|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 8:47 pm
High above the tents and stands of the Circo Nelle Stelle grounds flew a small, yet strange looking creature. It appeared to be that of a bird, though it had a long, reptilian tail with feathers that trailed down the top of it, and scales that covered its body in some places. It glided through the air, circling the area as if to make sure that it was in the correct destination. After a moment or so the bird changed its altitude, heading down towards one of the tents. The creature perched itself on a post outside of the tent, reaching into a bad strapped to its side with its beak and pulling out an envelope. With the envelope in its beak, the bird like creature leaned over, dropping the envelope in the box that was nailed to the post. It was a mailbox, so that the troupe could retrieve any mail that had been addressed to them. With its mission complete, the creature once again took to the skies and flew off. Inside the envelope was what seemed to be a rather pricey piece of parchment paper, with careful strokes of ink decorating the page into a message. At the bottom was a deep read wax seal, giving away just who had sent the message.  ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Only an hour or so remained until the show began. Silencieux had already gone to check on most of the preparations, and she now had time to get herself ready. There was a small portion of the tent sectioned off for those in the show to prepare for their acts or just relax while the rest of the show was going on. The far side of the wall was lined with tables and mirrors, the mirrors framed with bright, round, white bulbs. The dark haired fae sat herself at the end of the mirrors, sitting on a stool and inspecting her reflection. She gave a bit of a disgruntled expression as she noticed the dark bags that had formed under her eyes. Days of not sleeping were starting to make themselves apparent, and she did not like that fact one bit. With a sigh, the shape shifter easily enough made them disappear, giving her a fresh and rested appearance, despite the obvious lie of it.
Behind Silencieux sat the earth toned “chimera” known as Veli. He had a habit of following the ringmaster around the grounds, especially right before a show. He was silent, as usual, and he watched the area carefully. “Veli,” Silencieux called, glancing over her shoulder to the creature to make sure she had gotten his attention. When she saw the creature’s ears perk up, she continued. “Do go make another round about the place and make sure that everyone’s ready, would you?” The woman reached for a tin of makeup, but paused, turning back to the chimera. “And please make sure that none of the audience members see you this time.”
Acknowledging his mistress’s request with a nod of his head, Veli turned and left through the performer’s exit of the tent. Silencieux watched the creature for a moment before returning to what she had done previously. The woman twisted the cap off of the tin of white base, picking up an application sponge to being the process of covering decorating her face. In truth, she could just shift and change the appearance of her face to whatever she wanted, but she much preferred this method. It gave her time to sit and focus on things and think on what she needed to do. It wouldn’t be too much longer before more and more people arrived to fill the stands in the performance tent. If all went as she had hoped, the ringmaster and troupe of the rival Circo nelle Stelle. It was high time to get her plan into motion, and the members of Stelle were simply a stepping stone to get to where she wanted to be. With any luck, they would be gone in little time and Silencieux could focus on her main target – Cirque du Gothique.
Her plan was all laid out, she knew how every part and piece was supposed to fit. Now all that was left was to begin.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 9:57 pm
 ▁ ▂ ▃ ▅ ▆ ▇ Mαʏвє ι'м d r є α м ι n ɢ. ▇ ▆ ▅ ▃ ▂ ▁
x x x x xOʀ мαʏвє ι'м s c r є α м ι n ɢ.x x x x x
✖ x x x x xOʀ мαʏвє... ι'м αʟʀєαɗʏ ɗ є α ɗx x x x x ✖
Outside of the performing tent, Alexander sat, leaning against the taunt tarp. In all technicality, he was a side show, an attraction for those with a bit of extra money, so he had no need to be inside the tent or anywhere near the performance. He should be manning his tent and get prepared for the influx of the crowd in and out, but the summer night was warm and too nice to avoid.
Oh, who was he lying to? Himself? Alexander was dreading something terrible to occur and so had chose the reclusive and dark shadow of the tent to do a quick reading. The bright bulbs inside casted an eerie shadow of Alexander. It stretched in front of him and wavered as people would pass by, their shadows blending and morphing into dark creatures not of this world. Silently, he pulled out his deck of cards and began to shuffle it as he eaves-dropped to the small chit-chat of the performers inside, trying to subdue his worry. Though he knew many other ways to shuffle, he preferred the somewhat lazy Riffle style. Closing his eyes, Alexander listened to the slap and riffling of the cards. Barely audible to anyone but him. A slap, a riffle. Louder and louder. Another card stacked on another. A slap, a riffle. Faster and faster. Then suddenly, he stopped and laid the deck on the warm ground beside him.
Pulling out the first card, he read out loud in his soft voice, "Ace of spades." A long silence followed, until his unfocused eyes finally left the card to the deck and what laid next to it. A third of a bottle of some dark and foul liquid next to a standard playing card deck. He stared at this pair before returning to his view of the shadow puppet show before him. "Ah.. Well, that'll make things difficult."
Somewhat tired, though hardly physically, Alexander leaned further into the tent, closing his eyes while taking free swigs of whatever was in the bottle. From his spot, he could hear the Mademoiselle's strong voice commanding Veli. He scoffed. Veli was hardly a chimera. Hardly a man. A beast of something in-between. Though, he supposed, that was the point of the Mademoiselle's plan.
