in my mind, is color.

It's about time I figured everything out. It's a surprise to me that it starts in a place so strange. Is this where all the freaks go? T h u n d e r. [ RP for Park Sanghyun ] Tent: #18 | Cottage: #232 May contain 18+ material.

[ex-cirque-thunder-blog]

xo I love you all. Maybe I can pick him up in the future.

[freak-jiyong]

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[doongteeth]

[cirque-dasom-deactivated2013032]

abomination :: sanghyun & dasom

[cirque-dasom-deactivated2013032]

Memorizing the features of her ravenesque creation, Dasom stored them in her memory for easy access later if she ever wanted to create the being again. She stretched her hand towards the creature, out of habit more than need, and deconstructed the thing with ease. Most of the spoke disappearing into the atmosphere, she purposefully caught less than a quarter of it to practice making her abomination again. 

This time she accomplished the goal she’d set herself must faster, it taking less than a minute for the bird-lion to reappear in miniaturized form. Sending off the creature ahead of her, she began packing her things up. She crushed the remnants of the burnt stick under her old vans and returned the zippo to her front pocket. 

Satisfied she’d cleaned up nicely, she looked up in search of where her creature had gone. She put her bag on her shoulders and walked towards the tents, sweeping her eyes slowly in search of the small thing. Not wanting to call for it, her brow furrowed as she tried to decide what to do. Relative to other things she’d made it was quite stupid; only knowing how to find it’s way back to her through verbal command and fly in a looping pattern. Not wanting to disturb other campers she sighed and began circling the tents.

Not coming upon the….. Ravion, she paused and pondered what to do next. It might freak some people out but it was harmless, so she saw no problem leaving it out for a bit. With that she moved off towards her tent slowly, still looking for it but less adamant about finding it.

[ex-cirque-thunder-blog]

The creature moved away from the strange woman, and he watched it until it was out of sight. Where was it going to go? he wondered, really pitying whatever person would have to run into it - it looked like it was able to give off a good shock. At least, from where he was standing - it looked pretty freaky. The girl started to pack up her things, which was an odd combination of items that she put together to make the smokey animal in the first place.

Sanghyun still kept watch. He didn't fully understand that what she could do was manipulate smoke. All he thought about was that she was able to create really weird looking creatures from a big ball of black. When she started to walk away, he allowed her. It wasn't like he was about to reveal himself from his hiding spot and chat with her about how to make hell hounds and saber monkeys. He didn't really want to know if she could make either of those two things.

But considering she could make a bird-lion, he assumed she could make a whole bunch of different things. He wondered what her performances must be like. Did people get so scared of the animals she made that they ran out of the tent before one of them could run after them like the one he just saw? He wanted to scoff at the vision that popped into his head from that, but suppressed it. He figured that now was probably a good time to make his leave, and decided if he could enter the tent quietly from the back, he could slip through the front unnoticed.

Feeling clever, he moved to turn around to do just that. Instead, he was faced with a small problem.

No, really. It was small, all black, creepy, and incredibly close to his face.

"Whoa!!" he yelled out, a sound unfamiliar to him, and ungracefully stumbled out of his hiding spot and even fell to the ground from the shock of that thing the woman created only moments ago sneaking up behind him . It's miniature body stepped on his chest, as if it was triumphant of gaining a new toy or something, and he didn't really think about his reaction. Instead, he swung his arm at the creature, hoping to whack it off of him. 

[ex-cirque-dohee]

Chameleon's Game || Thunder & Dohee

After getting accepted into the cirque, Dohee was more than eager to explore her new home. Everything seemed so foreign and exciting, and she had high hopes of meeting another fun person like C.A.P. So rather than go to her own tent and meet the girls she would be living with, she took to wandering between (and possibly into) the other tents that were set up for people to live in, hoping to find something to do or someone to talk to, anyone really. Living in the orphanage made her accustomed to socializing quite a lot with others, so not doing the same here would just feel wrong to her, completely and totally unacceptable.

Walking around the tents, Dohee took the time to observe the setting, tilting her head as she counted just how many tents there were currently. Once the number surpassed what she absently counted out on her fingers, she abandoned the task, too eager to meet everyone and explore everything to resume her count. She knew that at least one person was in each and every tent, and more than likely there was only a few with one person inside. So many new people! In a way, she realized the cirque was not quite as foreign as she first thought. Some aspects reminded her of the orphanage, and though it slightly dulled her excitement, it also created a sense of familiarity and comfort. With the multiple people coexisting in one ‘room’, everyone gathering to eat in one place, and working every day for what they have, Dohee could definitely see the similarities. Well, besides them working every night instead of day, and they worked by performing which seemed a lot better than cleaning… but the similarities were still there.

Deciding to enter a tent at random, she simply walked right in, not bothering to announce herself as she looked around in excitement for someone. A small pout formed on her lips as she realized there was no one inside. What a waste of time and excitement. With a sigh, Dohee walked out of the tent, instead going to the one nearest it this time, an emerald tent.

Before entering,an idea popped into her mind, a devious smile quickly accompanying it. Tiptoeing up to the entrance, she peeked her head inside, just enough to notice that there was, in fact, someone inside. Deciding her search for entertainment was over, she pulled her head back without a sound,hopefully not disturbing the person inside. Finally, a chance for something fun!

[ex-cirque-thunder-blog]

It wasn't unusual that Sanghyun was the last to keep the emerald colored tent occupied. It was one of those days where he just felt safer inside (if you could call a tent "inside"), rather than out there with all the performances and freaks that really didn't pay too much attention to him. That was mostly his fault though, considering he didn't give many people a chance because when he did (or before he got a chance to), things didn't turn out to well. Plus, the circus was settling down from moving back to Korea - things weren't hectic, but they were busy enough to keep most people occupied. He still hasn't thought of a show he could put on, which made him a little fearful that he was annoying the leaders with his lateness. Maybe he could try to think of something now. What could he do with mental projection?

He was laying down on his bed, with his hands tucked behind his head as he stared at nothing for a few moments. He heaved a heavy sigh, and closed his eyes for a moment to think. When he opened his eyes back up, there was a projection in front of and around him. The projection showed whatever he was thinking. He, purposely, was thinking of scenes of movies that he remembered. He watched the projections move around the tent the same way he remembered in the film. There was no sign of enjoyment in his expression, because he never really wanted to admit - even to himself - that he quite liked his ability sometimes. In that moment, he thought it was pretty cool - watching the violence in fiction happen right in front of him, even if it just faded out when he couldn't remember what happened next. Which it did. The projection went away, and he let it fade slowly. Did he want to watch something else? He frowned. There wasn't much else other than replays of things he's already seen and stuff he could conjure up in his imagination. It was tiring too. Well, not that the small fighting clip wore him out-- maybe he was just lazy.

