Chapter Text
It's been a few days since Pluto had to leave. It's been a few days since Morella pulled Pluto into a warm hug while he questioned how he was still alive. It's been a few days since the event that left Pluto running from home. It's been a quiet few days at his friend's house. He's been sad and scared, but at least he's alive.
Morella's always in a cheerful mood, but today seemed happier than usual. She was up early, the sounds of her making breakfast woke Pluto as well. He couldn't complain much, the breakfast smelt amazing. He heard the sizzling of bacon and eggs, saw freshly made pancakes with syrup dripping down the sides, and a few bowls of berries sitting next to them. The smell of it all was so strong he could already taste it. Morella usually decides to make bigger-than-average breakfasts, but this is extra. There were even more sides being prepared. He made his way over to the kitchen, Morella noticing him and dropping everything she was doing to hug him, even lifting him in the air a little as she did. Pluto was about to ask what all the excitement was for, but he could only get a strange noise out as she crushed his ribs a little. She placed him back down, putting her hands on his shoulders. "I know you haven't been feeling great lately- which is fair, I don't expect you to feel great, what you went through was bad and nobody should have to go through that and it's a traumatizing experience and-"
"Morella," Pluto softly interrupted, placing his hand on hers, "where are you going with this?"
"I might know a way to make you feel better!" she grinned, walking back to the kitchen.
Pluto hesitantly followed. "...What?"
"You'll never guess what I got us!" Morella giggled as she flipped the pancakes onto a plate. "I got us-"
"Is it bad I'm scared?"
"Tickets to the circus!" Morella cheered.
"I was right to be scared." Pluto sighed. "How much did they cost?"
"Not much, not much! It's just an entry fee, I promise!" she told him, avoiding his gaze. "...And I'm bringing some money for if there's any gift shops..."
Pluto couldn't stop himself from smiling a little. "It's really sweet of you, Morella, but I don't know-" The words were caught in his throat after glancing over and seeing Morella look back at him with her big, excited eyes and slightly worried expression. He took a deep breath. "...You're making it really hard to say no to you right now."
"Come on, it'll be fun!" She said, filling her plate with food. "When was the last time you went to the circus?"
Pluto stared at her. "...Morella, you know what my childhood was like-"
"C'mon, please? Just for me?" She put her plate down, wrapping her arms around Pluto and looking up at him. "Pleaaseee?"
Pluto looked at her for a moment, already planning his "I told you so" when he ends up having a panic attack. "...Fine."
She cheered a little, backing up and flapping her arms before calming herself and grabbing his hand. "You are NOT going to regret this! I'll go get ready!" She ran off to her room.
Pluto dragged his hands across his face, not prepared for the day. "If it makes Morella happy, I'm happy," he tried to convince himself, before sitting down to eat.
"This is about to be the coolest experience of your life." Morella held his arm a little tighter than intended as they walked in the direction of the circus. "They're newer, but they're really good! Maybe 5 years old? Around there. I went to their first show here! And I've heard they've only gotten better since they got rid of their old ringleader guy a couple of years back! So the main performers are Lenore Vandern..." Morella kept talking about fun facts about the circus and every bit of information there is to know (Pluto isn't sure how she knows so much about it), but Pluto was busy staring at the circus in the distance, getting closer than he'd like with every step they take. It's everything he dislikes, but it's all there is to do in town, Morella didn't have many choices. It's bright, it's loud, it's busy, and it sounds a little bit like hell, but it's the thought that counts. Still, he wasn't prepared for how much was about to be happening at once. Morella made sure to grab his headphones just in case things get loud and fidgets in case he wants them, but he wasn't sure if that would help much. He thinks he might die if he's chosen for a single bit of audience participation (it's always the people with stage fright chosen, he believes performers can smell fear). Pluto put his hood up as they neared the entrance. "...and there's this one comedy act- it's my favourite part of the whole circus -it's done by William and Ada, and they- oh, maybe I shouldn't spoil it." Morella giggled as she finally finished her rant.
