The Dark Carnival

[Azazel]

Sign-Up Thread: https://www.iwakuroleplay.com/threads/the-dark-carnival-sign-up.103877/#post-2092305

A groan pours from your lips as your eyes slid open. The first thing you see is the blurry image of a blonde man standing in front of you. He appears to be wearing a red flowing coat and looking at you with a wide grin. You attempt to get up only to take note that you're chained to the wall. Glancing up once more, you realize the man is laughing. "Welcome to my world, pet." He says as he takes a step closer to you.


"Your...world..?" You manage to moan pitifully causing the red-clad man to laugh harder.


"Yes, you silly goose. My world." He says as he motions to the cell that you're currently in. Absently, you take not that there are other people chained to the walls... deformed people... "I have brought you here and... fixed you." He chuckles. "...and you will perform in my circus." You open your mouth to object, but he notices this and cuts you off. "If you refuse... Well then, you will simply end up like the others.." He says with a sense of grim satisfaction before turning on his heel and leaving the room.


What others..? You wonder to yourself. You can't help but try to imagine how many others there are... or were. You try to take a moment to process things. You were taken from your home and brought to this.. this circus only to be changed into... you don't know what. "It's best just to listen to Master..." A small voice says from across the room.
You glance up to see the voice came from a rather small girl that is also chained to the wall. You instantly note that she has black wings and blood soaked bandages covering her eyes. You think she's looking at you, but you can't be quite sure. "It you don't... well.." She paused, raising a pale hand to pitifully motion to her eyes. "Our only hope is to escape..." She said softly, a look of what could only be described as determination crossing her face.


Escape... You glance around at the others as they nod in agreement. You suppose it sounds like a good idea. First, however, you have more important things to worry about. Such as things like what that monster of a ringmaster did to you. Steeling yourself for the worst, you glance down to see what you've become...

 

[Phi Chisym]

Everything was shrouded in dark coldness, a hardened gloom not produced by nightfall. Confusion set itself quickly. Just moments before, she faintly remembered the visions of sun-drenched waves upon waves alighting her eyes, brushing a lighthearted smile upon her face. Now, she was drowning in a void of benumbed puzzlement after awakening to this horrid revelation of her abduction. All she can recall was hanging out at the beach with her friends... and Marcello... Yea, he invited her and her friends over that day to explore a new cave he'd found and just picnic and swim the day away.

I can't believe this is happening! I've got to wake up from this dream...

She recalled going into the cave with Marcello, giggling and teasing, but then they got separated from the group the further they moved in. She wasn't scared though, because Marcello had marked his original path, but somehow even he said that a few arrows were changed. Someone had moved his markers... Then, bats! Ooooo, she so hates bats! They flew from out of nowhere, scaring the living crap out of them, and before she realized it, Marietta had stepped into darkness with no light and sound, no bats, and no Marcello. She wandered in total pitch darkness, until something touched her, scaring her to no end, and placing a voice and a vision to her new nightmare.

"You've mine, Puppet!" The laughter that followed carried her into a fearful slumber. And now, she's waking up to see just what that voice meant by being a 'Puppet'.

Marietta's form shifted lazily under a dusty burlap tarp tucked around her. She moaned briefly as she struggled to resurface her foggy mind out of the drug-like state she was in. Collecting her weakened mind in the palm of her dusty hand, she tried to reach her face but could barely move them. That's when the cold steel of the shackles registered on her pale skin. She was sitting in a pile on the dusty ground, but her arms were chained out to her sides, securing her in place. With a slightly whimper, she maintained her position while her equilibrium continued to whirl; looking around at all the other to see them in the same predicament.

They were all - different, all tainted by some oddity that made them seem more like a novelty freek show at a twisted carnival than human beings. He did say he...fixed us! Panic-stricken more than she already was, Marietta sat up at tall as her sore body would allow and shook the burlap off of her.

Her feet were dressed in a delicate pair of black ballet pointes, laced up her red and white tights up her legs with big black silk ribbons. She gasped when she noticed the blood stains on the white tights, and now her knees looked as if they were taken apart and replaced with...doll joints? The stitches were still freshly knotted around them, and they were slightly swollen. Twisting her ankles slightly, feeling pain shoot up from them, she figured they were repaired as well with this sort of doll joint construction. That's when the tears began to fall...

After assessing herself the best way she could, Marietta found all her newly hacked out doll joints, which explained why she felt so light-headed still after being a wake for almost an hour. She was wearing a harlequin-like ballerina tutu-tuu, with extremely long black ponytails on the side of her head. She wasn't sure how her face looked, for there wasn't a reflective surface around for her to check...or get to for that matter, but she knew she wasn't the same girl anymore... This monster, whoever he was, Ringmaster... He did bad things to them all!

