|Morning|

"'Ow are ye feeling?" a voice asked her. Star blinked, slowly opening her eyes. She felt a little better, although she still had a killer headache. A person with brown hair and freckles looked at her. Their hair was hanging in front of one eye.

"Fine, I guess… Who are you?" she asked, getting up, rubbing her bangs away from her face.

The other person smiled, and held out a hand to her. "My name's Freckles. I'm yer roommate. Well, ye and yer brother's. Joker didn't feel like splittin' the two of ye up."

Star looked around, trying to see where her brother was. Freckles noticed, and pointed up. Star saw she was lying in a bunk bed. "He's sleeping up there?" she asked the young man.

Freckles nodded, before placing a hand to her head. "Yer fever's gone. That's good news. I brought ye some grub, better enjoy it. It's the first and only time I'm doin' it." The boy shoved some lukewarm porridge and a few slices of bread in her hands. She accepted gratefully, eating as if she hadn't eaten in two days. Freckles laughed when he saw that. "Well, ye got yer appetite back, so ye'll be fine."

She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and nodded. "Thanks for taking care of me." She looked down at the half – eaten bowl of porridge, looking melancholic. "It doesn't happen a lot, meeting people who are kind to others."

Freckles smiled again, waving her thanks away. "What are ye talking about? Ye're the one who saved Joker an' Dagger. This is the least to repay ye. Ah, better get dressed though. Gotta go and pack up soon."

Star finished the last of her meal, and looked up at Freckles. "Pack up?"

Freckles nodded, scratching the back of his head. "Well yeah. Joker decided that since those two gents keep makin' trouble, it'll be better if we get a move on."

Star let out a dejected sigh. "Ah, I'm sorry…"

Freckles gave her a hard pat on the shoulder. "What are ye talkin' about, I already said it's fine. Get dressed and come outside."

Star nodded. "Okay!"

|3 Hours Later|

"How much more of this stuff is there?" Star asked, leaning against some wooden sticks that were used to pitch up the tents. George was sitting with Doc, looking at everyone work. Freckles looked up, seeing her take a breather.

"Hey, ye got to keep working! We're almost ready, really!"

With a grunt Star lifted a bunch of wooden sticks. "That's what you said an hour ago. I didn't believe it then and I'm not going to believe it now."
She turned around, not waiting for Freckles to reply. However, she hadn't counted on there being someone standing there. With a thump she fell on her backside, the wooden sticks scattered on the ground. She shielded her eyes from the pale sun as she looked up.

"Ah, are ye sure ye should be working? Ye've been sick, after all." Joker said, offering a hand to help her up.

She ignored it, getting up on her own as she started to pick up the sticks. "I'm fine, thanks."

Joker put a hand on her shoulder, looking worried. "Are ye sure? It'd be bad if we were to lose our new up'n 'coming star."

She looked over her shoulder to the ginger haired man. "I'm fine. If I let something like this put me down, I wouldn't have managed so long on my own."

He let go of her, sensing that she didn't like to be touched. 'Finally…' she thought. She wasn't ungrateful… but being touched was… useless. Instead he gestured to some of the already packed up tents. "I just wanted to tell ye, I took the liberty yesterday to go with yer brother to pick up all of yer stuff."

She blinked when he said that. "What?"

"Well, ye can't just leave yer home without the stuff that's important to ye." He said with a smile. He fished a square medallion out of his pocket, dangling it in front of her. "Yer brother said that ye really liked this. I've got yer other trinkets stashed with my stuff, so it won't get lost."

When Star accepted the locket, Joker looked at her. He had seen the place she had lived. Though it was better than the streets where he had grown up, it was obvious she had had a rough time. Amidst the run down furniture however, her brother had pulled out a box filled with jewels…

|The Previous Day|

"It's here, Mister Joker!" the boy said, pulling Joker's cape towards the front door. The horse they had ridden was stationed in front of the house, securely tied to a rain pipe. Joker could sense the look the housewives gave him from behind their windows as he stood in front of the decrepit house. When he touched the door knob, the door didn't budge.

"Did ye bring a key with ye?" he asked George.

The boy shrugged, and motioned Joker to move aside. "You don't need a key, Mister Joker. Here, I'll show you." The boy smacked his shoulder against the door, making it move slightly. Then he pulled, making the door slide again. Finally, he turned the knob, opening the door.

"See?" the young boy asked. "Sis made it like that so people wouldn't be able to get in without us hearing."

Joker nodded and followed the boy inside. It was cold in the house, the fire having gone out the day before. The darkness that followed from the blinds in front of the windows was slightly unsettling. The young boy however, walked around in the darkness with ease, first taking a small box out of a cupboard.
"These here are my pills. We really need to take these, because they're expensive." The boy said, handing Joker the box.

Joker nodded. "What about clothes? Yer sis is gonna need some clothes for workin'." The boy nodded, and went to search around. He came back with a small suitcase and a jewel box. "The trinkets of yer sister?" he asked.

George nodded. When Joker turned to leave, the young boy stopped him, grabbing his cape again. "What's wrong?" he asked. George pointed up towards a shelf.

