The "Extraordinary" Circus. [Inactive]

"I'm not sure. I didn't know you could see my memories too. Maybe with some practice, it would be easier to show people my sagas rather than speak it." She said, and smiled to the two others. Vinnie was brushing the dirt from her knees as Mal spoke.


"Perhaps with that of your time that is not occupied, we may plan some charms to be used tomorrow? You are much stronger than me in that area, so i believe you should be the one to hold most decisions." She said, looking to Malene. "And what of you, Florencia?"


Vineres often tried toning down her accent, but in this case of an attempt, it only led to her mispronouncing Flow's name and sounding like a boy who had come straight from the slums of Britain. Definitely not easier to understand in the slightest, but just a little bit more comedic.
 
"Thats nice dear." Lilly said pleasantly, handing her a cup of tea and a saucer. "Have we been working on our fire-breathing, Aileen?" She couldnt quite resist 'talking shop', but she asked in a casual, conversational way rather than as a boss checking up on someone.


Taking a delicate sip of the tea she smiled blissfully for a moment with her eyes closed, and let out a little sigh. "This ones from my dear old friend Elizibeth Tudor the Ist." She spoke referring to the tea, casually mentioning an old aqquiantance to a monarch as if it was an everyday thing.


---


Flow listened to Malene's little diatribe, unconciously checking her bare foot as she mentioned mess, even though she'd been wearing shoes when she'd been outside.


"I hate having my feet covered." She said, wiggling her toes. "But...I guess thats one advantage to shoes."


As Vinnie said her name she couldnt help but giggle at it, smiling warmly at her older friend.


"Oh Vampy, never change. I dunno, might help mix some potions with Mally or sumpin', maybe check my magic mirror rooms ready for tommorow.


Might have a wonder into the town and have a proper goosey around as well." She frowned slightly with a puzzled look on her face, and after a moment added. "Um...whats a croissant do?"
 
"If you go into town, don't forget to take someone along with you, Florence." She reminded the girl, and tried holding back a laugh from the girl's question. It was always lovely traveling with Flow as she was constantly taking in new information, and had a store of it unique to anyone else's.


Vinnie thought for a moment on the best definition, looking to Mal for help. "Uhm... A croissant is a type of bread. It's very er... flaky! Yes, flaky is the word for it... right?"


Vineres wasn't too good at using English adjectives, but often tried her best as describing something's texture to get the idea through. She was completely fluent, just not every word translated and would often have to find the next-best.
 
Malane looked at Vi, her face filled with surprise. However, this soon turned back to a joyful smile. "It'd be my pleasure!" She said as she shortly took a bow before her sister. She waved her open hand towards her as if she was giving her something, and continued. "You learn quickly, so I see a future where the pupil might become better than her master." She said, returning her hand back to her other hand, folding them back over on her cape. "One question also lay on my tongue, though I'll spill it tomorrow!" She quickly notified.


Malane's attention reverted back to Flow again, who seemed to have become aware of the state of her shoes. It was a common fact that Flow never liked wearing shoes. And there was actually a funny thing about that. Like a smaller sister, Malane tried to copy this behavior. However, she'd always have a sore foot on the end of the day, so she stopped doing it. "Advantages, there are more, but disadvantages are also plenty" Malane simply agreed as she leaned herself on the nearest object, a table, so she could get rid of her shoes. She laughed a couple of times as she heard the 2 talk and simply listened to them chat while she carefully undid herself of her shoes, placing them away. When she was done and she was holding the shoes in hand, she left the comfort of the table and quickly tried to find words to explain a 'croissant'. "Uhm. A crunchy bread like food. Thick in the middle and thin on the ends. Very airy and light inside." She portrayed the shape of the object with her hands and motioned it to her mouth, hoping that she'd understand. "Imagine crunchy bread with air bubbles in it." she added shortly with a light chuckle. She looked at Vinnie for approval of her explanation.


"Oh Flow!" She suddenly exclaimed. "May I follow in your steps into the den of the humans?" She asked quiet startled by herself. "My eyes have been greedily glaring at something I do not own." She quickly explained. Her voice had suddenly shot up a couple of tones, as if she intentionally tried to speak in a high voice. But then her voice sank back again to a more neutral tone. "What if Vi were to join? A day out with us 3, what shall it be?" She clearly had no reason for wanting Vi to join them, other than that she loved being with her. After all, these 2 felt like big sisters to her. And she did treat them as such at occasions.
 
