The cowboy hat wearing brunette sat nervously upon the hard bench. Her eyes shifted and turned, alighting upon everyone at least once or twice. Teal eyes lifted to the roof of the tent to peer with fascination at the woman walking across the tight rope. Her balance was amazing and her composure even more so.

Then again she wasn't running from people who wanted her dead. With a shake of her head the young woman calling herself Manon lowered her eyes as the next act entered the center ring. Lights dimmed, until only the one spot was illuminated. There was a strangely colored cat, and it's equally strange handler. Clad in leather he was as mysterious and unknowable as Manon was trying to be out of necessity.

A moment later her face froze in a mask of fear as a man caught her eyes. He didn't seem very fear inspiring, being average in every way, but that was why he was so successful at his work. He hadn't spotted her yet, which gave Eva the opportunity to ditch her distinctive hat and cover her hair and face with the hood of her pink, zip-up, sweater.

Soon the show was coming to an end and Eva had formulated a plan. Time to run away with the circus. They were always moving and changing towns. It'd be hard to track anyone down with that kind of erratic movement. That was why the young woman found herself sneaking backstage as the show came to a close and standing nervously with a burly security guard grasping her arm. "You don't understand! Please, I need to join the circus!" Her please didn't seem to be making any headway at all, which made her despair mount.

The circus' performances were successful in the way of bringing many folks together to enjoy the daring, dangerous, and humorous feats of its performers. As the final performance was finished up, the Ringmaster, a young man dressed in a blue suit with a flower decorated hat aborn his head, bid everyone a gratuitous thank you and a safe trip back home. Most of the troupe members made already made their way through the backstage to their temporary dressing rooms that were shared between some members, and out the back door to their designated trailers, campers and Rvs.

Kyle, a young man that was clad in black leather and wore a leather band across his eyes, held a cat against his chest in a way that allowed the grown creature to see straight ahead if it wished. He walked slowly and deblierately as he tried to mentally invision where the walls were and listen for anything that would indicate that something was near him. As the cat in his arms rested soundly, a bit tired from the day's performance, or rather from having to perform everyday the past week, Kyle was left blind.

As he neared the backstage he heard a girl's voice that sounded very distressed. The cat sensed the despair coming from the girl and woke from it's very short nap it was trying to have while being carried. Turning it's unusuall rounded eyes toward the source of the increasing despair, Kyle saw the one of the few security guards that the Ringmaster kept around had a hold of a young woman by her arm. "Excuse me, but . . . what is going on?" He asked.

Eva peered up at the security guard with mounting frustration. If a curious voice hadn't interrupted her thoughts she might very well have created a scene. Just that could have saved her life, considering the fact that an assassin lay in wait within the crowds, trying to find her. With a shake of her head she twisted around with relief as the guard released her arm. Grimacing, she rubbed a hand over it with just a little regret. What she wouldn't give for the days she'd been able to simple enjoy the circus with a laugh and a smile without having to worry about being found!

"I want to join the circus. It's really important that I do." Tentatively the young woman offered up a smile while tugging at her jeans absentmindedly. This had to be the most important job interview she'd ever have. "I'll do anything, anything at all, as long as I can travel!" The young man was a performer, surely he knew who was in charge of hiring?

Teal eyes began wandering again, but at least now she was fairly certain to have escaped her pursuer's eyes. The only reason she knew what he looked like had been a very close call. Remembering the incident made her lift a hand to brush it against her shoulder. There was barely anything left of the dagger wound the assassin had inflicted while trying to subdue her. That had made this job personal for him, a very bad thing for Eva.

Kyle was a bit surprised about how insistant the woman was about wanting to join. It made him feel a little uneasy and worried for her. "If your want to join, you should talk to the Ringmaster. He's the one who let me join." Kyle said to the girl as the cat purred at the woman then meowed in want of her attention, it's tail swishing lazily below. The girl had a pretty face, but it was kinda hard to see her from this angle and while she wore a hood over her head.

When she touched her shoulder, the cat meowed again but with a sound that sounded sad with worry. It could sense that she had was scared.

She smiled a little at the cat's antics. She was glad that perhaps another refuge had presented itself at such an opportune time. Eva mulled over it for a little while, or at least how to broach the subject which pressed so upon her mind. "Could you maybe take me to see him?" A slender hand lifted to pet the cat, for it seemed like it needed reassurance. Animals did tend to know when people were upset.

The cat purred heavily as it's head was petted and pressed against her hand. "Yeah, The Ringmaster is always willing to take in a new member." Kyle said and took a step back, taking the cat from the woman's hand. As he moved in a slow circle, the cat protested with a low meow, wanting to be petted by the woman again. Becoming annoyed at the male, the cat jumped from his arms and landed gracefully on the floor by the woman's feet and started to rubbed up against her, purring heavily. When the cat jumped from his arms, Kyle suddenly become disoriented, his vision blurred and whirled much too fast for him to keep up with it's sudden movement. He reached out and placed his hand blindly against the wall and held himself there, trying to readjust his balance to the darkness that overcame him. "Why do you have to do that!?" He hissed at the cat and it just meowed at him in response, still rubbing against the woman, it's eyes closed in content as it purred.