Leaning back against the wall she was teetered to, Marietta tried her best to calm her tears, not wishing to look weak or vulnerable before the Ringmaster. This is a time to be strong before danger, to look it in the face and give it a good right hook. Unfortunately, that wasn't what she was fighting for now. Keeping her calm the best way she could, Marietta took deep, smooth breaths - attempting to not have an asthmatic attack. There's no way her abductor knows about her health issues, or where her meds were located... This wasn't the time to panic!

Looking closer at her swollen wrist and ankles, she noticed a strange string coming from them... They were literally going through her skin. There was one at the top of her knees and elbows too... It didn't take long to put two and two together...

"I'm...a...puppet? A...marionette!" What a horrible, horrible pun to her name.... She gasped, feeling the tension in her body boil over with an exuberant amount of anger, hate, fear, and sadness. How in the hell is she going to get out of this? She's some sort of puppet - who was her puppet master? The other people were talking about escape - that girl with the black wings who lost her eyes... she bought it all up. But how? How can they when that madman turned them into...creatures?

 

[Ayla]

Payton moaned and through the haze realize she was not in her bed. Where was her mommy? Her daddy? Ouchie, her body was hurting badly. Why was she hurting so badly? She sniffled.

Lifting her head, she realized the reality of the pain actually throbbing on her feet, her head, and her tailbone. With a whimper, Payton shifted and opened her eyes to a dim light. There were bars everywhere with lumpy shapes on the same side as her. People? People!

She went to move but found her mobility limited. Around her neck was a fastened collar with a leash clinging to the slimy wall behind her. The floor was cold. Why was she here? Did her daddy put her here? Her mommy?

Looking down at her feet, she whimpered in horror. Instead of her little feet with her little toes, a pair of cutesty paws rest. Or, they would be cute if they hadnt replaced her feet. Her ankes were bloody, but no sign of stitches were in place. Her head hurt. Ouchie. Reaching up with her hand, she felt that her ears were... Gone? Oh no, her ears! In a panic she felt all over her head, which was sticky with something, and little pointed ears stuck out from her head. She was a kitty! Or... Something? She didnt remember mommy dressing her up like this. Where was mommy?

Tears flooded her eyes as she blinked. The room was so dim, she couldnt make out the other shapes lying here. It smelled stinky in here. Why was it so smelly? The floor was sticky with something dark, too. There was a shadow behind the bars, but it was gone without a word. Was that her mommy? She missed her mommy.

The ears atop her head swiveled, and it hurt. Payton cried out and scratched them, but it only made them hurt more. Ouchie! She wanted the pain to go away. She wanted to chicken nuggets her mommy and daddy promised her. She was hungry. She wanted food.

Payton moved to sit on her butt and cried out softly. From where her butt is, a little tail sprouted from the top. It was adorable, but it made her butt hurt. She went to pull it off. She didnt like tails, they always got in the way when she tried to wear them, but bit her lip when pain rippled up her spine. Tears fell as she recoiled. The tail moved as if it was upset. No. She moved the tail. What was going on? Mommy and daddy would never do this to Payton. She wanted to go home.

 

[Azazel]

Aveline leaned carefully against the cold wall. Her wings had long since healed, enough for her to fly through the tent upon the Ringmaster's command. However, she still was not used to feeling them behind her, so they still gave the occasional uncomfortable twitch in response. Even in the darkness, the black feather gleamed eerily as she moved about. Her head tilted slightly with each new sound, trying to pinpoint the locations of everyone in their prison. There had been a performance the previous night so she knew from the routine that there had to be at least some new comers... He always made sure of that. With each new town they visited, he would be sure to bring in a new act or two.

She had been one of his first creations, hence why she was so simple... yet so flawed at the same time. If she were to truly admit it, she had been the cause of these drastic measures to keep them confined. It had all started when she attempted to soar from the tent on broken and bloody wings. He had caught her with that damn whip of his, of course. She had sworn the thing had been magic, and she had been right. He later enchanted the tent so none of his 'pets' could leave during a performance. It was the second incident where she tried to leave by cover of night that had lost her eyes.

Silently, she waited to hear that everyone was accounted for and had finished their moments of shock and despair before she would explain the true depths of their situation to them.

