Half-Full Glass of Mault Liquor ((Teeebby!))

[Anonymous]

How to enjoy a nice afternoon?

The answer was obvious of course, with a street show! People underestimated the power of a good show. This was of course, one that was rather family friendly, it was not a show you'd see in a dark basement or an illustrious building full of wealthy gentlemen. No, this was a show that anyone could come to and be amazed or astounded, to have their funny bone tickled and to just plain enjoy themselves. The street performance was being done by only one person however, which made it even more interesting. Just one strange man, in black clothes that were uniform to his body, straight and proper.  The man wore a very strange mask however, it covered all of his face and ears, and was a most unusual look. It had very long ears, ones that were a foot long and stretched backward like elf ears that ended in a small point.

Cheery grey eyes were painted on the mask, which made it hard to understand how the man was able to actually see anything. Oh he was a strange sort indeed. The mask had a mischievous smile on it, which begged the question of whether or not the entertainer was...well...mischievous.

Currently he was juggling for some people, not the normal small amount of three juggling bags, but a total of ten of them. He had expert control, able to throw them high and control where they were going, where they landed. He seemed all sorts of flexible and nimble, able to quickly throw one over his shoulder or under a leg when he needed to.

"So an Elf, a Human, and a Dwarf are in a tavern together enjoying a nice tankard of ale. All three of them notice that their tankards have flies in them. The Elf covers his tankard with a napkin and pushes it away. The human removes the fly and continues drinking. The Dwarf however pulls the fly out and starts yelling 'Spit it out you bugger! Spit it out!" The man's voice was clear as day, despite wearing a mask and having no visible mouth hole to speak out of. It was a light and cheery sort of voice, once full of emotion and brimming with enthusiasm. His joke got a little chuckle out of the crowd, which made him begin to start doing a little jig as he juggled.

"Now nothing against the Dwarves of course, but why should you never ask one to pay for drinks? Because they're always a little short!" There were some light chuckles mixed with groans from the audience, but he continued to juggle and dance away. "So a human woman comes home to find her human husband in bed with a female halfling. The woman, enraged says 'I thought you said you would stop cheating on me!' the man, rolling his eyes replies 'By the Gods dear, don't you see I'm trying to cut down?!" There were a few more laughs from the older members of the audience, though some of the younger were more entranced with his juggling than his jokes. "Can anyone tell me what a vampire's favourite fruit is? A neck-tarine!" There were some more giggles and the man began to dance around faster, adding twirling and spinning as he did so. "What kind of make up do Ghosts wear? Mas-SCARE-a!" There was a little more chuckling and groaning before the dancing, juggling, joke telling jester went on.

"Two men are walking down the road, one comes upon a mirror and picks it up, looking into it, saying to his friend 'This guy looks familiar, but I can't place him.' His friend looks into the mirror and says 'That's because it's me you daft twit!" This time, there weren't any groans from the audience, but laughter. The man did a back flip, landing on his feet to catch the juggling bags as they came down. As they went back up again, each of them had been lit on fire. The brilliant display was amazing, he seemed so fluid and in tune with the flaming objects that it was hard to tell what was happening. He handled them so expertly, sending them into the air so gracefully, so beautifully, it was hard to watch the juggler as he threw them upward.

"You have been a wonderful audience, remember you were entrained by Mault the Mask wearing jester!" He caught each one of the bags as they came down, instantly extinguishing as they landed in his hands and disappeared into a pocket. There were cheers and applause from the crowd as he produced another mask from seemingly thin air, holding it out. The sound of happy jingling from coins could be heard as people tossed bronze and silver into the mask. After the crowd was dispersed, the man called Mault began to pick the coins from the second mask and deposit them into his pocket, before putting the mask away...in thin air. Indeed he simply reached behind his head with the mask, and it was suddenly gone. He still wore his original mask though, his face still hidden beneath the strange covering.

An odd individual, but entertaining at least.

[Anonymous]

Life as a performer could be difficult. You were constantly moving around, traveling from city to city, trying to find new places to get to, new people to entertain. Money amount differed in each area you traveled to, ranging from little to nothing to over abundant amounts. One could go for days without eating or drinking, depending on how hard the times were. And the life of a small child born into the life of performing was difficult as well, especially as a silent acrobat. Training was intense, exhausting the body of its energy quickly. There were days she wished she could give up the lifestyle, able to follow her dreams and do what she wanted for a change. Some days she didn't know what she wanted.

But today she knew exactly what she wanted to be doing as the crowd erupted into applause. She tucked herself into a backflip, spinning quickly before landing lightly on her hands. She straightened her arms and bent her spine backwards so she was able to walk on her hands with her legs out in front of her. She touched her feet to the ground, unbending herself, and then quickly leaping, doing the splits in the air. Though her act stayed the same, people always seemed enthralled by the various bends and twists she did with her body. Most were shocked such a tiny girl could do flips and splits like she could. But she had been trained at a young age to contort her body in several different ways. She often got bored with her routine, but the crowd's reactions were almost as entertaining as her act. She loved watching as the crowd cringed away as she bent herself in half backwards, or applauded every time she landed a series of backhand springs and flips. It was the one thing that kept her going, the thing that made her continue doing her act day after day.

Minutes later, her lungs started to burn. Her arms and legs shook, threatening to give out as she did several more flips and hand stands. She was in great shape, but one body can only take so much before it is completely drained of it's strength and energy. She decided to do one more line of handsprings before falling into the splits, finalizing her routine. The crowd exploded with applause and cheering, a few whistles heard. She was breathing hard, but she held her position, waiting for the audience to start clearing. Meanwhile, her dad went around with a hat, collecting the coins people were willing to give up for her. She smiled. At least she was helping.

The crowd was nearly gone, a few stragglers looking around stupidly, trying to figure out where to go to next. Most moved along, going back to their shopping while others looked for new acts to watch. Bella stood up, her legs shaking slightly. She went into one of the nearby shops and got a pouch of water to drink before she would have to move to a different part of town and do her routine again. She quickly finished the water, drinking every last drop. She looked around, walking quickly over to her mom and dad before people began to ask her questions about her strange appearance. It was hard to answer when you didn't speak, and the silence was often found...awkward for the one asking the question. Bella didn't mind it, but she didn't like people getting frustrated at her. So she decided to stick solely to performing, allowing people to make their own assumptions about her appearance.

She walked with her parents through town, observing some of the other acts. There were people playing instruments, people dancing and twirling, people singing, people doing things that just looked...creepy. That was one of the nice things about a busy town; she wasn't the only freak in it. They continued walking, looking for their next spot to perform when they came across a man who had a pretty decent sized crowd himself. She walked over, inching her way towards the front so she could see what was going on. He was juggling bags that looked as if they were on fire. Bella stared at him, no emotion crossing her face. She just watched him until his act was done. But even then, she stayed where she was, tilting her head slightly at the man, observing him. He was an interesting fellow whose looks she couldn't quite describe. How peculiar...

Someone who looked more odd than she.

