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 Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 4:50 pm
Maxem had spent a reasonable amount of time away so that Grete could recover from her hang over, and felt it was high time that she got information about this caravan.
Since their last meeting, Maxem had also gotten a new shirt from a certain male, so the topic of her corset could hopefully be avoided. Her conscious was starting to kick in and nag a bit about tricking Grete into helping Maxem out, and it was fairly annoying.
After a bit of strolling, the familiar trailer was spotted and Maxem had decided she would hunt for information. She could start with learning about Grete, and then move on to more crucial topics. She was certain that she could get all sorts of tidbits from her new mentor; especially if she was hammered again.
It was a few quick raps at the trailer door later that signaled Maxem’s arrival. Whether or not Grete was even in was another question entirely, but it was worth a shot to try.
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Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 4:54 pm
Grete sat up. She had been reading from an old leather-bound book, and she had a bit of a headache. Not alcohol-related, however. She stood up and walked towards the door, not expecting company, but feeling social none-the-less.
She opened it and peered outside. The girl standing there looked slightly familiar. But she couldn't remember when they'd met. At all. Grete racked her brain, trying to think of this girl's name. Something stood out. An 'S' name? Wait, no...
N.
No! M. Marcie? Maddie? Molly?
"Hello?" Grete asked, questioningly. "May I help you?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 5:43 pm
“I believe you can, Ms. Grete.” She grinned from ear to ear, keeping a hand on the door frame. “Because I do believe I have some questions for you.”
Her face was beaming, because this was a start of a positive relationship with a female. Her and Grete: good buddies. They had had fun the night before, and all was well. Well, all but the fact that Grete didn’t remember her, but that fact hadn’t yet sunken into her brain.
“So, is this a bad time, or am I allowed to chat for a bit?”
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Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 7:30 pm
Grete squinted at the girl. Mary? Marie? Madeline?
"Sure, sure, come in," Grete said, with one thin eyebrow raised. What questions needed to be asked? Quickly, she opened the door, and turned around to pick up a bit in her trailer. She picked up all of her clothes and shoved them in a random dresser drawer, as to make it seem a bit tidier. It worked.
Then, she walked over to her couch and picked up the book, placed a marker in it and set it aside. Quickly, seeing that damn piece of lingerie that had been delivered at an earlier time, Grete picked it up, along with its small brown envelope that it had come in, and stuffed it in a drawer also. She hoped that Madeline (or whomever this girl may be) hadn't seen it. But she was afraid that she had. It had kind of been laying out in the open. Oh, what Madeline must think of her.
Grete walked over and poured herself a large glass of water, and drank from it slowly, as to buy time to remember the girl's name.
"Would you like some?" she asked, being polite.
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Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 9:17 pm
“Oh, no. I’m fine.” Maxem gave a quick wave, brushing off the comment for water as she scanned over Grete’s room. It was fairly cleaner than that last time. Her eyes darted to Grete herself; she looked a good deal more kempt, and was probably sober by now.
“You don’t have a hangover, do you?” Maxem kept her eyes on Grete, making sure she was not in for a grumpy gums to ruin the night. “Because you were pretty tipsy last night.” She felt the need to elaborate, in case Grete had a memory lapse as to just how badly she was intoxicated. Still, the notion that she might not remember Maxem was far from the girl’s mind. How could you not remember Maxem? She was the best person she knew!
“Anyway…” Her finger tips brushed over the tabletop as she looked around and continued with what she was trying to say, pretending to be nonchalant and not over flowing with curiosity. “You promised to give me the run down of this place, so if you’ve got some time, I’d love to learn a bit more about where I am.”
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Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2006 3:22 pm
Madeline wasn't right. Mary-ann? Wait. Mary-ann. Marien!
Mariam was this girl's name! She had a nickname, but Grete couldn't remember it. Oh, well. Better to look formal than to look foolish.
"A bit of a hangover, yeah, I suppose," Grete answered as she grinned, just slightly.
Grete was still a bit confused. What did she say to Marien? What did she agree to do. Keep it cool and calm was something that Grete had to keep reminding herself.
"So, Marien," Grete said, adding in her name, just to make sure that it was, in fact, the right name, "What all do I need to show you? I don't really...recall. Well, I mean," She panicked. That didn't sound professional.
"I just need to know the-erm. The... overview! Yes, the overview of what I need to show you. Yeah."
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Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2006 6:59 pm
“Before I ask any questions about the cirque, and I will believe me, I have to tell you about the day. I met quite a someone!” She was fidgeting now, excited about the fact that she had met not one, but two proper people that she was comfortable with.
