Hey, all! I know this is a little shorter than the chapters I've been doing recently, but that's fine. For some reason I just really want to get this one up already.
I revised chapter 1 a while ago so things make a bit more sense. Basically, they've never met Road before, not even Lavi. Instead, Lavi is just really good at controlling his own mindscape since that's part of his Bookman training. I just suggest going through and reading it.
sparklehannah (Guest) - You should know that you are almost half of my motivation for this story.
MaskedPyro - I actually don't know if I want pairings, but the Poker Pair is great.
Chapter 6
A little piece of shit kept following Allen, and he had half a mind to destroy her and her entire family for making his paranoid mind even worse. The girl seemed innocent enough, with her candy and knee-length skirt, but something about her was off-putting. Like she was older than she looked. Allen didn't like it, and he really didn't like it when she tried to befriend Eeez. At least the boy knew not to get close to people that Tyki didn't specifically introduce him to.
Tyki taught the kid well.
Now all Allen has to do is get rid of the little shit stalking him. Her eyes were way too sadistic for his taste. Sure, there's some guys that like shit like this, but Allen still feels like a 9 year old, and other children are still just scum that live in the underbellies of cities and towns. They're good forgetting him more cash, but that's it.
Except Eeez. Eeez is a good kid that deserves what he gets, with all the work he puts into everything. Allen wouldn't have gone to work in the mines when he could just steal everything he needed. It was easier, more efficient, and he knows what he's gonna get in the end. Trusting people to give him cash at the end of something just wasn't gonna work, seeing as the place he used to live would screw a kid over in seconds without a moment's through.
The little girl (that possibly wasn't as young as she seems) doesn't deserve what she gets, with her clean clothes and pockets filled with candy. Or maybe she does, and that's what makes her eyes so demented.
Allen wanted to talk to her, but he also wanted to run away from the child. He chose the former.
"Hey, ankle-biter, what you doin' chaisen down homeless people?" He asked. The girl smiled up at him without answering, instead walking past him and sitting down next to their stuff. She munched down on some more candy, looking around at all of their warn possessions.
Allen grunted and started getting ready for another performance. His loose clothing was already on, and all that was left was the clown makeup that he had recently bought. First to cover the tattoo with base, then make little shapes on his cheeks and forehead. The girl was silent for his entire transformation, even when he was shoving little trinkets into his shirt to help with the act.
"Why don't you have a bigger ball? I thought clowns were supposed to be good at balancing on them." She asked in a voice lower than Allen was expecting. He was just about to head out to the main square after carefully packing and hiding everything in a place where the girl wouldn't be able to see or reach.
"Haven't seen any in the places we go. Why, you want me ta give ya a performance for a rich girl?" He worked hard to keep the sneer out of his voice, but it was too difficult. He'd been catering performances for annoying little brats when they told him to 'pull colors from your sleeves!' 'pick me up! Pick me uuuuuuuup!' and 'no, you already did that. Jump off the house!' There was no end to it. The were just needy little creatures that need to just grow up already. That's the problem when kids have parents. They get pampered. Or beat, but in that case they're a different kind of brat. The angsty shits that are almost as bad as the pampered ones, but not quite.
"I'm just saying, you don't seem like a clown unless you have one. I can get you one, you know. It won't even cost that much! Think of it as a thank you." Allen released a glare.
"And why would I take something from a little shit like you? If ya got parents around here I'll gladly give 'em a show and take 'em for all they worth." The girl looked amused, and Allen decided to ignore the insane child. He went to perform his shows as normal, but throughout the entire day the little girl stayed within his sight, watching.s It wasn't easy to ignore someone watching you that intently for no known reason. She probably wasn't there for the show after dissing his entire bag of tricks and invading his living space before he was even ready to look at people as a clown.
Distracted as he was, his performance was less than normal and he received less money at first, but slowly he began to focus. It wasn't much of a difference, but at least there was a bit more cash coming in.
There was no way he'd allow himself to make a fool of himself (clown act aside) of making less than the person who ran off for some 'private client' the way Tyki had. Only half of the day had passed, so he walked over to restaurant areas to give his lunch-time performances. It all but forced people to watch him as their only form of entertainment while they ate boring foods with boring people. When they finished their meals, most would be happy due to food and give him a bit extra. Food opens up the hearts, it would seem.
The brat followed him there as well. At one point during his performance she grabbed some of the balls he had left on the ground and began to juggle with him. She was barely able to do three, but people applauded her efforts.
Allen refrained from killing her for touching his stuff. Instead he forced a grin, thankful that his makeup was placed to look like a constant smile. It really did help to make him seem friendlier, especially with what Tyki and Lavi would call his 'sour expression' that always seemed to be worn on his face.
