xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Psycho Circus Guild, 7:12 a.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
With sunlight passing over the town of Hemlock and the Psycho Circus guildhall, the rays of light passing through the streets and waking up the townsfolk to start their day, one individual was wishing he could sleep a little longer with how rough of a night he had.
Inside Camilla's tent, Bernard was stirring in his kneeling position with the chains still wrapped around his body to prevent him from escaping as he started to open his eyes.
"Ughhh…" Bernard yawned as he started to wake up. Looking around, he sullenly remembered where he was. "Oh right... I am here again... Wish it was just some bad nightmare..." He thought in his head as he turned his eyes to the side to see Vulp starting to wake up while in chains.
"Hey..." Bernard said to the fox Celestial Spirit with mixed emotions. Turning his head, Vulp looked at Bernard with a concerned face. "I'm fine... You?" He asked to Vulp who nodded to confirm he was okay, prompting him to smile in response to seeing one of his fellow captives was alright as he turned his head towards Corvus who was already awake and looking in another direction. "How about you?" Bernard asked.
"Shut up..." Corvus said while looking away.
"I'm just asking- blagh!" Bernard talked until he noticed a weird taste in his mouth. "The heck? What's this weird flavor I'm tasting? I feel like someone wiped a strawberry all over my lips." Bernard thought as he licked his lips, trying to figure out what the taste in his mouth was.
"I said shut up! I'm focusing..." Corvus said as he looked in a direction of the tent house, prompting Bernard and Vulp to look in the same direction to figure out what he was looking at.
Bernard, widening his eyes in surprise, then figured out what Corvus was looking at. Behind the changing curtain in the room was the silhouette of a woman changing her clothes behind it as the trio stared at the figure removing articles of clothing and stringing them up over the curtain.
"Yup! That's definitely Camilla!" Bernard thought as he looked at Camilla changing behind the curtain
"Hey! Stop! I don't want her any more angrier at me than she already is!" Bernard shouted in a quiet voice towards Corvus as he continued to stare.
"I'm not listening to you..." Corvus said as he continued to stare.
"He's still mad..." Bernard thought as he looked away from where Camilla was getting dressed. "And speaking of mad..." He continued to think.
Emerging behind the curtain, Camilla had appeared before the trio of captives, now sporting a grey tank top with a light green flannel-like shirt over her tank top while wearing a grey miniskirt and a pair of brown open toe heeled shoes.
"Thank you for the feast." Corvus said with a content look on his face as he locked eyes with Camilla who looked at the crow with an unamused face.
"You really need to work on controlling your libido..." Camilla said to the crow with an annoyed look on her eyes until she turned her eyes towards Bernard. As they made eye contact, Bernard just looked at her with the same depressing face from the night before. "Still don't want to talk huh?" She said as Vulp and Corvus turned their heads towards Bernard to see if he will finally talk.
"Guess not..." Corvus said with a disappointed look in his eyes as Vulp still continued to look concerned at Bernard.
"Of course..." Camilla sighed as she felt like this conversation was going nowhere. Moving over to the kitchen area of the tent house, Camilla reached into a drawer and pulled out a key as she walked over to where the captives were. Putting the key in the locks on the chains that tied down Corvus and Vulp, the chains loosened around their bodies and Corvus and Vulp were freed from their bindings.
"Sweet freedom!" Corvus exclaimed as he and Vulp started to stretch their bodies to get some of their composure back. Flapping his wings, Corvus took flight to meet Camilla face to face. "So why'd you let us out?"
"As far as I can tell, I have no problem with you two. It's mostly just him." Camilla said as she put the chains to the side on the floor as she looked at Bernard. "You both need to be around him to have energy like what the others said and you seem just as aggravated by him being unable to be a grown man, so I am not going to keep you locked up like him." Camilla explained to the Celestial Spirits.
"Thank you! With how many times we have been tied up, I was getting worried it was going to be a trend for me." Corvus said as he was thankful for no longer being chained up.
"Guess I am staying like this in here?" Bernard said as he looked up at Camilla and Corvus standing over him while Vulp looked at him from the side.
"You're staying in chains but not in here." Camilla said with a disgruntled look as the yellow box that was still active over his chains disappeared as Camilla grabbed Bernard by the shackles and lifted him up to a standing position. "You're coming with me and staying in the guildhall until I am done working today."
"Great..." Bernard said as he sighed, expecting a very long day ahead of him.
"Come on." Camilla said as she pulled Bernard with Corvus and Vulp following them out of the tent and towards the big top guildhall.