He half-laid there, somewhat asleep, somewhat in a trance. Something in-between. "The Ace of Spades..." he muttered to himself as the card was still held in his hand. "....death..." he prophesied. His eyes fluttered opened. "Death of anything and anyone. The moment before rebirth." Something in-between.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 1:05 am
 I F Y O U B E M Y S T A R
I ' L L B E Y O U R S K Y
Y O U C A N H I D E U N D E R N E A T H M E A N D C O M E O U T A T N I G H T
W H E N I T U R N J E T B L A C K , A N D Y O U S H O W O F F Y O U R L I G H T
I L I V E T O L E T Y O U S H I N E  Meldellevo was an hour early for the show, but he had always liked being early. It removed the stress of hurrying to his destination, let him enjoy stillness and tranquillity before someone came along to shatter it. It had been a hot day, but the summer evening was mild and charming, the sun was still getting ready to set, its rays brushing the treetops softly. A few troupe members were setting up stations, hushed voices murmuring gently in the background. He reached up and adjusted his bow-tie as he advanced towards the big tent. He was wearing a simple (by his standards) outfit: a white silk shirt; powder blue top hat, blazer, and pants; a white capelet over his right shoulder; white gloves; navy blue bow-tie and shoes; and a blue rose in his breast-pocket. He had eschewed clipping up his bangs. On his shoulder perched a grey-eyed dove, cooing gently. He smiled softly, scratching the dove's head. A few customers, here early for the show, looked over and nodded silently to him. Breathing deeply as he came to the entrance of the tent, he stretched, prepared for a serene and relaxing wait before the start of the show. Suddenly - "... death ... Death of anything and anyone ... "Meldellevo frowned. Well, if that wasn't a mood-killer, he didn't know what was. He turned and walked further around the tent until he saw the source of the morbid monologue. It was a young man, early-to-mid twenties, with fair hair, striking purple eyes, and a generally unkempt appearance.  "Cheery lad you are," he said to the man.
IxxL I V ExxTOxxLETxxYOUxxS H I N E ✡ ✡
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 2:21 pm
▁ ▂ ▃ ▅ ▆ ▇ Mαʏвє ι'м d r є α м ι n ɢ. ▇ ▆ ▅ ▃ ▂ ▁
x x x x xOʀ мαʏвє ι'м s c r є α м ι n ɢ.x x x x x
✖ x x x x xOʀ мαʏвє... ι'м αʟʀєαɗʏ ɗ є α ɗx x x x x ✖
A voice came from nowhere, spooking the usually oblivious young man. He was fully awake now and took a second to calm himself down, staring somewhere into the dark forest in front of him, as though his ears were so poor to recognize the voice came from his side. Finally, his eyes turned to the man who commented on Alexander. Looking up, he quickly noted the rather dandy apparel and the quality of the clothing. "Ah, pardonne-moi, monsieur.⒈ But, I was only doing a little tarot card reading." He flashed a quick smile before standing upright, the bottle now held close to his body. "For you see-" Alex stumbled over nothing or a perhaps a pebble, before wobbling back perpendicular to the ground. At that very moment, he noticed the small bird on the man's shoulder. Staring at the bird, Alex's head slowly tilted slightly to the side, attempting to understand his own confusion. "Je n'ai pas vu cette espèce en présente partie du pays avant⒉..." Alexander mumbled to himself before shaking his head. Ah, he was drunk, he was probably just seeing things.. again.
With a loose smile hanging on his face, Alex stowed the playing card deck back into his sleeves, and pulled out his "real" tarot deck. "I am a fortune-teller." He accented the 'am' with a wide arc of his arm pointing at himself, his silver bangles clattering against each other from the movement. "So monsieur, for a bit of coin, I'll be happy to tell you anything you wish of the future." At his final word of the announcement, he began to shuffle the deck, Hindu styled for the cards were too big for anything complex.
Back to his rather pathetic living, Alex was than drunk enough to slip a lie or a thousand to this newcomer and his odd bird. Bright. Bright blue eyes. Alexander was quick to also note the sense of power coming somewhere from the man, but he didn't really care. He never really cared about anything. Though, through the process of a drunken logic, Alex came to the conclusion that one, this man could be potentially dangerous to the beloved Ringmaster, and two, he reminded him awfully of the Magician. Well-kept. Blue clothes. And something just... magical for the lack of a better word. He was curious about the Ace-a-like man.... and his retarded bird. "Eh.. Peut-être qu'il a volé dans une fenêtre et j'ai oublié où sa maison est.⒊"
[[Google Translate is my friend.]]
⒈Pardon me, sir.
⒉I haven't seen this species in this part of the country before...
