Gracen Elston's Story

Yesterday's profits were good, at least for a Friday. Saturdays always offered the biggest payouts because nearly every child in town was out of school and would drag their parents there for the day. Today was no different. There were lines for every ride, the food stands were churning out treats every minute and the overall mood was pretty good. Although this was all good and well, Jade was feeling more stressed out than usual today. For the past few weeks, Ric had been bugging her about finding two new acts for the midnight show. He had perfected two pills, allowing their users to possess the power to become invisible and the other to shape shift into nearly any animal. They would be good additions to the show, but the trouble was finding two people who would fit the roles. It wasn't like she could make a post on Craigslist advertising the job openings. Someone had to seek them out and luckily for Jade, two kids had done just that the night before.

One was a seventeen-year-old boy named Gracen. He was quiet and timid but had no family that would come looking for him and desperately needed a way to survive. The other was an eighteen-year-old girl who decided to go by the name of Jace. Unlike the boy, she appeared to be much bolder and more courageous, but she was also living away from home. After describing both of them to Ric, he agreed that they would be good matches for their new openings and Jade offered them the jobs. She instructed them to return to the carnival this morning if they wanted to join, and both showed up. Once greeting them, she welcomed them into her trailer and had them sign some paperwork.

She explained that when they were signing on the dotted lines, they were just confirming that they weren't convicted felons, were US citizens, had no physical disabilities, and that type of stuff. One of the pages did include a small note that they were agreeing to work for the carnival until they died, but she didn't verbalize that and quickly had them sign the pages before slipping them back into a folder. After that was done, she handed each of them two pills and after explained that it was simply a new version of a drug test- after the pills dissolved in their mouths, their saliva would be tested to see if it showed a negative or positive result for any illegal drugs. This wasn't true, of course. The round blue pills would make them immortal, the orange pill would give Jace the ability to shape shift and the white one would give Gracen the power of invisibility. She didn't have to explain that to them yet though, because since it was their first time taking the drugs, they passed out almost immediately.

It was around six now, nearly eight hours after they had taken the pills, so Jade knew that the pair would be waking up soon. She did one last inspection of the carnival, making sure that everything was running smoothly before returning to the motor home. A few hours prior, she had spoken to Alexa and Ryder and explained that she had found two new performers for the show. She informed them about the new powers that the pair would be given and how they needed to explain to the newcomers that they were not only permanently bound to the carnival, but they had also been given supernatural powers. It was a lot of information to give to Gracen and Jace, and especially because it wasn't good news, Jade didn't want to be the one to have to spell it out for them. It wasn't that she didn't want them to dislike her, because that would soon come, but she didn't want to deal with any emotions that might come with their reactions. It would make her feel too guilty. Besides, she had given Alexa and Ryder the same job when Brooke, Ark and Lucas came along and they had handled it well enough then.

"Rise and shine," Jade said cheerfully, approaching the bunk beds that she had left the two laying on. She gave their bodies a gentle shake and waited until they became conscious before continuing. "Mr. Aefric and I would like to welcome you to our family. You're now officially Midnight Carnival performers. I'm sure that you have questions and I'd love to chat, but I have things to take care of, so I've instructed two of your fellow performers to give you a tour of how everything works around here. Gracen, Ryder will be helping you out, and Jace, Alexa will be able to assist you. I just saw Ryder heading over to the girl's bus and I'm sure Alexa will be somewhere over there, so you can head over there now. It's the bus over there," she said, pointing out the window at it. She turned, heading towards the back bedroom before looking back at the two. "You may feel a little different right now, but don't worry about it. They'll explain it all to you." With a smile, she continued walking back to her room. Once she heard the bus door shut, signaling that the pair had left, she sighed and laid back on the bed. Ric had left the carnival grounds, claiming that he needed to get a few things before tonight's performance, but Jade was glad that he was gone. She loved him immensely but she couldn't help but to feel guilty, knowing that she had lied to those kids and that their lives were now in Ric's hands permanently.

As she was half-way through changing into her clothes Alexa heard the bus door open and close multiple times and so she assumed some of the girls that had left earlier were back and at least one of them was bound to want a shower - it was a very hot and humid day after all. Once she was dressed and had her hair tied up, Alexa was about to exit the bathroom when she hear Luke's voice call to her from the kitchen,"Huh?" she replied instinctively as she then open the door and walked out. Brooke seemed to be on her way to the bathroom as Alexa exited it, so she scooted to the side and let her past, smiling to her before then continuing on to walk back to her bunk. As she got closer to the kitchen she spoke again, retracing what she had heard from Luke the first time, "Oh yeah, the new kids." she smiled, thinking of the two she had been informed about. As she continued to talk Alexa put away her things into the compartment by her bunk and pulled out a few accessories to go with her outfit.

