eat your young (earinor & marquis)

"I did. But hey, I had less crazy ideas too...", Louis defended himself with a smile. He wasn't sure how serious he meant most of them, but then again, if they could tame a lion, why not an alligator? He had many ideas and sometimes he was probably just bored. Most of his ideas didn't fly with the ringmaster anyway, some he allowed only to see Louis fail and realize himself, that it had been stupid. Only those that weren't that crazy though. In the end he always looked out for them and yet, it was only for his selfish desires, for his hunger, or whyever he did it. He'd been like a father to both of them and when Louis realized who he truly was and that he was only using every single person in this circus, he was devastated. Louis had so much time in his makeshift hospital bed to think about it, to be scared, disappointed and lost. He still had many questions that weren't answered by him and for the longest time he wanted to protect Josiah from finding out, from being destroyed as well. Now however, maybe he was old enough and maybe learning about it would allow him to flee.

"No it's alright...", Louis mumbled, still shuffling the card. "Maybe the cotton candy calmed them down. It'll be fine. I know sitting in their wagon or helping push them out of the mud isn't anyones favorite activity, but I know you'll manage them." He did. Josiah kept them in line by making them play games. He always did and Louis appreciated it, even though he quite obviously never thanked Josiah enough for it. Eventually he put the cards on the table. "Pick any one.", Louis told him and once Josiah complied he talked hi through further. "Remember it? Right, then shuffle it back in." Josiah did what he was asked and eventually Louis got the cards back. He shuffled them some more, then strew a bunch of cards on the table, commenting that those were not the right cards. Eventually he stopped, seemingly at random. "Is that it?", he asked. It wasn't, but he knew that and once he was told, with Josiahs face maybe even lighting up because he somehow tricked Louis, Louis acted like he sighed. "Oh right... it must have been the one I forgot in your chest pocket then." How did it get there? When did it get there? Louis wouldn't tell.

They were family, that was important - to all of them. Truth be told, Josiah knew that Louis never meant harm, that he always looked out for all of them in a way, and that he only ever resorted to force if need be, and even then, force wasn't exactly what it was either - he was opinionated, had his own ideas about many things and simply wanted the best for everyone, which resulted in him drawing the ire of many more than just the children on him sometimes. "True, but your crazy ideas were pretty fun too.", Jo admitted with a grin on his lips. There was nothing that Louis hadn't thought of, especially way back when - he was prepared for the oddest, most unlikely of questions, but taming lions and walking alligators aside, all of what he had done had simply been for fun. "Hm, that reminds me of the time I suggested we have the snakes hop through some rings for a show - I was pretty young back then, but the idea was so stupid, I think I won't ever forget it." In the end, it had needed some of the adults to explain to him that, well, a snake wouldn't be able to jump without any feet, and it wouldn't do so on command either, so Josiah stuck to them being something more than simple companions for his shows, if he ever needed them at all. Louis, on the other hand, had many ideas, few of them actually dumb like Jo's own.

"The cottoncandy turned them into ravenous beasts.", he joked and immediately shook his head after. "Jokes aside, they enjoyed it a lot - you should have seen how their faces lit up when they heard the good news, and suddenly, all of them behaved. I know, being part of this circus isn't the most fun thing sometimes, but we band together, like a real family, you know?" Blood was somehow irrelevant for them and whatever it was that they shared, be it their spirit or their desire for companionship; they all were drawn to each other and Josiah enjoyed it, the togetherness, the close-knit feeling of an evergrowing family. Lou was part of that family, one he couldn't bear to lose, which meant he'd entertain him until he figured him out, be that as it may. As those cards lay before him, he looked them over carefully, for a bend or a scratch, anything that could indicate that it was rigged, or had some sort of past history associated with it; and once he talked himself into one, he furrowed his brows, complied with the instructions and hid it well within the pile of cards he was asked to shuffle. Then came Louis' turn, and he failed, which led to Josiah getting cocky and finally smiling over his apparent win. "No.", he answered, sure that he had won, but soon enough, he was crestfallen and pulled the card out of his chestpocket, just like he was told to. "W-What? How? I demand a do-over! That's just a coincidence!", the blonde demanded as he placed his card back on the table - he was annoyed, but likewise impressed and definitely giggling about being duped once more. But whatever, right? "How do you keep doing this?" Magic wasn't real, that was child's play, but this trick would never fail to amaze him and Josiah already carefully thought about the next card he could pick, without even seeing his options. Louis couldn't be right two times in a row!

"I'm amazed you never got bored with it.", Louis admitted with a soft smile. Oh how he sometimes wished everything could be like it was before, but at the same time wishing to be clueless again was unfair to everyone he tried to save. It was better to know, than live in the dark, or at least it was better at least one person who cared knew. Before the fire Louis thought this place was the greatest on earth, he thought this was home and family and sometimes heaven. He wanted to do his best always and he asked so many lost children to join them. It was unfair of him to be a mad at Josiah to still do the same, how could he know of all that happened here? Louis felt bad for being so hard on him and forgot that he was in the process of shuffling the cards while retreating into his mind. He soon wrestled himself out, continued shuffling and looked at Josiah. "I've been unfair to you and I'm sorry...", he let out, then quickly looked at the cards again.