 

[MiraiNikki021209]

Ever woke up lying against the floor. She let our a groan, but was in too much pain to move. Unlike a few of the others, she had been here for a while. And even though it wasn't the best, her own desperate and messed up mind made this place her safe haven. Her face paint and make up from the previous night was smeared and all over her face. Her face was filled with new burned in symbols across the back of her shoulders. She didn't dare get up, but she turned her head to gaze put the black bars of her cage.

The ring leader usually had more trust in her and left her out, but last night she had misbehaved and was put in her cage. She had to use her dark magic to perform a complex task for him but had failed miserably. In her opinion she deserved the new burn marks as a punishment.

As her eyes scanned the area she had spotted Aveline. She watched the winged girl for a moment before growing bored and looking away. She soon laid eyes on another young girl, bloody with what appeared to be paws and ears on her. Interesting, but she soon list interest again. Letting out a small groan, she turned her head away so it faced the wall once again.

 

[Ayla]

Payton had started crying. The leash around her neck was giving her an ouchie and she wanted it to stop. She tugged at the leather cord, trying to pull it from its home on the wall. She whined as it didnt give, not even a little.

Giving up, she tucked her knees to her chest and cried into her knobby legs. The paws on her feet felt unnatural, strange. The ears pointing up from her head moved like natural wolf ears, except whenever they moved at the slighest noise, it sent ripping pain down her scalp. Her tail swayed of its own accord, shifting the bones painfully in her back. She whined again.

"M-Mommy...? D-Daddy? I want to go home..."


Payton's voice was nothing above a whisper, she doubt the lumpy shapes in the room with her could hear her, but some part of her wished atleast one of them would hear it. She was hungry, and thirsty, and wanted a bubble bath with pink bubbles and a rubber ducky toy. She wanted her bed and wanted to sleep.

 

[Phi Chisym]

Marietta lifted her head as high as she could and searched to find the person the little voice seem to come from. Much to her shock, in the dreary, dimly lit room was what look to be a little girl. She was whimpering, huddled in a little ball only one person down from her on the same wall. Marietta gasped and leaned over towards the cries, toppling over onto her sore shoulder with a hard thud. She can barely move her arms on her own and misjudged how quickly she actually needed to move them in order to catch herself before she fell.

"Aauuuucchh!" She cried out, biting her lip hard in order to ignore one pain for another. She shifted herself well enough to return to a sitting position against the wall. Looking again, this time she could see two furry ears coming from the girl's head. Completely taken back and the idea that this sweet child had been... Marietta gagged, hating the thoughts of what she's gone through, but she took a deep breath and tried to focus.

"Hey? Don't cry...," her voice was so warm and comforting even in the state she was in. Marietta had learned throughout her studies in meditation how to calm her mind and body, and portray such serenity within her voice to help others do the same. It was the only way she could help.

"What's your name?" She asked, hoping to help the girl think of something else other than the hell they were in. "I'm Marietta...," she smiled; her normally bright blue eyes were dull and barely alive, but it was clear that her cheerfulness is genuine. She felt the need to help the little girl feel better the best way she knew how. "...I'm from Tuscany...in Italy. Do you know where Italy is?"

 

[DANAsaur]

Morticia walked in the room, her long silver hair swaying as she did so. She looked over Aveline who was leaning against the cold wall and winced at the sight of her wings. Her body slightly trembled as memories suddenly flashed before her eyes, making her a bit dizzy and disoriented. She can clearly remember the first time she got here.

She was normal, just like everyone else around her town. She used to have smooth pale skin and a sane mind but now, scars cover up her body and she's a tad insane. She was once a daughter of a mortician and her fascination to the dead lead her to the circus. The ring master took quite an interest at her, kidnapped her and trained her how to walk the tightrope and do the flying trapeze act. She remembered that everytime she refused, a whiplash will make contact in her skin, hence, the scars and stitch marks she now had. He would also lock her in a coffin and bury her alive whenever she tried to escape. Darkness and shallow breathing was her only companion, her sanity slowly slipping away from her.

A cry from the prison cell made her snap back to reality, blinking her glowing bright green eyes. She then scooted over Aveline and smiled "Aveline, the ring master wants to know if they're ready." she said in such sweet voice. "By the way, how's your uhm....wings?" she asked, a bit awkwardly.

 

[Ayla]

Payton could feel the hot tears fall down her cheeks. She was hurting all over and wanted to go home. She wanted to wake up. She didnt want these paws, ears, or tail. She didnt want to be here.

Payton jumped, her tail fluffing out to resemble a bottle-brush. She squeaked and her ears flattened refexively, which made her wince. Ouchie. She rubbed her fists against her eyes as she listened to the voice that startled her. It was sweet, and made her feel a little bit more calm.

