Freak Show

Hearing that the other's relationship was bad really wasn't what Cyan expected to hear. He held Eliot in such a high regard, saw him as an unbelievably cute monster, so to hear this his relationship wasn't great was sort of hard to take in. Nevertheless, he frowned once the realisation kicked in that it wasn't some grim joke, and moved up closer to Rusty for some form of comfort.

"...I'd love to date you, I'd, like, treasure you and stuff, so your old boyfriend was a dummy," he boldly stated, hoping that that was enough to make up for the bad conversation he'd stumbled into.
 
"That means a lot to me, but you don't need to lie. You like your men strong and... I can't supply that, I guess. That isn't to say I'm weak, I'm just not some burly guy who can throw a car or something," he explained as he watched the other, immediately feeling guilty as he pressed his lips into a tight line. The last thing he wanted to do was upset Cyan, especially since the boy had been so nice to him.

"Hey, it wasn't all to bad. I mean, he always made sure I ate well and got proper sleep. When I lost my parents, I was at least able to find somewhere safe and warm," he reassured, albeit weakly as he offered a laugh. "Plus he was incredibly handsome."
 
It wasn't like he was really being rejected. He hadn't asked the other to date him, and nor had Eliot turned him down with some feeble excuse. It anything, he wasn't doing anything besides insulting himself, which Cyan frowned at, but decided it was best not to dwell on it. He'd already gushed compliments at Eliot and he assumed he'd just come across as irritating if that was all he continued to do, however sincere each compliment truly was.

"...I like all kinds of people, actually. Is it nice to imagine a really tough guy picking me up into his muscled arms? Sure-- but I'm just as happy with the thought of, like, cuddling right into you," he admitted with a faint shrug, opting to leave that as it was before he started inevitably gushing about how wonderful the other monster was. Again.

"A-Anyway~! Don't you think Chef is handsome? Maureen says that he's not, but she's just jealous he turned her down. He's so tall, too. Maybe too tall for me. We'd look silly together, but... but I'm bright fucking blue. I look silly anyway."
 
"You can cuddle me if you want," he offered to the other and went as far as to hold out his hands, a smile on his lips. "I've been told I'm a good hugger, but it's probably the second pair of arms. My one mom was on the heavier side and she gave the best hugs, honestly... " he insisted before eventually setting his arms down.

"I think it's cute. I mean, opposites attract, right? He seems like he'd protect you, too. That's important to have in someone you love, you know"
 
"I'd love to have four arms, can you imagine how cool that'd be-- course you can imagine it, what am I talking about? I-I sound so dumb sometimes. You have four arms, it's a reality for you, I... god, I'm dumb," he snorted, quite happy to poke fun of himself like that. Clearly, Eliot didn't hold back from insulting himself either, so self-deprecation was something that they at least had in common, however unhealthy it might be.

Pushing in close for that hug regardless of whether the suggestion was serious, his small purrs piped up as he eagerly cuddled up as close as he dared to. He didn't want to make this other creature uncomfortable with his overbearing personality-- but he also craved affection, and the latter was incredibly important to him.
 
Surprisingly, Eliot didn't move away from the close embrace. Much like Cyan - or anyone, for that matter - he craved his own amount of affection. Unlike the other mutant, he was far less obvious and demanding. Closing his eyes, he simply took the embrace in for as long as he could before glancing at the entrance of the tent.

"You're sweet," he murmured into the smaller boy's hair. "If you ever need a good hug, I'll hook you up."
 
"...Do you wanna come hang out in Maureen's tent? She has the biggest tent, really, 'cos she needs all the room, with all her tentacles and stuff... But she lets everyone hang out before the performances. The hot new guy might be there. Chef will be too. I need to know his name, I can't keep calling him chef," he groaned, pushing out from the other's arms and rearranging his own fancy new hairdo. The fact Eliot had spent a good ten minutes embedding his plaited hair with flowers and the like meant that he was cautious to ruin it in any way-- especially when Chef said he looked cute.

