Idle Chatter

Chapter Three; Trowa POV:

I woke up early and quickly took care of all my necessary things before I went and took care of the animals. I spent about a good half hour with each one before moving on. This insured that they were all ready and willing to perform for today. They were normally eager to perform. They liked showing off to the crowds and Catherine always seemed to think I was just making it up. Yet I wasn't. I was able to understand animals. I think I first spoke to one when I was five. I can't really understand it. It just happened. That's how it is. As odd of an ability as that is, it was mine and I loved it.

"Trowa, how's things. Any problems?" Jonathan asked as he came into the animal enclosure.

"Nala's not feeling well and Panthera isn't ready for people. Other than that, they're all ready." Jonathan laughed and placed a hand on Trowa's shoulder.

"Their your cats, so handle them as you will. They aren't supposed to perform today anyway." I frowned. I had at least hoped that Panthera was up for this. She was very agile and sleek and I loved her dearly. I had wanted Quatre to be able to see her skill. Too bad it wasn't today. Panthera peeked from her cage, roaring softly. I smiled and purred back, the sound low in my throat.

"Talking to the cat's again?" Catherine asked as she came up to me. I smiled softly, nodding "She's upset that I'm upset," I answered. Catherine smiled and looked at Panthera. She was a very beautiful panther, it was just too bad she wasn't ready for others. I waved off Catherine's look.

"She won't be performing today. How's your aim, better this time?" I asked, wanting to make her laugh. She didn't, her expression serious.

"I'm scared I'll do it again." I just waved her off, knowing she would never kill me. Perhaps she'd wound me, but never kill me. This is always possible when dealing with knife throwing. It's why Duo never wants to use a live target.

"Don't be. You're as skilled as the best knife throwers in the country. There is nothing you can't do. Calm down. Breathe easy and don't think about what could happen. Think about what should happen." Catherine did as I told her, knowing that's what she had to do. I then turned from her and headed to get dressed, knowing I had one hell of a show to do if I wanted to impress Quatre.

The show ran beautifully and everything went perfectly. The big tent had been filled to capacity. Quatre had been true to his word and he had brought what appeared to be everyone from his family and then some. The whole Winner clan was here this day and I had serious thoughts that they would do anything for their youngest brother, especially after he had learned Duo's little trick. I stood at the back of the tent, not far from Panthera's cage, and waited for Quatre to come find me. He found me all right, along with the most adorable little girl I had ever seen. Yet the second she saw me, her face lit up and I knew I was going to be dragged into a question frenzy of the likes I had never seen before.

"How tall are you?" she asked softly.

"Five foot nine inches tall," I answered.

"Have you ever been bit?"

"Not yet."

"Can you see through your hair?"

"Yes."

"Why does that lady throw knives at you?"

"Because it's part of our act."

"How old are you?"

"18."

"Do YOU snore?"

"Don't know, I can't hear myself."

"Does the tiger have a name?"

"Yes, his name is Charon."

"Why do you like lions?"

"It's not just lions, I like all animals."

"Are they mean?"

"Only if provoked."

"Do you live in the circus?"

"Yes."

"Can I live in the circus?"

"Not at such a young age."

"Did you run away to the circus?"

"No."

"Why aren't you dressed as a clown?"

"Because I'm not a clown."

"Aren't clowns supposed to be funny?"

"Yes, usually."

"Are the knives sharp?"

"Yes."

"Do you ever get scared?"

"No."

"Oh. Why don't you use a whip?"

"Because I don't want to hurt my friends."

"If you're a lion tamer, why do you have tigers?"

"Because it's just a name."

"Shouldn't you be a tiger tamer as well?"

"No."

"What about dogs, can you tame them?"

"I suppose. All animals can be trained."

"I've got a bird, but he's stupid. I've got a fish as well, can you train a fish?"

"Some."

"He floats. Did you know fish can float? He turned white and started doing it a couple days ago. I pushed him down with a spoon and he just bobs up and down." I felt my ability to handle this situation crack. She was talking about a fish that was dead. Why they hadn't taken care of it, I don't know, but that wasn't something I could handle. I looked toward Quatre and pleaded with him to help me. He stepped up to his niece and knelt beside her.

"Rashid is getting hot dogs. Why don't you go eat with your cousins?" She smiled happily and skipped happily away. She turned back once and gave me a bright smile.

"Thanks Mr. Lion Tamer, sir." I nodded, watching her leave and I breathed a large sigh of relief.

"I don't think I've spoke so much in my entire life."

"Rahara can be quite a handful," Quatre answered with a soft laugh.

"Is that all that kid can do?" I heard myself asking.

"Yeah, she's extremely curious. On our way home she'll replay the entire conversation word for word." I sighed once again, leaning against the pole.

"I'm glad I'm not in charge of getting her home."

"You get used to it," Quatre said to me, a soft laugh falling from his lips again. It was good to hear this sound from him. He wasn't always this cheerful and it was nice to see him this way.

"I don't think I could. I'm not that much of a talker." Quatre shook his head, watching me for a moment.

"I do have to warn you, being the youngest in a large family have made all of my sister's mother hens. They're very protective of my nieces and nephews and it wouldn't look good for you if you threatened their kids or their 'precious, sweet, little brother'." I raised an eyebrow at that. What was he getting at. "So just don't feed any of us to your lions." I laughed, shaking my head.

"Naw, I would never. Besides, you'd all give Hunter heartburn if I tried that." Quatre laughed as well.

"You aren't afraid?"

"I meant what I said to her, Quatre. I don't scare. I don't think they could do anything to me that Catherine couldn't do worse. After all, she does throw knives at me."

