Cirque de L'amour (Connor)

[Merry Grace Lovelace]

One of the nice things about your cousins owning a circus was that you could get tickets any time you wanted. Case in point. Tonight she had picked up the tickets and Connor had the oh so wonderful joy of buying foods and any extras.

Rides weren't a problem she had the Lovelace Pass which meant that she and one friend could ride all the gut squishing rides they could stomach. She was wearing blue jeans, and a purple t-shirt with a cartoon zombie panda that said Zombies give the best hugs" and a set of purple tennis shoes. The circus was not something you dressed up for it was something you went to to have fun. She waited by her window, which was open, for Connor to show up. Her makeup was light and she wore a light spring scent.

[connordouglas]

On time as always, Connor didn't even bother to bring a car with him, infact he didn't even own one. He walked all the way here across town, there distance was no bother to him, especially now that he was using the time to try and practice moving at a normal speed. Remembering the conversation with Ai, how she seemed so appalled at his lack of knowledge, but Anneleise was not a loving mentor. When he was finally close to her home, Connor could see the window was open for him as always.

Picking up his pace to a jog, to the normal eye he would seem to vanish as he entered the yard. He did this to make sure that none of the residents would seem him, though it was possible that Robert was still watching. Shaking his head, he scaled the wall as if he were spiderman, being goofy in his acent on purpose. A smile spread on his lips as he hung from the windowsil, watching Merry with a cautious gaze. He had to be sure she was alone, and that he could control his strength. One miscalculation was a broken limb, it was a cruel joke of sorts from his sire, to make him so young and strong with no training.

"Nice shirt." he commented, laughing at her choice playfully. It was obviously a seal of approval. Connor seemed a bit over dressed for a simple fair but he didn't mind. He prefered to stand out a bit, though it wasn't head turning either. It had become some what of a game though to follow his greeting up with the next question, "Trust me?" he asked. The fall was a pretty long one, though it was easy enough for him.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?" he asked, raising a brow at her. He had never asked, she had never specified, probably on purpose. All he knew was that he was suppose to be providing the entertainment, she took care of the rest of it, the ticket detail. Where could they possibly be going that needed tickets? A concert? Did she perhaps know what sort of music he was interested in with even asking?

[Merry Grace Lovelace]

She smiled at him when she saw him come in. Her eyes sparkled as she laughed at his compliment of her shirt. She placed her arms around his waist and chuckled, "Always." she giggled as he dropped down to the ground, then slid off his back gently, grasping his hand as they darted for her car, she tossed him the keys and slid into the passanger seat. "My cousin's own a Circus. I got us tickets to get in and ride all the rides as much as we can stand it. Its got supernatural employees so they won't care how much we go on the rides or anything. It really is pretty at sunset and after dark." she said as he started the car, "I programmed the GPS with the directions. Its on one of my regular routes." she explained to him and stretched lightly as he drove. "I figured it would give us a chance to have some fun."

They drove out into the countryside and in short order they were there. Merry bounced out of the car like a kid in a candy store and grabbed his hand as she ran for the gate. Waving at the doorman she dragged him through and bounced a bit more. Skipping happily as she meandered the vending stalls and made her way to where the rides were. "What do you want to go on first?" she asked as she looked like a kid at Christmas wanting to show him everything.

[connordouglas]

Short order didn't even begin to describe the way Connor always drove. The pedal all the way to the floor, he took corners like he was in an action movie or something. It was a miracle that there were no police either time, not that they would ever catch the man in the car either way. The only thing that he had to consider was Merry, she wasn't considered to be dead, she could still be arrested. Slowing down a bit, Connor followed the GPS to the faire, figuring Merry would be upset if they ended up taking some sort of scenic route detour.

Stepping out of the car, he allowed himself to be dragged along behind Merry. He did his best to hide the fact that he didn't feel like he should be here, out amongst the living. Regardless of it being out in the public eye, there was still so many chances he might hurt someone. On top of that he felt.. weird. There was no way to explain this feeling, it was simply dread. As if something in his life was about to go horribly wrong but he couldn't exactly put his finger on what. Placing his free hand in his pocket, Connor looked about for a moment before pointing to some odd chair lift.

The lift had three rows of chairs and rotated around in a circle, a climb and then a sharp drop. She wanted him to choose, so if that was to be the case he figured he would have the most fun with that one. A Ferris Wheel would have been a bit boring, and a terrible idea. Connor hadn't feed, infact it had been a few days since this feeling of dread started that he stopped. Trapped up there with Merry, they would have been bringing down a corpse with the rotation. The thought shook Connor from his thoughts, he couldn't afford to think like that about her.

