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 Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 5:02 pm
Rebuilding the carnival after the monster attack was... well, really not that fun. It was a lot of work, actually, way more than Elijah had thought he would ever have to do. Sure, the heavy lifting was a great workout, but it was boooooring... and actually having a job meant he had to actually help out and be useful and stuff.
As a consequence, his behavior had slowly been deteriorating with each passing day. Goofing off was the biggest offense, and not taking the work seriously enough. Come on... he was a performer, not a handyman!
It was in the midst of one of these menial tasks (painting the clapboard side of a fair game) that the jester caught side of the Carnival Master and figured this just might be an opportunity to slip out of a little work...
"Hey, Chester! Oi, Mate... what are y' up to this fine day, eh?" He said as he dropped the brush into the paint pan and sauntered toward his boss, long fingers hooked in the waist band of his paint-splattered old jeans.
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Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2013 10:56 am
Chester was not in it to have fun, he was working hard to make sure his Carnival was better than ever. It would be safe, he spared no expense for that, and it would be more fun, better quality. It would be everything it should have been at first, and he would not leave anything to chance. Not with Chaos on the loose.
He was pulling double hours, working every waking moment he had on his Carnival and then using the time he should be sleeping as patrol hours to snuff out Chaos. He was not capable of doing it yet but he worked hard, he trained constantly: he was dead set on wiping them all out. That was the only answer, and the only thing they deserved, after slaughtering so many.
He slept far less than he should, and this left him grumpy. Very grumpy.
It had not gone unnoticed, Elijah's lack of motivation and work ethic. He saw the other man goofing off more than once, barking at him to stay focused, but now he was growing tired of it.
He was paying everyone double for the hours they put in, but he would not pay for someone who was not working. He looked at Elijah as he approached, not looking very happy to see him.
"Working, as you should be," he said flatly.
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Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 2:04 pm
Eli's grin was meant to be infectious, but it was unlikely that his employer saw it that way. He refused to take Chester's seriousness... seriously, and it seemed his goal lately in life to spark some sort of reaction from the man. Of course, it usually ended up with him getting yelled at and threats to cut his wages, but since the jester did this because he loved it, rather than for the money, threats of that sort didn't dampen his spirits for long.
"I'm working! I'm painting th' sign like you told me too. See?" The colorful clown taking shape on the sign was a pretty decent rendition, considering painting was his second hobby.
"What I'm wonderin' is what th' ring master is up to, lookin' so serious." Impulsively, the young man bent himself backwards, landing on his hands and walking forward until he rested on his chest and could prop his head on his hands to look up at Chester.
"You need to learn how to loosen up, Mate. Yer gonna give yaself a complex or brain aniorism or somefin'."
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Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 2:11 pm
Chester was often told he would give himself a heart attack, or various other medical conditions, if he did not loosen up, but he couldn't help how serious he was. It was just his nature, he couldn't even change his expression when he was at rest. He looked grumpy and serious in his sleep.
There were many jokes about him being born with a scowl.
He looked at the painting and nodded his head, a sign of approval. He did think it looked good, and it was surprising since he never saw the jester doing anything but... well... jesting.
Hearing he would give himself an aneurism was not new to him, and he nodded his head with a sigh. He was almost expecting it, and he tried to relax his shoulders a little bit. Since that was where he carried most of his stress.
"I'm loose enough, and I take my job seriously. I just want to see this place fixed up, and that's not something I can joke about. You shouldn't be, either," he pointed out, always looking for perfection and dedication from his employees. He could be a bit of a hard a** sometimes, though he was more than fair in wages and benefits.
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Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2013 8:31 am
"I am taking it seriously, but blimey..." The young man rolled backwards, puttin his feet down behind him as he pushed himself up onto them. "I'ma performer, not a handyman. I'm not meant for hard labor."
Menial work was so bleeding DULL. Eli would much rather be practicing his routines and doing his exercises than lifting and toting and painting. What was the work coming to, that he should be reduced to such a state?
Bending over backwards again, an abbreviated cartwheel put the acrobat into a handstand and he walked himself around on his hands till he could face Chester again. Apparently, talking to someone upside down was considered normal by the British boy, as he gave his employer a winning smile. Long, slender legs bent at the knees and out from the hips, giving him a comical appearance.
"We should take a break and had a cuppa. I bet that would improve yer mood. Or, we could hang ya by yer feet from the rigging in the 'top. The change a view does wonders." He assured him, rocking onto one hand to gesture at himself. Everyone should see things the way Eli did, or at least he thought so.
"Come on mate... We could use ya for a support pole, yer so rigid."lithia_brandon sorry if his accent jumps around, I'm still getting used to writing it. xD
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Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2013 12:03 pm
Chester watched him for a moment, and then sighed and shook his head.