“I have indeed,” Aileen answered Lilly. “And I have gotten better too, so there shouldn’t be any need of worrying about the tents,” she added, only a bit embarrassed. She was referring to the first time she tried breathing fire and accidentally made a tent go up in flames, due to a little too much use of liquid paraffin wax. No one was hurt, but she told herself to be more careful after the incident and kept the fire breathing to a minimum. She actually had been doing it more lately, but when she did, she only tried it with a big open space around her. She also didn’t use alcohol like any other fire breather might have done because of her ability to control the flames without it. It was only when she really wanted the flames to be huge she could use paraffin, but then again, the chance of her losing control would get bigger. She didn’t want to hurt anybody, even though she loved the feeling of making the flames grow bigger than herself.


Aileen didn’t find it strange that Lilly seemed to know about her practising. The ringmaster knew about everything that happened around at the circus, and even though it maybe should have, it didn’t bother Aileen at all.


The tea didn’t taste that bad and the feeling of the worm liquid running down her throat made her talk more than she usually would have.
 
"Ohh. We dont have those. I saw them in your thought dream thing. I felt like I liked...feeling you like them?" She frowned as she tried to wrap her head around the thought, tugging her earlobe, before another thought rapidly pushed that one away from the forefront.


Her eyes took on a dreamy look, and seemingly grew slightly larger (And possibly literally did) as she got a puppydog expression on her face. "In Thessaly we have olive bread and local cheese."


As the girls discussed spell work that she didnt really understand she got lost in the thought of the turqoise lake she came from, idly making a little map out of her palm, untill the discussion came back to their day plans.


"Of course you can come Mally-my-pally, id be delighted. What are you wanting to buy? Is it Vinnies flaky bread? And Vinnie should definitely come too so she can tell us 'how much better they make it back home'." She paused with a curious expression on her face, her voice a hushed whisper.


"Lilly said we shouldnt wander on the moors if its stormy, because there's a big scary dog-" As she spoke she held up her arms to mimic mock claws, turning her face into a supposed to be intimidating but probably just looked adorable scowl. "And its called a Black shuck here, but in other places in the country they call it a Barghest, and the Welsh call it a Gwyllgi because theyre silly." At this point her not all that fearsome scowl momentarily gave way entirely as she had a small fit of giggling at the word, before composing herself. "Anyway, she said its reallyscary and 'even though it wont usually hurt you seeing it is still less than preferable' which I dont quite understand...but anyway, I think she was teasing me? But its hard to tell sometimes...But um...I'd still rather not go there."


---


"That's good dear." She said, with a slight mischevious smile coming to her lips. "Though it does help for the manager to have unexpected expenses on occasion. Keeps his mind running. Dont actively try to, though."


Taking another sip, she crossed her leg over her knee and smoothed down her skirt.


"What are we doing with ourselves today, dear?" She asked her friend "Last full day off before the circus starts."
 
"If we are going, we should still probably check in with either Mrs Lilly or Mr Dragos. I'm sure with a group like ours it won't be an issue. Picking up a couple things at the store wouldn't hurt, maybe we could spread the word about the circus a little more too." Vinnie said, listening intently on her story of the monster.