Once she was all dressed up in her white t-shirt, shorts, tasseled waist-coat and accessories Alexa scooted into the seat beside Kaylee, "Me and Ryder are supposed to be looking after them for a bit. They were brought here today, Jade gave 'em the pills a few hours ago so they should be awake anytime soon." Alexa glanced over to Kaylee and was about to lean over and take a bite of her cotton candy before Catalina stole it away from both of the two and threw it in the trash; Alexa pouted at Catalina and gave her the puppy-eyes before returning back to her conversation with Luke, "The girl I'm training is supposed to be able to shape-shift, it sounds so cool" she chimed, returning back to her normal self, despite the lack of cotton-candy,"And I think the boy Ryder has is supposed to be able to turn invisible or something." Alexa glanced over as Catalina served up Kaylee's plate and sat down with her own which reminded her that food was indeed served. Alexa continued to speak out-loud as she stood and took a few steps to reach the kitchen and pick up a plate from the counter, taking a long sniff of it's contents before then walking over to the fridge to open it and pull out a can of coca-cola to then return to her seat beside the pink-striped Kaylee,"Mr.A is really getting adventurous with them powers, huh" she said, now speaking to the whole table rather than just to Luke. Alexa stopped talking for a moment so she was able to scoop up a fork-full of food and shovel it into her mouth, letting out a pleasured "Mmmm.." as she chewed, the flavor invading her taste buds.

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By the time the door to the bus opened yet again and in came Ryder, her current partner in crime, Alexa had already wolfed down her meal, and was rewarded with a few hiccups which eventually subsided after she took some deep breaths to get rid of them. As she then stood to place her plate and utensils in the sink she gave a smile to Ryder and nudged him slightly with her elbow, "You ready to play big brother?" after saying that she chuckled, she knew Ryder was the caring type so he'd definitely fit the big brother picture. He certainly was almost like a brother to everyone, sweet and charming with just the right amount of humor- everyone at the circus was family of course, but some liked it more than others. If anything, Alexa was grateful to have a family, and a home.

Alexa lent up against the kitchen counter, standing opposite to Ryder with her arms crossed over her chest casually as she watched the others eat - all except Brooke. The others may not know so much about her but after having to practically babysit her for few months once she joined the circus, Alexa knew a fair bit; including her diet. With a hint of a smile, Alexa pushed off from the counter and took a few steps to make it to the fridge, "Yo, Brooke" Alexa called, then opening the fridge and pulling out two whole sandwiches with cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. Alexa also grabbed a chilled bottle of water before closing the fridge and placing the sandwiches on a clean plate. "Here, I got you somethin'" she began, walking over to Jade's bunk and sitting down by her feet which where propped up. Alexa slid the sandwiches across and offered the bottled water, "I heard Cat was making something with meat tonight so I remember to make you some packed lunch.." in all honest, Alexa didn't expect for Brooke to react positively, heck - she would have been surprised if Brooke even touched the sandwiches - but since she was stuck with the task of taking in another newbie, Alexa thought getting back into the helping-spirit would help.

Before either of them could speak again, Kaylee - now with blonde hair - plopped down into place a few inches from herself on the end of Brooke's bed. Alexa offered her a smile but the girl only seemed focused on turning the blanket pink, Alexa smirked and glanced to Brooke to register her reaction but before she could speak the door to the bus opened again. "Why don't you boys just cook for yourselves?" she said out loud to whoever opened the door, assuming it was one of the men, lured in by the smell of Catalina's cooking; "First Lucas, then the BFG and now who, Ark? Matthaus?" of course she was teasing -and she couldn't help her chuckle -but Alexa tried to sound somewhat annoyed. Personally, she didn't really care about how many people invaded the bus, the more the merrier she would think to herself, but on a especially hot night like this, more people meant more heat.

But to Alexa's surprise, it wasn't one of the guys come for food as she had expected, it was a girl; one she'd never seen before. A mischievous grin spread across Alexa's,"You must be Jace" she called, then standing up from Brooke's bed. A Kaylee's comment, Alexa whipped around with a fake glare and tried to sound motherly, "Don't you go scaring her away" she said, waggling her finger and trying, in her deepest respect, not to sound too much like Catalina. Alexa grinned and chuckled her way to the other end of the bus to pull open the door further, "Jace right, come in" she stepped back a little to let the girl up the steps and into the bus, "Is there a boy with you?" Alexa tried to peer past Jace but could se no-one else, she gave a sideways glance to Ryder and shrugged before closing the door behind Jace once she had stepped in. "I assume you've met Jade already? She's the boss lady" Alexa looked to Jace with an eager smiled, awaiting an answer so she could begin to talk to the girl again. without having to interrupt her.

Jace was welcomed warmly it seemed by everyone, which relaxed her greatly as she slide inside and closed the door behind her. Tucking her hair behind an ear she smiled softly at everyone as she scoped out the place and people as well. No one really seemed very scary although she could feel that there was a little something going on off a little ways from her, but if you live with people long enough it can happen. She went to shake the hands of the two who talked to her, answering each as she did, maintaining a small smile for each. Thur wus a boy when ah woke up, but ah might have lost him when ah wus lookin 'round for y'all. But ah have met Jade, she seems purdy nice! Ah am so glad ta meet ya though, and ah am glad ta work with y'all!