Entering the guildhall, Camilla pulled Bernard over to a corner and kicked his legs underneath him to force him into a kneeling position again. Holding her hand up, the yellow barrier box that bolted Bernard to the floor in the tent house appeared once again over Bernards chains and bolted him into the floor of the guildhall.
"Seriously?! You are just leaving me in the same position as before but now in the guildhall!?" Bernard exclaimed angrily as he knelt down in front of Camilla once again.
"No I am not." Camilla said as she walked away from him and went over to the bar. Reaching over the bar, she pulled out something and hid it behind her back as she walked back over to Bernard. "You can wear this instead of your beanie." Camilla said as she removed Bernards beanie and placed what she had on Bernards head.
Propped up on Bernards head was a cone shaped hat that read the words; "DUNCE" in big bold letters. After placing it on his head, Corvus' cheeks started to expand as he landed on a wooden table in the guildhall and tried to hold back his desire to laugh until he couldn't anymore.
"Pfffff! Bahahahaha! Oh my god! That's rich! Hahahaha!" Corvus exclaimed as his laughter was causing his eyes to water as Vulp looked at Bernard with a raised eyebrow at the hat on his head.
"Really!? A dunce hat?!" Bernard complained as he wore the hat that made him look like an idiot.
"This will be the first step in your punishment." Camilla said bluntly as she walked towards the bar. "Now keep quiet, I got cleaning to do." She said annoyed.
"I am not going to sit here with this- whoa, wait a minute... Cleaning?" Bernard spoke until something Camilla said had caught his attention. "You're cleaning up the guildhall?" He questioned.
"Yes. And didn't I say not to talk to me?" Camilla said annoyed as she took a rag and started to clean off some of the glasses and jugs.
"Why are you doing it?" Bernard said with a raised eyebrow. "That shouldn't be something you should be doing."
"And yet here I am, cleaning up..." Camilla said as she continued to wipe a glass.
"She isn't supposed to?... Actually this give me an opportunity to ask this, what is your job here?" Corvus spoke up as he asked Camilla a question.
"I'm head of security for the show." Camilla answered. "I keep the miscreant drunks who like to show up to heckle the acts out and I protect the people in case something were to happen." She continued.
"Huh, that actually makes a lot of sense for someone who knows Barrier Magic." Corvus stated as he and Vulp sat on a table in the guildhall. "Kind of disappointed you don't have an exotic dancer act though." Corvus said with a perverted look in his eyes as he looked at Camilla.
"I don't have a performance but I can act out a scene for you where I break your beak off with my bare hands." Camilla said in annoyance as she threatened the crow for his lecherous comments.
"Okay easy!" Corvus said nervously to avoid getting on her bad side. "Sometimes I can't help myself. Hehe." Corvus joked.
"You and several other people I know of in this place." Camilla said as she started to wipe down the bar area.
"Hey..." Bernard said, catching Camillas attention.
"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" Camilla said angrily as she was starting to get annoyed at Bernard whining.
"I haven't really eaten in about two days since you caught me and the other two. Can I have something to-" Bernard spoke up until he noticed Camilla was making an angry glare directed at him. "-eat?" Bernard said with fear in his voice as he was scared of the look in her eyes.
Reaching below the guildhall bar, Camilla had a dog bowl that she picked up and placed it in the sink at the bar and put water from the tap into the bowl and proceeded to walk it over to Bernard.
"Here. Drink this. And shut the hell up." Camilla said angrily as she dropped it in front of the guilds captive.
"Really!?" Bernard said as he looked down at the dog bowl he was expected to drink out of if he wanted to fight his hunger.
"I'd just drink it and deal with it kid. With the way you have been acting lately, it's kind of called for." Corvus said as he sat on the table with Vulp.
Bernard sighed in response before bending down and starting to lap up the water.
"Hey, when did we get a dog? Hehe." Said the voice of Anatoli who started to enter the guildhall while standing on his rolling ball as he walked over to Bernard.
"Why are you here so early?" Bernard said as he knelt back up to look at Anatoli.
"I started coming in early to help out." Anatoli explained as he sat on his ball.
"Mainly because we all have been." Said the voice of Pietro as he proceeded to enter the guild behind Anatoli with Marlene also walking in too.
"You all have?" Bernard said with a raised eyebrow as Corvus flew over and landed on Pietros shoulder and Vulp walking over and standing next to Marlene. "Something isn't right here..." He thought as he looked at the group.
"Well... It's kind of a long story- Huh?" Marlene said before she noticed Camilla was motioning towards the group and catching their attention.