"In that case, aren't we lucky to have a vampyre, and a talented witch with us?" She smiled, trying her hardest to show no signs of worry. Sometimes it was hard keeping track of the curious Naiad while out in town, but her mind was eased knowing Mal would hopefully be going too.


~~~~~~~


Dragos shuffled out of his tent, a couple birds casually finding their way through the flaps after him like smoke escaping a room. His "hair" was neatly combed, and the flowers sprouting from his braided beard were neatly trimmed and tucked within the locks. While he did always have an earthy smell about him, the Lechy always did try to keep himself clean and proper while on circus ground, lest Lilly line him out... again.


"Why hello there dears." He said, whist fully smiling to a couple workers as he walked by. Most of everyone had grown used to his constant sudden presence, but he still managed to surprise someone here and there. The smell of freshly brewed tea drew him close up to the commons tent where others were starting to drift in.
 
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Malane started to giggle as the strangely looking Flow started to tell them the 'fearsome' story. However, rather than it inducing fear upon Melane, it induced laughter. Mainly due to Flow's transformation. To Malane, it all sounded like a children's tale. One to warn them not to go into the moors during a stormy night. When she stopped herself from giggling, she stepped closer to the Naiad and started to pet her on her head. "The folklore for the children. A warning from the parent. Your story. I think they're all but the same." She smiled reassuringly as she felt confident the story was false. "If tale turns truth, we would always have our life force sucking witch!" She almost spoke these words like an announcer, her head turning to Vi. "One in synch with nature, she could control the fearsome beast!" She said those last words in an almost too excited way, as she jumped to the side and waved her hands around, with a victorious smile on her face. The reason being, that in her mind they had taken on this fierce some beast already, even though they were yet even to confirm the truth about this tale.


Soon she noticed how she had started to act strange again, and she coughed shortly in embarrassment, as she stood back in her normal position, hands on top of each other in front of her on her cape with a smile on her face. "My apologies." she spoke softly as she closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, she looked back at Flow. "Studying my magical beverages, I discovered a new household ingredient that I was to give a try." She shortly explained to Flow, as she left it to their imagination what that was. It wasn't an important item, yet....finding it would surely allow her to do something 'special'. She wiped her mischievous grin off of her face as she turned to Vi. "The Courtly Lady and the Fatherly Spirit should be happy, as our party would consist of three." She said, agreeing with Vi.
 
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Flow frowned slightly as Malane dismissed the story; not at the fact that she was laughing at all, which she was completely fine with and in turn brought a smile to her face.


But rather, as she tried to grapple with the part about it only being a folktale for children.


She gave a little flick of her hair, somehow not splashing anything despite it's liquid nature.


"Well, I suppose it could be, but...there are silly childrens stories about witches eating children and vampires draining peoples blood, right? But they arent just silly stories because, well...there stood in front of me right now. And they do take blood." She stopped momentarily and put her arm around Vinnie. "I mean, Vinvin here doesnt because her families like a group of tulips in a bed of weeds, but you get my point."


Turning back to Malane she adressed the shopping and seeing about their little excursion.


"Well, shopping we shall do, then. And If you want us to go get permission from mom and dad-" She referred to them that way in a completely natural tone of voice, and then sniffed the air a couple of times. "Then Lilly's over there." She spoke, pointing towards the makeshift breakfast area.


After a moment she realised that It might seem slightly odd she could apparently smell her presence given she didnt have any heightened senses like a lot of the folk in the circus, so she explained herself.


"I can smell some of her tea coming from over there, and I dont think anyone else drinks '18th century tea from peru', or whatever it is this time."


Setting off walking along towards it, she saw Drago moving along towards the same area.


His hair and beard were neatly trimmed, (Or at least, as close as they ever got to being genuinely neat) but Flow still couldnt help but smile slightly as the image of a kindly old tramp breifly flickered into her mind before she dismissed it.


The fact he always had plants growing in it didnt help the image, nor did the fact birds appeared to be attempting to nest in his hair.


Out of all the circus performers Vineres almost definitely had the most intimate relationship with him since he had practically officially adopted her, but Florence nevertheless loved him unconditionally regardless of any other relationships he might have (which, applied to most people she knew as well.)


And given her entire species didnt have a single male in it, his role as a paternal figure was somewhat unique for her.


"Hullo Papa Drago!" She spoke, almost skipping to him before stumbling slightly as she came to a halt, stopping to give him a deep curtsey and adressing him as sir, before dashing the rest of the way and hugging him tightly, like a young child running to adress her father, or a forest nymph (to which her species was vaguely related) running to their elder.


The fact that he was relatively large and she was so petite didnt exactly help the image, since she barely came to his stomach, so she was really hugging his leg.


"Have you got any honey sweets with you?" she unconsciously gave him puppy dog eyes as she spoke "I guess innnn...this pocket, right?" Prodding at one of the pockets in his smock she looked up at him expectantly, having almost entirely forgotten about asking if they were allowed their little day trip for the moment.


