Lost Little Stray...(private)

[Anonymous]

"Oh, anything is fine, I guess," Mystery said with a balmy smile as she picked herself up (she was long desensitized to bad tempers, thanks to The Dark Circus), seeming less then unnerved by all the talk of killing. She may have been young, but she was also a vampire, after all. She followed close to Fiona's side, keeping watch for any of the strange phenomena that seemed to follow the poor girl around. She wondered if those other fools would come back, but wasn't to worried about it. Humans were easy prey after all. She wasn't very fond of killing for no reason, but attacking them would give plenty reason for some retaliation. She could kill a whole group of them in a matter of seconds with the one magical ability she has gotten from her mother: Pestilence.  

Mystery smiled greatfully for the coat, wrapping it around her small bare shoulders. It felt nice to have a little shelter from the cold. Mystery then hurried to follow Fiona, eagar to get something to eat. Her long elfish ears twitched into the silence, searching for sounds of something to eat. The barn was dark but with her vampire eyes, Mystery could see perfectly. "What are *you* going to eat?" she whispered in concern, remembering something she had read in a book once, 'humans need to eat three times a day' or something of the such.

[Anonymous]

It irritated Fiona slightly that the girl sounded worried for her. She flicked her hand at the girl to silence her. She found what she was looking for: a small piglet. She held it up in front of her, the little thing squealed and pissed on her. She swore and used her free hand to wipe most of the warm liquid off, it smelt foul but Fiona used to bathe with male Idiots. She was well used to fould smells. 'See this pig, you are going to drink its blood and I'm going to roast it.'

She moved off quickly, kicking snow in her wake. She did not want to be caught covere in the urine of a piglet she had just stolen. She needed to find somewhere for the two of them to stay before it got too dark. She could tell she was going to get a  cold and did not want to make things any worse.

'Hurry up if you don't want to be left behind. I'll tell you a story when we find somewhere,' children still liked stories, didn't they? Her brother and the othe villagers certainly did. That had been a long time ago, back when being an Idiot seemed like an amazing game.

[Anonymous]

"Awww, it's such a cute little piggy!" Mystery squealed, her mismatched eyes on the piglet, "Whose gunna be a yummy dinner? Who? Who?~" she cooed to the little pig, suddenly looking away as it began to urinate. "Oh my," she giggled softly. "I guess thats pre-revenge for us eating it, right?"

Mystery followed along faithfully as Fiona called her, her eyes widening at the mention of a story. "Oooh, I love stories. What's the story gunna be about?" she asked curiously, her eyes drifting to the squirming pink pig. Curiously, Mystery tugged it's curled tail, causing the creature to give ab ungodly loud squeal. Mystery winced, her long ears wilting against her head. "Oow," she whined, "should we kill it now so it doesn't make such a scary sound again?" she questioned with eerie innocents.

[Anonymous]

She rolled her eyes at the girl's cooing and looked around for somewhere to stay. they couldn't stay at an inn Firstly, she had no money and secondly, the Idiots were bound to look there.

She held the squealing piglet out from here and glared at it. Fiona cursed at the girl's mistake of pulling its tail and handed the piglet to the girl, 'drink up. The farmer could be out at any minute.'

[Anonymous]

Mystery smiled as she was handed the squirming pig, turning it over carefully in her hands, looking for the most appealing place to bite. "I'm not really sure how to do this," she confessed with a sheepish smile. "Like I said... I got fed from a glass. With a straw, even. " Mystery giggled sheepishly, deciding to bite the little pig's neck. She drew it close, but paused, struggling to open her mouth wide enough. Her mask covered exactly half her face, and thus half her mouth. She couldn't open the half that was under the mask, of course, the tough porcelain limiting how wide she could open her mouth.

Mystery lowered the squirming pig slightly, looking at it with a puzzled expression. "Uhm... I can't ..." she held the little pig to Fiona with an apologetic expression. "I can't get my mouth open enough to bite it, can you cut it for me?" she asked.