⒊Eh... Maybe it flew into a window and forgot where his home is
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 6:44 pm
I F Y O U B E M Y S T A R
I ' L L B E Y O U R S K Y
Y O U C A N H I D E U N D E R N E A T H M E A N D C O M E O U T A T N I G H T
W H E N I T U R N J E T B L A C K , A N D Y O U S H O W O F F Y O U R L I G H T
I L I V E T O L E T Y O U S H I N E  Meldellevo studied the blonde before him, taking in the bottle, the staggering, the blabbering in French. The tarot reader was clearly drunk. "Are you sure you'll be all right, young man?" He smiled wanly, a trifle concerned, as the purple-eyed youth sputtered about something or other. Luciano, in his dove form, squatted on his shoulder, sending a little more magic through Meldellevo via his talons. He caught the tail of the sentence, although in a broken sort of comprehension. Something about the bird. And the country. He listened and waited as the fortune teller pulled out his deck and began a spiel about telling the future. He gave a slight chuckle. "Oh, a fortune teller?" he said, reaching into his pocket. A spark at his fingertips, and he felt the smooth, cold surface of metal materialize between his digits. He pulled it out, a heavy and fat gold disc glowing buttery yellow in the sunlight. "That is intriguing."On his shoulder, Luciano shifted, hopping and fluttering to the ground. The dove cocked its head slightly. Mel sensed a feeling of amusement coming from the little bird, and smiled as the dove glowed a bright, blinding blue before shifting into the form of a fluffy white kitten. The new form rubbed up against the fortune teller's legs, purring and meowing, vying for attention. Mel quirked a brow; Luciano was always one for the dramatic.  A challenging smile on his lips, the illusionist handed over the slab of gold. "Well then, fortune teller. Tell me what you know of the future."
IxxL I V ExxTOxxLETxxYOUxxS H I N E✡✡
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 10:24 pm
▁ ▂ ▃ ▅ ▆ ▇ Mαʏвє ι'м d r є α м ι n ɢ. ▇ ▆ ▅ ▃ ▂ ▁
x x x x xOʀ мαʏвє ι'м s c r є α м ι n ɢ.x x x x x
✖ x x x x xOʀ мαʏвє... ι'м αʟʀєαɗʏ ɗ є α ɗx x x x x ✖
Alex received the coin with a heavy face of confusion. He continued to stare at the once bird, now kitten creature at the foot of the Ace-a-like man. Closing his eyes, rubbing them, but once opened again, there was still a cat. "Monsieur, that cat is bad luck. I suggest kicking if far, far away." Of course he was only kidding.... half-kidding... A quick smile of jokes and apologizes flashed.
Finally taking a look at the gold, he tapped it and heard a ring pure and true. Satisfied, it soon disappeared into Alex's own magical sleeves. Really, at this point of his life, he did not care if he acted like some conniving sot because frankly, he was one. He'd bite the coin to see how soft the metal was, but Alex already had a piece of metal of some worth regardless of what is was.
He had stopped shuffling long ago and held the deck already making all sorts of lies and general prophesies. Pulling out a random card, he held it up for the man to see. "The Magician." Alex smiled. He didn't need to see the cards to know which were which. After all, he had personally rigged the deck for his own needs. Quickly grabbing another card, he now looked down at the cat things. "The Demon. I assume you to be some sort of daemon. Though, you could be a genie for all I care." He smiled pleasantly as he continued to toy with the idea of actually kicking the small animal.
"And now, we move from the present to the future..." This time, he pulled out two cards. "The two of pentacles, and the eight of swords. For you monsieur kitty-cat, there will be a change. An influx of something. Perhaps, power or... fish. I don't know. You're a cat." Turning his attention away from the terrifying white fluff ball, Alex looked at the man. "And for you monsieur blue, be wary of your colleagues. I expect much jealousy coming from someone close to you. A friend or perhaps family member." He shrugged as he purposefully kept his message vague. Both of his tellings were generalized and occur to everyone, simply at different times. But whatever the matter, he was done with his fortune and had his gold. "Well, I welcome your patronage. Please stop by my red tent over yonder if you want another reading." Bowing with faux care, Alex sauntered into the big tent, ignoring the fact that he pointed over to a sea of red tents when mentioning his own.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 11:51 pm
I F Y O U B E M Y S T A R
I ' L L B E Y O U R S K Y
Y O U C A N H I D E U N D E R N E A T H M E A N D C O M E O U T A T N I G H T
W H E N I T U R N J E T B L A C K , A N D Y O U S H O W O F F Y O U R L I G H T
I L I V E T O L E T Y O U S H I N E Meldellevo leaned against the tent, an amused grin on his face as the drunk before him pulled out his cards and waxed the same poetic yarn he had heard dozens of fortune tellers weave, although the blonde did manage to make him chortle as he rambled towards Luciano's purring form. A demon? One transformation and even the most steadfast was unnerved. He gave a silent nod as the teller concluded his spiel and gave a bow - Mel fancied he saw a slight wobble in the alcohol-saturated man's ankles. He glanced at the tents the fortune teller had gestured towards and exchanged a quick glance with Luciano. The kitten had left the legs of the reader and was now cuddled at Meldellevo's feet, it's little purrs a gentle rumble on the illusionist's toes. "Very well," he said gently. "You've been kind. I won't keep you."The young man walked off, disappearing into the big tent. When he was sure the teller was out of earshot, Meldellevo let out a hearty chuckle as the kitten disappeared and reappeared as the familiar fair-haired and grey-eyed man he knew in a flash of blue light. Luciano stretched and got up, one arm snaking around Meldellevo's waist.  "A hack, you reckon?" asked Meldellevo. Luciano heaved a sigh, lounging against the tarp. "No, but he certainly wasn't worth all that gold." He reached up and adjusted his black top hat. Meldellevo looked him over. Dove grey shirt and slacks, black coat and gloves. A shiny obsidian cane. Patent leather boots. "Was it a conscious decision to dress like that?""Oh yes. I can't stand being like you, Mel," Luciano laughed. He reached up and snapped his fingers. Sparks flew from the tips and disappeared. Meldellevo stared curiously, and Luciano leaned his head on Mel's shoulder, smiling. "Well, I did say he wasn't worth all that gold. A lump of sulfur would do him well."Meldellevo tutted. "You turned the gold into sulfur?" he scolded. "Poor bloke won't get the smell out for days."Luciano only threw his head back and laughed. ((OOC: Just so everyone's on the same page ... yes, Luciano is a devil (a "demon"), but Meldellevo doesn't realize this. He thinks Luciano is only a very powerful magical being, and Luciano has never let him believe otherwise, as he knows Mel wouldn't work with him if he knew Luciano was a devil. Nevermind.))