Alas, he figured he should try to think of a performance, so within a few short moments the projection was active again except it was incredibly hazed due to he was creating something from his imagination and not his memory. Once he got a clearer grasp of the image he was looking for, the vision would improve. At first, it started with himself just standing idly in the middle of a stage he figured would be set up for him. Not something incredibly showy, just some pre-made wooden block to stand on. After all, it was the circus he was a part of. Not some fancy cruise liner entertainment agency.

The self-made 'film' he was creating had many stops and, if you could call it this, rewinds. The "replays" were always different than the first, because in his head he was creating different options for his show. He didn't really get anywhere, only messing around with his ability and more amused with the fact that he was projecting in a projection. It was like.. proception. Smiling ever so lightly at this, he was far too occupied with his ability to realize that he was being stared at by a new member of the circus.

[ncteomma]

[freak-sandara]

Resurrection || Dara x Thunder

To say that, after what happened out in town, Dara was one hundred percent herself would be a total lie. Even now she was wary and often jumpy as people walked by or called out to her. When people talked to her recently, they  always looked like they pitied her and often were asking if there was anything that they could do to make her feel better. The pity and the stares that she was now constantly receiving only made things worse. They kept the memories of why people were acting like this fresh in her head and there was absolutely nothing she seemed to be able to do about it.

Because of all this, Dara hadn’t been eating or sleeping well. She had lost weight, her hair was pulled up in a messy bun and the bags under her eyes seemed to be growing by the day. And yet, she didn’t care to cover them. And she wasn’t fully in control of her emotions. One moment she would be fine, the next she would be crying or screaming. The only time she felt safe and at ease was when Jiyong was around. She had thought that Daesung might be the same, but that wasn’t true. While she was still  more comfortable around him than others, she still hadn’t been able to figure out how to fully relax around him.

Currently it was far before anyone in the cirque should have been up, so no one was around to distract her from her work. She had decided that she would work instead of just pointlessly lay on her cot with her eyes closed, fighting back the tears as she tried to get past all of the faces that haunted her to fall into what she knew would be a fitful sleep. She couldn’t close her eyes without the faces and their voices haunting her. And every time she looked in the mirror or took off her clothes to shower or change, she could feel their hands violating her. In several places, the skin was stitched up, as she had still yet to go see Lime about her injuries. A nasty greenish purple bruise covered most of her torso, a telltale sign of the rib breakage that she had recently suffered. A bruise the same color covered most of her right cheek. It wasn’t often now that she left her tent when there were guests at night, her anxiety had become too much for her to handle and Hongki had given her a break from performances.

She was laying on the floor, wrench in hand, under one of the light rigs that she had made for Hongki’s performances. Some of the lights had blown out and she needed to fix them before the performance tonight. What she didn’t realize, however, that some of the screws holding it up were lose. Her hands were shaky as they worked, she had given up on trying to calm them. She was wary of the fact that it was making the contraption shake, but she was sure that it wouldn’t fall.

Until it did.

Weight crushed down on her and loud noises echoed through the equipment tent. Pain erupted through her torso, leaving her breathless at first. Dara was good at working with this stuff, but she certainly wasn’t strong enough to push all of this off of herself. She laud there, trying to catch her breath and failing miserably, the pain from the breaks and the weight of contraption causing each breath to be more painful than the last. That was when the tears started. “Ji..” she gasped, finding herself pushing at the metal bars and large, heavy lights, trying to get them of. “Ji..” She sobbed, not managing to make  anything even budge. “Jiyong! Help!” The scream ripped through her throat, calling out to the one person she could think of who she already owed so much to, not expecting who would answer her cries instead.

[ex-cirque-thunder-blog]

The circus wasn't quite 'alive' yet, meaning that no one was awake and things were relatively quiet. His tent-mates were asleep, and he was sick of looking at the same emerald color and memorizing the lines in the fabric. He glanced around the tent at the sleeping persons. He couldn't wake them to start up a conversation, he hardly knew their names. Plus, he knew that waking up anyone after a big circus night was a big mistake. He could understand why. People were tired, and they needed their rest to do it all over again. For him, he normally woke up "early", and then went to bed early. It wasn't like he could find a buddy to go around with and make up an excuse to stay up late after the circus had died down, so he just kept to himself after he was off-duty until he saw it pointless to stay up and went to sleep. There was no morning anymore, so when he got dressed and left his tent, he wasn't surprised to see the mid-afternoon sun. His eyes squinted at the brightness, as he let out a yawn and stretched out.

He didn't really know where he was going; he was hungry, he wanted to visit one performance tent in hopes it was still set up to get a closer look, since one of the performances he watched really tripped him out and he wanted to see - like a real circus - if there were any tricks involved. So, his direction was lazily placed, passing any old tent until he found the one's he was interested in.

Since he didn't have much of a connection friend wise, he was almost always the last to know about a situation. Normally, people didn't go up and tell him things, he had to overhear them through other's conversations. The latest news and rumor was about a woman who got attacked and someone saved her. He didn't know all the details, like names or places - not even what became of the victim to the situation. He did know that it happened, and he took it as a lesson learned to not wander too far out. Well, he didn't really expect to get attacked by anybody, he was pretty confident he didn't look like a target or whatever. But what made him second guess that was that the woman probably didn't look like a target either, unless she was standing on a platform showing off whatever weird power she had off to the population. That seemed unlikely, but still possible. 

It was a sound he heard from one of the tents that made him stop. It was a big sound - a crash even. The crash of whatever it was against the ground made him jump. It seemed to echo through out the silent woods, however after a few moments of silence, no one got out of there tent or seemed to pay any mind to the commotion. Sanghyun stared at the tent in question, wondering if he should even bother. With his luck, he'd go over there and someone would blame him for whatever just crashed. Perhaps it was some hunk of metal the circus had which fell over for some unknown reason. Sanghyun was about to continue on, until he heard the full out scream of a woman echo out. It was unexpected, and nearly scared the life out of him, and his immediate reaction was to freeze. After a moment, he walked, and then jogged over to the tent - his heart starting to race at the thoughts that rushed into his mind. He thought of the worst immediately, of how the woman was probably severed in half under a hunk of metal and he had to be the one to reveal her. Or the woman was being hurt by some guy named Jiyong and he was about to run into some kind of battle or something.

