2. Sleepytime Tea

Summary: Takes place just after the first act, 'Troubled.' Dagran, worn out from practice, decides to go see Mirania before he gets some sleep. Meanwhile, Yurick gets his rest disturbed when a certain Contortionist walks into his tent by accident.

Performers: Strongman Dagran, Fortuneteller Mirania, Firebreather Yurick and Contortionist Therius

The Strongman let out a groan as he treaded through the carnival grounds, massaging his right shoulder with one hand. His shoulder was sore-perhaps he had pulled a muscle there. In fact, every part of him felt quite sore. It was possible that he had overworked himself in the practice tent earlier, he figured-and now he wanted to do nothing but to lie down and rest, so he would be ready for tomorrow.

Glancing around him, he knew that everyone would be settling down by now. It was late tonight, and there was no doubt that Syrenne was drinking the last of the booze, Lowell would be end up carrying her back to her tent, Ariela would be asleep in her tent, Yurick would be extinguishing the last of the lanterns hanging from the tents, Zesha and Zepha would be off doing...well, whatever they did, and Zael was probably getting himself lovesick over thoughts of Callista (the acrobat was probably getting some beauty rest at the moment). Jirall was probably busy cleaning up the game booths to get ready for the customers flocking into the carnival the next morning. Ringmaster Asthar was no doubt mulling over plans and double-checking everything to make sure that everyone was ready for tomorrow. Perhaps Zoran was making sure the animals were alright-the Tamer knew animals well, and Dagran figured that it was always good to check on them every now and then, just in case something bad happened. Therius was probably still practicing in the practice tent or maybe in his own tent-Dagran knew that the contortionist always liked to keep all the tricks he did in check so that he would be ready when it came to performing in front of the carnival visitors.

What about Mirania? He glanced at the Fortuneteller's tent nearby. Perhaps she was unoccupied with anything at the moment. It would be nice to talk to her (Dagran found that she was definitely someone one could run to for emotional counseling), and maybe she could help fix up his shoulder, too. Without a second thought, he entered her tent after a few more footsteps.

The smell of something sweet, like roses, greeted his senses. The raven-haired Fortuneteller was sitting on a cushion with her legs crossed as she sipped a cup of tea, but her eyes made contact with his as soon as he entered the tent. Mirania didn't look too tired, though she was dressed in a plain, black nightgown already and was barefoot. On the table in front of her there were a few empty teacups, an assortment of cookies and mini cupcakes resting on a tray. A plate in front of her was filled with cookies and crumbs, while the plate opposite her was empty.

Mirania put down her teacup, before she spoke. "A cup of tea?" She offered. He nodded, sitting down on the cushion opposite her as she poured some tea for him. "What brings you here so late, Dagran?"

The Strongman let out a sigh after he took a sip of the tea, savouring the taste of roses. "I practiced a bit late today." He admitted quietly, still massaging his shoulder with one hand. "I think I pulled a muscle..."

"I can help with that." She stood, and walked around until she she crouched onto a knee behind him. He let go of his shoulder and let his hand fall to his side as he felt the healing magic seep into his sore muscles. It didn't take long until the shoulder was completely better, free of pain.

"Thanks." He spoke after a moment of silence. Mirania nodded, before returning to her cushion. Picking up a cookie, she bit into it as he changed the subject. "I can't believe that we're opening tomorrow at noon already…"

"I know, it seems like it was only yesterday that Ringmaster Asthar finished assembling all of us for the carnival." The Fortuneteller murmured in agreement, taking another bite into her cookie before continuing. "It feels like only yesterday since the first day I became a carnie…"

Dagran nodded in agreement. Time didn't seem to pass by so quickly at times, but it had. Mirania had been one of the newer carnies out of them, and Dagran had to be the one to show her the clockwork of the carnival. If there was one thing Dagran did not doubt about Mirania, it was the fact that she could always be someone that anyone could trust. If there was another thing, it was probably that she seemed to be one of the more 'sane' people in the carnival, and Dagran was glad about it. He had enough of Jirall pining over Callista, Zael daydreaming about Callista, Callista (probably, Dagran guessed) daydreaming of Zael, Lowell constantly flirting with anyone, Syrenne drinking whenever she could, Zesha and Zepha going and speaking in rhyming riddles, Yurick barely saying a word, and Therius being so constantly focused on his work. The only relatively 'normal' people seemed to be Ringmaster Asthar, Zoran, Ariela and Mirania.

