Chapter Text
She chose to eat the human meat with chopsticks. As the first monster of the night with a black ticket, Ticket Taker politely led her to the black tent and told her she could enter, to which she nodded in thanks. Usually a line needs to be formed but Lady Luck must have given her blessing upon her for being the recipient of Ticket Taker's generosity.
The circus provided a very limited quantity of utensils to tear apart the flesh. Yesterday, she saw a knife being used by the only other dull-claw and he was not sharing despite the fact that she had even duller claws than his. Thankfully, she managed to eat by another female monster allowing her to take some of hers. She didn't mind that the other female monster asked her to buy a few items from the local grocery store in return. (She even gave her more than enough money, which was great! She didn't need to use her own and returned the extra ten bucks.) Last night, she considered bringing her own pair of utensils when she decided, "If I'm bringing my own, might as well use the ones I'm comfortable with."
So she brought the chopsticks and a knife. The stainless steel glimmered in the dim light. She did ask Ticket Taker if she could bring outside utensils inside the black tent and he said she may, understanding her predicament as a fellow dull-claw.
First cutting the calf muscles of the dead human female before moving onto the inner thighs, once the monster was satisfied, she brought her meal to the eating area of the tent. Though most monsters preferred to just rip and tear into the dead humans and devour at the cutting station. Her violet eyes chose a seat at the edge of the foldable table, back facing the tent fabric, giving her a clear view of the entire tent. Just in time to see many monsters enter and bolt to the cutting station.
She focused her attention back to herself, ensuring to appear as unsuspecting and inconspicuous—not harmless, never harmless—as she could. She sat straight and always ensured her knife was in view.
On the table was a clear, thick plastic covering that acted as a table cloth. However, it must've have seen better days because the ends were ripped and the sharp edges kept on getting knicked on her black leggings. But no matter. The violet monster placed her meal in front of her and began cutting the meat into cubes starting with one calf and one inner thigh. Then, she used her chopsticks to pick up the bite-sized cubes and eat.
The taste was similar to siu yuk, just raw. She alternated between the muscle and fat, enjoying the meal.
Once she finished the thigh and calf, the violet monster wondered if she could take the other calf and inner thigh home, already feeling a bit full. Maybe tomorrow she should bring a glass Tupperware container.
"This is a nightmare." A voice said quietly from behind her. She turned around, confirming nobody immediately behind her.
"I agree. There's only so many times we can strongly remind them of the rules before we are forced to kick them out." That was Ticket Taker's voice, volume just over whisper. Ah, he's probably speaking with a performer. "Human advancements have brought us many conveniences, but the invention of the mobile phone is an annoying yet serious liability for us."
The other monster stayed quiet for a second. "We'll adapt, old friend."
Footsteps in the dirt moved away from the violet monster. As she quietly chewed on a piece of a thigh, she made a plan, recalling the "no recording/pictures" signs outside of each performance tent. But that was for tomorrow. Tomorrow morning.
༘⋆𖦹 💙 *ੈ‧₊˚
Around nine in the morning, hours after all of the members of his troupe woke up, Ticket Taker found himself walking to the entrance of the circus. In the distance, a lady dressed in black athleisure wear—a form-fitting zip-up turtleneck and leggings—spotted him and waved politely.
He recognized her: the female dull-claw who asked the first day the circus opened here if she could bring her own utensils to eat in the black tent. Admittedly, Ticket Taker stopped replenishing the silverware when they kept being stolen. So, he easily agreed to her written request, one pearl eye examining the young lady's claws when he handed back the index card. Her eyes smiled at him and she retrieved another index card, holding it up in front of her black medical mask with four simple words on it, "Thank you, Ticket Taker!"
As he approached her, he was reminded of her lack of monstrous features. In fact, he mistook her as a human visitor to the circus when he saw her in line, expecting to punch a yellow ticket. When she handed him a black one, she brought her hands up and he noticed her long nails had no lunula and there was no white at the ends. They were a solid blush pink and ended at a natural point. If he didn't know any better, he'd have thought they were one of those fake nails human women started wearing.
But no, her scent was unmistakable, despite it being so subtle that it took her being right in front him to catch it. He supposed she was also quite tall for human standards as she could look him in the eye straight-on. And did she always have those tiny white horns that poked out from her straight black hair, barely an inch in height?
"Hello, young miss," Ticket Taker greeted once he was a few steps away from her. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your attendance?"
"Hi, Ticket Taker!" Her card read, once again at the front of her black medical mask. She swiped the card away, revealing one behind it that read, "I can help with the phone issue!"
His white eye shone. She confirmed his suspicions when she swiped away the card, revealing another. "I accidentally overheard you and a coworker complaining about humans and their cell phones. If you'll allow me a demonstration of my powers, I can show you how I can help!"
