Saving The World In Spite of Ourselves

[Midian]

The tips of Shola's ears turned a deep crimson-purple when she saw Trevean's lack of appropriate torso coverage, but she pulled her wrist away and shook her head.
"No, I think Lilith has encountered... Perhaps some of the lowest of your kind here. She was attacked and needs new clothes," Shola said tersely, hoping she wouldn't need to explain further to Trevean. Whatever had happened to Lilith, she clearly didn't want to talk about it and Shola was not going to force her.
"Here you go dear," Shola said, handing Lilith the coat. "We'll look into getting you some clothes as soon as we can. And Trevean, please don't raise the alarm yet. I don't think we're in danger just this minute. Right now I would like to focus on getting Lilith some clothing and then getting this island looked over. From what I've been told there will be a particular force blocking us from the casket, an especially dense bit of darkness. If we can find it we should be able to find the casket. You're our best resource on getting around the island here, but we really can't afford to go around as a whole group; we need to cover more land than that."

"Hey Miss Shola, I've never seen you with your hair down! It's pretty," Nadia piped up from behind her and Shola's head snapped around on neck, a hand slowly going up to touch her bangs.
"What are you and Mr. Trevean talking about?" she asked, trying to peek around Shola to see Trevean. Shola covered her eyes with one hand and scooted her back into the other room.
"Go on and wake up Piper and Jacklyn please, thank you."

Shola's cheeks were burning tomato-red and for a minute her mouth faltered in speaking.
"Go get dressed before you come in here!" she huffed to Trevean, shutting the door. Her quick footsteps could be heard retreating into the depths of the women's room. The bathroom door slammed and quiet giggling could be heard from Nadia. She gently nudged Piper and Jacklyn awake as Shola tied her hair back up in the bathroom, muttering to herself as her face got redder and redder. She tugged the cloth a final time and went to rap on the door adjoining the rooms.
"Trevean, please get Dante and Blaze in here with you when you're all decent. Let the other two sleep awhile yet, I'd like them to stay behind and hold things down here."

"I saw the sign for a tailor near here," Piper said. "I bet we could get Lilith some clothes from there."
"I'll go!" Nadia piped up. "I need to find a job here anyway, I could go talk to the shop owner!"
"I don't want you to go alone though--

The door between the rooms cracked open and Dante stuck his head out.
"Trevean said... Lilith, how the fuck do you keep losing your clothes?" he asked and Shola glared at him, moving closer to him to keep from shouting across the room.
"She was attacked last night by a few men and woke up without her clothes," Shola muttered. "We're trying to get her some clothing. Nadia is going to go to the tailor's down the street, and I would appreciate it if you'd go with her."

"Sure thing," he said flatly, a cold fury flickering behind his eyes. Nadia's smile faltered when she saw him, but he instead paused as he passed Lilith and put a heavy hand on her shoulder.
"We'll be back soon. Sit tight. Come on, Nadia."

She hurried to follow him out, smoothing her skirt and her hair and she went. When she grabbed his hand to walk with him Dante didn't pull it away as they walked down the street. Shola walked back over to the door and tapped on it again.
"Trevean, Blaze! Are you two ready to come in yet?"

 

[Falcon]

Trevean had to smile to himself as he retreated back into the men's room and shook first Dante and then Blaze awake before grabbing fresh clothing out of his bag and dressing as he explained in quiet tones what was going on. He had rather liked seeing Shola blush, and he wondered if he could find ways to do it again . . . of course the timing was going to have to be just right -

Dante was the first ready and into the other room, mainly because Trevean was wasting time wondering if he dared take a moment or two to iron his shirt. One hint of Dante's angry tone issuing from next door and he decided he had better not. Seconds later Shola was tapping on their door again and Trevean hurriedly grabbed his bandanna from the arm of the couch where he had carefully folded and placed it the night before, before slipping into the woman's room where he began to tie the piece of cloth around his ears to hide their points.

"So, Chickadee," he shot Shola a mischievous grin, "What's the plan this time? If you need my resources, as you say you do, I'm lead to believe you have something specific in mind."

 

[Midian]

This time the redness in her ears was from anger and not embarrassment. She grit her teeth and ushered him in, muttering something about not being a bird of any sort.
"The resources I need from you are primarily your knowledge of the area and its people and your familiarity with the layout of the streets. We will be-- Hello Blaze-- Looking for something... Unusual, to say the least. Something not right, something out of keeping with the normal ebb and flow of this world. That's what I need from you, Trevean, your knowledge of what isn't right here. Hopefully we shouldn't have a difficult time--"

Outside a marching band struck up suddenly, causing Shola to jump. As it made its way past the hotel a voice could be heard over the music, shouting through a megaphone.

