I own nothing but my OC.
That Butler, Performs 3
≤speech in Indian language≥
'thoughts'
"speech"
{setting/stage directions?}
SOUND EFFECTS
An entire sentence like this, without quotes, is narration for dreams or stuff like written letters.
=†=†=†=†= scene shift/time shift
—^—^—^— change of perspective/area of action within one specific time frame/location
Previously:
"Wait… please stop!" Ciel shouted nervously as he struggled to push Freckles' hand back.
"But you'll catch a cold like this!" Freckles argued, refusing to give up. "Here!" He shouted triumphantly when he finally managed to yank Ciel's shirt up.
"Sto…" Ciel started to shout, but it was too late. Freckles had already seen it. Freckles' eyes widened in shock as he stared down at the vicious scar from when Ciel had been branded by the cult.
SLAP!
"Let go of me!" Ciel shouted furiously as he slapped Freckles' hand away and ran.
Freckles watched dejectedly as his new friend ran off, feeling a little guilty. Jumbo placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder while the other men watched, wondering what had just happened.
"Wot's all the fuss?" One man murmured. "Did they get into it?"
"What's wiv 'im?" Dagger wondered. He hadn't been paying attention to their little argument, but it was unusual to see the perky freckles so dejected. All of them were too preoccupied with the scene in front of them to notice the stoic demon butler behind them. Sebastian had arrived with some towels just in time to see Ciel and Freckles' little drama scene. He sighed. Even though Ciel had just ordered the demon not to leave the boy alone and not treat him like his master, that was not longer an option—What would Chêne say if he let her 'cute little brother' catch a cold?
=†=†=†=†=
Ciel was shivering terribly, despite having sat down and having hugged his knees closer in an attempt to concentrate his body heat. He had run always the way past the sleeping tents and was now hidden amongst some 'gypsy covered wagons that were being used for storage. Ciel knew he shouldn't be out in the cold like this, soaking wet, but he wasn't ready to go back yet. He couldn't.
FWAP~
The young earl didn't show it, but he was a little surprised when he felt something soft and warm being gently laid over him. For a brief moment, he almost thought it was Chêne bringing him the blanket.
"You will catch a cold." Sebastian chided him slightly as he presented Ciel with some neatly folded articles of dry clothing. "Please change into these." Despite being given the blanket, Ciel was still shivering a little. However, the boy made no move to take the clothing from him.
"… Had enough." Ciel mumbled lowly, just barely loud enough for the demon to hear.
"Yes?" Sebastian asked, wondering just what Ciel had 'had enough' of.
"I've had enough!" Ciel shouted much louder this time. "I'll go mad if I'm made to continue living like this!!" he ranted. Ciel hadn't been shivering just because of the cold—he had been shaking with anger and frustration, too.
"Oh dear… are you giving up already?" Sebastian asked, sighing. "You lack fortitude." If Ciel didn't know better, he might have thought the demon was slightly disappointed in him, but then the ghost of a smirk snaked it's way onto Sebastian's lips. "Going mad from something of this sort… is not like Young Master at all." He stated ominously, causing Ciel to shiver as an entirely different sort of chill when the demon's words conjured up haunting memories best left forgotten from his time with that depraved cult.
"Hah…" Ciel exhaled, calming himself. "Not like me… hm…? Indeed." Ciel said, clenching his fist underneath the blanket. "I, the head of the Phantomhive family, living like this… No, it ought not to be like me at all." Ciel stated haughtily as he threw his head back defiantly.
FLAP.
"We'll get this over with quickly." Ciel decided as he stood and tossed the blanket aside so he could change into the dry clothes. Just sitting there and brooding wasn't going to help him accomplish anything.
"—As you wish." Sebastian replied dutifully, smirking slightly as he placed a hand upon his breast.
"In any case…" Ciel said thoughtfully as the demon butler started helping him change. "… We need only investigate the tents of the first string before we depart. I thought I would quietly aim to be promoted there… but I can't afford to leisurely bide my time in this environment. I'm at my wits' end."
"Chêne and I cannot go out at night, as the Reaper is in the way." Sebastian stated. To be honest, he too was growing tired of this cumbersome situation. "Forcing our way through will be the easiest approach."
Ciel twitched. He didn't particularly like the sound of that…
"The grim reaper may be around, but that does not mean they are guilty." Ciel told the demon calmly. After all, people die every day for perfectly mundane reasons, and many of these acts were actually rather dangerous—What if the Reaper was simply here because he was expecting some kind of 'Final Destination' type of freak-accident to happen here soon? "Just lie low for now."
"Yes, sir." Sebastian replied obediently as he draped the blanket over Ciel's shoulders again now that his young master was somewhat dry again, slightly disappointed. He really was growing tired of having to share his Chêne with that uptight Reaper…
"We should snoop around when the members of the first string have left their tents to perform." Ciel said, shaking his head a little to rid his hair of some excess water, like a little wet puppy. If Chêne had been there, she might have had some difficulty restraining herself from glomping the young earl in this moment of cuteness. "But first I have to thin of a way to shake off that clingy freckle face…" he added thoughtfully as he sat down on a nearby crate so Sebastian could wipe his legs and feet clean of the dirt that had gotten on them somehow. "If I can't move freely, there's no point to this at all…" Ciel let out a deep sigh, earning him a curious glance from the demon. "… I'd like to return to the manor quickly and eat some of Chêne's butterscotch 'lava' cakes over a cup of hot tea." The young earl said wistfully. That warm, ooey-gooey filling in the small cake's center, combined with the soft, yet slightly crispy outside was simply heavenly... especially one a cold winter day such as this.
"Heh." Sebastian laughed softly, smirking slightly. "We shall have them ready upon our return."
