Snake gave the boy a lopsided grin, reaching up to tousle his hair. Blood leaked from a split lip and he twisted his head to spit, then coughed raggedly.
"Ah, it's fine, lad. Don't worry yourself."
"It is
not fine," Addie hissed, glaring over Snake's head at Rhyske. Before she could say anything else though, the elf laid a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head almost imperceptibly.
Vis, meanwhile, was still smiling as the cluster of enraged carnival patrons railed at him, exclaiming how Snake had been hiding a thief, and the boy in black was who they were looking for.
"No now, gentleman," the demidemon murmured kindly. "Let's all just take a moment, shall we? You see, the lad here has been with our circus for some months now, and I trust him implicitly," he lied smoothly. The fact that Addie had outfitted the boy and Snake had defended him was enough to earn his interest, for now. "So I'm afraid I don't entirely believe your claims. And even if I
did..."
Silver eyes hardened to steel and his smile became quite suddenly an expression of bared fangs. "You've attacked a man under my protection. My family. And
that I do not take kindly to."
For the first time, the men seemed to begin to realize their mistake. Two began to back away, though the talkative one drew himself up and snapped, "Now you see here, do you know what you're dealing with--?"
Vis raised a hand, curling his fingers into a fist, and the man's voice cut off. Eyes wide, he clawed at his throat, gasping uselessly. The Ringmaster's smile never slipped.
"Yes, I believe I do understand what I'm dealing with," Viserian replied calmly. "The same cannot be said for you, I'm afraid." As the man collapsed to the ground, turning a bit blue around the lips, the demidemon looked to his companions and winked. "I suggest you all run."
They did, with absolutely no argument. Viserian stared down as the choking ex-patron coolly for a few moments, then sighed and relaxed his hand. The man gasped as air suddenly returned, then scrambled quickly to his feet, eyes wide and scared.
"Sun," Viserian called, almost bored, "Escort this man from our premises, would you?"
"Yessir." Almost out of nowhere the bouncer appeared, grabbing the taller man's arm and towing him away from the clusters of tents. As he pulled the man away, two more carnival members came racing up to the group, a man and a woman dressed in flowing, sparkling garments, the man clutching an elaborate flute in his right hand, the left entwined with his partner's.
"Vis, what happened?" the woman exclaimed. When she saw Snake on the ground, she gasped and dropped down beside him. "Oh, poor lad!"
"I'm
fine, Ellie," the elf grumbled, trying to push her away. "And I'm old enough to be your father-- quit calling me
lad.
"Elea raises an excellent question." Viserian turned his attention-- finally- to the cause of all this commotion. One eyebrow raised, he looked Rhyske up and down. "What exactly happened here?"
[OOC: Wanna switch to a private thread after your next post?
@Paladienne]