"Come one and come all to the First Annual Metro Island Historical Festival! Come see the first performance of the fabulous Metro City Circus at their new Big Top Tent on the east shore! Come see the island's newest starlet, Diana Queen, in the historical re-enactment of The Great Calamity! Come to the week-long festival right here in the square! Food and fun for all ages!"

Shola stared out the window, her mouth agape and face blanched.
"We will need a lot of resources, Trevean. More than I previously thought. When Dante and Nadia return I will sort us all into groups and we can get started. In the meantime we do need to find some food. Trevean, can you show me where to buy some?"

 

[Falcon]

"Of coarse," Trevean nodded in understanding, "I can help you there, although the festival may make things . . . Interesting," he stated looking out the window before pulling out his wallet which he had replenished from his stash and checking the contents just to be sure.
"But first, if we're going to be out in the streets - " and not saying another word Trevean crossed the room to stand in front of a mirror shifting his form to one of pure water as he went.

Once there he frowned in concentration as his nose became bolder, his cheekbones wider, his jaw line a bit more square, in short his entire face had changed to one belonging to another.
"Well," he asked turning back to the group and changing once again back to the form of a human, though now maintaining the new face. "I can't really do much about my coloring, but is the face different enough? I wasn't kidding about those wanted posters." and he jabbed his thumb over his shoulder out the widow towards a bulletin board where sure enough someone was plastering up a poster with a decent sketch of Trevean's natural face on it.

 

[Kura]

Lilith blushed a bit as Dante rested his hand on her shoulder, not really accustomed to such a relatively sincere action coming from him. He told her to wait and she nodded, then waited until he and Nadia had closed the door behind them before standing. As Trevean and Shola spoke, she stepped over to the window and watched, smiling a bit at the sight of Nadia taking Dante's hand.

"The resources I need from you are primarily your knowledge of the area and its people and your familiarity with the layout of the streets. We will be-- Hello Blaze-- Looking for something... Unusual, to say the least. Something not right, something out of keeping with the normal ebb and flow of this world. That's what I need from you, Trevean, your knowledge of what isn't right here. Hopefully we shouldn't have a difficult time--"

Lilith jumped along with Shola as the marching band interrupted her. Needless to say THAT was unexpected in such a dingy part of town. Eyes still widened in surprise, she turned and looked at Shola. "Something out of the ordinary, eh?"

As the conversation continued, just the mere mention of food made Lilith sick to her stomach. The feeling quickly subsided as Lilith watched Treven change into his alternate state, and she couldn't help but move closer to him as he changed his appearance. Unlike Dante, she was fascinated by the fact that Trevean was made of pure water. She watched in amazement as he turned back to them.

"I can't really do much about my coloring, but is the face different enough? I wasn't kidding about those wanted posters."

Lilith glanced out the window, looked back, then reached up and poked his chin, forming a dimple.

 

[Falcon]

Trevean let her touch him. In fact, the moment he felt her finger on his chin he shifted his face just enough to let the dimple take before shifting back. It was nice to know that at least one of the women was willing to help him, and wasn't angry. Did calling her "Chickadee" really get on Shola's nerves that much?

The grin that crossed his face had absolutely nothing to do with his new face and everything to do with the fact that if she expected him to take her shopping, Shola was going to have to learn to just deal with him as he was. And besides, Trevean thought he was doing a pretty good job of tempering his personality as it was. After all he hadn't made any royal guard jokes, he hadn't related any stories of illegal activity, he hadn't told her to lighten up (even though the desire to do so had crossed his mind on multiple occasions), and he hadn't asked why she had put her hair up when she looked so much better with it down.

Oh all right, so that last one was definitely going to happen, he was just going to save it for when she didn't flare up in anger every time she saw him. That was getting annoying. Perhaps he could ask Lilith for a bit of help? Provided he had a chance when the snooty guard woman wasn't around . . .

 

[Midian]

As they walked down the cobblestone streets Nadia swung her arms and looked up at Dante. He was grimfaced in the early morning sun and didn't seem to be paying her much attention. Nadia looked back down at her worn shoes and then up at him again.
"Mr. Dante... How come you were mad at Ms. Lilith?"

He looked down at her, raising his eyebrows in mild surprise.
"I wasn't mad at Lilith. I was mad about what happened to her."
"What happened to her?"
"Some... Um, some people hit her, I imagine," he said tersely and Nadia frowned.
"What happened to her clothes, then?"
"Where's that shop you were talking about?"