Ticket Taker's eye narrowed. A few monsters have come to the circus in the past where they offered to fix the phone issue, only for him and Jester to find that their powers were too disruptive. They wanted something discreet. Still, he considered the young monster in front of him.
"Do you know what we are looking for, young one?" he asked, polite but clipped.
She gathered the index cards in one hand and unzipped her turtleneck.
For a brief second, Ticket Taker thought she was demonstrating the power right then and there and that she needed to strip for it to happen. His mouth opened only to close when he saw multiple index cards in the inner pocket of her article of clothing. She replaced the index cards in her pocket with the ones she already used. It looked like she had ten index cards in her hands.
She swiped away the first card on top, moving it to be the second in the deck from the top. "I can show you my power to disrupt phone cameras. My methods are quiet and temporary."
Ticket Taker blue eye glowed before it receded back into dormancy. That was indeed what they were looking for. Before he could reply, she swiped away the card, ensuring he read it and understood. "An empty tent would be great for my demonstration."
"Getting ahead of yourself, aren't you? I haven't invited you in nor answered you."
The young lady in front of him stiffened before her shoulders dropped. Her eyes lowered from watching his face for reactions down to the first button of his suit in deference. Ticket Taker didn't sigh, but it was a near one. He may have grown to be a lot more stricter, especially when dealing with certain members of his troupe.
"I am teasing," he told her simply. He opened the retractable crowd control barrier. "You may come in."
She perked up and zipped her turtleneck back up, placing the cards in a separate pocket. Perhaps for warmth? The temperature was in the low double digits. Thirteen degrees Celsius, if he remembered correctly. She did only have a black compression shirt under her turtleneck.
The young lady stepped inside and Ticket Taker closed the barrier. He led her to the black tent, opening the tent flap and confirming it was empty save for the equipment. He held the tent flap open for her to enter, which she ducked her head down in thanks.
Quite the polite one, isn't she. A rare but not unwelcome quality.
"Please stay inside this tent. I will be back soon with mobile phones so I can examine your ability." Ticket Taker caught her eyeing the foldable table. "You may sit anywhere you like."
She nodded in appreciation and he left the black tent, hearing her footsteps walk over to the collapsible table and taking a seat. At least there was one monster who used the set up. And now that Ticket Taker thought back to his brief conversation with Jester last night, he did remember standing by that side of the tent and hearing a heart beat a bit more noticeably. He dismissed it as nothing of note, though perhaps that one action may have caused a chain reaction. Would he have met this young monster if he or Jester decided to discuss the matter somewhere else?
Ticket Taker was quick, grabbing the Fools' mobile phones he had confiscated that were in his table drawer. They were all cold to the touch and had varying phone cases. Some plain, some had accessories. All of them a variety of phone models from multiple different brands, which was convenient for this test.
He returned to the black tent, hearing the young monster's steady heart beat and quiet breaths. He heard her shift in her seat when he made his footsteps audible to monster ears. He has grown the habit of silencing his footfalls when around the black tent, not wanting to disturb anything transpiring inside.
Ticket Taker entered, seeing the young lady rise from her seat and step towards him only to see that he was approaching her. He felt her gaze on the phones in his claws. He grabbed six, leaving four in his drawer. It wasn't that he didn't trust her words of her power being temporary, but he needed to exert caution in case her definition of temporary meant she could damage the hardware. Technically, it'd be temporary, but the materials would need to be replaced.
He glanced at her as he set up the phones on the short side of the foldable table, using phone stands if they had them. If not, plastic water bottles sufficed. He just needed the phones raised so he could see the cameras working properly or not. Once he was done, he found her adding her own mobile phone to the mix, propping it up on a built-in phone stand.
He gave her an askance look. She unzipped, retrieved a single card and gave it to him. "I can use my phone for the demonstration to prove it's temporary."
Ah, she must have thought they didn't have any mobile phones at their disposal and would have to use her own phone. Well, if she was willing to use her own phone, Ticket Taker's confidence in it being temporary raised a substantial amount.
"Very well. Please stand at the other end of the table." Once the words left his mouth, she began moving. When she faced him, he cleared his throat. "Is there anything I should prepare for?"
She blinked, head raising slightly to the ceiling in thought before shaking her head. She put the card in the pocket that contained all her used ones.
Ticket Taker opened all the phones cameras and began recording. "You may begin."
She nodded and closed her eyes.
Silence passed over them and Ticket Taker waited for her power to appear. Except it didn't come visually. It came audibly.
If he concentrated, he heard a low hum. Barely noticeable. It definitely could not be heard by human ears. His eyes flicked from her face down to the phones, confident this wasn't a set up for a trap.
All of the phone screens began to glitch. Nothing obnoxious, just quiet flickers of black pixels. The glitches started small before they quickly spread across the entire recording screen. He noted how the buttons for stopping the recording remained untouched. He pressed the red button of one phone, noting how the screen froze momentarily before the video moved to the phone's gallery.