Thank goodness there was at least a few generally 'normal' people around. Without them, Dagran doubted that this carnival would have been able to be put together at all. Without the Ringmaster or Mirania around, Zoran and Dagran would have been arguing constantly over anything, and someone needed to act as an authority for Jirall, otherwise he would just keep trying to give Callista unwanted attention. Zael would be fighting with Jirall over Callista, too, and that wasn't fun to watch either. Besides, Ariela and Asthar were the only ones that could keep a cap on how much alcohol Syrenne could take-if they weren't around, surely she could possibly die of alcohol poisoning early, even with Lowell watching over her.

Before Dagran could sum up his thoughts, Mirania's voice interrupted them.

"Dagran?"

He blinked, looking at her. Mirania looked a bit concerned. "Are you alright?" She asked quietly, before sipping her tea.

"Um, yeah," He managed, nodding once. "Sorry-my mind kind of drifted off just now."

"It's alright. All of us are tired-our minds need rest." She reassured him.

"Yeah…" Dagran rubbed his sleepy eyes with one hand. "I should probably go get some sleep. Thanks for healing me and for the snacks."

Mirania nodded once, sipping her tea again before speaking. "It's no problem, Dagran. Goodnight."

"...Goodnight."

Heaving a sigh, he slipped out of the tent and into the cold air of the carnival grounds, intent on getting to his tent as quickly as he could, burying himself in the warm blankets and pillows that resided there, summing up his previous thoughts as he headed to the tent.

Without the 'normal' people, this carnival probably wouldn't have existed in the first place.

Yurick woke up to the sound of footsteps.

The Firebreather lay still in bed, unsure if he was hearing anything correctly. One could never be sure of what was going on when half-awake. Okay, maybe someone like Dagran or Zoran could, but only if they were paying close attention.

He heard another few footsteps, before the sound of something being knocked over. There was the sound of a baritone voice, swearing aloud once, before there was silence.

Alright, Yurick decided, that's it. He needed to tell whoever the hell it was to leave him alone and let him sleep in peace.

Summoning a fireball, he sent it flying forwards the intruder, in the hope of hitting him.

In the quick flash of the flames, he saw a certain Contortionist let out a horrified scream, ducking out of the way and dodging the flames immediately. Yurick couldn't help but scream either-but not because of the Contortionist nearly screaming in his ear, but because it hit the fabric wall of the tent, lighting it on fire immediately.

"Damn it!" Therius screamed, pulling himself off the floor as he stared at the flickering flames, horrified and irritated all at once. "What was that for!?"

"This is all your bloody fault, you idiot!" Yurick snapped back, throwing the covers off himself as he reached for an extinguisher.

"It's not my fault that you set your own tent on fire, dammit!" Therius retorted as he backed away slightly, mainly out of fear that Yurick would bash him to death with said extinguisher, but partially so he could get a little further away from the fire that was currently devouring the fabric tent wall.

"If you hadn't come in here while I was trying to get some bloody rest, maybe this wouldn't have happened!"

"I'm sorry, then, that I can't find my way through the dark sometimes! I was practicing my act until about ten minutes ago, and then Ringmaster Asthar shooed me out of the practice tent because he said I needed sleep!"

The two carnies both let out a deep breath as the hissing of foam smothered the fire to death. There was a medium-sized hole in the tent fabric, but Yurick figured he would just patch it up tomorrow, if he had enough time to. Setting one's tent on fire the day before visitors arrive isn't exactly the greatest thing in the world, but it was something that could be solved, which was a good thing.

Therius let out a sigh, shaking his head a little. "My apologies, Yurick." He mutered quietly, looking downwards. "I didn't mean-"

Yurick shook his head. "It's fine." He muttered in response. "Just be a bit more careful if you're going to end up sleeping in here again, alright? You really have to stop bumping into things-you know I'm a light sleeper!"

