Chapter 3
"Now what." Wisty Yawned blinking as the boat was pulled out of the tunnel. The day had gotten hotter since she had first gotten onto the children's boat ride.
"Kroow." The curiosity of a guide crowed hoping off the ride waving her to follow. She stepped out of the ride watching Kridi hop and dance, attracting a small crowd of onlookers. Mostly frightened looking parents trying to pull entertained children who want to get closer. Wisty grumble at the shock on the protective adults face as she followed Kridi she could hear them rifle in their pockets looking for something to take pictures of her probably to sell them to the press to create some sort of lie about her.
"Free movies uh?" Wisty looked at the heavy black tarps laid over a rectangular tent, the curiosity chirped entering the tent. The interior was pure darkness except the shaft of light from a projector in the back, Kirdi lead her through the dark keenly taking a set in a large metal folding chair. Wisty sat and watched the 'movies' they were short thirty minutes at its longest somewhere in other languages somewhere just a trailer of movies from the time before the N.O. After a while Wisty she went to the back of the tent where a lager wooden booth that the projector sat atop of "Hey." She tapped a small glass window where an old man sat down with one hand on a typewriter another drawing in a sketch book.
The man looked up from his multitasking and taped a note to the window. ' To protect the work from damage or fraudulent crimes all full versions of the works show will only be shown on special events (see calendar for upcoming dates.) or with a letter of permission from N.F.'
"Thanks." Wisty sighed, before leaving the tent Kirdi at her heels. The little curiosity and her walked around the grounds looking at rides and stands that travel around with the circus. Until Wisteria's attention was grabbed by rust colored tent.
'The Hall Of Hells.' Was splashed on a sign in fake blood letters, an elaborate illustration of a gray human like figure with strange cyan hair, and a large cartoony grin with rigged piranha like teeth. She smirked it was a haunted house, apparently made with magic she laughed at the thought. After going through Shadowland nothing could scare her anymore.
"No! No!" Kridi grabbed her when she turned to go in the tent.
"What are you scared?" she teased her guide, hearing playful screams from inside.
"Uh Hu." Kridi squeaked it cloth cap jiggled as it nods.
"Come on just a little peek." She pulled Kridi closer to the tent, a low hanging iron scent wafted out of the tent.
"No!" Kridi gave an animal scream pulling away it looked extremely pitiful to her.
"Okay." She let the curiosity go disappointed making a note to trying again later. As she turned to follow her guide once more the day growing hotter as it went on, Kridi movements become sluggish under its outfit.
"Frood, frood." Kridi slink up to a food vender wavering making sharp panting noises. The cashier glared at the dressed curiosity, and slapped Kridi way like a disgusting rat.
"Hey!" Wisty shouted becoming protective over the little thing.
"Sorry didn't know he was with you." The cashier eyes widened recognizing her. "Y'know foods half off today, but I'll make it free, anything you want, just don't tell the boss, I hurt that thing, ok." The cook staff nodded worried.
"Okay one of everything make it two for the little guy." Wisty said smugly and the group who obeyed her wordlessly, Kridi making a squeal of affection. Moments later the two sat at a plastic table a spread of, corn dogs with dip, deep fried vegetables of myriad color ant textures, funnel cakes of every flavor piled high with fruit, fried junk food Alamode, and sugary drinks flavored. Wisty watched Kridi shove food through the slip in its outfit as she munched on a deep fried chocolate bar. While she ate, she wondered what type of power the boss held over the carnival knowing by the buzz of magic and color everywhere that it was clear that The One wasn't running this show. Yet, all the workers she encountered didn't care about her or didn't want a bad word from her slipping out and finding its way to the boss.
"Excuse me miss you done." A small voice spoke up beside her. She looked over the group to see a group of five boys between the age of six and twelve their thin bodies dress cloths way to lager for them.
"Yes." She looked group of tan boys their big brown eyes staring hungrily at the tons of uneaten food.
"We can take in home for you." A smaller boy holding a notepad he had a slight accent that was vaguely familiar to her.
"What?" Wisty looked confused at the boy.
"We're good at, running we ran for our big brothers all the time." Another boy with a thicker accent.
"Yes, yes they walk know but they would run if not so busy." The first boy explained "We box and take it for you?"
"No actually, but if you boys are hungry from running you can have it." Wisteria declined standing up, Kridi followed her a cup of soda latched between its sleeves.
"Aww thanks pretty lady." One of the boy cheered, as the group pounced around the table, Wisty waved goodbye to the boy. She walked away until one boy spoke, she did understand what he had said, but with the accent she knew where the boys were from, the desert. Wisty turned to the group of kids the boys looked at her, eyes widening at same realization and within a second the group shattered at a seed that would put a professional runner to shame.
Fear and worry washed over her, all the horseman from the desert had retreated back to where ever they have been or died because of that awful amalgamation of The One and Pearce. Then what children of that place doing here 'because they're kids.' A thought wormed into her mind that wasn't quite hers, the horseman only wanted to invade the city because the desert had become a terrible place to live. Those boys went out of that place so badly they joined a traveling carnival just to the city, and she felt strangely guilty at the fact she had scared them away.
"Step right up, step right up, roll the ball first horse to cross the river wins a prize." A loud voice pulled her out of her inner sorrow and look to see Kirdi was staring at her worried. She shook her head the sudden gloom washing away and smiled at her little guide making it chirp and purred leading her elsewhere in the carnival. As she followed once again, she the game that had caught her attention before, a row of painted wooden horses were being pulled along a fake river couple she recognize some didn't look like horses at all. But, one made her skin crawl looking at it was skeletal compared to the other models its coat a mix between bruised skin and mud its thin mane and tail looked like it was made from reeds and drowned plants.
(AN: chugging along, leave a review if you want. N.F's first appears in next chapter woo.)