Allen almost skipped a beat in his performance with the thought of Lavi. Either he was being sentimental or someone from the order would be coming around sooner rather than later. No one seemed to notice his mistake, not even the girl that was still obsessively watching him.
She had gotten better with juggling though, even within the small amount of time she'd been learning. There was a chance she'd make a good clown. Allen thought about it for a minute. It would be great to have another person helping with his performances, since it'd open up for a lot of acts. It's always more impressive for the crowd when there's two, even though it makes it easier for the performers.
It was time to start teaching Eeez. There was no way he'd bring the creepy girl into their group, after all. She was already messing with his head, and they hadn't even said more than a couple sentences to each other. Besides, even though Tyki wasn't the actual leader of the group and Allen would still do whatever he wanted even if Tyki was leader, he would run something like this past the older male. Maybe, just maybe, he respected the man's opinion at select moments of time.
Allen made up for the lost cash with the girl's help, even though he didn't really want her to be anywhere near him after all the mental stress her present put him through. He had to admit she wasn't a bad kid, per se, but still annoying as all hell. Of course, she seemed to know his opinion changed and got closer, and closer, and closer to him. Not so much physically but with smiles and commentary on the audience and how they looked.
A couple of times Allen would genuinely smile. Small, sure, but there was a smile present on his 'sour' face.
Eeez appeared in the crowd and Allen proceed to shut down his show. The kid was probably wanting to grab some food with Allen, since his work day just ended even though Momo and Crack were still in the mines.
Allen gave a short bow to the audience and went around to collect any extra cash people were willing to part with, possibly sneaking an extra bill or two out of their pockets if it seemed they were well off. After stuffing the cash inside his shirt he forced in the props. The girl was already talking to Eeez - how, exactly, she was able to pinpoint the one person in the crowd that Allen knew was beyond him - and Allen walked over to them.
"Oi, brat, stay away from him. Dun want yer creep self ta infect 'im."
"Awww, but Mr. Clown, we're friends! Isn't that right?" She poked at Eeez's arm and Allen growled. Eeez responded with a single blink in her direction before pulling on Allen's sleeve and pointing to a food stand. The lack of vocal response was all Allen needed to receive. Eeez never talks around people he doesn't know or doesn't trust. Allen wouldn't' be able to get rid of this girl unless using violence, but with her looking that young and them being in a crowded street, violence would only cause more problems.
An empty street, on the other hand… No, people would be able to tell from the blood. That would mean they'd have to leave town and Tyki wouldn't know where they went. Damn.
Allen bought some bread, fruit, and even a bit of meat from the vendor. He payed for everything this time since his shirt was too full to hide anything else in there. That didn't mean he missed Eeez's semi-discrete movement which swiped a couple of biscuits from a distracted vendor next to the stand they were buying from.
Allen felt an metaphorical tear slide down his face. The little boy was growing up! He'd have to tell Tyki when the guy gets back. Now it needed to be taught how to act the clown, gamble - Tyki hadn't taught him how yet, for reasons unknown to Allen - and how to lie. Allen had to get this kid prepared to run for the cops that would definitely be after him in the future. Being able to lie to their faces would only make it better. Even with him being a kid, they won't go easy on him. Allen had learned from past experiences with them.
Hopefully, with Allen actually teaching Eeez instead of making him figure everything out on his own, Eeex wouldn't have to run from the cops. But there was always that possibility that he messed up and then needed that extra bit of help from his mouth.
Back to the problem of the little brat that was still following them, she was still fucking following them! Allen was not okay with that. At all. She wasn't hanging onto Eeez anymore, thank whatever good grace Allen managed to have. She was, however, eating some of the food that Allen just paid for.
Why, oh why did murdering a child have to be looked down upon? It could solve almost all of his problems. The rich kids whose money he could take. The parents of the rich kids whose money he took would come after him, and he could take their money. The little children that follow him around after a performance. The little brat that's following him and just won't leave. All of it could just disappear.
Damn government authorities.
Allen's daydreaming ended with Eeez poking at his arm and pointing at the girl. Allen sighed, resigning to actually talk to the brat and figure out what she wants. Hopefully she'd be willing to talk instead of just tempting him to perform some less desirable tasks.
"Hey, Allen, who's the kid?" Momo interrupted before Allen could get a word out. He was dragging a shirt behind him, doing nothing to help the already tattered and dirt covered cloth. Crack followed behind, running a hand through his ever-growing hair. It was almost down to his shoulders, about time for Allen to grab a knife and cut the thing while Crack slept. Maybe he could teach Eeez his ways for this, as well. It would be good practice for not waking up a violent person as they were in light sleep.