IxxL I V ExxTOxxLETxxYOUxxS H I N E✡✡
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 12:49 am
▁ ▂ ▃ ▅ ▆ ▇ Mαʏвє ι'м d r є α м ι n ɢ. ▇ ▆ ▅ ▃ ▂ ▁
x x x x xOʀ мαʏвє ι'м s c r є α м ι n ɢ.x x x x x
✖ x x x x xOʀ мαʏвє... ι'м αʟʀєαɗʏ ɗ є α ɗx x x x x ✖
As Alex was wandering around inside the performance tent, avoiding the center stage, he began to notice a smell that was unrelated to his lack of hygienes and drunkenness. He paused and took a sniff. It was... rotten... He looked down at his feet in case he had stepped on some dead road kill along the way. Nothing. Another sniff. Eggs. Bad eggs... And the smell was coming from his sleeves. With a confused look, he reached inside his sleeves, actually considering if he's placed some eggs in there and forgot about them this entire time.
Instead, he pulled out a hard crystal. He smelt the unknown substance, instantly identifying it then. "Sulphur..." Staring at it, he finally tentatively took a lick of it, cringing at the bitter taste. There was a lack of any metallic taste to it so it was... "Pure sulphur." He stared incredulously at the yellow crystal wondering if some magical being transmuted something in his sleeve to the element. Digging further around in his sleeves, he noticed the lack of his shiny new coin and continued to be dumbfounded. Perhaps a demon had passed by, warning him of a hell coming...
But then again, he had a lump of pure sulphur in his hands, and he had the know-how to make perfect use of it. "Mademoiselle! Mademoiselle!" Alex yelled as he ran towards where he knew where the Ringmaster was. He waved the crystal around as though it was the most beautiful diamond he's ever found instead of some stinking piece of rock. "Soufre? Ici? Soufre pur? Je ne pense pas qu'il y aurait une source pour les miles. Peut-être il ya un dôme de sel à proximité....⒈" Alex mumbled to himself until he finally reached the closed-off section where the Ringmaster was applying her stage make-up.
"Mademoiselle~!" Alex sang out with all the perfect pitch that a drunk could have. "Can I go make some fireworks for the show tonight?" With this, Alex could easily make some gunpowder and find a few more elements to make it burn and sparkle bright and different colours. And it's always best to ask the Ringmaster before doing anything as stupid as making home-made fireworks.
[[Okay, I don't know if you can lick pure sulphur to find out if it's pure, but I know that alchemists had a bad thing about tasting weird s**t.]]
[[And derp. Forgot Alex was an alchemist, eh. ;D]]
[[Google Translate is my friend.]]
⒈Sulphur? Here? Pure sulphur? I didn't think there would be a source for miles. Perhaps there's a nearby salt dome....
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 1:16 am
The woman normally had a steady hand, easily brushing on the designs that regulars in the audience were all too familiar with seeing on the woman. She was leaning in close to the mirror, trying to make sure that the crescent shape that cut over her left eye was smooth and neat. However, her focus made it so that she was not paying as much attention to the world around her, so the sudden shouting and entrance of the resident soothsayer caused the woman to startle and jump, sending a gold line across her nose. Exhaling an irritated breath through her nostrils, Silencieux slammed the brush and tin of makeup on the counter in front of her. “By the Great Spirit what, Alexander?!” She barked, twisting around to face the man. Sil was suddenly faced with a harsh smell, enough to make the woman instinctively cover her nose with her hand. She cursed under her breath, trying to identify the smell. It wasn’t Alexander’s normal alcohol smell, it was much stronger, and much more pungent. She tried to ignore it the best she could, instead focusing on what the man had to say.
Fireworks? Fireworks? “That is what you came barging in here to ask me?” The woman had a flat, annoyed look on her face. She could already tell that it was going to be a long night, and the show hadn’t even begun. She pinched the bridge of her nose, not really caring about smudging her hard work, considering that she would already have to redo it. “I suppose. Just be careful with it, will you?” She turned back around, looking in the mirror to survey the damage that was her make up. With a sigh, the grabbed a nearby rag, going to wipe her face off so she could start again. Suddenly, though, her ears perked up, a thought crossing her mind. She dropped the rag, not seeming to care that only a portion of the makeup had been wiped away and turned on the stool to face the flaxen man once again. “Actually, I’m glad you’re here, Alexander. It saves me the trouble of trying to hunt you down after the show.” Sil knew very well that her troupe had a habit of…disappearing..after a show, which made it difficult for the poor woman to keep track of them all sometimes.
