Freak Show

"Oh, I'm certain most of us here have horrid stories. Besides, this isn't a paradise. Cyan and I have been planning our way out. He's just as eager as I am to escape. As much as I like the attention I get from a few of my human lovers, it's not enough to keep me satisfied in this shithole," the woman sighed, sharing Cyan's dissatisfaction with life in the circus. While it seemed to be a safe haven for her when she first arrived, all vulnerable and small and exhausted, she learned quite quickly that the promises the human ringleader made were, quite simply, utter bullshit. She was treated badly 95% of the time, and no way was she prepared to raise her young children here.

Like Cyan, she wanted out, even if they were so far the only ones who had become disillusioned-- but she was fine with that. Cyan was a son to her at this point, so she was quite happy to leave just with him and her troop of children.

"Oh, I'd better leave you alone. Handsome is on his way over here," she purred, winking playfully across at Bailey, who hesitated before striding over. "I'll be with Cyan. You come on over when you've finished here, I want to here how it goes, babe."
 
"Please don't," he pleaded as he fearfully avoided gazing over at Bailey in fear of simply running away. When Maureen left, Eliot was left to nervously think over the woman's words on fear. Taking in a deep breath, he eventually let his eyes wander to the human in disguise before offering a smile.

"... hello again," he offered quietly as a pair of hands fiddled nervously under the small table.
 
Bailey didn't really know why he had decided to wander across towards the monster. Maybe it was because Eliot appeared relatively human, if he just overlooked the extra limbs. Maybe it was because he saw potential in him and could convince him to leave to join the rival circus across the town; the one that was paying Bailey to disguise himself to gather information.

He could probably earn an extra half a million if he convinced this freak to join the other circus. That was an incentive for him to abide his company.

"Hey," he greeted casually, albeit with as big a smile he could muster up. "...That chick's pretty full on, huh? Pretty... in your face-- in a good way! I like her. She's pretty rad."
 
"Yeah, but... I like it. She's the kind of person who could punch a man in the jaw and he'd like it. It's nice to have someone strong like that here," he replied quietly as a smile crept onto his own lips. He wanted nothing more than to cry or wheeze in panic but he had somehow kept his composure rather well.

"So... did you get something to eat and drink?" He offered curiously as he unsubtly took in the other, his cheeks growing pink.
 
If he was completely honest, Maureen petrified Bailey. He was just a human and yet, these 'freaks', as he called them, had barely managed to scare him in the past. Every single one he'd seen, he'd just had the capacity to ridicule them and thus lowered how frightening they might have been to him-- but he found it was hard to do that with Maureen. She was ridiculously tall, for a start, and he knew that she could probably break his neck with one tentacle without having to put much effort into it.

How was that not scary?

He was just glad she seemed to like him, if her playful flirtation was anything to go by.

"I... yeah. Maureen basically forced this champagne into my hand. I didn't think I'd get to drink champagne, it's pretty neat," he grinned, sipping quietly. He hadn't expected alcohol to be around, but he was thankful it was. He was thankful for whatever weird humans loved Maureen enough to ply her with these gifts, because if one thing could help him through this experience, it was alcohol. "Do you want some? I mean... a little Dutch courage for your performance-- are you performing tonight?"
 
"Yeah..." he murmured as he watched Maureen - anything to get him from staring at Bailey too long. "I mean, I don't really know what I'm doing yet, probably juggling. It's okay, I've sort of told myself that this is better than where I was before," he explained as he nervously tapped his fingers on the small table, the other pair of hands under the table fiddled with the string of his pants.

"Oh, alcohol? No, no, I don't drink," he insisted quietly as he Offered a smile. "I've never been a big drinker, just... doesn't taste right, you know? I mean, not that you shouldn't drink, of course."
 
"Juggling? That's-- that's probably a wise choice, with the four arms and all. I think I'm pretty useless, I'll be honest. I could just stand on stage and give everyone a speech about philosophy, but I doubt that'd be fun. I guess I'll find something to do," he shrugged casually. He had no intention to actually perform, of course. He felt disgusting just aesthetically masquerading as one of these monsters; he wasn't prepared to go further and start performing like he was one of them.

