It’s probably the shock, yeah. Rusty is a fairly average looking dude, all things considered, though he’s got a very frail and thin looking build. His hair long, albeit messy and tangled, barely brushing down past his shoulders in thick brown locks, his eyes are a bit harder to tell the colour of. They could be brown, but in this lighting they look more akin to black. His wings are certainly big enough to fly, but the feathers seem haphazardly clipped. They’ll grow back eventually, but for now are for the most parts useless.
Rusty just glances at Pins, decides he doesn’t think he can fully process it, before moving on to looking more closely to what’s on the cart.
Pins pauses for a moment, blinking at the sight of the winged being. Huh…he kinda reminds him of…Martin… Are the bosses really okay with this…?
“…U-Um…thank you, P-Pins,” Teddy stammers out, quickly snapping the human pincushion out of his thoughts.
“O-Oh, er…no problem, Mr. Teddy…!” the larger man says with a little salute. “…Uh…good luck!” He casts a last look at Rusty, before quickly hurrying out, Teddy waving and closing the door behind him.
After doing so, he moves towards the cart, squatting next to it and checking over the equipment on it with a pleased hum. There are a bunch of tools and spare parts, but the most noticeable thing is a large metallic…thing. It’s hard to tell what exactly it is when you’re looking at it, for its material is twisted into a shape, appearing to form some kind of shell despite the many gaps left uncovered across its surface.
“…It’s finished, right?” Vivil asks, tilting his head at the machinery.
“U-Um…not…r-really…?” Teddy says slowly, starting to rummage through the pile. “I still h-have to do a f-few things…but it’s g-good to test what I-I-I have so far…a-and we can figure out w-w-what else it can do?”
Hm... Yeah, no matter how he looks at it he can’t make heads or tails of what he’s seeing on the cart. Tiredly, he rubs his face, breathing a shaky sigh.
“Can I ask questions, or is it still supposed to be a ‘surprise’?” His mind is blanking on what other creature would constitute taking his legs but he can’t really think of anything that fits the size of... The metallic mass on the cart. His first guess of a satyr is wrong than... some kind of Naga maybe? He’s not sure. “I’d guess, but I can’t really think of anything.”
The mans is free! He is hesitant to move though, but eventually opts to try and push himself up. May as well help them move him, or whatever. Has the room always been this cold? Who knows how cold the circus brothers actually keep this place, it might just be a small shift.
Well, it’s usually a tad colder than typically comfortable in this room, but the coldness Rusty feels may be oncoming shock from the physical trauma he just experienced! In terms of everyone else, well…looks like they’re too distracted to notice if anything changed.
Regardless, Teddy was going to help Rusty sit up, but seeing as he got it himself, he backs off, moving to the door instead. He pulls it open, Vivil pushing his way out to yell into the hallway. “Oi, Pins! You coming or what?!”
“S-Sorry, boss!” comes the distant reply, before the sound of wheels rolling against the ground echoes out, drawing closer. The ventriloquist takes a step back from the door, allowing a large man with a bunch of knives haphazardly stuck into his body to come in, wheeling in a dollie cart with a bunch of equipment on it. He tries not to look at who his bosses are currently working on, but he can’t help but cast a curious glance over.
It’s probably the shock, yeah. Rusty is a fairly average looking dude, all things considered, though he’s got a very frail and thin looking build. His hair long, albeit messy and tangled, barely brushing down past his shoulders in thick brown locks, his eyes are a bit harder to tell the colour of. They could be brown, but in this lighting they look more akin to black. His wings are certainly big enough to fly, but the feathers seem haphazardly clipped. They’ll grow back eventually, but for now are for the most parts useless.
Rusty just glances at Pins, decides he doesn’t think he can fully process it, before moving on to looking more closely to what’s on the cart.
“I wouldn’t dream of it…” Not that he could do anything if he wanted… What weird emphasis. He’s glancing off to the side, slightly behind the ventriloquist. He stares blankly in that direction, before there is a small sound, almost like a sigh, something metallic being dropped to the ground.