They stood before the entrance, staring at the circus for a moment. It was a dazzling display of colour, lights, decorations, and people in amazement of their surroundings no matter how long they'd been there. It was bright, mainly shades of purple, reds, light oranges and a few pinks, with shiny gold and silver decor. Each tent had something unique in its design, but the main tent stood out the most. It was massive and almost entirely greyscale, apart from watercolour-like splashes of light blues and red. Morella and Pluto started walking in, Pluto running his hand along a railing, dripping from the storm the previous night, the rain smell lingered too. He looked up just as more water slid off some fairy lights hanging above. They stepped onto the dirt floor- now almost muddy, but that didn't seem to bother anyone. Lights stood out in the fog, though Pluto was grateful that the weather seemed to soften the colours just slightly. They spread the tents out enough for the area to not be cramped, even though there were a lot of people there chatting, laughing, and exploring, everything was pretty easy to see and find. Most areas seemed closed for now, though they did pass a purple tent with a bead door and the sound of soft humming and shuffling cards inside. Smoke floated out of the tent, warming the cold air. There was an orange food stand that had a curtain swiftly pulled in front of it before they could get a good look at it- but it smelt amazing: sweets, baked goods, and probably more sugar than anyone should ever consume. There weren't any workers to be seen, everything was shut down quickly. Everyone looked confused, until a voice called out from the speakers. It was a woman's voice, elegant and smooth. "The main event will be starting soon. Please make your way to the main tent."
Morella held Pluto's arm, bouncing with excitement. "This is going to be the coolest experience of your life! C'mon!" she said, before dragging him inside the tent. He stumbled after her, holding his hood down and sneaking through the crowd. They pushed past the curtains, revealing the inside of the tent. There was a large stage in the center, completely surrounded by a curtain. Chairs circled it. They managed to have posts outside the tent holding it up with many strings, so the inside didn't need anything. There was a net far above the stage for workers to walk on, but it was almost impossible to see what they were doing up there. People were quickly filling the seats, Morella dragged Pluto to one of the front rows before they were all taken. A few speakers were on the ground around the edges of the stage and the tent, some lights right next to them and more on the net above. The smell of popcorn floated through the air. Lights were dimmed, and the curtain was very slowly starting to rise.
The woman spoke over the announcements again. "Please remain seated for the show. You may laugh, cheer, shout, "oooh" and "awe", but please, refrain from chatter. There are exits on all four sides of the tent if necessary."
The curtain fully lifted, but it was far too dark to see who stood there, Pluto could only see their vague outline.
"We hope you enjoy the show. Performers: good luck, break a leg, and pet, please don't set yourself on fire again." The spotlights turned on, revealing a woman standing in the center of the stage. A large tophat covered her black and white hair, pulled into a ponytail and tied in a red ribbon. She had on a quite stereotypical "magician" outfit with bright red, heeled boots matching a red tie and red corset, with a black blazer over a white button-up. The most interesting part of her outfit was an intricately carved cane, the handle designed like the head of a raven with its mouth just slightly open. She placed both hands on it, her wedding ring shining in the spotlight. The woman finally looked up to the audience.
"Welcome, one and all, to one of the greatest performances of your life!" She announced. The crowd cheered. "I'm this lot's ringmaster, and you may call me Lenore, the woman you heard on the announcements is the amazing Annabel Lee, she does no tricks but she's our manager and my lovely wife. I'll be introducing each act, and I've even got a few tricks myself, so I'll be both the opening and closing act. With that being said... Let's get this started." The cheering began as Lenore twisted the handle of her cane around with a loud click, then tapped the base on the ground with some force. Fire exited the raven's mouth, and her act began. An array of fire-related tricks like fire breathing, juggling, eating, and some tricks with on-fire batons. It was beautiful. At one point, the very top of her tophat got set on fire! Everything was happening so fast, and the act was over in what felt like seconds, though it must've been minutes of non-stop movement. The curtains dropped, covering the stage. Everything was still. When the curtains rose again, a different woman was standing centerstage, appearing like magic. The acts continued like this, each of them beautiful, fast-paced, and mesmerizing. The same people went on quite a few times (a woman named Berenice did snake charming, sword eating, and a mix of contortion and aerial ribbon almost back-to-back).
Then, there was one act. A man was on stage (curly dark hair, another basic magician outfit, but this one was cropped just above his waist, he had tall boots, socks reaching about mid-thigh, low-rise shorts, a black cape, white gloves, dangly earrings, a very shiny belly button piercing, and a sparkly mask covering half his face) performing some magic tricks. Pluto was watching the man move around the stage with such grace, his smile had a specific charm to it; he was almost mesmerizing. He felt his face heat up every time he caught himself staring at the man. He performed some impressive tricks, but Pluto was embarrassed by how little he was paying attention to them. At one point, someone brought a tall closet-looking thing on stage.