He believed in strength and dedication. A little hard work would not kill anyone, unless he was working too hard, and then he would deserve a break. It was a balance, certainly, and Chester would not ask more of his workers than he knew they could give. He was just a little hell bent at the moment, following the whole ordeal.
He was trying not to be 'that' guy, but he was very serious about his work and at the moment it was all he had. And his need for revenge, but that was something else entirely, and he could handle that at night during patrol. If he could. Or he'd die trying, he supposed.
"You don't take much very seriously, do you? I don't think you've had a day of hard work in your life." He sighed almost patiently, though his bland tone was edged with frustration.
"If this task is too much for you, we can find you another one..." though, chances were good that he would like it even less than what he was doing now.
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 8:34 am
Eli posed dramatically for a moment, feet spread and one hand holding the other elbow, his long fingers stroking his chin as though in thought. One blue eyebrow arched high as he frowned and hummed, "Nope, and nope."
Breaking the act he grinned and clapped Chester on the back good naturedly. "One of us has to smile, at least, or we'd scare off all the customers! That serious frown of yours need to turn upside down. Like this!" The young performer mimed pulling his cheeks as he grinned wider, almost comicly wide. When the joke failed to get the reaction he wanted, though he was not surprised by this, he dropped the mime and shrugged lean shoulders.
"The paint needs to dry for a bit. If you've got something that doesn't involve heavy lifting, I can give it a go! Anything that will bring a smile to your face, I am your humble servant." Eli teased as he swept an elegant bow.
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Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2013 2:51 pm
Chester sighed at that, but nodded his head. He was very nice to the customers, but it was easier to be fake with them. He would not have to see them again, and when he did it was only ever as customers. He had a wall between himself and them already in place and there was no need to change the order of things there. It was people that he needed to know better than customers that got him at his worst.
He was stoic and aloof, and had a difficult time attaching himself to them. As Eli was learning, he imagined. Chester was not exactly a friendly sort, by any means. Or rather, not by any obvious means.
"Well, how about you clean out the animal cages? The donkey has been in a bad mood recently, and has not been keeping its pen clean. There's no heavy lifting in that, of course, so I think you'll be fine." He gave Eli a look, and for a second it almost looked like he was going to grin or even laugh, but it didn't happen. It just lingered in the air, like the threat of a thunderstorm.
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Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2013 10:06 pm
Orange eyes widened as Eli stared at his employer before breaking into a smile and a laugh.
"What? Are you serious? You want me to clean the animal pens?" He chortled, finding it one of the most hilarious things that had ever heard come out of Chester's mouth. At least, until he realized that Chester wasn't laughing... and as the silence stretched his smile faltered and he glanced around, hoping maybe this was some sort of prank on him.
"Its a joke, right?" The blue-haired man said nervously, rubbing his palms on his hips. "I mean... sure that's not heavy lifting, but its like... manual labor." It went without saying that Elijah didn't do manual labor. He was a finely tuned machine built for one purpose... to perform for audiences. Mucking out animal pens would throw off his figurative alignment.
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Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 10:29 am
Chester stared at him for a very long time, not saying anything because he knew he did not really have to. The very serious look on his face was probably enough to let Eli know that, no, Chester was not joking and, yes, he did need to clean the animal pens.
As if Chester ever joked while at work!
"Go clean the animal pens," he said, once Eli was finished with his complaints against manual labor. And it was not exactly true, in that there would be heavy lifting, as well. Hay bales and feed sacks did not move themselves, and Chester expected a thorough job done with the animals. They deserved it, and it was important to their health and happiness.
Chester clearly did not have any spare thoughts for Eli's figurative alignment.
"And make sure you get everything done. There is a check list posted on the wall, and it needs to be signed off on. Come find me when you're done, and I'll approve your work." Or give him more. Probably give him more, which amused Chester to no end despite the fact that it did not register on his face. Inside, he was laughing his head off. Metaphorically.
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Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2014 10:13 pm
For a long time, Elijah stared at his employer and fidgeted; tugging his clothes straight, rubbing his hands on his thighs, shooting furtive looks at Chester. It was hard to judge if the other man was truly serious about this, because he was disgustingly serious about everything. With a growing sense of dread, Eli had to admit that this time, whether or not Chester was having a laugh at him, he was truly serious at his star performer clean the animal pens.
"Aw, mate... really?" The tall man whined before he stooped down and grabbed up his cans of paint and paint brushes. Mumbling to himself about the unfairness of it all, Eli slouched off to put his paints away and go see what he could do about the animal pens. This was very unfair and even unethical... it would serve Chester right if the contortionist pulled or sprained something while doing the menial work. That would show him... taking the performer out of work for weeks while he recovered... not to mention the worker's comp claim...
The blue haired man disappeared between the game booths before long, but his grouching could probably be heard for long moments after he was out of sight.
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