Nadia paused at the intersection and peered around.
"Piper said it had a green awning... There it is!" she shouted, pointing at a brightly-lit and rather large shopfront. Dante cringed at the frill-swaddled dresses in the front window and too a deep breath as they entered. In the neon-colored shop his black uniform stood out like a crow among parrots and instantly every seamstress was staring at him with almost hungry eyes. Dante pulled Nadia closer by the hand and cleared his throat.
"Um... We'd like a dress. We've got money," Dante said and Nadia produced the wrinkled fistful of bills she'd been carrying in her apron pocket. It wasn't enough for a hotel room, but she'd hoped it would buy a dress even as she had begun to realize they couldn't afford this shop.
"That's not gonna get you anything here, sweetheart," one of the girls, barely older than Piper, said cattily. Dante took a deep breath and tried on his best smile. Thankfully the girl, in addition to being mean, was a lovesickc teenager and didn't notice how cold his eyes remained.
"A good friend of ours is really in need of some clothes. Don't you have anything?" he asked and she relented.
"We might have something old in the back," she said and the other girls giggled as she scampered into the back. She soon returned with a greyish dress and handed it to him.
"It's from last season," she explained, not noticing a very well-dressed woman coming up behind her. The woman's gold hair was piled in a tall beehive and her deep blue dress rustled against the wooden floor. Her heavily-painted eyelids drooped sleepily, but her eyes were alert and she tapped her gold-tipped cane on the floor.
"Alice, you know that dress goes for twice that. You're fired.
"Hey, I didn't mean to get her in trouble," Dante protested, but the woman shook her head.
"She knows the rules here."

Alice slunk out, slamming the door behind her. The woman turned back to them and something about Nadia seemed to catch her eye.
"Why, you look like a bright girl, if a bit rough. I'm Madam Glau, the head seamstress here. Do you know how to sew, girl?"
"Yes ma'am," she replied shyly.
"Then you're hired. You can get started at once and the dress can be an advance on your first pay. Sound good?"
"Oh gosh, sure!"

Dante frowned, but took the offered dress.
"You sure kiddo?"
"I'll be fine, don't worry. And I'll still come back to the room."
"All right. Someone'll come by later, probably."

Dante gave Madam Glau a curt nod and was out of the shop before she could sidle up to him any further. He hurried back to the hotel room and presented Lilith with the dress.
"It's about as bad as the last one," he offered with a lopsided mouth twitch. "Sorry. Not really into fashion."

"Dante, where's Nadia?!" Shola exclaimed and Dante shrugged.
"She got a job at that tailor's, but she'll still be back here at the end of the day. Don't worry, I'm going to be looking in on her. Kid needs a job, Shola. She'll be okay."

Shola sighed and rubbed her forehead.
"So we need to get a look at everything that's going on today. Blaze, I want you, Piper, and Jacklyn to look in on what's going on at the circus. Trevean, you, myself, Dante, and Lilith to come with me to the fairgrounds. We'll meet back here in the afternoon."

The groups departed from the hotel as the morning sun shimmered brightly in the clear sky. The fairgrounds turned out to be relatively near to their hotel and soon the towering ferris wheel, roller coaster, and over rides loomed over them in a cacophony of light and noise. Dante and Shola both visibly cringed as they entered the tall gates.
"We'll get out of here faster if we split up again," Dante offered and Shola nodded enthusiastically. Before she could take Lilith Dante was off with her, discreetly keeping a close eye on her. Shola looked over at Trevean and felt her temples throb again. Fantastic.

 

[Falcon]

Trevean couldn't help but let out a low chuckle as the other two disappeared in a different direction. "Well, it seems fate really does intend to shove us together." He shook his head, and then shrugged, "might as well make the most of it!" and not bothering to ask permission he took Shola's hand and began walking off toward the side of the fair where a variety of vendors would be set up, including those of a less than reputable nature.

"Come now, Chickadee, don't be stubborn," he admonished when she was obviously less than pleased with the arrangement. "A quarreling couple only draws eyes. At least try to pretend like you're having a good time with a dog faced brute like me. The last thing we need is some local boy deciding to play hero. Besides . . ." he paused and looked around, "I recognize some of this crowd and a girl alone is only asking for trouble - even one as capable as you."

 

[Kura]

When Dante arrived back at the hotel room, Lilith was in the bathroom washing the last of the sand from her hair. As she opened the door, she almost ran into him as she stepped into the doorway.

"It's about as bad as the last one," he offered with a lopsided mouth twitch. "Sorry. Not really into fashion."