"For my next trick-" his voice, captivating "-I'll be performing something a little more... Common? Cliché, perhaps?" he laughed a little- and God, he had a nice laugh. It was deep and genuine and lovely and- "Though for this trick, I will need a volunteer!" -actually horrible, he was wrong before, and he now hates everything about this. He sinks in his chair a little to avoid getting picked.
The man scanned the room, tapping his lip with a small hum. He did a quick spin but stopped to look at the section Pluto's in. Slowly glancing at each person there, Pluto saw Morella scootch forward in her chair just a little. Of course, she'd be excited about this. The man's eyes lingered on her a little longer, thinking... But then he looked to Pluto. Pluto felt his face getting red. That charming smile crossed the man's face again, not breaking eye contact as he spoke. "If the man sitting in seat 52 could come up here and be my assistant for these next few tricks?"
Pluto took a deep, shaky breath.
"That's you!" Morella squealed.
He nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets and slowly beginning to stand. "I know, Morella."
Morella stopped him, gently holding his arm when he passed. She looked up at him, making eye contact. "You got this."
"...Yeah. Yeah, this is impossible to mess up," he lied, walking forward, head down, but eyes occasionally glancing up at the performer. He felt the number of eyes on him as he walked to the stage. He kept his breaths calm and made sure he wouldn't trip or do anything to make a fool of himself. He never noticed how tall the stage was up close. The performer kneeled slightly, lending a gloved hand to help him up. The second Pluto took it, he was swiftly pulled on stage. Stumbling forward a bit more than either of them had expected, Pluto was prepared to make a fool of himself in front of the entire crowd, but the performer quickly placed a hand on his chest, steadying him.
"My apologies, mon ami, you alright?" He smiled- it was different, up close. Pluto could see every imperfection, every pinch of uncertainty, the specific way his expression softened when asking the question, and he could see just how soft his eyes were.
He nodded. "...Feel amazing- fine- uh-." his voice cracked a little as he spoke and he regretted ever being born.
The man let out a quiet chuckle."That's good, I'd hate to make you feel anything less," he said, lifting Pluto's hand and placing a kiss on the back of it. Pluto froze up completely for a moment. Duke laughed a little more- not at him, exactly, he almost found his reaction endearing: the shock, stillness and bright shade of red -but he went back to the act, because, unlike someone on stage, he remembered he was supposed to be performing. He took a step away from Pluto, beginning to wander the stage as he spoke. Pluto adjusted his stance, coughing a little and shoving his hands back into his pockets as he tried to compose himself. "Now, for my next trick, I'm going to make my lovely- and rather stunning -volunteer here, drumroll, please..."
The audience began a drumroll before he signalled for them to quiet down. "Disappear!" He announced, the audience going wild. He continued when the cheers slowed. "Not too cliché, non? Thought it would be nice to do something... More traditional. Even though my act thus far has been everything but traditional, you have all noticed my choice of outfit, yes? Traditional isn't exactly my strong suit."
Pluto was amazed by how easily he could get the audience laughing between performances, but he was panicking about how he was going to accomplish this act. It's probably more simple than he thinks, but being completely left in the dark about it wasn't helping his nerves.
The man walked over to the closet-looking box, opening each wall like a door so people from all directions can see the interior. It was empty. He walked in and did a little display showing there was no contraption inside. He even jumped around a little. "Now," he began, "I'll have my wonderful volunteer enter the box." He gestured for Pluto to enter just as he backed out the other side. Pluto hesitantly walked through the door, glancing around. All eyes were on him.
"Um- do I need to do anything?" Pluto awkwardly whispered to the performer.
He simply shrugged, whispering back "Hope the others are paying attention this time."
"What-"
"Next," he continued, ignoring Pluto's questions and closing each door, "I just need to say the magic words and POOF! Our friend here will be gone."
Pluto wasn't paying any more attention to his words or any thought in his mind besides trying to figure out how the contraption worked. It couldn't be complex, the box was too simple. His hands dragged over every part inside it, there was truly nothing besides wood and doorknobs. He even thought for a moment it could be magic, there wasn't anything he was overlooking-
...But before he knew it, he was falling.