Her accent was a fairly thick southern one when she spoke to both Alexa and Luke, although Jace had gotten over how it clashed with others a long time ago. Her head was starting to kill her as she took a step back from the two, waiting for someone to tell her what was to be done. Jade had explained her new job but if she thought about it, she really didnt have any idea what she was suppose to do at all. The smell of the delicious food inside and her stomach isn't really helping her think either, all she could do was hope she didnt look spaced out.

This was not good, not in the slightest. Getting lost in a strange place wasn't exactly something Gracen was a stranger to, in fact it happened almost on a regular basis. What wasn't good was that he hadn't heard a single thing the woman - Jade? He thinks thats her name - had been saying to him when he first woke up. It wasn't his fault that first thing after waking up he isn't very attentive...in fact he isn't all that attentive any other time either. But now he's lost and maybe having just a bit of a existential crisis because he can't honestly think of anything else to do besides freak out.

"Okay, so I'm supposed to find some person called Ryder..." He says to himself, remembering perhaps the only thing that Jade had told him earlier. He wondered vaguely if the girl , Jace, had got around alright. "If I had followed her I probably wouldn't be in this situation." Gracen mumbles to himself, peering around wearily.

In the usual Gracen manner the moment he was left alone with Jace he had spaced out and ended up letting her drift from his field of view. Spacing out happened on a daily basis too, it usually went hand in hand with getting lost.

He feels strange too, stranger than usual and that makes him nervous. What if he's allergic to the pills? He hadn't even thought to ask what was in them. "Oh god," He scratches his head and comes to a stop, just to check his surroundings again.

He catches sight of a bus, and with a sigh of relief he began walking towards it. Now he could ask directions and find this Ryder person, though he was a little apprehensive of actually meeting anybody. The thought of having to endure being around another person for any period of time made him feel anxious, his palms starting to get sweaty and the tell-tale itch of a panic attack flaring up under his skin. He promised himself he would get better about this, but so far all of his attempts had led to more panic and a general annoyance towards himself.

He chews his lip nervously as he nears the bus, moving for the door and holding his breath as he brings his fist up to knock. Gracen hoped he didn't pass out or anything, though he figures that will be the least of his worries if there's anything to be said about his apparent lack of people skills.

Shunth. Ziiiip. Shunth. Ziiiip.

Shunth. Ziiiip.

Snip.


The sounds that encompassed the interior of the small tent were minimal, to say the least. With only one being inside, there wasn't much to make noise at all besides the screaming and laughter of the children that had managed to penetrate the thick fabric of the tent. It was all muffled, however, and this specific location happened to be one of the quietest within the carnival. It was where all the supplies and trailers were, so customers and viewers weren't allowed in that general area. But the one inside was no paying customer.

With Russian violet cloth in hand, a needle poked through the fabric intricately, pulling along various colours of string until it couldn't no more. And once it was short, the string was tied into a detailed knot, then cut short.

Emaciated fingers set down the silver needle and excess thread before running a forefinger along the small amount of design that had been made. Both hands gripped the top of the fabric, holding it up into the air, blue eyes scanning it intently. Squinting in thought, the man's lips slowly curled into a smirk.

"This will work perfectly."

Matthaus set down the cloth, laying it flat on the table before. Sitting in a foldable chair, he leaned over, picking up a black case of decent size. There was no lock, but snap locks were in place, closing the lid tightly against the rest of the container. But once they were snapped open with a quick flick of the latch, the plastic hinges swung the lid open, revealing several layers of containers.

Each container varied in size and content. Some were large, clear boxes that held knitting needles. Others were smaller, holding sewing needles, beads, or small, plastic jewels. There were even several bags at the top, containing various bedazzlement pieces, such as sequence or glitter. But nevertheless, each layer had to be peeled off in order to get to the bottom, Matthaus oing such until he pulled out a rather wide, plastic box.

Opening the container he chose, inside were all assorted colours of threads and strings. Black, white, red, blue, green, purple, clear. It was hard to imagine any more colours being inside, seeing as it appeared that all were present. But Matthaus moved each bundle of thread aside, carefully looking at each one. But after a few minutes of searching through these colours, he stopped.

"Where did I put it?" A frail finger tapped his lip. His eyebrow rose in thought as his eyes scavenged the scene around him to pin point the location in which he was looking for. Skimming the surroundings, and even pacing around the room, his blue eyes were unable to spot what he was looking for. With a dissatisfied sigh, his hands came to his hips. One last scan.

Nothing. Matthaus rolled his eyes.

In an attempt to discover it's location, he snatched the fabric in which he was working on, and the needle, and headed out of the tent.

The noise was significantly louder once the fabric leading inside was opened. The sun burned his eyes who were much accustomed to dim settings. But neither bothered him after a few seconds of walking in the direction he knew by heart. It didn't take much to remember where the trailers were. With his signature smile splattered across his face, and with a quick puff from his mouth to get the long strands of blonde hair out of his face, his feet quickly marched towards their sleeping and eating quarters.

Once the trailers were in sight, Matthau's gaze saw several enter in the girl's van. After a few seconds of thought, he took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet smell of Catalina's famous food. His eyes rolled back slightly at the mere thought of having a taste of it. Hopefully it wasn't a female exclusive meal.

