[PRP] Varekai [COMPLETE]

[Slanndalous]

Varekai--- private role-play
Players: Slan, Hayden, Cante and Benjamin
Setting: Makahb Circus; warm night

---

Slan knew it was just a monkey, but damn, didn't know any other songs? It sat beside him on a bench, rotating the handle to an automated barrel organ which seemed able to play only one bloody song! Though it looked as if he was the only one who could hear it. Everywhere else customers flooded past him into the big-top and away from the outside spectacles for the main show. Children screaming and the freaks laughing, parents ushering their brats elsewhere, all in a flurry of noises. Did no one else want to jab a pole through their ears or beat this bloody monkey until he stopped the creepy tinkling of the barrel organ?

Those thoughts kept leaving his smile to wilt into a scowl. Not like it mattered, he was supposed to be look scary, a little frown wasn't going to hurt anything.

"Gah--!" Slan almost fell into the bench as a shrill cry broke through the ruckus around him and a heavy weight landed on his shoulder.

Oh. it was the monkey. "Get off me you flea-ball..." But it didn't seem to head his lukewarm words. Ah well. He was good for scaring skittish women and children, and wasn't that why he just loved his job? Yes, yes it was. Extending his arm so the little vested monkey could roam more freely and snatch at people, the were-bunny sifted through the crowd to find the faint of heart.

It had been two weeks since the unfortunate incidents with the ground and his bloody bottle. Finally, he received word that they would be trying to re-set the big-top now that the earth had solidified once more. It still smelled a bit, stale and moldy, but with the reak of animal and roasting foods on spits, it was fairly well masked. And without a steady pay the last month, he was happy to kow-tow and actually work this evening, smiling and laughing like the creepy bunny werewolf chainsaw-wielding fire-breathing contorting freak he was.  

[Olivia Solace]

Hayden had heard of the circus many times, but with the children being as young as they were when he first had learned of it, there was no possible way he could have been able to take them. The theme, which he also knew very well, would have potential scarred their little minds and caused years of nightmares to come, but like every parent there was no way he could keep those sorts of things from happening, and as they grew and began to read they ended up scarring the wit out of themselves with horror tales and fables. Also Benjamin had bugged the spit out of him to take them.

Cante was held close to his father, the side shows scarring him back, but the smell of the circus food beckoning him closer. He was visibly uncomfortable, jumping each time something bumped into him, cringing every time he heard a fellow child screech. He wished he had the warm comfort of the bright shiny bottle they had recently bought from the antiquities shop with him. It made him feel safe and protected, a feeling he really wanted right now.

Benjamin on the other hand was having a riot at this odd type of circus. The screaming and the chill from the side shows gave him an odd kind of thrill. It was obvious he was one of those kinds of kids who would give their left arm just to join one of these types of circuses. He was definitely the weird one of the twins. As they made their way to the big top Benjamin stopped, hearing the tinkling of the barrel organ. He turned his head to see the crying monkey and the weird looking...what was it? Bunny rabbit? Yeah, bunny rabbit.

"A MONKEY!" Benjamin cried, running at full speed towards it.

"Benjamin! Ben get back here!" Hayden yelled, running after him, Cante in tow.  

[Slanndalous]

"A MONKEY!"

Who the hell? He turned back from to where he had heard the distant exclamation and was surprised to see the creature was right beside him. Damn, what a fast little devil. Smiling like the demented jester he pretended to be, Slan crouched down and raised his arm to the boy, encouraging the little brown fur ball to scamper and jump onto the boy's shoulder, curling his long soft trail around his neck for support. "Don't worry, he doesn't bite..."

Judging from the kid's overreaction to a little monkey, he assumed this was his first time at the circus, or he was special in that, you know, retarded way. If he was retarded, where was his-- oh. Here they come. The werebunny couldn't help but grin wider as a concerned father came racing up to him with another child in toe. "Best be careful, sir, or yer boy could be snatched away and put ta work in our circus..." Slan loved the glowers parents gave him when he said that.  

[Olivia Solace]

Benjamin was absolutely enthralled by the monkey, gingerly petting its brown tail as it made itself home on his shoulder. He had only seen monkeys in the books his father read to him, and they were much larger than this. It must be a baby monkey, or a tiny monkey.

"Hello there fuzzy monkey," Benjamin looked up with Slan with a smile on his face, "Did you know monkeys are very intelligent animals? They're very adaptive and are good at problem solving."

