9. Bored

Summary: The Ringmaster is bored of doing all the work. So, she decides to walk around the carnival as a little break. Unfortunately, she hears of a certain carnie getting sick during her break, and she doesn't hesitate to rush over to check on him.

Characters: Ringmaster, Strongman, Magician, Doll (mentioned), Miss Fortune (mentioned), Knife Thrower

Pairings: RingmasterxStrongman, mentioned MagicianxDollxMiss Fortune

The Ringmaster heaved a sigh as she let her head rest against the desk full of paperwork in front of her. If there was one thing she hated the most out of doing to maintain her carnival, it was the paperwork. She just hated it.

Paperwork was the most boring thing in all the world. It was more boring than listening to the Acrobats gossip about which carnie was the most annoying in their opinion. So far, all she knew was that title was tied between Miss Fortune, the Knife Thrower, the Clown and the Ticket Keeper. In terms of paperwork...it was just one thing after another.

She stood, put her pen and papers down, and just marched out of the room. She couldn't stand it anymore-she needed a break! If there was any way she needed to get this stupid paperwork done, she would need to take a nice break before continuing with it.

A walk around the carnival would suffice, yes? She decided to do so. Maybe that could help clear her frustration a bit.

"Maybe the Fortuneteller can tell me a good work-related fortune." The Ringmaster mused as she noticed the Fortuneteller's tent nearby. She walked into the tent...to find no one. She looked around quietly-there was not one sound that could be heard. The Fortuneteller was not here. No one was here except for the Ringmaster herself.

At least, that's what she thought until she heard something incoherent from behind the curtain behind the small table in the tent. Curiosity reigned her, and she decided to take a peek and see what was going on.

The Magician was reading a book, lying on the bed without a care in the world about anyone seeing him with no shirt on. There was no Miss Fortune or Doll in sight though, to the surprise of the Ringmaster.

"Magician?"

The Magician threw the book aside and covered himself with the blankets and pillows. The Ringmaster couldn't help but laugh mentally to herself-the Magician always had a thing about not being half-naked in front of people; he hated exposing himself in public. The only ones he was fine with being partially unclothed around were Miss Fortune and the Doll.

"Oh. Ringmaster..." The Magician paused for a moment, before he spoke up again. "Don't mind me. I'm just waiting for the Doll and Miss Fortune to come back from buying supplies needed-food and stuff like that."

"Right..." The Ringmaster muttered to herself. Darn it, she had forgotten that she put the Doll and Miss Fortune on running errands this time around...but then again, it was a convenience-she figured it would be good to hear from the Magician about Miss Fortune. "Speaking of Miss Fortune and the Doll, have things gotten any better since the murder threat on the Knife Thrower?"

The Magician nodded quietly, letting out a sigh. "Yeah, he's better now." He muttered in response. "I went through a long talk with him and the Doll last night-he was crying into the pillows and getting himself drunk." An expression of concern overtook his face as he continued. "I've seen him get into hissy fits and throw things at people, but he's never threatened death on anyone before, unless he's being protective of his sister, me, or any of the other carnies. But those threats were to outsiders, not one of our own..."

"I worry for his mentality." The orange-haired Ringmaster let out a sigh. "Well, I'm glad he's alright for now, but keep an eye on him, okay?" The Magician nodded, before she realized something. "Where is the Strongman? I haven't seen him all day..."

"He's in the infirmary-he went down with a fever a couple hours ago..."

"WHAT!?" Her eyes bugged out a little. "Why didn't any of you carnies tell me immediately!?" She snapped.

"He told us not to tell you, Ringmaster." The Magician uttered, letting out a scowl. "I understand if he doesn't want to worry you, but-"

"I know. I would rather hear of it immediately than hear about it later-it makes everything worse." The Ringmaster muttered, before stomping out of the tent.

A certain Strongman was going to get a telling to in a few minutes...

"I DIDN'T WANT YOU TO WORRY!"

"YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST GOTTEN ONE OF THE OTHERS TO TELL ME INSTEAD OF HIDING IT! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW STUPID IT WAS!? WHAT IF YOU WERE DYING OF SOME WEIRD DISEASE!? WHAT IF I WENT LOOKING FOR YOU WITHOUT KNOWING ANYTHING ABOUT IT, AND BEFORE I GOT TO THE INFIRMARY THAT YOU DIED!?"

The Knife Thrower let out a sigh as he listened to the ruckus coming from the infirmary tent. Obviously, the Ringmaster was more than sick out of her mind worrying about her beloved Strongman more than anything else. The screaming fight made it very obvious.

The next thing he knew, there was silence. Wondering if the Ringmaster had strangled the Strongman, he decided to take a peek.

No, she hadn't strangled him, but...

The Knife Thrower immediately realized that he caught them in the middle of making out with each other.

He started inching away from the scene. If they saw him, there was no doubt that the Strongman would try to strangle him.

The two parted, and then they saw him. The Knife Thrower gulped nervously, mentally said his last words, and ran for his life as the Strongman started screaming and chasing him.

The Ringmaster couldn't help but laugh a little. If the Strongman was up and screaming, he was probably cured from his fever now.