Lois' gaze immediately fell on Kenny. Finally, someone willing to talk to her. Not that many people actually did talk to her. Ever. She'd really have to work on that.

Then she grinned, shifting impatiently from one hiking boot-clad foot to the other. "Nice to meet you, Kenny! If we're not waiting for anyone then c'mon, let's go!" Since the others didn't seem willing to introduce themselves, she decisively strolled around the group, and stopped just in front of the archway. Looking back at them over her shoulder, she asked, "Well? Coming?"

Manx took a deep breath then did something she hardly ever did. She wasn't a huge fan of physical contact normally, and usually avoided it. She put her hands on Kenny's shoulders, only a few inches above her own, and barely prodded him forward. "Come on y'all, she's right. We don't want to miss the show..." She said in her quiet voice. Luna purred loudly and rubbed against her cheek. The small kitten was standing, her body pressed against the back of Manx's neck and her tail wrapped around so that it looked as if Manx were wearing a furry choker. She smiled at her rowdy kitten then once again remembered her bag. "Oh wait! Hold on just a minute, I'll be right back... Please don't leave without me!" She begged then turned and ran toward her bike. She took off so fast that Luna squeaked and leaped forward onto Kenny's shoulder. She didn't use her claws though.

Manx ran fast over the hard ground to her bike. When she reached it she grabbed her messengers bag. There wasn't much in it. A small sketchpad and a few pencils (they were always in there), a thin jacket, and an even thinner wallet containing her small amount of spending money. It didn't take long before she was trotting back to the group with her bag thumping comfortingly against her hip.

Kenny was a bit taken aback by Lois's excitement. Not that it was a bad thing; being excited that is. Kenny just wasn't used to such enthusiasm and outgoingness, seeing as he was shy for the most part. Unless of course he was with his friends, which was a completely different story. But that wasn't the case now, so here he was, clamming up. However, once Lois suggested they all enter the circus, and Manx agreed with the suggestion (pushing him forward a little bit), Kenny spoke up. "Sure sounds like a good--" He was cut off by Manx remembering something though, and having to run back to get something.

"I swear we won't!" Kenny shouted after Manx, feeling a small weight added to his shoulder. Looking to the side, he saw Luna the kitten sitting on his shoulder. Kenny began to pet the small cat, smiling. "So... excited for the show?" Kenny asked, trying to break the awkward silence that had followed Manx's leaving. Hopefully he didn't make things any more awkward; that wouldn't be too good. When Manx came into sight, Kenny took Luna off of his shoulder, holding her tightly, until Manx returned. Passing the cat over, he said, "Okay, now we can go. Ali, you ready?"

"Thanks for waiting." Manx said a bit breathlessly. She accepted the kitten and put her on her shoulder. "I'm ready when you guys are." She stated quietly after a few moments. Since she'd left, somewhat of an awkward silence had fallen and she could almost feel it around her. Oh, I knew I'd cause problems. Look how awkward everyone is now... Manx looked downcastedly toward the ground and sighed. She didn't stay like this long though: she knew that if she did the others would start asking questions. Trying to salvage at least some of the ease she'd had before Lois' arrival, Manx looked toward the obvious reporter. "Hi, I'm Manx." She said quietly and nervously. She raised her arm just a bit in a sort of half wave.

Lois smiled at Manx in what she hoped was a gentle way and waved back. "It's nice to meet you, Manx, and of course we waited. You know the stories about this place? This is definitely a group activity." Of course, the girl had been planning on a solo venture, but nobody needed to know that. When opportunity presented itself, you took it. Right?

[[hey everyone, I apologize for the long wait. Between school and sports this week hasn't given me any time for the computer. If I'm ever gone like that again, feel free to drag me along and I'll type up a reply when I get back.]]

Ali had been preoccupied with her phone the whole time, and looked up at Kenny as he asked her something. "Huh? Oh, yeah, sure," she said, giving him an almost apologetic smile for seeming rude. She was the kind of girl with overbearing, worrying parents, and they didn't know where her brother was. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, feeling stress on her brow.
"Oh, by the way, I'm Ali," she said to Louis. "It's nice to meet you." She almost groaned when her phone buzzed again, and looked down at the text. "I'm hoping the shows good," she said. "Or that's a good summer night wasted away on some lame circus act."
---------------------~---------------------------

Liesel looked up at him, her eyes sparkling as she considered. "Everyone has already begun to enter the tent," she said after a moment of thought. "Brother says we must get ready." Her expression lapsed into gentle disappointment as she squeezed his hand. "But maybe we can play a game before we start? Games are always fun." She looked up at him, almost hopeful, like a small child.