Hayden and Cante caught up to Benjamin, only to be greeted by the strange man with the bunny ears and the hat that looked like it was hungry. As Slan addressed Hayden, he couldn't help but stifle a laugh, "He'd be more of a trouble than an asset, I assure you. Thank you nonetheless though sir, I'd hate to have someone take away one of my beloved boys."

Cante peeked around from his father's side and saw the monkey and smiled slightly, though he shied away once again upon seeing Slan. "Sir," He peeped up cautiously, "Are your ears real?"  

[Slanndalous]

Slan had to stop himself from choking on a laugh. For some reason, the endearing phrase of 'fuzzy monkey' left him breighing like an a**. "Uhh... no... I guess I... didn't know that...." Weird. Most kids pet the bugger and then run off squealing to their mommies and daddies. He wasn't sure if this monkey was all that and a bag of chips. It was kind of an a*****e, always biting at him and shrieking. Unfortunately, shaking it just made it scream louder.

"Ah--" Wow, a father with a sense of humor. He wasn't expecting that. "Well, we usually put those kinda boys ta mucking out the animal stalls..."

The short man sniffed and looked down at the second child of the troupe. At least he was scared. His round face split in two with a wolfish smile at the question. "I dunno, boy, why don't you give them a tug and find out..." Slan squatted down to give the kid better reach, knowing how bloody tall they were. They were just fur witlong wire holding them up straight, but the kid could find that out the old fashioned way.

"So this yer first time here...?" He asked the father in front of him, happy to actually talk to someone for once. It did make the time go by so much faster.  

[Olivia Solace]

Hayden gave a chuckle at the thought of Benjamin mucking out animal stalls, it was indeed a funny thought. His children helped out with choirs, sure, but nothing quite of that nature, being a piano teacher he tended to make enough money where having to break your back for your meat was not necessary. He sometimes wonder if that would put a hinder on his children's ethics, but hey, best not to think about those things at the moment; after all they're still kids and didn't need to know what back breaking labor is until the time comes.

Cante reached out to the were-bunny's ears as he knelt down for him. He was obviously hesitant, but with his brother there next to him he didn't want to look like a scared-y cat.

In the mean time, while Cante overcame his ordeal of wanting to touch the man's ears, but being hesitant about the fact they very well may be real, Hayden struck up a conversation with the man, "Indeed this is our first time here. I wanted to come some time ago, but the boys were still too young at that point. I figured now is as good a time as any, they're able to read so they're naturally scarring themselves witless with horror stories from our library," Hayden paused for a moment before continuing, "Is it fun here, working at a circus?"

While his father spoke Benjamin tried to become close friends with the musical monkey, hoping that possibly he could convince his father to bring the monkey home as his brother Cante had managed to convince him to buy the glass bottle trinket.  

[Slanndalous]

Slan just smiled politely and nodded up at Hayden. He had never been a huge reading fan. All those letters and... grammar and s**t. Bleh. Thankfully being a sideshow freak didn't require reading and was probably discouraged anyway. Easier to exploit you in a contract.

The werewolf snorted at the question quickly before he could stop. Oops, well that probably answered everything. "Eh, well..." After his knees began to protest his bent posture, he finally rose to his usual height of five feet and two inches. The hat and ears gave him about another foot. "It's prolly like any job. There's good times and bad. I mean... I like scarin' people, so that's a plus and my only talents are twisting up in a pretzel and blowin' fire, so my job opportunities are... rather narrow. But... tonight's a good night. I dun get ta talk ta nice people like ya'll much... In fact actually, c'mere..." He beckoned the family forward as he moved back towards the big-top. "Keep the monkey fer now, kid, he doesn't like fire much.

"Come on, come on!" His last words were bellowed with great dramatic force, getting everyone else's attention in the vicinity. Back at his stoop, he had a can of kerosene and a few sticks that had what looked to be burnt marshmallows on the end. "Dun get too close, I dun wanna singe anyone..." Licking his lips, he dipped one stick into the can and tapped any excess back in, knowing all too well how bad a bit of extra fuel in his throat could be.

A quick match lit the stick into a raging fireball, and he opened his mouth wide, sticking his tongue out to accept it. His hand raised the stick vertically above him, letting all the heat and flame lap eagerly up and away from his sensitive tongue before placing the pad gently in his mouth and engulfing it completely inside his cheeks, extinguishing the flame.  