The twitch had returned. A little harder to notice this time, but it was there. The last time she had seen his tick they were holed up in an unknown world after trying to pay for drinks with bad money. He was so angry then, did this mean that he was upset about having to fetch clothes for her? She looked at the black dress in her hands, then back up at him with a small smile. "I think it'll do the job." She said softly before taking a step back into the bathroom and closing the door. She shook the dress out and pulled it over her head, then shook her hair out from under the neck and placed her hand on the doorknob. She paused for one last look in the mirror. This dress wasn't as bad as the last one; this one actually fit. It was sleeveless, showing off more of her olive skin than she was normally comfortable with and also allowing the faint tribal tattoos on her upper arms to show. The skirt stopped just below her knees with a small slit up the side. Self-conscious, she pulled the skirt down as much as possible to cover the tattoos on her thigh. The strands of white hair surrounding her face had naturally begun to curl as they dried, and the rest fell across her shoulders.

Once satisfied, Lilith opened the door and stepped out next to Dante. She had listened enough to the exchange between Dante and Shola to know where Nadia had gone, and now it seemed Shola had decided to split the group up once more.

"So we need to get a look at everything that's going on today. Blaze, I want you, Piper, and Jacklyn to look in on what's going on at the circus. Trevean, you, myself, Dante, and Lilith to come with me to the fairgrounds. We'll meet back here in the afternoon."

After a relatively short walk, the group arrived at the fairgrounds. Unlike Dante and Shola, Lilith couldn't help but smile at the sight of all the lights, rides, and music. After such a horrible night, it was nice to enjoy such beautiful weather. She didn't really pay attention to Dante's idea of splitting up the already small group as her attention had been stolen by a rather colorfully dressed man on stilts that was offering flowers to the ring of small girls around him. Before she knew it, she had found herself alone with Dante again. After spending a few moments walking in silence, she smiled at him and stepped closer, speaking loudly enough for him to hear over the commotion.

"Thank you for the dress, Dante. It's not as bad as the last one, see?" She smoothed her skirt and chuckled, "This one actually fits."

 

[Closer]

Blaze walked slowly along the waterfront, placing one foot closely in front of the other, both arms stretched out to the side as his body bent side to side to keep balance. Still caught up in the beauty of his surroundings he had long since accepted that he failed his mission, Lilith was slippery and hard to track that is for sure. Safe to say he was pretty lost too so no need to rush. Naturally it came as a shock to him when Piper came tumbling down some barrels near him and began sprinting his way. In the heat of the moment the only thing he could think of is that for some reason he would be in trouble for failing his job. "Lilith....Where are you?" He cried nervously, trying to pretend like he was still searching, completely missing the terror sprawled across her face on her approach. He scratched the back of his head and let out a slight laugh, "Piper, er what are you doing here I was just looking for....." "RUN!" Blaze was about to retort to the abrupt interruption of his defensive speech when from the same place piper had come from, came a shower of glass accompanied by a loud metallic thud as the frame of the window crashed into the ground. Through the commotion Blaze's time seemed to slow down, each tiny fragment of glass shining light towards him, the sound of the metal frame crashing seemed distant and warped, His eyes fixated on the center of the chaos. Just what the hell is that? Almost like a kaleidoscope, several smaller versions of the real thing seemed to shimmer in this surreal moment. Like a printing press the image was forced upon Blaze's brain as a logo for both confusion and terror.

Blaze found himself almost rooted to the spot, his mouth slightly ajar and his head still turned looking towards the commotion, had he been alone he probably would have remained that way however Piper was pulling at his arm and his feet had begun to move on their own. The glass shards all fell quickly to the ground as adrenaline kicked in, one last lock of eyes with the monster before Blaze began to run now pulling Piper along behind him. A few strides ahead and Blaze picked Piper up onto his back and began to run with her through the streets as she tried to guide them back to the hotel. No looking behind. No questions asked. His body feeling no over encumbrance and his heart pounding through his shirt. Surprisingly they made it to the hotel without getting too lost, having a navigator was actually a pretty good setup. Blaze put Piper down at the door and gave a perplexed expression to her upon hearing what she had to say.

"I don't think we should tell the others about that... I don't want to cause Lilith any problems within the group, you know? They're having a bad enough time already."

"What does this have to do with..."