[Anonymous]

"Good good, I'll eat tonight." Mault commented to himself as he patted the pocket where his money resided, which jingled merrily with all the money he had just collected. Brass and silver could go a long way really, Mault was particularly happy with the crowd he had drawn, and the money he had made. He wouldn't just eat tonight, he'd eat for a good few weeks if he was smart with his money. Usually his was, though there were times when he couldn't resist spending it...like on a new mask. That was usually the bane of his existence, a new mask he didn't own. He could remember going hungry for a few nights because a new mask was purchased.

With his arms crossed...behind his back, looking completely unusual, Mault began to walk, until he saw that there was someone staring right at him. Someone who had been watching his show, someone who hadn't left after everyone else did. Someone who really didn't look like they were just another citizen of Ketra. No...the girl looked...like a street performer. She looked like a clown, like a jester of some sort, how...very peculiar.

She was just staring at him. Now he was just staring at her. If she wanted a staring contest, Mault would win. He never blinked! Hah! Slowly he approached her however, still looking at her. He leaned down to get on her level, to stare directly into her eyes with his own painted on eyes. He didn't say anything, he just...stared at her. She looked funny. He liked that. Not as funny as he probably looked, with his strange mask and his scrawny appearance. Part of the mystery was trying to figure out what Mault was, what lay under the masks. No one knew, and he'd like to keep it that way.

Finally Mault stood up, though he still looked down at her. "Copper for your thoughts kiddo." He held out his hand, turning it over to show there was nothing there. With a flick of his wrist however, a penny appeared clenched between his thumb and index finger. Then he began to dance it between the slits of his fingers, back and forth before holding it out to her. "You look like a strange little thing. Got yourself a name?" He wasn't sure he'd actually get an answer from the girl. She looked so...stoic and...well she WAS a young girl. Those were always shy to strangers, more so strangers who wore a mask and juggled fire.

Yeah, this wouldn't go over very well probably.

[Anonymous]

She continued to just stare at him with a neutral, almost bored, expression. And that didn't change even when he approached her, going down to her level. Her eyes studied his face, going over each structure with mild curiosity. Her eyes traveled over his grey, unblinking eyes, his pointed chin, his long ears, his smile. She almost smiled at him, but kept her expression the same. His look amused her, though she wondered why he was wearing a mask even after his act was over, though he could wonder the same thing about her face makeup. Must just make him feel...normal wearing it. At least that's the way she thought about it.

Her eyes widened with surprise at his little trick. It was a funny thing really; the things she wasn't used to seeing, such as a man in a mask juggling fire, she wasn't all too interested in, but the one thing that she sees everywhere she goes astounds her. Magic. Her eyes moved quickly from the coin in his hand to his painted, grey eyes. She stared back at the coin for a while, trying to figure out how he had done it. She didn't understand how magic worked, how people were able to make something appear out of thin air. She could piece together possible reasons for why people dressed the way they did or were able to do what they did. She could make up her own theories for basically everything...except magic. She figured that was why she was so amazed by it; it was a mystery to her.

She stared for a few more seconds before looking back up at the man, an amazed and very child-like smile on her face. It was the kind of smile that made the black, painted mouth on her face look almost menacing, eerie to those who weren't used to the very strange. Her eyes were very wide. She giggled without making a sound, something that took years of practice and discipline for her to learn to do. She happily took the coin from him, holding it in both hands and studying it intensely, as if all the magic was in that little coin. She smiled back up at him, pocketing the small coin. She looked around, searching for her parents. They must have gone off to get something to eat. Any normal little kid would be panicked that their parent wasn't around, especially if a strange man in a mask approached them.

But Bella was not a normal little girl. She had been born into a world most children only imagine in their craziest dreams. She saw many different kinds of creatures in her short eleven years of life. She learned how to socialize with people without even speaking to them, a task most teenagers can't even do. She had been left alone to deal with a crowd while her parents where off doing something else. She had been abandoned in several different towns for many days while her parents were looking for a new place to perform. She barely noticed their absence anymore, but she greeted them each time they returned like it was the last time she would ever see them. She loved her family even if they weren't together all the time. No one said the life of a performer would be an easy one.

She almost laughed out loud when he asked her name. She had heard that many times in the past, but it never got old. Being mute...err taking a vow of silence...or whatever she and her parents had done made it very hard to tell people things about herself. So several years ago, she came up with a brilliant idea to make a card with the most frequently asked questions. Over the years, more languages had been added so that no matter where she was, people would be able to know about her. She just smiled at him, bending backwards and reaching into her sock, pulling out the card, curled and crumpled from the wear and tear of traveling. She bent herself back up, handing the card to him. She smiled, waiting patiently as he read it. On the card top of the card (in common) it read:

[center:10414v8h]Name: Bella Sophia
Age: 13
Job description: Contortionist, dancer, silent clown[/center:10414v8h]

There was more info on that little card; favorite colors, foods, and activities, least favorite things, places she has been to in her life. While her read, her face went back to the neutral expression she had on when they first met. She didn't know why she had been so entranced by him, but she wasn't quite ready to leave him alone, especially after that little coin trick he did. She wondered if he could do more magic, something she was willing to wait around for and see.

So stay she did.

[Anonymous]

She was a little creepy.

He wasn't going to deny that. Then again...he was an adult who wore black and a mask wherever he went. She was still creepier, her neutral, bored expression, her makeup, and just...she had to be a street performer like he was. Yes. That was it. Still, someone so young? Shouldn't little girls be off playing princess with dolls and such? He wasn't exactly an expert on the whole thing, he didn't have a normal childhood after all...but still, being a street performer didn't seem like something one should be doing to such a young child. Still, he didn't know her situation and her background after all. He was completely oblivious to her life. He wondered what she did to entertain people though, maybe she juggled?

He didn't understand that she was amazed by his little sleight of hand trick. He wasn't naturally magical...well...some people could say that his natural pocket of Other Reality was magic, and that was possible. However, wearing this mask, it meant no magic...sleight of hand though was easy, sleight of hand was fun. He had masks that could do magic however, and he often enjoyed them. Having the power and control of such a talent was an amazing feeling.

At least she was smiling now. Or...frowning angrily? No, as he looked closer, she was smiling. It was cute, childlike, she was quite a strange little thing, but he was a very strange man as well. W-was she giggling? She didn't make a noise, but it LOOKED like she was giggling. What...was he going crazy. No...he barely noticed as she snatched the coin from his hand and began to study it intensely. Did she not trust him? It was a damned copper, anything you counterfeit a copper coin with usually cost more than a copper. as she looked around, he did as well, wondering just what she was looking for. Was she going to try and rob him? No...that'd be silly.

When asked her name, she did something that made him step back. Despite whatever intentions she had, bending over backward like that to...He had to look away, putting a hand up. "Gah! What are you doing?! It was a copper! You're a little girl anyway!" Slightly panicked, as this was probably illegal here. Then again, they had the Peaches and Cream brothel. Still, she was waaaaay too young, and a copper was not enough.

However...it wasn't anything that he thought and he noticed that she was holding something out to him, a piece of paper. He took it from her and looked at it, staring blankly at it. Mault was illiterate, reading was something that he never needed.  He had ways of reading sure, but he himself couldn't read. He needed a different mask to read with.

