The Caravan

[Packgoater]

Rollo gave Kolin a wilting look. A carnival? Rollo? That was more than undignified, it was... strange. Odd. Weird. Different. Perhaps... fun? No. No it wouldn't be. It couldn't be. It wouldn't be fun, the carnies would dress him up and make him into a clown or something like that. Not cool. "Do... do I have to?" he mumbled, crossing his arms, his temper cooled. "Fine. I will. But if they try and make me into a clown, I refuse. I am not wearing any gaudy bright colors or smiling at children. Absolutely not smiling at children," Rollo muttered, his expression slightly softening. Rollo would do this with Kolin, just this once. But- but wait! This wasn't solving anything! He'd still be stuck with people! He'd have to preform in front of people, too! "Doubt they would take us in, anyway. We're not weird enough. Correction: I'm not weird enough," he snickered, a small smile displayed on his face.

[Kokay]

Kolin clapped his hands happily, performing a quick, but disorienting hand stand before returning to his feet. "No, no Rollo! You misunderstand! A carnival, a fair! One of those things where there are rides and side shows all the time! Not a circus! Though, you could be the guy who manages the strength test. No one would beat you. Yes, yes! This will work perfectly. We'll get housing, always be on the move, and it'll be fun." Kolin grinned. He had worked as a supervisor in the carnival before he'd left it when Rollo met up with him. "Let's go get your 'tar and we can go show why we would be excellent employees. Oh, and no. No need to smile at children. In fact," He paused to look carefully at Rollo's face. After a small moment, he grinned broadly. "Nope. I think you'd scare them more if you did smile."

[LoveLost]

"I didn't..." Auralia started in response to Rollo, but left it at that. It was time to separate now that the others were taken care of. She quickly rinsed off her own scratches and stood up after making sure that her bag was packed. "Well, safe travels." she said with a smile and a bow as she walked back out into the rain. It had been nice to spend some time with a few people that didn't run from her when she became a blazing inferno. As she walked away she started to sing the chorus to Gypsy by Shakira. It always lightened her heart as she sang in her strong country/classical/bluesy voice almost enough to where she gently swayed from side to side and added a spin as she kicked through the puddles. "I said hey you, You're no fool. If you say 'NO' Ain't it just the way life goes? People fear what they don't know..."

[Packgoater]

"Then don't say carnival," Rollo growled, shaking his head. What was up with him today and his inability to comprehend sentences? But he couldn't help but grin, feeling slightly as if they were both little kids again. "Say fair. And I dunno, there are some preeetty big guys out there, Kolin. I'm not a body builder," he muttered, shaking his head. After Kolin's last comment, Rollo shot him a quick but not really angry glare. "I think we'll have to get you a mask, dearest brother. They couldn't bear to look at your face, weather or no you're smiling. Poor children that have the misfortune of going near you. Most of them gouge their eyes out, but a few go insane in addition. I fear we both met the same fate, I looking at you when we were young and poor you, you young happy soul, looking ignorantly in a mirror. Tch. To think I would've been normal," Rollo retorted, grinning wickedly.

[Cori]

Garrett watched the group split up in silence before gathering up his things--not that he'd gotten anything out while he'd been sitting there. He ducked out from under the tarp and back into the rain, frowning. With weather like this, he was tempted to just check into that hotel again...but that was a waste of money. Besides, it would be impossible for him to sleep and there was nothing else to do in those little rooms. The TVs didn't even have cable.

 

Garrett grimaced and pulled the hood of his jacket over his head, trying to keep himself as dry as he could. He planted one foot on his skateboard and pushed off, gliding down the street and away from the street lights lining the roads of the city. There were all kinds of seedy characters out at night, but he'd been traveling like this long enough to know how to avoid them.

 

That thing that he'd said...it disturbed him. Chasms? How had he known that was what they were called? How did he know they were hunting 'them'--as in, others like Rollo and Kolin and Auralia. And why did he feel like he should be included in that list of targets?