There was a long pause from the woman as she listened. Not for Alexander’s response, no, but for any noise that would mean the presence of a body too close within hearing distance. She crossed one leg over the opposite knee, her attention focused back on the tins of makeup infront of her. She turned on over on its side, rocking it back and forth with one finger. “I have a bit of a favor to ask of you, Alexander.” She started once she was sure she couldn’t be heard by those who didn’t need to hear. “I was going to address a few members of the troupe about this later, but since you’re already here.” Her red eyes glanced over to the man, and she let the tin of makeup drop flat on the counter again. “It’s beginning to grow difficult for just Veli and myself to retrieve my…” Silencieux paused for a short moment. “Chimeras. Would you like to accompany me next time I venture out?”
Silencieux wasn’t planning on asking every member of the troupe for this favor. No, no, that would be far too careless. There was honestly only a small handful of members that knew of the nature of the creatures, and those were only the people she trusted not to go to the authorities about it. She was already having enough trouble with the local law enforcement officers searching even more adamantly for the missing individuals that seemed to be increasing in number. She just considered herself lucky that none of them had thought to bring themselves to her grounds to investigate, though she knew exactly how to deal with any that became brave enough to do so.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 2:20 am
▁ ▂ ▃ ▅ ▆ ▇ Mαʏвє ι'м d r є α м ι n ɢ. ▇ ▆ ▅ ▃ ▂ ▁
x x x x xOʀ мαʏвє ι'м s c r є α м ι n ɢ.x x x x x
✖ x x x x xOʀ мαʏвє... ι'м αʟʀєαɗʏ ɗ є α ɗx x x x x ✖
Alex pulled back, holding the odorous crystal behind his back, doing his best not to laugh at the jagged line of gold across the Ringmaster's face.
"Oups, désolé.⒈" He bit his lips as his followed the line starting from her nose all the way around to the ruined crescent moon. His smile only grew wider as he adored the woman and her anger. Her passion, her drive, mon Dieu⒉. She was the epitome of everything Alex found lacking in not only himself.
Chuckling, he replied after being granted permission, "I'll be sure to make it something wonderful." The last word was almost foreign to his tongue, but being so close to the woman, being drunk, and going off on some scientific high, anything seemed possible with the bright bulbs encircling the mirror glowing brighter and blurring further together, into a figure looking like a shining intestine, framing the reflective looking glass. It was morbidly humorous at how easily he could see everything in components, including a human. Though, then again, the Ringmaster was not a human at all. Before Alex could wonder about what made up a shapeshifter and all the little internal workings or leave the small enclosed area, he was called by the Ringmaster.
He laughed nervously at the mention of after the show. It wasn't much of a secret what he usually did. Though the Ringmaster never had any issue with his nightly trysts before. When she turned to play with one of her make-up tins, Alex could only see her face from the mirror. At the word, 'favour', his face almost dropped. "Non, non .. Je ne vais pas... Avec vous?!⒊" He wouldn't even dare touch the woman in any fashion, the least being sexual. He found her near sacred, and that he should maintain a good distance to keep her... not clean, but rather away from something such as himself.
But when the other's were spoken of, Alex quickly understood that he was on the wrong train of thought after all. When the Ringmaster continued and explained her request, he sighed and nodded with his loose smile back on his face. "Oui, oui.⒋ I'd be glad to. I've always been curious as to what happens to the chimeras during the process." He knew the dangerous field of retrieving chimeras and did his best to word properly, though he probably let more information than he would have liked. Walking backwards, he simply said, "After the show. After the show." before disappearing somewhere to make his lovely fireworks.
[[Google Translate is my friend.]]
⒈Oops, sorry.
⒉My God.
⒊No, no... I won't... With you?!
⒋Yes, yes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 10:57 pm
I F Y O U B E M Y S T A R
I ' L L B E Y O U R S K Y
Y O U C A N H I D E U N D E R N E A T H M E A N D C O M E O U T A T N I G H T
W H E N I T U R N J E T B L A C K , A N D Y O U S H O W O F F Y O U R L I G H T
I L I V E T O L E T Y O U S H I N E
Luciano began pacing in front of Mel, whistling softly. He yawned, stretching, and pointed an accusing finger at the illusionist. "I'm bored and it's your fault," he said tartly. "Why did you have to insist on coming here so early, anyway?"
Meldellevo chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I like the quiet. I thought it'd be nice, just absorbing the tranquillity, you know?" He grimaced. "Of course, it seems out of the question now, given your irritation."
Luciano's lips quirked up into an impish smile. "Of course it's out of the question. We're going exploring."
Sighing, Meldellevo pushed himself off of the tarpaulin, trailing behind Luciano, who had already turned on his heel and had begun walking off. He smiled as he saw the direction Luciano was leading him. "Headed straight for the most inaccessible areas, Luciano?"
"What would be the point otherwise?" said the fair-haired form before him, waving a dismissive hand. "Noire is full of crazies; what they tuck away in the dark recesses at the back of the circus must be even more insane. Wouldn't that be interesting, dear man?"