Too late, Piper had already gone through the door and he didn't feel like staying out here either. The two of them snuck in just in time to gain a slither of extra knowledge regarding their situation, this time about the Dire Queen, normally he would be all ears for as much information as he could get, but on this occasion Blaze didn't even acknowledge anyone upon arriving back. Instead he slipped straight through to the men's room, undressed, and got into one of the beds. His chest was heavy much like his breathing, he was covered in sweat and his eyes took no persuading to close. Sure enough Blaze fell asleep quickly, not really contemplating what had just happened as if it had been some kind of dream, speaking of which, as he slept the single moment ran on loop through his mind. Having slept through all of the small talk and activity happening around him Blaze was woken up by Trevean as discussions were being had in the next room, sweat dripping down his face and his breathing heavy, he sat upwards feeling similar to when he got into the bed. Luckily no one had seemed to notice and he quickly pulled himself together, with very little care for his surroundings he walked into the men's bathroom in his boxers, giving his face and hair a water wash to refresh himself.

"Trevean, Blaze! Are you two ready to come in yet?"

"Yeah, Yeah, I'm coming." He yawned.

After putting his clothes back on and towel drying his hair Blaze Entered the girls room and gave a short nod to Shola who acknowledged him mid sentence. Now he was up and awake it was impossible for Blaze to ignore the noises coming from outside, A loud voice speaking of some kind of circus, something about a Queen? He tuned into the conversation just in time to hear what Shola assigned him to do, although he had no idea why or what was going on.

"So we need to get a look at everything that's going on today. Blaze, I want you, Piper, and Jacklyn to look in on what's going on at the circus."

"The circus eh?" Blaze tilted his head as he looked towards Jacklyn. "Looks like its me and you today hothead, you too Piper." He jested.

The other group departed first whilst the two girls got their things together, Blaze sighed still feeling slightly lethargic from getting up. "You two lead the way, I'll follow" Blaze said in a non excited manor, Circus's not being very high on his things to enjoy list. All the while a burning image remained, forced to the back of his mind in a futile attempt to forget. He will have to speak to Piper at some point today, so many questions running through his head. A cigarette was definitely in order.

 

[Midian]

Shola gave him a withering look and jerked her head to look in the opposite direction, feeling out their surroundings. Was he seriously implying that she couldn't take care of herself? The nerve! She hadn't gotten to be the queen's captain of the guard by being a damsel in distress! She certainly hadn't made it to the palace that starless, moonless night by being so weak that a few men could take her down!

Her ears were a plum red again and she couldn't unfrown her mouth, but Shola didn't pull away from him holding her hand. Truth be told, Shola had never held the hand of another adult. Sure she'd held the queen's hand when she was little, but holding a child's hand was different. It made her uncomfortable and self-conscious of the scar running across her face. She scratched it.
"I don't need you to protect me," she mumbled. "Not against anyone."

Then she sighed, resigned, and looked at the vendors.
"Let's look around there a bit. I'll try to look a little more cheerful. Anyone you know that I should avoid, just pull on my hand. I'll get the hint."


Meanwhile Dante looked the dress over briefly and shrugged. The tic distorted the shrug.
"Looks like a dress to me."

He looked over her head and pointed out a dart-throwing booth.
"Huh, wonder if they rig those? Let's see, Long Ears won't know if we get off topic a bit."

He drifted over to the booth, surreptitiously filching a bill from a man's pocket as he walked by. Dante put the bill down and the swarthy man behind the counter handed him three darts, grinning toothlessly.
"Gonna win a prize for your lady, mister? Been 'ere all morning and no one's won a thing yet."
"Yeah yeah," Dante muttered, feeling the weight of the darts in his hand. They were all weighted differently (and unevenly) and he rolled them around in his fingers while he felt them out. The man began to frown.
"You gonna throw them or what, bud? Not getting cold feet in front of the lady, are ya?"

Dante rolled his eyes and threw the darts, burying two out of three in the bullseye. The third was buried in the wall beside the man's ear. He jerked a scarred hand towards the stuffed animals on the shelf and Dante shrugged, turning his back.
"Get whatever," he said in Lilith's general direction and sauntered towards the ferris wheel slowly, giving her time to catch up.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I mean, what happened to Lilith," Piper said quietly to Blaze as they walked towards the circus. "I think some men... got to her. We shouldn't bring it up. Ever."
The big top of the circus, color and sound competing in loudness, rose up over them as they approached. Outside a carnival barker tempted patrons to see the bearded lady and the tigers while women with ornately-painted faces struck impossible poses on pedestals. Piper shivered as a gaggle of clowns passed them and looed up at Jacklyn.
"Do they have clowns where you're from?"

As they passed a smaller, scarlet tent a woman in comically overblown gypsy clothing emerged.
"Have your fortunes told! For all of you," she said, her eyes glinting, "free of charge. You all glow with destiny."

