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 Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 3:34 pm
  This is a private roleplay between Ishtar [Faylun] and Miaoyin [Venexia].
Setting:
Again, outside of the main circus tent during the late morning, a few days after Ishtar's last show.
With her many belongings packed, she has no idea where to go. It is here where Ishtar encounters a fellow performer, Miaoyin, who offers to take her in.
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Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 6:44 pm
"I don't need you! I'm fine! It's not like I can't perform without the circus! It's you who needs me, Jae! Don't be surprised when Hwahana crumbles..." Her words were just a tiny bit slurred, and Ishtar was proud of that fact. Swaying a bit, she wiped her chin, soaked with wine and tears. Ishtar's eyes blurred, and it was all she could do to even stand up. Maintaining her dignity was last on her mind, but there was still a tiny voice in the back of her head, screeching,
Everyone's watching. Everybody. Do you want your final exit to disgrace or honor their impression of you?
Ishtar ignored the voice. If the commoners saw her, she didn't care. It wasn't as if she was going to perform, anyhow. Her fellow performers, however, were trained to hide their inner feelings, Even now, they discreetly turned their heads, not acknowledging her tantrum. Jae's green eyes were focused behind her, as he motioned for another Lunarian to take her away.
Incredible... If there was anything Ishtar hated about him, it was the fact he could act so well. Even a tiny bit of emotion would work to her advantage. But no, she was, quite possibly, the only person in the entire circus who was unable to hide her inner feelings behind a mask. It wasn't as if she was unexperienced--rather, Ishtar always prided herself on how well she could feel. Her actions typically displayed her emotions well, so every word she spoke or every step she took seemed to capture a person's attention and hold it in a subtle, suspenseful way.
Now, however, Ishtar wished more than ever that she could put on a cold, blank mask. Blinking a few extra tears out of her eyes, she boldly stared at the dancers, actors, and singers who had worshiped and accepted her for so long. None of them met her gaze. Turning swiftly around---maybe too swiftly, as she almost fell flat on her face---Ishtar stepped out into the street.
Though she had expected Jae to toss her out sooner or later, after her final show, it still hit her hard. The somewhat-close knit family she had belonged to for so many years hadn't even batted an eye when she announced Jae had (unfairly, she might have added) decided to eliminate her from the show. It was almost as if they had expected it. But no, how could she think of such a thing? Nobody could have known that she was going to be thrown out of the circus. She was---and, Ishtar reminded herself, still is---the star.
A bottle in a hand and a large bag in the other, Ishtar set off down the street. She had absolutely no idea where to go, or what to do.
Burgundy eyes the color of the liquid she occasionally slipped through her lips, Ishtar paid no more attention to the crowds dispersing around her. Take one step, take another step. Keep on moving. Act like you're going somewhere. repeated itself over and over in her mind, a self-sustaining mantra.
Somehow, though, her grace still managed to remain. Even though she was clearly drunk, Ishtar still managed to walk in a straight line. The Lunarians around her seemed part away from her, opening a clear path. It was if, subconsciously, Ishtar's procession was not of shame, but honor.
She didn't notice this, as her eyes looked straight forward, yet focused on nothing. Ishtar was, simply put, not paying attention to where she was going.
Suddenly, she stumbled onto somebody. Oh, s**t.
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Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2010 4:28 pm
Miao was still thrilled about his visit to the circus. Sure, it had been nights ago, but the youth hadn’t been greeted to the wonders and oddities of the circus since he was five. Thus, the circus had retained its exotic appeal, and it never failed (in his two visits) to awe and amaze Miaoyin. Acts had been playing over and over in is head for hours after he had left. He could still see the acrobats thrusting themselves through the air (he had committed the elegant arc in their backs to heart), the damsel tiptoeing delicately along the tightrope, and one girl... a girl who played with fire. Miao was confident he could’ve gone through the motions the fire girl had. Sure, he’d never wield fire – that was not only terrifying, but dangerous as well – but he could’ve done everything else, in theory anyways. Miao, despite all his training for the opera, was still a crummy dancer. He could just act and sing, act and sing.