"Come on, you should meet everyone. Maureen's a bit high-maintenance, but she's, like, the prettiest creature here and her children are little devils-- but they're so adorable," he gushed, holding his cheeks in his hands once feeling them burn bashfully. "I... I want to go and relax for a little while, and you need to meet everyone in that social setting. You haven't really hung out yet. Come meet Maureen, at least. You'll like her, I... I hope. She's pretty... formidable-- but she's a darling~"
 
"I... I dunno, is that okay? I mean, I don't want to just 'show up', you know?" He murmured in response as he let go a tad, the idea of being in a crowded tent with someone who seemingly had such a demanding personality made him nervous. Clearing his throat, he eventually gave in and nodded, albeit reluctantly. He didn't want to seem like some weakling who couldn't handle simple interaction, especially when one of the people there might be the potential crush.

"Sure, okay. Is Rusty going to come, or will we leave her to sleep?" He questioned as he ran a hand through the fox's hair. "She seems tired, right?"
 
"Let Rusty sleep. I'd love her to come 'cos everyone just loves her, but... but she's too old to do that. She's in the warmth and the quiet right now, we should let her be," decided the creature maturely. Admittedly, he wanted nothing more than to scoop Rusty up and show her off to the people he considered to be not just his friends, but his family... but it just wasn't possible. Not unless he wanted the fox to grow more sick.

"Come on, come and meet her. Maureen's lovely. You like hugs, right? She has a tonne of tentacles and they're not slimy. I thought they'd feel weird, but they're kinda... ticklish and weird but it's kinda nice too," he babbled happily, scooping one of his friend's hands up to drag him out to the other tent. "You'll see her right away, she's, like, six foot five or something like that."
 
Covering his head from the rain with a pair of his arms as he was dragged out of the dry sanctuary of his tent, Eliot frowned to himself at the prospect. He didn't like being around loud places, and it was a bitch as it was to have to be in a tent full of rowdy humans cackling at him. If it were up to him, he'd rather just be left alone completely with the spare times of watching the activities from the sidelines rather than being in the forefront- and it was hard not to be when you were with Cyan, who was essentially the most well-known mutant around.

"Are you sure? I... I really don't need to do this, Cyan. I'd rather not introduce myself," he insisted in a whisper, though he didn't really show any sign of pulling away... mostly because he didn't want to seem like a dick. Despite being only a few more years older than the other, Cyan's small stature and appearance made him seem like a child to him, hence his need to at least keep the other happy enough.
 
"So what? You're gonna stay away from everyone and not get involved? You gotta, like... jump right on in! The sooner you do it, the easier it is, or you'll stress yourself and worry and... ugh, that's not nice. It's not even like a huge deal, it's just somewhere to chill before the performance. Her tent's huge, that's the only reason everyone gathers there-- and she has these special juices she has to drink, and they're so yummy," babbled Cyan, quite happy to fill the silence with his usual chatters. If it helped ease the other's worries somewhat, he'd gladly chatter for hours on end, only stopping if he became aware that his efforts to help wasn't helpful at all.

He was almost 95% sure that the other would enjoy the time in Maureen's tent, though. Maybe that was over-positive, but that was Cyan all over - he was positive, he couldn't really help himself.

Once inside the warmth of the large tent, Cyan beamed at how many people had already settled in Maureen's quarters. She had happily welcomed them all in, like she did every night. As notoriously stern as she could be, she was almost like the mother of the circus - she'd gladly take in anyone and ply them with food and drink all night in an effort to care for them.

Cyan didn't need to point her out, either. He had misquoted her height. Rather than the 6'5" figure he'd claimed she was, she was easily a good few inches beyond that, depending on how much she pushed herself off the ground with the black and purple tentacles that took up her lower half. What he hadn't undervalued was how pretty she was. Despite the monstrous tentacles (at least, that's how humans characterised them) and despite how truly prominent a figure she was, she did have a dazzling smile and long black hair that fell in natural waves. She was rather voluptuous too, though she put that down to the amount of children she'd had. You couldn't really have four or five children at a single time, like she did, and stay stick-thin. She often droned that she wanted her small figure back, albeit often with a large slice of cake in her hand.

