AU: A Day at the Circus || Edmund, Cheshire Cat, Klarion, Cari
Gaping as the Cheshire Cat split, he flinched out of the otherâs gripâKlarion. âWhere are you taking those children?â he called after the Cheshire Cat. Well, half the Cheshire Cat. What on earth was this place? he thought, subconsciously wrapping his arms around himself.
If those children were orphans, then they most certainly didnât belong here. His skin crawled as the calliope music played on and even though he locked his legs to keep from being taken where Klarion wanted him to go, he found himself taken there anyway.
Staring up at the girl on the trapeze, he felt his heart rise to his throat as she swung and dropped, vicarious rush of adrenaline pounding through his veins as he watched. Edmund flushed, widening his stance as he scowled up at the girl, not liking how she, or anyone else so far, had been referring to him. âIâm not an it, Iâm a he,â he said generally, though he kept his eyes on the girl. âAnd Iâm not staying here.â
âChildren yet, the tale to hear, Eager eye and willing ear, Lovingly shall nestle near.â
Strangled in the ribbons, rising with the desire to entangle the legs, and the white lilies, their glazed petals enshrouding the ankles, heels clicked to a stop as a half of the Cheshire Cat crouched, bringing down with it the three orphans. Squatted at the edge of the stage, the four somethings were greeted by the sight of a clown balancing atop a large ball. Sleepy reds and whispering yellows spiraled, spiraling, spiraling, stifling the salacity to stir, to shift. Seemingly salient shoes stomped and spun, spinning, spinning, atop the sphere that scoured for secrecy souls spilled. Slippery, smaller spheres were slung skyward, stupefying stares.
The clown leaped and landed with a bow. Spiraling and spinning and stupefying were at a standstill. A grin in her eyes, the clown offered her hands to the four somethings, her palms up, empty, waiting to bestow a gift for the destitute. The two youngest of the orphans squealed as they were whisked away, their glee permeating from the gleam in the scarlet tears painted under the clownâs eyes. The clown and orphans disappeared to the backstage. The name of their mother tugged at their chapped lips while they were swallowed by curtains of dust.
The Cheshire Cat reverted into a singular, lone form and stood, the oldest orphan its shadow, her knuckles smeared with resolution as she looked on with a brown gaze. Adjusting the collar of its blazer, a finger once again around the orphanâs hair, the Cat greeted the something with waterfalls streaming from her head. âMy dear Cari, I smell you have changed your perspective. What a mad song it produced. Then is this prettierââ The ever present grin turned to the new something. âââheâ a new toy? A guest? A passerby with a wish? Now, now. More importantly, do you have my tea leaves for today?â
A gloved hand, the sharp nails dutifully thinning the edges for the sake of freedom, reached for the black waterfall. With it against its fangs, it hooked arms with Klarion as it purred, âI offer half of my half-manners to you, my dear, dear Klarion, so that you can explain to this new something called âheâ why he must very much so stay here. After all, in this âhere,â the entrance is not the exit lest he desires to find lost.â
Klarion sighed gustily, a spark leaping to life at his palm to dance around his finger tips, twirling in the air as he sought to entertain himself. He could practically feel the distress spilling from the new toy, but this was hardly exciting and Klarion quickly grew bored with the chatterâall talk and no fun.
Somehow the Cat must have sensed his distraction, not the Klarion normally did the best job concealing how he felt, yanking his arm into a hold to pull his mind back to the matter at hand. His eyes danced up at the girl in the raftersâgood another one finally joining the danceâbefore he turned back to the new âheâ, neck turning sinuously as the grin on the Catâs face.
He giggled, harmonizing with the calliope as Chessy prompted him. âKeep your half-manners, dear Chessy. You might need them if your tea is late,â he told it, keeping his eyes on the toy. âChessy is right though~ You simply canât leave. I could hardly bare it.â A hand dramatically clutched his chest, the other occupied with bracing his forehead, smirk dancing on his lips even so. âBesides, why do you want to leave? We have everything here you could want, dear toâsomething,â he said, quickly changing what he was going to say as his hands spidered up the boyâs arm, before gripping his shoulders tightly in a quick squeeze. âYouâre already here. You might as well stay, just for a little while~â
The girl jumped out oof the trapeze and reached the floor, then walked towards the Cat and Klarion and their new 'he'. "Oh, poor thing," she said. "You see there is no trouble being called an 'it' or a 'she' or a 'he', you might as well change your perspectives if you change your name. What is your name, 'he'? They call me Cari and I very much enjoy being an 'it'."
She pouted, tilting her head and by doing so, her dark, dark hair kissed the floor. Cari approached the boy and ran her fingers through his hair. "Oh, the poor thing," she said again, and talked as if she was talking to a little child. "Have these two been mean to you? You see I am not bad, hm? If you stay, we would adore if you had tea with us-- and later on, why don't we play on my trapeze?"
Walking back to her trapeze -- which you see this girl cannot stay far from for too long-- Cari climbed the stairs until she reached her beloved instrument, for it did as well produce music to the ones able to hear it. She held her feet together on it and fell once again, hair like waterfall, and the world upside down. "Much better this way..." she whispered.