He had wondered as a younger Miaoyin, that first time he had seen the circus’s splendours, if he could’ve made it with them. Could he have traveled with the strong man and the lion tamer? Would his voice and motions have been enough to wow foreign crowds? Seeing the circus again, only a few nights prior, had rekindled his imagination, set off the sparks inside, and he couldn’t help but ask himself those questions. It wasn’t that he wanted to run away with the circus – no, Miao had never wanted that. The opera was his home, especially now that he had grown up with it, but the opera was so normal to Miao at the same time. The circus was new and tantalizing. It was mysterious, eerie, and filled with smoky action. The opera was exaggerated and loud, full of vibrant colours and the same stories, over and over again. Though Miao loved the opera dearly, the circus had one thing the opera would never have: edge. Still, he kept reminding himself, he wouldn’t trade his theatre for all the edge in the world.
Sometimes when Miao’s head was all jumbled up and ready to explode with multitudes of conflicting thought – times like now – Miao felt the need to step outside and get some fresh air. It wasn’t irregular for Miao to find his feet walking, completely disconnected from his brain or any other reason. If he needed to walk, he would walk. His end destination didn’t concern him - only the fresh air and letting himself become submerged into the city’s atmosphere. Between the lights, the sounds, the air and the general hussle and bussle, Miao was sure to find something to take his mind off things. Really, he just needed a break, a chance to stop thinking – rare as those occasions were – and just be. It was the only way he could allow himself to attain the focus he needed.
Head facing the ground, lost in its bumps and cracks and grooves, Miao busied himself on them and them only. Which was why he didn’t notice the drunken shadow staggering towards him. Their bodies collided, knocking Miao off balance, wobbling on his toes. Hands shot out, anchoring themselves on the stranger’s body. His mind snapped, suddenly becoming cool, calm, clear. Miaoyin blinked slightly, looking at the girl’s face as his hands clutched rather awkwardly onto her shoulders.
She looked… well, he wasn’t sure what she looked like, but it wasn’t nice. And there was something familiar to her too, but he couldn’t place it. Furthermore, what was with all those bags? Miao coughed slightly, trying to figure out what he should say.
“Are – are you okay, Miss?”
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Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 3:58 pm
Did she look okay? Ishtar felt a little flare of annoyance rise up inside her, but then quelled it with another numbing swig of wine.
Big mistake.
Her hand shook as she set the bottle down, accidentally spilling a few drops onto the stranger's elegant clothes.
"I-I'm sorry about that. It'll wash out though. What did you say? Am I okay? Well, I am. I'm just dandy. I've never been better my entire life. The sun's very bright today, sin't it?" Ishtar said, her words slurring unintentionally. Her sarcasm failed to take effect, and she saw a flicker of alarm in the other Lunarian's ruby eyes.
Suddenly, though, Ishtar saw a tiny little bird resting on her shoulder. Her attention quickly switched to the feathered being, and she laughed (drunkenly) as it hopped over a few inches. Away from her.
Smart bird.
Ishtar had always had a strange connection with feathered animals, if only because of her catlike nature. She adored the small, chirping beings, but they rarely, if ever, felt the same way about her. With a pang of regret Ishtar remembered the small canary, so similiar to the one perched on the ruby-eyed stranger's shoulder, that she and her mother had kept as a pet. Even trapped in the dim, cluttered space of their hut, the brave little creature had sung sweet songs. Until, one day, a certain neighbor had slipped inside their house and stolen it.
It wasn't until Ishtar, coming home from a successful day out on the street, had smelled the delicious scent of roasted fowl that she had realized what had happened.
But now...her mood suddenly rising--finally, the alcohol had taken effect--Ishtar dropped the bags in her hand and reached towards the small bird. Ignoring the male Lunarian's astonished look of surprise, Ishtar grabbed at his pet, which promptly flew away. With an extremely wistful expression, Ishtar's dark, swollen eyes followed the bird as it took to the skies.
If only I had wings...
Frowning a bit, Ishtar noticed the expression on the stranger's face. Well, it wasn't every day that a drunken dancer makes grabby hands at his pet, she assumed.
Still a bit intoxicated, Ishtar mumbled, "S-sorry."
Looking at the young Lunarian's pale face, Ishtar noticed something familiar. Hadn't she seen this person before, staring raptly at her show a few hours ago? Her face turning a bright crimson color, Ishtar realized how far she'd fallen. From entertaining the audience to their expense...to making a fool of herself at her own. Biting her lip, Ishtar reached down towards the bags she'd so distractedly dropped.
Now, if only these people could quit staring at her...
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