After hearing what that woman had said, he was starting to have doubts. 'Gypsies...? That's ridiculous...'

He shook his head and growled in frustration, pushing himself faster as the rain continued to beat down on him. He had no idea where his next destination was--and frankly, he liked it that way.

Edited November 4, 2011 by Jackal

[Kokay]

"Aww, shove off Rollo." Kolin scoffed. He pushed his brother lightly and lead the way into the rain. He danced in it, cartwheels and spinning happily towards the carnival. He laughed at himself. Standing still for a moment, he let the rain crash over his body. As hot and sweaty as he felt, the cool rain was a great relief. He turned to look at the carnival. It was all closed up, but he saw lights from the campers and heard laughter. It looked like home to him. Never in one place more than a week and almost always on the move. Surrounded by people at all times. He looked at Rollo, pleased that he was willing to try it. "It'll be fun, I promise. Lot's a drinks, lot's of cards, and lot's of kids crying. I'm sure that comes as a relief to you," He winked at he brother, eyes laughing.

[Packgoater]

Rollo jogged to catch up to Kolin, who was dancing in the rain like the bizarre and eccentric acrobat he was. "I'm in for the cards and the crying kids... the drinking, not so much. If you remember, I've never been the drinker in the household, Kolin. Then again, that was back when I was planning on going to college and pay of dad's debts. Neither of those are going to happen, so how 'bout we celebrate this occasion with a good bit of drinking? I would suggest not letting me get drunk, unless you don't blame me for any damages I might inflict upon you. Then again, those damages would probably be an improvement," he replied, grinning, happy to see his brother so overjoyed. "Let's see if I can get back into gambling, eh?" Rollo said, clapping his brother on the back. "So... who's the boss here? Who do we need to- God Kolin, there are a helluva lot of people here!" he muttered, eyes wide. And he was going to have to survive this many people how?

[Kokay]

Kolin laughed happily. "Of course there's a lot of people here!" He clapped his brother on the back and ran to the biggest camper. It was actually an RV, far more fancy than all of the others. He rapped his knuckles against the door and waited in the rain patiently. The man who opened the door appeared to be less than pleased to open it, thinking Kolin was a trouble maker from his carnival no doubt. "Hello, sir! I am Kolin, and this is my brother, Rollo. We're in need of a bit of work and we were wondering if you might need a couple extra hands. I'm experienced in carnival work, the last one I was on I was a supervisor. And, Rollo would be great at working the strength test." He blurted quickly. Taking a pause to breathe, Kolin looked at the man. He was nodding his head. "Well, you're in luck kid. We need some extra workers so, go acquaint yourself with the extra room in the bunking house. And teach your brother the hierarchy so nothing goes wrong while he's here."

 

Kolin laughed happily and nodded. "Of course sir! Thank you!" He ran back to where Rollo was and pointed to the second largest camper, but no doubt the shabbiest. "That's where we'll be staying. We're roomies and... You've got the strength test job. I'm not sure what I'll be doing, but oh well. I've done it all before. So I know what I am doing." He started towards the camper, not a care in the world. After killing one of those shadows, he felt invincible, completely unaware of the wound he was suffering from, and the painkillers which caused him to act a fair shot different than normal. "I can't wait to get my hands on some rum!"

[Packgoater]

Rollo dragged his feet as soon as he saw where he would be staying. It was shabby run-down and well, he couldn't believe he would have to call it home. "Strength test... that's the big tower with the bell, right?" he asked, a brow raising as he made a hand gesture in the shape of a circle. "I never should have let you talk me into this... Don't get too drunk, okay? Did you bother asking when we would start?" Rollo asked, shifting the guitar case that was in his left hand to his right. Opening the camper door, he looked around at the less-that-fancy interior. "Greeaaat. I can't wait to call this home," he grumbled, putting down his things. "Alright, let's meet the rest of the carnies, eh? Find somewhere to get a drink and play a few rounds of cards," Rollo murmured, winking, a grin on his face.

