"I can't believe... wow!"

Karkat stepped away from the boy who was gawking at him. They stood just outside the closest tent.
The tents made the entire area look like a Hershey kiss factory, upside down cones shot high in the air, red and white swirls mocking the end of Christmas..
"Are you part of the circus?" Karkat asked. The boys eyes lit up, and he nodded.
"Yes! I am. Tetrarch Dammek said this was the best place to go to get to Madam Belford's!" He smiled. "My name is Xefros." He flung out a hand to shake.
Karkat looked past him and ignored the offer, trying to put as little weight on his feet as he could.
"Can we go inside or something?! Typically when you find people who look like they are dying, you don't tell your life story." He snapped.
"Karkat, you're being rude." Terezi said. "I'm sorry Xefros. We're actually very glad you found us."
"No I'm sorry! I didn't realize. Come with me, I'll take you to The Sir! We are set to leave tomorrow!"
Karkat sneered. "Why does everyone we come into contact with have to have some vague name?!"
He looked behind him, back into the woods to see if Gamzee was anywhere near.
"Leave tomorrow?" Rose asked.
"Yes," Xefros said, leading them through a city of tents. "This is The Sir's traveling Circus! He is pretty great, he likes to help people out actually. I guess this started being a hotspot for runaways, so he came here! You guys are really lucky!"
Karkat shook his head. They were passing by tent after tent, and this guy seemed to have no intent on entering a single one.
"Why the hell were you out by some pond so early?!" Karkat asked. The guy turned around to look at him.
"We have early mornings here being our shows start around eight. It's important that the stunt people stretch, that the mechanics like The Tetrarch make sure everything is set in place. It gets stressful, so I like to find peaceful places to just relax."
"And what do you do?" Kanaya asked.
Xefros' face slipped a little, his eyes searching the ground.
"I just clean. I'm not very good at anything they do here. I already finished last night. Tetrarch Dammek isn't here right now, he went with the other half of the circus to the stop after these two. I wanted to come but he insisted it was important I stay here in case there are any signs of Her. The Tetrarch is so good at the things they do here though! He tried to get me out of my shell by doing some really cool stunts! I felt like I was in a movie!"
His eyes lit up and he covered his mouth.
"Forget I said any of that."

Xefros paused, his eyes tracing over everyone present. His smile returned and he pointed towards a tent directly in front of them.
"The Sir is in there if you wish to speak to him."
"Wait," Terezi interrupted. "If you're a runaway, does that mean he won't turn us in?"
Xefros nodded.
"Yeah! I mean, yeah he WON'T turn you guys in. Unless you're criminals. Well, sometime's he lets... what's that?"

Through his gamboling, his racing eyes had found their way upwards. His finger rose and pointed to an opaque smog that was brewing in the sky and crawling across the tops of the spineless trees. The rawky breeze pushed a deep breath of smoke into Karkat's lungs.
He looked in the woods again, and saw something move. Xefros gasped.
"What's that?!"
"There's that idiot." Karkat murmured. He stepped forward, his body almost trembling with excitement at his friend.
Gamzee walked towards him as well, though his pace was odd and his body seemed to lilt more to the crinkling of the burning wood than the to rush of safety. Karkat stopped in his tracks when he saw the mess on Gamzee's face. The white paint was caked on and smothered down the base of his shirt. Gamzee smiled and held his hand out.
"Gamzee what the fuck are you doing? Did you set that fire?!" Karkat shook his head. "You know what, it doesn't matter. We'll talk about it when we get away from here."
Gamzee looked down at the small items in his hand. He popped them into his mouth and swallowed. Karkat wrinkled his nose.
"Those better not have been berries." Karkat snapped. "You know some of those things are poisonous. Not to mention it's winter. Who the hell has ever heard of edible winter berries?! Forget it, come on."
Karkat walked further to him and grabbed his arm, ripping him away from the forest.
"Welcome to the circus." Karkat muttered.

They walked over together, with Gamzee moving slower than he was before.
"Hurry up you idiot!" Karkat snapped again.
Terezi joined them as they reached everyone. Xefros had gone pale in the face and seemed to be trying his hardest to divert his eyes from the clown. Karkat raised his eyebrows. The guy was at a fucking circus, clowns should be natural.
"Gamzee, did you do that?" Terezi asked. Gamzee laughed.
"Sure. Honk."
"Honk?" Karkat said. "Man, you're really fucking messed up."
"You did?!" Terezi asked.
"Don't listen to him." Karkat said. "He put something in his mouth and I think it's messing with what little brain he has."
He looked behind him, hoping there would be no more movement in the woods.
It was still, completely motionless.

"Come on, we need to get you guys to safety!" Xefros said. He looked at the tent in front of him and lifted a pinstriped flap. He walked inside, and Karkat followed him.
Surprisingly, it was warm inside, and a lot larger than he would have imagined. The ceiling pointing high in front of them. Karkat stepped up three small stairs and stood at the center of a blue stage. Bleachers were at the far end of it, and on the other side there were lights, both of them so bright, it seemed to burn a hole in the tent.

"Sir!" Xefros said, running towards a man who was on his knees in the corner. In front of him was a cardboard stand that looked as though it had been stabbed to death. As Karkat crept creeper, he noticed the man was picking up knifes. The guy, who was clothed in a top hat and a suit, looked up. His mouth that sat under a plump mustache began to move. Karkat inched closer, hoping to hear what was being conversed.
"They ran away! We need to help them!"

Top Hat turned his head and his eyes widened. He reached for the cardboard box and pulled himself up, holding his back and biting his lip.
"What do we have us here." He said, his words falling into a whisper.
"See! We need to do something!"
The man waved Xefros off and approached Karkat.

"What are you doing here at this hour?" His eyes twinkled, the tent lights above swallowing the green hue.
Karkat tried to piece the words he wanted to say in place, but found himself almost speechless.
"The camp. Over there!"
He swallowed the saliva in his dry mouth. "They were trying to fucking kill us! There's this game too! And if we go home, they're going to kill us! If they find us we're dead!" He shouted. "We need to leave! They're going to find us!"
The guy stepped back, as though Karkat's words were slapping him.
"I expect an entire story if you wish to leave with us." He said. "I don't house criminals, so if you're some kind of gang, I will be keeping a record. I will decide if you need a ride or not. If you do, there is one catch."

Karkat looked at him, desire for hospitality strangling him.
"What?! Anything?"
"You have to work here for free. My circus is currently going through a financial crisis and I can't afford anymore performers. You will hide in plain sight. It's worked for years, and it won't fail me now."