Crack wouldn't kill the kid. Probably.
"Clown, who's the baldy?" The delusional child clearly didn't know what a bald person looked like. What Momo was wearing was a hat. Which covered hair. So she's not just a brat, but an idiot.
"None of yer bloody business. Leave." There goes the plan to ask why she was stalking him. Oh well.
"Hey, Allen, don't be a psychotic child-hater." Momo said with a grin. Allen sneered. It was just what he needed - an annoying stalker child and a tired Momo who didn't know how to shut his fucking mouth. His patience for the annoying bastard was normally more than this, just not today. In response to his' irritation, Allen's normal-looking fist moved forwards in a swinging motion to connect with Momo's jaw. The poor guy went flying and crashed into a brick wall, crumpling to the ground.
"Dammit." Allen looked towards Eeez, hoping the poor guy wasn't scared with Allen's show of strength. It wasn't his first time punching someone around the kid, but the rest of the time he wasn't aiming at a companion.
The kid was looking a little sideways, head tilted down.
Allen never had to deal with an upset child before. Whenever Eeez was having a problem, it was always Tyki or Momo's job to help him out. Seeing as Tyki is out of town and Momo is possibly dead, that left the one with the creepy face that scared adults into crying, and Allen who was just a mentally disturbed child himself.
"Oh, come on. Don't be a little pussy, you brat. It's just a little knock to the head, he's probably only a little dead." The fucking cunt was smiling sadistically. She took out a sharp object - was that a candle - and pressed it delicately to her finger. Blood beaded up at the surface and she smiled, licking the tip of the candle. Then it moved up to Eeez's neck.
Allen rushed forwards, trying to knock the girl to the ground. As her hand withdrew, a small cut formed on Eeez's throat and Allen snarled. The girl dodged his rush, however, as well as the elbow he threw at her retreating face.
"Hey, it's not like I did anything bad. He's still breathing, isn't he? Just calm down." Her voice took on a sing-song quality. Allen launched at her, breaking a wall during his attack but missing her entirely. Their game of cat and mouse continued for a while, but Allen did manage to catch the cunt in the end. Of course, there were a couple broken houses and the ground was covered in spider-web cracks with a few extreme indents, but that was far less important than the girl that was currently grinning up at him like she won the grand prize.
With his rage receding to the back of his mind for a little rest, Allen began to notice the absolute destruction he caused. Crack was standing over Eeez, small cuts covering his body.
"Oh, bloody Christ." Allen whispered to himself, jumping up and scrambling over to the child.
"You good yet, ya brat?" Crack asked, a slight grin overtaken by a grimace as another wave of pain must have hit.
"Yeah, now belt up." Allen pushed him out of the way, now crouching over the terrified Eeez. A brief image of that one sket from the cult popped into his head. She seemed like a 'motherly' type, so if he just copied her, it could all turn out okay.
"Hey, it's okay. Calm down, I won't hurt you. Just didn't want the little bitch around you any longer. Momo's gonna be fine, I didn't punch hard enough to kill, no matter how much I wanted the fucker dead. Look, you can even see his finger twitching. Everything's gonna be fine." It was close enough to how she acts. Whatever works and all that.
It worked well enough. The bonus about growing up around violence was that this wouldn't affect one as much as it did other, boring people. That and Eeez knew of Allen's semi-regular violent outbursts.
"Oooh, I like you. Guess he can keep you around after all, Allen." The brat was right next to Allen's face once again, but this time she just started walking away from the destroyed street. Allen stood, offering a hand of assistance to Eeez, who took it and pulled himself up. The four travelers left as well, Eeez holding Allen's blackened and glove-covered hand and Momo thrown carelessly over Allen's shoulder. Crack was carrying the material brought back from mining as well as whatever dropped out of Allen's shirt during the chase.
"She's scary, Allen." Eeez whispered, still far too quiet to be fully comfortable. He was talking, though, which means Allen wasn't fully dead to the boy.
"Yeah, man. I haven't seen ya freak that much for a while. What she do? Mess with Eeez?"
"Followed me around and messed with my act. Then messed with Eeez." He snarled, sending a spike of fear down Crack's spine.
"Holy fucking lord, can't believe ya held back fer so long. Didn't you kill that one drunk guy when he almost ruined yer show? Like, 'm glad ya didn't do yer nuts and all, no doubts there."
"Tyki wouldn't know where we were if someone found out it was me. I ain't good at killing clean. Let's just get outta here when Tyki gets his arse back. Bored of this place." The unconscious Momo let out a soft moan as Allen's arm tightened around his waist. Allen didn't loosen his grip.