"Family... yeah." And every time one of the vanished it was like a sibling died. There was another story Louis wanted Josiah to read and he left the cards on the table for now, getting up to search for another book, or rather a little pamphlet. Josiah knew that story, they read it together when they were younger, but it was somewhat fitting. He couldn't tell that to Josiah, but he was able to slide the booklet over the table. "I want you to have this.", he told him, he couldn't say much more than that. It was the story of the ratcatcher. It was far fetched to tie it to the circus and the ringmaster, but there was a shared idea, something quite obvious, even though Louis doubted that any of the parents of these lost children did the ringmaster wrong. Louis picked up the cards again. "I won't tell you, it takes the fun out of it.", he softly smiled, he was not going to spill his secrets, instead he prepared another trick. "You know... it's nice to do this... it's nice to having you around again. I wouldn't mind if you wanted to stay, though if you rather go and read, that's fine too." He offered the cards up to Josiah, let him pick three this time. "Put one back, lay one open on the table and keep the third."

“Why would I? You always had the best ideas, at least kid me would claim you did and then decide that I should support those ideas. I’m pretty sure that adult me doesn’t think all that differently about things like that.”, Josiah explained, and while they weren’t crafting some sort of elaborate plot to get their hands on more freedom this time, he truly had to admit that he had been smitten by each and any idea his longtime friend had proposed back then. Sometimes, he had to recall that he was overstepping and that perhaps Louis didn’t have the most sane of ideas, but that had never meant that he wasn’t absolutely on board with them - Jo knew he’d do anything for him, always had, always would be, and thus, he also trusted him blindly, even all these years later. “Where’d that come from now?”, he questioned, raising his head from the cards he’d taking quite the gander at to catch a glimpse of a much more apologetic face than he had anticipated. “There’s certain things you just can’t talk about and I’m the one overstepping boundaries, I’m sorry for that. To be honest, if you could talk about it, or ever can … I’m still here for you.” With that, he decided to go back to thinking about the card he wanted - maybe these things just were all the same? No, he’d notice that, but Louis had to have a trick up his sleeve.

"You know, me, you, the others, maybe the ringmaster - it's not exactly what others would call a family, but I don't know anything else. This is good, not just good enough." The feeling of togetherness was all Josiah felt like he needed, but apparently, there was more than that. Whether or not he needed Lou in his life was a different thing, but also one he shouldn't bother himself with, not right now anyway, when they were having quite the enjoyable evening together - a rare occassion anyway, given everything that had transpired, or well, that had kept them apart. Be that as it may, Louis had more secrets to impart upon him and Josiah was the one that felt as if he was uncovering some myth, or perhaps even something more. "Huh? The ... the ratcatcher thing? I mean ... Okay, it's important to you. I'll give it a read as soon as I can.", he complied without another word. Perhaps he felt that he'd gotten too old, or maybe even too mature for such silly tales, and yet, he was not, never had been, never would be - if he wasn't a contortionist, he'd be a clown, and if he wasn't a clown, he'd be a fool; a fool for still clinging to all of this and not seeing the greater scheme behind all that happened. Just as it started to bother him enough, the mood lightened, like a burden off of his shoulders. "The fun of teasing me or of seeing my amused face, huh?" It was whatever, even when he giggled about it - Louis knew him, he knew how he could be and that he didn't take it to heart - he enjoyed being made fun of sometimes, but only for so long. That, too, warmed him up from the inside out and Jo soon felt all giggly about it, especially as Lou kept going and going. "Go and read? After you told me you enjoy having me around again? No way! Sorry, but that feeling is mutual, and I will abuse your hospitality tonight.", he confessed almost immediately and gandered at their deck of cards, carefully picking away at three different ones - he memorized them, then figured he'd devise a tactic and did as he was told, still holding the third firmly between his fingers - he stretched the arm out a bit so Louis could grab it if he needed to. "You'll never guess it."

"You'll never change...", Louis smiled. It was what made Josiah himself. Louis changed drastically, but even if Josiah knew about all of what was happening here, he'd still remain mostly the same. He'd be optimistic and positive and he'd try to find a way and save Louis and everyone else. Louis wasn't even sure if he wanted that, if he wanted him to try. He didn't want Josiah to get hurt. "Uh... just thinking about how I treated you... when I yelled at you or blamed you, it wasn't fair. I'm sorry." Josiah didn't have all the facts, he didn't know any better and he didn't act differently than Louis would have, if certain things hadn't happened or if their roles were reversed. Louis looked at the scarred skin on his arm. He actually wasn't as bothered by his scars as Josiah probably was, but they were a reminder of a lost past and all that happened after the fire. He usually didn't wear them this openly either, mostly for other people and maybe Josiah didn't like to see them either, but on the other hand, there was a big scar on Louis face he didn't always hide. "You haven't. I'm just... angry at myself and I let it out on you."

