's not here yet. Glow's not here yet. We've got all this food. And it's performance day. He can't do anything back on performance day."

"That's right....believe him," Elora curled up around Lark, despite the fact that she knew he couldn't feel or see her.

--x--

He smirked at Glow. "Go eat," he murmured. "Today's a big day."

He turned abruptly, heading down the hall again.

He stopped outside Milly's cage.

Her heart fluttered as the Ringmaster stopped in front of her. Milly smiled gently at the man, offering him the rose, "Good Morning, Ringmaster..." she greeted.

Lark's smile brightened considerably. They were right. The Ringmaster couldn't hurt him before, or during, a performance.
So, not until tonight.
He picked up a scone, glad that he wore only a half mask so he could eat.
__________________________

Glow watched the Ringmaster jealously, knowing full-well where he was going. She tossed back her dark hair an headed off for the dining hall.

Glow isn't here yet. And almost as soon as it was said, the horrible annoying shiny thing walked in. "Speak of the Devil! Hello Glow, we were just talking about horrible demons and Devils, the bane of society who must eat Chrildren at night and enjoy it. They're in this one book called the bible, interesting read..."

Confucia smiled behind her mask as Kohn snorted at her joke. Daring that was, but funny...

Sawyer snorted at Coni's joke as well, before slipping on his mask. Just in case the Ringmaster were to follow his....what was Glow to him, really?

Sawyer had the sinking feeling he didn't want to know.

"I can find out for you, if you want." Elora jumped up onto the table, before she began mocking Glow. Sawyer stifled a snort of laughter.

--x--

"Good morning," he nodded at Milly, accepting the rose. But he didn't smile. "Did you have nice dreams? Today is performance day. Are you ready?"

He seemed in a good enough mood this morning.......

But who knew how long that would last.