He pushed through the flaps of the tent and every inch of his body froze once more. He knew that it probably wasn't the greatest thing to do, but the image in front of him - he couldn't believe it. The girl's face, even if it seemed to be damaged in some way, was unmistakable. The features that people always loved to compare to each other, the small and skinny body that she never seemed to lose even as she grew older - it was his sister. With widened eyes and a gasp stuck in his throat, he took one more look at the surrounding area. Sandara was covered by a big metal.. thing. Oh. Oh my God!

"Noona!"

A word he hasn't spoken in a long time.

His voice was hoarse since he only woke up minutes ago, but it was audible and clearly surprised. He immediately went for the metal thing, heaving it off of her and standing it up. It wasn't as heavy as she made it look, and when he took another look at her when the object was standing up straight, he noticed the bruises on her body. His mind quickly pieced together what he was seeing. The girl.. the rumors.. that was her!? His sister was in the circus too?!

Honestly, he didn't know which emotion to feel first. He decided on relief, as he knelt down to her side and put both his hands on her shoulders. "Noona, noona... you're.. you're here--" he started, and felt sudden tears start to brim at his eyes. He hasn't seen his sister in so long - she looked so different, her hair was half shaved - things were so strange. He fought back the tears, refusing to allow her to see him like that. "What are you-- what happened--" His thoughts were jumbled and he didn't know which questions to start with, so he ended up saying a lot of different things that never really ended up making sense.

[cirque-dasom-deactivated2013032]

abomination :: sanghyun & dasom

Finding empty ground near the outskirts of the cirque, Dasom took off her backpack and tossed it onto the ground. Bored, she’d been walking around the cirque looking for a place to create smoke. Fire, that is.

She pulled her zippo from the front pocket of her jeans and set it beside her before taking a small stick and a flask from her backpack. Pushing the thing our of the way with her foot, she opened the flask and poured a small amount onto the end of the stick. Resealing the top, she replaced the flask and grabbed her zippo. Repositioning the stick in her hands she flicked the lighter open with her thumb and held it to the vodka-soaked end of the stick. Soon the ethanol caught fire and began to burn.

A small smile appeared as Dasom set the flaming pike on the dirt and began collecting the smoke. Soon the thing between her feet was merely dust and the smoke between her arms was the size of an overinflated basketball. She levitated the orb until it hovered a few feet in front of her, allowing her to see what she was doing. Pondering what to do, she dropped her outstretched hands to her legs and let them stay there for a moment. When she found an idea she raised her hands and gestured minimally, immersed in the smoke. Before the woman the floating darkness morphed into a blob resembling something four legged. Dasom stood and walked forward, raising her creation up in the process before placing her hands on the ‘head’ of the creature. She closed her eyes and soon a ravens head and wings hovered before her, motionless. Moving her gaze lower she fashioned a lions body from the remainder of the smoke, adding details of fur and claws that at the front curved into talons.

She backed away from the creature and seated herself on the log once more. As she sat she brought life to the creature, it began blinking and beating its wings periodically. Although they created no wind they certainly gave the appearance. A smirk flitted across her lips as she admired her abomination.

[ex-cirque-thunder-blog]

What an exciting day. In other words, nothing happened. The more he stayed in the circus, the more curious he became yet he was far too nervous to even leave his tent. He's had a lot of bad luck so far, between the trap - which kept replaying in his mind - and the embarrassing encounter with the water-breathing chick, it was pretty much inevitable that so far, not many people liked him. It also didn't help that he almost sent the entire circus into a panicked chaos when he bumped into the Medium and exposed all the ghosts that were supposed to be invisible. That was fun. The encounter following that mess was awkward and not all that interesting. Sanghyun thought he was cursed or something but then realized the silliness of the idea and brushed it off.

He took the chance anyway, feeling somewhat comfortable with the thought that things couldn't really get any worse. As he wandered here and there, he came across... something. Someone? He definitely didn't recognize the person. It was a woman, surrounded by an intimidating black cloud. It looked like she was... Playing with it? He made a face. It looked like smoke that came out of the factories and pollute the air - made it all gross and unhealthy. Not wanting to seem strange by staring in plain sight, he went behind a tent and peered over to watch her work. Of course, it didn't register to him right away the strangeness of trying to hide while staring was probably worse.

What... the hell was that?

It looked like a morphling between a bird and a lion. It was like one of those strange abominations seen in old stories that usually taught you a lesson by the end of it. He watched the woman seem so excited by the creature, and was honestly a little weirded out. He knew that the people in the circus weren't normal, but he couldn't help his expressions - they showed through easily.

[carcrashedhearts]

[scribblenote]

[ex-cirque-minhyun-blog]

Kaleidoscope || Minhyun & Thunder

[ex-cirque-minhyun-blog]

With half interest Minhyun watched the man lie on the ground for a moment, unable to blame him for his pathetic positioning after what must of been pain from the snare. This wasn’t his problem though, and he couldn’t say he cared too much. At this point his headache was persisting and he was still seeing triple of the other male, even though he would rather not be seeing him at all. Have you ever stuck around with someone for an extended period of days and noticed that the longer you were with them the more annoyed you became? This was similar, and he was ready to turn around and collapse on his cot, perhaps fit in a nap before the circus began preparing for another night of dazzling performances.

So as soon as Sanghyun sat back up the younger boy assumed he would be okay, he turned around and began walking in the opposite direction, the crunch of the leaves and snow being more infuriating than a comfort. His rancor for them was diminished as soon as a voice broke through what should be a peaceful scene of nature. Sanghyun’s tone was positively livid, and by that he took some relief. After the other plaguing him Minhyun would hope that he would keep his distance. Thoughts of gaining new friends and being civil were practically nonexistent for him, as he really could only take so much, but by now he was feeling more tired than choleric as if upon completing his self-given task his exasperation was plucked away and replaced with lassitude.

In his debility his shoulders slumped and he rubbed his eyes, his thoughts revolving around sleep and perhaps a dose of pain medication, and a hope to not have too many more visions today. There was something that prevented him from just ignoring Sanghyun’s foul words though, and he knew it had something to do with how somehow the other man had projected what he was seeing into something visible to the eyes of others. It was like seeing double, only more so than usual, but it was more solid and he couldn’t help but ponder how useful that might be. Despite his wish to head back to camp Minhyun turned back around, rising his arms in the air and letting them fall down lifelessly a moment later in a gesture that said ‘What do you want from me?’.