Speeding up his pace, it didn't take long for the man reach the trailer. Although, when walking around the trailer to enter through the door, a stranger was standing at the door. Matthaus had heard very little about the new comers in which Jade and Mr.. A supposedly were bringing in. So it occurred to him that this was a customer, obviously lost, or it was one of the new recruits. Though, it didn't really matter to Matthaus which is was. He would react the same either way.

" Well hello there." The blonde laid the work in progress on his forearm. " What's a fine lad like you roaming this part of the carnival?" He offered him a wide smile, raising an eyebrow slightly,"You don't happen to be one of the new recruits are you?"

Laying out across the large bed Brooke went to say something to Lucas but stopped and chuckled when he went to get seconds. Though she was a vegan she didn't mind that he ate meat, just never having preferred it herself. As she felt someone sit on the bed next to her Brooke looked up, expecting it to be Kaylee since she often liked to hang out on the larger bed. Brooke didn't mind this either though she did give the younger girl a hard time about it. Finding Alexa sitting at her feet Brooke twisted and sat up. Setting down the yogurt Brooke took the plate and water and, seeing that the other girl had even gone as far as toasting the bread the way Brooke liked it, she quickly looked back at Alexa surprised. "Oh... Thanks Lex." Setting the water down Broke picked up the sandwich and took a bite, smiling a little as she chewed.

As Kaylee sat and her black comforter turned pink Brooke smirked and swallowed. "You know, I don't really agree...." Brooke trailed of when there was a knock at the door and as a brunette popped her head through the door Brooke turned back to Kaylee. Listening to Kaylee's comment and then Alexa's 'warning' Brooke narrowed her eyes and went to kick the blonde girl but seeing Lucas' look she sighed and stopped. A moment later she smirked as she placed a foot against Kaylee's back and pushed her just hard enough for her to fall off the bed. Taking another bite of her sandwich Brooke tried not to laugh and gave the new chick a nod in greeting. Finishing her mouthful of food she looked over at Cat. "Can you have your kid change my blanket back?"

Suddenly she stopped and listened and jumped up from her spot. "Matt is outside! If he asks, I'm still out!" Leaping towards the bathroom Brooke slammed the door shut and turned on the shower, remembering that she had taken something from his kit without asking and had forgotten to put it back. Her and Matt had a rough relationship, often mad at each other for some prank or another but this time she hadn't meant to piss him off and had genuinely meant to put it back. Ever since her and Lucas had gotten together she had somewhat been trying to fix her relationships with the others without looking like she actually cared. It was hard, she didn't know why, but it was. Having anybody know that she cared for them felt like someone was asking her to shoot herself but she did care for her little family even if it was in a different way than most people.

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Alexa had only glanced away to watch as Brooke pushed Kaylee onto the floor - which made her chuckle - before she turned back to see that Catalina had already adopted the newbie and shoved a plateful into her hand. Alexa chuckled again and patted Jace on the shoulder before she heard a knock at the trailer door. Upon opening it, Alexa discovered a young-ish looking boy; she grinned and without a word took hold of the boys hand and pulled him into the trailer, "Hey Ryder, I found him!" Alexa passed the boy to Ryder as if he was an object and peered out the door again to see Matthuas with somee kind of fabric draped over his arm, "Come to see the newbies?" she smiled to the man, leaving the door opened for him to enter the trailer if he wished.

Once sticking her head back inside, Alexa noticed that Catalina was no longer in the kitchen, and had infact moved on to the bedroom, where Kaylee still was on the floor. Catalina looked pretty angry, which meant something was certain to happen. It seemed as though today was full of reasons to grin and chuckle, everybody seemed so entertaining - or at least they were to Alexa.
"Hey, watch this" Alexa tapped Gracen and Jace on their shoulders and pointed toward the angry looking Catalina and the slightly flustered Kaylee, "THIS is what we do here" Alexa smiled but behind that smile she had her finger crossed in the hope that Kaylee would actually do as Catalina said so that she'd be able to give an example to the two new preformers.

Kaylee crossed her arms over her chest as Alexa scolded her for her comment, but before she could argue that she wasn't being mean, Alexa was walking towards the girl at the front of the bus. Kaylee could hear Alexa and the other talking to her but was surprised to hear a thick southern accent when the new girl, Jace, started speaking. After spending the past fifteen years traveling the country, Kaylee had heard accents like that many times but it still sounded strange and out of place.

When Brooke disagreed about the blanket looking better pink, Kaylee gave her a cheeky grin and a shrug, having no plans to return it to its original color. It still didn't seem fair that Brooke got to have the big bed and Kaylee had complained to Catalina numerous times about it. She reasoned that she had been here longer than both Alexa and Brooke but always ended up getting the short end of the stick.

Just as she turned back around to watch the new girl though, a quick shove pushed her off of the bed and onto the floor. Kaylee yelped in surprise and scowled at Brooke who had a smug grin on her face. If the older girl hadn't leaped up, shouting something about Matthaus being outside, Kaylee would have kicked her back, but Brooke disappeared and Kaylee sat back down on the bed triumphantly.