If she woud have had a tail, it would have almost definitely been wagging in excitement.
 
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"Ah! Hello young one. You are looking ever so gorgeous as the streams flowing from the mountains." Dragos said with a smile, wrapping his long dangly arms around her. He was always amazing by how cheerful the girl was, and loved hearing stories of her adventure. Things as small as trying new food became as big as The Odessey. Taking a handful of the honey sweets out, he rest them in her hands.


"As always, you know exactly where to find them. Now, what do you and your friends have in store for the day" he asked, raising an eye brow to the Naiad. Knowing them, there was always to be something brewing.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Vineres looked around, spotting Lilly from a distance. As she went to go Follow Florence over, she suddenly lost sight of the girl after she went hopping after Papa Dragos.


Giving a small curtsey on her walk over, Vi smiled to the old man who had acted as her father for nearly the last half century.


"Allos, vader Dragos" she said, smiling in tune. Looking back briefly she extended a hand for Mal to follow them. It would be good for them to know all of three of the girls would be going, and also she didn't want Malene to be by herself.
 
Koa


As the others slowly began to wake I was already up, showered, and changed. I tended to get up earlier than most. It's a sort of a habit caused by my past because it was better to wake up before my adoptive "parents" woke up. Anyways, while I was up already I made myself a cup of hot chocolate before going to help the construction guys set up everything as I did yesterday. We had all of the tents set up from last night and all of the personal gear passed out to their owners. Now we were setting out benches in the main tent.


Swiping my brow with a towel, I hoisted one of the medium height benches onto my shoulders with ease and carried it over to where it was needed. Lifting and moving things were easier for me than the other human guys helping because of my animal side. I grabbed a few more benches and placed them around the ring as instructed by one of the men who has worked here for a while. Once that was all set up we moved to the kitchen like area to grab cold drinks.


When we walked past the group about to go to town I slowed down. I bowed my head to each person in the group and quietly spoke their name to see if I could remember correctly. Thankfully I got them all right. I may be rude and distant at points but I did have respect for the others. I want to be part of the family so I will at least be civil until I possibly get accepted and warm up to them.
 
Florence smiled sunnily up to Drago, taking the bag with a thankyou and an extra squeeze, before disentangling herself, smiling as Vinnie let her accent flow freely as she spoke to him.


"What are we doing today?" She asked with a puzzled tone, before the relavant information flooded back to the forefront of her thoughts. "Oh yeah. Me and Mally and Vinvin are going to shopping for ingredients for a secret potion and then a black shucks maybe going to try and eat me, but Vinere's'll save me, so thats alright."


One of their latest members came across, his large feet shaking the ground ever so slightly.


Florence's diminutive stature meant he positively dwarfed her, but despite that and the fact he had only just joined and was in some what of a probation period, she nevertheless looked up to him with a welcoming smile.


"Hullo....Cocoa?" She said sunnily, not great with full names. "How are you finding the circus?"


As she finished speaking she saw Lilly approaching from the folds of the kitchen, and surreptiously hid her bag of sweets inside of her hip, since her dress had no pockets.


----


Lilly shut her eyes for a moment as a fairly loud amount of chatter started up outside the eating area, and she smiled apologetically to her black haired companion.


"Im sorry Aileen dear, Im just going to go and see what an earth all this racket is. If you want to show me the act you've been working on later on, I'd be delighted to see it."


Standing up she brushed off the hem of her shirt delicately and then moved outside of the partioned area, to see a fairly large grouping of people, and Drago stood in the middle of them like birds flocking to their nest.


"Oh, I suppose I should of guessed." She said in a fond but slightly dissaproving tone, looking between him and the Naiad girl clinging to his leg. "You havent been feeding her any of those sweets you carry around, have you? I dont want her developing a sweet tooth like you, you incorrigable old vagabond."


From the tone of her voice an outsider might think she was starting a genuine argument, but the twinkle in her eye as she spoke hinted at the fact that this was actually part of an incredibly long, unending game the two played where she seemingly dissaproved of his behavour and appearance, and he generally reacted like a mischevious old man.


It had started off as a genuine figurative kick in the backside for him to start behaving properly and get himself out of his funk after his dear wife had passed away, and by the time he'd managed to get back on track it had virtually became habit for the both of them, and was their own unique, unusual but genuine way of them showing their love for one another.
 
"Oh hello Vineres, dear" He said, pulling the girl onto a brief hug as well. Vinnie was truely his own child as heart, just as all the others were.


Looking down at the Naiad, he listened to their day plans.


"I'm sure Vi will positively keep you safe, but let's check with dear mother Lilly quickly though. There may be some things she needs as well.... why speak of the devil." He said, trailing off as Lilly approached. A smile broadened over his face as the woman chastised his candy habits.


"Maybe you should grow a sweet tooth yourself, Lilly." He said, his beard hitting hi long robe with each word.


"Seems the young ones, with Vineres in tow wish to go into town a last time today."


