|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat May 25, 2013 2:00 pm
Bluefire Dragonz assuming this is pre-carnival plot
All there was left to do was break some of the equipment in, and do a few test runs. The rides were easy enough, but things like the trapeze and other large installations like it would need to be tested by a human being. And Chester was always the first on his list to do it.
It was personal, this place. It was his home, his love and his life. He invested everything he was into it, so it made sense that he test what needed to be tested, and risk himself if there was risk to be taken.
He was climbing the ladder, testing each rung, going slowly because he was a perfectionist and wanted to make sure that every last inch of the whole installation was absolutely up to snuff. And he set the bar high.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 8:28 pm
Elijah had been doing much the same thing as Chester today, but rather than on the equipment, he had been making his way over the grounds, making mental notes of possible prime places for entertainment. Things that looked like they would hold his weight, open spaces where he could draw a crowd, blind corners that would cut off good views, all made it onto his list. Along with that were his roster of tricks, which he mentally ordered for each location, taking into account which ones would be showcased best. Granted, there would be a lot of improv going on, but it was good to have a guideline for this sort of thing.
Had this been more of a stage performance, he would have practiced his routine till it was flawless, but with his intent to wander the carnival during operating hours, he had to be ready to roll with the mood of the crowd and the situation.
Most of the grounds covered at last, he made his way to the big top to check in with Chester and see if there were any last minute chores to do. What Elijah found was the Ringmaster climbing the trapeze.
"S'up, Boss? Thinkin' bout joinin' th act?" He called up cockily as he stood at the base of the ladder, a bit of Britain in his accent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 30, 2013 11:12 am
Chester shook his head. It did not show on his face, but he was amused by the question. He was in shape, and he was acrobatic, but he was not going to go beyond his duties as Ringmaster. A trick here and there, maybe, but he would leave the show to those performers he had hired for the task.
They were skilled and trained and dedicated, while he had to split his attention a million ways. He was a perfectionist, so he knew when to defer to those more skilled and specialized when he needed to.
He looked at Elijah and shook his head.
"I was just testing the equipment. The nets need testing as well." Which he could theoretically do by throwing sandbags at them, and not risking his own safety by leaping into them, but he was confident that they were sturdy and strong.
"Might as well kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. I'm going to swing out, then let go. See if you spot any weaknesses in the structure, or any undo slack in the net."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 18, 2013 1:55 pm
The contortionist gave Chester a little bit of a scrunched face at the request, but was happy enough to oblige him.
"I'm no trapeze artist, but I'll take a look, certainly. Just don' expect me t' be an expert." He said as he left the ladder to go have a look at the net, giving it an experimental tug every few feet as he went. It looked solid enough... and the ringmaster wouldn't even be testing it if he thought there was something wrong with it. Still, always good to double check.
Waiting till the dark haired man reached the top, Eli gave him a thumbs up to let him know he was ready and the young man stood back enough to get a good look at the whole structure as it was used. High flying acts were really not something he had any experience with. His specialty had always been sort of floor acrobatics and contortion, though the skills learned on the ground could maybe be applied to the air. The idea made him a teensy bit nervous though.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 9:12 am
"You don't have to be an expert," Chester said, patiently. He might have smiled, if he wore his emotions so plainly, because he was amused. But he was a stoic and quiet sort, and he did not much care for outward shows of emotion, especially the positive ones.
He was bad at laughing and smiling, to say the least.
Thankfully for the nervous contortionist, the opportunity to swing on the trapeze did not immediately come. Chester got his foot stuck on the top of the ladder, where the builders had constructed it slightly off to its measurements and the top of it was sticking out just enough to cause an issue. It allowed for a foot to get suck in the gap, which his did.
His body was jerked off balance and he found himself falling backwards before he knew it. He was too high up for anything good to happen from a fall: in fact, he knew he would likely be killed or irreparably injured. His only choice was the one he made, and that was to power up to Luxor before he hit the ground.