She sighed a little dreamy sigh and continued on, “He’s handsome and he’s funny; quite a charmer. Generous, too, if I do say so myself!”
Maxem was grinning again; pleased with the way her day had proceeded.
“So when I asked about people to meet… Why were you keeping him a secret? He’s such a catch; you must have wanted him for yourself!”
Spinning around with a twist of her skirts, Maxem was having a grand old time playing around. “So, are you holding out on any other charming folks around here?”
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Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2006 7:05 pm
Grete looked at her, clearly confused. She all of a sudden had changed into a giddy school girl of sorts. What was that all about?
"So?" Grete asked, after she took another long drink of water, "Who is this man?" She resisted the urge to use her mother's old phrase on Marien. It brought back too many things that she didn't want to speak about. Diamonds. Pssh!
Lost in a thought, Grete suddenly came back to, and stared at Marien in waiting. Who could she have wanted to keep to herself?
Why, she couldn't even remember who she had told Marien to meet!
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Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2006 7:18 pm
“Why… Mr. M’queen. He’s a some-what tall man, slightly furry, he’s got quite an accent. I’m sure you’ve got to know him; you know everything about this place! That’s about the only person I’ve met, really-- Other than you, a blind girl, and a man with scars. “
She was glancing lazily all about the trailer, trying to familiarize herself with its contents. If things went well, she’d be spending a lot of time here, and she wanted to know where things were.
“But I haven’t met Aiden or Scarlett, yet, I’m afraid. I really ought to though- and I still haven’t gotten a place to sleep!”
After finally taking in as much information as she could from the trailer, she began again. Maxem was already a noisy creature, and being excited only fueled the fire.
“So, any information that a newbie could use? I really ought to go find the ringmaster and ask for instructions, but it seems that every time I try to get somewhere, I just get more lost and confused!”
Goodness, she could get annoying.
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Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2006 7:26 pm
Of course. Grete nodded.
"Ah, Charlot. Yeah," Grete nodded again. "I know who you're talking about."
Marien's excitement made Grete a bit dizzy. She had lots of energy, and Grete had no idea where it came from. She simply raised an eyebrow and watched as Marien talked, and glanced around Grete's trailer. What had happened when Grete was drunk? Did they become super best friend or something?
"Don't waste time finding Aiden," Grete spat out, a bit viciously. She thought for a second, and then took that back.
"Actually, I suppose you should. He is important, I guess." She turned around and glanced on her counter-top for tea. She found it, and quickly made a cup with hot water that she already had in a pitcher. Grete poured it out into a very daintly and beautiful teacup; the type that could easily be given as wedding presents, or a present for some other special event. It was badly chipped on the rim, but Grete didn't care. A glass was a glass to her, for the most part.
"So," Grete started, furrowing her brow a bit, "You need information? What kind of information?"
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Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2006 7:42 pm
Maxem was pulled back with the passion behind Grete’s statement. It was… Wow. This was new. This was probably the first time she had even seen Grete reacting to something as if she cared. It was a bit scary, actually.
As far as she was concerned, Grete probably had some scandalous and tragic back story with lots of torn romances and crushed dreams. Her mind could content itself for hours painting a picture of a tragic romance between Grete and Aiden, but, thinking about her environment, she saved it for another time.
“Well…. I know I ought to see Aiden and Scarlett. But I don’t know much else. I’m sure that they can get me information, but I’d really like some clues on how to find them. Furthermore, I really have no idea where much of anything is…. Or where we are, really. Knowing the itinerary of shows and when we move might help too…”
With a furrow of her brows, she tried to think of how to condense all of the hundreds of questions that were running through her head.
“I don’t even know what I am supposed to be doing with myself… I know I ought to be working, but I really don’t know what I should be working on.”
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Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2006 7:52 pm
Grete nodded, taking in these new questions.
"Well, Marien, Scarlett will be easiest to find in her trailer," She said as she crossed over, and sat down on her couch.
"And Aiden, well, he's hard to find. More of a he'll-find-you type situation. Always easier that way. But don't expect to see him soon. Bit of a recluse, actually." She thought back to times when she was new. She had basically the same questions, and had to go and look for a mentor to go and ask them.
Wait.
It dawned on her. Was she now this girl's mentor? How had that happened? Grete didn't say anything, but she just kept thinking about that little discovery. Well, it was a clever trick to play, asking when she was drunk.
"Well, there are a few things that you should do. First, get to work on little things. Anything that can help out around Cirque. Not pretty work, just the work that no one else will want to do." She paused.