His sigh was audible and he actually walked forward a few steps before stopping again, then he felt annoyance rise back up and he silently questioned why it bothered to leave him at all. “A lot is inside my head. A lot of futures, a lot of presents, a lot of pasts.” Minhyun wasn’t going to add much more to this bitter explanation, mentally considered printing off some brochures about the horrors of peeking into alternative timelines and how to always say no, tell an adult, call the police. That would save him a lot of time, but he guessed that the sarcasm and cynical humor wouldn’t be well received. “Alternative universes, that’s what’s in my head. This is some grade A science fiction shit.” He rubbed his temples, remembering how much of a pain Sanghyun has been in the last few days, and sent the man a half-heated glare.

“And you, Sanghyun, ” The younger’s voice was accusing, but it wasn’t reflected in his body language, which was more lazy than anything. “Have been in my head for days now. Do you know how much of a headache it is to see your dumb ass trample through the forest like you’re on some damn nature walk?” He rolled his eyes for good measure, muttering obscenities under his breath, not caring if the other man grew more infuriated or not. “And then in more than half of them you have to get caught in this trap, it’s incredible.” The last line was laced with bitter sarcasm, and the man’s other two questions were forgotten during his ranting, but he hadn’t seen them as important enough to answer. However, it was important to let this guy know how much of a burden he had been, to no real reason aside that he was still feeling resentful towards the guy.

Again, he eyed the other male, his eyebrows raising in mild confusion. Why hadn’t he stood up yet? Please don’t tell him that the snare had hurt him that badly. After this he should just escape to Alaska, live in a shed and isolate himself from all other human beings, maybe then he wouldn’t find himself in such inconvenient situations. Then again, Alaska didn’t exactly sound pleasant either. “What’s up with your..” Then his sentence was silenced by himself, the tone being too curious, although still affected by pessimism. It would be pointless to ask the man about his power, it’s not like he could answer ‘whys’ either, and Minhyun was sure he got the gist of what it was anyways. At least it was better than what some of the members of the circus could do, like that women who could manipulate pheromones, now that was just sketchy. Speaking of women, the one known as Dara was staring to make an appearance in his kaleidoscope vision, but he didn’t bother questioning why as much as he found it to be another nuisance.

He took a step backwards, stumbling ungracefully due to the unevenness of the earth but soon finding his footing again. There was a frown sent to the ground as if he had thought that somehow it was sentient and did that on purpose, and he brought his attention back to Sanghyun, hoping that question time was over. “Are we done here?” He asked, speaking as if this had been the largest waste of time imaginable, without concern for the other. The question was rhetorical, and not really meant to be answered as in Minhyun’s opinion it was as over as over could be. That’s what he wanted anyways, but in the grand scheme of things what he wished for often wasn’t what he received and instead of trying to walk away again the boy stood in place. He might as well make sure the other could stand and get himself over to point A to point B on his own first, not knowledgeable about the after effects of being trapped in a snare. Leaving him here to die of hypothermia wasn’t on the agenda and more importantly would defeat the purpose of him coming out here in the first place. 

[ex-cirque-thunder-blog]

Why the hell did I think this was a good idea?

His thoughts revolved around a few things with that. Why did he go off and wander? He was pretty certain he wasn't even supposed to, and regret was hitting him hard. If he didn't go out and about, he wouldn't have ended up strung upside down by a god damn trap. If he didn't get trapped, he wouldn't have had to meet or deal with the complete douche bag who came to his "rescue". He should probably be more grateful of the fact that he was cut down from the trap, but he couldn't get over the 'introduction' the boy made. The fresh memory replayed itself in his head, and it made Sanghyun's teeth grit. What the hell was he going to do when he even got back to the circus? And why did he even join? It was probably pretty bad that he was having doubts like this so early, but it was also unfair to him with the interactions and confrontations he's already been in. Or, well, the only confrontation he's been in besides this one. Neither of them really gave him a good impression. So far, everyone in this place sucked. He barely even knew how to get around, and this is the trouble that surfaces.

When the other turned back to him and heaved a sigh, it really only ticked him off more. However he stayed silent for the explanation after that, even if he only half cared to hear it. In truth, he didn't want to hear anything the guy had to say. He could already tell an apology of any sort wasn't even a possibility. This kid, whoever he thought he was, seemed way too into himself - or just not into anyone else - to bother with something like that. What a joke. He couldn't deny the explanation was interesting. If it came from someone else, at a different time and place, he'd probably be intent on the person explaining more. But the obvious annoyance in the other's voice really didn't lighten anything up (not like he expected it to), so Sanghyun just scoffed in response. What did he care if the guy saw all these different universes? It just sounded like one big headache. Like some kind of science lesson you really didn't want to listen to. One about the atoms of the earth or a star billions of miles away. Who cares?

The male called him by his name. What? He never introduced himself to the other. That'd be incredibly strange. Threaten to kill him (whether it was a joke or not), follow him around, cut him down from a trap - all those didn't exactly add up to a 'Hey! How are you?' or 'Nice to meet you!' Sanghyun never expected to have a conversation like that with this guy at all, if they even spared each other a glance after this. Sanghyun's thoughts traveled to the circus once again. He couldn't even leave. That didn't sound good when he heard it, but he agreed to it anyway. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Look what happened. It wasn't like he was going to do something even more stupid and report anything that happened between the two. This wasn't high school, he wasn't a teenager, and he didn't feel like getting a big ole' laugh in his face. Even if he was instructed to go to one of the leaders if there were any problems, he sort of doubted they meant it. Or at least, nothing weird like this. Why was he even thinking about it?

His narrowed eyes glared right back at the other. "Why do you know my name?" he asked first. Oh, the comments. The derogatory and sarcastic comments. Did this person live to piss off the population, or just him? He couldn't imagine him having any friends. Who would want to be friends with someone so... unlikable? Usually Sanghyun wasn't ever this angry toward someone. It was strange even now how much rage bubbled inside him. Not to mention he was also incredibly embarrassed. He didn't have to list the reasons why. He didn't want to. "And why the hell have you been watching me?" More questions. He wasn't sure why he even kept asking them. He didn't want to know. He didn't want to continue the conversation. But for good measure... "Don't get so defensive when someone calls you a psycho when you're so open about acting like one."