"I uh...can you just hold on?" He tucked the piece of paper into the cuff of his shirt as he reached behind his head, pulling out a rather strange mask. It was a red mask with black lines on it, making it look very demonic. The fact that it had dark sunken eyes, an open mouth with fangs, and horns on the forehead sort of...helped to reinforce it. It was a quick change over as he put the new mask on, the transition was so mooth that she wouldn't even be able to see if he had a real face under his mask. "Ahhh...hello there child." His voice was completely different now, it was dark with a rather angry growl at the back of his throat. "I am Shin-Glau." He told her with a curt bow, taking the paper from his cuff and looking it over. "Bella Sophia...hm...Contortionist...dancer...silent clown." He looked from the paper to her, it was almost like he had an eyebrow raised for a moment as he looked at her then back to the paper.

"Very interesting." Shin-Glau continued to read it over before he tucked it back into his cuff and switched masks back to his original mask. "Shin-Glau said you were a silent clown. So that would explain your makeup! Wow, that's pretty neat! I'm a juggling, joking jester myself, which is a fancy way of saying clown. I can do other tricks of course, little magic tricks and stuff like that!" He was...really...really strange wasn't he?

[Anonymous]

His reaction to when she bent over backwards was both amusing and...unexpected. She didn't know why he was so panicked. Perhaps he wasn't used to people contorting themselves? That must be it, though he should be used to basically anything. He was a street performer after all and street performers saw the weirdest of the weird usually. At least that was how her life was. She wouldn't be surprised if this man would be able to shoot fifty foot flames from his ears; she was rarely surprised by the strange things people would do for money.

But as soon as she bent back up he seemed to relax a bit. She handed him the paper, but he just stared at it blankly. She frowned slightly (not like he'd really be able to tell). Could he not read? He was a grown man, and there were several languages on the card. She hadn't really met anyone who simply couldn't read. He had to be able to know at least some words. Otherwise she would have a very hard time communicating with him.

Then he did something that both frightened and intrigued her. He reached behind his head at nothing, and within an instant he had a different face. Her eyes widened in horror and she took a step back. What just happened? Where'd his face go? She looked around, trying to see if anyone else saw, but no one was paying attention to the small girl talking to the strange man. She looked back at him cautiously, worried maybe his face changed again.

She could almost relax when it was still the demonic face he had put on. But that didn't mean she wasn't still scared of it. He had changed his face! She soon realized why he did it, when the new face spoke to her. New face? Was that right to say? Either way, she just stared at the demon in front of her as it introduced itself read all the information on her card. She was still quite frightened, but her face began to return to the normal state it had been in. He read the whole card, nodding at some points, when he said he name she did a small curtsy. He finished reading the rest of the card and then tucked it away.

She was still frightened when he switched his face back, but the initial shock of what he was doing wore off. She smiled when he was back to the man she had first met, though wary of him. What other masks did he have with him? She quickly forget that when he once again mentioned magic, her face lighting up. She wanted to see more magic. She wanted to learn the magic, how to make coins appear and disappear at will. She wanted him to teach her.

 She took the coin out of her pocket, showing it too him, then trying her hardest to make it disappear, closing her hand around, disappointed every time when the coin remained in her hand. She sighed and looked at the coin sadly. She sat down on the ground like most little kids like to, her legs bent out to either side. She grinned holding the coin out to him as if to say Teach me.

[Anonymous]

She was still young, she'd understand it one day. He was very glad she didn't actually, that would be just embarrassing really. She was completely oblivious it seemed, and he was really thankful that they just looked silly together, so no one could think anything bad. Just two street performers talking to each other. Well. Mault was the one who was doing all the talking, she was the one who was...not doing any talking. Still, they would at least look innocent and no one would give them a second look. The opposite was true though, as people were looking at them, but it was still not in any bad way.

Mault had never NEEDED to read. He could use a different mask to read anyway, and they were all linked in some degree, so there was really no reason to read. He could recognize a few things, he knew sort of what some meant, like he could recognize the shape of Inn and Tavern, so he could always find them. It was either that or follow his nose. Where there was the smell of cooked meat, that usually meant an Inn or tavern...either that or a person's house.

That could be embarrassing.

Shin-Glau bowed to Bella when she curtsied. He was polite, and not an altogether BAD person. Some of his masks had bad personalities, Shin-Glau was somewhat of a jerk, he did want to eat people's souls, and he did enjoy scaring people, or lighting things on fire, but nothing too bad. Not in public like this, when he had a mission that he had to do. This one was reading the card. Nothing too special, but it was still something to do at least.

When Mault was back to being Mault, he watched her as she took out the coin he had given her before. She was trying to do something with it, and he had to tilt his head as he watched her carefully. He had no idea what she was actually trying to do, until she started trying to make it disappear but nothing actually happened. She tried a few times, trying to make it disappear, and he finally understood what the heck it was that she wanted to do. She grinned up at him and he took the coin from her. "Some people think that you palm the coin in your other hand, distracting them." He showed her one technique, which was a simple misdirection. It looked like he had the coin in his left hand, but it was in his right. "Others think you just hold it between your fingers, with the majority sticking out the back of your hand and making sure that no one can see it." Again, he showed her the technique, keeping his hands flat with the fingers together.

"There is another tactic of course, which is you let it slide down your sleeve when you move quickly." He told her as he waved his hand back and forth, showing her it slowly as the coin slid down his hand into his sleeve. "You try now." He let his hand point to the ground and he shook his arm, letting the coin slide back into his hand and he handed it over to her. He had tried to learn magic, but he really didn't have the patience or the power, despite the fact that this mask was an Elf and he usually was imbued with the power. This was a bit more stylistic when it came to being an Elf anyway...

[Anonymous]

((sorry if it doesn't make sense...i think i am sleepy))

She saw nothing wrong with talking to this man. There was nothing strange or weird about them being there together...well other than the fact that they were two very odd looking street performers. But that was beside the point. She couldn't even imagine what people would think about seeing a young girl with a grown man as she had never had to deal with any 'problems' that could possibly occur. No men, women, children, or anything else had ever really wanted to 'talk' to her before, so...to her nothing was wrong.

He took the coin from her and she watched in amazement as he showed her several techniques to his magic. She was slightly disappointed that it wasn't 'real' magic, but she was still astounded. He had made the coin disappear three times before her eyes. She couldn't help but grin as he did so, excited that she was also going to learn magic. That was something she had always wanted to do, though maybe she had wished that it would be something more along the lines of playing with fire. Yea that would be fun.

She took the coin from his hands once more, staring at it momentarily before trying out the techniques he had shown her. The first one was fairly easy, and it only took her a few tries until she was happy with it. She moved onto the next one, which was a little bit trickier to get. She just couldn't figure out how to make it look as smooth as he had, but she figured it probably just took practice to get right. She decided to move onto the last technique, which proved to be the most challenging. She tried it close to a dozen times, but the coin dropped on the ground each time. Hah, it would probably work better if she had sleeves. She picked the coin back up and stuck it back in her pocket. That was enough practice for now.