Deciding that she was bored with Jace already, she turned her attention to her fingernails. Catalina disliked it when she changed her hair color, but Kaylee wanted to have some pink on her, so she quickly turned her nails to a magenta hue. She hadn't noticed Catalina approaching until she grabbed her hand and pressed it to Brooke's blanket, demanding that she turn it back to the black color that it had started at.

After a quick examination of Catalina's facial expression, Kaylee decided not to argue with her and after an exasperated sigh, she turned the blanket back to black. She made a point to do it slowly, watching as the black spread from the area right around her hand until it encompassed the entire blanket. "Happy?" she asked, wiggling free from Catalina's grasp as she stood up and glanced around. A new boy was also now in the trailer and although Kaylee was more interested in him than the girl, she was beginning to feel claustrophobic, even in such a big trailer.

"I'll bring Jade dinner!" she offered, quickly darting away from Catalina and carelessly piling some food onto a plate before making her way passed the others and out the door. "Hi Matthaus!" she managed to say as she exited. Kaylee was really going to bring Jade food but that wasn't really the motive for her going to visit their boss. She needed to make another request that Jade give her a real, good power, especially now that these new people got some. Although Kaylee was a little bit too brazen for her own good when it came to dealing with Jade, she knew better than to barge into her trailer. Mr. Aefric could be in there and for a reason unknown to her and the other performers, no one was able to see him ever. It was odd but had become a normal thing after fifteen years. So, Kaylee knocked on the bus door and waited, hoping that Jade was inside and wasn't out monitoring the carnival activities.

Ryder disregarded Brooke's snippy response about Gracen not being there, and watched as the new girl, Jace arrived. She seemed friendly and in good spirits which was a plus, but Gracen was still unaccounted for. Ryder wanted to ask Jace where he had went, guessing that the two of them had to have been together earlier, but between everyone introducing themselves and then Kaylee and Brooke causing a commotion, he couldn't get a word in.

Relief set in when there was a knock at the door and Gracen appeared, but standing behind him was Matthaus and Ryder didn't think that could be a good sign. It wasn't like he had any beef with Matthaus, but it wasn't a secret that the blond was pretty out there and the last thing that Ryder wanted was for him to scare the younger boy off when he had only just gotten here.

"Hey Gracen," Ryder said, stepping forward and giving him a firm handshake. "I'm Ryder. I guess Jade told you that I'd be helping you learn the ropes around here," he said, offering him a friendly smile. Ryder had been a part of the carnival for over seventeen years but he could still remember his first day. He had spent the three previous days hitchhiking across the Midwest when he stumbled upon the carnival. Hours before, he had spent his last ten dollars on a bottle of rum and was pretty drunk by the time that he was wandering through the crowded carnival grounds. Honestly, he couldn't even remember how the series of events played out, but the next day he woke up in a trailer with the ultimatum to either accept a job at the carnival or be arrested for criminal trespassing. He needed a job anyway, so it all worked out, but even though he wanted to be a part of the carnival, the days following his change of life were a bit scary. He met new performers, including Matthaus and Catalina, and learned about the supernatural abilities that the performers possessed, as well as the superhuman strength that he had been gifted with.

When Alexa directed their attention back to Kaylee, who was now being held to the bed by Catalina, Ryder turned to watch Gracen's expression. A little bit of color manipulation was probably the best introduction to what they were about. It got to the point of them being "different", but wasn't as intimidating as Lucas trying to incinerate one of them.

"That's Kaylee. She can manipulate the colors of things," he explained as the youngest of the bunch changed the blanket from pink to black and then bolted out of the trailer, shouting something about bringing food to Jade. His eyes followed her until she disappeared out the bus door. Ryder figured that it might be easier and less overwhelming to talk to Gracen away from everyone else, so he took a few steps towards the bus door and nodded for Gracen to follow. "I'll show you around," he suggested, walking around the others and out of the bus. As he moved passed by Matthaus, he muttered, "The ice queen is in the bathroom," and continued on his way. Brooke normally wasn't much of a disturbance in Ryder's life but earlier that week he had slipped on a strip of ice conveniently placed right outside the guy's bus. Being that it was still fall, it was obviously part of one of Brooke's pranks, probably against Matthaus or something. Even if it wasn't intended for him, Ryder figured that a little payback by selling her hiding spot out to Matthaus couldn't hurt.

"So, where are you from?" Ryder asked Gracen, hoping to show the boy that he was friendly and also trying to avoid any awkward silence.

" Well hello there." Gracen startles visibly, but recovers quickly enough and turns to look at the.. er man? or maybe woman who happened to be speaking to him at that moment. " What's a fine lad like you roaming this part of the carnival?" Gracen tries really hard not to stare or anything like that, but he can't help feeling just slightly confused.

"I uh - I...What?" He answers at last, head starting to hurt a little bit. Honestly, he didn't know if this situation could get any more awkward...But apparently it could.

"You don't happen to be one of the new recruits are you?" Asks the person. Instead of floundering for words again Gracen nods so he doesn't seem like a complete fool. he figures this person must be one of his new co-workers so he'll have to actually interact with them more than once.

