ted beneke expected that he should not have been such a fool back in new mexico. he'd been gullible, and he'd believed what he wanted to believe. he lived in a world of delusion that was, to some extent, of his own doing. he wanted to live in a fantasy land in which he did not commit the crime that he did: that he did not siphon money from his company. that he had good reasons, even if he had actually been motivated out of his own selfishness. ted's girls did not deserve to know that their father was so single-minded, even if he had claimed to be acting out of their interest, too. ted heaved a sigh at his new job, not noticing that one of his colleagues caught a glimpse of his self-judging moment. "oh, hey there," he greeted, clearing his throat as he tried for a smile: he was successful, but the look was meek, too. "... i'm dying for a lunch break, but then again... i have not been all that productive today," the man found himself admitting, as much as it pained him to do so.
🎪— Being interrogated for a thing such as murder certainly wasn’t what Hoops had thought would happen to him today. The possibility of him being a suspect didn’t surprise him one bit though. There were such a thing as ‘killer clowns’ in things like movies and urban legends— so it was common for some people to instantly think the worst of someone like Hoops simply because he was indeed a clown. It was normal for certain kinds of people to be afraid of clowns. Which Hoops understood and had accepted. So it wasn’t anything new to him.
When he was asked more about where he was specifically last night, the clown shaped vacui looked a bit uncomfortable. Hoops never really liked flat out telling people that whenever he wasn’t at work he was out sucking the blood of the living. There were probably more people out there who were more afraid of vampires than clowns. Hoops himself wasn’t a vampire however— he was a vacui. But anyone who didn’t know the specifics would assume he was a vampire since they were pretty much the same thing.
“Uh… I wasn’t on the fairgrounds last night…”
With his slender arms folded over his chest, Hoops looked off to the side. Probably acting extremely suspicious. His uneasy behavior definitely wasn’t making him look very innocent whatsoever.
“I never knew about the murder until this morning. I didn’t get into work until around 6am today.”
Hoops tried to give somewhat vague answers so as not to expose the fact that he was a rather dangerous monster beneath his silly, colorful demeanor. If the people of this town were to find that out— he would be out of a job and have to move to another circus far away. Hoops had been to a good handful of different circuses in his 100+ year old lifetime, but the one he was currently tied to felt the most comfortable to him. So he really didn’t want to leave if he could help it.
“Thank you, by the way.”
He smiled at the other in response to the compliment he gave about the fairgrounds. It always made Hoops happy when someone noticed the wonders of the circus like he did.
“This place is pretty old. I’ve been here for a long time and it never seems to change… I love it here.”
“ Can we talk about what happened? ” (for @justonemorethingsir , maybe that plot we talked about?)
🎪— Big red eyes peered off to the side in the direction of where a group of policemen and detectives had gathered around. It seemed like a nasty murder had ensued on the fairgrounds last night and the town’s lawmen were trying to figure out who the criminal happened to be… Normally the circus was a happy place. It was a rarity to see something as dark and dangerous as a murder. From what could be said, a young girl had been murderer just outside the circus’s main entrance just last night. Meaning that the fairgrounds were closed until further notice.
“Uh… there’s not much I can say… I wasn’t around when any of this happened…”
The clown shaped vacui stood with his slender arms folded against his chest. Hoops didn’t really care about things like this. After being in this particular world for over 100 years, he had seen countless situations like this. Sure, he felt bad for the victims and their families— but none of that ever applied to Hoops, so there was never a reason for him to be concerned in any way.
“I know that’s not a good excuse, but I never saw anything.”
It was true, on the night of the crime, Hoops was out feeding on handsome men like he always did. He was always doing that when he wasn’t at work. Having a large appetite meant that he needed to get as much blood as his stomach could hold. Hoops was pretty greedy when it came to things like that.
“If I did, I would have tried to deescalate the situation with some tricks!! I’m sure if that criminal had a big smile on his face, things would have gone a lot better.”
And Grapes is suddenly awakened as an entire bag of equipment Ruixiong stole from before is dropped on his lap while he was asleep in the hammock. "HGGKK!! Ruixiong! Was that necessary?!"