 

[Falcon]

She didn't need him to protect her, fine. But what happened if he decided he wanted to protect her. It was a thought he could not speak aloud, that he dared not speak aloud. Because to speak it allowed was to come to close to a truth that had haunted his existence his entire life. To speak it aloud was to admit that there were some things he quite simply had no choice in. In a way to speak it aloud was to admit that he was giving in, and that he was quit simply not ready to do. This was a game he wanted to draw out just a while longer, as long as he could get away with in fact. Oh he'd fall someday, that part of his life was already set in stone, but that day was not today.

He said nothing only smiled in response as she told him she wanted a closer look at the vendors, as she told him to tug her hand if he sensed anything amiss. He felt a slight thrill at that, it meant he could keep her hand. He quickly stomped on that thought, stomped hard. But he kept her hand.

"You know," he started lazily as if he was just making idle conversation. "This reminds me of the last time I was home." he grinned at her pleasantly, or as pleasantly as his new face would allow. "There was a carnival in town and Bois, my old boss, had plans to make a few new contacts, expand a bit as it were. Problem was an old rival of his was messing around in our territory. Bois had me spy on the man, I think I spent a week straight following him around, little food no sleep. I'm sure you've had missions like that where all you're running on is adrenalin, no time to relax. Anyway, Eventually I decided to be direct about it, confront that man-" Trevean trailed off laughing. it was a nice hearty laugh. When he recovered himself he continued the tale. "The man in question, if you can believe it, was one of your royal Guards, a shifter actually. He had taken the form of that old rival. Not knowing it, exhausted and knowing I wasn't thinking clearly I walked straight into the trap and handed the man everything he needed to arrest Bois and shut down his entire operation."

Trevean continued to laugh as he walked past the vendors, gazing at Shola out of the corner of his eye, just to see what she would make of the story.

 

[Kura]

"Looks like a dress to me."

Lilith sighed. It was impossible to have an actual conversation with this man. Though to be fair, most of the time they had spent together after their first meeting was spent yelling and arguing with each other, but recently things between them had been relatively calm. The same tic that she had noticed shortly after they met had returned, and now it interrupted the shrug that he used to dismiss their conversation. Lilith looked around at the different rides and hummed softly along with the music in order to fill the awkward silence that lingered between them. She almost bumped into him when he stopped and pointed at a booth.

"Huh, wonder if they rig those? Let's see, Long Ears won't know if we get off topic a bit."

Well that was a pleasant surprise. Dante had always been so down-to-business that his wanting to stray from the mission came as a bit of a surprise. Lilith looked on as the unpleasant-looking man in the booth teased the assassin, then couldn't help but grin as Dante frightened him beyond words. Following Dante's orders, Lilith stepped up and grabbed a teddy bear then flashed an insane grin at the man (causing him to shrink back) before hurrying to catch up with Dante. Without thinking about the consequences of her actions, she immediately spoke.

"Dante, why do you twitch? Is it because you're angry?"

 

[Harper]

Jacklyn Lockwood

The remainder of the day passed by without incident and felt oddly boring compared to how Jacklyn's morning had started. Some further explanations for their situation had been offered and after that the genders had split into two rooms to offer a semblance of privacy. Jack had taken the couch and despite it's surprising comfort she found it hard to sleep with the day's events reeling through her head. How had her life changed so drastically in such a short period of time? She glanced about the room at the sleeping occupants in the dim lighting and wondered if there was truly anything such a group could do to save the world. 'No, thats not right. It's plural now isn't it? Worlds. As if the pressure of saving just one wasn't enough. Ah well, I suppose if a few collapse to darkness there will be several others to shine on.' She thought, slightly disturbed at her own dark humor. She turned over on the couch, burying her face into the cushions and closing her eyes. After what felt like an eternity, Jacklyn finally succumbed to sleep.

Jacklyn slept like the dead that night, her exhaustion from the previous day trapping her in her dreams. It wasn't until she was shaken awake by the young girl know as Nadia that Jacklyn came to. Though, she seemed to recall some episode early in the morning that had woken her, something about Lilith and Shola? She glanced over to the two in question and noticed that Lilith did look a bit worse for wear. Had there been some fight in the late hours she had slept through? The very idea filled her with a strange sense of shame as she stood, plucking her cardigan off the couch's arm and slipping it on. Already the men were trickling back into the room and Jacklyn could sense the day would quickly spin back out of control. She started to sigh in resignation when she had to suddenly stifle a gasp, the raucous noise from the street scaring the life out of her. She slammed her hand over heart, pressing her jade pendant painfully into her skin as she tried to regain her composure. "That was almost as bad a shock as seeing those Fishermen," she muttered, more to herself than anyone else as she moved to the bathroom to freshen up.