[LoveLost]

Auralia had made her way to a small store that sold pre-used clothing and luckily for her, they had a sale going on and she was able to restock her clothing to a modest level, at least three full outfits. That would last her some time, well at least six days if she didn't get too dirty. Before wearing the clothes though, she ran them through a washing machine and dryer and put on a pair of jeans and a simple tanktop. Carnival. the word ran through her head several times before she decided to go and see what there could be done for a flamethrower. It took her half an hour to get there and with evening coming, the night life was quickly starting up and she was accepted right away after giving a demonstration.

 

"Put this on though and go to the stage from the back...you're on in ten minutes!" he shouted as Auralia quickly ran towards the stage and started to change behind a curtain only to find the outfit to be as skimpy as skimpy could be! Well at least for her. The top was made in the style of a halter type bikini with red underneath black lace. The bottom, which settled on her hips, was much like Princess Leia's slave outfit except instead of gold and dark red, it was black and fiery red. "Well...it's a job!" she thought to herself and waited until she was told to go out onto the stage and handed two large sticks.

 

Auralia took a deep breath as people started to gather around and speedy music started to play. Her heart was pounding in her ears as she stomped her right foot in front of her and arched her back with her hands raised high in the air. As the music started to pick up pace, she allowed fire to jump from her hands and onto the ends of each of the sticks igniting them in a large flame. Sweat started to drip down her body underneath the sheltered area to keep the rain from her as she spun around in time with the music throwing the sticks high into the air and catching them with her neck, arms, hands and ankles then throwing them in the air again.

 

It was a three minute performance and by the end, she was ready for the finale. She took a deep breath then poured water into her mouth to make viewers think that she used gasoline and spewed out a large flame from her mouth that took the shape of a dragon. Many thought this impressive and the crowd clapped wildly as she extinguished the flames.

 

After bowing once and disappearing, she stepped back behind the tents and sat down panting after such fast and wild exertion.

[Packgoater]

(( As Koke corrected me, I'll correct you. Carnival as in fair, not circus.))

[LoveLost]

((However, if it is a funfair, then http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funfair#Sideshows With that, it kinda depends on the definition...I'll talk to her later about since she won't be back until later.))

[Kokay]

((She contacted me and I think it would be fine. At first I was iffy about it, especially since it was done at night. But, judging by the description it makes more than enough sense. Scandalous clothing, plus bright fire. She's got an audience of all men... Literally))

 

Kolin dropped his change out of his pockets. Undoing his suspenders and letting them hang at his sides, Kolin grinned wildly at Rollo. He clapped his brother on the back, grinning. "We're not on until the fair settles down somewhere. Then you and I will put up the strength test, oh yeah. It's the bell and tower thing. I'll help you set it up and maybe run it until someone tells me to do something different." He led the way out, but stopped short to look at his brother. "Actually, leave your guitar and money here. If they know you have something substantial to bet with, they'll cheat and take it all."

 

Kolin exited the house and looked around. He watched in awe as a tent lit up with bright colors. So they had a fire dancer. He grinned happily to see this. The one he had joined hadn't had one, but it was a new thing that was more than appreciated by the young man. As the show ended, he watched the retreating form. Skimpy clothing and red hair. What an appropriate hair color for a fire dancer. Before he could stop himself, Kolin was cartwheeling across the grass towards the girl. He cut her off and grinned. The smile, however, faded quickly as he saw who it was. "Y-You again?" He asked, surprised.

[Packgoater]

"Already did," Rollo said, pointing to their camper. He watched as a tent lit up with fire and men cheered. "Perhaps you can be an acrobat in this," he said, elbowing his brother. And then Kolin was gone from his side, off chasing some girl, no doubt. What a good guess! There he was, talking to the fire dancer whom was dressed in ridiculously skimpy clothing. "Kolin!" Rollo shouted, about near to pummel the idiot, until he saw his grin fade. Oh? What was this? Perhaps the girl was hideous up close? Jogging over, his eyes suddenly narrowed. "You have GOT to be kidding me," Rollo sighed, glaring at Kolin. "Well, hello again, firebreather," he muttered, elbowing Kolin hard in the ribs. "You know, I chose this one, thinking not so many people, and two, thinking blissfully I wouldn't have to see anyone I know, however slightly I know them. Both was wrong. Can we leave now?" he groaned, his voice in an undertone though the girl could probably still hear.