"Please stop."
The humming ceased immediately.
Behind his mask, Ticket Taker smiled. An obedient creature. He watched as the black phone screen slowly returned to the visual they were recording. Some of the table, most recording the inside of a water bottle. Though, one phone—her phone—remained on the young monster. Ticket Taker reached the count of seven when all of them could capture what was in front of them clearly.
He paused the recording on all of the phones and picked one phone up, clicking on the gallery and immediately showing the recorded video. The video lasted twenty three seconds and he watched as he heard his voice come from it, telling her to start. After a second, the video began to fuzz at the edges before the entirety of it was visual static in just a few seconds. The static continued until the screen turned black. The screen was black for ten seconds before it slowly started returning to normal in the remaining six seconds of video.
He watched the video again. Then again. Not only was the static visual, but auditory as well. Throughout the video, from the moment she started to a few seconds after she stopped, the slight sound of static remained. Not even his voice telling her to stop made it in the video.
Yes, this had great potential for the circus if used appropriately.
A racing heart from the end of the table caught his attention, looking up from the phone to the monster.
The young lady's gaze landed and stayed at the centre of the collapsible table—seemingly eyes vacant—as she spun the ring on her left ring finger. A simple gold band with a transparent oval-cut jewel and three pearls on each side. A dainty thing, but it suited her slender fingers and pale skin tone, a rarity among monsters to have a human skin tone.
"… Do you have someone you are fond of?" he asked hesitantly.
She blinked before squeezing her eyes shut, raising her gaze to him. She shook her head, a few quick breaths coming from behind her mask like a quiet laugh. His assumption was supported when her eyes turned into crescents.
"Was it a gift?"
She shook her head again.
"… Did you buy it yourself?"
She nodded.
He crossed the possibility of her having a human lover off his list of concerns. That would have been a bit troublesome for the circus if Jester approved of her, but he was glad to know she had nothing of the sort. And based on the fact that he smelled no other monster's scent on her, he could conclude she wasn't being courted by one of their kind either.
That's good. If Jester wished to employ her, there would be little to no conflicts. That would make it easier for them. Still, Ticket Taker wanted to try one more thing before getting their dear leader.
"I am impressed. Be proud, young one, for this emotion does not come to me often."
Her eyes widened before she began tilting her head left and right in a sort of small, happy dance. He ignored how similar the action was to Doctor's, just a lot faster than what their avian member would do. He thought for a moment that perhaps she was an avian, but no, one quick look at her clothing that hugged her body would reveal no typical monstrous features like horns, much less wings.
"I'd like to try one other thing before I get the Jester, if you'll allow me."
The young lady nodded but confusion swam in her eyes.
"Jester is our leader," Ticket Taker explained. "He was the one I was speaking to last night."
Recognition appeared in her eyes and she stepped towards Ticket Taker, reaching for her mobile phone slowly, almost as if choreographing her movements. Ticket Taker allowed her to grab her phone and she turned it on, cringing as the sudden light flooded her eyes despite her checking the brightness was at its lowest. She pressed a few times before tapping rapidly near the bottom of the screen, her dull claws flying fast.
Ticket Taker belatedly realized she was typing and a moment later, she handed him her phone where a short paragraph was written in white text against a black background. "Ah, I see! I thought you were the leader. I'm excited to meet Jester! He has a nice voice."
Ticket Taker allowed her a small chuckle, returning her phone. "Most monsters seem to have that impression of me. But no, I am not the leader. That title belongs to our magnificent Jester."
The young lady nodded, understanding evident. After a few moments passed, she typed again. This time noticeably less. "What's this one other thing you wanna try?"
"Ah, yes." Ticket Taker grabbed the phones and water bottles and moved them from the table to the floor, placing one water bottle down on the ground before putting another one down a few steps away. He repeated this until no water bottles were left in his claws, then set up the phones with phone stands. They were in a straight line with an equal amount of distance from one to the other. As he set the phones up on the water bottles, pressing record to all of them, he told her, "I want to see if distance impacts your power."
He looked up for her reaction to which she gave him a thumbs-up and nodded, staying in the same spot having not moved a foot.
Once the last phone started recording, he returned to the sixth one, the farthest from her at about ten metres. "You may begin."
Her eyes closed and he heard the humming immediately now that he knew what to focus on. He watched the phones, focusing on the closest one to her. And once again, she surprised him. All of the phones began glitching out in the same manner no matter how far or close they were from her. There was little to no delay from when the closest one began its black pixels to the one farthest from her.
His blue eye shone. This was quite useful, though he didn't know how to feel about not knowing the entire scope of her abilities. He didn't like uncertainties, and Jester especially detested them. He would want to know the intricacies of her power.
Ticket Taker told her to stop and she did. "Your power is most intriguing. Is it sound waves?"