[Olivia Solace]

Benjamin nodded to Slan about the monkey and followed along with his brother and his father as the man beckoned them closer to the big-top. Benjamin was already in his own world as he thought of how incredibly cool it could be to contort your body and breathe fire. He could already make spoons stick to his nose, and blow bubbles the size of his head, so contorting your body and breathing fire could only be the next logical steps in the 'can-you-work-in-a-circus' chain.

Though Hayden understood quite well what Slan's snort was evident of the answer, he still couldn't help but feel that even if he did view it as 'just another job' that there had to be some sort of affection for it, otherwise how could he possibly continue working it? Well, it was best not to pry, after all he had only met the man, and some people are just not that open about their feelings or experiences.

Following the man, Hayden and his boys were than entertained by the ability Slan had expressed as a part of his job. A fire-eater. It was truly fascinating, and daring all in one. It was clear he had to be very confident in himself to even attempt such a feat. Fire was very dangerous and very unpredictable, Hayden was sure the man had his fair share of accidents.

As Slan performed his trick Benjamin and Cante's eyes lit up and in their own unison they squealed their amusement with the trick. Hayden couldn't help himself be taken aback by it and gasp a little, it was definitely something he could never do, "Well I'll be."  

[Slanndalous]

Slan didn't miss a beat as the last of the fuel in his mouth (still active from the fire) was blown back on the stick, relighting the wick and spraying a large fame into the air until he could spit no more kerosene. He remembered the first time he had spat a fireball, the stream of kerosene had connected the flame with his face and he had to walk around for a few weeks without eyebrows. Everyone had found that so amusing.

Since his hands were tucked away in the giant fur mittens he wore, the bunny-man decided to steer away of his usual trick of lighting his hands on fire. He didn't want to accidentally singe his costume, he paid for the b*****d out of his own pocket. Instead he took another swig of the fuel with naught but a wince and blew another fireball. Even after years of performing, it just didn't numb Slan to the taste. He couldn't get the smell out of his clothes nor erase the taste from his mouth. He was pretty sure he knew why he was single.

Eventually, the spectacle was over. He was getting tired and the last thing he wanted was to make a mistake and burn to a crisp. With the soft applause, he made a sweeping bow with his hat (if the boy hadn't found out then he knew now that the ears were simply attached to his giant hat) and made a face as he smacked his lips distastefully. "I need a drink ta wash this sh--stuff outta my mouth. I'll buy ya'll a round if ya wanna come...?" His eyebrows lifted with his careful shrug, not pushing the offer if the others wanted to keep looking around.  

[Olivia Solace]

The boys seem entranced by Slan's performance, applauding like little monkeys at all the appropriate times, sounding in unison with their 'ooos' and 'ahhhs'. At least they were predictable in that sense, and possibly both developing pyromaniacs now due to this experience. Hayden himself seemed to join in the cheering by the end of it. Generally as an adult your odd love of fire and sparkling things turns to lack luster as you manage to set pans, clothes, mattresses...on fire.

"Hmnn. I do feel a little parched," Hayden looked down to his sons who were slowly gathering around Slan as the other on-lookers departed.

Benjamin starred at Slan as if he was his hero while stroking the monkey's tail lightly, and Cante had managed to get close enough to thoroughly look at the hat and was slightly disappointed that the ears were not real. He thought it would have been neat to meet a real bunny man.

"Would you like something to drink, boys?"

The two looked up and shrugged, they didn't seem to care, they were too interested in their new 'friend' to care.  

[Slanndalous]

If Slan's pride wasn't on the line, he would have been scared by the sudden worship he was receiving from these kids. He didn't join the circus cause he liked these smelly little buggers, he joined because he was actually paid to make them cry in terror. And, well, these brats weren't crying. In fact, it seemed rather hard to shake them off.

Ewwwie.

Though he had to admit it was kinda flattering. Sure, it was just a child's admiration, but as a five-foot he/she, Slan didn't get much patronizing from the crowds. There were far more skilled and dazzling talents under the big-top. Why waste it on a crazy chainsaw-wielding bunny who took tickets at the entrance? He was due his.