Vivil gives Rusty a look, before shrugging, continuing his task. The two are nearly done when this…strange event occurs, Teddy jolting a bit from the sound. He spins around to see what happened…only to find a scalpel on the ground. How did that…?
The ventriloquist stares at it in confusion for a moment, before hesitantly reaching down to pick it up, returning it to its rightful place on the equipment table. Maybe it…got caught on something and ended up there…? …He winces, clearing his throat before completely freeing Rusty.
The mans is free! He is hesitant to move though, but eventually opts to try and push himself up. May as well help them move him, or whatever. Has the room always been this cold? Who knows how cold the circus brothers actually keep this place, it might just be a small shift.
Rusty cracked open an eye at the little puppet slap, mumbling for a moment under his breath before speaking up.
“…’m… Taking the… Time I have to rest… I doubt… I can sleep.” Not with the pain buzzing through his body.
The oxidized blood flakes off, leaving behind the stains. They can be washed, but that’s not to be found out until later.
…Hhh, his poor suit… Worst case scenario, at least he has a spare… He’ll worry about that later though. As his brother said, there’s still more to be done. Once they finish up cleaning, he moves over to the operation table, reaching for Rusty’s restrains. “…W-We need to get him up f-for this next part…”
“…Alright…” Vivil’s eyes flick over to Rusty. “I trust you won’t try anything,” he says with a bit of an edged warning, before he starts to assist Teddy in freeing him.
“I wouldn’t dream of it...” Not that he could do anything if he wanted... What weird emphasis. He’s glancing off to the side, slightly behind the ventriloquist. He stares blankly in that direction, before there is a small sound, almost like a sigh, something metallic being dropped to the ground.
His ear twitches, but he doesn’t bother registering anything that was being said, just laying his head back and. Well, trying to get some assemblance of calm back? There’s not much he can do on that front, but he can at least catch his breath and force his wings to smooth back out.
Rusty’s blood seems to almost turn blue-ish green after a while exposed to air, almost like it was oxidizing. Guess that makes sense if it really is copper… It stains a little though–
…Oh god, that better not stain the equipment or their clothes permanently. This has gone unsaid, but the brothers have been wearing their suits with no other protective gear while performing these…let’s say ‘transformations’. They’ve just gotten really good at washing blood off things, and Vivil claims to like the intimidation factor of a bloodied appearance. But right now…
Teddy glances down at his white suit at some point while cleaning, picking at the oxidizing blood with a frown. That’s…unexpected… Vivil doesn’t seem to notice yet, slapping the back of his small puppet hand against Rusty’s cheek as they pass by. “Oi. You still with us? …There’s still more s*** to be done, so you better not be falling asleep on the job.”
It definitely feels slower. This whole thing feels like it’s taken several days, even if it’s been only a few hours… Rusty is… Less skilled at holding back pained responses, quivering despite his attempts to hold still as his resolve wears down…
At least it’s over… He’s drawing short gasps, pained hisses accompanying each one. He doesn’t expect it to truly be over, taking his legs doesn’t seem all that dazzling on it’s own… … Pins…? Someone else…?
It isn’t long before somebody comes running over. The other doesn’t enter the room, but Rusty may be able to hear his heavy footsteps as he approaches. “Yes, Mr. Teddy?” asks the new voice.
“C-Can you please g-go to my workshop and bring back the p-project I’ve been working on? …A-Ask Igni and Conto to help you, t-t-they know which one t-that is…”
“Got it, boss! Be back soon!” The other person hurries away, leaving the ventriloquist to move back into the room, starting to clean up a little more with his brother. Those legs need to be put away… Rusty’s getting a bit of a breather.
His ear twitches, but he doesn’t bother registering anything that was being said, just laying his head back and. Well, trying to get some assemblance of calm back? There’s not much he can do on that front, but he can at least catch his breath and force his wings to smooth back out.