=†=†=†=†=
{Meanwhile, back with Chêne…}
"Hmm… I wonder where those two went…" Chêne said thoughtfully as she wandered through the camp, trying to figure out what her husband and 'little brother' were up to. They had better not be doing something interesting or fun without her…
"Ah!" Someone gasped suddenly from behind her.
Chêne whipped her head around, wondering who it was, and if she had somehow gotten herself in trouble. Ciel would not be pleased. She sighed internally with relief when she saw that it was just Ciel's roommate.
"I thought that was you, Cat!" Freckles exclaimed, smiling. The petite girl had bundled herself up even more after taking a quick cat-bath in the women's 'shower', so it was a little harder to recognize her at glance with her scarf covering most of her face. Freckles figured she must be the type that felt the cold more than others, like Snake. Snake always seemed to be shivering when it was below a certain temperature, too.
"Oh, hey, Freckles!" Chêne said, giving the kid a friendly smile as she pulled down her scarf to talk. It seems Ciel seemed had finally given Freckles the slip. "What's up? Are you lookin' for Smile?" She asked curiously. Since Freckles seemed to have a knack for finding and sticking to Ciel like glue, maybe this kid might know where he had gone?
She was surprised when Freckles flinched guiltily, and dropped the smile.
"Uh, well… Yeah, ya see…" Freckles started to mumble a little nervously, avoiding her gaze. "I–I kinda think I mightta… done somethin' bad to him…"
Chêne blinked, surprised. Did Freckles see or hear something that could get them in trouble? She hoped not. Freckles didn't strike her as a snitch, but you never know with some people…
"… Something bad? Like what?" She asked, furrowing her brow slightly in concern, hoping nothing too serious had happened.
"I, uh… well, I was showin' Smile the showers, and since he didn't seem ta be used to doin' it our way, I thought I'd help him, but…" Freckles explained hesitantly, hoping Cat wouldn't be too mad once she learned what had happened. "I kinda… saw his, you know… his scar." Chêne raised an eyebrow, surprised and worried now. Crap.
"You mean the one on his back, right?" She stated more than asked. She knew that was the only one freckles could have been talking about, since Ciel had been lucky enough not to receive any other permanent scars, thanks to her great-great-great-great-Grandma Hazel's special healing salve recipe—that thing was a miracle worker—It's just too bad it doesn't work as well on burns that have already healed and scarred over. Even the old, tried-and-true family 'cure-all' couldn't have fixed that bad mother…
Freckles nodded, guilty as charged.
"I thought he was just bein' shy, so I didn't realize I was in the wrong 'til it was too late…" Freckles admitted, cautiously meeting her eyes to see what her reaction was, braced for a scolding similar or worse to the one she had given Smile at earlier when they were cooking. But it never came.
Chêne just sighed heavily and closed her eyes for a moment. It could have been worse, but this certainly was a disastrous recipe for trouble in paradise. Ciel was really sensitive about letting anyone other than her and Sebastian see that scar, since it was a constant reminder to him of how much those cult bastards had made him suffer, and Chêne didn't blame him.
"Well, yeah… I'm not going to lie to you, Freckles…That's pretty bad." Chêne said frankly. Freckles visibly drooped at that, crestfallen, and clearly upset and full of remorse and guilt. Chêne smiled wanly at this, raised her hand, and placed it gently on top of Freckles' head. "But it wasn't like you did it on purpose, right? Smile doesn't like to talk about it, so you couldn't have known. Don't beat yourself up too much over it. Just be more careful next time, okay? Everyone has one or two things they don't want anyone to know. You've got them too, right—things you'd rather keep to yourself?" Chêne continued a little more gently. It was obvious Freckles hadn't meant any harm, and she had no doubts that Ciel had probably already snapped at the poor kid for it, so there was no point in her doing the same. "That boy can be a little stubborn, so I can't say for sure if he'll be able to forgive you right away, but please try apologizing anyway. He can be a bit antisocial and difficult to get along with at times, but he's a good kid… So, could you please continue playing with him anyway?" Chêne said, giving freckles an encouraging smile. This seemed to make Freckles feel a little better, because Freckles perked up a bit with her encouragement.
" 'Kay, Cat… thanks for not yellin' at me." Freckles said, giving her a small smile. Smile was really lucky to have such an understanding older sister. Actually, Cat reminded Freckles of Joker a little, since he sometimes patted Freckles on the head like this…
"By the way…" Chêne said, bringing Freckles back to attention. "What were you doing in the men's shower… aren't you a girl?" She asked, frowning slightly in confusion.
"Haha, yeah, but I'm a bit of a tomboy, so no one really sees me like one—I'm actually a bit surprised ye figured it out so quick-like!" Freckles said, smiling wryly, as she laughed and rubbed the back of her neck.
"Oh, is that so?" Chêne asked, sweat dropping. Wasn't it kind of obvious…?
"Ah, there ye are!" Joker said when he spotted the two girls. "Say, I know it's only ye first full day here and all, but do you think ye could do us a favor, Cat?" He asked hopefully.
=†=†=†=†=
"I see, so you're homesick already…" Chêne said, smiling wryly, as she sweat dropped. Sebastian had just finished recounting his earlier conversation with Ciel once the two of them finally found her again. Snake had been kind enough to point them to the prop tent, and it was surprising empty. Chêne was the only one working in there, so it was actually a rather convenient place for them to talk.
"I am not!" Ciel snapped back indignantly, vein throbbing on his forehead. Well, maybe he was, but he didn't appreciate being treated like a child. "… And just what are you planning on doing with that box?" He added, sweat dropping, as he watched her continue her work on decorating the small box that she had just finished putting together when they walked in.
"Oh, this? It's a prop for my act!" Chêne replied, grinning impishly.