~~~~~~~~~


Veneers couldn't help but smile as well when Lilly approached. Her presence often made her tense up, wanting to be nothing short of perfect for the woman who save her life, but the old man and Flow's brightness was contagious.


"Hello Mother Lilly. It yes, what the man speaks is true. We would wish to make a last trip out. Pick up some herbs for Mal's spells, and enjoy the day." She said, hoping to be granted permission. Never in her life would Vineres go anywhere outside of fair grounds without altering Lily first, now would she ever go behind her back. It was simply something no amount of reaping could be worth.
 
Aileen had to smile again by the friendly tone in Lilly’s voice before taking another sip from the cup of tea.


“I was thinking about visiting the town,” she answered with a tiny shrug. It was nice just hanging around in the area as well, helping out where it was needed, but she really wanted to take a closer look at the people and shops when she had the chance.


When Lilly stood and put away her cup of tea, and apologized herself, Aileen gave a nod and another smile.


“Sounds good,” she answered, even though she wasn’t sure if she would actually get the opportunity to show the ringmaster her latest show before the circus opened for the audience. She preferred waiting with showing people her tricks until the show anyway. She watched Lilly leave, and almost immediately stood up herself. She didn’t have much interest of starting a conversation whit the boy, even though it might have seemed rude. Thinking about her performances, she actually needed to practise later, just to be sure she was one hundred percent ready. She only gave him a look before turning around, leaving her almost empty cup of tea. She found the way out of the tent, out in the mild weather outside. She needed to get some fresh air, maybe stretch her legs a bit.
 
"I hardly think referring to me as a devil is appropriate given my heritage, Drago dear." She said, giving an extremely rare suggestion as to her past infront of the family.


As he mentioned a sweet tooth she narrowed her eyes slightly, though they still twinkled playfully.


"My pallette is quite sweet enough, thankyou." She said slightly tartly, looking him up and down. "And dismissing giving innocent Florence bad habits, you really ought to lay off of them yourself. You have to be careful and watch your weight at your...advanced age, dearest."


She watched as Florence walked over to her expectently like a puppy, curtseying and then holding her arms open.


"Honestly dear, you're getting far too old to be expecting a cuddle every five minutes." Despite her protest she nevertheless opened her arms and wrapped them around the young girl in a warm embrace, patting her head fondly and if anything hugging slightly tighter than the Naiad was.


After a few moments she straightened back up, looking slightly flustered at at the open display of coddling infront of such a crowd of people.


She was rather used to more genteel embraces than outright cuddling.


Or at least she was in public, anyway. In private her warmer mothering instinct tended to come out more, and she did rather delight in seemingly mundane acts like combing peoples hair for them.


As Vinere's adressed her about the trip she looked to her, head tilted delicately for a moment, several possible outcomes running through her mind in the brief space of time, before she made up her mind.


"I really don't see why not. In fact while you're at it you can bring me some of that delightful Earl grey they make." She looked to Vinere's and the slightest hint of worry entered her voice. "You will keep an eye on them both, wont you dear? The pair of them are dreadful for wandering off."


She then turned to Florence, a serious look on her face. "And I meant what I said about staying off of the moors If it gets stormy, dear. A grim is nothing to sniff at." She turned back to the group in general, letting her normal tone and demeanour come back. "I'd rather not have anyone seeing any death omens, given our elderley here."


As Aileen walked out of the room Lilly spotted her and waved her over.


"Aileen dearest, you're a nice, sensible girl. Since you mentioned going for a walk, you wouldnt mind accompanying them, would you? I'd feel much more confident with you along as well as Vinere's to watch out for them."
 
Aileen was just about to find her way back to her own room, when she heard Lilly calling her name. She hesitated for a second before walking over to the group of people standing there. She saw the three girls that rarely was seen apart from each other, together with Lilly and Drago. She noticed Koa as well, one of the newest members of the family, standing a little away from the others. She remembered his name, and despite his almost intimidating appearance, she already viewed him as a part of their already huge family.


To Drago, she bowed her neck in a respectful nod, happy over seeing him. She looked over at Lilly again when she spoke, with her face in its usual serious, yet not depressed, expression. Aileen nodded slowly by the suggestion and let her gaze shift to the three girls, whom she was asked to join. To be honest, she’d preferred going alone, but she quickly pushed away the annoyingly unsocial thoughts. There were few people at the circus she had anything against, and Florence, Vineres and Malane weren’t any of them. They were all really nice girls, and she’d never experienced them being arrogant or unfriendly, not even to her.


“Sure,” she said, again with a little shrug of her shoulders. “If it’s okay with them.” Aileen looked at the girls, uncertain if they’d really like to have her come with them, like some sort of babysitter. She didn’t want to go if they didn’t want her there, but if they did, it could be fun. More fun than being alone at least.
 