Louis gaze darted up when Josiah mentioned the ringmaster. He definitely wasn't family and some of the other members of the circus weren't either. They were his minions, doing what he told them to and they liked toying with Louis who was neither part of them, despite knowing what was going on, nor was he part of the others anymore. Louis knew what Josiah meant, but he disagreed on some levels, still he couldn't and wouldn't tell him, when he told him what made him happy. "Yeah I know.", he simply commented, because Louis had been the same. Even if they weren't always happy and sometimes fought, they were like a family, all of them, excluding certain people. Then again, there were enough shitty parents that left their children to starve, children that would find their way here, to the circus, like Leila and Lucas and maybe Arthur. Josiah wouldn't do anything stupid if he learned the truth, right? "It would take the fun out for you if you'd knew how to do it. What else would I fill the evening with then?", Louis asked and he seldomly had someone to practice on, so this was good. "It's getting late still... we've got a lot to do tomorrow." They should go to bed soon. "I said keep it.", Louis smiled, while shuffling back the other card into the deck. After he'd done that he fanned out the cards on the table. "Are you still into reading tarot?", he asked. A random question, but he just needed to think about it as he looked at his own. Not that he took a card per chance. He picked up the card Josiah put on the table and held it over the others until he picked two cards and laid them face down on the table. "One of these is the one I shuffled in, right?", he asked upon turning them both face up.

"Maybe that's a good thing?", Josiah guessed with a laugh. Perhaps, being set in his ways was a smart move or the best idea he could have at this point in time; being a pillar for each and every person in this circus took time and not being affected by most of what went down here at any point, wasn't that just the smartest thing he could do? In truth, maybe he should have changed a long time ago, but in reality, he never would, no matter for how long he sat around and marbled at it all. Josiah was, and would always stay himself - not even the fire had truly changed him, even as it shook him down to his core. "It's not like I was better the past few days. I'm sorry about that, that's not how I should have acted and ... I know, we already went over this, but it's fine! Look, we both have a lot of luggage we carry around with ourselves, but it would be nice if we could go back to sharing the burden, sometime. Whenever you can, or feel ready to.", the blonde eventually mustered up, and he meant it - it wouldn't fix hurt feelings or missed years, or even painful scars, but it would help them heal, one way or the other. Their shared experiences were their own, just that and nobody elses, and neither of them would have to ever be alone again. "It's fine. Let it out on me! That's better than letting it out on the kids, or worse, the customers. Imagine if you couldn't even smile - who'd want a frowning, pissy clown?"

Were the children scared of his best friend because he'd been mean in the past? If only he knew. There was no way he'd take a stab at the problem right about now, and there also wasn't any way they'd figure that out tonight - Jo had different problems, they were called cards and stupid tricks that only a true magician like Lou could perform, unlike him, the fraud he'd always been and would always be. Even as his brows furrowed and as he tried his best to keep up with the rhythm, he would probably not manage to figure this out, no matter how hard he tried. Was he too shallow for a simple trick? Perhaps, but that was one of his charms, he'd argue. Innocent and doe-eyed, almost as if he knew nothing about the world, much like one of the kids, and yet much more older, somewhat more responsible but at the same time childish enough to not see how rotten this place truly was - Josiah had no idea about that, but he quite literally enjoyed just sitting here, basking in the afterglow of Louis infectuous mood. "Okay okay, I get it! You wouldn't have anything else to confuse me with because that's the only trick you know, isn't it? I'll figure it out by myself, then!", he proudly announced, knowing fully well that he wouldn't. Perhaps that was one thing he had to work on - his overconfidence that made little to no sense to any of them, most of the time. "Tomorrow will be stressful ... but that's a problem for the Louis and the Josiah of tomorrow, not of tonight.", Josiah tried to explain the issue away as he yawned and eyed the cards again, much like a rabid dog that was waiting for a feast that he'd been promised. "I will, I will!" Would he ever be able to argue with Louis for real? Unlikely. "Sometimes. Can be fun, until the reverse tower shows up and you're trying to ignore it. And then stuff keeps happening. Why?", he chuckled, somewhat amused, but he wouldn't be fooled by some stupid comments this time, and not distracted either - no! Almost flabberghasted, he looked back at the cards on the table. "Yes, why? ... What would you even do if I said no?", he teasingly questioned.

"It is.", Louis agreed. Josiah was still his best friend and he wouldn't want him to be any otherway, even if it meant that Louis had to grow up alone. Louis could only nod at Josiahs own apology. They both had been childish and Louis ought to learn how to control his frustration without lashing out. Still, he couldn't change too much, those children had to train fast and become useful quickly. The ringmaster might have listened to Louis once, but that wouldn't fly forever. He still didn't know why it didn't take more convincing and it worried him. Just thinking about it made Louis almost drop the cards in his hands. "They have to train and get good at their acts here. I know I'm harsh but... it's important." He knew Josiah didn't understand and Louis didn't want to start another argument, but he had to say it. For the next days there wouldn't be much training anyway, with them moving the circus to a new location as soon as morning came and everyone ate some breakfast.

