{The Welcoming Committee}
“Fresh meat, eh?” Violet muttered, as she and her conjoined twin, Zoe, approached the Big Top. It was to be empty now, everyone having completed their practice for the day–save for the newbie, said to be called Josephine. Zoe pushed a pesky tent flap out of their way. “You’d better be nice,” she barked. “You remember how scared we–well, I–was, when we first got here.” Vi remained silent–her smirk and stare said it all–before scoffing at her own spitting image.
“Whoa,” the flower’s voice wilted down to a whisper. The twins squatted, their target acquired. A whirr of arms juggled skyward, their owner’s back before them. “That’s insane.” “Yeah,” Zoe had to concur. “It is.” They watched in silence for a moment, before Violet incited the greeting with which they’d initially come–well–armed. “Josephine, right?” She thought to tap her shoulder, but feared she’d get jabbed with an elbow or three. “We’re the welcoming committee. I’m Violet.” She gave a quick bend of the head toward her “sister.” “This is Zoe. We’re the Cleome Twins.” Zoe piped up. “Nice to meet you.”
Josephine hadn’t expected anyone to come really so she was quite spooked when someone or someones came in while she was practicing, her juggling things went flying and two arms protected her head while the other two try to catch the items. Once that was out of the way, she looked to see who it was, she then nodded “Yes I’m Josephine but Elsa says my stage name will be JoJo the Juggler apparently” she looked at the two, quite fascinated really “It’s nice to meet you as well, you two remind of the others twins here. I find this conjoining quite fascinating if you don’t mind me saying though I’m afraid you might take offense to that.”
@black-rose-widow
“Oh!” Zoe outcried, as the items flew awry. The girls gave their hand in aid to pick up the fallen objects.
“Didn’t mean to spook ya,” apologized Vi. The twins chuckled in unison at her stage name–Violet, out of vague mockery, and Zoe, in finding it endearing. “I like it,” Zoe commended. But her fascination in their…condition, was not so well sought after. “Yeah, I–” Violet began, cinnamon orbs bulging like saucers.
Zoe cut her off. “We…weren’t exactly born this way,” she elaborated, shooting JoJo a pleading look to forgive her unlikely sister.
Josephine thanked them as they helped her clean up the mess. “It’s quite alright, I hadn’t expected to have visitors so soon. I figured everyone needed time to warm up to me and stuff. Yes Elsa is quite wonderful and a funny woman when comes to names”
She then looked confused “I’m sorry for saying anything, I thought you guys were like Bette and Dot. Dot doesn’t really like me though Bette did, they’re quite overwhelming really with their opposite personalities. I hope I didn’t offend you or anything, I would love for all of us to be friends. I won’t say anything again about it and let me know if there’s anything I can make up for because of my stupidness. I think my mother may have been right” she groaned.
@black-rose-widow
Zoe’s heart broke, as she interjected with “No, it’s okay”s and “Really, it’s fine”s, while Violet wished she’d save her the pity party. However, the flower knew what it was like to have shit parents. “Your mother was right about what?” she intruded, overtaken by morbid curiosity. “You don’t have to answer that,” Zoe said. “You’re not stupid. What are the odds of what happened to us? How could you have known?” Vi cleared her throat. “…Yeah,” she said, finally. “Sorry,” she muttered to their boots and the filth below them. “We can be friends. Of course.” Us freaks had to stick together. “…But for real, your mom was right about what?” “Violet!” “What?!”
Josephine smiled softly as Zoe tried to comfort “You are entirely too kind really, I doubt anyone else would be so forgiving.” She listen to the two bicker slightly and heard Violet’s question, it was only natural for her to be curious about what she said. “It’s alright, I don’t mind answering” she chuckled weakly and nervously before saying “mother said I could be so stupid sometimes, she’s really wasn’t my biggest fan you could say.” She said, subconsciously wrapping all four arms around herself in a soothing manner.
@black-rose-widow
“That’s awful,” said Zoe. “That’s fucked,” said Violet. Zoe shook her head, as Violet reflected. To be completely honest, she was the one saying things like that more often than her parents ever did. It was more of her parents’ actions that got to her, than their words ever did. Zoe wondered if she’d like a hug. She wondered how hugs would work. Instead, she offered sympathy. “If it’s any consolation, my mother shipped me off to an asylum out-of-state when I accidentally killed my boyfriend.” Shit, Vi thought. My turn. “…My…dad fucked his twenty-one year old student after my mom had a miscarriage.” Does that work? Is that good?
Josephine “Ouch” she said softly, she did feel bad for them as well but probably figured that it was her turn to speak again about it. “My mother…..would bind….my extra arms behind my back……….and sometimes she would threatened to……cut them off. I’m her only child because of this…..deformity.” She had fidgeted slightly with her hands and picked at her fingernails as she spoke. “I couldn’t take it anymore and I ran away with a backpack and some money when I stumbled across this place.” She did feel a little bit of shame after everything that had happened to her.
@black-rose-widow
Zoe’s jaw dropped as Violet’s lips pressed firmly together. “Figures,” said Vi. She gave a nod. “I’m so so--” Zoe started. She considered that hug again. “I’ve felt like a freak since long before...this whole deal,” the bud intruded, gesturing vaguely to their whole “situation.” “As you might’ve noticed, I’m not exactly a carbon copy of my prior peers. So, I was bullied.” She concluded the thought with a sing-songy tone. “Which is the minor league version of the way people treat us all now. Zoe: cigarette?” Zoe complied, reaching in her side’s pocket. Violet lit and inhaled. “I wasn’t abused,” she exhaled, with a cloud of smoke that faced away from their new coworker. “Not at home, anyway. Not physically. I can’t imagine that. And I’m so sorry. But I do, to a point, feel a sliver of your pain.”
