Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Circus of Nightmares (1x1)

People passed by a poster that had long been stuck up by someone paid to put up advertisements. Unlike all the hair product or cologne ads though, there was a lone poster that read. "Come to the Circus of Theatrical Acts and Beauty. You will laugh, you will cry, you will clench your chairs. We have exotic animals, monsters, almost anything you could imagine. Come! We are recruiting! Circus closes..." after that the date of which the circus would be packing up and leaving was torn away. Maybe because of weather? Or someone purposely ripping it.

Nearby there was a path leading into the forest, a sign posted at the front of the path. "Circus, this way!" Beside the path a telephone pole where various papers were posted. One of which, a picture of a girl with a birth mark taking up some of the right side of her face was shown in black and white. "MISSING". Down the path you could just see the top of the tall multicolored tent that stood high and proud with a flag adorning to top. Distant music could be heard, beckoning people passing, tempting them to come to the circus.

A harsh bump ripped him from his fitful sleep as the tiny box he was scrunched in was pushed out of the truck,at least he thought it was one, and onto the ground. He hit his shoulder hard and hissed in pain. That was all he had been feeling for the past few days, actually. He didn't know how it happened. The drugs in his system wouldn't let him remember. All he knew was that he wasn't home with his friends-or Michael. Panic flared up in his throat and he was alive again, thrashing, pushing, kicking at the wooden trap around him. He screamed in his native tongue, sounding like merely a wild animal to the deaf ears of the human kind.
Michael. Where was Michael?!
A harsh kick to the box stopped him as a new wave of pain blossomed on his spine.
He wheezed softly as he was lifted once more, probably being carried by two or three men. There was small talk he couldn't understand beside him. From the little English he knew, it was something about money. He growled. Wasn't it always about money.

Something was flapping in the wind like a whip, and for a brief moment he heard laughter. Music and laughter. That was when he finally understood what had happened to him.
Sold.
To be viewed by the world for greedy men who didn't understand.

Feeling what was left of his hope drain out of him, the box was once again dropped with a dull thud. Then there was a barrage of metal; chipping and slamming and prying until the box fell apart around him. There was a harsh shove to his chest and the clang of metal against metal.
A soft click.

He sat in the silent for a good while.
Then he collapsed in his new home, surrounded by metal bars.

This would be his new cage.

The cage Maliki was in was not to be displayed yet. This cage was in the back behind the large tents that were spread out amongst the field. Most other cages were empty although a few seemed to have occupants. A cage away from his, a person lay curled up in the straw that acted as bedding along with a couple blankets that were splayed out around them. It was somewhat cold as it was starting to get late. In another cage, a large gorilla resting its back against the bars, seeming unresponsive.

Eventually, the boy sat up slowly in his cage, wincing in pain. So far he could count at least six new bruises, large ones. His spine was sore beyond belief, and he stretched out, cracking several kinks that had his bones in knots. He whined high in his throat, the extensive sounds his vocal cords could make far passing a humans. He dared a peek around the room, red pupils glowing in the dark. At least they had the decency to keep the sunlight away. Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could make out several other cages, mostly empty. There were two on either side of him that were occupied. He blinked, there was a humanoid figure in one, seemingly calm. The other had an animal. A monkey? It stared back at him without a word. Maliki ran a hand through his hair and sat on his heels, letting everything that had just happened settle in his mind.

He must be in a circus.
Part of the freak show perhaps?

A man entered the room, the flap of the tent closing behind him. He held a cane in one hand and seemed to be dressed up as a classic circus ring master. He walked over towards the cages that were occupied with a seemingly friendly smile. He looked to the cage with the person occupying it. "Wakey, wakey~." he tapped the cage with his cane for a moment. The person did not stir for a moment. He hit the cage harder with a louder clang. The person who lay in the straw, lurched from the nest they seemed to have made for themselves, startled by the man with the cane. "Good, we're all awake now." he looked around at the other occupants and then looking to Maliki. "Ah, our newest recruit. Welcome!" she smiled and the person looked over at Maliki. It was a darker skinned girl with neon blue hair falling just shorter then her shoulders. She stared at him with wide pale blue eyes, silent. The feature that stood out the most was a birth mark that took up half her face. Sitting up properly, she adjusted her black t-shirt as the ring master turned from the cages for a couple moments, inspecting some crates.

Maliki's ears flattened and he narrowed his eyes at the man, pupils becoming slivers of blood red. He kept his gaze locked on the obvious ringleader until his back was turned, before sliding his vision back over to the person in the cage beside him. To his surprise, she was already trained on him, blue eyes wide in wonder. Maliki blinked; taken aback. She was stunning, in human-he thought- standard. Bright blue hair and caramel skin. The thing that stood out most was the dark birthmark on one half of her face. He couldn't help but so smile the tiniest bit, blunt fangs poking out of his lips. She was far too beautiful to be locked up in this hell. This was such a shame. He hoped that he could get her out in the near future.

Maliki lowered his voice to a quiet whisper. "...H..el-lo.." He lifted one ear slightly and kept it steady, listening to them man's every movement but without taking his gaze from the girl next to him. He cursed himself quietly then for his lack of better English; how could he communicate properly without sounding like a fool? Maliki sighed mentally. Damn it.