She perked up and nodded, retrieving her index cards. She held it up to her chest so he could read, given the distance. "I believe my power is related to sound waves. I haven't tested it clinically in a lab setting, though. It's more of a gut feeling and learning. I read up on it."
The concept of sound waves have been a known concept since before Ticket Taker was born. Her power would seem to be one humans could have general knowledge of and researched extensively over the centuries. Sound waves are a much easier topic for humans to study rather than, say, his mirror and illusion powers.
"Please stay here. I will return with Jester. Please stop the recordings." Ticket Taker moved to leave, seeing her nod and crouching down to the first phone.
Five minutes later, Jester and Ticket Taker were outside the black tent. Ticket Taker had already explained the relevant details of this young lady and her uses if Jester employed her when the accountant found the leader. Inside, they saw the young lady sat at the collapsible table, twirling a pen between her index and middle finger. She's right-handed, Ticket Taker absently noted, as he watched her eyes land on him and his companion. She stopped the twirling immediately, blinking at them both, before writing down something quick on the singular index card in front of her. She put the pen down on the table, hopped up, and gave the card to Jester.
"Hi, Jester! It's nice to meet you!" Underneath had two words, the last one being underlined. They could all smell the wet ink. Jester's grin grew while Ticket Taker coughed to hide his chuckle. "You're beautiful."
After a few short and proper introductions were exchanged, the experiments were recreated. Afterwards, Jester eyed the young lady.
She stopped humming and began breathing a bit deeply through her nose, even lowering her mask to get some more oxygen, eyes squeezed shut and heart racing. Was she overusing her ability? Ticket Taker scanned her lower face. Compared to the average human woman, her mouth was just a bit too wide, her chin came to a point too naturally, and her skin shined, nearly glowing. They didn't need her to open her mouth to know she had sharp teeth like theirs.
Though, Ticket Taker admitted his speechlessness when her lower face could be passed as human, albeit with a few explicit distinctions. However, with the capabilities of human sight, even if a human saw her face a few metres away, nothing would be amiss aside from the near glow of her skin, which could be explained away by a trick of the light. It'd definitely give her enough time to pull up her mask if a human approached her. Never has he encountered a monster with such a human-looking face, not even the Angel.
Now that Ticket Taker could see her full face, he confirmed his suspicions that she was of East Asian descent. He had his inklings when combining the evidence of her straight black hair, flatter face, and the epicanthic fold of her eyes. Now that he could see her lower nose bridge and soft features, there was no mistake.
Jester waited a second for her to catch her breath before speaking. "Is there any way for you to do this without being physically present?"
Her eyes opened and flicked to Jester, violet eyes meeting indigo. Despite her saying the obvious yet unspoken fact among the troupe merely minutes ago, Ticket Taker watched as, throughout this entire interaction, she never sent stolen glances to their leader. In fact, she kept her gaze respectful, only looking at him when Jester made a sound.
The young lady's answer was a nod and she took off her ring, sticking it into her mouth. Ticket Taker's white eye twitched. She didn't see it though as her eyes had closed once more as she began to hum. She hummed for around five seconds and brought a hand to her mouth before dropping her head. Ticket Taker closed his eye in response, not wanting to watch.
When the humming stopped, he opened his eye. A small transparent sphere, seemingly made out of glass or ice, was held in her thumb and index finger. A glass marble, he thought the description fit best. But unlike a glass marble, upon her dropping it into her palm, squeezing, and tapping it with her index finger, it glimmered violet, a stark contrast to the near pitch darkness of the tent.
The humming started when there was previously none.
"Interesting. Is this permanent?" Jester's questions sounded foreign to Ticket Taker's ears. Their leader didn't often ask this many questions. But Jester must've thought this approach was best to be concise, seeing as how just getting a sentence out of the young lady required a lot more patience.
So, the two waited as she wrote her answer, her back facing them. It seemed she appeared to prefer this method of communication. She hadn't pulled her mobile phone out since Jester's arrival.
Setting down the pen, she rose from her seat and grabbed the violet sphere, only to jump when she found the two monsters had appeared behind her. She sucked in a sharp breath, heart beating faster at the close proximity. But she sat back down and handed Jester her card.
"The bubble will disappear in two hours. It will last one hour for every three seconds I hum."
She turned around in her seat to face them, likely not wanting to crane her neck to look back constantly. She leaned back into the table, fingers politely interlaced in her lap, and her ankles crossed under her seat, locking her ankles in place. Ticket Taker wondered if her sitting position was a result of her upbringing or something else. Perhaps a bit of discomfort at seeing the two male monsters so close to her. Still, she stayed in place, awaiting their response.
"So if you hum for thirty seconds, it can last ten hours," Jester said.
She blinked and unzipped her turtleneck, grabbing a card, and holding it up in front of her lower face. "My bubbles pop after six hours like clockwork. Even if I turn them off immediately, the bubble will pop after six hours, if not sooner."
