After his act, Adayu had retreated next to the animal cages, but he did not put the creatures inside; instead, he had left them sit wherever they wanted while we went to fetch the food. Once he returned to his small circle of beasts holding a few buckets filled with meat and other things, the wolves greeted him happily, pacing around him like a pack of dogs happy to see their master.
He put down the buckets, and began offering them bits of meat while he complimented them, giving them headpats and scratching the fur on the sides of their heads; after the wolves, he moved on to the lions, throwing them a few large hunks of meats, while he roughly pat them on the head - he left the lions to their own devices as the animals were a little tired after the day.
Lastly, he sat down next to his white tiger, offering her the last bucket with meat, while he took out a brush in order to groom the animal.
"You did amazing" he hummed towards her, while he brushed his fingers through the tiger's soft fur.
"Did I go the wrong-oh." No, Aurata was in the right place. The sight of the wolves happily feasting on meat was the first thing she saw, followed very quickly by every other animal that had been involved in the act. All of which were currently roaming free. Bedri shifted nervously in his spot on her shoulder, and she steeled her own nervousness, knowing he picked up on that.
He seems to have good enough control over them. You'll be fine.
She stepped into the small clearing of caravans, back straight as she drew upon her dancer's training. It usually helped nerves. Her hands were tucked into the pockets of her denim jacket, her converse allowing her normally quiet steps to be, eerily, completely silent. She didn't look threatening, that was for sure. Quite the opposite, in fact. Though there was something, more a vibe than anything, that sort of gave most people the feeling that if she needed to or wanted to, she could do some damage. "Excuse me?"
The white tiger was in the middle of licking the boy's face when it spotted her, letting out a prusten, a low frequency sound that didnt sound too threatening, while it bumped its huge head against the beast tamer's chest, placing a heavy paw on his thigh.
All the wolves turned their heads towards the newcomer, some of them getting up as if preparing for a possible attack and one of the lions even raised its head to see what the commotion was.
Adayu stood up when all the animals suddenly stopped what they were doing, and he himself turned to the girl. The smiling expression he had just a few moments ago had vanished into thin air, replaced by a blank yet serious mask.
"Can i help you?" he asked. His voice was smooth, young, with very faint traces of asian accent in his otherwise perfect english.
"I'm sorry to bug you-" She flickered a look around at the animals who's eyes were on her, respectfully not meeting them, but still showing acknowledgement. "-all of you, but I had a question." Bedri had returned to her hood, hiding both from human and animal eyes. He was a shy creature, despite most people being scared of him.
While most of the viewers of the circus's shows settled with the knowledge, or the idea of the knowledge, that every act was a series of elaborate tricks designed to make something fake and impossible look real, that didn't sit right with Aurata. Especially not with the Beast Tamer's act. His act looked entirely just a bit too familiar to someone who had a particular connection to other creatures. Maybe it would have been best to just let it be, to congratulate him and compliment him before slipping off and returning to the life she was escaping for a day, Aurata wasn't one to let things go. Curiosity might have been a bit of a fatal flaw for her, and this was her very own Pandora's box, whether she realized it or not.
"You can communicate with them, right? The way you and I are doing now? It's not just a trick?"
Adayu narrowed his eyes slightly, sizing her up with his gaze in a slightly distrustful way, and somehow the tiger next to him seemed to do the same.
"What makes you think that?"
Silence had installed in the circle of creatures, all the eyes pointed at the girl. One of the lions was slowly moving behind her as if trying to cut off her way of retreat, while two wolves approached her to sniff her legs. They weren't aggressive, but there was still this tension in the air.
The boy had gotten used to passing his ability as a regular human - beast interaction that had been achieved through extensive training. Having this random girl suddenly come up to him and ask him about his gift made him suspicious and a little nervous. So what if he could talk to animals?
He clicked his tongue at one of the wolves that had gotten too close to Aurata with its mouth open, as if trying to have a nibble at the girl's tender flesh while no one was looking. The animal backed away, looking down after Adayu frowned at it, signaling it to back off through a short head motion.