"Mmmkay, follow me then..." There were concession stands peppering the outside of the big-top everywhere so it was no troubling task to find one within a few meters. He was happy the booth owner was a friend of his. Made it a lil easier to get four drinks for free. "Hey, Lancel, can I get four King's Bl--uhh uh ahh--two King's Blood and.... uhhh like.... whatever comes in ... non-alcoholic..." Never having really tried anything but the booze here, he wasn't sure on the names. After about five rounds of nail tapping on the lacquered counter between them, four mugs were place on the counter top and slid down. "Uhh..."

"Las' two..."

"Right, thanks..." He handed them to the kids. "We brew this sh--stuff ourselves actually. It's kinda a weird taste the first time, the beer's got a bite to it, but whatever they put in ta make it red is almost obnoxiously sweet..." He quickly glanced down at the boys. "Pretty sure there's jes juice..." Hopefully. New subject!

"Soo, what do you do for a living?"  

[Olivia Solace]

Hayden took the drinks appreciatively from Slan, handing them to his very attentive sons without worry. After all if they did consume anything remotely alcoholic he'd be able to tell by the hysterical faces they would make. For children that young their taste buds would be heightened, still developing; something too sweet would make them sick, something too sour would makes their faces pucker inward, and something too strong would probably knock the wind out of them even before it hit their lips. Hayden wasn't worried at all.

The father tipped his glass to Slann before taking a swig. Not bad, better than some of the drinks around his home, and with it being his first one in awhile it was like drinking one for the first time again. The sacrifices of parenting.

The boys watched the two, mimicking some of their gestures and habits; entertaining themselves as the grown-ups carried on their conversation.

Hayden swished the drink around the cup a little in thought, "This is good stuff. Has a kick, and a sweet note, like a ballad... I teach piano, and on occasion I perform concerts for stiffs," He smiled, looking up to Slann, "When I'm not doing that my full time job is raising these two."  

[Slanndalous]

"Gets a lil obnoxious drinkin' it every week, but... I mean, really, what other employer is gonna let ya drink on the job, am I right? This may not be why I joined, but it damn sure keeps me from thinkin' of quittin'..." His laugh was loud and contagious, even if you didn't hear the joke that obnoxious breighing would get you snickering anyways.

"Well I gotta give ya more points fer that. At least yers is a real talent, haha!" He couldn't even read music. "Though I dunno how ya can stand ta teach anyone, especially kids..." Slan shook his head just picturing the kids fumbling over and over again across the keyboard. "I wasn't born with that kinda patience, I guess. Some people can do it and some can't. It takes all my control not to strangle an oaf. Ha, s'prolly why I don't ever train anyone or have a partner..." Or any friends, he thought derisively. The silence between them was broken with a shocked gasp from the big-top audience, turning the bunny's attention to the canvas.

"Huh, I guess the trapeze performances have started. You guys should prolly go see something before it's all over, not a very accomplished trip to the circus if not, right?" His eyes wrinkled impishly with his smile.  

[Olivia Solace]

Hayden laughed along with Slann; so did the boys, even if they didn't exactly understand the joke in its entirety. Slann, regardless of him being rough around the edges, made Hayden feel relaxed and like a man again when he was younger. Having children and his wife passing had taken many of his youthful years away from him, though he regretted none of it.

"Well when you have children it becomes a little easier," He smiled, looking over at the big top as the gasps emanated from the inside and than back to Slann as he talked. It was entirely too true. If they didn't go inside they'd eventually miss all the show and the boys, while still being rather enthralled with the monkey and their new friend, would be more than disappointed.

"We really should go in and see at least some of the show," Hayden conceded, looking to Benjamin and motioning for him to give the monkey back to Slann.

Hayden and the boys gave Slann their good bye's, their nice-to-meet-you's and their see-you-again's. As they walked off Hayden stopped and turned for a moment addressing Slann once more before they made their way into the big-top, "If you have any free time, the boys and I would very much like it if you stopped by for dinner sometime."

He managed to rattle off his address to Slann in case he wanted a free meal and some more male company, though he'd have to put up with the kids.  

[Slanndalous]

"Uhhh..... kay... Bye! Have.... fun...." It was meant to sound more encouraging than it did. But he was still working off the shock of someone, much less three people, enjoying his company enough to ask for it again.

He actually felt kinda good. Smiling ever so slightly, Slan finished off his mug and returned it to his bar-tending friend.

Hmm, if he was going to go see them again, he'd have to buy some real clothes. "........" he looked to his shoulder where his burden sat. And ditch the monkey.