Come One, Come All! [Open, PM to Join!]

[DragonSong]

"Mm..." Distracted now, Mira cast another glance at the entrance to the tent, brow furrowed. "Forgive me, I'll just be a moment," she said abruptly, standing and crossing to a small chest toward the back of the tent.

She rummaged about for a moment, then came up with a small, ornate glass bottle. Smiling innocently at Neese, she lifted it to her lips, as though taking a swig. Once her lips touched the mouth of the bottle, she whispered, "Shade and shadow lengthen thee, and my servant must ye be."

The shadows in the tent flickered, the smell of incense increasing. Placing the bottle back into the chest, Mira murmured, "Go see what's going on outside. Report back."

With a soft, almost inaudible hiss, a shadow with no owner slipped from the mouth of the bottle. For a moment it danced across the walls of the tent, then it was gone, slipping out through the entrance in the time it took to blink.

Smiling, Mira turned back to her customer, sitting again. "Now. Where were we?"

[Paladienne]

He quickly obeyed her and sat, crossing his legs and stretching forward to try and reach his toes, imitating her but not quite doing the same thing. He wasn't sure how to pretend that he did this every day, and was just simply watching her and doing what the girl was doing. She was, after all, the expert here.

"My... my name?" Rhyske couldn't help but sound incredulous, considering she'd just helped disguise him and now was examining him from head to toe, her eyes holding a far-away glimmer that told him she wasn't exactly there with him right now. "It's... it's Rhyske. What's yours?"

He snapped his mouth shut though, the moment the back flap of the tent was thrown open and the group of carnival patrons stormed through, seemingly heading straight toward him and the girl. Rhyske quickly averted his eyes, but not before he saw Snake trailing the angry crowd. That made him feel even worse than he already did, because he hadn't wanted to get the pale elf in trouble with anyone. But he didn't want to get caught and suffer at the hands of his victims, and he definitely didn't want to suffer his mother's wrath, especially because she was probably having a grand time at the food tents, or wherever she happened to wander to next.

Rhyske looked at the girl then dropped his gaze to the material covering his legs, bending even further even though it had begun to hurt. It's just like any other grift. Pretend you're a performer, just like this girl. Pretend you do this every day. Pretend you know what it is you're doing. Repeating this mantra, Rhyske finally managed to relax, an air of calm coming over him, such that if anyone were to look at him, they would only see someone who belonged there at the circus going though the same routine they did all the time.

[DragonSong]

The trapeze artist smiled softly at him, trying not to draw too much attention with the expression. "I'm Addie."

That was all she had time to say before the angry patrons were nearly upon them, Snake looming at their heels.

"You, girl." The man in the lead's voice cracked out like a whip and she winced, then looked up at him, eyes wide. "You see where the little thief went?"

Addie blinked, and though her heart rate picked up, her voice was convincingly confused enough as she replied, "Thief, sir? I'm not sure I know what you mean."

The man growled, whirling back around to glare at Snake. "I'm sick of you lot and your games! I know you know something. He part of your freak show, huh, is that it? You protecting one of your own?"

Snake merely blinked, evidently entirely untroubled by the spittle that flecked his cheek from the man's shouting. "I've told ya already, sir, we ain't got nobody by that description on carnival grounds."

"Is that so?" A different man spoke this time, his eyes fixed on Rhyske. Addie felt her heart skip a beat. "And how long has he been here then?" The suspicion in his eyes and voice were clear, and Addie saw Snake's shoulders tense almost imperceptibly. She widened her eyes, hearing her heart pounding in her own ears.

It was always like this. Once she Saw someone, she felt a strange connection to them. She didn't know Rhyske from the king of Serendipity, but she was invested now.

"Sir, I think I'm gonna have to ask ya to leave--" Snake rumbled, reaching out to grasp the man's shoulder. Before he could say anything else, the jilted patron turned and swung at him.

Startled, the contortionist didn't duck away, taking the hit solidly on his cheek. He stumbled, blinking, and before he could get his balance back the first man took a swing of his own, sending him reeling in the other direction.

Addie screamed as the mob descended on Snake, kicking and punching and shouting, her own voice a thin, high contrast. "Da! Da!"

And just like that, Viserian was there. A snap of his fingers and the angry patrons stumbled back, revealing Snake curled into a ball on the grass, lanky arms wrapped around his head and knees drawn up to his chest. The demidemon smiled coldly as the panting, scowling men, picked themselves up, enraged and confused.

"What seems to be the problem here, gentlemen?" he cooed, silver eyes glinting dangerously.

Uncaring, Addie through herself toward her friend, whimpering quietly as he lifted his head and she saw the bruises blossoming over his face. "Oh, Snake..."

[Paladienne]

Rhyske couldn't help the sharp intake of breath at the sight of the man suddenly turning and striking Snake. His eyes went wide behind the mask and he made a noise of startled protest. He started forward - to do what, he didn't know - but before he could even reach the man to  make him stop hitting the contortionist, the mob had descended, and they were merciless in their blows. Rhyske hated himself. He hated himself in that moment. This wasn't supposed to happen! This wasn't supposed to be how it was! They were supposed to have just given up! Given up and walked away! Not turn on someone who was trying to help him!

