Pairing: Hook/Tisha Allin Quote: It’s always once upon a time in New York City. Verse: Sideshow/Circus
There was nothing Tyler Senericha, Hook to his friends and the public at large, loved more than the first day on new territory. Life always seemed bustling, exciting, while setting up the tents and table that made up the midway. People would gather around to watch the newcomers, talk always abounded about the sideshow.
As a performer, Tyler was used to most gossip. He was generational, after all. His father had once been a sideshow strongman as well, the almighty Taz. Taz had taught his son all he could, hoping that Tyler would pick up on the family trade as well. And, to Taz’s delight, Tyler had. The gossip came from the act. He may have been a strongman, but Tyler was small. His strength was well hidden beneath a lithe frame, unlike most traditional strongmen. Even his friend and adopted brother William looked like a traditional strongman, with his barrel chest and thick arms. In frame, Tyler looked more like his aerialist adopted brother, Ricky.
It wasn’t the gossip about his small family Tyler minded the most. It was the gossip about some of the darker members of the circuit that bothered Tyler the most. Primarily, the gossip about the Allin family.
Darby Allin was known as the Human Skeleton to patrons of the fairgrounds the sideshow took up residency. He did a little of every acct he could. Noticeably he was a tattooed man, every inch of his skin was covered, most notably the left side of his face which gave him the skeleton moniker. Darby swallowed swords, ate fire. Everything about him was mysterious and cold. It fit his wife, a woman named Priscilla, who read futures from her crystal ball. Tyler couldn’t remember the name of her people, but Tyler knew that it was spoken in quiet and hushed tones.
Just like they spoke about the Allin daughter, Tisha.
Tisha was as talented as her father, but with her mother's proclivities for magic. Tisha could have been a talented aerialist or a knife thrower, but Tisha helped her mother by reading tarot cards. People spoke about her due to her troubles with fainting spells and having to move using a cane, and Tyler hated it. Gossip like that had no place in the word, Tyler believed. He certainly didn’t have time to continue spreading those terrible rumors.
The heavy sun beat down on the midway as Tyler pushed his mass of hair beneath his flat cap. It was too damn hot, that sticky sort of heat which made everything uncomfortable. Beads of sweat rolled down his temple as soft eyes scanned for a reprise from the insufferable heat. Seeing the first available tent, Tyler ducked inside with a sigh.
“Oh! Mr. Senericha!” came the bright voice from the center of the tent. Tyler turned to see Tisha at her table, his breath hitching as he looked at her. Her costume for her act gave the young woman an ethereal feeling. As warm as he felt in his singlet, he could only imagine what the gown of black velvet she wore felt like. “I didn’t expect to see you today!”
Tyler gave a small smile, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, “It’s hot out there. You’re not hot?”
The girlish giggle she gave made Tyler duck his head nervously. He wasn’t a man of many words, but he used them when they counted. “Oh, I’m warm enough. I run rather cold, though. I suppose it comes from having a half-skeleton as a father.”
Tyler gave a grin at the joke, “Spose you are. Whatcha doin’ in here?”
Tisha gestured to the table where a red velvet tablecloth, adorned with designs Tyler couldn’t plan laid over the circular table. On top of the red velvet sat a small deck of cards, though they didn’t look like the sort Tyler played with Ricky and William, “Getting ready to do a set. Tarot.”
Tyler hesitated, calloused fingertips briefly touching the deck, “Magic?”
“A sort of magic. Why don’t you sit? I’ll read for you,” Tisha offered with a soft smile. She sat across from Tyler, shuffling the deck, “Cut the deck anyway you like.”
Tyler cut the deck in three, his eyes intent on the task at hand, “So now what do I do?”
“Ask a question. Something that can be answered with a reason, no yes or no,” Tisha’s ice blue eyes caught his own, “Then draw three.”
“How can I understand others,” Tyler asked softly, before pulling the top three cards. The first was a set of nine cups above a seated man. The second was a young blonde, who seemed to be an angel, blowing a horn to three naked figures with outstretched arms below. The final was a fine-dressed young man, two seeming barren trees standing on either side of him.
Tisha gave an amused smile, her hand touching the first card, “The Nine of Cups. Your fulfilled, peaceful. You, Tyler, have achieved some sort of goal you have. You have worked hard to be where you are.”
Tyler could agree with that one. He had been working hard on his recent act, something to define himself. However, he wasn’t sure if that was quite it. He had intended to speak to Tisha before this, to get to know the woman. Was that what was fulfilled? “Nine of cups…”
“Then here, in the situations spot,” Tisha took Tyler’s hand, leading it to the second spot. As soon as their fingers connected, Tisha could hear Tyler’s sharp intake of breath, “Judgment. You and the rest of your friends…you are all starting to see the situation from new eyes.”
Tyler took a deep breath again, knowing the truth. Tyler was seeing Tisha through new eyes for the first time. “Must be the change of venue, a new place. You know what they say. It’s always once upon a time in New York City.”
Tisha beamed, “Never have been here before. You’re familiar?”
“Grew up around here,” Tyler gave a lopsided grin, “surprised you hadn’t.”
The two shared a look, before Tisha pointed out the final card. “The challenges spot. The Two of Wands. It’s telling you that you need rest and relaxation, time away from work. Open yourself up to the sights and sounds around you.”
Tyler wasn’t sure how those cards had answered his question. In fact, he wasn’t certain the cards had don’t anything. But some force had brought him into the tent, had brought him into contact with Morticia Allin. “Relaxation. In that case…would you like to come with me? See what New York has to offer?”