"You can turn these off." Jester picked up the violet bubble beside her on the table, his long silky hair strands tickling the young lady's hands. Now that Ticket Taker examined her hands, once again, he found himself surprised at just how dull her claws were. They couldn't even be called claws. He's seen sharper fingernails on human women.
Once Jester pulled back out of her personal space and examined the bubble, they heard her start to breathe again as she pulled out the last index card, the one she hasn't used yet. A blank one. She turned her torso to the right so she could write. The smell of ink hit Ticket Taker's nose first as her core now faced him. She raised her mask.
After a moment, she held up the card, returning to face Jester. "Any monster can turn it off or on. Just squeeze—but don't break it—and tap once with a claw."
Jester hummed, following her directions by squeezing the bubble between his first and second claw before tapping it gently with his claw-tipped thumb. Immediately, the bubble's violet glimmer disappeared as did the humming. He squeezed and tapped again, and the humming returned first with the violet light following a millisecond later.
Jester handed the bubble to Ticket Taker. "This will be of use. It's convenient. This one will pop in two hours, yes?" Once she nodded, he asked, "Does this impact any other functions of cell phones?" She shook her head and Jester considered her. It likely didn't, as all the phones functioned properly. So, he decided to trust her word. Ticket Taker handed the bubble to Jester once he turned it on and off twice. "Very well. Make five bubbles that will last for five hours. You and Ticket Taker will place one of these in each tent when the circus is about to open. You may return home and come back before opening."
The young lady smiled for just a moment before she flinched violently when Jester popped the bubble.
Ticket Taker raised an eyebrow and he and Jester looked at each other. They didn't hear anything, certainly not a noise to warrant such a startled reaction.
Jester's eyes narrowed. "… Does it hurt you when they pop?"
She turned her torso once again, writing, as she used her other hand to make a so-so gesture. She gave Jester the card when she finished. "If they break by getting crushed, it's like a glass shattered right in my ear. If they pop because they're at the end of their life cycle, I hear a gentle pop."
After he finished reading, Jester eyed her for a long second before his purple eyes softened. "I will keep that in mind. I will tell the others that we are testing new equipment and ask them not to touch it if they see it. But I cannot promise they won't get curious."
And accidentally crush it, the part left unspoken. As the closest member to the leader, Ticket Taker recognized the small tells of Jester's behaviour that allowed the leader's thoughts to be assumed. Making quick judgments, Ticket Taker concluded that Jester hadn't meant to hurt the young lady, only wanting to see how much pressure he could exert before the bubble inevitably popped.
The young lady dropped her head, masked chin touching her chest and eyes closed. Ticket Taker's white eye widened. He hadn't seen that gesture from a monster in such a long time. It's a universally understood gesture in monster society that communicates the utmost deference and gratitude, due to the vulnerable position of the horns. It's a gesture no longer used, having faded from use centuries ago, and considered rather old fashion.
Jester waved her off, acknowledging the general sentiments being conveyed. However Ticket Taker held the leader's claws gently. Jester turned to Ticket Taker for the sudden touch. They silently conversed, very much aware of the young lady's presence, and Ticket Taker communicated the appropriate response is for the receiver to tilt the head back up to the upright position whenever the receiver deemed it suitable. To show an act of acceptance.
Ticket Taker himself was never bestowed this action, but he's witnessed his elders doing such actions, though rarely, when he was a young monster.
Ticket Taker released Jester's hand and it fell to the leader's side. They waited, and waited, and waited. Jester and Ticket Taker could hear the young lady's heart race more and more as time went on. Still, she kept still. Ticket Taker counted the seconds.
One… Two… Three…
Ticket Taker reached sixty when Jester lifted his arm, tucking a single claw under her masked chin, and lifted her head. Her eyes fluttered open, violet meeting indigo, and inside the irises the colour of lavender flowers, pure adoration overflowed from them. Except the adoration wasn't one of deep love. No, Ticket Taker recognized the difference. It was of worship. Of veneration. Sometimes, when he looked in the mirror after Jester visited him, he'd find the same reverence in his eyes.
Jester smiled, indigo eyes glowing for a second. In a sweet voice like honey, he announced, "Welcome to the Freak Circus of Horrors," Jester considered her, watching as her eyes blinked and she registered the words and her current position, though not so much as twitch to Jester's delight, "… Smeraldina."
Ticket Taker's blue eye shone. She was named by their brilliant and elegant leader. Ticket Taker knew not to question Jester—definitely not in front of a member, especially a new one—but he couldn't help but silently wonder if bringing her into the troupe was indeed a necessity. Ticket Taker would welcome her, of course, most in part due to Jester's obvious considerations of her, but a small part of him regarded her with a tiny amount of esteem. Microscopic, especially when compared to the reverence he held for Jester, but still present for the young lady nonetheless.