Therius sleeping in Yurick's tent was not uncommon. Being one of the ones that stayed up late to perfect their acts, the Contortionist would often be stumbling around the carnival grounds late at night, trying to find his tent so he could sleep. Ever since the first time he ended up in Yurick's tent by accident, the nightly visits became more frequent to a few times a week-and good thing, too, because the Contortionist still suffered from memories of the past, always brought up in his unconsciousness. Yurick had to be there for him most of the time-if he hadn't been there, surely Therius would have suffered from insomnia already.

"Who said I was going to sleep in here?"

Of course, just because Therius slept in Yurick's tent often did not mean he completely didn't mind it. It could get awkward for the both of them, especially when sharing a bed together. Yurick knew it well, and the same went for the other. At least Therius would get sleep, though, and at least it wasn't like Yurick had to go blast fireballs at Therius for entering his tent all the time.

The younger carnie let out a groan. "If you don't sleep here, the next thing I know is that you're going to walk into one of the girls' tents by accident, and that won't be pretty, especially if it's Syrenne's tent..."

That had actually happened once-walking into Syrenne's tent while she was still in a drunken, sleepy state that is. The result was a bloody nose, a black eye, and several bruises. It took Zael several layers of makeup to hide Therius' wounds, and no one wanted that to happen again. Ever.

The white-haired Contortionist's face lit up with a faint red. "Alright, fine-I'll sleep here!" He muttered, starting to undo the ribbon that tied his hair back into the long braid. Yurick never understood how Therius could still do his contortionist acts with the braid-it never made sense how he was able to do that, but he figured that was a mystery he would never solve.

As Therius joined him underneath the covers, the two found themselves to be unbelievably close to each other-literally. In order to fit properly on the bed and make sure there was enough space, both had to sleep on their sides, and coincidentally they were facing each other as well. Yurick couldn't help but feel puny in comparison to Therius-though Therius was not exactly a giant, he wasn't short, either.

"Er-" Yurick started, but he stopped himself. Pausing, he looked up at the older carnie's face in the darkness, unreadable because of the lack of lighting. "Do you always wear spandex?"

"...Pretty much." Therius muttered in response, his warm breath tickling Yurick's face. "Contortionists usually do, because it's the most flexible sort of clothing for them."

"Oh." The younger carnie paused, before speaking again "...Don't you ever get cold wearing almost nothing but spandex-"

"Didn't you say just now that you wanted to get some sleep?" Therius let out a quite yawn, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply.

"Right." The younger one agreed. He let out a sigh, closing his one blue eye. "Goodnight, Therius."

There was no response, except for the sound of deep breathing. Yurick let out another sigh, and let himself succumb to slumber. Tomorrow was a big day, and sleep was very much needed if they were going to get through the hustle and bustle of the visitors in the carnival, after all.

Author note: I'm incredibly amazed by the amount of reviews, the favourite and alert already received-and in such little time, too! Thanks so much for reviewing, everyone-it really helped me get this chapter written quite quickly.

Mirania-Fortuneteller-Well...I was going to have her as an Illusionist, but it kind of got thrown out the window once I decided to have Zesha and Zepha as the Illusionists. A Fortuneteller seemed to fit her, because she didn't seem like the type to be a Strongwoman or Acrobat. Being a Ticket Keeper probably would be a bit too ordinary for her, though, so that's why she's got the Fortuneteller role.

Dagran-Strongman-Originally, I was going to have Lowell as the Strongman, but strength always seemed like something Dagran was pretty strong at, and he didn't have any special powers in most of the game unlike the others, so I handed that role to him.

Yurick-Firebreather-I gave this role to him mainly because of his abilities as a fire mage in the game. No more explanation needed.

Therius-Contortionist-This was a really hard one to decide for Therius-I was so tempted to have HIM as an aerialist or an acrobat, but I settled on Contortionist because he's not as...free-flowing as Zael or the others, if that makes sense. He has a ton of restraint that he puts on himself as a knight, a lot of discipline-and that's why I put him as a Contortionist because some restraint is needed to pull of certain tricks, I'm sure...

Thanks for reading so far! :)