"I don't really like it here. I've seen how that guy in charge treats some of the folks here, it's not... a safe haven, like I thought it'd be. it's pretty fucking terrible, actually," he began, testing the waters a little. He wanted to see how the other thought of the place, and if he wasn't too keen on it either, it made the chance of convincing him to leave all the more higher, and thus gave Bailey an even larger paycheck.
 
"It's better than where I was before," he replied simply as he watched the children play, a small smile curling onto his lips. "Trust me, I'd much rather be living in a cute apartment with a proper job, taking a nap at home. Alas, this is where our kind goes," he explained with a shrug before setting his head on a hand. Eyeing Bailey, he took in the well-painted horns with subtle jealousy.

"... I mean, you could escape, if you want to. You don't have to be here. I just... I don't have anywhere else to go that protects me, you know? This is the only option, so I'll take it. Beggars can't be choosers," he explained with a shrug, trying to stay cool the longer he realized he probably was boring the other.
 
"I've heard from a few other people here that the other circus across the town is much nicer than this. Apparently, the acts there aren't treated like subjects or objects, you know? The facilities are good, they can leave when they want. I dunno. It's just my luck to end up here when there's a great place a few minutes away. I have the worst luck. Mind you, maybe it's fate I came here first. I wouldn't have met you," he pointed out, hoping the little bit of flirtation would be enough to solidify the bond. Having learnt that the other would escape if he had somewhere to go to, Bailey realised that the only thing he now needed to do was ramp up the flirtatiousness a little. A few days of that, and he didn't see any reason for Eliot to refuse the chance to leave with him.
 
Despite his attempts to remain calm, it was the unsubtle flirting that caused Eliot's cheeks to ignite. He had flirted with people before, sure - he did have a boyfriend, after all - but Bailey was another level, in his eyes. The man he was with was skeevy to begin with, but he ignored his gut feeling out of desperation. With Bailey, he had no idea about the negatives that would come out of him falling for the man he thought was a mutant. Letting out a quiet snort of disbelief, he did offer a smile nonetheless.

"Oh, and what's so glorious about this other circus?" He questioned curiously as a brow raised. "You said they treat people right? Define 'right', because I don't think I'll ever feel 'normal' around humans. It just isn't meant to be."
 
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"I don't really know a lot, but I've heard nice things. I just don't like it much here, other than the people. It's... worse than where I was before this, and I was homeless. That says a lot, right?" He pointed out with a faint grimace on his lips, one he'd managed to perfect through practising altering his expression in the mirror and, without sounding cocky, he was pretty sure he as entirely convincing.

"I dunno, I just think I'd rather be there than here," he continued as he absently reached down to lift the two pestering children tugging at his shirt. He was far from liking children, but he figured it could help him be seen as a good guy if he handled some of Maureen's whining offspring for a little while.
 
"You could leave, you know. You haven't been here long enough for anyone to notice you," Eliot insisted as he tapped his nails on the small table, biting his lip. "I'm already set for an act, so I don't think I could just slip into the night without anyone knowing - besides, I don't want to leave without Cyan. He's sort of become a brother to me, you know?"

With a wary glance towards the entrance of the tent, it was clearly a moment of contemplation as he continued to nibble on his lip. "Look, if you can come up with a plan, I'll consider it, okay?"
 
Glancing across the tent towards Cyan, the turquoise-coloured creature unsubtly pressed up against the chef in an attempt to be flirty and seductive, Bailey did have to stop himself from smirking too widely.

What was better than turning up at the other circus with not just one new addition, but two? If Cyan did come too, he'd get double the financial reward, so of course he was quite happy to bring Cyan in on the 'plan'. Cyan was hardly a problem - he was pretty small and didn't look like he could cause too many problems.

"...Cyan's fine, I like the kid. I'll come up with a plan, okay? There's... no rush, not really. Not if we want to get out safe and sound, right?"
 