It sounded like the male had another question, but left in unfinished so Sanghyun didn't try to figure out what it was. He stood back up, holding onto the tree for support. It hurt, but that was only because of how tight Sanghyun accidentally made the rope on himself when he was trapped in it. He didn't need the rude male's help to get back to camp. He didn't want to say anything else to him. He just wanted to go into his own tent and punch a wall. Why did his luck suck so bad?

Sanghyun almost felt the need to groan or growl but suppressed the urge. It was easy to tell he was annoyed, he didn't need anything else to indicate that he had half a mind to rip this kid's hair out. He honestly liked it better in his tent anyway. He didn't need to run around like this ever again. Shit, he didn't need this dude thinking about him anymore than he already revealed he did. His head shook in disapproval and disgust. What the hell was up with that anyway? He didn't really want to respond to the male's final question, but to give him some kind of answer, he pushed himself off the tree and started walking in the direction he came from before the mess all happened. Every time he took a step, his leg protested desperately, but he kept walking.

[ex-cirque-thunder-blog]

the dead will wander | thunder & tablo

[ex-cirque-tablo]

Tablo smiled lightly when he noticed that the stranger in front of him seemed to be recomposing himself. It was easier to communicate with people that weren’t freaking out. And that was said in the most non-insulting of ways, of course. Yet the question that came kind of stumped him, before he realised once again that this male was probably new and had no clue about the usual business.

“Because I’m a roaming performer. Some of us do that,” he replied loosely, smiling friendly still and not at all sounding like he was judging the other for his lack of knowledge. Because he wasn’t. Up until a few days ago he himself also didn’t have a single clue about the whole how and what of this performance thing. “There’s people who have their own tent, there’s people that perform in the big tents after each other and then there’s people who simply wander around the grounds. I can’t have my own tent because not everyone has a dead person with them so I get to wander around and choose the people I talk to. There’s more who just wander. I also saw a guy duplicating himself before somewhere around.”

Shrugging lightly, he lifted both his hands to fold them in front of his chest, moving them away from himself after to stretch his fingers. The movement made his knuckles crack lightly and as he let go of his own hands again, he flexed his fingers lightly. The skulls on his hands still made him smile whenever he saw them as the images still looked cool even to him, who had chosen for them himself. He could only imagine what other people thought of them, but he hoped they looked good and not ridiculous to them. He didn’t really know if he pulled off the intimidating Medium act well. For all he knew his serious face was as ridiculous as could be. Now that would be a bummer.

“So, you seem new,” he spoke again after a moment, not wanting to get lost in his own thoughts. “Are you finding your way around well or do you need some help with figuring out stuff about the performance place?”

[ex-cirque-thunder-blog]

"Oh," was all he could respond with. Obviously, Sanghyun didn't speak much. Never really did. It was because he never had to. There was no real reason for him to learn how to keep conversations and make new friends - things like that went by him. Ever since he was practically locked like a juvenile by his father to "shield" him from whatever was in the world that could hurt him, he lost touch with those skills. Sanghyun didn't entirely believe that his father did that for his well-being. It felt like his father was shielding the outside word from him, as if he could ever really hurt anybody with the ability he possessed. The idea itself was a joke. He'd throw a punch way before he'd project the thoughts of him or someone around him. Letting people see the inside of someone else's mind really didn't effect them much unless they didn't like what they saw. Sometimes it even made it worse.

Not everyone has a dead person with them? Well, okay. Sure. That was believable. The dead shouldn't have to stalk everyone - err, if you could call it stalking. It was silly, but the question whether or not he was followed around by a ghost came up in his mind. However, he'd feel childish asking this, so he said nothing about it. He just nodded and listened as the male continued on. He wasn't surprised to hear that someone could duplicate themselves - with all the other new powers he's been witnessing, that one wouldn't be the worse. Sanghyun couldn't help  but wonder what it was like to be able to talk to oneself. 

As if he'd be able to keep a conversation even if it was with himself. It was almost depressing. Why couldn't he get better?

Was it that obvious he was new? He must really look and sound like he hadn't a clue what was happening. "Yeah, I'm new here," he said, nodding once more. "I don't really know anything about the performance place. I don't think I'll be performing anyway," he shrugged. He didn't think he even could go up on stage in front of a crowd and show off his ability. He barely wanted to show it off to himself.

[ex-cirque-thunder-blog]

the dead will wander | thunder & tablo

[ex-cirque-tablo]

Tablo hummed at the other’s reply. Well obviously he did, but alright, there were people around he assumed it wasn’t the best time to start a whole detailed explanation about their abilities. The people had probably just assumed that it was a projection of some kind that they’d used just to spook them a little - something they probably would do if they were fakes; just to impress the mass a little. But now it had been real and Tablo knew who had made them appear as well. How was starting to get increasingly clear as well, since the male across from him seemed to not have any clue about ghosts and only had been able to show them because of Tablo. At the question about his ability he merely nodded, glancing around again to see no one was looking at them anymore and so he relaxed his stance lightly, crossing his arms loosely in front of his chest now and holding his elbows with his hands. The skulls tattooed on them still pulled some people’s attention but one look at his face and they continued walking, as if afraid of what this artist possible could do to them once he started. It was amusing in a way, but also very useful at this very moment.

A second question came and Tablo huffed out a slight snort. “How am I supposed to know?” he replied easily, motioning with his fingers towards the people around them without actually looking at those. “Family, friends, acquaintances of people here. Some are from the circus members, most are from the guests.” With his reply this time he didn’t bring up anything that someone able to understand them might question and so he hoped the other would stop whispering, because now that was suspicious. But alright, the boy seemed a bit spooked and Tablo could agree that it probably was quite a shocker to suddenly see some ghosts appear and disappear again. So he sighed lightly before putting on a comforting smile, his expression and stance relaxing. “Look whatever you just did or saw, there’s nothing to be spooked about. It’s been like this since before you were born and nothing has changed aside from the fact that you know now. They’re not suddenly going to be watching you while you sleep, so relax, okay? Nothing bad’s going to happen to you.”

[ex-cirque-thunder-blog]

Sanghyun would have to get used to all the freakish costumes. This guy wasn't the worst he's seen - but he definitely didn't swipe the 'normal' card. The tattoos were intimidating, and his power made him more intimidating. He was able to see the dead? So, okay. The dead still existed on the planet. He didn't know why, but there was some comfort in the thought that the dead stayed dead, and didn't wander around as invisible clones of what they once were. After learning that they did - which didn't entirely register yet - he really just wanted to ask a million questions. The first questions that crossed his mind were silly. Were there any ghosts following him? Did any of them get murdered? Why do they wander here? 