You can't argue with that logic, thought Meldellevo, slightly bemused.
You bet you can't. Luciano turned his head back at Mel and gave a wide grin. They were passing through the tent city behind the big top by now, and Luciano sniffed the air inquisitively. It seems like the animals are back there, too. So that's always interesting.
Luciano raised his hand and snapped his fingers again. A large bang sounded, and in a blinding flash of bright blue light and some billowing smoke, he made the two invisible. Mel narrowed his eyes, coughing and mentally positioning Luciano with their minds' connection. Isn't the point of invisibility to appear inconspicuous?
You are a magician, Meldellevo, came the reply. You must always go out with a bang.
IxxL I V ExxTOxxLETxxYOUxxS H I N E✡✡
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 10:46 am
--`ladies & gentlemen ✫ boys & girls ~~ THE SHOW // has just begun▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬★▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬xxxxx`p r e s e n t i n g... Ｒingmaster Ｉcarus σƒ Ｃirco ηelle Ｓtelle ❝ if the stars fell out of the sky` --&& my tears fell into the ocean ❞
As the flying messenger slowly left the grounds of the Circo nelle until it was no more than a speck on the horizon, a certain brunette man watched it curiously from the flap of his tent, an unreadable smile painting his features. How strange, a letter? Who was the sender and what was the purpose? Recalling the bizarre appearance of the delivery bird, the man vaguely recalled hearing of a nearby circus known for their wide variety of 'chimera' monsters. The Cirque du Noire.
Noire? I wonder, what would Madame Silencieux want with us? The man wondered amusedly, and let out a soft chuckle. There was only one way to find out. Supporting his weight using a pair of crutches, the man limped over to the makeshift mailbox and fished the envelope out of the bag. Opening it with a slide of his thumb, there was a short pause as the man took the time to read the words so carefully scribed upon the parchment paper. Quite expensive too, judging by the look and feel of it. Silencieux certainly isn't sparing any expenses in extending her invitation to us. There certainly must be something of paramount importance hinging on our attendance. It seems that she cannot, or at least would not like to, afford for us to decline, so to speak, the man mused, delicately arching an eyebrow.
Folding the parchment carefully and placing it back inside the envelope, the man tucked the letter into one of the folded recesses of his garments, smiling to himself. An unforgettable show, hm? Well, I suspect that this is anything but your common courtesy call. But it cannot hurt to humor her. After all, who am I to deny my performers this delightful little excursion? Taking up his crutches again, the ringmaster of Circo nelle Stelle headed for the performers' tents in order to inform them of this new development.
★
Icarus arrived at the grounds of the Cirque du Noire well before the show began. He had actually been worried that he would have arrived late and therefore created a bad impression, however, things had turned out for the best. It had been relatively easy to find a clean white dress shirt in the unorganized space of his tent (he really did need to find the time to clean it some day), and the matching vest to his midnight blue trousers had somehow been discovered at the bottom of a stack of clothing in the closet after its month-long disappearing act. There had been a moment of inner conflict when he had to decide whether or not to wear a shawl, but after deciding that shawls looked atrocious with tailcoats and lace cravats, getting ready to attend the performance had gone rather smoothly. The traveling had been much less hectic (read chaotic) than he had initially expected, and all in all, everyone had arrived at the performance location no less sane or intact than they had prior to the visit, which was a veritable triumph in itself.
Meldevello had gone ahead first out of his own volition, but Icarus trusted the magician enough to keep himself out of trouble, so he didn't worry too much. Instead, the brunette was preparing himself for his dealings with the rival circus' ringmaster, Madame Silencieux. He had dismissed his own troupe for the time being, (His exact words had been something along the lines of "Why don't you go and enjoy yourselves for a while before the show begins? However, please don't set anything on fire or commit any destruction of private or public property by any other means, alright? Nor are you, under any circumstances, allowed to harass or harm anyone else you come across, understood?"), and was now standing before the entrance of the Cirque du Noire's main tent. The brunette ringmaster noted with a tinge of pride that- well, in his completely non biased opinion- the big top at Noire didn't seem quite as grand as Stelle's own. (prior to it being burnt down in an unfortunate accident just recently.)
Icarus would have knocked on the door before entering the tent, for the sake of etiquette, however, knocking was a slightly difficult feat when faced with a structure made mainly of cloth. Therefore he settled simply for tapping the end of his walking stick on the ground several times as a means of communicating his presence. He was never fond of using a prosthetic leg and walking stick in favor of his crutches. The fake leg was inconvenient and difficult to maneuver, therefore added a rather stiff element to his locomotion. However, Icarus' own pride would not allow him to show such blatant weakness in public by the means of his handicap, and his vanity would hate him for going out in public with such clunky crutches. Therefore, for performances and occasions such as these, the brunette favored the more aesthetic- if not more uncomfortable- means of making up for his handicap.
Satisfied that his entrance would not be rude and unannounced, the ringmaster waited several moments before stepping into the big tent. Anyone preparing for the show would most likely be backstage, including Silencieux herself, but hopefully she would be able to hear him, and then they could start their dealings. Admittedly, this was Icarus' first time at the Cirque du Noire, and the tent certainly looked much larger from the inside than the outside, but for someone who had practically lived out all his life in tents, this failed to surprise him. "Excuse me, is Madame Silencieux here?" he called out, making his presence even more known. "I have come to report that the Circo nelle Stelle has arrived."