Aurata didn't respond at first, watching him carefully as she kept her attention on her surroundings. Never once did she show any signs of nervousness, standing her ground with a calm air about her. Anxiety was something she was good at hiding.
"That, right there. I've seen exactly one person who could just…get a creature that normally never listens to anyone, to listen." She said, strangely dark eyes never leaving his. After another beat, she plopped down onto the ground, crossing her legs fluidly with the motion. Half an invite for any of his animals to investigate her, should they wish, and half an obvious show of her not intending any harm. "I just have questions. That's all. Things I want to know. Like, when you figured it out, and how you learned to use it so well."
Seeing that she had absolutely no intention to leave whatsoever, nor was she intimidated by the wild animals around her, Adayu sighed, putting down the brush.
"Okay fine, you got me. I can indeed talk to animals." he finally admitted, walking to gather the buckets he'd used to feed his beasts, washing them and putting them away. He moved on to the lions, brushing their manes carefully.
"I don't know exactly when it first happened. It was there as far as i can remember, i just… understood them. There is no big secret as to how i do it. It's just something i can do."
He switched to the wolves after he was done grooming the lions, scratching them behind their ears as the wagged their tails happily around him.
"Like how you can hear me and i can talk to you, so i can hear them and talk to them. They answer my commands so well in the show because i've trained them and treated them well. Being kind is also a key to having a good relationship with them."
In all, what he was describing sounded familiar to Aurata. Watching him interact with the wolves and other creatures, she was struck with just a tiny bit of jealousy. His abilities encompassed so many different creatures, and he made a living by working alongside them. She couldn't.
"I…huh." She said, looking down at her hands where they were folded in her lap. Reaching up, she pulled her mother's wedding ring from underneath her shirt, fiddling with it as she looked back up. A moment later she was letting it drop to reach over her shoulder, carefully drawing Bedri from his hiding spot in her hood.
"You ever met anyone else who could do the same?" Aurata asked, holding her arms up and watching as the tarantula crawled up and down each one, happy for the stimulation after being cooped up. The other animals still made him a bit nervous, but he was much more comfortable, thanks to her own efforts at appearing calm and collected. He could always tell when she was nervous, but he knew she only showed nervousness when it was bad enough for him to worry.
"Anyone else?" he asked, turning to look at her. His eyes landed on the large spider, inspecting it carefully. The tiger stretched out her large head, sniffing in the direction of the girl.
Adayu pushed away the wolf he was petting, walking closer to Aurata, kneeling next to her to take a closer look at the arachnid.
"You can talk to him?" he looked back at the girl, before raising an arm towards the tarantula. "May i?"
"I can." She nodded, shrugging a shoulder as she held out her arm to place it alongside his. "You can try. He's usually not too big a fan of other people, but if anyone can, it's you. He's kind of…shy, so careful." Leaning in to whisper to the arachnid, her voice developed an incredibly soothing tone, very different from the sort of cooly detached way she had been speaking. "C'mon Bedri, he won't hurt you. The other animals trust him."
Sort of hesitantly, the spider turned away from Aurata, who's eyes had seemingly flashed blue in the dying afternoon light, and crawled slowly onto Adayu's arm, pausing to look at him. "There you go, hon. Let me know if you want to come back." Leaning back as she finished speaking to the spider, she glanced up at Adayu, eyes lingering on blue for just a split second before returning to black. "He's a cobalt blue tarantula. They're non-venomous, at east to humans. Hurts like hell to be bitten though."
Adayu carefully held the spider, turning his hand around to get a good look at the tarantula. While he had plenty of experience with other animals, he'd never tried talking to spiders before. Mostly because the ones he'd encountered were so small he never noticed them.
He raised a finger, approaching it slowly to the tarantula, giving it time to see it and inspect it, as to show he meant it no harm. He gently touched one of its fluffy legs, to get a feel of it.
"I've never tried talking to spiders before." he admitted, while still inspecting the creature. "He's quite fascinating."
Behind him, the tiger grunted slightly, it's tail spazzing out.