It would be weird to ask so many questions when he barely even knew the guy he was talking to. Sanghyun took in a breath, and finally fully recomposed himself so he wasn't a shocked mess. He stood up straight and pulled a more casual expression on his face. There were other people in the circus who probably had a really weird power like this guy's too-- not that Sanghyun was any exception. Being able to project the thoughts and images of the mind? Hell, it sounds like some futuristic crap in a sci-fi movie, yet he's been doing it since his teens. He'd probably get better at the whole 'judging' thing once he settles down in the circus. He still felt so incredibly new, and it wasn't a comfortable feeling.

How old was this guy? He was talking like he's been alive longer than Sanghyun has! The comforting tone was honestly welcome, and it made Sanghyun a lot less tense. He also felt a little less silly, even though seeing a ghost was extremely freaky. Sanghyun actually smirked at the last comment. He remembered when he was little, and he thought everything watched him at night. He used to not be able to go to sleep - it really wasn't his proudest memory, even if he was only five or six. "Ah, yeah, sorry," he apologized and ran a hand through his hair. "Why were you roaming around anyway?" he asked, only because he'd expect a circus member to have their own tent or something like most of the others. He didn't have one simply because they couldn't just snap their fingers and make a tent (unless someone had that power).

[cirque-cap-blog]

Starting Somewhere| C.A.P && Thunder

CAP didn’t exactly enjoy travelling - ok he hated it - and he hated being in countries where he couldn’t speak the language - it made it difficult for him to go wondering off, because if he were to get lost he wouldn’t be able to find his way back home. He didn’t know what the chances were of him finding his way back home should he get lost, but that didn’t stop him wandering off, he knew that he was walking to clear his mind. It wasn’t helping his inner confusion, getting worse the more he was pulled in different directions. 

He didn’t know why but at the moment something felt off about everything as if there was some giant blaring mistake that he was quite possibly just unable to see, as if it was as invisible as the boy he was in love with could be. Of course he would never admit the in love part, he didn’t know what to say about that. He had nothing to say about that. He certainly wasn’t planning on saying it out loud. 

Minsoo was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn’t notice the man standing still, the man he walked into. He didn’t fall and nor did the other boy, he eyed the guy. “Sorry.” he said sheepishly, running his hand through his hair, he recognized the guy as being part of the circus but he also knew he didn’t know anything else about him. “Hey. You must be new here?” he eye smiled. “I’m Minsoo, or CAP the cyclone spinner.” 

[ex-cirque-thunder-blog]

After the incident with the trap in the woods, Sanghyun didn't know how the hell he found the courage to go wandering again. He certainly didn't go anywhere near where he was that one day, and his step were very careful. God forbid he fell into a deep hole this time, and he was just stuck there until his skin rotted off his body. Who would even look for him? He still knew little to no one, barely past names with any of the members of the circus. Damn, if he had any courage or will to go out and speak to people instead of wander mindlessly around the camp, he'd probably be a lot happier.

An image appeared in front of him, a projection of his thoughts. He stopped moving to watch the image that he was creating. A frown stayed put on his face as his thoughts switched from one thing to another. He thought of himself in front of a crowd, to himself back in highschool chatting away with whoever he called a friend. He thought of his dad locking him into solitude for being able to do what he was doing at this moment. He lost practically everyone. His friends, his mom, his sister, and his father now too. The projection turned off and he shook his head, about to release a sad sigh until he felt someone bump him.

He stumbled slightly - not completely at the bump but at the sudden surprise of someone being there. It was a male - he apologized to him. Well that was nice. The encounter may have been a surprise but it wasn't nearly as weird as his meeting with Hyoyeon. That girl didn't like him much. Nor was it any kind of freaky like when he 'met' that damn guy who found him hanging upside down from a rope. This was probably the only normal conversation he's had with someone yet.

"Yeah," he said, and nodded. His brow furrowed a bit at the male's introduction. The first one was a name, but what was the second one? CAP? Like a bottle cap? "Hi. I'm Sanghyun," he gave the other an awkward smile. "Nice to meet you."

[ex-cirque-hyoyeon]

Intrusion Alert | Thunder & Hyoyeon

[ex-cirque-hyoyeon]

Hyoyeon had patience, she did, she really did… Okay no she didn’t. And the little bit she had left while filling the tank was being stepped on by this guy in the most atrocious ways. Or at least that’s what it felt like to her. And so she looked at him for a moment when silence ensued after her question, watching him stare at the bucket she was holding. When he repeated her question, she nodded, only to then get the stupidest question ever. So her gaze towards him changed into ‘are you serious, dude?’ expression as she heaved a deep sigh. Luckily he spoke again before she could and stated he did not need anything. Nodding once, she obviously left the subject be.

“Alright. Well. That’s good then,” she hummed, obviously shorter than she had been before, her expression showing no smile anymore either. “Thanks for helping with the tank.” Stating that shortly without much actual gratitude audible in her voice, she then turned away, starting to walk towards the sea once more. She had several trips left to make and wasn’t going to be holding back on speed because of this kid. Ugh, how she hated trying to do good and getting something like that on her roof. It wasn’t that he did something bad, but she definitely wasn’t good with people that didn’t speak, or didn’t respond at all. It felt like a waste of her time. If she wanted to talk to herself she could just as well could go walk around alone. And so she didn’t pay any attention to him anymore as she set off towards the sea this time, her pace a lot quicker than it had been. If the male wanted to ask something else he could ask it but she wasn’t going to try and uphold conversation if it was all coming from her side only. And as usual, Hyoyeon’s dislike wasn’t hidden, so her whole posture kind of communicated the ‘stay away unless you got something useful to say’ that was in her mind.

[ex-cirque-thunder-blog]

It was obvious that she was losing her patience. He could sense it in her tone, and when he looked up at her, she was already turned away like he was just another rock in the dirt. He didn't know what to think about that, nor did he decide if he should say something or let it be. There was nothing about her that screamed 'befriend me! ask me things!' anymore, so it wasn't like he felt obligated to continue a conversation, especially when she just moved on back to the sea like that. As he went to dump the water in his own bucket into the tank, he heaved a sigh. He really wished he wasn't so awkward sometimes. After the water was poured out, he didn't know whether he should stay and continue helping or wander off to check out the other performance tents.