"I-I want to go home... I miss my mommy and my daddy, do you know where they are? They must be scared, like me... You're from Too-Skin-Knee? That sounds like it hurts. Where are your mommy and daddy?"

 

[Phi Chisym]

Marietta's eyes skimmed over with tears as the girl's tiny voice began to cut through their fears. But it was when she tried to say Tuscany that had Marietta giggling out loud with a soft joy rarely found in such damp places. Her calculations misjudged the girl; she sounded far younger than she figured.

Changing her methods to keep the girl calm, Marietta answered her, "i don't know where either... But I know our parents are looking for us. Don't worry, okay... Until then, we need to stay calm and help each other. Okay... Um... I wonder who an I talking to? I know such a cute voice has an equally cute name..."

 

[Ayla]

"M-My name is Payton... I'm seven years old.."
She held what she thought was seven, but it was too dim for anybody to see. She sighed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. She wanted food, and she was hungry.

The person she was talking to sounded older, but very sweet. She wished she could see the girl, but her words made her heart lift. Maybe she would see her mommy and daddy again. Payton wanted these ears gone, they made her head hurt. She wanted her chicken nuggets and chocolate milk.

Her tail smoothed down and settled on the ground. Her eyes were beginning to droop, but she needed to stay awake in case her mommy found her. Tucking her legs under her, she curled up in the ground not unlike a cat. She tried to pinpoint where the girl was speaking from, but there were so many odd lumps that she couldnt decipher where the voice was coming from.

 

[LalaTokyo]

Juuzou red eyes started to flicker open, showing only the whites for a moment before they enlarged and opened fully. His haunting eyes shifted across the room, the scent of dry blood and sweat fulling his nostrils, it almost felt as if that smell became his second home, but not a sweet home, a terrible terrible home. Juuzou shifted his eyes once again, seeing all the other members of this crazy carnival as he was used to but, it seemed they had a new comer. Juuzou didn't know what to feel, to feel excited or sad that someone else who have to deal with this pain also but, what did he know about pain. His whole act was to just enjoy or not feel any sort of pain, he would stick sharp needles into his body, have people staple money to his small chest, any sort of thing that would bring any sane one pain but, it did nothing to him except make life a little more pleasurable. Juuzou shook his head and giggled, thinking it sounded normal in his mind but, really it sounded quite creepy and insane to everyone else. "Everyone wakey~?" He teases, pulling on the rusted chains that held him to the concrete wall.

 

[Azazel]

Aveline shifted slightly at the sound of foot steps, recognizing who it was before she even had a chance to speak. Being blind enhanced her other senses. "Greetings, Morticia." She chimed, offering a half-smile. "From the sounds of things, I doubt they're ready... The one sounds so young..." She trailed off for a moment, her expression sad. She washed there was something she could do to help.

"My wings are the same as usual. Uncomfortable, but I'll live. If anything my eyes are bothering me today. I feel wetness. I believe they're bleeding again." She sighed, raising a pale hand to touch the bloodied bandages.

After that statement, she went quiet again. Well, until she heard Juuzou speak. "Good morning, Juuzou. I do believe everyone is up, unless there are more new comers that I'm not hearing yet..."

 

[Ayla]

Payton
​

Payton stifled as sob as voices started to ring around her, but yet she couldnt see them. Tears fell down her cheeks in steady rivers. She wanted to go home, to see her mommy. She wanted her body to stop hurting. Why was she here? Mommy wouldnt put her here, her mommy wouldnt want her to be in pain, so why was this happening?

She whined and tugged at the rope around her neck. It burned and itched, and the longer it stayed the more confined she felt. She let out a sob when it wouldnt even budge, once more making her give up and slump against the wall. Her butt hurt, her head hurt, and most of all her feet hurt.

She made one last effort, straining her voice to sound calm despite the tears running down her face.
"C-Can I go home now...? It hurts so much... I want to see my mommy again..."

 

[Phi Chisym]

"M-My name is Payton... I'm seven years old.."

In the darkness, the little Marionette smiled, "I knew it; that is a pretty name..."

"Everyone wakey~?"

Marietta flinched at the eery voice and the chains that suddenly broke the silent atmosphere. It sickened her, the sound of the voice giggling as if this was an amusing wake-up call. It caused her flesh to crawl, which only awakened more pain and force a angry hiss to pass her lips.

"Good morning, Juuzou. I do believe everyone is up, unless there are more new comers that I'm not hearing yet..." A new voice responded to the other, but this one was softer, weaker but nice and sweet.

