"So many expenses, soooo many expenses. It's enough to set me back a few years." Arcaye groaned, rubbing the wrinkles on his forehead as he slumped over his stool. He dragged his hand down his face, the bags under his eyes growing visible as he looked to his employee. He was hoping for some optimistic news, but as he noticed the troubled expression on the gnomes face, he braced himself for the worst.
"What!?" He barked.
The gnome jumped back, the notebook juggling between his hands until it fell to their feet. "Eehh it-it isn't good sir, some o' de boys say the fire started backstage. Ash is thickest in the middle, we lost all the good stuff there. Potions n' brews n' toys, all gone sir!"
"The backstage, oh gods..." His shoulders sank down as a startling realization hit him. "My beautiful hat collection, destroyed?"
"Err, yes sir! Lots o' de boys lose plenty from the fire. I lost a pair of me favorite red flippers, all scorched now. Know how ye feel sir, but you'll make a new collection soon. They just hats, nothin' you can't handl-"
The gnome yelped as a pair of gloved hands shot out and pulled him by his suspenders until he was met with the looming figure of his employer, his eyes seething with a burning rage, grinding his teeth while the poor worker helplessly watched in horror.
"Listen hear you crooked-nose knave, don't you dare make a mockery of my beautiful work! Those hats costed me a fortune and years of magical experimentation to perfect! Do you know how hard it is to measure the appropriate quantities of alchemy to infuse a black hole into fabric material? Ever wondered how I could fit endless contents into these elegant headgears? No! You're just a simple-minded, foul-mouthed little piss ant who never gave more of a thought nor sought a grander purpose to fulfill your lackluster life other than for food, festivities, and fornication!"
"Ay, ay! I's sorry sir! Slip o' de tongue, I swear!" The gnome frantically shook his head, his hands in the air and his eyes squeezed tight as he begged for mercy.
"Arcayyyyyyy-yuh!" Two high femanine voices called for his name as if they were singing a tune, quickly followed by a pair of drows bursting into the tent. The two sisters gasped and covered each other's eyes, shocked by the scene they skipped into.
Arcaye and the gnome he was strangling froze in place as if they had turned into stone. He cleared his throat and gently lowered his employee until his little feet touched the ground, releasing him and patting his shiny bald head. "Ahem! My apologies Bugsy, that was the... the stress getting to me. You know this place couldn't last a fortnight without you at the helms."
He breathed in and held his breath until his chest stuck out and his lungs felt at the brink of bursting until he exhaled, deflating his body like a balloon. Reaching into his jacket, he extracted a small comb before adjusting his hair for any loose hair strands. Arcaye stroked his mustache with a brush of his thumb, his fingers sliding down the front of his jacket as he raised his chin with his eyes settled on the man half of his size.
"Now then, did you have any good news to share?"
Bugsy rubbed his chest and hissed in discomfort, forcing a smile on his face. "W-We did recover some o' yer belongings."
Arcaye raised his brows. "You did?"
"Arcayyyyye!" The drows chimed in, holding hands and pressing their beaming faces together.
Arcaye breathed in calmly, turning his attention to the twins. "Yes?"
"Look what we found!"
They parted ways and gave a dramatic spin, twirling on their toes and stopping with their arms extended, pointing two wands at his face. He stepped back with an alarmed look, his top hat falling and bouncing off his shoulder as he raised his hands.
"Pow!" Arcaye jumped as the pair jabbed their wands into his chest. They cackled with laughter and held their chests, waving their wands around before he snatched them out of their hands. They raised their gray-colored faces, black lips forming a most mischievous grin, their black eyes and blood red pupils hidden by the bangs of their white hair parted in mirroring images of each other. "Did we scare you, Master?"
"Hmph! You lot play too much." His eyes scanned the two wands as a smile appeared on his face, his fingers wrapping around the markings etched into the wooden handles. "It pleases me to see some of my equipment survived the flames."
"More than some!" One of the siblings exclaimed, dragging in a heavy chest covered in black ash. The tent filled with the smell of burning wood with a bot of smoke coming from the top of the wooden chest. She patted it down, spreading bits of ash before opening the chest with a heavy grunt. She stepped back, revealing him a pile of staffs and wands appearing in good condition, untouched by the circus fire. One of the wands wiggled and hopped in the air, melting into a green pile of goop before reforming into a ball of green translucent slime with a lime green nucleus in its center.