"Erm, my name is Gracen?" He says it like a question more than a statement, which would be strange enough if it weren't being stuttered out while Gracen tried his best not to fidget constantly. Gracen was only a little shocked as the door flung open and a girl began pulling him in. If he hadn't been utterly scared before there was no doubt to him being scared now. But it didn't seem as if anyone had the intention of attacking or possibly harming him so he tries to quell the rising tide of panic and listen to the girl.

"Hey Gracen," A man who Gracen hopes is Ryder steps forward to shake his hand, and Gracen holds back his panic. "I'm Ryder. I guess Jade told you that I'd be helping you learn the ropes around here," Gracen simply nods dumbly, trying to formulate words but unable to say them.

"Hey, watch this" Gracen felt a tap on his shoulder and was directed to look towards another, younger girl who was doing something with a blanket, "THIS is what we do here." Right before his eyes the girl began to change the blankets color to black. Gracen imagines that if he were drinking anything in that moment he would probably do a spit take, how did she do that? He wonders to himself, mouth falling open in surprise. To the best of his knowledge nobody could just manipulate color like that. "Wha...." He begins, but doesn't finish as Ryder says, "That's Kaylee. She can manipulate the colors of things."

Obviously things weren't what they seemed to be here, and Gracen just knew somewhere in his mind that this wasn't going to be the only shocking thing he would be hearing. Ryder began leading him away and Gracen was glad to be back in the open. "I'll show you around," Ryder says. Gracen is grateful, nodding and following alongside him. He knew this wouldn't be easy for him but he hadn't thought it would be so overwhelming from the get go.

"So, where are you from?" Ryder asks.

Right, I figured this was coming sooner or later... He isn't a stranger to being in new places so talking about himself and attempting small talk isn't new either. Its just the act of it that makes him nervous, and shaky. Chewing his bottom lip and fidgeting nervously with his hands. He's silent for a long time, but knows he can't drag out the silence for very long.

"I was born in New Jersey...but I had a lot of homes so I didn't stay there very long," He comments, feeling a little awkward about it. He never put too much thought into his origins himself, his parents home wasn't his, but neither were the multitude of foster homes he spent most of his childhood in.

"Um, what about you?" He retaliates, trying to make it not seem obvious that he's mapping out the place in his mind.

Jace accepts the food graciously, her stomach starting to twist from hunger as she sits down at the table to eat. It smelled so good and it had been a long time since she had had a home cooked meal that was actually warm and not just microwaved. She noticed that the nice person that had given her the food was now pressing a girls hand to a pink bed spread. Her attention was drawn by the door opening once again and the boy who had signed a contract just like she had was there as well. A new person was there as well, but Jace had a bit of trouble attempting to figure out if the person was a girl or a boy. The cheekbones said boy but the person was fairly feminine to be to a boy, she would have to say hello after she was done eating.

Something catching her eye she turned her head back to the bed, the blanket was now black but the two girls hadnt moved from the position they were in just a moment ago. Now tha's jus werd. She put down her utensil as she stared at it then the girls, before scanning the rest of the people in there. Jace was extremely confused and now a little suspicious about what the hell she got herself into. "That's Kaylee. She can manipulate the colors of things." Well thats something alright but what did that have to do with what is going on around her? Then again if that was all the girl could do Jace really didnt see there being anything that bad, probably just things to look cool performance wise. With a nod as if to finalize that thought, and an attempt to ignore if they did something to her as well, she went back to eating.

Matthaus' eyes flicked across the young boy, skimming him in a circular pattern. The boy was awfully fidgetty, and Matthaus would even dare to say he trembled at the sight of him. Which was a little strange, even for his standards. He's had every reaction one could possibly imagine. But Matthaus could have sworn that the lad was down right scared of him.

Despite this however, Matthaus gave a toothy grin and a light chuckle,"Well it's a pleasure to m-" Instictively, the blonde's head snapped to look at the door that almost flung open and hit him. He took a quick side step, letting the door swing open, only to see Gracen dragged up into the trailer. The man couldn't help but laugh at Alexa's energy. She always appeared to have an abundance of it. "Hey!" He said through his laughter.

Climbing into the trailer with ease and briefly seeing who was also present, Matthaus finished,"I was talking to the boy, Alexa." He raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "Can't just steal people from conversations like that."

His blue eyes went around the trailer again. There was Kaylee, Ryder, Catalina, Alexa, Lucas, and another stranger. Probably the other new member to their lovely crew. "Ooooh!" Matthaus exhaggerated, raising yet another eyebrow. "Another new performer I see." Matthaus closed the door behind him. The camper was crowded. As big as they were, there just seemed to be no more space to sit. Luckily Matthaus never had a problem with small spaces.

Weaving around Gracen and Alexa with a curvy turn, Matthaus found himself in front of the counter. The smell of chicken and rice overwhelming his nose. "Ah!" Matthaus reveled in the pleasure of the smell. "Do you have enough food for one more Kitty?" His grin spread from ear to ear. But before Catalina could responde, his lanky fingers already grasped a plate and served himself a plateful. "Thank you Cat!"