Rusty’s blood seems to almost turn blue-ish green after a while exposed to air, almost like it was oxidizing. Guess that makes sense if it really is copper... It stains a little though--
Theatrics… Though he supposes that makes sense for circus folk… Honestly he has more of a reaction to Teddy cleaning the wound than anything else. Raw flesh stings like hell, especially being cleaned… Though luckily, Teddy’s efforts keep him from bleeding out.
He’s more or less trying to catch his breath before this continues. He never had the breathing issues his brother did, but this whole ordeal has knocked the wind out of him.
Vivil repeats the process all over again, slicing through flesh, muscles, and nerves, sawing through bone, and severing what’s left. It’s just as bad as the first time, if not, worse. If you could believe it, the puppet may be taking this one slower…at least Teddy’s there to keep things clean and under control.
As soon as both legs have been amputated and the stumps have been bandaged, the two straighten up, looking over their handiwork. “…How’s that? Clean enough for ya?” Vivil asks, glancing up at Teddy.
The ventriloquist stares quietly for a moment, before nodding. “I t-think that’s okay…u-um…h-hold on…” He moves towards the doorway, opening it and calling for someone. “P-Pins? Pins, c-c-can you come h-here, please?”
It definitely feels slower. This whole thing feels like it’s taken several days, even if it’s been only a few hours... Rusty is... Less skilled at holding back pained responses, quivering despite his attempts to hold still as his resolve wears down...
At least it’s over... He’s drawing short gasps, pained hisses accompanying each one. He doesn’t expect it to truly be over, taking his legs doesn’t seem all that dazzling on it’s own... ... Pins...? Someone else...?
“I… am u…unfortunately… used t… ignoring pain…” Rusty mumbled breathlessly, a shaky sigh leaving him afterwards. “… was… always m…more important…” Part of what he was saying was an unintelligible mumble as he drew a deep breath.
It’s easy enough to cut through the bone. It’s hollow after all…
Vivil is a bit surprised about how easy it saw through the bone, but soon shrugs it off, disregarding Rusty’s mumbles. A tortured man’s ramblings are usually just that. Rambles. He retrieves the scalpel once more to severe the connections of any more tissues, before Teddy reaches out to carefully pull away the amputated leg, placing it aside for…potential reuse.
“One down,” the puppet states with a dark chuckle, flashing the scalpel in the light. “One to go.” The ventriloquist draws the same dotted markings on Rusty’s remaining leg, prepping it for his brother, before starting to clean and bandage the stump of the first one, putting a couple more injections in it as well.
Theatrics... Though he supposes that makes sense for circus folk... Honestly he has more of a reaction to Teddy cleaning the wound than anything else. Raw flesh stings like hell, especially being cleaned... Though luckily, Teddy’s efforts keep him from bleeding out.
He’s more or less trying to catch his breath before this continues. He never had the breathing issues his brother did, but this whole ordeal has knocked the wind out of him.
Rusty have you picked back up your guitar recently?
Martin had burnt himself out from getting the papers down from the trees, so Rusty had taken over, disposing of the blank ones. Some had messages, but they weren't for him, so he left them be... However seeing his name on this one caused him to pause, looking it over.
"...My... Guitar?" He was confused, before shaking his head and adjusting his coat, stuffing the paper into his pocket. "If... You know it exists, you know it's in Martin's possession. He's better at playing than I am."
The dark had always unnerved him, casting shadows on the wall that no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t imagine away, each inn having it’s own horrors dance through the night. The flickering candles did little but cast their orange glow in all the wrong places, making the shadows darken.