"That one will do." he said, walking along beside her. Everyone that passed him made him shiver a bit, his eyes instinctively following them. This would be an exercise in self control, one that was beyond anythng he had ever tried before. "So your cousins are circus performers.. pretty wild childhood with them I imagine.." he said, making conversation.

[Merry Grace Lovelace]

Merry giggled happily as they sped through town. She wouldn't have minded a detour but was happy to arrive at the circus. "Come on, Connor. You'll love this I promise." she said happily to him as she looked at the ride he mentioned, "Okay. That one looks fun!" she agreed as she walked over to it and slid inside. She felt herself locked in place and looked over at Connor, "Are you okay? You're looking a bit pale even for you." she murmured as she looked into his eyes with concern and worry.

Her hair sparkled in the light and she felt the warm evening breeze blow over her, "Isn't the circus pretty at night? My childhood was odd to say the least. "I have to be the only girl that learned how to escape handcuffs by the time I was seven. Lets not get into all the other magic tricks I assisted in. My cousin's named this place the Circus of the Night. It was like they knew there would be all sorts of supernaturals coming here to play." she admitted as she relaxed and the ride began its rise and she relaxed happily, loving the way the ride turned her senses upside down.

"I wanted you to have fun." she said softly as she looked at him and tried to gage his mood. "I worry about you, Connor. I want to help you." she admitted softly to him before the ride got going and she relished the feel of the ride spinning her around and the drop.

[connordouglas]

"I'm.." Connor started, the word seemed a bit harsher than he meant it to be. "..I am fine. Don't worry about me, this is suppose to be a night for you to enjoy." he said, putting on his best smirk. It was poor at best but he figured it would be enough to convince her that he was fine for now. The truth was, he had no idea why he felt like he did other than the hunger. Being this close to her however, with the wind, made it harder not to break his restraints. She was the safest here, that was the true reason he chose this ride.

Listening to her voice, he paid special attention to the lights below him. As long as he focused on something, he was alright. "A regular houdini then, must have been rough for your parents to ground you." he said with a laugh, trying to picture the antics of three hyper children with the power to use magic. When that didn't work, he simply laughed, gazing back at her with a serious look. "I'm sorry I sort of push you away at times. I just figure the best I can do to protect you is to keep you out of harms way." he said suddenly, as if apologizing for before.

"I will have fun, it's just hard for me when I get to thinking." he said, trying to force a smile for her. "You know, about how much fun I actually deserve to have. At the expense of someone else, I get to have this fun you know." he said, rudely bringing her attention to the cost of their fun. He didn't mean to smack her in the face with it, it just bothered him, the way things were. "I'm trying my best to let you all help me, but I can't stop thinking about it. All the time I give to you, I have stolen from someone else so you can be with me. Doesn't that drive you mad at all?" he asked, as if he was having some sort of small breakdown.

"Can you live with that? I don't know if I can.." he said, sounding as if he was going to run off and stake himself. Shaking his head, he sighed. "Never mind, let's ride the rides and play games. Maybe I'll feel better when all is said and done." he finished, grinning on the outside. "You pick the next one, alright?" he offered as the ride came to a stop, once off, he placed an arm around her shoulder.

[Merry Grace Lovelace]

She tried to relax and didn't want to adjitate him, "Lets just enjoy the moment." she said as she looked at him and watched the wind blow his hair. "You look nice." she said as she tried to lighten his mood. She could sense he was brooding through their link, faint though it was.

"It was different that is for sure. I at least had a chance to learn how to get myself out of trouble when I need to. Though thankfully I don't have to." she looked down and felt her stomach twist. "I understand you have a lot going on. I shouldn't be so clingy." she admitted shyly to him as the ride moved and jostled them about.

"Connor, we all have things that we take from others, time, money and goods and services. Everything someone gets is at the cost of someone. There simply is no benifit without someone playing the price elsewhere. America has always benifited from the work of others. Granted its not quite the same but you can choose to live your new life differently. You can learn how to feed and not take so much that you kill someone. You just need Ai to help you and show you. Does it bother me that you have killed someone while saving up to see me? Yes but what bothers me is when you shut down and don't look at other options that exist. You have the right to be happy you have the right not to be a victim to your hunger and you have the right to laugh when you want to."


"I can live with the thought of you learning a different way. A better way. I can live with the thought of you smiling when you see we are right and I can live with the knowledge that while you may take life you also send people to their maker. If they are good people then they are rewarded. If they were bad then they are punished. Such is the way of things here. The world works in balance. For every life you take an angel brings a new life into the world. This is how life has worked for a millenia. Who am I to say any different? We all have our place in the grand scheme of things and yours is no worse than any other.

She hopped off and looked about, "I want to go on the Pendulum. It swings fast and you're locked down. The g-forces are amazing." she said as she began moving with him to the next ride. Worry cast aside for the moment while she enjoyed herself.

