Mary was still out of breath and her portion of the show had ended twenty minutes ago. Inside the big top the finale acts - elephants and people fired out of canons, the usual routine - were winding down, but just beyond the curtain Mary's head was still rushing with the swoosh of the trapeze. She bounced from one foot on another, darting to peak into the tent and then back out to the performer's space. "Calm down," one of other acrobats scolded, equally flushed and already drinking to fix it. "They're almost done, they'll be coming out soon." "But that was... so many people! And I nearly fell, but I didn'!" Mary whispered in her lilting accent, though the crowd had started its final applause, drowning out any worry of being heard by the audience.
Colette stepped up to the gap in the curtains, gently elbowing Mary out of the way and taking off her top hat, storing it neatly under one arm. "Good show, ladies." She gave the glass in one acrobat's hand a narrowed gaze. "Celebrating already? Or shouldn't you be helping Claude break down for the night?" The girl flushed, only partly from the wine, and darted off. "Mary," Colette continued. "If you would--?" She extended an elbow to the girl with a smile.
Mary started, stumbling back from the curtain with a "What, me?" expression. She was a bit intimidated by the ringmaster - by most of the senior circus members, really, given that street rat stage hand was a position for lots of orders and very little job security, and new acrobat was only a bit better. Mary couldn't think of anything off the top of her head that she should be in trouble for, though, and so dipped her knees in something curtsy-ish out of habit and took Mary's arm. "Sir?" she said (never, indeed, sure quite how to address the somewhat unusual leader of the show).
"I guarantee that a short evening walk with me is a better choice than helping Claude shovel elephant dung, my darling." Colette glanced up at the cloudy night sky and grinned wolfishly. "What did you think of tonight's show?" A simple question that would probably be echoed by dozens of mouths tonight across the town, but that meant so much more here on this campsite. The quality of a show meant the difference between, if not life and death, at least enjoying a cheery glass of wine or suffering through a week of skimpy meals.
That walking was better than shoveling elephant dung was undeniable fact, and Mary had years of experience to back it up. She followed Colette's gaze - the clouds, the dirigibles, the circus flag fluttering in the evening wind. She swallowed her initial answer, 'So very incredible!', and attempted something more measured: "Very well, for a first night. I nearly slipped once or twice, and Asmodeus dropped some of the coins he was disappearin', but the finale seemed to go well and Alexandra and Marguerite both got quite the cheers..." she trailed off, only grudgingly acknowledging Marguerite: The mini-zoo and its master terrified her. "We can do better, I think," she added quickly, before biting her lip and fiddling self-conciously with one of the rosettes on her skirt.
"We can, and it's wise of you to point it out." Colette glanced at her. "Though bold. I did see your act, and you recovered quite well from your mistakes. The most important thing, of course, is that the audience never noticed. Did you see their eyes? Probably not, but I did. They were captivated. You're quite the performer. I am beginning to feel that I could have used your talents back in London, instead of waiting this long to let you perform." They stepped lightly around a small lake of torn grass and mud, evidence of the pen of horses that had been temporarily set up during the show. They had retired to more durable housing for the night, behind the large tent that billowed comfortingly in the breeze. This way lay the performers' quarters, the skyship cabins parked neatly on the grass in a rough semi-circle.
Mary started again, looking up quickly at Colette, hand closing aroudn the poor fabric flower. "Truly?" she asked. "I did well? I mean, I thought, but..." she trailed off, unsure entirely how to phrase the sensation of a first performance. "I don't know much 'bout performing. Just from watching everyone. But... It's flying, right? It's fun. So I thought if I just had fun the audience might." She felt ridiculous saying it, all of 16 - an adult, nearly - and playing at their livelihood like a game, but it was the best she could come up with. "And I'd been practicin' since London, I could've," she added slyly. The last part was a bit of a lie, but the first part certainly wasn't.
"The day flying becomes boring is the day you might as well crawl into your grave--" Colette began to quote, before silencing and beginning anew. "It's good that you enjoy yourself out there, and your practice shows. You have learned well from your elder sisters." She let the term slip easily. The troupe to her was one big, chaotic, family of entertainers.