"... why do you want me to come with you? There are plenty of other mutants here. I mean, you shouldn't even want to come with anyone else, it'll be too dangerous," Eliot suddenly murmured, his lips pursing in hesitance as he moved to nibble on his thumb. "You could get that chef that Cyan is all over. He's strong, you know? I'm sure that he'd be fine with this new group - assuming Cyan goes. I dunno, t-this is all super stressful."

Getting to his feet Eliot nervously fiddled with his sweater as he looked down at the seated Bailey. Despite his anxiety, he offered the other a small smile. "I'll think about it."
 
"Woah, I never said I was going to whisk you up right this fucking second and run out of here. It was a suggestion, a fleeting thing, y'know? I've been here, like, a day. First impressions aren't everything. Maybe this place will turn out great. I need some time here before I suddenly decide to, y'know, waltz right on out," he laughed, deciding it best to diffuse his seriousness with a little laughter and casual chuckling the moment he saw how unnerved and, essentially, freaked out he seemed. He had been deadly serious about leaving, but he also realised that his eagerness had probably become a detriment to his overall plan-- so taking a step back and using patience right now seemed more important to get him on track when the right time came.

"Nah, I'll give it time here first. It doesn't seem as bad as I made out-- I'm a dramatic piece of shit sometimes. I like being all theatrical and whiny, it's... a flaw of mine, admittedly."
 
"You'd be good in a play," Eliot offered as he ran a hand through his hair, his lips pulling into a smile. "I mean, I heard human schools have 'clubs' and I know one is all about theater. I'd love to go to school, it would be nice to see you preform. "

With a quiet yawn, his frequent hit of weariness hit him. Socializing for so long often made him tired, after all. Nonetheless, he didn't want to seem rude.

"I'm no way as smart as a human, but my parents taught me how to read and write and do some math. It's another reason I was let into this place. They want me to do record keeping, and I'm one of the only people who can do that," he explained, trying not to brag.
 
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Now he had to pull back his eagerness to get out, he had lost interest in talking to this boy. He smiled, of course, and feigned intrigue, but he truly didn't give a shit about what he was droning on and on about so, despite his dislike of Cyan, he was relieved to see the boy approach and take the pressure off a little.

"Did you see me with Dylan? That's the chef's name. Dylan. Really cute, right? We... We were kinda... well... he had his arms around me. He's so strong," he babbled happily, waving shyly back at the chef. "...You two getting on alright? I saw you with Maureen, too. Do you like her? I hope you like her. I love her a lot, she's like a Mom, really."
 
Thanks to Eliot's naturally paranoid self, he could tell right away that the human was lying. He wasn't a moron - rather, he wasn't unaware when people didn't like him.... unlike Cyan. Offering the blue mutant a smile nonetheless, he shot a glance to the seemingly unaffected chef.

"She's nice, yeah. Reminds me of a few of my old moms, so that's nice," he admitted as he got to his feet, sniffling a tad. "I hope she doesn't get annoyed by me."
 
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"Why would she get annoyed with you? That's, like, the dumbest thing you've ever said. She has, like... how many kids? Lots, right? She's not gonna get annoyed by you. I think she likes you. You and her were chatting real good and she wouldn't pretend for that long. I mean, she's pretty... straight; opinionated, y'know?" He tutted quietly, shaking his head a little at the other's seemingly constant insecurity. Now, it wasn't that it annoyed him, far from it. He'd gladly sit and chat for hours about the issue if it helped Eliot out some, but he also just didn't see the reasons for the constant self-treatment of putting himself down when Cyan thought he was pretty amazing.

"I mean, if you're really worried about her not liking you, you can win her around really easily by, like, just asking her about herself over a glass of wine. I can't drink wine, it tastes weird and makes my head go funny, but Maureen likes it a lot."
 
"I'm sure I'll get along with her," Eliot reassured himself easily as he clutched his drink, his lips pursing together. His worry faded fast for the woman once focusing on Bailey. Slowly relaxing said lips into a frown, he glanced down at Cyan, another hand tapping the side of the drink.

"I fucked up with Bailey, didn't I?" He whispered to the smaller mutant, his eyes following the impostor closely as he walked through the crowded room. Letting out a groan, he pressed a fist to his face in frustration. "I... I'm so pathetic. Am I boring?"
 
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