"Most people don't notice them." Aurata said with another shrug, pushing her hair back out of her face once more. "He is, isn't he? They're not native here, cobalts. And they're pretty rare on their own. Collectors like them because of their color." She murmured, eyes on Bedri as he inspected the finger Adayu had near him. He shifted slightly at being touched, but didn't seem too opposed as he settled again to let Adayu feel his fluff. "Do you think you can talk to them?" Maybe his abilities really did encompass that many creatures. Or maybe she was the only one with that connection to arachnids. How ironic that would be.
"I could try"
He turned his attention back to the spider in his hand, trying to find something to talk about. The tarantula raised its front legs at him, moving them slowly, while Adayu listened to it.
He could hear something. Not sure what exactly but he could hear smth - a spider's voice differed from that of larger animals and while it wasn't impossible for him to understand, his communication was not the best. The lack of training might as well be a reason why the boy needed a few minutes to understand the spider.
"I can hear him, though he's smaller than what i've worked with so far" he finally concluded, carefully returning the spider to the girl.
“Smaller, huh? Interesting.” She murmured, taking Bedri back and whispering to him. Her voice was so soft it was practically inaudible, in fact, like she was speaking at a volume level that shouldn’t have been possible.
After a moment, she looked up, glancing around the small clearing at the caravans around them. Thinking. About what, it was impossible to tell exactly. “How long have you been with the circus? I know it’s been a while, you’ve been here since I can remember, even before you had an act…”
Adayu had returned next to his tiger, gently patting her head.
"Hm?" he raised his head, looking at the girl with his slightly bored gaze. "The headmaster told me that they picked me up when i was very young, probably five or less, i don't remember much about my outside life to be honest."
He leaned against the white animal next to him, his hand still on the feline's head.
"When she was first brought to the circus as the cub, they gave her to me for i was already getting along with the existing animals. The moment i could make her do the things i asked, i was given an act."
Behind Aurata, the wolves had sat down, either chilling or chewing watever bone was left from their meal.
"Why do you wish to know?"
Aurata ducked her head as he questioned her, that confidence wavering as she second guessed the half-baked plot in her mind. But…she couldn't afford to question it, could she? She couldn't stay here. Not anymore. Not after the things she knew and had seen, not with the way her father was slowly descending into the madness he raged so hard against. She had to leave.
"I want to join." She blurted out, before she could convince herself to just keep quiet and go home as she always did. Her head lifted with the sudden words, something like panic momentarily flickering in her features before she calmed it, using Bedri's comforting presence as a way to ground herself. "The-the circus, I mean. I want to join. I've visited this circus nearly every year since I was born, and it has always felt more like home than anywhere else. I need….something different. Control. And this is the only place I'm going to get that."
"Join…?"
The boy's face was calm, though his eyes inspected the girl next to him carefully, as unknown thoughts rushed through his mind. After several minutes of silence, his gaze turned back towards the tiger, his hand slowly patting its fur.
"I don't know what to say, honestly. This decision does not belong to me, but to the Headmaster - if he doesn't approve, my response is useless. You're free to join, in my opinion, but you should probably ask the Headmaster first, just to be sure. I can't promise he'll give you an act right away though, we've never had a spider tamer before."
He really didn't have any opinions on her joining, she was free to do whatever she wished as far as he was concerned. Knowing the Headmaster, she was most likely going to receive a post as a helper in her first days, until everyone got used to her. From that point on it was possible for her to climb the hierarchy ladder, until who knows, maybe she could become one of the performers, though they had to find something that fit her.
"How do I find him, then." Aurata asked, twisting the blue scrunchie at her wrist as Bedri skittered up onto her shoulder, making himself comfortable to watch the events unfold. "I want to leave with the circus, today. I…that's why I waited until your last day." She explained, looking around at the animals sitting around.
"I'll do everything I can to convince him, even if I just offer to clean up after the animals, for God's sake. All I need is the chance." She was almost more talking to herself now, a tangle of emotions clouding her face for a moment before it was back to it's usual carefully neutral expression.
Adayu listened calmly, whilst still petting the large tiger. He could tell her wish wasn't the "oh, i'd like to that, that'd be fun!" kind of wish, more like a "if i dont do this i dont have a future" kind.