Then it got rather strange, if not awkward. She didn't really know how to communicate with people other than writing things down, and there was only so much acting out of words that she could do. And honestly, who likes to play charades every time they have something to say? She looked off to the side, rocking back on her heels, then up on her toes. Some days she just wished she didn't have to stay silent. She just wanted to be normal for once...er as close to normal as she could get. But as long as she needed to live with her parents as a street performer, she would need to keep her vow. Besides, she didn't even know if she would be able to find the right muscles to speak. Did they even exist?

Who knows.

Her dark blue eyes just stared at the man, wondering where exactly this whole conversation would be going. Her parents were probably close to finishing up with what they were doing, not like that really mattered. Bella could take care of herself for the most part and her parents knew that. She had been left alone for several hours ever since she could walk. Her parents wouldn't care if they didn't see her for the rest of the trip as long as she came back with money eventually.

[Anonymous]

Oh things were innocent enough, but Mault found that people looked at him strangely because of what he was. They called him a freak, and true to that, he really was. Oh it wasn't anything bad of course, but he was still different in their eyes, and some people didn't like getting different in their eyes. Or was that dirt? Either way, people sometimes didn't like him. Some people with real jobs, didn't particularly care for him, thinking that all he did was con people out of money. However, he felt that this was a profession just like any other. However in this one it was sometimes appropriate to get drunk and end up sleeping in a gutter.

He was getting off track though with his thoughts.

This was innocent, and he was very glad that the two of them were just as strange as each other. They weren't exactly talking, but they were...having a conversation of some kind. Well, he was having a conversation, she was...in awe to some degree. He didn't like to give away secrets most of the time, but she was a fellow street performer. Her...strange little bendy...thing...that she had done to simply get something from her sock showed that she had skill as a contortionist. So he found it particularly safe to give up a few little secrets to her.

Mault quite like the little girl, she was amazed by pretty much anything he did it seemed. Simple sleight of hand to her was like he was making the sun rise and fall. It was very comforting really, it made him feel better about his skills. All that practice paid off if you could dazzle someone with a few quick movements of your hand. Granted it was just a mute little contortionist, but an audience was an audience to Mault, no matter the size.

Mault started to watch her as she tried to master the different techniques. She was actually very proficient with them, until it came to the very last technique. That was proving to be troublesome, and really, Mault didn't have the heart to tell her that she needed sleeves to accomplish it. However she marched on with the technique, trying over and over again. Each time though, it would just drop to the ground. Mault said nothing, and it was probably lucky he wore a mask because no doubt he would be grinning madly. However, she finally seemed to grow tired of the trick and put the coin away.

Now the question was...uh...how to proceed?

"So...Bella..." What the hell was he supposed to say? He could ask her out for a drink, as one performer to another. That wouldn't be weird right? He probably shouldn't take her to a seedy bar, there was trouble there after all. Ugh, he'd probably have to act as some sort of guardian then, and he should probably be responsible! He hated being responsible, it was never about the fun when you were responsible. Still...what was the worse that could happen.

Oh right. The awkward silence at the table.

Still, he could probably just talk her ear off. That would have to be the best course of action. "Are you thirsty Bella? I was just about to go and get something to drink, all that juggling and fire can really make your throat dry. Care to join me?" This would be really interesting. Really...really interesting. It might be dull too...he wondered if he had any age appropriate stories about his life he could share. He could certainly make up something to entertain her, and he was sure that he probably wouldn't get a lot of feedback from her.

Oh this was going to be awkward.

[Anonymous]

To Bella, conversations were almost a joke. They were also a test in a way. They sorted out those who were truly creative in the way they spoke to her. She could rarely say she 'held a conversation' with anyone, one of the down sides of being a silent street performer. All-to-often she finds herself being yelled at to speak, or denied money because she can't tell people details about herself. It's not that she's not willing to, people just don't know exactly how to ask a person their name when the person doesn't talk back.

C'est la vie.

This man, though, he seemed like he knew how to make her 'talk'. Maybe that was one of the reasons she hadn't gotten bored. Living without interacting with another made life...boring. She truly enjoyed when she could meet someone new without them getting frustrated. That happened all too often. She wished sometimes that she could just speak to a person without the chance of upsetting her parents. But at her age, while she still relied on her parents for a few things, she couldn't make them upset. They had trained her to stay silent, so silent she would stay. Maybe one day she'd build up the guts to speak, but not now.

It didn't seem to bother Mault though. He was patient with her, willing to stick around and talk to her, even if she was much younger and didn't speak. She didn't quite know why he was wasting his time, but she didn't care. Company was company and she wouldn't push it away. She must have looked incredibly silly trying to master the coin trick, but he kept his words to himself, allowing her to figure out that the trick wouldn't work. She was happy she had her makeup on, otherwise she probably would have been bright pink. Actually...she had no idea. Did she blush? Unimportant. No one would ever know.

When he spoke, her eyes darted to a nearby shop, wondering where exactly her parents had gone. But she quickly forgot that thought and looked back up at Mault. She already had something to drink, but she always found herself thirsty, no matter how much she drank. Besides, she could always take it along with her if she didn't finish it. She nodded when he asked her, her eyes automatically looking for a nearby tavern. She didn't know the town well, so she waited for him to lead the way. Hopefully he knew where he was going.

Even to her, the thought of being lost with this man a bit odd.

[Anonymous]

It was going to be difficult to have a conversation with this strange little girl, but Mault didn't really have anything else he'd rather do. This was new, this was something that most people wouldn't, or couldn't do for that matter. He liked to try new things out, and this was without a doubt, something new. He didn't want to seem too weird, he didn't want to come off as creepy to this little girl. She was much younger than he, and everything would have to be very...very platonic at this point. She'd grow up to be a very beautiful woman, but for the time being...ugh, he didn't even want to think about it.

So he pushed it from his mind as fast as he possibly could.

Mault just didn't have the heart to try and criticize her attempt to master the coin trick. She would figure it out, and maybe put on a shirt with sleeves so she could actually do such a trick. He figured that her current outfit helped her with her contortionist tricks, it didn't get in her way and it didn't trip her up or stop her flexibility. He was lucky, he didn't have to wear anything so revealing, though he did have an outfit like that actually, for when he wanted to try more...body contortion tricks. Right now this one was perfect juggling and dancing along.

"Well alright then, let's go and get refreshed!" That was a very coy way of putting it really. He couldn't smile about it, because he was always smiling, but he was happy with how he said it. Anyone listening, would see it was really harmless! He was of course, very harmless, unless he put on a different mask...then he wouldn't be as such...but he wasn't going to change masks, he had no reason to! This girl had met Mault, and Mault had asked her to join him, therefore, it would be Mault for the entire night!