It wasn't like he felt comfortable being in this tent, anyway. He put the bucket down, and turned to make sure she was still walking to the sea before making his exit. He moved around the tank and slipped out of the performance tent. Sanghyun wondered why some people were like her. So jumpy and ready to talk until they realize you're not as enthusiastic. People in general weren't really his forte, but that didn't stop him from trying to be audible so he didn't look like a complete loner. If it wasn't for his ability, he probably wouldn't be so secluded.

In fact, he'd probably be as social as her. He remembers before his thoughts started broadcasting for the world to see, he could hold a conversation for a long time. The person had to be decent enough for him to talk to them, but he could still do it. Now, not so much. That bothered him. A lot of things were bothering him since he's joined the circus.

Like how he knew next to nobody, for example. And as far as he was concerned, he still didn't, even after "meeting" Hyoyeon.

[ex-cirque-minhyun-blog]

Kaleidoscope || Minhyun & Thunder

[ex-cirque-minhyun-blog]

Well that was bizarre  To be fair the circus was a perfect definition of the adjective however, seeing hologram like images in the air was a larger dose of odd than he was accustomed to. Was this Star Wars? Where was Princess Leia? Minhyun began putting two and two together, questioning; where those Sanghyun’s own thoughts? The poor sod really thought he was going to kill him, and he took that with a hint of contentment. The boy blinked away from the projection and looked back down to the horror twisted face of his hostage, who was yelling some pretty accusing words at him. Who did he think he was? The Prince of Korea?

“I’m psychotic? You- Hey!” His words of animosity were cut short in a startled yelp as the man’s swinging body hit him, causing him to stumble and grab onto the man to prevent his fall, and with the momentum built up from his fake stabbing motion Minhyun’s brain nearly fell victim to an aneurysm as panic rose inside of him, flashes of the possible future slowing down time. Shit, shit shit, he was going to actually stab the guy! This could not happen, he would not have blood on his hands or carry this guy back to Lime and - during his trepidation he pressed the button on the switchblade and instead of being punctured his fist came in contact with the other as physics threaten to pull him down. In retrospect he would later regret not just letting himself fall.

First a shiver ran through him, frozen for a moment against the other as he processed the contact. Gross, why was he still touching him?After finding his footing he stood back up on his own, releasing the man and taking a couple of paces backwards, his eyes still wide from the rush of epinephrine. A sigh escaped from his lips, relieved that he hadn’t stabbed Sanghyun on accident, and then his ire returned but he kept it maintained for now. With a shake of the head he pocketed the knife, the actions a result of attempting to sooth himself, to shake off the lingering effect of the neurotransmitter. After a few seconds his head began to feel less light and he looked back over to the man, the reason why he had came here in the first place. It’s was only customary to put all the blame on him, even if his reaction made all the sense of the world, and for a split second he actually felt guilty.

Then the anger came, and his eyebrows tensed and eyes narrowed into a torrid glare. “I’m not psychotic.” He repeated, and to be honest he did sound a little psychotic. Wasn’t that his goal? With an irritated huff he pocketed the knife and crossed his arms, closing off his body language during his offense, and pain shot up from his hand. Shocked he pulled his hand back, and with his mouth hanging open he looked at a shallow cut that ran across his palm, no doubt from closing the blade so clumsily. The younger looked back over to the trapped individual accusingly, and he reached down to wipe the blood on his jeans. “You’re an idiot. As if I would actually kill you.” Minhyun scoffed, rolling his eyes to further make his absurd point, as if it was somehow Sanghyun’s fault that he had acted so deplorably. “I really should just leave you out here.” He muttered, but despite his statement he reached into his other pocket and pulled out small cable clippers. He had came all this way, he might as well finish this laborious quest since so many minutes were already wasted on it.

He took a step forward and paused, looking back down to Sanghyun with raised eyebrows. “You should prepare yourself for a fall, by the way. I won’t drag you back if you get a concussion or something.” The words were blunt and uncaring, like the man might as well be a sack of potatoes rather than a human being. To be honest, he would probably treat the sack of potatoes a lot better. Minhyun walked to the man’s side and stood on his toes, thankful for his height but it was defeated by them being about the same height, and he reached to grab the rope that was tightening around the other man’s ankles. That couldn’t be very comfortable, his eyes looked back down to the man as he grabbed onto one of his ankles with the hand that wasn’t bleeding ever so slightly. The man would certainly have some suspicious bruises after this. He couldn’t help his smirk, Sanghyun should have a fun time explaining them later.

Well, it’s time to be done with this. The sun would set and the credits would roll. If only things would be that simple, but he doubted it. Tightening his grip on Sanghyun’s bare ankle the brunet squinted, biting down on his cheek to help him focus. It didn’t really bother him much to touch the other this time, if just because of the context and circumstances, and he reached his arm forward to cut the man down. He opened the clippers and placed the cable rope within the metal mouth, and as easily as it was for the trap to capture the boy he was just as easily released, and Minhyun jumped back as he let gravity do the rest of the work for him. Hopefully he had the sense to catch himself, but with all that had happened he wouldn’t be surprised if a bump arose on his head as well.

[ex-cirque-thunder-blog]

What was happening? Sanghyun watched the stranger, his breathing erratic and abnormal at this point. After getting swung upside down, his mind became hazy. After seeing a man with a knife walk up and say that he was going to stab him, any rational thought left his mind because of how bizarre and unnatural it all was. If this was a normal day, and he didn't get stuck into a trap made for animals, he probably wouldn't have taken the other so seriously. But the first thoughts that came to him weren't "let's stop and assess the situation". If that was the case, well, Sanghyun wouldn't be practically panting with wide eyes and a light blanket of sweat, cringing at the pain in his ankle. Damn thing, it was digging into him bad.

Oh, so he's claiming not to be a psycho? That's great and all, but it was hard to believe since he had a knife in his hand. What kind of person just carries around a knife like that? It looks like something that should be put away in a dresser drawer or something to threaten an intruder if they break into your house. Or something the intruder would use to intimidate you into given him all your stuff. Either way, it wasn't the most innocent looking object in the world and Sanghyun did not feel safe in the least, even when he pocketed his knife. Well, almost.