"You're right I suppose..." Louis actually didn't have that many tricks up his sleeve. He dabbled in every venture, but he wasn't very good at any of it, besides magic tricks and juggling. Josiah was visibly tired, but Louis ignored it for now. His trick was almost complete anyway. "Just interested... your predictions were mostly right, you know?" He warned Louis about a big life changing event a night before the fire too. He wasn't wrong there. While Louis had the firm believe that those tarot readings were somewhat of a scam before and so flimsical you could put it to anything, after what he learned he wasn't so sure anymore it wasn't real. For now Louis concentrated on the cards again. "I know you'd lie to me.", Louis answered with a shortlived smile. "Well we have a four of spades and a three of hearts, which means the card you are still holding must be a... seven of diamonds?", he asked. The pseudo mathematical aspect was nothing but a rouse to make the trick more compelling, but it was fun and more of a challenge since Louis had to find some cards that fit together and could explain his logic behind the one Josiah still had in is posession.

Sure thing. Josiah snorted. Louis was full of shit sometimes, but right now, he’d even believe him if he said every elephant in the world had turned pink overnight and sprouted wings, and now they were soaring through the skies. Maybe they could do that too; grow wings and fly away … it was silly. Where would they even go? They were born and raised in this environment, nobody wanted to give that up. “I know, I know. They can relax when they’re older and confident in their skills, isn’t it that? For now, you want to work them to the bone so they get the basics down.” Inevitably, that would lead to irritation and frustration among some of the kids - maybe the older ones, maybe the younger ones, someone always found room to complain anyway and Josiah had been one of them, even if he’d enjoyed what he did. Breaks were always nice, but some of them yet had to actually earn any.

“What? You’re giving up that easily? Come on, Louis. You definitely have more than that up your sleeve.” Did he? Josiah wasn’t sure and he didn’t live to question everything his best friend did; he simply assumed that even someone like Louis would eventually run out of options and have to come up with something new. “If you want I can go get them and we do a session now, figure out what floats your boat and all?” And what the issue was about, actually. They could probably pinpoint something at the very least, if one were to believe the cards, but Josiah was always quite reserved about that. Why trust some paper over your own gut? “Oh come on, I’d never lie to you unless it would be absolutely necessary and I don’t see why it would be, right here and right now.” There were many more things that could he wrong, and many more problems that could plague either of them, but this? It was an almost docile moment of stupidity that they shared, and Josiah watched Louis’ movements closely, as if he could miss out on something if he was preoccupied with something else. That’s how those tricks worked, wasn’t it? “How the fuck do you know that?” Defeated, he laid his card bare. That didn’t make any sense! Besides, it was unfair too. “Alright, one more. I demand a rematch.”

"Once they are good enough, they don't have anything to worry about.", Louis agreed and he couldn't say much more to that. They always fought over it and he was sick of it, he didn't want another argument. Josiah didn't understand and he wouldn't, not with Louis being unable to tell him. For him they were just sent away and even if Louis told him how they'd then maybe starve or freeze, not having a wagon, a bed and food, he didn't want to hear it. He was at a loss really, but he didn't want to fight. "I can't do that much.", he mumbled. Even though he trained most of the kids, eventually someone else had to take over, someone who was actually good at what they were doing. Louis was good with words and smiles, apparently he was able to charme their customers and Josiah claimed some of the girls came just for him, but he didn't quite believe that. There was a reason the ringmaster had him do all of this and he could very well fathom why.

He was also sure that the ringmaster made him... confused, for a lack of a better word. He knew he acted differently when their show started, it just happened and he could remember it very well. He didn't hate either of his selfs for who they were either, it felt uncannily natural to him. He looked up at Josiah and shook his head. "I don't know if I wanna know...", he mumbled. Knowing the future wasn't always good and there was nothing they could change either, if they only got a flimsical glimpse. "Not even to win?", he then smiled and shuffled the cards again, then put the pile away, despite Josiah demanding a rematch. "I think we should sleep. It's late and tomorrow is travel day..." He didn't want to kick Josiah out, but it was getting late and the had to get up early tomorrow as well as walk a whole lot.

“If they ever are.” It was the one thing they kept talking about all the time. Not only were the kids hard to deal with on occasion, they proved to be quite feisty as well - the only thing that changed all of that, at the very least a little bit, was, when they actually had a talent for something. It was almost instantly recognized and they could just focus on training them for one specific thing, not five different ones. Perhaps, that, too, was a problem. “It’s alright, I’m here for a reason, aren’t I? And the others, too. We’re all here to help, with the kids, or not - the circus is supposed to be one big family.” Besides, even better if they all got along. What else was there to desire, to want, to crave? Josiah liked the circus, the way it was, and he valued his gigantic, mismatched family, too. They all were important to him for a reason, Louis included, even if he was quite prickly sometimes and reminded him of a rattlesnake; always overreacting but he went through with what he was warning others about for sure.

