A year.
A full year had passed since Evelyn had become an awkward, new first-tier member. At first she was uncomfortable - it seemed all the other members around her were much more talented, more charismatic, more eager to make their mark on an audience. Slowly,though, she began to realize she couldn't compare herself to the others - she had her own special talents, and that was what mattered. Making a mark in her own way was better than limply conjuring up mirages and slinking off the stage as quickly as possible, riddled with doubt. With time, she added more tricks and trials to her performances, to the delight of the crowd. That aspect of circus life was going great.
Off-stage, Evelyn had become quite friendly with the other first tier members - often she went with Dagger to supervise training, and possibly toss a few knives (that usually clattered to the ground, in her case.) She helped Beast feed Betty, keeping her distance from the tiger but cooing over it nonetheless. Doll was quite the chatty girl once you got to know her, friendly and willing to talk about anything that held her fancy. Evelyn tended to keep her distance from Peter and Jumbo, feeling slightly frightened by the boy's snappish nature and the vastness of the fire-breather, but stretched with Wendy when she had the chance. Snake was another story - hard as Evelyn tried, she couldn't get close to the shy boy, no matter how hard she tried.
Joker she considered to be her best friend at Noah's Ark. Though he was certainly always busy, he seemed to make time to talk to Evelyn at some point in the day, asking how things suited her or if she was having any trouble. She quite liked the ringleader - possibly even fancying him. The two of them hung out whenever a bit of spare time became available, chatting, joking, even teaching each other little tricks from their performances. Most recently they had begun juggling, which Evelyn had a surprising amount of trouble with. Which brought her to her current predicament.
"Agh!" Evelyn huffed as the balls once again slipped out of her reach, bouncing to the floor. Sweeping the colored objects up, Joker handed them to her with a slight smile. "Didn't think a spot of juggling would be that hard for you," he teased, rolling up his sleeves. "Let me show you," he offered, taking the balls and arcing them in the air with ease.
"How do you even manage that?" Evelyn nearly shouted, frustration and bewilderment pulsing through her. "Just swing your hands, it's not that hard," he laughed, giving the tiny things back and settling back to watch Evelyn fail once again. "I just can't do it," she groaned, leaning her back against a pole in the training tent. "It's impossible."
"Hey, I managed it with one fake hand, y'can't say it's impossible," Joker chimed in, waving his skeletal hand around. Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Yeah, rub it in. That's charming," she said, sarcasm leaking from her tone. She and the ringleader both reached down at the same time, their hands brushing together as they picked up the balls. Evelyn's face went red, and the two met eyes for only a moment - surprised violet meeting a shy light green, before Jumbo's deep voice rumbled across the tent. "Got a minute, Joker?"
"Ah... yeah," he said, looking to Evelyn and back to Jumbo, "You keep practicing, Illusion, you need it!" Joker recovered, chuckling and ducking out of the tent. "Beast said she'd like you to help with costume repair," Jumbo turned to Evelyn, who responded with a nod, walking out of the tent herself and crossing over to a dark blue one.
"Heard you wanted help?" She called, maneuvering around the crates of clothing and makeup to find Beast bent over a piece of brightly colored fabric, needle in hand. Glancing up at the brunette, Beast smiled briefly. "Yes, there's more repairs to be done than expected... Since you've helped me before, I figured you could again." Evelyn nodded, taking up a needle and thread and positioning it over a navy blue skirt, beginning to sew jagged loops into the dark fabric.
"So, what've you been up to?" Beast asked, her eyes never straying from the steady line of stitches she was making. "Nothing much, Joker tried to teach me to juggle," Evelyn shrugged, finishing the small repair job and moving on to the next one. "Oh, that's the worst," Beast laughed. "He thinks that just because he can do it, everyone else can, too." Evelyn nodded, the two falling into silence and working quietly.
"What do you think of the new recruits?" Beast asked as Dagger pushed his way into the tent, walking towards a crate filled with makeup and digging around for something. "Oh, me?" The boy asked, his eyes shining as he turned to his sister, happy to have been acknowledged. Beast scowled. "No, I asked Illusion." She gestured to the girl, before continuing her work.