"Please avoid speaking to Bernard guys... He's being punished for his whole silent treatment routine from last night with one of his own." Camilla said to the group as she glanced at Bernard who winced from the look she gave.
"Well alright then." Pietro said as he walked over with Corvus on his shoulder over to a table with Marlene and Vulp following suit.
"Hey, Anatoli." Bernard whispered before Anatoli walked away, catching his attention. "I got a question for you."
"What's up?" Anatoli bent over to hear.
"I woke up this morning with a weird taste in my mouth and I was wondering if you showed up last night and pranked me." Bernard questioned to the confused Anatoli.
"As much as I would have loved to prank you like old times, why would I do something so basic as put a weird taste in your mouth?" Anatoli said with a weird smirk on his face. "You know I would have done something more complex and funny than something as simple as that. What taste was it?" He wondered.
"It was kind of like a strawberry taste on my lips and on my tongue-" Bernard explained before he overheard Camilla speak up.
"Hey! I thought I said not to talk to anybody!" Camilla exclaimed to get Anatoli to stop talking to Bernard.
"Oh! Sorry!" Anatoli said as he got back on his ball and rolled away.
"Camilla and the others are cleaning up... Actually wait..." Bernard thought with suspicion as he looked around the guildhall and looked at the interior. "Why has this place not been updated?... Me leaving for two whole years shouldn't have made this place look so... Unchanged... Same tables, same layout, same bar design... What the heck?" He continued to think as he surveyed the room.
Some time passed as the guildmembers set up the place as more and more of the members of Psycho Circus such as Harriet started to enter and congregated around the tables and bar within the guildhall. In one of the corners of the guildhall, some of the members were in a small crowd looking at the request board for job requests.
"Even Camilla had to put up the guild requests... I can understand my idiot father not doing a thing because he likes being a lazy guildmaster but... Where is the show ringmaster? He should be doing these things, or at least helping out... Like I did..." Bernard thought as he looked at the group by the request board.
As he looked over, Corvus and Vulp approached Bernard as he turned their attention towards them.
"What have you two been up to?" Bernard questioned the Celestial Spirits.
"Been mingling the whole time with your friends. I gotta say, this is a pretty sweet place." Corvus said as he looked around.
"Nice to know someone is enjoying themselves..." Bernard said with a disgruntled tone and a twitch in his eyes.
"Had to tell some of them the whole story why you are sitting here in the corner like a kid in time out. Got a few chuckles. Hehe." Corvus said with a smirk as Bernard looked at him with annoyance. "I'll say this though... I thought the monkey guy and the chameleon girl and the bearded lady was the bare minimum of "weird" you guys had here." Corvus said as he and Vulp turned around as a peculiar individual passed by.
A very odd-looking figure with a split torso down the middle passed by the trio as Corvus and Vulp looked on in curiosity. Sporting two heads on his body on each side of the split torso with a left arm on the left side upper body and a right arm on the right side upper body, he had three legs on his lower half. He had a young appearance as they walked by the trio with papers in their hands and wearing a plain set of clothes with a simple green t-shirt, blue pants and brown shoes.
"I wanted an easy job!" Said one of the heads that was sporting a pulled back green ponytail hairstyle to the other head.
"And I said I wanted a challenge!" Said the other head that was sporting a green bowl cut style.
"We need money for the rent so picking something easy is the best choice!" Said the ponytailed head.
"I want to do a job where we can fight something so I can let loose some stress!" Said the bowl cut head.
"Oh yeah?! Why?!" The ponytailed head proclaimed angrily.
"Because being around you all day pisses me off!" The bowl cut head said, equally agitated as they walked away.
"Ok... That was disturbing..." Corvus said with wide eyes.
"That was Nole and Andy... He used to be one guy." Bernard said, catching the Celestial Spirits attention. "His name used to be "Noland" but he screwed up big time when he was younger abusing his Multiplication Magic and wound up looking like a conjoined twin. And they are still arguing like a pair of dumbasses after all this time... So he basically became his own brother. Oh and he has an odd swallowing act because of how his internal structure works." Bernard said as he looked off at the conjoined duo leaving the guild.
Looking down, Corvus and Vulp were startled by the sight of a small pinkish toy car driving past their feet and drove around the floor of the guildhall and under the tables, knocking against peoples feet.
"Damn it! That's the fourth time I've seen that stupid toy car driving around and hitting my feet!" Corvus exclaimed in annoyance as the toy car drove off.
"The Tabana Siblings..." Bernard said with an unamused expression. "They're triplets." He continued.