Mault already knew where to go, he had a tavern picked out that wouldn't be a bad place to bring a young girl. He had to be responsible, he couldn't take her to a place that someone might kidnap her, or act...in an uncouth manner to. No, this place would be a proper place, to some degree. He didn't want to go spending all his money just for a few drinks. The tavern was a decent looking place, it had a sign above it that Mault had no idea what it said, but he recognized the picture of a mug with some froth spilling out of it. That meant...well, that meant it was a tavern. It probably had some writing, but for Mault, it was completely unnecessary.

Mault looked cheery however as he pushed open the door and headed inside with Bella. It was at least bright inside the tavern, the windows were all uncovered and there were various candles and lamps around the room to brighten it up. Mault could be grinning as he approached the bar counter and placed a silver coin onto the counter top in front of the bartender. "A nice ale please! Large and cold, and then she will have..." Mault turned to look at the girl, rubbing his chin absently. What to get her? It would be wrong to get her wine or ale...so he had to choose something that would be okay for her to drink.

He had an idea of course...

"Juice! Yes. That is what she wants. She will take some juice." The bartender hadn't heard her speak, in fact the strange masked man just seemed to stare at her for a few seconds. "Right...Juice and a large ale." The bartender decided not to say anything about it, he just fetched their drinks and took the money from the counter top. Holding both drinks in his hands, he looked to Bella. "I found the tavern, I got the drinks, now it's up to you to find us a place to sit."

[Anonymous]

If she were weirded out at all, she would have found a way to get away from this man. But he seemed kind and just as strange as she was, so she couldn't help but enjoy having him around. Some of the performers she had met had said some fairly vile things to her in the past, some saying that her talent wasn't worth the money people were paying, others saying that she was probably too stupid to speak. The first couple time she had heard this, she cried...sort of. It was the Bella version of crying. But eventually she learned to ignore snide comments and just focus on her act.

It was easier that way.

But even though she ignored rude comments, she still listened. Those who watched her act and paid money often flattered her with comments. It was refreshing to hear that people appreciated what she did. It was even nicer to hear kind words from a performer. Yet another reason she liked Mault. He didn't seem so threatened by her that he needed to make her feel worthless. She liked that in a person. Jealousy was ugly, especially on adults. She didn't understand why people always wanted what others had. They should just appreciate what they have.

Not like they would take that sort of advice from a small child.

Not like she could really give advice.

They walked into the tavern. It was bright, warm, and smelt strongly of alcohol. Bella had been in a few taverns before, but she never ordered anything. Heh. Not like she really could. But generally when she was here, it was because her parents wanted a few celebratory drinks on account of a large profit or something along those lines. Bella never really paid attention when she was in a place like this. She usually just found something else to keep her mind preoccupied until her parents finished up whatever they were doing. It was just easier that way, and if she found something normal to do, like playing in the mud or climbing a tree, most people didn't question what she was doing,

But sometimes it was interesting to see people's reactions to the strange child doing strange things.

They went up to the bartender, and Bella couldn't help but smile. They must really look like an odd pair. She did her silent giggle, and waited patiently at Mault's side while he ordered something for himself. She wondered what she would be able to get at a tavern. Did they even serve anything that was alcohol-free. Her parents had never allowed her to have alcohol, not even a taste. Not that she had ever wanted to try it, but as a little kid, she couldn't understand why she could drink some things but not others. Her parents 'explained' it to her the only way they could, so from then on she never questioned it further.

But her thoughts stopped when he ordered her a juice. She grinned at him. It didn't even cross her mind as to whether or not she would have to pay. Her parent's allowed her only a few coins from the profit in case she got thirsty or hungry and couldn't find them. She held up both her hands to take the juice from him, much like a little kid would when they want to be picked up. When the juice was in her hands, she took a big drink from it. Then she held the glass in one hand and grabbed his free hand with her other. She pulled him along, walking aimlessly around the bar. She didn't exactly take into account the size difference between the two of them, so she often dodged between two tables without thinking that he might not be able to fit between them. But she soon found a table she thought was good and climbed up on the chair.

She had, of course, picked the table very near the back of the tavern, almost as far from the door as she could get. The table happened to be near a window and she stood on the chair and looked out. Her parents walked out of the store next-door and were walking hand-in-hand in the opposite direction. She sat back down and took another drink from her juice. Then she looked up at Mault, her big deer eyes just staring at him. Oddly enough, even she felt awkward.

Oh boy.

[Anonymous]

Mault was a very kind man of course. Unless he was wearing one of his masks that showed that he wasn't. There were masks that he had actually, that made him into a not nice person. However, people didn't realize that it wasn't Mault. It would be a different personality, it would be a whole different person in fact. As it stood however, Mault didn't want to scare the little girl by becoming a different person again, she didn't seem to like the literate demon that he had so...it was going to be a much better idea to stay as Mault.

Mault of course, was the nice mask to have. There were others but...Mault was going to get along with Bella nicely.

He did like this strange little acrobat. She was just like him, odd. Not weird. He didn't want to say she was weird, that was just wrong. Weird meant bad usually, that's how people usually saw it. She was odd. Quirky. That's how it was. He was quite okay with that. He and her, were both quirky and odd. He felt a little worried about bringing her into a tavern, but this wasn't a completely seedy tavern. This was a good place at least. One where he wouldn't have to worry about watching her carefully. Gods he would feel awful if she suddenly got snatched! He'd be partly responsible!

He at least thought it was cute when she wanted to take the glass from him. She may have been fourteen, but she still acted a little bit like she was younger, which was okay. She was allowed to do that. He acted sometimes like he was younger after all! "Whoop! Okay! Lead the way!" It was overacting, he lagged behind just a bit so his arm was stretched out really far and he was indeed being 'pulled' along by her. There were no real troubles that Mault had when it came to getting around the bar. If he couldn't squeeze between two tables, he would simply vault or crawl over them, but his hand never left hers. She was leading him after all!

He took a seat along with her, kicking his feet and legs up onto the table, just because he could. He could still see her, and he raised his glass to her before taking a sip. It was still very odd to see, since he had to go underneath his mask, but not reveal himself. "Ahhh...that's very good. Well, we need to figure out how to talk to ourselves...er...to each other. I mean talk to between us. I guess I could ask you questions and stuff that are yes and no questions...and I guess questions you can answer with your fingers...like number answers...yeah! Okay! So then! Bella! The not speaking thing. Is it because you can't speak, like physically can't speak?" That was his first question!

Questions to him would be a little odd, but he could always ask the questions about himself and she could nod about what she wanted to know.

They'd figure something out, but first! To know about her!

[Anonymous]

It was fun really, walking through the bar. She felt like such a little kid. Even the way she asked for things or got people's attention, it was very much like something a young child would do. She didn't care about looking foolish for acting that way, because A) she didn't know better and B) it was her job to act foolish and strange. Either way, the way she acted was the only way she could get her point across sometimes. Little kids had the right idea with the different signals, like tugging on sleeves or shirts to get attention, rubbing their eyes when tired or grabbing the air when they want what someone else has. It made sense to her, and that's how she learned to 'talk' to people.

She wasn't about to change that now because she looked foolish.