[Kokay]

Kolin took Rollo by the arm, turning him and scowling. "Listen, we're staying here. Besides, it might be better to be with her. She's got some strange fire thing goin' on. That means that we have more help to fight any of them shadowy dudes," He looked back at the girl and slid his hair back from his forehead, holding it there. He scowled and sighed. "Well, Devil girl, we meet again. But, this time you followed us. Tell you what, if any one of us sees a shadow kid, we'll be out to find each other. Then we help each other. But, we don't need to associate otherwise. I mean, it doesn't need to be done." He glanced back at Rollo, hoping his proposition passed with his incredibly hot headed brother. Again, he was trying to make it easier for Rollo to stay calm. This girl seemed to make him mad quite easily and that wouldn't float. He'd have to keep them separated.

[Packgoater]

"I have no IDEA why I let you talk me into this! This stupid damn place hasn't got anything for us, Kolin, so I have NO CLUE why you want to stay here! These people aren't going to replace our family! I would still HAVE a family if you weren't so goddamn drunk that day, Kolin! You know what you did to me? You made me chose. You made me chose between them and you, and I clearly made my choice, but I swear... I NEVER want to make choices like that EVER again!" Rollo shouted, all control utterly lost. He had never said anything like that before, not to his brother. He hadn't been set off by anything like that before. He hadn't even really shown that he was sore at Kolin for what he did, and to be honest, he probably wasn't all that upset about his decision to leave, to leave his dad, that is. He was much closer with his mother, and that had been painful. He walked out of that house after his brother, having to ignore the shouts and tears behind him. Having to ignore that part of him that wanted to tell his mother it was okay, that they would come back. But he never got that. Kicking a trashcan aside, Rollo walked a little ways away, curses coming from his mouth in long strings. In fact, he probably cursed more than he breathed.

[Skarx]

Sophy was sitting in the second row right next to the wall, taking notes very seriously as the teacher explained her subject. She had to be good and taking notes was in her opinion the best way memorize something. It was around noon and her stomach was starting to remind her how she had skipped breakfast not to be late to class since she had woken up late. The class would not last much longer now so she'd be able to go to the cafeteria and get something to eat. She sigh. How long has she been here now? One or two months? The place itself was not so bad, it was school and had a dormitory for the students, but she was forbidden from having contact with the outside world. She couldn't even go outside! Maybe it was to keep her safe from the shadows?

 

Before coming here she remember having been followed, by what she didn't know, she didn't even know if she really WAS followed. Then it just came out of nowhere, something caught her then everything goes blank. She doesn't remember what happened at all. If she tries to remember... she just start panicking and shaking. It was gone now and she was safe here. No one stalked her and even though she could not go outside, she was quite happy with the library inside the school. She was not alone either, there was a couple of other students she had gotten to know.

 

When the bell rang she packed her stuff in her bag and left the room along with the others. She made her way to the cafeteria wondering what she should eat and what was today's meal.

[LoveLost]

Auralia was about to stand up from where she was sitting when she heard an all too familiar voice. "Well..." she stated as Kolin said that it was her again. When Rollo walked over, she could already easily see that he was already tense and angry about something, although what, she didn't know.

 

"First, firebreather sounds better than Devil girl and me, follow you? I'm not that desperate. I actually had no idea that you guys were coming here." she said and crossed her arms as she looked at the two of them then grimaced at Rollo. "I'm not deaf." came her somewhat perturbed reply but then Kolin proposed something that made sense. They wouldn't have to interact with each other, although she would like interacting with someone that didn't think she was too terribly crazy. It seemed to be something that Rollo enjoyed but the unexpected...well the known unexpected if that makes any sense, happened.