"Triplets?" Corvus said confused. "I haven't seen any triplets around here all day. What can they do? Control toys?" The crow questioned.
"Kaori, Kory and Kary Tabana. Their parents were a set of clowns who worked for us before retiring. They started up a Magic Mobile business for magical vehicle rentals on the other side of town. And that toy car is their prized possession... They're in it right now." Bernard explained as he looked under the tables for the triplets driving around.
"What?!" Corvus said as he and Vulp looked around the tables confused.
"Worlds smallest Magic Mobile. They like to do an act where they drive around a makeshift obstacle course in it and the audience tries to keep up because they constantly are driving above what we tell them to. Doesn't help they are a group of pre-teens either..." Bernard said exhaustedly.
"You got weird conjoined people and a group of clown kids driving around in tiny cars... This place is awesome!" Corvus exclaimed with intrigue as he was enjoying the unusual air to the place. "Why the hell did you ran away from this?" Corvus said, attempting to finally get an answer out of Bernard.
"Maybe when Camilla deems it fit for me to get a pee break, I'll tell you." Bernard said with a growing tick mark of anger on his head. "Actually... Now that I think about it..." Bernard then stopped and started to look around the room once again.
"What's up?" Corvus said as he and Vulp looked at Bernard.
"I don't see any new faces." Bernard said as he looked at everyone around the guild.
"Huh?" Corvus exclaimed, unsure what Bernard meant.
"It's been two years and I don't see a single new person here... That... Doesn't seem right either." Bernard said with suspicion to the confusion of the Celestial Spirits who were unsure of his meaning.
However, Bernards train of thought was derailed the moment he heard footsteps coming from the direction of the entrance to the big top. Looking over, Bernard, Corvus and Vulp saw three individuals standing at the doorway. As they entered, the trio noticed the guildhall fell silent as everyone turned their heads to see them.
One of the individuals was a woman who towered over the other two in height, her incredibly tall body appeared roughly seven feet tall. Dressed in a shiny dark blue low cut shirt with a pair of bell-bottom pants of a matching color, she wore a large amount of jewelry around her wrists, neck and ears under her blonde bob-cut hairstyle with a dark blue gem encrusted headband around her forehead and black heeled shoes.
Another was a man with an incredibly odd face that offset his plain appearance. Dressed in a black beret with a long sleeve black and white striped shirt and black pants with a messenger bag strung around his body and black shoes. His average clothes, that were similar to that of a mimes outfit, contrasted his face that gave an odd visual of a young man sporting white make up all over his face from ear to ear and, most notably, a large piece of black duct tape over his mouth.
Lastly, the least visually distinct of the trio was a young man at the same age as Bernard with short dirty blond spikey hair and a set of blue eyes and a smirk on his face. For clothes, he wore a red and black petticoat with white pants and black boots with white gloves over his hands as he walked into guild with the other two odd fellows in tow.
"I have returned everyone!" The young blonde haired man said to everyone who proceeded to not respond.
"Okay, who is this guy? And why does he have a mime and a woman who looks like she needs to duck every time she walks through a doorway with him?" Corvus whispered to Bernard to get an answer.
"I... Don't actually know. I've never seen this guy before." Bernard said with surprise as he looked at the trio, unsure of who they are. "Wait... That guys outfit..." Bernard thought as he looked at the young blonde haired man.
"Isn't anyone going to say "hello" to the ringmaster?" The young blonde said in a vain way as he approached the bar area where Camilla was, who proceeded to sigh in response before speaking up.
"Hello Chester." Camilla said as she looked at the blonde man named Chester before turning to the people he was with. "Hello Gigantia." Camilla said to the tall woman named Gigantia. "Hello Silencio." She said to the mime-like man named Silencio.
"See, being welcomed back after a tough mission isn't so hard." Gigantia said with a smirk on her face as she sat down at the bar with Silencio who wasn't saying anything because of the tape over his mouth.
"How'd your mission go?" Camilla said as she proceeded to clean a glass behind the guild bar.
"Obviously well if we are here." Chester said with a cocky attitude. "A few weeks away from the guild to take care of some thugs near the oceanside did some good for me and my team." He continued as he put his hands on Gigantia and Silencios shoulders.
"Another victory for Team Woodstock and another job that cuts it a bit close." Camilla said as she rolled her eyes, not completely caring.
"Oh come on, don't be so moody with your ringmaster, Chester Woodstock. I made it back before the next show, didn't I?" Chester said as he made an arrogant smile.
"What?!" Bernard exclaimed loudly, causing everyone in the guild to look in his direction. "You're the ringmaster?!" Bernard said in shock, as he tried to process this new information.