Josiah wanted this night to end fair and square, wanted to milk it to his hearts content so he could get something out of all of this, be it better understanding of Louis’ antics or just a way to figure out the brunettes card tricks. But none of that would happen, it seemed - not even a glimpse into Louis future would be a possibility for tonight. At this, he looked at Lou, almost hurt. “You can make up your mind whenever, the cards don’t lie and besides, maybe they’ll have something different in store for you at another time.” Plus, they wouldn’t run away or go anywhere. Fate was bound to happen, and if the cards couldn’t tell ones fate, they were useless, too. Much like dawdling around with the cards was - Josiah groaned, in defeat. They were due for sleep, no? “Alright, alright, Lou. I got it. You ought to get some sleep as well. Let’s see, how about I wake you up tomorrow, for a change?” When they’d lived together, they almost always woke up at the same time, but they terrorized each other regardless. Why not make a habit of it?

"Right..." That was the problem, one that Josiah didn't see as a whole and one that Louis couldn't share because of the ringmasters magic, or curse, or whatever if was that gave him control over Louis. He had an idea, but that was it, even he didn't have all the answers, but Josiah was the only completely blind and in the dark, putting his trust into the wrong people. Half of this circus at least wasn't who they seemed to be, Louis included and there were certain members Louis tried to keep away from others, unsuccessfully. There was nothing much he could do if he could not talk about it and the more he struggled against them, the worse they got, so by this point he mostly ignored them and let Josiah and the rest decide for themselves who they spent time with. He was powerless and he also realized that he helped the ringmaster much more than he should, in the hopes of diverging the fates he chose for those joining their troupe. Josiah was here for a reason, yes, everyone was, but it wasn't what they could even imagine.

Louis grew incredibly quiet, as he mostly did when Josiah talked happily about their family and their time here. There was no use struggling against Josiahs believes and half of what he wanted to say wouldn't live his throat anyway. "I don't think my future looks very bright..." And maybe Josiah would see something he better didn't. Would Louis want to tell him who lived here? It seemed better for him not to know, not to shatter his world. Louis had always been more resiliant, Josiah was very emotional and very fragile in that regard. Louis feared of what would happen if he knew, even without the ringmaster intervening. "If you wake up before me." And that was a big if. Louis wouldn't sleep well tonight, not after what they talked about. He got up to see Josiah out, not that it was a long way to his door. It was late and they both needed some sleep and maybe some time to think. Louis sighed silently, he didn't know what to do and even now that he tried to make Josiah see the truth, he doubted it would lead to anything. Even if he believed in divination, that was about as far as it went. "Good night."

"Sleep well.", Josiah answered with a sigh. What was this all about? If he could, he'd invite himself to stay by Louis' side for the night, but alas, he wasn't powerful enough to worm himself back into that mans heart like that. It was a wonder that they even talked to each other now. Was there a purpose in doing so? Maybe, but perhaps he'd simply missed talking to him - hell, who wouldn't have. Regardless of an answer, however, he had to admit that there was almost little to nothing that he felt in comparison to the usual turmoil of feelings. Josiah picked himself and his borrowed book up, and then, without saying much more, fled Louis' trailer as if he'd been told he'd be hunted down otherwise. Perhaps he'd be chased off eventually - if not now, in ten minutes. When was the last time he'd whined about stuff like that? When had he started feeling so awkward around this guy anyway? Everything seemed to be a mystery at this point and every second that he spent by Louis side, he wondered if he had made the mistake of letting him back into a place that he'd locked him out of years ago. It was ... uncomfortable.

Who had abandoned who? Josiah trudged back to his own trailer, breathed in the stale chemicals that just sat there, on his dresser and wondered if, aside from his hair, they'd eventually coat the inside of his lungs. How silly - even if they would, there was little he could do about it, no? There was nothing he could do now, except maybe regret everything and just sleep. He ought to do that for sure, tomorrow was going to be long and painful if he didn't. Back at his trailer, he simply kicked his boots off, put his mantle away and threw himself into the small bed he had. Josiah fell asleep almost immediately once his head hit the pillow. Drifting back to sleep was all that he needed, all that he wanted and at long last, all that he desired. Was there any doubt about it? By the time morning came, he was already out of bed and moaning and groaning about it - it wasn't even bright outside when he got dressed in less than stellar clothes. A work day like this meant no fun, and no fun colors either. How long had he been awake for? Too long, that was for sure - but he immediately looked for Louis again, simply to not spend the day working alone.

Josiah left and Louis found himself all alone in his trailer. He closed the door, then sat down on his bed. He got out of his boots and lay down. He wasn't sure what to do about this whole situation and as if his body was warning him as well, his scars started hurting. When Josiah and him still shared a trailer and a bad, Josiah was the one hanging a mirror above their bad, for whatever reason. Louis believed it to have been something superstitious. There was still a mirror above him. Since he only saw shadows crawling over half of his body since the fire, he wanted to take it down multiple times, but at the same time he wanted to keep it as a reminder of what had become of him. He didn't know what it meant for him or others. Josiah and the children couldn't see it, no human could. The ringmaster, some of the others that have been here even before Louis and Josiah were, they were not human. Louis didn't know what they were, but he also knew that he belonged to them now, at the very least partly so. Someone, no something looking like this couldn't be good and the ringmaster was the scariest of them all. Was it right to drag Josiah into this? Louis killed the flame of his oil lamp and his reflection was gone.