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬★▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
--`ladies & gentlemen ✫ boys & girls ~~ THE SHOW // has just begun [ OOC Sorry for the wait. Temp layout, I'll make something more pink and with an actual pic of Icarus... Some other time. -shot-]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 10:39 pm
I F Y O U B E M Y S T A R
I ' L L B E Y O U R S K Y
Y O U C A N H I D E U N D E R N E A T H M E A N D C O M E O U T A T N I G H T
W H E N I T U R N J E T B L A C K , A N D Y O U S H O W O F F Y O U R L I G H T
I L I V E T O L E T Y O U S H I N E
The two invisible beings made their way to the back of the tent city, ignoring the confused faces poking out of the tents. Through their linked minds, Meldellevo could hear the low chuckle of the amused Luciano as they weaved their way through the tents. He smiled as they reached the animals. The beasts raised their heads and turned towards them.
"You must hand it to the beasts of this earth," said Luciano quietly, reaching back to take Meldellevo's arm. With his free hand, he waved his cane at the animals, and though he couldn't see the blonde man's face, Mel could hear the smile. "It's why I love animal forms. They're so much more able than humans in so many ways. Look -" he pointed at a pacing tiger with the cane "- look at that. So much power. And they don't even have to try. It's just there. Beautiful."
"I didn't know you were an animal-lover, Lu -"
"I want that power. I want all that power." The words were both sent telepathically and spoken verbally. Meldellevo paused and cast a worried glance at Luciano before remembering that the man was invisible. The tone with which he had spewed that thought and phrase was forceful, fervid, frightening. He could almost imagine the manic glint in Luciano's eyes, the strange, glow to his face. Mel shifted his arm, grasping Luciano's hand with his own, and squeezed it tightly.
"Let's go," he murmured, pulling gently. He shocked himself with how trembly and weak his voice sounded. "Please. Let's leave. We'll be late for the show."
He saw, in his mind's eye, Luciano turn his head back towards him, and he seemed to shimmer slightly back into visibility, his expression softening and his eyes widening. Suddenly, the tiger uttered a low, guttural growl, and Luciano snapped his head back the other way, and Mel saw a transfixed expression on his face before he became fully invisible once more.
Can you sense that?
What? Sense what?
There's a dark energy. Further back. Very dark.
Meldellevo felt his throat becoming dry, and shook himself as a shiver went down his spine. He always lost his composure around Luciano. It was unnerving. I don't know what you're -
Concentrate.
Sighing and swallowing in an attempt to wet his throat, Mel obeyed and quieted down, squeezing Luciano's hand tightly. And suddenly - he felt it. An ominous, torturous energy, an undercurrent of horror in the air, pulsing from the very back of the circus grounds. Luciano began pulling him towards it. His heart was pounding, and he felt, all at once, like the child in the hat shop once more, his body forced to follow a thread that his mind and soul screamed to run away from.
But his legs kept moving forward, and they rounded the last corner, they came to a smaller building, partially obscured by the larger temporary stable before it. The building was locked tight, and sobbing moans and eerie whimpers drifted out of it. The feeling of a dark energy, of a twisted and demonic power, had become so strong it was nigh unbearable. Mel began to shake, and his knees gave way. Luciano grabbed him immediately, holding his arm and waist in a clamp. The cane was pressed uncomfortably between Mel's waist and Luciano's hand, digging into Mel's hip.
"Luciano, no -"
"Hush, Mel."
Luciano drifted forward, pulling Meldellevo forward, and Mel found his legs doing as he bid them not to, putting one foot before the other in a stolid manner. They reached the wall of the building and Luciano released his arm to place a hand on the side of the building, studying it. Slowly, they began to pass through the wall ...
IxxL I V ExxTOxxLETxxYOUxxS H I N E✡✡
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 10:46 pm
◆☽◆ Mademoiselle Silencieux ◆☾◆
Now that she did not have any interruptions, Silencieux could finally focus on reapplying her make up. Once she had cleared the canvas that was her face, she once again grabbed the tin of white makeup, starting the process of hiding the color of her skin with it. At this point, the woman couldn’t help but wonder just why she didn’t just shift the appearance of her skin, but Sil was having a bit of a stubborn moment, refusing to cheat by using her abilities. She leaned close to the mirror, not even really sitting on the stool much at the moment. She grabbed the tin of gold make up again, trying once again to draw the crescent moon shape that went over her eye. Her ear twitched a little, stopping the brush short of her skin. She wasn’t about to make the same mistake again. She set the tin and the brush down, sitting back on the stool again and turning around. “Why, yes, she is in here.” The woman responded, a bit of a puzzled tone laced in her voice.
After a moment though, her ears perked up, recognizing the voice. “Oh! Ringmaster Icarus! Yes, do feel free to come in!” Personally, Silencieux never had the opportunity to have a meeting with the fellow ringmaster, but she had been to enough of Stelle’s performances that she could recognize the man. The woman had a smile on her face, and it was hard to tell that it was rather fake. She was well practiced in the ways of faking emotions, it helped plenty when during her traveling days, when the rich aristocrats that took so much interest in her would ask the most ignorant questions. “I’m so glad you could make it, Mister Icarus.” She chimed. She then gave a light, slightly nervous chuckle. “You’ll have to forgive me though, I was just in the middle of getting ready.”