"Who is that?" Chester said as he looked at the strange young man in the corner of the guildhall that was chained to the floor with a dunce cap on his head.
"Do you remember the half a dozen times we all asked for you to help us find someone. An important member of the guild we kind of wanted to see if he was alright?" Camilla explained. "Yeah, that's him. His name's Bernard, he's the guild masters son."
"This guy!?" Chester said as he walked over to Bernard as Corvus and Vulp inched away from Bernard to give them room.
Standing over the chained up Bernard, Chester made a face of disdain as he looked down at the chained up young man.
"Really? This is my predecessor as the ringmaster?" Chester said as Gigantia and Silencio walked over to join him. "Talk about upgrades. Am I right?" Chester joked as Gigantia chuckled at his joke.
"This guy waltzes in here, expecting everyone to say "hello" to him when he should be saying it to them. And he has been gone for weeks on jobs!? And he's the ringmaster?!" Bernard thought with his mouth agape as he looked at the trio, ignoring their obvious insults.
"Why is he even here?" Gigantia said towards Camillas direction.
"Me, Anatoli, Marlene and Pietro found him on a train heading towards Magnolia." Camilla said with a plain expression.
"No, that's not what she asked." Chester said, responding to Camillas answer. "She asked; "why is he here?" Why is he in our guildhall." He continued, the cocky attitude he was giving slowly morphing into one of annoyance as Bernard continued to look at him with a look of agitation.
"Because he is a member of the guild." Pietro explained as he got up from his table and walked over to the trio.
"He runs away for two whole years and the best we can do for punishment is have him sit around all day like a bum in chains?" Gigantia said, criticizing the decision to have Bernard around.
"Hey, he's a member of the family." Anatoli said as he rolled over on his ball. "The master hasn't really decided yet what his official punishment will be so we are waiting on what Master Barnum will say." He continued.
"Seems a bit of a waste, don't you think?" Gigantia said as she and Silencio looked at Chester who continued to eye down Bernard.
"We should just throw him out with the garbage. This guild has no need for someone who doesn't want to be in it." Chester said as he looked at Bernard with a distasteful look.
"This guy is pissing me off..." Bernard thought as he looked at Chester, still staring back at him with a look of irritation of his own.
"That's not your call to make!" Marlene said as she walked over, attempting to verbally defend Bernard.
"I am the ringmaster, I can decide whatever with the show. And this guy has no involvement so why have him around at all!?" Chester exclaimed as he reached into his pocket and pulled out an object.
In his hand, Chester had a wooden cross in his hand, ones that were typically used for marionettes by puppeteers. As Chester held it, the wooden cross begun to glow as a series of thin string had begun to stretch out of it. Reaching down onto the floor, the string suddenly begun to move on their own and wrapped around Bernards neck as he felt his windpipe start to feel choked.
"What are you doing!?" Anatoli exclaimed as he saw Chester proceed to choke Bernard with string. As he attempted to get closer, Silencio proceeded to get in front of Anatoli to prevent him from getting closer. "Out of my way, mime!" Anatoli said in frustration as Silencio stood his ground.
Kneeling down while choking Bernard with string, Chester proceeded to look in Bernards angry eyes.
"I know what you are after... Like hell I am letting you have it..." Chester said with an angry expression as he still kept eye contact with the guilds captive.
Suddenly, however, Bernard proceeded to inhale while being lightly choked by Chesters puppet strings. Forming a wad of spit in his mouth, Bernard hocked a loogy of phlegm in Chesters eye, causing Chester to loosen the string as he backed away from Bernard to wipe the spit out of his eye.
"You bastard!" Chester exclaimed as Bernard looked at him with a smirk on his face.
"Heh... Good one kid." Corvus thought as he and Vulp looked at Bernard, finally smiling as he fought back.
"I'll teach you to mess with me!" Chester exclaimed with fury in his voice as a set of magic circles appeared before him. "Requip!" Chester shouted loudly as the magic circles started to materialize a set of unknown objects.
"Enough!" Camilla screamed loudly, causing everyone in the guild hall to stop what they were doing to look in her direction. "No fighting in the guildhall..." Camilla said with a look of rage in her face as her body glowed.
"Tch…" Chester clicked his tongue as the magic circles disappeared and he put his wooden cross back in his pocket as Silencio and Gigantia turned towards him. "Very well, I don't want to piss off "little Ms. S-Class." But don't think just because you outrank me as a wizard in the guild doesn't mean you can lecture me when you are the one allowing this moron to be a member." Chester exclaimed as he and his two confidants walked away towards a lone table on the other side of the guild.