"Cyan? Oh, aren't you a darling with your cute new hair-- who's this? I don't know him. Is he new? Are you new?" She challenged in her interrogative manner, having arrived from across the room in next to no time, staring down at the two boys with an arched brow. "...I suppose you'd better come on in. Sit down, relax, practise your performance-- ignore my children, they don't mean any harm-- leave the poor man alone, would you?" She huffed, rolling her lavender-coloured eyes as two or three of her children curiously crowded Eliot and pulled at his shirt-- at least until Maureen shooed them along with a dry, hearty laugh. "Now, how about a drink? Do you drink wine? I got it from a human admirer, you know. He sneaks me bottles of wine and champagne, says I'm the most beautiful creature he's seen. He's such a sap."
 
"Oh, n-no, I don't drink," he replied in a clear daze. The energy in the tent was lively, to say the least, to the point where it left Eliot a bit stunned. He was never one for fast-paced action, and even the quick strides of the looming woman was enough to leave him squirming a tad as he nervously fiddled with the sleeves of his hand-knit sweater. Offering a shy smile, he held out a hand. "I'm not, uh... I mean, I'm 'new', but I've been here for a few days," he explained quietly, though seemed unaffected by the children. In fact, he always connected well with children.

"I shouldn't be here," he explained quietly as he avoided the woman's gaze. "Cyan dragged me out, a-and... I dunno, aha. I'm just - I don't belong here. I'll just go back to my tent," he murmured, though did look up to search for this mysterious new guy. That was the only reason he left his tent, after all.
 
"Sweetheart, would you stop fretting out so darn much? Now, who are you unsubtly searching for? Tell me and I can find him or her for you. Perks of being almost seven foot tall, hm?--"

"He's looking for that new guy, aren't you? You know the one, Maureen. Bailey. The guy with the muscles and the cool horns and the one who's so dreamy that even you thought he was cute--"

"Yes, yes, thank you, Cyan. For the record, darling, he's not into girls like me. Or girls at all, actually. I asked," the confident woman casually drawled, her eyes immediately beginning to glance around her tent in search of the man. "He is here, I saw him enter. I brought him a nice glass of wine, then some of my children bombarded him so that may have scared him off. They're not exactly quiet, retiring little things-- oh, I'm sure he's still here. Now, would you relax? You're bringing my vibe down, sweetheart. Come have something to eat, at least."
 
"Bailey." He repeated under his breath as he gave up his attempt to try and peer around Maureen, her height easily blocking nearly everything in the room from sight. Glancing over at Cyan, he took in the boy's clear lack of anxiety as a sign for him to follow suit. With his clear lack of social skills, it was no surprise that Eliot remained close to Maureen, her personality reminding him of a few of his own mothers. Despite being pretty full, the mutant sat down to eat a snack anyway to at least be polite.

"If he isn't here, that's okay," he reassured as he watched the children scurry by, their own tentacle bodies being rather cute. "I mean, I just wanted to talk to him a bit, I... I mean, you think he's cute, right? He looks nice - has a kind face. I dunno, might be a load of horse apples."
 
"Do I think Bailey is cute? Oh, definitely so. He's very dashing. Got me looking all flustered when he first introduced himself. Alas, he's not entirely into girls. Besides, I think I emasculated him. Men are so very touchy with their height. The amount of creatures I've approached over the years, only to get turned down because I was too big for them is too damn high. Obviously, there are a few men who rather like having a dominant woman," she purred quietly as she slowly eased herself down onto the seat beside him, her eyes absently drifting to her youngest troop of children currently dashing about, chasing one another.

"He is here, just you relax-- and you wait for him to approach you. Don't go chasing him, sweetheart. If he's interested, he'll come to you. I don't go chasing my men too often. I wait for them to come to me. So you sit there, prop your feet up and wait for that dashing man to come to you," she tutted, patting the pillow behind him to urge him to lean back and relax fully, even if the noise in the tent may prevent full relaxation, and she was more than aware that her children were causing most of it. Now, she adored each and every one of her children, all ten of the little monsters, but she was acutely aware that they were all far too energetic.