[Anonymous]

The girl was a wimp. Fiona searched for any pockets that might contain a knife but she was out of luck, 'just take that mask off and bite in.'

She doubted the girl would do it. After a bit of contemplation she added, 'if you can't just snap its neck and you can drink it later.'

[Anonymous]

Mystery opened her mouth to protest, but stopped herself at Fiona's next words. "Kay," she said meekly, obviously embarrassed she couldn't even kill a little pig. She snapped the creature's neck with almost not effort at all; it was as easy to her as snapping a twig. She sighed deeply, trying to ignore hoe hungry she was, and tucked the pig under her arm.

She had never been this hungry before, The Ring Leader had always kept her so well fed. Mystery looked around, scanning the area carefully. "How come those jerks were after you, anyway?" she asked, tucking a few stray strands of hair nervously behind a wilting ear.

[Anonymous]

'I told you, I'll tell you the story when we get a fire started,' she snapped.

Fiona was starting to get annoyed (again) over how the girl kept asking questions. She walked around the houses and hefted several pieces of wood onto her shoulders, 'go get some twigs, I'll meet you yonder.' She pointed to a thatch of trees, just large enough to haide any light from a small fire.

She started walking over, picking up a few choice twigs that she would use to light a fire. It wouldn't be as effective as a flint but at it would get the fire started eventually. She dragged some branches over and began making a small shelter. If they curled up together they may keep some warmth in and the trees would keep most of the snow off.

[Anonymous]

"Okay, sorry," Mystery replied with a good tempered smile. It was apperent the girl was used to dealing with tempers as bad as Fiona's, if not much, much worse. Still holding the limp pig under her arm, she nodded enthusiastically to Fiona's request, before hurrying off to find a collection of fire wood. Managing to find a few useful things (she had found some sort of bench on the curb, of an empty road, smashed it, reduced it to pieces, and picked the best looking bits to bring back for fire wood) she hurried back to the place Fiona had pointed out, ducking behind the cover of the trees.

Struggling to hold everything at once, Mystery had decided it was plain easier to use her skirt like a pouch of sorts, holding the pig and the broken wood in the dip it left when she lifted it at the hem. Dropping cross legged onto the ground, she sorted the wood into a neat pile before pulling the dead pig into her lap. She pet it idly while she waited for Fiona.

[Anonymous]

Fiona finished a small hut an began stacking the firewood into a flute. She looked up at the girl near her, 'stop petting that thing and eat up. I don't have a knife so you'll have to tear the skin with your teeth.'

She looked back down to her work and began rubbing the sticks together. It finally sparked so she pulled some kindling over and continued until a small fire started. She sat with her face to the flute shaped stack and blew on the underbelly. It lit up, blowing her face with heat and soot. She ignored the irritation and rubbed her face clean.

She waited for the girl to finish drinking while she found a straight stick to skewer it with. She was feeling overly tired so she yawned and rubbed her face, 'When you've finished I'll tell you the story.'

Perhaps it would put the girl to sleep and she could go steal a few more necessities before going to sleep herself.

[Anonymous]

"B-but... I cant, I can't open my mouth enough," Mystery reminded her, looking with worry down to the limp little pig. She couldn't even use her hands, because that would entail talking off her gloves, another thing she was unwilling to do. Her stomach growled and for a moment Mystery felt dizzy. She placed her hands on her face, attempting to push away the unpleasant feeling. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be annoying..." she murmured, and then peering through her parted fingers added "Wow, you really look like you know what you're doing." She was impressed with the fire and the shelter, a small smile showing on her face.

She really did just want to eat and hear the story and go to sleep, Mystery was tired of feeling like a nuisance. And yet... what could she do?

"If... if there really is no other way... then I'll take off my mask to bite it..." she offered shyly, "but you gotta look away... and keep your eyes closed."