Eva made a slight face as the young man moved away with his pet. She loved cats, but had never been able to have one of her own. It was a sad side effect of always living in an apartment. The brunette was rather startled when the strange colored feline jumped away from it's owner to rub against her legs. With a delighted laugh, Eva moved to pick up the cat but stopped suddenly as the circus performer stumbled unexpectedly. A little torn, she sighed as she grabbed the cat with one arm and reached out with the other to steady the cat's owner. "Hey, are you alright?" Maybe he was tired from performing for days on end, and always traveling, or maybe he was just warm from wearing all that leather.

The cat looked up at Kyle and he could see himself hunched as he leaned against the wall to recover from the sudden vision blur. "I'm alright. Thank you, miss. I got dizzy for a moment, but I'm alright. " Kyle said and straightened himself up. "Can I have the cat back? Then I can help you look for the Ringmaster. He's probably at the tent's entrance bidding the audience farewell."

With a wordless nod, Eva held out the cat. Really, it would have been a surprise if the boy hadn't felt strange with his choice of clothing. "Thanks a lot for helping me out, you have no idea what this means to me." It meant her life, but she wasn't about to say that. "My name's .. My name's Manon." It wasn't, but it would do for now.

Taking the cat back into his arms, he held it as he did before, as he ducked his head down toward the floor, causing his bangs to hide most of the leather strap around his eyes, or rather the secret the strap hid. "Yeah, the Ringmaster wouldn't want someone as passionate as you to be turned away before even seeing him." Kyle said, with an awkward smile. "Kyle Sunburst is my name." He said and took a step back to turn with the cat before him. "I . . . think I see him just over at the entrance of the tent. When the crowd starts to thin out." He said and hugged the cat more closely to his chest. "Maybe we should go into the back with the others until the audience is gone. Can you wait just a bit longer?" He asked Manon, tilting his head toward her direction to hear her answer.

She smiled in return. "Well hopefully he can find something for me to do." Practice made perfect, and she'd had lots of practice with that. It took a lot to keep changing lives constantly. At least this time it was her choice. Eva was tremendously glad of that. This time at least she could be more of herself then a figment of someone else's imagination.

"Alright, that sounds good to me. Hey, how did you do your act? Unless it's a trade secret of course." She was rather curious, and it showed in her voice. Eva bounced almost excitedly as she peered around the area. It was going to be such a wonderfully new experience, traveling to see so many different places, and meeting the people of the circus!

Kyle wasn't uncomfortable with the idea of sharing how he was able to perform his act. It wasn't for the cat in his arms, he wouldn't be able to do anything, let alone perform as act such as his. "Y-yeah, you can call it a trade secret." He said, and shifted a bit so the cat could settle more comfortablly in his arms. "Let's go into the back." Kyle said and stepped around the woman then toward the back door that she had tried to sneak into earlier before the guard caught her. "Come on, Manon."

(I apologize if Kyle is a little out of character. It's been a while since I played him, so I'm reading our other rp again to refresh up. )

Shrugging, the young woman fell into step beside Kyle. She did wonder what was behind the stage, and always had. It was all part of the mystery belonging to the circus, and now Eva was about to discover what happened off stage! "Does your cat have a name?" Manon, well it was going to take a while to get used to being called that. Eva had pulled it from the air on a whim, and now regretted it a little. She should have chosen something less french, more generic, like Anne.

Going into the back rooms that were shared among the performers, Kyle stood outside the door of his own and tilted his head toward the young woman when he heard her question. "No, it's my eyes." He stated, and braced a shoulder against the dressing room door to push it open once he managed to turn the handle. The door opened and he went inside, expecting the woman to follow behind, or wait outside. Either way was fine with him. His dressing roommate paid neither of them any mind as he tended to the make-up he wore and fixed his hair. Dispite on how hard the Ringmaster may try to bring everyone together in the circus, most of the other troupe members didn't bother with Kyle at all. Not that he really mind at all. As long as the cat was with him and safe, he felt he didn't really need anyone or anything else. "Please, don't mind me." He excused himself as he set the cat on the vanity's top, Kyle took a seat and started to change the leather strap around his eyes. He kept his head down low, so his hair would keep his face covered then felt around for the clean strap that should be on the counter somewhere. The cat had laid down and curled up for a cat nap, so Kyle was left in the dark.

She gave the young man a puzzled look, but decided against making any comments about it for now. After all, she was trying to make sure she'd be accepted in this wondrous place. A smile dawned across Eva's features as she followed Kyle into the dressing room. There were so many things there that made her wonder for a brief moment what performing was like. A thought for later, when people weren't after her.

Curiously the young woman watched Kyle, and then smiled when she glanced at the car taking a nap. It was such an adorable animal! Though without it awake, Kyle didn't seem as sure of himself. "Here it is." Quickly, the brunette grabbed the strap of leather he'd been searching for and placed it in his hand.

((sorry for taking so long to answer, homework piled up suddenly.))

(( It's perfectly alright. I don't mind. I'm just glad that you had returned. I hope the homework won't give you too much trouble! ^^ )

Hearing her voice and feeling something being placed into his hand, Kyle instinctively dipped his head down farther, hiding his face even more so than he already was. He hoped he could portray himself normal to the young woman by trying not to be obvious about hiding his face, because if she did join the traveling circus. Perhaps there was a chance they could be friends? If not, then well. . . Kyle was used to that as well. But he still didn't want anyone to see what was truly under the strap. "Thank you, Manon." Kyle said softly then with quick and well practiced movements wrapped the strap around his head, covering his eyes and secured it. Once that was done, he pulled his bangs from under the strap.