"...So, you're friends with my little Cyan, are you? Oh, I'm glad. He likes making friends. He's such a doll, isn't he?"
 
"He's very sweet, yeah. He wanted to shade his fox from the rain so he just sort of bolted into my tent today, so... I'm bummed. I worked really hard on his hair and it'll probably get ruined from the rain. I used flowers I had dried, do you know how long those take? It isn't his fault, of course - it is his fault for eating my incense, though..." he grumbled bitterly before rubbing his face wearily with a hand.

"I've been here for a week," he admitted eventually as he stared off a tad. "I'm sorry I haven't introduced myself before this, I just - I'm not a social person. I guess I should have thought about this more, yeah?"
 
"Do you know how long it takes me to get my children ready in the mornings in their nice little outfits I knit for them? It takes me ages, darling, and then they go rolling about in the muddy puddles and getting themselves dirty. Cyan's like a child sometimes, in that he doesn't quite think before he acts. He means well, though. That's what matters, isn't it?" She casually remarked, her purple eyes scanning the crowd and once she saw that Cyan was chatting happily to the chef, and getting physically close with him, she decided she should just relax, and eased back against the seat with her lower body tentacles stretching out on the floor around her.

"You should have introduced yourself, yes-- but so should I. I've been awfully busy, mind you. I'm like the mother here, everyone runs to me when they need help. I've been inundated with that and then I have my actual babies to look out for, and I have this lovely human man I hook up with-- but we've met now, you and I. You're welcome in here anytime, should you need me. I assume you can deal with my children tugging at you-- they're just curious."
 
"It's okay," he reassured, despite growing just a tad anxious at the playful tugs on the sweater his mother had knitted him especially. Offering the children a smile, he did eventually try to focus on the food in front of him before nibbling on the pretzels he saw in a bowl beside him. He enjoyed simple foods, since it was what he was raised on, and something like pretzels was good enough for him.

"Cyan was eager for me to meet you, yeah. I mean, children have always been alright with me - I'm not going to be a great parent ever, but I could watch them?... That's a lie, who am I kidding?" He snorted as he shyly twirled a finger through his moppy hair. "... You're so lively, how do you do it?"
 
"How do I do it? Oh, darling, it's not that hard. I used to be this real scared little thing-- maybe not little, but you know what I mean," she laughed, scooping up one of her more rambunctious children, managing to calm the whines and screams with a little patient, motherly shushing. "I didn't have a nice life outside of here. This place isn't great, but once I arrived, I figured that I may as well stop acting so scared. Humans pounce on that. If they saw that I feared them, they'd use it against me on stage-- so I decided I'd just be confident and outgoing and if they didn't like that, at least they'd be too wary to say anything about it. And like I said, it has its advantages. Some humans fancy me, can you believe? I'm not some dainty, graceful woman, but hey, some men don't want that."

"You know Bailey's right over there, don't you?" She suddenly pointed out, her full lips pulling into a slow smile once catching sight of the lonely figure in the corner of the tent. "Resist the urge to run over there, sweetheart. Wait until he comes over here, that's the best advice I can give: don't do the chasing. Cyan chases all the time and he's not landed a boyfriend all the time he's here. I tell him to wait for that Chef to come to him, and now look, he's all happy."
 
While initially pretty interested in the woman's story of confidence, he was brought back when mentioning the other man. Glancing over, he shyly offered a smile towards him - either Bailey would see it and approach, or he wouldn't and leave him be. Running a hand through his hair, Eliot tried to offer a relaxed composer.

"Thank you, Maureen. You're really strong, you know that? I wish I was like that - maybe I will when I'm used to this place. I'm just scared, you know? I just... I've never been anywhere like this. There are so many people I don't know here, and the last group of people I spent with were horrible."
 
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