"Good show, by the way. You kept almost all of them in their seats." I nodded, but I wasn't certain it was as good as he said.

"It could have been better. Nala's sick and I couldn't bring Panthera out." He looked at me for a long moment.

"Nala?"

"She a female lion," I answered. He laughed then, his eyes bright.

"Figures." I smirked at that.

"I didn't have time for cute names so I let her pick it. Not my fault if it reminds people of a Disney movie." We both laughed at that, warm smiles on our lips. This was turning out to be a rather nice day.

"So, why do you work in the circus, if you don't mind me asking?" he asked, his face serious. I gave him a soft smile, knowing he was only curious and I wasn't bothered by it in the least. He had to know about me if he wanted a relationship.

"While I was growing up, I couldn't understand people. I couldn't even handle being near people. Yet I could understand animals. So seeing as I had no family anyway, I came to work for the circus and began taking care of all the animals they had. It was more comfortable for me. Jonathan and Catherine just became a new family to me, and I've been very grateful to them ever since." Quatre's eyes widened, looking ashamed that he had brought up something so personal.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said softly. I shrugged him off.

"Don't be. I'm not." He looked away.

"Is that how you know Duo?" he asked. I shook my head.

"No. I hadn't actually met Duo until Jonathan had gotten interested in him. He had snuck in to watch a show and he had been so sly and graceful in his escape from our guards that he sent me to find him and offer him a job here. He actually accepted a part-time one here, throwing knives."

"He won't be throwing them at you, will he?" I shook my head.

"No, he's afraid to throw them at a living being. So he'll take over throwing the blade's at the balloons, what I was doing during the show." Quatre seemed relieved by my words. "Although, I wouldn't be afraid to stand before him if he ever wanted to use live targets."

"I still don't want to risk you getting stabbed." I looked down at him, glad of his concern but not really understanding it.

"It's not your risk. It's mine. Duo's been training for over a year and a half. Even Catherine is libel to cut me more times than Duo ever would be. Unlike any other knife thrower, he doesn't get over confident. This would keep him serious and focused on what he's doing at all times. Therefore I could trust my life to him before I would Catherine. She's done it so much, that she's become over-confident in her own skills." Quatre smiled a little at my words.

"He sounds very different from his 'bite me' attitude from school. Although, he was very nice to me when he was helping me."

"He usually is. He's just led a very difficult life, just like all the others he lives with. It tends to form chips on many peoples shoulders." Quatre watched as I moved over to Panthera's cage and carefully placed my hand inside it. From out of the shadows came a very sleek and powerful looking black panther. She was obviously uncomfortable and preferred the shadows. Her dark coloring was perfect for hiding in them. She came up to me and placed her head under my hand, nudging it in order to get me to pet her.

"I can't say I can sympathize, but I do empathize with his situation."

I scratched Panthera for a moment, listening to her start to purr before catching Quatre's startled look. "What an odd way to word that," I said softly to him, getting her to growl softly at me. He even took a step further away.

"How do you do that?" he asked, fear in his voice. I laughed softly, gaining another growl from her.

"I talk to her and she talks to me," I answered, purring back to her, the sound deep in my voice. I could tell Quatre felt left out, as did Panthera and she roared softly to me. I nodded and looked toward him, holding out my hand. "Give me your hand," I said softly. He seemed uncertain for a moment and slowly placed his hand in mine. I twined our fingers and slowly brought his hand toward the cage. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," he said softly, looking right at me. I smiled at him and slowly guided his hand into the cage, allowing her to smell our mixed scents before having him slowly pet the big cat, who once again began to purr, although she'd growl from time to time.

"Don't be afraid, she can smell it." Quatre nodded and carefully began petting her with me.

"She's so pretty. I've never petted a panther before." I smirked while she growled happily at the compliment.

"She says thank you. She likes you as well and she's never allowed a human to pet her before, besides myself." Quatre looked up at me and smiled sweetly. We stopped petting Panthera and turned to face each other. Quatre then threw himself into my arms, hugging me tightly. I hugged him in return, enjoying the feel of his smaller body pressed close against my own.

"Thank you, Trowa. I've never had so much fun in my life." I smiled softly and brushed his hair back from his eyes, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead.

"Go out with me tonight," I whisper before I could lose all nerve. He looked up at me in surprise and I gave him a hopeful smile.

"Really? A date?" he asked. I nodded, not ready to trust my voice once more. He threw himself into my arms again, hugging me once more. "Of course, I'd love to." I laughed softly and kissed his forehead once again. I then turned toward Panthera, giving her a thankful nod. The cat purred once more before heading back into the shadows. Yet before we could do anything else, one of Quatre's sisters showed up.

"Quatre, dear, time to go." She smiled as she watched her brother jump out of my arms and I smiled in return. She was a vet and usually came out to help take care of the cats when I couldn't figure out what was wrong with them myself. She nodded toward me. "Hello Trowa." I smiled.

"Hello Shahearazade, how's business?" She laughed.

"Pretty good. I'm glad Nala's getting better." I nodded.

"As am I. Thanks for all your help." Quatre was still blushing, but he was looking at his sister.

"I'm coming, Shahear," he said, obviously shortening her name. "I'll see you tonight?" he asked, looking back at me. I nodded.

"Of course. I'll pick you up at seven. Be ready." He nodded and left with his sister, both of them waving to me as they left. I smiled and looked back at Panthera. Perhaps she was a lot more lucky than she ever knew. Thankfully, I had gotten my date, and it had all been because of my favorite cat.