"Oh... They're not too bad. Their accents are nice, though," she grinned, as the black-haired woman let out a laugh. "I agree with you there. And their faces aren't too bad, either," she wiggled her eyebrows, causing Evelyn to burst into a fit of laughter and Dagger to scowl.
"Seems like a lot of people we pick up are good looking," Evelyn commented.
"But none are better than the originals!" Dagger smirked, throwing an arm around Beast, who promptly shoved him towards a pile of crates. "You've got that right," Evelyn said suddenly, her mind wandering. "I do?" Dagger grinned, leaning in close to the illusionist's face. "What's this about, then?" He asked, a mischievous look glinting in his eyes.
"Not you!" Evelyn bit back, laughing obnoxiously as the knife-thrower looked hurt. A new idea in mind, the boy snatched Evelyn's needle away, holding it far above her as she jumped up to grab it. "Then who?" Dagger exclaimed, standing much taller than the girl, dangling the needle above her. Evelyn furiously tried to snatch it back. "None of your business!" She cried, trying desperately to reach the needle. Beast pulled her whip out, cracking it in the air as both the knife-thrower and illusionist stopped, fear in their eyes as they looked to the animal tamer.
"Dagger, give her the needle, it's one of the last we've got," Beast said in a steely tone. The boy dropped the utensil into Evelyn's palm, shrugging and leaving the tent. "That boy..." Evelyn said in agitation, sitting down and beginning to sew once again. "I know how you feel," Beast muttered, picking up another costume.
The two worked in silence for a while, before Beast stole a glance at the younger girl. "When you said that stuff earlier, did you mean that you actually...?" With pink-tinged cheeks, Evelyn looked away, mumbling "Y-yeah. I think so," and pricking her finger with the needle.
"So, um..." Beast began awkwardly. "Who...?"
Evelyn sighed. "Who do you think, genius?"
"Okay, okay!" The woman said defensively. "I just needed confirmation, that's all."
The two worked in silence for the remainder of the evening, each pair of eyes focusing on the project in front of them.
...although, Evelyn could have sworn she felt Beast glaring at her.
The next morning, everyone in the mess hall was alight with a buzz - although for a reason Evelyn couldn't fathom. Every performer seemed to be excited, the younger ones bouncing up and down while the older ones chatted lightly, their voices buzzing with elation. Not that Evelyn minded - an air of eagerness and anticipation was much better than the usual, drowsy morning atmosphere. Even the first tier table seemed to be alight.
Nearing the table with her plate, Evelyn sat down, brushing off her skirt as she did so. "What's everyone so excited about...?" She wondered aloud, and her fellow first tiers gasped.
"Only the most exciting day of the year!" Dagger chirped, shoveling food down his throat as he looked at a morning paper. "...Beast? You know?" Evelyn asked hopefully, and the black-haired woman gave her a tired look. "It's Noah's Ark's anniversary," she replied, dividing a piece of French toast into squares. "It's been... oh, god, how many years since this place came to be?" Beast looked to Jumbo, who shrugged slightly.
"Anyway," Beast continued. "Every year we have a big party - drinks, desserts, music, the whole package. It's actually quite fun," she smiled.
Evelyn looked surprised, excitement beginning to build inside her. "A party?" She nearly squealed. "I haven't been to a party in so long!" She cried joyously, memories of such events in her childhood flooding her mind. Beast frowned as the illusionist nearly screamed in exhilaration, looking over her drab every day clothes.
"...Illusion, what are you going to wear to the party?" She asked. Evelyn stared at her for a moment, her smile fading. "Oh... I don't really have anything that nice..." Evelyn said thoughtfully.
"Don't worry, I'll let you borrow something," The animal tamer smiled, returning to her food. "Oh, that's great!" Evelyn replied, grinning. Everything's taken care of, then! She thought happily, letting her mind wander off to dances, partners, music... who she would waltz with if it came time...
I'd need a partner...
Evelyn blushed fiercely as the first face that popped up in her mind was that of a redheaded ringleader.
Kind of a filler chapter, really, but we all write those from time to time! I'd imagine Beast would be something fierce if someone tried to steal her man - that's why the glaring bit was in there. Oh well. I'll be writing more tonight, you might even hope for another chapter!
See you at the party, next time in Cirque de Merveilles!