The Freaks Are In

By PapillonCameo and Tachigami

They travel together, avoid the towns, the cities.

Together forever, if the so-called Ringmaster has anything to say

And he does, about everything.

Family? Whether they like it or not, they are.

After all, they've been shunned from society.

They're not normal.

But they're useful in entertaining the normal.

That's what a freak is for, after all...

There were a few stragglers meandering around the tent. One tent, surrounded by the carriages the freaks travel in. It was large, flame-proof and tear-proof inside and out, a good forty feet in height at its tallest. The colors hardly looked inviting, dark brown and patchy, as though it’d been around since the dawn of time. But during shows, everyone called it home, even those contained in either a cage or a tank. Of course, they were at the back, past those that were, at first glance, simply human. One of the remaining audience members, a young girl that didn’t look to be quite twelve yet, approached a pale man in all-black, who looked a bit like a vampire under the firelight as he lounged against one of the support poles holding up the tent. He glanced toward her, and widened his black-rimmed eyes.

“Hello, little lady.” Francisco stepped closer to her and bent down. “You ever see a rabbit appear out of thin air?” When she shook her head, he reached to the ground, which was simply loose dirt. Digging his black nails down, he brought his hand back up and revealed just what he’d intended: A rabbit, coming up as though he’d simply picked a low-growing flower. Only this one had clumpy, dirty fur and black holes where its eyes used to be. “Ever see it take off its head?” Francisco’s small smile only widened as the girl stepped back, but didn’t run back to her parents, who seemed enthralled with Kade’s pure feathered wings. He set the rabbit on the ground before it could kick at his hand, and it raised itself up, scratching at its neck. The girl gasped as its head flew off, bouncing a bit, but the rabbit didn’t fall. It tried to run away. Almost at once the girl found her voice and screamed, running back to her parents as they turned. The mother glared at him and his trick.

“That’s disgusting!” She barked, pointing at it as the father put an arm around the sobbing child.

“What can you expect from a place called The Devil’s Freaks?” Francisco shrugged and pointed to the rabbit’s body, and it tumbled to a twitching halt. “Do make sure you don’t act like idiots every day throughout your lives---it’s cute for a while, then it just gets sad.” He laughed brightly as the parents simmered, but took the girl away. He went around the support pole and to a young man with long, white hair. He’d taken to sitting away from his place. Since the show had no ‘closing time’, the performers worked until they were too tired to do so. And Francisco had been pushing himself more than he ought to have been. He sat beside Aden on the wooden bench and sighed. “What a night, hm?” He nudged the younger man.

Aden hadn’t said a thing since sundown. He’d stood in his place with nothing in his hands, and as people entered and watched and interacted with the performers, he simply did as he was known for. He would bring up his hands, uncover them as they continuously kept hidden by his extremely long-sleeved clothes, put his very long, black nails before his lips, and breathe. Fire would shoot into the air, creating what he wanted from fireballs to small, controlled streams. He could own and manipulate it without the flames burning him, snap it into existence in just a moment. Of course his silvery, scale-like skin protected him for the most part from the burn any other fire-eater or firestarter would suffer in their practices and performances. Now, however, he was tired. Being extremely thin, lightweight, and relatively mousy, Aden grew tired a bit faster than others, and because his art required precise, quick movements, it only added to the strain. Now he didn’t even bother moving away from Francisco, as he was prone on doing from time to time when the smiley illusionist was ‘too happy’. He watched everyone else, and the few normals as they worked their way back to the exit.

Hieronymos, or Nymos for short, slithered about the cage with a small hiss whenever he noticed someone approaching. It didn't even matter if the other person belonged to the circus group or not ... He disliked them all with an equal passion. Leaf green scales slithered over each other as the bronze skinned man tried to make himself comfortable. At least now the show was over, and even less people were there to bother him then usual.

He watched with amusement as the illusionist frightened a young girl, wishing that he might have the chance to do the same. A tug at his tail had him turning about, rearing his head and exposing his fangs with a loud hiss. The boy who'd annoyed him yelled loudly, and ran away to hide behind his parents. One of the twins, the one who always dressed in blacks and reds, cackled at his actions.

Corvina scoffed, at the serpent man. She swung her legs back and forth, humming happily about the discord happening all around. Her grin eyes twinkled with mischief as she contemplated adding to it all. Her blue eyes fell upon her blonde sister, making the girl sigh. The goody two shoes was at it again.

"Aden, how are you doing?" She brushed away locks of long hair as she regarded the performer with concern. Her white and blue clothing was quite the contrast from her sister's attire, all flowing and soft to Corvina's leather and tight fitted outfits. The crowd loved seeing them do battle on stage, up upon the ropes, through the audience ... But it was so much more then it seemed. They were two parts of a soul, constantly fighting for dominance, to see who would be the guiding light once the halves where a whole again. They couldn't pass a moment too far from each other, which only served to irritate the half-souled twins all the more.

Aden's deep yellow serpent-like eyes regarded the kind twin easily for a moment. She was somewhat hidden by his long bangs, as they came to cover his forehead and part of his eyes. Before he'd heard her approach, he had been studying the very small, intricate scale-like pattern that covered his entire body, but focusing more on his hands. They were thin, his hands, his fingers long, just like him. Tall and thin and not exactly the strongest of the group. “I'm... just tired.” He said at last. “Thanks for the concern, though.” Though they were more or less a mismatched family, Aden had his favorites. Though he was the most morbid, Francisco was probably in the top three. Kade, the angel, was definitely number one. A kind man, concerned with everyone's well-being and never worried about himself more than anyone else. Aden observed him as he stepped down from his little stage, going toward the back.

Kade's wings stretched widely before folding down against his back. They seemed relatively unruly when they were spread, but being over eighteen feet across in all, it was amazing how little space they took up when folded low to his back. Passing the 'Tragic Clown' Carlito, Francsico's older brother, he made his way to where the tank and the cage were located. One held the Naga Nymos, whose usually venomous looks Kade didn't mind, and the other contained the real mermaid Willow. Her blue-green scales shimmered in the water and under the firelight hanging around her. She had many fans, though they had all begun to go home at last. Her hair of blues, greens, and blacks floated warily about her tired, but usually smiling face. Kade had been the one to find her in the tide pool one evening.

While her tank appeared to be small, a relative fifteen-by-fifteen foot, but if one were to dive in they would find a very large expanse of ocean water, plants, and even fish, courtesy of Willow's own power. She was too tired to go to the surface of the tank, so Kade simply placed a hand on the tank to say goodnight before going around to say the same to everyone else, even Nymos.

Erin smiled at the golden eyed mind, finding some comfort from the worry she'd felt for him in his words. "I'm glad to hear it's nothing more then that, Aden. If there's anything you need help with, you know where to find..." She trailed off with a sigh as her sister pipped up.

"You got a crush on snake boy, sis?" Corvina cackled at the thought, and leaped off her perch to stand beside her twin with a grin. Her elbow she shoved onto Erin's shoulder with only a glance for the others. "Just you wait, someday you'll lose, and then I'll be able to do whatever I want." Erin rolled her eyes at the words, and shrugged her sister's arm from it's perch. She moved away, as far as she could, and settled down with a soft sigh by Willow's aquarium.

A hiss resounded through the air as Kade moved to say goodnight to Nymos. It quieted soon enough. "Ssssleep well, Angel." Nymos was just a little strange, but even he seemed to hold a modicum of respect for the winged me. He was kind after all, even when the naga snapped out to try and harm. He was the only person Nymos ever spoke to, though the part snake man didn't even deign to learn the winged man's name.