[Anonymous]

Fiona ignored the girl's woes. She would not last long if she didn't learn to adapt. Fiona grunted at the compliment, 'I've been running for a long time now. If you're looking for your mother you'll have to get used to roughing it.'

'What have you got a scar or something. Don't be so vain.' She looked at the girl, who was obviously in a fair bit of discomfort, 'fine, I'll look away. Just you hurry it up.'

She hefted herself to her feet and went to get a knife and possilbly some coins. The snow was fairly deep and any tracks would give away their location so she tried to walk on some ice. It looked fairly solid and if she squatted low then she would have less chance of falling. As she walked she was well aware how stupid she looked. She would look far more stupid if she came back sopping wet and sneezing large yellow bells.

[Anonymous]

Mystery waited until she was positive Fiona was far away enough that she wouldn't be able to see anything. She looked sadly down at the still little pig, quite glad the thing was dead, and that it wouldn't be able to see her. 'I'm not vain...' she thought to herself with a small sigh, reaching up carefully to remove her mask. The skin underneath was dark rotten gray, patches even covered in dark blue-ish spots of mold. Her green eye, usually mostly hidden behind the mask, was huge and swollen looking, like a rotten mackintosh apple. The corner of her mouth on the grotesque side of her face stretched farther back then it should, almost giving the appearance her face was split open. Her teeth on that side of her face became jagged and sharkish, so big where the fangs they hardly fit into her mouth at all.

Hating the feeling of having her mask off, Mystery bit into the pig's throat quickly, wanting to drain it fast. She didn't mind her revealing clothing, but without her mask, she felt naked. The pig's blood tasted horrible, but she drank it down silently.

[Anonymous]

Blast! The inhabitants of the first house were home and had discovered their clothes missing. Several neighbours could be seen standing outside the house so she went back to the fire. The knife could wait until tomorrow. The ice began to crack on her way back so she scampered off and walked around the edge. It was slow going because she had to dust off the footprints. Paranoia was useful at times.

She finally got back to the fire and flopped to the ground with a grunt, not looking up as she dragged her costume over to the warmth and trowing it in. She watched it burn with a look of contempt. She was not an Idiot, not anymore and she would not go back to their chilly halls.

She looked up at the girl.

OOC: I wasn't sure if you wanted Mystery to be seen or not so you decide.

[Anonymous]

If her ears were not so good, she probably would not have been able to hear Fiona coming. Having some of her mother's traits was a good thing, she supposed. But then, how did she know good hearing was a trait from her mother? She had no idea who her father was... Mystery felt a chilly sadness seep over her; she withdrew her fangs from the pig's neck, giving a few more licks to the wound with her abnormally long tongue. Cleaning her mouth with the hem of her skirt, she gently nudged the dead drained pig behind her. She was sitting with her back to Fiona, so the woman could not see her face.

She waited in the silence for a few long moments, before taking her mask from beside her, and replacing it. "I'm not sure I wanna find my mom, you know..." she confessed, her back still facing Fiona. "She wasn't very nice to me, or anyone, for that matter... but finding my mom is my job..." she sighed, carefully turning to face Fiona. She tried to smile, to make it seem like nothing she was saying was a big deal, but her smile was painfully sad. "I wish instead of finding my mom, I could find my dad... but I have no idea who he is."

[Anonymous]

Fiona dragged over the pig and shoved it tail fiirst on the makeshift spit. Digestive fluids leaked out the end and ran down the spit. She waited for the girl to finish whining before she spoke, 'well that's stupid. You need to find your mother to find your father.' She then realised that the girl was probably very fragile about her parents so she added, 'I'll help you find both of them, it's not I have anything else to do.'

Fiona sat and watched ice melting around the fire. 'SHIT! Kid, I need your help, start scraping ice away fromt he fire.' She began scraping as much of the snow and slurry away from the fire. How could she be so stupid? She swore again as a tree unloaded its ice onto her.
'Oh come on! Haven't I had enough today?' She dusted herself off and began pushing the snow away. When it was finally finished she sat down and grumbled to herself, 'Stupid father, this would never have happened if I was a boy. Stupid fools making me wear humiliating costumes. And damn these bloody genes, who even needs fools?'