Around this time, a lot of the people within the trailer were moving about. Kaylee decided to take Jade a place, Matthaus giving a cheery hello as she passed. Ryder decided to show Gracen around, also passing by Matthaus to leave. But his greeting wasn't so joyful. Instead of saying hello at all, Ryder gavee Matthaus a vitale piece of information.

Brooke's location.

Matthaus' eyes grew wide and his mysterious, signature grin spread across his face once more.

Matthaus has been at the carnival for quite some time. He grew a very intricate web of relationships since he was here, yet, out of all those strings and threads, Brooke was one of the only people who liked toying with it. Sometimes it was humerous, other times it was just a plain annoyance. So whenevr things went missing, or things were not they way he left it, or if a costume or supply was sabotaged, Brooke was the most probably answer.

Now, Matthaus knew that Brooke wasn't the cause of all of this misfortunes. But there was probably a reason for Ryder to give away her location. She obviously did something to deserve it. So he figured the missing thread was her doing once again. So it would be a shame if he let this oppertunity come to waste.

Slipping past the remainder of the being aboard the vessel, Matthaus balanced his food in his hand, making his way towards the bathroom. He leaned against the wall for a few seconds in thought, but looke ddown at his food. "Oh. I forgot my fork." Simple fix. Instead of weaving around the group again Matthaus simply raised his hand in the air, allowing his arm to run along teh ceiling until it hunng over the counter once more. He quick reached for a fork, his fingers carefully grasping it before his arm returned to him. "There we go."

With a eyes wide from his raging appitite, he took a big mouthful of the food, wanting to moan from the delectable taste. "This is so good." He managed to say with his mouth half full, but making sure to cover his mouth with his wrist. "Marvelous cooking, as always Cat."

As much as Matthaus wanted to finish his food within the minute, there was work to do.

His ears listened to the sound of the shower head. His eyes looked at the ceiling as his lips curled into themselves. So many things he could do. But Matthaus eventually let his arm hang down, now rolling along the ground. It wasn't too hard for Matthaus to slip into tight spaces, but it did take a few seconds of thought as he did so. So as his fingers started to slid under the door, Matthaus closed his eyes. Relaxing was an important aspect of his ability. Relaxing certain parts of his body allowed him to move in the ways he did, and it was no different when it it came to sliding under things.

But then again, Matthaus had been training himself to do this for years. Thirty was it? About? Somewhere around there. He wasn't sure exactly but it was a decent amount of time. So his fingers and arm started to slid slowly under the door, crawling up the other side to reach for the handle.

---

---

Once the bus began to deflate with the leaving of Kaylee, Ryder and Gracen in tow, it felt a little more roomy. But of course once one person had left, another joined them. Matthaus entered the bus and served himself some food,"I would have thought a man of your age would cook for himself." Alexa joked, grinning to Matthaus as she slid into the booth seat opposite Jace, "But I'm sure Cat won't mind." Alexa looked over to Cat and gave her a half smile, wondering if she really didn't mind all these people helping themselves to her food.

Alexa watched for a while whilst the others ate, she didn't say much because she didn't want to overload the new-comer with information, but she didn't seem to mind the others around her, "Hey, so" Alexa began, looking up at Jace a she sat across from her. From the corner of her eye, she saw Matthaus' arm slither across the ceiling and retrieve a fork, Alexa chuckled and wondering if Jace saw too before she began talking again, "When do you wanna start learning? There's a lot more to us than just pulling pranks on each other." she would smirk, gesturing toward Matthaus who was now slowly sliding his arm underneath the bathroom door.

As Lucas stood up and headed over, Alexa leaned out of her seat to peek their way and shouted after him,"Killjoy!" she was bitter that Lucas had ruined the fun show, but she didn't mean anything harsh by it. If anything, 98% of the time, Alexa was never mean to anybody.

[OOC= Sorry for short post, I procrastinated for hours and by the time I got to writing all of my ideas escaped me]

Catalina kept a tight grip on Kaylee's hand until she complied. "Very," she responded sarcastically when Kaylee asked if she was satisfied with the blanket being turned back to black. As soon as she lightened her force on the small wrist, Kaylee slipped out of her grasp and was bounding towards the door, piling food on a plate on her way and claiming that she was delivering food to Jade. "Hey!" was all that Catalina got out before Kaylee disappeared out of the bus.

She made her way to the door and leaned out, watching to make sure that Kaylee was in fact headed to Jade's bus. Although that was confirmed by the girl's path, she wasn't sure whether visiting Jade was even better than roaming around the carnival. Catalina often sent someone over to deliver meals to Jade, not because Jade ever asked for her to do so, but because she sometimes felt bad for the girl. She had known Jade for nearly thirty years and although she despised everything that the woman stood for, she did pity her in some respects. While the performers all had each other to hang out with, Jade had no one. Unless she was watching them rehearse or giving them orders for the day, she was alone and although she acted like she had no heart, Catalina could only imagine how lonely it got.