"Hey Bernie, you alright?" Anatoli said as he walked over to Bernard with Marlene and Pietro, concerned.
"Kid?" Corvus said with Vulp as they joined the other members of Psycho Circus to check on Bernard as he was being choked. However, the five people checking up on Bernard were surprised by the face he was giving, even prompting Camilla to look from all the way across the bar.
Anger, rage, frustration, irritation. These were some of the emotions that Bernards face was giving off as he continued to look in the direction of Chester and his team with a visceral look of fury in his eyes. As he stared at them, Camilla couldn't help but make an expression of worry as she watched Bernard look at the trio of wizards that were pissing him off.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Tent House, 10:01 p.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Back inside the tent house next to the guildhall was Bernard, Camilla and the Celestial Spirits. Sitting back in the corner was Bernard while Camilla placed an old mattress down on the floor next to her bed, the Celestial Spirits then proceeded to lay down on the mattress.
"Sorry to say but this is the best as I got at the moment." Camilla said to Corvus and Vulp.
"Hey, no skin off my beak. At least we aren't wearing blankets made of chains." Corvus said as he sat on the mattress.
"That's good- Hmmm..." Camila said until she noticed the angry expression Bernard had on his face while still tied up.
Choosing to ignore Bernard, Camilla proceeded to walk over to the changing curtain in the room and started to change her clothes.
"You know, your face is going to be stuck like that if you keep it up kid." Corvus said as he turned towards Bernard who was staring blankly and angrily into space.
"...There is so much wrong going on..." Bernard thought as Camilla exited the curtain, now sporting a brown tank top and a pair of black shorts and sitting down on her bed with a book in her hands that she began to read.
"Start talking..." Bernard said with aggravation in his tone towards Camilla, continuing to ignore him.
"Hey kid, calm down. Don't want to piss her off you know." Corvus said with concern as Bernard stared at Camilla with rage in his eyes.
"Why is the guild like this?" Bernard questioned to Camilla who proceeded to turn around to avoid glancing at Bernards angry gaze. "The guildhall hasn't been updated internally in any way, I didn't see a single person practicing their acts for the show, the show is apparently in a few days if what I heard is to be correct, you were cleaning up everything by yourself with help from the other guildmembers when they shouldn't have to and the ringmaster is-" Bernard said, listing off a ton of grievances he had seen as the day went on with the sound of his voice getting angrier and angrier with each listing.
Becoming disgruntled and annoyed, Camilla proceeded to cut off him off from continuing by closing her book and putting it on the ground next to her bed. Clapping her hands to turn off the lights, she proceeded to grab a blanket and cover her body before putting her head on the pillow, still facing away from Bernard.
"Don't you ignore me!" Bernard shouted. "I want some damn answers!" He continued with fury in his voice as Camilla continued to ignore him.
"Kid! Stop screaming! This isn't going to help anybody if you get angry!" Corvus said as he and Vulp looked at him from the mattress.
"I need to know god damn it!" Bernard said as he looked at the crow. "First of all, who is the knob with my old outfit?!" He asked.
"Well I can answer that..." Corvus said, catching Bernards attention. "I asked around with some of the guildmembers. His name is Chester Woodstock and he has been the ringmaster for the guilds show for the past year." He explained.
"What else?" Bernard questioned.
"The guys got a bit of an ego and he hasn't really been doing a great job of helping around the guild." Corvus said. "I asked the mustached guy, he said the guy mostly spends his time on jobs with his little team he calls "Team Woodstock."' The crow continued to explain.
"Oh that's just lovely! And what an original name! And he has his head so far up his own ass and isn't doing his job! That's just fine and- Gah!" Bernard said until he was cut off by something soft hitting him in the face. Turning their heads, Corvus and Vulp saw that Camilla was now sitting up in her bed and had noticed she threw a pillow at Bernard.
"The one not doing their job around here is you!" Camilla exclaimed angrily.
"When I left this place, it wasn't in a state of disarray! Hell, it's not even in a state of disarray... But it sure as hell isn't any good either!" Bernard said with fury in his voice.
"You shouldn't have left at all! And yet here you went, no explanation! No letters! Becoming a bum in Hargeon when you had a good life here!" Camilla said as she got up from the bed and approached Bernard.
"Just because I left doesn't mean you guys had to hire some guy to replace me who can't do a good job in the interim!" Bernard argued.
"He doesn't do a bad job when it comes to being on stage or performing. It's just..." Camilla said before stopping for a moment.