[connordouglas]

"Yeah, since in this moment I'm not eating you." he said nonchalantly, the idea of doing such a thing struck a chord. It was almost inevitable tonight, he hadn't eaten in about three days, he was a time bomb. For once the thought that Robert was right crossed his mind, as if the gears were starting to turn and the light clicked on in his head. For once though it didn't make him angry at all, it made sense to him even, that terrified him.

Connor nodded slowly, "Always a good skill to have. People like you tend to find themselves in trouble far too often." he said, though he had no idea what he meant. People like her? Kind, forgiving, what he would consider naive. After Anneliese, he learned that people like that never made it far in a horror story, that it all ended the same way every time. Clenching his fist, he absolutely refused to let it go down that way, on her terms even if she wasn't present to have any sway. There wasn't much to say to her next comment, because all he would have told her is that she shouldn't play with fire.

He scoffed, how long would that take? He was living on borrowed time, he needed more every night. Eventually he would just let himself starve to the point of what.. could they even die? "It's not quite the same. I'm taking loved ones from people at an alarming rate. Who knows how long it could take for me to learn Ai's control methods." he said, she would be able to feel just how badly each life weighed on him. Even the thought of staking himself she would feel in the form of a crushing depression, it felt like he was letting go. He hated that her words made it sound easy, what could she possibly know? He wanted to yell, to scream, and the sad part was he knew she would just take it and feel sorry for him.

"You can't honestly tell me you believe any of what you just said?" he asked, trying to hold back a laugh that threatened to overcome him. "You can justify what I do by saying they -might- be going to some mystical happyland?" he asked, never having been a religious person at all. He felt that they were different, an accident, not something that was meant to exist. That was his opinion though, stating it would do nothing because she would just counter it and send him into a hysterical laugh mostly because he couldn't control his emotions at times.

"Yes, let's do that. Being in this crowd is.. painful." he said, to put it lightly. He almost killed the attendant as they were getting on the ride. "You can hold my hand, if you're scared." he said in a playful taunt, trying to pick up the mood a bit for her as he was definitely killing it.

[Merry Grace Lovelace]

Merry looked at him in concern as he voiced his tension. “Connor, I’m not trying to make this hard on you. I didn’t know you hadn’t fed…” she said a bit uncertainly. She wasn’t frightened just yet.

That wasn’t something she did easily and she was more concerned if he didn’t feed. “I don’t know what to say. I don’t…know truly what its like for you. I’m sorry I can’t help you more.” She bit her lip and looked up at him. I’m not trying to stress you out or tempt you….”
She felt the weight of his anguish and pain, and knew he was driving her away to protect her but a part of her knew he needed her and if she turned and left she would no doubt find him in front of her trying to stop her. It was a complex relationship to say the least. “I….” she just didn’t know what to say any more, “Connor you won’t know if you don’t try. Ai can help you if you let her. You need to sit down with her and learn. Not just shut her out.”

“I feel what your feeling, Connor. I can tell how much this is making you angry but I don’t know what to say to change that. I just say what I feel I don’t know if its right but I do know I care about you. I know you don’t think I should and that its dangerous but I can’t help the fact we have a bond and I worry about you. I’m just trying to do the best I can for both of us. Please…” she didn’t know how to offer him comfort so she projected the image of herself holding him mentally as tight as she could. When he taunted her into holding his hand she did. “I’m not scared but I’ll hold your hand because I want to. Now lets go.” She said as she giggled and they headed to the next ride.

[tara]

OCC: I got the green light from Merry to Jump in.

Tara was excited to be back in the business. After a horrible debilitating marriage gone awry she needed something new and promising. That is why she convinced Tana to take the night to do the Financials and Paperwork all the boring business stuff that made Cirque De La Nuit run. After all they both owned, managed and were the Ringleaders of the Circus. While he did all that Tara got to do a lovely solo act with two assistants. Both of whom were dancers.

She thought up this lovely, dark jungle theme where she would go all out with real magic: conjuration, transfiguring the assistants, the works. It would be all very exciting. She smoothed our her tan and green ringleader outfit complete with matching mini skirt with tan boots and top hat to boot.

She clicked the loud Speaker on and said "Ladies and Gentlemen please begin to purchase your condiments and beverages for the Show: Nuit Dans La Jungle will begin in 15 minutes." She almost forgot and reclaimed the speaker phone and added, "May Mademoiselle Lovelace and her Guest make their way to the Executive Suit. You will have someone escort you at the entrance to the Main Tent."

She made sure that the Executive Suite was fully stock with everything anyone or thing could need during the show. From peanuts to A positive. There were three mini fridges in the Executive Suite. One with the usual human condiments and goodies while the middle held various types of blood for their more nocturnal VIP Members. The third held items of a more illustrious palette.