"Smeraldina is your name from now on, young one." Jester cupped her masked cheek, a couple of claws digging into her hair over her ear. "You may return home. But when you return this evening, your home will be the circus."
He released her and she kept eye contact as she nodded. Jester gave her one last glance over his shoulder as he turned around and stepped away. "Ticket Taker will help you get adjusted to your new lifestyle, but I encourage you to do your own research of your new home. There's only so much I will allow my old friend to assist you with, Smeraldina."
Smeraldina nodded and waved goodbye when Jester opened the tent flap. She took a deep breath and steadied her heart. She turned to Ticket Taker and followed him out, wincing when the bright light of morning attacked her eyes after she had gotten used to the dark interior of the black tent.
"I suppose congratulations are in order." Ticket Taker looked back over his shoulder. Smeraldina walked behind him, nodding in thanks, and he found himself puzzled at her behaviour. She gives a very youthful predisposition but is quite clever and resourceful, honed from years of experience. She is obedient to a fault yet she is quick to make assumptions, though not unsubstantiated. She is curious and bold at times but quells it well like she's aware of when to use it to give her the best results. But most of all… "I am well aware that what I am about to ask is breaking some rules of etiquette, and I hope your view of me will not be tarnished, but may I ask how old you are?"
She blinked, moving to be beside him as she typed. She angled the phone's screen to him to signal he may read it. "I'm a young adult."
Ticket Taker scrutinized the sentence. A young adult, by definition, is anyone that has just come to adulthood. The developmental period after adolescence, if you will. But he remembered a time when Jester once told him that the "young adult" age range in literature spans from the human ages of twelve to eighteen. He discovered this when, some time ago, he was promoting the circus and an older teen asked him if it was suitable for young adults. He told her that young adults were their prime audience and he later punched her yellow ticket, letting her in. Apparently, Doctor discovered she was underage when he asked her how old she was and she answered seventeen. She refused the reimbursement of her ticket because she enjoyed all the attractions.
"Are you a child?" Ticket Taker corrected himself, well aware of how that may come across. But he needed to know to prevent another embarrassing situation involving a young woman.
Her eyes smiled as she shook her head in an amused manner, typing at the same time. "No, I'm not a child/minor. I've been an adult for a long time. I must apologize though, you remind me of my dad so I may be accidentally giving you mixed signals."
"A long time" is a vague measurement even for humans, even more so for monsters. For all Ticket Taker knows, she could have reached adulthood a year or two centuries ago. Regardless, he doesn't want to overstep any more boundaries than he already has, so he settled with slow words, "… If I had a daughter, I believe I may have wanted her to grow to a young lady such as yourself."
Smeraldina beamed, head tilting left and right, and her steps became lighter as happiness radiated from her in waves, nearly skipping beside him as he guided her needlessly to the exit. Ticket Taker ignored the growing black hole of grief, threatening to swallow him whole. Inwardly, he sighed and looked up to the sky, silently allowing himself a single thought: is Fate kind or cruel, to once again send him a young lady to which he finds himself growing paternal towards? Just a few seconds ago, he was silently worrying about how he may come across to her so much that it permeated his speech. When was the last time he concerned himself over how he was viewed by others?
Still, a seed was planted in his mind and it sprouted a budding thought: things are different now; he won't let what happened in the past occur ever again.
༘⋆𖦹 💖 *ੈ‧₊˚
Smeraldina, a prominent female servant in commedia dell'arte, is known to be an intelligent and resourceful woman. Unlike other servant characters, frequently, she has been shown to handle management of complex situations well, using her keen judgment. She's flirtatious, audacious, and playful but never foolish. She may flirt with characters like Arlecchino but her affection is playful rather than lustful. Unlike most of the servants in the Italian theatrical tradition, she is usually unmasked, allowing her expressive face to convey wit and emotion. Her movements are light and agile, with hands often on her hips and weight shifting deftly between her feet, emphasizing her energetic and clever nature. Smeraldina embodies the clever, agile, and witty servant archetype and is central to the comedic action, balancing flirtation, intelligence, and resourcefulness.
She is also known as the witch servant and could mesmerize with her singing, hypnotize with her stories, and always had a hearty laugh.
Having gotten this information from the Internet, Dina was unsure about its accuracy, especially as she kept on stumbling upon website pages where Smeraldina was also called Columbina/Columbine. But Columbina was a completely separate character, definitely more established in commedia dell'arte than Smeraldina.
But under the tight time constraints, she couldn't go to a library for research. She doubted the local library even had books on commedia dell'arte.
Still, not to toot her own horn, but she wondered if she did indeed come across as such to Ticket Taker and Jester. Perhaps she should commit to the role and… method act, is that what it's called? It wouldn't be hard as the way she acted around Jester and Ticket Taker was the most genuine she allowed herself to be in years.