Mary blinked at the quote, but thought nothing of it. It was true enough, she thought, smiling a bit at the brightly-painted skyships grounded for the night. She'd've never thought, a mere 5 years ago, that a girl like her could end up spending so much time in the sky, and now she could scare imagine leaving it. "They teach well," she conceded automatically, though it had taken months of stubborn sneaking away from chores to hang around the acrobat's rehearsals before she'd convinced them to help her refine her own clumsy tumbling. She lapsed into awkward silence, not used to such idle conversation after a show - normally by now she'd've been handed a thousand different chores to break down for the night, and the quiet outside the big top was unfamiliar.
"Mary, if you have questions, ask." Colette didn't look at her, instead focusing on the lights flickering in the circular windows of some of the ships. A little home, made of so many pieces. Flickering, striving to cast a pool of light in a dark, dark town. A little brightness. She sighed, wishing that the circus still gave her the thrill, the joy that it gave the audience, or even the other performers. She only felt tired. "I will do my best to answer. There are no secrets here."
Mary tilted her head, absently reaching up to untwist the tangle of braids piled on the back of her head. She honestly wouldn't have thought to ask questions, at least not now with her head still full of applause. "Umm..." she began, twisting out a ribbon and tying it around her wrist into an awkward one-handed bow. Her mind drifted back to flying through the air, and she bit back a second smile: The idea of flying was what had pulled her away from her childhood home, to be a failed street urchin and now... a performer! In a famous circus! It was like something out of the penny dreadfuls, nearly too much to imagine. She tugged at the ribbon at her wrist, and looked back up at the ringleader with a flash of uncharacteristic sincerity. "Why me?" she asked. In her four years, she'd seen that hiring pick pockets was not routine practice, but had chalked it up to fate and the mystical workings of the spirits, as was her routine. But who knew how the spirits had talked the formidable Colette into it?
Colette had an answer poised on the tip of her tongue, to an extremely different question. She swallowed it, and puzzled over this unexpected question. "Isn't it what you were hoping for?"
Mary laughed. "I was hopin' for money for bread," she said, referring to the particular ill-fated (or rather well-fated, but ill-executed?) pickpocketing. "But a job and a... Well, this certainly would've been it. But I'd never've thought to hope for it." She wasn't sure quite what word she was leaving out: a home? a family? a prophesy fulfilled? All far too embarrassing to admit out loud, even if it was an evening for honesty.
Colette answered simply, then. "You had clever hands. And you were small enough to be caught by our girls. We haven't any male trapeze artists, and our girls aren't quite strong enough to catch each other without the practice nets." And you reminded me so very much of myself, she thought to herself, but on that final point she remained silent.
"It's taken you a while to learn the ropes." Most people would, at this point, have added, "If you'll forgive the pun," but Colette considered herself above such jokes. "But you're coming along quite well. Especially considering your age."
Mary smirked again. "If my hands were that clever I'd've not been caught," she said cheerfully. "But no one's got Asmodeus beat on that, I suppose."
Colette chuckled lightly, “If only you had Alexandra's foresight. You'd not have tried to rob a fortuneteller. Unless, you predicted that such an invitation would be extended to you? In which case, perhaps you'd better apprentice Alexandra herself, rather than our lady acrobats!"
Mary giggled a bit at the thought. "I'd take it all so seriously, it'd be not any fun at all." Mary saw signs in everything, bullied people into reading her horoscope from the paper to her and kept all manner of charms.. but she knew better than to subject anyone else to the interactions she felt she had with the supernatural.
"I must admit, I do prefer you where you are. And you're more of a crowd-pleaser as a an acrobat than a dung-shoveller, to be sure." After a moment, Colette spied a few shadows moving about in the semi-dark. "If you feel like returning to the rings to help break down, you're free to do so. But I think I'd like to speak to some of my veterans." She gave Mary a grin. "If you come along, you may learn a thing or two."
Not doing heavy lifting and/or scooping elephant poop sounded like an awesome plan. Mary nodded. "I'll tag along, thanks," she said, marveling at this new being-allowed-to-do-fun-things-after-the-show experience.