[Anonymous]

Mystery blinked rapidly, looking at Fiona with a blunt;y surprised expression. "... Y-you're right about that, I guess!" she said, a sheepish smile creeping across her lips. Shy giggles bubbled from her lips as she reached back and absentmindedly fiddled with her pony tail. "Wow, I can't believe I never thought of that! I'm really stupid sometimes..." at the mention of helping her out, Mystery's eyes widened in sunny delight. "Really? You'll help me? That's great! Thank you so much!" she squealed.

Hurriedly, she helped scoop the melting snow away from the fire. At the end of it, her leggings and gloves were soaked, so she sat close enough to the fire for the heat to dry her off. The tips of her ears twitched to attention as she listened to Fiona speak. In a way, she understood how the woman felt. "I know how you feel... I wish I was born into a different family, too..." Mystery smiled, standing up and tugging the ribbon from her hair. Long oil-black hair spilled smoothly down to the small of her back. The girl smiled, walking to Fiona's back and pawing gently at her hair. "It's all wet from the snow..." she said with a small frown. "Here, let me tie it up for you, I'll give you my ribbon," she said, beginning to gently pull Fiona's hair back.

[Anonymous]

'I wasn't talking to you!' Fiona snapped, pushing the girl aside, 'and I don't want your stupid ribbon.'
Actually, she would have been grateful for the ribbon, it would have made her fair stop sticking to the back of her neck. She sneezed, she must have been getting a cold. She sneezed again and a steam of bright blue liquid sprayed the fire, making it expand and pop. The pig caught fire so she kicked it into the snow to put it out.

'Blast this,' she snarled as she went to pick up the pig. She shoved the thing back on the stick and glared at the blue fire. She began pacing and counting. She continued until she had some semabence of control. 'Okay, I can do this.'

She sat down and took some deep breaths. 'Of couse I will help you. It was irrasponsible for the circus to send a child out on their own.' She went back to staring at the fire and counted how many times something foolish had happened today: 11 with the girl, 6 on the boat. Far too much by anyone's standards.

[Anonymous]

"Oof," Mystery yelped as she was shoved over, landing in a pile of snow. She lay there for a moment, completely surprised, a look of quiet sadness slipping across her face. She tied the ribbon around her own wrist, liking the feeling of her hair down, for now. "Sorry," she murmured, sitting up and dusting the snow off herself. "I didn't mean... I was just trying to be nice..." she flashed a soft apologetic smile. She remained quiet as Fiona tried to calm herself, not wanting to make the woman more upset.

"Well... I'm one of the only people who would come back, when sent outside," Mystery explained. "I'm one of the stars... the most obedient... I do everything I'm told..." she closed her eyes, seeming a little frightened. "My mom ran away... so it's my job to find her."

[Anonymous]

Fiona looked up to where the girl had fallen, she thought she hadn't pushed the girl that hard. She massaged her temples, she wasn't used to company. 'Sorry, I'm not used to nice, or help,' she sighed and went ovet to the girl and offered her a hand, 'obedience isn't always a good thing.'

'My father was once sent to find me; he was so foolish he found a twig and berries instead,' she tried to smile at the girl but it fell flat. She was unused to smiling it seemed. She poked the pig with a stick, it was still uncooked so sat down and stared at the fire again, 'I wonder what's more pathetic: A foolish runaway jester who's meant to be a boy or a servantile, blood-sucking acrobat on a wild goose chase to find someone she doesn't even want to meet?'

She continued staring at the fire. She touched her nose, she had forgotten it had been hit and winced to discover it was bruised. I guess there's no point waiting any longer. I might as well tell her the story. 'Ok, I'll tell you. I can make it sound like a story if you want but I don't really want to.' The kid deserved a good story, Fiona had to admit she had been a bit harsh on the girl.