However, she usually preferred to send Alexa, Lucas or Ryder over with the food. Alexa was a very nice girl who got along with nearly everyone and rarely caused problems for Jade. Lucas and Ryder were similar in that aspect, where they would do what they were told to appease Jade and avoid confrontations with her. While it seemed passive, Catalina had learned that it was the easiest route to take. Even if, they were all somehow magically able to rebel and overthrow Jade without Mr. Aefric directly killing them, they would all die within a few days because they wouldn't have a supply to their pills anymore. As long as they did what they were told, life wasn't horrible at the carnival. Still, some of the others didn't seem to agree with this. Brooke had toned it down in terms of her rebellion against Jade which was a positive, but Catalina still didn't want the two to be around each other anymore than necessary. Ark was also a nice guy but he was so sensitive that again, Catalina didn't feel it would be helpful to put him near the unpredictably volatile woman if it wasn't required. Lastly, there was Matthaus. Although his relationship with Jade wasn't perfect either, Catalina didn't ask him because she simply disliked him herself. A lot of the performers had a love/hate relationship with him but it wasn't like that for Catalina. She couldn't stand him. His jokes weren't comical, his constant rhyming wasn't entertaining and his general demeanor just wasn't attractive. She had worked with him for twenty-eight years though, so it wasn't like she could constantly ignore him (although she tried to do it as much as possible). Most of the time she would fake a smile and treat him with sarcastic kindness, or more preferably, curse him out in Spanish under her breath, but there were times when she wanted "romperle el cuello de goma maldita" (snap his damn rubber neck).

In a few quick minutes, Kaylee had left, Matthaus and a young boy appeared, the young boy and Ryder had left, Lucas had gotten up to confront Matthaus- who now had a plateful of her food- about something, and Brooke had appeared from the bathroom. Catalina was never a fan of chaos. She was used to being in the crowded bus because even though it was a big trailer, when it was just the four girls in there it was crowded enough. Even though there had been a lot of commotion going on before Matthaus had even shown up, Catalina liked blaming it on him, especially after he used his despised nickname, "Kitty" for her. That alone was enough to make Catalina want to knock his frail body right off the bus. When Kaylee had been learning to talk, she would call her "Cat" rather than Catalina, because it was easier for the toddler. Catalina didn't mind Cat so much, especially since it ended up sticking with most of the other performers too, but "Kitty" was not okay. Maybe it was just because Matthaus was the one calling her it, but either way, she raised an eyebrow at him, watching as he indulged in her food.

"You better start putting your culinary skills to use because one day I'm going to accidentally use bleach instead of oil on your food," Catalina said after Matthaus made a comment about knowing how to cook. As she glanced back over at Jace, she gave her a gentle smile, trying to return to a friendly state after getting worked up from Matthaus.

There was an extended period of silence after Ryder asked Gracen where he was born. For a moment, Ryder was unsure if the boy had even heard his question but when he glanced over at him, ready to repeat it, the boy suddenly spoke up. He explained that he was from New Jersey but had lived in different homes for most of his life.

"Foster care?" Ryder asked after the boy finished speaking. He knew all too well what the life of a foster child entailed and if Gracen had also been part of the system, he figured that it could be something to relate to him with. "I was born and raised in Florida. Mom put me into the system right after I was born so I bounced around a lot too," he said, directing Gracen to the boy's bus. He continued to talk as they approached it. "That's one of the good things about life here though. You know you've got a home for life."

He opened the door to the boy's bus and allowed Gracen to enter first before following up behind him. "So this is where us guys live. You've got the kitchen over here," he said, pointing to the kitchenette area as they moved farther into the bus. "Over here's the bunks where Luke, Arkhan and I stay, and there's the bathroom," he said, pushing open the door to the small bathroom. "In the back there's another bed and the bigger bathroom with a shower. Matthaus has got the king bed right now. We're supposed to switch every few months to make it fair but between you and me, I wouldn't sleep in that bed after that guy if you paid me," he added with a grin.

Turning around, he headed back towards the front of the bus. "Looks like you've got the pullout," Ryder said, motioning to the couch. "Jade should have some stuff for you, you know, clothes and stuff, so we can check that out in a little too." He looked around, pretty sure that he had covered everything to do with the bus. "We really don't spend too much time in here. Catalina, the Hispanic chick, makes killer food so a lot of us are spend most of our time over there. The girls are all pretty nice. I mean, Brooke can be a bitch sometimes but she's dating Luke and she's usually alright when they're together. Alexa's really cool and then there's Kaylee. She's fifteen... probably around your age, right?"

Ryder realized that he was talking a lot but he wanted to make sure he covered as much as possible. Gracen seemed like a quiet kid and Ryder didn't know if he was the type to ask questions, even if he did have them. "You feel any different yet?" he then asked, motioning for the boy to follow him back outside of the bus. He knew that with most of the performers, it took a few days for the full effects of the pills to start showing. Still, Ryder guessed that by tonight Gracen would be able to make at least parts of his limbs invisible. Although Jade had never specified whether she was going to tell Gracen about the true reason for the pills, Ryder just assumed that she had and that Gracen knew what he would soon be capable of doing.