Even though he wasn't a people kind of person, he still felt a little sorry for her, so he decided to help out. If she made it in, then good for her and if not, well, better luck next time i suppose.
"The Headmaster's trailer is straight ahead, past the animal cages and to the left. You should be able to recognize it from the new green door, he had it replaced last week, he should be there. And if you can't find him ask around." he spoke, gesturing with his hand in the direction of the trailer.
Aurata’s expression split into a smile, and she nodded, standing quickly. Though, of course, careful not to dislodge Bedri. “Thanks. Like, a million times. You have no clue how important this is.” She paused, tilting her head for a moment and thinking.
“Any tips on getting on his good side?” She asked, eyes moving to the wolves relaxing. Now that she had made it this long, they were starting to look more and more like normal dogs, and the urge to pet them was getting weirdly strong. Even if she was well aware that they were dangerous animals. To be fair, spiders aren’t exactly common household pets either. Yet here you are.
Cari nodded slightly, as a response to her thanks. He wasn't a people's type of person, so whenever he interacted with one, he was just his usual reserved self.
"On his good side? My best advice would be to be persistent. If you push hard enough he could offer you a care taker job. Just stay strong okay?" he responded, as he was picking up the brush again and resuming the grooming of the large tiger. The Headmaster had the reputation of being a pretty strict man, with several interests of his own, however, he was anything but mean. Sure, he would usually reject normal people who wanted to tag along with the circus, given the type of business he was running, therefore most of the cast was formed by people with an unusual ability - if the power was weird enough, they could even get the privilege to be part of the show.
“Got it. Again, thank you.” She turned the smile on him, gratefulness obvious in her relieved features. You can do this. You have to. Staying there any longer isn’t an option.
“One-one more thing. It’s kind of stupid, but do you think they’d let me pet them at some point?” Aurata asked, stopping halfway out of the clearing to motion to the wolves. “Like, if I earned their trust, or something? Because they look soft as hell. And like they could rip my throat out, but you know.”
The boy had busied himself with the grooming of the feline, so when her voice rung out, he lifted his gaze again.
"Hm? Oh, them? I dont know, what do you guys say?" he spoke, directing the last part towards the animals. The wolves looked at him and one of them let out a short bark before scratching behind its ear.
"Nico here says he's down for it, if you know where to scratch. i dont know about the others though."
Aurata brightened like a little kid at that, carefully approaching the wolves and dropping into a crouch, letting them decide to come to her. Arms out, to show she didn’t mean any harm. When she spoke, her voice was a murmur, soft and low. “Nico, he said? I knew a boy with that name. He spoke of the stars like they were the only thing he could love. His hair was just as dark as your friend’s, though his eyes were even darker.” An old friend of hers, one she hadn’t seen in forever. After he moved.
The wolf named Nico approached the girl, sniffing her hand before gently bumping it with its moist nose. He allowed to be patted, licking its snout as the nimble fingers moved around on its head.
Cari did not say anything regarding Aurata's comment, steadily combing the tiger's fur while in his mind he was thinking about the words. Stars, huh?
Aurata let out a soft laugh, gently scratching behind Nico’s ears occasionally as she pet the wolf. “You know, he would have fit in here. He didn’t just love the stars, I swear, he was part one. God, your fur really is soft.” She commented softly, bringing up her other hand to get the other ear at the same time. “Whatever your routine is, my hair could use it.”
After a few more moments, she reluctantly stood, once again heading in the direction she’d been given, after a farewell to both Nico and the boy.
By that point, Nico had nearly laid on his back, panting happily as he was being scratched behing the ears, he just loved that. He seemed a little sad to see her go, especially after the wonderful head scratches he'd received, so he just barked at her a few times as a goodbye, wagging his tail.
Cari also waved back when she left, before standing up to carry his stuff to the trailer and to guide the animals back to their compartiments.
Having parted with the beast tamer, the girl found herself walking among various peoplw busy with packing up everything in order to depart to their next location
((quick question, do you want to puppet the boss, or should we just skip?))