He gasped and scooped up the slime with cupped hands. "Slime-o! I had nearly forgotten about you after enduring this night of misfortune, I feared the worst fate had befallen you! How is my little slime?"
The slime cooed and purred as he swirled his finger over its surface, petting it in a strange manner as he pursed his lips and made little kissing noises. Bugsy looked up to the two sisters with a baffled expression, met with the pair holding hands and enjoying their masters gentle moment with his pet.
"You may leave, Bugsy." He ordered without breaking his attention away from petting Slime-o.
"Wha-? But-But sir, I was the one who found that chest fer ya!"
"Did not!" One of the sisters cried out, stomping her foot.
"Go and take a breather, Bugsy. Give your men an hour to rest their little bodies and have a snack. We'll clean up what's left before we sweep this area clean." Arcaye added, removing his hat and dropping the slime into it. He tossed it on the table nearby, pulling his stool up to sit as he rested his feet on the chest with a tired sigh.
One of the sisters walked around him, digging her fingers into his tense shoulders. While she massaged him, the other drow sat on the chest and raised his feet on her lap. "We're sorry about the circus, Master Arcaye."
"We know how much it means to you, it's a great deal for us too."
"Would this mean the circus is over? What are we going to do now?"
"I don't know, join a different circus?"
Arcaye raised his hand, seizing their discussion immediately. "That won't be necessary, I can assure you that the Circus will remain. It will take more than an act of arson to undue my decade old profession."
"But we lost so much! I lost my favorite skirt!"
"And I lost my favorite pair of lace underwear!"
"Wait, since when did you have lace underwear? I wear lace, not you." She scowled, shooting daggers from her eyes. "Were they the white pair lined with silk?"
Her sibling smiled nervously and shrugged. "They-They were comfy!"
"You little harlot!"
"Ladies." Arcaye raised his voice and snapped his fingers, the twins immediately turning their attention back to massaging his shoulders and feet. "That's better. Yes, much has been lost last night, that remains clear. I am not one to be dishonest, tonight's incident wounds me and wrecks my heart with grief. The circus will be put on hold, I would wager that this will set us back several months from our schedule."
The drow held his feet and started to pout. "Does this mean no more trip to the East Lao Kingdom?"
"Phooey! I wanted to test the hot springs in there. To feel the warmth surround my body while the steam opens my pores, so relaxing." Her sister added with a dreamy look on her face.
Arcaye waved his hand and hunched forward. "No, not anymore. Herma, Precia, leave a kindred soul alone to his thoughts would you? I need a moment to think, go take a break with the others."
They nodded and stood up, making their way out of his tent with a nod and a wave.
"I want those panties back, you're buying me new ones." Herma hissed to her sister, nudging her side with her elbow.
Precia smacked her hand away. "Oh please, as if you didn't take my bra from my drawers."
Herma gasped, "I did not!"
"I spotted them under your mattress the day after they went missing, did you have a night of fun with them? Who was the guy, was it Beedo?"
Herma blushed and looked away, their voices fading as they walked out from hearing range. The entrance to his tent waved by as if moved by a gust of wind, but he knew better as he was familiar with sudden movements around when one believed they were alone.
"How does it look outside, Kamill?" He asked.
A shower of pink pixie dust surrounded the space before him, gently falling down and revealing a familiar figure. It was a young woman who had entered his tent, wearing a white blouse and a brown skirt and waving a brown wand in her hand. This woman is a halfling, one of the smaller races in size and stature, appearing like humans but matching half their height.
She looked up at him with her freckled face, stashing away her wand into her waist band. "People still a'gathering around and talking. Lots of talk, some saying this be the cause of your grand show with the lights and de fireworks and all that."
Arcaye rubbed his eyes and leaned forward, pressing his hands together with his brows scrunched in a look of contemplation. "Better that they think that way, wouldn't want the truth to get out. So be it, I'd rather be mocked for my 'incident' rather than have my reputation be jeopardized. That wouldn't do any good for business."
"People thinkin' you as a fraud don't help none either." She huffed with a disgruntled look. "I can ask around, see where they fled. P'raps track them down and teach 'em not to mess with us. Agatha got to feel 'em up the man and his friend and see their past lives with her psychic ways. She's still shaken by what she read from the two. I can ask her some questions for a lead."