She left her cousin a note hoping she enjoyed the show.

Tara headed down to the stage with her assistant, Thaddeus. She introduced herself and her assistant to the crowd and said, "Welcome my Dear guests to Cirque De La Nuit and our Production of Nuit Dans La Jungle. A Wild adventure I am about to take you on. Unfortunately my dearest brother will not be joining us for he had a prior engagement but if a spotlight can be directed the the Executive Suit where my dearest Cousin and her guest can be seen, Give Us a wave Merry Dear!!!!"

Tara gestured dramatically toward her cousins box. "Now let the show begin!!!!" Music begin to blare as Tara and her assistant began the show. The two of them began dancing to the afro jazz beats with gyrating movements. Her partner began a solo while Tara summersaulted into an arabesque and shouted "Erif Sllab," several balls of fire appear out of no where as she began to juggle them with one leg on the ground and the other still in the arabesque.

The Circle of Fire balls began to dance around Thaddeus without even singeing a strand of fabric. Just as the Circle began to close around Thaddeus and his grungy pirouettes. Tara shouted "hsiugnitxe." And the Ring of Fireballs died away, leaving her assistant unharmed. Her next trick was even more mind blowing as she literally transformed Thaddeus into lion with fierce claws and a roar to match.

Thaddeus charged at Tara with speed and force and jsut as he was about to swipe at her shouted "Nruter," and he became himself once again. She then bowed gracefully. And said, "For my next trick I will bring out a beautiful bouquet of flowers." But out popped two boa constrictors the size of a large canoe popped out of her waist coat and the pair of them began to fight them with snake charms and dancing.

The Show went on for another hour in which Tara performed the best stunts, hijinks and magic anyone has ever seen. At the end the show she and her assistant bowed, thanked the audience and assured them not to try any of it at home. She then walked up to the Executive Suite and said hello to her dear cousin and gave her a hug

[connordouglas]

"Don't worry Merry, I get it. I just don't think I am worth trying to save." he said simply, dragging her along to the next ride. However by the time they would even reach it, there was an announcement over the loud speak for them. They were expected, even given a spot in a V.I.P room? He wasn't aware of any of this, however the idea of having attention drawn to him didn't sit so well with him right now. Sighing mentally, he decided that he would play along to make her happy tonight, what was just one night of fun before he want back to damnation and suffering.

"Just.. let's try not to talk about any of this anymore. I'm starting to realize I'm an idiot and that you just want to have fun tonight." he said, laughing quietly at how he thought of it. Making a bee line for the main event, Connor was a bit overwhelmed by the star treatment it seemed that they would be getting. This place seemed to have everything, including.. blood? He could smell it as he entered the room, even if it was cold. It was a feint scent, which led him right to the fridge it was in. Opening it he looked at the odd bagged blood, he had never even considered this as an option!

"What is all of this?" he asked Merry, wondering why there was blood in the fridge. That didn't mean he wasn't going to try to take advantage of the pleasantries he was given. Before she could even respond, Connor had descended upon the bagged blood, tearing into it with his black, soulless eyes. Though his face recoiled into a disgusted look as he pulled it away from his mouth, looking at it with contempt. It was absolutely horrible, the taste! Following that he felt awful, did he really stop to consider the way any of this actually tasted?

That was when the spotlight hit Connor, causing him to recoil, and shield his eyes from the light. Giving a half hearted wave along side the one Merry would probably give, Connor looked away as if he was embarassed, but honestly he was annoyed by it. "A little warning might have gone a long way there. Your family isn't one for subtle, are they?" he asked, giving a small laugh to show that he wasn't going to bite her head off. "Did you plan all of this?"

[Merry Grace Lovelace]

If someone had told her she'd be dragging batman around all night she'd have cosplayed a fem robin's suit to better suit the situation. Connor was bound and determined to make himself get constipated with how much he thought about being a monster.

Then they were being escorted to the Executive Suite where her family chillaxed and brought friends. She did the obligatory wave and mouthed hello just as she watched Connor's face with the bagged blood, "You look like someone just kicked you. " She sighed and looked over at him, "I planned on taking you to the circus. Tara heard about it and suggested we come here. Given you haven't eaten I think that this is a good choice. As for the blood you might want to nuke it for 30 seconds to get it to room temperature. Dad says it doesn't taste as bad then." she brushed her hair out of her eyes.

"My family is the definition of large and in charge.We own a circus and a record company. Heck I'm surprised I've not made it into a film at this stage given how upset some folks get when they think that we can make them famous. Now come on and enjoy the show its just easier and more fun that way." she pointed to the feats of skill and magic simaltaniously