Koa


I glanced around the group and at their happy faces. My ears perked at the mention of going into the town. I didn't want to intrude on the girls fun in the town by going. I tend to stress people out or make them feel uncomfortable when they are around me. I really did want to tour this new town and I especially wanted to stretch my legs. All four of them if they would let me shift into my canine form.


I looked around the group again before speaking up, "Would it be okay if I tagged along?" I asked in a quiet voice. I wasn't sure how they would react or if they would let me go with them. I hoped they didn't hit me for the comment but I braced myself for it anyways.


My muscles tightened and my posture stiffened slightly but enough to withstand a slap or punch.


(Sorry it's short. I'm on my phone.)
 
(Its cool dude, I am too)


Dragos smiled at the comment, and was absolutely beaming when Aileen was asked to go.


"Lilly, you know Naiads don't age emotionally like we do. Indulge her a little!" He said, ruffling the girls hair. It was always contradictory to the senses as he could feel the water that topped her head, but his hand always came away dry. "I don't think the girls would mind if Aileen tagged along. Nor would they is Koa did" he ended. It would mostly be up to Lilly if Koa was allowed to go, as she might be worried Veneers and Aileen wouldn't be able to handle all three if them under their watch, but Dragos had faith in them.


~~~


Veneers smiled, nodding to Aileen in recognition. "We would love to have her come along. And Koa, if allowed, aswell. It would be a chance to be able to get to know him a little more." She said, hoping to be able to take them both a long. Aileen's company was quiet, but she had a charming air and would help keep everything toned down and attention away as they did go out. Especially since they would be going out to the stores. With koa, she wasn't sure yet how he was like, as he'd only been here a couple weeks. Lilly had spoken of being worried about his temperament, but thought that now that he was surrounded by a place he could hopefully call a family that it wound tone down. Plus there was no harm in getting to know the guy to her.


"Of course, Lilly, no problem. The Earl Grey is very good, though I find it dull without sugar." She added, letting her know they would definitely get it. Hearing her warnings to Florence of the omens again worried her. In her chest there was a sense of dread, that she really would have to keep Flow on a tight leash and keep tabs on Koa and Mal at absolutely all times. Once again though she knew Aileen had wonderful judgement and wasn't worried about having to keep track of her. Not so much Mal either, just she was still very young.
 
Aileen didn’t say anything more, and even though it probably didn’t show, she was happy the girls wanted her to come. She only looked at the others, Koa as well when he quietly asked to join them. It actually made her feel relieved, because it meant she wouldn’t be the only one having to keep up with the girls. He didn’t seem like the type who talked too much either, something Aileen found relieving as well. Neither of them knew him that well yet, but she doubted he was actually dangerous, and if he was, she was sure the four of them could handle it. He actually looked tense, like he was preparing for rejection.


She wasn’t scared of seeing any death signs either, because she believed Lilly wouldn’t have allowed them to go if they would’ve been in any great danger.
 
"Of course. That's settles, then." She said with a pleasant smile.


Turning to Koa she raised an eyebrow at his flinching, but decided against making a comment on it, but did give him a few guidelines for behavour since he wasnt quite as experienced in trying to appear normal to humans.


"If you want to stretch your legs in one of your animals then thats fine, but be a dog or a cat or something, and make sure nobodies around to see you transform. I know you're rather fond of that great brute of a bear and that panther form, but they really arent the most...conspicuous of forms, so please dont." She paused to think for a moment, before dryly adding "And people arent used to pets going into stores and buying groceries, so please dont do that either."


She briefly glanced to Aileen and Vinere's, but decided the former was sensible enough to not need telling not to set anyone on fire, and the latter didnt really need any particular advice either. "Malene dear, I know you'll be excited one you get your new ingredients, but I'd really rather you didnt start brewing them in the middle of the street as soon as you get them."


---


Florence listened patiently as Lilly adressed the group, excited at the couple of new additions to their little expedition.


Without speaking to avoid interupting Lilly she walked over and quietly gave Aileen a hug, but knowing the girl was less openly affectionate than her she restrained herself to a quick hug (but not enough to refrain from hugging her entirely).


She was delighted at the chance to get to know a new family better in Koa, and while Aileen was naturally quiet and didnt exactly seek out company, she always enjoyed spending time with her and loved her like a more responsible older sister.


And she was introspective enough to admit that being around calmer people was probably a good influence for her, given her bubbly and slightly flighty excitableness.


As lilly turned to her she let go and stood up straight.


"Florence, remember to pile your hair up and put it in a hat, dear."


Flow nodded politely and put her hat on, smiling slightly mischeviously as she thought she'd gotten away with only that.


As if reading her mind, Lilly also added "And wear some shoes. I dont want you running about looking like some sort of street urchin."


Flow pouted slightly for a moment, but nevertheless nodded her head "Yes, maam."
 
Aileen stood quite while Lilly was listing up things they shouldn’t do, and even though she had heard those kinds of warnings many times before, she didn’t really mind them. She needed to be reminded that even though she knew how to take care of herself, accidents happened, and they had to be aware of possible things that could go wrong. They were different, and most people seemed to find it unpleasant, so when being out among “regular” people, they couldn’t say and do things they normally would’ve done in the safe surroundings of the circus.