Upon hearing this, Arcaye chuckled in return and shook his head. "That makes for an entertaining thought, but no such actions will be needed."
"I can do it, I have a few spells that ought to show 'em." She reassured, her hand on her wand with a look of determination in her blue eyes.
"I know you're eager to test my teachings, but no. There will be another time. In my ten years in this business, I learned that there is little profit in pursuing revenge." He scratched his chin, pausing momentarily. He closed his eyes and hung his head in defeat. "Blast, a Nekomata would have done well in replacing that native. If they had just taken the blasted deal."
"Those damn fools." His apprentice hissed in agreement, banging her fist on the table nearby.
"Nay, I fear that I was the fool that night for turning away for them. I should have just taken action myself, the scoundrels. But alas, I took a gamble in silencing her friends to save the trouble of rumors spreading around. No, their pursuit will be done by other hands with more... extreme intentions in hand."
Kamill looked at him with shock in her eyes. "The prophet?"
"The mad man himself will have the last laugh, so be it. Send a messenger to him, tell him we crossed paths with his prize." He rested his chin on his hand, locking eyes with her as he spoke. "We have our own matters to attend to. Fixing this mess is going to cost us time, resources, and money. I'd rather deal with that than to mess about hunting a cat woman. Leave that to a professional Hunter. It is not our problem anymore."
He stood up and patted his coat down, adjusting his posture and fixing his top hat back on his head. "Did Agatha say anything about the Nekomata?"
Kamill shook her head. "No, she only held the blue haired woman and the man with them. But again, I can find them if you change your mind."
"Thanks, but not this time. Send word to the prophet, let him deal with them. Oh and do it anonymously would you? The last thing we need is to get more attention from his cult of followers marching into this sorry place. Now we best make haste with reparations, the sooner I leave this cesspit the better!"
Kamill nodded and followed behind.
"Let this be a lesson for you to learn Kamill." Arcaye mentioned before stepping out. "There are actions and there are reactions, much like with alchemy and science. Leave them to face their repercussions by the hands of another, saves us the dirty work. Better to work smarter and not harder."
"So many expenses, soooo many expenses. It's enough to set me back a few years." Arcaye groaned, rubbing the wrinkles on his forehead as he slumped over his stool. He dragged his hand down his face, the bags under his eyes growing visible as he looked to his employee. He was hoping for some optimistic news, but as he noticed the troubled expression on the gnomes face, he braced himself for the worst.
"What!?" He barked.
The gnome jumped back, the notebook juggling between his hands until it fell to their feet. "Eehh it-it isn't good sir, some o' de boys say the fire started backstage. Ash is thickest in the middle, we lost all the good stuff there. Potions n' brews n' toys, all gone sir!"
"The backstage, oh gods..." His shoulders sank down as a startling realization hit him. "My beautiful hat collection, destroyed?"
"Err, yes sir! Lots o' de boys lose plenty from the fire. I lost a pair of me favorite red flippers, all scorched now. Know how ye feel sir, but you'll make a new collection soon. They just hats, nothin' you can't handl-"
The gnome yelped as a pair of gloved hands shot out and pulled him by his suspenders until he was met with the looming figure of his employer, his eyes seething with a burning rage, grinding his teeth while the poor worker helplessly watched in horror.
"Listen hear you crooked-nose knave, don't you dare make a mockery of my beautiful work! Those hats costed me a fortune and years of magical experimentation to perfect! Do you know how hard it is to measure the appropriate quantities of alchemy to infuse a black hole into fabric material? Ever wondered how I could fit endless contents into these elegant headgears? No! You're just a simple-minded, foul-mouthed little piss ant who never gave more of a thought nor sought a grander purpose to fulfill your lackluster life other than for food, festivities, and fornication!"
"Ay, ay! I's sorry sir! Slip o' de tongue, I swear!" The gnome frantically shook his head, his hands in the air and his eyes squeezed tight as he begged for mercy.
"Arcayyyyyyy-yuh!" Two high femanine voices called for his name as if they were singing a tune, quickly followed by a pair of drows bursting into the tent. The two sisters gasped and covered each other's eyes, shocked by the scene they skipped into.