-------------------~----------------------------

Gerome was almost annoyed, but took a deep breathe to calm himself. His sister was spending a lot of time with Ares; of course, Gerome was not jealous, because in the end his sister was his, but it bothered him. He shook his head an waited in the shadows of the tent, as children began to file in. A particularily large group caught his eye; there were four of them, three girls and a boy. They would be a good group, he decided. Yes, they would do just fine.

"What Lois said," Kenny replied to Manx, about not leaving without her. That wouldn't be nice at all, to leave her alone at this creepy circus. Because Manx was out of breath from running, the group stayed where they were for a few more moments, to let her catch her breath. Once Manx had her breath back, and had introduced herself to Lois, she seemed ready to go. After the okay had been received from both Lois (who'd been ready this whole time) and Ali as well, Kenny nodded. "Let's go then," he said, leading the group into the circus. He must've looked like a pimp or something, the lone guy among three girls. While they were walking, Kenny answered what Ali had said before, about hoping for the circus to be interesting. "Yeah, I hope so, too," Kenny agreed. "Although it's not like I had anything better to do. Normally this town's so quiet..."

"Tell me about it," she said, lowering her voice. "Despite that, I almost didn't come. Unfortunately, I have no life at the moment, so I-" she paused as her phone buzzed, pulling it out and turning it off before slipping it back in her pocket. "Suffice to say this was my chance to get away from the monotony of life." She shrugged and relaxed a little, then decided to put her jacket on, feeling a little chilled as they entered the tent. "What do you think we'll see?" Her voice became even softer; as she walked in a feeling akin to the feeling one got from entering a revered place washed over her.

Manx walked forward with the group, slightly behind them. She took in everything around her from the tents that looked as if they could once have been very bright but were now dark, to the brittle dying grass. There were few other people around. The ones she saw were all heading toward a big tent straight in front of the group. I guess that's where the show will be... It wasn't long before they had reached the tent and were walking through the large doorway. Inside, it was dimly lit but at least there were other people. Shew... We aren't completely alone now...

Luna trembled as she looked around, as if she were scared. Manx crooned to her softly and tried to tune her out but soon her shaking was worse. She lifted the small feline from her shoulder and snuggled her into her arms. When her shaking had stopped, Manx held her in one arm and used the other to pull open her bag. Putting Luna into the bag she watched with a small smile on her face as the kitten turned in circles like a dog and lay down making a bed of Manx's hoodie.

After entering the tent, Manx looked around. She looked at the faces of her group members. "So... What now? Where do you guys want to sit? I don't know what time the show is supposed to start..." She said in her quiet, high pitched voice.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ares smiled disappointedly down at Liesel but that small smile grew larger as the word game was mentioned. In his somewhat psychotic mind, ''game'' meant many things. "What sort of game my dear?" He crooned. Games are oh so funnnn... He thought and his eyes grew bright. Ares waited patiently for a reply by studying her face. His free hand inched toward his sword as he imagined some of the ''games'' he thought would be fun.

Lois laughed, cheerfully attempting to mask a feeling of unease that had started as they'd entered the grounds and increased as they'd approached the tent. Surely this was just her overactive imagination acting up again. She'd read too many comic books. And if the supernatural was real, well, then she'd have the story of the century. That's why she was here!

"We'll sit in front, Manx," she replied decisively, locating a lucky group of four seats, front and center. "Where else? We haven’t come here to miss a moment right? Besides, I need pictures." She grinned, pulling out her digital SLR, hoping against hope that photography was allowed and absently wishing for a press pass. Or at least her portable tripod. She mentally kicked herself for leaving that behind. If they didn’t allow flash photography, and they might not...

But even so, she had the voice recorder. It would be better than nothing.

"Okkayyy..." Manx replied, not as sure about the seating arrangements as Lois seemed to be. She followed along though, not wanting to be left alone. Her feelings of unease had increased as they'd come into the tent and she definetely was not going to take any chances. As she sat she looked over at the newest member of the group. She was pulling out her camera. Hope we don't get in trouble for that... Manx thought. Sometimes pictures caught sight of things that others didn't want seen. Well, at least that's what happened in all of the law shows and movies she watched. "Stop being paranoid!..." She scolded herself in a very quiet whisper, hoping that none of the others would notice her little conversation with herself.

"That's always good," Kenny said in response to Ali, and how this was a way to escape the monotony of life. "I'm not too sure... it's a freak show right? I'm guessing we'll be seeing... freaks?" Kenny said unsurely, stating the obvious, as the group of four began to walk through the circus. While they were walking around, Kenny wasn't really looking around much, deciding he'd much rather watch where he was going and make sure he was staying with his small group. Finally, the four entered a tent, finding four seats in the front.