She shouldn’t really have been surprised when Florence dashed over to her side and put her arms around her in a hug, because of all the members of her family, Flow was the most likely to do such a thing. Aileen didn’t directly dislike hugging or physical contact in general, but she couldn’t help to feel a bit uncomfortable, at least in front of these many people. She never quite knew if she was supposed to hug back or just stand still until it was over, so she ended up with patting Flow awkwardly on her back.


“Now, now. We don’t want to set you on fire, do we?” she said, only feeling a bit flushed in her cheeks, knowing perfectly well that setting Flow on fire would be close to impossible. She cleared her throat when Flow let go, and sent her a small smile before looking over at the others.
 
Malane looked how Vinnie held out her hand to make Malane tag along. However, Malane nervously hopped up and down, as she looked at her shoes and looked at Vinnie quickly shaking her head. "I'll be swift as the arrow of a bow!" she said as she suddenly grasped her shoes and ran to her room in quiet a hurry, where she dropped the shoes near her bed.


In a hurry, she rushed around the room quickly, trying to find her new shoes, when she accidentally hit a book which lay on the side of her bed, making it drop. It was a precious book to her, because it was the first book about brewing she ever had. And due to the book's enormous size, she would still every now and then learn something new from it. As the book fell on the floor, opening up the first couple of pages, a picture fell out. Malane in her hurry went on to look around for some new shoes, when she suddenly noticed the book on the floor. "Oh no!" she exclaimed softly as she ran towards her prized possession. She closed the book and lay down her special item on the bed, when suddenly she noticed the picture. She stared at the picture quiet intensively.


Her eyes glistered as she reached out for the picture and pick it up, sitting down on the bed momentarily just staring at it. The picture was of 2 people. One was a male and the other a female. They seemed to be in a old and odd looking room. And they were smiling. On the bed, she just sat for a moment looking at the picture. The usual grin on her face made way for a sad teared up look. Before she knew it, her 'moment' was broken by the sounds coming from just outside the eating area. The usual rummage had grown to be a combination of all kinds of familiar voices. "Shoes! Right!" she once more hastily said as she jumped up from the bed and looked around quickly, finding a couple of new shoes laying down near the entrance to her bedroom. She smiled as she stuffed the picture in her pocket, and ran to the pair of shoes.


She picked them up and ran with them in her hand to the rest of the group which had now already grown. There was the motherly Lily, who she had grown fond of as a caring and very polite mother, Drago, who she also grew fond of as the nice and jolly father figure, Ailleen, who was a quiet but good girl feeing more like a big sister, and the new guy, Kao, who she couldn't say she loved or hated as she was yet to get to know him. She quickly joined the group of strange but lovable people, where she wanted to wave her hand shortly at them, but suddenly stopped after seeing Lily. And suddenly, nearly as if it was a natural reaction, she pulled her cape lady like up a little, and made a small bow, before she regained her normal posture.


Even though she jumped in midway into the conversation, she did manage to pick up that Aileen and Kao were tagging along. Which was just fine to her. And as such, she smiled and cheerfully spoke. "Joy and the amount of people are like twins; when one grows, so does the other!" Malane was a people's person. Especially around her family. She'd love having most of the family together and having them just hanging out together. It always felt so nice and cozy.


As Malane took her time and leaned on Vi's shoulders for a moment, she started quickly putting her shoes onto her feet, making sure she was ready to go. She turned to Lily as she started to provide her with the usual warnings. Things that seemed somewhat obvious to her. She finished up putting on her shoes and quickly thanked Vinnie before she turned to Lily again and nodded her head reassuringly. "Yes! The streets are safe from my herbs!" She said with a small giggle on the end.
 
"Young ones" vineres said, addressing Mal and Flow, "you mustn't go off on any adventures with out us, understand? Stay by our sides. I wouldn't want any of you getting hurt under our watch"


Vi really didn't consider herself as older compared to the others. She still looked the same age, and for the most part acted like it. But while on circus grounds, she did hold a seniority over many. Not a fact she liked. Though on rare occasions it was appreciated as she had a natural want to take care of things, and if there is ever an accident and Mum or Paw are not there, she often takes care of it. The story of one poor souls who embarrassed himself during stage set up came to mind. It was about a decade ago, and it was their first day in a new town. Quickly construction started and one of the performers had been dictating things in her absense. When she arrived, he had only been informed of the individuals name who would be taking over, not their looks. Vineres strode across the stage to him, and began greeting workers and telling them how many rows of seating they would need. Immediantly he began yelling at her, chastising vi for imposing leadership over him, and that she needed to go do his chores. Everyone sat and stared, some too terrified or amused to inform the bloke that Vineres was his superior, and the one who was gone for a couple days while he filled in the spot. He was not punished, as his own humility served it right.


Gathering her things and thoughts alike, Vi slung a messenger bag over her shoulder after putting her coat back on, awaiting the others to be ready.