Colette nodded sharply once, before letting Mary's hand drop lightly from her arm, striding forward. "Evening, Marguerite. I heard the crowds gasp from well away--your little friends must have been quite the sensation."
Marguerite smiled, pocketing an elephant. "My thanks to you, Colette. I have had few other opportunities to showcase my work."
"They were much more than a sensation." Alexandra said as she followed Marguerite out of the shadows. "Several of the children who wanted their fortunes told asked me if there were miniature elephants in their future."
Colette smiled. "And how many left in tears? Or, Marguerite, are you considering breeding the little things as pets?"
Mary watched the elephant drop into Marguerite's pocket with a slight shiver - unnatural little devils, those things were, though she had to feel bad for it. She couldn't imagine pockets were comfortable. "There won't be, I doubt the poor thing can breath in there," she muttered, quite unintentionally, then gasped a bit when she realized it'd been said out loud and very pointedly looked elsewhere.
Marguerite raised an eyebrow at Mary as she answered, "I am not entirely certain that they are fertile. I have not had a chance to study the more detailed biology of my experiments. Though it would certainly match the study's original intentions..." Marguerite trailed off, absently brushing at her filled pockets.
Alexandra placed a hand on Mary's shoulder, seeing her distress over the tiny creature. "Don't worry, elephants are sturdy things and Margurerite specially designed those pockets to carry the animals. I can assure they are quite comefortable, especially as the pockets themselves are lined in the softest fabric we could find."
Mary blushed a bit. She was thinking that the coat must be quite a pain to clean - what if you found a little animal carcass in the wash, having left one behind? - but did a better job this time of holding her tongue, and instead responded with a noncommittal shrug. "It's just a peculiar thought," she muttered. "Riding in a pocket all day."
"Alexandra is quite skilled with her silks. She's responsible for what you wore tonight on the wires." Colette bowed her head to the woman. "Sturdy pockets are well within her talents. As it happens, I would speak to you about the seams of my jacket--I wear through the damn things so quickly--but not tonight. I dare say Marguerite has some celebration planned for this first night?"
Marguerite broke from her reverie. "Indeed. I know of a place in town that harbors the best of the worst."
"Sounds good to me, and as long as they have absinthe, I'll be happy. " Alexandra smiled at the thought of her favorite drink, especially made with the cordial from the finest of French distilleries.
"I wouldn't presume to keep you here, then, if your sirens call to you. Mary--why don't you go with the girls?" Colette turned to the little acrobat who seemed to be thinking it over.
Hmm, a dilemma. On the one hand, Mary was no stranger to the finer vices - how could she be, growing up the past some years in a circus - on the other hand, who knew what sort of sketchy demon-y places Marguerite had in mind. ...But opium tea... Yes, the vices won. "Alright," she said with a nod to Colette. "If you don't mind, that is," she added to the others, her energy from the performance suddenly reemerging and bubbling under the shy request.
Marguerite said, "No minding here at all. I am quite sure my old friend would love more new faces."
Alexandra added, "Of course you can come with us, and besides, I'll need someone to keep me company while I flaunt around in my new dress, it is very scandalous."
"Marguerite," Colette began, but stifled her warning for the woman to go easy on the new girl. She'd have to toughen up eventually. "Try not to get anyone killed." The joke was a little out of character for her, but then, she was only partially kidding.
The scientist replied, "Have no fear, Colette. Those days ended when I joined the Cirque. I do wish you would join us, though."
"You've gotten people killed before?" Mary wondered aloud, again quite unintentionally, then pursed her lips quite tight before her mouth could run away with her again. She bounced impatiently - clearly conversation was not her forte tonight. Hitting the town was looking a better plan each moment,.
Colette sighed. "I wish I could--I have my duties here to see to first, but I may venture out after. Once things here are seen to." Of course, she said this every time, but this time she intended to see the town. See how it had changed since she'd last been here, years ago. "Don't fret, Mary, you're in experienced hands. I trust you to them."
Marguerite: "Ladies, the night is young and so are we. Let us be off!"
Alexandra: "Indeed!"
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