It was probably an entertaining sight to see the two of them make their way to the table. They stayed connected, even as she darted between the tables and he launched himself over them. At first she didn't understand what he was doing, but then it became more of a game for her. She would squeeze between two particularly close tables and watch as he stepped or vaulted over them. It made her giggle each time, so she continued finding as many tables as she could like that without going too much out of the way. By the time they had made it to their table, everyone was watching, and when they sat down, a few people applauded. She barely noticed them, but it was fun to put on a show sometimes. It made life a little more entertaining for others.

She would've mimicked him and put her legs up on the table, but it would force her to sit extremely awkwardly on the chair, so instead she decided to kneel on the chair. That was easier and it made it easy to see his face...er mask. She took another drink from the glass and watched as he took a drink from his ale. It was odd really, his way of drinking it. Maybe she assumed the mask had a mouth also and he could just pour the ale down like that? But it was interesting really. He lifted his mask, but didn't allow anyone to see what was beneath. She didn't try seeing what was underneath. It would basically ruin the illusion he built by having the mask in the first place.

She liked his idea of their question asking. It would make this conversation easier and less awkward. She was just happy that he was trying. He asked her about her talking. She figured he would ask it right away. But she didn't know if she could speak or not. She hadn't tried, at least not since her parents taught her to stay silent. But she decided to keep it easy and assume she could talk and just chose not to. She shook her head and looked at him. It was her turn to ask a question. She didn't know about his plan to ask questions about himself, so she looked confused for a few seconds. But then an idea came to her.

She stood on the chair once more, not standing very tall even then. She pointed to her own face, and then leaned over and touched his mask. What was it for? Why did he wear it? She hoped he would understand, but it was hard to figure out what a mute was trying to say when they could only point or motion. He seemed smart though. And if he didn't know what she was saying, well then she just touched his mask for no reason. Either way, she sat back down and took another sip of her juice.

[Anonymous]

Mault quite liked it when someone acted differently from the way society said they should act. It wasn't hurting anyone, and the person was completely okay with it! Bella was such a sweet thing anyway, he'd like to see someone tell her that it was wrong to act that way. He was sure she had the big sad doe eyes perfected, it probably helped after performances. Mault only wished he could do that, but it would require switching masks and what not and some people just didn't understand that.

No real problem though!

The two of them were a silly pair walking through the tavern, but it was all fun and games, and some people didn't much seem to mind it, so long as Mault didn't know over any drinks or spilt his on them. He could see that she was starting to do it all on purpose, and he was fine with it, because she was having fun, and so was he. He was fairly flexible person, and he had found how to get around anyway nicely, so this was no inconvenience for him. When they made it to their table and were sitting down, people were actually cheering. Not loudly, some were applauding, but Mault raised his glass in salute, and just...well he would have grinned if his mask was able to, but instead it just smiled that mischievous smile of his. Perhaps there was a slight twinkle in the painted on eyes, no one was really sure.

Mault was rather happy that she didn't try to peak at him. It had taken Mault years to learn how to drink with a mask on that didn't have a mouth hole. Some of them did, and even then the brightest light didn't show a mouth beneath the mask, which made it quite confusing for some audiences who dared sneak a close look at the mask wearing juggler.

"I see, I see, so you can talk, but don't! Got it. Like it. Very bold. Lots of people would disagree, say it's a nuisance, but the world can communicate just fine without words." Actions, expressions, movements, everything else could be used, and people didn't realize that a lot of the time when you talked, they weren't focusing on what you were saying...but what the rest of your body was doing, how your face looked. Body language as it were. He waited for her to try and ask something, he had thought of a way, but she also appeared to. He lazily watched her as she pointed to her face, and then tapped on his mask. For a moment, he was confused...was she asking to try on his mask?

No...that couldn't be. She probably wanted to know the biggest question...why do you wear a mask.

"It's a difficult answer Bella." Mault said as he slid up onto the table so he was now sitting on it, cross-legged, in front of her. "I am...uncertain about my masks. My real name isn't Mault...I don't even think I have one...but this mask..is Mault. When I put on a mask, I assume the mask's personality. I don't know if it's me doing it, or if all masks, no matter how mundane, hold some power, some personality to them. When I put a mask on...I become that mask...like you saw with Shin-Glau. I wasn't Mault anymore, Mault was gone, but Shin-Glau was there." He tried to explain it as best he could, but really, even he didn't understand it. Perhaps he felt safer not knowing, or perhaps he just never explored it. Either way, it worked for him really.

"Now...do you have a troupe that you stay with? Like...you're not just travelling on your own are you?" There was genuine concern and interest. Mault would feel terrible if she was all by herself. It was a dangerous place to be a young woman in Ketra. He didn't particularly know how dangerous, but he figured with there being all the merchants and what not, there was a lot of seedier elements. He had met a few sort of...bandits in other bars, people who in a dark alley were not the nicest people to meet. He would have to take up arms and ensure that Bella was taken care of if she wasn't though!

[Anonymous]

Being a kid was hard. Adults always looking at you like you aren't capable of doing anything, always knocking you down or pushing you out of the way so 'they can get something done right'. They ignore your opinion and rarely take your advice. They see you as...well as a child. They constantly tell you that when you are older, maybe you can help. But that day never seems to come. Being a kid means living without power, living a hard life where you have to constantly prove that you are able to do the same things as other people. That was living as a kid.

Living as a mute child was even more difficult.

Bella couldn't quite understand why, but most people just don't like taking the extra time or going the extra step to talk to her once they find out she's a mute. Most adults (and children) will scold her, make fun of her, or worse, ignore her. She was used to it by now, but while she was growing up, she often found herself frustrated to the point of tears when she couldn't ask for a simple drink in a shop or money for her act. It was still annoying to have people stare blankly at her when she 'spoke' to them, but most could understand the point she was trying to get across if they paid any sort of attention.

Like Mault. He understood her. She didn't know if it was the fact that he, too, was a street performer, or if maybe it was because people treated him in the same sort of way because of his masks, but he understood, and that was all that mattered to her. In fact, he liked the fact that she didn't talk. She grinned at him, the eerie smile reappearing on her face. Yes, he definitely understood. The world could live in silence and get along perfectly. It's harder to speak without words, but not impossible. One simply needs to know what to do.

The smile faded away as he moved to sit on top of the table, shaking it slightly. She grabbed her drink so it wouldn't spill and took a sip as he explained. Different personalities in the masks? Like magic? How did the personalities get there? How did he find the masks? She tilted her head to the side slightly as he spoke, but she continued to listen. It was fascinating, but at the same time...it was slightly terrifying. He had who knows how many different personalities at his fingertips and he could switch them whenever he wanted. It was almost like a crazy person, but Mault seemed to be in control of everything. Her mind worked furiously to answer some of the questions she still had, making up her own answers. Where did he keep the masks? His sleeve? An invisible place she couldn't see? How many masks did he have? Dozens? Hundreds? Thousands? She was deep in thought when he spoke once more, breaking her suddenly from her trance. She then realized she had been staring at him intensely for almost a minute.