Arcaye and the gnome he was strangling froze in place as if they had turned into stone. He cleared his throat and gently lowered his employee until his little feet touched the ground, releasing him and patting his shiny bald head. "Ahem! My apologies Bugsy, that was the... the stress getting to me. You know this place couldn't last a fortnight without you at the helms."
He breathed in and held his breath until his chest stuck out and his lungs felt at the brink of bursting until he exhaled, deflating his body like a balloon. Reaching into his jacket, he extracted a small comb before adjusting his hair for any loose hair strands. Arcaye stroked his mustache with a brush of his thumb, his fingers sliding down the front of his jacket as he raised his chin with his eyes settled on the man half of his size.
"Now then, did you have any good news to share?"
Bugsy rubbed his chest and hissed in discomfort, forcing a smile on his face. "W-We did recover some o' yer belongings."
Arcaye raised his brows. "You did?"
"Arcayyyyye!" The drows chimed in, holding hands and pressing their beaming faces together.
Arcaye breathed in calmly, turning his attention to the twins. "Yes?"
"Look what we found!"
They parted ways and gave a dramatic spin, twirling on their toes and stopping with their arms extended, pointing two wands at his face. He stepped back with an alarmed look, his top hat falling and bouncing off his shoulder as he raised his hands.
"Pow!" Arcaye jumped as the pair jabbed their wands into his chest. They cackled with laughter and held their chests, waving their wands around before he snatched them out of their hands. They raised their gray-colored faces, black lips forming a most mischievous grin, their black eyes and blood red pupils hidden by the bangs of their white hair parted in mirroring images of each other. "Did we scare you, Master?"
"Hmph! You lot play too much." His eyes scanned the two wands as a smile appeared on his face, his fingers wrapping around the markings etched into the wooden handles. "It pleases me to see some of my equipment survived the flames."
"More than some!" One of the siblings exclaimed, dragging in a heavy chest covered in black ash. The tent filled with the smell of burning wood with a bot of smoke coming from the top of the wooden chest. She patted it down, spreading bits of ash before opening the chest with a heavy grunt. She stepped back, revealing him a pile of staffs and wands appearing in good condition, untouched by the circus fire. One of the wands wiggled and hopped in the air, melting into a green pile of goop before reforming into a ball of green translucent slime with a lime green nucleus in its center.
He gasped and scooped up the slime with cupped hands. "Slime-o! I had nearly forgotten about you after enduring this night of misfortune, I feared the worst fate had befallen you! How is my little slime?"
The slime cooed and purred as he swirled his finger over its surface, petting it in a strange manner as he pursed his lips and made little kissing noises. Bugsy looked up to the two sisters with a baffled expression, met with the pair holding hands and enjoying their masters gentle moment with his pet.
"You may leave, Bugsy." He ordered without breaking his attention away from petting Slime-o.
"Wha-? But-But sir, I was the one who found that chest fer ya!"
"Did not!" One of the sisters cried out, stomping her foot.
"Go and take a breather, Bugsy. Give your men an hour to rest their little bodies and have a snack. We'll clean up what's left before we sweep this area clean." Arcaye added, removing his hat and dropping the slime into it. He tossed it on the table nearby, pulling his stool up to sit as he rested his feet on the chest with a tired sigh.
One of the sisters walked around him, digging her fingers into his tense shoulders. While she massaged him, the other drow sat on the chest and raised his feet on her lap. "We're sorry about the circus, Master Arcaye."
"We know how much it means to you, it's a great deal for us too."
"Would this mean the circus is over? What are we going to do now?"
"I don't know, join a different circus?"
Arcaye raised his hand, seizing their discussion immediately. "That won't be necessary, I can assure you that the Circus will remain. It will take more than an act of arson to undue my decade old profession."
"But we lost so much! I lost my favorite skirt!"
"And I lost my favorite pair of lace underwear!"
"Wait, since when did you have lace underwear? I wear lace, not you." She scowled, shooting daggers from her eyes. "Were they the white pair lined with silk?"
Her sibling smiled nervously and shrugged. "They-They were comfy!"
"You little harlot!"
"Ladies." Arcaye raised his voice and snapped his fingers, the twins immediately turning their attention back to massaging his shoulders and feet. "That's better. Yes, much has been lost last night, that remains clear. I am not one to be dishonest, tonight's incident wounds me and wrecks my heart with grief. The circus will be put on hold, I would wager that this will set us back several months from our schedule."