Louis didn't sleep well and got up early. it was easier to work than be alone with his thoughts. He was the first one up and he started to ready the few horses they had. They'd need to drag the trailers along. It was a wet day and it was muddy, not the best weather to travel. For now it didn't rain at least, but Louis boots got stuck in the mud already. There would be a lot of pushing the trailers out of the dirt today. He found someone else who couldn't sleep. Arthur snuck out of the kids trailer, aimlessly. Louis called him over and asked him if he wanted to help with the horses. Arthur had respect of the animals, but he seemed to like them too and agreed. While Louis put the harnesses on, Arthur fed them and then went on to brush them a little bit. There was no talking involved. The horses and other animals they housed didn't seem to notice anything wrong with Louis and the others either, or they were used to it. Dogs hated him though, the others too and the ringmaster didn't want them brought in here either. Louis had thought about these things plenty of times, but it didn't get him anywhere.

Whenever they had a travel day, it was as if the heavens themselves knew - the skies accumulated grey clouds, deeper and darker than the night before, but all the rain they bore had long since fallen. Josiah hated it, even if he knew that he could just leave if he really didn't want to do this. Louis had told him plenty a time to find his true calling, but what worth would that kind of cowardice even have? Still, the weather was about as gloomy as his clothing and therefore his mood - it was far too late to call him an early bird, but not too late to claim he'd slept in. In theory, he was just on time, no? Josiah snorted at the silly thought. There were almost no grounds he could argue on, no? Loitering about was one thing, but actively going against the rule of the circus would be another. First things first, however - he wanted to see Louis. Like clockwork, he definitely was already out and about. Whatever would stop this man from seeing the things he needed and wanted to see done fulfilled? Maybe locking him in his trailer would help, but that was hardly fair for a busy bee such as him. Would he be mad? Surely.

The contortionist skipped every other step as he pranced about in the mud - to many, he might as well be a stork, careful not to get those long, narrow legs of his stuck in the treacherous ground. "Glum as always. Good morning.", he announced himself as he finally found Louis - and Arthur for that matter. They both looked spent already; neither of them slept well, huh? Josiah had a feeling, but his expression could only do so much to carry that type of empathy for their predicament. "G-good morning ...", Arthur yawned, his voice still hoarse. Had the Rain turned him into a frog? No, he probably hadn't spoken a word with Louis, given the older mans solemn and intimidating nature around these kids. Now, Jo felt bad about roping him in, well, almost. Surely, if Arthur didn't want to be here, he could simply leave. His legs were nimble enough. "Did anyone wake the others yet? Seems like we're the first ones anyway." That was only partially true as well. On his way here, he'd seen a bunch of shadows, dancing from one corner to the other - they all seemed to be in a hurry today, which was why Josiah didn't stop to speak to a single one of them. Had something happened? His interest was piqued. "We-well, I-I- was the firs-first one to wake up.", Arthur tried to reason. "You both look like you could have used more sleep, if I'm being honest."

There was only silence and moist air until Josiah appeared and greeted both Louis and Arthur. He didn't manage to be awake before Louis, but that was to be expected. He turned around and only gave him a short nod. He felt more odd than ever being around him, as if letting him back in just a little bit had been a mistake and at the same time he felt remorse, as if he should have done it a long time ago. He turned again, continuing his work while Josiah and Arthur exchanged a few words. Arthur seemed nervous, or maybe he was just cold out here. There weren't too many spare clothes and the ones not meant for performances often had holes in them. Despite this circus existing for a long time, they were not making much money. Feeding everyone, including the animals and making sure the equipment was in good shape, ate almost all finances they had. "I'm fine.", Louis mumbled, finishing up the last of the horses. Now they only needed to attach the trailers. First everyone needed to wake up and eat though.

Louis turned around again to face Josiah. "Maybe you should go and wake up everybody then. The tent is already down, so everybody just grab something from the trailer." Everything was already stored away and Louis doubted anyone wanted to eat outside in the cold wheather. "Oh and remind them to secure their things properly this time." Sometimes the roads were bumpy, sometimes a trailer even fell over and they needed everyone to get it back up. If everything was secured, at least there wouldn't be a huge mess inside afterwards. Louis planned to meanwhile get some of the older members to help him attach the trailers and get everything ready for the journey. The sooner they left, the better. There probably would be one night on the road though, but thanks to the trailers, there wasn't much difference to any other night. Onl cooking proved more difficult. Then again, the children always loved a campfire and some bread on a stick.

Cold as always, just like this weather. Had yesterday really happened or had he dreamt about it? Well, he couldn't expect for someone like Louis to suddenly do an entire 180 in terms of personality and throw himself into his arms every chance he got. Would he enjoy that? Jo couldn't even say that he would - it seemed too bizarre, almost as if he didn't expect to see this guy ever again in the first place, at least not like this, willing to talk to him like that day had never transpired in the first place. What was this? It was messing with his head, still. Right. Tonight, if he could make time, he should simply read the book he'd been handed, to get a feel for what was wrong with Louis. Was there something wrong? If one were to ask Josiah, probably a whole lot, but someone like Lou would - of course - deny it yet again. "Fiiiine, I'll go get the rest of our stragglers. They don't seem too interested in getting a worm, huh? You know, like the saying, the early bird gets the worm, or something like that.", he mumbled, both to those two and himself, as if he hadn't yet made up his mind if he had said something weird or not. Josiah was prone to just speak his mind after all and reservations were useless for a lot of reasons, at least to him.