"C-Can I go home now...? It hurts so much... I want to see my mommy again..." Payton's tiny voice cried out once more, begging for something Marietta felt was utterly impossible at the moment. She wanted to comfort the port child, but wasn't sure just how to go about that if her voice did no good.

Instead, Marietta listened further to the new voices until she couldn't take it anymore. "Who are you?" she asked the few who were conversation in the dark as if this was just another day at the office. "What is this place? Where are we? You're...you're too comfortable about all of this... Why haven't you stop this...Ringmaster...from harming others?" Her voice was tense and growing demanding the more she spoke. She wanted answers, and since these few people spoke as if they were good friends, it meant they've been here longer. They must know why they've there, why they've been...altered...


******


In the well lit office lost in the maze of buildings on the forsaken grounds of the old carnival grounds, Meric stood before a lit TV monitor watching and listening to the commotion from the containment building. The Newcomers were waking up, non too happy of course, while their unrulier veterans were attempting to explain their new lives. Meric could only watch with indifference. He can barely recall the first day he woke up to find the ghostly chain embedded within his flesh, how it glowed in the darkness in the same gruesome color as his dried blood that surrounded its entry. He knows how scared they were in there, especially the little girl who continued to cry out about her physical and emotional pains. Deep down in the back of his mind, something wanted to move him forward, to rush out to the containment building and stop their pleas for salvation with his hugs and tears; breaking their chains to set them free. But then there was that chain...that evil connection that twisted those heartfelt concerns and urgent wants into a desire to end such irritating whining with a little slight of hand; sever their vocal cords with just a snap of his fingers or zip their mouths shut by kindly borrowing a lady's opened handbag.

Again, confused and baffled by how easily he wished to harm them within the same thought of saving them, Meric sighed and tried to contain the darker emotion before turning on his heels towards the man who sat at his desk behind him.

"Shall I go prepare them for practice, Sir?" He quietly waited for The Ringmaster to respond, waiting to see if he cared enough about this group to allow them to wash up and learn their roles before the big event in a few days. There was so much to prepare...their new costumes were barely completed, and the need to train them for their acts was vital. But mostly, it was crucial that they quickly learn their places under the Big Top, their task as carnival performers, for there's no way they can maintain their new homes here if they do not work for it - keep the public entertained and the place spotless and inviting. The Ringmaster runs a tight shift here, and Meric insures it stays that way. "Looks as if Morticia and Aveline are attempting to wake them, but I feel they might need more help. This group seems a bit...defiant... They might pose a problem for you, Sir."

The dark jacket he wore covered his bare back...the spikes were rather tender today after his accident three weeks ago. Falling on them is just not pleasant at all, but in the attempt to stop a former Newcomer from escaping over the fence that surrounds the land deep within the forest, Meric had fallen 4 ft onto his back. The Newcomer had lost his life - shot down quickly by The Marksman, and fell as Meric was still holding onto him. He suffered a few broken ribs and bruising, but The Ringmaster fixed him up quickly. All that kept him slow and uncomfortable now was his damned spikes that ran up his spine.

@Beautiful Stranger

 

[Ritual Lobotomy]

Orianna & Tennen James
​

The back of Orianna's head was pulsing violently as she groaned and lifted her arm to press her forehead. It seemed that would prevent her head from exploding. It was even better that her hand was surprisingly cold and...heavy? Her cold blue eyes opened slowly and it lasted so long that Orianna was convinced they were glued shut. "What the hell..." Her vision cleared more and her ears finally caught the sound of a conversation around her. Surroundings seemed highly hostile and unsanitary. She could have sworn she had seen the cockroach that was the size of the average mouse...or that was an actual mouse? She couldn't tell. Leaning on her side, she got up slowly and sat, waiting for a wave of dizziness to pass and her eyes fully focus once again. She could tell that, for some reason, she was tossed to the back of the room or whatever that place was, soaking in the horrified voices of other people in the room even before she figured what is going on.

Then it hit her. All she was doing was getting some ice-cream. Was that ever even a crime? If it was, then she knew exactly someone who deserved that kind of treatment more. She gasped realizing. "Huh...Ten...Tennen? Oi! You alive, you jackass?" The truth was, she never even noticed him. "Why must you always yell at me?" Mumbling voice replied, lacking any bother to speak up. Orianna sighed in relief. "Good to know you aren't dead somewhere." Tennen chuckled lightly before sitting up in his corner. "Love you too, little sister." Orianna snorted and proceeded to crawl towards him. "Oh cut the crap, will you? What I want to know is what the hell is going on h...ugh!" Something pulled her arms back beneath her and she ended up chin first on the ground in the most embarrassing position she could imagine. She swore out loud and rolled on her back, lifting her head angrily. The shackles around her wrist just cut deep enough in her skin for it to sting. Wave of panic struck her. She rarely panicked and annoyed her more than the situation itself. "Oh wow..." She heard her brother and looked at him upside down, still laying on the floor. "WHAT?" She just then noticed that her brother went even worse with chains wrapping all over his body.