"Sister's medallion is up there. It's important to her, so can you take it?"

Joker walked towards the shelf, feeling around with his left hand to try and locate the medallion. When he touched cold metal, he sighed in satisfaction. When he had it in his hands, he put the medicine box down. The medallion opened up with a click. In it was a picture of a George that couldn't be older than three.

On the other side it seemed like the small picture had been pulled out violently. When he looked at George questioningly, the young boy smiled. "Big sis was angry at our parents when she pulled their photo out. She screamed at daddy. That was before they died."

Joker nodded, closing the medallion. "I'll make sure that our Star gets it back. Let's get goin' then, little man."

|Present Time|

Star put the medallion around her neck, and looked at Joker. Perhaps she always looked so serious because she had lost her parents? He would have to get her to smile if she was ever to perform however. She bowed her head down to him. "Thanks." She said.

Joker chuckled at her sudden embarrassment. "Hey, that's what pretty boys are for." That remark earned him a glare from the former thief.

"Can you please drop that? I didn't know what I was saying!"

He chuckled again, not being able to keep himself from doing it. "Yer face is absolutely amusing when ye're glaring like that. I'm startin' to consider having ye be my co – ringleader."

Star sighed. "Please don't. I'd rather avoid being in public for a while, lest I encounter those two annoying gentlemen again."

"Ah, point taken. Well, I'll let ye get on with yer work. 'Till later, trainee Star." He said, turning around whilst giving his hat a tap with his hand.

The thief turned around, scratching the back of her head. "Seriously, what's wrong with the people here? There's no sense of social decorum whatsoever."
She caught Freckles looking at her. When she looked around, she noticed that almost everything they were supposed to pack up was gone. George was already sitting in the cart that they would be driving. "You sure work fast."

"Well , I did tell ye that we were almost done."

Star gave an understanding nod. "Sorry for doubting you then. Ah, miss Beast, how are you today? Thank you for your care yesterday." She said when she saw the leather – clad woman walk up.

Beast looked at the apprentice appraisingly. Finally, she looked to a point over Star's right shoulder while talking. "Joker… what did he want with ye?"

"Eh?" Star reacted.

"Joker was 'ere, wasn't he? What'd he want?"

"Oh!' Star said, pulling out the medallion from underneath her shirt. 'He just returned this to me, that's all. Why?"

Beast kept on refusing to look her in the eye. "Just… wonderin', that's all. I'm gonna see to me own things now."

"Somebody's jealooouus…" a voice came from behind her. Wendy and Peter were sitting next to George on the cart, watching the scene unfold.

Star stretched herself out a bit, not understanding what was going on. "Really, I know you're all speaking English, but something is stopping me from understanding you properly."

Wendy looked at Peter and winked. "She doesn't get it quite, does she?"

"Looks like it." Peter said, looking back at Wendy. The trapeze duo looked back at Star then, and spoke in perfect sync : "We'll be interested in the followin' events." They took off together, leaving her dumbfounded.

"Freckles… tell me we're ready to leave… I really could use a rest. I'm feeling my headache coming up again."

Freckles looked at his companion amused. "Already gettin' puzzled, are ye? Fine, they're going to be bringin' the horses in a while, ye can take a moment to relax."

|Evening|

"Hey, wake up Star!"

The girl shot up, gasping for a breath. "Wuzzup?" she mumbled, trying to open up her eyes. Somebody – she was guessing Freckles – gave her a few pats on the head. "Ye're a real sleepyhead, aren't ye? Ye slept right through lunch even."

Opening her eyes she noticed that she was right about it having been Freckles. The youth looked at her in glee. When the cart rode over a bump, their heads were knocked together. "Aaauwch…" they both moaned, gripping their heads.

She could hear George laughing at the situation, and resisted the urge to glare at her brother. "I think my headache just came back to say hello…" she mumbled instead, rubbing the sore spot.

"I think it stuck it's buddy in me head." Freckles replied. A chuckle escaped Star, despite her pain. The two people looked at each other, one with a slightly more relaxed face than usual, the other with a broad grin.

"If ye don't mind me sayin' though, ye speak pretty upper crust like for a pickpocket." Freckles remarked, having wondered about it for quite some time.

Star looked away, slightly panicked. "Ah… that's because…"

She was cut off by the announcement that they'd be resting for the night. Star let out a relieved sigh, having been saved by the figurative bell. Freckles noticed, and waved a finger at her. "Don't think yer getting away that easy! I wanna know tonight."

"You're not going to let this rest, are you?" she asked him, already knowing the answer.

"'Course not! We're yer new family, so we need to know."

"Family, huh?" she asked, having already been severely disappointed in that department. Still, she knew she'd be able to survive, and save George, if things got bad.

Freckles held out his hand, pinkie first. "Pinkie swear?" he asked with a grin.

She hesitated, but eventually gave in. "Pinkie swear." She agreed.

They shook their pinkies, and Freckles jumped off the wagon. "Well, let's go get sum grub. Afterwards we need to set up the tent. Is it okay if I share one with ye and yer brother?"

Star frowned, but nodded. "I guess it'll be fine. Speaking of George, where did he go?"