"Aye aye, I'll make sure they do it properly this time.", he agreed and walked off once more, to the trailer that the kids shared. Sure, it was a more spacious one, but it was cramped with all of them in there as well - most of them were still firmly asleep when he opened the door, yet, some faint whispers were exchanged among them. Jo could hear them, even as they scattered to the winds the moment the door swung open and he was grinning at the amalgamation of still-sleeping and sleepy faces. Most of them were scowling, some were glaring, but a few smiled when they saw him. So they had been up but not said a word. "None of you are getting out of work today. Get out, get dressed and then pack up, will you?" "Don't wanna!" "No!", they giggled in a shrill cacophany as they heard Josiah demand they get up. Seemingly unimpressed by his demand, some of them cuddled back into their beds, while others - the more mature ones by a long shot - at least tried to adhere to him and his silly little task. "Up I said!", Josiah yelled, playfully as ever, and tore the blanket off of someone, which earned him a shrill shriek and then some giggles. "Now, attack him!", another voice blurted out as he was pelted with one, then two pillows. Laughter filled the trailer and Josiah, who was old and strong enough to defend himself, just let it happen, as if it was inevitable. Sure, he struggled a bit, comically yelling for help as he was at it, but by the time they had finished their assault, he was giggling on the floor. "No time for games, pack up, I said!", he demanded again, this time with tears in his eyes as he grabbed one of them and started packing for them. It took them all a while to secure everything, nice and tight, but once they were done with it, Josiah looked as if he was the one that had just crawled out of bed and not any of the kids. Dutifully as ever, he brought them to breakfast - every single one of them - and if the chattering and giggling was anything to go by, he had succeeded in his attempt at making them do his bidding. Proud as ever, he puffed his chest out, stemmed his hands into his sides and announced: "We're done! And it only took ... half as much time as last time!"

Josiah left and Louis sent Arthur after him soon enough. He needed help of some of the others he didn't want near the kids or Josiah and while they were menaces, they helped whith tasks like these, simply because it was also what the ringmaster wanted. It didn't take long to find them, they were already up and about. They liked to stay among themselves, only participating with the others out of fun and Louis knew, that he was supposed to be a part of them, but he wasn't. Since the fire he saw them for what they were, scary dark shadows with bright eyes glaring from the void and gaping mouths when they started to speak. Was his cheery self that surfaced during the opening hours that part of him, or was it the other way around? He wasn't sure, but he didn't like them and even when his personality shifted, he felt uneasy around them. "Louis!", one of them greeted, snnuggling up uncomfortably close, an arm around his shoulders. "We need to get everything ready, I need some strong arms.", he quickly stated, not even fighting the unwelcome embrace. "Sure, let's do it."

Three of them followed Louis to the trailers and horses to help him get everything on the road while the rest of the circus crew was waking up and eating. They ate too, but Louis had the suspicion that they didn't need to. Together they got horse after horse in place, then attached everything to the harness. With this much mud it seemed unnecessary to put the stoppers in front of the wheels, but Louis did so anyway. While he was kneeling down, again one of them leaned on him. Dark arms wrapped around him from behind and Louis endured it, just finishing up what he was doing. "What?", he asked, not even looking back. "You're on a dangerous path...", Alice sung into his ear. Was this about Josiah? Louis didn't say anything. "You know, sometimes we want to save something so badly, we loose track of what is truly important to us." "Can you be a bit clearere?", Louis asked annoyed. "No, it's more fun seeing you try and figure it out yourself. In the end you will fail anyway." "Fail what?", he asked furrowing his brows. "You're forgetting the rules." Louis had no clue what that meant. He was bound by the ringmasters rules, wasn't he? He wasn't able to break them, or was this about the book he gave to Josiah? "Just keep your eyes open Louis." With that she lifted her weight off of him and Louis stood up to turn around and face her, but she was already gone. A strange feeling arose from the bottom of his stomach, one he didn't like one bit. He made a mistake, that much was clear. He should check on Josiah and that he did, walking away from the trailers to find him again. Once he did, surrounded by the kids, he looked... fine? The children got quieter once they spooted Louis, but he only cared about Josiah, approaching him, but also feeling a bit stupid to ask him if he was alright when he clearly was. "Hey... uh... all done here?"

None of the kids were too fond of Louis, but Josiah was something like their friend - a good stand-in for all the adults that had wronged or abandoned them before, simply because he thought of them as nothing less than him, because it was so easy to talk to them and just go along with their nonsensical jokes. All he could do shoo them around anyway; much like adults, they had a mind of their own, but unlike those adults, they could be told to do things without questioning them or talking back. Sure, Josiah wasn’t as much of a lunatic that he’d force them into a situation like that, but frankly? All he wanted was for them to feel loved to. Besides, the adults in this place could be … overbearing, one would call it. Sometimes, it was even hard to gauge how Louis could get along with them, or even spend an extended period of time with them if he didn’t necessarily have to. Someone grabbed his pant leg. Josiah smiled. “Why’s he here?”, one of them whispered to another. Scared of the clown indeed, huh? And yet, their customers - and all of the children - delighted in seeing a clown like Lou. “He’s gonna make us do chores again!” This was stupid, wasn’t it? Was there something he missed, that he didn’t see, couldn’t find? Only time would tell.