Tennen pointed at the scalp of his head and pointed at her in wonder. "Horny." Orianna blushed. "Are you stupid?!" Tennen rubbed the bridge of his nose and groaned. "NOT what I was implying..." The shock and wonder took place in his voice again as he glared at Orianna, not really sure how to say what he for sure had to say. "What I meant to say is that you... eh... you have... horns?" Orianna growled and sat up, turning to face him once she untangled the bundle of chains wrapping her legs and arms. "What the hell does that suppose to mean?" Then again, her head DID seem heavier than usual. She reached up and landed her hands on something rough, cool and large.

*** (after few mins of awkward silence) ***

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?!" Tennen tried to keep her calm, but that chance was lost as soon as she realized that she had a pair of large black horns stuck on her forehead. "Getthemoffgetthemoff!" Her brother rolled his eyes and sat comfortably against the wall, taking all that surprisingly calm as he usually did. "Wish I could." He frowned. "It is stuck. Just like this thing." He knocked on the right side of his chests and they let out a sound of knocking on the metal. Orianna, narrowed her eyes at the actual steel plate, shining from her brother's chests like a piece of armor. Only difference was that you would be able to remove the armor. Orianna hissed once more when she felt the sharp pain after trying to tear her horns off. She sighed defeated and growled partially angry for not being in control of the situation and partially because she was...afraid? "Hey." She lifted her head and looked at her brother. "Don't cry." Her eyes widened. Was she really crying? She never cried! "Wh...no!" She rubbed her eyes. "I am not crying. My eyes were just dry." Tennen chuckled. "Mhm, sure thing sis. Sure thing..." Orianna nodded. Sometimes she really wished she was as calm as he was. He simply sat there, listening to the conversation people in the room were having. She could tell he was debating what to do without wanting to worry her.

"Good morning, Juuzou. I do believe everyone is up, unless there are more new comers that I'm not hearing yet..." The voice and the sentence both got her attention and she turned forward. It sounded so comforting and so disturbing at the same time. She felt chills down her spine and it wasn't only because her clothes were filthy and torn. Instead of replying with a snarky comment, she looked at her brother, puzzled. Not only she couldn't come up with any kind of comment, but she was also curious as hell what the hell was Tennen doing, so deep in thought. After a while she thought how she would come up with some kind of a genius plan to get them out of there. He would be her big brother, her hero, her... "Nope! We're good! You go ahead we'll catch up!" Orianna's face flushed and she landed forward, colliding her horns several times against the ground. Tennen scratched his head. "You ok sis?" Instead of reply, Orianna kept swearing under her breath. "Moron, idiot, stupid..." Tennen chuckled and repeated. "Love you too sis, love you too." The truth was, he was worried, but he would never let her know it. Staying there in the dark corner would do them no good. Someone would remember they are missing anyway. Someone who brought them there in a first place.

​

 

[Azazel]