By the time that Jacklyn returned to the room, Trevean had already decided to alter his form. She was shocked to find a man made entirely of water standing in the room, his fluid form shifting to give him a new appearance. She crossed the room in a daze, sitting heavily back on the couch as she watched Trevean with a mix of fascination and terror. 'Well, I guess I can safely rule out the whole 'they're just crazy' argument. Shit, maybe I'm the crazy one and they're all just figments of my imagination.' She thought dryly before pinching the skin on the back of her hand sharply. 'Yup, that hurt. Probably still crazy though.'

Events passed quickly after that and soon Jacklyn found herself in the company of Blaze and Piper. Strangely, she found herself wishing that the others were still with her. It wasn't so much that she trusted any of them yet, but Shola certainly looked like she could hander herself a lot better than a teenager and a smoker in a wrinkled suit. Not that Jacklyn thought herself anymore useful in a fight. "Try not to get lost back there Blondie," Jack called back to Blaze as she and Piper took the lead. The easy banter with Blaze made her feel better, and what she really needed today was to keep things light. If she let herself get depressed she wasn't sure she would be able to walk another step.

Truthfully, Jack wasn't prepared for all that the circus had to offer. They didn't have anything like this in her world and the assault of sounds, smells, and crowds made her wonder why any world would. As streamers and confetti blew past her in the wind, she found that she felt strangely offended by the distasteful waste of paper. 'Books at least have knowledge, but this? How do they even have trees left?' She wondered before her attention was drawn to a passing gang of clowns by Piper. She gave the brightly painted men a wide berth as she shook her head. "'Clowns' you called them? Blessedly not." She said, averting her gaze from them lest she gain their attention. "What about you? What is your home world like? Anything like this one? What is it called?" She asked in quick succession. Her curiosity burning ravenously now that her world view had widened beyond measure.


There wasn't much time for questions unfortunately, as the trio was suddenly assaulted by the appearance of a pushy fortune teller. Quickly, she turned her back on the woman and leaned in close to Piper since she seemed to be somewhat familiar with this setting. "Is she a psychic? Or is it all for show? I don't trust the dreams of Precogs." She whispered nervously, already looking like she might bolt into the crowd if the gypsy so much as sneezed. As far as Jacklyn was concerned, psychics were deadlier than a knife to the throat. Growing up in Avalyr had left her with a healthy distrust for anyone who could know her innermost thoughts or snap her neck on a mere whim.

 

[Midian]

"Oh, it's called Earth," Piper said cheerfully. "We have clowns and circuses there. The clowns are kinda freaky, but the circus is fun. I don't think we have Precogs though... Well, we have Scryers, but--"

She was interrupted by the fortuneteller and pressed closer to Jacklyn.
"Come in, all of you. Hurry!" she hissed, suddenly dropping the accent. The three squeezed into the dim, crimson-lit tent and she fastened the curtain shut.

"I saw you all when you came in. You're all glowing like fireflies and you're going to get yourselves killed here. Listen, there's stuff that's been hanging around here. Not just the tent, the whole goddamned island. It already killed a couple of guys, teachers or something out on the other islands. It got here a year ago, came in the worst storm we'd ever had. Now people are disappearing and coming back queer, like their mind ain't quite right. They start attacking people, usually end up getting shot. There's been a cloud over the Big Top all morning and can't nobody see it but me. But listen, you have to be careful. I've never seen someone like me before, let alone three, and--"

"Colleen, you've got a line waiting!" a man's voice boomed from outside and she flinched.
"Be careful, please!"

She ushered the group out and put the accent back on like an ill-fitting hat. Piper shivered and stuck her hands in her pockets.
"It's already been killing people here..."

She looked over to the Big Top tent and squinted.
"I guess we should check it out, then? I wish Shola'd come with us... Or at least Dante."

As they approached the tent they gradually became aware of the sickening smell of rotten meat. Piper tried to pass a gag off as a sneeze. Just as she was about to turn back from passing the bright yellow tent flaps a crowd came surging in, carrying them along into the tent. The smell was stronger inside, but no one except them seemed to notice. In every ring of the tent a different act was being practiced and a large portion of the back of the tent was curtained off with a heavy, wine-colored curtain. The smell seemed to be coming from behind it.
"Should... Should we go look?" Piper asked.
--------------------------------------------------------------
"Twitch...? I don't twitch," Dante replied, raising an eyebrow at her.

Then Dante did something he rarely did in his life. Dante paused to reflect.