“Hello to you too, mister?”, Jo announced with a conflicted and confused grin. What was this shaping up to be? If only he knew - there was no good way of figuring this out or saying it without seeming hostile, either. “I’m … fine? Everyone’s here, and they’re fine too.” Or at least were until big meanie Louis came over here and seemed to rain on everyone but Josiahs parade with his mere presence. What a lousy performance. Was this everything he could do? It seemed so, but Jo was just glad the other adults or the muddy ground hadn’t eaten him, his boots or any of the kids yet. Maybe he’d crawl on top of his trailer tonight and try to see if he could find a single star out there, in an endless sea of clouds. “You sound pretty … surprised? Shaken? Everything alright over there? Did something happen? Do you need my help?”, he wanted to know instead. One of the kids tugged at his pant leg again, harder this time. Why should he stay? What was there to fear if he simply went with Louis? His best friend couldn’t have it out for him - and even if he did, he could just … that was enough. “Want to help me juggle the kids today? I’d appreciate it.”, Josiah snickered. “Boo, you’re just going to tell on us with him around! Not funny!”

Louis wasn't particularily offended by the disdain some of the kids had for him, in fact he welcomed it in a way. Fear made them work harder and hard work kept them save and besides that, they shouldn't be close to him anyway, just like Josiah shouldn't be. "I'm... I'm fine.", Louis quickly answered. Did he look shaken up? He didn't think he did, but either way, Josiah was fine, unharmed, so that was good. Louis should probably stay at his side for today, but he didn't need to be that close to him either. Watching from the distance while he was surrounded by kids would suffice. "I'm just... worried about the wheather I guess." A blatant lie. "We should probably get moving before it starts to rain." Not entirely untrue, which was why he hoped Josiah fell for it. There was no way he could tell him what he was really worried about. "So if everyone is ready to go, we should meet at the entrance." Normally Louis would go ahead, but maybe he'd stay just in case. The bad feeling didn't subside.

"Oh and... we should keep the trailers light. We don't want to get stuck in the mud. You know the children best, they can take turns on the trailers, but they can't all get on them at the same time. You know how to handle that, right?" Louis didn't need to be the mean one here, but he could be if someone started fighting over their spot on the trailer. The little ones needed more breaks obviously. The tempo wouldn't be fast anyway, seeing that the road was this muddy. The horses would have a hard time as was and Louis already knew there would be some pushing involved. They had plenty of boards to stick unter the wheels to get them out, but that didn't make their journey any easier. Louis didn't even know their destination, only the ringmaster did and he'd tell them when they arrived where they needed to be. There would be no shower tonight, despite all the mud, but Louis was careful about what he wished for, because rain would only make it worse.

“Hah?”, Josiah expressed his confusion. What was that about now? Something had to be up - Louis was being weird again, which meant something had to be up, and if that was the case, well, he wasn’t doing a very good job at fooling Josiah, at least not right now. “The weather? Of all things? I mean, I guess. It’s still fine, and it’s already muddy enough for this time of year.”, he sighed. There was little they could do about that, even still. Changing the weather in itself would be an absurd ability, besides, they needed the rain, the crisp cold air and the dark season that was upon them anyway. Who wanted to spend winter in a trailer? Jo was used to it, but the kids, well, he couldn’t blame them for wanting to be at home, without a worry in their little brains - it wouldn’t get cold in a giant mansion, as long as someone kept the hearth alive. The trailers? They were hardly ever all that warm if one didn’t take necessary precautions. “Alright, I’ll see to it that they’re all still here and ready to actually leave. I don’t think any of them waltzed off again, but you know how some of them are.” Especially the older ones. Some of them got a bit rowdy sometimes, or decided that they had found their worst enemy in their former best friend.

“Yes, Louis, I know how to wrangle them quite well.”, Jo snorted. What was it with these questions? He knew this stuff. Sure, he could use some practice, but all things considered, these kids listened to him just fine - just as he listened to them, in his own way. That was simply how things were for them. Again, there was murmuring. Would they be difficult now because Louis had said something? Surely, they would only ever take orders from someone they actually trusted and that, quite unfortunately, didn’t include Lou for a few reasons, mostly superficial. “You alright?”, he reiterated again as he gave the other man a glance over. Sure, he wasn’t looking too bad, but Josiah knew Louis for a while now, and with that, a few parts of him that nobody really noticed. So, what was off right at this very moment and why was it so hard to pinpoint? With a cheeky grin, he shooed the kids away eventually and went to sorting through who would go back into the trailers and who’d help. The sleepiest ones were probably the ones he’d rather keep awake now; they’d not go back to sleep even if he wanted nothing more than that. After that nightmare was over, all that was left was to bring the rest of them outside with him. Where would they go this time?