Letting the girls sit down first, Kenny followed, seating himself on the end, next to Manx. "Are you sure they'll allow photography?" Kenny asked Lois, after she'd mentioned wanting to take a few good pictures. He turned in his seat so that he was facing the everybody else, before hearing somebody speak. "Stop being paranoid!..." Either this person was talking to themselves or they assumed one of them was paranoid. "Hmm?"

As she sat down, Lois grinned at Kenny. "No idea!" she replied, before fussing with her camera settings. Flash photography would be a no-no if there were, say, lions involved. But this was a freak show, and lions were rarely mentioned in the rumors. "I still can't believe the admission was free. Seriously, why aren't there more people here? This is weird, you guys."

Manx's head shot up and she looked at Kenny. Her face was bright red again. "Oh... I was talking to myself... I'm sorry. I didn't think anyone could hear me..." She sputtered out her reply. She put her bag into her lap and hugged it comfortingly. As a distraction of sorts Manx looked at Lois. With a tiny smile playing over her lips, barely moving them at all, she opened the top of her bag. Luna looked up at her sleepily. "She's a bit of an odd sort isn't she little one?" She said directly into the kittens ear so softly that Lois sitting two seats down from her on the other side of Ali had no possible chance of hearing but Kenny could hear easily. When finished talking to Luna she pet the kitten's chin and shut the bag again then looked over at Kenny that tiny grin still on her face.

Ali looked at Lois as she finally sat down, on the other end next to Lois, one eyebrow raised. This was certainly one enthusiastic little cookie. "Not very many people thought it was real," Ali said, her eyebrow still arched up. She glanced at Kenny and Manx, trying to see if they thought this was as odd as she did. Maybe it was just Ali; she didn't really hang with overly enthusiastic people.

---------------------~---------------------------

A delicate finger tapped at her lips as she thought. "Well," she said, clearing her throat. "If you want to practice, we could do that," she said, knowing he was always eager for a chance to play with his "toys", as she called them. "Or...." She turned her back to him for a moment, her finger still at her lips. "Or we could play a different game? A hiding game, maybe."