"Then get your name out there. Meet as many people as you can, especially the higher-ups. Suck-up to them, actually," Grete said, a bit regretfully, "Oh, and I suggest buying your own food whenever we go someplace new. Always better. Fruits and vegetables and such. Food here's not much good. But if you're completely broke, try to please the chefs. You know, get on their good side." Grete took a sip of tea, and then realized how dirty that sounded. She swallowed, and then sent a glance over Marien's way.
"I didn't mean it to come out like that. I meant do some chores, then get the fresher soup or whatever."
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Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2006 8:57 pm
It is a common phenomenon that people don’t seem to notice obvious things until they are pointed out to them. A frequent example follows: “Hey, you’re head is on fire!” “Oh! That is fairly painful!”
That very phenomenon was happening to Maxem. She hadn’t gotten a bite to eat since she arrived. If the food cart hadn’t been knocked over be Grete, she might have had a bite to eat, but alas, that was ruined by a drunken stupor. With Grete’s evaluation of the food situation, Maxem was almost glad that she had skipped dinner.
“Mmm…” She looked at her stomach and wondered if it would be safer to eat the cirque food or go without. She should probably wait and sneak out later.
Small chores… How boring. She could get stuff done, sure. Fix some of the wheels of trailers and sort out of clocks and watches worked. As far as physical work went… She would be useless. Her brain was the best bet she had until her act. Or rather, until she could support other people. She would need to find out who she could assist, first of all.
“Hey…. What is it that you do here? You told me to suck up, so I have to find someone to supplement. My skills aren’t much unless they are supporting someone else. You think you could use a little dazzle? Surely you must be some kind of stage girl; you’re too pretty to be in the background!”
'Wow.... Maybe I should have made the pretty comment before admitting that I needed to suck up... That came across rather fake. I hope she doesn't think I'm being facetious."
She let out a small smile, trying to seem honest. She really did think Grete was pretty, but her personality didn’t seem like the type to work on the big stage.
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Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2006 3:02 pm
Grete's expression seemd slightly amused. She wasn't quite sure if this girl was being truthful or not, but she uttered a small "Thank you," none the less.
"I'm a medium," She said, with a slight nod of her head. "Not sure if much glitz can be added to that."
Slowly, she stood up, had another sip of tea and walked over to her vanity. She sat down and looked at herself breifly in the mirror. Then she turned back to Marien.
"There are two things we can do right now, though, which, I guess, could be fun. First, let's make an official paper abuot me mentoring you. Just for the sake of being formal about it." Grete drew out an expensive-looking fountain pen, and wrote "is being mentored by," on a piece of paper. She signed her name underneath, in large swirling cursive letters. Then, Grete handed the paper and pen over to Marien to sign.
"Also, we can figure out what you're wearing and such for your act later. Make-up, jewelry, whatever," Grete glanced down at the vanity. There was a glass box sitting on it, filled with very nice, very beautiful jewelry. There was one necklace that stood out amongst everything, and she put her finger on the glass over it. It wasn't wrong to believe that Grete's past was filled with scandalous romances and other such problems. Many of these jewels reminded Grete of these times. No need to bring them up, though.
"You can borrow some of my jewelry, if you like," Grete said, as she looked up, "Just please, be very careful. Most of them were given to me, and. Well. It's almost as if each one's a little story," She tore herself away for a second, "And make-up's over here. If you need that. I'm not sure what you'll want for your act."
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Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 8:23 pm
Through all the confusion and chaos of the cirque, Maxem had finally found a beacon of light to keep her on the right track. She signed her full name, Marien ‘Maxem’ Mulligen in a sloppy writing style. As she looked over the paper, she frowned deeply at how her signature looked; it made her feel a bit rough around the edges and uncivilized when compared to Grete’s beautiful name.
When Grete mentioned make-overs and fancy jewelry, the little pyro lighted up, looking over to the box. She thought for a moment about just telling Grete that she needed to plan her look… But in reality, Maxem’s job was little more than sitting in the background and making sure that everything on stage ran smoothly. Sure, a little make-up wouldn’t hurt to help her get that job... But there was no hope of the girl ever getting onto the stage, despite how much she wished to.
With that thought, Maxem’s heart sunk a little—she reluctantly looked up to Grete, giving a little pout.
“I really can’t use any of these things… My talent’s don’t place me in any sort of spot light.”
Really though, she did think the idea of make-overs and doing each other’s hair would be a good way to bond; but she didn’t really feel right about taking advantage of Grete yet again.
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