It's now three something in the afternoon, less than three hours before she uproots herself to run off and join the circus. The absurdity of everything nearly brings her into a breakdown again.
But she prided herself on her quick bounce back. Once she returned to her apartment, she messaged her landlord and told him that she would not be renewing her lease agreement and sent him the last month's rent despite it being the second last month. She informed him that she'd be moving and that the entire last month would have the apartment vacant. She sold all her furniture for half the price and her apartment was empty save for a large suitcase with all her clothing, her gym bag containing her inline skates and other expensive accessories, a tote bag containing the toiletries and other hygiene products she currently used, a backpack of all her electronics and some personal keepsakes, and a fanny pack which carried her identifications, bank cards, and passport. She kept them at the entrance, just out of the way of the door.
She sat on the kitchen counter, having finished her leftovers from yesterday's lunch: tomatoes and scrambled eggs with rice. Now she snacked on the strawberries nearly straight from the plastic packaging, just plucking the green leaves off and running each strawberry under the tap. She needed the energy as she knew she'd be making a lot of bubbles in the near future. She needed to eat a lot more of her typical foods, specifically the ones containing a significant amount of silica and magnesium.
Thank God she keeps her fridge stocked to the very bare minimum. She hasn't needed to run at a moment's notice in a long while, but habits stuck. Maybe for dinner she could go to that all you can eat sushi place and stuff herself with spicy salmon rolls, salmon sashimi, seaweed salad, and kimchi.
She asked Ticket Taker when he'd be coming to help her move and he told her he'd be at her place at five sharp. She glanced at her watch. If she left at four, that'd give her forty-five minutes to eat sushi, accounting for the fifteen minute walk there and back. She finished eating her strawberries, moving onto the four bananas—the last of her food—and left ten minutes before four.
• • •
Ticket Taker brought her to a small yellow a-frame tent in the living area with the closest tent being a purple one, the same shape and size. He told her of the trucks, trailer, communal tents everyone shared, and how their personal tents were mostly used for sleeping. Inside the flooring was those black puzzle piece mats over the tent footprint and a futon. Dina liked it! She removed her shoes at the entrance, entering, removed her fanny pack, tote bag, and backpack, and Ticket Taker handed her her gym bag and suitcase.
She zipped the tent closed and once again, trailed behind Ticket Taker as she ensured her phone was on her as she held her rambler water bottle. Surprisingly, the yellow of her tent matched the yellow of her water bottle near identically.
She'll file it under the recurring pattern that the circus just knows her. Like how Ticket Taker arrived at her apartment without her ever giving him her address.
Dina cradled her water bottle in her left arm as she typed in her notes' app. She has a feeling she'll be making several labels—notes categories—one for each member. So, she made a new label named "TT" and made a new note.
She stepped beside him, giving him her phone. "Are the bubbles going to be on the person of each troupe member or are they going to be stationary, like on the floor or something?"
"For now, they will be stationary. I will be the one placing them inside each tent; you need only make them," Ticket Taker explained as he handed her phone back.
Dina nodded, pulling down her mask, removing her ring, plopping it in her mouth, and raising the mask back up. They were now in the performance area with the large performance tents, all a different colour.
She didn't miss how Ticket Taker kept his gaze forward. Almost like it pained him, he asked, "May I ask what the bubbles are made of? I… have my suspicions but I would like to know."
She started typing after he asked the first question. "I'd say the composition is like 60% silica and 39% water. The remaining 1% is probably luciferin (the organic compound responsible for bioluminescence)."
"… I see."
They stopped outside the purple tent and she lowered her mask, spitting out just the bubble and pulling her mask back up. She was about to hand it to Ticket Taker when she heard bells and paused. They both waited a couple of seconds before Jester appeared, exiting the tent.
"Ah, there's the two monsters I wanted to see," Jester purred with a grin, arms outstretched. He gave Ticket Taker a smile. Then, he raised a set of claws and pat Dina's head, avoiding her ossicones despite them being only one inch in height and she wouldn't feel a thing if someone did touch them. They were bone after all. Still, she appreciated Jester's consideration. "I take it you have a gift for me."
Dina nodded and handed him the bubble with both hands in a cup, like she was offering it to a god and asking for him to accept it. Which, if she were being truthful, she could see Jester as some sort of god.
This action was not missed. Jester slipped a claw under her mask by her cheek and pinched it. Not in a manner that would leave her more than a tender sore spot so, she kept still. He released her cheek after a few seconds and picked up the bubble, squeezing it between his right index and thumb claws and tapping it with his other index claw. The bubble glimmered a violet in response and the humming started.
He slipped it into some pocket she couldn't figure out underneath his clothing. Dina watched as his eyes looked her up and down clinically. "Are you not cold?"
Her eyes widened, glancing down at the black outfit she wore, just slightly different from her outfit in the morning—she kept her Pacifica jacket from Stormtech and her Coldgear compression turtleneck but replaced her leggings with tights so she could wear the black skirt she wanted—and shook her head. She was unfazed as a particularly chilly breeze blew by, her hair swinging from its high ponytail.