The ringmaster paced back and forth within his tent, unsure whether he was pleased or dissatisfied. It normally brought him immense joy to add to his marvelous collection. However the consistent whining was grating on his nerves. Why had he grabbed a child again? Oh well, she would just have to learn her place like the others because whining was one thing he would not deal with. "I believe I shall be a benevolent host." He said, turning sharply on his heel and facing Meric. "Unchain them and give them access to the showers to clean up. However, bolt and lock the doors once you enter...." He trailed off for a moment before speaking once more. "And don't let Aveline out of your sight. I noticed she was canvasing the grounds during last nights performance. I don't want her getting any ideas. Once they are clean, I'll meet all of you in the big top for practice."

~~~~

Aveline remained quiet as she heard two more voices begin to speak. These two were acquainted. They were lucky. Most who were brought to the circus had to start over, knowing no one. She was unsure exactly what to do at the moment. She could hear the voice of the child... Payton, carrying on and she couldn't help but to feel bad for the little girl. However, she knew it was out of her hands. It always was. At least until she found a weak point. Then she could free them all. At least, she hoped.

Hearing another voice, this one questioning, Aveline spoke up in her melodic voice once more. "You are now stars of the Dark Carnival." She said, almost as if it were the most simple thing in the world. "The Ringmaster has brought you here and made you into one of his acts..." At her next words, she gave a broken laugh. "Comfortable? Do you think we wish to be here? We are prisoners just as much as you...."

 

[Ayla]

[fieldbox=Payton Lynch, white, solid]

​

Payton heard more voices, and it made her heart hurt. Everything sounded sharper, more clear, but the noises were grating against the eardrums of her new ears. She could smell everything more clear, too, and it made her nose shrivel up. Why couldnt she just go home? She didnt belong here. The last thing she remembered was her mommy putting her to bed, so this must be a bad dream. It had to be.

Her long, white hair felt sticky and matted with dirt... Or blood. She hoped it wasnt blood. Payton just wanted to go home and see her family again. More tears burned her eyes when she heard a voice tell her that she was something called a Dark Carnival. That was wrong. She was dreaming, at her house in bed, and would wake to her daddy making bacon and eggs and her mommy drinking coffee at the breakfast table.

The two other people were still arguing, and it made her head hurt even more. What did they want with a 7 year old girl? What did she ever do? She wanted to go home. Didnt want to be here.

Payton sniffed and hugged her knees to her chest, burying her face in the crook where her two thighs met, wiggling her new toes covered in fur, waiting to wake up from this horrible, painful nightmare.

[/fieldbox]

 

[Hana]

Elspeth | The Snake Mistress + 'Basilisk'
​

"And that is why it would serve you well to merely listen," after Aveline's hollow statement in reply to Marietta came a silky, feminine voice. It was the sort of voice perfect for whispering honeyed lies into willing ears, calm and almost... Easygoing. There was a clink-clink sound as someone walked into the room, the newcomer's features coming into light. Smooth teal blue hair was simply let down, long and unhindered, down her waist. A collar was cinched snugly around a slender neck, a chain coming from it and hanging in front of the female's dress. There was an iron mask around the upper portion of her face, hiding her eyes and the sides of her head from view. "It was never anyone's choice to become a circus freak, yes?"​

Pink lips curled in a dainty little smile as the woman tilted her head, looking in Payton's direction even as 'blind' as she was. "But no matter..." The smile faded as she let out a faint sigh. "I am Elspeth, and a fellow creation of the Ringmaster. Now, I will not lie to you and say that your life here will be easy." She shrugged, turning her head to Marietta's direction. "But if you resist more, you will find that the Ringmaster will simply put you in your place," her voice grew slightly darker at the last part.

These newcomers seemed a bit more defiant than their usual ones, but that was of no consequence to Elspeth. She had long resigned herself to becoming a permanent creation and circus attraction here. Her voice was feminine and melodic, she had been a pretty, if not gullible young woman before she had been taken by the headmaster. He had been entranced with the idea of a songmaiden and snake charmer for his circus... And when she had woken up, she had been permanently changed. Elspeth preferred not to think of how her eyes, once a similar shade of teal to her hair, had changed into a snakelike, faintly glowing gold. And she didn't think of how the pale snake scales had been grafted to parts of her body, along the edges of her eyes.

She had also been one of the older creations, though Aveline had been the first. Elspeth could remember the times she had been called in to use her voice to tame or calm down the newcomers and people who tried to escape. It was a sweeter way to capture them instead of the usual methods of pain that the Ringmaster used, but those usually followed after the capture. A slight hiss from behind her made her smile once again.

A deep black snake, large enough and thicker than most people's arms, slithered up towards her. "Noir," she breathed, and held out her hand. The snake slithered up her arm and settled itself around her shoulders, a familiar and comforting weight making itself known. "Mistress, are these the newcomers? That girl with the wolf ears looks tasty," the snake's poison-green eyes stared at Payton, a hissing noise coming from him. Because Noir was male.

"No, the Ringmaster does not want to inflict pain on them yet," Elspeth hissed back softly, her language now unrecognizable to the people in the room. She patted Noir's head gently, caressing it much like one would do to a beloved friend.

 