Freckles patted his clothes, getting the dust out. "Ah, he's with Joker. Seems like they've taken a shine to each other."

The ex – thief couldn't help but sigh. "Well, I suppose he's safe there. Joker seems to be a decent guy."
Freckles nodded, and helped her down from the cart. She stretched out before walking towards the cooking area. "Still, he should know better than just running off like that." She mumbled.

|After Dinner|

Star stuffed her hands in her pockets, walking back towards wherever to the place where she had agreed to meet up with Freckles. If the circus was a maze when it was orderly set up, it was even worse when they were on the road. Tents were being placed at random, wherever their owners felt it might be handy. She dodged a man swinging a hammer, taking a step to the side without flinching. She had always been best at dodging when she wasn't paying any real attention.

A horse started screeching, only a few meters away from her. It was one of the last ones to be released from its cart, and now was flailing it's front legs wildly at something in front of it. The young boy who was in charge of the horses was pulling it's reigns helplessly, standing to the sides.

Without thinking, she approached. She called out soothingly to the horse. "Hey now… I'm here big fellow… look at me, just look at me…"

Following the horse's panicked look, she noticed one of Snake's snakes on the ground. No wonder the poor animal was panicking. But where was Snake? She suddenly noticed him standing close by, staring at the horse in panic.
"Snake!" she said, still using that same soothing tone of voice. "Get your snake out of here, fast."

Snake nodded, walking up to the snake, picking it up. Star moved in front of the two, forcing the horse to look at her. "Look at me sweetie, there's nothing to be scared about." She held her hands up to the sides, palms open so the horse could see she didn't mean any harm.
"There's a good boy… it's okay, you can stop panicking now."

The horse had stopped it's whining, and was now nervously trampling, watching the stranger get closer. It couldn't see the threat anymore, but it still didn't trust the situation. The human kept talking, in that sweet high pitched tone it had come to associate with treats and a walk. There was nothing in the human's palms. It snorted, thrusting it's head around.

"Now now, there's no need for that, is there." She said, taking a last step closer. The boy holding the horse looked to be on the verge of tears. She told him to let go of the reigns. He shook his head, gripping them even tighter.

"Do what she says." It was Joker, who was holding George by the hand. George was gaping wide – eyed at his sister, who was attempting to calm a – in his eyes – ferocious horse.

The boy let go, and walked backwards, almost falling as he did so. The horse relaxed further, not feeling the stressful presence anymore.

Star held out a hand. "It's okay… just come here…" the horse snorted at her, shaking it's head. Still, it didn't show any signs of attacking.

She slowly moved her hand forward. The horse didn't back away, but kept in place. She stopped, only a few centimeters from its snout. The horse looked at her with big, wet eyes, and pressed it's nozzle against the palm of her hand. She paused for a second, before she sighed, and moved her other hand to the place that would be the forehead with a human.

She rubbed it. "See, now there's a good boy… yes you are." The crowd that had gathered to look let out a sigh, before clapping their hands. When Star looked up, she only now noticed how many people had gathered. She took the horse's reigns firmly in one hand. "Now I'm going to put you with the others, and you can have a good night's sleep, okay?"

The horse pressed it's head against her, sniffing for food. When the crowd dispersed, only Joker, George and Snake kept standing there. Star made sure the horse couldn't see the snake man by standing in the way.

Joker walked up, looking as relaxed as always. "Seems like ye know yer way around horses. If all else fails, I think I might employ ye as a stable hand."

Star let out a relieved sigh. "I think I rather like that idea. If you'll excuse me, I have to bring this guy to the rest of the horses. He's had enough stress for one day." She turned her head so she could see Snake. "Snake, can you try not to let the horses see the snakes? It's sure to spook them."

Snake nodded, seemingly too embarrassed about the situation to make a comment. When he walked away, Star shook her head. She caught Joker looking at her. "What?"

He grinned. She noticed for the first time that one of his canines was a little longer than the other one. It glinted in the light. "Nothing. Just got me thinkin', this girl's full of surprises. Ye save me an' Dagger, ye have a box of jewels but go out stealin', and now ye're a horse whisperer."

She sweatdropped. "Saying it like that makes it sound amazing. But most of that stuff isn't, you know? I just know how to handle horses because I used to be around them when I was little. I saved you guys because I just passed by."

Joker spread his hands. "I know. But still, I'm expectin' a lot from you. Don't let me down." He patted George on the head.

The boy looked up at the older man in adoration. "See you later, Joker. Don't forget, you promised to teach me how to juggle!"

Joker nodded, waving his goodbyes before he returned to his own tent. Star picked up her brother, putting him on the horse. "You two have gotten close." She noted, feeling a little bit jealous at having to share her brother.

George nodded, keeping hold of the horses manes gently as his sister led it by the reins. "Joker's nice. He's taking care of us now, and he gave you a job. I like him." He said with all the seriousness a young child could muster.

She couldn't help but find herself silly for feeling jealous like that. "Well, as soon as we get the horse to where it belongs, we need to go to Freckles, and help set up the tent. Are you up for that?" George nodded. Star couldn't help but think that… things were starting to look better for them.