And he hit the ground hard.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 9:56 am
Elijah had a moment to watch the ringmaster climb to the top and a buzz on his cellphone to tell him a text had arrived momentarily drew his attention away. By the time he glanced back, Chester was falling and panic gripped the performer as time seemed to slow down to a crawl. He watched in horror as the dark haired man fell from the ladder, free falling towards the ground. He jerked into motion, but a sick feeling in his stomach told him he would never make it in time.
The sudden blur of motion and light around Chester took him by surprise, but he was far more worried about his new employer when his limp body hit the ground. Eli was more concerned with whether or not he was still breathing than with his sudden lack of clothing as he finally reached his side and tried to press fingers to his neck to check for a pulse.
"Chester! Oi, you okay man? Chester! Bloody hell, what do I do?" He babbled as he scrambled for his phone to call 911, the police or fire department or ANYONE who might be able to help.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 9:22 am
"I'm fine."
Luxor opened his eyes, his head dizzy and his body aching, but he was alright. He was built to take a few hits like that, after all, but that had been a startling and painful way to learn that. He stared up at the platform he had fallen from, looking down at himself after a moment before he moved to get to his feet.
He stood up, dusting off what little clothing he did have on, looking at his new outfit, then at Elijah.
"This... this is not as weird as it looks. Don't call the police."
That was the last thing he needed. For them to find out what he was? For them to think there was a terrorist in the carnival? He would never be able to live it down, and it would further destroy his efforts. Why was living here in Destiny City so impossible? Everything had gotten far too messed up, ever since he turned into this knight.
Now he had to try and explain this to his employee.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2013 9:38 pm
Elijah sat down, hard, when Chester just opened his eyes and stood up, almost casually brushing himself off. Phone in one hand, long fingers stilled on the keys, he stared open mouthed at his employer, jaw working as though struggling to form words. A few incoherent sounds made their way out before he finally managed it.
"The bloody hell was that? You fell... from way up there... and you're FINE?" He sputtered, jumping to his feet with the phone forgotten in his hand. "You could have DIED. I could have been working for a CORPSE. By all rights, you should bloody well be dead!" The young man railed, throwing his hands in the air dramatically. "What the hell was I supposed to do if you died? How was I going to explain that to the cops?"
At this point he seemed inclined to go on in the same vein for a bit, just pacing and shouting, trying to force the strange thing he had just seen to make some sort of logical sense. Was his employer a super hero or some sort of mutant or alien? None of what he had just seen made ANY sort of sense to him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 11:25 am
Luxor looked at the young man and frowned. He did not know much about this war, not as much as any of the others, he was sure. But he was working on it, on learning, on preparing himself. He had a long way to go yet but he was determined, as determined as he could be.
He was pretty sure he was not supposed to let his identity out. Not this easily at any rate. It was supposed to be a secret. What if Elijah, as good a worker as he was, was part of the Negaverse? Luxor would hope they had a way of telling, but if they did he did not know it.
So that was useless to him.
He cleared his throat, letting him get mad and be confused because he did not really have much of a way of clearing it up for the poor guy. Hell, he'd only just started getting used to these powers himself, and now he was supposed to explain it to someone else? Except he was probably not supposed to be explaining it at all. That didn't put Elijah, if he was not part of the Negaverse, in danger, did it?
He hoped not. He had no friends, but he did appreciate his employees.
"I think you should calm down. And sit down. You look tired."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2013 1:53 pm
Elijah's dramatic rant was starting to wind down by the time Chester finally told him to sit down.
"I'm not bloody tired!" He shouted as he waved his long arms. "Shouldn't you be th' one resting? You're th' one that just fell a couple hundred feet."
The comments did have a calming effect at least, or the blue haired boy was finally exhausting himself. He was torn between legitimate concern for this employer and concern about whatever it was that had saved him.
