Dark Woods Circus IC

[Azazel]

~Tristan~
​

He could feel the Ring Master's impatience and bad intentions echoing in his mind. It appeared he was not in a good mood today. Tristan would have to try and keep everyone in line and move them along as quickly as possible to prevent any....misfortunes. "Come on, everyone! How are things going? Does anyone need any help? We need to get to breakfast and to the Big Top." He put extra stress on the word, hoping that the others would pick up on his urgency without him betraying his calm and helping demeanor.

Since he had separate quarters near the Ring Master's own lodgings, he was already showered and in his practice clothes. His blue hair was still slightly wet and even hung slightly in his eerie purple eyes. He was dressed exactly how the Ring Master liked him to be, even for practice. He wore black dress shoes with blue slacks along with a white, button up, short sleeve shirt. His outfit for shows was much more dressy, but he was always expected to look at least somewhat classy.

A sigh left his lips as he looked at the entrances to the showers and changing rooms. The Ring Master felt his hope that no one would get hurt today and he could hear the evil man's malicious laughter ringing in his skull. He cringed before regaining his false facade of calm. I can make you hurt them if I want to.... Came the Ring Master's voice in his mind. He knew that. Hence why he behaved as best he could and tried to encourage the others to do the same.​

 

[Promedai]

[fieldbox="Maribel Burgess, DarkMagenta, dashed, 10, Courier New"]At that moment, Maribel's head whirled around, her long hair throwing water everywhere as she spun to glance at the bathroom doorway. She could've sworn she heard Tristan calling... that meant there was not much time left to waste. They needed to make haste.

The mute girl turned back to Brandy and began clapping her hands quickly, like she was impatiently urging some servant to hurry up with their work. It was she who started to work faster though; picking up an unlabeled bottle, she squeezed a big dollop of goopey liquid into her palm and stepped around the harpy to slap a handful of the stuff into the girl's scarlet locks. She lathered it up at impossible speeds, rubbing both hands around in the wet strands really fast, scratching away the dandruff from the scalp underneath with her short nails as fast as she could.

She imagined this all must've been quite a shock and surprise to Brandy, who hadn't been warned about any of this before it began happening to her. There was simply no time to try to explain it through any more gestures and guessing games. Time was of the essence.

Maribel took Brandy by the shoulders and tried her best to maneuver her new friend -- in a way that was not too forceful -- under the spray of the showerhead, to wash out the shampoo as soon as possible so she could move on to applying conditioner.

It was a hectic display, but somehow she'd managed to get it done. The harpy had such sparkling, shiny hair once she was finished. Maribel had abandoned any hope of getting her own hair done in the process, though it was a sacrifice she was willing to make, considering Brandy most likely hadn't had a good deep cleaning in a long time due to her lack of human hands; Maribel could always wash her own hair on another day.[/fieldbox]

 

[Princess Rose]

Annie
Annie happily applied Aveline. She hummed happily actually blending in the bandages into the young girl skin. She then proceeded to make swirls and little feathers on the Aveline's face once she was satisfied with her work. "Let's go eat Aveline." she led the girl now to go get their breakfast. "Hope we have a really good breakfast today. Hopefully we have been good enough for it." Her voice was light as she spoke.

 

[Lockheart]

No. Not today. It was going to be one of those days. Even once unlocked, Gydion made no attempt to move. What was the point? Neither did he attempt to assist Aveline. Besides, that Annie girl was more than capable. He didn't even make a move to get ready, or clean up, or even to get breakfast. No matter how helpful Tristan tried to be, Gydion was done. There would be consequences. There would always be consequences. If not today, then tomorrow.

"Whatever," Gydion said under his breath as he slowly rose to his feet.

Seems like he would at least make a minimal effort today. Well, less than minimal. But he was hungy and breakfast sounded like an excellent idea. Gydion slowly made his way towards the door.

 

[TuttyTheFruity]

Brandy

She raised her head to catch what Tristan had called out, breaking her own train of thought. It was then Maribel commanded her attention, before pouncing on her.

"Ah!" She yelped, her aviary legs buckling as she lowered herself. She winced, shutting her eyes tight, before realizing those were soapy suds. She was... washing her hair for her? And working at such a feverish pace too!

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but then closed it again, a mix of feelings washing over her. Some of it was shame - she felt legitimately terrible, didn't Maribel have to clean herself? - but this feeling soon gave way to humble appreciation.

When she finished up, she rose again, twisting to look at her hair. She did a really good job! She turned back, a wide, appreciative grin spreading across her freckled cheeks.

"I... thank you, Maribel. I'll pay you back, I promise." She cooed.

She felt really happy, she wanted to just hug her on the spot there. But they were in a rush now. Her eyebrows furrowed as she steeled herself.

"Okay! Turn off the water, I'll throw you a towel!" This time she'd take charge, quickly stepping away from the showerhead, towards a pile of towels that were haphazardly stacked. She had gotten good enough with her talons that she was able to pick the top one off, anchoring herself to the ground with the other. She tossed in a gentle arc in Maribel's direction. "Here!"

Once that was done, she relied on... well, she wasn't about to call them 'instincts', but... she knew what birds had to do. She shook the water off her feathers, spraying water across the walls, before leaning over and picking up another towel with her teeth. She flipped it up and over her head, trying to shake her head and awkwardly try to rubbing it with her wings. It wasn't ideal, but it got enough of the water off.

She let it drop to the floor, before hanging it up. Picking up after yourself was a lesson she learned quickly. Now it was time to wrestle her clothing back on; she had managed with clever use of her teeth and wings, but it was a struggle, as per usual. Maribel's quality scrubbing gave her a time cushion to get done.

Fully dressed, she bounced to her feet. "Ready for breakfast?" She chirped, a little lighter than usual.