She waved back, her brow furrowing as she did not say anything. She looked like she had felt sorry for him. The ringmaster had turned once more to face them and looked to Maliki, the girl's gaze retreating as she concentrated onto the ring master. "So. As far as I know, you're a vampire." he walked beside the cage, inspecting him. It probably seemed like he wanted to make sure he made a good investment. "What else can you do...?" his eyes narrowed at him.

Maliki locked his gaze on the man, crossing his arms. He didn't know how to answer correctly in English. ...wait! He concentrated his gaze on the man and slipped into his mind.
Why do you care? Am I nothing more than property to you?

He smiled inwardly;finally. His telepathy could cross language boundaries.
But that would be the only thing this man saw. He wasn't about to show his wings or anything else, for that matter.
Or his disorder.. Maliki winced to himself. That was right..he wasn't a normal vampire.

The ringmaster seemed mildly surprised that Maliki used telepathy. He narrowed his eyes. "Oh I'm all caring. Despite having to buy my recruits most of the time, it's not like I don't care. This is my business after all." somehow that sort of seemed hard to believe. However the ring master had a look on his face that looked like he was suspicious of whether or not Maliki was hiding something. "Come on you can be honest with me. I do not hesitate to discipline..." he hinted at the whip he had on his belt loop. The girl was now at the cage bars, staring at the ring master. He glanced at her. "What do you want?" She didn't say anything. "Stop staring at me, girl!" he hit the cage bars and the girl retorted.

Maliki hissed and narrowed his eyes, growling something in his native tongue. Stop that! He flattened his ears again and leaned forward, tense muscles screaming with the effort. He was ready to do what he could if it meant her safety.

A small part of the boy wondered why. How was it that he felt so protective of a girl he didn't even know?
Maliki curled his lip in disgust. That's no way to treat a woman.

The ring master had now looked annoyed. "Hm. Feisty, I see. Well we can deal with that later." he had ignored Maliki's yelling. He was focusing more on trying to find out what Maliki could do and how he could get him to do it. He after all needed to make a profit off this, he didn't like to get rid of expensive investments. The ringmaster stood there looking Maliki over, ignoring the girl in the cage. He turned. "Well. I guess. I'll come back later. Goodbye for now!" his voice rang in an unpleasantly cheery tone as he exited the room.

The girl had snarled lowly as he stepped out, taking a comfortable place in the center of the cage, sitting cross legged. Soon the girl's gaze turned back to Maliki.

Maliki kept his glare locked on the man, ears twitching in agitation at his tone. It was far too sickly sweet.
He didnt like this man one bit.
Settling down at last, the vampire rested lightly on his bottom, sucking in a breath as his every move sent painful flares to his nerves. He lifted his ears and relaxed them, returning his look to the girl beside him. Maliki leaned forward against the bars, concerned.
Using the same technique as before, he gently slipped into the girl's mind. Maliki was slightly flustered by the swirls of uncomfortable darkness there. that..wasn't exactly normal. Then again, neither was he.
Are you alright?

The girl seemed startled at first. "I'm fine..." she said quietly, brushing some of her hair that fell in her face, out of the way. "... It's a good thing he was probably in a good mood. He probably would've started beating whatever secrets you hide out of you." she bit her tongue. She had probably seen several people get beaten already. She looked fairly used to this place.

The boy shrugged and rolled his eyes.
He can beat me all he wishes. I have nothing to offer.
Maliki looked around his own cage, then hers. He had so many questions, but he didn't want to drop them all on her. He would ask slowly, no need to be immature about this. The vampire furrowed his brow in doubt. Why would he be so harsh? What kind of creature does such a thing..
Maliki returned his gaze to her.
I'm Maliki. Who are you?

She leaned against the cage bars. "Holly." she said seeming to have expected a river flowing with questions. The monkey creature in the cage nearby moved with a grunt. Holly looked over at it with a small smile. "That's Casnic." she motioned to the monkey who blinked and looked over to Maliki with a small wave of his giant hands.

He smiled. Holly is a pretty name. He flickered his gaze over the monkey, returning his small wave. He wished now more than ever that he could speak audibly. Getting into an animal's mind was dangerous; he could after its personality and functions just by trying to communicate. Maliki settled with his face almost touching the bars, facing Holly.
So...Where have I been placed, exactly?

She sighed, blowing one piece of hair that kept falling in her face. "Circus of Theatrical Acts and Beauty... By beauty, he probably means monstrosities created by man and nature... I'm not sure how it works." she shrugged, gazing down at the straw covered floor. "In other words, 'Welcome to the Freak show.'"

....Freak show.
He thought as such.
Maliki sighed. He wasn't the classic everyday vampire; that was for sure. Hadn't the man noticed that right away by his lavender skin and inverted eyes? Maybe that was the reason why he was sold to the ringleader in the first place. He would give Maliki a new name; perhaps a different species. The boy sat back and dropped his head into his hands with a long, tired sigh.
Why of course.

"...I know. It's not pleasant." Holly leaned her head back against the bars with a quiet sigh. Glancing over at him, she decided not to speak anymore for a bit unless he asked a question. She didn't want to scare him into possibly doing something foolish out of desperation to get out.

Left alone with his thoughts, Maliki grumbled. He didn't move for a long time.
After a moment that seemed like hours, he whispered into her mind again.
How long have you been locked away here?

Maliki wiped away what could have been tears and glanced over to Holly, resting his chin in his knees.