Rhyske reached up to his face, his fingers curling around the mask. Like the coward he was, he hesitated. He knew what the right thing was to do - rip off that mask and reveal his identity and take the punishment for what he'd done - but he couldn't make himself do it. His fingers gripped the mask tight, his knuckles starting to hurt from how tight he was holding the fabric, and finally, began to yank it off.

But before he could, another man was there, no doubt answering the girl's cry of 'Da!', and Rhyske froze in place as he watched every single patron was blown off their feet.

Rhyske stared, his eyes even wider than before. His hearts were hammering in his chest; he should come clean now, tell this man everything in front of the patrons, return everything he'd stolen and take the punishment. Maybe he wouldn't be hurt too badly. But even the physical pain the patrons could inflict was nothing compared to the emotional pain he felt for getting Snake hurt.

There was a flash of motion as the girl shot by him to her fallen friend. Rhyske stared at her for a minute before he was following, catching up to her just as she knelt by Snake's side and picked him up. Rhyske's self-loathing increased even more as he saw the bruises blooming on the pale man's face, and he ducked his head, feeling his eyes sting. He'd sometimes thought about what happened to those he stole from, but because he never actually saw the result of his actions, so it had been out of sight, out of mind, and he hadn't dwelled upon it. But now... now it was in his face.

Gingerly, he reached out to touch Snake's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."

[DragonSong]

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]

[Paladienne]

Rhyske drew his attention away from Snake toward the man who'd appeared so suddenly and had driven away the patrons. He glanced around at all the new arrivals, the man holding the flute and the woman dressed in a beautiful flowing outfit, and then to the girl who'd helped to try and hide him, and finally back to Snake. Then he focused on Viserian again and reached up to pull his mask off his face, shedding the clothes that Addie had given him to wear as a disguise. He held them in his arms, tight against his chest, as if he couldn't bring himself to drop them or release them. His eyes dipped to the ground and he grimaced slightly.

"I'm sorry," he said, and it sounded like a helpless croak. Swallowing and trying again, Rhyske lifted his head to meet Viserian's gaze again. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I was working the crowd and was spotted. I ran, and ended up running into his tent, on accident." He gestured to Snake. "He tried to save me. And so did she." He tilted his head toward Addie. "Look, it's... it's not their fault so... please. Don't be mad at them. Be mad at me. Stealing's all I know how to survive. I have to do something to take care of myself and my mother..."

Rhyske trailed off. His mother. He closed his eyes tight in a grimace. He wasn't surprised that whatever she was doing hadn't been bothered by the commotion, but she would hear about it soon. And the moment she did, Rhyske was certain he'd never hear the end of it.

The young Starstrider opened his eyes and stared at Viserian. "I'll leave. You'll never hear from me again, I swear."

[OOC: Did you want to switch here @DragonSong ?]

[DragonSong]

[Sure! I'll try to put a private thread up soon and link it here ^.^ @Paladienne]



Vis chuckled and shook his head, clapping on hand one the boy's shoulder. One hand with a vice-like grip.

"Oh no, my lad. I think we'd best discuss these details in private." He nodded to Elea and Myst. "You two get Snake to the healer. Snake, when you're up for it, come to my tent."

The contortionist nodded, gratefully allowing the couple to help him to his feet. Viserian looked to his daughter. "You're mixed up in this too?"

Addie nodded, glancing at her feet, and Vis sighed. "Alright. You'd best come with us then."



Continued for Addie, Rhyske, and Vis here

[Marjorie]

Neese watched the woman's little spell with interest though he made no comment. "My dear," he said gently, "we were just beginning."

Neese smirked at Mira. "I do believe I was promised spirits... of some kind."

"Mm..." Distracted now, Mira cast another glance at the entrance to the tent, brow furrowed. "Forgive me, I'll just be a moment," she said abruptly, standing and crossing to a small chest toward the back of the tent.

She rummaged about for a moment, then came up with a small, ornate glass bottle. Smiling innocently at Neese, she lifted it to her lips, as though taking a swig. Once her lips touched the mouth of the bottle, she whispered, "Shade and shadow lengthen thee, and my servant must ye be."

The shadows in the tent flickered, the smell of incense increasing. Placing the bottle back into the chest, Mira murmured, "Go see what's going on outside. Report back."

With a soft, almost inaudible hiss, a shadow with no owner slipped from the mouth of the bottle. For a moment it danced across the walls of the tent, then it was gone, slipping out through the entrance in the time it took to blink.

Smiling, Mira turned back to her customer, sitting again. "Now. Where were we?"

[DragonSong]

"Yes, of course." Mira smiled easily and settled herself back into her place, hands folded on her lap. "If you do not have any objections, physical contact is often helpful."

She held her hand out to him with her eyebrows raised. "I may be able to create a link with whatever ambient spirits may be floating about you through establishing a physical connection."