Sosê

He dutifully did the task on his lonesome, emptying the water with several trips and pumping fresh new water. He had almost wrapped up his business when he noticed Gydeon was moving about. Frankly, he wondered if he was dead. But no, he was just slow to get going, and made no effort to make himself presentable.

"You look like shit. Brush your hair, at least." He called out, not really expecting a response from the guy. He was the stubborn sort, and Sosê had enough on his plate for now. Still, he didn't exactly want him to get lashed or anything. Wouldn't wish that on anyone.

He lowered himself down as Albin and Sammi returned.

"Mm. No problem." He grunted in response. He moved to reorganize the equipment for a second, catching an earshot of Albin's musings.

"Pro'ly somewhat out in Fuck All, Nowhere. The usual." He snarked, not raising his head. "Same as every other place." All the better to avoid the attention of the cops. He headed for the door.

"Need to hose down." He muttered, making his way to the showers. This wouldn't take long. He'd be a little late to breakfast, in any case. Better to let everyone else get their share first before he went at it.

 

[Azazel]

~Aveline & Tristan~
​

She smiled brightly, feeling the make up blending the bandages into her skin tone. "Thank you..." She chimed softly as she climbed to her feet. Normally she would offer some kind of return for the kindness showed to her, but she knew the best way of showing her gratitude was to get everyone free. In the previous night's performance she had felt another weakness in the barrier around the Big Top. Just like the first time it happened, she'd wondered if it was a trap. Even if it was, at the end of the day it didn't matter if he hurt her. Just as long as she kept everyone else safe and happy. That's all she wanted anymore. She'd grown to view her fellow performers as family and she'd protect them at all costs.

"Breakfast sound nice." Besides, she could hear the urgency in Tristan's voice when he'd called out for them. The Ring Master must be growing impatient. She knew that, just like her, Tristan tried to protect them all in his own way. She couldn't imagine what it felt like being tied to him like the young magician was. Unable to even have your thoughts to yourself. Even so, his small assistances were always appreciated when he could provide them. "Again, thank you, Annie." She spoke as the girl led her from the showers and changing room and towards the breakfast hall.

The world was as black as always, yet she could feel the magic aura Tristan gave off as they passed him. He was slightly tense, betraying small fragments of his normally calm mask as he paced back and forth in front of the doors.

"Hello, ladies." He said, smiling at Annie and Aveline as they passed by. And then, rather quietly, he added. "Thank you for taking care of her, Annie..." His voice was hushed and quick, almost as if he thought if he spoke quietly enough, the Ring Master wouldn't hear him. Still though, he heard the chuckle in his head once more. You've always felt sorry for her after what I made you do to her eyes... Tristan twitched as the memory resurfaced. He looked down at his hands and could almost feel the blood on them. Truth is, he'd hurt everyone here in someway at least once thanks to the Ring Master's orders.

The magician pulled himself from his thoughts as he noticed what was going on around him. "Damn-it, Gydion. Are you trying to piss him off?" He sighed. There was just no winning around here, was there?​

 

[Banana-senpai]

Samuel and Albin​

Chuckling from Albin's question, Samuel replied. "Fish for breakfast? Why, I don't see it as a problem at all." He grinned as Albin laughed cheekily and splashed him. The water narrowly missed Samuel but his equipment was drenched. "Aw great. Those won't light up now."

"Come on, before we get in trouble." Albin quickly followed up so Samuel won't notice that Gydion hadn't budged. It would only flare up his temper after all. He raised his arms readily as Samuel got him out of his tank.

Almost immediately upon contact, Albin hissed in pain. His eyes shut, biting his lips. Samuel winced in surprise as he walked. "Not fully healed yet? I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's fine." Albin gave him a rather pained smile.

"You've been healing slower and slower." Samuel dropped his tone as he broke into a run. "Ringmaster should improve your tank or he'll lose our precious mermaid show."

"No one comes looking for me anyway." Albin shrugged, referring to his being more of a surprise act. "I'm not in the list of acts so-"

"Well, it matters to me." Samuel said firmly as they entered. "Besides, if he punishes me for pointing logic, he'll probably lose two shows. Any decent boss would know tenure is a lot more valuable than having to train newbies. Then again, decent is a word that doesn't belong in this place." Albin knew better than to say anything more when Samuel speaks with such finality. He was afraid of Samuel's unpredictable actions and a combative nature that lay underneath the affectionate smiles.

"What's for breakfast?" Samuel wondered aloud as he walked over to the tank. He lowered Albin into it with a cheery "Here you go. Keep your body in the water."

"Yes, along with my friends." Albin watched the fish and lobsters swim about him. Samuel looked around. "Any idea if there are special plans for today?"

 

[Azazel]

~Aveline & Tristan~​

Settling herself down at the table, Aveline simply waited. Tristan usually brought her breakfast to her. "Good morning, Samuel, Albin." She greeted as she heard their voices enter the breakfast room. She wished she could help out with Albin more, but there wasn't much she could do anymore.

"Enjoying the fish?" She asked Albin with a giggle, joking with their resident merman. It upset her that he had to sit in the fish tank. She'd have to try and talk to him about it when she got the chance. It was then that she heard the distinct click of Tristan's dress shoes approaching.

Tristan had given up on the others and finally had made his way to the breakfast hall. "Good morning, everyone!" He said as cheerfully as he could muster. "Today's breakfast is waffles and bacon. It is at the head of the room, as per usual. Remember, one helping per person." As he spoke, he made up two plates. One he placed in front of Aveline.

She smiled at him. "Thank you, Tristan."

"No problem." He replied with a smile of his own. The second he brought over to Samuel and Albin. "Here, Albin. Thought I'd bring you your food this morning."