"Just...?" Bernard said with a raised eyebrow.
"He is rough around the edges... And a bit of an egomaniac... But he is decent as a showrunner. And he performed for us for awhile before the guild master made him the show ringmaster." Camilla said, moderately defending Chester.
"Okay, what about his plans? Has he come up with new performances for all the members?" Bernard said curious.
"...No. No one has had their acts updated in about three months. And even then, that was everyone working together to come up with ideas..." Camilla said as she rubbed her temples, with Bernards eye twitching as she said that.
"Okay... What about show numbers? Have we been getting decent audiences?" Bernard questioned.
"...All over the place... Sometimes the place is half full." Camilla said disgruntled.
"Half full!? We used to get full houses all the damn time! Is he advertising in other towns?!" Bernard exclaimed with growing concern.
"No... Most of the guildmembers lately have been advertising while on jobs and we have put fliers up around Hemlock... That's about it." Camilla explained.
"I'm on the verge of going ballistic... Wait... His cohorts..." Bernard thought, growing more and more frustrated. "Does his friends have acts? What are they? How does a seven foot tall woman and a mime fit into the show? Marlene has a dance routine, Anatoli does acrobatics, Pietro does insane deadlifts and power stuff. What can they do?" Bernard questioned.
"...No one has seen their acts... Most of the others haven't seen their performances to see what they even are since they came here." Camilla said as she went back to her bed and sat down on it as Bernard started to shake with rage.
"...Are you serious right now?" Bernard said, trying to hold back the anger and fury in his voice. "Are you serious right now!?" He repeated and shouted.
"Not all of it is Chesters fault... Some of the blame can be passed on a certain someone who wasn't around so we didn't have to worry about mismanagement." Camilla stated as she gave Bernard a harsh look.
"As far as I've been told, nothing around here has been changed for the better!" Bernard exclaimed with a twitch in his eye.
"No... There has been one thing that's changed." Camilla said, catching Bernards attention. "You." Camilla said as Bernards eyes widened in agitation as Corvus and Vulp looked at Camilla.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Bernard said.
"You don't care about anything anymore..." Camilla said in an upset and disappointed tone. "The guild, the show, it's members, the work. Not even-" Camilla continued before she was cut off.
"Not even what?" Bernard said with a concerning look in his eyes.
"...Nothing, why do I even bother..." Camilla said as she turned away and laid back on the bed.
"Hey..." Bernard said.
"What?" Camilla said annoyed while she looked away.
"I have to pee..." Bernard said, slightly embarrassed.
"...Seriously?!" Corvus exclaimed, finally speaking up and catching the attention of Camilla and Bernard. "All that serious stuff and now you have to go take a piss to ruin the mood!?" The crow said in surprise.
"When you have to go, you have to go..." Bernard said as he looked at the exit.
"Go pee your pants..." Camilla said angrily as she looked away.
"...Fine then." Bernard said with half closed eyes as Corvus and Vulp looked at him in shock, unsure of what he means. "I'll piss my underwear and then rub my body all over the nice clean floor here. The smell will linger for awhile!" Bernard said threateningly and in a petty manner.
"Oh god, you are unbelievable!" Camilla said, becoming more and more fed up with Bernard. "You two! Take him outside!" Camilla said as she pointed at Corvus and Vulp.
"Us?!" Corvus said in surprise.
"I don't want to see him for awhile and I don't want him peeing in my house. So just take him to a tree or something. I'm going to bed." Camilla said as she exclaimed one last glance at Bernard before covering herself in her bedsheets.
"...Damn it. Alright…" Corvus said unenthusiastically as he flapped his wings to get off the mattress with Vulp taking one of Bernards chains to pull him up and walked him over to the exit as they walked out of Camillas tent house.
Turning to the side and towards the trees, the trio stopped near a group of trees in the small forest next to the guild and slightly away from Camillas house. Stopping in front of an old pine, Bernard placed his cuffed hands on it and proceeded to slam his own head against it, to the shock of Corvus and Vulp.
"The hell are you doing?!" Corvus exclaimed as he looked at Bernard repeatedly slamming his head against the tree.
"I. Am. Trying. To. Calm. Down!" Bernard said with insanity in his voice as he smashed his forehead against the pine with him speaking in-between each slam.
"You're gonna concuss yourself! Stop it!" Corvus said as Vulp turned his tail into a pair of hands and grabbed Bernards shoulders to pull him slightly from the tree before blood could start to spill from the angry young mans head.