"Fuck yes, it is! We're trying flying again tonight! On your feet!"
Grapes grumbles. "My attempt the other night was not successful at all. I am not in your Gods' favor."
"You don't have to be! If Man wasn't meant to fly, then the Phoenix Wright brothers wouldn't have invented airplanes!"
"......Who??"
"H-..... Forget what I said, I think I got some details wrong. Come on, put the flight equipment on! I even got us an police speed radar to test our speeds!"
"Ruixiong!! I cannot condone stealing from law enforcement!"
"Did you forget we're pirates?! You're a pirate too now! One of us! One of us!"
"Ohhh, confound it all." Grapes gets himself ready for the flight practice this night. "Let's get this over with."
======================================
In due time, the two are at the main deck, both wearing full flight equipment.
"I did some research lately. I think I got what you need to be able to fly, with or without the Gods' favor!"
"...You study??"
"Shut the fuck up! Listen--we're starting WAY too low! You can't get powered flight going because you can't produce enough lift AND thrust, especially against this planet's gravity, isn't it? Our air is too thin and all?"
Grapes raises his eyebrows. "....Something like that. Yes, weight is the biggest factor."
"But you can glide, right?"
"I can, yes."
"And you know what dynamic soaring is, do you?"
"!! My, my! You did do your research. Yes, dynamic soaring is the main mode of flight I use. With the Sigil of Flight, a pocket of air is created around its user that compliments the winds and assists us in breathing and weight problems to allow us to fly."
"Well, what if I create that air pocket for you and you try to ride the high and low pressure air to dynamically soar?"
"....You can do that?"
"I levitate. I make things move without handling it directly. That includes air. In fact, I do that all the time when I'm on a boat that isn't La Demonia Roja and we need wind at a certain direction."
Grapes laughs. "Had I known you can practically create your own winds, I would have just asked for you for help entirely in getting me to fly again!"
"Call me 'shifu'!"
"... 'Master'?"
"Well, not 'Master' like the Master, like my Master, I mean like- .... like 'Teacher' or 'Expert' or- ... wait, how do you know what 'shifu' means?"
"The Hitoh people in my world have a similar word. I believe the Kukuya have 'shifu' or 'sifu' as their term for 'teacher' or 'master'."
"WHOA!! You're from a planet of all sorts of animal people, aren't you?!"
Grapes holds up his hands. "Keep it down! I don't want this to be known, remember??"
"Right. Sorry. It's just... I'm so excited! I want to know more about your world! What else do you have? Fish people? Ohh oohhh, do you have dragons? Qilin, maybe?"
"I... don't know what that last one is. But yes. The Dragons in my world are known as the U'lus. And the fish people... the Havvia."
Ruixiong blinks. "...Right. You're not fond of the fish people, aren't you? Sharks especially?"
Grapes shudders. "We're getting distracted."
"Right!! Though I remember now--you need to be a bird for this!"
"Do I??"
"You need to breathe while we're higher up, won't you? And you'll be more aerodynamic with a bird's beak as opposed to a stupid short human face. Plus, won't you need your keel bone to support your flight better?"
Grapes laughs. He taps onto his chest, where the amulet bearing the Sigil of Glamour is hidden beneath his clothes. In an instant, the human-shaped petrel reappears beneath the clothes provided for Ruixiong. Indeed--as a bird, his chest is bigger to accommodate the bigger space of his avian chest cavity, plus keel bone. Grapes makes the adjustment as needed on his jacket.
"You are correct. Goodness, my dear beloved Ruixiong... you did all this research for me??"
"Well, what can we say? Sailors are hardy. Even those who supposedly just sit and do nothing in their cabins are hardened by trials and tribulations of the sea. More often than not, they are actually educated wisemen who know the ways of the stars and the sun--so they're smart too!
"I myself was taught how to sail since I was a boy, coming from a family line of merchant sailors and soldiers as well. By the time I obtained my father's wealth, I commissioned and owned four xebecs. My very prized ships. We endured the worst the sea had to offer every time we went out to make a little coin.~"
Rashid conveniently leaves out the part that he was making coin through smuggling in the Ottoman Empire before his wife ran out on him.