The drow held his feet and started to pout. "Does this mean no more trip to the East Lao Kingdom?"
"Phooey! I wanted to test the hot springs in there. To feel the warmth surround my body while the steam opens my pores, so relaxing." Her sister added with a dreamy look on her face.
Arcaye waved his hand and hunched forward. "No, not anymore. Herma, Precia, leave a kindred soul alone to his thoughts would you? I need a moment to think, go take a break with the others."
They nodded and stood up, making their way out of his tent with a nod and a wave.
"I want those panties back, you're buying me new ones." Herma hissed to her sister, nudging her side with her elbow.
Precia smacked her hand away. "Oh please, as if you didn't take my bra from my drawers."
Herma gasped, "I did not!"
"I spotted them under your mattress the day after they went missing, did you have a night of fun with them? Who was the guy, was it Beedo?"
Herma blushed and looked away, their voices fading as they walked out from hearing range. The entrance to his tent waved by as if moved by a gust of wind, but he knew better as he was familiar with sudden movements around when one believed they were alone.
"How does it look outside, Kamill?" He asked.
A shower of pink pixie dust surrounded the space before him, gently falling down and revealing a familiar figure. It was a young woman who had entered his tent, wearing a white blouse and a brown skirt and waving a brown wand in her hand. This woman is a halfling, one of the smaller races in size and stature, appearing like humans but matching half their height.
She looked up at him with her freckled face, stashing away her wand into her waist band. "People still a'gathering around and talking. Lots of talk, some saying this be the cause of your grand show with the lights and de fireworks and all that."
Arcaye rubbed his eyes and leaned forward, pressing his hands together with his brows scrunched in a look of contemplation. "Better that they think that way, wouldn't want the truth to get out. So be it, I'd rather be mocked for my 'incident' rather than have my reputation be jeopardized. That wouldn't do any good for business."
"People thinkin' you as a fraud don't help none either." She huffed with a disgruntled look. "I can ask around, see where they fled. P'raps track them down and teach 'em not to mess with us. Agatha got to feel 'em up the man and his friend and see their past lives with her psychic ways. She's still shaken by what she read from the two. I can ask her some questions for a lead."
Upon hearing this, Arcaye chuckled in return and shook his head. "That makes for an entertaining thought, but no such actions will be needed."
"I can do it, I have a few spells that ought to show 'em." She reassured, her hand on her wand with a look of determination in her blue eyes.
"I know you're eager to test my teachings, but no. There will be another time. In my ten years in this business, I learned that there is little profit in pursuing revenge." He scratched his chin, pausing momentarily. He closed his eyes and hung his head in defeat. "Blast, a Nekomata would have done well in replacing that native. If they had just taken the blasted deal."
"Those damn fools." His apprentice hissed in agreement, banging her fist on the table nearby.
"Nay, I fear that I was the fool that night for turning away for them. I should have just taken action myself, the scoundrels. But alas, I took a gamble in silencing her friends to save the trouble of rumors spreading around. No, their pursuit will be done by other hands with more... extreme intentions in hand."
Kamill looked at him with shock in her eyes. "The prophet?"
"The mad man himself will have the last laugh, so be it. Send a messenger to him, tell him we crossed paths with his prize." He rested his chin on his hand, locking eyes with her as he spoke. "We have our own matters to attend to. Fixing this mess is going to cost us time, resources, and money. I'd rather deal with that than to mess about hunting a cat woman. Leave that to a professional Hunter. It is not our problem anymore."
He stood up and patted his coat down, adjusting his posture and fixing his top hat back on his head. "Did Agatha say anything about the Nekomata?"
Kamill shook her head. "No, she only held the blue haired woman and the man with them. But again, I can find them if you change your mind."
"Thanks, but not this time. Send word to the prophet, let him deal with them. Oh and do it anonymously would you? The last thing we need is to get more attention from his cult of followers marching into this sorry place. Now we best make haste with reparations, the sooner I leave this cesspit the better!"
Kamill nodded and followed behind.
"Let this be a lesson for you to learn Kamill." Arcaye mentioned before stepping out. "There are actions and there are reactions, much like with alchemy and science. Leave them to face their repercussions by the hands of another, saves us the dirty work. Better to work smarter and not harder."