"Oh... The tic. No, it's not 'cause I'm angry," he finished and shrugged. "It's nothing. Don't worry."

He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked up at the ferris wheel.
"So... What happened to you last night?"
-------------------------------------------------------------
Shola frowned.
"Bois... I remember that name. There was a big flap about him awhile back... I wasn't assigned to that, I don't think. It was right before we got a new guard... Come to think of it... That was your brother, wasn't it?"

She tilted her head a little and then squeezed closer to allow someone to pass by. As she drifted away again she seemed to be lost in melancholy thought.
"I didn't realize that was you," was all she said, and sounded regretful. "I didn't realize that was you."

As they moved in silence they finally passed by a food booth and Shola turned to Trevean, pointing to the caramel apples.
"Trevean... Why is she selling brown apples?" Shola whispered.

 

[Falcon]

"Yeup," Trevean laughed, "twerp joined the guard. Knowing him he probably also told anyone who asked that I was dead. Might as well have been," he sighed, "I had to run right after that-" Trevean trailed off realizing the mood had changed.

Some minutes later Trevean stopped in shock as Shola pointed at the caramel apples. Had she really never seen one before? "They're fine, Chickadee," he murmured, "just covered in candy." A sudden idea striking him he pulled his wallet from his pocket and led the way over. "I'll take an apple please," he grinned at the elderly lady running the stall, "and one of the large pretzels, the kind with the sea-salt." Handing the apple to Shola, he gave the money to the woman, received back his change, dropping some in the tip jar, and led the way back down another row of stalls.

"I've been meaning to ask," Trevean spoke swallowing a bite of his pretzel, "Why did Lilith lie to me this morning? And don't look at me like that, I've spend my whole life surrounded by liars and thieves, I know a fib when I hear one. What I mean it this - " Trevean took a bite of his pretzel, chewed it slowly as he chose his words, and then spoke. "Lilith is not what she seems. I know that. Not only was she resistant to an amount of goop that should have killed her hours before, but after being apparently accosted she looked me in the eye and said she was fine without even the slightest twitch. So what is it? is she some sort of powerful sorceress? and why try to hide it? surly her strength would be an asset to us on this venture."

 

[Kura]

"So... What happened to you last night?"

Surprised at his sudden interest, Lilith blushed and looked at the ground as she dug her toe into the dirt. The last thing she wanted was for Dante to know that she had allowed the group to believe that she had been attacked, even if Shola was the one to assume so. She frowned and looked up to the ferris wheel as well, speaking softly. "Nothing that I can't handle myself." She looked at him, still frowining, and repeated his answer from earlier in an obvious sarcastic tone. "It's nothing. Don't worry."

Without another word, she grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the ride. She smiled at the operator and held up two fingers, and he quickly stopped the wheel to allow them on. She sat in the seat, holding up the bar and looking up at Dante.

"Come on. It'll be a good way to learn the layout and figure out what we're dealing with here."

 

[Midian]

Dante let the question go, but automatically resisted her tug. If she didn't want to talk about it the last thing he wanted to do was force it. However, he hated being grabbed and shook loose of her hand with a low grunt.
"Don't do that," he muttered and followed her onto the ferris wheel. As the huge piece of machinery lurched to life he grabbed the waist bar and looked over the side. As they rose higher and higher he seemed to relax, looking around to get an idea of the fair's layout.
"Huh, there's Long-Ears, look. She looks absolutely miserable with Actually Water Guy. Heh."

 

[Kura]

Lilith looked over to Shola. They were both eating, and also seemed to be holding hands. She sighed and leaned on the side rail, resting her chin in her hand. "Yeah. Miserable. I know the feeling. At least Trevean talks."

As her attention strayed off to the side, Lilith noticed something. The carnival had been full of lights and sounds, but there was an obvious dark spot across the park from them. From what she could see, it didn't seem to be part of the carnival, but hidden behind a large tent advertising a haunted house. She suddenly had an eerie feeling that it wasn't just ploy to get visitors. As the wheel made it's round and they began to rise again, Lilith nudged Dante and pointed.

"Dante. Look."

 

[Midian]

"Fuck that shit," Dante replied evenly, squinting across the way at the house. "We are NOT going alone. Maybe not even with Sholes..."

He sighed. They'd definitely be going, most likely with Shola. And Actually Water Dude. Dante rolled his eyes.
"And I do talk to you, don't I? I'm certainly not fucking telepathic. What the fuck do you want to talk to me for, anyway?" he groused, leaning over to get a better look at Shola and Trevean.

Suddenly the ferris wheel shuddered to a halt and Dante almost went over the guardrail.
"What the fuck?"