It was a particularly warm night, an uncommon occurrence this late into the snowy season, but welcome to the small winged child… What wasn’t welcome was being left to his own devices in the inn room, expected to sleep as his brother worked to earn their stay. Typically, his brother’s friend would stay with him, calm his fears by telling fantastical stories, but he was strangely missing this night as well…
He didn’t dare move from his bed, lest there was something waiting for him just underneath, some monster waiting to harm him… … But the longer he was on his own the worse his fear got… So slowly stealing his nerves, he slid free from his covers, wincing at the sound his feet made as they hit the wooden floors. Well… Too late to back down now he supposes…
He was silent towards the door, a skill he never remembered picking up. He just knew it would be helpful in this situation… Opening the door, he found the hall to be much brighter, much to his relief… Now just to head down and find his brother… As the winged boy descended the stairs, the soft sounds of a guitar drifted to him, his elven ears twitching… It was soft and slow picking of the strings, the gentle melody building over the hushed whispers of the tavern patrons…
He’d just gotten to the bottom of the stairs when another instrument joined, a violin he thinks it’s called, the notes harmonizing perfectly with the guitar. He hid along the frame of the open arch, watching with large green eyes and his brother sat on the stage, a large guitar barely held in the thin winged teen’s grasp, yet still he played, eyes shut as he was lost in the music. His friend stood next to him, equally as entranced with the sound as he skillfully played the violin. A large amount of the crowd had fallen silent to listen…
He’s not sure how long he himself sat there, just as absorbed into the melody… It almost sounded familiar, but he couldn’t really place a finger on it… He was only snapped back to reality when the song ended, the small tavern crowd breaking into loud applause and cheers. His brother looked surprised, before a warm smile appeared on the dark haired teen’s face, him bowing along with his friend, before passing over to the bar to receive their pay… Ah-- They were coming this way… The boy decided to quickly head back upstairs… He wasn’t as scared anymore, especially if they were coming back anyways.
… …
Martin stared blankly at the guitar case leaned against the wall, whimsically thinking about the times Rusty and Ambrose used to play so he could sleep but… Rusty hadn’t touched the guitar since Ambrose passed… Not that Martin blamed him, the memory likely hurt far too much… Slowly, the winged man slid from his seat, retrieving the case and bringing it back to where he sat… He always wanted to learn to play… Maybe he could play that lullaby one day...
Rusty was right no amount of bracing could prepare him for this– As the cut got deeper, he was more obviously trying to keep his breathing in order, instead of panicking. Passing out from hyper ventilation wouldn’t be fun right now either. The nerves finally being cut did little to numb the pain, but at least there was less surface area in agony. He was trying to refrain, but he couldn’t stop the small twitches of pain his body did involuntarily.
He’s practically disappearing in how fluffy his feathers are–
“…Wow, not even a scream?” Vivil comments, seeming just a little bit impressed. “…Hmph. Tough guy, eh? Let’s see if you can keep it up.” He places the stained scalpel aside for a moment, retrieving what appears to be a thick string made of metal, winding it between his bloodied wooden fingers, before pulling it taut.
He presses it against Rusty’s bone, Teddy placing a hand on the lower half of the leg to keep it steady, before the puppet begins to draw the string back and forth rapidly, the tool beginning to efficiently saw through what’s left of the limb.
“I... am u...unfortunately... used t... ignoring pain...” Rusty mumbled breathlessly, a shaky sigh leaving him afterwards. “... was... always m...more important...” Part of what he was saying was an unintelligible mumble as he drew a deep breath.
It’s easy enough to cut through the bone. It’s hollow after all...
“I’m fully aware I’ll have something worse to worry about. I’m mainly trying to distract myself.” Another attempt to brace himself mainly. He blinks at the two’s back and forth, confused for a moment… No time to really dwell though as the scalpel is pressed against his skin. Weh… He tries not to go with his instinct to wiggle away and forces himself to settle.
The blood that bubbles from the cut is metallic, almost looking like copper. It’s shiny…
The two pause for a moment, staring at Rusty’s blood in fascination. Interesting…they could do something with this…but they’ll figure that out later. No time to be thinking of new things to do when there’s work right in front of them to be done.
Vivil works slowly, using the scalpel to work his way deep into Rusty’s leg, meticulously slicing through everything in his way, from muscles to nerves, until the blade reaches bone. This is done all the way around the marked area until the flesh is ripped away, the bone the only thing keeping the limb attached.