Looking from Kenny over to Ali, Manx shrugged. It wasn't just over enthusiastic people she didn't hang out with, it was people in general. Sitting still as she was made Manx nervous and she started fidgeting. She tapped her feet for a few minutes then stopped and stuck her hand into her bag. She petted her kitten and that seemed to calm her down enough to keep her still. "Ali, do you know what time the show is supposed to start?"

~~~~~~~~~~

Ares cocked his head to the side grinning wickedly; he looked much like a young school boy at that moment. Well, a young evil school boy. "Ah my sweet, you know me to well, but even we old friends can surprise you sometimes. What have you in mind for this so called 'hiding-game'?"

(Blarg... Writers block)

"Yeah," Lois said to Ali, wondering just how blurry her photos would be if she didn't use flash at all in the dim tent, hoping that it would be brighter once the show started. "Yeah, but nobody in this town was even curious?"

Then she took another look at the rest of the group, and wondered just how she’d ended up with a bunch of emos. And then remembered that town was full of them. Apathy seemed to reign in Parkersville. "Don’t answer that," she added. "Nobody’s ever curious."

Ali turned on her phone to check the time and was bombarded with texts from her mother. She cursed softly, exiting out of all of them. "It's supposed to start in ten," she said, leaning forward so that she could see Manx. She turned her head so that she could see Lois, as the girl began to speak. "Some kids wanted to come, but decided they had better things to do and better drugs to try." She rolled her eyes- she had never figured out what was so fascinating about drugs, and yet almost all her friends were into them.

---------------------~---------------------------

She turned to him, her eyes sparkling. "It is... very simple. The children, they still play it today," she said. She walked around him slowly, her hands behind her back. "I hide, and you find me. But if you are not careful..." She raised her viper to her lips and kissed it softly, thoughtfully, giggling. "You may have to duel with one of my little sweethearts. Just be sure not to hurt them, my darling boy, and you may have you're practice as well." She looked up at him, her head tilted to the side as she waited for his input.

[[This will end.... interestingly. We'll start the show when eyeslikeskies gets on again.]]

((It definetely will hehehe I do believe you have something in mind :P ))

((Sorry for making you guys wait so long D: I was slightly busy. And I really suck, this is super short.))

Kenny zoned out for a while, not paying attention to any of the conversations going on around him. His inability to pay attention did that to him sometimes. Kenny probably seemed like a jerk or some depressed quiet kid. Both parts were untrue; he'd gotten over his bout of shyness from before, and was pretty sure that from then on he'd have more tact. "What did I miss?" Kenny asked aloud, bringing himself back into the conversation that was going on. "Sorry, spaced out." A sheepish smile accompanied his words.

((It's ok, I don' mind. Hehehe it seems that we can't all figger out when we want to be online at the same time.))

Manx looked over at Kenny. She too had been lost in her own thoughts but she'd been doing it for such a long time that she was good at making it seem as if she were paying attention even when she was completely spaced. "It's alright, and you didn't miss much. The show should start soon though so I'd suggest staying put hehe." She'd meant to stay focused but nervousness was confuddling her thoughts. Mentally face-palming herself she looked back toward the ring to hide her bright red face. Wish I didn't blush so easy... Makes me too easy to read.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ares smiled at Liesel even bigger than before. He grabbed both of her hands in his and spun her around like a dancer. "It sounds fun my dear! You shall be hiding?" Suddenly a realization made him stop his childish antics. "But what if your brother finds out? He doesn't like me as it is and he'll definetely blame me for making us late to the show. Nothing but perfection will do for him and he won't be happy if we ruin his 'perfect show'." Ares growled and looked toward the main tent. He would never tell him or his sweet Liesel that he truly hated Gerome and would gladly kill him if it weren't for the simple fact that without Gerome he would most likely be killed. Tried for many crimes at least. He'd done some very illegal things with his playthings, his blades.

[[lol, I doubt we'll ever accomplish the task of all being on at the same time. I won't be here tomorrow, so if someone wants to start the show while I'm gone you have my permission to. Just take hold of Gerome for a few posts or something, and make up an act to throw in. Ares and Liesel can be at the end, Vanidar, so they have time.]]

"Welcome back," Ali said lightly to Kenny. "Hey, does anyone want some popcorn or something? I'm kind of thirsty." She stood up, looking at the group expectantly, waiting.
[short post OTL]

---------------------~---------------------------

Liesel laughed delicatley as he spun her around, then jerked to a stop, her eyes fixed on him as he spoke. She pouted slightly, thinking. "I would take full blame," she said softly, pulling his hands together behind her back. She squeezed them gently, looking up at him. "If you would rather not risk it, I understand, my darling," she said, voice even softer. She loved her brother to death, but he was such a spoil sport. While Liesel owed him her life, she sometimes wished he wasn't so strict, especially with her. She didn't understand why Gerome didn't like Ares, or why he had so many rules for her. He was a mystery sometimes.

((Do you want me to make another performer character, since we only have three? By the way, if my posts don't make sense sometimes or I add something random in, it's because I add in a bit of background information on the character.))

Kenny chuckled a bit, glad nobody faulted him too much for tuning out like he had before. "I'll make sure not to. Wouldn't want to miss the show," Kenny replied lightly, noticing the faint red color that was appearing on Manx's face. He was pondering whether he should ask her why she was blushing, but decided against it. Kenny wouldn't want to embarrass her further... Although he really didn't see why she was embarrassed at all, he let the topic drop. Another silence fell over the group, and Kenny almost cheered out loud when Ali gave him a reason to talk.

"Yeah, I kinda want something to drink, too," Kenny agreed, rising from his seat. "I'll go with you, if that's alright? I can help out." He smiled a bit, wanting to walk around the circus a little bit more. There was probably so many more things to see, and Kenny wanted to see everything. He was like a child in that way; always curious. It could get annoying, but the trait of his did come in handy sometimes. Kenny's curiosity led him towards places that held experiences he wouldn't want to miss. However, curiosity did kill the cat...

[[If you want to, that would be amazing. Also, we can use some npc's to fill in the spaces.]]

Ali nodded, grinning a bit. "A'righty then, let's hurry up," she said. "I don't want to miss anything." In truth, she didn't want to run into that creep again, especially not alone, and she was grateful that Kenny had wanted to come along. That guy gave her a bad feeling.
She stepped down and waited for him, her hands in her jacket pockets. When he joined her she began to walk, wondering which way to go to find the drinks. "I have no idea where to go," she confessed as they approached the opening of the tent.

((Alrighty, I'll PM you the skeleton for it (: And also, what's an 'npc'? I'm a noob, sorry.))

Kenny smiled, walking after Ali. He didn't want to sit around and wait for the show to begin too much. Sitting in one spot for too long was boring. "Yeah, me too. I'm sure it'll be pretty exciting," Kenny responded, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He could feel the minimal amount of cash he had brought; it was only around fifteen dollars or so.

"Me neither... Let's just try not to get too lost," he said in a joking tone. They left the tent and began to wander around, looking for some place to buy a drink. Trying to start a conversation, Kenny asked, "What grade are you in?" It was a lame conversation stater, but it would have to do. There wasn't much Kenny could ask someone who was practically a stranger to him. It was better to stick with the simple questions, rather than get too intricate. All the while, Kenny was looking around to see if they were going in a direction that seemed to be right.