"Ugh! God! This is pissing me off!" Bernard exclaimed as he stopped thrashing about. "Why is this place so mismanaged now. I didn't leave it like this and now everyone is practically blaming me for it!" He said as he looked at the tree.
"You're the one that ran away kid, it's kinda obvious who they can blame." Corvus explained.
"That doesn't mean they couldn't do a good job without me here!" Bernard said as he turned towards the Celestial Spirits.
"I think they relied on you a lot... Besides your replacement and his two oddball friends, people seem happy you're here at least." Corvus said with some hesitation as Bernard proceeded to undo the fly to his pants and begin to urinate on the tree. "Oh so you did have to pee?"
"Yes... I've been holding this in since yesterday morning when we were still caged up." Bernard said annoyed.
"I don't see the problem with you rejoining the guild kid. Everyone here... Ok, not everybody but most of the people here seem to like you and if you have such an important job, you're definitely needed. So why not be a part of the group again?" Corvus said, hoping to get an answer as Vulp looked with similar interest.
"...It's not that simple. Alright?" Bernard said as he finished peeing on the tree and turning back around.
"Oh yeah, it's not that simple. Oh wait, you still haven't told us anything!" Corvus said with an agitated expression as Bernard bit his lip in response to his reaction.
"Fine..." Bernard said plainly.
'"Fine" what?" Corvus reiterated.
"I'll tell you the story... Why I left, why I don't want to be here... See, I told you I would tell you the next time I had a pee break..." Bernard said with irritation in his voice.
"Kid, this is all I want. Let's hear it." Corvus said, interested in hearing Bernards tale.
"Ok so, it all started when- Gah!" Bernard said until he felt a strange sensation covering his body, to the surprise of Corvus and Vulp.
"Kid?" Corvus said with concern as Bernard started to flail about as he tripped and landed on his chest.
"What the hell is this?! I feel like somethings on me!" Bernard said as he felt something ensnare him but Corvus and Vulp looked over his body and saw nothing latched onto him besides the shackles he was in when they came outside.
"I don't see anything! Wait, is this a trick to avoid telling us the story?!" Corvus said, becoming angry at the possibility of Bernard attempting to scapegoat.
"No, you stupid pigeon! I feel like there is a fishnet or something over me!" Bernard said as he thrashed about on the ground.
"I'm not a pigeon! I am a- Gah!" Corvus said until he felt the feeling of something large smash against the back of his head, knocking him to the ground as Vulp turned to notice Corvus' hard landing on the dirt. "Damn it... Not again..." Corvus thought as he lost consciousness.
Looking around for signs of danger, Vulp started to change his tail until he turned and noticed someone approaching him. Preparing to strike, Vulp twisted around and swung his tail, which had taken the form of a spiked flail, in an attempt to hit his attacker but only managed to get his tail lodged into a tree. Stuck, Vulp attempted to pull his tail out of the tree but it was too late as he looked around and noticed someone standing over him and felt something hitting against his head, knocking out the fox.
"Vulp!" Bernard exclaimed in concern for the Celestial Spirit as they were both laid out. Looking out into the darkness, Bernard noticed a group of people approaching. "Someone's coming..." Bernard thought as he looked to see who was coming his way.
Looking up, Bernard looked in shock and anger as he saw the familiar face of Chester Woodstock standing over him with the same agitated look on his face when they were staring eachother down earlier that day.
"Looks like the trash needs to be taken out." Chester said as he knelt down in front of Bernard with Gigantia and Silencio approaching with Gigantia holding Corvus and Silencio holding Vulp in their arms. "You don't think I do a good job around here. Well... Let me show you how well of a job I can do." Chester said with rage in his voice as he lifted his leg and kicked Bernard in the face, knocking him out.
Bernard... Dude... It's not been a good series of days for you, hasn't it? While forced to sit in the guild in the corner like a kid in time out, Bernard had noticed several things wrong with the Psycho Circus guild in recent times. With the next show approaching, everyone not fully prepared and his replacement being a rather vain fellow named Chester Woodstock, it seems Bernards ability to keep calm is slowly but surely fading. With Team Woodstock knocking out Bernard and the Celestial Spirits, what could they possibly plan to do with them? And what of Bernards reason for leaving, the mystery still stands... More to come, next time on "Menagerie!"
(Author's note: ok several things... One, this chapter was a cut down, you already knew that. Two, this chapter should have been up about three days ago but I had to suddenly go in for surgery, long story short, I am fine but you get the point. Sorry I took so long. Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter and don't be afraid to post in the reviews page, it's always good for me to see peoples thoughts on things.)