~~~~~~~


Dragos nodded, handing Aileen three twenties.


"Here, grab you all some lunch while you are out, and anything else you may need." He said. Dragos still wasn't quite used to american human currency, and often over estimated things. He had more than enough though, and the circus was in no financial need so he saw no harm in it.


"I expect all of you back before total darkness. Understood?"
 
Lilly looked between all of them, and deciding they were set waved them along.


"Alright then children, have fun. But not too much fun. And listen to whatever Aileen and Vinere's tell you." She turned to Drago and linked her arm with his genteely "Come along then, dear. I suppose we ought to discuss what expenses im allowed for each nights acts, and you can walk me through the next few places we'll be travelling to so I can sketch up the order of routines in advance to suit where we'll be."


------


Florence smiled back at her shyer friend Aileen, and then nodded her head attentively to Vineres, an honest look on her face.


"Mmhmm. I'll be on my best behaviour. Like a canal." She meant it too as she always tried her best to live up to the circus rules and never went out of her way to be mischevous; just, her tendancy to focus on what was infront of her completely, combined with her unique outlook on things meant she sometimes got into unfortunate situations entirely by accident, particularly since there were some aspects of behavour she didnt even fully realise were unusual.


Putting on her hat, with a little sigh she trudged over the the curtain and sitting down, slipped on her shoes, her hair slowing to a trickle.


As soon as she was done and the prospect of the little trip out came to the forefront however, her mood immediatly perked up again.


She smiled, adressing the group as a whole excitedly, ticking off items on her fingers as she went, growing extra fingers as she ran out.


"Alllrighty, let's go get Mallys magic item, and Vinnie's flake bread, and Lilly's tea, and Koa can be an nice animal, and eat lunch, and maybe get a new hat, and we can say hullo to the sheep." She paused breifly seemingly done with her mental checklist of entirely abritary tasks to be acheived, before ticking off one final item "And not get eaten by a dog."
 
Malane waved at Lily and Drago, the 'parents' of the circus, as they departed the little club. With a smile on her face, she'd turn back to Vi and just glare at her momentarily. She tried to take the words in the best she could, and once she was sure not to forget them, she nodded. "I'll be the black ominous shape behind you, following your every step! (talking about shadows)" she spoke, trying to comfort Vinny that all would be fine.


Malane was ready. Even though it wasn't a 'once in a lifetime' experience, it still felt like a big and jolly adventure for her. Especially considering the large group they had gathered to tag along. Since Malane didn't really need much, other than the knowledge about which item to buy, she was all ready to go. Using the cape she'd hide her unique outfit, and with her new shoes, she was ready to go off! Only this time more careful, as she was not ready to get new shoes again.


When Flow came back and started to list all the things they were to (possibly) do, she quickly glanced at her own hand, looking back at Flow's hand which now held 8 fingers. It almost looked like a strange animal that way. When she once more held her hand against her cape again, she smiled at Florence and said "I find it hard to wait, to do those things all 8. Especially the last one." She happily jumped upside down as she started waiting for the rest, continuously glancing outside as she was ready to start.
 
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