His eyes widened again as the man pulled his hand back with blood on his fingers. This really didn't help the whole 'killing' thing. Sanghyun was about to thrash around again, as if somehow the rope would show mercy on him and break so he could run far, far away. He looked down (technically up) at his body, and checked his own hands to prove to himself that he wasn't hurt or stabbed. He looked back at the stranger, only to realize that the male cut himself and not him. That still didn't look good on this guy's part, or help the whole "psychotic" thing. Sanghyun didn't say anything though; partially because he didn't know what to say and because he didn't want to find something to say anyway. The last thing he wanted to do was conjure up some sort of explanation from this kid. He probably would only half-listen anyway.

Idiot? The guy threatened to stab him and he's the idiot? Rage bubbled up inside of Sanghyun then, still not realizing that his thoughts were being projected outward and the male could clearly see what he was thinking. What if the rope did break before this man could claim that he wasn't going to do what he did? Sanghyun would have probably attacked him with full force, and then there would be an even bigger problem. He wouldn't know how to explain it to anybody, especially if he went to the circus and they told him the person he "attacked" was just a normal member without any sort of criminal record. Of course, he wouldn't see himself at fault in this. He was threatened, so he acted. He wasn't big or full of muscle, but he had enough adrenaline pumping in his veins to do some real damage if he got the chance.

Where did the guy get cable clippers? It was like he knew that he was going to come out here, threatened him, and then take him down from the trap. What the hell kind of method is that? It really freaked him out, enough to keep his eyes widened at the other while he tried to watch what he was doing. When they were in contact of each other, Sanghyun quickly realized just what his ability was doing and tried to use it to his advantage. If he could see the thoughts of the male, whether the male noticed it or not, he'd know what kind of intentions the guy was planning on. Of course, it wouldn't be simple like voices from one mind entering another. It would be projected, as if there was a movie for every thought a human had.

Absolute confusion was what he got out of the images. He looked around, at the different interfaces, the different projections - all of it was relatively the same thing. He saw himself, he saw the stranger, and he saw the trees, the animals that live on the trees... just multiple images of it. His brows arched as he tried to figure it out, and it all looked like different things were happening in the same situation. Some were innocent, some were... brutal. One he saw himself dropping from the rope that tied him down and standing back up. Another he saw himself drop... and not get back up. Another, it seemed the stranger couldn't get him out of the hold. Another, he was back to walking around in the forest  and didn't step on the trap at all. 

Before he could assess what was going on, he dropped. Instinctively, his hands lifted above him and he half-caught himself. He didn't land on his head, but his body hit the floor with a thud. He groaned at the stinging pain in his leg from the hold, and gripped for it. This put him in a fetal position, which he stayed in for a moment, as he forced the projections of his own thoughts to stop so they could return to his own mind, for his eyes only.

He sat up after that, immediately eyeing the stranger, since he didn't trust the man for a second. Even after he "saved" him from swinging upside down for the rest of his life, he just couldn't. Let's say he wasn't a killer; what kind of person would claim to stab someone when they're already in a bad position like that? Whether or not he was a killer, he definitely wasn't right in the head. And those images, it looked like he was trying to predict the future, except it was different, because there was multiple projections, as if there were multiple minds added into the equation. Did this mean the guy was schizophrenic?

What did he get himself into? He looked the man up and down for a moment, as if re-evaluating him. "What the fuck kind of stunt was that?" he asked, with venom on his tongue. He didn't even flinch at the language he used, which he would have if he wasn't so freaked out. He didn't like to curse all that much. Well, not so angrily. The taste of the words used in such a way was bad on his tongue. "Who are you? And what the hell is in your head?"

[ex-cirque-hyoyeon]

Intrusion Alert | Thunder & Hyoyeon

[ex-cirque-hyoyeon]

Hyoyeon walked back towards the sea at a steady pace, continuing on her business as she would have if she were alone, with the sole exception that she occasionally glanced over at the other to make sure he was still there. She had no idea what to say to him as whatever she’d done wrong earlier; in some way she had managed to scare him. Or something to the likes of that. Leaning over, she filled up her bucket with the sea water, straightening up again after and turning around to set back towards the tank. It was after taking three or four steps that the male’s voice sounded up again and Hyoyeon looked over at him in almost surprise. But she managed to hide that feeling from her expression quickly enough for him to miss out on it when he looked up at her as well. Once he clarified his apology, she started to smile lightly.

“That’s quite alright,” she brushed it off easily. “I probably shouldn’t have burst into your tent as I did either.” She smiled a bit wider as she shrugged lightly. “I’m just a very social person and I tend to forget every now and then that other people aren’t as open as me. I apologise for scaring you.” She smiled friendly at him before looking ahead of herself again to make sure she wouldn’t run into anything. “And even though I’m a bit too enthusiastic, the offer is genuine. If you have questions about anything you can always ask me. I’ll try my best to be as calm as possible.” She sent him a grin after those words to show she was partly joking and that she could be calm when she wanted to. Once again they reached the tank and once again she got up on the steps to pour her bucket into the tank, exchanging buckets with him once more after to pour his into the tank as well. This time she got down the steps and move aside only to pause there, however, keeping the bucket in her hands and looking up at him. “So is there anything you need before tonight?” This time her question was asked slowly and quietly, not at all as enthusiastic as it had been earlier that night.

[ex-cirque-thunder-blog]

Sanghyun didn't really know how to respond to her... again. So, he wasn't that good at responding to people bursting through his tent to say hello... that didn't mean he wasn't social! Just because he didn't know how to speak up in a lot of situations, or how to say the right thing, or make friends... okay. Maybe he wasn't all that social. He didn't think he'd need to be, he normally kept to himself anyhow. Well, here at least. He wasn't as awkward back in highschool, but believe it or not, he was comfortable there. He had his group of friends who he did stupid stuff with, and said stupid stuff with, and after highschool he was pretty isolated from the world. Hell, even in school he was isolated. His father didn't want him to be around "normal people". Of course, after Sanghyun learned how to control himself, he booked the hell out of that lifestyle to try and get back in touch with the friends he knew.

They all moved on without him, though. So did he.

He didn't laugh, or even grin at her statement. He just nodded. It didn't really click that he should have given the woman some type of smile or indication that he got the joke. Sure, he understood the joking tone in her voice. It just wasn't "funny" enough for him to respond to it. So, he didn't. Which probably wasn't the best decision.

"Before tonight?" he repeated, as he eyed the bucket in her hands instead of her. "I.. uh.. what's tonight?" he asked, a little stupidly. What the hell did she mean? A lot of stuff was going on... right? The circus, the performances, the people. Did she mean one thing or everything? Damn it. 

"I mean, I guess not, no," he answered.