The tourniquet does a good job at making sure the man doesn’t bleed too much, but even so, Teddy periodically makes injections along the small area between the tourniquet and the severed area in order to staunch the blood flow, as well as occasionally taking a towel to the wounds to mop up the metallic substance in the way. He did mention he wants this to be clean…he doesn’t want his brother to have too much trouble following through on that.
Rusty was right no amount of bracing could prepare him for this-- As the cut got deeper, he was more obviously trying to keep his breathing in order, instead of panicking. Passing out from hyper ventilation wouldn’t be fun right now either. The nerves finally being cut did little to numb the pain, but at least there was less surface area in agony. He was trying to refrain, but he couldn’t stop the small twitches of pain his body did involuntarily.
He’s practically disappearing in how fluffy his feathers are--
…He makes a small face at the tourniquets. He’s seen enough of those in his life time…
“…I know it’s kind of the point of them, but I’ve always found these way too tight to be comfortable…” Absentminded mumble himself, just letting his head fall back instead of straining to look. It’d be easier if he didn’t pay attention.
“You’re about to have something worse to worry about,” Vivil says with a low chuckle. A scalpel is placed in his hands, and he blinks, looking up at the ventriloquist. “…The hell is this?”
“W-Well, um…I n-need…a c-cleaner cut…”
“…Ugh, you’re killing me, Ted…”
“S-Sorry…y-you could, um…t-take your time…?”
“…Hm…that’ll do, I guess.” Teddy perks up a little, before grabbing a marker and using it to draw dotted lines on Rusty’s skin…and as soon as he’s done, the puppet presses the scalpel along the guidelines, making the first cut into the winged being’s flesh.
“I’m fully aware I’ll have something worse to worry about. I’m mainly trying to distract myself.” Another attempt to brace himself mainly. He blinks at the two’s back and forth, confused for a moment... No time to really dwell though as the scalpel is pressed against his skin. Weh... He tries not to go with his instinct to wiggle away and forces himself to settle.
The blood that bubbles from the cut is metallic, almost looking like copper. It’s shiny...
“Fish people yeah–” He agrees, nodding a little. “They can survive on land actually, they’re only half fish. Got fish tails, maybe gils. I never could see one up close.”
Oh boy here we go. There is no real amount of braced for this he can be huh? His wings start to bristle despite his attempts to smooth them before.
“Sounds like a freak…” Vivil mutters absentmindedly, watching as his brother begins to wrap a tourniquet around one of Rusty’s legs. “…What are you doing? We don’t need to use those.”
“E-Er, well…this’ll j-just make it…easier…”
“Easier for what?”
“…(Mumble)…”
“What was that? You gotta be a little more clear, Ted. …Ah whatever, just hand me a saw or something. It’s been a while since we’ve done something fun like this.” The ventriloquist straightens up as soon as both legs have been compressed under the tourniquet kits, moving to select a tool for the puppet to use.
...He makes a small face at the tourniquets. He’s seen enough of those in his life time...
“...I know it’s kind of the point of them, but I’ve always found these way too tight to be comfortable...” Absentminded mumble himself, just letting his head fall back instead of straining to look. It’d be easier if he didn’t pay attention.
… Well okay then, he won’t really. Need those if they’re taking his legs though that does raise a question–
“So… Is this gonna be like. What’s their name mm–” He mumbles quietly under his breath for a moment. “Mmmmermaids? That’s why my legs are being taken? Or something else?”
“…The f*** is a mer…maid?” Vivil immediately responds, pausing from his task.
“How the hell is a ‘fish person’ supposed to survive on land? …Actually, that’s not a bad idea. Let’s think more about that later.”
The puppet quickly finishes up cutting the fabric, before giving the ventriloquist a hard nudge to get his attention, making a gesture towards the equipment afterwards. He nods quietly in response, reaching over to grab…what is that, some kind of tourniquet? Oh dear, seems like this is happening very soon.
“Fish people yeah--” He agrees, nodding a little. “They can survive on land actually, they’re only half fish. Got fish tails, maybe gils. I never could see one up close.”
Oh boy here we go. There is no real amount of braced for this he can be huh? His wings start to bristle despite his attempts to smooth them before.
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