But he had asked another question, err...two actually. And they would both have different answers, so she couldn't just nod, because how would he know which she was answering? He couldn't read, and she couldn't speak, so those options were out. How to answer them then? She looked at the table for a second, thinking, before getting an idea. She pulled one of her cards and something to write with from her sock and sat up on her knees. She began to doodle on the back of the card. After a minute of scribbling quickly, she showed him what she drew. It was a man and a woman, holding hands with someone much shorter. All three figures had creepy smiles scribbled on their faces in black, much like Bella's. She looked up at him, pointing to the two taller figures as if to say Mom and Dad. He would understand.

She left the card where it was and sat back down on the chair. She looked up at him, staring blanking. She couldn't think about any way to ask anymore questions. She looked off to the side, thinking. She had so many questions, but no way to ask them. She sighed slightly, her entire body moving when she did so. But then she snapped back, another idea coming to mind. She stood on the chair and reached into her pocket. A few seconds later, she pulled out the coin again, pointing to it, and then doing the techniques to make it disappear. Magic. Could he do anymore of it? She knew there was a slim chance he would understand, but it was always worth a shot. She sat back down and placed the coin next to the paper on the table.

[Anonymous]

Bella probably did have it hard, living a strange life that she did. Mault of course had it just as hard. A strange person or creature, who didn't know if he had a real face, who would put on a mask and become a different person. Having to rely on these masks, which were connected, but separate from each other. The worse part was the fact that no one really knew what he looked like, and as such, Mault was pretty sure he didn't have a face. He didn't know how he ate or drank really, he just put food and drink there, and felt like he was eating or drinking. There was the problem with none of his masks having holes for the eyes, or if they did, no one could see eyes through it. It made him worry. He knew he wasn't human, but what sort of being had no face?

He didn't question it however. He saw through his masks, and he talked through his masks. That's how it was, and even since he was young...that's how it had been. At least...as best as he could remember. He wasn't sure WHO he was remembering. Was it his life, the person under the mask, or was it Mault?

Scary to think about.

He did however relate to Bella. She couldn't speak, and he couldn't be without a mask. As such the two of them could understand each other. It went deeper of course, each of them were street performers, and each of them took on different roles to suit their lives, and each of them knew how hard it was to live when you were quite different from the others. When people muttered the word freak, or said it to your face, or wondered if you were somehow less intelligent than them. Bella probably got the worst of it, and Mault felt sorry for her. Just because she didn't speak, didn't make her unintelligent. If anything, she had to be more intelligent to get her point across to people.

Yes, that's how it was.

His answer to her question about the masks probably didn't help her. If anything, it probably left the poor girl with more questions. That however, was fine, as he'd answer each of her questions in turn if she asked them. He wasn't noticeably dangerous of course, save for the masks that had violent and slightly wicked personalities. He wouldn't be wearing any of those around her, except for Shin-Glau, because he was usually nice and respectful. Like how he had done the favour for Mault by reading the card. The demon had honour, but he also had anger and hate and cruelty, but still...there was honour and respect. He didn't quite understand how the masks all talked to each other, or how the personalities really came to be. Well...okay, he might have understood the masks talking to each other. If he was crazy, than it was just him pretending to be the masks, and as such, it would really just be...him. Talking to himself.

Not a very...good prospect but still...he didn't like to think on such a thing.

She seemed to be writing something down, or drawing something, and he relaxed, still seated on the table, lounging in a way with his drink, slurping noisily as he waited for her to finish her little drawing. When she was done he sat up and took a look at the card. Okay, she was a cute girl, but scary as hell. The figures all had that intensely creepy smile that she had perfected, and he wondered if she was really a demon. Maybe this was a possessed child. Or maybe she just thought this was a normal smile. There was no need to jump to conclusions. Besides, the parents didn't look like demons either. Unless they had been possessed, force to mate, and the mother had carried the demon Bella to term. That was pretty far-fetched however and he wouldn't even believe it.

"Oh okay, you've got parents then! Hah, a mother, father, and daughter street performer group. I bet that's a fun thing to watch!" He might actually have to look into watching their performance one day. It was probably a really fun show! Acrobatics and contortionist acts always were, and for them to just do that as a street show, it was probably quite a sight to see. Usually you needed...a tent and what not, lots of room for death-defying acts and such. However, they just did it all on a street, which meant...well..interesting times for everyone!

He didn't have much time to think on it as she began to ask another question...to some degree. She was doing the little sleight of hand trick that he had taught her. He wondered what she was asking at first. It took him a while but then he brightened up. "I gotcha. You wanna know if I can do more tricks! Well...it's all slight of hand. I can make things appear from up my sleeve, or make them disappear...but I can't like...summon a creature or shoot lightning from my fingertips. I don't have the focus for magic, or really wanna learn it. I get by, and besides, a lot of people are mages. It's more skill to be a fake magic user than a real one." If he could grin, he probably would be, but he just kept smiling mischievously. Now it was his turn to ask a question perhaps. However...he really didn't...have any sort of questions. "Alright, ask me another! I like this game!"

[Anonymous]

While he was answering her question, she looked off to the rest of the tavern. She was still listening of course, but she could multitask. She saw that it was fairly full now...err at least fuller than it had been when they walked in. There were more men then women, though it wasn't all too noticeable. She saw that some of the people were sitting alone, but most had one or more people around them. Everyone seemed to have a glass in front of them, some more than one. Some people were young, some middle-aged, some much older. There were people with dark brown or black hair, some with white hair, some with hair in between there, and some with hair that was several different colors. It was funny how everyone could seem so different, and yet have one thing in common with everyone else.

They were all staring at Mault and Bella.

Not that she minded. In fact, she kind of enjoyed it. She knew she was strange, and even though she didn't like it sometimes, she still embraced it. She could barely imagine what her life would be like if she had been born into a different family, a normal family. She wouldn't have to wear make up. She'd be able to speak to people. She wouldn't have to perform in front of anyone. She would live in one place and get to know everyone in that one place. She would play with her normal friends. She would go to school like a normal kid. She would learn the things a normal kid learns. She would...

She would be normal.

That was actually quite a terrifying thought. Normal.

Either way, it wasn't like everyone was openly staring at them. Most would talk to whoever they were with and occasionally peek in their direction. Some were whispering to their friends while glancing in Bella's direction, but would quickly turn away when they realized she saw them. Some, of course, were openly staring, wondering what these two strange creatures were and why they were sitting in a tavern like normal people. Some were staring in fear, as if expecting the two to jump up suddenly and attack them. Bella had to stop herself from giggling, knowing that the intense smile on her face would probably only frighten them more. Though that could be entertaining sometimes.

She glanced up at him when he was done speaking, slight disappointment in her eyes. She was hoping maybe he could do some sort of cool light show with flames and lightening. Either way, she liked the thought of him doing any kind of magic, real or fake. She wanted to see more of it, but that would have to wait until another time. Besides, she didn't have a whole lot of money to pay him for letting her see any more of the magic he could do. Maybe she could get money from her parents later to watch him, though she was pretty sure her parents wouldn't like the idea of giving their money to another performer. She sighed slightly.