The woman had a charming smile, though the thoughts behind the smile were easily deceptive and scheming. There wasn’t much of anything big planned tonight. Situations such as this required one to work slowly, and that’s exactly what Silencieux had in mind. After all, a formation of trust made deception all the easier, which means it would become easier for the shape shifter to tear the structure apart from the inside out.
However, as with most situations involving her troupe, Silencieux couldn’t help but wonder just how they would manage to mess things up and make it all the more difficult for her. She could only hope that they would no encounter any Stelle members, not without proper supervision, of course. This needed to go as smoothly as possible, and Sil just knew that the lecture that she gave her troupe only but a few hours previously fell on mostly deaf ears. ◆✪◆ Aemilio Sartorius ◆✪◆
He had never been on the Noire grounds. It wasn’t much like he had expected, though to be honest, he wasn’t quite sure what he expected. The young unicorn man only really gave a nod in response to his Ringmaster’s orders before he was off searching around the grounds. Most people in the business, hell, most people in the area had heard the rumors about the strange creatures that Cirque du Noire boasted to have tamed, and Aemilio was intrigued to see them for himself. No doubt they would be much different than any show horse or performing dog that he had ever worked with.
So through the small collection of tents he wandered, his curiosity driving him to check every nook and cranny of the area he was in. He knew circus layouts fairly well, so no doubt any sort of animal would be kept in the back, but he couldn’t help but pacify his nosiness with the other features that the circus had to offer. Every once in a while though, he would stop, winking or waving a response to some young girls that caught interest in the sight of the young stallion as he often considered himself. Truth be told, they were mostly curious about his ears and tail, but hey, he would take whatever attention he could get.
As he got further and further away from the main collection of tents in front of the performance tent, a nagging voice poked at the back of his brain. It was Ringmaster Icarus’s voice, for Aemilio knew just the level of trouble he would be in if he ventured too far into areas that he was not meant to be in. The nagging voice was currently doing battle with his morbid curiosity, even more so once he caught sight of what looked to be stables in the distance. They were right there! He could just walk back there, strike up a conversation with a couple of the mysterious chimeras, and then head right back to the performance tent without anyone noticing. Right? Aemilio began to contemplate his stealth skills as he looked around cautiously, searching for Ringmaster Icarus, or anyone else that held the possibility of catching him in the act.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 11:21 pm
▁ ▂ ▃ ▅ ▆ ▇ Mαʏвє ι'м d r є α м ι n ɢ. ▇ ▆ ▅ ▃ ▂ ▁
x x x x xOʀ мαʏвє ι'м s c r є α м ι n ɢ.x x x x x
✖ x x x x xOʀ мαʏвє... ι'м αʟʀєαɗʏ ɗ є α ɗx x x x x ✖
Now where could a drunk man wander to do work on some potentially life-threatening fireworks? Why the chimera stables, of course! Technically, it his turn to be cleaning the temporary building, but as usual, he'd just laugh it off and walk on. Sin would get into some sort of trouble and be forced to do the chore anyways.
Alex while walking towards the locked building had grabbed the few other ingredients he needed for his concoction: scraps of different metals, some charcoal, and some unknown white powder which Alex believes will burn colourfully... hopefully. With the key in hand, his bits of junk in his other arm, he made his way to the loud 'cage' of the ever-restless chimeras. Entering, his first words were, "Hey, honeys. Missed me?" Alex grinned uncaringly at the motley group of beasts before his eyes.
There was a dull torrent of thoughts that swarmed around him faster and thicker than the flies, but inebriated by a good amount of alcohol, Alex easily ignored it as he does with hangovers. Alex never came anywhere near the chimeras when he was sober. Not out of fear or guilt, but rather how 'noisy' all their thoughts were. One of the many reasons he couldn't stand being near crowds when not drunk was simply the volume of people. The lack of peace even within the crowd's minds. But what did it matter? Alex was drunk and had permission to create something as stupid and ephemeral as a flower.
Closing and locking the door behind him, Alex dropped his materials on the table tucked away in the corner, next to the only window with the dimming sunlight pouring out. Seating himself in the rickety chair, he began to work on the basic components. Rolling and shaping containers. Mixing and pressing together 'stars'. Creating the gunpowder and wicks. It was all such crude work even for a drunk man's standards. But Alex never claimed any handiwork skill. The importance laid in the science of explosions and chemicals.
Humming as he worked, Alex was soon absorbed in pouring the gunpowder in slow increments into the tubes. Little by little... until a growl from one of the chimeras shook his hand and broke his concentration, pouring a great deal more than he had intended for one batch. He shrugged as he didn't want to start all over again. But then he began to notice something off in the air. There was something else. New thoughts. Something different than freedom and pain. It was hunger and fear. Alex stopped and turned around to look at the single room where all the cages were kept. His eyes scanned the place. It felt familiar, yet there was something strange.
"Am I drunk?" He asked without needing the answer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