"How are ya okay after that fall? And how the bleeding hell did ya change her clothes on the way down?" Elijah desperately needed answered at this point, and just about any would do. Things were starting to drift into surreal and that was never a good sign. He swore he wasn't asleep, because he didn't think his mind could have dreamed this up. Hot girls in skimpy clothing falling into his arms, sure, but men? In particular his boss? If this was a dream he had bigger problems.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 12:42 pm
Luxor watched the other man and he certainly understood his confusion. If there was a simple explanation for it, Luxor would definitely have preferred it to the real one. No one really wanted to hear that their boss was some kind of super hero, and now he knew the his secret identity.
But at least it wasn't one of those 'now I have to kill you' situations. As far as Luxor knew, anyway.
"It's hard to explain," he said. He powered down, because that seemed like a good idea and would definitely go a long way in explaining what was going on here. Except, no. It would probably just make things worse, and confuse Eli further. But at least now he was Chester again.
"I don't think I can explain anything. Just... don't tell anyone what you saw, okay? It's very important... you could get yourself killed if you do." That was good.
Chester was really bad at comforting people.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 12:58 pm
"Are ya part of the mob?"
It seemed a logical question and was the first thing that came to mind. That's the way it was in America, right? Everything was run by the mob?
"Or... Or are ya an Alien?" That seemed plausible too, since there was no scientific explanation he could see for what he had... Seen. As the panic faded, curiosity replaced it, along with the impulse to see what he could get from the situation. He was atleast guaranteed Chester wasn't goin to fire him now. If he did, the man risked Eli blabbing his secret all over town. That suited Eli just fine, because there was no where else he'd rather be than here.
A grin spread over his long face as he slouched and crossed his arms over his chest.
"I want a raise." He said with his mischievous grin. "And to choose my own hours. Don't worry, I'll still do full time."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 1:09 pm
Bluefire Dragonz yes, eli. he's a mobster.
He was not an alien, as far as he knew, though he had alien powers. He was a little worried about it now, but he was fairly sure that they were meant to be from earth. Knights, anyway.
He put his hands in his pockets, glad that his pants were back.
That was as weird a thought as any other he had since powering up. He frowned.
"No," he said, "you're fired." He could play hardball, too, and would not let the other man use his information for blackmail. He wouldn't really fire him, though, since he needed his skill. He shook his head. "This is not a negotiation tool. If you feel like you can use this information to your advantage, go ahead and tell someone. It's your life I'm protecting, not mine."
That wasn't entirely true, but at least Chester knew he had friends on the powered side that he could turn to. It was his civilian life that was largely friend free, so there was not really anyone for the Negaverse to hunt down and threaten if they found out who he was. Just his employees.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 1:46 pm
The lanky male threw his arms up dramatically as he was 'fired'. Even in his head he saw the quotation marks there.
"Ya can never take a joke can ya?" He said as he rolled his eyes. Rolling to the side, he did a single hand stand and gestured to himself with his free hand. "What would you do without my amazing abilities and charismatic nature?" His hair trailing on the ground, Eli gave his employer an ingratiating grin and settled himself on both hands, walking himself over. At Chester's feet he folded himself up so he balanced on his chest, feet next to his chin and newly freed hands together in a praying posture. Thus amusingly contorted, he gave Chester his best puppy dog look.
"Two percent raise and ya choose my hours?" Because, you know... This was apparently a good haggling moment.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 1:57 pm
Chester was absolutely terrible with jokes. He didn't know how to tell them and most of the time he didn't know how to recognize them. He watched the other thoughtfully for a moment, trying to decide if it was a joke or not, now having to be on his toes and try to catch them when they popped up.
He watched the other do a handstand and nodded his head, even smiling a bit. He did like what Eli brought to the carnival and felt he was a valued member of the staff. Even if he was a bit on the lazy side of things, and definitely far less serious about things than Chester was.
Of course, almost everyone, including the animals, were far less serious about things than Chester.
"No raise, but you can choose your hours on non-performance days," he said after a moment, not sure why he was negotiating at all, but he figured it was better than being Captain No all the time."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