She took a sip of her juice. She had hundreds of questions to ask, but no way to really ask them. She took another sip and looked at him from over the top of the glass. Then she set down her juice, but continued to look at him, unblinking. After a minute, she looked off to the side, once again scanning the people in the tavern. Nothing much had changed, though she saw new faces amidst those who were already there. She tried to think of some way to ask him one of the many questions, but nothing came to mind. She glanced back up at him and simply shrugged her shoulders, as if telling him she didn't know what to 'say'.

 She rubbed at her eyes, but the small black triangles stayed as perfect as they always were. Though it was still fairly early, Bella was tired. She often didn't sleep well, waking up early each morning to find a place to perform and she fell asleep late after doing her routine several times over. The only time she ever had time to sleep was when they were traveling to a new city, and even then it was hard to sleep on the caravan. She kept herself energized by running around usually, and oddly enough, it works most of the time. At least until her body refuses to move anymore and she collapses with absolute exhaustion.

That could be scary sometimes.

But either way, she jumped down from the chair she was sitting on and began skipping around the tavern, touching each table softly as she passed by them. She glanced at a few people, giggling silently at the confused expressions on their faces. Those who had been afraid of her...well they were completely terrified now. She smiled, weaving in and out of all the tables before finding her table again. She hopped up on the chair, breathing hard. She took a drink from her juice, almost completely finishing it. She took a deep breath, bringing it back to normal. Then she stared up at Mault as if nothing strange had happened.

[Anonymous]

Mault did notice that she had started to look around the tavern a little bit. He did so hope that he wasn't boring her, that she was looking for something else to entertain herself with. He figured at some point it would probably be a smart idea to get off the table top, but he really liked it here! He also let himself take a quick look about the tavern, wondering what she was looking at. However, he didn't stop talking, never broke stride as he stole a few quick glances around the place. Lots of people there...and for that matter...they were all looking at Bella and himself. That was a little odd, as if these people had nothing to do but stare at street performers trying to get something to drink.

Rude, but understandable.

If he had been a normal person, just an ordinary man in a tavern whose life was boring, then he'd probably stare at a pair like Bella and Mault. He of course, wasn't a normal person, and there wasn't anyone like Bella and himself here. Well...okay...they were technically here but...gah, all this strange hypothetical not-Mault talk was starting to hurt his brain a little bit.

Still, he wondered what not-Mault may look like. He'd have a face then...but would it look like the Mault mask?

He wondered idly, if people would stare less if they had washed the face paint off of Bella before coming in here. Would they stare more, or less he wondered? Probably more, considering that would be even WEIRDER to see. Sure, a strange mask wearing fellow and a silent clown were indeed odd to see together, but...to see a strange mask wearing man being led around by a fourteen year old girl...that was probably just weirder. Actually now that he thought of it, he was glad she had her makeup on. They were just a couple of street performers looking to have something to drink! Nothing weird about that!

Still the people stared.

When he was done talking he looked directly at her, noticing her rather...disappointed look. "I'm sure I can teach you a few tricks though, I just hafta think of some." He had some flash powder that he could teach her to use, and some good quick burning flammable powders. They were expensive for the most part, so Mault only used them in the big cities, where he could make some real money, but...he supposed he could always show Bella a few of them later.

He waited for her next question, looking down at her, as she looked up at him. Getting awkward again. He was waiting for her to say something, er, for her to try to communicate with him again...but she just shrugged. She didn't know what to ask him either. He would admit, he wasn't really good with this whole thing, it wasn't too often that people really talked to him. He wasn't a loner, he had familiar faces in the world that he could talk to, that knew him, and even liked him, but for the most part, he didn't get to talk about himself too much. He felt it just...weird, more so when he couldn't put it into words and people got confused.

Such was life though.

"You look kinda tired there Bella, you got big black marks under your eyes." Mault commented, chuckling afterwards. "Hah hah hah! Black marks...under your eyes...cause of the paint!" He slapped his knee in jest, rather proud of that mark. He found it hilarious, but it might have been because he was feeling pretty good after a bit of ale. Not to mention, he was trying to break that awkward silence anyway he could. There were even a few chuckles from surrounding tables who had heard his comment. That was mighty kind of 'em!

That was when Bella suddenly got up and left. Well, she didn't leave, but she started skipping around the room. Even he had to be confused as he stayed on top of the table, watching as she touched each table and giggled silently at them. They say a great gift was a child's laughter, but...what happened when that child couldn't make any sound? The complexity of that particular conundrum of philosophy would have to wait, as Bella returned and pretty much drained her cup of juice dry. If Mault had a normal face, he might have raised an eyebrow in question. He might have had his mouth half open in a sort of "What just happened?" expression. As it was though, his face didn't change, and...she looked at him as if nothing was wrong.

"So Bella...have you ever been to Arca before?"

[Anonymous]

As long as she could remember, her face had been painted. She had always been in costume with her white hair pulled up in a half-ponytail. That's how it always was. Sure, her mom would occasionally have to make a new dress and vest for her or patch up holes in her stockings, and her father would redo her makeup each time they got back on the caravan, but not once had she ever looked like a normal girl. She wondered what it would look like. Normal Bella. Would she be pale like she is now or actually have color to her skin? What about her hair? Would she change the color of it? And dressing normally...

She stopped thinking there.

That.Would.Not.Happen.

But one day she hoped to be able to speak freely. She enjoyed her strange life as a contortionist, but she hated the fact that she was constantly being called stupid or...other colorful words that Bella had never heard before. She wished to be able to speak up and allow the world to hear that she was smart. She wanted to be able to prove it to people. She heard their comments and saw the rude things they did when they thought she wasn't looking. It bothered her, but they would never know. They would look at her, make some snide comment, and go on with their day, not thinking twice about the girl behind the paint and the silent act. It was beyond frustrating.

Even though she wanted to speak, it didn't mean it would happen anytime soon. At least not while she was able to have a pleasant 'conversation' with Mault. She was quite enjoying whatever it was that they were doing. He seemed to have figured out a strategy to talk to her and figure out what she was 'saying'. Or at least he pretended to know. No, she was pretty sure he knew what she was saying. In fact he seemed pretty comfortable around her. Yea, this was probably the most pleasant thing she had done since coming to Ketra. She just hoped it would last. Things got pretty awkward when neither of them asked a question, but with his witty remark and her...random fleeing, well it just kept the whole thing rolling.

She was glad he wasn't...[strike:38ou76i3]disturbed[/strike:38ou76i3] weirded out by her leaving. Not that she really cared, but it would be even more awkward if he questioned her sanity....like everyone else. But he didn't and she grinned as he changed subjects. She perched on her seat, much like how a dog would sit, but up on her toes. She wasn't exactly one to be able to sit still for too long, but she was trying. She found sitting in odd ways helped to make her stay in one spot. He finished his question and she thought for a second. She had been several places in her short life, but she was pretty sure Arca was not one of those places. She shook her head slightly. She wondered why he would ask. Had he been to Arca and wanted to tell stories about it to fill the silence? She didn't know what it was like, but she was sure as a street performer he would have interesting stories no matter where he was.