[Phi Chisym]

Meric

"I believe I shall be a benevolent host." The Ringmaster spoke, turning sharply towards Meric with his typical amused expression. "Unchain them and give them access to the showers to clean up. However, bolt and lock the doors once you enter...."

Meric's brow raised. Something crossed his mind from the Ringmaster - hidden, of course, but clearly potent enough to cause his master's emotions to cross over to him so swiftly. He stood quietly and tried to focus on that one thought, hoping to slit an opening into it so he could clearly see what the crazy man was pondering. Before he gained any sort of progress, The Ringmaster' broke from his train of thought and continued to speak; jerking Meric from his concentration.

"And don't let Aveline out of your sight. I noticed she was canvassing the grounds during last night's performance. I don't want her getting any ideas. Once they are clean, I'll meet all of you in the big top for practice."

Meric slightly bowed, "Yes, Master." Turning away, he headed out of the office tent and quietly headed across the dark and desolate carnival grounds towards the containment building.

Marietta

"Who are you?" Marietta questioned, not gaining a response instantly. "What is this place? Where are we?"

"You are now stars of the Dark Carnival," the voice from across the room announced so nonchalantly. "The Ringmaster has brought you here and made you into one of his acts..." The girl's voice sounded so content, as if lacking any empathy or concern for everyone else and herself... It was as if she'd lost all hope to fight, or lacked the will to care anymore.

"You're...you're too comfortable about all of this..." Marietta continued in spite of her discomforts speaking to a faceless shadow, but she wanted to understand why this girl was so - content... "Why haven't you stop this...Ringmaster...from harming others?"

The serene voice broken into a hideous laugh that sent chills down Marietta's wooden spine. "Comfortable? Do you think we wish to be here? We are prisoners just as much as you...."

Marietta gasped loudly.

"And that is why it would serve you well to merely listen. It was never anyone's choice to become a circus freak, yes?"

Jumping at the new voice entering the room, the living doll sat frozen as she listened to the sounds of high heels tapping a cadence on the cold, hardwood flooring. Watching the woman step into the light, showing the alterations this Ring Master had done to her, the snake-like woman seemed just as content as the other sounded - but it was clear, once she entered the light, that there was a deep anger hidden away for a rainy day. Marietta had these few all wrong; she dropped her eyes.

As the snake woman, Elspeth, explained a few things to them, Marietta wanted to ask more questions about this Ringmaster, but a dark black snake wrapped around the young woman's arm, causing Marietta to gasp and bite her tongue. This was a nightmare, one she had no idea if survival was an option or not.

The sound of a heavy bolt slipping into a iron lock broke the serpent's conversation. "Now, now, you two; you're scaring the little ones with all those hissing words." Meric's creamy voice entered before him. "They need time to get use to things, all things."

With a flick of his wrist, the room filled with a bright light, stinging worn out eyes that have been in dark isolation for days. Smirking, he stepped forward, kicking back the tail of his black trench coat in order to tuck his right hand into the pocket of his slacks. Meric stepped to Elspeth's side and nodded to her and Noir respectfully, still with that charming little knowing smirk.

Glancing over the glowing frightened eyes in the room, Meric cleared his voice with a light chuckle, "I'm Meric, your friendly neighborhood manager...for the moment. And it's bath time." Stepping towards Morticia, Meric beamed a sweet smile, taking her hand gently to give it a peck on the knuckles before returning his attention to the entire room.

"The Ringmaster wishes for all newcomers to be washed, dressed, and in the Big Top for their first day on the job." Moving away from Morticia with an almost tiresome; yet, determined stride, Meric slowly stepped towards Aveline, pausing for a second to give her a silent frown of worry. He hated seeing her so broken - their last chance at a possible breakout was yanked out from under them at the lost of her sight...but there is still hope yet.

"You guys have parts to learn," Meric flipped back around to give each newcomer his eyes. "- only a few days left before your big debut. I'm in charge of making sure...you learn everything. It's no good to disappoint The Ringmaster, so please don't mess up." It was punishment enough to be in the sort of prison he was within, but to be punished for the things the Newcomers tend to attempt was far worse.

Clapping his hands, the chains that held the few in place fell from them. Like always, Meric had locked the doors, and with the Veterans of the show there, he knew there was no way these newcomers could possibly escape. "Elspeth, could you kindly manage the young one over there. Morticia, help the young ladies for me please. I'll work with the men in our new family, and Juuzou...." he turned to the only Veteran member who was quite fond of being tied up from time to time. "Don't scare them anymore than they already are. No torture until the performance."

Heading towards a set of plastic double doors, Meric opened them and flipped a light switch. There was a long hallway that lead to another tent, and inside it was split into two rooms. One side was a dressing room for the men and the other for the women. There were cubbies for clothes, tons of costumes hanging around the small tent, places to sit to dress and do make-up, and an area for a nice size restroom with showers. Everything was locked up tight in the small room, and Meric and the other Veterans were the only ones capable of opening anything inside.

"Chop, chop! No time to waste! The Ringmaster doesn't prefer to wait on us. We're the ones who are to wait on him."