She did notice how the two male monsters slightly tensed at the breeze but otherwise remained unaffected. But then Jester bid them farewell and stepped inside his tent. Ticket Taker bowed his head and Dina curtsied, holding her skirt.
When Ticket Taker stepped away, she followed behind him.
"Smeraldina," Jester called, to which she paused and turned around. "Let me know if any of your bubbles break."
Dina held up two thumbs-up and nodded before quickly turning around to rush after Ticket Taker. But she just nearly stopped herself from crashing into his front when she turned around, hopping back a few steps to balance herself.
"Sorry, darling." Ticket Taker didn't sound apologetic, a barely concealed hint of amusement clouded his words. But she didn't point it out, following him to the other tents like a duckling.
• • •
Ten minutes passed since the circus opened where she sat at a food stall, having finished a candy apple, getting up and throwing the stick away in the trash. Smeraldina heard the one millisecond of warning before SHATTER!
She flinched, covering her ears despite knowing it didn't matter. Her eye twitched and she removed her hands to see blood. Not a lot, but enough to know her eardrums ruptured. Some human visitors looked at her because of her sudden movements but she didn't care.
Speed walking to Jester's purple tent, she walked in to find that he was in the middle of a performance. Why did the pink Fools allow her entrance? They just spotted her and immediately let her in.
Still, it didn't seem like it was ending any time soon so she sat in the back. Though, she saw Jester's eyes on her the moment she walked in, pressing her hands into her ears.
His show concluded with a snap of his whip and she was up before the first audience member, making her way to him instead of the exit against the flow of foot traffic.
"Jester is the leader of the circus, its heart and soul. Anything that might affect the circus needs to go to him for discussion," Ticket Taker had told her when she asked how the decisions were made around here. She briefly considered asking Jester if she could stab a certain performer before letting the violent thought wash away.
As Dina was led to the back area of the tent behind the stage, in his personal space she understood, Jester's claws gently removed her hands, seeing small blood splatters on her soft palms.
"A bubble—" he lowered his voice to a whisper upon her hands nearly flying out of his hold "—was crushed." She nodded, hot heat behind her eyes. Stars, she knows she's gonna start crying in approximately five seconds. Jester continued, whispering, "Do you know who crushed it?"
Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as she nodded. Dina rapidly blinked the tears away to recover her vision. Her blurry eyesight didn't allow her to see the slight widening of Jester's indigo eyes.
"You can cry if you need to, young one," Jester cooed. "It's not a sign of weakness."
At Jester's permission, tears streamed down her cheeks, wetting the top of her mask. She doesn't remember the last time she cried. Years ago, perhaps. She doesn't make bubbles often, especially not when they run the risk of being forcefully broken. She forgot the painful consequence, only being physically shocked at the reminder when one bubble was squashed just hours ago.
Her eardrum was likely already fragile from that first crush, and the second ear-splitting glass shatter the very same day was too much for her physiologically, mentally, and emotionally.
Jester dropped her hands and gingerly lowered her black medical mask down to under her chin as the large droplets continued with no sign of stopping. He cupped her face delicately, wiping away the tears with his claw-tipped thumbs, his white mask unreadable.
She closed her eyes at the gentle touch. Who knew Jester could be so soft?
༘⋆𖦹 💜 *ੈ‧₊˚
This is dangerous, Jester thought. He's treating her like a human.
Jester's treating this young monster like a human when he should be treating her like a fellow monster. His brain knows the difference but his body doesn't. As he wiped away her tears, he resisted the urge to dig his claws into her eye sockets.
He's never met a monster like her before. Her pale skin tone the colour of porcelain, her soft skin, her eerie human-looking face, and her claws so dull—even for a dull-claw—he could understand how Ticket Taker referred to her claws as fingers.
Her tears started slowing and he brushed a claw over her lips.
"Open your mouth." More like a vocal breath than actual words, the quietest he's spoken in a long, long while.
And she did, parting her lips just like that. Her naturally compliant nature was not helping his growing sadist inside. Would she keep quiet if he left his claw marks on her? Could she even make a squeak? His claw-tipped thumbs dug just a bit firmer in her soft and smooth yet thick skin, feeling the soft tissue under his touch.
Her open mouth grew as she showed him her teeth, which revealed barely any fangs. Like Columbina.
His claws twitched, wanting to examine her fangs closely to compare but he redirected them to her hair at the top of her head, ruffling it with one set of claws.
The only things that reminded his body that he was in the proximity of one of his kin were her tiny white horns that barely poked up from her hair, the fact that she was only an inch shorter than him, her subtle scent as a monster that wafted up his nostrils, and—
Her violet eyes, just a few shades lighter than his, which opened and blinked at him.