 

Rollo started to spew angry words at his brother and it seemed like he had held what he needed to say, in for quite some time. Auralia was at a total loss as to what to do because for some odd reason, she felt a responsibility for the two brothers and she was sure that Kolin was injured. Her eyes were wide as she looked between the two hoping that Kolin wouldn't yell and that he would just let his brother blow off some steam. But then again, she wanted them to make up...she wanted things to be nice and perfect between them because she was very jealous of their close relationship; she didn't want that to disappear.

[Cori]

Garrett really hated his own imagination sometimes. He'd been a mile out of the city when he'd spotted several...shapes, moving around in the darkness. He'd tried to convince himself that it was nothing to worry about, but when he saw the figures approaching him again he'd turned around and booked it back to the city. Now he was lurking in the fairgrounds, where he'd heard Kolin and Rollo say they were going. He hated feeling like he was following them--he could handle himself just fine, dammit!--but he couldn't deny that it was safer to be with a group at the moment, in case more of those Chasms really were lurking about. Power in numbers and all that nonsense.

He WAS surprised to see Auralia was there as well, since she'd left in the opposite direction of the two brothers. She seemed to be performing as a fire-breather. Well, now he knew which area of the fairgrounds to avoid.

 

Garrett carried his skateboard under his arm as he wandered the grounds, keeping an eye out for any suspicious looking characters...namely, more of those Chasms. He didn't want to be caught off-guard.

[Kokay]

Kolin took every word that came from his brother's mouth. It went in one ear, and pricked his heart. He felt like he couldn't stand. His knees shook and his throat began to close up. "No, no. F-fine. Rollo, I guess I'll leave then. You can do what you'd like. Go back to the family you gave up. I've been a burden to you for far too long. I can handle myself now. And it's about time I did. I-I..." Kolin's voice cracked. He looked at his brother, angry at him for turning this around on himself. "You can have the money I made today, I'll make more. Maybe I'll come and find you some day." He muttered.

 

Spinning back around to face the girl, his face darkened considerably. "You. Tell them that I left. Make sure Rollo doesn't make a fool of himself. Don't let him hurt anyone while I'm gone. And don't," He glared pointedly at Rollo and then back at the girl, Auralia. "Follow me. If I want to deal with either of you two, I'll let you know." At that point in time, Kolin pulled his suspenders over his shoulders and fastened them to his pants once more. It was a very undramatic gesture, but he didn't care. He was done. Without another glance at his brother's form, he trudged off in the night towards the city once more. Rollo was old enough to handle life on his own now, and Kolin would no longer be holding him back. It would be just as if he had never existed.

 

It was anger that spurred him on. Anger that his brother would say such a thing. To suggest that Kolin and forced him to chose himself over their parents. He would never have done such a thing, and he hadn't. But Rollo seemed to think that he had intended for it to end that way. Kolin needed to be alone to sort out his thoughts. Rollo would know that, but if he got to being alone again, it was likely he'd be too far away to find his way back again. Letting out an irritated hiss, Kolin kicked at the wet grass. His shoes were soaked through and it did nothing to augment his mood. His fingers dug into his palms, trying to release some of the unwanted tension. How could Rollo betray him like that? They were brothers.

[Packgoater]

"Why the hell are you leaving me here? You stay. You're the one who wants to!" Rollo growled after his brother's retreating form. Cursing wildly, he looked around, hoping to find the nearest person he could and strike up a fight with them. He was breathing heavily, his jaw working, eyes flashing. "Damn you all! Damn you all to the bloody brinks of hell or so be it, I shall drag you there myself!" he shouted, shoving the nearest large object -a wooden crate- towards the nearest person to him. It caught the person in his legs and sent them stumbling. "Come at me, will you? Bring your hellish fury upon me!" Rollo snarled, the veins on his neck obvious with tension. He was shaking all over. He had never been so out of control, never been so furious. "Let me kill you. Let me send your ass back where it came from," he growled, and suddenly was running. The man never saw him coming. Rollo collided with him, knocking him to the ground, his hands on the man's throat. He was prepared to kill him. He was prepared to kill every single person in the carnival if it eased his pain. The pain was terrible, encompassing him, ruling his every whim. The other man was struggling now, trying in vein to stop him, to ease the pressure. But Rollo no longer saw the man before him. No, there in his hands, there was his father. "YOU! YOU DID THIS TO HIM!"

[Cori]

A pair of hands grabbed Rollo roughly by the shoulders, shaking him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Garrett barked angrily. He pulled on Rollo's shoulders. "Let him go you idiot; do you want to get charged for assault at a freaking carnival?!"

 

The man in question looked rather terrified at this point. From what Garrett had seen, the attack had come from out of the blue--there had been almost no warning at all. He'd noticed Kolin walking away as well, but he wasn't sure where he was going. However, that wasn't very important at this point--not when Rollo was trying to pop someone's head off.

[Packgoater]

Rollo turned quickly, letting go of the man, who was turning a bit blue in the face, and swinging a fist at whomever had gripped him. "You b*stard! I'm not f*cking in the mood!" he growled, nostrils flared as he now shoved this man away from him with a force that would send a grown man sprawling. Rollo stood now, aware of the people and the shouts echoing around him. Covering his ears for a moment, he realized he needed to flee as a fist went whizzing past him. Taking off, Rollo made it to the camper and locked the door, which people promptly started pounding on. Strapping his guitar to his back, he jumped out a small window and took of running, people at his heels. He cringed as he heard wood splintering and strings twanging, hoping that wasn't his guitar but knowing it was. Finally they gave up, and he was dumped on the streets. Free. Free! Truly and utterly free to do what he wanted and when he wanted to do it! Laughing for the pure joy of it, right in that moment it hit him full on, and his knees buckled, sending shockwaves through him. No. No, no no. He couldn't have done that. Not really. NO! But he was right, wasn't he? Kolin had destroyed him. Devastated him. Made him choose. Right? And here he was, no way of making money, his guitar tattered clumps of wood strapped to his back. All this for mere words? Small stupid words. Such stupid things to say. But he was right, wasn't he? He had to have been.

[Cori]

After being shoved unceremoniously to the ground, Garrett had gotten to his feet with a frustrated growl, massaging his shoulders. He idly watched as several angry carnival guests began to chase Rollo, then set his skateboard on the ground and took off after him. As he followed behind the angry mob, he let out an exasperated sigh. Honestly, he wasn't sure why he was following this man now. It was obvious he was a bit touched in the head, with the way he reacted to everything.

The group of people had been stopped when Rollo slammed the door of his camper in their face. They began to beat at the door, shouting at the man inside. Garrett snickered and shook his head. Did they really think anyone would be stupid enough to stay in one spot when they were being chased? Rollo had probably gone straight for the nearest window as soon as he'd locked the door.

Garrett skirted around the camper, finding an open window near the back with wood chips and splinters littering the ground beneath it. He frowned and continued to move, scanning the area.

 

There he was, crouched on the ground. Garrett raised his eyebrows and circled around to stop in front of the other man.

"Bad day?" he asked dryly.

[Packgoater]

Rollo glared icily at the man before him. "No, it's obviously going on just swell," he retorted, putting on a cold front to the stranger. He stood up and smashed the remains of his guitar onto the ground, finding useless and irreparable. "Go away, damn you. I don't need anything else to go wrong," he hissed, cursing again. "I am so TIRED of all of this. Of all these damn people! Why do you follow me? Why does my brother lead me to make decisions I don't want to make, choices I shouldn't have to create. WHY? ANSWER ME THAT!" he demanded, grabbing the collar of the man's shirt. His eyes were desperate, angry, almost pleading, his long hair awry and in his face, giving him a wild look. His mouth was pulled into a snarl, and despite this furious front there was an overwhelming sadness within that gave on the impression that Rollo no longer cared. The he didn't care if he lived or died.